See "Bluegrass Confederate, The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant, William C. Davis & Meredith L. Swentors. eds., LSU Press, 1999
At the summit of the Cumberland Mountains at the place called "Pound or Sounding Gap," fortifications for the defense of the Gap were manned on February 7, 1862 by some 300 or 400 "Special Service" men under command of Major John B. Thompson commanding the 21st Virginia Battalion of Infantry.
A small skirmish of about an hour, was fought at Pound Gap March 16 between Major Thompson's 21st Virginia Battalion with 175 men and General James Garfield with 700 men. Neither side reported any casualties. (OR, I, V10, pt. 1, 33, 41-2) This resulted in the evacuation of the Gap.
Major Thompson at Gladesville, March 19, dispatches General Marshall, confirming the enemy in possession of Pound Gap. Reporting his 175 men held up against some 1500 of the enemy until almost surrounded.
The battalion is reported quartered on the river near Saltsville July 25, 1862.
Marshall's column took up took up their line of march at Castlewood for Pound Gap and for the ‘land of story & or song'--(Ky-) by sunrise September 9, 1862. The General returned by 9 A.M. Ordered the 21st. Battn. Va. Vols. (formerly Maj Thompson’s Pound Gap Battalion) to follow. His infantry forces numbering 2,750 consisted of:
54th Virginia, Trigg colonel, rank and file.........750
29th Virginia, Moore, colonel.........................300
21st Virginia Battalion, Slemp, lieutenant-colonel....250
43rd Tennessee, Gillespie, colonel...........700
50th Kentucky, May, colonel...................... 750
Further, Gen. Marshall states: My plan . . . must thus embrace in our grasp the capital of Kentucky (in which we should install the provisional Governor and government until the people of the state can hold a convention) (OR, V52, Pt 2 ‘, pp. 348)
Crossed over the Cumberland Mountains at Pound Gap the morning of September 8.
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Guerrant recounting their travel during this Kentucky campaign "We went from here [Salyersville] by West Liberty to Mt. Sterling--down to Owingsburg & back to Lexington; Departing from Lexington again for Harrodsburg, we turned off at the Nicholasville road & thence to Bryantsville, at K'y River Bridge. From there we commenced our retrograde movement--by way of Lancaster--& Richmond--Red River Iron Works & 'ticktown' & Hazel Green & Licking Station or Salyersville."
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1st Division of the army -- consisting of the 29h. Va. Regt & 21st Va. Battn. under command of Col. A. C. More left early October 24 on their march for Virginia. General Marshall remained with his Kentucky troops at "Licking Station, near Salyersville, Magoffin County, Kentucky
Col. Slemp with his 21st. Virginia moved off to Lee November 27, 1862 to consolidate with Col. Salyers.*
* Samuel Salyers had raised a partisan band that caused Marshall considerable trouble.
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The 21st Infantry Battalion [also called Pound Gap or Special Service Battalion] was organized during the fall of 1861 with six companies. The unit served in the Department of Western Virginia until November, 1862, when it merged into the 64th Regiment Virginia Infantry. Lieutenant Colonel Campbell Slemp and Major John B. Thompson were in command
Confederate Order of Battle
POUND GAP, KENTUCKY
16 March 1862
OR- Series I, Volume X, Chapter XXII, Pg 33
21st Virginia Infantry Battalion --- Major John R. Thompson
Maner’s Company – Captain Maner
Miller’s Company – Captain Miller
Pridemore’s Company – Captain Pridemore
Russell’s Company – Captain Russell
Slemp’s Company – Captain Slemp
STRENGTH= 175
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/PENLEY/1998-05/0895089584
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/military/civilwar/rosters/va64th.txt
For more information refer to the 64th Virginia Infantry written by Jeffrey C. Weaver and published by H. E. Howard, Inc., PO Box 4161, Lynchburg, Virginia
24502-0161.