 With these strengthened units, Shelby was able to seriously threaten vital Union lines of communication along the Arkansas River between Helena and Little Rock, and for a time it appeared that the Confederates would mount a serious attempt to retake the capitol in Little Rock.However, Confederate authorities in Richmond pressured Smith to dispatch some of his infantry to reinforce Confederate armies east of the Mississippi.This caused an uproar among the Arkansas Confederate infantry units and, as a compromise, Smith approved a plan by Price to organize a large-scale raid into Missouri that would coincide with the November 1864 presidential election.