The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 24
562 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
stripped of wagons, the major general had reduced to fifteen the number of
wagons allowed a cavalry regiment. This created some difficulty for more
commanders than Bee, and General Taylor complained to Kirby Smith.
Troops had to bring their own provisions and forage because those items
and wagons were scarce in Louisiana."
By April I Bee was at Sabinetown in Louisiana, with his command
strung out and separated on the road. The General did not know the where-
abouts of some of his regiments, but thought he had enough men to "cut"
his way to Taylor if the enemy came between them.9 Bee reported to Taylor
at Mansfield on the fifth with X. B. Debray's, A. Buchel's, and A. W. Ter-
rell's regiments. He was given a division consisting of two brigades under
Debray and Buchel in General Tom Green's Cavalry Corps.'o
Taylor had steadily fallen back before the enemy, but he was tired of
retreating. Now that reinforcements were arriving, he thought of giving
battle, even though still seriously outnumbered. The fresh troops would
bring his forces to only 9,ooo. Enemy occupation of Mansfield, however,
would put Banks at the junction of three roads to Shreveport and a number
of ways west to Texas, and Taylor had to prevent that situation."
Banks was at Natchitoches, having occupied that city on April i. The
Union general did not expect Taylor to make a stand yet, and this assump-
tion led him to blunder. From Natchitoches and Grand Ecore two routes
led to Shreveport-one by the river and the other to the west through
Pleasant Hill and Mansfield. Banks did not know of a road along the water
route and did not look for one. Instead, he chose the road to the west away
from the river and naval protection.'2
From Natchitoches to Mansfield the land changed character markedly-
from rich plantations to smaller places surrounded by dense pine thickets on
sandy hills. Water was very scarce, and the rain that fell on the seventh of
April served only to turn the red-clay-and-sand road to mud, rather than to
quench the thirst of men. The road Banks picked was narrow and, at times,
sunken, and it wandered over the hills and through ravines, offering a dis-
mal view of a dreary countryside.'3
8Special Orders, No. 72, March I2, 1864, ibid., 1037-1o38; Magruder to Bee, March
23, 1864, ibid., 1075; Taylor to Boggs, April 2, 1864, ibid., pt. I, p. 518.
9Bee to James E. Slaughter, April 1, 1864, ibid., pt. 3, pp. 722-723.
x0Bee to Simeon Hart, report, April Io, I864, ibid., pt. I, p. 606.
11Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, 154-157.
12For a complete discussion of Bank's decision, see Johnson, Red River Campaign,
I13-114.
isIbid., 118.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/42/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.