Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, Union commander of the Red River
military expedition, found himself in a particularly tight situation in
April of 1864. He had been defeated at the Battle of Mansfield while
attempting to capture Shreveport, Louisiana, and now he was retreating
down the Red River, harassed by Confederate troops at every turn.
Throughout the campaign, the river’s low water level had been a constant
problem to his naval support of gunboats under the command of Rear
Admiral David D. Porter. Now, Banks and Porter discovered that the river
was so low that the gunboats were trapped above the rapids at
Alexandria.
To save the flotilla, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey suggested that
the river could be dammed to raise the water level and float the
gunboats over the shallow rapids. Despite the doubts and jeers of many,
Banks authorized Bailey to begin construction. Through the next two
weeks, troops struggled to build the dam which eventually made it
possible for the fleet to escape.
In 1976 the archaeological remains of Bailey’s Dam were placed on the
National Register of Historic Places, and through 1986, they could be
seen at times of low water. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
constructing a modern lock and dam downstream of this historic site, and
the Red River will permanently cover Bailey’s Dam. Recognizing the
historical and archaeological importance of the dam, the Corps sponsored
archaeological excavations there in 1984.
This booklet relates the history and archaeology of the dam complex, a
series of different types of dams collectively called Bailey’s Dam. The
story combines the rich annals of the 1864 Red River Campaign with the
finds of modern archaeological investigations. This combination provides
a fascinating glimpse into a desperate period in Louisiana history.