The Battle of Vermilion Bayou or Battle of Pinhook Bridge was fought on April 17, 1863, the third battle in a series of running battles between

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Nathaniel Prentice Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...

and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Richard Taylor. The battle was fought after both the

Battle of Fort Bisland The Battle of Fort Bisland was fought in the American Civil War between Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks against Confederate Major General Richard Taylor during Banks' operations against the Bayou Teche region in southern Louisiana. P ...

and the

Battle of Irish Bend The Battle of Irish Bend, also known as Nerson's Woods or Franklin, was a battle in the American Civil War. It was fought between Union Major General Nathaniel Prentice Banks against Confederate Major General Richard Taylor during Banks's ope ...

. On October 9, 1863 a skirmish with Confederate & Federal cavalry occurred at the same location.

Prelude

After

had outmaneuvered Richard Taylor's Army of Western Louisiana out from the

Bayou Teche Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...

region, he continued his movements towards his main objective of

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

. The Confederates were trying to slow him down as much as they could and they once again tried slowing him down right outside of Vermilion Bayou.

Battle

As Richard Taylor's small army was withdrawing up the Teche, they crossed a bridge going over Vermilion Bayou. In order to slow Banks' army down, Taylor's men lit the bridge on fire and stopped for a rest. Banks, who was in pursuit of Taylor, split his army into two columns and sent one towards the bridge and the other column around the side. As soon as the first column came within sight of the bridge, Confederate

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

began shelling the Union soldiers. After a while, Union artillery came up and a series of counter-battery exchanges ensued. During the night, Taylor, knowing himself to be outnumbered, withdrew his force again.

Aftermath

Though Taylor had not dealt Banks a defeat, he was continually slowing Banks down from reaching

, and his ultimate objective of

Port Hudson, Louisiana Port Hudson is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is known primarily as the location of an American Civil War battle, the siege of Port Hudson, in 1863. ...

Battles-at-Vermilion-Bayou-Historical-Marker

Notes

References

* Ayres, Thomas., ''Dark and Bloody Ground : The Battle of Mansfield and the Forgotten Civil War in Louisiana'', Cooper Square Press, 2001. * Parrish, T. Michael, ''Richard Taylor, Soldier Prince of Dixie'', University of North Carolina Press, 1992. * Taylor, Richard, ''Destruction and Reconstruction : Personal experiences of the late war'', Time-Life Books, 1983.

External links

National Park Service Battle Summary

CWSAC Report Update
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Vermilion Bayou The Vermilion River (or the Bayou Vermilion, french: Rivière Vermilion) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 bayou in southern Louisiana in the United Sta ...

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana 1863 in Louisiana April 1863 events