The legend of "Long Tom" has captured the interest of historians since the war. We know for a fact that it was a gun nearly 18 feet long, and was reasonably accurate with a range of approximately five miles. Some say the cannon was a 65-pound seacoast gun, while others maintain it was a 32-pound smooth bore, rifled to give it a 64-pound capacity. In any case, the cannon was so huge that it could strike fear into any opposing enemy. 

The Confederates were the first to haul the huge gun atop Cumberland Mountain in 1861. There was no real action, however, to test its effectiveness. Upon abandoning the Gap in 1862, they pushed "Long Tom" off the cliff. 

Union General Morgan ordered the gun hauled up to give Johnnie Reb a taste of his own medicine. Once brought to the top, the Yanks discovered they had no ammunition suitable for the gun. Before their evacuation in 1862, "Long Tom" was spiked and again pushed off the edge. "Spiking" was a procedure in which a rattail file was driven into the cannon's vent and broken off, rendering the artillery useless. 

The whereabouts of "Long Tom" remain a mystery. Some say the cannon buried itself muzzle first into the earth and will never be found. Most likely it was found after the war and was taken to Newlee's Iron Furnace in the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. There it was used as a hitching post for horses. It was later taken to Chattannooga and melted down. 

Many old timers insist, however, that the cannon is still waiting to be found ....