On the evening of January 19, 1862, Federal forces pursuing the beaten Confederates halted near a small log school that the Confederates had used as headquarters for their pickets during their occupation of the area. The Federals rested there and prepared to assault the Confederate earthworks in the morning. During the evening, Federal artillery was deployed on the high ground known as Moulden's Hill, and the batteries firing throughout the night discharged over 300 rounds into the Confederate fortified camp and at the small steamboat the southerners were using as a ferry. The next morning, when the Federals assaulted the earthworks, they found the camp deserted because the Confederate army had escaped across the river during the night. Later, Colonel Speed Fry of the 4th KY Infantry U.S. asked George Thomas why he had not attacked the Confederate position on the night of the 19th, and General Thomas replied, "Hang it Fry, I never once thought of it."