The 1st Louisiana Native Guard was a Confederate Louisiana militia that consisted of Creoles of color. Formed in 1861 in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was disbanded on April 25, 1862. Some of the unit's members joined the Union Army's 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, 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 Creoles of color 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-speaking 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 and New Orleans had an estimated 25,000 Creole of color residents.
On May 29, 1861, Governor Moore appointed three white officers as commanders of the regiment, and company commanders were appointed from among the Creoles of the regiment. The militia unit was the first of any in North America to have officers of color, preceding the United States Colored Troops. This regiment was called the Louisiana Native Guard. Ten percent of its members would join the Union Army's 1st Louisiana Native Guard.
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.Bergeron, Arhur W., Jr. Louisianans in the Civil War, "Louisiana's Free Men of Color in Gray", University of Missouri Press, 2002, p. 105-106. They offered their services to escort Union prisoners (captured at the First Battle of Bull Run) through New Orleans. Confederate General David Twiggs declined the offer, but thanked them for the "promptness with which they answered the call".Jno. G. Devereux to J. L. Lewis, September 29, 1861, in War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 4, Volume 1, 625. The Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in January 1862 that reorganized the militia into only “...free white males capable of bearing arms... ”Official copy of the militia law of Louisiana, adopted by the state legislature, Jan. 23, 1862
The Native Guards regiment 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 Mansfield Lovell 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 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.Official Journal of the Proceedings of the Convention of the State of Louisiana, 1861 (New Orleans, 1861), 231-232. Armand Lanusse (Captain)- Soldier, educator, writer. The prime motivator in the formation of the Native Guards Regiment.Mary Niall Mitchell, Raising Freedom's Child, 43; Daily Dispatch (Richmond, Va.), June 1, 1861. André Cailloux, who later became a hero of the Siege of Port Hudson as a Union officer, served as a lieutenant in this Confederate Louisiana militia regiment of the Native Guard. Morris W. Morris (Lieutenant) - he was a Jamaican-born immigrant who briefly served as an officer in the Confederate Louisiana militia regiment and subsequently served for six weeks in the Union Native Guard regiment.https://www.civilwarmed.org/the-curious-case-of-morris-w-morris/ He was unique in that he was of Jewish ancestry, making him both the only black Jewish Confederate officer and the only black Jewish Union officer. He was the grandfather of Joan and Constance Bennett, as well as the great-grandfather of Morton Downey, Jr.https://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/morris.html
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. Company name Commander Peak Strength Notes Native Guards Capt. St. Albin Sauvinet 85 men Savary Native Guards Capt. Joseph Joly 85 men Beauregard Native Guards Capt. Louis Golis 52 men Young Creole Native Guards Capt. Ludger B. Boquille 76 men Labatut Native Guards Capt. Edgar C. Davis 110 men Mississippi Native Guards Capt. Marcelle Dupart 64 men Economy Native Guards Capt. Henry Louis Rey 100 men Meschacebe Native Guards Capt. Armand Lanusse 90 men Order Native Guards Capt. Charles Sentmanat 90 men Crescent City Native Guards Capt. Virgil Bonseigneur 63 men Perseverance Native Guards Capt. Noel J. Bacchus 60 men Louisiana Native Guards Capt. Louis Lainez 75 men Ogden Native Guards Capt. Alcide Lewis 85 men a.k.a. Turcos Native Guards Plauche Guards Capt. Jordan Noble 100 men Total 1,135 men
See also List of Louisiana Confederate Civil War units Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War
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 Black Soldiers in Louisiana Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection