During the last fortnight of September, Banks concentrated Weitzel's and Emory's divisions of the Nineteenth Corps, under Franklin, on the lower Teche, near Camp Bisland, supporting them with Washburn's and McGinnis's divisions of the Thirteenth Corps, under Ord. The cavalry division under A. L. Lee covered the front towards New Iberia.
Emory being forced to go North on sick-leave, his division was commanded by McMillan from the 17th of September until the 6th of October, when Grover relieved him after turning over the Fourth division to Beckwith.
Birge, with his reorganized brigade, occupied La Fourche, with headquarters at Thibodeaux.
Sharpe's brigade of Weitzel's division remained at Baton Rouge, with Gooding as the post commander.
Burbridge's division of the Thirteenth Corps remained at Carrollton, while Herron's, at the time of the Sabine Pass expedition, had been posted at Morganza to observe and prevent any fresh movement by the Confederates across the upper Atchafalaya.
This division was about 2,500 strong, and Herron, being ill, had just turned over the command to Dana, when on the 29th of September Green swept down with Speight's and Mouton's brigades and the battalions of Waller and Rountree upon the outposts on Bayou Fordoche, at Sterling's plantation, killed 16, wounded 45, and took 454 prisoners, including nearly the full strength of the 19th Iowa and 26th Indiana. Green's loss was 26 killed, 85 wounded, and 10 missing; in all, 212.
On the 3d of October Franklin broke camp at Bisland and moved by easy marches to a position near the south bank of the Bayou Carencro, meeting with no resistance beyond slight skirmishing at the crossing of the Vermilion. On the 11th the Nineteenth Corps encamped within two miles of the Carencro, its daily marches having been, on the 3d to Franklin, twelve miles; on the 4th to Sorrell's plantation, eleven miles; on the 5th to Olivier's, near New Iberia, thirteen miles; on the 8th to the Vermilion, fifteen miles; on the 9th, crossing the Vermilion, eight miles; on the 11th ten miles; in all, sixty-nine miles.
Ord with the Thirteenth Corps, meanwhile augmented by Burbridge's division from Carrollton, set out from Berwick at the same time that Franklin left Bisland, and, following at an interval of a day's march, encamped on the 10th of October on the Vermilion. On the 14th Ord closed up on Franklin at the Carencro. A week later, Ord being ill, Washburn took command of the detachment of the Thirteenth Corps, his division falling to Lawler.
Banks with his staff left New Orleans on the 7th of October. On the following afternoon he joined the forces near New Iberia, remaining near headquarters in the field until the evening of the 11th, when he returned to New Orleans. Stone stayed two days longer and then followed his chief. This left Franklin in command of all the forces in Western Louisiana, numbering about 19,500 for duty, namely, 11,000 of the Thirteenth Corps, 6,000 of the Nineteenth Corps, and 2,500 of the cavalry division. Banks's object in returning to New Orleans was to organize a second expedition for the coast of Texas. The advance to the Carencro had not only brought his army face to face with Taylor's forces, but also with the well-known conditions that would have to be met and overcome in the movement beyond the Sabine. All idea of this march of more than two hundred miles across a barren country, with no water in the summer and fall, while in the winter and spring there is plenty of water but no road, was now given up once for all. Besides the natural obstacles, there was Magruder to be reckoned with at the end of the march and Taylor in the rear.
Taylor had now about 11,000 effectives in the divisions of Mouton, Walker, and Green, with eleven batteries. To occupy him and to push him farther away, Franklin marched to Opelousas on the 21st of October, skirmishing by the way, and until the end of the month continued to occupy a position covering that town and Barré's Landing.