Col. Douglas H. Cooper, Confederate commander of the Indian Department, was unable to reconcile differences with Opothleyahola, commander of a band of Unionist Creeks and Seminoles. Opothleyahola" group was estimated to number about seventeen hundred people, and also included some Union supporters from the Comanches, Delawares, Kickapoos, Wichitas, and Shawnees. Cooper set out on November 15, 1861, with about 1,400 men either to compel Opothleyahola 's submission or "drive him and his party from the country." Cooper's force rode up the Deep Fork of the Canadian River to find Opothleyahola's camp deserted. On November 19, Cooper learned from captured prisoners that part of Opothleyahola's band was erecting a fort at the Red Fork of the Arkansas River.