Lexingtonand the smaller warship Rob
Roycollided, and the transport Emerald
ran aground on the sandy riverbank.
At Blair’s Landing, 45 miles up the river
from Grand Ecore, a Confederate battery
of four guns and 2,500 cavalrymen under
the dashing Texas horseman Thomas
Green lay in wait for Porter, hoping to bag
the entire flotilla. On April 12, Green’s
artillery and rifles opened fire on the trans-
port Hastings,tied to the shore while
undergoing repairs to her damaged wheel.
The captain of Hastingscast off to escape
the heavy enemy fire, and Osage,dis-
patched to assist the transport, ran
aground. Once again, Porter was in the
thick of the action as his flagship Black-
hawkjerked the monitor free.
Confederate shells pounded the trans-
ports Alice Vivian, Emerald,and Clara Bell,
while Lexington, Rob Roy, and Osagefired
their heavy guns in a heated exchange with
the Rebel cannons. The fight lasted two har-
rowing hours before the Confederates were
compelled to retire. When it was over Porter
ruefully wrote, “The woodwork of the
Blackhawkand Osagewas so pitted with
bullet holes that it is no exaggeration to say
that one could not place the hand anywhere
without covering a shot mark.”
The Confederates too were not
unscathed, losing seven men, including one
towering presence, the gallant Green, who
had been decapitated by a Union shell. Tay-
lor approvingly noted, “His death was a
public calamity and mourned as such by
the people of Texas and Louisiana.”
When the last of Porter’s flotilla reached
Grand Ecore on April 15, one New York
infantryman observed, “The sides of some
of the transports are half shot away, and
their smokestacks look like huge pepper
boxes.” Miraculously, although battered,
no Union ships had been lost during the
arduous trek.
To the north, Steele’s expedition from Lit-
tle Rock had gotten off at a glacial pace,
departing on March 23, a full 10 days after
Grant had ordered the advance to com-
mence. Harried by Confederate cavalry,
Steele constantly worried about supplies as
he crossed country that was devoid ofpotential food and water. A rendezvous
with a force of 5,000 troops from the Army
of the Frontier under Brig. Gen. John M.
Thayer marching from Fort Smith,
Arkansas, did not materialize until several
days after the appointed time. When the
two forces finally did unite, supplies were
scarce, and Steele was forced to detour
through heavy rain and over roads that
turned to rivers to the town of Camden,
Arkansas, on the Ouachita River.
Steele and Thayer slogged into Camden
on April 16 and promptly sent out forag-
ing parties to fill nearly 200 wagons with
much-needed provisions. As they returned
to Camden two days later, the Federals
were overwhelmed by marauding Rebel
cavalry under Brig. Gens. John Mar-
maduke and Samuel Maxey. Some ofMaxey’s troopers were Choctaw Indians,
and the hapless Union foragers included
several African American soldiers from
Thayer’s 1st Kansas Regiment. When the
one-sided fight was over, every single
wagon was put to the torch. Dead and
wounded Union soldiers lay scattered
about. Later, the Confederates were
accused of murdering the black troops
while the Choctaws were denounced for
allegedly scalping some of their victims.
Steele, suffering from indecision, had
been idle at Camden for a week when he
discovered the infantry divisions of
Churchill, Parsons, and Walker drawing
near Camden and received the distressing
news of Banks’s defeat at Sabine Cross-
roads. On April 25, Steele suffered another
stunning blow when 1,600 troops escorting
a train of supply wagons to Pine Bluff were
set upon by 2,500 Rebel cavalrymen. A
staggering 1,300 Union soldiers were
killed, wounded, or captured in the day-
long battle at Marks’ Mill.
Steele concluded that his position at
Camden was hopeless and that continu-
ing south toward Banks was probably a
journey toward further disaster. He
ordered a general retirement to Little
Rock. The retreating Federals fought off
harassing Rebel cavalry and marched to
Jenkins Ferry on the Saline River. Heavy
rains slowed the effort to cross the river,
and the next morning Kirby Smith
ordered Churchill’s men to assault a heav-
ily defended line of breastworks not far
from the banks of the Saline. The ill-
advised attack cost Smith about 1,000
killed or wounded, while Steele suffered
another 700 casualties. Three days after
the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, Steele’s tattered
ranks trudged back into Little Rock, their
harrowing ordeal having accomplished
nothing.
After their rendezvous at Grand Ecore,
Porter and Banks remained at odds. Banks
considered a renewal of the drive on
Shreveport, but he finally realized that the
prospects for success were virtually nil. The
Red River was becoming shallower by the
hour, and Sherman was impatiently
demanding the return of his troops. PorterOpposing generals in the Red River campaign
included, clockwise from top left, Alfred Mouton,
Richard Taylor, Joseph Mower, Frederick Steele,
Andrew Smith, and Albert Lee.CWQ-Sum16 Red River_Layout 1 4/20/16 4:20 PM Page 41