John Wharton commented some time later that it was "real close" at Monette's, and Taylor's quote about making Banks unhappy had Bee held on, have made me wonder about the possibilites of forcing a surrender. It's not clear what either Taylor or Wharton really meant. Did they mean it was a close thing to forcing a Union surrender, or did they just mean they could have killed more than 400 Yanks, that were lost in the battle there? I lean toward the former.

For one thing, Taylor makes it a point to list the accomplishments later in the war of the troops "trapped" above Alexandria. Obviously he meant to point out those Union troops couldn't have done those things while sitting at Camp Ford. More importantly, the capture of any significant portion of Porter's fleet could have turned things in the west.

As for Monette's itself, of course we'll never know, but Bee had the means to hold the heights covering the main road, even as his left was turned by Birge's flanking move. Darkness was at hand and Birge's attack had played itself out. No more damage could have been done by the Yanks against Bee's left on the 23rd. The next morning, Taylor would have been up with his meager reinforcements, 1,200 muskets under Polignac and whatever Horse he had. Not a large force, but Taylor would have been BEHIND Birge, in his rear! the perfect set-up for a small force to steal a victory, especially under the leadership of a Stonewall Jackson-like commander as was Richard Taylor!

Meanwhile John Wharton's brigade, no doubt cocky after driving a division of the 16th Corps from Cloutierville, would have renewed its attack, at least occupying Banks' best troops, those of Smith's corps. Caudel's battalion had joined Bee's Horse on the heights. Although only numbering 250 muskets, this infantry would have bolstered Bee's confidence. Not sure, but I think Liddel was also enroute on the east bank of the Red and would have arrived some time on the 24th as well. The confluence of the Red and Cane Rivers is only 6 miles from the Monette heights. Crossing there, Liddel would have joined the fight in time.

But, the question is not whether Taylor could have won a battle, in the tactical sense, he couldn't have! The point is Banks had convinced himself that Taylor's force numbered 25,000 and ANY show of force might have induced a surrender. The next question would have been A.J. Smith's reaction. After the fight at Pleasant Hill Smith wanted to renew the push on Shreveport, and urged William Franklin to take over control of the army, removing Banks from command. Franklin warned Smith he was advocating a mutiny and such behavior would be met with his own arrest and removal from command. So! how loudly would Smith have protested at Monette's if Banks and Franklin had already decided to surrender?

So, this speculation all falls squarely on the shoulders of Hamilton Bee, the Confederate commander holding the heights. Can blame be laid on him? In his defense, it should be noted that Bee's entire force numbered but 2,000, with 6 guns, and Bee had nearly be swallowed up on the night of 21st when Smith's men suddenly appeared out of the darkness on the road between Grand Ecore and Natchitoches. It was all Bee could do to extricate his men in time. All day on the 23rd Bee watched the huge Union army, nearly 25,000 men, gather on the fields below him and he knew he was separated from the rest of Taylor's army, in other words, Bee was totally on his own. Asking Bee to hold the heights in the face of 10 to 1 odds, is a bit much, I think. Still, Bee's men did fight, and they were clinging to their positions as night was coming on, so.....