Battle of Irish Bend

Battle of Irish Bend Part of the American Civil War Sketch of the battle for Harper's Weekly Date April 14, 1863 (1863-04-14) Location St. Mary Parish, Louisiana Result Union victory[1] Belligerents United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy) Commanders and leaders Nathaniel P. Banks Cuvier Grover Richard Taylor Units involved XIX Corps Army of Western Louisiana Casualties and losses 353 [1] unknown

Lower Seaboard Theater Fort Sumter USS St. Lawrence Head of Passes Santa Rosa Island Port Royal Fort Pulaski Forts Jackson and St. Philip New Orleans 1st Pocotaligo Secessionville Simmon's Bluff Tampa Baton Rouge 1st Donaldsonville St. Johns Bluff 2nd Pocotaligo Georgia Landing 1st Fort McAllister Fort Bisland Irish Bend Vermillion Bayou 1st Charleston Harbor Wassaw Sound 1st Fort Wagner Grimball's Landing 2nd Fort Wagner 2nd Charleston Harbor 2nd Fort Sumter Plains Store Port Hudson LaFourche Crossing 2nd Donaldsonville Kock's Plantation Stirling's Plantation USS New Ironsides Fort Brooke Gainesville Olustee USS Housatonic Vernon Grimball's Causeway Natural Bridge Operations in West Louisiana Fort Bisland Irish Bend Vermillion Bayou

The Battle of Irish Bend, also known as Nerson's Woods or Franklin, was fought between Union Major General Nathaniel Prentice Banks against Confederate Major General Richard Taylor during Banks's operations against the Bayou Teche region near Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in southern Louisiana.

Prelude

While the other two Union XIX Corps divisions under Nathaniel Prentice Banks were comprising the expedition into west Louisiana crossed Berwick Bay towards Fort Bisland, Brigadier General Cuvier Grover's division went up the Atchafalaya River into Grand Lake, where they could either block a Confederate retreat, or force a retreat if the Confederates stayed and fought at Fort Bisland. The battle occurred two days after the Battle of Fort Bisland.

Battle

On the morning of April 13, 1863, Grover's division landed in the vicinity of Franklin and scattered Confederate troops attempting to stop them from disembarking. That night Grover ordered the division to cross Bayou Teche and prepare for an attack towards Franklin, Louisiana, at dawn. Meanwhile, however, Major General Richard Taylor reacted, feeling the obvious threat to his rear. He started withdrawing his forces from Fort Bisland, and his advance guard arrived quickly. On the morning of April 14, Taylor and his men were at Nerson's Woods, around a mile and a half above Franklin. As Grover's lead brigade marched out a few miles, it found Taylor's men on its right and skirmishing began. The fighting became intense; the Confederates attacked, forcing the Federal soldiers to fall back. The gunboat Diana arrived and anchored the Confederate right flank on the Teche. Still, Grover's men outnumbered the Confederates and when he paused to deploy his full force, Taylor withdrew rather than risk a pitched battle against superior numbers. Grover's men had taken the strategic position they sought. This victory, along with the one at Fort Bisland, two days earlier, assured the success of the expedition into west Louisiana.

Opposing Forces

Union

Army of the Gulf - Major General Nathaniel P. Banks

• 4th Division - Brig. Gen. Cuvier Grover
  • 1st Brigade - Brig. Gen. William Dwight
  • 2nd Brigade - Col William K. Kimball
  • 3rd Brigade - Col Henry Birge
• Reserve Artillery - Col James W. McMillan

Confederate

District of West Louisiana - Major General Richard Taylor

• Mouton's Brigade - Brig. Gen. Jean Jacques Alfred Alexander Mouton
• Arizona Brigade - Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley
• Cavalry - Col Tom Green

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the National Park Service document "".

External links

• CWSAC Report Update - Louisiana

Sources

Coordinates: 29°48′42″N 91°27′41″W / 29.8116°N 91.4615°W / 29.8116; -91.4615