On the morning of November 29, 1864, Spring Hill was guarded by a small Union garrison that was reinforced through the morning by the 103rd Ohio Infantry Regiment and several companies of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Tennessee (U.S.) cavalry. Although this garrison fought well, by midday Forrest's cavalry had forced it back to the town. At about 12:30 p.m., Federal forces under the direct command of Major General David Stanley, commander of Schofield's 4th Army Corps, including lead elements of Wagner's division, entered Spring Hill from the south. Colonel Emerson Opdycke's veteran brigade marched through town to occupy a ridge just north of Spring Hill, Colonel John Q. Lane's brigade followed and extended Opdycke's line east of town, and Brigadier General Luther P. Bradley's brigade took the critical position on a knoll south of town. The 103rd Ohio Infantry and a section of Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery were placed across the Columbia and Franklin Pike, while eighteen artillery pieces were emplaced on a prominent ridge on the southern outskirts of town. Lane had approximately 1,700 men in position, and Bradley mustered about 2,000. These soldiers began constructing light fortifications of fence rails. Wagner's division occupied a well chosen position barely in time to prevent Forrest's cavalry from capturing Schofield's line of retreat on the pike through town.