A ถถา๕h state historic marker at the intersection of Pinhook Road and La Rue France in Lafayette commemorates the battles of Pinhook Bridge and Bayou Vermilion in 1863.ย
PROVIDED PHOTO BY SHANE CORMIER/HISTORIC MARKER DATABASE
The ถถา๕h state historic marker near the Pinhook Bridge says two battles took place there in 1863: "Bayou Vermilion," it says. "Battle of Pinhook Bridge April 17, 1863. Battle of Bayou Vermilion Oct. 9, 1863. We honor the memory of those soldiers who valiantly fought on these banks."
The listed dates place the events in the Civil War, but the rest is pretty vague. Its lack of detail sparked Phyllis Hall's curiosity.
Bayou Vermilion District workers pick up debris on the Vermilion River near the Pinhook Road bridge in 2020. Two Civil War battles were fought at this location in 1863.
STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
"Were there really two Civil War battles fought near the Pinhook Bridge?" the St. Martin Parish community of Catahoula resident asked.
Now, that's not saying the information on this Lafayette historic marker is wrong, but inaccuracies have been discovered on some historic markers in the past.
"I wasn't familiar with these battles, so I was curious to know if they are true," Hall said.
The short answer is yes, though it's hard to imagine Union and Confederate troops slugging it out at in the middle of Lafayette. Then again, there was no Lafayette back then.
Gen. Richard Taylor, son of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, commanded the Confederate troops at the 1863 battles at Bayou Vermilion.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The city's name was Vermilionville.
At the time, Confederate Gen. Richard Taylorย โ son of former President Zachary Taylor โ instructed his troops to burn the bridge in an attempt to stop Union Gen. Nathaniel Banks' troops' northward advance. Today, the waterway is called the Vermilion River.
In 1863, Banks and his troops marched through Bayou Teche in the spring to push back Confederate forces in southwest ถถา๕h to seize Alexandria, thereby clearing a route to Port Hudson near Zachary.
Port Hudson would be the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River after the fall of Vicksburg later in the summer, on July 4, 1863.ย
Major General Nathaniel Banks, Union occupation commander, commanded the Union troops advancing up Bayou Teche to Bayou Vermilion.
FILE PHOTO
Banks' eventual arrival in Alexandria would morph into the Red River Campaign of 1864, but that's another story.
This one focuses on Banks' troops' advancement to Bayou Teche by way of New Orleans and Taylor's constantly throwing wrenches into the route to make things more difficult for the Union general.
"Banks was coming up from Morgan City," said Michael Martin, professor of history at the University of ถถา๕h at Lafayette. "He would eventually meet up with with Admiral David Porter and Union Navy in Alexandria. Once Port Hudson fell on July 9, 1863, Banks could divert his attention to Alexandria."
Martin explains that Banks was going through what is now Lafayette.
On the Confederate side, Alfred Mouton was taking the lead at Gen. Richard Taylor's instructions. Mouton's job was to slow Banks down.
"I don't think Taylor and Mouton had any illusions that they were gonna beat Banks, but they were trying to cause as much trouble as possible," Martin said.
On that April day, the two armies struggled for about four hours, with few casualties.
Some accounts of that battle include that the next day as Union troops built a pontoon bridge, about half of the soldiers decided to take a dip in the water.
They stripped off clothes and jumped into Vermilion โ just as the Confederate cavalry doubled back and opened fire on the bathers. Madness ensued, as naked and half-dressed Union soldiers scrambled amidst shots firing.
A map illustrating the Battle of Bayou Vermilion from David C. Edmonds' 1979 book, 'Yankee Autumn in Acadiana.'
PROVIDED ILLUSTRATION
Circumstances surrounding the second battle seemed to perplex several state university historians.
Jerry Sanson,ย retired LSU at Alexandria professor of history, suggested a book called "Yankee Autumn in Acadiana" to find the answer.
"If any source has the answer, that would be it," he said.
He was right. The 1979 book by David C. Edmonds examines how Union troops again advanced from New Orleans to Acadiana in October 1863, this time to gain a foothold in Texas.ย
Today, the Vermilion River peacefully flows through Lafayette. In 1863, the waterway was the site of two Civil War battles.
STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
Once again, Confederate troops burned the pontoon bridge in October.
"Great clouds of billowing smoke, rising high above the treeline of Vermilion Bayou, indicated that once more Pinhook Bridge was ablaze," Edmonds writes. "The Pinhook, so called because it opened and closed like a pin to permit river traffic, had also been burned in the spring."
Tensions began rising as Union troops began anticipating a brutal battle.
"But the Federals, who believed the enemy strength to be on the order of from two to three thousand, had come prepared," Edmonds writes. "The road to Texas lay beyond the Vermilion, and they were not going to be stopped here. In short order, General Williams Franklin, the brilliant West Point engineer, began ordering his men into position for assault."
The battle began at 11 a.m.
Another view of theย ถถา๕h state historic marker at the intersection of Pinhook Road and La Rue France in Lafayette commemorates the battles of Pinhook Bridge and Bayou Vermilion in 1863. The bridge can be seen in the background.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY SHANE CORMIER/HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE
"For a moment, with all the horses, men, polished guns and caissons flying in all directions, it seemed as though all were hopelessly confused," Edmonds writes. "But as quickly as it started, the eight-hundred pound cannons, resting on their spoked carriages, were unlimbered in line, the cannoneers at their postsย โ ram-rods at the readyย โ and the piece limbers caissons and horses stood at the prescribed distance to the rear."
In the end, the battle proved to be more noise than destruction as the Confederates evacuated, leaving the Union soldiers in chaos.
"The battle of Vermilion Bayou, such as it was, ended in a bloodless victory for the Union," Edmonds writes. "In spite of all the shooting, the massive artillery bombardment and the impressive display of strength, only five Yankees were wounded."
The cover of David C. Edmonds' 1979 book, 'Yankee Autumn in Acadiana.'
STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER
In the end, the Union troops wouldn't make it from Acadiana to Texas due to limited supplies and inner logistical problems. Meanwhile, Banks' troops began pushing through Alexandria to Shreveport gathering cotton in the Red River Campaign.
Banks once again would come face-to-face with Taylor's forces, which would beat his troops back at the Battle of Mansfield.