The Washington herald., 1914-04-08
THE WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago.
April 1ss-e Battle Of Sabine Coszoad La, Was Fought Between
the Federal Army Under Gen. n P Banks and coafedaes Under
Richard Taylor Which the Feder.s We're Driven from he
Field in Ceafuiea-The Climax Of the Red River Expedition
fwr,.t.n ...re,.ly for The Herald,

Sabine Crossroads. La. twas fought be-
tween the Federal army under Maj. Gen.
Nathaniel p. Banks, Of Massachusetts,.
and Gonfederates under Gen. Richard
Taylor. In which the Federais were driven
from the field In confusion. losing twenty
pieces Of artillery. an enormous quantity
of arms and ammunition and train
of about $50 wagons laden with pro-
visions and camp equipage.
The battle was the result Of forward
! movement of the Federals from Match
itoches, on the Red River. whittier they
had come with the intention Of wrest-
Ing, the possession Of the river and the
neighboring country from the Confed-
crates Shreveport. eighty miles up
stream from Natchitoches. and near the
| border OF Texas was the Immediate, OBJ
jective of the movement
The disaster at Sabine Crossroads,
,twenty-three miles south of Shreveport,
put an end to the Federal advance
Thereafter. for many weeks. all the
thought and energy on the Union side
was eentered in an effort to extricate the
army. and the naval vessels that accom-
panied IL. from the country into which
they had advanced.
Bad management brought on the battle
of Sabine Crossroads There should
have been no battle at that point. The
was widely scattered. Its various COM
mshds were strung out on the single
road over which the army moved, with
great gaps between them From the
head Of the column to the rear was fully
thirty miles
March with Many wagons.
The Federals, about 5000 strong. had
moved out Of Natchitoches on the morn
ing of April 6. heading for Pleasant Hill,
about thirty-five miles out on the
Shreveport road, Gen. Albert L Lee. with
three brigades Of cavalry and mounted
infantry. 1850 strong. led the advance In
Lees rear was the cavalry train OF about
80 wagons-far too many for the number
Of men In the command. This group was
accompanied by three batteries Of artil-
lery, Capt. Orlando F. Minis Second
Massachusetts,. the Sixth Missouri how
itzers and Lieut. ]. B. Rawles' Fifth
United States Battery G. Together these
batteries counted fourteen guns.
Next in line was a detachment OF the
Thirteenth Army Corps. two divisions,
4.773 men, under Brig. Gen. Thomas E. g.
Ransom Then came more wagons, all
loaded to the top with equipments, for
age. and provisions b..
In the rear of the Thirteenth Corps and
its train was the first division OF the
Nineteenth Corps. under, Brig. Gen
William II. Emery. with more wagons.
Then came the detachment Of the Six
teenth Corps of Sherman's army, under
Gen. Andrew ]. Smith. also its wagons,
followed in turn by a brigade Of negro
troops. under Col. William II. Dickey. A
brigade Of cavalry guarded the fianks Of
the infantry.
This column moved over a single road.
so narrow that two wagons could scarce
ly pass in IL 1t was yeritable cut
between high. sandy banks, flanked by
heavy virgin forest of pine. This wild
country. locally known as the Piney
Woods, extended for miles on either side.
Unlike most pine forests, here the un-
dergrowth was unusually dense and tan
gied. with clinging vines and low shrub
berry. The numerous water courses
which previously in the campaign had
proved such a hindrance to rapid march
ling. now almost disappeared
Great Gap in Columns.
Gen. Banks did not accompany the
army on the first day Of the march, re-
naming near Natchitoches until the
morning of April Z. in order to super
intend the departure Of his men. He
then rode rapidly forward. and reached
the head of the infantry at Pleasant
Hill. where II had encamped the same
evening.
A rain and haiIstorm. lasting rearly
all day Of the 7th, had rendered travel
extremely dificu1t. especially for the
troops and trains in the rear cf the
column. The road had become deep
with mud, miring the wagons and max
ing progress SO slow that at nightfall
there was a great gap of about twenty
five miles between the main body Of tho
infantry and The troops in the rear.
Furthermore. the cavalry under Gen.
Lee had pushed on nearly ten miles
ahead of the infantry. 1t had encoun-
tered the outposts of the Confederate
cavalry at Wilson's Farm, three miles
beyond Pleasant Hill, in the morning,
and at Bayou St Patrice. five miles fur
ther. in the afternoon of April Z, and
after sharp fighting. had forced its way
about two miles beyond the stream. That
night IL encamped about ten miles in
advance from Pleasant Hill
Lee sent back for infantry supports.
which Gen. W. R. Franklin, who had
commanded until Banks came up, re-
fused. However. Banks, on his arrival.
ordered a brigade under Col W. j. Ian
dram to go forward the next morning
Landram moved to aid Lee, but was so
used up by a long march that Lee again
sent back to the rear for more infan-
try. Another brigade was sent to him
before noon on April s.
Gen. T. E G. Ransom accompanied
this brigade in person
The men tramped forward rapidly to
aid their comrades at the front, but
some six miles from Bayou, st. Patrice
found the narrow roadway obstructed
by the wagon train of the cavalry divi-
sion.
So dense was the jam OF wagons that
the infantry had a hard time getting
by The men were obliged to leave the
road and to force their way through
the woods that bordered il.
Here Gen. Ransom parted with his men
and pushing on ahead Of them, reached
the front, near Sabine Crossroads, seven
and one-haf miles beyong Bayou st.
Patrice. and about three miles short of
the town of Mansfield, about /: 30 p. m.
II found that our forces had Just
driven the enemy across an open field"
he wrote in his Official report, ''and
were shelling him from a fine position
on a ridge which Col. Landram occupied.
1t was determined to halt here In
order to allow the Second Brigade to
come up and relieve the first"
Shortly after Gen. Ransom reached the
field Gen. Banks and his staff arrived.
He was informed that The enemy ap-
peared to be in considerable force: that
there was artillery in position ahead.
and that bodies OF infantry had been
seen marching down a road leading to
the Federal right and rear.
Gen. Banks determined to hold his
ground. He sent back word to Gen.
Franklin to hurry forward the infantry.
and personally supervised the placing