Union
General US Grant has been appointed General-in-Chief of all the Union
armies. Grant the victor of
Fort Donelson, Vicksburg; where he laid siege to that once beautiful city on
the Mississippi forcing the city to surrender last July; and at
Chattanooga last fall; forcing Gen. Bragg to withdrawal and most of
Tennessee to be lost; is in Washington city where he has accepted the
post of General-in-Chief of the Union army.
Grant, now Lieutenant General, a rank held only by Virginia’s
George Washington in the army of the United States, will command from the
field joining Gen. Meade and the Army Of The Potomac.
Grant's successes in the West
have boasted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as
General-in-Chief of the Union armies. Lincoln appointed him General-in-Chief in March.
Grant has begun his work directing Gen. Sherman in the west to march
his armies through the southwest of our country and into the heartland
ultimately with intention to drive on into Georgia, Louisiana and Alabama
while Grant, joining Gen. Mead with the Army of the Potomac, plan on
attacking Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia with Richmond as
the primary objective. Gen.
Lee is determined to keep Grant out of Richmond and has resolved to send
Grant tumbling back across the Potomac as he has done with great success to
all others commanding the armies of the United States in Virginia since
taking command two years ago. Gen.
Lee has said that if Grant is aloud to get to the James River, he will lay
siege to Richmond and then it will be just a matter of time before Richmond
goes the way of Vicksburg. It
is critical in this regard that Gen. Lee destroy Grant and Mead before they
reach the James. President
Davis and all Virginia have great hope and confidence in Gen. Lee to push
the Union army and General Grant out of Virginia when Grant finally decides
to move on Richmond, which is expected to be soon.
General Sherman,
who has taken over all command of the Federal forces in the west, has begun
his fight through the Confederate heartland. The Yankees launched a campaign into Gen. Kirby Smith’s
Trans-Mississippi Department, headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Federal Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks, who as most will remember was
routed in the Shenandoah by Gen. Jackson two years ago during Gen.
Jackson’s victorious valley campaign, and Rear Adm. David D. Porter
jointly commanded the combined force. Porter’s
fleet and Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith's 16th and 17th Corps detachments of the
Federal Army set out last month along the Red River with possible intention
to march into Arkansas or Texas. Banks with two other Federal Corps advanced by way of Berwick
Bay and Bayou Teche to Fort DeRussy. Union
Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith’s command had embarked on transports at Vicksburg
and then disembarked at Simsport, on March 12th, about thirty miles from
Fort DeRussy. Federal Forces
Under Gen. Smith took the fort and our garrison of 300 brave men after a
savage fight by our soldiers in attempt to hold the fort and send the
Yankees tumbling back on March 13th.
The loss of Fort DeRussy opened the Red River to Alexandria to the
Federal force and Porters gunboats. After
the surrender of Fort DeRussy, Banks had advanced about 150 miles up the Red
River. Confederate Maj. Gen.
Richard Taylor, without Gen. Kirby Smith’s orders, resolved to stop the
Federal drive up the Red River. He
established a defensive position just below Mansfield town, near Sabine
Cross-Roads. On April 8, Banks’ men appeared in a host of force and began
to move forward and having some success driving off our Confederate cavalry
placed in positions before them. For the rest of the morning, the Federals
were seen to be examining our lines with intention to attack positions of
weakness of which there were none. In
late afternoon, Gen. Taylor convinced no Yankee attack would come to him
decided to take the fight to the Yankees and ordered attack. His men, though
outnumbered, made a determined and deadly assault on both Federal flanks,
rolling up one and then another of Banks’ divisions.
Finally, as night began to fall, the Federals got reinforced; in the
very area about three miles from the initial contact; by a third Yankee
division. This new division of
reinforcements met Gen. Taylor’s attack and halted it after more than an
hour of savage fighting. As night fell upon the field of battle, the fight
ended. Gen. Taylor was
unsuccessful in his attempt to turn the Federal right flank after it being
reinforced, but the damage to Gen. Banks was enough to force Banks to
withdraw. Gen. Taylor plans to
push the Yankees out of Mansfield and force Banks to retreat when Taylor
resumes the fight come
the marrow.