On November 15, 1861, CSA General Nathan Bedford Forrest, with 6 cavalry companies, joined Gen. Charles Clark at Hopkinsville. While on reconnaissance, they learned that the USA gunboat Conestoga intended to destroy CSA supplies at Canton. They met here on November 20 in 7 hours of ship-to-shore combat, after which Conestoga left. Forrest's command had stood its ground well in its first time under fire.