On July 25, 1863, Colonel John S. Scott led 1,600 men of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, C.S.A., up from eastern Tennessee on a raid to destroy U.S.A. communications and obtain cattle, horses, mules, and arms. At Williamsburg he was met by 100 pickets of the 44th Ohio Infantry. After a skirmish, he drove them toward London. Scott then went on to Winchester before retreating to Tennessee with heavy losses.