Diary of 2nd Lieutenant George G. Smith: April 14, 1864

Meanwhile Commodore Porter was in the river quite a number of miles above Pleasant Hill where the battle was fought with more than half of the United States Navy. General Banks got a dispatch through to him, stating that “he was defeated and on the retreat”. This of course compelled Porter to retreat: as the absence of the army uncovered the river banks and let loose the whole rebel army upon him, West of the Mississippi river. That led him a lively dance all the way down until they arrived at Grand Ecore. He states in his report that the rebel General Green in command “had his head shot off” in a raid on the gun boats and the management of the rebel army fell into the hands of “drunken Dick Taylor who was entirely incompetent to conduct it”. Green deserved all he got, for in speaking of this incident J. T. Headly says in “Farragut and his Naval Commanders”, that the rebels had made their attack in the most difficult part of the river where four or five of our vessels were fast in the mud and others along side of them trying to pull them off. The advance consisted of 3000 men commanded by General Green, their best general. He soon found that his men could not stand our fire: but he determined not to retreat, and forced his troops up to the edge of the banks where our gunboats fairly mowed them down. He finally got his head shot off, and nearly all his officers having been killed around him, the rest retreated in disorder, cut up as they fled.

This was the victorious army that had defeated Banks the day before, and flushed with victory, had pounced on Porter. On this day I was detailed to take charge of a fatigue party to unload our affects off the Shinango. At twelve o'clock noon, we crossed the river and took our position in line in the piney woods at the breast works.

SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from a Soldier's Diary, p. 97-9

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant George G. Smith: April 13, 1864

We found Bank's whole army here having been badly defeated at Pleasant Hill, forty miles above on the nineth and tenth instant and had retreated back to this place with his whole army. The story of the battle so far as I could learn from those who participated in it, was as follows: The objective point was Shrievesport on this river about sixty miles above. General Curtis from Arkansas and General Banks from New Orleans were both marching upon it intending to form a junction there. But Banks did not take the wiley rebel General Green into the account. With a strong force of Texas troops he stepped between the approaching armies first attacking Curtis and driving him back towards Arkansas and then turning upon Banks. South of Shrievsport is a dense forest through which the road passes. In this forest Green placed his troops disposing them in the form of the letter A with the apex towards the city where he planted a battery in the road. The Union cavalry was in the advance followed by the baggage train. As soon as the head of the column reached the battery they opened fire. The wings closed upon the baggage train, shot the mules and drivers, piling up the wagons in terrible confusion making the road utterly impassable, while the forest was so dense a rabbit could hardly crawl through; the enemy had it pretty much all his own way. The long baggage train was all captured with its valuable stores besides most of the cavalry was either killed or captured. The remaining few that escaped fell back on the infantry support which was a day's march in the rear. Of course the enemy pursued them until they met the infantry and then it was their turn to retreat; which they did without stopping to fight long. The infantry pursued them about eight miles, but it was a useless chase as their commissary stores were all gone and they were compelled to retreat. They fell back to Grand Ecore and threw up entrenchments and this is where we found them.

SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from a Soldier's Diary, p. 95-7