Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

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[446] amounted to seventeen hundred men, with one hundred rounds of ammunition. Of the situation, Gen. Frazier writes: “I will express the opinion arrived at, after a full knowledge of all the conditions, gained during a month, that an assaulting force, equal to the garrison could carry it as easily as the open field, if guided, or informed of its weak points, by disaffected persons in the vicinity-especially during the prevalence of fogs, which greatly demoralized the men, who were unaccustomed to service and had never been in action.”

On the 4th September, Gen. Frazier was informed that the enemy was in possession of Knoxville, and had started a heavy force towards the Gap, and was running the cars to Morristown, within forty miles of his post. He was also informed that a large force, said to be sixteen regiments and two trains of artillery, were at Barboursville, Kentucky, en route for the Gap. Not believing that so large a force of the enemy would be sent against him from Knoxville until after successful engagement with Gen. Buckner, Gen. Frazier sent a cavalry regiment to meet the force said to be advancing from Knoxville, engage it, and uncover its strength. This force of cavalry, six hundred strong, was cut off, and compelled to retreat to Jonesville, thirty-six miles distant.

On the 7th September, Gen. Shackleford, who had approached the Gap from the south side, demanded its surrender. On the following day, Col. De Coucy, who had come up with a brigade on the Kentucky side, made the same demand on his part.

During the afternoon of the 8th September, Gen. Frazier assembled his regimental commanders, and had an informal conference with them. There was no council of war, and no votes were taken. There was a division of opinion as to the course to be pursued, but the officers separated on the final understanding to make a determined defence and with the expectation that Gen. Buckner would soon relieve the garrison.

On the 9th September reinforcements joined the enemy on the Tennessee side, and Gen. Frazier received a summons to surrender from Gen. Burnside himself. He had also received information about this time that the Confederate forces at London Bridge had burned the bridge, and that Buckner had retreated towards Chattanooga. Gen. Burnside's presence at the Gap, so unexpected, was deemed by the garrison sufficient proof that he had nothing to fear from the Confederate forces further south, and that all hope of succour from Gen. Buckner was at an end. In the afternoon of the preceding day, Gen. Frazier had received a despatch from Gen. S. Jones, commanding at Abingdon, Virginia, to the effect that he should not give up the Gap without a stubborn resistance, and that he would send a force which he thought strong enough to relieve the garrison.

Of what ensued on the reception of this despatch, Gen. Frazier gives the following explanation: “I asked the courier if any troops had arrived ”