Confederate cavalry under Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, numbering between 200 and 300, attacked, encircled and defeated a Union force of 500 under Major Eli H. Murray which had been watering south of the town after moving across the bank of the Green River.

Though exact casualty information is disputed, with differing accounts from each side, several eyewitnesses attested to the personal courage of Forrest, and the Confederate commander was praised by his superiors for his bravery.

Union Brigadier-General Ulysses S. Grant approached using the Ohio River and stationed himself at Paducah, arriving to face newly appointed Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston.

[4] He continued to skirmish with gunboats for the remainder of the month, captured a Union supply center on November 24 - narrowly avoiding a sniper's bullet that instead took the life of his surgeon - and received reinforcements of two new companies from Huntsville, Alabama.

[4] On the morning of the battle, Forrest and his cavalry corps were approaching Sacramento when they were informed by a sympathizer named Mollie Morehead that the Union force led by Eli H. Murray was watering their horses nearby.

[2] Forrest, who had been wintering in camp near Hopkinsville with his family since Christmas, had already taken scouting reports that morning which stated that the enemy force had been nearby moving along the banks of the Green River, and was keen to attack.

Later we became aware that excitement neither paralyzed nor mislead his magnificent military genius.The battle was Forrest's first combat victory,[1][5] and during it he demonstrated several tactics for which he would later become known:[1] in particular, the division of his forces into groups, employment of deception and encirclement, and leading the cavalry charge personally.