On Dec. 16, 1864, a detachment of the 7th Illinois Infantry (mounted), foraging near the right flank of Gen. Sherman's U.S. army as it closed in on Savannah, met in Hinesville a detachment of cavalry from Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's brigade of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry corps of the Army of Tennessee, C.S. Wheeler's corps and units of the Georgia Militia had offered steady resistance to Gen. Sherman's March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah. After a sharp skirmish through the town, the Confederate detachment withdrew toward the Canoochee River to rejoin Iverson.