Late in November 1862, Gen. John S. Marmaduke occupied Cane Hill Ridge with 2,000 cavalry. At dawn on Nov. 28, 1862, Gen. James G. Blunt met them with 5,000 cavalry and infantry and 30 pieces of artillery. Retreating slowly while making stands at Boonsboro and Russellville and fighting a rear guard action, Marmaduke drew the Union Army into a narrow defile on the Cove Creek Road. The battle raged for nine hours over 15 miles of timber and brush roads. As night fell, Marmaduke withdrew toward Van Buren, and Blunt returned to Cane Hill.