Battle of Plains Store

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Battle of Plains Store Springfield Road Began: May 21, 1863 Ended: Same day Location: East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Theater: Lower Seaboard Theater Campaign: Siege of Port Hudson Outcome: Union victory Combatants 1st Division, XIX Army Corps Cavalry Brigade Small combined infantry, artillery, and cavalry force Commanders Christopher C. Augur Major General, USA Frank P. Powers Colonel, CSA William R. Miles Colonel, CSA Strength Casualties 150 100

Early in the morning of May 21, 1863, Maj. Gen. Christopher C. Augur’s Union division advanced from Baton Rouge toward the intersection of Plains Store and Bayou Sara roads on the way to secure a landing, on the river, for Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks. Col. Benjamin H. Grierson’s cavalry, in the lead, encountered Confederate forces under the command of Col. Frank P. Powers and skirmishing ensued. As the morning progressed the Union infantry approached the crossroads and came under fire, bringing on a general engagement. At noon, Col. W.R. Miles set out for Plains Store with Confederate reinforcements. By the time that Miles arrived in the area late in the day, the fighting had ceased, the Rebel forces had retreated, and the Federals were preparing camps for the night. Miles attacked the Union forces and, at first, drove them, but they regrouped and counterattacked. Miles could not stand against the overwhelming Union force and retired into the Port Hudson perimeter. The battle ended, and the last Confederate escape route from Port Hudson was closed.

Battle

Moving up from Baton Rouge, BG Augur dispatched Grierson's recently arrived cavalry and Dudley's brigade to secure the area around Springfield Landing for the arrival of Sherman's forces coming up from New Orleans by steamer. The operation aroused the curiosity of Gardner and he sent out a detachment of the 14th Arkansas, under Colonel Powers, to check on Augur's movements. The two groups ran into each other in the forest that marked the edge of the plain before Port Hudson on the Plains Store Road. As skirmishing developed Gardner added about 400 men of the Louisiana Legion, under Colonel Miles, and a battery of artillery to the advance. The badly outnumbered Confederates poured artillery fire into a exposed 48th Massachusetts. Union artillery was brought up to answer the challenge but the 48th fell back in disorder under the initial barrage. The retreat of the 48th created disruption in the advance of the next regiments in line, the 49th Massachusetts and 116th New York, and for a brief time the Confederates held the Union advance. LTC Brand, commanding the three Confederate companies on the left of the road, flanked the stalled Union line and poured a volley into the backs of the New Yorkers. The 116th refused to panic and executed an about face and charged the enemy. Overwhelmed Brand had no choice but to retreat back across the plain. Eventually the Federal artillery gained fire superiority and the rest of the Confederate infantry was forced to move back into the works. The toll of the short fight showed Miles suffered 89 total casualties while the Federals reported 100: 15 killed, 71 wounded and 14 captured. BG Sherman's troops were then successfully landed without further incident and began deploying to the left of Augur.