During the Civil War at this location, Confederate forces under General John Hunt Morgan fought and defeated Union forces commanded by Colonel Benjamin P. Runkle. Each side consisted of approximately 1,500 men. The engagement began at 1:00 a.m. with a Confederate cannonade followed by a cavalry charge that swept the Union forces from the field. This allowed Morgan's forces to proceed eastward in hopes of crossing the Ohio River into the safety of Virginia. The three-hour halt caused by the Battle of Berlin Heights quite possibly delayed the Confederates enough to allow Union forces to catch up to them and defeat them at the Battle of Buffington Island on July 19, 1863.