 There, Steele was supposed to link up with a separate Federal amphibious expedition which was advancing up the Red River Valley.The combined Union force was then to strike into Texas.However, the two pincers never converged, and Steele's columns suffered terrible losses in a series of battles with Confederates led by Sterling Price and General E. Kirby Smith at the Battle of Marks' Mills, Battle of Poison Spring and the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry.