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The Battle of Irish Bend
April 14 , 1863 in Port Hudson, Louisiana
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While the other 2 Union XIX Army Corps divisions comprising the expedition into West Louisiana moved across Berwick Bay towards Fort Bisland, Brig. Gen. Cuvier Grover’s division went up the Atchafalaya River into Grand Lake, intending to intercept a Confederate retreat from Fort Bisland or turn the Confederate’s position.
On the morning of April 13, the division landed in the vicinity of Franklin and scattered Confederate troops attempting to stop them from disembarking. That night, Grover ordered the division to cross Bayou Teche and prepare for an attack towards Franklin at dawn. In the meantime, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor had sent some men to meet Grover’s threat.
On the morning of the 14th, Taylor and his men were at Nerson's Woods, around a mile and a half above Franklin. As Grover’s lead brigade marched out a few miles, it encountered Confederates on its right and began skirmishing with them.
The fighting became intense; the Confederates attacked, forcing the Federals to fall back. The gunboat Diana arrived and anchored the Confederate right flank. The Confederates were outnumbered, however. Still, Grover’s men outnumbered the Confederates and when he paused to deploy his full force, Taylor withdrew, leaving the field to the Union army, rather than risk a pitched battle against superior numbers.
This victory, along with the one at Fort Bisland, 2 days earlier, assured the success of the expedition into West Louisiana.
