On Christmas Eve, 1862, as Morgan’s command marched out of Alexandria, Tennessee en route to Muldraugh Hill, a battalion of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry was ordered from Gallatin, Tennessee, to Munfordville, and the two forces met at Glasgow, Kentucky. Morgan arrived about six miles south of Glasgow in the early evening and sent two companies of cavalry under Capt. Thomas Quirk into town to determine whether it was unoccupied. At about the same time, a company of the 2nd Michigan rode into Glasgow from the opposite direction, at first unaware that the Confederates were present. The horsemen met in the twilight and a firefight began, with men and horses becoming entangled in a running battle as carbine, rifle, and pistol fire erupted. The hard, intense fighting eventually turned in favor of the Confederates, and the Union cavalry was forced out of town, leaving the Barren County seat in Confederate hands. The 2nd Michigan retreated to Cave City, leaving two dead and sixteen prisoners behind and taking seven prisoners with them, while Morgan’s men lost three killed. Quirk commanded Quirk’s Scouts, who were often in the forefront before an attack and also served as Morgan’s rearguard during retreat. Before reaching Glasgow, Morgan’s men captured a large sutler’s wagon loaded with Christmas treats for the Union army, and the skirmish at Glasgow was one of the few times Morgan’s men fought in the saddle rather than dismounting before engaging Federal soldiers.