Battle Reenactment and Living History
The Battle at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, April 9, 1864
http://www.battleofpleasanthill.com/
When: April 10-12, 2009
Destination: Shreveport, Louisiana (Pleasant Hill, Louisiana)
Duration: 3 Days
Price: $350.00 per person double occupancy based on 20; $50.00 single supplement* $245.00 per person double occupancy based on 40; $50.00 single supplement*
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By 1864, the federal naval blockade was beginning to choke off the cotton trade between the Confederate States of America and their European trading partners. Prior to the fall of New Orleans in the spring of 1862, cotton produced in northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and eastern Texas was shipped overland from Shreveport along the Shreveport-Vicksburg Highway (now U.S. Highway 80) to the port at Vicksburg and down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then on to European consumers. After the closure of the port at New Orleans, a new overland route opened from Shreveport, across Texas, to the Gulf Coast where federal naval vessels enforcing the naval blockade were less prominent.
By the fall of 1863, it had become clear to federal war planners that cotton, making its way along this overland route from Shreveport to the Gulf Coast was undermining the effectiveness of the blockade. In an attempt to rectify the situation, President Abraham Lincoln ordered Major General Ulysses S. Grant to delay a planned campaign against Mobile, (the next major offensive planned in the West after the fall of Vicksburg), and launch an expedition against Shreveport to close the overland route and in the process breakup the Confederate military command of Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith which was headquartered in the city. Already thinking about reconstructing the national economy after four years of destructive warfare, Lincoln’s secondary goal was to establish a Union presence in Louisiana hoping to ultimately gain access to supplies of cotton for northern textile mills once the war had ended.
On March 11, 1864, after struggling through a myriad of defensive obstructions placed in the Red River by the Confederates, Brigadier General Andrew J. Smith and a small contingent of federals captured Fort de Russy, a small outpost located at the confluence of the Red and Mississippi Rivers, then began to advance up the Red River arriving in Alexandria on March 15. Ten days after their arrival they were joined by Major General Nathaniel Banks and 20,000 infantry soldiers. Originally planned as a joint land/naval operation, by the time the expedition was ready to depart Alexandria, low water levels in the Red River made it doubtful that federal gunboats could approach Shreveport from the south, causing Banks to change his plans and instead depart Alexandria for Shreveport overland by way of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
By this time, the Confederates knew exactly who, and what was coming, and Major General Richard Taylor (son of President Zachary Taylor) had ample time to dig in at Mansfield with 8,800 of his best troops, and prepare to give the advancing Yankees a proper welcome. The opportunity came soon enough on April 8 as advance elements of Banks’ army numbering about 7,000 men approached Mansfield and engaged Taylor’s Confederates. When the smoke cleared, the Confederates had a convincing victory and Banks was forced to withdraw to Pleasant Hill licking his wounds after taking about 2,000 casualties. When he reached Pleasant Hill, Banks was convinced that the Rebels had given up the chase for the night so he ordered his men to make camp.
The next day the armies fought again at Pleasant Hill, this time to a draw, once again forcing Banks to withdraw further to the south, this time to Natchitoches. The Battle at Pleasant Hill was the turning point of the Red River Campaign. The federal command was forced to give up on President Lincoln’s plan to capture Shreveport and soon returned to New Orleans, leaving the overland cotton route across Texas in operation for the remainder of the war. From the federal point of view, the Red River Campaign had exacted a substantial cost to the Union war effort. The Union Army realized absolutely no strategic success, and Abraham Lincoln’s post war political agenda was lost for the time being. But most important, the time spent by federal forces trying to capture Shreveport only delayed the much more strategically important federal offensive against Mobile.
ITINERARY:
Departure Day Friday, April 10: This afternoon the group will be picked up and travel to Shreveport where we will check into the Eldorado Resort Casino for the night. http://www.eldoradoshreveport.com/
Saturday, April 11: This morning we will attend a re-enactment of the Battle at Pleasant Hill, near Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. We will begin our day with an early breakfast at the American Legion building in Pleasant Hill. At 10:00 a.m., we will attend a parade of re-enactors along the main street of Pleasant Hill, then you will be on your own to walk casually through the re-enactor’s camps and experience what camp-life was like at the time of the battle. (If anyone is in period costume and would like to be in the parade we can probably arrange that.) While there will be some vendors about the battlefield and the town, box lunches will be provided to ensure an adequate noon meal. At 2:00 p.m., the re-enactment will begin and upon its conclusion the remainder of the day will be on your own around the camp sites and battleground. At some point during the afternoon, we plan to visit a private collection of battlefield artifacts which are being preserved at a private residence. (This collection is not open to the general public and is subject to owner availability.) At 7:00 P.M., there is a Confederate Ball and Court Presentation (dance…most likely a ho-down) scheduled at the American Legion Hall to celebrate the repulsion of the dreaded Yankees. Those in period costume are invited to participate, while those who are not may watch. It is up to you. If the group would rather we can return to the hotel and casino for an evening of gaming. If the group wishes to attend this dance we will do so and stay as long as the group desires before returning to the hotel and casino for the night. However we do it, we will either stay or go as a group. http://www.sabineparish.com/fest/battle.asp
Sunday, April 12: This morning, we will arise early for breakfast at the American Legion building at Pleasant Hill. At 10:00 a.m., we will attend a church service in the camps, then after the service a mail call. There is a second reenactment scheduled for this afternoon but it will be the same as Saturday, and it is assumed that the group would prefer to return to the casino for some time prior to departing for home. However, if desired, we can attend the reenactment and return home directly from Pleasant Hill. At any rate, we will depart for home mid to late afternoon (depending upon the distance of travel) where the tour will end.
ATTENTION
Americana Tours reserves the right to substitute accommodations for services of similar quality should the advertised services become unavailable. Americana Tours acts only as an intermediary in providing travel services; however, it has exercised its best efforts in securing competent third party providers of services to its tours. While Americana Tours assumes responsibility for its own actions, it expressly disclaims liability for acts of commission or omission of third party providers beyond its control. Subject to minimum participation.
*All prices quoted are subject to final negotiated prices for 2009 travel including any fuel cost adjustments for transportation as well as tour participation.