~ a rare Louisiana Civil War period scene ~
This is a painting of the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana , which occurred on April 8th, 1864, and was a Confederate victory under General Richard Taylor (son of Zachary Taylor). The battle turned 42,000 Union troops away from their conquest of the Louisiana Confederate capital of Shreveport and sent them in retreat to New Orleans.
The depiction of the Confederate battle flag is unusual. Located on the right side of the painting, it has a blue field with a red St. Andrew's cross and white stars. This particular configuration (the flag usually has a red field with a blue cross) was adopted by Gen. Richard Taylor when he was Colonel of the Louisiana Tigers in 1862 and used by his Corps throughout the remainder of the war.
The artist signed his name as Cruver , with the inscription Co. C. The name 'Cruver' matches names of Union soldiers based out of Illinois and Indiana, as listed on a database associated with the National Parks Service. In the battle of Mansfield, the units on the Union side hailed from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. At that time, it was not uncommon for soldiers to be moved about or reassigned to different Union companies, depending on the outcomes of previous battles, so although no ‘Cruver' is listed in a Company C, it can be concluded that the artist/soldier most likely was a reassignment into that company.
A map of the Battle of Mansfield from the Civil War Preservation Trust shows a road in the bottom right corner, along with a house (or barn, or outbuilding of some sort). The Mansfield Road (apparently also known at that time as the Shreveport-Natchitoches Stage Road), shows the Fincher House on the same side of the road as the painting shows. It is flanked by artillery and infantry units from Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. On the Confederate side, there are Louisiana and Texas units, all under the overall command of Gen. Richard Taylor, moving through the woods to assault the Union forces flanking the Fincher house, all as depicted in the painting.
Attention has been paid nationally to the Battle of Mansfield or the Red River Campaign, perhaps because it was the last decisive Confederate victory at a time when the United States Civil War was winding to an end. Perhaps it was just too far from the center of activity and the capital cities of the United States and the Confederacy, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia.
The Battle of Mansfield was fought on April 8, 1864, just south of the town of Mansfield, Louisiana. The battle was part of the Red River Campaign, a Union effort to wrest control of the Red River and capture the City of Shreveport. Shreveport was the Confederate capital of Louisiana, a busy river port with an active cotton economy, the site of military industry, including ship and submarine construction, and the head of the Texas Trail. The capture of Shreveport would have allowed Union forces to enter Texas and crush the supplies moving from Texas, Mexico and western points to supply Confederate forces in the east.
The Battle of Mansfield saw the defeat of Union forces under the command of General Nathaniel Banks by Confederate forces commanded by General Richard Taylor. It was the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War.
