For three years, fighting in present-day Chester County centered on control of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and often affected the people of Henderson. Henderson's Station served as a Confederate recruiting center for the 51st and 52nd Tennessee Infantry regiments in January 1862, though pockets of Unionists lived in the surrounding countryside. In March 1862, Confederate forces rendezvoused there before the pivotal battle of Shiloh in early April. After the Confederate defeat at Shiloh, Union troops occupied Henderson to guard the railroad line. On November 25, Confederate Maj. Nicholas N. Cox's guerrillas raided the depot there, which was filled with weapons and supplies, and burned it to the ground; the 49th Illinois Infantry lost one soldier killed and more than 30 captured. Union Gen. Jeremiah C. Sullivan then retaliated against civilians and reported in January 1863 that he had assessed secession sympathizers living nearby a sum sufficient to pay all damages and held about $8,000. The November raid was the major engagement at Henderson Station. The last recorded action came in September 1863, when Union forces drove away a party of Confederate pickets and scouts. By then, the Union presence in the county had been significantly strengthened by the actions of Col. Fielding Hurst's 6th Tennessee Cavalry (US), based in nearby Purdy. After the war, residents worked to rebuild and recover. Chester County was formed in 1879 from parts of McNairy and three other counties, and Henderson became the county seat. The Classical Revival-style courthouse, built in 1913, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.