Ultimately, after marching about 3,000 men across the Arkansas River and returning to Ft. Smith on 11-6-64, Thayer decided to obey the following orders from Halleck and Steele, as given in the Official Records:

41-4-218, 10-24-64. To: BG John M. Thayer, Com. Dist. of the Frontier at Ft. Smith {received the night of 10-26-64}; From: MG H. W. Halleck, U. S. Army Chief of Staff {for Grant} at Washington City:

1. Price will be closely pursued from Missouri to the Arkansas River. {all commanders}
2. If necessary to concentrate all of your {Thayer’s} forces in Fort Smith, do so.
3. A supply train to Ft. Smith will start from Little Rock, not Ft. Scott, soon {10-30-64}.

41-4-308, 10-29-64. To: BG John M. Thayer, Com. Dist. of the Frontier at Ft. Smith; From: MG Frederick Steele, Com. Arkansas at Little Rock:

If Price should return in the direction of your outpost, draw them {Thayer’s outposts} into Fort Smith with all of the public property possible. I {Steele} am anxious to give Price a blow on his return. He has gone into Kansas and it is likely that he will pay you a visit. … Your supply train will leave tomorrow {10-30-64}.

Two days before the Presidential election, with little reliable information available on either Confederate or Union forces operating in the region, Thayer probably did the responsible thing. He followed orders to the tee. {But it is not what I wanted him to do!}