[Excerpted from Destruction and Reconstruction by Richard Taylor, pages 161-165]
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| (Official Records) |
General Churchill, commanding the
Missouri-Arkansas troops at Keachi, was ordered to march for Mansfield at dawn
of the 8th, and advised that a battle was impending. My medical director was
instructed to prepare houses in the village for hospitals, and quartermasters
were told to collect supplies and park surplus wagons. An officer with a small guard
was selected to preserve order in the town, and especially among the wagoners,
always disposed to "stampede." Walker and Mouton were ordered to move
their divisions in the morning, ready for action, to the position selected; and
a staff officer was sent to Green, with instructions to leave a small force in
front of the enemy, and before dawn withdraw to the appointed ground. These
arrangements made, a dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith at Shreveport,
informing him that I had returned from the front, found the enemy advancing in
force, and would give battle on the following day, April 8, 1864, unless
positive orders to the contrary were sent to me. This was about 9 P.M. of the
7th.
My confidence of success in the
impending engagement was inspired by accurate knowledge of the Federal
movements, as well as the character of their commander, General Banks, whose
measure had been taken in the Virginia campaigns of 1862 and since.
On the morning of the 7th of April
Admiral Porter left Grand Ecore with six gunboats and twenty transports, on
which last were embarked some twenty-five hundred troops. The progress of these
vessels up the river was closely watched by an officer of my staff, who was
also in communication with General Liddell on the north side. Banks began his
movement from Grand Ecore to Pleasant Hill on the 6th, with an estimated force
of twenty-five thousand. Though lateral roads existed, his column marched by
the main one, and in the following order: Five
thousand mounted men led the advance, followed by a large wagon train and much
artillery. Infantry succeeded, then more wagons and artillery, then infantry
again. In the afternoon of the 7th I knew that the front and rear of his column
were separated by a distance of twenty miles.
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| Sgt. Paul Thibodaux, Co. F, 18th Louisiana Infantry, Mouton's Brigade and Division. He is seen here on the cover of General Mouton's Regiment: The 18th Louisiana Infantry by Michael Jones (Courtesy of C.J. Knobloch, grandson) |
My troops reached the position in
front of Sabine cross-road at an early hour on the 8th, and were disposed as
follows: On the right of the road to Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division
of three brigades, with two batteries; on the left, Mouton's, of two brigades
and two batteries. As Green's men came in from the front, they took position,
dismounted, on Mouton's left. A regiment of horse was posted on each of the
parallel roads mentioned, and De Bray's cavalry, with McMahon's battery, held
in reserve on the main road. Dense forest prevented the employment of much
artillery, and, with the exception of McMahon's, which rendered excellent
service, none was used in the action.
I had on the field fifty-three
hundred infantry; three thousand horse, and five hundred artillerymen—in all,
eight thousand eight hundred men, a very full estimate. But the vicious
dispositions of the enemy made me confident of beating all the force he could
concentrate during the day; and on the morrow Churchill, with forty-four
hundred muskets, would be up.
The forenoon of the 8th wore on as
the troops got into position. Riding along the line, I stopped in front of the
Louisiana brigade of Mouton's division, and made what proved to be an
unfortunate remark to the men: "As they were fighting in defense of their
own soil I wished the Louisiana troops to draw the first blood." But they
were already inflamed by many outrages on their homes, as well as by camp
rumors that it was intended to abandon their State without a fight. At this moment
our advanced horse came rushing in, hard followed by the enemy. A shower of
bullets reached Mouton's line, one of which struck my horse, and a body of
mounted men charged up to the front of the 18th Louisiana. A volley from this
regiment sent them back with heavy loss. Infantry was reported in the wood
opposite my left. This was a new disposition of the enemy, for on the 6th and 7th his advance consisted of horse alone; and to
meet it, Mouton was strengthened by moving Randall's brigade of Walker's from
the right to the left of the road. To cover this change, skirmishers were
thrown forward and De Bray's regiment deployed in the field.
The enemy showing no disposition to
advance, at 4 P.M. I ordered a forward movement of my
whole line. The ardor of
Mouton's troops, especially the Louisianians, could not be restrained by their
officers. Crossing the field under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms,
the division reached the fence, paused for a moment to draw breath, then rushed
into the wood on the enemy. Here our loss was severe. General Mouton was
killed, as were Colonels Armand, Beard, and Walker, commanding the 18th,
Crescent, and 28th Louisiana regiments of Gray's brigade. Major Canfield of the
Crescent also fell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Clack of the same regiment was
mortally wounded. As these officers went down, others, among whom Adjutant
Blackman was conspicuous, seized the colors and led on the men.
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| Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton, killed at Mansfield. (Photographic History of the Civil War) |
Polignac's
brigade, on the left of Gray's, also suffered heavily. Colonel Noble, 17th
Texas, with many others, was killed. Polignac, left in command by the death of
Mouton, displayed ability and pressed the shattered division steadily forward.
Randall, with his fine brigade, supported him on the right; while Major's
dismounted men, retarded by dense wood, much to the impatience of General
Green, gradually turned the enemy's right, which was forced back with loss of
prisoners and guns.
On the right of the main road
General Walker, with Waul's and Scurry's brigades, encountered but little
resistance until he had crossed the open field and entered the wood. Finding
that he outflanked the enemy's left, he kept his right brigade, Scurry's,
advanced, and swept everything before him.
The first Federal line, consisting
of all the mounted force and one division of the 13th army corps, was in full
flight, leaving prisoners, guns, and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear
of the first position, the 2d division of the 13th corps brought up, but was
speedily routed, losing guns and prisoners; and
our advance continued. Near sunset, four miles from our original position, the
19th army corps was found, drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream.
Fatigued, and disordered by their long advance through dense wood, my men made
no impression for a time on this fresh body of troops; but possession of the
water was all-important, for there was none other between this and Mansfield.
Walker, Green, and Polignac led on their weary men, and I rode down to the
stream. There was some sharp work, but we persisted, the enemy fell back, and
the stream was held, just as twilight faded into darkness.
Twenty-five hundred prisoners,
twenty pieces of artillery, several stands of colors, many thousands of small
arms, and two hundred and fifty wagons were the fruits of victory in the battle
of Mansfield. Eight thousand of the enemy, his horse and two divisions of
infantry, had been utterly routed, and over five thousand of the 19th corps
driven back at sunset. With a much smaller force on the field, we invariably
outnumbered the enemy at the fighting point; and foreseeing the possibility of
this, I was justified in my confidence of success. The defeat of the Federal
army was largely due to the ignorance and arrogance of its commander, General
Banks, who attributed my long retreat to his own wonderful strategy.
Night put an end to the struggle
along the little stream, and my troops camped by the water.
A dispatch was sent to General Kirby
Smith, at Shreveport, to inform him of the result of the day's fighting, and of
my intention to push the enemy on the following morning. Leaving instructions
for Green, with all the mounted force, to pursue at dawn, I rode to Mansfield
to look after our wounded and meet Churchill. The precautions taken had
preserved order in the village throughout the day. Hospitals had been prepared,
the wounded brought in and cared for, prisoners and captured property disposed
of. Churchill came and reported his command in camp, four miles from Mansfield,
on the Keachi road; and he was directed to prepare two days' rations, and march
toward Pleasant Hill at 3 A.M.
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