The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 29
562 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Hamilton P. Bee in the Red River Campaign of 1864
through the battlefield. The Federal line extended in a shallow "U" in
front of the village between the woodlands and across the roads to Mans-
field and the Sabine.
Action did not begin until three in the afternoon because Taylor wanted
to give his tired infantry a couple of hours rest after their long march from
Mansfield. Cavalry was posted on the right flank to cover Thomas J.
Churchill's infantry divisions. Walker was placed to left of center, with Bee
on his left on the Mansfield road. The far side of the line consisted of
Major's Division, dismounted, with Camille de Polignac's infantry division
in reserve behind Bee. Taylor planned to open with Churchill in a flanking
movement trying to roll up the Federal left. Walker was to attack when he
heard the sound of Churchill's guns, pulling the battle to the left. When the
attack on the right "disordered" the enemy, Bee, with Buchel's and Debray's
cavalry, was to charge straight up the road and through the village on the
top of the hill, while Major took possession of the road to Blair's Landing
on the Red River.28
At three Churchill started his men moving, but he did not swing far
enough right to flank the enemy, and his attack was stalled for a short time.
Walker, hearing the battle on his right, put his own brigades into motion.
When Green saw this and heard Churchill's guns, he supposed the enemy
to be in retreat as planned and ordered Bee's cavalry to make their charge.
It was about four-thirty in the afternoon.29
Bee and his troopers rode out toward the Yankee lines in columns of
fours, Debray's regiment in the lead. Bee intended to deploy and charge
when closer to the enemy, but before he could give the order the Federals
opened fire from an ambush fifty yards away. The Twenty-fourth Missouri
had concealed itself in a deep gully filled with a thick growth of young pine
trees which was behind a fence parallel to Bee's line of march. They waited
until the Rebels came within point-blank range and then hit them broadside
from the left. This unexpected volley wreaked havoc in the cavalry columns.
Men and horses went down, falling in all directions. Frightened animals
28Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, 163-165; Taylor to Anderson, report, April
18, 1864, O.R.A., XXXIV, pt. r, pp. 566-568.
29Bee to Hart, April I o, 1864, Mechhng Subcollection; Bee to Hart, report, April r o,
1864, O.R.A., XXXIV, pt. I, p. 608; Taylor to Anderson, report, April I8, I864, ibid.,
566-567. For more complete descriptions of the battle of Pleasant Hill, see Johnson, Red
River Campaign, 146-169; Winters, Civil War in Louisiana, 348-355; Taylor, Destruc-
tion and Reconstruction, 163-173; Williams, "Red River," I23-125; Irwin, Nineteenth
Corps, 313-322; Frank Moore (ed.), The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events
(20 vols.; New York, 1862-1871), VIII, 535-567; Harrington, Fighting Politician, 157-
159.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/47/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.