Cumberland Gap

[Gettmore]

Considered strategic by both sides, gap changes hands several times but sees no major action.

 

[captaindrew]

Love the mountain views, beautiful shots!

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Considered strategic by both sides, gap changes hands several times but sees no major action.View attachment 310354View attachment 310355View attachment 310356View attachment 310357View attachment 310358View attachment 310359View attachment 310360View attachment 310361

Great photos !

 

[James N.]

Considered strategic by both sides, gap changes hands several times but sees no major action.

Maybe I'm blind, but I don't see any mention on the signage of Long Tom, a famous Confederate cannon that was mounted at the gap early in the war when the Confederates held it and was supposedly rolled off the mountain into the valley below because their retreat was so quick they didn't have time to remove it. This is one of the few sites I've never visited, due to its now-remote location along what was once the principal road leading into Transylvania.

 

[Eagle65]

"They spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
Spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
Spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
And over the hill they let him drop."-The Cumberland Gap, one of the catchiest CW songs. Beautiful place, on my top five list of places to visit. Thanks for the pictures!

 

[donna]

Beautiful place. We visited a few years ago on way to the Smokies.

 

[JOHN42768]

Very nice, thanks

 

[huskerblitz]

To add to this:

Here is the remains of the crater created when Gen. George Morgan blew up his ammunition to keep it out of Confederate hands just before he evacuated the Gap.

 

[James N.]

"They spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
Spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
Spiked Long Tom on the mountaintop,
And over the hill they let him drop."-The Cumberland Gap, one of the catchiest CW songs. Beautiful place, on my top five list of places to visit. Thanks for the pictures!

This is EXACTLY why I remember Long Tom and the Confederate's predicament - unfortunately I could remember neither the lyrics nor the name of the song when this came up on another thread, so thank you for that!