Near Aquia Creek, Virginia, President Lincoln had a day-long conference with General Ambrose Burnside on board the steamer Baltimore. Burnside's plan to move across the Rappahannock River before Lee could react had failed. Lincoln instead proposed a plan for the Army of the Potomac to hold Lee's force in place, while two smaller forces crossed the river miles to the north and south, thus opening the way to Richmond. Burnside argued against it, and for once was supported by General-in-Chief Henry Halleck. The necessary river transports could not be assembled in time before the winter weather began in earnest, they said. Lincoln eventually agreed -- but there was no counter-plan.
In the middle of the continent, a holding action was put into play. The Union had failed to take the capital of Arkansas, but there were still far too many Yankee troops in the state by the Confederate way of thinking. Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman had managed to assemble an army of 11,000 soldiers at Fort Smith, Arkansas. This was more than any of the individual Union forces in the state. Hindman selected the Yankees under Kansas General James Blunt, which were in the north-west corner of the state, for his first attack.
The trouble was that the two armies were separated by the oddly-named Boston Mountains. (It was a long way from Massachusetts, after all.) Hindman knew he would be vulnerable while marching his infantry and artillery through the passes. He therefore sent 2,000 cavalry, under one John Marmaduke, to engage and hold the northern troops where they were while he brought up the rest of the Rebel forces.
But Blunt (below) had "cut his teeth" during the struggle over slavery in Kansas, and was an aggressive commander. His force was already on the move from where the Confederate scouts had reported it.
