Bison Park - 23-25 July, 2004
American Eagles Society Event Information
3rd Louisiana Infantry Parole Camp, nr. Alexandria, Louisiana, 23-25th July 1864
This rare image is of a group of Trans-Mississippi Arkansas soldiers probably taken in 1863 or 1864. They wear garb which resembles that described as issued out of the Shreveport Depot: white cotton or wool/cotton jean with squared margins and six buttons. The 3rd Louisiana was issued with similar clothing at their re-organization.
| Scenario: | We will represent the 3rd
Louisiana at the the time of their parole. A small group
of no more than 5 men will be organized by
‘Captain’ Jon Eggleston to act as members of a
local ‘home guard’. They will parole the
perimeter of camp to ensure against deserters and
generally to make our lives a bit miserable. They will
live outside of the main camp. Everyone else is a member
of the 3rd, and many have only recently
re-joined and are re-integrating after a years
inactivity. We will drill both days and firper will be
generated by:
Firper is optional until Saturday afternoon, then we will go into full period mode until Sunday when the public begin to arrive. So ‘respect the moment’ comrades. |
| Impression: | The 3rd Louisiana was last issued clothing
on a large scale shortly before Vicksburg (probably out
of the Enterprise, Mississippi, Depot – thus
Columbus Depot style jackets). In the meantime sources of
supply would have been: home and odd issues out of
Shreveport from the Texas/Louisiana supply web. Please abide by the following guidelines |
| Jackets (in order of
preference, choose from as high up the list as possible):
newish Penitentiary Jackets, worn Columbus Depot Jackets,
Civilian Sack Coats or other ‘homemade’
military style jackets, Tait jackets (which were entering
Texas through the Blockade by mid-1864). IF YOU DO NOT
HAVE ONE OF THESE JACKET TYPES EITHER BORROW ONE, OR GO
IN YOUR SHIRT SLEEVES (yes ‘shirts only’ was a
common enough option in the Trans-Miss at this time). NO,
and I mean NO Richmond Depot jackets will be allowed. Trousers: Any wool jean trousers are acceptable, absolutely NO Federal trousers. Accoutrements: Everything should be as Confederate-issue and home made as possible. Avoid Federal gear wherever possible. Bedding: Quilts, period Carpets, British import blankets, various non-military blankets, oilcloth ground sheets, keep Federal blankets and gum blankets to a minimum. Tentage: There will be three tent flies brought by the Lazy Jacks which should accommodate up to 24 men in the event of a monsoon. One will be set up for use as a command tent, the other two will be used for public display and for use in case of dire need. DO NOT BRING ANY TENTAGE (unless you are bringing one of these flies). WE WILL NOT BE USING SHELTER HALVES. We are sleeping in the open air (or ‘open forest’) with blankets & oil cloths (or massed under the flies in the event of a ‘real gullywasher’). Rations: Beef (fresh or salt), cornmeal or cornbread (no white bread), chickory (no coffee), molasses, berries, black eyed peas, onions, okra, pepper sauce. Buttermilk ranges: May adapt a slightly more irregular appearance – I will leave it to the capable hands of Jon Eggleston to sort you out… |
|
Historical Background: |
The 3rd Louisiana was one of the most
elite regiments ever recruited from the state. They
fought with distinction at Wilson's Creek (where they saw
off a regiment of US Regulars), Elkhorn Tavern, Iuka,
Corinth, and in the Vicksburg campaign. They had a
reputation for being the best drilled regiment to serve
west of the Mississippi and were generally well-equipped
and professionally commanded. In 1863, with the fall of Vicksburg, they surrendered with the rest of the garrison and were paroled. Unlike most other regiments, after a brief leave home, and before the expiry of their parole, their keenest members reformed at a new camp in Pineville, near Alexandria.The idea was to re-equip and 'keep in shape' so they could re-enter service immediately at the moment of their exchange. The 'hardcore' of the regiment assembled at this camp -- some 75 men -- and began requisitioning supplies. However, they had difficulty with local home guard formations who the 3rd derisively termed 'buttermilk rangers'. The home guard saw the installation of these hardened veterans as a threat to their local authority. They did everything possible to catch them out, seizing soldiers found without passes or their parole papers and threatening to shoot them on the spot as deserters. Eventually there was a confrontation with guns drawn and the 'buttermilk rangers' backed down. As our scenario opens word has just come down from Shreveport that the 3rd has been paroled and will shortly return to active service. As Tunnard put it in his memoirs (A Southern Record): The summer days, hot, hotter, hottest, fleeted rapidly away while the men employed there time as best they could lying ‘neath the shadow of the pines, indulging in speculative fancies … interested spectators of the fierce struggle for supremacy between the contending hosts… rations consisted chiefly of corn meal and beef – and not in large quantities… without tents they usually slept on rough beds built in the open air… The notice of exchange created great excitement in the camp… The period had now arrived when absentees must report to their commands… About this period two men of the 27th Louisiana were shot for desertion… The paroled, or rather exchanged, prisoners arrived rapidly in camp… Many men in the regiment were long miles from their homes, perhaps in the hands of the enemy, and were dependent on the charities of friends both for clothing and for food. |
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