In November 1862, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's army withdrew from a defensive line at Abbeville to Grenada. On December 5, Generals Lloyd Tilghman and Mansfield Lovell set an ambush for Federal forces pursuing the retreating Confederates. About one mile northeast of Coffeeville, more than 5,000 men fought into the night. Lt. Col. William McCullough, commander of the 6th Illinois Cav. and a friend of President Lincoln, was killed in action. After the battle, the Federals fell back to Oxford.