On Aug. 24, 1864, Confederate Gen. J.O. Shelby and his men, wearing captured Union uniforms, attacked a series of forts protecting hay-cutting operations between modern-day Carlisle and Hazen. Confederate artillery blasted the forts held by the 54th Illinois Infantry and 1st Nebraska Cavalry. As fresh Union troops arrived from DeValls Bluff, Shelby’s men captured the forts’ defenders while tearing up railroad tracks and destroying hay-cutting machines. The Confederates held off the reinforcements and left with 577 prisoners, losing only 173 casualties.