In one of the well-known battles and maneuvers of the American Civil War known as the Knoxville Campaign, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and his men, began his advance toward the city of Knoxville, by taking the direct route through the Cumberland Gap, a position strongly favoring the Confederate defenders, as he marched towards the city and reached it on September 2, virtually unopposed.
Instead, Burnside chose to flank them. He threatened the gap from the north with the division commanded by Col. John F. DeCourcy, while his other two divisions swung around 40 miles (64 km) to the south of the Confederate position, over rugged mountain roads toward Knoxville. 
