High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Joint Expedition Against Franklin was a joint engagement between the United States Army Navy against the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The engagement was intended to move Union forces into an area where Confederate forces were gathering as they prepared to move on Suffolk, Virginia. Originally planned as a coordinated two-pronged attack with a naval flotilla supporting an infantry advance on Franklin, Virginia, communications delays caused the Navy to depart for the mission which the Army was not yet supporting. Instead, October 3, 1862 (1862-10-03) found Union Naval forces on the Blackwater River greatly outnumbered by Confederate infantrymen and ultimately forced to retreat. The naval action alone is also known as the Action at Crumpler`s Bluff or the Battle of Crumpler`s Bluff.