Red River Campaign

HistoryCentral · Primary Source & History.

Civil War > Red River Campaign.

General Banks undertook a campaign up Louisiana's Red River. His goal was to reach Shreveport. He was supported by the gunboats of Porter's river fleet. On April 8th, Banks' advancing forces were attacked by Confederate forces, led by General Richard Taylor, at Sabine Crossroads. The Union troops were forced to retreat. The next day, Taylor attempted to follow up with an attack at Pleasant Hill, the Confederate forces were repulsed. Banks decided to withdraw. The only problem was that the Red River had dropped and Porter's fleet was stranded above the rapids at Alexandria. The ingenuity of a Wisconsin colonel led to the building of a series of dams that raised the level of water sufficiently to float the fleet over the narrows.