FrankHowe。IfoundNewOrleansmachchangedsinceIhadbeenfamiliarwithitin1853andin1860—’61。Itwasfullofofficersandsoldiers。AmongtheformerwereGeneralT。W。Sherman，whohadlostalegatPortHudson，andGeneralCharlesP:Stone，whomI
knewsowellinCalifornia，andwhoisnowintheEgyptianserviceaschiefofstaff。ThebulkofGeneralBanks’sarmywasaboutOpelousas，undercommandofGeneralFranklin，readytomoveonAlexandria。GeneralBanksseemedtobeallready，butintendedtodelayhisdepartureafewdaystoassistintheinaugurationofacivilgovernmentforLouisiana，underGovernorHahn。InLafayetteSquareIsawthearrangementsofscaffoldingforthefireworksandbenchesfortheaudience。GeneralBanksurgedmetoremainoverthe4thofMarch，toparticipateintheceremonies，whichheexplainedwouldincludetheperformanceofthe\"AnvilChorus\"byallthebandsofhisarmy，andduringtheperformancethechurch—bellsweretoberung，andcannonsweretobefiredbyelectricity。Iregardedallsuchceremoniesasoutofplaceatatimewhenitseemedtomeeveryhourandeveryminutewereduetothewar。GeneralBanks’smovement，however，contemplatedmysendingaforceoftenthousandmeninboatsupRedRiverfromVicksburg，andthatajunctionshouldoccuratAlexandriabyMarch17th。Ithereforehadnotimetowaitforthegrandpageantofthe4thofMarch，buttookmydeparturefromNewOrleansintheDianatheeveningofMarch3d。
Onthenextday，March4th，IwrotetoGeneralBanksaletter，whichwasextremelyminuteinconveyingtohimhowfarIfeltauthorizedtogoundermyordersfromGeneralGrant。AtthattimeGeneralGrantcommandedtheMilitaryDivisionoftheMississippi，embracingmyownDepartmentoftheTennesseeandthatofGeneralSteeleinArkansas，butnotthatofGeneralBanksinLouisiana。
GeneralBankswasactingonhisownpowers，orundertheinstructionsofGeneralHalleckinWashington，andour，assistancetohimwasdesignedasaloanoftenthousandmenforaperiodofthirtydays。TheinstructionsofMarch6thtoGeneralA。J。Smith，whocommandedthisdetachment，werefullandexplicitonthispoint。TheDianareachedVicksburgonthe6th，whereIfoundthattheexpeditionaryarmyhadcomeinfromCanton。OnedivisionoffivethousandmenwasmadeupoutofHurlbut’scommand，andplacedunderBrigadier—GeneralT。KilbySmith;andasimilardivisionwasmadeoutofMcPherson’sandHurlbut’stroops，andplacedunderBrigadier—GeneralJosephA。Mower;thewholecommandedbyBrigadier—GeneralA。J。Smith。GeneralHurlbut，withtherestofhiscommand，returnedtoMemphis，andGeneralMcPhersonremainedatVicksburg。GeneralA。J。Smith’scommandwasindueseasonembarked，andproceededtoRedRiver，whichitascended，convoyedbyAdmiralPorter’sfleet。GeneralMower’sdivisionwaslandedneartheoutletoftheAtchafalaya，marchedupbylandandcapturedthefortbelowAlexandriaknownasFortDeRussy，andthewholefleetthenproceededuptoAlexandria，reachingitonthedayappointed，viz。，March17th，whereitwaitedforthearrivalofGeneralBanks，who，however，didnotcometillsomedaysafter。
ThesetwodivisionsparticipatedinthewholeofGeneralBanks’sunfortunateRedRiverexpedition，andweredelayedsolongupRedRiver，andsubsequentlyontheMississippi，thattheydidnotsharewiththeircomradesthesuccessesandgloriesoftheAtlantacampaign，forwhichIhaddesignedthem;and，indeed，they，didnotjoinourarmytilljestintimetoassistGeneralGeorgeH。ThomastodefeatGeneralHoodbeforeNashville，onthe15thand16thofDecember，1864。