Pound Gap
Encyclopedia
The Pound Gap of Pine Mountain
is on the Virginia/Kentucky border between Jenkins, Kentucky
and Pound, Virginia
. It was used as a passage for early settlers to cross into Kentucky from Virginia. Today, U.S. Route 23 passes through the gap.
, possibly including Christopher Gist
, passed through the gap. Many hunters used the gap to cross into Kentucky from Virginia for the next ten years.
In 1774, Daniel Boone
used the gap to cross into Kentucky, along with Michael Stoner, to warn the land surveyors of a possible attack from the Shawnee Indians. Boone referred to Pound Gap as "Sounding Gap".
Circa 1800, some the first pioneer families of eastern Kentucky came to Kentucky through Pound Gap.
In 1834, the General Assembly of Kentucky passed an act to improve the road (one of "Kentucky's Wilderness Traces") from Mount Sterling
to Pound Gap to make travel to western Virginia more accessible. The route was widely used to drive livestock (horses, hogs and cattle) into Virginia and other southern markets and was shorter than other routes. The Mount Sterling - Pound Gap road was considered "the longest pre-Civil War state road"
In 1861 the Confederate States Army
regiment under the command of Colonel John S. Williams
took control of the gap.
On March 16, 1862, 800 Union soldiers from the 42nd Ohio Infantry
, under the command of Brigadier General James A. Garfield came from Piketon (present day Pikeville
)in the Battle of Pound Gap, forcing the 500 Confederate soldiers (under command of Major John Thompson) after the deadly battle to retreat. General Garfield was the youngest (Union) general of the war, and gained fame from the Battle of Pound Gap.
On May 14, 1892, Dr M.B. Taylor, a.k.a. "The Red Fox" and two confederates, Henan and Cal Fleming, ambushed Ira Mullins, a local moonshiner and his family. The ambush killed five out of seven people who were in the caravan at a rock near Pound Gap now called "Killing Rock". Dr Taylor was hanged at the Wise County Courthouse on October 27, 1893 for the murders. The Red Fox Trail & Killing Rock is now a hiking trail in the Jefferson National Forest and there is a Geocaching container located near Killing Rock.
Pine Mountain (ridge)
Pine Mountain is a ridge in the Appalachian Mountains running through Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. It extends about 125 miles from near Jellico, Tennessee, to a location near Elkhorn City, Kentucky. The highest point is 3,273 feet above sea level, east of Whitesburg, Kentucky...
is on the Virginia/Kentucky border between Jenkins, Kentucky
Jenkins, Kentucky
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,203 people, 877 households, and 671 families residing in the city. The population density was 281.2 people per square mile . There were 1,122 housing units at an average density of 131.4 per square mile...
and Pound, Virginia
Pound, Virginia
Pound is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,089 as recorded in the 2000 census.-Geography:Pound is located at ....
. It was used as a passage for early settlers to cross into Kentucky from Virginia. Today, U.S. Route 23 passes through the gap.
History
In 1750, early surveyors for the Ohio CompanyOhio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Indians there...
, possibly including Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist was an accomplished American explorer, surveyor and frontiersman. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country . He is credited with providing the first detailed description of the Ohio Country to Great Britain and her colonists...
, passed through the gap. Many hunters used the gap to cross into Kentucky from Virginia for the next ten years.
In 1774, Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
used the gap to cross into Kentucky, along with Michael Stoner, to warn the land surveyors of a possible attack from the Shawnee Indians. Boone referred to Pound Gap as "Sounding Gap".
Circa 1800, some the first pioneer families of eastern Kentucky came to Kentucky through Pound Gap.
In 1834, the General Assembly of Kentucky passed an act to improve the road (one of "Kentucky's Wilderness Traces") from Mount Sterling
Mount Sterling, Kentucky
The Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Library was established in 1871. The Mt. Sterling – Montgomery County Library moved to the current location, accessible from both Main and Locust Streets, in July 1984. The building was officially dedicated on September 30, 1984...
to Pound Gap to make travel to western Virginia more accessible. The route was widely used to drive livestock (horses, hogs and cattle) into Virginia and other southern markets and was shorter than other routes. The Mount Sterling - Pound Gap road was considered "the longest pre-Civil War state road"
In 1861 the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
regiment under the command of Colonel John S. Williams
John Stuart Williams
John Stuart Williams was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a postbellum Democratic U.S. Senator from Kentucky.-Early life and career:...
took control of the gap.
On March 16, 1862, 800 Union soldiers from the 42nd Ohio Infantry
42nd Ohio Infantry
The 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 42nd Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio September through November 1861 and mustered in for three years service on December 7, 1861 under the command of...
, under the command of Brigadier General James A. Garfield came from Piketon (present day Pikeville
Pikeville, Kentucky
Pikeville is a city in Pike County, Kentucky. The population was 6,903 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pike County.-History:On March 25, 1822, the county's government officials decided to build a new county seat named Liberty, one and one-half mile below the mouth of the Russell Fork...
)in the Battle of Pound Gap, forcing the 500 Confederate soldiers (under command of Major John Thompson) after the deadly battle to retreat. General Garfield was the youngest (Union) general of the war, and gained fame from the Battle of Pound Gap.
On May 14, 1892, Dr M.B. Taylor, a.k.a. "The Red Fox" and two confederates, Henan and Cal Fleming, ambushed Ira Mullins, a local moonshiner and his family. The ambush killed five out of seven people who were in the caravan at a rock near Pound Gap now called "Killing Rock". Dr Taylor was hanged at the Wise County Courthouse on October 27, 1893 for the murders. The Red Fox Trail & Killing Rock is now a hiking trail in the Jefferson National Forest and there is a Geocaching container located near Killing Rock.