d to reorganize.

The fleet was now in great peril. Pushing slowly up the river,
constantly retarded by the low stage of water, the gunboats and
the transports arrived at Loggy or Boggy Bayou at two o'clock on
the afternoon of the 10th of April. Kilby Smith at once landed a
detachment of his men, and was proceeding to carry out his orders
with regard to opening communication with Banks by way of Springfield,
when about four o'clock, Captain Andrews, of the 14th New York
cavalry, rode in with his squadron, bringing word of the battles
of Sabine Cross-Roads and Pleasant Hill, and bearing a message from
Banks to Kilby Smith that directed his return to Grand Ecore. He
was at the moment consulting with Porter how best they might get
rid of the obstructions caused by the sinking by the Confederates
of a large steamboat, called the _New Falls City_, quite across
the channel from bank to bank, and they had just decided to set
fire to her and blow her up; the bad news made it clear that nothing
remained to be done but to go back down the river with all speed.

The natural obstacle presented by the deep waters and by the steep
banks of the Bayou Pierre would have formed a complete defence
against any assault on the fleet from the west bank of the Red
River, had it not been for the fact that there are three good
ferries across the bayou, approached by good roads. The upper of
these ways led to the river a long distance above the point attained
by the fleet; the second struck the bank at Grand Bayou, fifteen
miles below where the fleet stopped; the third was the road from
Pleasant Hill to Blair's Landing, which is fifty miles below Grand
Bayou. Liddell was already watching the east bank of the river,
and Taylor now sent Bagby across from Mansfield to Grand Bayou with
his brigade and Barnes's battery, to cut off the fleet. However,
Bagby did not start from Mansfield until after daybreak on the
11th, so that his arrival at the mouth of Grand Bayou was many
hours too late to catch the fleet, which at eight that evening tied
up for the night at Coushatta Chute. Here Kilby Smith received a
second order of recall from Banks, this time in writing, and dated
"On the road, April 10th."

By noon on the 12th, Bagby, riding fast and making use of the short
cuts, overtook the rear of the fleet; and somewhat later Green,
who had marched from Pleasant Hill early on the morning of the
11th, with Woods's and Gould's regiments and Parsons