Later he ordered Col. W. H. L. Wallace to take the remainder of the 11th Ill., and some other troops to move after Oglesby, to give him help should he need it.
Soon after, believing that Jeff Thompson had gotten out of Col. Oglesby's reach, he sent another order to Oglesby to move directly upon New Madrid and take 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.
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.
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 and thus strip his fortifications so as to make easier the work of the columns advancing from Paducah and Mayfield. He therefore held his men with him and did not interfere with Grant's movements.
Grant pushed on through the cornfields and woods for a mile or more, and then rearranged his lines and pushed forward a heavy line of skirmishers. By this time the enemy in camp at Belmont had learned of the movement, and started out to meet it. The two lines of skirmishers soon came in contact, and there was a spiteful, bickering fire opened between them. Both sides were expert woodsmen and riflemen, and thoroly at home at this kind of work. The Union line pressed the Confederates slowly back for four hours, receiving and inflicting considerable losses. Grant's horse was shot under him, but he got another, and kept his place in the advance, directing and encouraging the men, whom he says acted like veterans and behaved as well as any troops in the world could have done.