1st Louisiana Native Guard (CSA)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=1st Louisiana Native Guard (Confederate)
placeofburial=


caption=
country=Confederate States of America
allegiance=CSA
type=Infantry
branch=Confederate Militia, American Civil War
dates=May 2, 1861–February 15, 1862
specialization=
command_structure=
size= 1135
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= None
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=The 1st Louisiana Native Guard (CSA) was a Confederate Louisiana militia of "free persons of color" formed in 1861 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was disbanded in February of 1862; some of the members joined the Union Army's 1st Louisiana Native Guard regiment (later the 73rd Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops).

Confederate Louisiana militia

Shortly after Louisiana's secession, a new militia regiment formed on May 2, 1861, consisting mostly of "free persons of color" (gens de couleur) between the ages of 15 and 50. At that time, an estimated 10,000 African American residents of the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans had gained their freedom. This regiment was also called the Louisiana Native Guard. Though ten per cent of its members would later join the Union Army's 1st Louisiana Native Guard, the two were separate military units.

Andre 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. The militia unit was the first of any North American unit to have African American officers [ [http://www.50states.com/facts/louis.htm Louisiana Fast Facts and Trivia ] ] .

The South did not use this Confederate Native Guard regiment in any military action, and failed to provide it with uniforms or arms. Most of the men in the unit used their own resources to obtain weapons and uniforms which were displayed in a parade in New Orleans 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.] . It was largely considered part of the Confederacy's "public relations" campaign. The Native Guard tried to gain notoriety by offering their service to escort Union prisoners, captured from Manassas, through New Orleans. Despite the Confederacy choosing white militiamen instead, the Native Guard still participated in two other grand reviews. When the Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in January 1862 that reorganized the militia by conscripting “all the free white males capable of bearing arms… irrespective of nationality”, the 1st Louisiana Native Guard was also affected. It was forced to disband on February 15, 1862, and many of its white officers reassigned to the new Confederate regiments.

Companies of the Confederate 1st Louisiana Native Guard prior to disbanding in 1862:

References

* Hollandsworth, James G., "The Louisiana Native Guards", LSU Press, 1996.
* Tretheway, Natasha. "Native Guard."Houghton-Mifflin, 2006.