Harris initially tried to sway eastern Tennessee's pro-Union population with a lenient policy and the stationing of only fifteen companies of troops in the region. On July 26, 1861, Harris, who was still in charge of the Tennessee state force, ordered Zollicoffer and 4,000 raw recruits to Knoxville to be in position to suppress resistance to secession in East Tennessee, appointing him to command the District of East Tennessee. Harris was re-elected governor on August 8, 1861 and on August 18, he ordered Zollicoffer to arrest and, if necessary, banish leaders of pro-Union factions from the state, changing his policy from leniency to force.