Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive, hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the battlefield on the second. The battle was one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent. By defeating the Confederates, the Union forces established Federal control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas. Although they won here, they still had many more battles to fight in parts of Southern Arkansas.