The 1st Louisiana Native Guard was a Confederate Louisianan militia that consisted of

Creoles of color The Creoles of color are a historic ethnic group of Creole people that developed in the former French and Spanish colonies of Louisiana (especially in the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwestern Florida i.e. Pensacola, Flo ...

. Formed in 1861 in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

1st Louisiana Native Guard, which later became the 73rd Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops.

Confederate Louisiana militia

Shortly after Louisiana's

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

, Governor Thomas Overton Moore issued pleas for troops on April 17 and April 21, 1861. In response to the governor's request, a committee of ten prominent New Orleanian

called a meeting at the Catholic Institute on April 22. About two thousand people attended the meeting where muster lists were opened, with about 1,500 '' gens de couleur'' signing up. Governor Moore accepted the services of these men as part of the state's militia. The new militia regiment was formed during May 1861, consisting mostly of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Creoles of color. While some members of the new regiment came from wealthy prominent Creole families, a majority of the men were clerks, artisans, and skilled laborers.Terry L. Jones (2012-10-19
"The Free Men of Color Go to War" - NYTimes.com
Opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-18.

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

North America to have officers of color, preceding the

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

. This regiment was called the Louisiana Native Guard. Though ten per cent of its members would later join the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

's 1st Louisiana Native Guard, the two were separate military units.

Activities

The Native Guards were volunteers, and as such supplied their own arms and uniforms. These were displayed in a grand review of troops in New Orleans on November 23, 1861, and again on January 8, 1862. They offered their services to escort Union prisoners (captured at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassascites 18,052 Confederate men and 37 guns engaged. McDowell's plan was to move westward in three columns and make a diversionary attack on ...

) through New Orleans. Confederate General David Twiggs declined the offer, but thanked them for the "promptness with which they answered the call." The Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in January 1862 that reorganized the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

into only “...free white males capable of bearing arms… ” The Native Guards regiment was affected by this law. It was forced to disband on February 15, 1862, when the new law took effect. "Their demise was only temporary, however, for Governor Moore reinstated the Native Guards on March 24 after the U.S. Navy under Admiral David G. Farragut entered the Mississippi River." As the regular Confederate forces under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Mansfield Lovell Mansfield Lovell (October 20, 1822 – June 1, 1884) was a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. As military commander of New Orleans when the city unexpectedly fell to the Union Navy in 1862, Lovell was fie ...

abandoned New Orleans, the militia units were left to fend for themselves. The Native Guards were again, and in finality, ordered to disband by

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

John L. Lewis, of the Louisiana Militia, on April 25, 1862, as Federal ships arrived opposite the city. General Lewis cautioned them to hide their arms and uniforms before returning home.

Notable members

* Felix Labatut (Colonel)- State senator, soldier, and signer of Louisiana's declaration of secession. * Armand Lanusse (Captain)- Soldier, educator, writer. The prime motivator in the formation of the Native Guards Regiment. * André Cailloux, who later became a hero of the

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, Gen ...

as a Union officer, served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in this Confederate Louisiana militia regiment of the Native Guard.

Companies

Companies of the Confederate 1st Louisiana Native Guard prior to disbanding in 1862:Bergeron, Arthur W., Jr. Louisianans in the Civil War, "Louisiana's Free Men of Color in Gray", University of Missouri Press, 2002, p. 106-107.

References

* Hollandsworth, James G., ''The Louisiana Native Guards'', LSU Press, 1996. * Trethewey, Natasha. ''Native Guard.'' Houghton-Mifflin, 2006. * Holden, Randall G., "Futile Valor", MCG Publishing, 1997

External links