Confederate Military Units from Union Parish Louisiana by T. D. Hudson ******************************** ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ******************************** contributed by Timothy D. Hudson I have sporadically researched a book I plan to one day write on Confederate military units from Union Parish for about the past 12 years. It will be some time yet before the work is complete, but in the meantime I have decided to post some of my materials on the Union Parish archives in case it is of use to others. The North and South raised their armies in very different manners, illustrating the stark cultural differences between them. The South was Celtic in nature, and Southerners raised armies in a manner reminiscent of the Scottish clan system. With some financial backing, a man decided to raise a company of men (around 100) and enter them in the Confederate service. He would announce this in the area surrounding his residence, and when enough men had joined, they marched away to a Confederate training camp. This was the pattern throughout most of the South, including Union Parish Louisiana. All five of the companies raised in Union Parish during the year 1861 traveled south to Camp Moore in Tangipahoa Parish, on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. This was the most important Confederate training camp in Louisiana. On 24 October 1861, Union Parish resident E. Jefferson Lee, then in the Confederate Army and training at Camp Moore, wrote that "...Union parish is well represented at Camp Moore, there is about 185 volunteers at this place from Union..." Although a few young Union Parish men went to nearby Vienna, Monroe, Bastrop, Lake Providence, and Shreveport in early 1861 and joined Confederate companies being raised there, the first unit raised in Union Parish entered the Confederate service at Camp Moore on 4 June 1861. At least twelve companies of men, totaling approximately 1100 soldiers, were raised in Union Parish between 1861 and 1864, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry, and these men served in nearly every theater of the war. The bulk of these soldiers and their families were residents of Union Parish, although some soldiers from neighboring parishes and from Union County Arkansas joined these Union Parish units. In addition, a few soldiers were transferred from others units after they had joined the Confederate service. Below is a list of the known Confederate military units raised in Union Parish. There could have been a few smaller ones raised in 1863 or 1864, for many records from those years were burned when the Confederate officials prepared to surrender Shreveport to the Yankees in 1865. No military units from Union Parish Louisiana served for the North. ********Company A, 6th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Union and Sabine Rifles" Two small groups of about 40 men each from Union and Sabine Parishes formed this company. This was the first company raised in Union Parish to join the Confederate service, entering at Camp Moore on 4 June 1861. After training there, this unit was sent by railroad to the front in Virginia in mid-July, barely missing the Battle of First Bull Run. They joined General Stonewall Jackson's army in the Shenandoah Valley in early 1862, serving in most of the battles of Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862. They fought at Bristow Station, Kettle Run, 2nd Manassas, and Chantilly, and they saw heavy fighting at the Battle of Sharpsburg. At Gettysburg, they assisted in routing the Federal XI Corps on July 1, and they participated in the attack on Cemetery Hill on July 2. They fought at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Mule Shoe in early 1864. They joined General Jubal Early's army and participated in every battle in the Shenandoah Valley between June and October 1864. They saw action at Hatcher's Run and Fort Steadman in 1865 before surrendering with General Lee at Appomattox. ********Company E, 12th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Independent Rangers" ********Company I, 12th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Farmer Guards" ********Company H, 12th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Jackson Sharpshooters" [Note: Technically Company H was from Jackson Parish. However, many of the men from Company H came from the Vienna area, which was a part of Union Parish between 1839 and 1846 (it became part of Lincoln Parish in 1870). In fact, the commanding officer of Company H, Captain James Hayden Seale, was one of the original settlers of Union Parish, Farmerville's first postmaster and the first Union Parish sheriff. So many of these men had close Union Parish ties even though officially from Jackson Parish.] Companies E and I were raised entirely in Union Parish, with many men from the Shiloh and Farmerville areas. They entered the Confederate service at Camp Moore on 13 August 1861. After training, they went to Columbus, Kentucky. Later that winter, they helped form the Confederate garrisons at New Madrid and Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River. They helped repulse a Yankee attack at Island No. 10 during the night of March 4-5, 1862. On March 17 the regiment moved to Fort Pillow and withstood a six week bombardment by Federal gunboats. After the evacuation of Fort Pillow, they went to Grenada and Holly Springs, Mississippi before going to Port Hudson, near Baton Rouge. They returned to Grenada and fought at the Battle of Corinth on October 3-4, 1862. After wintering at Grenada, Holly Springs, and Canton, Mississippi, they returned to Port Hudson and endured the Union naval attack there on March 14. In early April, the regiment left to join the Army of Tennessee, and then they were assigned to General Joseph Johnston's army at Jackson during the summer of 1863; they fought at the Battle of Baker's Creek, plus traveled frequently during the summer of 1863. In May 1864, the regiment joined the Army of Tennessee at Resaca, Georgia. During that army's retreat to Atlanta and the Atlanta Campaign, they fought at Marietta, Kennesaw Mountain, Lost Mountain, Bethel Church, Peachtree Creek, and the Battle of Atlanta. They saw bloody action at the Battles of Franklin and Nashville in late 1864. They went to North Carolina in early 1865 and joined General Joe Johnston's army again, fighting their last Battle at Bentonville in March. The regiment surrendered at Greensboro on 26 April 1865. ********Company C, 17th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Phoenix Rifles" This unit was formed in July 1861 and marched south to Tangipahoa Parish in September, entering the Confederate service at Camp Moore on 29 September 1861. After training there for several months, on November 27 they traveled by train to New Orleans and then marched 10 miles south from the train depot to Camp Chalmette. In late February, the regiment left south Louisiana by railroad headed towards Corinth, Mississippi, arriving on March 2. They camped at Corinth, and then moved forty miles north to Henderson Station, TN for a week of picket duty before coming back to Corinth. The regiment then made a forced march towards the Tennessee River. "...We staid out five days, it was a trip of exposure, we waded mud and water all day...we are now in camps one mile from Corinth..." reported one soldier writing on March 29th, just prior to the Battle of Shiloh. They fought at Shiloh on April 6-7, with several men killed and several more wounded. The regiment became part of the Vicksburg garrison on 7 May 1862, helping to man the garrison there during the Yankee bombardment of 1862. That winter a Union Parish soldier wrote home that "...We dont get any thing to eat but corn bread and beef. The boys say that they have not had any flour or coffee since I left so you know it is hard liveing. Our beef is old and very lean, we Just have to boil it and it dont make any sop...has written home for some hog meat, and we want you to put it all in a box and bring it to us. We will help pay expenses on you and the box. .." The soldier must have had no response, for a few weeks later, he again wrote home to Union Parish "...Tell him to come and bring us something to eat, for we are very near starved out on beef..." The soldiers of the 17th Regiment were initially deployed as skirmishers during the Battle of Chickasaw Bluff north of Vicksburg between December 26-29, being the first of the Southern army to exchange fire with the approaching Federals; during the main battle, they helped to repulse and defeat General W. T. Sherman's assault on the Confederate entrenchments. The regiment wintered in Vicksburg and trained there until 1 May 1863, when they fought at the Battle of Port Gibson; the regiment was engaged from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. that day and saw heavy fighting. Later that month they retreated with the Confederate army into the defenses of Vicksburg and fought during the siege there, May 19 - July 4. They repulsed the Yankee assault on their entrenched position on May 19, and thereafter were held in reserve, moving up and down the lines as needed. They were paroled to their homes following the surrender until December 1863, when some of the regiment reported to a parole camp ten miles south of Shreveport. The exchange was delayed, and they returned home until April, when they formed again at a camp near Minden. After two or three weeks, the regiment moved to Pineville on the Red River. They were assigned to General Allen Thomas' brigade and formed the garrison at Pineville along with the 31st Regiment. The 17th Regiment "...saw no other active service except marching and counter-marching up and down the Red River valley, with all the privations, discomforts, and amusements incident to a soldier's life. This period of our existence had its lights as well as its shadows. Blackberries were abundant and went a long way to relieve the bold scarcity of the Confederate commissary, while our duties were light and confined mainly to hearing rose-colored reports of Confederate victories on the other side of the 'Father of Waters'..." In the spring of 1865, Allen's Brigade marched to Bayou Cotile and then towards Mansfield. They disbanded on May 19th and the men returned to their homes. The commander of the 17th Louisiana Regiment was Colonel Robert Richardson, but he was commanding all of Bogg's Brigade on the march towards Mansfield. On May 22nd, Col. Richardson wrote that on the four-day march towards Mansfield, upon news of the inevitable surrender, many men in his army deserted, mobs formed to take the rations and supplies of the army, etc. Richardson wrote "...I succeeded in saving most of the Ammunition of Bogg's Brigade, that being guarded by Company C 17th Louisiana Infantry Commanded by Captain Jordan G. Taylor, this being the only company in the whole Division that performed their duty to the last. I placed myself this ordnance in their charge. Though several attempts were made to take it, they [Company C] preserved it and it is now safe. Too much praise cannot be ascribed to the gallant officer (Capt. J. G. Taylor) and his meritorious company who, when all around them was riot and confusion, did not cease to obey my orders and to perform their duty as men and as soldiers. The amount of ammunition saved by them was 22,000 rounds." ********Company E, 19th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Stars of Equality" This regiment was organized at Camp Moore on 19 November 1861. They went with the 17th Regiment to New Orleans in December and with them to Corinth, Mississippi in February 1862. They fought at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, loosing many men. They fought in the trenches at the Battle of Farmington (May 9), but then were sent to Mobile in July. In April 1863 they were assigned to the Army of Tennessee, and moved to Jackson, Mississippi in May and became part of General Joseph Johnston's army. The regiment participated in the Siege of Jackson in July, repulsing the Yankee attack on the Confederate lines on July 12th. They fought at the Battle of Chickamauga in September and Missionary Ridge in November. They spent the winter of 1863-1864 in camps near Dalton, Georgia. During the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, they fought at Mill Creek Gap, Resaca, New Hope Church, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and Jonesboro (May-August 1864). The regiment was on the march during the Battle of Franklin, but saw heavy fighting at the Battle of Nashville on December 15-16. They retreated to Tupelo, Mississippi, and then marched to Mobile, where they participated in the Siege of Spanish Fort (March 27-April 8, 1865). They surrendered at Gainesville, Alabama on May 8th. ********Company E, 25th Regiment Louisiana Infantry [nickname unknown] This regiment entered the Confederate service on 26 March 1862 at New Orleans. They were ordered to Corinth, so they traveled by steamer up the Mississippi to Memphis and from there went by train to Corinth, arriving on April 11th. They fought in several minor skirmishes near Corinth and Monterey, but their first major engagement was the Battle of Farmington on May 9th, where their commander indicated that they fought bravely. They remained in Tupelo until August, when the regiment participated in the Kentucky campaign. They fought at the Battle of Perryville (October 8). They became part of the 16th and 25th Consolidated Regiment at Shelbyville, TN on 30 November 1862. The regiment fought during the Battle of Murfreesboro in December 1862 - January 1863. In May, the regiment joined General Joseph Johnston's army at Jackson, Mississippi, where they participated in the siege there in July. They returned to the Army of Tennessee and fought at the Battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge before wintering in Dalton, Georgia. They fought in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, participating in the Battles of Mill Creek Gap, Resaca, New Hope Church, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and Jonesboro. They captured the Yankee garrison at Florence, Alabama on October 30th, and fought in the Battle of Nashville on December 15-16, after which they went to Mobile. This regiment participated in the Siege of Spanish Fort near Mobile (March 27-April 8), and surrendered at Gainesville on May 8th. ********Company G, 31st Regiment Louisiana Infantry [nickname unknown] ********Company H, 31st Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Confederate Warriors" ********Company I, 31st Regiment Louisiana Infantry, the "Sparrow Cadets" By the late winter and early spring of 1862, it became apparent that the war was going to take longer than most expected. Moreover, the Confederate Congress was considering a conscription act, and if conscripted, a soldier had neither his choice of branch of service nor the unit to which he was assigned. These actions plus of course patriotism resulted in a large recruiting effort and volunteer turnout in the northern Louisiana parishes, resulting in three companies of men raised in Union Parish that spring. What later became Company G consisted primarily of men from the Farmerville, Marion, and eastern Union Parish region; Company H soldiers came primarily from Farmerville and Cherry Ridge, while Company I consisted of men from the Spearsville and northwestern Union Parish area. These units more or less formed in April and then traveled by boat downstream to Monroe. In May, they combined with other northern Louisiana companies to form Morrison's Battalion under Colonel Charles H. Morrison, and on June 11th, became the 31st Regiment of Louisiana Infantry. Since New Orleans was under attack and fell to the Yankees in 1862, the Confederate forces evacuated Camp Moore, where all previous Union Parish units had trained. They could not get to Vicksburg since the land east of Monroe was flooded that spring. Instead, Morrison's Battalion trained in Monroe, on the wet, swampy, and partially flooded land east of Monroe, near where Pecanland Mall now stands. They trained there in May and June, but then moved to a camp in the swamp eight miles west of Vicksburg in Madison Parish. A soldier reported that this camp "...was the most disagreeable place men were ever compelled to stop in." Measles and "fever" were rampant among the troops during this period. Some time later, the regiment was ordered to Tallulah, and then some soldiers in the regiment were ordered to New Carthage on the Mississippi for clothing and blankets for General Pike's Indian brigade. Soon afterwards, in August, about sixty-five soldiers from the 31st Regiment were ordered to Milliken's Bend to help unload a shipment of arms on the steamer "Fair Play", again for General Albert Pike's brigade; at this time these men were mostly without arms and many were sick. They amped the night before unloading was to begin, but they were surprised by a Yankee gunboat while sleeping. Panic ensued, the soldiers of the 31st Regiment fled, and the Yankees captured the "Fair Play" with all the arms still onboard. After evading the Yankee pursuers, the men regrouped in Tallulah. The regiment camped there until October, when they moved to a camp near Delhi. Near the end of October, the regiment moved to the "pine hills" west of Trenton (now West Monroe), and remained there until November, when they were ordered to Jackson, Mississippi. After remaining there for two weeks, they were ordered northward to intercept some Federals out on a raid from Memphis. They traveled as far north as Water Valley, but encountered no Yankees. The regiment was then ordered to Vicksburg, where they remained for two or three weeks. One night in late November they received orders to cook two days rations and be ready to move by 3 a.m. They traveled back to Jackson in box cars on a rainy day, one company crowded into a single car. This forced the men to stand the entire trip, and as the cars leaked badly, they were soaked. As soon as they arrived in Jackson, they were ordered back to Vicksburg, arriving at 3 a.m. the next morning; this made twenty-four hours on their feet in wet clothing. Within ten days, 40 soldiers of the 31st Regiment had died of pneumonia and meningitis. Between December 26-29, they participated in the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, resulting in the defeat of the Federal army under General William T. Sherman. Their trenches were bombarded by the Yankee cannons first, with several Union Parish soldiers loosing their lives. One soldier wrote that "...they fired on us for three days and a half. We repulsed them in every charge they made on our earth works with heavy loss. The 31st fought from 2 to 4000 men and come out with a loss of 9 killed and 16 wounded so you see we come out remarkably well..." The regiment drilled and performed picket duty in Vicksburg until late April, when the Federals slipped past the Vicksburg defenses and landed near Port Gibson. They saw active service in the closing stages of the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1; several Union Parish soldiers were captured during that engagement. The regiment retreated back to Vicksburg, and then were ordered to the Big Black River for picket and guard duty while the bulk of the Confederate army retreated across the river and into the Vicksburg defenses. The 31st Regiment fell in behind them and came into the city as the army's rear guard on May 17 or 18. They fought in the trenches during the Siege of Vicksburg between May 19 and July 4. The regiment was paroled to their homes after the surrender of Vicksburg, and remained there until January. Some soldiers went to a parole camp near Vienna in January 1864, but then returned home on furlough after a few weeks since the exchange had been delayed. They were officially exchanged in June, and went into camp near Minden, where they remained until June 14, when they moved to Shreveport. After a short stay, they moved to Alexandria and then went into camp at Pineville, where they remained until February 1865. During this period, the regiment was assigned to General Allen Thomas' brigade and acted as a support for Fort Buhlow and Fort Randolph near Pineville. In February the regiment moved up the Red River to Bayou Cotile, where they remained until Lee's surrender in April. They moved to Natchitoches until May, when they marched towards Mansfield. Along the way, they were disbanded just prior to the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department. ********Company A, 2nd Battalion of Louisiana Heavy Artillery, "Logan's Battalion" Few records exist for this battalion. Company A was primarily raised in Union Parish, in the fall of 1863. On March 2, 1864 the battalion was subjected to bombardment from six Federal gunboats at Harrisonburg, but it appears they had no cannon with which to fire back. They received several 24-pounder guns a few weeks later and remained near the Ouachita River in case the Yankee gunboats again moved upstream. In early April they buried their guns near Columbia and marched to Shreveport in anticipation of General Nathaniel Banks' Red River campaign. They manned Fort Boggs for a week to help defend the capitol at Shreveport. Once Banks' army was defeated, they returned to Columbia in late April and retrieved their cannons. They operated near Pineville until the Yankees evacuated Alexandria, and afterwards remained in the area until they moved to Natchitoches in early 1865. They were a part of Bogg's infantry brigade commanded by Colonel Robert Richardson at the end of the war, and they disbanded near Mansfield in May, 1865. ********Company E, 4th Regiment Louisiana Cavalry This regiment organized around January 1864 in Monroe. It operated in northeast Louisiana along the Mississippi River in early 1864. They participated in the Red River Campaign in March, with the regiment following the progress of the Federal forces upriver from Alexandria towards Shreveport. They were attacked at Campti on April 4 and driven away from town. The regiment again harassed the Federal vessels during their retreat down river. While the regiment was in camp at Bayou Des Cedars near St. Maurice on April 17, Yankee troops attacked them but were driven back. The 4th Cavalry made a quick raid into Pineville on April 24, and then fought and defeated a large enemy force at Hadnot's Plantation on May 1. The regiment made Oak Ridge its headquarters towards the end of the Red River Campaign, and the men performed picket and guard duty in that area for several months. They fought a skirmish at Goodrich's Landing on July 25, and then went with Colonel Isaac F. Harrison's cavalry brigade into southern Arkansas in September. Yankee troops attacked the regiment at Mt. Elba on October 9, driving it back towards Warren. The men were again in camp in Oak Ridge in November, where they remained for the rest of the war. They did picket duty near Bayou Bartholomew and near Floyd on Bayou Mason. Federal troops attacked the regiment's camp in Oak Ridge on 2 February 1865, scattering the few men occupying the camp. By April, some soldiers from the regiment were detached to help defend Columbia. The regiment was dispersed in April and May, 1865. ********Company G, 5th Regiment Louisiana Cavalry ********Company I, 5th Regiment Louisiana Cavalry This regiment was organized in late February 1864. They were assigned along with the 4th Louisiana Cavalry Regiment and a few others to Colonel Isaac F. Harrison's cavalry brigade. In February and March, the men performed scouting and picket duty in northeastern Louisiana between the Ouachita and Mississippi Rivers. Some of the regiment's men participated in the Black River skirmishes with Federal gunboats in March. The men saw action near that river during the Red River Campaign between March and May as they harassed the Yankee gunboats and troop transports. They helped defeat the Yankee attack on their camp at Bayou Des Cedars near St. Maurice on April 17 and participated in a raid into Pineville on April 24. The fought at Hadnot's Plantation on May 1, and then several companies supported the 2nd Battalion, Louisiana Heavy Artillery during the end of the Red River Campaign. Afterwards, the regiment returned to northeast Louisiana for several more months of scouting and picket duty. They saw no fighting on Col. Harrison's expedition into southern Arkansas and the men had returned to Louisiana by the end of the year. After more scouting and tedious outpost duty in early 1865, the regiment moved to Alexandria in March or April. A few companies did outpost and courier duty near the Atchafalaya River, but the men remained on duty while some other units disbanded in late April. Some of the men began returning home in early May, and the remainder disbanded near Mansfield in mid-May. ##################################################################### Sources: 1. My own personal research into the original muster rolls and regimental reports of these units from the National Archives. 2. "Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865", by Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., LSU Press, Baton Rouge, 1989. 3. "The Story of Camp Moore and Life at Camp Moore Among the Volunteers", by Powell A. Casey, 1985. 4. "A Collection of Louisiana Confederate Letters", edited by Frank E. Vandiver, Louisiana Historical Quarterly, Vol. 26 (1943), pp. 937-974. These are letters written by the sons of Eaton and Dorcas Stokes Lee of Union Parish while they were in the Confederate Army. 5. "The History of Claiborne Parish Louisiana", by D. W. Harris and B. M. Hulse, New Orleans, 1886. 6. Louisiana Confederate Pension applications on file at the Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ##################################################################### ***WARNING*** Beware of advertisements offering to sell regimental histories of Confederate units. I have seen many of these and all contain serious errors. Unfortunately, even the Confederate Military History Center at Hillsboro, TX has very incorrect information on some Confederate regiments. Here is a description of the main errors related to Union Parish units occurring in these advertised regimental histories: Four different Union Parish companies totaling around 600 primarily Union Parish men served in the 17th and 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiments. These regiments started out on different paths, with the 17th participating in the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 and the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862 while the 31st was still training in northeast Louisiana. But their regimental histories became forever intertwined in December 1862 when the 31st joined the 17th in the Confederate garrison of Vicksburg. They fought together at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou and during the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. Both units were surrendered on 4 July 1863 there, after which they were paroled to their homes. For the next year, the regiments were in the process of being exchanged, effectively taking them out of service. Most of the men remained at their homes in Union Parish during this time, with some of them periodically reporting to parole camps in Vienna, Minden, and Shreveport. They were finally officially exchanged and reformed as regiments in June and assigned to garrison the forts guarding the Red River at Pineville. They remained here until May 1865, at which time they marched towards Bayou Cotile and then Mansfield before disbanding. Most importantly, during the Red River Campaign of spring 1864, both the 17th and 31st Regiments were at their homes awaiting official exchange, with a few of them in parole camps near Vienna for a short period. The above information on the activities of the 17th and 31st Regiments between July 1863 and May 1865, however bland and inglorious, is accurate and well documented, both by the research of others as well as my own. However, the Confederate Military History Center in Hillsboro and others distribute information indicating that these regiments participating in every skirmish and battle in Louisiana during the Red River Campaign of 1864, plus other activities in late 1864 and early 1865. This material, despite claims of its authenticity, is undocumented, incorrect, and exhibits poor historical research. Careful examination of the official records of the Confederate Army, pension applications, and letters written home by soldiers proves this. While I wish the Union Parish men in the 17th and 31st Regiments had fought gallantly during the Red River Campaign and other battles and skirmishes in south and central Louisiana in 1864 and 1865, it just did not happen. # # #