Gen. Alfred Terry Engineers Cavalry Artillery On October 21, 1862, a 4200-man Union force, under the command of Brigadier General John M. Brannan, embarked on troop transport ships and left from Hilton Head, South Carolina.

[1][3] Colonel William S. Walker, the Confederate commander responsible for defending the railroad, called for reinforcement from Savannah and Charleston.

Brigadier General Alfred Terry, in command of the Second Brigade, ordered the nearly 100 Sharps rifleman of the 7th Connecticut Infantry forward to the edge of the woods where the Union forces had taken cover.

As dusk descended, Brannan realized that the railroad bridge could not be reached, and ordered a retreat up the Mackay's Point road to the safety of the flotilla.

The Confederate Rutledge Mounted Rifles and Kirk's Partisan Rangers pursued, but the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment Union rearguard held them off.