Sabine Crossroads

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Battle of Mansfield
Part of the American Civil War
Location De Soto Parish, Louisiana Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders
Nathaniel P. Banks	Richard Taylor
Strength
12,000	7,000 (estm)
Casualties and losses
113 killed 581 wounded 1,541 captured/missing	1,000 killed, wounded, and missing

The Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Pleasant Grove, on April 8, 1864, in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, was the first major clash of the Union Army's Red River Campaign during the American Civil War. The battle was a decisive Confederate victory which eventually led to the defeat of General Banks' Red River campaign and the Federal evacuation at Grand Encore.^[1]

Prelude

Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's Union contingent ascended the Red River to within 25 miles of the Texas border, but lost contact with the accompanying gunboat fleet, due to low water conditions and the army following an established road that turned inland away from the river. Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor, in command of the Confederate forces, along with his subordinates Brig. Gen. Thomas Green and Maj. Gen. Camille de Polignac, determined to make a stand near Mansfield against the direct orders of his more cautious superior, Maj. Gen. E. Kirby Smith, the commander of all Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River.

The battle

Green's cavalry harassed the Union vanguard as they advanced. Confederate forces attacked the disorganized Federals and decisively routed them. Both pursuit and reinforcement were hampered by the Union wagon train's blockage of the narrow road, which fell into Confederate hands. Banks, despite displaying great personal bravery in attempting to rally his troops, was revealed once again to be a military incompetent.

When darkness and stiffening Union resistance ended pursuit, the Union had suffered the loss of many supplies which included 20 cannons, 150 wagons and around 1,000 horses killed or captured, and the Federal force was demoralized. The Confederates, however, were consumed with hope that the entire Union expedition could be destroyed. A large number of Union prisoners of war were sent by the Confederates to Camp Ford, a prison camp in Texas.

References

• Ayres, Thomas (2001). Dark and bloody ground: the Battle of Mansfield and the forgotten Civil War in Louisiana. Lanham, Md: Taylor Trade Pub. ISBN 0-87833-180-8. 

External links

• Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield
• Mansfield Battlefield Page: Battle maps, photos, history articles, and battlefield news (CWPT)
• Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Mansfield, 8 April 1864