e the place. This was a bold performance, for the
capture of New Madrid would have placed him on the Mississippi below
Columbus and cut off Polk's principal line of supplies.

264

Urgent dispatches continued to come from Fremont to prevent any
reinforcement of Price from Columbus, and Grant started in to impress
Gen. Polk with the idea that he would have quite enough to attend to at
home. He sent orders to Gen. C. F. Smith, commanding at Paducah, to send
a column out to threaten Columbus from that side, and to Col. Marsh to
advance from Mayfield, Ky., and Grant himself, gathering up about 3,000
men from the troops he had around Cairo, embarking them on steamers, and
under the convoy of two gunboats (the Lexington and Tyler), steamed down
the river directly for Columbus, 20 miles away.

Nov. 6 the flotilla dropped down the river to within six miles and in
full view of Columbus, and landed a few men on the Kentucky side. This
was to still further confuse the mind of Gen. Polk, and make him believe
that he must expect an attack on the land side in co-operation with the
forces advancing from Paducah and from Mayfield directly in front of
Cairo.

Gen. Grant says that when he started out he had no intention of making
a fight, and of course did not contemplate any such thing as a direct
attack with the force he had upon the immensely superior numbers at
Columbus, but he saw his men were eager to do something, and that
they would be greatly discontented if they returned without a fight.
Therefore, on learning that the enemy was crossing troops to the little
hamlet of Belmont, opposite Columbus, presumably with the intention
of cutting off and crushing Oglesby, he resolved to strike a blow, and
determined to break up the small camp at Belmont, which would give the
enemy something else to think about.

265

About an hour after daybreak he began landing his men on the west side
of the Mississippi River, while the gunboats moved down a little further
and waked up the enemy by throwing shells into the works at Columbus.
Grant handled his men with the skill he always displayed on the field of
battle, pushing forward the main body through the corn fields and
woods, but leaving a regiment in a secure position in a dry slough as
a resource for an emergency. They with the gunboats were to protect the
transports.

Gen. Polk probably saw all this, but interpreted it as a mere feint
to get him to send troops across the river a