Both Henry Halleck, the army's Chief-of-Staff, and the president wanted a campaign up the Red River and Banks decided to use it as his best opportunity for military success. Grant had faced problems with Banks' lack of cooperation during the Vicksburg Campaign the previous year. He outranked every Union general west of the Appalachians. A political general with no formal military training, Banks needed a battlefield victory to cement support for his run for the presidency. He was an ally and confidant of several wealthy New England textile mill owners. He was a native of Massachusetts and had served as Speaker of the U.S. Banks was a contender for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1864. Banks was the commander of the Department of the Gulf based in New Orleans.

And one of the North's leading generals was so incensed with the errors of his fellow officers that he called it, 'one damn blunder from beginning to end.' The behavior of Union leaders raised such concerns in Washington that a congressional investigation was called.

The conduct of the campaign was flawed, however, with each side making serious tactical errors. It was also the gateway for a potential invasion of Texas, a tactic that President Abraham Lincoln was desperately seeking to employ. Outlying facilities were located in eastern Texas and southern Arkansas. The town was the nexus of a small military-industrial complex that included armories, foundries, and a naval shipyard. The target of the campaign was Shreveport, the capital of Confederate Louisiana and the headquarters for the Army of the Trans-Mississippi. The Red River Campaign, which included the largest combined army-navy operation of the war, was the last decisive Confederate victory of the war. The agricultural South had fought long and hard against the industrial North, but the zeal and military prowess of the Confederates was not enough to prevail against the vast resources of the North.

Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaignsĪt the time of the Red River Campaign in April 1864, the outcome of the Civil War appeared to be decided.

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The Thirteenth by L.A. Banks