Receiving orders early September 12, 1862, the Confederate Army's 4th North Carolina (NC) Cavalry immediately proceeded from Garysburg, North Carolina to Franklin, Virginia, arriving late the next day.
 There, the 4th NC Cavalry, under the command of a Colonel Dennis Dozier Ferebee, was joined by the 52nd North Carolina Infantry, Edward Graham's Petersburg Artillery and (two weeks later) the 11th North Carolina Infantry.
 The 4th NC Cavalry's first major assignment was to construct a floating bridge across the nearby Blackwater River to replace the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad bridge and thereby facilitate the eastward transfer of men and equipment into Franklin; Col.
Ferebee reported the bridge finished on the 18th.

A small Union Army cavalry force was stationed in nearby Suffolk, Virginia under the command of Major General John J. Peck.
 On September 23, Peck sent Colonel Samuel P. Spear to reconnoiter Franklin and the Confederates therein.
 Spear reported back to Peck about the Confederate's replacement bridge capable of supporting artillery pieces, as well as an estimated Confederate concentration of 10,000–12,000 men.
 Peck forwarded this information on to his commanding officer, Major General John Adams Dix who, in turn, developed a twofold mission to roust the enemy from Franklin and destroy the floating bridge with a joint service attack with the Union Army and Navy respectively.

Dix requested Union naval support from Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee.
 Lee, in turn, sent orders to Lieutenant Commander C. W. Flusser, directing him to give all assistance to General Dix's purposes.
 Three United States Navy steam-powered ferryboats stationed at Albemarle Sound were sent; the USS Commodore Perry, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Flusser, the USS Hunchback, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Edmund R. Colhoun, and the USS Whitehead, commanded by Acting Master Charles A. French.

Acting on Union picket intelligence of the Confederate's position in Franklin, both Generals Peck and Dix felt that it would be wiser to wait on the joint assault.
 Unfortunately, because Dix's messenger arrived five hours late, Commander Flusser never received the word the former's forces were delaying "until about the 10th".
 Peck did however order a reconnaissance mission be undertaken in the area; at 9:00 p.m. on October 2, Colonel Spear left Suffolk with 1,300 soldiers, one Artillery section, and orders to survey Franklin and determine the extent of the Confederate forces south of Suffolk.
Receiving orders early September 12, 1862, the Confederate Army's 4th North Carolina (NC) Cavalry immediately proceeded from Garysburg, North Carolina to Franklin, Virginia, arriving late the next day.  There, the 4th NC Cavalry, under the command of a Colonel Dennis Dozier Ferebee, was joined by the 52nd North Carolina Infantry, Edward Graham's Petersburg Artillery and (two weeks later) the 11th North Carolina Infantry.  The 4th NC Cavalry's first major assignment was to construct a floating bridge across the nearby Blackwater River to replace the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad bridge and thereby facilitate the eastward transfer of men and equipment into Franklin; Col. Ferebee reported the bridge finished on the 18th.
A small Union Army cavalry force was stationed in nearby Suffolk, Virginia under the command of Major General John J. Peck.  On September 23, Peck sent Colonel Samuel P. Spear to reconnoiter Franklin and the Confederates therein.  Spear reported back to Peck about the Confederate's replacement bridge capable of supporting artillery pieces, as well as an estimated Confederate concentration of 10,000–12,000 men.  Peck forwarded this information on to his commanding officer, Major General John Adams Dix who, in turn, developed a twofold mission to roust the enemy from Franklin and destroy the floating bridge with a joint service attack with the Union Army and Navy respectively.
Dix requested Union naval support from Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee.  Lee, in turn, sent orders to Lieutenant Commander C. W. Flusser, directing him to give all assistance to General Dix's purposes.  Three United States Navy steam-powered ferryboats stationed at Albemarle Sound were sent; the USS Commodore Perry, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Flusser, the USS Hunchback, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Edmund R. Colhoun, and the USS Whitehead, commanded by Acting Master Charles A. French.
Acting on Union picket intelligence of the Confederate's position in Franklin, both Generals Peck and Dix felt that it would be wiser to wait on the joint assault.  Unfortunately, because Dix's messenger arrived five hours late, Commander Flusser never received the word the former's forces were delaying "until about the 10th".  Peck did however order a reconnaissance mission be undertaken in the area; at 9:00 p.m. on October 2, Colonel Spear left Suffolk with 1,300 soldiers, one Artillery section, and orders to survey Franklin and determine the extent of the Confederate forces south of Suffolk.
Joint Expedition Against Franklin