| 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 in 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 fire. Fire from the Union gunboat USS Choctaw halted the Confederate attack, and McCulloch later withdrew after a second gunboat arrived. 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 7th Louisiana Regiment Infantry was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment served in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas and mustered out March 13, 1866.
The 9th Louisiana Infantry , 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 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 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.
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 was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 49th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 67th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Lake Providence was an engagement that was fought between Confederate and Union forces near Lake Providence, Louisiana on June 9, 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
The 11th/17th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit is also known as the 11th/17th Arkansas Mounted Infantry or the 11th/17th Arkansas Cavalry. At various times after the consolidation, members of the unit who were captured gave their unit as either the 11th Arkansas Cavalry or the 17th Arkansas Cavalry.
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 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 52nd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. 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 53rd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. 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 61st United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. 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 non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were African Americans. The regiment was originally organized as the 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry and was also referred to as the 2nd West Tennessee Infantry Regiment .
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.
