One of the first actions that the 9th was engaged in was on February 9th, 1862, when some 175 Union cavalry ambushed some 75 mounted Confederates patrolling some few miles west of Fort Donelson. The Union cavalry was made up from two companies of Illinois cavalry and two companies of regular cavalry. Some 25 or 26 Confederates were captured in the ambush, with two of these wounded so badly that they were released to locals for care. These two severely wounded were members of the 50th Tennessee Infantry, and fortunately recovered but were never able to resume military service. Six of the 25 or 26 captured Confederates belonged to the 9th Tennessee, but most were members of the 49 & 50 Tennessee Infantry with a scattering of a few other units represented on the POW roll of the skirmish. Considering that half of the Union cavalry were professionaly trained cavalry and had such a superior advantage in numbers and that the Confederates were mostly made up of local Tennessee boys that were not even trained in any sort of real cavalry tactics and cavalry weapons it is a wonder that the whole group had not been captured.