alone. The hospital steamer
_Woodford_, which was the first boat to follow the _Eastport_, was
wrecked in the attempt. The next five boats took three days to
pass, nor was it until the 3d of April that the last of the twelve
gunboats and thirty transports, selected to accompany the expedition
to Shreveport, floated in safety above the obstructions. Several
of the transports drew too much water to permit them to pass the
rapids; these, therefore, stayed below, and with them the remaining
seven gunboats.

And now occurred the first important departure from the original
plan of operations. The season of high water had been looked
forward to as insuring constant communication along the whole length
of the Red River as far as the fleet should be able to ascend.
But the Red is a treacherous river at best, and this year it was
at its worst. There was to be no March rise worth speaking about.
Thus the rapids presented an obstacle, impassable, or only to be
passed with difficulty; the bare rocks divided the fleet in twain,
the only communication was overland by the road around the falls.
The supplies had to be landed at Alexandria, loaded into wagons,
hauled around, and re-shipped, and this made it necessary to
establish depots in the town as well as above the falls, and to
leave behind Grover's division, 4,000 strong, to protect the stores
and the carry. At the same time McPherson recalled Ellet's marine
brigade to Vicksburg, and thus the expedition lost a second detachment
of 3,000 men; but this loss was partly made up by Dickey's brigade
of colored troops, 1,500 strong, which joined the column from the
garrison of Port Hudson. Withal the force was ample, for at the
end of March there were 31,000 officers and men for duty, including
about 4,800 under Ransom, 6,600 under Emory, 9,000 under A. J.
Smith, and Lee's cavalry, 4,600. Here was a superb fighting column
of 25,000 officers and men of all arms, with ninety guns. This
more than met the calculations of Banks and Sherman on which the
campaign was undertaken. In the three columns there were to be
40,000 men; of these, Sherman was to furnish 10,000, Banks 15,000,
and Steele 15,000.

Steele had already sent word that he could not be counted upon for
more than 7,000, all told. He had expected to march from Little
Rock by the 14th of March on Arkadelphia, there to be joined by
Thayer moving at the same time from Fort Smith. Thayer marched on
the 21st with 4,000 e