enemy now in our front it will leave the Red River in his possession, and enable him constantly to threaten the navigation of the Mississippi. An army of 25,000 men holding possession of the Red River makes the free navigation of the Mississippi a matter of perpetual uncertainty. This ought not to be. Its destruction is a work of certainty, requiring but small force and a short time, and will contribute greatly to the success of the cause of the Government if accomplished without unnecessary delay. I await instructions from you upon this point with anxiety, promising that no unnecessary detention of the command of General Smith will be made.

I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant,

N. P. BANKS,

Major-General, Commanding.

Lieutenant General U. S. GRANT,

Commanding U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
Grand Ecore, April 17, 1864 - (via Cairo, April 28).

(Received 4.45 p. m.)

I send by mail to-day a dispatch, the substance as follows: The enemy will defend Shreveport to the last extremity. While I threaten it they will abandon all ideas of threatening Arkansas and Missouri. General Steele does not co-operate with me when moving on a different line. I request to be re-enforced by General Steele and his co-operating force, and also by troops from Missouri or Kansas, that I may advance immediately upon Shreveport. In this manner I shall defend Arkansas and Missouri, and prevent offensive operations by the enemy in those States, while I shall live upon and exhaust one of their most fertile regions, a region that they must hold or their army must cease to exist. This campaign cannot be abandoned without abandoning the navy and permitting the invasion of Missouri.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

N. P. BANKS,

Major-General, Commanding.

Lieutenant-General GRANT,

Commanding Armies of the U. S., Washington, D. C.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
Grand Ecore, La., April 17, 1864.

GENERAL: The campaign upon which we have entered has already developed several facts of great importance. First. The enemy regards the possession of Shreveport as a point vital to the existence of the trans-Mississippi army, and will fight to maintain its possession with all their forces and with great desperation. Second. It has changed their operations from an offensive to a defensive character. It is unquestionable that they had intended to make an invasion of Missouri, which they hoped would have disturbed the arrangement of troops east of the Mississippi. By this movement