Battle of Blair's Landing

Battle of Blair's Landing
Part of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
Wartime sketch shows the fight at Blair's Plantation.
Date April 12 – 13, 1864 Location Red River Parish, Louisiana Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
David Dixon Porter Thomas Kilby Smith	Tom Green †
Units involved
XVII Corps Mississippi River Squadron	Green's cavalry
Strength
1 infantry division 6 gunboats	750, 2 batteries
Casualties and losses
57	200

The Battle of Blair's Landing (April 12, 1864) saw a Confederate cavalry-artillery force commanded by Brigadier General Tom Green attack several Union gunboats led by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter and soldiers in river transports under Brigadier General Thomas Kilby Smith in Red River Parish, Louisiana. Green's force attempted but failed to stop the retreat of Porter's and Smith's forces downstream in an action that was part of the Red River Campaign of the American Civil War. The only significant casualty during the fighting was Green, who was killed by an artillery round.

Background

Campaign

President Abraham Lincoln and Major General Henry Halleck wanted a Union army to establish a foothold in Texas by way of the Red River. Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Department of the Gulf was ordered to organize an expedition in cooperation with Major Generals William T. Sherman and Frederick Steele. While Steele moved south from Little Rock, Arkansas, with 15,000 troops, Banks moved in two columns. A 17,000-strong column ascended Bayou Teche and joined 10,000 men that came up the Red River under Major General Andrew Jackson Smith to occupy Alexandria, Louisiana on March 18. The Red River force was on loan from Sherman and was accompanied by 13 ironclad and 7 light-draft gunboats from Porter's Mississippi River Squadron.

After A. J. Smith's force won two minor actions at Fort De Russy (March 14) and Henderson's Hill (March 21), Banks' army started marching upriver and reached Natchitoches on April 2. Porter started upriver with 6 gunboats and T. K. Smith's division of the XVII Corps aboard transports. They planned to meet with Banks' army at Springfield Landing, 110 mi (177 km) below Shreveport. However, Major General Richard Taylor drubbed the Union army at the Battle of Mansfield on April 8, forcing Banks to retreat. Reinforced, Taylor attacked Banks again at the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, but was repulsed. Nevertheless, Banks withdrew to Grand Ecore near Natchitoches on the Red River.

River operations

On April 7, Porter and T. K. Smith left Grand Ecore and headed upstream on the Red River. Porter commanded the gunboats USS Cricket, USS Chillicothe, USS Fort Hindman, USS Lexington, USS Neosho, and USS Osage, the last two being monitors. There were also several auxiliary vessels. T. K. Smith led 2,500 Union soldiers on 20 river transports. Water level in the river was low, causing the naval vessels to proceed at a slow pace. That day, the expedition reached Campti where it briefly landed a regiment to clear the town and anchored for the night.

On April 8, the expedition reached Coushatta Point where it anchored for the night. Colonel Lyman M. Ward's brigade was sent ahead by land to chase away a Confederate force reported 3 mi (4.8 km) farther ahead at Coushatta Chute. On April 9, the vessels advanced as far as Nine-Mile Bend before anchoring for the evening. On April 10, the expedition reached the mouth of Loggy Bayou near Springfield Landing where they found the Confederates sank the riverboat New Falls City loaded with bricks and mud athwart the channel. While they pondered what to do, a courier arrived from Banks saying his army was defeated and falling back to Grand Ecore. Porter and T. K. Smith decided to obey Banks' verbal instructions to return to Grand Ecore.

T. Kilby Smith

The warships and other vessels were unable to turn around because the river was so narrow. So, they all had to back down the river with the last vessel in the lead. By the morning of April 11, after working all night, the ships were all able to turn around and proceed downriver bow-first. By now, groups of Confederates on the east bank under Brigadier General St. John Richardson Liddell peppered the expedition with rifle fire, to which the warships replied with cannon fire. That day, the Chillicothe ran hard aground in mid-afternoon and was not freed for several hours. The expedition anchored for the night at Coushatta Chute, having received written orders from Banks to proceed to Grand Ecore.

By late afternoon on April 12, the expedition reached Blair's Landing. Several vessels were damaged by snags, logs, tree stumps, collisions, and sandbanks as the river's stage fell. The transport Hastings was tied up to the west bank to make repairs. The transport Alice Vivian was hard aground in mid-stream with the Osage aground right behind her. The transport Rob Roy was behind both, unable to pass. The transport Black Hawk was lashed alongside the Osage and the Lexington was near the east bank. All but five of the river transports had gone downstream.

Battle

Confederate plans

Map of Blair's Landing Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

After the Confederate repulse at Pleasant Hill, Taylor met with his superior, General Edmund Kirby Smith who decided to take most of the infantry north to fight Steele's Federal force in Arkansas. Kirby Smith left Taylor with only 5,200 troops to face Banks. He feared that Steele might reach the Confederate supply base at Shreveport. Kirby Smith was convinced that if Taylor had more soldiers, he would not be able to feed them in the desolated country between Mansfield and Alexandria. Taylor tried to argue, but he was overruled. Nevertheless, Taylor still believed that he could destroy Banks' army.

On the morning of April 10, Brigadier General Hamilton P. Bee's cavalry rode to Pleasant Hill and found that Banks' army abandoned the battlefield and was in full retreat. Bee gave chase, but the Federals burned Double Bridge, stopping pursuit. At dawn on April 11, Taylor ordered Colonel Arthur P. Bagby Jr. to intercept Porter's expedition at Grand Bayou Landing. Bagby was delayed in crossing the 330 ft (101 m) wide Bayou Pierre and only reached Grand Bayou Landing after Porter's vessels had passed. After being notified of the situation, Taylor ordered Green to intercept Porter. At 6:00 pm on April 11, Green set out with the regiments of Colonels William Henry Parsons, Nicholas C. Gould, and Peter C. Woods, (the 12th Texas, 23rd Texas, and 36th Texas Cavalry Regiments, respectively) and two artillery batteries. With difficulty, Green crossed Bayou Pierre at Jordon's Ferry, getting only three cannons across, and rushed his horsemen forward in an all-night march.

Action

On April 12 in the afternoon, Green arrived at Blair's Plantation with about 1,000 soldiers and Captain John A. A. West's Grosse Tete (Louisiana) Flying Artillery. According to historian Arthur W. Bergeron Jr., only the battery's 12-pounder howitzer section was present. (Historian Mark M. Boatner III credited Green with 750 men and two batteries.). Green assigned Parsons to take charge of the attacking force while Colonel James Patrick Major commanded the reserve. Parsons led his dismounted cavalrymen to the trees on the bluff overlooking the riverbank. This movement was spotted by the pilot of the Black Hawk, who alerted the other vessels.

References

• Bergeron, Arthur W. Jr. (1989). Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2102-9.
• Boatner, Mark M. III (1959). The Civil War Dictionary. New York, N.Y.: David McKay Company Inc. ISBN 0-679-50013-8.
• Brooksher, William Riley (1998). War Along the Bayous: The 1864 Red River Campaign in Louisiana. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-139-6.
• NPS (2023). "The Civil War: Battle Detail - Blair's Landing". National Park Service. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
• Oates, Stephen B. (1994) [1961]. Confederate Cavalry West of the River. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-71152-2.
• Official Records (1891). "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies' Series I, Volume XXXIV, Part I". U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
• Winters, John D. (1987) [1963]. The Civil War in Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-0834-0.

External links

• Bozic, William (2008). "Blair's Landing, LA". Retrieved February 8, 2023.
• CWSAC (2010). "Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission: Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields: State of Louisiana" (PDF). U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Retrieved February 8, 2023.