in 1862, several union gunboats had successfully passed onto the river between vicksburg and port hudson, interfering with confederate supply and troop movements. in march 1863, after they had been captured or destroyed, naval commander david farragut sought to run the river past port hudson in a bid to regain control over that area, and convinced banks to make a diversionary land attack on the confederate stronghold. banks marched with 12,000 men from baton rouge on march 13, but was unable to reach the enemy position due to inaccurate maps. he then compounded the failure to engage the enemy with miscommunications with farragut. the naval commander successfully navigated two gunboats past port hudson, taking fire en route, without support. banks ended up retreating back to baton rouge, his troops plundering all along the way. the episode was a further blow to banks's reputation as a military commander, leaving many with the false impression he had not wanted to support farragut.