You Are Here Maps-Big Creek Gap-Natural Opening - LaFollette TN
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 36° 23.274 W 084° 07.524
16S E 757838 N 4030812
The You Are Here Map shows that you are at the Cumberland Trail Trailhead at the intersection of North Tennessee Avenue and North Indiana Avenue (U.S. 25W), La Follette TN
Waymark Code: WM184BG
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 05/27/2023
Views: 0
TEXT ON THE HISTORICAL MARKER
Big Creek Gap-Natural Opening
The road in front of you winds through Big Creek Gap, one of the few natural openings through the Cumberland Mountains in the region. During the Civil War, this corridor was much narrower and steeper, and even lightly loaded wagons found travel extremely hazardous. Cumberland Gap, one the main migration route from the eastern states to the west and a strategic gateway during the Civil War, is about thirty miles northeast of here.
Early in the conflict, Confederate military engineers ringed Cumberland Gap with defensive works and considered the pass impregnable from the north and east. East Tennessee citizens who supported the Union alerted Federal commanders to the possibility of flanking the fortifications via Big Creep Gap. After a rigorous march, a detachment of Union soldiers, including a company of Campbell County men under Capt. Joseph A. Cooper, first penetrated the narrow passage here in March 1862 and routed the Confederate cavalry posted nearby. A more substantial offensive effort under U.S. Gen. George W. Morgan occurred in June, producing a bloodless Confederate withdrawal from Cumberland Gap. Subsequently, control of the Gap changed hands several times.
Across the highway, on a small knoll above and the right of the old rock quarry, are remnants of the earthworks that defended Big Creek Gap. They are the only know Civil War—era fortifications in Campbell County. In the summer of 1861, the 19th Tennessee Infantry (CS) and other units stood watch here to guard the state border and prevent local men from joining the Union army in Kentucky. Rifle pits, gun emplacements, and ammunition dumps used by soldiers from both sides are still extant.
(captions)
(upper right) "Drawing Artillery Across the Mountains," Harper's Weekly, Nov. 21, 1863.
(lower right) Gen. Joseph A. Cooper Courtesy www.generalsandbrevets.com and Gen. George W. Morgan Leslie's Illustrated History
Location Name: Cumberland Trail Trailhead at the intersection of North Tennessee Avenue and North Indiana Avenue (U.S. 25W), La Follette TN
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Visit Instructions:
A photo of either you or your GPS at the site is welcomed but not required.