Wilderness Road Heritage Highway
Camp Wildcat, KY

Camp Wildcat was the first area in Kentucky to see action during the American Civil War. On October 21, 1861 Union troops faced Confederate troops that had moved in to Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap. Brigadier General Albin Scheopf of the Union army brought reinforcements to Colonel Garrard who was preparing Camp Wildcat as the Confederate troops under General Zollicoffer moved north from London toward Camp Wildcat. Although the battle was not costly in terms of battle casualties, diseases such as measles and fever which followed the battle took more lives. Today, the site is remote and various groups are trying to maintain it. There is a walking trail with monuments at the head of the trail which will lead you to the outlines of the trenches that remain from the Battle of Wildcat Mountain in 1861.