 Morgan, due to his previous military experience in two wars, was appointed as a brigadier general in the Union Army on November 21, 1861, reporting to Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell in the Western Theater.In March 1862, Morgan assumed command of the 7th Division of the Army of the Ohio and was ordered to southeastern Kentucky to drive the Confederates from the strategic Cumberland Gap and occupy it.Moving quickly, Morgan defeated Carter L. Stevenson's Confederates and chased off the defenders on June 18, 1862.