of July, 1863, when General Pemberton, the Confederate commander,
surrendered his whole garrison of more than 20,000 men. In thus opening
the Mississippi all the way to the Gulf the navy rendered invaluable
assistance. Porter's aid was so important and his conduct so gallant
that he received the thanks of Congress and was created a full rear
admiral, his commission dating from July 4, 1863. In a public dispatch
the Secretary of the Navy said, addressing Admiral Porter: "To yourself,
your officers and the brave and gallant sailors who have been so fertile
in resources, so persistent and so daring under all circumstances, I
tender, in the name of the President, the thanks and congratulations of
the whole country on the fall of Vicksburg."

One of the most disastrous expeditions of the Civil War was that which
was undertaken by General N.P. Banks, in the spring of 1864. His
ostensible purpose was to complete the conquest of Texas and Louisiana,
but there is good reason to believe that the famous Red River expedition
was little more than a huge cotton speculation. Immense quantities were
stored along the river and could it have been secured would have been
worth many hundred thousand dollars to the captors. The charge has been
made, with apparent reason, that several Confederate leaders were
concerned in the "deal," seeing as they did, that the end of the
Confederacy was at hand. The trouble, however, was that other
Confederates like General Dick Taylor did all they could to defeat the
purpose of General Banks and they succeeded to perfection.

The Union commander had an army of 30,000 men with which he began the
ascent of the Red River. He captured Fort de Russy March 14 and then
marched against Shreveport. His forces were strewn along for miles, with
no thought of danger, when at Sabine Cross Roads they were furiously
attacked by General Dick Taylor and routed as utterly as was the first