The 16th Missouri spent late 1864 in southern Arkansas. In March, Parsons was elevated to division command. His division contained the brigades of Colonels Simon P. Burns and John Bullock Clark Jr.; the 16th Missouri was in Burns' Brigade. Parsons' Division was sent to the aid of Major General Richard Taylor, who was threatened by a Union advance up the Red River; the troops reach Taylor on April 9. Later that day, the regiment participated in the Battle of Pleasant Hill. Parsons' Division, which was on the right flank of the Confederate line, attacked the Union line. The attack was initially successful, driving in part of the Union line, but a Union counterattack defeated the Confederates, who retreated in some disarray. The 16th Missouri lost 25 men at Pleasant Hill.