 Fearing that he would be cut off, he requested that communications be established between his army and that on the Mississippi River.Either the Arkansas River or the White River would have served his purposes, but the Arkansas was too low for water transport, so an expedition was sent up the White River with intent to give Curtis the aid he had asked for.A single regiment, the 46th Indiana Volunteers, embarked in army transports; they were accompanied by two armored gunboats, "Mound City" and "St. Louis," two unarmored gunboats, and an armed tug.