At the end of August Banks had nearly 37,000 officers and men for duty. Of these, about 13,000 belonged to the Thirteenth Corps and about 6,500 to that portion of the Nineteenth Corps, being the First and Third divisions, that was concentrated and ready for active service in the field. The defences of New Orleans, including La Fourche, absorbed 7,000; Port Hudson, 5,500; the rest were holding Baton Rouge, Key West, and Pensacola. Yielding his own views as to Mobile, Banks entered heartily into the project of the government for gaining a foothold in Texas. Learning from the Navy that the mouth of the Sabine was but feebly defended, while the entrance was practicable for gunboats of light draught, he conceived the plan of descending suddenly upon the coast at that point with a force sufficient to march to Houston and take Galveston in reverse. He selected the troops, and collected the transports and the stores. When he was ready he gave the command of the expedition to Franklin, and caused Beckwith to replace Emory in command of the defences of New Orleans, to enable him to rejoin his division for service in the field. Franklin had the brigades under Love and Merritt of Weitzel's First division, with Bainbridge's, Closson's, and Bradbury's batteries, and the two brigades, Nickerson's and McMillan's, of Emory's Third division, with Duryea's, Trull's, and Hebard's batteries. For cavalry there were the two squadrons of the 1st Texas. Commodore Bell, who then commanded the West Gulf Squadron, gave the command of the gunboats, destined to keep down the fire of the shore batteries and cover the landing of the troops, to Lieutenant Frederick Crocker, from whose personal observation while serving on the blockade the information that led to the choice of the point of attack had been largely drawn. Crocker, besides his own vessel, the _Clifton_, had the _Sachem_, Lieutenant Amos Johnson; the _Arizona_, Acting-Master Howard Tibbetts; the _Granite City_, Acting-Master C. W. Lamson. Crocker's belief was that the defences ashore and afloat consisted of two 32-pounder guns in battery, and two small steamboats converted into rams. Franklin's orders were to proceed to Sabine Pass; there, if the Navy should be able to secure the landing, he was to debark his whole force rapidly, take up a strong position, seize Beaumont, or some other point on the railroad to Houston, and then reconnoitre the enemy to learn their position and strength. He was not to go farther into the country until reinforced. After landing, he was to turn back the transports to Brashear, where Benton's division of the Thirteenth Corps would be found waiting to join him.