On November 1st, General Fremont being on his expedition to Springfield, his adjutant in charge of headquarters at St. Louis directed General Grant to make demonstrations on both sides of the Mississippi at Norfolk, Charleston, and Blandville, points a few miles north of Columbus and Belmont. Next day he advised Grant that Jeff. Thompson was at Indian Ford of the St. Francois River, twenty-five miles below Greenville, with about three thousand men, and that Colonel Carlin had started from Pilot Knob in pursuit, and directing Grant to send a force to assist Carlin in driving Thompson into Arkansas. On the night of the 3d, Grant despatched Colonel Oglesby with 3,000 men from Commerce to carry out this order. On the 5th, Grant was further advised by telegraph that General Polk, who commanded at Columbus, was sending reinforcements to Price, and that it was of vital importance that this movement should be arrested. General Grant at once sent an additional regiment to Oglesby, with directions to him to turn his course to the river in the direction of New Madrid; requested General C. F. Smith to make a demonstration from Paducah toward Columbus; and also sent parties from Bird's Point and Fort Holt to move down both sides of the river, so as to attract attention from Columbus. On the evening of the 6th, General Grant started down the river on transports with five regiments of infantry, the Twenty-second, Twenty-seventh, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first Illinois, and the Seventh Iowa, Taylor's Chicago battery, and two companies of cavalry. The Twenty-seventh, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first Illinois were made into a brigade commanded by General John A. McClernand; the Twenty-second Illinois and the Seventh Iowa into a brigade under Colonel H. Dougherty, of the Twenty-second Illinois. The entire force numbered 3,114 men. General Grant, in his report, states the number at 2,850. As five companies were kept at the landing when the force disembarked, the number given by General Grant represents the number taken into action. Two gunboats, under the command of Captain Walke of the navy, convoyed the expedition. A feint was made of landing nine miles below Cairo, on the Kentucky side, and the expedition lay there till daybreak. Badeau says that General Grant received intelligence, at two o'clock in the morning of the 7th, that General Polk was crossing troops from Columbus to Belmont, with a view of cutting off Oglesby, and that he thereupon determined to convert what had been intended as a mere demonstration against Belmont into a real attack.