Two Armies, One Railroad

Two Armies, One Railroad. . The flames of [pro-Union] rebellion will flash throughout East Tennessee, the railroad will be destroyed, the bridges burned, and other calamities...will follow. Landon C. Hayes, letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, 1862, When 11 southern states broke their ties with the U.S. government in spring 1861, military commanders north and south of these mountains began to calculate how to use Cumberland Gap to aid their cause., Federal commanders saw the Gap as one way to cut the Confederacy in two. The fact that sentiment was strong against secession in East Tennessee and the mountain counties worked in their favor., Confederate generals saw the Gap as a favored defense against Union strikes that might cripple the saltworks, mines, and railroads vital to their war effort. Southerners also saw Cumberland Gap as a route to invade Kentucky and reclaim its resources for the Confederacy., (captions) , Which Army Held Cumberland Gap? Confederate and Federal troops each garrisoned forts in the Gap twice., East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad During the Civil War years only one railroad crossed the Appalachian mountains, linking the two largest Confederate armies. Troops, ammunition, and food moving from one side of the Confederacy to the other had to funnel through East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia., The stairs to your right climb to Civil War earthworks that overlook the Gap.