wisconsind dells captin america civil war

With these deep water vessels, the navy struggled maneuvering in the shallow Red River and the heavier ships would often get caught up on the sandy, and the snag-filled river. Rear Admiral Porter’s fleet was created with firepower in mind, and did not account for the shallow and often turning flow of the river. When preparing for the attack the Union failed to account for the shallow Red River, in which it sent the navy up.

The plan included Major General Banks to bring a large Union force down and meet up with Rear Admiral Porter’s navy, which included many Ironclads and other deep water vessels. The Red River Campaign occured in April of 1864, the Union launched an attack in the Trans-Mississippi region to defeat the Confederate military factories, depots, and agricultural resources. Another problem that caused a divide between the Navy and the Army was Rear Admiral Porter was good friends with General Grant and Major General Sherman, which made Major General Banks not trust Rear Admiral Porter, since Major General Banks did not like Major General Sherman or General Grant because of their successes. This divide prevented the Navy and Army from working together as one, and allowed the Confederates to fend off the Union efforts to completely control the trans-Mississippi region. With Major General Porter arriving late to multiple events, and Rear Admiral Porter destroying cotton present in the area created a larger divide between the two commanding officers. Rear Admiral Porter was upset when he learned he was going to be working with Major General Porter due to his personality. This caused a rift between both sides in that Rear Admiral Porter was upset by Major General Banks arriving a week late with civilian onlookers and not troops, and Major General Banks was upset with Rear Admiral Porter since the navy had been destroying the cotton supplies that he had promised his civilian onlookers. Rear Admiral Porter had originally thought that Major General Sherman was supposed to be leading the campaign and this was why he agreed to go along with the plan.

Major General Banks had made promises to some beneficiaries, present for the campaign, promising cotton in return for their support. Major General Banks arrived a week late to Alexandria to begin the campaign, and on the boat with him was not troops, but with spectators who were interested in the cotton. Major General Banks had a large ego, seen in the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863-1864 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was constantly trying to undermine General Grant’s orders, viewing them as inferior to what he was capable of. Being the highest ranking officer in the Army west of the Appalachian mountains did not help with his unwillingness to work with other officers. The Red River campaign was assigned to Major General Banks, who was presidential candidate at the time had his own personal goals set higher than the needs of the Army. From his previous career as an engineer and early career tasks, it is not surprising that Lieutenant Colonel Bailey was able to rise to the occasion during the Red River campaign and build a dam that allowed for Union ships to escape from Confederate forces. While serving the 4th infantry was primarily an engineering unit that built bridges and other support for the Union cause. When the Civil War broke out Bailey left his job as an engineer and forester near present day Wisconsin Dells, and organized the unit. Lieutenant Colonel Bailey was commissioned as an officer in Wisconsin’s 4th infantry as a Captain. Without the building of the dam, Porter’s fleet would have been either trapped above the rapids where the confederates would be able to defeat them in battle or risk going over the rapids in shallow water, which would have resulted in the loss of most of the fleet. Bailey suggested the idea to build a dam to raise the level of the water to allow the fleet to escape (Steven Smith, 1986). While serving he is noted for his advanced siege work techniques and engineering feats.ĭuring the Red River Campaign Rear Admiral Porter ended up getting stuck above the rapids at Alexandria due to the river being extremely low. Initially a Captain for Wisconsin’s 4 th Infantry from Columbia County, Bailey rose to the rank of Major General in 1865. Joseph Bailey, an Ohio native, is most noted for his actions during the Red River Campaign of 1864, by building what is known as Bailey’s Dam.

Wisconsind dells captin america civil war