As Nathan Bedford Forrest closed on the Union defenders at the critical intersection at Brice's Crossroads, he sent two companies of the Twelfth Kentucky under Captain Henry A. Tyler, along with his personal escort, to extend the Confederate left, locate the Federals, and strike in the direction of the Pontotoc Road. This move helped Forrest protect his line and threaten the Union right flank while Colonel Clark Barteau attacked the Federal left, together creating a classic double envelopment that gave the Confederates the key position on the battlefield. Tyler later recalled, "It was but a few minutes when we all met as the cross-roads," adding, "We were certainly a happy and enthusiastic band." Samuel Sturgis's demoralized forces, by contrast, retreated beyond Tishomingo Creek. In 1908, Captain Tyler returned to the Brice's Crossroads battlefield with veteran and artist Frederick Ruple, consulted on depicting the action at "the salient point" of the engagement, and insisted that the image include men who had actually been in the front.