Late that night the generals held a council of war in which Floyd and Pillow expressed satisfaction with the events of the day, but Buckner convinced them that they had little realistic chance to hold the fort or escape from Grant's army, which was receiving steady reinforcements.
Sent den følgende nat holdt generalerne krigsråd, og Floyd og Pillow udtrykte tilfredshed med dagens begivenheder, men Buckner overbeviste dem om, at de ikke havde store chancer for at holde fortet eller undslippe fra Grants hær, som til stadighed modtog forstærkninger.