Defense of the Gap

During the Civil War, this earthwork, called Fort Rains by the Confederates and Fort McCook by the Federals, was one of many fortifications ringing Cumberland Gap. These defenses were considered too formidable to be taken by direct assault, which accounts for the small number of soldiers killed here. The poor roads and rough country of the Gap made it difficult to resupply the outposts, and an attacker could simply cut off supply lines, leaving the forts with little tactical value. Later in the war, General Ulysses S. Grant visited this area and declared the Gap unusable as an invasion route because of the condition of the roads. Defense of the Gap was no longer strategically important.

Kentucky · United States