At the
beginning of 1864 another attempt was made to repossess
Texas by an invasion by way of the
Red River and
Shreveport.
General Banks was directed to organize an expedition for that purpose at New Orleans, and
General Sherman was ordered to send troops to aid him.
Admiral Porter was also directed to place a fleet of gunboats on the
Red River to assist in the enterprise, and
General Steele, at
Little Rock,
Ark., was ordered to co-operate with the expedition.
Banks's column, led by
General Franklin, moved from
Brashear City, La. (March 13), by way of
Opelousas, and reached
Alexandria, on the
Red River, on the 26th.
Detachments from
Sherman's army, under
Gen. A. J. Smith, had already gone up the
Red River on transports, captured
Fort de Russy on the way, and taken possession of
Alexandria (March 10). They were followed by
Porter's fleet of gunboats.
From that point
Banks moved forward with his whole force, and on April 3 was at
Natchitoches, near the river, 80 miles above
Alexandria, by land.
At that point
Porter's vessels were embarrassed by low water, and his larger ones could proceed no farther than
Grand Ecore.
A depot of supplies was established at
Alexandria, with a wagon-train to transport them around the rapids there, if necessary.
The Confederates had continually retreated before the Nationals as the latter advanced from
Alexandria, frequently stopping to skirmish with the vanguard.
From Grand
Ecore Banks pushed on tow-
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The fight between the gunboats and the sharp-shooters. |
ards
Shreveport, 100 miles beyond
Natchitoches, and
Porter's lighter vessels proceeded up the river with a body of troops under
Gen. Thomas K. Smith.
At that time the
Confederates from
Texas and
Arkansas under
Generals Taylor,
Price,
Green, and others were gathering in front of the Nationals to the number of about 25,000, with more than seventy cannon.
So outnumbered,
Banks would have been justified in proceeding no farther, but he and
Smith, anxious to secure the object of the expedition, pressed forward.
The Confederates fell back until they reached Sabine Cross Roads, 54 miles from
Grand Ecore, were they made a stand.
It was now evident that the further advance of the Nationals was to be obstinately contested.
The Trans-Mississippi army, under
Gen. E. Kirby Smith, was there 20,000 strong.
A fierce battle occurred (April 8), which resulted in disaster to the Nationals.
The shattered columns of
Franklin's advance fell back 3 miles, to
Pleasant Grove, where they were received by the fine corps of
General Emory, who was advancing, and who now formed a battle line to oppose the pursuers.
There another severe battle was fought, which ended in victory for the Nationals (see
Pleasant Grove, Battle of.). Although victorious,
Banks thought it prudent to continue his retreat to
Pleasant Hill, 15 miles farther in the rear, for the
Confederates were within reach of reinforcements, while he was not certain that
Smith, then moving forward, would arrive in time to aid him. He did arrive on the evening of the 8th.
The Confederates, in strong force, had followed
Banks, and another heavy battle was fought (April 9) at
Pleasant Hill, which resulted in a complete victory for the Nationals (
Pleasant Hill, Battle of.). Then, strengthened in numbers and
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encouraged by victory,
Banks gave orders for an advance on
Shreveport; but this was countermanded.
In the meanwhile the gunboats, with
Gen. Thomas K. Smith's troops, had proceeded as far as
Loggy Bayou, when they were ordered back to
Grand Ecore.
In that descent they were exposed to the murderous fire of sharpshooters on the banks.
With these the Nationals continually fought on the way. There was a very sharp engagement at
Pleasant Hill Landing on the evening of the 12th.
The Confederates were repulsed, and
Gen. Thomas Green, the
Confederate commander, was killed.
Meantime,
Banks and all the land troops had returned to
Grand Ecore, for a council of officers had decided that it was more prudent to retreat than to advance.
The army was now again upon the
Red River.
The water was falling.
With difficulty the fleet passed the bar at
Grand Ecore (April 17). From that point the army moved on the 21st, and encountered 8,000 Confederates, on the 22d, with sixteen guns, under
General Bee, strongly posted on Monet's Bluff, at Cane River Ferry.
On the morning of the 23d the van of the Nationals drove the
Confederates across the stream, and after a severe struggle during the day,
General Birge, with a force of Nationals, drove the
Confederates from the ferry, and the
National army crossed.
Its retreat to
Alexandria was covered by the troops under
Gen. Thomas K. Smith, who skirmished at several points on the way—severely at Clouterville, on the
Cane River, for about three hours. The whole army arrived at
Alexandria on April 27.
At that place the water was so low that the gunboats could not pass down the rapids.
It had been determined to abandon the expedition against
Shreveport and return to the
Mississippi.
To get the fleet below the rapids was now urgent business.
It was proposed to dam the river above and send the fleet through a sluice in the manner of “running” logs by lumbermen.
Porter did not believe in the feasibility of the project; but
Lieut.-Col. Joseph Bailey (q. v.) performed the service successfully.
The whole expedition then proceeded towards the
Mississippi, where
Porter resumed the service of patrolling that stream.
The forces of
Banks were placed under the charge of
Gen. E. R. S. Canby, on the
Atchafalaya, and
Gen. A. J. Smith's
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The fleet passing the Dam. |
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troops returned to
Mississippi.
A strong confronting force of Confederates had kept
Steele from co-operating with the expedition.
He had moved from
Little Rock with 8,000 men, pushed back the
Confederates, and on April 15 had captured the important post at
Camden, on the
Wachita River; but after a severe battle at Jenkinson's Ferry, on the
Sabine River, he had abandoned
Camden and returned to
Little Rock.
So ended the disastrous
Red River campaign.
