After occupying Willow Springs on May 5, 1863, Gen. U. S. Grant divided his force. The XVII Corps advanced on Hankinson's Ferry five miles north of here in two columns. Gen. M. M. Crocker's division, driving up this road, encountered a Confederate roadblock held by Col. F. M. Cockrell's Missourians on Kennison Creek. After a spirited clash in which Crocker was compelled to use 5,000 troops, the Confederates fell back. Covered by Cockrell's stand, the Confederate army had retired across the Big Black. The 20th Ohio reached Hankinson's Ferry just as Confederate engineers were preparing to destroy the flatboat bridge. While Capt. S. De Golyer's Union guns roared, the Ohioans charged over the bridge, scattering the Confederates. Possession of the bridge enabled Grant to send patrols across the Big Black and up the Vicksburg road. Such thrusts helped confuse Confederate leaders about Federal intentions. The XVII Corps camped in these fields south of the river from May 3–7, and from May 4–7 Grant's headquarters were at Hankinson's Ferry.