April 14, 1864

Colonel John Phelps of the Second Arkansas Calvary (US) ordered Major James Melton to take 110 men and move against a guerrilla force nearby under the command of a man known as Sissell (quite likely John Cecil). Melton and his men departed the next day. Captain John Bailey and his company were ordered to work with Melton’s unit in creating a pincer movement to ensure that the guerrillas were destroyed. Unfortunately, Sissell and his men had moved from the location where the Federals expected them to be, and the two Union groups joined forces to continue their mission.