Jackson's orders from Johnston were to avoid general combat because he was seriously outnumbered, but at the same time he was to keep Banks occupied enough to prevent the detachment of troops to reinforce McClellan on the Peninsula.
Jackson's ordrer fra Johnston gik ud på at undgå større slag, fordi han var stærkt i undertal, men samtidig skulle han holde Banks tilstrækkelig beskæftiget til at forhindre at han sendte tropper til forstærkning af McClellan på halvøen.