Pointe Coupee Artillery - History

History

Popular and influential Mexican war veteran Richard A. Stewart began heavily recruiting men in the Spring of 1861 eventually forming the first one hundred men into what would become Co A of the Pointe Coupee Artillery most of whom were from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. The unit received more than adequate training in Baton Rouge by well trained officers of the Donaldsonville Louisiana Artillery some of whom transferred to Stewart's unit. Captain Stewart's Pointe Coupee Artillery were the first Confederate light artillery to reach the Columbus, Kentucky/Belmont, Missouri area and were fully equipped with six of the finest cannons, caissons, horses and accoutrements available. October of 1861 saw a large number of men from New Orleans then serving in Watson's Artillery at Columbus heavily disgruntled with Watson and Capt. Stewart quickly gained permission to transfer them to his unit thus forming the nucleus of what would soon become Co. B of the Pointe Coupee Artillery. The Pointe Coupee Artillery distinguished themselves during the Battle of Belmont of November 1861. Stewart's continued recruiting efforts and Co. C soon filled the ranks. They were officially formed into the third company in August 1862 creating a full artillery battalion. Capt. R. A. Stewart also gained permission from Gen. L. Polk to form a Legion of men and he recruited much of what would become the 4th Louisiana Regiment, other regiments and cavalry units. Stewart's Artillery Battalion fought at New Madrid and Island No. 10 and he timely evacuated Co. A to Fort Pillow but Co. B was captured at the surrender of Island No. 10 in April, 1862. Around this time Lt. Alcide Bouanchaud was promoted to Captain after Stewart was promoted to Major. Co. A was engaged at the Battle of Corinth in early October 1862 and Co. C with Capt. Bouanchaud in command was instrumental in the successful Confederate ambush of pursuing Union troops at Coffeeville, Miss. in early December 1862. Stewart resigned his commission disgruntled after many of the men he recruited were diverted to other commands and Capt. Bouanchaud became in command of the Pointe Coupee Artillery. Companies A and C participated in the bombardment of the Union navy at Port Hudson in March 1863 placed at Troth's Landing and thus being the first artillery to fire upon the approaching Union flotilla. Afterward Co. A, with two Mississippi infantry regiments, were ordered to chase down Union Gen. Grierson during his cavalry raid through the center of Mississippi. All three companies afterward became part of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and participated heavily in the defense of Vicksburg in the first half of 1863. At Champion Hill Bouanchaud's eight guns of Companies A and C were heavily engaged in the cover of the retreating Confederate army. A large number of Co. C became casualties at Champion Hill with at least one officer of Co. A and of Co. C killed during the battle. The remainder of Co. C and one section of Co. A under John Yoist successfully crossed Baker's Creek and joined the retreating Confederate army to Vicksburg but not before Yoist's section fought bravely defending the Steamboat Bridge at Big Black River as the Confederate army retreated across the river during the battle of Big Black River toward Vicksburg on May 17, 1863. The other two gun section of Co. A led by Capt. Bouanchaud and 1st Lt. Charles L. Ilsley were cut off at Baker's Creek with about 5,000 of Gen. William Wing Loring's troops and retreated to Jackson, Mississippi via Crystal Springs. At this time Co. B defended the northern approaches to Vicksburg being assigned one of only four known imported British Whitworth breach loading cannon in the Confederate West manning this gun at Fort Pemberton, Snyder's Bluff and Vicksburg. Co. B suffered heavy casualties at Fort Pemberton and were most likely the cannoneers who nicknamed their beloved Gen. William Wing Loring "Old Blizzards" after Loring jumped upon the cotton bale walls during an intense cannonade and yelled to his artillerymen, "Give them blizzards boys give them blizzards". At Snyder's Bluff Union Gen. W. T. Sherman is on record reporting that the Rebs were "throwing bolts" referring to Confederate artillerymen firing Whitworth "bolts" of whom were exclusively Co. B of the Pointe Coupee Artillery. At Vicksburg Co. B suffered heavy casualties during the battles and siege of Vicksburg at the Louisiana Redan defending the Jackson Rd. approach into Vicksburg. Bouanchaud's part of Co. A now reinforced with many men from New Orleans participated in the battle and siege of Jackson, Mississippi after the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863. About half of the men of Companies A, B and C failed to return to their units after being paroled at the surrender of Vicksburg on July 04, 1863, some simply deserting but many being assigned in the Trans-Mississippi Department. This resulted in the more than the 100 men who timely reported to the parole camps being consolidated into one company under the command of Capt. Alcide Bouanchaud manning four cannons. Also, during the siege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863 an additional 45 or more men from New Orleans who were among the 700 to 800 families ousted by the Union commander there refugeed to Mobile, Alabama where they enlisted in Co. B but Co. B being in the Vicksburg defenses they were sent to joined up with Bouanchaud's part of Co. A then operating around Jackson, Miss. under Generals Loring and commanding Gen. Joe Johnston. By early 1864 Bouanchaud's Battery consisted of well seasoned veterans of war who were primarily from the parishes of Pointe Coupee, Orleans, Baton Rouge and St. Helena but with many other parishes and southern states represented among their ranks. Probably half the men were from New Orleans. They participated in confronting Gen. W. T. Sherman during his Meridian Campaign of February 1864. The Pointe Coupee Artillery a/k/a Bouanchaud's Battery traveled with Gen. Leonidas Polk's Army of Mississippi to Georgia to join the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Joe Johnston reaching Resaca, Georgia in May 1864 where Bouanchaud's Battery were immediately "thrown forward" to Knob Hill with Confederate cavalry Gen. Wheeler to slow the advance of Union Gen. Sherman's army. These forward units successfully stalled the Union approach as the Confederate army under Gen. Joe Johnston consolidated and fortified at Resaca. They were eventually formed into Myrick's Artillery Battalion during the fighting for Atlanta which mustered 308 officers and men, 209 horses, and twelve - 12 pounder Confederate manufactured Napoleon guns. Bouanchaud's Battery made up one third of that battalion and consisted of 106 officers and men, four 12 pounder Napoleons, wagons and other support vehicles pulled by 82 horses and 25 mules. Bouanchaud's Battery was heavily engaged in the fighting for Atlanta in north Georgia performing well in many engagements. Bouanchaud's cannoneers participated in General Hood's ill fated Tennessee campaign. During the first day's fighting at Nashville in December 1864 Capt. Bouanchaud personally conducted a rear guard retiring in sections maneuver while firing being distinguished as the only Confederate cannon of the entire Confederate left to successfully avoid capture. On the second day of the Nashville battle Capt. Bouanchaud was captured and possibly half of his men were killed, wounded or captured during the two days of fighting there. The remnants commanding two guns fought under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's heavily outnumbered forces, at the Battle of Selma where they were again complimented by being placed in the fortifications facing the main approach into Selma. They also were distinguished by being credited with wounding Union Gen. Long of Ohio during the Selma fight where he was seriously wounded by an exploding shell to the face. Many of them also became casualties at Selma. After Selma the men were scattered in all directions most traveling to and through Montgomery, Alabama but others attempted to link up with other rebel forces in Atlanta. Some fourteen fought in one of the two last Civil War battles east of the Mississippi River at Fort Tyler, West Point, Georgia, on April 16, 1865, with one being killed there. At Fort Tyler they were credited with killing the horse out from under the top commander of the attacking Union forces there. Only a handful of this unit are on record surrendering with their final commander Gen. Richard Taylor, upon his surrender of April 26, 1865 at Citronelle, Alabama with Lt. J. Plantvigne as ranking officer of the unit at that time. More than 80 members were paroled at Meridian, Mississippi within the next few weeks. At least 60 members of the three companies died during the war most from disease and battle and more than 550 men served in these companies at one time or another during the war.