Pulaski riot freedmen gathered at the door of the store, some eighteen whites rushed and shot at them at close range. They murdered one man, mortally wounded another, and injured four. No white was injured or prosecuted. The incident was investigated by the Freedmen's Bureau office of Nashville, Tennessee. In December 1865, white Confederate veterans had founded the Ku Klux Klan, a secret vigilante organization, in Pulaski. Chapters had been started in numerous other towns in Tennessee and other states. Members generally operated in groups and often threatened intended victims at night, trying to suppress black political actions and sometimes economic enterprises.
1st Battalion Tennessee Light Artillery, Battery "A" Lick Bridge July 30. Smith's Shoals, Cumberland River, August 1. Ordered to Murfreesboro, Tenn., August; then to McMinnville September 5, and march to Chattanooga September 12–22. Garrison artillery at Chattanooga until March 1864. Reopening Tennessee River October 26–29, 1863. Battles of Chattanooga November 23–25. Garrison artillery at Decatur, Ala., March 1864 to January 1865. Skirmishes at Athens, Ala., October 1–2, 1864. Siege of Decatur October 26–29. Ordered to Pulaski, Tenn., January 16, 1865. Duty at Pulaski and in middle Tennessee on line of railroad until July. 1st Battalion Tennessee Light Artillery, Battery "A" Battery A, 1st Battalion Tennessee Light Artillery