Overview
By the spring of 1864, Confederate control of Louisiana had been reduced to the northwestern part of the state. President Abraham Lincoln approved an offensive against the remaining Confederate forces in Louisiana at the urging of Union Army Chief of Staff Henry Halleck. The resulting Red River Campaign called for Union forces under General Nathaniel P. Banks, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, and General Frederick Steele to converge on Shreveport. Steele’s part of the operation was known as the Camden Expedition.
The campaign initially went well for the Union. Porter’s fleet entered the Red River from the Mississippi River on March 12. On March 14, Union soldiers under General A.J. Smith captured Fort DeRussy and approximately 300 Confederate soldiers. Porter and Smith occupied Alexandria the next day. Banks reached Alexandria later in March, and the combined forces moved upriver toward Grand Ecore.
On April 6, Banks left the Red River and the protection of Porter’s fleet to advance toward Shreveport along an inland road. His column, including cavalry, artillery, infantry, and supplies, stretched for more than 20 miles. Banks also placed his supply train between his cavalry and supporting infantry.
On April 8, General Albert L. Lee’s Union cavalry encountered as many as 14,000 Confederate soldiers under General Richard Taylor near Sabine Cross-Roads. After the Federals failed to attack, Taylor ordered an assault late in the afternoon. Confederate attacks on the Union left initially failed, and General Alfred Mouton was killed. On the Confederate right, however, two Texas cavalry units outflanked the Union position and forced the Federals to retreat.
Union reinforcements established a second defensive line, but Confederate forces outflanked it as well. The retreat became confused around the Union supply train, and Federal troops abandoned about 150 wagons and 20 artillery pieces. Banks eventually formed a third line that resisted additional Confederate attacks until nightfall.
The battle ended in a Confederate victory. Banks withdrew toward Pleasant Hill, ending his advance toward Shreveport and starting the Union retreat from the Red River Valley.
Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Battle of Sabine Crossroads.
- Date: April 8, 1864.
- Location: Mansfield, Louisiana.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Nathaniel P. Banks.
- CSA Commanders: Richard Taylor.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Mansfield.
- Campaign: Red River Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, January–April, 1864.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 694 killed or wounded and 1,423 captured or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Gulf.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 12,000.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 1,000 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Assembled soldiers from the Trans-Mississippi Department.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 14,000.
Significance
The Battle of Mansfield is important to American History because it became the decisive engagement of the Red River Campaign and stopped the Union advance toward Shreveport. General Nathaniel P. Banks could not use his superior numbers effectively because his army stretched for miles along a narrow road, and fewer than half his soldiers fought in the battle. General Richard Taylor’s Confederates outflanked two Union defensive positions and inflicted heavy losses. After the battle, Banks withdrew toward Pleasant Hill. The Confederate victory started the Union retreat from the Red River Valley and became the last major victory won by a Confederate army during the Civil War.
History
By the spring of 1864, Confederate Louisiana had shriveled to the northwestern area of the state. The capital had moved to Opelousas in 1862 and then to Shreveport in the spring of 1863. At the urging of Union Army Chief-of-Staff Henry Halleck, President Abraham Lincoln approved an offensive against the remaining Confederate forces in Louisiana in the spring of 1864.
Red River Campaign
Named the Red River Campaign, Halleck’s plan comprised a three-pronged assault.
- Major General Nathaniel P. Banks would march 20,000 troops from the area around New Orleans across southern Louisiana and occupy Alexandria, Louisiana, near the center of the state, before moving on to Shreveport.
- Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter would ascend the Red River and join Banks at Alexandria with over thirty warships and an accompanying supply fleet. A detachment of 10,000 soldiers from William T. Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Brigadier General Andrew Jackson Smith, would protect Dixon’s flotilla.
- After Banks and Porter joined forces and continued upriver toward Shreveport, Major General Frederick Steele would lead another 10,000 Union soldiers out of Little Rock, Arkansas, and approach Shreveport from the north or east.
Initial Federal Successes
The campaign began on March 12, as Porter’s fleet entered the mouth of the Red River from the Mississippi River. Events went well for the Federals initially. On March 14, Smith’s soldiers overran Fort DeRussy and captured a Confederate garrison of approximately 300 men. On the next day, Porter and Smith moved upriver and occupied Alexandria unopposed. Banks was behind schedule, and the forward elements of his army did not reach Alexandria until March 23. Banks himself did not arrive until the next day. At last united, the combined federal forces moved upriver to Grand Ecore.
Banks Separates
On April 6, Banks left the Red River and the protection of Porter’s fleet to travel up an inland road toward Shreveport. By the time his whole force was in motion, the column of cavalry, artillery, infantry, and supplies stretched over twenty miles along the narrow road. Unwisely, Banks had positioned his supply train between his vanguard cavalry unit and their infantry support.
Clash Near Mansfield, Louisiana
As the cavalry, led by Brigadier General Albert L. Lee, approached Sabine Cross-Roads on April 8, they encountered up to 14,000 Confederates, commanded by Major General Richard Taylor. Lee ordered his horsemen to dismount and requested reinforcements from Banks. Throughout the morning, Lee probed the Confederate lines, while Taylor invited a Union assault. When the Federals did not attack, Taylor’s men advanced in the late afternoon.
Confederate Assault
The assault began on the Confederate left and did not go well initially. Blistering rifle and artillery fire halted Brigadier General Alfred Mouton’s Confederates almost immediately. Mouton died during a second Confederate charge that proved equally futile.
On the right, events went much better for the Confederates. Two Texas cavalry units outflanked the Federals, forcing a retreat that quickly turned into a rout along the entire Union line. As reinforcements arrived from Banks’s strung-out army, the Federals set up a second line, which the Confederates also flanked, prompting a second retreat. This time, the fleeing Federals swarmed past their supply train on the narrow road, abandoning 150 wagons and twenty artillery pieces.
When the Confederate assault slowed because of fatigue and looting of the Union supply train, Banks restored some order and established a third line. The Federals withstood several more Confederate charges during the afternoon before Taylor halted the action at nightfall to regroup.
Outcome
The Battle of Mansfield was a stunning Confederate victory. Throughout the engagement, Banks could never take advantage of his superior numbers because of poor troop deployment along the narrow road. Fewer than one-half of his soldiers took part in the battle.
The Confederates inflicted staggering losses on the Federals, including the loss of over 200 supply wagons, twenty artillery pieces, and 2,200 human casualties, with approximately 700 men killed and wounded and 1,400 captured. The Confederates reported 1,000 casualties.
During the night, Banks ordered his army to fall back and regroup at the town of Pleasant Hill. The Confederate victory marked the beginning of the Union retreat from the Red River Valley, and it was the last major triumph by a Confederate army during the Civil War.
Timeline
- 1862 — Louisiana moved its capital to Opelousas.
- 1863, Spring — Louisiana moved its capital to Shreveport.
- 1864, Spring — President Abraham Lincoln approved an offensive against the remaining Confederate forces in Louisiana.
- 1864, March 12 — Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter’s fleet entered the Red River from the Mississippi River.
- 1864, March 14 — Union forces won the Battle of Fort DeRussy.
- 1864, March 15 — Union forces moved upriver and occupied Alexandria without opposition.
- 1864, March 23 — The leading elements of General Nathaniel P. Banks’s army reached Alexandria.
- 1864, March 24 — Banks arrived at Alexandria by steamboat.
- 1864, April 6 — Banks left the Red River and moved inland toward Shreveport.
- 1864, April 8
- Union cavalry encountered General Richard Taylor’s Confederate forces near Sabine Cross-Roads.
- Taylor ordered his Confederate forces to attack late in the afternoon.
- Confederate troops outflanked two Union defensive lines and forced the Federals to retreat.
- Banks established a third defensive line that resisted additional Confederate attacks until nightfall.
- The Battle of Mansfield ended in a Confederate victory, and Banks ordered his army to withdraw toward Pleasant Hill.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Mansfield (1864) — The Battle of Mansfield was fought near Mansfield, Louisiana, on April 8, 1864, during the Red River Campaign. General Nathaniel P. Banks moved his Union army inland toward Shreveport, leaving the protection of the Union fleet and stretching his forces along a narrow road. General Richard Taylor attacked Banks near Sabine Cross-Roads. Confederate troops outflanked two Union defensive lines, forcing repeated retreats. The Confederate victory stopped the Union advance and started the Federal retreat from the Red River Valley.
Alignment
The Battle of Mansfield is part of the following AP US History sections:
