In fact Burnside and the War Department both thought the 9th corps was intended for such an expedition up to the last moment.
My general plan now was to concentrate all the force possible against the Confederate armies in the field.

There were but two such, as we have seen, east of the Mississippi River and facing north.

The Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E.Lee commanding, was on the south bank of the Rapidan, confronting the Army of the Potomac; the second, under General Joseph E.Johnston, was at Dalton, Georgia, opposed to Sherman who was still at Chattanooga.

Beside these main armies the Confederates had to guard the Shenandoah Valley, a great storehouse to feed their armies from, and their line of communications from Richmond to Tennessee.

Forrest, a brave and intrepid cavalry general, was in the West with a large force; making a larger command necessary to hold what we had gained in Middle and West Tennessee.