Confederate Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's First West Tennessee Raid late in December 1862 began when his command arrived here on the night of December 15 to ferry approximately 2,100 soldiers across the Tennessee River. Forrest ordered the construction of two flatboats, each capable of carrying 25 men and their horses. The troopers stayed out of sight, without fires, while sentries watched for Union gunboats. By December 17, the Confederates were over and riding westward.
