The large clouds of dust raised by Cheatham's division marching north at the double-quick prompted some of McCook's men to believe the Confederates were starting to retreat, which increased the surprise of the Rebel attack later in the day.
De store støvskyer fra Cheathams division, som marcherede med dobbelt hastighed mod nord, fik nogle af McCooks mænd til at tro, at de konfødererede var i færd med at trække sig tilbage, hvilket forstærkede overraskelsen over rebellernes angreb senere på dagen.