New Orleans (the biggest city in the Confederacy) fell without a fight in April, 1862. The next goal of the Union army in Louisiana was to participate in the campaign to control the Mississippi River. As Grant advanced on Vicksburg, Gen. Nathaniel Banks decided to campaign through the Bayou Teche area to approach the Confederate bastion at Port Hudson, north of Baton Rouge. He commanded the XIX Corps of the Department of the Gulf. His opponent was Gen. Richard Taylor (the son of Zachary Taylor). On April 9, 1863, two of Banks’ divisions (Generals Weitzel and Emory) crossed Berwick Bay to land near Berwick. The Union fleet included transport ships and gunboats. One of the Union gunboats, the Diana, had been captured by the Confederates earlier. Confederate cavalry kept Taylor informed on Union movements. On April 12, a third Union division under Gen. Grover floated up the Atchafalaya River to land near Franklin. Banks’ plan was to trap Taylor between his two forces. Taylor sent Col. Green’s 5th Texas Mounted Volunteers to slow Grover down. Meanwhile, his infantry under Gen. Alfred Mouton faced Weitzel and Emory. When the advanced units of Banks army neared Pattersonville, he found Mouton occupying Fort Bisland. His men, with the help of slaves, were working hard in fortifying the position. Mouton’s force included the Yellow Jacket Battalion raised in the New Iberia area. An artillery duel took place in the late afternoon and then Banks pulled back to his camp. The Rebels considered their band broke into “Bonnie Blue Flag” to taunt the Yankees. On April 13, Banks ordered his force forward. His men had a lot of difficulty advancing through sugar cane fields. When the battle opened, the Diana participated by shelling the Union flank. The gunboat was tied to a rope, which allowed the Confederates to let the current take the gunboat downstream to shell the enemy and then it would be pulled back to safety by way of the rope. Taylor inspired his men by walking on top of the parapet while nonchalantly smoking a cigarette. The battle turned when the Union managed to hit the Diana with a cannonball that knocked the gunboat out of the battle. The Union army greatly outnumbered the Rebels and with Grover landing behind him, Taylor decided to withdraw. On April 14, Taylor ran into Grover. The battle of Irish Bend (also known as Nerson’s Woods or Franklin) opened with skirmishing. Many of the Rebels fired muskets loaded with a ball and several buckshot. The battlefield was sugar cane fields with much of the Confederate force in some woods. The Diana arrived to shell Grover’s men. It was very hot and soon lack of water began to exhaust the Union troops. They were also running short of ammunition. Suddenly, the Rebel yell broke out and the Confederates charged the Union line. Taylor forced Grover back with the help of the Diana. When Grover redeployed his units, Taylor broke contact. He realized that he was in a precarious position between two forces, each of which outnumbered him. He ordered his army to escape from the trap. Taylor’s army survived to fight another campaign, but the Diana had to be blown up. The two battles were minor in comparison to battles like Gettysburg and Antietam and not nearly as important. The Union lost more casualties, but controlled the battle fields at the end of the fighting, so technically they were Union victories. However, Banks plan to destroy Taylor’s army was a failure. Taylor managed to get away with his army intact. He did lose a lot of the Yellow Jacket Battalion on the retreat because many of the men deserted to return to their homes to protect their families from the invaders. And protection they would need because the Union soldiers did a lot of looting on the march. And some of it was done under the influence of alcohol. The Yankees showed a distinct lack of discipline. On April 16, Banks’ army entered New Iberia. He and his staff spent the night on the first floor of the Shadows on the Teche. The Episcopal church was used as a hospital.
- The Battle in the Bayou Country by Morris Raphael
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Bisland
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Irish_Bend
0 Comments