ARMY OPERATIONS. 



from the light to the heaviest draught. Among 

 them were the monitors Ozark, Osage, Jtfeosho ; 

 the ironclads Benton, Carondelet, Pittsburg, 

 Mound City, Louisville, Essex, and Chiilicothe ; 

 the rams Price, Choctaw, Lafayette, besides 

 the lighter boats, Blackhawk, Ouachita, Cham- 

 pion, and Tyler. 



On the 10th of March, about ten thousand 

 troops under Gen. A. J. Smith embarked in 

 twenty transports at Vicksburg, and proceeded 

 to join the fleet. This force consisted of the 

 tirst and third divisions of the sixteenth army 

 corps, and the first and fourth divisions of the 

 seventeenth. It was intended to unite with 

 the force of Gen. Banks, to which was subse- 

 quently to be added the force under Gen. Steele 

 from Arkansas. The principal force of the en- 

 emy was under Gen. Richard Taylor, at Shreve- 

 port. Bodies of troops tinder Gen. Price and 

 Gen. "Walker were also moving to unite with it. 



On the next afternoon the transports arrived 

 at the mouth of Red River, and joined the 

 fleet. On the next day, Saturday, the 12th, 

 the fleet moved up the old Red River, into the 

 Atchafalaya, and in the afternoon anchored at 

 Semmesport. The town had ceased to exist; 

 a few chimneys marked the former site. It 

 was burned by Col. C. R. Ellet, in retaliation 

 for the firing upon his steamer, the Queen of 

 the West; and afterward entirely destroyed by 

 Col. John Ellet, during the siege of Port Hud- 

 son, to prevent the construction of batteries 

 by the enemy, and a traffic across the river. 

 Hearing nothing from Gen. Banks, Gen. Smith 

 disembarked a portion of his troops on the 

 next day, and sent a brigade under Gen. Mow- 

 er to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Yellow Ba- 

 you. The enemy had broken up their camp 

 and retired. Two extensive earthworks in an 

 incomplete state were found. A distance fur- 

 ther five teams loaded with tents were over- 

 taken. The latter were burnt, and the teams 

 loaded with sugar and molasses, and taken to 

 the fleet. It was now decided that the column 

 should march overland to Fort De Russy, a 

 distance of thirty miles, whither it was sup- 

 posed the enemy had retreated. At daybreak, 

 on Monday morning, the force started in light 

 marching order, with the brigade of Gen. 

 Mower in advance. They had advanced 

 scarcely five miles before they were beset by 

 the enemy's cavalry, in front and rear. . This 

 continued until the position of the enemy, 

 known as Fort De Russy, was approached in 

 the afternoon. It consisted of two distinct 

 and formidable earthworks, connected by a 

 covered way ; the upper part facing the road 

 mounted four guns, two field and two siege ; 

 the lower work, commanding the river, was a 

 casemated battery of three guns. Only two 

 guns were in position in it, one a 11-inch Co- 

 lumbiad, and an 8-inch smooth bore. On each 

 side were batteries of two guns each, making 

 in all eight siege and two field-pieces. As the 

 line moved up to the edge of the timber, the 

 upper work opened with shell and shrapnel, 



against which two batteries were brought to 

 bear. The cannonading continued for two 

 hours. A charge was then ordered, and as th 

 men reached the ditch, the garrison surren- 

 dered. The Federal loss was four killed and 

 thirty wounded ; that of the enemy, five killed 

 and four wounded. The prisoners taken were 

 twenty-four officers and two hundred men. 

 Considerable ammunition and stores were 

 found, besides a thousand muskets. A portion 

 of the fleet arrived as the fort surrendered. 

 Gen. Smith ordered the works to be destroyed. 

 This portion of his troops were then embarked 

 on the transports, and reached Alexandria, 

 one hundred and forty miles from the Missis- 

 sippi River, on the evening of the 16th. They 

 were followed by the remainder of the forces 

 and the fleet. The enemy retu-ed before the 

 advance, destroying two steamboats and con- 

 siderable cotton. During the first week, the 

 gunboats rescued upwards of four thousand 

 bales of cotton, and large quantities were 

 brought in by the negroes. The fleet was de- 

 tained by the low water on the falls above Al- 

 exandria, its depth being only six feet, whereas 

 nine feet were required to float the largest 

 gunboats. Three formidable iron-clad rams of 

 the enemy were reported to be at Shreveport, 

 about four hundred and fifty miles above the 

 Mississippi River. On the 19th, Gen. Stone, 

 chief of Gen. Banks' staff, arrived and report- 

 ed that the latter was at Opelousas. On the 

 20th, the cavalry force under Gen. Lee, at- 

 tached to the command of Gen. Banks, reach- 

 ed Alexandria, after marching from Franklin 

 across the Teche country. Meantime detach- 

 ments from Gen. Smith's command had been 

 sent forward, and captured several small bodies 

 of the enemy. 



On the 21st, Natchitoches was taken, with 

 two hundred prisoners and four pieces of artil- 

 lery. It is about eighty miles from Alexan- 

 dria. On the 26th, the force of Gen. Smith as 

 the advance, left Alexandria for Shreveport, to 

 be followed by the troops of Gen. Banks then 

 arriving. Shreveport was the destination of 

 the expedition. It had been the capital of 

 the Confederate State Government. Its sit- 

 uation is in almost the extreme northwestern 

 corner of Louisiana, and at the head of navi- 

 gation on the Red River. The enemy were 

 reported to have a strong force there, and 

 large quantities of cotton and military stores 

 were expected to be captured. The coopera- 

 tion of Gen. Steele in command at Little Rock, 

 Arkansas, was also expected by Gen. Banks. 

 Twelve of the gunboats and a fleet of thirty 

 transports were able to pass over the shoals, 

 and moved up the river in cooperation with 

 the land forces. On the 4th of April, Gen. 

 Banks' column reached Nachitoches. Here he 

 remained two days. 



On "Wednesday, the 6th, the army moved 

 from Nachitoches for Shreveport, with Gen. 

 Lee's cavalry in advance. The infantry march- 

 ed seventeen miles, and the cavalry reached 



