Battle of the Cumberland Gap ( June 1862 ) The June 1862 capture of the Cumberland Gap was a Union victory during the American Civil War leading to Union occupation of the Cumberland Gap for three months . Background . The Confederates held a long line of fortifications across Kentucky , Tennessee and into Missouri under Albert Sidney Johnston . The center of Johnston ' s defenses was Bowling Green , KY with the left flank anchored at Island No . 10 on the Mississippi River and the right held by Brig . Gen . Felix Zollicoffer at the Cumberland Gap . In early 1862 the Union Army had met with great success in the Western Theater . A string of victories at Mill Springs , Fort Donelson and Island No . 10 had broken the Confederate defenses at several key points . Campaign against the Cumberland Gap . In March 1862 Brig . Gen . George W . Morgan sent a brigade under Brig . Gen . Samuel P . Carter against the eastern end of the Confederate defenses at the Cumberland Gap . These defenses were now held by Col . James Edward Rains after Zollicoffer ' s defeat and death at Mill Springs . The Confederate works were considered too formidable to be taken by direct assault and Carter ' s force lacked sufficient artillery to match the well placed Confederate batteries . By April , General Morgan was moving against the gap with the remaining three brigades of his division . Morgan ' s force now included the brigades of Carter , James G . Spears , John F . DeCourcy and Absalom Baird along with a brigade of artillery and cavalry . Meanwhile Brig . Gen . Carter L . Stevenson brought up the remaining brigades of Seth Maxwell Barton and T . H . Taylor to Col . Rain ' s defense . Morgan proposed to Maj . Gen . Don Carlos Buell that Chattanooga be threatened in order to force the Confederates to pull their strength away from the Cumberland Gap . At the same time General Edmund Kirby Smith , Confederate commander in eastern Kentucky , proposed a threat against Nashville to draw Union forces away from the gap . Only Morgan got his wish . A Union division under Brig . Gen . James S . Negley attacked Chattanooga on June 7 , 1862 . This demonstration against Chattanooga was small but it proved the Union forces could strike where they wanted . It was enough for Kirby Smith to reconsider Stevenson ' s position at the Cumberland Gap . The Union advance against the gap was made over difficult terrain , particularly in regards to the artillery brought with . Morgan was also forced to abandon his supply lines and rely solely upon foraging . Through two weeks of maneuvering through enemy territory Morgan reached the gap without losing a single man . Kirby Smith ordered Stevenson to withdraw to Chattanooga in response to Negley ' s attack . On June 18 Morgan reported to General Buell he had taken control of the " American Gibraltar " . Aftermath . General Morgan praised his division for the efficiency of their actions in the face of logistical difficulties . Even though he held a strong defensive position , Morgan was far from any Union base with no established supply lines . His reports to Maj . Gen . Henry W . Halleck however remained full of optimism . As late as August , 1862 Morgan reported he had no intentions of evacuating the gap and " if the enemy attacks he will be crushed " . Kirby Smith ' s attention had been devoted to securing Chattanooga . It was not until Confederates under Braxton Bragg invaded Kentucky that Morgan found himself facing a serious Confederate threat . Morgan was forced to abandon the gap in September , 1862 but managed to conduct a masterful withdrawal through enemy territory . The Cumberland Gap would remain in Confederate control until Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside would recapture the gap in 1863 .