"1st Louisiana Native Guard (Confederate)" Topic

For this Black unit which fought for the Confederacy, does anyone know photographic and written evidence of how this unit was uniformed or wearing individual uniforms?

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Also any other dress of uniform of possible Black soldiers for the Confederates?

I don't think they fought for the CSA. They volunteered to fight for Louisiana, which accepted them. (Remember that La had a state navy etc, destroyed by Farragutt at NO.) Iirc, the Confederacy rejected their service, and after NO fell they offered their services to the Union.

My own view is that Confederate armies included large numbers -- thousands -- of blacks serving as body servants to officers and as teamsters and cooks and such. But armed service was exceedingly rare.

Steiner diary Wednesnday, September 10

'At four o'clock this morning the Rebel army began to move from our town, Jackson's force taking the advance. The movements continued until eight o'clock P.M., occupying sixteen hours. The most liberal calculation could not give them more then 64,000 men. Over 3,000 (blacks) must be included in this number. These were clad in all kinds of uniforms, but in coats with Southern buttons, State buttons, etc. These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier then those worn by white men in the Rebel ranks. Most of the (blacks) had arms, rifles, muskets, sabres, bowie knives, disks, etc. They were supplied, in many instances, with knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, etc., and were an integral portion of the Southern Confederacy Army. They were riding horses, mules, driving wagons, riding caissons, in ambulances, with the staff of generals, and promiscuously mixed with all the Rebel horde. The fact was patent, and rather interesting when considered in connection with the horror rebels express at the suggestion of black soldiers being employed for the national defense.'

Dr. Lewis H. Steiner had joined the US Sanitary Commission in 1861. He would become its chief inspector for the Army Of The Potomac by wars end.
Stiener, a Marylander, was an ardent supporter of the Union. His full 'report' is full of scathing remarks toward the members of the ANV. He refers to Lee's armies as bullies, fools, & rascals. In the last line referring to Southern fear of blacks in Federal service; Stiener seems to imply hypocrisy on their part due to the # of black with their own army…

I am sure that you can use whatever mix of civilian clothes and assorted military items that you want. Everything that I am aware of has them uniformly uninformed.

None of the companys then had special uniforms they designed such as we see with White regiments in the early war days?

HP, they likely did, and since we do not know, I'd feel free to make them up. There's never enough Confederate zouaves, so have some, with dark faces.

I do Weird West occasionally, Great Rail Wars and Deadlands etc. After the Confederate stockpile of ghost rock blew up and destroyed Richmond, the Confederate army commanders created a chaplains'corps which agreed no more use of that supernatural (and evil) power source. (Kerosene replaced it.)

Lt. Col. J.J. McBride, late of the 5th Texas, now commands a battalion-sized task force operating in the west from an armored train. His command includes a company of Louisiana black creoles with Catholic priests attached. The other infantry company is Texan Methodists, armed with flamethrowers, under Chaplain Major Praxatiles Swan assisted by Exhorter Levi Miller. There's a troop of Texan cavalry as well, and a section of mountain howitzers. The train includes a hot air observation balloon.

(The Methodists have one flamethrower per squad, the rest being riflemen and carrying extra Methodist fire.)

Doc, I like the way you think.

Have you read the Prax Swan stories? "A Name and a Flag" used to be in all the anthologies.

Lone star preacher: Being a chronicle of the acts of Praxitales Swan, M.E. Church South, sometime Captain, 5th Texas regiment, Confederate States Provisional Army Paperback – January 1, 1955
by John W Thomason (Author)

Mention of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard at around the 5 minute point of this video: YouTube link Worth watching the video in full, along with the other videos in this Checkmate, Licolnites series: YouTube link

All these videos are from the Atun-Shei Films channel, which also has videos covering colonial New England and King Philip's War amongst other topics: YouTube link

Ezza