Shreveport became the Confederate capital of Louisiana and the headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department, while the Red River Valley's cotton and Texas's war goods and access to Mexico made the region a major Union objective. President Lincoln urged the occupation of the Red River Valley, the capture of Shreveport, and the invasion of Texas, leading General in Chief Halleck to order a combined advance by General N. P. Banks from New Orleans, General Frederick Steele from Little Rock, part of General W.T. Sherman's army from Vicksburg, and Admiral David D. Porter's fleet up the Red River. Union forces under General Andrew J. Smith and Porter quickly occupied much of Louisiana, captured Fort DeRussy on March 14, and joined Banks's army at Alexandria for a combined army and navy force of more than 40,000, while General Richard Taylor's smaller Confederate force retreated and Natchitoches was occupied on March 31 with a supply base established at Grand Ecore. Steele's force moved slowly, and Banks then made several mistakes by advancing from Grand Ecore on April 6 along the stagecoach road through Pleasant Hill and Mansfield, separating his army from the navy's firepower and dividing his cavalry from his infantry with a wagon train more than 20 miles long, expecting no major resistance before Shreveport or even Texas. At Pleasant Hill on April 7, Union cavalry under General A.L. Lee unexpectedly met strengthened Confederate cavalry reinforced by General Tom Greene, drove them through town to Dr. Wilson's farm, and began a full-scale battle as Banks was asked to send infantry forward. Fighting continued as the Confederates fell back to Sabine Cross Roads, where Taylor decided to strike the head of the extended Union column and prevent Banks from turning back toward the Red River. On the afternoon of April 8 at Sabine Cross Roads, Banks's advance was stopped as his cavalry and infantry reinforcements were defeated in panic with heavy losses on both sides, including Confederate General Alfred Mouton, and the Union lost miles of wagon train, cannon batteries, and other material. During the night the main body of Banks's infantry reached Pleasant Hill as the defeated troops passed back through the village, while Taylor brought in reserve divisions from Arkansas and Missouri and took the offensive. On April 9 Taylor attacked Banks's entrenched army in and around Pleasant Hill, and although Confederates fought into the heart of the village, they were finally repulsed by superior Union numbers; by Sunday morning, however, Banks had retreated during the night, leaving dead and wounded on the field. The campaign for Shreveport and Texas had ended, and although more fighting followed during Banks's retreat and Steele would be defeated at Jenkins Ferry, there was no further serious threat to Shreveport after the three days of fighting across the Pleasant Hill, Sabine Cross Roads, and Mansfield battlefield.