During Brig. Gen. Benjamin Grierson's raid in the late winter of 1864-1865, a small Confederate brigade under the command of Gen. Wirt Adams attacked the rear guard of one of Grierson's columns at Franklin Church on January 2, 1865. Among the Federal units engaged there was the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry, composed of men recruited from Mississippi. Unable to defeat the Federal forces at Franklin Church, Wirt Adams abandoned his pursuit of Grierson, who proceeded to Vicksburg.