Brig. Gen. Cooper alerted his troops to the coming battle and placed his men on both sides of the Texas Road, with seasoned veterans in the center. Three cavalry regiments formed a front about one-quarter mile wide, creating a Confederate center battle line approximately three-quarters of a mile long, with artillery near the Texas Road. The heaviest fighting occurred at the center, where the 1st Kansas and 2nd Colorado opposed the 20th and 29th Texas. Under orders, the 29th Texas was dismounted under cover of timber and moved quickly on foot across the edge of the timber into the prairie, where it formed a line of battle. Capt. Harmon's squadron remained as skirmishers, Capt. Daugherty's Co. was sent up a small brushy ravine a few yards to the left, and some 15 or 20 Choctaws arriving in the rear were placed on the left, extending the line nearly to the center of the ravine.