The 15th Mississippi Infantry Regiment mistook the Union 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment for blue-clad Confederates. In the confusion, the near-sighted Zollicoffer, wearing a white raincoat, rode into the lines of the 4th Kentucky and began to discuss the problem with the Union colonel, Speed S. Fry. A Confederate aide then rode out of the fog firing at the Union force. Union soldiers returned fire, killing Zollicoffer who had begun to ride away as the incident unfolded. Historian Larry J. Daniel follows some other accounts which claim that Fry recognized and shot Zollicoffer. He further stated that Fry, not Zollicoffer, had ridden into the enemy lines and had begun the conversation, only turning upon Zollicoffer when the Confederate aide rode up. Historian Stuart W. Sanders discusses the encounter at the greatest length and also quotes a subsequent account by Colonel Fry. He states that both officers rode out from their lines and that Fry initially thought Zollicoffer was a Union officer. Fry claimed to have shot Zollicoffer. Other accounts state that Fry also called to a few of his men to fire, although Fry later denied this.