Confederate Memorial Hall (Bleak House)

Bleak House is a Victorian mansion built in 1858 by prominent Knoxvillian, Robert H. Armstrong, using slave labor to mold the bricks on site. During the siege of Knoxville and the Battle of Fort Sanders in November and December 1863, the home served as headquarters for Confederate Gens. James Longstreet and Lafayette McLaws. Three soldiers using the house's tower as a sharpshooters post were killed there by Federal cannon fire. A comrade sketched their likenesses on the wall of the tower. Two cannonballs are still embedded in the walls. Artillery was also set up on the lawn to fire on the Federals.