[10] Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis, the victor of Pea Ridge, was placed in charge of the new department, which it was hoped would unify Union leadership in the region.
Two days later, Blunt and Totten's troops were reported to be stationed at Sarcoxie, Missouri, with Herron's division on the Cassville Road.
On October 4, Blunt and Totten moved towards Newtonia, and the Confederates abandoned the town and fell back into Arkansas.
Schofield decided to split the Army of the Frontier, sending Blunt and two of his three brigades after Cooper, while Totten and Herron pursued Rains.
Schofield called off the pursuit, having reached the end of his logistical framework, and believing the Confederates had withdrawn enough to no longer be a threat, withdrew Totten and Herron in the direction of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
[19] On October 27, Schofield went to Osage Spring to begin the process of withdrawing the two divisions into Missouri,[20] but learned that Confederate cavalry was in the Fayetteville area.
Beginning on the next day, Totten and Herron's divisions made a forced march back to Springfield; Schofield had been alarmed by false rumors of a Confederate campaign against that city.
[23] The plan was for Totten and Herron to spend only a little time at Springfield, and then move east to Helena, Arkansas, to join the Vicksburg operations.
After receiving news that Marmaduke had withdrawn,[26] Schofield turned over command to Blunt and left for St. Louis on November 20.
[8] Totten, who had unpopular with his men and who had a drinking problem, was ordered to St. Louis for court martial duty on November 27.
Hindman and three of his subordinate commanders developed a plan to attack and destroy Blunt's division while it was still separated from the rest of the Army of the Frontier.
[32] By December 6, Herron's two divisions had reached Fayetteville; late that same day contact was made between the forces of Hindman and Blunt.
[29] In the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, Herron attacked Hindman and was repulsed; a Confederate counterattack met the same fate.
Blunt arrived later in the day on the Confederate left and another series of attacks by each side failed to be decisive.
Having learned that the Confederates were withdrawing from the Fort Smith area, Blunt decided to make one final offensive before the more cautious Schofield arrived.
[37] In January 1863, Blunt went to Fort Leavenworth to oversee the District of Kansas, and Colonel William Weer took command of his division.
Vandever responded by moving his division to Pilot Knob, Missouri, on April 23, and then to Fredericktown two days later.
Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. took effective command of the First Division on May 13, and was ordered to send the Kansas units back to that state.