On May 7, 1864, Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s 3d Division of Elliott’s Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, moving from Ringgold, crossed Taylor’s Ridge at Nickajack Gap, followed by Williams’ 1st Division of the 20th Corps. The 2d and 3d Divisions crossed the ridge 4.5 miles south at Gordon Springs Gap the same day. Kilpatrick’s cavalry masked the advance of the 20th Army Corps into East Chickamauga Valley, en route to Mill Creek Gap and Dug Gap in Rocky Face Ridge, outposts of the Confederate forces at Dalton commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.