He needed to prevent Thomas's army from reuniting with Sherman and overwhelming him, and he calculated that if he moved swiftly into Tennessee, he might be able to defeat Thomas before the Union forces could be reassembled.
Han måtte forhindre Thomas' armé i at slutte sig til Sherman så de kunne overvælde ham, og han regnede med at hvis han rykkede hurtigt ind i Tennessee kunne han måske besejre Thomas inden Unionsstyrkene kunne samles.