Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode number 386 of our Civil War Podcast.

I'm Rich.

And I'm Tracy.

Hello y'all.

Welcome to the podcast.

As y'all will recall with the last episode, we talked about how William Rose crans long

awaited campaign against the Confederates in Middle Tennessee had finally kicked off

on June 24th, 1863.

Speed and surprise were essential to Rose crans campaign getting off to a good start.

And at Hoover's Gap and Liberty Gap, the Federals checked both of those boxes on June 24th.

At Liberty Gap, two brigades of Richard Johnson's division of McCook's 20th Corps roughly

handled the pair of Arkansas regiments defending the entrance.

And Johnson's troops occupied most of the gap that same day, completing the task by

the morning of the 25th.

Six miles to the east at Hoover's Gap, Colonel John T. Wildersburgade of Indiana and Illinois

mounted infantry, armed with spencer repeating rifles, brushed aside a Confederate cavalry

regiment to seize the entire gap by mid-afternoon.

Wildersmen then beat back a counterattack by rebel infantry, inflicting sizable losses

on their opponents.

The ease and speed of these significant successes of the gaps delighted Rose crans.

That evening at Hoover's Gap, as more Federalists arrived on the scene to hold Wilders hard

one prize in greater strength, 14th Corps Commander George Thomas congratulated Wilder,

...