On April 29, 1864, both Union and Confederate cavalry moved north of Jenkins’ Ferry as Lt. Col. Benjamin Elliott’s 1st Missouri Cavalry Battalion, sent to Princeton on April 28 to seek Gen. Frederick Steele’s army as it retreated from Camden, skirmished heavily with Union troops until dark and then proceeded toward Pratt’s Ferry on the Saline River, while Gen. E.A. Carr’s Union cavalry rode north to head off a potential attack on Steele’s troops by Gen. James Fagan’s Confederate cavalry, reported in the area. Elliott’s Missouri cavalry reached Pratt’s Ferry on April 29, 1864, hoping to link up with Fagan’s cavalry, but when they were not there Elliott crossed the Saline River to find forage for his horses. On April 30, about 2,000 Union troops approached Whitten’s Mill, with some driving in Elliott’s pickets, and the Confederates counterattacked. The U.S. troops, fearing it was Fagan’s entire force, quickly fell back and began burning their wagons and gear. Elliott’s men continued to follow Steele’s army as it retreated, attacking pickets and foragers.