Red River Campaign Begins

Red River Campaign

As Grant took command of all the Union armies in March, 1864, one major movement was already under way. For some time Henry Halleck and Nathaniel Banks had been planning a campaign up the Red River in Louisiana. Banks would move to capture Shreveport, LA, the Confederate headquarters in the Trans-Mississippi, along the way destroying the Confederate army under Richard Taylor, and seizing cotton from the Confederate plantations. This movement began 150 years ago today, on March 12, 1864. Banks had about 20,000 in his army, along with 10,000 more from Sherman, who would have to be sent back in April. He was supported by the flotilla of David Porter, with 26 warships of varying amounts of armor. At the beginning of the campaign Taylor had only 10,000 men in Louisiana to oppose him, but he had learned during his time under Stonewall Jackson, and the Federals would not be able defeat him without a hard fight.

Taylor