On May 24, 1863, Confederate Col. Wirt Adams, with his Mississippi Cav. Regiment and the 20th Mississippi Inf. (Mounted), ambushed Union Col. Amory Johnson's cavalry brigade at Mechanicsburg. This action prevented the Federals from burning Way's Bluff Bridge on the Big Black River. On June 4, a second skirmish occurred between Union Gen. Nathan Kimball and Confederate Col. John Adams' forces. The town of Mechanicsburg was occupied by contesting forces six times during the Civil War.