Louisiana secession

The Civil War came after years of struggle over the issue of slavery. Louisiana's political leaders hoped the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 would protect slavery and preserve the Union. But the state's planters saw the increasing pressure from abolitionists as an economic threat. Louisiana, like the other states, could not see the desolation that lay ahead when it entered a war expected to last only a few weeks.

The pressure of the slavery issue split the Democratic Party convention wide open and led to a presidential election in 1860 with four candidates. Northern delegates to the Democratic Party convention supported Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, but the southern Democrats disagreed with his position on slavery, which they felt was not pro-slavery enough.[2] The extremists among the southern Democrats, labeled "Fire-Eaters" because of their strong pro-slavery speeches, led a walkout at the convention. They then held their own convention and named John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky as their candidate. Another faction of southerners with hopes to preserve the Union, which included many former Whigs, formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John C. Bell of Tennessee as a moderate compromise candidate. To many white Southerners, a Republican was the enemy and a threat to their (slave-based) way of life. The Republican Party did not even exist in Louisiana, so Lincoln's name was not on the ballot there. The new president of the United States had not received one vote in the state. Lincoln's election brought an immediate reaction. One New Orleans newspaper said the Republican Party opposed the "dignity, interest, and well-being of Louisiana." Another predicted, "You might as well try to breathe life into a mummy of Ancient Egypt as to expect the Union to be preserved." The South was filled with talk of secession. The cry for secession spread as quickly as a yellow fever epidemic, and the results were just as deadly. But in 1860 Louisianians could not see what lay ahead. They heard speeches loaded with words like honor, self-respect, and principle. They heard Lincoln labeled a "black Republican Abolitionist" who would end their (slavery-based) way of life. In St. Charles Parish, a man was ordered to leave because he cheered on Lincoln. A Bostonian piano manufacturer in Shreveport was advised to leave town because he was a known Lincoln supporter.

The flag of Louisiana in February 1861

On January 26, 1861, the Secession Convention voted 113 to 17 to adopt the Ordinance of Secession. Judge James G. Taliaferro of Catahoula Parish was the most outspoken opponent. He warned the secession threatened the interests and destiny of Louisiana, He predicted war, ruin, and decline. His opinion, however, was not included in the official record of the proceedings. Most of the state's citizens celebrated secession. Pine torches lighted a night parade in New Orleans. The governor called for homes and businesses to put lights in their windows to show their support. People cheered in the streets as fireworks exploded and cannons fired. The sound of cannon fire would soon create a very difficult emotion in a city under attack. Louisiana called itself a country for less than two weeks. On February 4, 1861, the State of Louisiana joined the Confederate States of America, the new nation formed by the southern states that seceded. The newly formed Confederate government gained the political skills of Louisiana's ex-United States senators. Judah P. Benjamin, called the "brains of the Confederacy", served in Confederate President Jefferson Davis's cabinet. John Slidell spent most of the war trying to persuade European nations to support the Confederacy. Louisiana also contributed four key generals to the Confederate army – Braxton Bragg, Leonidas Polk, Richard Taylor, and P. G. T. Beauregard.

The Confederacy needed an army. Louisiana responded immediately with 5,000 volunteers. Around the state, they organized themselves into companies. They chose names like the Louisiana Swamp Rangers, Crescent City Guards, Vienna Rifles, Irish Brigade, Carondelet Invincibles, Franklin Sharpshooters, and Caddo Greys. These names and their colorful uniforms seemed suitable for the short and glorious war southerners expected. They would "teach the Yankee a lesson... and settle matters within 60 days." The spirited soldiers drilled to "save the South." Camp Walker, located at the Metairie Race Track, became the first training site. The last horse race was run there on April 9, 1861. Soon afterward the grounds were covered with marching soldiers preparing for a very different contest. The camp, although close to New Orleans, was soon abandoned. Surrounded by swamp and with no safe drinking water, the camp was a poor location for an army.

An area to the north of Lake Pontchartrain attracted the Confederate commanders to a site with hills, tall pines, and good water. Camp Moore became the main training location for Louisiana's soldiers. But life in any training camp was difficult. Providing adequate food and supplies was a constant problem. Diseases spread quickly through the troops. Epidemics such as measles killed many soldiers before they ever left the camp. Once war became the ugly reality of blood and death, fewer men wanted to enlist. When the first soldiers left home, they expected to return quickly. Instead, the war dragged on and families suffered. To encourage enlistment, the Confederate government paid a bounty and some local governments paid additional bounties. The bounty was a one-time reward for enlisting. Finally, the Confederacy did not have enough volunteers. A draft or conscription required all men of a certain age to enlist in the army. The conscription law included a substitution clause, which allowed men to pay someone else to take his place. Newspapers carried the names of men who were willing to serve as substitutes. The Confederate draft also exempted anyone owning twenty or more slaves through the so-called "Twenty Slave Law"; this exemption and the right to pay a substitute seemed to aim the conscription law at the poor man. Soldiers on both sides called the Civil War "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."

In 1861, Louisiana was ready for war in the only attitude. Both motivations alone were not enough. The focus shifted fanatically to equipment and supplies. In the early days of the war, equipment and supplies were furnished by parish governments, wealthy individuals, or the soldiers themselves. Although Louisiana imported most finished goods, some manufacturing did exist. A New Orleans factory switched from making clothing for plantations to making uniforms. Converted factories made weapons from scrap iron collected by citizens. Ranches in southwest Louisiana and Texas supplied the cattle for a slaughterhouse south of Alexandria. The beef was preserved by salting it. This method left the meat tough and very salty, and the soldiers had to boil the meat for hours before they could eat it. They learned to ignore the bugs floating on the water. The salt for preserving the beef came from several salt deposits around the state. Brine was pumped out of the ground and boiled down in kettles to get the salt. Discovering the extensive salt deposits at Avery Island gave the Confederates a valuable source. The women of Louisiana also helped "The Cause." Ladies' sewing circles made uniforms and cartridge bags. Their new sewing machines became part of assembly lines. But too soon the ladies stopped designing battle flags and began making bandages. Monogrammed linen pillowcases became sandbags at Port Hudson, and treasured carpets became blankets for freezing soldiers.