On 18 March 1863, Hall's infantry brigade began a reconnaissance from
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The brigade marched northeast of Murfreesboro to
Cainsville where it captured two Confederates and camped for the night. The brigade consisted of the following units. On the morning of 19 March, Hall's brigade marched west to
Statesville where it skirmished with 150–200 Confederate cavalry, killing one and capturing two. From Statesville, the Union brigade moved southeast to Prosperity Church where it remained for two hours. Prosperity Church is on the main road from Murfreesboro to
Liberty (now State Highway 96). Seeing a Confederate battleline to the east, across the road to Liberty, Hall believed that he was about to be attacked. He withdrew the brigade west and camped for the night on the west side of
Auburntown. That evening, there were Confederate pickets on all the roads leading to Hall's position. On the morning of 20 March, Hall's brigade marched west to
Milton, pausing on the way to fill canteens. Near Milton, Hall posted the brigade on a hill with 101st Indiana on the left and 80th Illinois on the right. Thinking he was outnumbered, Hall sent messengers to J. J. Reynolds asking for help. The Confederates sent two bodies of cavalry around each flank. The Confederates to the left (north) were mostly out of range, but those to the right (south) passed within range and suffered losses from one of Hall's two
12-pounder Napoleon cannons and rifle fire. The Confederates to the north dismounted and launched an attack on the 101st Indiana and 123rd Illinois which was repelled. A second assault from the north caused some confusion, but after half of the 80th Illinois and a cannon arrived from the right flank, the attack was driven off. An attack on the rear was repulsed by the 105th Ohio. The Union brigade's defensive perimeter covered approximately . The position was taken under fire from four Confederate artillery pieces. After a fight lasting from 11:30 am to 2:15 pm, the Confederates pulled back out of rifle range, but they continued to bombard Hall's brigade with artillery until 4:30 pm. The
4th Michigan Cavalry Regiment arrived as a reinforcement at 7:00 pm, followed 30 minutes later by Colonel Henry A. Hambright's infantry brigade. Hall's brigade reported losses of 1 officer and 5 enlisted men killed, 1 officer and 41 enlisted men wounded, and 8 enlisted men missing. The Confederates, who were commanded by John Hunt Morgan, left behind 63 dead and wounded men and 10 prisoners. Hall submitted his report on 22 March. Hall came down with
typhoid fever on 20 June and died at Murfreesboro on 10 July 1863. His son Charles L. Hall was a judge in the District Court of
Nebraska in 1896. ==Notes==