After pushing his army relentlessly for a week to catch the Union army by surprise, Confederate commander Earl Van Dorn reached the hard fighting up the Telegraph Road within sight of Elkhorn Tavern and gambled by committing all his reserves. As the Missouri State Guard regiments drove back the last Federal defenders, Elkhorn Tavern seemed to be a bold Confederate victory. Private Ephraim Anderson of the 2nd Missouri Regiment recalled the cry of "Charge!" running along the line, a battery of six Union cannon opening and tearing through the Confederate lines, a brief recoil under the iron hail, and then a renewed rush on the battery amid deafening artillery, opening musket fire, and a torrent of lead and iron through the surrounding smoke.