Like all Regulars he was jealously sensitive about his rank, and one of his first performances was insistence that he outranked Col. C. E. Hovey, of the 33d Ill., and should therefore have command of the post. Hovey, who had been Principal of the Normal Institute before becoming a Colonel, felt that his position had been quite as high as that of a Captain in the Regular Army, and his men, who entered warmly into the dispute, could hardly understand how the Colonel of the 38th Ill. could outrank the Colonel of the 33d, and though they at last gave way, there was some bitterness of feeling.
Though Gen. Grant had only about 14,000 men all told, he kept Johnston, Polk and Thompson, with their 30,000, so well employed guarding points that he threatened, or might take without threatening, that their superiority was neutralized and they were kept on the defensive.
Burning with desire to do something, M. Jeff Thompson, who, in spite of his gasconade, was really a brave, enterprising man, and a good deal of a soldier, started out from Columbus early in October with some 2,000 men, expecting to be joined by other forces on the way, capture Ironton and Frederick-town, open up the road for Pillow's columns to St. Lous, and to co-operate with Gen. Price.
He went down the river in boats to New Madrid and there began a march across the country toward Bloomfield, which was to become the base of so many of his subsequent operations. Leaving his infantry under the command of Col. Aden Lowe, of the 3d Mo. State Guards, a prominent young attorney and politician, to follow more slowly, Thompson pushed on with 500 mounted men, whom he calls "dragoons," made a wide circuit, and struck the railroad north of Ironton at Big River Bridge, only about 40 miles from St Louis. He had made astonishing progress so far, and jubilantly reported to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, who had come to Columbus to watch the movement, that his men were so anxious to fight that he reached his objective point two days ahead of the appointed time.
At the Big River Bridge he struck a small company of a somewhat noted regiment, the 33d Ill. (the Normal Regiment), largely made up of students and teachers in the Normal Institute of Illinois, who, despite the disparity in numbers, gave him a sharp little fight, in which he lost two killed and quite a number wounded. He reported having captured 45 prisoners, with a quantity of supplies, and succeeded in burning the bridge across the river. While engaged in distributing the supplies, another company of the 33d Ill., hearing the noise, came up to the assistance of their comrades, and Thompson had another fight on his hands, in which he admits he lost four men killed and quite a number wounded, but insists that he "killed another lot of the enemy and took 10 prisoners." He said he "had the enemy terribly frightened," and that if Albert Sidney Johnston had the rest of his men in striking distance that he could take Ironton, with its 12,000,000 rations stored for the Winter, in an hour.
Johnston transmitted Thompson's report to Richmond with a complimentary indorsement. Thompson also reported having received several hundred recruits and captured about 17,000 pounds of lead. These were destined to be the last of his rejoicings for some time.
Thompson sent word to all the commanders of Confederate forces in the neighborhood to join in his attack on Ironton, promising them victory and unlimited spoils.
Gen. Grant ordered Col. Carlin to move forward with his force from Pilot Knob and attack Thompson's main body, which was then in the neighborhood of Fredericktown. He also ordered Col. J. B. Plum-mer to march from Cape Girardeau, strike at Thompson's line of retreat, and endeavor to capture his whole force.