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Also known as the Battle of Wildcat Mountain, this engagement took place on October 21, 1861 in Laurel County, Kentucky, about nine miles northwest of present-day London.
The principal commanders in this battle were U.S. Brig. Gen. Albin F. Schoepf and C.S.A. Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer.
In mid September 1861, Zollicoffer's 5,400 men occupied the Cumberland Gap and took position at Cumberland Ford to counter Union activity in the area. They defeated a group of home guard volunteers from the nearby town of Barbourville. By late September, advance units under Zollicoffer's command had reached the Laurel River near London.
In response to the Confederate incursion, U.S. Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas sent a detachment under Col. Theophilous Garrard to secure the ford on the Rockcastle River, establish a camp at Wildcat Mountain, and obstruct the Wilderness Road, which was the main road through the area.
Garrard informed Thomas that if he did not receive reinforcements he would be forced to retreat because his small regiment was outnumbered seven to one. Thomas sent Brig. Gen. A. Schoepf with reinforcements, bringing the total Union force to about 7,000 men.
On the morning of October 21, 1861, not long after Schoepf arrived, the Confederate troops attacked. Fire from both sides was intense, but the Union soldiers managed to repel the Confederates. Another Confederate offensive later that afternoon was also repelled by the Union forces.
That night, as the Union soldiers fortified their entrenchments, the Confederates withdrew, continuing their retreat to the Cumberland Ford, which they reached on October 26.
Schoepf reported four Union soldiers killed and 18 wounded in the Battle of Camp Wildcat. Zollicoffer reported 11 Confederate soldiers killed and 42 wounded or missing.
The Battle of Camp Wildcat was considered the first Union victory in Kentucky as well as the first engagement of regular troops in Kentucky.
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