1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment (Union)
The 1st Louisiana Regiment Cavalry was a cavalry unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War.[1] The regiment was one of several organized in New Orleans in August 1862 by order of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and recruited from among "white Unionists, and pro-Northern refugees" in the city; it consisted primarily of foreigners and men of Northern birth.[2]
| 1st Louisiana Regiment Cavalry | |
|---|---|
| Active | August, 1862 – December 18, 1865 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Allegiance | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} USA |
| Branch | Union Army, American Civil War |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Engagements | Fort Bisland Irish Bend Vermillion Bayou Plains Store Port Hudson LaFourche Crossing Sabine Crossroads Pleasant Hill Cane River Crossing Mansura Yellow Bayou Spanish Fort Fort Blakely |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Maj Harai Robinson |
Service
The unit was assigned in 1863 to the Union XIX Corps of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks in the Department of the Gulf.
They participated in operations in Western Louisiana: Fort Bisland, Irish Bend, and Vermillion Bayou in April, 1863 and in the Siege of Port Hudson from May to July. The regiment participated in the Red River Campaign from March to May, 1864.
The unit left Louisiana and moved to Fort Barrancas, Florida in February 1865. It joined the campaign against Mobile, Alabama. The regiment then marched to Blakely, across the Mobile River, taking control of its Fort Blakely, a major fort during the war. This completed Confederate defeat in the area.
The unit mustered out on December 18, 1865.
2nd Louisiana Regiment Cavalry
The 2nd Louisiana Regiment Cavalry was originally organized as the 3rd Louisiana Infantry in New Orleans on November 25, 1863.[3] After serving at the defenses of Brashear City, Baton Rouge and Port Hudson, the unit was consolidated with 1st Louisiana Cavalry on September 7, 1864.
References
- Dyer, Frederick Henry (1908). Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Regimental Histories. New York: T. Yoseloff.
- Frazier, Donald S. (Spring 2001). ""The Carnival of Death": The Cavalry Battle at Cheneyville, Louisiana, May 20, 1863". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 42 (2): 193–207. JSTOR 4233734.
- Dyer, Frederick Henry (1908). Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Regimental Histories. New York: T. Yoseloff.
Further reading
- Butler, Clayton J. (2022). True Blue: White Unionists in the Deep South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807177549.