to our lines. McPherson concluded they were a blind to more important operations farther interior, and, on the 14th, ordered Logan's and Tuttle's divisions of the Seventeenth Army Corps, to make a demonstration. They marched sixteen miles and encamped at Big Black. By daylight, the cavalry advance had crossed the River at Messenger's Ferry, closely followed by Logan, with Tuttle in the rear. At noon our cavalry was at Brownsville, which the infantry reached at 3 P. M. The next day, Logan's advance met a part of Wirt Adam's confederate cavalry strongly supported by a battery in the timber at the right of the road. McPherson sent forward Maltby's brigade of Logan's division, and two pieces of artillery, while our cavalry dismounting and advancing through the timber, deployed as skirmishers and a sharp contest began. The rest of Logan's division coming up by the Canton road, confronted Whitfield's brigade of cavalry and artillery, mostly Texas roughs of fighting celebrity. They commanded the road. There was spirited skirmishing. Night came on, and daylight showed that rebel reinforcements had come up, and McPherson returned to Vicksburg.

General Banks had succeeded in occupying the coast of Texas, to within one hundred miles of Galveston, and early in 1864 a grand expedition was projected. Another "Invincible Aramada" was set afloat. Dick Taylor was to be swept from Louisiana, Magruder from Texas, and Price from Arkansas. A grand fleet under Admiral Porter, was to ascend Red River to Shreveport, Steele was to sweep down from Little Rock, Arkansas, and unite with Banks at Shreveport, while another column should move from Brownsville. There were twenty heavily armed steamers of various draught, including monitors Ozark, Osage and Neosho; iron-clad gunboats Benton, Carondelet, Pittsburg, Mound City, Louisville, Essex and Chillicothe, and the rams Price, Choctaw and Lafayette. General A. J. Smith embarked 10,000 men at Vicksburg, including the 1st, and 3d divisions of the Sixteenth Army Corps, and the 1st and 4th divisions of the Seventeenth. The following afternoon the transports joined the fleet, and on the 12th the Aramada moved up the old Red River into the Atchafalaya, and in the afternoon came to anchor at Semmesport, an old town burned by the Ellett's.

The appearance of our gunboats caused the abandonment of two

FORT DE RUSSY-RANSOM.

115 partly completed earthworks. Smith having landed a part of his forces, headed them toward Fort De Russy, a rebel strong-hold, thirty miles distant. The enemy's cavalry swarmed about them, striking them at every opportunity. The fort was a strong quadrangular work, with bastions and bomb-proofs, covered with railroad iron, with a strong water-battery, having casemates capable of defying Federal guns and artillery, commanding the river above and below. Dick Taylor marched the main body of his troops out to give battle to our forces, who, by an adroit movement, placed themselves on his interior line and pushed straight for De Russy. Taylor, angry beyond endurance, pressed after them, but they reached it in advance, and compelled the garrison to surrender and thus rendering futile a year's hard work of rebel engineering. General Smith destroyed the guns.

The Armada passed on, occupying Alexandria on the 16th, the army entering on the 17th. Eighty miles beyond was Natchitoches, and that was occupied on the 21st. Thus far all had gone well.

On the 26th, General Smith left Alexandria with the advance for Shreveport, the objective point of the expedition. On the 4th of April, General Banks reached Natchitoches in person, remaining two days, moving on the 6th with General Lee's cavalry in advance, On the 7th, Lee came-was compelled to maintain a constant skirmish as he advanced, until he passed Pleasant Hill, where he came upon the main body of the rebel cavalry under Major-General

Colonel Robinson commanded the Union cavalry advance of five thousand sabers, and engaged Green until the latter fell back upon the infantry and artillery at Bayou du Paul. Colonel Robinson halted and awaited reinforcements, his weary men sleeping on their arms. Morning came and he was joined by an infantry brigade of the old 13th under Colonel Landrum, and he again advanced, the enemy falling back seven miles. Here was the main rebel force, massed in strength at a strong position in the vicinity of Sabine Cross Roads, east of Mansfield. And now it was seen that the wily foe had drawn our forces into almost inevitable disaster. Banks had arrived with Ransom, who with two divisions of the 13th Army Corps, came on the field on the 8th. Ransom's keen eye took in the situation, and he earnestly counseled against attack until the

4

Nineteenth Corps under Franklin, and Smith with his Vicksburg veterans of the 16th and 17th Army Corps, yet twenty miles distant, should arrive. That advice followed, had averted disaster, but it was over-ruled, and while orders were sent to General Franklin to hurry forward, an advance was ordered.

The enemy were ready. Major-General Dick Taylor was in command. General Green commanded the left, General Mouton the right with Walker's division and two cavalry regiments still farther to the extreme right. A strong force, wedged-shape, was concealed in the woods. Our brave men were marched into the open base of that wedge and directed to charge upon its apex. As they advanced the wings of fire closed upon them, and on either flank and in front rolled in the waves of flame. Ransom made heroic efforts to turn defeat into victory, and to retrieve from disaster the terrible mistake of his superior. He saw with anguish his brave companions in arms mowed down, and did what man might to save the day. The cavalry was thrown into confusion; the Chicago Mercantile Battery, with Battery G, Regular Artillery, and Nim's Massachusetts Battery were driven from their guns. Retreat was the order, and was fast becoming a route, when Franklin came up with reinforcements, and the panic was stayed. The six guns of the Chicago Mercantile Battery, two of Battery G, four of the 1st Indiana, six of Nim's and two howitzers of the 6th Missouri were in rebel hands, and two thousand brave men hors du combat.

The forces of General Smith were known to have reached Pleasant Hill, and there General Banks concentrated his forces, and on the morning of the 9th awaited battle, on ground open and rolling, ascending both from the village, and from the direction of the rebel approach, while a belt of timber swept almost around it. On the right was Smith with his soldiers of the 16th and 17th Corps, Franklin held the left with the 19th. The 13th was in reserve. "Taylor's Battery" was there-two guns in the rear of General Dwight's (19th) brigade on the left, and four on an eminence to the left of the road. General Emery's division was exposed to the first assault, Colonel Lynch commanding his right brigade, Colonel Shaw the left.

About 5 P. M. the enemy came on, and received a discharge of

PLEASANT HILL-RETREAT.

117

case shell from our batteries. They came forward grandly, and Emery slowly retired, pressed back. Part of Taylor's guns were captured, and the confident foe crowded up to the crest of the hill. Suddenly Smith's men poured upon them a sweeping shower from their batteries, and the infantry followed by round after round of musketry at short range and rushed forward to the charge with bayonets. It was not in rebel flesh and blood to withstand that terrific reception and they gave back, and were driven. Taylor's guns were recaptured with two of Nim's, and the Union army was for the present saved, but saved at fearful cost. Three thousand men were killed, wounded and missing, Ransom was wounded, never to recover. Twenty guns and one hundred and thirty wagons with twelve hundred horses and mules were lost. True we had captured Fort DeRussy, Alexandria, Grand Ecore and Natchitoches, had opened Red River, had captured three thousand bales of cotton, twenty-five guns, and twenty-three hundred prisoners, principally trophies of the navy, and had material for two colored regiments, but our brave army was defeated, wounded and bleeding, the objective point of the expedition must be abandoned and a line of suffering was to be traversed.

The enemy hung upon our retreat, which, leaving our dead upon the field, began on the 10th and continued until the troops reached Alexandria.

Orders were sent to Commodore Porter to fall back to Grand Ecore, but the river falling rapidly, rendered it almost impossible, and the destruction of the fleet seemed inevitable, and with it the destruction of the army. Below the fleet were the falls, rocky, rapid, turbulent and dangerous. Over this it was impossible for boats to pass. But there was an escape. Providence had reserved the man. Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey, acting engineer of the 19th Army Corps, proposed constructing a series of tree dams, thus deepening a channel over the falls and opening a door of escape. Thousands helped. Trees were felled, stone barges were made, teams moved-all were active, and yet, Commodore Porter says "not one in fifty believed in the undertaking." The hour came; in spite of an inopportune breakage of the dam the Lexington drove through the narrow opening and was greeted with cheers from thirty thousand soldiers. The

frightened pilot of the Neosho blundered, but the vessel came through with slight damage, and the Hindman and Osage followed safely. Then Bailey repaired and improved the dam, and on the 11th the Mound City, the Carondelet, and Pittsburg came through, and the day following, the Louisville, the Chillicothe and the Ozark and the two tugs. The fleet was saved, and on the 14th of May the army, under the protection of the gunboats, commenced its retreat from Alexandria, which it left in flames. On the 16th and 18th it had severe fighting. On the 19th it placed its pontoons over the Atchafalaya, which it crossed at Semmesport on the 20th, and marched toward the Mississippi. The next evening it was at Morganzia, and so ended General Banks' Red River expedition.

The rebels marched a strong force to crush General Steele, who had marched from Little Rock, Arkansas, to join Banks at Shreveport. Steele was confronted at Camden, but made a flank march toward Washington, sending a detachment to secure Elkin's Ferry, heading the main column southward, turning from his former course almost at right angles.

His forces skirmished with Marmaduke and Shelby, and on the 3d of April held both banks of the Little Missouri, crossing at Elkin's Ferry. On the 4th he was assailed by Marmaduke and Cabell, whom he repulsed, and entered Camden on the 15th. Kirby Smith reinforced the rebels, and Banks' defeat enabled Taylor to send Smith help. Steele's supplies were cut off, Colonel Drake mortally wounded, losing 2,000 prisoners captured, four guns, and two hundred and forty wagons. Steele fell back, retreating with loss and constant fighting on Little Rock. Here he could only stand on the defensive while the enemy overrun the State, and organized a movement on Missouri.

This State had been the Western battle-ground through the early stages of the war and its kaleidoscopic fortunes were not yet ended. Late in September, 1863, the rebel General Cabell crossed, with 8,000 men, the Arkansas River east of Fort Smith. He sent General Shelby to join Coffrey at Crooked Prairie to make a destructive raid into Southwestern Missouri. This force was met and routed October 12th at Booneville by the State militia, and its artillery captured. General Ewing took up the pursuit and chased them to Pea Ridge, where General McNeil took it up and drove them into Arkansas.