to show myself in a loyal community." Whereupon my
Wisconsin friend, accompanied by a number of persons from his State,
called on me to express condemnation of the article in question, and was
ready, with the slightest encouragement, to make the newspaper office a
hot place. This was the difference between brave soldiers and
non-fighting politicians, who grew fat by inflaming the passions of
sectional hate.

The ensuing winter of 1863-4 was without notable events. Control of the
Mississippi enabled the enemy to throw his forces upon me from above and
below Red River, and by gunboats interfere with my movements along this
stream; and as soon as the Lafourche campaign ended, steps were taken to
provide against these contingencies. Twenty miles south of Alexandria a
road leaves the Boeuf, an effluent of Red River, and passes through
pine forest to Burr's Ferry on the Sabine. Twenty odd miles from the
Boeuf this road intersects another from Opelousas to Fort Jesup, an
abandoned military post, thence to Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, and
Shreveport. At varying distances of twelve to thirty miles the valley of
the Red River is an arc, of which this last-mentioned road is the chord,
and several routes from the valley cross to ferries on the Sabine above
Burr's. But the country between the Boeuf and Pleasant Hill, ninety
miles, was utterly barren, and depots of forage, etc., were necessary
before troops could march through it. With great expenditure of time and
labor depots were established, with small detachments to guard them; and
events proved that the time and labor were well bestowed.

Movements of the Federals along the west coast of Texas in November
induced General Kirby Smith to withdraw from me Green's command of Texas
horse, and send it to Galveston. This left me with but one mounted
regiment, Vincent's 2d Louisiana, and some independent companies, which
last were organized into two regiments--one, on the Washita, by Colonel
Harrison, the other, on the Teche, by Colonel Bush; but they were too
raw to be effective in the approaching campaign. Mouton's brigade of
Louisiana infantry could be recruited to some extent; but the Texas
infantry received no recruits, and was weakened by the ordinary
casualties of camp life, as well as by the action of the Shreveport
authorities. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department"
displayed much ardor in the establishment of bureaux, and on a scale
proportioned rather to the exte