Louisiana Native Guards

Excerpt from Historic Resource Study Ship Island Harrison County, Mississippi Gulf Islands National Seashore Florida/ Mississippi by Edwin C. Bearss , United States Department of The Interior, National Park Service, Denver Service Center, 1984. Pages 205-230.

VIII. BLACK REGIMENT SPENDS 33 MONTHS ON THE ISLAND

A. General Butler Organizes the Louisiana Native Guards

In mid-August 1862, General Butler, following the recoil from Vicksburg and the repulse of the Confederates at Baton Rouge, became convinced that the enemy was massing an army for an attack on New Orleans. Butler's forces coincidentally had been weakened by loss of men from disease and the discharge of those whom nine months of service had shown to be unfit for duty. To fill many of these empty billets, Butler had enlisted a thousand men locally, and was organizing another 1,200 Louisiana whites, who favored the Union, into the newly constituted 1st Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, National Guard, and two companies of cavalry.

Relaying this information to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, Butler boldly announced plans to avail himself of the services of the "free colored men who were organized by the rebels into the Colored Brigade... They are free; they have been used by our enemies whose mouths are shut, and they will be loyal."

Butler, in calling for reinforcements to enable him to cooperate with the Navy in its projected attack on Mobile and at the same time to defend New Orleans, would "call on Africa to intervene." Such a call, he believed, would not be in vain. ¹

On August 22, to implement his decision, General Butler issued General Order No. 63, announcing plans to organize a force from Native Guard veterans

Relying on their "well-known loyalty and patriotism," Butler directed that all Native Guard veterans and all other free men of color who "shall enlist in the volunteer service of the United States" are to be organized by "appointment of proper officers and accepted, paid, equipped, armed, and rationed as are other volunteer troops of the United States, subject to the approval of the President of the United States."

Men desirous of enlisting were to report at the Touro Charity Building, on Front Leeve Street. There they would be met and mustered in by officers designated by General Butler. ²

The War Department, upon being informed of the proposal to organize and arm the Native Guards, wrote Butler that the subject was left to his discretion.

When the blacks were recruited, "no one asked whether slave or free," and some fugitive slaves probably joined. Butler's order to expropriate the property of pro-Confederate foreign nationals, living in and around New Orleans, and to enlist their slaves into the Union Army was an additional inducement to recruiting. ³

By September 1, so many free men of color had answered the call that Butler boasted, "I shall...have within ten days a regiment 1,000 strong, of Native Guards ...the darkest of whom will be about the complexion of the late Mr. Webster." ⁴

B. The 2d Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards

1. Its Organization and Muster In

During the weeks between August 22 and mid-October several thousand "free men of color" were mustered into service at Touro Barracks. They were introduced to their officers, appointed by General Butler; organized into companies; and issued arms, accoutrements, and uniforms. On September 27, ten companies were organized into the 1st Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards; on October 12, ten additional companies were organized as the 2d Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards; and, on November 24, after additional recruiting in the La Fourche, the 3d Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards was constituted and mustered in.

One of these regiments, the 2d, was destined to be intimately associated with the history of Ship Island. The regiment's field officers and staff were: Nathan W. Daniels of New Orleans, colonel; Alfred G. Hall, late of the 9th Connecticut, lieutenant colonel; Francis E. Dumas, major; Samuel M. Willis of the 26th Massachusetts, surgeon; Elijah K. Proutz of the 8th Vermont, adjutant; Charles Sauvinet of New Orleans, quartermaster; and Stephen A Hodgman, chaplain. All the company officers, except one, were blacks or mulattos. The company commanders were: Company A, Pinckney B. L. Pinchback; Company B, William B. Barret; Company C, Hannibal Carter; Company D, Edward P. Chase; Company E, Monrose Merrillion; Company F, Samuel W. Ringgold; Company G. Joseph Villevert; Company H, Arnold Bertonneau; Company I. William Belley; and Company K, Samuel J. Wilkinson. Eight of the captains listed New Orleans as their place of residence and two, Pinchback and Barret, hailed from Ohio.

A review of the enlistment books for Company E reveals certain data about the enlisted personnel. Of the 89 men, 29 listed their complexion as black, 38 as fair, 7 as brown, and 18 as griff. The occupations represented were: cigarmakers, 18; shoemakers, 10; bricklayers, 8; carpenters, 7; masons, 3; coachmen, 2; laborers, 29; and engineers, plasterers, teamsters, bakers, coopers, cartwrights, printers, slaters, painters, brickmasons, and mattressmakers, one each. All the men resided in New orleans but one, and he was from Franklin Parish. The oldest recruit was John B. Ferrand, 56; and the youngest Francois Johnson, 17.⁵

While the Native Guards were in training, their activities aroused much interest. The streets and open spaces around the barracks and nearby Camp Strong were crowded with visitors and onlookers, particularly from the free black sector of the populace, who enjoyed the afternoon dress parades. On October 24, Frank Barclay, editor of L'Union, a French language newspaper catering to the free people of color, watched and wrote about an evening dress parade. He described the good discipline of the troops, neatness of the camp and barracks, and the skill with which the Native Guards handled their arms and performed military evolutions.⁶

2. It Goes into the La Fourche

The 2d Regiment remained at Touro Barracks until October 30, when it was ordered into the field to reinforce Union forces that had taken the offensive in the La Fourche, to the west of New Orleans.⁷ Crossing the Mississippi, the troops bivouacked at Gretna. Early on the first day of November, Colonel Daniels formed his regiment and turned it into the road paralleling the New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western Railroad. Nightfall found the blacks, after an 18-mile march, going into camp at Boutte Station. During the next 48 hours, Colonel Daniels, in accordance with orders from Brig. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, posted his ten companies at key points along the 15 miles of track between Boutte Station and Raceland.⁸

The regiment, besides guarding the vital New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western Railroad against forays by Rebel partisans, carried out a number of patrols, and confiscated supplies from Confederate sympathizers which were forwarded to the New Orleans quartermaster and commissary depots.

On November 5, General Weitzel wrote Butler's headquarters that he could not continue to command the blacks because slaves outnumbered whites in the region, and he feared the possibility of a servile insurrection precipitated by the Native Guards. There had also been complaints of stealing, plundering, and other crimes perpetrated by the black soldiers.

Although Weitzel was his protégé, Butler had little sympathy for his carping. Weitzel was ordered to retain the Native Guards in his command, because "these colored regiments of freemen, raised by the authority of the President, and approved by him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army must be commanded by the officers of the Army of the United States like any other regiments." Butler further reminded Weitzel that recall of two regiments would not necessarily prevent a servile uprising, and also pointed out that there had been no criticism of the blacks for failures in their previously assigned tasks, for disobedience to their officers' orders, or that they had "committed any outrage or pillage upon the inhabitants."

It seemed to Butler that Weitzel should be more concerned with advancing Union war aims than with protecting "the wives and children" of the armed enemies of our Nation "from the consequences of their own rebellious wickedness," While Weitzel was fretting about the security of Mrs. Braxton Bragg and other terrified ladies of the La Fourche, General Bragg was "at liberty to ravage the homes of our brethren of Kentucky because the Union army of Louisiana is protecting his wife and his home against his negroes.^''9

3. Pressure Builds to Redeploy the Regiment

Soon after the beginning of the new year, Colonel Daniels was alerted that his men were to be recalled from the La Fourche and given a new mission. The change in assignment was triggered by a decision by General Banks, who had relieved General Butler as commander of the Department of the Gulf on December 15. To calm fears voiced by many whites concerning the ramifications of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, to take effect in one week, General Banks, on Christmas Eve, issued an address "To the People of Louisiana." Slaves were advised to remain on the plantations until "their privileges shall have been definitely established." Leaves of absence from camps of both white and black units would be granted only in emergencies. Soldiers recruited in the Native Guards regiments would not be "allowed for the present to visit the localities of enlistment nor will visitors be received unnecessarily in their camps.^''10

Then, on January 3, Col. Spencer Stafford of the 1st Regiment wrote General Banks, requesting that his men be used for combat. If they were unfit to fight, they were equally unfit for guarding the New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western. He received no reply. ¹¹

Coincidentally, General Banks, having been apprised of the Union defeats at Fredericksburg and Chickasaw Bayou and the terrible fight at Stones River, determined to take measures to bolster the New Orleans defenses. The garrisons at the forts below the city and on Ship Island would be reinforced. ¹² To accomplish this goal, while farther separating-Colonel Daniels' regiment from the area where it had been recruited, the people at General Banks' headquarters determined to redeploy the 2d Regiment of Native Guards from the La Fourche to the defenses of Mississippi Sound.

4. Seven Companies are Sent to Ship Island

Accordingly On January 9, 1863, the regiment was relieved by General Weitzel and returned briefly to the New Orleans area, going into camp at Algiers.

There, Colonel Daniels learned that he, accompanied by Companies B, C, D, F, G, I, and K, was to proceed to Ship Island. Companies A, E, and H commanded by Colonel Hall were to take position at Fort Pike.

On the 11th, the seven companies slated for service on Ship Island embarked on the steamer Northern Light, and the next day went ashore on the barrier island. As soon as Colonel Daniels had reported to Colonel Rust, "a camp site was selected and tents pitched.^''13

Nine days, however, passed before Rush formally transferred command of the post to Colonel Daniels and sailed for the mouth of the Mississippi. Rust's battalion (Companies D and E, 13th Maine) remained behind.' The Mainemen, as Rust had feared, refused to knuckle under to Colonel Daniels and to soldier in harmony with the blacks. By February 12, relations had deteriorated to where Daniels was compelled to place all the battalion officers and most of the enlisted men under arrest for disobedience of orders. Relaying this information to General Banks, Daniels complained, as now situated the Maine battalion's services were "useless to the post," and he urged that it be transferred to "some place where they thus could be of some avail to the govt." In any event, he deemed the seven companies of Native Guards sufficient for defense of the island.¹⁴

General Banks agreed. On the 13th, the Army cut through red tape to defuse a potentially explosive situation, and the Maine battalion departed Ship Island aboard New Brunswick en route to their new station at Fort Jackson.¹⁵

5. Soldiering on the Island

The blacks, like the men of the 13th Maine, discovered that soldiering on Ship Island consisted of drill, guard duty, and working parties. Daily there was a guard mount, and the noncommissioned officers and enlisted men detailed to guard the military convicts and the few remaining political prisoners during the next 24 hours turned out and paraded. Throughout their first weeks on the island, large drafts reported to Lieutenant Palfrey of the Engineers. These men toiled long hours throwing up and, assisted by sailors from Vincennes, in arming several sand batteries. Three of the seven (D, G, and I) companies were then assigned to man the big guns and had to master the school of the heavy artillerist, in addition to that of the infantryman.¹⁶

The daily routine, during the winter, called for: reveille, 1st call, daylight, and 2d call, 15 minutes later; police call, 30 minutes after reveille; breakfast, 7; surgeon's call, 7:30; drill, 8; recall, 9; guard mount, 1st call, 9:20; adjutant's call, 9:30; drill, 10:30; dinner, 12; battalion drill, 2; recall, 4; dress parade, 1st call, 5; adjutant's call, 5:35; supper, 6; tattoo, 8; and taps, 8:30.¹⁷

C. The East Pascagoula Raid: April of 1863

At the beginning of the second week of April, there was a brief interlude in the garrisons monotonous routine of guard, drill, and fatigue. On the 8th, the steamer General Banks arrived from New Orleans. She tied-up at the wharf and was boarded by Colonel Daniels and 180 officers and men of Companies B and C, 2d Regiment Louisiana Native Guards. One of Vincennes' 12-pounder boat howitzers was also sent aboard, and at 2 P.M. the transport cast-off and got underway and anchored for the night near Horn Island.

Soon after daybreak, on the 9th, John P. Jackson rendezvoused with General Banks. The two vessels then crossed the sound conning a course toward East Pascagoula. The gunboat sent her crew to "General Quarters," cast loose her guns, and anchored 1,200 yards offshore. General Banks then ran in against the long wharf and Colonel Daniels and his men landed and took possession of the village. Several of the blacks hastened to the large frame hotel and unfurled the United States flag.

As soon as they had recovered from their surprise, the Confederates launched a counterattack aimed at driving the invaders into the sea. The Native Guards more than held their own, and the Southerners were driven back with the loss of a number of dead and wounded, three prisoners, and a stand of colors.

At 2 P.M., Colonel Daniels, having learned that Confederate reinforcements were approaching, recalled his men. Upon retiring, the soldiers made for a short wharf to the west of the long wharf. J.P. Jackson, to cover the retreat, opened fire. A projectile, from the rifled 6-inch Sawyer fell short, exploded with a roar, and killed 4 and wounded 5 of the soldiers. To evacuate the soldiers from the short wharf, boats from Jackson and General Banks were employed. The blacks, despite the accident and hurried evacuation, did not panic. As soon as the men were aboard, General Banks, escorted by the gunboat, returned to Ship Island, the two companies going ashore immediately.¹⁸

The 2d Regiment thus became the first black unit on the Gulf Frontier, during the Civil War, to meet the Confederates in. battle and to suffer and inflict casualties. The honor of being the first black Civil War unit to engage the Rebels belongs to the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, which fought the foe at Island Mound, Missouri, on October 29, 1862.

D. Colonel Daniels is Cashiered

On May 3, 1863, 25 days after the East Pascagoula Raid, Colonel Daniels was placed under arrest and ordered to face court martial for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, in grossly insulting an officer of the Navy, while in company with a lady.^''19

Pending resolution of the affair, Colonel Hall was called from Fort Pike and, on May 3, assumed command of both the post and the regiment. Colonel Daniels and Lt. E. R. Proutey were convicted by a court martial, sitting in New Orleans, of the charges preferred against them, and, on August 27, the War Department issued a special order, announcing that they had been cashiered for "conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.^''20

E. Organization of the Corps de Afrique

1. General Banks' Plan for Boosting the Number of Black Units

In the weeks after assuming command of the Department of the Gulf, General Banks found that the three regiments of Native Guards were "demoralized from various causes." He was informed by a number of the regimental junior officers, both white and black, that it would be "impracticable for them to continue in service." The difficulty, Banks discovered, was "caused in a great degree by the character of the officers in command."

Banks thereupon gave priority to the reorganization of the three regiments by selection and commissioning of a better class of officers, and the organization of two additional infantry regiments and a regiment of engineers.²¹

During the late winter and spring of 1863, a purge of the company officers took place. Boards were convened, in accordance with special orders issued from General Banks' headquarters, and the credentials of the officers reviewed and many of their commissions revoked. The few surviving this procedure were asked to submit their resignations. By the summer of 1863, most, if not all, the black and mulatto officers had been replaced by whites. ²²

Then, on May 1, Banks unveiled plans to organize a corps d'armee of colored troops, to be designated as the Corps d'Afrique."

The corps was to consist ultimately of 18 regiments, representing all arms--infantry, artillery, and cavalry--to constitute three brigades of two regiments each, and three divisions of three brigades each. The regiments were to have a table of organization, providing for 500 men, about one-half that called for by the current Army tables. Since the tables of organization were not adhered to once a regiment had been mustered in, the 500 figure would exceed the average of the present for duty number in the white volunteer regiments assigned to the Department of the Gulf.²³

In addition, organization of 500-man skeleton regiments insured a more rapid instruction and disciplining of recruits. After this had been accomplished, the tables of organization could be increased to take advantage of the reservoir of manpower that would become available to the Federals should they get possession of Mobile or Texas.²⁴

2. The 2d Native Guards is Dedesignated & Reorganized as the 2d Regiment Corps de Afrique

Proceeding accordingly, measures were implemented, on June 6, to reorganize and respectively redesignate the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th Regiments of Louisiana Native Guard as the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th Regiments, Corps de Afrique. As Colonel Daniels was under arrest, Colonel Hall supervised the reorganization of the 2d Regiment, which was carried out at Ship Island and Fort Pike. Because the authorized enlisted company strength had been pared from 100 to 51, noncommissioned officers and privates in excess of this number were transferred to the 20th Regiment, Corps de Afrique, organized at Fort Pike, on September 11, 1963.²⁵

3. New Company Organized

In October 1863, a new Company K was organized from the supernummaries, and two more would be as soon as necessary officers were assigned to the regiment. Nothing, however, was done to implement this proposal and the surplus personnel were transferred.

Two 100-pounder Parrotts were received at the post, but their emplacement' had to be deferred pending receipt of necessary implements.²⁶

F. Island Serves Briefly as a Reception Center for Paroled Union Prisoners of War

In the summer of 1863, the island was employed briefly as a reception center for paroled Union soldiers. During July, 1,376 men belonging to this category were received--782 arriving on the 11th, 273 on the 20th, and 115 on the 27th. Of these arrivals, there were processed and transported to New Orleans during this period 257 parolees, 191 on the 20th, 32 on the 21st, and 34 on the 30th. Thus, at the end of the month, there were 1,119 paroled soldiers on the island. ²⁷ The remainder of the soldiers falling into this category were processed and transferred to New Orleans in August.

G. Department Closes Down Then Reopens the Stockade

On October 23 1863, Headquarters, Department of the Gulf, issued orders for transfer of all Ship Island prisoners, whether soldiers or civilians, to Fort Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas.²⁸ Consequently, on the last day of October, the Ship Island prisoners were released from the stockade and escorted aboard the bark Harmon, which sailed at dusk for the Tortugas.²⁹

Within less than a month, the Department of the Gulf resumed sending military convicts to serve their time at hard labor in the island stockade. Once again, the 2d Regiment, Corps de Afrique, was called on to provide a daily detail for guarding the convicts. ³⁰

H. Island Continues to be a Haven for Persons Fleeing the Confederacy

Throughout the year, but especially after the surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Ship Island continued to be a haven of refuge for persons, both white and black, fleeing the Confederacy. For example, in December 1863 the watch officer aboard Vincennes reported the arrival in the anchorage of: on the 1st, a boat with 2 refugees and their families; the 13^th Jasmine picked up a boat with 5 refugees (:1 man, 2 women, and 2 children), and a small boat arrived from Biloxi with 2 men and a woman; the 20th, another small craft came in from Biloxi with a man 4 women and 3 children; the 23d, two skiffs arrived, the one from Biloxi with 3 refugees and the other from Mississippi City with 2; and on Christmas a small boat from Biloxi with 2 men, 2 women, and 5 children. ³¹

The Navy sent the refugees ashore to be interviewed and processed by the post commander. After which they were allowed to proceed to New Orleans.

I. 2d U.S. Colored Infantry Spends Nine Weeks on Ship Island

On December 8, 1863, the garrison was more than doubled by arrival from New Orleans of the steamer Continental, with nine companies of the 2d U.S. Colored Infantry (Lt. Col. Stark Fellows commanding) that had been organized and mustered into service at Arlington, Virginia, on November 13. Five weeks later, on January 16, Company A arrived from New Orleans on St. Charles. The 2d USCT remained on Ship Island another four weeks, before sailing for Key West on February 16.³²

J. Col. William M. Grosvenor Commands the Regiment

1. His Court Martial and Vindication

On October 29, 1863, William M. Grosvenor was commissioned a colonel and assigned to lead the regiment. Reaching Ship Island, on November 3, from New Orleans, he assumed command of the post, as well as the regiment. Colonel Hall, who had been wearing both hats for the past six months, returned to Fort Pike.

Grosvenor had been mustered into service, in mid-February 1862, as lieutenant and adjutant of the 13th Connecticut Infantry; in August 1862 he was named adjutant of the Defenses of New Orleans; rejoined the 13th as adjutant in September; and, after serving as adjutant of the 3d Brigade, XIX Corps, he was relieved at his own request, in February 1863, to become captain of Company I, 13th Connecticut Infantry. He was wounded at the siege of Port Hudson, on June 14.

Colonel Grosvenor, despite his imposing credentials, clashed with' several of his officers. On March 27, 1864, several soldiers were placed under arrest for being drunk and disorderly and sent to the guardhouse. When they continued to create an uproar, two of them were tied and gagged.

About midnight, the officer-of-the-guard saw that one of the prisoners was very ill. Besides reporting this to Colonel Grosvenor, he also sent for Asst. Surg. John H. Gihon. The colonel accordingly ordered the sick soldier released and had him taken to the barracks, where he was examined by the surgeon. Dr. Gihon then hastened to the guardhouse and ordered the gag taken from the second soldier's mouth. The officer-of-the-guard questioned Gihon's right to do this in absence of instructions from the colonel. When the bayonet employed as a gag was removed, the prisoner "swore and raved around" until the officer-of-the-guard had it replaced.

In the morning, Colonel Grosvenor, upon being informed of what had occurred, sent for Dr. Gihon. When the surgeon entered his quarters, the colonel bellowed, "Who is commander of the Post?"

Gihon answered that nobody had questioned Grosvenor's authority as commander. Whereupon, the colonel roared, "Now you mind! If you, or any other medical officer ever again dare to interfere with any punishment that I may order to be inflicted, I will finish you, God damn you Sir! I will let you know that I command this Post!"

Then, on April 12, when the drummers began beating for battalion drill, Adj. Z. Burchmore sent his orderly to tell them to knock it off, which they did. Moments later, Colonel Grosvenor arrived at the adjutant's quarters and inquired, "Adjutant, how is this? What is the reason those drummers don't come along?"

Burchmore replied that he had sent this word to the drummers, because there would be no drill this morning. Grosvenor exploded, "By what authority do you countermand a standing order Sir?"

At this Burchmore answered, "If I have done wrong, it was unintentional."

Grosvenor then shouted, "By Jesus Christi I will put you under arrest! God damm you, Sir, I will let you know that I command this post. Damn you! Don't say a word to me! By God you are too God damn lazy to attend to your business."

Meanwhile, Grosvenor was said to have entertained two women, not his wife in his quarters. The first of these was Belle Fisher and the second Jennie Davis. Belle was the daughter of Charles Fisher, late editor of the Mobile Register and she was accompanied by her 16-year-old brother, while Jennie was married to Colonel Grosvenor's brother.

Charges were accordingly brought against Colonel Grosvenor, and a court martial convened in New Orleans, on May 4. At the hearings, it was brought out that Dr. Gihon did not merely dislike the colonel but hated him. All witnesses, both for the prosecution and' defense, were in agreement that there had been "a marked improvement in the discipline and efficiency of the 2d Regiment during the six months Grosvenor had been in command.

The court, after hearing the evidence, ruled against Grosvenor and he was ordered to be dismissed from the service. When the case was reviewed by President Lincoln, on August 3, 1864, he ordered the "disability removed on the ground that the sentence appears not to be sustained by the evidence.^''33

2. Fallout From the Court Martial Plagues Quartermaster Sauvinet

Regimental Quartermaster Sauvinet had been called to New Orleans to give testimony in Colonel Grosvenor's court martial. He was detained there until May 14. On his return to Ship Island, Sauvinet was shocked and dismayed to learn that his commissary-sergeant (P. Flemming) had committed suicide. Because of this a great amount of business soon occurred. To add to Lieutenant Sauvinet's difficulties, communications with New Orleans were irregular and infrequent.³⁴

3. Colonel Holmstedt Takes Command

Colonel Grosvenor would not rejoin the regiment. Upon his arrest, Colonel Hall had been recalled from Fort Pike and had resumed command of the regiment and the post. Hall remained on Ship Island until June 27, when Col. Ernest Holmstedt arrived at the island and relieved him.³⁵

Holmstedt was a veteran soldier. The 32-year-old German émigré had been mustered in at Yorkville, New York, on June 6, 1861, as major of the 41st New York (the DeKalb) Volunteer Infantry. At that time, he wrote his name as Yon Holmstedt, a habit he discontinued in February 1862, six months after his promotion to lieutenant colonel. From late March until late May 1862, he was on detached duty commanding the 54th New York Infantry. He rejoined the 41st in time to participate in the battle of Cross Keys, in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, on June 8. On April 22, 1863, Holmstedt resigned his commission.

On February 26, 1864, he reentered service as lieutenant colonel of the 4th Regiment, Corps de Afrique, then posted at Port Hudson. Then, on June 19, he was promoted colonel and ordered to Ship Island.³⁶

K. The 2d Regiment Corps de Afrique is Redesiginated and Reorganized as the 74th U.S. Colored Infantry

1. Regiment Redesignated

Three months before, on April 4, the 2d Regiment, Corps d'Afrique, in accordance with a new War Department program, had been redesignated the 74th United States Colored Infantry.³⁷ This was done in accordance with the war Department's policy to standardize the nomenclature of the large number of black units that had been organized in the Departments of the Gulf and Tennessee. Henceforth, all troops of African descent were to be designated by number, and reported by the number as such-in-such regiment of United States Infantry (Colored), United States Cavalry (Colored), or United States Heavy Artillery (Colored).³⁸

2. Consolidation of the 74th and 91st USCI

On July 24, 1864, to bring the regiment up to its authorized strength, it was consolidated with the 91st United States Colored Infantry, stationed at Fort Pike.³⁹ The companies of the 74th, as reorganized, were posted: F, G, H, I, and K on Ship Island; A, B, and C at Fort Pike; and D and E at Fort Macomb.

L. Three Companies See Combat on Mobile Point

Two weeks later, on August 5, Admiral Farragut's squadron fought its way by Fort Morgan and into Mobile Bay, where it defeated the Confederate flotilla, capturing the formidable ram Tennessee. Fort Gaines surrendered to the Federals on the 8th, and, on 9th, Union forces landed on Mobile Point.

On August 14, to bolster the force besieging Fort Morgan, Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby's New Orleans' headquarters ordered three companies of the 74th USCl to be sent from Ship Island to Mobile Point.

Upon their arrival in Alabama, they were to report to Chief of Artillery Richard Arnold.⁴⁰

Companies G, H, and I left Ship Island by boat for Mobile Point on the 20th. They landed on the Alabama coast later in the day. General Arnold employed the blacks in the siege operations, which resulted in the capitulation of Fort Morgan on the 23d. Early in September, the three companies returned to Ship Island.⁴¹

The departure of the battalion for Mobile Point reduced the Ship Island garrison to Companies K and L. When he signed an inspection report for September 1, Colonel Holmstedt noted that eight companies, including the three at Mobile Point, were schooled in the use of siege guns. There were on hand, in the commissary-quartermaster storehouse, rations to last the 192 officers and men of the two companies then on Ship Island 100 days.⁴²

M. Arming and Accoutreing the Regiment

In June, while Colonel Hall commanded the regiment, it was inspected by an officer from General Banks' headquarters. The unit, at this time, mustered 38 sergeants, 50 corporals, 16 musicians, 420 privates, and 1 artificer. The men, the inspector saw, were armed with obsolete rifle-muskets of both European and American manufacture. These weapons, though the 74th was currently assigned to garrison duty and guarding military convicts, were a problem, because ten had burst when fired.

Colonel Hall explained that the regiment had been issued these weapons for drill purposes when organized in October 1862. They had been condemned by Lt. Col. W. D. Smith, in mid-March 1864, and had been ordered turned in to the Chief of Ordnance, Department of the Gulf. But, before Colonel Grosvenor could follow-up on this, he had been placed under arrest and dismissed from the service.

Colonel Smith, upon reviewing the June 10 report, ordered the substandard firearms turned in, and new rifle-muskets issued to the 74^th U.S. Colored Infantry, because if Ship Island were attacked, the blacks could offer but little resistance.⁴³

In July, the obsolete firearms were turned in, and the regiment armed with caliber 57 Enfield rifle-muskets.

The next extant inspection returns are for December 31, 1864. As of that date, the island continued to be garrisoned by Companies F, G, H, I, and K, 74th USCI. In addition, the Army was responsible for providing subsistence and housing to 83 civilian employees of the Corps of Engineers engaged in construction of the Ship Island fort.⁴⁴

A March 1, 1865, inspection of the regiment found the officers and men well instructed in the school of the soldier. Arms and equipment were in good condition; the quarters and barracks "generally good"; and the commissary-quartermaster storehouse "very good."

The Ship Island battalion was armed and accoutered:

N. Transients Take a Dim View of the Island

In late December 1864, the 83d Ohio Infantry was transferred from Natchez to Pensacola by way of New Orleans. Disembarking in New Orleans, on the morning of December 30, the troops entrained at dusk on the Lake Ponchartrain Railroad for the ride to Lakeport. By midnight, the troops and their gear were aboard the steamship Alabama.

The next morning found the ship beyond the Rigolets and holding a course parallel to the Mississippi coast. About noon on the 31st, she lay-to off Ship Island, while freight and a few passengers were landed and taken aboard in small boats.

Pvt. Isaac Jackson of Company D spoke for many of the Ohioans when he wrote:

A second soldier in the regiment, Cpl. Frank R. McGregor of Company H, commented on the "pure white sand," which many believed to be a "heavy fall of snow, the chilly day keeping up the illusion." The military convicts, he learned, were housed in a large wooden barracks, and were employed in several workshops and as laborers on the brick fort. They were guarded by a battalion of blacks.

Among those sent ashore from Alabama were several Union soldiers, who had been convicted of crimes and sentenced to serve time in the Ship Island stockade, and some black women, the wives of soldiers stationed on the bleak island.⁴⁷

Mid-afternoon found Alabama again underway, holding a course north of and parallel to first Ship and then Horn Island. At dusk, she put in briefly at Pascagoula, before continuing on Pensacola.⁴⁸

O. Soldiers Improve the Post

During the summer and early autumn of 1865, the soldiers built three barracks and six officers' quarters, with kitchens. These resulted in a marked improvement in the post's quality of life and Colonel Holmstedt urged that the 74th U.S. Colored Infantry be retained and given a role in the peacetime army.⁴⁹ Nothing, however, came of his suggestion, which was pigeonholed.

P. Men of the 74th Bid Ship Island Goodbye

1. Troops are Paid off and the Regiment Disbanded

By the autumn of 1865, most of the officers and men of the 74th USCI had been in the Army for three years, and their term of enlistment was about to expire. In addition, the United States, in the five months since the surrender of the Confederate armies, had been rapidly cutting back its military forces to a peacetime establishment in a rush to demobilize.

On October 20, Companies B, D, and E, 78th U.S. Colored Infantry (Maj. Rufus Paten commanding), reached Ship Island from Thidodoux, Louisiana, aboard the steamer Alice Vivian, and relieved the 74th U.S. Colored Infantry. Later in the day, Colonel Holmstedt' and his officers and men boarded the vessel from which Paten's battalion had disembarked, and sailed for New Orleans. The regiment had been on Ship Island three months less than three years.⁵⁰

Four days later, the War Department ordered the regiment mustered out of Federal service.⁵¹

2. Holmstedt Gives Some Gratuitous Advice

The officers and men were accordingly paid off and the regiment disbanded.

Four weeks later, on November 26, the New-Orleans Daily Times published a letter addressed by ex-Colonel Holmstedt to those of his former soldiers, who had once been slaves. They were asked to demonstrate that they knew how to appreciate the "freedom extended to you by a wise and liberal government."

After they had confidence in themselves, others would have confidence in them.

If they were to enjoy this freedom, they must not loiter but must "go to work and work hard and faithfully." What they now earned would belong to them, and it was only through their energy they could expect to enjoy its benefits.

They were urged not to loaf about the New Orleans street corners. Instead, they should seek employment, making such engagements with employers that they could abide by. Once they had done so, their word must be that of a man, and not gone back on.

If anyone offered to buy their voter they were to "knock him down as a man who wishes you harm." They should await any "further privileges the U.S. Government may grant you, at proper time," and not permit themselves to be deluded in taking the law into their hands.

The more intelligent and skillful must assist the less gifted in learning to enjoy the fruits and responsibilities of freedom.

All black veterans desirous of earning an honest living were to call on Colonel Holmstedt as a friend. In closing, he wrote, "Now, my good boys, let us shake hands and say adieu.^"52

In mid-December, Holmstedt announced in the Daily Times that he had opened an agency for planters, laborers, and emigrants at 219 Gravier, in association with C. F. Halder.

At the same time, Holmstedt advertised that several Confederate prisoners, while in his charge, had deposited money with him. By presenting themselves or forwarding proper receipts by mail, it would be promptly returned.⁵³

1. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XV, pp. 548-49.
2. Ibid., p. 557.
3. Butler Correspondence, Vol. II, pp. 270-71 Military Service," NA, RG 94, Vol. IV, p. 554.
4. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XV, p. 559.
5. Regimental Books & Papers, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
6. New Orleans L'Union, Oct. 25, 1862.
7. Five days before, on the 25th, the 1st Regiment had departed Camp Strong en route for the La Fourche.
8. Muster. Rolls & Returns, 74th USCT NA, RG 94; Company A was stationed at Bayou des Allemandes, where it guarded the railroad and highway bridges; Company B at Boutte Station; Company C at Raceland; Company D at Boutte Station; Company E at son Station, guarding five miles of the right-of-way; Company F at St. Charles Station, Company G at Milladon's plantation; Company H three miles west of Bayou des Allemandes; Company I at Boutte Station: and Company K at Boutte Station.
9. Official Records, series I, Vol. XV, pp. 164-66.
10. Ibid., pp. 619-20.
11. Regimental Papers, 73d USCT, NA RG 94.
12. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XV, p. 641.
13. Muster Roils & Returns, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94; Official Records, Series I, Vol. LIII, p. 546; Rust's Journal, Jan. 11-12, 1863, MHI. The 1st and 3d Regiments continued to guard the railroad until transferred to Baton Rouge in mid-March.
14. Daniels to Banks, Feb. 12, 1863, NA, RG 94, Regimental Papers, 13^th Maine Inf.
15. Daniels to Banks, Feb. 13, 1863, NA, RG 94, Regimental Papers, 13^th Maine Inf.
16. Muster Roils & Returns, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94. Company I was assigned to a battery mounting two IX-inch Dahlgrens. Jan. 31, 1863 NA RG 24. Vincennes Log, Jan. 31, 1863, NA RG 24.
17. Regimental Books, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
18. John P. Jackson & Vincennes Logs, April 8-9, 1863, NA, RG 24; OfficialRecords, Series I, Vol. LV, pt. I, p. 61; Post Returns, Ship Island,April 1863, NA, Microcopy M-617; Muster Rolls & Returns, 74^th USCT,NA, RG 94. In the skirmishing preceding the evacuation, the battalion lost 2 dead and 5 wounded. On the 10th, the 12-pounder howitzer was returned to Vincennes and General Banks returned to New Orleans.
19. Special Order No. 384, War Department, Aug. 27, 1863, NA, Regt. Papers, 74th USCT; Daniels' Military Service Record, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
20. Special Order No. 384, War Department, Aug. 27, 1863, NA, RG 94, Regt. Papers, 74th USCT. A search of pertinent National Archives Record Groups failed to turn up a transcript of Daniels' court martial.
21. Official Records, Series I, VOl XXVl, pt. 1, p. 689.
22. Regiment Books & Papers, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
23. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XV, pp. 716-17.
24. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXVI, pt. 1, p 689.
25. Muster Rolls & Returns, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
26. Post Returns for Ship Island, Oct. 1863, NA, Microcopy Mo617.
27. Post Returns for Ship Island, July 1863, NA, Microcopy M-617. Of the parolees sent to New Orleans, 192 rejoined their units and 65 were sent to the General Hospital.
28. Special Orders No. 265, Dept.-of the Gulf, Oct. 23, 1863, NA, RG 393.
29. Vincinnes Log, Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 1863, NA, RG 24; Register of Prisoners Confined at Ship Island, 1862-70, NA, RG 393.
30. Register of Prisoners Confined at Ship Island, 1862-1870, NA, RG 393.
31. Vincennes Log, Dec. 1-31, 1863, NA, RG 24.
32. Muster Rolls & Returns, 2d USCT, Dec. 1863-Feb. 1864, NA, RG 94; Post Returns for Ship Island, Dec. 1863, NA, Microcopy M-617.
33. Grosvenor Court Martial, May-June 1864, NA, RG 153.
34. Sauvinet to Meigs, Aug. 19, 1864, NA, RG 92, Consolidated Correspondence File.
35. Muster Rolls & Return for April-June 1864, 74t^h USCT, NA, RG 94.
36. Ernest Holmstedt's Compiled Service Records, NA, RG 94.
37. Official Records, Series III, Vol. IV, pp. 214-15.
38. Ibid., pp. 164-65, 214-64.
39. GO 17, War Dept., July 7, 1864, Regimental Papers, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
40. Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXlX, pt. II, p. 252.
41. Ibid., p. 337; Muster Rolls & Return for Aug. & Sept. 1864, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
42. Inspection Report for Sept. 1, 1864, of 74th USCT, RG 94. Companies A, B, and C were still stationed at Fort Pike and Companies D and E at Fort Macomb.
43. Inspection Report, June 10, 1864, 74th USCT, NA, RG 94.
44. Post Returns for Ship Island, Dec. 1864, NA, Microcopy M-617.
45. Inspection of Arms & Accoutrements of 74th USCT for March 1868, NA, RG 94.
46. "Some of the Boys... "The Civil War Letters of Isaac Jackson, 1862'65, edited by Joseph O. Jackson (Carbondale, Ill., 1960),pp. 231-32.
47. Frank R. McGregor, Dearest Susie: A Civil War Infantrymans Letters to His Sweet Heart, edited by Carl E. Hatch (New York, 1971), pp. 103-04.
48. Ibid., pp. 104-05.
49. Holmstedt to Canby, Aug. 10, 1865, Holmstedt's Compiled Service Record, NA, RG 94.
50. Post Returns for Ship Island, Oct. 1865, NA, Microcopy M-617.
51. Official Records, Series III, Vol. V, p. 158.
52. Holmstedt to Discharged Soldiers of the 74th USCT, Nov. 22, 1865, found in New-Orleans Daily Times, Nov. 26, 1865.
53. Ibid., Dec. 21, 1865.

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