Measured against the backdrop of the entire Civil War, the results of
the Red River Campaign cannot be considered critical to either side.
Overall, the end of the war simply had been delayed. Some of the Federal
troops on the expedition were from Sherman’s army and could have been of
great help to him. Furthermore, an attack against Mobile, Alabama, which
General Grant wanted, was postponed for 10 months by the Red River
escapade.
The campaign had also cost the Union army 5,200 men and 21 artillery
pieces. The navy lost some 320 men, two pump boats, one ironclad, two
tinclads, and four transports. Yet Banks still had his army relatively
intact, and just as importantly, the fleet was saved, thanks to
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey.
On the other hand, the campaign was of tremendous significance to
Louisiana. The invasion brought the war home to thousands of Red River
settlers, destroying their property, economy, and lives. Beyond civilian
casualties, 4,000 Confederate troops were lost. On the positive side,
victory at Mansfield and the failure of the Union expedition must have
helped to strengthen Southern resolve.
For Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey, the campaign brought fame. Porter
praised Bailey in newspapers and wrote letters of thanks and approval.
Congress gave Bailey a gold medal, Porter personally gave him a gold
inlaid sword, and other naval officers gave him a silver punch bowl.
Eventually, Bailey’s distinguished military career earned him a
promotion to brigadier general. But after the war, the hero of the Red
River campaign met a tragic end. On March 21, 1867, Sheriff Joseph
Bailey, of Vernon County, Missouri, was murdered by two prisoners he was
taking to jail. Today, Joseph Bailey is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, at
Fort Scott, Kansas.
Historian Michael Robinson best summed up the significance of Bailey’s
Dam when he wrote:
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Bailey’s Dam was the toil
expended by the Union soldiers.... Through the hot days and chilly
nights they labored diligently despite harassment from the enemy; the
depression and fatigue of a long, failed campaign.... In many
respects, their efforts offer some basis for Porter’s claim that
Bailey’s Dam was “without doubt the greatest engineering feat ever
performed” (Robinson 1985:66-67).
Today, “the dam still remains intact as we left it, and bids fair, if
undisturbed, to stand a hundred years—an imperishable monument of
American energy, ingenuity, and skill” (Moore 1868:13-14).
[Illustration: View west across the Red River at Bailey’s Dam during
low water in 1984.]