Our prisoners say that the slaughter of the ant advantage to either side. The cavalry enconfederates on the first day was enormous; that camped about seven miles in advance of the main they lost many times the killed and wounded army. Next morning (Friday, the eighth) the that we did. They were pretty crazy with Lou- army started toward Mansfield, a distance of isiana rum and whisky, and while they rushed seventeen miles from Pleasant Hill. About noon, forward fearlessly, their aim was not so steady while the enemy was in line of march, aras our men's. Still, they had sharp-shooters, who rived at the front, at a small bayou, where a were cool enough. Our loss of officers was three bridge was being built. General Banks at once times as great as usual, according to the number assumed command of the army in the field. of men. Three out of the four brigade com- There was almost constant skirmishing all the manders were probably killed, and General Ran-way from Pleasant Hill to the place where the som, commanding detachment of corps, was severely wounded. We have but one general and three colonels remaining in the corps-that part of it with us, either fifteen or sixteen regiments. The Eighty-third did finely. When it left the right to move to the left, although the enemy were close to us, and one captain and several men fell, still the regiment marched off coolly and in perfect order, at right shoulder shift arms, ranks well closed up. The gunboats have had some flurries since the transports got down here, and the pickets are assailed occasionally; but there is little danger of an attack here, although it has been expected, and we have been ready for it all the time. Troops at arms at three o'clock, and occasional orders that we shall be engaged in fifteen minutes, or that they are closing in on the right or left. Our hospital teams and supplies are away to the rear. We are in line of battle in the woods, a slashing in front of us, (trees cut down,) and a part of the line extending from the river above to the river below has rifle-pits, breast-works, and batteries. We can whip forty thousand here, but they will not attack us, in a place of our own choosing. The river is falling fast, and I expect every hour an order to get out of here. H. W. "MISSOURI REPUBLICAN" ACCOUNT. GRAND ECORE, April 13, 1864. The grand expedition up Red River, which promised such beneficial results, has met with an unexpected and disastrous check. On the sixth of April the Union army, under command of Major-General Franklin, moved from Natchitoches (pronounced Nackitosh) toward Shreveport. Natchitoches is four miles from Red River, the nearest point on the river being Grand Ecore, the place from which this letter is dated. The road from Natchitoches is through a dense forest of pine woods, the surface of the country being broken and hilly. There are but few plantations opened, and nothing upon which to subsist an army. On Thursday night, the seventh, the army camped at Pleasant Hill, a small town in the pine woods, about thirty miles north-east of Natchitoches, on the road to Shreveport. The wagon-road leaves the river to the right some fifteen or twenty miles, rendering the cooperation of the gunboats impossible. Before encamping at Pleasant Hill, there was a sharp cavalry skirmish about two miles beyond that place, resulting in no import battle afterward occurred. When General Banks A thousand strong, and the batteries above mentioned, were the forces in advance of the wagon-train. These forces fought desperately for a while, but gave way under superior numbers of the rebels, and retreated in great precipitation. The scene of this retreat beggars all description. General Franklin said of it, that "Bull Run was not a circumstance in comparison." General Ransom was wounded in the knee, but rode off the field before he was compelled, by loss of blood, to dismount. Captain Dickey, of General Ransom's staff, was shot through the head and killed instantly. His body was left on the field. The position of the wagon-train in the narrow road, was the great blunder of the affair. The rear was completely blocked up, rendering the retreat very difficult, and in fact, almost impossible. Cavalry horses were dashing at full speed through the roads, endangering infantry and other pedestrians more than rebel musketry, the retreat having become so precipitate that all attempts to make a stand, for a while seemed impossible. The immense baggage and supply train of General Lee's cavalry, consisting of two hundred and sixty-nine wagons, nearly all fell into the hands of the enemy, together with the mules attached thereto. their precipitate retreat from the battle-field to Pleasant Hill. Saturday morning General Banks ordered a retreat of the whole army to Grand Ecore. The wagon-trains and the heavy artillery, guarded by the negro regiments, took the advance, leaving Pleasant Hill early in the morning. It required nearly all day to get the immense train in motion, the advance being at least fifteen miles distant before the rear got fairly started. About five o'clock P.M., just as the wagontrain of General Banks's army had all got in motion, the rebels attacked our army in great force. Our forces were posted so as to effectually cover our retreat; the right resting about half a mile north-west of the town of Pleasant Hill, the centre about a half-mile to the west, and the left still further west, about a half-mile in the woods. The Sixteenth army corps, commanded by General A. J. Smith, occupied the right up to the centre, and the Nineteenth army corps, under General Franklin, the left up to the centre. The reserves were posted about a half-mile in the rear. The forces supporting the Sixteenth army corps were the Forty-ninth Illinois, commanded by Major Thomas W. Morgan; One Hundred and Seventy-eighth New-York, commanded by Colonel Waler; Eighty-ninth Indiana, commanded by Colonel Murray, and the Fifty-eighth Illinois. I have no list of the regiments supporting the Nineteenth army corps. The rebels under Kirby Smith attacked our whole front in great force, and after a half-hour of terrible fighting, with musketry and field artillery, our forces fell back on the reserve line, a distance of about a half-mile. The enemy pursued with great rapidity, fighting all the way, and doing considerable damage. For a time all seemed lost, but the presence of the Western troops inspired confidence in the whole army. When the rebels approached the line of the reserve forces, our army was brought into excellent position, and the fighting again became terrific. The Western boys threw their hats in the air, and raised a yell which was heard above the roar of artillery and the rattle of musketry. That tremendous yell was more terrible to the rebels than the thundering peals of cannon. One of the prisoners afterward remarked, that when they heard that shout, the word passed round: "There are the Western boys-we will catch h-1 now." In a short time their column began to waver. General A. J. Smith ordered a charge along the whole line. The order was quickly obeyed. Another shout was raised from our boys. General Mower advanced to the front, and led the charge in person, riding through the thickest of the fight, cheering his men on. The rebels could stand no longer. They broke and ran in great confusion, throwing away their guns, The stand was made by the Nineteenth army and giving up the day. They were hotly purcorps, which remained on the field until mid- sued by our forces, who pressed them closely, night, when it fell back to Pleasant Hill, a dis- and inflicted terrible blows upon them. tance of about twelve miles, arriving there about pulse of the rebels was crushing, and attended daylight Saturday morning. General Lee's cav- with immense loss. Whole columns were mowalry and the Thirteenth ariny corps continued | ed down, under the galling fire from the Western The Third division, Thirteenth army corps, mustering about eighteen thousand men, under command of General Cameron, were sent forward, and endeavored to make a stand. But the effort was futile. The rebels pressed so hard upon General Cameron that he could not resist them. After suffering terribly, he fell in with the retreating column. The Thirteenth army corps, numbering, in all, four thousand six hundred men when the fight began, sustained a loss in proportion to the number engaged, which is perhaps without a parallel in the history of this terrible war. The One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois, commanded by Major Reed, attached to the Fourth division, could only find fifty-eight men after the battle. So precipitate was the retreat of the Fourth division of this corps, that the men only brought off six hundred and forty stand of small-arms, hundreds of them throwing away their guns to facilitate their movements. At least one half of the Thirteenth corps were killed, wounded, or captured. General Lee's cavalry lost heavily, but some time must elapse before correct estimates can be obtained. The retreating column fell back some four or five miles, when the Nineteenth army corps, under General Ewing, came up and succeeded in making a stand. The rebels charged upon General Ewing's forces, but were checked and repulsed with considerable loss. Night came on, and thus ended the battle of Mansfield. The re army. They were driven about two miles into the woods, losing about one thousand men, who were captured, besides a large number of killed and wounded. During the battle, the Forty-ninth Illinois, (Colonel W. R. Morrison's old regiment,) under command of Major Morgan, charged upon a rebel battery with determined bravery, and captured two pieces of artillery and a large number of prisoners. Adjutant Deneen, of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Illinois, reported this fact to General Banks. The General replied: "Present my compliments to Major Morgan and his regiment, and tell him that I will ever remember them for their gallantry." The rebel prisoners claim to have had twentyfive thousand men engaged on Saturday, but I doubt whether half that number were present. The rebel Generals Parsons and Mouton are reported killed. Our army remained on the field until daylight Sunday morning, when the retreat to Grand Ecore was commenced. The rebel killed and wounded were left on the field. Our wounded were taken to houses in Pleasant Hill, and there were placed in ambulances and wagons and brought on to Grand Ecore, except about twenty-five, who were badly wounded, and left at Pleasant Hill in care of two surgeons. Our dead were left on the field, but it is reported that they were afterward buried by the cavalry. Our killed and wounded during the second day's battle, will, perhaps, amount to one thousand five hundred. That of the rebels is at least double that amount. The Sixteenth and Nineteenth army corps were the only forces engaged in this fight on our side. In our retreat to Grand Ecore, a distance of thirty-five miles from Pleasant Hill, we were not molested in the least. By Monday evening, (the eleventh,) the whole army was at Grand Ecore, on Red River. There is great dissatisfaction expressed on all sides, at the generalship displayed by General Banks. He has lost the confidence of the entire army. The privates are ridiculing him. Officers are not loudly but deeply cursing him, and civilians are unanimous in condemnation of the Commanding General. The Friday's battle was brought on contrary to General Franklin's plans. And both General Franklin and General Ransom protested against having the cavalry so far in advance of the main army. General Banks hurried on, supposing that there was no danger, but the sad defeat at Mansfield is the result. After General Banks left Grand Ecore, he wrote back to General Grover, at Alexandria, saying: "We hope to meet the enemy this side of Shreveport." His hope has been more than realized. The troops are calling for General Sherman. They say if Sherman had been in command, he would now be in Shreveport, instead of at Grand Ecore. General Banks has been engineering his department more to further his presidential aspirations than any thing else. But if the Baltimore Con vention were composed of the army of the Guif, his chances would be hopeless. He would not get enough votes to save him from that unimportant list put down as "scattering." Personally, General Banks is a perfect gentleman. I have no prejudice against him, for he has invariably treated me with kindness and consideration. But the truth must be told. As a military man, he is, as the vernacular has it, "played out." General A. J. Smith protested against the retreat from Pleasant Hill. He wanted to pursue the rebels on Sunday on his own hook instead of falling back, but General Banks was firm, and ordered all the forces to return. General Smith is very popular with the army, and every time he makes his appearance he is cheered with great enthusiasm, and considered one of the ablest generals of the army. It is difficult to determine at this time what will be the result of this expedition. It will take some time to reorganize before an advance can be resumed. If the river continues to fall, navigation above Alexandria will be difficult, if not impossible. In that event, Alexandria will necessarily become the base of operations instead of Grand Ecore, or some point above. The transports and gunboats are all above Grand Ecore, but are expected down here to-morrow. The rebels are very troublesome on the river above Grand Ecore. They succeeded in planting a battery between our fleet and this place. The gunboats shelled the woods all day yesterday, and perhaps dislodged them. The transports are almost constantly fired on from both sides of the river. Seventeen miles below here, the rebels have appeared on the east side of the river. Yesterday, the Ohio Belle, loaded with soldiers and quartermaster's stores, in charge of Chief Clerk, Mr. O'Neil, of St. Louis, was fired into at that point, and two soldiers were badly wounded. To-day, the fine passenger steamer, Mittie Stephens, loaded with troops, was fired into at the same place, sixty shots taking effect. Six persons were wounded and one killed. To-day General Banks's army began crossing over to the east side of Red River, opposite Grand Ecore. Whether the whole army will cross over or not, I am unable to say. It is rumored that only Smith's army (Sixteenth army corps) is crossing, and that he is going overland to Natchez or Vicksburgh. But this wants confirmation, although it is generally understood that General Grant has sent an order for Smith's return to Vicksburgh. I do not see how General Banks can spare the Sixteenth army corps at this time. All the forces have been ordered here from Alexandria, except one regiment, and a few companies of home-guards. General Grover, commanding the post at Alexandria, has been ordered here, and is now expected. Fears ar entertained that the rebels may attack Alexandria for the purpose of destroying the large amoun of army supplies at that place. Admiral Porter has arrived here from abov with two or three of his iron-clads. The fleet of transports above here are in great danger at this time, and the most serious apprehensions are marched to Natchitoches, an old Indian and entertained for its safety. The transports had French settlement on the banks of what is called, gone as high up as Springfield Landing, expecting to meet the land forces at that place. The rebels are swarming along the river, and will sink every boat if they can. "PHILADELPHIA PRESS" NARRATIVE. by a strange perversion of words, the "old Red River." Natchitoches is as old as Philadelphia, and so queer and quaint, that I would be tempted to write you a letter about it, if the events of this busy time were not so urgent. About four miles from Natchitoches, on the river, there is GRAND ECORE., LA., April 10, 1864. another settlement of dingy houses called Grand The object of General Banks's spring campaign Ecore. The river here, in one of its angry, is political as well as military. The importance whimsical moments, seems to have abandoned of the South-West may be properly estimated one bank and left it a low, wide, shelving plain, when we consider our relations with Mexico, and and so violently intruded upon the other bank the embarrassments occasioned by the French that it is now a high, ragged bluff, with the sides interference with that republic. The occupation in a condition of decay, as every rain-storm of Brownsville, on the Rio Grande, by General slices off layer after layer of earth. This is Banks, last year, did much toward checking the what is called Grand Ecore, and when our army designs of the French Emperor. An American occupied Natchitoches, General Banks came army was placed on the frontier of the new- hither and made it his headquarters. Admiral made dependency, and any diplomacy between Porter, with his gunboats, accompanied him, and Davis and Napoleon was thus shattered and it is now the headquarters of the army and navy. silenced. That occupation was merely a check. The rebels seem to have contemplated holding To make it a checkmate, the capture of Shreve- Grand Ecore, for on the bluffs around the settleport was necessary. This town occupies a point ment the remains of works intended for large in the extreme north-western part of Louisiana, guns and as rifle-pits, may be seen. These were near the boundary line of Arkansas and Texas. built last summer when General Banks made a At the head of steamboat navigation on the Red feint upon Shreveport by way of diverting the River, in the midst of the largest and richest cot- attention of the enemy from his attack upon Port ton district in the trans-Mississippi department, Hudson. No attempt was made to fortify it the rebel capital of Louisiana, the headquarters when the present movement began on Sunday, of Kirby Smith, and the dépôt of supplies for April third. General Banks arrived here, and the rebel army, Shreveport is as important to went into camp in a beautiful meadow ground, this department as Chattanooga or Richmond. skirted by pine woods, about two hundred yards If purely military considerations had controlled, from shore, and near a small shallow stream, it is probable that the armies of this department with pine trees growing in it, which the inhabitwould have been devoted to an expedition against ants call a lake. The headquarters of General Mobile, or a coöperating movement with the Franklin were at Natchitoches. army of General Sherman. But the Government That army consisted of about twenty thousand desired Shreveport and the undisturbed posses- men, and was thus commanded: The cavalry sion of the Mississippi, and General Banks was by General Lee, formerly of Grant's army-said charged with the duty of taking it. His army to be a favorite of the Lieutenant-General, and consisted of a part of the Nineteenth army corps, with the reputation of being an efficient and actwhich he formerly commanded in person; a ive officer. The artillery was under Brigadierportion of the Thirteenth army corps, under General Richard Arnold, a captain of the Second General Ransom; and a portion of the Sixteenth artillery, in the regular army, and chief of the army corps, under the command of General Smith. The Nineteenth corps is composed mainly of Eastern troops, and came with General Banks when he assumed command of this department. It is now under the command of General William B. Faulkner, formerly of the army of the Potomac, who is next in authority to General Banks. The divisions commanded by General Smith were recently in Grant's army, and in the corps commanded by General Hurlbut. They were sent to aid in the movement upon Shreveport, and began their operations by capturing Fort De Russy, and thus opening the Red River. General Smith occupied Alexandria, the parish-town of Rapides, situated on the Red River, and one of the most beautiful towns in the State. Alexandria was thus made the base of operations against Shreveport, and General Banks, proceeding thence in person, assumed command of the army. service in this department. General Franklin was second in command of the forces. He had one division of his army corps with him, that commanded by General Emory. The division of General Green was left at Alexandria to hold the post. General Smith's force consisted of two divisions. General Ransom's force also consisted of two divisions. On this calculation I make the estimate that the army around Grand Ecore, under General Banks, on the morning of the Sunday he assumed command, numbered altogether twenty thousand men. With this army he began his march. The country through which he was to move was most disadvantageous for an invading army. The topography of Virginia has been assigned as a reason for every defeat of the army of the Potomac; but Virginia is a garden and a meadow, when compared with the low, flat pine countries that extend from Opelousas, far in the South, to Fort Smith in the North, After concentrating at Alexandria, the army and cover hundreds of thousands of square VOL. VIII.-Doc. 35 miles. There are few plantations and fewer set- began to fall. It continued to fall, and for the tlements. These are merely built in clearings, remainder of the day we had a storm of unusual of pine logs, thatched and plastered with mud. fury. This delayed the march so much that it was I have ridden for fifty miles into the heart of this dark before the General reached the encampment pine country, and from the beginning to the end of General Franklin, on Pleasant Hill. The rain of the journey there was nothing but a dense, was then pouring in torrents, and the shelter of impenetrable, interminable forest, traversed by a tent and a cup of coffee became luxuries that a few narrow roads, with no sign of life or civil- even a Sybarite would have craved. Early in ization beyond occasional log houses and half the day, on Thursday, our cavalry had passed cleared plantations-the bark being stripped from beyond Pleasant Hill, and about two miles above, the trees, that they might rot and die in a few near a ravine, they had met the rear-guard of the months, and thus save their lazy owners the enemy. A sharp skirmish ensued. The fighttrouble of cutting them down. Into this country ing became so earnest at last, that General Lee General Banks was compelled to march. He began to doubt the ability of his cavalry to force found, in the beginning, that two arms of his a passage, and sent to General Franklin for a service would be almost worthless. So long as brigade of infantry, as a reenforcement. The he marched, his cavalry might picket the woods enemy were driven, however, before the infantry and skirmish along the advance; but in action arrived, with severe loss, the cavalry being conthey would be as helpless as so many wagon-pelled to dismount, and fight through the woods. trains. His artillery would be of no use unless In this skirmish we lost about fifty men, killed, he should manage to get the enemy into an open wounded, and missing. clearing, which was as improbable as it would be to get troops with works to fight in front of them. The country was little more than a great masked battery. It was an unproductive, barren country, and it became necessary for permanent military operations to carry along every thing that an army could use. Such a thing as subsisting an army in a country like this could only be achieved when men and horses can be induced to live on pine trees and resin. General Banks had very much the same difficulties to meet that Lord Raglan found in the Crimea. In one respect they were greater. For, while our commander was compelled to march his army as a movable column, he was also compelled to keep open a long and dangerous line of communication. I make these explanations, now in order that you may more particularly understand the nature of our recent operations, and give General Banks the credit that I feel to be due to him and to the army un-pelled to halt and repair them, building bridges, der his command. About thirty-four miles from Grand Ecore there is a clearing of more than usual size, and upon it there are built more than the ordinary number of houses, and showing more than the common degree of enterprise and taste. This clearing forms a plateau, and as it rises as high perhaps as fifty feet, the people have taken advantage of the fact, and called it "Pleasant Hill." Against this point it was determined to march. We knew that the rebel army was in that direction, and it was not at all unlikely that they would make a stand and show us battle. The army marched accordingly Lee leading the advance, moving slowly with his cavalry, and followed as rapidly as possible by the infantry divisions of General Ransom. By Thursday, April seventh, the whole army was in motion, and the advance was nearing Pleasant Hill. Genera. Banks broke camp, and with his staff and a small escort rode to the front. Before him were two thirds of his army; behind him, the remainder, under General Smith, and composed of many of the bravest veterans in Grant's army, was marching rapidly. We had not ridden more than ten miles when the rain This skirmish convinced us that the enemy in front were in more than usual force. We learned from prisoners that Lieutenant-General E. Kirby Smith, of the rebel army, was in command, that his trains had fallen back on the road to Mansfield, and that his army was retreating with more than usual disorder. It, of course, suggested itself that our pursuit should be rapid, and, if we showed proper enterprise, we might capture Mansfield and the whole train of the rebel army. An order was given that the army should march early in the morning, and shortly after dawn the whole force was on the advance, General Banks and staff following. The advance was pushed with energy. Our army skirmished all the way, and once or twice the enemy made a demonstration of force. Our troops quietly drove them, and we moved on. The roads began to be in a horrible condition, and frequently we were com At His removing stumps, and widening the paths. A brief ride This was shortly after noon. brought the General to the advance. He found the cavalry slowly pushing on, and the enemy disputing their march. It was a tedious process |