September 9, 1863---The "Battle" of The Cumberland Gap

SEPTEMBER 9, 1863:        

The Battle of The Cumberland Gap.  Having taken Knoxville, Tennessee with hardly a shot being fired, General Ambrose Burnside U.S.A. decides to move against the strategically critical Cumberland Gap with 15,000 men. The Gap is occupied by a Confederate holding force of 2,500, all other Gray troops in the area having been reassigned to Braxton Bragg’s force in the Lookout Mountain region. Although The Gap is a superb defensive position, the Confederate Commander is intimidated by the sheer weight of Union numbers and surrenders The Gap after just a symbolic spattering of shots. The Union occupies The Gap in force, ending the “battle” before it ever begins.