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.
12th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry 14. Scout from Pulaski to Florence, Ala., July 20–25 (detachment). Triune August 3–4. Florence August 10. Operations against Forrest in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee September 16-October 10. Richland Creek, near Pulaski, September 26. Pulaski September 26–27. Nashville Campaign November–December. On line of Shoal Creek November 5–20. Campbellsville and Lynnville November 24. In front of Columbia November 24–27. Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. West Harpeth River December 17. Spring Hill December 18. Rutherford Creek December 19. Curtis Creek December 19. Lawrenceburg December 22. Lynnville and Richland Creek December