On January 10th, 1862, James A. Garfield, an obscure Ohio college professor and newly-minted colonel of a regiment of Ohio volunteers, launched an attack on a brigade of Confederate soldiers holding a position on the ridges overlooking the Forks of Middle Creek, located two miles west of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. The Confederates were commanded by Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall, a seasoned veteran famous for his exploits during the Mexican War.