Middlesboro in Bell County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Dirt-and-Log Forts

— Cumberland Gap National Historical Park —

September 30, 2022

1. Dirt-and-Log Forts Marker

Inscription. Where you see a picnic ground today, imagine a Civil War fort the size of four football fields side-by-side atop this knoll. The outer walls, made of packed earth faced with logs, rose 10 feet high. Like the other batteries, forts, and rifle pits here in the Gap, this outpost was continuously garrisoned by Confederates or Federals from 1861 until 1865. Troops posted here guarded the Harlan Road, the best way up Pinnacle Mountain.

[Cumberland Gap] is the roughest place in the world, but we are going to stick the mountain full of cannon to prevent the Lincolnites from crossing. —Letter of Confederate soldier, November 1861

It sickens one to the heart to witness the waste of war. The rebels left standing 400 to 500 tents, but...all but four or five were slit to ribbons. Flour, meal, rice, and beans were strewn all over the surface of the fortifications and hillsides....Tons of shot and shell were thrown over the cliffs into the ravines below... —Benjamin F. Stevenson, surgeon, 22nd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment, June 19, 1862.

(captions)
Confederates called this outpost Fort Green. Union soldiers renamed it Fort Edgar after a Union captain killed in combat here at Cumberland Gap in August 1862.

Illustration based on December 17, 1862 drawing of Fort Edgar.

Erected by National

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Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil.

Location. 36° 36.58′ N, 83° 40.283′ W. Marker is in Middlesboro, Kentucky, in Bell County. It can be reached from Pinnacle View Road 1.7 miles east of Old Wilderness Road (Kentucky Route 988), on the left when traveling east. Marker is located in the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Middlesboro KY 40965, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kentucky and in the Cumberland Plateau.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Two Armies, One Railroad

Photographed by Tom Bosse, August 13, 2022

2. Dirt-and-Log Forts Marker

(approx. 0.2 miles away); Forts and Batteries, North and South (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pinnacle Overlook (approx. 0.3 miles away); Gateway to Kaintuck (approx. 0.3 miles away); Boundaries Settled (approx. 0.3 miles away in Virginia); a different marker also named Gateway to Kaintuck (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Pinnacle Overlook (approx. 0.3 miles away); A Masterful Retreat (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Middlesboro.

Other markers no longer nearby. Dirt-and-Log Forts (has been reported to have been replaced with this marker); Defense of the Gap (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been permanently removed); Invasion through the Gap (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old Marker At This Location also titled "Dirt-and-Log Forts"

Also see . . . Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. National Park Service (Submitted on August 30, 2022.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 433 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on August 30, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1. submitted on October 12, 2022. 2. submitted on August 29, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.