It started when Confederate Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow attacked LaFayette, Georgia, which was under occupation by Union Army Colonel Louis D. Watkins at the time.

At first, Confederate forces maintained short-lived victories, but a three-hour stalemate ensued, and eventually, Col. John Croxton arrived in time to push Pillow to retreat.

Col. Watkins first arrived, with around 450 cavalrymen of the Kentucky brigade, at LaFayette on June 18, 1864, during the Atlanta campaign, “to endeavor to rid the country of several guerilla bands”, including that of John Gatewood, an infamous criminal.

[3] On the day of the battle, Gen. Pillow was navigating through the north of Georgia, aiming to burn railroad bridges over Chickamauga Creek to sabotage William T. Sherman’s, and ultimately, the Union’s, communications.

The siege lasted over three hours before, in an unprecedented move at about 8:30, Colonel John Croxton, commander of the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry, took the Confederates by surprise by attacking them from behind.