After Dakota scouts spotted Anderson's men crossing the prairie, they followed the soldiers' movements and reported that the U.S. soldiers were camped near Birch Coulee. Dakota forces then planned a daylight attack after surrounding the camp during the night, believing they could capture it. About 200 men led by Wamditanka, Mankato, Zitkadaska, and Hushasha moved in to encircle the camp. Wamditanka, who did not support the decision to fight a war he believed was a lost cause, said that his own band numbered no more than thirty or forty fighting men, most of whom had not favored war at first, but that he told them he would lead them into the war and that they would act like brave Dakotas and do the best they could.