Wildcat Mountain 08

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The Battle of Wildcat Mountain

October 17 & 18 2008

Story & Photos By Charles Hayes

The Battle of Camp Wildcat

(also known as the Battle of Wildcat Mountain) Re-Enactment

Nine years ago, I attended my first Battle of Camp Wildcat re-enactment. As I recall, there were less than 50 re-enactors and less than 50 spectators. Jimmy Hendrickson of Woodbine, Kentucky (A Vietnam veteran who experienced his first battles over 35 years ago fighting the North Vietnamese) remembers earlier re-enactments with less than 10 re-enactors total. Jimmy remembered, “If it hadn’t been for Ralph Marcum, there wouldn’t have been much of anything. He was a Confederate one day and a Yankee the next.

The Re-Enactment of the Battle of Camp Wildcat on October 17 – 19 was a far different event from the first events. There were well over 100 re-enactors, over a thousand spectators, and a period ball on Saturday night.

The battle of Camp Wildcat was important because Kentucky was important to the Union. President Lincoln feared that the loss of Kentucky would lead to the loss of Missouri and the loss of Maryland …….. and would lead to the necessity of letting the southern states leave the union and moving the United States Capital from Washington D. C.

The Battle of Camp Wildcat is touted as the first battle won by federal troops in Kentucky.

The battle took place near Hazel Patch, near the spot where the Wilderness trail divided into Boone’s Trace and Skaggs’ Trace. This historical route was still the main entry from Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. The northern forces objective was to halt the confederate incursion into Kentucky at the ford of the Rockcastle River where it was crossed by the Wilderness Road.

The original battle took place on place on October 21, 1861 in Laurel County, Kentucky. The commanders were U.S. Brig. Gen. Albin F. Schoepf and C.S.A. Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer. The Confederates had already tasted victory at the Battle of Barbourville. Union troops under Colonel Garrard were sent to secure the ford of the Rockcastle River. Garrard requested reinforcements. Brig. Gen. Schoepf with reinforcements arrived, bringing the Union force to about 7,000 men. The Confederate troops attacked. Fighting was intense, but the Union soldiers held against two Confederate offenses.

That night, as the Union soldiers fortified their entrenchment’s; the Confederates withdrew, continuing their retreat to the Cumberland Ford, which they reached on October 26.