Battle of Fort de Russi

At the beginning of 1864, the federal army launched an offensive against the forces of the Transmission Department , commanded by General Edmund Kirby Smith . The federal army was commanded by Nathaniel Banks and David Porter . March 12, the Porter fleet, as well as units of the XVI and XVII corps of the federal army, moved up the Red River. The target of the attack was the city of Shreveport . After eliminating a number of obstacles erected by Southerners on the river, the main fort for the federal army was the large Fort de Russi, which was a fortification with an artillery battery, partially armored to protect against artillery fire. Andrew Smith, a federal detachment, plunged into transport at Viksberg and disembarked on March 12 at Simmesport, 30 miles from the fort. On the morning of March 13, Smith sent forward scouts, and then moved the main forces, but they did not have time to go through quite a lot before dark.

Meanwhile, three units were stationed at Fort DeRussie: the 1st artillery company, the Edward King squad (Rangers of St. Martin) and the Texas regiment recruited from various Texas regiments (8th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 22nd and 28th). The morale of the garrison soldiers was low, they had only 56 rifles, the rest - smooth-bore guns. Half of the garrison had no guns at all (mainly gunners) ^[1] .

The coastal battery of the fort consisted of three sections: two sections of barbet shells and one (central) section of casemate shells. These were two 9-inch Dahlgren guns, one 32-pound rifled 1829 model and three 32-pound smooth-bore. From the land side it was established: two 6-pound cannons and two 24-pounders ^[2] .

Early on the morning of March 14, the northerners continued their march and soon discovered a federal division threatening their flank. Smith placed one of the detachments to intercept this division, and the rest of the force moved to the fort. The garrison immediately opened fire. At 18:30, Smith sent the division of Mauver. In just 20 minutes, the division broke into the rampart and captured the fort. Colonel William Lynch (58th Illinois Regiment) wrote in a report like this:

... then I ordered to join the bayonets and advance, and with a cry echoing from the breastwork, my brigade rushed forward, down the slope, up the hill, through the notch, through the moat, and climbed up the wall, and less than ten minutes after The return of the Stars and Stripes of the Order proudly flew over the fortifications of Fort de Russi ^[3] .

Colonel James Gilbert (27th Iowa Infantry Regiment) wrote:

The road to the fort was long. The terrain we attacked was all cleared of trees. Many logs lay on the ground and several ditches were to be crossed. At the command “Forward, run, march!” ( Forward, double-quick, march! ), The whole regiment rushed forward, even too quickly for a long attack, but all the time under good control. We jumped into the moat on the east and south side of the fort and swiftly climbed the parapet. When the fort fell, part of my regiment, with parts of other regiments, began firing muskets and from afar a wild, ringing, piercing cry of delight ^[4] .

The entire garrison, artillery, 56 rifles and 117 smooth-bore muskets were taken prisoner. 315 people were taken prisoner, of them from the Texas regiment - 219 soldiers and 16 officers.

Now the path along the Red River was free and the federal army could attack Alexandria. The army stood at the fort for about three days, undermining its fortifications, while 2 soldiers were killed and 4 were injured.

• Map of the fort