RED RIVER CAMPAIGN. In 1864 Gen eral Banks, to reduce Texas, asked for rein forcements in order to take in rear the Confed erate works at Galveston and the mouth of the Brazos; but Halleck advised operating by way of the Red River, capturing the Confederate depot and dockyard at Shreveport and repos sessing western Louisiana and Texas at a blow. The Mississippi squadron under Porter was to co-operate; the army must be back for the trans-Mississippi operations of spring and sum mer; but no movement could be made till the spring rains had raised the Red, with only four feet at low water and full of obstructions. The fleet left Vicksburg 10 March and landed A. J. Smith's troops at Simsport on the 13th ; Gen eral Franklin had already come up and driven Gen. Dick Taylor from Fort De Russey guard ing the stream; the fleet passed up without op position; and on the 15th and 16th the forces met at Alexandria. But the Union movements were difficult of co-ordination ; Banks did not arrive till the 26th, the rest of Franklin's corps on the 28th. Meantime the Confederates had strongly fortified Shreveport and placed several gunboats there. Banks, with Franklin, went by land to Natchitoches, routing a Confederate force at Cane River on the 28th; Smith's com mand went by the river in transports, to Grand Ecore, four miles below, arriving 3 April, the day .after Banks. On the 8th and 9th Banks advanced by a road away from the river; the Confederates had laid a V-shaped ambush for him, and his command of 8,000 men was ut terly routed and would have been annihilated but for reinforcements from Franklin, 2,000 being killed or wounded (battle of Mansfield) ; Banks retreated; the next day the Confederates advanced, but were met by a counter-ambush of Franklin's and one wing of their army wad driven back with heavy loss. But the other
wing was so successful that the Federals re treated that night and hurried on to Grand Ecore and finally to Alexandria, abandoning the campaign. Meantime the fleet was caught in the falling water of the Red and would have fallen into the hands of the Confederates but for the engineering skill and resolution of Lieut.-Col. Joseph Bailey, who built a dam of atones and logs, which raised the river and floated all the vessels down with a narrow escape from destruction.
Banks' army in this campaign numbered 31,303; hut after detaching two divisions sent to different points, he had a marching column of 25,736 officers and men of all arms. His losses, including those lost on the retreat from Alexan dria, were 454 killed, 2,191 wounded and 2,600 captured or missing, a total of 5,244. Taylor's Confederate army numbered 11,000 and its total losses in the campaign were 3,976 in killed, wounded and missing. See SABINE CROSS ROADS.