In April 1864, the Federal government's unsuccessful Red River Expedition became the last major invasion of Confederate territory west of the Mississippi River. Its aims were to capture Shreveport, Louisiana, open Texas to Federal occupation, and acquire much-needed cotton for textile mills in New England. The campaign failed because of several battles and skirmishes in Arkansas and Louisiana, including Mansfield on April 8, Pleasant Hill and Pleasant Grove on April 9, Prairie D'Ane on April 10, Poison Spring on April 18, Marks' Mills on April 25, Monett's Ferry on April 27, and Jenkins' Ferry on April 30. In the Camden Expedition, Federal Major General Frederick Steele left Little Rock on March 23, 1864, with an army of 13,000 men, 9,000 horses and mules, 800 wagons, and thirty pieces of artillery after having captured the city the previous September. Under orders to join Major General Nathaniel Banks, who was leading an amphibious army up the Red River from New Orleans, Steele was frequently harassed by Confederates and met heavy resistance at the crossing of the Little Missouri River and at Prairie D'Ane near Prescott. As resistance intensified, he abandoned plans to go directly to Shreveport, turned east, and reached Camden, Arkansas, on April 15.