I accordingly sent a regiment from Bird's Point under Colonel W.H.L.Wallace to overtake and reinforce Oglesby, with orders to march to New Madrid, a point some distance below Columbus, on the Missouri side.

At the same time I directed General C.
F.Smith to move all the troops he could spare from Paducah directly against Columbus, halting them, however, a few miles from the town to await further orders from me.

Then I gathered up all the troops at Cairo and Fort Holt, except suitable guards, and moved them down the river on steamers convoyed by two gunboats, accompanying them myself.
My force consisted of a little over 3,000 men and embraced five regiments of infantry, two guns and two companies of cavalry.

We dropped down the river on the 6th to within about six miles of Columbus, debarked a few men on the Kentucky side and established pickets to connect with the troops from Paducah.
I had no orders which contemplated an attack by the National troops, nor did I intend anything of the kind when I started out from Cairo; but after we started I saw that the officers and men were elated at the prospect of at last having the opportunity of doing what they had volunteered to do--fight the enemies of their country.

I did not see how I could maintain discipline, or retain the confidence of my command, if we should return to Cairo without an effort to do something.
Columbus, besides being strongly fortified, contained a garrison much more numerous than the force I had with me.