On March 31, 1863, Col. T.W. Bennett's task force, sent to reconnoiter the route from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage, reached this point at 2:00 P.M. To occupy Richmond, the Federals first had to cross Roundaway Bayou, where troopers from Maj. I.J. Harrison's 15th Louisiana Cavalry held the town. Bennett ordered his engineers to man their yawls, and once the small boats were launched, infantry boarded and, supported by the fire of their comrades, established a bridgehead on the opposite side of the bayou. After a sharp skirmish, the Federals scattered Harrison's Confederates and occupied Richmond. Three days later, Union engineers built a 200-foot bridge across Roundaway Bayou here, using materials obtained by tearing down a number of log houses in Richmond.
