Shortly before daylight on January 19, 1862, the lead elements of a Confederate column encountered Union pickets at Timmy's Branch about a mile south of here and fired on them, sending the Union troops retreating in haste. After hearing the shots, Union officers rushed reinforcements forward, and the 10th Indiana and the 1st Kentucky Cavalry (U.S.) arrived first and formed a battle line on the ridge behind you. Three regiments of the lead Confederate brigade—the 15th Mississippi, 19th Tennessee, and 20th Tennessee—then came over the hill in front of you in line of battle, and with a shout the Confederates surged forward with their line straddling the road. Across the road, the 19th Tennessee opened fire on the Union forces, while the 15th Mississippi and the 20th Tennessee on this side of the road moved toward the ravine behind you in hopes of getting behind the Union line. These maneuvers set up the battle, which was fought in separate engagements on both sides of the road.