James Monroe Nash Military Service in the War for Southern Independence Jackson Parish, Louisiana. Submitted by J. Hugh LeBaron ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** TIPS FOR SEARCHING RECORDS ON THE INTERNET Netscape & Ms Explorer users: If searching for a particular surname, locality or date while going through the records in the archives or anywhere....try these few steps: 1. Go to the top of the report you are searching. 2. Click on EDIT at the top of your screen. 3. Next click on FIND in the edit menu. 4. When the square pops up, enter what you are looking for in the FIND WHAT ___________blank. 5. Click on DIRECTION __DOWN. 6. And last click on FIND NEXT and continue to click on FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report. This should highlight the item that you indicated in "find what" every place it appears in the report. You must continue to click on FIND NEXT till you reach the end of the report to see all of the locations of the item indicated. J. Hugh LeBaron 1997 Introduction Tracing the military service of a soldier during the War for Southern Independence can be a difficult proposition. This is particularly true of southern soldiers serving in the Trans-Mississippi Department consisting of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and the Indian Territory. The records of the Confederate Army were less than perfect and were often lost or destroyed during the frequent movements of the armies as they advanced and retreated. In addition, some records of the Trans-Mississippi Department were burned in Shreveport when the end of the war was eminent in mid 1865. In the flame and ashes at Shreveport, the service records of many loyal Confederate soldiers were lost forever. This loss of records is made more difficult in the case of James Monroe Nash because he served in the Army of Louisiana as well as the Confederate Army. However, sufficient records exist to put together an authentic, but limited, picture of his service during this war. Before considering James' war record, a review of his life is appropriate. The Family of James Monroe Nash Joseph J. Nash was born on March 23, 1798 in North Carolina.(1 At the time of his birth, the Constitution was nearly ten years old, and John Adams was the President of the United States. Nothing is known about Joseph's early life except that he witnessed the maturing of a young nation-Jefferson's election, the Tripolitan War, the Louisiana Purchase and Tecumseh's War to mention a few events. By the time Joseph was fourteen years old, the United States was at war with Great Britain which ended with the Battle of New Orleans when he was seventeen. As Joseph reached full maturity, the original states into which he was born had expanded until it stretched across the American continent from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Northwest. In his twenty-sixth year, he married Mary Lewis.(2 Joseph, like thousands of restless young men, sought his fortune in the west, and moved his bride to Crawford County, Georgia(3 in search of economic advantage and improved fortune in the lands of western Georgia. The first child born to Joseph and Mary was James Monroe Nash,(4 born June 16, 1826 in Crawford County. Other Georgia born children followed - William Henderson on September 8, 1828, Samuel on March 7, 1830, Thomas James on April 12, 1832, Cicero on March 28, 1834, Oren on January 6, 1837, Nancy on August 13, 1839 and John Nelson on October 3, 1840. Joseph remained in Crawford County for a decade and one half, and it was here that James Monroe Nash passed through his childhood and grew to a young adult. Working the Farm in Dallas County, Alabama In about James' fifteenth year, his father moved the family to Dallas County, Alabama.(5 While in Alabama, Joseph continued to engage in agriculture. Dallas County was in the black belt of Alabama where the soil was rich, productive and full of vigor. Large planters flocked to the place seeking cotton culture riches. In the Joseph Nash family, the children worked on the farm from an early age. Joseph owned no slaves(6 and depended upon his sons to work the farm. Joseph's children were a source of labor. They cost little to feed in a society based upon subsistence agriculture, and their labor was highly valued in a culture where hired labor virtually did not exist. There was little time or money for school, so James grew up uneducated. He would live with this circumstance for the rest of his life because he never learned to read or write. James' education was limited to the farm where he accumulated knowledge about the culture of corn and cotton, the care of livestock and a plethora of other lesson about life on the farm. Farm life meant hard physical labor. Joseph and the boys hunted game, planted, weeded and harvested the crops, cared for the animals, cleared fields, built barns and fences, chopped vast quantities of winter firewood and engaged with the community outside the family. In Alabama, more children were born to the Joseph and Mary including General Jackson, born August 4, 1841, Francis Marion, born July 13, 1845 and Mary Nash, born March 12, 1848. In total, this couple had eleven children who reached some degree to maturity. As alluded to above, economic incentives led to large families. Large families led to self-reliance. They expected little help from others.(7 Marriage and Mississippi After a few years in Alabama, Joseph Nash grew restless again and moved his family again. He chose Attala County, Mississippi for his new home, settling in Township 13 before 1850 on a nice farm valued at $350. Conditions improved enough in Mississippi that William Nash was sent to school. By this time, James was twenty-four years old, had met his life's partner, was a fully trained farmer and was ready to leave his father's house for a place of his own. He proposed to a nineteen-year-old neighborhood girl and married Mary Ann C. "Polly" McMurry on May 16, 1850. Polly McMurry, like James, was illiterate and never learned to read or write. She was the daughter of fifty-two year old Robert McMurry, a farmer from South Carolina with five children still at home. Robert was a man of modest means and had been in Mississippi since at least 1830.(8 After marrying, James set himself up with a small piece of property(9 next to his father's and began his life long vocation as an independent farmer. Polly immediately became pregnant with the couple's first child and almost nine months to the day after marrying Polly gave birth to Henry Cooper Nash on February 15, 1851. The second child, Sarianne Jane Nash, followed Henry twenty months later in October 1853. The Nash family did not remain long in Attala County, Mississippi. Land to west in Louisiana beckoned them and their neighbors with the promise of improved lives and fortunes, so Mississippi land was sold, wagons were loaded, friends bade farewell, and the Nash family turned their backs to Mississippi and faced west to northwestern Louisiana. Jackson Parish, Louisiana James M. Nash and Polly settled in Jackson Parish, Louisiana near the community of Quitman in 1857. They remained here for the rest of their lives except for a brief sojourn of eighteen months in Winn Parish to the South.(10 Shortly after arriving in Louisiana, a second girl was born on July 13, 1856 that they named Emily Adeline. The fourth child, a boy, came on June 20, 1859, and he was named Samuel Pleasant. Once in Jackson Parish, James Monroe Nash set himself to the task of farming. Cotton was the undisputed king of the lower South, and its economic power influenced the course of the nation. However, James was a yeoman farmer without capital to effect the benefits of large-scale cotton production. He owned no slaves and his productivity was totally dependent upon his own labor. Without help, he could only farm a small plot of land, and the pecuniary benefits were limited by this condition. James was one of many subsistence farmers who scratched to feed and support their family while capitalized, slave owning neighbors reaped impressive profits from cotton. Farmers in James' class were forced by circumstances to divide their labors between food crop production such as corn, animal husbandry and the production of cotton which provided them with the cash they needed. Cotton was planted in the Spring and harvested in the Fall. Under normal circumstances, cotton culture required four to six months. The labor required was considerable. Weeds had to be removed; seedling thinned to one-foot apart; vital fertilizers applied for cotton growth; and pests and diseases combated. If temperatures were sufficiently warm and rain fall adequate, a bale of cotton weighing 480 pounds resulted from this effort. To achieve a bale of this size 1,440 pounds of cotton were required since 2/3s of the weight of cotton is in the seed. Thus, at five cents a pound, James realized $18 for six months work; at fifteen cents a pound, he earned $72 for each bale of cotton produced. During the period, the price of cotton varied between these two numbers. Working alone and dividing his labor between food and cash crops was to be the pattern of James' life. Consequently, he never accumulated any wealth, and he never rose out of the lower economic class into which he was born. The War Begins By 1861, political events in the United States reached a climax. Decades of disputes between the North and the South over slavery, territorial expansion, Southern dominance of national politics, abolition and other factors led to what seemed to be the inevitable. The election of Abraham Lincoln as president was viewed as the final straw. All over the South reasonable men held their breath as the politicians debated the question of secession. Secessionist in Louisiana won the day, and the state voted to secede from the Union on January 26, 1861. Louisiana was now alone and had to provide from its own defense. To do this, a state army had to be created for Louisiana. While Louisiana struggled to organize an army, national events reached another plateau in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina. At 4:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 1861, Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter bombarding it with over seventy guns. After thirty-four hours and 4,000 shells the fort surrendered without a single fatal casualty to anyone on either side. The fort was formally surrendered on Sunday, April 14, 1867. As it turned out, the issue of Southern Secession would be settled by war. The news of Fort Sumter spread over the land. Excitement increased among the people of the two nations since the southern states had formed themselves into an independent country. Normal business was suspended. Throughout the North and South papers screamed the news about the surrender, flaming editorials were written and public meetings featured flamboyant speeches. In Washington, Lincoln responded to the attack on Fort Sumter by issuing a call for the states to provide soldiers "to defend the union" and publicly proclaiming that an insurrection existed. Various Northern states accepted the invitation to supply troops. With the North raising militia and volunteers and Washington City being fortified, Virginia seceded and began to raise an army to defend the state against northern encroachment.(11 Volunteer companies were raised in almost every locale in Louisiana and began to drill with great determination. The Confederate government issued notice to people who sympathized with the North to get out of the Confederacy within ten days and called for one year volunteers to defend the South. William Watson who lived through the era described the temper of the time: " . . . nothing could exceed the avidity and enthusiasm with which the cause was taken up. Every other object and consideration was set aside, the whole thought and conversation was centered in the one subject. Every man, woman, and child seemed to vie with each other in their effort to aid and support it. Aged men and women furnished donations in money according to their circumstances. Poor families set to work in preparing shirts, underclothing, stockings, and other necessaries."(12 What James Monroe Nash thought about this desperate turn of events cannot be known with certainty. What he learned about events came from word of mouth since he could not read the newspapers detailing the unfolding story. One suspects that his understanding of events was simple, uncomplicated and influenced by his family, friends and neighbors. He was a southerner, born and breed. Yankees who were an unreasonable and devilish lot of people threatened the South with harm, dominance and humiliation. Louisiana had called upon its sons to defend the state and the South against the Yankees, and it was his patriotic duty to step forth, take up arms and stand against the invader. The Record Records from the war related directly to James Monroe Nash and his service in the Army of Louisiana and the Confederate Army are sparse and only a few records survive. His compiled record states that he was a private in Company I of the 8th Louisiana Cavalry; that he was "on the roll of prisoners of war of divers companies and regiments unattached CSA; paroled at Monroe, Louisiana on June 13, 1865; residence in Jackson Parish, Louisiana."(13 Thirty-four years after the war, James Monroe Nash made a few statements that were recorded for the benefit of the Louisiana Board of Pension Commissioners. These statements shed some light on his military service and give powerful clues to his military service. James stated that he enlisted in 1861 at Montgomery in Winn Parish, Louisiana and that his command was the 28th Louisiana Cavalry. He stated that his commanders were Colonel Clark and Captain Hardee, that he was never wounded or a prisoner and that he was at Natchitoches, Louisiana when the Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered on June 2, 1865.(14 These few facts from the surviving official records that apply directly to Nash comprise the total known information about his service in the military during the War for Southern Independence. However, there are other records available for examination and the industrious researcher can use the known facts about James as a springboard to the development of a fuller and broader picture about this loyal Confederate. James' record does not give a day and month of enlistment, only the year 1861. The first call for troops in Louisiana came on March 9, 1861 when the Louisiana Secretary of War asked 1,700 men to come forward and serve in the Confederate Army. A month later, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, asked Louisiana to provide 3,000 more men. On April 12, Fort Sumter was bombarded and three days later Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 men and the war began in earnest. On April 21, 1861, Governor Moore of Louisiana called for 5,000 more men to serve one year. Nothing in the records indicates that James joined one of the units that were mustered into Confederate Service in 1861. The records for these major military units are well documented for the period. Additionally, it is obvious that James was close to home during the war because two of his children were conceived, and one born, while the war was in progress.(15 It is apparent that James was a member of an independent militia company that was later absorbed into the Louisiana militia and finally mustered into the Confederate Army. On September 28, 1861, Governor Moore decreed that all citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were subject to militia duty, and most of the independent home guard companies were absorbed into the Louisiana militia.(16 This is probably the date that James Monroe Nash officially began his military service. At the same time, Governor Moore ordered militia commanders to reorganize and strengthen the state militia into an effective force. Militia units were required to conduct company drills at least twice a week and battalion or regimental drills at least three times a month. These citizen soldiers came together for drills and then went home. By November 22, 1861, there were over 31,000 men enrolled in the State Militia. Most, however, were not armed with government issued weapons. By January 1862, only half the militiamen had weapons, and these were described as "miserable and unserviceable arms."(17 The evidence indicates that there were more men willing and available to serve than could be provided with the means to fight. A question to be answered is into what unit did James Monroe Nash enlist and what was their status in the early part of this war. The Winn Reserves James Monroe Nash enter the militia in 1861 at Montgomery, Louisiana in Winn Parish. He was thirty-five years old that year. Why he went to Winn Parish to enlist is not understood. It may be that he was living in Winn Parish at the time since it is known that he lived in that parish for eighteen months.(18 He enlisted as a private in an independent company known as the Winn Reserves, an infantry unit, commanded by Captain W. T. Hardee.(19 As a reserve unit, the Winn Reserves were at the low end of military priorities. They were not an active unit and were among the last to be supplied with government arms and equipment. Nothing much was expected of them at the beginning of the war except to be ready to serve when called upon and to help meet local emergencies. They mustered and drilled with whatever arms they could accumulate, lived at home, followed their usual occupation and waited to be called to active duty. The evidence is that the Winn Reserves remained in this status from formation in 1861 until April of 1863 when the need for men to defend Louisiana became increasingly desperate. The Bayou Teche runs parallel to the Mississippi River and is the back door to New Orleans, which in 1862 was occupied by the Federal Army under the command of General Nathaniel Banks. Confederate Major General Richard Taylor, son of the famous general and former president, Zachary Taylor, held the Teche country. On April 10, 1863, General Banks moved 16,000 men to Brashear City(20 located fifteen miles from Taylor's Confederates at Fort Bisland on the Teche. Banks' intent was to remove Taylor's force from the Teche country as a threat to New Orleans. On April 14, Banks and Taylor fought the Battle of Franklin, a holding action by Taylor's forces, followed by his retreat to Opelousas and beyond in the direction of Shreveport. By the time Banks and his Federal army reached Opelousas, they had stolen over ten million dollars in private property, destroyed the Avery Island salt works and collected a horde of slaves. By April 24, 1863, General Taylor was in Alexandria, Louisiana with Banks following.(21 Needing men to defend Louisiana, the Winn Reserves were called to active duty in April.(22 James' more peaceful days at home with occasional drills with his company ended. He was approaching thirty-seven years old and left a wife and four children aged twelve, ten, seven and four months at home to fend for themselves with whatever resources he left behind and the generosity of neighbors and the parish and state governments. Six months earlier the Nash family had experienced the tragic death of Samuel Pleasant Nash on November 13, 1862 at the age of four years. Samuel's death was balanced by the birth of a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, on December 9, 1862. James' departure from his family at this painful time must have been difficult, but the circumstances in Louisiana demanded sacrifice from all its citizens to meet the danger from the vandals and thieves in Banks' army. So James Monroe Nash marched off to war to do the duty required of him. First Louisiana State Infantry Battalion The 1st Louisiana State Infantry Battalion was formed by the State of Louisiana to help meet the Federal threat to upper Louisiana. The military authorities of the state combined two previously independent companies to form the battalion. The Winn Reserves became Company A of the 1st State Infantry Battalion. The Young Greys from DeSoto Parish, commanded by Captain John W. Stuart, became Company B. It is evident that the Confederate military authorities did not consider the 1st State Battalion as a reliable military unit. The weekly musters and drills were not enough to make the Winn Reserves into a proficient military unit. Once organized, the battalion was sent into Camp DeSoto near Pineville, Louisiana in April 1863 to be drilled and trained in the fashion of all military units in order to improve their suitability for active service.(23 First Louisiana State Infantry Battalion Company / Name / Parish / Commander Company A. / Winn Reserves / Winn Parish / Captain W. T. Hardee(24 Company B. / Young Greys / DeSoto Parish / Captain John W. Stuart(25 Company C. / Jackson Volunteers / Jackson Parish / Captain M. B. Kidd(26 Later in the month of April 1863, James and his comrades were sent to help man Fort DeRussy on the Red River above Simmesport. This fort was intended to block the advance of Union gunboats attempting to move up the river toward Alexandria. However, Fort DeRussy was evacuated in May, and the 1st Battalion fell back to Shreveport as Banks' army advanced up the broad plain leading to Alexandria. General Banks arrived in Alexandria on May 8, 1863 where his men continued to steal all of the private property of innocent citizens they could lay hands on. He remained there for seven days with his army rummaging through the homes of private citizens for things of value before being ordered to cross overland to Port Hudson on the east side of the Mississippi River.(27 With Banks' withdrawal, the threat to central and north Louisiana ended for the present. The 1st Battalion was enlarged in Shreveport with the addition on June 29, 1863 of another independent company known as the Jackson Volunteers from Jackson Parish.(28 The Jackson Parish unit was designated as Company C and was commanded by Captain M. B. Kidd.(29 This development reunited James with his friends and acquaintances from back home, which must have been a circumstance he welcomed. With Federal General Banks occupied with the siege of Port Hudson, General Richard Taylor's Confederates were ordered to the west side of the Mississippi River opposite of Vicksburg to attempt to assist that town which was besieged by Union General U. S. Grant. There Taylor fought a battle at Milliken's Bend on June 7 but was unable to overcome the powerful guns of the United States Naval fleet. Consequently, Taylor was unable to break Grant's supply lines, and Taylor's efforts came to nothing.(30 While General Taylor was occupied on the Mississippi River, James Monroe Nash remained in Shreveport with his unit. The 1st Battalion did not accompany Taylor's army to the Mississippi because it was considered a deficient unit. The unit's soldierly skills were insufficient, and they remained behind from May to September 1863 to be drilled, trained and instructed to develop them into soldiers that are more proficient.(31 While Nash remained in Shreveport, General Taylor took his army back to South Louisiana where he boldly recaptured Brashear City and threatened to recapture New Orleans. Unfortunately, Vicksburg and Port Hudson surrendered in July 1863 freeing up Union manpower to rush to the defense of New Orleans.(32 General Banks invaded the Teche Country again in September 1863 but Taylor's Confederate Army put up such stiff resistance that he withdrew after reaching Washington above Opelousas in October. Central and North Louisiana were again safe from Yankees, but it was not to last very long.(33 In September 1863, the Winn Reserves and Jackson Volunteers were ordered to return to Camp DeSoto while the Young Greys from DeSoto Parish remained in Shreveport.(34 With General Banks' army in Washington, Louisiana, Companies A and C were transferred closer to the scene of the action. For the next six months, James and his comrades operated out of Camp DeSoto were they performed guard duty around Alexandria and continued to drill in camp. As James' unit performed the duties assigned to them around the central Louisiana area, military authorities were planning reorganize and reassign the 1st Infantry Battalion.(35 James Monroe Nash was about to enter the cavalry. Second Louisiana State Guards Cavalry Battalion In early 1864, General Richard Taylor had only the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry to defend state. The Texas cavalry of General Tom Green upon which Taylor had relied was recalled to Texas to meet Union threats along the Texas coast. General Nathaniel Banks was still in New Orleans at the head of a powerful Union army of 30,000 men. To make matters worse for Louisiana, Banks had at his disposal a powerful gunboat fleet commanded by Admiral David Porter consisting of thirteen gigantic ironclads and several gunboats mounting 200 guns. Banks was planning more hardship and misery for the citizens of Louisiana and Texas. His objective was to advance out of New Orleans up the Bayou Teche to Alexandria, overland to Shreveport and into Texas. On March 13, 1864, Banks put his plan into motion. On that day, 10,000 Federals under General A. J. Smith disembarked from twenty-seven ships at Simmesport on the Red River. Two days later Admiral Porter reached Alexandria, defenseless against the large naval guns, and immediately set to stealing privately owned cotton. Banks' army reached Alexandria on March 19.(36 Central Louisiana was again under the heal of the contemptible and unprincipled Union Army and Navy.(37 On March 5, 1864, General Tom Green's cavalry was ordered to return to Louisiana to help meet Banks' invasion. The 2nd Louisiana Cavalry was worn out from overwork and service against Banks' advances. To help meet this emergency and the desperate need for cavalry, Nash's 1st Battalion was disbanded in February 1864 and the companies that made up the unit were mounted on horses and assigned to the 2nd Louisiana State Guards Cavalry Battalion.(38 After having trained for two years as an infantryman, Nash now had to take on the duties of a cavalryman. The 2nd State Cavalry Battalion was composed of seven companies. Three of the companies came from James Monroe Nash's battalion, the 1st State Infantry Battalion. The other four companies were newly organized State Guard cavalry companies. Unfortunately, the records are unclear, and it cannot be said with complete certainty to which company James Monroe Nash belonged. What is known is that the battalion consisted of companies and commanders listed on the table below. Only two of the companies are positively identified. The other five are identified by their commanders only. Since their record offers no more than this, some supposition is necessary. William H. Terrell is identified with Young Greys from DeSoto Parish. Terrell was a forty-year old, Mississippi born brick maker with four children when the war began.(39 He enlisted at Mansfield on March 5, 1863 and was elected captain of the Young Greys. Fourteen days later he became a major and was placed in command of the 1st Louisiana State Guards Battalion. Command of the Young Greys passed to Captain John W. Stuart.(40 In the reorganization of the 1st State Infantry into the 2nd State Cavalry, John Stuart retained his command of the Young Greys.(41 It is not known what happened to Captain W. T. Hardee who commanded James Monroe Nash's unit, but he was not in command of the Winn Reserves when the reorganization was complete. It is known that Major William H. Terrell was demoted to captain after the reorganization, and it is highly likely that he replaced Captain Hardee as commander of the Winn Reserves. This hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that Terrell was still commander of an unidentified company when the 2nd State Cavalry later entered Confederate service as the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. Second Louisiana State Cavalry Battalion Company / Name / Parish / Commander Company A / Rapides Minutemen / Rapides / Captain J. W. Texada Company B / / / Captain J. W. Creagh Company C / Young Greys / DeSoto / Captain John W. Stuart Company D / [Winn Reserves] / [Winn] / Captain William H. Terrell Company E / / / Captain W. W. Gahagan(42 Company / [Jackson Volunteers] / [Jackson] / Captain E. C. or M. B. Kidd Company / / / Unknown Dr. Bergeron identifies one of the companies in the 2nd State Cavalry as commanded by E.C. or M. B. Kidd. Again, supposition is necessary. Edwin C. Kidd enlisted at Monroe on May 10, 1862 in Company C of the 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment and was elected First Lieutenant. He was on the rolls of the 28th Infantry Regiment in July and August of 1863 but nothing more is known about him. However, M. B. Kidd commanded the Jackson Volunteers in the 1st State Infantry and later in the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. It is a reasonable assumption that he commanded the Jackson Volunteers in the 2nd Louisiana State Cavalry. Three W. W. Gahagans have been identified but no association with command can be established for any of them. All were privates. The most likely of the Gahagans to have served in the 2nd State Cavalry is W. W. Gahagan from Natchitoches Parish.(43 Nothing is known about J. W. Creagh except that he was the Captain of Company B in the 2nd State Cavalry and later in the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. The formal transfer of James Monroe Nash from his old organization to the 2nd State Guards Cavalry Battalion occurred on March 10, 1864, three days before Union General Banks began his third invasion of the Teche Country in route to Northwestern Louisiana. The Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Henry M. Favrot(44 and Major Samuel McCutcheon. Latter in March, the Battalion joined the army of Major General Richard Taylor. Cavalry units such as the 2nd State Battalion were needed because Taylor lost 250 cavalrymen from the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry at Henderson Hill on March 21, 1864. Consequently, Taylor retreated before General Banks' advance without the benefit of serviceable cavalry. Taylor's entire army in front of Banks on the South side of the Red River consisted of 5,300 infantry, 500 cavalry, and 300 artillerymen. On March 28, Banks left Alexandria at the head of 30,000 men of all services plus Porter's powerful gunboat fleet moving north and Taylor's army reached Mansfield on April 6.(46 It is likely that the James M. Nash and the 2nd State Cavalry joined Taylor's army at or near Mansfield. On April 8, 1864, Taylor's reinforced army assembled itself at Sabine Crossroads across the road leading to Mansfield and northward to Shreveport. His army consisted of 5,300 infantry, 3,000 cavalry and 500 artillerymen, and he was determined to cease his retreat here. The Confederate army on the field that day was tired of retreating.(47 The soldiers had seen their country and homes spoiled and devastated by the cruel invaders, and they thirsted for revenge. On this day, the Confederates received their retribution in Yankee blood. When the alignment of the troops at Mansfield was completed, Nash and his colleagues found that General Taylor had placed them in reserve, and Nash did not participate in the attack.(48 This is not surprising and demonstrates the wisdom of General Richard Taylor. The 2nd Louisiana State Cavalry Battalion had existed only twenty eight days. All of the companies were untrained in the cavalry service and had never seen combat of any degree at all. That they remained in reserve is the logical conclusion of a logical commander. As it turned out, they were not needed. The main Confederate attack that day swept the Yankees before them until all semblance of resistance vanished like fog before the sun, and Banks' army scampered from the field of battle in full and unbridled flight. James M. Nash and the 2nd State Cavalry stayed with Taylor's army until April 24, 1864.(49 The army fought the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9 and fought well enough to convinced Banks to abandoned his intended conquest of Northwestern Louisiana. By April 10, Banks had reached Grand Ecore, the river landing for Natchitoches, with Taylor's cavalry and infantry in pursuit. Taylor's men also were attacking Admiral Porter's fleet, and he was in retreat toward Grand Ecore for a junction with Banks' army. On the afternoon of April 21, Banks abandoned Grand Ecore, set fire to the place and to Natchitoches, and retreated toward Alexandria. Taylor's army continued to harass the Union Army most of the way to Alexandria where the first elements arrived on April 25, 1864.(50 What role Nash and the 2nd State Cavalry played in these events is unknown because the record is silent. Because of the Battalion's inexperience and lack of training, it is highly unlikely that the unit had a combat role. Most probably, they performed guard duty or some other role. What is known is that on April 24, the Battalion was ordered to report to a camp of instruction in Shreveport. Again, Nash was in a poorly trained and inexperienced unit that did not have the necessary military qualities to be considered reliable by the military authorities. However, the training did not last long, and the 2nd State Cavalry was ordered back into the field. After Banks' retreat, General Taylor ordered that all jayhawkers and deserters in southern Louisiana be cleared out. In early May 1864, Nash's Battalion was ordered to Opelousas to participate in a campaign against jayhawkers and to recruit new soldiers.(51 In 1864, jayhawkers proved themselves a menace. In St. Landry Parish, around Opelousas, jayhawkers were openly operating in the daylight raiding and robbing the inhabitants of everything they owned that had value. Conscription of soldiers in this area had ceased due to the conscript's fear for their families from the jayhawkers and would not report for duty until steps had been taken to provide for their safety. Men who wanted to stay out of the army had "only to go within the lines of the jayhawkers to be perfectly safe from the officers of the law." The citizens of Opelousas had suffered greatly when Banks passed through their area. Now that the Union army was gone, they had to endure a band of jayhawkers led by a Dr. Dudley who launched a series of raids in the area. The only thing that could control these raids was the presence of an armed force.(52 Nash's time in Opelousas was short because his battalion was reassigned to Franklin, Louisiana in late May 1864 where they went into camp. Louisiana had entered a quiet period after the Red River Campaign and the Battle of Mansfield. The Confederate forces had reclaimed the Teche Country and the 2nd State Cavalry Battalion was stationed at Franklin, in the heart of the Tech Country, to help restore law and order, gather conscripts into the army and guard against intrusions from Union forces in the area. Among the principal duties of Nash's unit was to see that conscripts in St. Mary's Parish liable for military service came forward and joined "the Louisiana infantry regiments on duty in the state on or before June 1, 1864. Otherwise, the conscripts would be considered and treated as jayhawkers and shot down on sight."(53 The 2nd Louisiana State Cavalry Battalion remained along the Teche for the next several months where Nash and his comrades performed conscript, outpost and picket duty.(54 In late June, the Confederates "raided the Federal outpost on Berwick Bay which was held by twelve hundred Negro and two hundred white troops."(55 The Young Greys of DeSoto Parish participated in one of these raids and fought a skirmish with the Federals near Berwick Bay. This was one of the few times that any element of the 2nd State Cavalry saw combat action. Nash's stay in South Louisiana ended in September 1864 when his Battalion was shifted to North Louisiana where he was stationed on the Black River at Monterey, southeast of Vadilia in Concordia Parish.(56 The shift of the Battalion to northeastern Louisiana was because jayhawkers in the region had become especially active and to guard against enemy raids out of Vidalia. Nash's service in the 2nd Louisiana State Cavalry was ending. Confederate authorities were reorganizing again, and Nash was about to leave the service of the Army of Louisiana and enter the Confederate Army. The Battalion was again transferred to South Louisiana where the reorganization took place.(57 The Eighth Louisiana Cavalry The State of Louisiana in late 1864 moved to satisfy the needs of the Confederate authorities in the Trans-Mississippi Department for more manpower and transferred two units from the Army of Louisiana to the Confederate Army. The 1st and 2nd Louisiana State Guard Cavalry Battalions were combined on October 27, 1864 to form a new cavalry unit and transferred from state service to the Confederate Army. The combined units were designated as the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. The 8th was the last Confederate cavalry regiment to be formed in Louisiana during the war. The 8th Louisiana Cavalry Regiment was composed of ten companies. Normal company strength was one hundred men in each company which means that a regiment numbered one thousand men. However, as the war wore on and casualties, desertions, and detachments occurred the strength of regiments declined.(58 Regiments rarely numbered a thousand. The size of the 8th Cavalry is not known, but there are some known facts about the composition of the regiment as displayed in the table below. Eighth Louisiana Cavalry Regiment Company / Name / Parish / Commander Company A / Rapides Minutemen / Rapides / J. W. Texada Company B / / / J. W. Creagh Company C / Young Greys / DeSoto / John W. Stuart Company D / / / William H. Terrell Company E / Jackson Volunteers / Jackson / M. D. Kidd Company F / Franklin Rangers / Franklin / W. M. Guice Company G / Murdock Guards / Rapides & Avoyelles / R. W. Heath Company H / Bossier Rangers / Bossier / Thomas Player Company I(59 / / / R. H. Turner(60 Company K / / / W. W. Gahagan(61 This arrangement of companies in the regiment sheds no light on which unit was the Winn Reserves, James Nash's company. However, the evidence is sound that James Monroe Nash was a member of the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. The officers of this regiment were Colonel Benjamin W. Clark, Lieutenant Colonel Samuel McCutcheon and Major Thomas J. Caldwell. Nash identifies his commander as Colonel Clark and the other evidence points clearly to the 8th Regiment as his unit. Colonel Benjamin W. Clark was an experienced commander. He joined the Delta Rifles in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1861 as a private under the command of Henry M. Favrot. The Delta Rifles was incorporated into the 4th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment on May 25, 1861 at Camp Moore as Company F where Clark was made Color Sergeant. In May 19, 1862, he as was appointed Regimental Adjutant. During his service with the 4th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, he saw service along the Gulf Coast, Shiloh, and the defenses outside of Vicksburg. When the 1st State Guards Cavalry Battalion was organized in March 1863, Clark was appointed the Colonel of the Battalion. The Battalion was transferred to Confederate service on March 10, 1864 and was present at the Battle of Mansfield but did not see action. However, the Battalion was under fire at the Battle of Monett's Ferry where it was attached to George W. Baylor's Texas Cavalry Brigade.(62 With the formation of the 8th Louisiana Cavalry, the Confederate States of America in the Trans-Mississippi Department had less than eight months left to exist. Viewed honestly, the Confederacy was falling apart. Regular law and order was breaking down and vigilante law was taking its place. Treason was increasing. The currency was becoming increasingly worthless. Recruiting officers could find no enlistment prospects, desertions were common place, and the government was impressing men for the army and slaves for labor on a wholesale basis. The prospects for victory in the war were fading and the Trans-Mississippi Department was demoralized and depressed at its prospects for success.(63 Nevertheless, James Monroe Nash stuck to his duty and never hesitated in the face of hardship, adversity and demoralization. He had been away from home and hearth almost continuously for nearly two years during which time Polly and the children had to fend for themselves. Nash did not waver. He did not desert but "remained true to the Confederate cause until the surrender."(64 In October 1864, Nash was not finished and had further service ahead of him before he could return home permanently. His regiment returned to the lower Bayou Teche region and to the upper Atchafalaya where they performed picket and outpost duty. The 8th Cavalry Regiment was under the overall command of General Joseph L. Brent(65 while on these duties. Nash may have hunted jayhawkers in Western St. Landry Parish in the early months of 1865 but such can not be stated with definitiveness. On April 2, 1865 the Confederate government evacuated Richmond,Virginia, Selma, Alabama was captured by the Federals and the Federal seize of Fort Blakely at Mobile began. On that day in Louisiana, Governor Henry W. Allen issued a proclamation appealing to patriotism. "I love every swamp and ever pine-clad hill in your now beleaguered state. Rally in defense of your wives and children . . . The enemy must be met. We will conquer him and you shall be free." Governor Allen also ordered conscript officers to bring in every able-bodied man and enroll him in the militia and stated adroitly, " If any man resists you with deadly weapons, you will cause him to be shot dead on the spot."(66 On April 9, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia, and six days later Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Washington. On April 26, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his army in North Carolina, on May 4 General Richard Taylor surrendered his department, and Jefferson Davis was captured on May 10 thereby closing out the war east of the Mississippi River. At this point, the Confederacy, for all practical purposes, was limited to the Trans-Mississippi Department west of the river. In the face of defeat, General Kirby Smith tried to hold his department together. Desertions were appalling, so he cancelled all furloughs and prohibited detailing soldiers. As early as January, some regiments seemed to be melting away with daily desertions home and defections to the Federals. Soldiers had not been paid in more than a year. Every day five or six men were executed for desertion but some segments of the army were near to mutiny. In February, the Louisiana Legislature met in its final session and the Louisiana legislative branch of the government ceased to exist thereafter. In March 1865, 6,000 cavalrymen were dismounted. Among those dismounted was James Nash. The surrenders east of the Mississippi left the people of Louisiana stricken, and they simply waited in "hopeless passivity, for the inevitable end." (67 On April 21, 1865, Kirby Smith issued an address to his soldiers: Great disasters have overtaken us. The army of Northern Virginia and our Commander in Chief-in-Chief [Lee] are prisoners of war. With you rests the hopes of our nation, and upon your action depends the fate of our people. I appeal to you in the name of the cause you have so heroically maintained-in the name of your firesides and families so dear to you-in the name of your bleeding country, whose future is in your hands. Show that you are worthy of your position in history. Prove to the world that your hearts have not failed in the hour of disaster, and that the last moment you will sustain the holy cause which have been so gloriously battled for by your brethren east of the Mississippi. . . . Stand by your colors-maintain your discipline. . . . "(68 Smith's address only deepened the depression, apathy and indifference in some soldiers. Wholesale desertion was openly discussed in parts of the army. Others still held to hope of ultimate success and believed the war could be continued. Yet, the Confederate authorities held on for another month refusing to surrender. General Kirby Smith considered taking the army to Mexico. After years of hardship and deprivation, surrender was too difficult for some soldiers to imagine. A soldier stationed at near Shreveport wrote that the men "gathered in groups everywhere, . . . both officers and men, swore fearful oaths never to surrender. The humiliation was unbearable."(69 By May 13, 1865, "troops began to leave for home, openly and unmolested."(70 The end came for James Monroe Nash in May, but the exact date is not known. The dismounted 8th Louisiana Cavalry marched from their post in South Louisiana and was at Natchitoches at the time of the surrender. The war, like all things, ended. In all likelihood, a final muster was held and the flag lowered. Friends bade each other farewell and everyone headed home. James Monroe Nash did not surrender to Federal soldiers, and he did not take an oath of allegiance to the United States. He did not seek a pardon from the Federal government. He simply went home. Epilogue James Monroe Nash was two or three weeks short of his fortieth birthday when his part in the War for Southern Independence ended. He returned to his former occupation as a subsistence farmer and lived for another forty years. Nash and his fellow soldiers walked away from Natchitoches with a sense of defeat and failure. He could not see at the time, and may have never realized, the significance of his contribution to the national fabric. Those who do not understand that the Constitution of the United States never provided for a permanent and inseparable union call it a civil war. The name has stuck and continues to distort the legal basis upon which the Southern Confederacy was established. Northern arms alone changed the Constitution, but the written legal basis for a permanent union is still missing. Time distorted the war in the minds of those who fought it. The shrill rebel yell was lost to the veterans because it was impossible to make that sound "unless made at a dead run in full charge against the enemy."(71 As the war faded in time for Nash and the other veterans, it began to be a source of pride instead of a sense of defeat. Old men sunned themselves, spoke of their part in the war, and formed themselves into organization of war veterans. Camps were established and annual meetings held until the aging veterans dwindled and faded away. Memorials were established on courthouse squares, in government capitols and on battlefields to note the contribution these men made for future generations. A magazine devoted to Confederate veterans was published for many years in which veterans told stories of their experiences during the war and kept track of each other. Even today, the ancestors of these men carry on the memorializing of the soldiers who sacrificed their youth, resources and health in the cause of Southern independence. Polly bore two sons after the war ended. Thomas M. Nash was born shortly after the war and John Robert Nash(72 three years later. James Monroe Nash(73 grew old like the other war veterans. James returned to his home and resumed his life as a farmer. He showed little interest in the politics of reconstruction, or war veteran organizations, and lived in isolation from most of the world. His sons followed his example and became farmers too and, like him, grew, up illiterate. As the years wore on, James developed asthma and kidney disease that he contributed to exposure during his military service. By 1900, he had grown progressively grew sicker and poorer. Unable to otherwise support himself and Polly by his own labor, he sold his land and then his property. He moved into the house of another man and lived off the money accumulated from the sale of his property. In 1905, at the age of 79, he died. His passing caused no special notice beyond his family and circle of friends. There was no burial with military honors or monument noting his military service because he made no effort to keep his contribution in that war alive. Thus, the old Southern patriot was laid to rest without great ceremony like thousands of sons of Louisiana who had served their country with honor. He answered his country's call at the beginning and served faithfully until the end. He never participated in combat; was never captured; and never received a wound. However, he marched the length of Louisiana several times during his service; stood ready to serve at the Battle of Mansfield; endured the privations of hunger and the ravages of the elements and stood guard during the lonely nights. His reward for his service amounted to little or nothing. He, nevertheless, by his manhood and faithfulness left a legacy of honorable service, which is reward enough. APPENDIX 1 SOLDIER'S APPLICATION FOR PENSION I, J. M. Nash, a native of Georgia and now a citizen of Louisiana at Quitman in the parish of Jackson in said State of Louisiana, and who was a soldier, (sailor or marine as the case may be) from the State of _________________ in the Confederate States army (or navy as the case may be) in the war between the United States and the Confederate States, do hereby apply for aid under Act 125 of the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana of 1898; and I do solemnly swear that I served the Confederate State honorably from the date of my enlistment until the close of the civil war, (or until discharged or paroled as the case may be), as shown by my answers below, and that I remained true to the Confederate cause until the surrender, and that I am now in indigent circumstances, and unable to earn a livelihood by my own labor or skill, and that I am not salaried or otherwise provided for by the State of Louisiana or by any other State or government, and am entitled to receive the benefits of said Act No. 125 of 1898, as further shown by my answers to the questions below, which I swear to be true and correct. In what town, county, State , Country and year were you born? Answer: ____Crawford County, Georgia - Born June 15th 1826_____________________ When and where did you enlist, and in what command? Answer: _In 1861 at Montgomery Winn Parish La._I enlisted in the 28th Louisiana Cavalry(74 Give the names of the regimental and company officers under whom you enlisted and under whom you were serving at the date of your discharge or parole. Answer: ____Clark - Colonel____Hardee - Capt____________________________ Were you wounded? If so in what battles, and if not, state under what circumstances during the war you received injury or injuries? Answer: __I was not. I contracted asma [asthma] and kidney disease from exposure during the war.____ What was the precise nature of your wound or wounds, if any? Answer: ______________________________________________________________ If you lost a limb or an eye, state when, where and how? Answer:______________________________________________________________ Were you discharged from the army by reason of wound, wounds, or from the effects of service? Answer: ______I was not_____________________________________________ If discharged or paroled from the Army, where were you, and what did you do until the close of the war? Answer: ______________________________________________________________ What was the name of the surgeon who attended you when discharged? Answer: ______________________________________________________________ Where were you at the surrender? Answer: ____I was at Natchitoches_______________________________________ If a prisoner, in what camp, and when were you released, and to where sent? Answer: _____________________________________________________________ Did you take the oath of allegiance to the United States Government at any time during the war? Answer: _____I did not______________________________________________ If so, when, where and under what circumstances? Answer: ______________________________________________________________ How long have you been a resident of the State of Louisiana next preceding the date of this application? Where have you resided during this period? Answer: ____About 42 years.__I have resided in Jackson Parish except about 18 months I resided in Winn Parish.________________________________________________ Are you married or have you been married? Answer: ____I am._________________________________________________ If so, what is the size of your family? Answer: ____Myself and my wife.________________________________________ What are the respective ages of your wife and children? Answer: ____My wife is 69 years old. My children are 44, 41, 31, & 26._____________ How many children have you, and how many of each sex? Answer: ___4 children____3 boys & one girl_________________________________ Are you engaged in any business? If so, what do you earn? Answer: ____I am not. I am unable to attend to any business at all._________________ Have you any estate in your own right, real or personal, and what is its value? Answer: ____I do not own any property.____________________________________ Has your wife any estate in her own right, real or personal, and what is its value? Answer: ___She has not______________________________________________ How have you derived support for yourself, and family if you have one, for the last five years, and what prevents you from earning a living now? Answer: ______I have derived a support by selling my land and personal property and am now living on another's land._______________________________________________ Do you use any intoxicants to any extent? Answer: ___I do not.________________________________________________ Have you an attorney to look after this application? Answer:_ ___I have not.______________________________________________ Give his name, address, and the compensation agreed between you. Answer:______________________________________________________________ Give names of two or more of your comrades with their postoffice [sic] addresses. Answer: ____Peter Shoran Quitman P.O.__T. H. Alexander(75 _Quitman P.O._______ Give your postoffice (sic) address and that of the two witnesses. Answer: ____My post office is Quitman-J. J. White, Vernon [and] Joel Grigsly, Vernon___ Witnesses my hand this _26th day of __Jan__1899. his __J M_X Nash__ mark Witness: his __J. J. X White______ mark John Grigsby_________ APPLICANT MUST GO BEFORE CLERK OF COURT STATE OF LOUISIANA} __Jackson_______ Parish} Personally appeared before me, __W. R. Carroll__________ Clerk of the District Court of said Parish, the above named __J. M. Nash__ the applicant, with whom I am personally acquainted, and having the applicant read and fully explain to him as well as the statements and answers therein made, made oath that the statements and answers are true. Witness my hand and seal of office, this 26 day of __Jan_ 1899. __W. R. Carroll__ Clerk (If possible, the two witnesses as to character should have served with the applicant in the army, and if so, let them, or other, state in their oath; also any other information regarding applicant's army service.) STATE OF LOUISIANA} ____Jackson_________ Parish} Personally appeared before me, ___W. R. Carroll_________ Clerk of the District Court of said Parish, the above named ___J. J. White__________________and __John Grigsby__ , two of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing application with whom I am personally acquainted, and known to be citizens of veracity and standing in this community, and who make oath that they are personally acquainted with the foregoing applicant, and that the facts set forth and statements made in his application are correct and true, to the best of their knowledge and belief, and that they have no interest in this claim, and that said applicant's habits are good and free from dishonor. Witness my hand and seal of office, this __26__ day of __Jan__1899. __W. R. Carroll__ Clerk 1. Arthur W. Bergeron, Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, 1861-1865 (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge and London) p. 5; Napier Bartlett, Military Records of Louisiana, 1875. 2. The source of much of the information about the Nash family including names, birth, marriage and death dates and places is provided by Robert Arnold, 1801 Avenue D, Port Neches, Texas 77651. However, the author has changed some items provided by Robert based on his own research. 3. The marriage occurred on November 24, 1824. 4. Joseph Nash was not the only Nash living in Crawford County, Georgia. Micajah Nash was living there in 1830 and Ossian Nash in 1840. Both Nashes were young men about Joseph's age. Micajah had an older female living in his household. This frequently indicates a mother in the household of a son. 1830 Census of Crawford County, Georgia and the 1840 Census of Crawford County, Georgia, p. 386. 5. James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, had just left office at the time of James M. Nash's birth. Joseph was an admirer of President Monroe and chose his name for his first son. Naming children after popular heroes, presidents and prominent citizens was a common trait among people of this era. Joseph named two other children after famous Americans-Andrew Jackson and Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. For more information about child naming in early America, see Emily Croom, The Genealogist's Companion and Sourcebook (Betterway Books, Cincinnati, 1994) pp. 4-6. 6. 1840 Census of Dallas County, Alabama, Family 418, p. 56. 7. The 1840 census shows that Joseph Nash owned no slaves. It also displays that the oldest sons were engaged in labor on the farm. 8. W. J. Rorabaugh and Donald T. Critchlow, America, A Concise History (Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, California, 1994) pp. 182-184. 9. Robert McMurry's wife was named Mary and she was born in 1802 in South Carolina. Their children in addition to Polly were Thomas, born 1827 in Louisiana, Margaret, born 1832, Stacy, born 1837, Lucinda, born 1840 and Amanda, born 1856. Margaret and the younger children were all born in Mississippi. 1850 Census of Attala County, Mississippi, October 24, 1850, Dwelling 1016, Family 1018, p. 159 10. The land was valued at $50.00 and probably did not exceed thirty acres. 11. Soldier's Application for Pension # 1747, James Monroe Nash to the Board of pension Commissioners, State of Louisiana. 12. E. B. Long, The Civil War Day By Day (Da Capo Paperback, New York, 1971) pp. 56-59. 13. William Watson, Life in the Confederate Army (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge and London, 1887) pp.118, 121, and 124. 14. Andrew B. Booth, Compiler, Records of Louisiana Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands in Three Volumes, Volume 3, (The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1984) p. 1253. 15. Nash-Soldiers Application # 1747. 16. John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge and London, 1963) pp. 20-21. 17. Ibid. p. 31. 18. Ibid. pp. 58-59 and 71. 19. Nash-Soldier's Pension # 1747. 20. Bergeron, Guide, p. 151; Nash-Soldier's Pension # 1747 21. Brashear City is present day Morgan City. 22. T. Michael Parrish, Richard Taylor Soldier Prince of Dixie, (University of North Carolina Press, USA, 1992) pp. 267-285. 23. Bergeron, Guide, p. 151. 24. Ibid. p. 151. 25. Dr. Bergeron identifies Captain W. T. Hardee as the commander of the Winn Reserves and by James Monroe Nash as his commander at the time of his enlistment. Nothing further is known about Captain Hardee. 26. Captain John W. Stuart enlisted on March 5, 1863 at Mansfield, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana in the Young Greys. He initially served as First Lieutenant of the company and was promoted to Captain on May 19, 1863 when the company's commander was promoted to major of the 1st State Guards Infantry Battalion. Booth, Records, pp. 731 and 792. 27. The initial commander of the Jackson Volunteers was Captain J. R. Kavanaugh who resigned his commission on July 29, 1893 and was replaced by Captain M. B. Kidd. Bergeron, Guide, p. 151. 28. Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 267-285. 29. Bergeron, Guide, pp. 151-152. 30. M. B. Kidd began his military career as a Second Lieutenant in the Jackson Greys that began the war as Company K of the 9th Louisiana Infantry Regiment and later became Company M of the 12th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on February 12, 1862 and was enrolled into the Confederate Army on September 22, 1862 at Camp Carondelet. Kidd advanced to the rank of First Lieutenant before resigning his commission and accepting the command of the Jackson Volunteers. Booth, Record, V. 3, p. 556. 31. Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 288-290. 32. Bergeron, Guide, pp. 151-152; The reports and correspondence of General Kirby Smith, Commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, is filled with references to the need to upgrade the military proficiency of state units and drill camps were a principal feature around Shreveport. Robert L. Kerby, Kirby Smith's Confederacy, The Trans-Mississippi South, 1863-1865, (The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa and London, 1972) pp. 54-55. 33. General Richard Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, Personal Experiences of the Civil War (DA Capo Press, New York, 1879) pp. 139-147. 34. Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 296-299. 35. The DeSoto Greys remained in Shreveport for an unknown length of time. 36. Bergeron, Guide, pp. 152-153. 37. Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 320-326. 38. Admiral Porter afterwards claimed the inhabitants of central Louisiana were respectfully treated, but this is, speaking adroitly, a lie. His sailors stole every bale of cotton they could find, and Banks' men "made an indiscriminate onslaught upon every private residence, appropriating [stealing] to themselves everything valuable." Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 325-326. 39. Bergeron, Guide, pp. 151-152. 40. 1860 Census of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, Dwelling 137, Family 144, p. 844. 41. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, p. 792; Bergeron, Guide, pp. 57, 151 and 152. 42. Bergeron, Guide, p. 57. 43. W. W. Gahagan resigned from command on August 3, 1864. It is not known who replaced him. 44. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, p. 950. 45. Ibid., v. 1, p. 822; Bergeron, Guide, p. 57. In 1861, Captain Henry M. Favrot recruited a company of free colored men in Baton Rouge and by April 25, 1861 he had enlisted thirty Negroes into the company. Winters, Louisiana Civil War, p. 34. After the war, Favrot became the Superintendent of the Bureau of Army Records for the State of Louisiana. Favrot enlisted in the 4th Louisiana Infantry on May 25, 1861 in Tangipahoa, Louisiana. He was elected captain of Company F on May 4, 1862 and resigned on May 19, 1862 after the Battle of Shiloh. He was paroled at Baton Rouge on June 13, 865. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, p. 822. 46. Parrish, Soldier Prince, pp. 318; Taylor, Destruction, p. 158. 47. Taylor, Destruction, pp. 160-165. 48. Bergeron, Guide, p. 58. 49. Ibid., p. 58. 50. Winters, Civil War Louisiana, pp. 356-365. 51. Ibid., p. 383; Bergeron, Guide, p. 58. 52. Winters, Civil War Louisiana, pp. 322-323. 53. Ibid., p. 383. 54. Bergeron, Guide, p. 58. 55. Winters, Civil War Louisiana, p. 383. 56. Bergeron, Guide, p. 58. 57. Ibid., pp. 52 and 58. 58. Ibid., p. 3. 59. Andrew W. Booth records that J. M. Nash was a member of Company I. Booth, La. Soldiers, v. 3, p. 1253. 60. R. H. Turner was from DeSoto Parish and entered the military as a private in Company B of the 1st Battalion, Trans-Mississippi Cavalry. He was promoted to Captain of Company I of the 8th Louisiana Cavalry Regiment. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, v. 3, p. 890. 61. Ibid., pp. 51-52. 62. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, v. 1, p. 339; Bergeron, Guide, pp. 79-82. 63. Kerby, Smith's Confederacy, pp. 253-281. 64. Nash, Soldiers Application, # 1747. 65. Joseph L. Brent was General Richard Taylor's chief of artillery and ordinance and served under General Magruder in the Peninsular and Richmond campaigns. He transferred to Louisiana to be near his family. He was a lawyer by profession with no military training but through devotion to work he quickly acquired an understanding of his duties. In January 1865, he was a Brigadier General in charge of the area between Alexandria and Opelousas. Taylor, Destruction, pp. 117-118; Winters, Civil War Louisiana, pp. 187 and 415-416. 66. Parrish, Soldier Prince, p. 336. 67. Kerby, Smith's Confederacy, pp. 399-400, 405 and 412. 68. Ibid., p. 412. 69. Winters, Civil War Louisiana, p. 423. 70. Ibid., p. 424. 71. Shelby Foote, The Civil War, Red River to Appomattox (Vantage Books, New York, 1974), p. 1046. 72. John Robert Nash is the author's maternal great grandfather 73. James Monroe Nash is the great great grandfather of the author. 74. There was no 28th Louisiana Cavalry. The recorder misunderstood when James Monroe Nash probably stated that he was in the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. 75. H. B. Alexander Sergeant of Company H of the 8th Louisiana Cavalry. Paroled at Natchitoches June 15, 1865 and a residence of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Booth, Louisiana Soldiers, v. 1, p. 40.