The
Secretary of War yesterday received a dispatch from
Gen. McKown, commanding in
East Tennessee, dated
Knoxville, Sept, 19th, in which he states that the
Federal forces evacuated
Cumberland Gap on Thursday night, and that
General Stevenson was pursuing them.
Previous statements with reference to the condition of affairs had induced the belief that the enemy were hemmed in, and that an escape was impossible, but this dispatch indicates that the real position of things has been little understood.
If the enemy has evacuated, it is fair to presume that we had no force to oppose him North of the
Gap, and that his escape has been effected in that direction.
The announcement that
Gen. Stevenson is pursuing him amounts to little, for of course he does not mean to be overtaken.