On July 2, 1863, during the Red River Campaign, Confederate Major General John Bankhead MacGruder ordered east-facing fortifications to be built at three locations along the Sabine: Niblett's Bluff, Burr's Ferry, and Logansport. Constructed first and considered by MacGruder the most important, Burr's Ferry could hold 2,500 men and was built under the direction of Major General William R. Scurry. This cremaillere-type fortification allowed marksmen to fire in different directions and consisted of mounds, ditches, redans, and areas for cannon placement, along with a special feature, tetes de pont, or head of bridge, designed to defend roads leading to river crossings. It is the only known surviving tetes de pont in Louisiana. An original remnant of the Texas Beef Trail still exists here, and Burr's Ferry Earthworks was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.