In late August 1863, Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson ordered Brig. Gen. John D. Stevenson to take a bit more than a division on a cross-country expedition into Louisiana. They disembarked from their transports at Goodrich’s Landing on the Mississippi River, and began their long, arduous march inland to Monroe, Louisiana, on a mission to break up outposts of Confederate guerrillas and cavalry.

The numbers told the tale for the men of Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery:

Aug. 23 – 30 men for duty, 10 sick, marched 10 miles
Aug. 24 – 27 men for duty, 15 sick, marched 8 miles
Aug. 25 – 22 men for duty, 18 sick, marched 9 miles
Aug. 26 – 20 men for duty, 18 men sick, marched 10 miles
Aug. 27 – 20 men for duty, 20 men sick, marched 18 miles
Aug. 28 – 20 men for duty, 20 men sick, marched 8 miles to Monroe
Aug. 29 – 20 men for duty, 20 men sick, marched 25 miles
Aug. 30 – 19 men for duty, 21 sick, marched 10 miles
Aug. 31 – Corp. Edward H. Ferris died in hospital with dysentery, marched 18 miles
Sept. 2 – Corp. Curtis died from disease. Marched from Bayou Mason to Goodrich’s Landing. 15 men for duty, 25 sick.

A few days later, 3 horses died “from effects of hard work on the late Expedition.” One wonders how the clerk had enough strength to even hold up a pencil.

Brig. Gen. Stevenson tallied 152 miles marched, and deemed the mission a success, but the toll on the health and condition of his men and horses was not mentioned. Instead, he told McPherson: “the endurance and spirit of the command during the entire expedition were of the highest order.” After staying overnight in Monroe, the expedition turned around and marched back to their starting point on the Mississippi. Undoubtedly, the men of Battery G must have wondered to themselves if it had been worth it. Was Stevenson’s report about cotton, cattle, and weak Confederate resistance worth their struggle?

Sources: Morning Report Book, Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, Civil War Regimental Volumes, Adjutant General’s Office (RG94), National Archives – Washington, DC.
Official Records, series I, vol. 24, pt. 1, pp. 248-249.