By the time of the Civil War, Knoxville had become the major Tennessee River port serving the eastern part of Tennessee.  It also offered rail transportation via the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad.
 
 

Although substantial steamboat commerce traveled the upper Tennessee River between Knoxville and Chattanooga, the severe navigation barriers at Muscle Shoals (Alabama) limited Knoxville's direct access to the lower Tennessee (as well as the vast Mississippi River system and its connection to international ocean commerce).  Upstream from Knoxville, river transportation was often restricted by seasonal variation in water levels.

  River Ports and Shipyards

Last update:  September 16, 2001