On June 23, 1863 in what would be the beginning of the Tullahoma campaign, Maj. Gen. Williams Rosecrans (Army of the Cumberland) feigned an attack on Shelbyville and advanced troops under Maj. Gen. George Thomas through gaps in the ridges south of Murfreesboro. On June 24 Col. John Wilder’s “Lightening Brigade” forced the 3rd Kentucky cavalry from Hoover’s Gap at Beech Grove. Thomas’ troops subsequently encountered the brigades of Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson and Brig. Gen. William Bates (Army of Tennessee). Fighting continued through the 26th until the Confederates withdrew toward Tullahoma.
Bulls Gap
In November 1864, Confederate Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge mounted an expedition into East Tennessee from Virginia to secure food