In November 1863, military governor Andrew Johnson ordered Union Maj. John Murphy of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry to take charge of two companies of Union Guards in Nashville, about 200 newly mustered men from Wayne County and the surrounding area who had not yet been organized into a regular regiment, and lead them to Waynesboro to open a recruiting office. Traveling along the old Natchez Trace, Murphy’s Federals had several minor engagements with small groups of Confederate partisans and learned to be wary of guerrilla tricks, disguises, and ambushes. At the same time, the veteran 7th Illinois Mounted Infantry was returning from duty at Hamburg Landing on the Tennessee River and heading for Pulaski. After halting about two miles outside Waynesboro to eat and feed their mounts, the Illinois soldiers galloped into town. A Waynesboro resident, believing the fast-approaching horsemen were Confederates, fled in the opposite direction and ran into Murphy’s column. When asked whether he had seen any guerrillas, he pointed toward the Illinois advance guard, and the two Union forces opened fire on each other. The shooting lasted several minutes and wounded three men before their commanders realized they were on the same side. Afterward, the 5th Tennessee occupied Waynesboro, while the 7th Illinois marched to camp at the Pointer Brothers’ iron furnace five miles east of town.