In 1862, the extension of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad through White Bluffs to the Tennessee River brought both growth and chaos. Union forces stationed nearby constructed a depot, railroad turntable, telegraph office, and supply building while protecting the newly laid tracks. To delay the project, Confederate Capt. Alexander D. McNairy and Lt. Joseph Chester led a guerrilla band that raided the railroad. Two miles east, the A.B. Ayers sawmill supplied the Federal army with lumber and water, but McNairy's men derailed supply trains, killed laborers and guards, and burned the sawmill. At times they camped along Main Street in White Bluffs and stopped at nearby houses for food and supplies. The 5th Iowa Cavalry was stationed one mile west at Poplar Spring, and McNairy positioned his forces to ambush Federal troopers and retreat when pursued. As rail construction progressed, Union troops moved farther west, and McNairy's men returned to White Bluffs to burn the telegraph office and several other buildings. Partisan attacks continued until the end of the war, and on November 22, 1864, Gen. James H. Wilson ordered Lt. Joseph Hedges of the 4th U.S. Cavalry to go to White Bluffs, break any organized guerrilla band encountered, and seize suspects connected with the destruction of a railroad train on November 20.