Battle of Irish Bend

The Battle of Irish Bend, also known as Nerson’s Woods or Franklin, was a battle in the American Civil War. It 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.

This article is about 1863 American Civil War battle near Franklin, Louisiana. For American Civil War battles in Tennessee, see Battle of Franklin (disambiguation).
Battle of Irish Bend
Part of the American Civil War

Sketch of the battle for Harper’s Weekly
DateApril 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

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
Map of the Battle of Irish Bend
Map of Irish Bend Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

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

Confederate

District of West Louisiana—Major General Richard Taylor

References

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

  1. National Park Service Battle Summary

Sources
  • Ayres, Thomas., Dark and Bloody Ground : The Battle of Mansfield and the Forgotten Civil War in Louisiana, Cooper Square Press, 2001.
  • Parrish, T. Michael, Richard Taylor, Soldier Prince of Dixie, University of North Carolina Press, 1992.
  • Taylor, Richard, Destruction and Reconstruction : Personal experiences of the late war, Time-Life Books, 1983.
  • Winters, John D., The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0834-0
  • National Park Service battle description

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