Red River Campaign

1. Red River Campaign By Matt Francis and Garrett Hines

2. Location and Time The Red River Campaign took place in Louisiana. There were 7 battles that took place here. The battles were at Fort De Russy, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Blair’s Landing, Monett’s Ferry, Mansura, and Yellow Bayou. The campaign lasted from April 8, 1864 to May 12, 1864

3. Armies The two opposing armies were the Union and the Confederates. The Union commander was Major General Nathaniel Banks. The Confederate commander was Lieutenant General Richard Taylor. The Union had about 30,000 men while the Confederates had only 6,000 to 15,000 men.

4. Pleasant Hill Pleasant Hill was the biggest battle of the Red River Campaign. It was fought on April 9, 1864. Banks and the Union won the battle. The Union had 1,369 casualties and the Confederates had 1,626 casualties.

5. Mansfield Mansfield was the decisive battle of the Red River Campaign. The battle lasted 2 hours. At the end of the battle 694 Union soldiers were killed and 1,423 were captured. There were 1,000 dead on the Confederate side. The Confederates had won.

6. Aftermath The Red River Campaign did not have a strong affect on the Civil War. It did extend the length of the war by several months. The failure of the campaign ended the military career of Banks. The confederates lost 2 key commanders, Mouton and Green.