elite strike force that broke through Union
positions. In light of his excellent reputation,
and upon Jackson’s recommendation, Taylor
became a major general in July 1862, the
youngest Confederate leader so designated.
However, his activities were curtailed by at-
tacks of acute arthritis, probably brought on
by exposure to cold weather. Therefore, at
his own request, Taylor was subsequently re-
assigned to the command of the District of
West Louisiana, then part of the Trans-Mis-
sissippi Department under Gen. Edmund
Kirby-Smith.
Confederate fortunes in the West were
then at their lowest ebb since the war had
begun. New Orleans had fallen in 1862, and
Vicksburg a year later, so that Union forces
enjoyed complete control of the Mississippi
River. The Union commander at New Orleans,
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, made several at-
tempts to invade northern Louisiana, but Tay-
lor, through several smartly handled engage-
ments in April and November, drove them
back to New Orleans. In the spring of 1864,
Union forces redoubled their efforts by de-
ploying a large army under Gen. Nathaniel P.
Banks and a gunboat flotilla under Cmdr.
David D. Porter. These two officers were di-
rected to advance along the Red River into
Texas for the purpose of bringing that state
back into the Union fold. It was also hoped
that such a conquest would discourage
French assistance to the Confederacy from
occupied Mexico, as well as remove a large
cotton-producing region from Southern
hands. Taylor’s command, meanwhile, was se-
verely undermanned, and he continually
clashed with Kirby-Smith over manpower pri-
orities. When few reinforcements were forth-
coming, he resolved to resist the Union ad-
vance up the Red River with whatever forces
were available.
Throughout April 1864, Banks marched
along the Red River with Porter’s gunboats
close by. Banks then swerved away from the
river at Natchitoches, depriving himself of
naval support during the advance to Shreve-
port. Taylor watched these developments
closely and decided to deploy his meager
forces several miles below the city. As he ex-
pected, the Union column became strung
out for miles, and on April 8, 1864, he de-
cided to hit the forward elements before
Banks could consolidate. Taylor’s 9,000 men
eagerly attacked a 12,000-man Union force
in the vicinity of Mansfield and drove them
from the field, capturing 20 cannons and 200
wagons. The survivors immediately fell back
upon Pleasant Hill, where, reinforced, they
made a determined stand. On April 9, 1862,
Taylor came up and attacked again although
with less success, as the enemy was pre-
pared to receive him. This proved one of the
costliest battles of the war in the west, and
at length Taylor had to withdraw. Nonethe-
less, Banks had seen enough fighting and re-
treated back to New Orleans. Porter’s
flotilla, meanwhile, had become trapped by
the unexpectedly low water levels of the
Red River. Taylor fully intended upon at-
tacking and capturing the Union vessels, but
at this critical juncture, Kirby-Smith trans-
ferred almost half of his men northward to
meet a smaller Union invasion of Arkansas.
This act enabled both Banks and Porter to
escape intact. It also enraged Taylor, who
engaged in a disrespectful diatribe against
his superior officer, then asked to be re-
lieved. It was a sorry ending to an otherwise
fine effort. Nevertheless, by turning back
this invasion, Taylor managed to preserve a
vital section of the Confederate heartland
for another year.
In July 1864, President Davis promoted
Taylor to lieutenant general and placed him in
charge of the Department of Alabama, Missis-
sippi, and East Louisiana. This appointment
made him only one of three non–West Point
graduates to achieve such lofty rank. For
nearly a year he coped with increasingly large
Union raids and steadily shrinking manpower
reserves. In January 1865, he assumed control
of the remnants of the Army of Tennessee,
which had been eviscerated under Gen. John
Bell Hoodat the disasters of Franklin and
Nashville. Taylor was also assisted by Gen.TAYLOR, RICHARD