Skirmish of April 7th

BATTLE OF 8ABINE CROSS-ROADS.

329

Battle of Sabine
Cross-roads.

the rear of the column on the march, but | coming forward during the morning, took joined the negro brigade on the route to observations. The position chosen was faPleasant Hill. A heavy rain fell all day on forable for defense-high ground, with open the 7th, which greatly impeded the movement fields in front and woods in rear. Franklin and of the rear of the column, making the road al- Smith were ordered to hasten forward. most impassable for troops, trains or artillery." Seeing the hesitancy to Lee skirmished with the enemy all day of attack, and divining its the 7th, and that after- reason, the Confederate noon, when two miles be- leaders assumed the field, to strike before the yond Pleasant Hill, was brought to a halt. long, disjointed, encumbered Federal line The rebel force on the front was the Texan could become compacted on the front. "At cavalry command of General Green, about three o'clock the enemy was reported to be 2,500 strong, holding a well-constructed line moving," said a correspondent, "toward our of defenses covering the approaching road right. Anxiety now began to be felt for the the flanks and rear protected by dense arrival of General Franklin, and the right of woods. From this position the enemy was, our line was re-enforced by taking troops after a severe struggle, driven; but the con- from the left and centre. One brigade of fined nature of the road, and the miserable Landrum's division held the left, another the arrangement of having cach brigade-train in right and centre. Rawle's U. S. battery, with its immediate rear to obstruct all passage to the First Indiana and the Chicago Mercanthe front, did not promise good results, nor tile battery, were posted on the right and cenevince a proper military foresight of those tre, and Nimms' celebrated battery on the left, directing the details of the march. The supported by the Twenty-third Wisconsin pursuit by the cavalry was continued to Car- infantry. The cavalry brigade of Colonel roll's saw-mill, on St. Patrick's bayou, where Lucas was ordered to act upon the right a second line of defenses was discovered, and flank, the cavalry brigade of Colonel Dudley Lee halted for infantry support. was ordered to act upon the left flank of our line, and the cavalry brigade of Colonel Robinson to remain opposite the centre, in rear, on the road, and to guard wagon trains."

The army was strung out on a line reaching so far to the rear, that even communication was difficult, so obstructed was the sin gle highway. Ransom (13th Army Corps) being in the van of the long line, sent Emerson's brigade of Landrum's division forward, late on the 7th, to sustain Lee-the other brigades following on the morning of the 8th. The fight opened early. Lucas' first cavalry brigade and Emerson's infantry deploying respectively on the right and left of the road, with Rawle's battery G (U. S. artillery), between, pressed the enemy so closely that, by eight A. M., the road was once more open, and the advance continued to a point called Sabine Cross roads, where the commands of Dick Taylor, Mouton, Green and a portion of Price's men were entrenched-all under Taylor's command-E. Kirby Smith, the Department commander, then being at Shreeport, arranging for its local defense, or for retreat, if his army below was shattered. Landrum's regiments and the three cavalry brigades were halted before the threatening line; and Ransom, Lee, Stone and Banks

The attack came about four P.M., the Federal right first being assailed. In twenty minutes the conflict became general and sanguinary. The national brigades stood solidly up to the work; and the artillery, served with zeal and skill, held the enemy in much fear of its fatal power. Observing this, the Confederates moved by their right to break the Federal left, and seize or silence Nimms' splendidly served guns. That section of the field, by five P. M., was the main point of contest. Said a field observer:

"It was plain to all that no human bravery or skill could long withstand the odds against which our troops were fighting, and that unless Franklin speedily arrived we should be forced to retire. Gen

eral Franklin, with his staff, did come up, but his first division, under command of General Emory, was yet in the rear. Our thinned and wearied ranks

stood up nobly against the masses and murderous fire of the rebels, and cheer after cheer went up, mingled with the almost incessant roll of musketry and roar of cannon.

"At the line of woods a new position was assumed, supported by the third division of the 13th Army Corps, under General Cameron, which reached this point about five P. M., and formed in line of battle, under the direction of Major-General Frank-rapidly as possible and form a line in the strongest lin, who accompanied its advance. The enemy attacked this second line with great impetuosity and overpowering numbers, turning both flanks, and advancing heavily against the centre. The assault was resisted with gallantry, but the troops finding the enemy in the rear were compelled to yield the ground and fall steadily back."-Banks' Report.

BATTLE OF PLEASANT HILL.

follows:

331

Battle of Pleasant
Hill.

officers who had deposited their greenbacks | large clearing or commons, in his safe for security, had the satisfaction over which the assailants of aiding in the contribution of six or seven must advance to the attack. thousand dollars to helping along the illy Gooding's cavalry brigade, reconnoitreing paid rebel soldiers. All the Adjutant-Gene- down the Shreveport road, met the enemy's ral's official papers fell into the hands of the full force advance at eight A. M. (April 9th), enemy, who must possess pretty accurate and skirmished back to the main lines. The knowledge respecting the cavalry division. | disposition to receive the attack was as Rebel soldiers who have been taken prisoners, report that one of their number got two thousand dollars in greenbacks, and that the blankets and hard tack were very acceptable. Colonel Brisbin, of General Lee's staff, lost some five hundred dollars worth of clothing and money, together with the sash worn by the rebel General Barksdale, which was captured at Gettysburg, and a valuable sword, also captured near Gettysburg." The estimated casualties in killed, wound-resting on the road. Colonel Benedict's brigade ed and missing were fifteen hundred. Four brigade commanders were among the killed and wounded. The enemy's loss was very severe-particularly in the attempt to take Nimms' pieces, which, shotted with canister, made terrible havoc in the assaulting ranks. Among their killed was General Mouton.

"General Emory's division was drawn up in line of battle on the side of the hill, his right resting across the Shreveport road. General McMillen's brigade formed the extreme right of the line, and his right rested near the woods, which extended along the whole base of the hill, and through which it was expected the enemy would advance. General Dwight's brigade was formed on the left of General McMillen's, on the right of the road, the left

formed on the left of General Dwight, forming an echelon to his brigade. Two pieces of Taylor's the road, and the remaining four pieces were got battery were placed in the rear of Dwight's left on into position on an eminence on the left of the road and in rear of Benedict's left. Hibbard's Vermont battery was in the rear of the division. General A. J. Smith's division of the 16th Army Corps, under command of General Mower, were massed in two lines of battle, with artillery, in rear of Emory's division. The right of the first line rested on the road, and was composed of two brigades, the first brigade on the right, commanded by Colonel Lynch, the second brigade, on the left, commanded by Colonel Shaw. The third Indiana battery, (Craw ford's) was posted on the first line of battle, and on the right of the Eighty-ninth Indiana. The niuth

The retreat to Pleasant Hill was ordered to commence at ten P. M. Said Banks: "From Pleasant Grove, where this action occurred, to Pleasant Hill, was fifteen miles. It was certain that the enemy, who was within reach of re-enforcements, would renew the attack in the morning, and it was wholly uncertain whether the command of General Smith would reach the position we held in season Indiana battery (Brown's) was in position on the for a second engagement. For this reason. right of the first brigade. The Missouri battery octhe army, toward morning, fell back to Pleas-cupied ground on the right of the Eighty-ninth Inant Hill, General Emory covering the rear, burying the dead, bringing off the wounded, and all the material of the army." Not all the wounded; over half of the disabled fell into the enemy's hands. These were conveyed to Mansfield, where they received humane treatment. To the rebels was left the task of burying the Union dead. Emory buried only such as died far within his lines. The withdrawal was not detected by the enemy until daybreak of the 9th, when pursuit was made, but too late to meet with any success. The army obtained good position, with concentrated forces, at the point named -an elevation standing in the centre of a

diana. General Smith's second line of battle was fifty yards in rear of the first, and was composed of two brigades, one on the right of the line, and that on the left commanded by Colonel Hill. General Mower, of the second brigade, was in division com

mand."

All day long the Nationals waited for the expected assault, but it was five P. M. before it came. At that hour Emory sent word from the front that the enemy was marching down in three battle lines, and in a quarter of an hour's time the Confederates appeared in the woods at the edge of the clearing, when the contestants joined battle. Banks, reporting this conflict, said: "Light skir

Battle of Pleasant
Hill.

The Retrograde.

mishing occurred during | feature of the day-Smith's splendid charge the afternoon. Between his peculiar treatment of reverses to the four and five o'clock it in- Confederate arms may explain. The failure, creased in vigor, and about five P. M., when also, to state that Smith recaptured Taylor's it appeared to have nearly ceased, the enemy guns, and two of Nimms' pieces lost on the drove in our skirmishers and attacked in previous day, and a 10-pounder Parrott capforce, his first onset being against the left. tured by the rebels at the "Carrion Crow" He advanced in two oblique lines, extending affair, the previous fall, does not strengthen well over toward the right of the third bri- the Confederate's reputation for the ultigade 19th Corps. After a determined resist-mate truth.' ance, this part of the line gave way, and went The first and slowly back to the reserves. second brigades were soon employed in front, right and rear. The skillful movements of General Emory, the flank of the two brigades now bearing the brunt of the battle, were covered. The enemy pursued the brigades, passing the left and centre, until he approached the reserves under General Smith, when he was met by a charge led by General Mower and checked. The whole of the reserves were now ordered up, and in turn we drove the enemy, continuing the pursuit until night compelled us to halt."

It was a defeat for the enemy, conclusive and effective, which a more energetic conduct of the campaign must have turned into a rapid advance to Shreveport. But Banks, it would appear, though he still contemplated such a movement, did not feel warranted in pursu ing the expedition against the wishes of his subordinates. At Grand Ecore, on the upward march, he was placed in possession of Grant's order of March 15th (already quoted), wherein it was expressly stipulated that Sherman's troops should be returned in the time specified, "even if it led to the aban donment of the main object of the Red river expedition." This, however, he did not construe as an order for a retrograde, and hence proposed to persist in the movement up stream. His purposes, however, were overridden by the decision of his Generals, who, on the evening of the 10th, informed the General Commanding of their objections to any further advance. Said Banks:

In which there is but little indication of the sanguinary nature of the struggle. The "Southern Historian's" version was more picturesque but with less matter of fact, viz.: "The engagement of the two armies was scarcely more than skirmishing until about five o'clock in the afternoon. One of the most thrilling scenes of mortal contest was now to take place. The Confederates reached the open ground and moved on to the attack in three lines of battle. The Yankee batteries and infantry opened with terrible effect, while the Confederate artillery, being in the woods and in bad position, did scarcely any damage. The fighting was terrific. The Confederates pressed furiously on. The Yankees were pushed back, Taylor's battery taken, and the enemy's line pushed up the hill. As the second line of Confederates appeared on the crest of the hill, the death-signal was sounded, and from the long line of cannon and crouching forms of men there leaped a terrible and destroying fire. Thousands of rifles blazed away, and cannon loaded nearly to the muzzles belched forth destruction. Finding it impossible to force the enemy further, the Confederates fought their way slowly and steadily back to their original line. The enemy could not be rallied after such proof of valor. In vain General Smith ordered & charge. Night was near at hand, and the engagement dwir-General Smith, to retire upon Grand Ecore the foldled into desultory skirmishing."

"There was nothing in the immediate position or condition of the two armies to prevent a forward movement next morning, and orders were given to prepare for an advance. A train which had been turned to the rear on the day of the battle was or dered to reform and advance at daybreak. I com municated this purpose at the close of the day to General A. J. Smith, who expressed his concurrence therein. But representations subsequently received from General Franklin and all the general officers of the 19th Corps, as to the condition of their respect ive commands for immediate active operations against the enemy, caused a suspension of this or der, and a conference of the general officers was held in the evening, in which it was determined, upon the earnest recommendation of all the general officers above named, and with the acquiescence of

lowing day. The reasons urged for this course by

Why the writer should discredit the great the officers commanding the 19th and 13th Corps

were: first, that the absence of water made it abso- | from headquarters at Camden, Arkansaз— lutely necessary to advance or retire without de- whither he had then removed from Shreve-. lay. General Emory's command had been without port to watch Stecle's operations--announced rations for two days, and the train which had been the Confederate success in the following conturned to the rear during the battle could not be gratulatory order: put in condition to move forward upon the single road, through dense woods in which it stood, without difficulty and loss of time. It was for the pur pose of communicating with the fleet at Springfield landing, from the Sabine cross-roads to the river, as well as to prevent the concentration of the Texan troops with the enemy at Mansfield, that we had pushed for the early occupation of that point. Considering the difficulty with which the gunboats passed Alexandria and Grand Ecore, there was every reason to believe that the navigation of the river would be found impracticable."

And he further added:

"It was known at this time that the fleet could not repass the rapids at Alexandria, and it was doubtful, if the fleet reached any point above Grand Ecore, whether it would be able to return. By falling back to Grand Ecore, we should be able to ascertain the condition of the fleet, the practica bility of continuing the movement by the river; reorganize a part of the forces that had been shattered in the battles of the 7th, 8th and 9th; possibly ascer tain the position of General Steele, and obtain from him the assistance expected for a new advance north of the river or upon its northern bank; and perhaps obtain definite instructions from the Gov. ernment as to the course to be pursued. Upon these general considerations and without reference to the actual condition of the respective armies, at twelve o'clk, midnight, on the 9th I countermanded the order for the return of the train, and directed preparations to be made for the return of the army

to Grand Ecore."

With this decision the campaign ceased to be one of offense, and became one of retreat.* Its fruits were simply a demonstration of the folly of the entire movement at that season of the year; its losses were, directly and indirectly, of a serious character. Banks reported his casualties, in the three days' conflicts of April 7th, 8th and 9th, as 3,996 men, out of about 20,000-the actual force in the field. To this should be added the entire cavalry train of 130 wagons, guns (12 recaptured out of 20 lost), over 1,200 horses and mules, etc. The indirect results were immeasurably great. General E. Kirby Smith,

SOLDIERS OF THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPART MENT! The campaign inaugurated at Mansfield, on the day of national fast and supplication, has, under Providence, been crowned with most glorious and brilliant success. You have defeated a foe three times your number. The fields of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Cloutierville, Poison Spring, Marks' mills and Jenkins' ferry attest your devotion. Eight thousand killed and wounded, six thousand prisoners, thirtyfour pieces of artillery, twelve hundred wagons, one gunboat and three transports are already the results of your victories. The path of glory is still open to you-permanent security to your homes before you. Call together your comrades, and, shoulder to shoulder, we will yet free the soil of our beloved country from the invader's footsteps. Soldiers of Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana, you have the thanks of a grateful people. Your living will be respected -your dead honored and revered."

A summary of gains strikingly at variance with the losses reported by the Federal commanders. As a contrast, we may anticipate the order of narrative by adding Banks' view of the same and succeeding events:

"In the twenty-four days intervening between the departure of the army from Alexandria and its return, the battles of Nelson's farm, Sabine crossroads, Pleasant Grove, Pleasant Hill, Compte, Monet's Bluff, and several combats in the neighborhood of Grand Ecore, while we were in the occupation of that point, had been fought. In every one of these engagements, except Sabine cross-roads, we had been successful. The failure to accomplish the main object of the expedition was due to other considerations than the actual superiority of the enemy in the field. In these operations, in which my own command had marched by land nearly four hundred miles, the total loss sustained was 3,980 men of whom 289 were killed, 1,541 wounded, and 2,150 missing. A large portion of the latter were captured and have since been exchanged, but a considerable portion returned to the army during

its operations on Red river. No loss of artillery or of trains, or any army material whatever, was sustained, except that which occurred at Sabine crossroads. We lost there Nimms' battery and a section of the Missouri howitzer battery, 150 wagons and 800 mules captured by the enemy on account of the

See Appendix, page 540, for Banks' own version position of the train near the field of battle. All the of the conduct of the campaign.

ammunition wagons were saved. The army had