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Battle of Yellow Bayou 1864

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Date18 May 1864Wikidata
Year1864Wikidata P585 (point in time)
Era19th century (1800–1913)derived from year
LocationUnited StatesNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentNorth AmericaNatural Earth
War / conflictAmerican Civil WarWikidata P361
Coordinates30.9985, -91.8668Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Yellow Bayou, also known as the Battle of Norwood's Plantation, (May 18, 1864) saw Union Army forces led by Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower clash with Confederate States Army troops commanded by Brigadier General John A. Wharton in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana during the American Civil War. This was the final action of the Red River campaign in which a Union army under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks was repulsed by Confederate forces led by Major General Richard Taylor. The failed Union campaign almost ended in disaster when an accompanying Union fleet led by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter was trapped at Alexandria, Louisiana, by low water in the Red River. An engineering feat saved the fleet, allowing Banks' army to complete its withdrawal.

While Banks' army waited for a bridge to be built across the Atchafalaya River, Wharton's forces began pressing the Union troops from the rear. Mower was ordered to halt their advance. Mower's forces subsequently drove the Confederates back to their main line. The Confederates then counter-attacked and a back-and-forth battle erupted, with the Confederates finally repulsed. A thicket between the contending sides caught fire, ending the fighting after a few hours.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Yellow Bayou (revision 1370277192), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

30.9985, -91.8668 · United States

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Nearby battles

Other battles of the American Civil War

All 498 battles of the American Civil War →

Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles

Further reading