At the Battle of Mansfield, 8 April 1864, PVT J.P. Blessington and the 16th Texas form a line of battle to await the first Union column marching north along the Mansfield Road. After retreating up the Red River to consolidate forces, the Confederate Army now had a large enough force to turn around and face the Union Army which intended to seize Shreveport. Having successfully broken the first two Union lines, PVT Blessington and the 16th Texas joined in the pursuit down the Mansfield Road and eventually ran into a third prepared line.

Sources used for this episode:

Blessington, Joseph P. The Campaigns of Walker’s Texas Division. By a Private Soldier. Lange, Little & Co. Printers, 1875. https://archive.org/details/campaignsofwalke00bles/page/n6/mode/1up.

Davis George B., Perry, Leslie J., Kirkley, Joseph W. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 34, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Office, 1891. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077700288&view=1up&seq=3.

At the Siege of Port Hudson, which began in May 1863, SGM George N. Carpenter and the 8th Vermont manned the trenches north of the town. The Army of the Gulf was working in conjunction with the MG Grant’s siege of Vicksburg to the North. Much rode on the success of these sieges. Vicksburg and Port Hudson were the last two Confederate fortresses on the Mississippi River. If the Army of the Gulf could quickly take the town, they could march to Vicksburg and reinforce Grant. On 27 May, SGT Carpenter and the rest of the Army began their assault.

Sources used for this episode:

Carpenter, George N. History of the Eight Regiment Vermont Volunteers. 1861-1865. Press of Deland & Barta, 1886. https://archive.org/details/historyofeighthr01carp/page/n8/mode/1up.

Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 26, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Press, 1889. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077743049&view=1up&seq=3.

At the Battle of Bentonville, 19 March 1865, SGT Walter A. Clark of the 63rd Georgia and the Army of Tennessee advanced against the Left Wing of MG William T. Sherman’s Army. Though outnumbered when the Union Army was combined, General Joseph E. Johnston wanted to negate this by sending his Army of the South against one Wing at a time. After breaking the first line which consisted of the XIV Corps, SGT Clark and the 63rd Georgia continued their advance and met elements of the XX Corps which had just reformed after a retreat.

Sources used for this episode:

Clark, Walter A. Under the Stars and Bars: or, Memoirs of Four Years Serving with the Ogelthorpes of Augusta, Georgia. Chronicle Printing Company, 1900. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t5fb59b55&seq=7.

Davis, George B. Perry, Leslie J. Kirkley, Joseph W. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 47, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Office, 1895. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077725947&view=1up&seq=3.