On the night of Nov. 17, 1864, the Right Wing of General Sherman’s army, consisting of the 15th and 17th Corps, reached Jackson after marching south from Atlanta on its March to the Sea and camped in and around the town. The headquarters of the Right Wing under Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard and the headquarters of both corps were established in Jackson. Elements of the 17th Corps under Blair moved forward to Iron Springs and camped there on the road to Planter’s Factory at Seven Islands, five miles southeast, the point selected for the Right Wing’s passage over the Ocmulgee River. G. A. Smith’s Division of the 17th Corps, together with the Right Wing’s pontoon bridge, camped near Worthville, seven miles northwest. That night, the 29th Missouri Mounted Infantry seized the ferry at Seven Islands and secured both banks of the river for the crossing. The next morning, the 1st Missouri Engineers passed through Iron Springs with the pontoons and by 1:00 P.M. two bridges were ready and crossing operations had begun. Late that night, after the 17th Corps had cleared Iron Springs, the Artillery Brigade arrived and went into camp. Although both bridges were used day and night, heavy rains made the roads so difficult that the passage was not completed until the afternoon of Nov. 20, 1864.