You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.

Adobe Express is the quick and easy create anything out.

It's my go-to for making my business stand out.

From videos and social posts to flyers and logos.

Search for Adobe Express to find out more and use it for free.

Thank you. to find out more and of our Civil War podcast. I'm Rich.

And I'm Tracy. Hello, y'all. Thanks for tuning into the podcast.

With this episode, we're going to be wrapping up our Red River campaign story arc.

As you guys will recall by the end of the last show,

Nathaniel Banks had managed to escape the trap that Confederate commander Dick Taylor had tried to set for him at Monette's Ferry.

Two days later, on April 25, 1864, the lead elements of Banks' column

marched into Alexandria, Louisiana, returning to the town they had left 30 days before,

with such high hopes heading for Shreveport. But Banks' hopes of reaching Shreveport had been dashed at the Battle of

Mansfield on April 8th and the Battle of Pleasant Hill the next day, April 9th. After those

setbacks, the Federal's retreat had brought them all the way back to Alexandria. Nathaniel Banks arrived back in Alexandria, only vaguely aware of the trouble awaiting him.

His Red River campaign had begun five weeks earlier, and in that short span of time,

Ulysses S. Grant had become General and Chief, Henry Halleck was now the Army Chief of Staff,

and William Tecumseh Sherman was making final preparations for his thrust down into Georgia

aimed at capturing Atlanta.

During the course of the campaign, Banks sent carefully worded reports to Grant and to Washington,

in which he painted the course of events in the best light possible, downplaying setbacks,

continuing to insist he held the upper hand, and persisting in the narrative that he would

...