The Battle of Camp Wildcat was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It occurred October 21, 1861, in northern Laurel County, Kentucky during the campaign known as the Kentucky Confederate Offensive. The battle is considered one of the very first Union victories, and marked the second engagement of troops in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s Confederates moved from Tennessee in an effort to push from Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky and gain control of the important border state. Zollicoffer with some 5,400 men occupied Cumberland Gap and took position at the Cumberland Ford to counter the Unionist activity in the area. He readily brushed aside home guard troops near Barbourville in a what is now known as the Battle of Barbourville. Wikipedia [ - ]

The Battle of Camp Wildcat was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It... [ + ]