Monday, April 7, 2014

April 9, 1864---The Battle of Pleasant Hill, LA; the Battle of Prairie D'Ane, AR



APRIL 9, 1864:           

The Battle of Pleasant Hill.    

Confederate forces flush with victory at Mansfield the day before, reengage with retreating Union forces in what develops into a brutal three hour battle. At first the Gray overwhelms the Blue, but Union forces are able to redeploy in good order. They drive the Confederates from the field with slaughter. The Union lost 1,400 men, with 150 killed, and the rest wounded, captured and missing. The Confederacy lost 1,600 men, mostly killed. Immediately after the battle, Banks continued his retreat of the day before. 


 
The Battle of Prairie D’Ane. 

The Arkansas offensive in the Red River Campaign scores a minor Union victory, driving Confederate troops away from Washington, the capital of Confederate Arkansas. However, with the fracturing of the Red River Campaign as a whole, the Union forces in Arkansas do not move toward Shreveport.