Harrison's forces approached Prophetstown on November 6. He was to meet the next day with Tenskwatawa but believed negotiation futile. They made camp on Burnett's Creek, (Battleground, Indiana); the troops bedded down fully dressed and armed, based on Harrison's Aide-de-camp Bartholomew's advice. Positioned in pickets according to battle lines, they kept blazing fires kept alight in the rain, which illuminated the camp. Harrison did not command fortifications erected. The perimeter was guarded by two companies of sentries. Captain Spier Spencer's Indiana Yellow Jacket riflemen, (known for their light-colored buckskins), was posted on the southern end of the camp perimeter. The rest of the militia established an irregular rectangular formation along the edges of the bluff surrounding the camp. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bartholomew commanded all infantry units guarding the front line. The regulars and dragoons were kept in reserve behind the main line, commanded by Major Floyd, Major Daveiss, and former congressman Captain Benjamin Parke.