De Soto Parish (French: Paroisse De Soto) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Mansfield. In the 2000 census, the parish population was 25,494.
De Soto Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Shreveport–Bossier City–Minden Combined Statistical Area.
The parish is named for Hernando de Soto, the Spaniard who explored the future southeastern United States and discovered and named the Mississippi River.
The Battle of Mansfield was fought in De Soto Parish on April 8, 1864. General Alfred Mouton was killed in the fighting, but his position was carried forward by Prince de Polignac, a native of France. The battle is commemorated at the Mansfield State Historic Site four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175. The Confederate victory prevented a planned Union invasion thereafter of Texas.Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, a Confederate victory, occurred with one year and one day left in the duration of the war. Mansfield was quickly followed by the Battle of Pleasant Hill to the south.
The parish has a total area of 894 square miles (2,315.4 km), of which 877 square miles
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