rustycoinUT
December 10th, 2005, 04:47 PM
Civil War Battles In Kentucky:
Camp Wildcat
This action was initiated by Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer. The Confederate general's move into Kentucky was designed to push from Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky and gain control of the state. Union General Albin Schoepf’s troops stopped Zollicoffer at Wildcat Mountain before he could move into the Bluegrass. Schoepf had been alerted to Zollicoffer’s advance moved his forces into Laurel County and fortified the high ground near the Wilderness Road. Here the Union general awaited the Confederate troops who had to pass the stronghold to proceed into central Kentucky. The two sides clashed in a brisk battle on October 20, 1861. The Confederates failed to gain control of the mountain and in the middle of the night of October 21, 1861 they retreated back to Cumberland Ford near present day Pineville in Bell County, Kentucky.
The Camp Wildcat Battlefield is located near the junction of the Wilderness Road and Winding Blade Road in the forested hills above the Rockcastle River in northern Laurel County, Kentucky. The battlefield is located on land that is held by the Daniel Boone National Forest and in private hands. The Battle of Wildcat Mountain was fought from the early afternoon of October 20, 1861 and ended on the night of October 21, 1861.
The action on Wildcat Mountain was the earliest major battle of the Civil War in Kentucky. A force of 5,400 Union troops engaged a Confederate force numbering some 7,500. The ensuing battle inflected few casualties, but forced the Confederates to abandon any plans to attack central Kentucky and it forced them to retreat back toward Cumberland Gap. Thus the Union army claimed one of its first victories of the Civil War.
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Camp Wildcat
This action was initiated by Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer. The Confederate general's move into Kentucky was designed to push from Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky and gain control of the state. Union General Albin Schoepf’s troops stopped Zollicoffer at Wildcat Mountain before he could move into the Bluegrass. Schoepf had been alerted to Zollicoffer’s advance moved his forces into Laurel County and fortified the high ground near the Wilderness Road. Here the Union general awaited the Confederate troops who had to pass the stronghold to proceed into central Kentucky. The two sides clashed in a brisk battle on October 20, 1861. The Confederates failed to gain control of the mountain and in the middle of the night of October 21, 1861 they retreated back to Cumberland Ford near present day Pineville in Bell County, Kentucky.
The Camp Wildcat Battlefield is located near the junction of the Wilderness Road and Winding Blade Road in the forested hills above the Rockcastle River in northern Laurel County, Kentucky. The battlefield is located on land that is held by the Daniel Boone National Forest and in private hands. The Battle of Wildcat Mountain was fought from the early afternoon of October 20, 1861 and ended on the night of October 21, 1861.
The action on Wildcat Mountain was the earliest major battle of the Civil War in Kentucky. A force of 5,400 Union troops engaged a Confederate force numbering some 7,500. The ensuing battle inflected few casualties, but forced the Confederates to abandon any plans to attack central Kentucky and it forced them to retreat back toward Cumberland Gap. Thus the Union army claimed one of its first victories of the Civil War.
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