Worried about Maximilian's Second French intervention in Mexico, President Abraham Lincoln desired military operations to establish United States control over some part of Texas.

As commander of the Department of the Gulf, Banks was instructed to coordinate operations with Major General Frederick Steele in Arkansas and Sherman.

It was led by Brigadier General A. J. Smith and accompanied by 13 ironclads and 7 light-draft gunboats commanded by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter.

[2] Porter's gunboat fleet entered the mouth of the Red River on March 12, 1864, and landed A. J. Smith's corps at Simmesport, Louisiana, the following day.

For a cost of 34 Union casualties, 260 Confederate prisoners, 8 heavy cannon, and 2 field guns fell into Federal hands.

[4] On March 18, Taylor concentrated the divisions of Walker and Mouton at Carroll Jones' plantation which was located 36 mi (58 km) northwest of Alexandria.

[6] Banks' tardy column, which was commanded by Franklin, moved north along Bayou Teche via Opelousas, and was delayed by bad weather.

Taylor reinforced Vincent's regiment with Captain William Edgar's 1st Texas Field Battery and sent it toward Alexandria, where it skirmished with the Federals for two days.

[2] A. J. Smith ordered Mower to take his own infantry division and Colonel Thomas J. Lucas' cavalry brigade to probe to the north.

[6] Mower's force included the infantry brigades of Colonels Sylvester G. Hill and Lucius Frederick Hubbard, plus the 9th Indiana Battery.

By the time Mower's infantry arrived, Vincent's troops formed a defensive line, supported by Edgar's artillery.

They advanced on Vincent's position from the rear with fixed bayonets, overrunning the picket line, and sweeping into the Confederate camp by surprise, opposed by only a "few pistol-shots".

Mower returned to Alexandria to await the arrival of Banks' infantry and artillery, while Taylor's force fell back to Natchitoches and Mansfield.