| 8th Louisiana Regiment Infantry (African Descent) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1863–1864 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Allegiance |  USA |
| Branch | Union Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Hiram Scofield |
The 8th Louisiana Regiment Infantry (African Descent) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was composed primarily of freed or escaped slaves from Louisiana's plantations and was commanded by white officers. [1] [2]
In the spring of 1863, Col. Hiram Scofield, a veteran officer in the 2nd Iowa Infantry, [3] organized the 8th Louisiana Infantry at Lake Providence, Louisiana. The new regiment was mustered into service on May 5.
During the Vicksburg Campaign, the regiment was attached to the African Brigade, District of Northeast Louisiana. The brigade was led successively by Col. Isaac F. Shepard (who was under arrest at the time of the Battle of Milliken's Bend) and then Hermann Lieb (wounded June 7, 1863). Finally, Lt. Col. Charles J. Paine led the brigade as the campaign wound down. [4] Returning to Lake Providence, the regiment was engaged in a minor battle on June 9 against a small Confederate force composed of the 13th Texas Infantry Regiment and the 13th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion. [5]
The 8th Louisiana was then on routine garrison duty at Vicksburg, Mississippi, until the late winter of 1864. Then, it participated in the expedition up the Yazoo River from February 1 until March 8, and participated in the capture of Yazoo City, Mississippi, on February 4. [6]
The regiment subsequently returned to Vicksburg, where it was reorganized as the 47th Regiment Infantry, United States Colored Troops on March 11. [7]
The Battle of Milliken's Bend was fought on June 7, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army had placed the strategic Mississippi River city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, under siege in mid-1863. Confederate leadership erroneously believed that Grant's supply line still ran through Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, and Major General Richard Taylor was tasked with disrupting it to aid the defense of Vicksburg. Taylor sent Brigadier General Henry E. McCulloch with a brigade of Texans to attack Milliken's Bend, which was held by a brigade of newly-recruited African American soldiers. McCulloch's attack struck early on the morning of June 7, and was initially successful in close-quarters fighting. Fire from the Union gunboat USS Choctaw halted the Confederate attack, and McCulloch later withdrew after the arrival of a second gunboat. The attempt to relieve Vicksburg was unsuccessful. One of the first actions in which African American soldiers fought, Milliken's Bend demonstrated the value of African American soldiers as part of the Union Army.
The Meridian campaign or Meridian expedition took place from February 3 – March 6, 1864, from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Meridian, Mississippi, by the Union Army of the Tennessee, led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman captured Meridian, Mississippi, inflicting heavy damage to it. The campaign is viewed by historians as a prelude to Sherman's March to the Sea in that a large swath of damage and destruction was inflicted on Central Mississippi as Sherman marched across the state and back.
The 9th Louisiana Infantry (African Descent), later reorganized as 1st Mississippi Colored Heavy Artillery and then renamed 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, was an African-American regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It famously fought in the Battle of Milliken's Bend; one of the earliest Civil War battles with African-American troops involved.
The 10th Louisiana Infantry (African descent) was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was composed primarily of freed or escaped slaves from Louisiana's plantations and was commanded by white officers.
The 12th Louisiana Regiment Infantry (African Descent) was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Hiram Scofield was a lawyer and Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He entered the Army as a private in 1861 and was discharged as a colonel on January 5, 1866. In February 1866 he was nominated by President Andrew Johnson for appointment to the rank of brevet brigadier general of volunteers and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment in April 1866.
Claudius Wistar Sears was a United States Army officer, an educator, and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
The 1st Kansas Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On August 10, 1861, at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, the regiment suffered 106 soldiers killed in action or mortally wounded, one of the highest numbers of fatalities suffered by any Union infantry regiment in a single engagement during the American Civil War.
The 49th United States Colored Infantry, first established as the 11th Louisiana Infantry (African descent) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Lake Providence was fought on June 9, 1863, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate troops from the Trans-Mississippi Department were trying to relieve Union pressure during the Siege of Vicksburg. Major General Richard Taylor, primarily using Walker's Greyhounds, prepared a three-pronged attack against Union positions at Milliken's Bend, Young's Point, and Lake Providence, which was scheduled to take place on June 7. The strike against Lake Providence was conducted by 900 men led by Colonel Frank Bartlett.
The 47th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was a U.S.C.T. infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized from the 8th Louisiana Infantry in March 1864. Commanded by Colonel Hiram Scofield, it fought in Mississippi and Florida, including at the Battle of Fort Blakely in April 1865. The regiment was mustered out on January 5, 1866. During the war it lost one officer and thirty enlisted men either killed or mortally wounded and three officers and 398 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 432.
The 11th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment from Illinois that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In April 1861, it was formed as a three-month volunteer unit, and in July 1861 it was reorganized as a three-year unit, in which role it served until the end of the war. Two of its commanding officers were promoted to brigadier general and led major units during the war. In its first major action at Fort Donelson the regiment suffered terrible losses. The 11th Illinois also fought at Shiloh, Riggins Hill, Vicksburg, First Yazoo City, Second Yazoo City, and Fort Blakely. In April 1863, the 109th Illinois Infantry Regiment was disbanded and its enlisted men transferred into the 11th Illinois. The regiment was mustered out of service in July 1865.
The Battle of Yazoo City was an engagement in Mississippi during a month-long Union expedition up the Yazoo River in the American Civil War. The Union force commanded by Colonel James Henry Coates repulsed an attack led by Confederate Brigadier General Lawrence Sullivan Ross. The Union force suffered greater losses and withdrew down the river the next day with a large amount of cotton seized or bought from plantations along the river. The expedition was undertaken in cooperation with Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Meridian campaign.
The 46th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was originally designated as the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 51st United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment composed of African-American troops recruited from Mississippi that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Initially formed in the spring of 1863 as the 1st Regiment Mississippi Volunteer Infantry (African Descent), the Regiment took part in fierce fighting at the Battle of Milliken's Bend, served on garrison duty in Louisiana, and then took part in the Battle of Fort Blakely, the last major battle of the war.
The 52nd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment composed of African-American troops recruited from Mississippi that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On July 4, 1864, the 52nd Colored Infantry fought a battle at Coleman's Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. This engagement is notable as it is most likely the first time that Black soldiers from Mississippi fought against white Confederates from the same state.
The 53rd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Originally formed as the 3rd Regiment Mississippi Volunteers (African Descent), the regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers. The 53rd served on garrison duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas before being mustered out of service in 1866.
The 3rd United States Colored Cavalry was a regiment in the United States Army organized as one of the units of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The regiment was originally formed in October 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi as the 1st Mississippi Cavalry Regiment. The unit soon began taking part in expeditions near Vicksburg. In February–March 1864, the regiment saw action at Yazoo City. After being renamed the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry in March 1864, the regiment continued to participate in raids, including the Yazoo City expedition in May. In December 1864, the unit took part in a successful raid led by Benjamin Grierson during which the Battle of Egypt Station and other actions were fought. The regiment operated near Memphis, Tennessee, until April 1865, after which it returned to Vicksburg for occupation duties. The soldiers were mustered out of federal service in January 1866.
The 13th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was enrolled in Confederate service in February 1862 and served exclusively west of the Mississippi River. The unit was later dismounted and became part of the Texas infantry division known as Walker's Greyhounds. The regiment fought at Milliken's Bend in 1863 and Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry in 1864. The regiment disbanded in May 1865, but its official surrender date was 2 June 1865.
The 66th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment composed of African-American troops recruited from Mississippi that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 66th Regiment was posted on garrison duty in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and fought several skirmishes with Confederate troops around the Mississippi River before being mustered out of service in 1866.
