Blue and Gray on the Red

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Engraving by Frank Leslie

By 1864, the Civil War had assumed the depressing, relentless character depicted in history books, with Federal troops grinding Confederate forces out of the South inch by inch. In Louisiana, already reeling from the falls of New Orleans and Baton Rouge earlier in the war, the main event of this period was the Union’s Red River Campaign, an attempt to cut off Texas’ supplies from the rest of the Confederacy, which was trying to pretend it liked coffee made of acorns.

Alexandria witnessed an interesting chapter in the ultimately unsuccessful Red River Campaign. As the disappointed Union riverboats retreated to the more securely held southern part of the state, they were pinned behind waterfalls and unable to proceed (the river was unseasonably low, partly because of relatively dry weather and partly because the Confederates had diverted some of the water). A brilliant Union engineer was able to construct quick dams, raising the water level so the ships could continue downriver, which—after skirmishing with the Confederates—they did.

“Blue and Gray on the Red” commemorates this skirmish as well as some of the other wartime events in Pineville. Events take place around town from March 7 at 6 pm to March 10 at 2 pm, including lectures, a historic food program, and battle reenactments. alexandriapinevillela.com