On September 17, 1861, Zollicoffer sent a force through the Cumberland Gap along the Wilderness Road to drive the Union Army from Barbourville, Kentucky, relieve pressure on the recently established Confederate line at Bowling Green, Kentucky and thwart an expected drive by Union Brigadier General George H. Thomas into eastern Tennessee and the Cumberland Gap by forcing him to retain his force in Kentucky. On September 19, 800 of Zollicoffer's men under Colonel Joel Battle ambushed the Union force of about 150 home guards while they were foraging and pushed them out of Barbourville at the minor Battle of Barbourville. Another detachment of Zollicoffer's force under Colonel James Rains dispersed an encampment of Union recruits at Laurel Bridge, Kentucky, on September 26, 1861, while the Goose Creek Salt Works were attacked by a second Confederate unit under Colonel D. H. Cummings, which carried off 200 barrels of salt. Zollicoffer's force was essentially on a raid and soon withdrew.