On December 27, 1863, Lafayette Station, now known as Rossville, became the culmination of a dramatic month in West Tennessee. It began with a Presidential order giving General Bedford Forrest an independent command. Seeking to break the invading Federal Army's occupation and control of West Tennessee, he needed more troops, food, horses, and arms. Arriving from Okolona, Mississippi, on December 2 with four hundred fifty men, five wagons, and two cannon, his force moved into West Tennessee and by Christmas Day had grown through recruiting to 3,500 men. During the campaign, thirty-five Federal wagons were captured along with two hundred head of cattle and three hundred hogs. Under orders from General W.T. Sherman, Federal General S.A. Hurlbut had gathered 20,000 men from the 16th Army Corps to trap Forrest and block his return to Mississippi. After forty days of rain, the river was very high, and all bridges over the Wolf River from Memphis to Corinth were ordered burned. The bridge at Lafayette Station had been dismantled rather than burned, with boards stacked within the fort on that side of the river while piers and beams still stood. A Confederate diversionary force of 700 crossed at Raleigh ferry to make a feint at Memphis and then strike south. Two hundred Confederates attacked the fort at Lafayette Station; most were unarmed, but they came suddenly and loudly. The Federals abandoned the fort, leaving four dead, and fled toward Moscow. Fifty Confederates pursued them until a trainload of Federals from Lagrange appeared. After firing on the train, the Confederates forced it to retreat and then tore up the tracks. The bridge was reassembled, and Forrest led the troops, most of them on foot, back to Mississippi. The escape was complete, and no Confederates were wounded or killed. The following month, Forrest was promoted to Major-General, and Hurlbut was relieved of duty by Sherman.