morning of April 7. Just three miles into
the day’s advance, his troopers were struck
hard by four regiments of Green’s Texas
cavalry at Wilson’s Farm. When Federal
reinforcements arrived, the attackers
melted away. Before dusk, another Rebel
cavalry charge took place and was repulsed
at Carroll’s Mill. The message was clear—
Taylor was no longer falling back. His
entire army was probably nearby, spoiling
for a fight after a 200-mile retreat.
In fact, Taylor’s full complement included
Green’s cavalry, Walker’s Texas division,
and a division of Louisiana troops under
the command of the grandly named Brig.
Gen. Jean Jacques Alexandre Alfred Mou-
ton, nearly 9,000 men altogether. At
Keatchie, 20 miles away, were 4,400 moreConfederate soldiers, two divisions of Ster-
ling Price’s command, Arkansas and Mis-
souri troops led by Brig. Gens. Thomas
Churchill and Mosby Parsons. Taylor was
still outnumbered 2-to-1, but he was deter-
mined to fight at Sabine Crossroads, three
miles southeast of the town of Mansfield.
The Confederate line was three quarters of
a mile long astride the Stagecoach Road.
From the concealment of thick woods, an
open killing zone 1,200 yards long and 800
yards wide stretched from a point where
the road emerged from the tree line.
Early on April 8, Lee was again on the
move. Along the crest of a ridge to his
front, he spotted Confederate cavalry,
which hastily retired after he gave orders
to engage. Union horsemen galloped afterthe enemy troopers, and when Lee reached
the crest of the ridge he saw Taylor’s battle
line. When probing attacks against the
Confederate left held by Mouton’s
Louisianans proved fruitless, Lee withdrew,
deployed his two accompanying artillery
batteries, and requested reinforcements.
Major General William B. Franklin,
commander of XIX Corps, ordered Brig.
Gen. Thomas Ransom to move his XIII
Corps forward and sent along an addi-
tional infantry brigade to assist. Ransom,
however, was restricted by Lee’s wagon
train and struggled to reach the dismounted
Union cavalrymen. By 3:30 PM, approxi-
mately 4,800 Union troops were on the
field, including two brigades of Colonel
William Landram’s 4th Division.
Taylor had chosen his ground well to
invite a Union attack. Although he
enjoyed a temporary numerical superior-
ity he waited several hours for one to
materialize. At 4 PM, after Landram had
completed his final troop dispositions,
Taylor could wait no longer. He ordered
his own assault. Mouton’s men charged
into the open ground and assailed Lan-
dram’s line amid a storm of rifle and can-
non fire. The Confederates fell back,
regrouped, and came on again. Conspic-
uously gallant, Mouton was one of sev-
eral Confederate officers who rode on
horseback during the attacks. He was also
among 11 of his command’s 14 officers
killed in the span of 20 minutes. The divi-
sion took 700 casualties in half an hour of
fighting, losing one-third of its men.
Polignac assumed command of Mouton’s
ravaged division and Taylor sent elements
of Green’s dismounted cavalry against Lan-
dram’s exposed right flank while Walker’s
Texans and more of Green’s dismounted
troopers struck Landram’s left. As both
Union flanks began to buckle, Landram
realized he was in danger of being sur-
rounded. Walker’s soldiers captured three
Union artillery pieces and turned them on
their former owners, who began to with-
draw in disorder. In a flash, the retreat
became a confused stampede of soldiers
and horses running for the rear. Lee later
lamented, “In 20 minutes our line was justABOVE: Brigadier General Albert Lee’s untested cavalry withstood a surprise Confederate attack at Wilson’s
Farm on April 7. BELOW: Outnumbered 2-to-1, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor put up a strong defense at the Battle of
Sabine Crossroads near Mansfield on April 8.CWQ-Sum16 Red River_Layout 1 4/20/16 4:20 PM Page 38