Civil War Camps,
Forts, Prison Camps, Etc. As Described
or Mentioned in the Records of the Soldiers of the
18th Louisiana Infantry Regiment/18th Consolidated
Louisiana Infantry Regiment and Yellow Jacket
Battalion
Confederate Camps...the American Civil
War
(Locations as Mentioned in the Service Records of Men of
the18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, 18th Consolidated
Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion, Louisiana
Infantry)
Camp Atchafalya (CS)
Atchafalaya,
Camp at (CW): (No record of this camp exists in the
Encyclopedia of Forts, Posts,
Named Camps and Other Military Installations in Louisiana
1700-1981 by Powell A. Casey)
32
Camp Benjamin, Louisiana
(CS)
A
Confederate camp established late in 1861 and named for
Judah P. Benjamin, the Secretary of War and a Louisianian,
located on Gentilly Road in Orleans Parish not far east of
Pontchartrain Railroad. In January 1862 the 16th, 17th,
18th,
19th and the 20th Regiments of La. Vol. Infantry comprising
a brigade under Gen. Daniel Ruggles were at the camp before
leaving to join the Confederate forces in Tennessee. The
Confederate Guards Regiment (Col. Girault) was in March
1862.[53] 33
Fortifications at Bisland,
Louisiana (CS)
These
Confederate emplacements were in St. Mary Parish on the main
road between Pattersonville and Centerville and extended on
each side from Bayou Teche to the swamp. The general
location is shown on Plate CLVI of the Civil War Atlas.
An 1863 Confederate map
of St. Mary Parish published on page 31 of the book Yankee
Autumn in Acadiana by David C. Edmonds places the
entrenchments in Township 15 South, Range 11 East extending
on both sides along the common line of Section 55 and 56. On
the west side of the bayou some entrenchments were also
along the common line between Sections 56 and 70.
Supposed captured
Confederate maps of the area in the National Archives are
designated as Z-33-133 and Z-33-144. These show two lines of
emplacement on the south side of Bayou Teche, the lower
positions being fortified with two 12-pounders and three
6-pounders. Sibley’s Texas troops and the 28th
Louisiana regiment (Gray’s) were in position between
the two lines of entrenchments. The upper line was comprised
of rifle pits and on its upper side were the 18th La. regiment, Fournet’s La. battalion and Texas cavalry.
Bethel or Bethel Church is shown on map Z-33-113 as being
located eight miles up Bayou Teche from Pattersonville. In
between these two places the locations of three batteries on
the south side of the bayou are shown.
Brigadier General
Geoffey Weitzel reported to General N. P. Banks on February
13, 1863 that Confederate forces at Camp Bisland below
Centerville were constructing fortifications.
[61] The entrenchments on the left side of Bayou Teche
seem to have been built between April 10 and April 12 by
blacks from the neighboring plantations working under Lt.
Mullet and Pvt. Alfred Fusalier acting as engineers. Small
redoubts were on each side of the bayou. An unfinished
lunette was on the right side. The designation of the
defenses as a fort is an exaggeration. The Federals in their
correspondence and on their maps designate the Confederate
fortifications as Fort Bisland although the Bisland
plantation was a short distance further up the bayou. Wm. T.
Palfrey after the war wrote that most of the troops were
encamped on his place but the commanding officer of the
Confederates had his headquarters on the Bisland plantation,
formerly owned by Judge Joshua Baker. [62] The 1863 parish map
shows the camp site to be on the Palfey property in Section
6. This map also shows the fortifications to have been below
the Palfrey property at or near Bethel a name also used by
the Confederates for their position.
General Banks Federal
forces advancing westward along Bayou Teche began shelling
the Confederate positions on April 12, 1863, the fire being
returned by Confederate artillery. The later were assisted
by the C. S. Ship Diana until it was struck by a shell from
the heavier Federal field pieces. The threat imposed by a
Federal force landed from ships behind the Confederates on
the 13th caused the latter to withdraw early on the morning
of April 14th. A 24-pounder siege gun and a disabled
12-pounder howitzer were left in position. Confederate loses
are not known but Federal losses amounted to 40 killed and
284 wounded. Confederate forces from Louisiana and Texas on
the right bank were commanded by General H. H. Sibley while
those on the left bank were commanded by General Alfred
Mounton. The main Federal units were Emory’s Third
Division and Weitzel’s First Division.
[63)
34
Camp Buchanan, Louisiana
(CS)
Buchanan, Camp
(CW): (Alexandria) (No record of
this camp exists in the Encyclopoedia of Forts, Posts, Named Camps and
Other Military Installations in Louisiana
1700-1981 by Powell A. Casey. The
only referrence is to a Fort Buchanan at the Brashear City,
[Morgan City], Fortifications at) 35
Camp Buckner, Louisiana
(CS)
Buckner, Camp
(CW). This camp in Rapides Parish, described as “near
Pineville” or “2 1/2 miles north of
Alexandria”, was probably named for Confederate General
Simon Bolivar Buckner. One account said that it had
hutments. The Consolidated Crescent Regiment seems to have
been there from July 20, 1864 until the end of the war. The
4th and 7th Regts. of Cavalry were there in the latter part
of 1864 and the 5th La. Cavalry was there in February 1865.
36
Camp Cox, Louisiana
(CS)
Cox,
Camp (CW). The 18th Regt. of La. Vol. was there in June and
July, 1863. Company reports show it to have been nine or ten
miles from Thibodaux. 37
Camp Dauterive, Louisiana
(CS)
Dauterive,
Camp (CW). This Confederate camp in Iberia Parish was
located at Dauterive’s sugar house about one mile from
Grand Lake and “seven miles from Camp Fausse
Point.” Elements of the Confederate Guards Response Bn.
and the Yellow Jacket Bn. were there between December 1862
and February 1863. Some reports and correspondence refer to
the camp as “deHuitreve” or
“doctrive.”
The Confederates in late
1863 had two small cannons emplaced at Dauterive Landing
located at the upper end of Lake Fausse Point in the
northeast corner of Section 21, Township 11 South, Range 7
East, St. Martin Parish which were captured in a raid on
November 12, 1863 by Federal Cavalry under Colonel John
Mudd.38
Camp Dava, Louisiana
(CS)
Dava
(?), Camp (CW): (No record of this camp exists in the
Encyclopoedia of Forts, Posts,
Named Camps and Other Military Installations in Louisiana
1700-1981 by Powell A. Casey)
39
Camp De Huntive D’Autin,
Louisiana (CS)
De
Huntive D’Autin, Camp. (CW). Mentioned in Booth’s
Records Vol. II pg. 659, this is probably the same
Confederate camp as Camp Dautrive or Camp Dauterive.
40
Cam Doctrive, Louisiana
(CS)
Doctrive,
Camp. (CW). Accounts and reports described this Confederate
camp as being seven miles from Camp Fausse Pointe. It was
occupied by Co. A., 18th Regt. La.
Vols. in January 1863. It is
probably the same camp as Camp D’Auterive.
41
Camp Fausse Pointe (Force Point),
Louisiana (CS)
Fausse Pointe,
Camp. (CW). Apparently located east of Bayou Teche in Iberia
Parish, this camp was occupied by the Confederate Guards Bn.
in January 1863 and by the Confederate States Zouaves Bn. on
November 23, 1863. 42
Camp Iberville, Louisiana
(CS)
Iberville,
Camp (CW): (No record of this camp exists in the
Encyclopoedia of Forts, Posts,
Named Camps and Other Military Installations in Louisiana
1700-1981 by Powell A. Casey)
43
Camp Lake View, Louisiana
(CS)
Lake
View, Camp. (CW). Roll 290 of National Archives Microcopy
320 shows “Camp Lake View, Charenton, La.” to have
been occupied by Company B of the
18th La. Infantry in
January-February 1863. 44
Camp Manchac (Pass Manchac),
Louisiana (CS)
Company C of
the 21st La. Volunteers was in Camp Manchac in July and
August 1861. It may have been located at the railroad bridge
at Pass Manchac. 45
Camp Moore, Louisiana
(CS)
Moore, Camp
(CW). This camp, named for Governor Thomas Overton Moore of
Louisiana, was located about 78 miles from New Orleans on
the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad (now
the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad) about one-half mile
above Tangipahoa Station. The site is in irregular Section
59 of Township 2 South, Range 7 East, in Tangipahoa Parish.
Prior to 1869 it was in St. Helena parish.
In this camp were
assembled, organized and trained the larger part of the
volunteer regiments and battalions which brought fame and
honor to the State of Louisiana in the Civil War. Among
these were the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Regimens of
Volunteers and the 1st Special Battalion of La. Volunteers
(Wheat’s Bn.) which went to the Army of Northern
Virginia. Also there were the 4th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th,
17th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 26th, 28th (Thomas’) and
30th Regiments of Volunteers which were sent to Confederate
commands in the western part of the Confederacy. The
numerical units listed following the 17th were generally
organized at other parts of Louisiana but brought to Camp
Moore after the capture of New Orleans in April 1862 for
reorganization. Miles’ Legion and several artillery
units also followed this pattern.
Conscription by the
Confederate States government did not start until April 1862
and the initial numbers members of these units were
volunteers. In April 1861, the Confederate government made a
call for 8,000 volunteers and other calls were made later.
These volunteers were told to organize themselves into
companies and report to New Orleans where the State would
form them into 10-company regiments to be mustered into
Confederate service. So many volunteers responded that Camp
Walker at the Metairie Race Course in New Orleans could not
accommodate them.
On May 9, 1861 Governor
Moore through Adjutant General Grivot ordered Lt. Col. Henry
Forno and Captain J. H. Wingfield to report to Grivot’s
office to select a camp site with water along the New
Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad. Two days later
by Order No. 325 Col. Forno was sent with Captain S. L.
James and his Co. A of the Irish Brigade to the Tangipahoa
Station on the Jackson railroad to select a site and lay out
a camp.
Order No. 330 dated May
12, 1861 of the Adjutant-General’s office ordered Brig.
Gen. Elisha Tracy, commanding Camp Walker, to begin the
following morning moving all troops there, except the 3rd
Inf. Regt., in increments of 1000 men to the new camp. Upon
completion of the movement Tracy was to proceed there to
take command. The movement was complete by May 15th. Order
No. 342 dated May 13, 1861 gave the camp the name “Camp
Moore.”
During the first three
weeks after the camp was opened individual order sent about
forty individual companies to Camp Moore to join those sent
from Camp Walker. At Camp Moore companies were brought to
full strength, elected their officers and formed groups of
ten companies willing to serve in the same regiment. These
were brought into State service and elected their regimental
officers. The State through General Tracy arranged for the
regiment to be mustered into Confederate service. The first
units agreed to serve for twelve months but the later units
were mustered in for the duration of the war. Regiments
usually left for the battle areas a day or so after they
were mustered. In the meantime new companies of volunteers
were coming to the camp and going through the same
routine.
Letters form soldiers
and visitors at the camp describe it as being a half-mile or
so above Tangipahoa Station and being bounded on the west by
the N. O. J. and G. N. Railroad, on the south by Beaver
Creek and on the east by the woods and the Tangipahoa river.
Copies of the 1861 lithograph of Camp Moore made by A.
Persac are in the Camp Moore Museum and in the Historic New
Orleans Collection. A copy of this print is reproduced in
the 1973 Memoirs and Favorite
Receipts published by the Camp
Moore Chapter No. 562 U. D. C. and on page 155 of
Huber’s Louisiana: A
Pictorial History.
A letter from Camp Moore
dated August 24, 1861 published in the N.O. Crescent on
August 28 describes the camp. General Tracy’s
headquarters was near Beaver Creek and along the creek were
a coffee-house and restaurant, a grocery, the Post sutler,
soda and refreshment shops, a barber-shop, a photographers
salon, a butcher shop and “old black Mary’s
restaurant.” In the center of the camp was the parade
ground clean and trodden hard with a flag pole with the
stars and bars. The writer mentions swimming in the
Tangipahoa River and comments on the camp cemetery with from
30 to 40 graves. Another soldier writing a month later
mentions measles in the camp. In October 1861 an inspector
recommended that the camp hospital be enlarged or that other
hospitals be built.
The parade ground split
the camp and the upper portion was called Camp Tracy by the
soldiers though no order fixed that name on it.
Camp Moore was on
private property but no lease to the State of Louisiana has
been found. Most of Section 59 was owned by George P.
McMichael and Ralph S. Smith, the latter of Alexandria, La.,
but a twenty acre tract about 1000 feet from the railroad
was owned by Peter Kaiser of New Orleans. A 12.75 acre tract
was sold by McMichael and Smith to John Steib of New Orleans
on June 14, 1861 after the camp had been opened for one
month. Some of the private businesses may have been on these
two tracts.
Maj. Gen. Mansfield
Lovell, commander of Military Department No. 1 at New
Orleans, visited Camp Moore in October 1861 and finding the
three regiments and about six companies in training there
without sufficient arms moved them within a month to camps
close to New Orleans. Only a few soldiers were left in Camp
Moore. Things changed rapidly on April 25, 1862 when the
Federal fleet appeared in the river at New Orleans.
All the troops at New
Orleans and elsewhere in the surrounding area were ordered
to move to Camp Moore. This movement of troops, guns and
supplies continued for several days until Federal units took
charge of the city. Among the units moving were remnants of
the brigades of Louisiana militia under Generals Buisson,
Tracy and Wetmore who had been called into service for
ninety days. These brigades had an aggregate of about 4700
men in New Orleans but the number who came to Camp Moore is
unknown. They were generally unarmed and since the camp had
no arms they were released and most returned to New Orleans
while the trains were still running. The other troops were
reorganized and sent to Vicksburg. One of the regiments sent
away from Camp Moore was a Mississippi unit which had been
under General Lovell.
Governor Moore came to
Camp Moore early in May 1862 and remained there for about
ten days before moving the State capital to Opelousas. Camp
Moore was made a camp of instruction for conscripts from the
area in Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. It was also
used as a prisoner of war camp where Federal prisoner’s
were held pending exchanges. Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles who
then commanded the Florida Parishes area and a portion of
South Mississippi made Camp Moore his headquarters.
On July 28, 1862 Maj.
Gen. John C. Breckinridge arrived at Camp Moore with about
4000 men and took command of another 1000 men there under
General Ruggles. They were encamped in and around Camp Moore
and though greatly reduced in effectiveness by illness were
organized into two divisions which left on July 30 to attack
Federal forces holding Baton Rouge. On August 5, they fought
an unsuccessful battle to regain possession of Baton Rouge.
Shortly thereafter the brigades of Brig. General John S.
Bowen and John B. Villepigue came by rail to Camp Moore and
marched to join Breckinridge’s forces. They arrived at
Baton Rouge too late for the battle. Later they returned,
with several units, to Tangipahoa, Louisiana, and Osyka,
Mississippi to take the railroad cars back to central and
north Mississippi.
After the fortification
of Port Hudson the small Confederate infantry and artillery
units which has been in or around Camp Moore were moved to
Port Hudson. Left in the Florida parishes were cavalry
organizations many of which made their headquarters at Camp
Moore. Some conscripts were there for training and supplies
were stored in the camp.
In late April 1863
Federal cavalry under Grierson came down the length of the
Jackson R. R. but turned westward toward Baton Rouge at
Osyka. The 1st Bn. of Choctaw Indians, a Confederate cavalry
unit from Mississippi was at Camp Moore with about 200
members but they were defeated by a larger force of Federal
troops at Tangipahoa and the Battalion was disbanded May 9,
1863. Some of the Federal troops may have been part of
Grierson’s forces.
On October 7, 1864 Col.
John G. Fonda of the 188th Illinois Mounted Infantry with a
force of about 100 picked men from the 11th N.Y. Cavalry and
the 45th Wisc. Cavalry separated from a larger force at
Greensburg to raid Camp Moore. They captured two conscripts
reporting that forty or fifty more there escaped in the
darkness. The Federals destroyed a large amount of clothing
an grey cloth in the camp and dispersed about five hundred
head of cattle collected there for Confederate use. They
also destroyed many hides and a tannery but the tannery may
have been outside of the camp.
Three officers and
several enlisted men were captured in and about the village
of Tangipahoa. The garrison flag of Camp Moore was captured
and late turned over to the Brig. Gen. J. W. Davidson of the
Federal Cavalry.[26]
The raiders were part of a
larger group which came from Baton Rouge under the command
of Brig. Gen. Albert L. Lee.
General Davidson led
5000 Federal cavalrymen with twelve pieces of artillery and
ninety-six loaded wagons through Tangipahoa on the morning
of November 30, 1864 on an expedition from Baton Rouge to
the Pascagoula River. They dispersed the conscripts at Camp
Moore and burned the camp and outbuildings. The column left
in the direction of Franklinton.[27]
For the
purpose of the war, Camp Moore was now finished. The
countryside was poverty stricken and Camp Moore forgotten
except by those who had relatives buried in the cemetery
there. Perhaps those who lived nearby removed the remains of
their kinsmen to a family cemetery. In time the crude wooden
markers placed on the graves by comrades decayed or were
destroyed by woods fires which swept the area.
Miss Norma Lambert of
Tangipahoa, former Register-General of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy and the first curator of the Camp Moore
Museum, prepared a list of soldiers from Booth’s
Records
who might have died at Camp Moore. Some accounts say that
400 Confederates are buried there but a figure of 250 is
more likely to be correct as the largest mortality occurred
from measles between August and November 1861. After that
date there were no large number of troops at Camp Moore
except for the short period after the fall of New Orleans in
April 1862 and during the assembling of Gen.
Breckinridge’s forces there in July 1862 for the attack
on Baton Rouge. There was much sickness among
Breckinridge’s troops and those who died in the area
may have been buried at Camp Moore.
In the 1888 session of
the Louisiana Legislature bills were introduced to have a
committee investigate whether the land were the Confederate
and Federal soldiers were buried at Camp Moore could be
purchased. An appropriation bill for $1000 for this purpose
was reported without action. It has always been the local
tradition that two of the graves at Camp Moore, outside the
cemetery fence, are those of Federal soldiers.
On August 20, 1891 at
Tangipahoa the United Confederate Veterans Encampment No.
60, Camp Moore, was organized with over one hundred members
many of whom had been at Camp Moore during the Civil War.
One of their chief purposes was the care of the graves at
Camp Moore. It was however the Camp Moore Chapter No. 562
United Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1902, and
their descendants who are primarily responsible for
restoration of the old cemetery and the creation of the Camp
Moore Museum there.
The United Daughters
were responsible for the donation of the two acres cemetery
site by R. H. Day and other co-owners of the property to the
State of Louisiana and for the passage of Act 105 of the La.
Legislature for 1902 creating the five member Board of
commissioners of the Camp Moore Confederate Cemetery. Using
appropriations from the State Legislature a wall and fence
were built in 1904. On June 3, 1905 Governor Newton
Blanchard accepted the cemetery on behalf of the State
during extensive ceremonies. On October 24, 1907 the
Confederate monument, made by the Magnolia Marble Works at
Magnolia, Miss. was dedicated. On May 30, 1975 a building to
house the Camp Moore Museum was dedicated. In the museum are
many artifacts from the Civil War period of Camp Moore. Some
of the early records of the Board of Commissioners of the
cemetery are in the John Walter Lambert M.D. Collection in
the L.S.U. Archives. Dr. Lambert was a member of the Board
from its creation in 1902 until his death in 1932.
Act 31 of 1940, Act 47
of 1940 (held unconstitutional) Act 295 of 1964, Act 4325 of
1972, Act 592 of 1975, and Act 83 of 1977 of the State
legislature have dealt with the administration of the
cemetery and the museum. The Board has been abolished and
its functions transferred to the Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism. 46
Camp Morgan, Louisiana
(CS)
Morgan, Camp.
(CW). A camp temporarily occupied by Morgan’s Bn. of
Texas Cavalry was on Bayou Pierre near Shreveport about July
28, 1863, and was referred to in the Journal of Wm. W.
Heartsell. 47
Camp Pratt, Louisiana
(CS)
Pratt, Camp.
(CW). This camp was established by order of Governor Moore
in May or June 1862 as a camp of instruction for conscripts
in Louisiana living south of Red River and west of the
Mississippi River. It was named for Brig. Gen. John G. Pratt
who commanded the 9th Brigade of the Louisiana Militia and
was its first commander. He resided near Grand Coteau in St.
Landry Parish.
A report of the Adjutant
General for the State of Louisiana for the period 1860, 1861
and 1862 shows that there were at Camp Pratt, probably in
July 1862, 6876 men from eighteen parishes. From St. Landry
there were 1,145, from Lafourche 559, from Assumption 636,
from Rapides 536, from Terrebonne 501 and from Avoyelles,
476. The parish with the smallest number was Sabine with
125.
On August 25, 1862 the
Confederate government through Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor took
over the responsibility for the camp of instruction placing
Lt. Col. Burke of the 2nd La. Regiment in command. Governor
Moore released all those at the camp who were over the age
of thirty-five years. In the latter part of December 1862
Colonel Waggaman formerly of the 10th Louisiana Regiment of
Volunteers took command of Camp Pratt. In the same month
General Taylor reported that about 3000 conscripts had
reported to the camp.
During the course of the
war both Confederate and Federal units occupied the camp.
There were skirmished at the camp in October and in November
1863. For a few days in the latter month the Headquarters of
the Federal 19th was there. A year earlier the 18th
Louisiana and the Crescent Regiment had been there, both
Confederate units.
Most unit journals
describe Camp Pratt as being located about five miles north
and northwest of New Iberia. General Pratt had been ordered
as early as February 1862 by S. O. #11 to establish a camp
for the militia under him. It is possible that Camp Pratt
began to be used at that time. No location was given.
A report from Camp Pratt
by the commander of the Yellow Jacket Battalion on July 12,
1862 to Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell states that General Pratt
was ordered to establish a camp of instruction for State
troops “on Lake Tasse near New Iberia in the Parish of
St. Martin.” Lake Tasse, now identified as Spanish
Lake, is about five miles north of New Iberia on the road to
Vermilionville (now Lafayette).
The boundary line
between the Parishes of Iberia and St. Martin runs through
Spanish Lake. Civil War maps showing the location of Camp
Pratt are published on page 31 of the book, The Battle of the Bayou Country by Morris Raphael and on page 70 of the book,
Yankee Autumn in
Acadiana by David C. Edmonds. The
latter map seems to be National Archives map Z-33-105.
These maps place the
camp on the southwest side of the lake and in Sections 32
and 33 of Township 11 South, Range 6 East, Iberia parish. On
a visit to the site with Mr. Raphael in 1975 he pointed out
embankments between the old lake site and the right of way
of the railroad which seem to have been part of the camp
defenses. Both Confederates and Federals were encamped there
and their camps may have extended all along the west side of
the lake. The article by Arthur Bergeron, “Prison Life
at Camp Pratt” published in Louisiana History Vol.
XIV page 387 shows that prisoners of war were kept there.
48
Camp Pulaski, Louisiana
(CS)
Pulaski, Camp.
(CW). This Confederate camp was established early in June
1861 near Amite in the parish of St. Helena, now in the
Parish of Tangipahoa. On May 20, 1861 the Secretary of War
for the Confederacy authorized Major Casper Tochman, a major
in the Polish army in 1831 to raise twenty companies of
volunteers of foreign birth to serve for the duration of the
war. Tochman arrived in New Orleans on June 4 and authorized
Colonel Valery Sulakowski to accept troops for service as
his agent. These troops were from the Polish brigade and a
camp was set up near Amite to collect and train soldiers.
The Askew Guards and the Quitman Guards left for Camp
Pulaski on June 8th. Other units going there were the
Armstrong Guards, Franklin Rifles, Jefferson Cadets, McClure
Guards, Nixon’s Rifles, Concordia Rifles (Capt. Zebulon
York), Avegno Rifles, Gross Tete Creoles, and Lafayette
Rifle Cadets. These companies seem to have comprised the 1st
Regiment of the Polish brigade and were commanded by Colonel
Sulakowski. This regiment left for Virginia about August 5,
1861, via Junction City, Tennessee, and in Virginia was
redesignated as the 14th Regiment of La.
Volunteers.[50]
Other units
going to Camp Pulaski were the St. James Rifles, the Grivot
Rifles, the Davenport Rifles, the Askew Guards Co. B., the
Bogart Guards and the St. Ceran Rifles. While not a full
regiment these units left for Virginia from Camp Pulaski as
the 2nd regiment of the Polish Brigade on August 25, 1861
under command of Lt. Col. Charles M. Bradford. In Virginia
these companies operated as 3rd Bn. of Louisiana Infantry
until other Louisiana companies there were added to the unit
forming the 15th Regt. of Louisiana Volunteers.
On June 10, 1861
according to the N. O. Commercial
Bulletin two Texas companies, the
Marshall Guards and the Star Rifles went to Camp Pulaski to
await orders. They may have left for Virginia with the other
companies.
The exact location of
Camp Pulaski is uncertain. An 1861 may of Louisiana
published in Volume X of the Confederate Military History,
edited by Evans, shows two Camp Moores in St. Helena Parish.
One which may have been intended to represent Camp Pulaski
is placed a short distance north of Amite. The Robert H.
Miller collection in the L.S.U. archives has a letter
written from Camp Pulaski dated June 22, 1861 which states
that the camp was near Amite City and one mile from the
Tangipahoa River. Seven companies there were kept busy
rolling heavy pine logs and burning them.
Another writer there
said that the camp was on land owned by the “commanding
officer” and that it was a cheap way to get the trees
cut and the land cleared.
One clue to the possible
location of the camp is found when noting that Colonel
Sulakowski’s wife was a member of the Simpson family
which owned land on the south side of Amite located in
Section 9, Township 4 South, Range 7 east. After the war the
Simpson family sold part of their land to Benjamin D
Guillett. 49
Qui Vive Camp, Louisiana
(CS)
Booth’s
Records Book III page 64 makes reference to Company K of the
18th La. Regiment of Infantry being at Camp Qui Vive on
January 1, 1863. National Archives M-320 Roll 290 shows
Company I of the same regiment to have also been there at
the same time. The camp was in Iberia Parish at Fausse
Pointe being described as being about eight miles from
D’Autrive’s plantation.[1]
[Additionally,
records of men in Co. B indicate that they were there in
Jan. 1863 and Co. C indicate that they were there in Dec.
1862. Also, records of men in Co. K indicate that they were
there in Dec. 1862.] 50
Camp Reserve, Louisiana
(CS)
Reserve, Camp.
(CW).Booth’s Records. Vol. III, page
650 refers to Co. D. of the 18th La. Infantry Regiment being
there on July 1, 1863. The location is unknown.
51
Camp Romain, Louisiana
(CS)
On
page 180 of Vol. II of Booth’s Records is a reference
to Co. K of the 19th La. Regt. of Vols. being at Camp Romain
on December 30, 1861. It may have been Camp Roman.
52
Camp Roman, Louisiana
(CS)
This
Confederate camp was on the east side of the Mississippi
River in Jefferson Parish. The N. O. Daily Picayune issue of
October 12, 1861 reported, “Camp Roman is the name of a
newly located camp in our parish (Jefferson). It is a short
distance above Carrollton on the plantation of Mr. V. Roman,
the gentleman whose name is bears. The 17th La. Regiment
from Camp Moore is now encamped here. It has only seven
companies. Col. Alfred Mouton and Lt. Col. Alfred Roman (son
of ex-Gov. A. B. Roman) are the officers.”
[12] Other sources show that this was the
18th Regiment which came there on 9th of October 1861.
Booth’s
Records Vol. II pages 128, 201,
and 275 have references to the 18th Regt. of La. Volunteers being there on October 5 and November 9, 1861. It
was among those which left under General Daniel Ruggles to
join General Beauregard at Corinth, Miss. in February 1862.
53
Camp Taylor (Near Thibodeaux, near
New Iberia), Louisiana (CS)
Taylor, Camp.
(CW). This Confederate camp was on Bayou (River) Vermilion
in or near present day Lafayette. The Consolidated Crescent
Regiment was there in September, 1863 and its monthly report
refers to Camp Taylor as being seventeen miles from Camp
Pratt. Another report says that it was twenty miles from
Wilson’s plantation on the Teche. Other reports show
that the 18th La.
regiment was there in July and
August 1863 and the 12 Texas Cavalry was there in August
1864. Presumably the camp was named for General Richard
Taylor. 54
Camp Teche, Louisiana
(CS)
Teche, Camp.
(CW). Booth’s Records Vol. II pages
637 and 986 make reference to Co.
A of the 18th Regt. of La. Volunteers being at Camp Teche on November 1, 1862. The
location was probably in St. Mary Parish as a letter in the
Prudhomme Collection in the L.S.U. Archives says that troops
at the camp on the banks of the Teche were putting up works
on Grand Lake. 55
Camp at Thibodaux, Louisiana
(CS)
Thibodaux,
Camp at. (CW). On July 25, 1862 Confederate Lt. Col. V. A.
Fournet and his Battalion of Yellow Jackets were ordered to
proceed to the camp at Thibodaux (Lafourche Parish) under
command of Col. Thomas E. Vick.16 On August 14,
1862 Maj. General John L. Lewis commanding the Louisiana
militia was ordered to proceed there and establish his
headquarters. The 18th La. Regiment was at Camp Thibodaux in
July 1863. It was nine to ten miles from Camp Cox.
56
Camp Vermilion, Louisiana
(CS)
Vermilion,
Camp. (CW). A camp of the 13th Bn. of Texas cavalry in July
1862 on the east bank of the Vermilion River in Lafayette
Parish. From about October 9 to November 15, 1863 large
units of the Federal army were encamped along Vermilion
River or bayou in the vicinity of Vermilionville (now
Lafayette) and some called their camp “Camp
Vermilion.” 57
Civil War Camps in Alabama
(as Listed in Service Records of the Men
of the 18th Louisiana Infantry Regiment)
Buckner, Camp, Alabama
(CS)
Buckner, Camp: (CW) As of this
writing...no information available. 58
Pollard, Camp near, Alabama
(CS)
Pollard, Camp
near: (CW) Muster Roll for July & Aug 1862 shows station
Camp near Pollard. The 18th Regt of Louisiana Volunteers
left Tupelo, Miss. on the 3rd day of August, 1862 and
arrived at Pollard Station, Ala on 5th day of the same
month...Regimental Return for month of July 1862 dated Aug
18, 1862 shows field and staff stationed at Camp near
Pollard...Additionally, Muster Records of some of the men in
Co. E, 18th Regt. as being “Present” there.
59
Civil War Camps in Mississippi
(as Listed in Service Records of the Men
of the 18th Louisiana Infantry Regiment)
Corinth, Camp near, Mississippi
(CS)
Corinth, Camp
at: (CW) Corinth (Alcorn Co.), March 18-24, 1862,
Confederate troops under Gen. Albert Johnston arrive from
Murfreesboro, TN, for defense of the city, and on March 29
are organized in to the Army of Mississippi; Corinth becomes
a major medical center for treating Confederates following
the Battle of Shiloh (or Pittsburg Landing), TN (April 6-7,
1862) 60 Numerous
referrances in the individual records of the men of the 18th
Regiment show that they were in camp at or near Corinth in
Jan. and Feb., 1862 as well as in May and June, 1862.
Additional references indicate a number of men as being at
or near Corinth during the evacuation of Corinth on Jan. 31,
1863.
Enterprise, Camp at, Mississippi
(CS)
Enterprise,
Camp at: (CW) (No record of this camp can be located as of
this writing.) A military cemetery exists at the approximate
location where the camp was located in Clark County,
Mississippi. There are 182 soldiers who were interred at the
cemetery during the time of the war. The dates of death
range from Oct. 1861 thru Jan. 1864. A check of the names
and units, indicate that no men of the 18th Louisiana
Regiment were interred at this cemetery. Additionally,
records of at least one soldier in Co. K, of the 18th La.
Inf. Regiment [Booth’s Records] was “sick
at Enterprise, Miss. on the Rolls of July and Aug. 1862,
Absent.”61
Tupelo, Camp near, Mississippi
(CS)
Tupelo, Camp
near: (CW) Numerous references are made throughout the
Muster Roll pages and [ Booths’ Records ] of the men of
the 18th Regiment, in referrence to men of the Crescent
Regiment as being transferred to the 18th Regiment in July
1862 at Tupelo. Additional references are made to the 18th
Regiment regarding the AGO reports as the 18th Regiment
being camped at or near Tupelo during the same time frame.
62
Federal Camps
(as Listed in Service Records of the Men
of the 18th Louisiana Infantry Regiment)
Camp Chase, Ohio
(US) 63
Chase, Camp (US): (No record of this camp
exists as of this writing.)
Camp Dennison, Ohio (US)
64
Dennison, Camp (US): (No record of this
camp exists as of this writing.)
Camp Douglas, Illinois
(US)
Douglas, Camp
(near Chicago) (US): One section of Oak Woods is known as the
"Confederate Mound". A 46-foot monument stands alone,
surrounded by cannon and cannonballs. Buried around it are
an estimated six thousand soldiers and sailors of the
Confederacy. Camp Douglas was a prisoner of war internment
camp near the 35th-street estate of Stephen Douglas, named
for the late senator.
Like all P.O.W. camps of
its day, it was rife with communicable diseases - smallpox
and dysentery. Conditions were appalling, and thousands
died. A group of prisoners plotted to escape the camp and
capture Chicago for the Confederacy, but were thwarted by
Allan Pinkerton. By the end of the war, thousands had died
and been buried in the North Side's old City Cemetery.
Upon the closing of City
Cemetery, the bodies interred there were moved to the new
cemeteries - Rosehill, Graceland, Oak Woods. The federal
government purchased a section of Oak Woods in 1867 to
accommodate the 4200 known casualties of Camp Douglas. The
coffins were placed in concentric circular trenches.
Although the government only had 4200 names, cemetery
records indicate that closer to 6000 coffins were buried
here. In addition to the unknown number of Southerners,
twelve Union soldiers are buried here as well, guards from
the camp. Their markers, reading "Unknown U.S. Soldier",
stand in a single row behind one cannon.
The 46-foot monument was
dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1895. Over 100,000 people
attended the ceremonies, including large numbers of men from
both armies. President Cleveland and his cabinet were there
as well.
The base of the monument
is of pink Georgia granite. The shaft rising from the base
has a bronze panel on each side, depicting General
Washington, "A Call to Arms", "A Veteran's Return Home", and
"A Soldier's Death Dream". In 1911, panels were added to the
base, with the soldiers' names, ranks, units, and home
states. This is the largest Confederate burial ground in all
the North. 65
Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana
(US)
Morton, Camp
(US): “Confederate POW's Buried in Crown Hill Cemetery,
Indianapolis, Indiana”. During the Civil War there were
typically more than 3,500 Confederates held prisoner on the
north side of Indianapolis in Camp Morton. Originally, Camp
Morton was the principal mustering, recruiting, and
rendezvousing encampment for many of the Hoosier regiments.
After the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry in early 1862,
thousands of captured Confederate soldiers were sent north
to prison camps such as Camp Morton (other camps included
Camp Butler, in Springfield, Illinois; Camp Chase, in
Columbus, Ohio; and Camp Douglas, in Chicago). The total
number of prisoners held at Camp Morton between 1862 and
1865 amounted to approximately 15 thousand. As was typical
with most prison facilities at that time, Camp Morton was
unprepared for such a large number of prisoners. Medical
care, food, and health conditions were inadequate. Between
1862 and 1865 there were more than 1,700 Confederate deaths
at Camp Morton as a result of poor conditions. Still, the
death rates at Camp Morton were lower than most other
Northern prison facilities. It became the city's
responsibility to find an acceptable burial ground for the
Southern dead and a section of the Old City Cemetery, called
the Greenlawn Addition, was turned over to the Government
for burials. After the war, this land was sold to the
railroad and to industry. The soldier's remains were removed
to Section 32 in Crown Hill Cemetery, and buried in a mass
grave. In 1989, an effort led by two Indianapolis Police
Officers was begun to have the graves of the Confederate
Prisoners of War accordingly marked. Many other groups and
individuals joined in this effort. In 1993 the new
Confederate Memorial was dedicated.
Crown Hill Cemetery is
the nation's third largest cemetery, located 2.8 miles
northwest of downtown Indianapolis. Crown Hill was
incorporated as a nonprofit, nondenominational cemetery on
September 25, 1863, at a time when, as mentioned above,
Greenlawn Cemetery was the principal burial ground in the
city. Concern over Greenlawn's limited acreage and lack of
care spurred the creation of a 30-member board of
corporators that established Crown Hill. The land selected
for the cemetery was considered some of the most beautiful
in Marion County.
In 1866, seven hundred
and eight Union soldiers who died during the Civil War and
were buried at Greenlawn were removed to Crown Hill. The
United States government purchased this 1.37-acre lot to
become the second of three National cemeteries in
Indiana.
Crown Hill Cemetery was
listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
More than 25 thousand people pass through the site annually,
many on special occasions such as Memorial Day, Benjamin
Harrison's birthday, Veteran's Day, and a fall Victorian Day
Celebration. There are many Civil War notables buried there
(see, Hoosiers of Note in the Civil War on this Web
site).
The
editors of Indiana in the Civil War warmly acknowledge the
Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 West 38th Street, Indianapolis,
Indiana, 46208, for their kind assistance and cooperation in
providing this list and much of the background information
regarding the cemetery.
(Note: This site contains a complete listing of the
Confederate dead
buried at Crown Hill Cemetery arranged alphabetically. )
66
Point Lookout, Maryland
(US)
Point
Lookout (US): Point Lookout POW Camp (Camp Hoffman) was
established after the Battle of Gettysburg to incarcerate
Confederate prisoners. It was in operation from August 1863
through June 1865. Being only 5' above sea level, it was
located on approx. 30 acres of leveled land at the southern
tip of Maryland, in St. Mary's County, and surrounded by
water on three sides by the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac
River. It was the largest Union prison camp for
Confederates.
Before the war, Point
Lookout was a fashionable resort hotel and a summer bathing
place with over a hundred cottages where the elite spent
their leisure time. In 1862, with erection of additional
buildings, it became a military hospital for the care of
union soldiers, an imprisonment for Maryland citizens who
were Southern sympathizers, as well as a supply depot for
the Army of the Potomac. In August 1863, the large building
with outbuildings arranged in spoke fashion (Hammond
Hospital), became the care center for wounded/sick
Confederate prisoners as well as for union men.
During the two year span
of operation, Point Lookout saw approx. 50,000 POWs pass
through her gates. These were military and civilian, men,
women, and children. It's also interesting to note that the
youngest POW at Point Lookout was Baby Perkins. He was born
there. His mother was captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania
with her artillery unit.
Prison conditions were
deplorable. Rations were below minimal, causing scurvy and
malnutrition. Prisoners ate rats and raw fish. It's recorded
that one hungry Rebel devoured a raw seagull that had been
washed ashore. Soap skim and trash peelings were often eaten
when found. Lice, disease, and chronic diarrhea often
resulted in an infectious death. Prisoners were deprived of
adequate clothing, and often had no shoes in winter or, only
one blanket among sixteen or more housed in old, worn, torn,
discarded union sibley tents. Even the Point's weather
played havoc with the prisoners. Because of it's location,
it's extremely cold with icy wind in the winter and a
smoldering sun reflecting off the barren sand in summer was
blinding. High water often flooded the tents in the camp
area. The undrained marshes bred mosquitoes. Malaria,
typhoid fever and smallpox was common. The brackish water
supply was contaminated by unsanitary camp conditions. There
was a deadline approx. 10' from the approx. 14' wooden
parapet wall. Anyone caught crossing this line, even to peek
through the fence, was shot. Prisoners were also randomly
shot during the night as they slept, or if they called out
from pain.
Mjr. Brady was the
Provost Marshall and Mjr. Gen. Benjamin (Beast) Butler would
review the prison camp. Many times he galloped through the
crowd of men, hitting them as he sped by. The sixty gun
Minnesota was within a short distance from the shore to
guard the prisoners.
Among the sites at this
prison were: 1830 Lighthouse, Hammond Hospital, the Nuns
housing, 3 forts, guard quarters, officers quarters,
stables, contraband quarters, union quarters/tenting area,
burying grounds, smallpox hospital, stockade, etc.
Although it is estimated
that over 8,000 prisoners died at
Pt. Lookout, at present only a
near 4,000 are accounted for as buried in the Point Lookout
cemetery. Their graves have been moved twice since the
original burial. They now rest in a mass grave under an 85'
towering obelisk monument erected by the federal government.
This was the first monument to Confederate soldiers! Huge
bronze tablets circling this monument depict names of those
so far recorded. Also in this well kept cemetery is a
smaller 25' monument erected by the state of Maryland to the
memory of the prisoners.
The POW cemetery is
maintained by the federal government - Veteran's
Administration. A lady employed by them is the caretaker.
She and her family before her, have been the ground keepers
for over four generations! She does a superb job, for the
grounds are always manicured making the compound a
serene/reverent place to visit and pay respects to those
"who gave their all for their South land, even unto
death."
Every June, usually the
second weekend, descendants from thirty-seven states of
these Confederate POWs gather on these prison grounds to
honor their ancestor and his endurance of prison life. We
participate in the SCV memorial service by presenting floral
tributes and homeplace soil at the monument. Some of our
members belong to "Lee's Miserables". This group
participates in the living history area, portraying POWs.
That night, we have our annual meeting with a guest
speaker.
We're very proud of our
POW ancestors and the rich heritage they have left us. If
you would like more information on the descendants
organization and how to become a member, send a long SASE to
PLPOW, 3587 Windmill Drive, Va. Beach, VA 23456-2122
Today, this prison site
is a beautiful, well maintained campground that offers among
other things, boating, fishing, and picnicking. A museum on
site displays artifacts found on the grounds and several
pictures of our POWs who were in Point Lookout Prison Camp.
This is run by the state park service.
©PLPOW, 1998:
Copying or Transferring this page in its entirety or in part
is prohibited without written permission from PLPOW.
Note: Kind permission to reprint the “Point Lookout
POW Camp” was given by
Patricia B. Buck < plpow@erols.com > Organization:
Point Lookout POW Descendant's Org.
67
Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois
(US)
Point
Lookout (US): CONFEDERATE
CEMETERY (Rock Island
Arsenal)
The original cemetery for Confederate
prisoners and political detainees was located adjacent to
the prison compound. The cemetery was relocated to its
present site in February 1864. The Army's Assistant Surgeon
General ordered relocation in an attempt to reduce
contagious diseases such as small pox. During the 20 months
that the prison was in operation more than 1,964 Confederate
prisoners died while confined at the prison barracks. In the
early 1900s a congressional commission for marking graves of
Civil War dead provided grave markers. Memorial Day
ceremonies are held at the Confederate Cemetery each year,
at which time Confederate flags are placed by the
graves.
Information from:
Rock Island Arsenal
A Historical Tour Guide
With Photographs & Narrative.
A special "Thank You" is extended to John R. Gunter,
webmaster of
the
Iowa
3rd Cavalry for his kind and generous gesture
of allowing the 18th Louisiana Infantry Regiment permission
to use the information regarding the
Rock Island Arsenal.
Camp Stevens, Louisiana
(US)
Stevens, Camp.
(CW). This Federal camp is usually described in reports as
being “on Bayou Lafourche near Thibodaux.” In
January 1863 the Headquarters of General Geoffrey
Weitzel’s brigade was there.
[74] Among the units there
at various times were the 8th Vermont, the 12th Conn. and
the 75th New York volunteers. 68
Camp Townsend, (Ship Island),
Mississippi (US)
Townsend, Camp
(Ship Island, MS.) (US): (This camp was more than likely
located on the barrier island south of present day
Gulfport/Biloxi, MS. “Ship Island (Mississippi Sound,
south of Biloxi Bay), Jan. 20, 1861, Mississippi state
troops seize Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, a key
refueling point for Union vessels and key in the defense of
New Orleans; Sept. 16, 1861, Confederate forces evacuate and
men from the USS Massachusetts occupy the island; Nov. 27,
1861, the Ship Island Expedition sails from Hampton Roads,
VA; Dec. 3, 1861, island is occupied by Union forces under
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler with assistance of USS
Constitution; Dec. 31, 1861, landing party from Ship Island
captures Biloxi across the sound; April 3-4, 1862, Federal
expedition from Ship Island to Biloxi and Pass Christian
against Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell; June 22, 1862, Federal
expedition on the steamer "Creole" to Pass Christian to
capture Confederate vessels; Oct. 22, 1863, Confederate band
destroys the steamer "Mist" nearby.”
69 No additional
information about this camp is available as of this
writing.)
19
September 1998. Researcher’s note regarding the
following list of men who served with the 18th Regiment
Louisiana Infantry. This project began in earnest on 18
March 1998. The men’s records were first downloaded
from the internet at www.Ancestor.com 70 over a 3 month period during the months of
February thru April 1998. After arranging and organizing the
individual records by company, regiment, etc. the difficult
task of verifying as many names as possible against the
official Muster Roll records was undertaken (a copy of these
records was obtained from Jackson Barracks, New Orleans,
Louisiana in April 1998 71). The names of ALL men
in the 18th were highlighted in
bold
text and the men
who could be verified against the Jackson Barracks
Muster Roll records were
additionally Underlined in
Bold text.
It is obvious, that by
viewing the records of the men, that all of them did serve
at one time or another in the 18th
Regiment; but, due to loss of
records, for whatever reason, not all of the men could be
verified. For this, this researcher can offer no reasonable
explanation; only a desire to some day locate the missing
records and complete the project of verifying
ALL the
members of the 18th Regiment
Louisiana Infantry.
Throughout the records
of the men of the 18th Regiment, the reader will see
additional notes that were appended to the records. Many of
these were taken from an excellent reference source,
Reminiscences of Uncle Silas, A
History of the Eighteenth Louisiana Infantry
Regiment, by Silas T. Grisamore
and edited by Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. These notes add some
“emotions and feelings” to otherwise drab military
records. Let you, the reader, be
the judge.
A number of men were
omitted from Booth’s Records, for whatever reason, and
their names and information as portrayed in the Muster Roll
records, received from Jackson Barracks, New Orleans have
been added to this record. These records are indicated by
use of an astrick (*) in lieu of Volume
and Page Numbers. Additional notes appended to the records
of the men of the 18th Regiment indicate information that
was written into the Muster Roll records and for whatever
reason, not included on the “official records” of
Booth’s Records. In some
instances, this researcher did take some liberties in these
assumptions. Again, let the reader be the judge.
Your
information can go a long way in supplementing the research
already done with regards to the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry. Any changes,
additions, deletions or
ANY
pertinent information would be received with open arms.
This project is and will
always be ongoing. YOU, the decendants of
the valiant men who served in this Great American Civil War
can contribute to this ongoing research. Feel free to
contact this researcher via the e-mail address listed on the
bottom of this and all pages of this site. Thank you for taking
the time to visit my site devoted to the memory of the
MEN of
the 18th Regiment Louisiana
Infantry...
Now...shall we view the RECORDS
of the MEN of the 18th Regiment
Louisiana Infantry!!!
