In Louisiana, the town of Simmesport was burned in June, 1863. It was a small town, but with the exception of a few structures, it was totally destroyed. Yankees passing through later referred to Simmesport as "a name without a place." In 1864, a large portion of downtown Alexandria was burned when the Union forces abandoned the town toward the end of the Red River Campaign. The whole route of march of the Union army during the retreat from Grand Ecore to Simmesport was referred to as "The Burnt District" after the Red River Campaign, and the State had to send food into the area in late 1864-early 1865 to prevent the remaining population from starving. (The State being the Confederate state government, not the Union one.)