Federal forces embarking on a campaign to conquer western Louisiana and eastern Texas approach a small Confederate fort on the first leg of their journey up the Red River.
Category: Louisiana
The Red River Campaign Begins
Nathaniel P. Banks and David D. Porter embark on the largest army-navy expedition ever conducted west of the Mississippi River in hopes of seizing the vital cotton crop in western Louisiana and eastern Texas.
Banks Initiates Reconstruction in Louisiana
Nathaniel P. Banks begins the process of reconstructing Louisiana under President Abraham Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan” by calling on delegates to form a convention to rewrite the state constitution.
The Red River Plan
The Lincoln administration initiates a third effort to capture eastern Texas, this time using the Red River as an invasion route. But not everyone in the Federal high command agrees with the strategy.
Targeting Eastern Texas Again
Nathaniel P. Banks launches another Federal offensive intended to capture eastern Texas and stop the flow of supplies into the Confederacy via Mexico.
The Fall of Port Hudson
Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federal Army of the Gulf captures the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, opening the waterway to Federal commerce and cutting the Confederacy in two.