That night Gov. Jackson received news of Sigel's advance, and gathered his forces to resist him. He had already concentrated many more men than Sigel had expected, and had with him seven pieces of artillery. Most of his men carried the arms which they had brought from home, and were arranged, according to the provisions in the Military Bill, into divisions, of which there were no less than four present. The Second Division, commanded by Brig.-Gen. James S. Rains, who afterward attained much reputation in the Confederate army, had present 1,208 infantry and artillery and 608 cavalry. The Third Division, commanded by Gen. John B. Clark, also to attain eminence in the Confederate army, had 365 present. The Fourth Division, commanded by Gen. Wm. Y. Slack, later a Brigadier-General in the Confederate army, had 500 cavalry and 700 infantry. The Sixth Division, commanded by Gen. Monroe M. Parsons, who served with distinction throughout the war, had altogether about 1,000 men and four pieces of artillery. The official returns show that Gov. Jackson had thus 4,375 men with seven guns to oppose something over 1,000 men with eight guns under Col. Sigel. The Union force was strong in artillery, while the Confederates were powerful in cavalry, of which the Unionists had none. Both sides were poorly supplied with ammunition, especially for the cannon, and loaded these with railroad spikes, bits of trace chains, etc. 139 Early on the morning of July 5 Sigel marched out of camp, crossing the Spring River about one mile north of Carthage, and soon came upon an open prairie. He advanced slowly and cautiously along the Lamar Road, with his wagons under a small escort following a mile or so in the rear. Nine miles north of Carthage and three miles north of Coon Creek he came in sight of the Governor's troops drawn up in line of battle on a slight rise of the prairie, and about one mile and a half away. The enemy's skirmish line, which was under the command of Capt. J. O. Shelby, of whom we shall hear much more later, opened fire on Sigel's advance, but was soon driven across the creek and through the narrow strip of timber less than one-half mile wide, followed by Sigel's men in line of battle. They came out on the smooth prairie, covered with a fine growth of grass, and offering unequalled facilities for manuvering, except that from the ridge Sigel's line could be accurately observed and its numbers known.