Headquarters near Bean's Station,
December 17, 1863
Special Orders No. 27.
"Major-General L. McLaws is relieved from further duty with this army, and will proceed to Augusta, Georgia, from which place he will report by letter to the adjutant and inspector-general. He will turn over the command of the division to the senior brigadier present.
By command of Lieut.-General Longstreet.
G.M. Sorrel
Lieut.-Col. and Assistant Adjutant-General
Source: Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer
Commentary
The attempted siege of Knoxville and specifically the assault on Fort Sanders was quite possibly the low point in Longstreet's military career. As with most events in Tennessee during this time, what really happened there is a confused mess, and no one may ever know everything for certain. What can be known is that Longstreet despaired of any possibilities for further success directly after his failures around Knoxville and wrote to government officials, requesting to be replaced.
Unfortunately, that was not his only action. Longstreet's chief subordinate during this time was Lafayette McLaws, a childhood friend and roommate from West Point. For some reason that Longstreet never fully explained, Longstreet relieved McLaws of duty on December 17, 1863. His official reason was Neglect of Duty in operations surrounding the siege of Knoxville, but as Longstreet admitted later in life during his reconciliation with McLaws, what really happened was that he was caught in a moment of weakness. He knew he had failed, and instead of accepting that blame immediately, he laid the blame on others.
Following is Longstreet's order relieving McLaws from duty: