Additions to the planning of operations channeled the initial casting of XIII inch bore Seacoast Mortars away from their original destination, sending them to the bomb fleet then abuilding at yards on the Delaware and East Rivers for use in forcing a passage on the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. In a letter of January 17, 1862, Colonel Lorenzo Thomas, newly appointed Adjutant General of the Army, informs Captain A.H. Foote that, "At this late hour it becomes necessary to resort to other means to utilize the great expense that has already been incurred." Thomas had served as Chief of Staff to Winfield Scott prior to his acceptance of the AG position, later becoming chairman of the War Board, an organisation that assisted Lincoln and Stanton in management of the War Department.