General John Hunt Morgan led 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen into Meigs County on July 18, 1863, during a 45-day raid north of the Ohio River. Union forces under Gen. James M. Shackelford and Col. Frank L. Wolford deployed near Bashan Church on the morning of July 19 in pursuit. Near this point, five regiments of Kentucky cavalry and the 45th Ohio Mounted Infantry met Confederates retreating from the battle at Buffington Island, three miles east. During this skirmish, Confederate Colonels Richard C. Morgan, William W. Ward, and D. Howard Smith surrendered their commands, numbering about 400 men and officers.