On February 18, 1865, the day after Federals under Gen. W.T. Sherman occupied Columbia, Gen. Frank Blair ordered units of his XVII Corps to destroy railroad tracks north of the city. Portions of Gen. M.C. Butler’s Confederate cavalry division, including the 4th, 5th, & 6th S.C. Cavalry, fought a rear-guard action with Blair at nearby Killian’s Mill, then withdrew toward Winnsboro.