reinforcing it with regiments from Shaw's brigade. The Federals did not pursue their adversaries into the open field. Mower, whose soldiers began to suffer from heat exhaustion and sunstroke, withdrew his troops from the thicket for a short rest before ordering them forward again. After re-ordering their lines, the Confederates charged again and the two sides grappled in the thicket. The Union troops ousted their opponents from the thicket, but it caught fire, preventing them from following up their advantage. At sunset, both sides withdrew from the burning thicket which consisted of dead trees and heavy underbrush. Aftermath Mower reported losing 38 killed, 226 wounded, and 3 missing, for a total of 267 casualties. Taylor reported his losses as 30 killed, 350 wounded, and over 100 of Polignac's men captured, for about 500 casualties. The 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment in Colonel Henry Gray's brigade, Polignac's division, "suffered numerous casualties" at Yellow Bayou. Brooksher estimated losses at 350 Union and 608 Confederate casualties. Tragically, Union Colonel Hill's young son, who rode into battle in full uniform on a pony beside his father, was among the dead. Mark M. Boatner III stated total losses as 267 Union and 452 Confederate. The National Park Service listed 360 Union and 500 Confederate casualties. The Atchafalaya, filled with backwater from the flooding Mississippi River, was a serious obstacle to Banks' army. Banks asked Bailey to improvise a bridge and his engineer officer succeeded in accomplishing the task. Bailey anchored 22 river transports abreast in the Atchafalaya, lashed them together, and built a roadway across their decks with gangplanks and lumber. The XIII and XIX Corps troops began crossing on May 19 and the XVI and XVII Corps troops crossed on May 20. After the bridge was dismantled, the wounded and sick Union soldiers were loaded aboard the transports while those fit for duty marched to Morganza. On May 21 at Red River Landing, A. J. Smith's troops left the army, bound for Vicksburg, Mississippi. On May 18, Major General Edward Canby assumed command of the Military Division of West Mississippi, making Banks his subordinate. Banks retained nominal control over the Department of the Gulf, but his future responsibilities were purely administrative. That same day, Taylor wrote, "Nothing but the withdrawal of Walker's division from me has prevented the capture of Banks' army and the destruction of Porter's fleet. I feel bitterly about this, because my