On the morning of March 28, 1863 Confederate guerillas temporarily captured a train on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, between La Fayette and Moscow. That afternoon the 6th Illinois Cavalry commanded by Lieut. Col. Ruben Loomis pursued the guerilla force to Somerville where he overtook them the following day. After a brisk skirmish, Loomis captured Capt. Reuben Burrow (12 th Tennessee Cavalry), 1 orderly sergeant, and 9 privates. Loomis characterized the enemy as “suspicious characters and soldiers.”
Fort Sanders
As part of Confederate Lieut. Gen. James Longstreet’s strategy to capture Knoxville and drive the Union IX and XXIII Corps