[5] On November 6, Grant moved by riverboat from Cairo, Illinois, to attack the Confederacy's small outpost near Belmont, Missouri across the Mississippi River from the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, Kentucky.

[6] At the beginning of the war, the critical border state of Kentucky, with a pro-Confederate governor but a largely pro-Union legislature, declared neutrality between the opposing sides.

Pro-Confederate Kentuckians crossed into Tennessee to enlist, but the Union men openly formed a recruiting camp inside Kentucky, violating the state's neutrality.

Grant chose to attack Belmont, a ferry landing and tiny hamlet of three shacks, directly across the river from Columbus.

[citation needed] When he reached Belmont, Grant found Camp Johnston, a small Confederate observation post, supported by an artillery battery.

[9] At 8:30 a.m. on November 7, Grant's force disembarked at Hunter's Farm, 3 mi (4.8 km) north of Belmont, out of range of the six Confederate batteries at Columbus.

(The Columbus heavy water batteries featured 10-inch Columbiads and 11-inch howitzers and one gun, the "Lady Polk", was the largest in the Confederacy, a 128-pounder Whitworth rifle.)

[10] Grant's attack drove in the Confederate skirmish line and for the remainder of the morning, both armies, consisting of green recruits, advanced and fell back repeatedly.

His horse was shot from under him, but his aide Captain William S. Hillyer offered his mount and Grant continued to lead.

A volley from the 31st Illinois killed dozens of Confederates, and the Union soldiers attacked from three sides and surged into the camp, after clearing the obstructions of fallen timber that formed an abatis.

A bizarre, carnival-like atmosphere prevailed; the troops were carried away by the joy of their victory, having captured several hundred prisoners and the camp.

They were suddenly attacked by Confederate reinforcements brought over from Columbus on the transports Prince and Charm, who threatened to cut off Grant's retreat.

By this time Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk had also crossed the Mississippi River from Columbus and took charge of Confederate forces during the fighting.

Although a breach was made through the encircling Confederates, the rear of the Union column suffered severely as it ran the gantlet.

Polk's superior, General Albert Sidney Johnston, remarked that "The 7th of November will fill a bright gap in our military annals, and be remembered with gratitude by the sons and daughters of the South."

One Union soldier commented, "Well, Grant got whipped at Belmont, and that scared him so that he countermanded all our orders and took all the troops back to their old stations by forced marches.

It also gave President Abraham Lincoln, who was desperate for his armies to attack the Confederates somewhere, a positive impression of Grant.

[23] The formerly fortified site on the Kentucky side has been designated as the Columbus-Belmont State Park, commemorating the military operations performed in the surrounding area.