The Actions near Alexandria (April 24 – May 13, 1864) saw a Confederate States Army force commanded by Major General Richard Taylor surround a greatly superior Union Army led by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and a United States Navy flotilla commanded by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter at Alexandria, Louisiana. Porter's gunboats were trapped above the double falls in the Red River by low water. Banks' army was compelled to halt its retreat to keep Porter's vessels from being scuttled or from falling into Confederate hands.
Meanwhile, Taylor positioned his scanty forces to blockade the Union forces within Alexandria. For several days, the Confederate force was able to block all traffic in the Red River. Porter's fleet was saved when an innovative Union engineer built Bailey's Dam which raised the water level enough to float Porter's gunboats over the falls and into deeper water. On May 13, Banks' army brushed aside Taylor's troops and marched downstream. Though Banks ordered Alexandria to be spared, Union soldiers burned down most of the city when they left.
Background
Red River campaign
Because his administration felt threatened by the French-backed regime of Emperor Maximilian in Mexico, President Abraham Lincoln wanted the United States flag raised over part of Texas. Major General Henry Halleck ordered Banks, over his objections, to mount an invasion of Texas using the Red River corridor. Banks was to ascend Bayou Teche with 17,000 troops while Major General Andrew Jackson Smith with 10,000 men (three divisions of XVI Corps and XVII Corps) would move up the Red River accompanied by the 13 ironclads and 7 light-draft gunboats of Porter's river fleet. Major General Frederick Steele and 15,000 men were ordered to march south from Little Rock, Arkansas, and join the first two columns, but they started too late and never connected with Banks.
On March 18, 1864, A. J. Smith's column occupied Alexandria and was joined by Banks' main body a few days later. Despite low water in the Red River, Banks ordered an advance on Shreveport, Louisiana, and his army occupied Natchitoches on April 2. At the Battle of Mansfield on April 8, Taylor defeated Banks and forced the Union army back. Though Taylor's attack was repelled at the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, Banks elected to withdraw to Grand Ecore near Natchitoches. Meanwhile, Taylor's superior, General Edmund Kirby Smith took most of the Confederate infantry to fight Steele's column, leaving Taylor with only 5,200 troops. On April 21, Banks decided to abandon the campaign and retreat from Grand Ecore. This decision was influenced by an order to return A. J. Smith's troops to Major General William T. Sherman by April 10. At the Battle of Monett's Ferry on April 23, the Union army forced its way through a blocking force sent by Taylor.
Forces
Actions
Arrival at Alexandria
The different elements of Banks' army reached Alexandria between April 24 and 26. The rearguard was composed of A. J. Smith's troops who fought off Confederate pursuit and burned any buildings they found along their route. Meanwhile, Porter sent reports to his superiors in Washington, D.C. complaining of Banks' failures, leading Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and Halleck to consider replacing Banks. Meanwhile, the last few vessels of the river flotilla fought through a Confederate ambush in the Action of 26–27 April 1864 where the Cane River emptied into the Red River. The ironclad had to be scuttled and two pump boats were lost, but Porter himself in the tinclad and two other badly damaged gunboats escaped. These were escorted to Alexandria by two more warships.
On April 26, Major General John Alexander McClernand arrived at Alexandria to assume command of the XIII Corps. McClernand brought the 2,600 troops of Brigadier General Michael Kelly Lawler's brigade and 1,000 replacements destined for the XVI Corps. This brought Banks' army to a total of 33,500 men. Banks deployed the XIX Corps on the right flank, XIII Corps in the center, and XVI Corps on the left flank. The Union soldiers fortified Alexandria with a double line of breastworks hardened by artillery redoubts.