At this point, Van Dorn, instead of rushing Carr's badly outnumbered force with all 5,000 of his available soldiers, became cautious and ordered Price to fully deploy his division, with the Missouri State Guard divisions on the right and the Confederate Missouri brigades on the left. When the Northern guns began firing, Van Dorn ordered his own artillery into action. Soon, 21 Southern guns were pounding the Iowa cannoneers. By the time Price's infantry finally began edging uphill toward the Yankee guns, they met Carr's men advancing downhill in an aggressive counterstroke. The Confederate advance stalled near Elkhorn, but Price's left flank units were marching up Williams Hollow further to the east. Once this force reached the plateau, Carr's right flank would be turned.