Going After Steele
Looking across a field covered with mangled dead, with many of them from their own companies, it would have been difficult for the Texans to consider the battle a triumph. On April 8, 1864, the Texas Division, or Greyhounds as they were called, played a pivotal role in defeating the Union army under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks. The collapse of Banks’ offensive near Mansfield, Louisiana brought about an ignominious finale to the Red River Campaign, a Union attempt to invade the rich cotton fields of East Texas and establish a presence in Texas to prevent French incursions from Mexico. A second battle ensued further south at Pleasant Hill. Although the Confederate assault was stymied at great loss, Banks continued his retreat. The job, however, was not finished. Union forces under Major General Frederick Steele were on the move, marching from Little Rock, Arkansas to link up with Banks in Louisiana. Under the command of Major General John G. Walker, the Greyhounds, so named because of their rapid marches, were joined by Brigadier General Thomas Churchill’s Arkansas division and Brigadier General Mosby Parson’s Missouri division to confront Steele. Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, the Commander of the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, assumed overall command. Famished and their uniforms in tatters, the Texans’ march from Pleasant Hill to Arkansas would be a very long and hard one. Only their tenacious resolve would get them there.
The Greyhounds
The Greyhounds consisted of four brigades, all of them from Texas. Before the Battle of Mansfield, they had fought at the Battle of Milliken’s Bend, an attempt to disrupt a Union supply line on the Mississippi River and divert Union attention from the besieged Confederate forces at Vicksburg. With the assistance of Union gunboats, African American troops desperately held off the Texans’ assault. The Greyhounds’ attack on a Union encampment during the Battle of Bayou Bourbeux was more successful. While serving in the Trans-Mississippi, especially in the disease-ridden swamps of Northeastern Louisiana, their greatest enemy was disease and a lack of proper food and clothing. Their experienced commander, John G. Walker, had served admirably under Stonewall Jackson in Virginia. Like Stonewall, he understood the value of a spirited, well-led attack.
Marches and Massacres
By the fall of 1863, the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock, had fallen to Union troops. The southern half of the state was still in Confederate hands. The lack of supplies and troops along with guerilla attacks prevented the Union Army of Arkansas from advancing further. Despite the shortages, 11,000 men under General Steele marched out of Little Rock to link-up with Banks at Shreveport, Louisiana, the Confederate Headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department. Foraging by both sides had left much of the Arkansas countryside almost devoid of food, water and forage for the mules and horses. As a result, Steele’s troops were placed on half rations, barely enough to sustain an army on the march. Hungary and fatigued, Steele came to a halt at Camden after diverting from a march on the temporary Confederate capital at Washington to draw out the Confederate cavalry. To alleviate the food shortage, wagon trains were sent out to distant farms to forage. The first one sent out was guarded by the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment. Confederate cavalry under John S. Marmaduke and Samuel B. Maxey captured the train. What followed was one of the most atrocious acts of the war. Some of the members of the 1st Kansas were shot or bayonetted to death while trying to surrender. The wounded were murdered as well. Confederate troops often became enraged when fighting former slaves, taking their anger out on Black prisoners. A second wagon train was captured at Mark’s Mill, bringing further misery to Steele’s troops. After learning about Banks’ defeat in Louisiana, Steele decided to march back to Little Rock. To lighten the load, tents, wagons, mess chests, meat, hard-tack and clothing were burned. To prevent the nearby Confederates from learning about their departure, civilians within their lines were held captive until they moved out.
The Saline River
Mud, Rain and Hunger
Just three weeks after Mansfield, Walker’s Texans were also hungry and fatigued. Rain fell incessantly during their march, turning dirt roads into quagmires. Steele’s troops had gained a full day’s march ahead of Smith. Because of the rain and mud, the gap was closing. At Jenkins’ Ferry, on the banks of the rain swollen Saline River, the Confederates caught up with Steele’s rearguard.
The battlefield couldn’t have been more worse for Smith’s troops. Smith had placed Major General Sterling Price in direct command of his troops. More interested in liberating his native Missouri, he had a number of defeats on his record, especially disastrous losses at Corinth and Helena. The field itself was more of a rain fed swamp, submerging the feet of the advancing Confederates in water. Steele’s troops had constructed breastworks and abatis, blocking the road to the ferry and protecting Union troops crossing the Saline River. Securing the Union left was the nearby rain-swollen Cox Creek. Except for a couple of cleared farmlands, the right was a heavily wooded swamp. Overall, there was little space to maneuver and outflank the Union position. Any assault would have to be made head-on.
The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry
On the morning of April 30, 1864, Price attacked the Union breastworks. The Arkansas troops were sent in first followed by the Missourians. A three gun Missouri battery, unlimbered on the battlefield, was captured by the 2nd Kansas Colored Regiment before it could fall back. Some of the battery gunners were shot or bayoneted by the 2nd Kansas - payback for Poison Spring. As it so often happened during the war, the infantry assaults on Steele’s heavily fortified position failed with heavy losses. Keeping the troops properly aligned proved difficult at best. One officer recalled, “When we got within 400 yards of the enemy, orders were given to form forward into line of battle amidst a roar of water splashing under the men’s feet so that none could hear the orders except those nearest to the officers who repeated them, but the rest saw and imitated the movement.” The water, the woods, and the breastworks made it impossible to attack the Union line with any measure of success.
The Greyhounds Attack
The Greyhounds attack met with the same tragic results. The 14th Texas Regiment suffered heavily. One private wrote that his company had “lost about half of its men, killed and wounded. After the fight we had sergeants commanding companies and captains commanding regiments.” Lt. Colonel Robert S. Gould, commander of the 6th Texas Cavalry Battalion wrote,”Many men lost their shoes in the mud. Others fell. And their arms became wet and useless.” Three brigade commanders, Brigadier General Horace Randal, Brigadier General William R. Scurry, and Brigadier General Thomas N. Waul were wounded. Within two days, Randal and Scurry were dead. After an hour, the fruitless charges ended before a lull set in. During the lull, Steele’s troops withdrew across a pontoon bridge over the Saline.
Aftermath
Out of 10,000 men on the Confederate side, 1,000 were casualties. Steele’s troops suffered 700 casualties. Steele didn’t follow up with his own assault. Having destroyed almost all of his wagons and supplies, he had little choice but to march back to the safe confines of Little Rock.
Worried about Banks returning, Smith sent the Greyhounds back to Mansfield. Again, this led to more marching and more suffering. In one of the most amazing feats of the Civil War, or any war for that matter, the Greyhounds had marched 930 miles and fought in three pitched battles within 70 days, often without food or tents. Though the losses were heavy, Texas would remain free from Union control until the end of the war. Walker’s Greyhounds had more than earned their sobriquet.
Check It Out
Read Richard Lowe's fine book, Walker's Texas Division C.S.A Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi. This is the best book on Walker's Greyhounds. Considering the distances these Texans had to march and what they had to endure, it's remarkable what they accomplished and the price they paid for it.
Battle Flag of Walker's Texas Division
