On March 24 and April 1, 1862, the Union gunboats Tyler and Lexington attacked Confederate fortifications at Eastport. On April 13, following the battle of Shiloh, William T. Sherman returned to Eastport, drove off the defenders, and burned the 220-foot bridge across Bear Creek. Confederate forces never returned to the area in any significant numbers. Following the siege of Nashville, Union forces reoccupied the area and constructed camps and forts west and south of the town.