On the morning of the battle, Major General Andrew Jackson’s Indian allies surrounded the lower portion of Horseshoe Bend. The Cherokee were positioned across the river from this location, and the Lower Creek were farther upriver. After hearing distant cannon fire, Cherokee and Lower Creek warriors swam across the river, stole Red Stick canoes from this bank, and took them back to the other side. Hundreds of Indians, adorned with deer tails, then crossed by canoe a few at a time to attack the village of Tohopeka. Before Horseshoe Bend, Jackson had ordered his Cherokee and Lower Creek allies to wear white deer tails in their hair or headdress to distinguish them from the Red Sticks. Although the Upper Creek and Lower Creek were both part of the Creek confederation of towns, the Lower Creek lived closer to and had developed stronger relationships with Americans in Georgia. Many Lower Creek and Cherokee supported the United States against the Red Sticks, joining Jackson’s army in hopes of securing rights to tribal lands and gaining financial support.