Morgan's main column, by now reduced to eighteen hundred men, had arrived on the morning of July 8 at Brandenburg, Kentucky, a small town along the Ohio River, where Hines had rejoined them.

Here, the raiders had seized two steamboats, the John B. McCombs and the Alice Dean.

Morgan, against Bragg's strict orders, transports his command across the river to Indiana, landing just east of Mauckport.

A small company of Indiana home guards contests the crossing with an artillery piece, as does a riverboat carrying a six-pounder.

Morgan chases off the local defenders, capturing a sizeable portion as well as their guns.

After burning the Alice Dean and sending the John B. McCombs downriver with instructions not to pursue him, Morgan heads away from the river.

Governor Oliver P. Morton works feverishly to organize Indiana's defense, calling for able-bodied men to take up arms and form militia companies.

Thousands respond and organize themselves into companies and regiments.

Colonel Lewis Jordan takes command of the four hundred and fifty members of the Harrison County Home Guard (Sixth Regiment, Indiana Legion), consisting of poorly trained civilians with a motley collection of arms.

His goal is to delay Morgan long enough for Union reinforcements to arrive.