Kentucky and would arm and equip volunteers "to end treason" in Kentucky. The Philadelphia Press wrote that the Big Sandy expedition would prevent the Confederates from taking control of the mouth of the Big Sandy River, where it entered the Ohio River. This would protect the rear and right flank of Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans in western Virginia, allowing Nelson to reinforce Wildcat Mountain and to push Zollicoffer back to Knoxville. Nelson made Olympia[n] Springs (Mud Lick Springs) in Bath County the staging area. He named it Camp Gill on honor of Harrison Gill, owner of the renowned spa eight miles south of Owingsville and twenty miles east of Mount Sterling. The Mt. Sterling-Pound Gap Road (Rt. 460) ran through McCormick's Gap (Frenchburg), the gateway to the Bluegrass Region from Prestonsburg. On September 29, 1861, Maj. John Smith Hurt occupied the vital mountain pass with three militia companies. Col. Lewis Braxton Grigsby added his 300 men to Hurt's 200 on October 8. Col. James Perry Fyffe had the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment march to Camp Kenton, and Col. Leonard A. Harris arrived in Olympian Springs with the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Col. Jesse S. Norton came forward from Nicholasville with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and during the next two weeks, Nelson's forces grew to about 5,500 men, 3,700 from Ohio and 1,800 from Kentucky. At a farm near Prestonsburg, Confederate captains Andrew Jackson May and John Ficklin assisted "Cerro Gordo" John S. Williams with the organization the 5th Kentucky Infantry. The 1,010-man unit was badly clothed some called the hard-nosed group the "Ragamuffin Regiment." The nine companies of infantry and five mounted companies had two pieces of artillery and they carried an assortment of personal weapons that were ill-suited for warfare. West Liberty and Hazel Green On Monday, October 21, 1861, troops that Nelson had assembled Camp Dick Robinson became engaged in a protracted fight with Zollicoffer's Confederates along the Wilderness Road at Wildcat Mountain. The next morning Nelson was unaware of this when he ordered 1,600 men under Col. Leonard Harris to advance to West Liberty with two artillery pieces. At dawn Wednesday, Nelson was in front of Hazel Green with about 3,500 men and artillery. Thirty-eight of the 200 Confederates surrendered after a brief fight. Twelve miles (19 km) north at West Liberty 500-700 Confederates suffered a loss of 21 dead, 40 wounded,