18th Louisiana from Camp Moore

Wayne Cosby with the Camp Moore Association forward the letters of Private Thomas Bellow of Co. E, 18th Louisiana to us. Bellow's letters appeared in local paper from St. Charles Parish titled Le Meschacebe. Bellow's two letters give us a good description of live at Camp Moore in September 1861. Before jumping into Bellow's letters, I would like to give some background information leading up to his regiment's formation at the camp.

After the initial flurry to get units to Virginia (April-June) and after a subsequent call for regiments to "defend the Mississippi River valley" in late June (which accounted for the formation of the 11th, 12th and 13th Louisiana Regiments). Eventually the 14th and 15th Louisiana Regiments were sorted out of the numerous different units sent to Virginia.

All the while, volunteer companies were being raised around the state and still moving toward Camp Moore. As the 11th, 12th and 13th Regiments were formed and shipped off companies were congregating at the camp to form new regiments. From September 29th - November 19th four additional regiments were put together: 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Regiments (2 companies added on December to make it a full 10 company regiment). Bellow's 18th Louisiana was organized on October 5, 1861. The two letters below are from September while his company sat at Camp Moore waiting to be attached to a regiment. GREAT letters, enjoy!


In camp, 12 September 1861
My dear Dumez,
It is while seated on the bank of a little creek that bounds our camp to the west that I am scribbling these lines to you. Let's go back a little
We arrived in town Thursday evening about ten o'clock; we were received in a very fraternal manner by the Orleans Guards [Gardes d' Orle'ans], who led us to their arsenal, where they had prepared a punch for us, which was thirstily absorbed by the parched throats of the Chasseurs. One of the Orleans Guards in a toast predicted to us that we would be decimated because we had in our ranks the "aim".
It was not until the time came to go to bed that I began to taste the pleasures of a soldier's life. I was cozily stretched out on my bed and dreamed that I was drilling some Yankees. At four o'clock in the morning, I was awakened by the pleasant roll of a drum. We had an excellent breakfast (another courtesy of the Gardes d' Orle'ans), then we set in march to get ourselves to the wagon depot. We did not leave, and I don't know exactly why, until nine-thirty for camp. We were saluted all along the route, and we arrived here about four o'clock, faithfully escorted by a beating and refreshing rain. Then we set up our tents and settled down as well as possible.
The camp is rather vast and offers a fine parade ground. It is an elevated place, which means that, despite the daily rains, we have no mud. We are one mile to the east of the Town of Tangipahoa and a half mile west of the river of the same name. [Editor's note - Pvt. Bellow's sense of direction was incredibly faulty!] General Tracy is the commandant of the camp. There are about 1,000 to 1,200 soldiers here. On the western boundary of the camp are found some restaurants, shops, canteens, etc., etc.
Yesterday I was on guard duty in the village, which makes it possible for me to give you a little description. The streets are laid out, several even have names; but for the most part, the houses shine by their absence. There are many shops, groceries and a hotel. Business is flourishing, and whatever place you enter, you are sure to find everything, except what you ask for. Yesterday evening our officer having allowed us to leave the guard corps, I went for a walk with one of the Chasseurs. We stopped before a fine-looking grocery. A charming woman presented herself and invited us to come in while asking us what we wanted. We asked for some sardines. All gone. Butter. All gone. Cheese. All gone. Finally we ran through the entire gamut of groceries both imaginable and unimaginable, and we left with a piece of bread that must have barely seen the oven. We went a little further and saw written on a board 'Groceries and Provisions of all Kinds'. We entered; it was a dealer in old beds. Far from being discouraged, we were developing a taste for this business. A little further, we saw a kind of canteen where was written in red letters 'Soda Water & Coffee'. We entered. No barkeeper. We waited ten minutes, a quarter of an hour. My word, since no one came, we served ourselves, promising ourselves not to pay in order to punish the proprietor for having made us wait. This morning, when we had finished mounting guard, we went back there, and since the barkeeper was still absent, we repeated the same manoeuvre. One must take the rough with the smooth. To tell the whole truth, the Tangipahoans seem to me as lazy as lizards. But to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, the Tangipahoa women are as beautiful as Creoles.
We are living on pork and biscuits; sometimes we have some fresh meat. One anomaly that I had not considered is that, living in the middle of pines, we can't eat bread.
Honore' and I are getting visibly fat, and we have never felt better. Finally, we are happy. For me, I regret only one thing -- not having come sooner.
Felix and Numa are doing well. Arsene Breaud is tireless; he distinguishes himself above all by his culinary talents. I forgot to tell you that we do our own cooking -- soldiers in every sense of the word. The other men from our area are fine.
Yours,
T. B.
__________

To the Meschace'be'
17 September 1861
Everything moves briskly in the camp, and we are beginning to acquire the symmetry of movement and the mechanical perfection that are the principal qualities of the soldier. In the morning, we have exercises from nine o'clock until eleven-thirty; in the afternoon, battalion exercise from five o'clock until six-thirty, under the command of General Tracy. Captain Roman will command the battalion this evening.
Now here is how we mount guard. We take fifteen men that are divided into three groups of five. Each group is sent out and posted with a distance between each man. The group is relieved every two hours, and the entire guard is replaced at the end of twenty-four hours. Beaver Creek, with which I have already acquainted you and near which I myself was on guard, well deserves the reputation it enjoys for the rapidity and clearness of its waters. But its banks are populated with mosquitoes, whatever anyone says, and mosquitoes that seem especially spoiled by Creole blood. They have really made a treaty of offensive alliance with Lincoln, unless, being no less devoted than we to the common nation that makes them live at our expense, they have undertaken to keep us in a state of alertness and to prevent us from attaining a dangerous sleep.
Would you like a description of our interior, or our furniture? We have a board for a bed - a bed of high vegetation - and our military sack for a pillow. I think we sleep as well on this pillow as the old French skeptic Montaigne slept on his pillow of doubt, because we have faith that we are serving our country. The same thought makes us accept the diet happily: pork in the morning, beefsteak at noon, coffee and biscuit in the evening. Today the cooks are Samuel Lorio, from St. Charles, Honore' and I. The small number of dishes in use in camp life certainly has its charm also, even if this might not be the charm of novelty. We take the extra dishes to the restaurant, which allows us to keep a well-lined purse, more or less - - and one's purse has to be passably well-lined, because the restaurants here don't post their prices at the door for everyone to see.
With all that, the troops enjoy excellent health. Except for the hours of duty, we play games. The favorite game is bouchon[Note, The only definition I found for Bouchon says the following: The French equivalent of Spoons known as Bouchon (meaning cork) is played with corks. The loser of each hand gets a letter of the word B-O-U-C-H-O-N, so you are not eliminated until you have lost six times.].
There are some soldiers who excel in it, notably a soldier from St. John the Baptist, who won some fine prizes and used them for a party in the aristocratic restaurants of this place.
There are now about 2,000 men in the camp, and new companies arrive every day. We ask ourselves where we will be sent, but we don't know much more about it than you do. The opinion is, however, that we shall have the honor of defending Louisiana and sweeping out the first Yankees who present themselves. We are ready.
I am going back a little to my last letter, where I'm afraid I got the points of the compass mixed up. Beaver Creek runs to the south of the camp. It is there that we draw water for cooking; this water also serves us for drinking. For my part, I consume at least two gallons a day, I'm made so thirsty by the 'pork and biscuit'.
As for springs, they exist for me only in the state of the philosopher's stone. It is true that I have never been far from camp. Every time I want to go beyond the boundaries, I meet an exclamation point that we call a sentinel, who seems to have been placed there for the sole purpose of saying to me, "You cannot pass!" This simple apostrophe certainly would not suffice to stop me, were it not accompanied by a mechanical movement that puts you face to face with a respectable but dangerous instrument.
I have visited the Tangipahoa River, which is a mile from camp. To get there, it is necessary to cross a half dozen little streams, almost all choked with dead trees, and which race -- not the trees -- on hasty feet in the forest, making turns to the left, then half-turns to the right, and a bunch of other turns more or less military -- finishing up by coming into alignment with the Tangipahoa. Let's talk about that. It really is a charming little river, which makes as many turns and detours as its little tributaries. The environs, though uncultivated, seem very fertile. One finds there magnolias, holly trees, wild olives, etc. On the banks, the trees dip their green leaves in the cold, clear water. In several places you can see the bottom of the river, which is covered with little pebbles. Tell the poets who adorn the first page of the Meschace'be' with their products to come here to court the muse; everything inspires it. As for me, if I had found an Eve, I would believe myself to be in an earthly paradise. But alas, one sees only Irish and German women, who have the masculine habit of smoking and the rest.
The bank of the stream is covered almost everywhere with a yellow sand that miraculously replaces soap. If I come back from the war, I want to establish a factory to make pumice soap. With the little pebbles of the Tangipahoa, I shall make gun flints. There are several fortunes in my head.
They are sounding recall.
Yours,
T. B.

MORE REBEL YELL!!

Steve Mayeaux, author of Earthern Walls, Iron Men and of the Friends of Fort DeRussy organization has kindly forwarded us two more 'Rebel Yell' accounts. Both accounts come from the end of the Red River Campaign in May of 1864:

Battle of Yellow Bayou, May 18, 1864(from Story of the Thirty Second Iowa Infantry Volunteers, John Scott, pp.277-78):

"The Thirty-second was then ordered to move forward by left oblique, on double quick, under a raking fire of musketry and artillery, and also exposed to the fire of rebel sharpshooters post in the trees off to our left, taking position behind an old levee and just behind the artillery. But on came the enemy, with a piercing treble yell as they charged across the open field. But closing up their depleted ranks, on and still on they came, until almost up to the mouths of our cannon. Our artillery men had mostly fallen, and every horse on the battery had been shot down."

At Marksville, May 15, 1864 (from History of the 13the Infantry Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, during the Great Rebellion, Homer Sprague, p. 210):

"Grover came up at the instant. 'Boys,' said he, 'very likely the cavalry will charge you. If they do, take it cool. Fire by rank. Remember the rear rank fires first.' The Thirteenth answered with a tremendous hurrah, which our cavalry caught up and repeated. the enemy replied with one of their peculiar yells, like the screech of a thousand wildcats. But they did not charge. It was getting dark. Our cavalry, knowing they were now supported, plied their Spencer carbines with unwonted vigor. . . "

Thank you Steve!

Louisiana Tigers Outdone?

This story from the New York Times was brought our way courtesy of Terry Jones. Dr. Jones makes a very interesting oberservation regarding the story: "I find it interesting he did not feel it necessary to explain who the Louisiana Tigers were--apparently all Northerners were familiar with them."


New York Times, February 18, 1863

The Indians have had quite enough of rebel rule during the past two years; and from what we have recently learned from a leading man among the Cherokees, we have no doubt they will now joyfully return to the protection of the Union. They have probably suffered as much from the rebellion as the people of any State or region in the whole land. Many of them were loyal, and the drunken rebel savages under Pike set upon such with a fury and ferocity which could not be surpassed by Louisiana "Tigers." Villages were burnt down, farms broken up, women and children tortured and killed, and thousands, literally thousands, driven into exile in Kansas.

Drunken rebel savages, fury and ferocity could not be surpassed by Louisiana "Tigers." It seems the reputation the Louisiana soldiers established within the Confederate army was notorious across the lines. The writer was wanting to establish just how horrible the men under General Albert Pike and used a comparison to the Tigers to make his point.

Confederate Memorial Hall, June 26, 2010

Made my first public speaking about the Adams-Gibson Louisiana Brigade on June 26th in New Orleans at Confederate Memorial Hall. Really enjoyed visiting with the staff, being able to take my time and look around (which I haven't been able to do in years). Attempting to cover the entire book and all of its various battles, topics, etc. I kept the focus of the topic on how the book came about; the politics of command between Randall Gibson, Daniel Adams and Braxton Bragg; and attempted to go into some depth on the 20 images that Memorial Hall allowed me to use in Louisianians in the Western Confederacy. Complimenting several of the images being discussed was their display in the cases adjacent to the audience. The night went very well and my thanks to Memorial Hall for having me as their guest.

*Tip of the hat to Mrs. Pat and the staff at Memorial Hall.

Texan on Battle of Bayou Borbeau

Texas soldiers were active in the defense of western Louisiana from 1863 to the end of the war. This is the reason why you will continually seen posts regarding Texas soldiers in Louisiana. I ran across the letter from a Texan out of the 11th Texas Battalion on the Battle of Bayou Borbeau, November 3, 1863. It was published in 1964 in the Beaumont Enterprise. I must give credit to the place I found this story posted. W.T. Block was a dedicated historian to the history of East Texas. His work has many things on the war in southwest Louisiana due to the heavy activity of Texas soldiers. Mr. Block made note that the Beaumont Enterprise mistakenly referred to this battle as the Battle of Carencro Bayou fought on October 13-14, 1863.

The letter is from Napoleon Weis:

Dear mother:
I seat myself by a little oak fire in the dark to write you a few lines. I can hardly see so you must do the best you can about reading it ... We are all around this same little fire in good health and enjoying ourselves as well as could be expected for soldiers.

We have had a little battle among all the little fights . . . We lost 37 men killed, 60 wounded, 15 prisoners. The Yankees lost 355 killed, and wounded I have no idea. We exchanged wounded prisoners with them and had 60 more than they had and we took a receipt for them. We also took 1,240 [muskets, perhaps -- meaning not clear]. Cousin David and Peter was (sic) in the fight and came out safe . . . The battleground is about 4 miles long. We also captured two pieces of artillery and a good many small arms. Some of the boys got . . . clothing and a good many horses . . .

I think they are leaving us as fast as they can. They have ruined this country from Opelousas down -- about 100 miles of very rich country . . . destroyed all fences, burned and torn down a great many houses and took away all the sugar and cotton in their reach. They also used up a great deal of corne
potatoes and beefe (sic) . . . they paid very dearly for it . . .

I almost forgot how you all look -- and I have not had a scratch of a pen from a Soule since I have been over here . . . take care of yourselves and do the best you can . . .

Your affectionate son, Napoleon.

Rumble with Louisiana Prisoners

Terry Jones forwarded this little newspiece to me regarding captured Louisiana soldiers after the Battle of Rappahannock Station (Nov. 7, 1863). Hays' Louisiana Brigade (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Regiments) and Hoke's North Carolina Brigade were smashed as this engagement and a large number of Louisianians were captured. GREAT piece, thanks Terry.

Hornellsville (New York) Tribune, November 12, 1863

The prisoners taken make the usual brags of how Meade will soon be whipped, and give out mysterious hints as to his being drawn into a trap. The Rebels confirm the reported destitution of their army, and the North Carolina troops captured declare that they will not again take up arms. The North Carolinians and the LouisianaTigers had a fight in the cars, on their way to town, upon this topic the former boldly saying they were heartily sick of the war and did not wish to be exchanged. The latter called them "paltroons," and at length the two parties came to blows.

Jayhawking in St. Landry Parish

Following newspiece appeared in New Orleans in April 1864:


[NEW ORLEANS] DAILY PICAYUNE, April 21, 1864

Jayhawking in St. Landry.

The following is from the Plaquemine (Iberville parish) Gazette and Sentinel, of the 11th inst.:


We had a conversation a few days since with a gentleman who resides near Opelousas. He had just arrived here, or at the Park, with a flatboat load of cotton. He gives a terrible picture of affairs in that parish, growing out of the outrages and depredations of the Jayhawkers. They are banded together, he says, in large numbers, mostly young men, the majority of whom have served in both armies, but having proved traitors to both, make outrage depredation upon the peaceful citizens their profession and their support. In self-defence the citizens are forced to unite for their protection and for the extermination of those lepers—one of the curses springing out of civil strife, and one of the terrible evidences of the demoralization resulting through it.


Several of these marauders were caught and shot a few days since, one of whom was a very young man, and met death in a fearful manner, through his cries and supplications; he had to be shot twice. A few days previous the jayhawkers were pounced upon in their camp, routed and dispersed, and several killed. Ten thousand pounds of good bacon, horses, arms, etc., were captured. Our informant was present and had several balls put into his horse. The jayhawkers show no mercy to their victims, but take all they have, even to leaving them naked. They robbed an old widow lady but a few days back, taking every thing she had, even to her clothing, leaving her in a semi-nude condition. She was rich, and the miscreants found out where her money and plate were only after the old lady had been tied to the tail of a horse and the animal had actually started off with her, when she divulged the place of its concealment. This diabolical act gave renewed indignation among the people, and active measures were taken to ferret out the villains. At length, on last Friday week, a young man was observed endeavoring to sell some article which a bystander recognized as having belonged to the old lady above mentioned. A party was soon collected together. The man confessed his guilt after he found it was useless to deny it; he divulged where the old lady's valuables were to be found; and a few minutes afterwards he was shot, and, by his request, in the back.


Our informant is known to gentlemen in this town, whom we should judge to be a man of reliability.

New England Yankee on Alligators and Mosquitoes

The 13th Maine Infantry Regiment was part of the occupation army of south Louisiana in 1862. Part of the regiment was stationed at Forts Jackson and St. Philip. Private Edwin B. Lufkin of the 13th Maine wrote a regimental history of unit's exploits in the war in 1898. In his book, History of the Thirteenth Maine Regiment From its Organization in 1861 to its Muster-Out in 1865, Lufkin made some observations about alligators and mosquitoes. I thought it was funny to read the impression of a New England Yankee living on the southern coast of sub-tropical climate. Here they are:

"The waters of southern Louisiana, at that time, were swarming with alligators, which had only just began to be hunted for their hides; so that the raising of poultry, and especially of ducks and geese, had quite an element of uncertainty. These immense lizards, whose heads, for unadulterated hideousness, would take the prize medal in an impartial competition with a bull moose, were plenty in the vicinity of the forts [Jackson and St. Philip]; and often one could be seen floating with only his eyes out of water, or lying on the bank with his ill-favored countenance wide open, trapping flies. It was said by the inhabitants of the coast, as the bank of the lower Mississippi is called, that an alligator was never known to molest a white man; but a young negro, or a dog, approaching the water, was in great danger. The soldiers soon lost all fear of them, and were often seen bathing within a few rods of a big alligator-and were never molested."

"Mosquitoes, in their season, made guard duty a torture. Many of the men, when on guard in the night, went veiled as closely as if they were hiving bees, while others carried switch brushes made by stripping palmetto leaves; but neither expedient afforded more than partial relief."

Hall on the 26th Louisiana Infantry

Colonel Winchester Hall on the men of his 26th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Taken from his book The Story of the 26th Louisiana Infantry in the Service of The Confederate States (1919).

"The regiment was composed almost entirely of Creoles, by that term I mean natives of Louisiana of French descent. The companies of Captains Bateman [Co. B, "Lovell Rifles" from St. Mary Parish] and Metoyer [Co. G, "Prudhomme Guards" from Natchitoches Parish], were about one half only of that element, the remainder being mainly of American descent; and there were portions of American descent, in all the companies. There some Irishmen, and very few Germans in the regiment.

"The officers were about equally divided-one half Creoles-the remainder of American parentage. the Creoles were brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. Subordination to 'the powers that be,' was the earliest lesson of their childhood; hence they were easily governed. Their duty made known to them, performance followed."

• Muster Roll of 26th Louisiana at the Young-Sanders Center

Rebel Yell??

Was reading about the 1st Battle of Winchester (May 25, 1862) in which Richard Taylor's Louisiana Brigade (Wheat's Battalion, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Louisiana Regiments) executed a brilliant surprise flank attack. The Yankee brigade that the Louisianians slammed into was commanded by Colonel George H. Gordon of the 2nd Massachusetts. Gordon was forced to relinquish is high ground outside of Winchester and retreat his men through the streets of the town. In doing so, Gordon reported:

"The yells of a victorious and merciless foe were above the din of battle...".

Heard above the din of battle? The famed 'Rebel Yell'?

Another account comes from Captain Samuel Zulich of the 29th Pennsylvania. Taylor's flank attack hit the right flank of Zulich's regiment. It attempted to turn and take on the Louisianians. Zulich explains what happened next:

"We received their fire for some minutes and promptly returned it. For a moment the enemy seemed to stagger, but it was only for a moment; for, feeling confident in their great strength, they charged down the hill upon us, with deafening cheers."