On January 3, 1863 Union forces consisting of the 2nd East Tennessee Cavalry and the 6 th Tennessee Infantry were in a line of march on the Murfreesboro Pike where they engaged Confederate cavalry in a small skirmish at Cox’s Hill (Insane Asylum). After repulsing a Confederate attack the Union column advanced to La Vergne in support of a supply wagon train.
Fort Sanders
As part of Confederate Lieut. Gen. James Longstreet’s strategy to capture Knoxville and drive the Union IX and XXIII Corps