MARCH 12. 1864:
The Red
River Campaign begins. It is the largest joint Army-Navy operation of the war,
the brainchild of General Henry W. Halleck, who wants to take Shreveport,
Louisiana along with its foundries and docks and supply depots. The fall of
Shreveport will bring about the fall of Confederate-held Louisiana and will
mean the capture of the Headquarters of the Confederacy’s Department of The
Trans-Mississippi.
It is also a precursor to the planned invasion of Texas,
which, to date, has not been entered in force by the Union except in the
northern panhandle, along the Rio Grande frontier, and in coastal enclaves.
On this day, General Nathaniel P. Banks, U.S.A. begins
moving 17,000 troops against Alexandria, Louisiana.
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