Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federal Army of the Gulf veers away from the Red River to confront Richard Taylor’s Confederates. But the Confederates are much closer and in a much better position than Banks had expected.
Category: Louisiana
Red River: Federals Advance from Natchitoches
Federal forces at Natchitoches, Louisiana, look to continue further up the Red River on the way to their ultimate goal of Shreveport and eastern Texas beyond.
Red River: Banks Gets Bad News
Nathaniel P. Banks assembles the largest Federal force west of the Mississippi River, but he soon finds himself facing several problems as he tries to advance on the key city of Shreveport.
Red River: The Two-Pronged Advance Finally Begins
Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federal forces in Louisiana concentrate at Alexandria, while Frederick Steele’s Federals finally begin moving out of Little Rock in Arkansas. The two-pronged mission to capture the key cotton-producing city of Shreveport is now under way.
The Henderson’s Hill Engagement
Nathaniel P. Banks assembles 27,000 Federal troops and the largest naval flotilla west of the Mississippi for a drive on the vital supply center at Shreveport, Louisiana. A small Confederate force tries to impede the Federal advance at Henderson’s Hill.
Red River: Federals Target Alexandria
Federal army-navy forces follow up their capture of Fort DeRussy by continuing up the Red River toward Alexandria, Louisiana.