Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 4.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[511] brought as far as this town by the large transports; on the other hand, Banks was obliged to be deprived of three thousand men of Ellet's marine brigade. The latter, not having any teams, could not take the land route, and, being on board of large vessels, could not go beyond the rapids by water. Moreover, suffering from the ravages of the smallpox, it was not in a condition to take the field: finally, it was summoned by McPherson on the Mississippi to defend the posts en échelon on that river, all threatened by Forrest with the cruel fate of Fort Pillow.

It was, however, decided to proceed. Ellet was sent to the Mississippi; Mower's division, three thousand strong, was left to guard Alexandria. Banks had lost no time in setting his army in motion. The day after Franklin's arrival, the 27th, A. J. Smith, moving up the right bank of Red River, had passed Bayou Rapides, and had established himself at Cotile, near the spot where Mower on the 21st surprised Vincent's cavalry. Franklin followed the same road one day later. The Federals could not be reproached with having lost any time, as the twenty transports which were to accompany them in this expedition did not complete the passage of the falls until the 2d of April. But the forced delay of the army and the fleet at Alexandria had been properly utilized. On the one hand, Banks had, immediately on his arrival, hastened to order the election of delegates to the State convention which he had called to repeal the secession ordinance: this election farce, which deceived no one, uselessly compromised persons who were to be abandoned for the second time a few weeks later. On the other hand, the military and naval authorities concerned themselves a great deal too much about cotton during that short delay. Banks, pursuing the plan we have already explained, ordered the delivery to his quartermaster of all the bales of cotton to be found in the occupied territory. No public sale was authorized at Alexandria: these bales were to be sold at New Orleans, and the profits divided between the Government and the owners. But the speculators, whom orders more or less honest had not prevented from reaching Alexandria either on board the transports or in the train of the army, alighted like birds of prey upon this cotton, and presented to its owners such a picture of the difficulties they experienced in getting paid in New Orleans that