On the morning of May 12, 1863, Grant and Sherman arrived here with two divisions of the XV Corps and found the bridge across Fourteenmile Creek ablaze. A brisk firefight ensued between a detachment of Wirt Adams' Mississippi cavalry, posted on the east side of the creek, and the 4th Iowa Cavalry. In order to drive off the Confederates, Wood's Brigade of Steele's Division and a six-gun Union battery went into action. By 11:00 a. m., the bridgehead was secured and the XV Corps moved into position.