"Help with some LA regiments" Topic

This year I decided to start revamping my old 15mm ACW miniatures collection, taking the Army of Tennessee OOB at Shiloh as a guide for rebuilding it.

My aim is to rebuild Bragg's Corps at regimental level; in a few months I've already modeled a handful of units (sneak peek at link).

As many of the regiments in that Corps were from Louisiana, I wished to give them a colourful look, but I'm having some trouble at finding uniforms/flags info for some units there.

Especially doubtful regarding 4th, 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th LA. Could anyone help me bringing them to life?

Thanks,
Lluís

Good questions – for uniforms while as a rule short jackets were worn at least for the 18th Louisiana in 1861 they were issued with uniforms produced at the Louisiana State Prison which were grey frock coats and trousers with grey forage caps/kepis; the 18th had red bands on the cap with red quartering and red facings on collars, cuffs and shoulder straps with red chevrons and trouser stripes for NCOs – I know other Louisiana units (10th for example) wore this uniform as wel

The battle flags in the Army of Tennessee were very similar to those of the Army of Northern Virginia; the Louisiana State Flag was used (blue field, pelican in middle) but some regiments also had a Louisiana State Flag that had red, white and blue stripes with a yellow star on red field in the corner

link

link

link

A cursory search turned up this…

TMP link

OK, thanks Sirs.

Hello Lluís,

Louisiana units are a real problem to pin down. Here is what I found using Frederick Todd, American Military Equipage 1851-1872, Vol 2, (1983); Thomas Arliskas, Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown, Notes on Confederate Uniforms, (2006); Ron Field, The Confederate Army 1861-65, Vol 3, (2006).

From April 1861 to April 1862 the Louisiana State Quartermaster supplied uniforms to most of the Louisiana troops in the field. Todd lists such uniforms as having been issued to at least the 4th 18th and 19th La. This state uniform is described as a gray frock coat with trim on the collar, shoulder straps and cuffs, gray trousers with a stripe on the legs, and a gray forage cap with a coloured band. The trim appears to have varied, with black probably the most common, although it is known to be red in the case of the 18th La. (see TMP link posted by HMS Exeter)

The 20th Louisiana was formed from Reichard's Infantry Battalion on 3 January 1862 which in turn drew from the Orleans Rifle Regt which in May 1861 wore "fatigue dress of blue jacket, full brown linen pants, white gaiters, blue forage cap". Whether any remains of this uniform was still worn at Shiloh is unknown.

Bragg's Corps was issued new battle flags just before Shiloh. These are described at:

link

It is highly unlikely that any Louisiana unit ever carried the state flag with 13 red, white, and blue stripes, although a number of units are known to have used the state "Pelican Flag"

Last of all, the arms, carried by most Confederate regiments at Shiloh are listed in this thread from the Authentic Campaigner website at:

link

Tom Arliskas (author of the thread linked above) is also coming out with a book on the arms carried at Shiloh. Hopefully out in spring 2021.

Some interesting pieces of info there, thanks again. These should give me some clues for building not perhaps the most accurate army ever, but quite of a consistent, likely one

Brad, thanks for the info on the forthcoming book by Arliskas. His original research project dealt both with the arms carried at Shiloh as well as the uniforms. Hopefully the new book will cover both.

Lluis, you may also want to look at the uniforms described in Fred Adolphus' article on early war Louisiana uniforms:

link