On 11/26/2008 we arrived at Sunrise RV Park in Texarkana, AR for a week of rest. We traveled to New Rockdale RV Park in Mansfield, LA on 12/03/2008. Then on 12/06/2008 we visited 4 sites. The first is Mansfield Civil War Battlefield State Historical Site in Mansfield, LA. The Battle of Mansfield goes by two other names which are Sabine Crossroads and Pleasant Grove. Sabine Crossroads was the first of two battles that ended any chance of Union success in the Red River Campaign. This campaign had been launched in mid-March 1864 with the aim of capturing north-west Louisiana and threatening Texas. By the end of 7 April 1864, the federal force had reached the vicinity of Pleasant Hill, a two-day march from Shreveport. However, it was badly stretched out along a single road, with almost a days march between the advance guard and the rear of the army. Thus, although Banks had around 26,000 men available on 8 April 1864, only a small part of that force was involved in the day’s fighting. The picture is of the 2nd Massachusetts Light Artillery Battery at Honeycutt Hill.
The second site is Pleasant Hill Battlefield Park in Pleasant Hill, LA. On 9 April 1864 the Confederates launched a second attack on the forces at Pleasant Hill and suffered a serious defeat. However, their victory at Sabine Crossroads was enough to end the Red River Expedition. The time limits imposed on Banks meant that he did not have the time to regroup after any significant defeat. The retreat itself came close to turning into a disaster when the falling water levels in the Red River threatened to trap the gun boat fleet above Alexandria. Only a great deal of effort and ingenuity prevented the minor rebuff at Sabine Crossroads and Pleasant Hill turning into one of the worst Union defeats in the western theatre. The battlefield is on private land but an earlier owner put up marker monuments to tell the story of the battle at the entrance to the battlefield. The picture is of the battlefield that is on private property.
The third site is Fort Jesup State Historical Site in Many, LA. When the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803 failed to define clearly the western boundary of Louisiana, which was also the western border of the country at that time, the United States claimed eastern Texas and Spain claimed western Louisiana. The ensuing dispute gave rise to the “Neutral Ground”, an area where the laws of neither nation were enforced. Soldiers and settlers were kept out and rogues of various stripes ruled the region. After the territorial boundary was finally fixed at the Sabine River by the Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819, the United States built Fort Jesup in 1822. Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor established and commanded the garrison, which was originally called Cantonment Jesup in honor of Taylor’s good friend, Brigadier General Thomas Sidney Jesup. Taylor’s troops managed to establish law and order in the Neutral Ground and Fort Jesup remained an important military post for nearly 25 years. The picture is of the reconstructed Officer Quarters / Museum.
Fort Jesup started the Christmas Season with visits from Santa on each Saturday before Christmas. The picture is of Abigail on Santa’s lap.
The fourth site is a revisitation of Presidio de Los Adaes State Historical Site in Robeline, LA. A Spanish expedition went to northeastern New Spain in 1716 to establish missions and forts (presidios). At the request of the Adaes Indians, Father Margil built the first Los Adaes mission. It was San Miguel de Linares de Los Adaes, named for St. Michael, the archangel, and the Duke of Linares, the Viceroy of New Spain. French soldiers from Natchitoches attacked the first Los Adaes mission in 1719, forcing its closing. Two years later, Spain built a new mission in another location less than two miles east of the earlier one. A presidio was also built, and it served as the capital of the Province of Texas from 1729 to 1770. The presidio was called Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Los Adaes. Today, the name Los Adaes refers to both the mission and the presidio. The picture is of the layout of the fort from the area by the visitor’s center.
