Wade put together a force of about 3,000 cavalry troops. It consisted of General W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's cavalry division, and two brigades led by generals Thomas L. Rosser and James Dearing. It also included about 100 men from Pierce M. B. Young's and John Dunovant's brigades, along with a number of dogs to help herd the cattle. The plan was to ride a total of to steal the cattle then get them back to the Confederate lines. The herd designed to feed Union troops would now be used to feed Confederate troops.