GDG- Re: black officers

[Biggsk at aol.com]

Laurie writes:

However,  there were two exceptions - the 1st and 2nd Lousiana Native Guards 
were New  Orleans' Creole units that were completely staffed with French 
speaking black  New Orleans Creoles. 


The above were descended from the free black Louisiana Militia units that  
date back to at least the War of 1812, where Daquin's and LaCoste's Battalions,  
Free Men of Color, fought with Andrew Jackson at Chalmette in 1815.   
Somewhat ironically, they faced two British regiments of blacks from the West  Indies.
 
These battalions continued in state service and in 1861 offered their  
services to the state of Louisiana as a regiment, and were accepted by the  
governor, but they were rejected from Confederate service because of their  color.  
Like most of the massive New Orleans area militia, they disbanded  after the 
city fell to Farragut.  They were very much a part of the parade  of local 
militia (which numbered close to 9000 men) that filed through New  Orleans in the 
summer of 1861 in an event that took most of the day due to its  size.  The New 
Orleans papers all have vivid descriptions of the parade and  it was dotted 
with foreign-born units as well, including full companies (and  some battalions 
and even one or two regiments) of French, Spanish, British,  Cuban, and other 
ethnic groups. 
 
Many of the men of the black regiment denied CS service, eventually  made 
their way to the two regiments that Laurie cited above and fought for the  Union 
side.  Incidentally, I have notes for two other black LA militia  units that 
stayed in state service into sometime in 1864 from the  Natchitoches area as 
well as their CS flags presentations.  Dr. Art  Bergeron is a friend of mine and 
THE expert on Louisiana troops in the war and  he gave me that information 
after I found their flag ceremonies as neither are  listed in his fine book on 
LA units.  It can be presumed that these two  companies were also officered by 
black men.
 
Greg Biggs
 
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