Around 3 am on July 14, 1863, more than 2,000 grimy, hard-looking, heavily armed cavalrymen, most without uniforms, entered Sharonville from the west as Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's Raiders arrived. Many dismounted to search for refreshments and new horses, and local farmer David Hulse later recalled that residents found the enemy already in their stables, stores, and kitchens, with owners compelled to bridle their own horses, hand over clothing, tobacco, sugar, coffee, and cooked provisions. The raiders took about four hours to pass through town. Seven hours later, pursuing Union cavalry arrived and, Hulse wrote, were equally hungry but at a disadvantage because Morgan's men had already taken the best horses. Hulse called the raid the greatest excitement he had ever seen. During the raid, Morgan and his staff visited the Twelve Mile House, a tavern kept by southern sympathizer Christopher Myer, where Myer offered them brandy; before leaving, the officers paid him $200 in U.S. greenbacks but confiscated his horse and four boxes of cigars. Morgan, Colonel Basil Duke, and Colonel Adam Johnson met at the Twelve Mile House, also known as the Sharon Hotel, to plan their march to Montgomery.