Pound Gap in Letcher County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Brothers Once More
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
President Jefferson Davis. Born in Fairview, Kentucky, 1808–1889
Union Regiments: 14th Kentucky Infantry • 14th Kentucky Cavalry • 47th Kentucky Infantry • Three Forks Battalion • 39th Kentucky Mounted Rifles
Confederate Regiments: 5th Kentucky Infantry • 7th Confederate Cavalry • 10th Kentucky Cavalry • 10th Kentucky Mounted Rifles • 13th Kentucky Cavalry • 21st Virginia Infantry • 64th Virginia Cavalry • 50th Virginia Infantry
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln series list.
Location. 37° 9.329′ N, 82° 38.007′ W. Marker is in Pound Gap, Kentucky, in Letcher County. Memorial can be reached from U.S. 23, on the right when traveling north. It is just inside the Kentucky state line, at the Civil War Memorial. Parking is available at the memorial. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Jenkins KY 41537, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Caudill’s Army (a few steps from this marker); Pound Gap Massacre (a few steps from this marker); Wise County / Kentucky (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line in Virginia); Leonard Woods Lynched (approx. 0.2 miles away in Virginia); Pound Gap (approx. 0.2 miles away in Virginia); a different marker also named Pound Gap (approx. ¼ mile away); Pound Gap Engagement (approx. half a mile away in Virginia); The Crooked Road (approx. 0.6 miles away in Virginia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pound Gap.
Additional commentary.
1. I Asked God
(Note found on a dead confederate soldier)
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do great things.
I was giving infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for - - - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all people, most blessed.
Transcribed from Photograph No. 9 below.
This anonymous poem is alleged to have been found on a CSA casualty at the Devil’s Den, Gettysburg.
— Submitted November 21, 2015.
2. Letcher County and the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865.
(posted in the Information Kiosk at the Brothers Once More Memorial.)
When the War Between the States began in April of 1861, the citizens of Letcher County were deeply divided when it became apparent each would have to take sides, Union or Confederate. Most neighborhoods and families would send soldiers to both armies, making it truly a “Brother Against Brother” war.
Though the local men where not professional soldiers, the hardships and dangers of living in the mountains had trained them to be hardy and courageous fighters. These traits would serve both armies well during the war.
Whitesburg was the county seat and was an official Confederate recruiting center. The nearest Union recruitment centers were Manchester and Louisa. Both armies use the town and surrounding bottoms as campgrounds and training fields. The small town was also used as a hospital for sick and wounded troops, many dying and being buried here.
The road going through Pound Gap into Virginia was considered the best access into that state. The gap was occupied by troops from both armies throughout the war. This resulted in several battles for the gap, the largest on March 16, 1862 when General James Garfield and his Union troops defeated Confederate troops guarding the important passageway. On June 2, 1864, General John Hunt Morgan and his rebel cavalry routed a large contingent of Union defenders in the gap on his last raid into Kentucky.
Constant skirmishes and fights between the two armies occurred in Letcher County throughout the war, never large in number but deadly just the same. Both armies patrolled the mountainous area in an attempt to protect the inhabitants from bushwhackers; gangs of soldiers with no allegiance to either side. The constant fighting resulted in hundreds of deaths, many resulting in hard feelings that continued years after the end of the war. The majority of mountain feuds can trace their beginnings back to this turbulent time.
The following statement on the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery holds true for all Letcher Countians of the War, regardless of Confederate or Union: “Not for fame or reward, not for place or rank, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it. These men suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all and died.”
— Submitted November 21, 2015.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2015, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,768 times since then and 48 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week November 22, 2015. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. submitted on November 21, 2015, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.