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 started successfully for the Union. On March 14, 1864, Union soldiers under General A.J. Smith captured Fort DeRussy and about 300 Confederate soldiers. The next day, Smith and Porter occupied Alexandria without opposition. Banks arrived later, and the combined Union forces eventually moved 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. Two days later, his forces encountered about 14,000 Confederates under General Richard Taylor near Sabine Crossroads. Taylor attacked at the Battle of Mansfield on April 8 and won a major victory, forcing the Union army to retreat.
During the night, Banks ordered his army to withdraw nearly 14 miles to Pleasant Hill. Taylor pursued on April 9 and rested his soldiers before attacking. At about 5:00 p.m., Confederate forces struck the Union center while attempting to turn both flanks. The attack succeeded against the Union left, but the Union right held.
Banks launched counterattacks and gradually regained the ground he had lost. After about four hours of heavy fighting, the Federals had repulsed Taylor’s attack.
Although the Battle of Pleasant Hill was a tactical Union victory, Banks abandoned his plan to capture Shreveport and retreated toward the Red River and southern Louisiana. Taylor wanted to pursue him, but General Kirby Smith transferred about half of Taylor’s army to forces opposing General Frederick Steele.
Essential Facts
- Date: April 9, 1864.
- Location: DeSoto Parish and Sabine Parish, near Pleasant Hill, Louisiana.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Nathaniel P. Banks.
- CSA Commanders: Major General Richard Taylor.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Pleasant Hill.
- Campaign: Red River Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, January–April, 1864.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 1,369 (150 killed, 844 wounded, 375 missing).
- Forces Engaged: Red River Expeditionary Force (Army of the Gulf).
- Troop Strength: Roughly 12,000.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 1,626 (1,200 killed and wounded, 426 captured).
- Forces Engaged: Assembled soldiers from the Trans-Mississippi Department.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 12,100.
Significance
The Battle of Pleasant Hill is important to American History because the outcome forced General Nathaniel P. Banks to abandon his plan to capture Shreveport and ordered his army to retreat toward the Red River and southern Louisiana. General Richard Taylor wanted to pursue and destroy the retreating Union army, but General Kirby Smith transferred about half of Taylor’s forces to oppose General Frederick Steele’s advance from Arkansas.
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.
Early Federal Success
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 about 300 men.
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 Leaves the Red River
On April 6, Banks left the Red River and the protection of Porter’s fleet to travel up an inland road toward Shreveport. As the Union cavalry, led by Brigadier General Albert L. Lee, approached Sabine Crossroads on April 8, they encountered about 14,000 Confederates, commanded by Major General Richard Taylor. Throughout the morning, Lee probed the Confederate lines, while Taylor hoped for a Union assault.
April 8, 1864 — Confederate Victory at the Battle of Mansfield
When Lee did not attack, Taylor’s men advanced. The Battle of Mansfield (also called the Battle of Sabine Crossroads) was an astonishing Confederate victory that sent the Federals reeling back down the road. After inflicting heavy casualties on the Federals and capturing vast stores of supplies, Taylor called off the assault at nightfall to rest his men and to prepare for battle the next day.
April 9, 1864 — Clash at Pleasant Hill
During the night, Banks ordered his army to fall back nearly fourteen miles and to regroup at the village of Pleasant Hill. Taylor pursued the next day, hoping to destroy the Union army. After marching to Pleasant Hill, Taylor rested his men before engaging the Federals.
Confederate Evening Assault on All Fronts
At approximately 5 p.m., Taylor attacked the Union center as he simultaneously tried to flank both ends of the federal line. The flanking movement on the Union left succeeded, but the right held. What Taylor did not know was that Banks had more infantrymen at his disposal who were not engaged the previous day.
Federals Counterattacks Regain Lost Ground
Union counterattacks gradually regained the ground lost during the early stages of the battle. Four hours of bloody fighting resulted in little more than high casualties for both sides.
Aftermath
Tactically, the Battle of Pleasant Hill was a Union victory because the Federals repulsed the Confederate attack and because the Northerners inflicted nearly twice as many casualties on the Confederates as they suffered. Estimated casualties totaled 3,100 men for the Union and 2,000 soldiers for the Confederacy. Still, the battle was a strategic success for Taylor, because Banks lost his nerve, abandoned his plan to capture Shreveport, and began a full-fledged retreat down the Red River and back to southern Louisiana.
Sensing an opportunity to destroy the retreating Union army, Taylor requested reinforcements from his commanding officer, General Kirby Smith, along with permission to pursue the fleeing Federals. Smith, however, had other concerns. Rather than sending reinforcements, Smith reassigned approximately one-half of Taylor’s army to Major General John George Walker, with orders to check Major General Frederick Steele’s federal army, which was moving south toward Shreveport from Arkansas.
Denied his opportunity to defeat a large Union army, Taylor settled for harassing Banks for the rest of the campaign. Smith’s decision created everlasting rancor between the two Confederate generals.
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 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Mansfield.
- 1864, April 9
- Banks’ army regrouped at Pleasant Hill, where Taylor attacked around 5 p.m.
- Union counterattacks regained lost ground and repulsed the Confederate assault at Pleasant Hill.
- Banks abandoned his advance toward Shreveport and continued his retreat toward the Red River.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Pleasant Hill (1864) — The Battle of Pleasant Hill was fought on April 9, 1864, during the Red River Campaign after General Nathaniel P. Banks withdrew following his defeat at the Battle of Mansfield. General Richard Taylor pursued the Union army and attacked its position at Pleasant Hill around 5:00 p.m. Confederate troops broke through on the Union left, but the right held. Federal counterattacks regained the lost ground, producing a tactical Union victory, although Banks abandoned his advance toward Shreveport.
Alignment
The Battle of Pleasant Hill is part of the following AP US History sections:
