Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer's Confederates had moved from Tennessee to push from the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky in an effort to gain control of that important border state. On September 14, 1861, ten days after his 5,400-man force left their base, Zollicoffer occupied the Cumberland Gap and took position at the Cumberland Ford (near present-day Pineville, Kentucky) to counter Unionist activity in the area. For much of the summer, Union sympathizers had been organizing and training recruits from Kentucky and eastern Tennessee at Camp Andrew Johnson near Barbourville, Kentucky. Zollicoffer was determined to seize this camp and eliminate the threat to the Confederate position. He also wanted to relieve pressure on the army of Albert S. Johnston and divert Union troops away from Johnston's command.