The fighting occurred during a raid in West Tennessee and North Mississippi by Brigadier-General James R. Chalmers, Confederate States Army, commanding the expedition.

On October 11, 1863, the cavalry forces of Confederate Brigadier-General James R. Chalmers, advanced from its base in Oxford, Mississippi, to attack the Union garrison at Collierville, Tennessee.

Federal forces were commanded by Colonel De Witt Anthony of the 66th Indiana Infantry, which had established defenses at the railroad depot and a stockade having 8-foot (2.4 m)-high walls and also along a line of rifle-pits.

Chalmers' plan was to approach from the south and cut the telegraph lines, burn the railroad trestles, and surround the fort.

About 12 noon, a train containing Major-General William T. Sherman arrived from Memphis with the 13th U.S. Infantry, which brought the total number of men fighting in the battle to about 1,280.