| Military: Civil War - History of 31st Louisiana Infantry Submitted by: Kelly Shockley kshockley@acs-online.net ********************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ************************************************************ A Brief History of the 31st Louisiana Infantry The 31st Louisiana Infantry was formed on June 11, 1862 at Monroe. The regiment was organized mainly from men of Morrison's Battalion. Morrison, was Charles H. Morrison, who would be comissioned a Colonel, and would lead the regiment until just before the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The 31st was made up of 9 companies of men from Caldwell, Carroll, Claiborne, Ouachita, Union, and perhaps Franklin and Madison Parishes. The regiment remained in training at Monroe until the latter part of June, and then established a camp near Vicksburg in Madison Parish, Louisiana. Later, the regiments headquarters would be moved to Tallulah in the same parish. In the last part of June the regiment was sent on their first operation. They were ordered to the river town of New Carthage in Tensas Parish, where they were to procure clothing and blankets for the American Indian troops commanded by Brigadier General Albert Pike. In August of 1862 Sixty five of the regiments men were sent to Milliken's Bend to unload a munitions shipment from the tranport ship, Fair Play. This shipment was also intended for Pike's troops, but it would never reach its destination. On the 16th, A Union expeditionary force had gotten underway, and by the 18th had landed at Milliken's Bend. As the men of the 31st were unloading the Fair Play, the Yankees fell upon them in a surprise attack. The regiment was caught off guard, and the Union troops captured the entire shipment. When the men of the 31st fled in confusion, a nine mile chase ensued, and 40 men of the regiment were captured. After the fiasco at Milliken's Bend, the regiment returned to Tallulah, and remained encamped there until October. At that time they moved their camp to Delhi Louisiana, which is also in Madison Parish. The men would remained there until mid-October, and then move camp to Trenton in De Soto Parish. In November the regiment was ordered to Jackson, Mississippi, and it was here that the troops from the Catahoula Battalion joined the 31st. The regiment now consisted of 10 companies, and it would remain that way until the fall of Vicksburg. On December 27, 1862 the 31st was ordered to Chickisaw Bayou just outside of Vicksburg. It was there, that the regiment would take part in its first real battle as part of the Provisional Brigade. Joining the 31st in the Provisional Brigade were troops from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The men of the regiment fought gallantly at Chickisaw Bayou, helping fight off several attempted advances by Union forces, which were under the command of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. Finally, on January 3, 1863 Sherman was forced to concede to the Rebel force, and retreated with his troops back up the Mississippi. After the battle of Chickisaw Bayou, the men of the 31st set up winter camp at Vicksburg. They remained peacefully encamped there until the end of April, doing picket duty and drilling. Then on May 1, 1863 the 31st Louisiana saw action for the second time at Port Gibson, Mississippi as Grant's campaign against Vicksburg began in earnest. The regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade this time, which was a part of Smith's Division. The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General William Edwin Baldwin, and consisted of men from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. During the battle of Chickisaw Bayou the 31st had been under the command of its founder, Colonel C.H. Morrison. Prior to the battle of Port Gibson, at least according to one source*, Colonel Morrison had taken a leave of abscence and gone home. The regiment was now under the leadership of Colonel Sydney H. Griffin. At Port Gibson the 31st fought in the closing stages of the battle, and when Confederate forces were overwhelmed they guarded the Rebel retreat. In all, the 1st Brigade suffered 87 casualties as a result of the battle; 12 killed, 48 wounded and 27 missing. How many of these men were from the 31st is uncertain. As General Ulysses Grant's men pressed in towards Vicksburg proper, the men of the 1st Brigade were posted as Pickets on the Big Black River. While they didn't take part in the main fight at the Big Black, they once again guarded the Southerners flight. The Confederate troops were being forced into Vicksburg itself, and the men of the 31st helped to ensure they arrived there safely. Once behind the defensive works of Vicksburg, the men of the 31st, like all of the Confederate troops there, dug in and prepared for the worst. General Ulysses Grant, commander of all the Union forces at Vicksburg, thought that the city might be taken by force. During a major assault on May 22, 1863 the 31st Louisiana along with the men of the 26th Louisiana Infantry held off an advance of Union troops. The Yankees finally were forced to retreat and wait for another day. The number of men lost by the 31st at that time is not known. After the failed assault, Grant changed his plans, and decided to take Vicksburg by siege.Several men of the 31st were lost during the siege, including their leader Lieutenant Colonel S.H. Griffin, who was killed while observing enemy operations from the trenches. On July 4, 1863 the Confederate forces capitulated, and the men of the 31st surrendered their weapons. Each Confederate soldier was forced to sign an oath, saying they would no longer fight and were then paroled. Those refusing to sign remained as prisoners, and were sent to Union prison camps. It is unknown whether any of the men of the 31st refused to sign the oath. Whether they intended to keep it or not, most of the regiment did sign the oath, and were consequently released, and allowed to return to their homes. According to Arthur W. Bergeron's Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865," Many of the men decided they had seen enough fighting and remained at their homes until the war ended. I January 1864, some of the men went into a parole camp at Vienna but returned home on furlough after a few weeks. After the men were declared officially exchanged, they went into camp at Minden in June. They spent two weeks there, moved to Shreveport, and soon went to Pineville. The regiment declared officially exchanged, they went into camp at Minden in June. They spent two weeks there, moved to Shreveport, and soon went to Pineville. The regiment formed part of General Allen Thomas' brigade and acted as a support for Fort Buhlow and Fort Randolph near Pineville until February 1865. At that time, it moved to Bayou Cotile, remaining there until May. The men marched to Mansfield and were disbanded just prior to the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department." However, according to some Louisiana muster roll records in Baton Rouge that is not what happened to all the men of the 31st. After the Vicksburg parolees were declared officially exchanged, part of those men who did return would, along with remnants of the 26th, and 27th Louisiana infantry regiments, become Company F of the 22nd Consolidated Regiment. These men would be trained as heavy artillerist, and would spend most of their remaining service manning batteries in the defense of Mobile, Alabama. The 22nd surrendered at Meridian, Mississippi on May 8, 1865. * The information about Colonel Charles H. Morrison being on leave came from the pension application of Private Isaac R. Norred, Company C, 31st Louisiana Infantry. Acknowledgements and Links History of the 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiment Although the history of the regiment is written in my own words, except for the quoted passage from Arthur W. Bergeron Jr., and the information taken from the pension application of Isaac R. Norred, I would still like the acknowledge, recognize and thank the following web sites, research sites, researchers, authors, historians, professors, deceased veterans, national parks, armchair genealogist, and historians, because the information they provided was invaluable not only to me, but to anyone researching the Civil War in Louisiana and Mississippi. Thank you Brigadier General W.E. Baldwin, Commander, 1st Brigade, Smith's Division, Department of the Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana, Confederate States of America; Captain Shelvy Baucum, Company E, 31st Louisiana Infantry, CSA for his memoirs; Mr. Arthur W. Bergeron Jr., author of A Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865 ; Mr. Robert John Pipes, for reprinting Arthur Bergeron's capsule history of the 31st Louisiana; Richard Enterprises for discovering, and printing information on the 22nd Consolidated Regiment; Professor Tom Richey, noted Civil War historian and researcher for information regarding the company origins of the 31st Louisiana Infantry; and last but not least Vicksburg National Military Park for printing and sharing with the public, summaries of all the various battles of the Vicksburg Campaign. Roster of the 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiment Thank you former Secretary of ? Andrew B. Booth for your priceless book ? ; N. Wayne Cosby for the information on the Louisiana Confederate dead at the hospitals in Canton and Magnolia, Mississippi, and also for the list of those buried in the Vicksburg city cemetery; the Louisiana GenWeb Project for posting the excerpt from Andrew Booth's book, and all the other great information that can be found there; Mr. Jim Taylor for the list of Confederates who died in the hospital at Vicksburg; and once again, last but not least Vicksburg National Military Park for the list of Confederate who were buried and paroled at Vicksburg. Civil War Links The Louisiana GenWeb - 4th Louisiana Infantry Battalion Jim Taylor's Site Civil War Links The Louisiana GenWeb - 4th Louisiana Infantry Battalion Jim Taylor's Site | |
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