Furl that Banner! True ’tis gory,
Yet ’tis wreathed around with glory,
And ’twill live in song and story,
Though its folds are in the dust:
For its fame on brightest pages,
Penned by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down the ages —
Furl its folds though now we must.
— Father Abram J. Ryan
The war between the States (1861–65) is most commonly referred to as the “Civil War,” but some writer has given it a more appropriate designation which is selected for the caption of this chapter. It was far from being a civil affair; it was a mortal combat between military giants and geniuses, with a million brave and loyal followers, and has had no equal in the history of mankind and was conducted on a larger scale and has been more far-reaching in its effect than any armed conflict since the beginning of the Christian era. It is not important that an attempt at enumeration of the many things which have been ascribed as causes for the stupendous combat should be made by the present writer.
Able historians (some favoring the North, some favoring the South, some measurably impartial) have furnished the world with many volumes setting forth sundry causes for the war, but after all the countless opinions and discussions have been submitted, the whole cause might be expressed in two words — African slavery. The cause was inherited. The people who lived and fought the battles in the sixth decade of the nineteenth century were no more responsible for the prevalence of slavery than the present generation is for the existence of distilleries or other approximate causes of universal evils. Long before the establishment of the great American republic was ever so much as dreamed of, trading vessels of the maritime nations of Europe were engaged in the slave traffic. The traders bought or kidnapped the natives and sailed from the African ports for America where a market was to be found for the ignorant slaves. In early days the cargoes of negroes were usually supplemented by stocks of rum or other intoxicants, which were sold to the colonists, who in turn traded the fire water to the Indians who evidenced their appreciation of the liquors by inaugurating war dances and scalping the white settlers. The native home of the negro being in the tropics, he could not adapt himself to the rigorous Northern climate, and slaves proved a bad investment for the New England colonists. Furthermore, in the early days of the slave traffic, the Northern colonists produced no crops more staple than navy beans, Indian corn and cabbages, while in the balmy, sunny South, cotton and tobacco, for which there was a worldwide demand, were raised in abundance (besides yams, ‘possums and watermelons, sources of delight for the slaves!). Cotton and tobacco were yielding more wealth to the planters in the nineteenth century than was being produced from the gold mines of the world. The campaign against slavery did not begin until after the American colonies had won their independence from the British crown, and until millions of Africans had been unloaded in the South. The institution of human slavery was as old as the world and, up to the advent of the nineteenth century abolitionists, was considered as legitimate as the present relations between master and servant. But the world saw the South prospering with her slaves, and, for half a century an abolitionist was born every minute; for years the storm was gathering, for years the South labored and compromised to protect her States’ rights and inherited property under the republican constitution, while her neighbors labored as assiduously to deprive her of these rights. The climax of the long mooted questions was reached with the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States in 1860, and the immediate withdrawal from the Union of the Southern states. Fate had decreed that the questions should be settled on the battlefield, and the story of the mighty struggle is told in the four years’ war between the states which followed, in which thousands of patriotic Americans gave up their lives fighting for what they deemed the right.
From the beginning the South was the greatest sufferer, for the reason that hostilities were, for the most part, confined to Southern soil. Pen will never be able to describe the privations endured in the South and the sacrifices made to keep her armies in the field; words could not describe what the Southern women endured during those dark days, in lack of food and clothing and grief for fathers and sons who had fallen in battle. During those years the children knew no school except the field, where their labor was required to produce food, and while thus occupied perhaps they heard the roar of cannon or the discharge of musketry that told of a battle in which the ones they loved were engaged. In many instances faithful slaves remained at their masters’ home and did loyal service for their families. The negro was considered more than mere property by the average slaveholder. Brought from his African home an ignorant savage, in half a century he had not only been instructed in the work of civilization, but in the tenets of Christianity. Four-fifths of the slaves were members of some of the various religious denominations. It is a matter of record that more than a hundred of the slaves of St. Denys, the founder of Natchitoches, were baptized in the Catholic faith, while the great number of negroes who are members of the Baptist, Methodist and other sects should suffice to show that their former masters regarded them more than mere chattels. African slavery is a thing of the past, and it has been asserted that the South would fight again rather than revive that ancient institution, but it is an established fact that the Southern white man is still the negro’s best friend. The social life of the two races must ever remain separated, but left free from the meddling of political busybodies who pass current as “statesmen,” both will work in harmony in the work of building up the best civilization the world has ever known. While the people of the North are struggling to solve the problem of industrial slavery, the rejuvenated South, no longer suffering from the woes with which she was afflicted half a century ago, will jog happily and prosperously along, an interested but silent spectator.
In 1860 the white population of Sabine parish numbered about four thousand, and there were less than two thousand slaves. There were few really wealthy people in the parish, and many owned not more than one or two slaves. The owners of six or more in 1861 were: R. L. Armstrong, S. L. and Allen Arthur, Wade Anderson, T. A. and Mary Armstrong, J. H. O. Antony, Minerva Allen, W. M. Antony, John Q. and Francis Buvens, A. Barr, M. L. Branch, Theo. G. Boyd (sue), D. A. Blackshear, G. B. Burr, Beck & Harris, M. W. Burr, Willis Cooper, C. Carroll, Nathan and Mary Cook, James Cook, F. M. Carter, Maria Childers, W. W. Chapman, Rebecca Conerly, A. M. Campbell, John Caldwell, John Carroll, Joseph C. Coleman, F. Dutton, E. C. Davidson, J. D. Estes, W. H. Edmunson, Milton Evans, L. P. Edrington, W. C. Faircloth, J. M. Gibbs, Daniel R. Gandy, Lydia Godwin, C. Hainsworth, Allen Holland, Matthew Jones, D. O. Hay, John Kennedy, Isaac Kirk, S. G. Lucius, Bluford Lewing, Joseph Lynch, John Maximillian, Louis May, Joseph F. Montgomery, P. P. Massey, Mark McAlpin, John McGee, A. S. Neal, Valentine Nash, C. E. Nelson, R. Oliphant, Care Palmer, Mary Provence, M. L. Price, Ann E. Pullen, John Presley, Mary Quirk, F. Rollins, Isaac Rains, Solomon Royston, John R. Smart, W. P. Smart, Mrs. Susan B. Smart, John I. Sibley, D. W. Self, R. B. Stille & Co., Joseph D. Stille, John H. Stephens, T. B. Stephens, M. K. Speight, Stephen Smith, Nancy Stoker, William Stoker, W. W. Sibley (administrator), R. L. F. Sibley, Mrs. Mattie Smith, John H. Thompson, M. B. Thompson, C. B. Thompson, John A. Thompson, B. R. Truly, Jesse Wright, E. A. Winfree, Nancy Williams, H. L. Williams, L. G. Walters, Madison West, James A. Woods, C. P. Waldrup and C. Antony.
The largest slaveholder was W. W. Chapman, who owned sixty-five. The last assessment of the negro as personal property was made in 1864.
The guns at Fort Sumter, which announced the real beginning of the war between the States, had scarcely become silent and the last reverberant sounds died away when citizens of Sabine parish answered the first general call to arms, and throughout that memorable four years’ conflict the parish never faltered in its aid, with men and money, of the cause of the Confederacy and state’s rights. To Ward Two belongs the distinction of furnishing the first troops to enlist in the conflict from this parish. In April, 1861, Arthur McArthur (The data for Capt. McArthur’s company was furnished by John J. Curtis, of whom a sketch is printed on another page.), a young citizen of the Bayou Toro community, organized a company and they proceeded to Camp Moore to be mustered in the army of the South. This company was no sooner accepted for six months’ service, the time stipulated in the call for troops, when orders came that enlistments were not to be made for less than twelve months. This change in the period of enlistment was made to meet a similar action by the Washington government. “Many noble souls found in this substituted call their death warrant.” (Schouler’s U. S. History.) The Sabine company and two companies from Union parish refused to go for that length of time and the organizations were disbanded. McArthur then proceeded to the organization of a company, with men from the three disbanded companies, which was to serve twelve months. The new organization was mustered into the Sixth Louisiana Infantry, being Company A of that regiment, and was named the “Sabine Rifles.” The officers were: Arthur McArthur of Sabine, captain; Captain Allen Calloway of Union parish, first lieutenant; J. F. Phillips of Union parish, second lieutenant; J. Fisher Smith (Mr. Smith was a member of the State Senate in 1890 when he died. He was a prominent lawyer of Sabine parish. Through an oversight his name was omitted from the personnel of the Parish Bar.) of Sabine parish, third lieutenant. The record of the service of the members of the company from Sabine parish is as follows:
Isaiah Curtis, orderly sergeant, killed at the second battle of Manassas.
Privates Reese Smart, James Davis, Shade Cook, Simon Weinberg, John J. Martin, R. A. Mains, T. J. Stringer and Tom Provence came home and died; John Godwin, killed at Fredericksburg; Robert Caldwell and Taylor Cook, died of measles; K. Speight, lost arm at Three Forks, died; William Law, died in camp; Hiram Bath, killed in battle; Theodore Montgomery, killed at Three Forks; Reddick Sibley, lost leg at Winchester, came home and died; Valrey McLanahan, died of measles.
J. J. Curtis and C. C. Nash came home at the close of the war and are still living (1912). They are the only survivors of the famous company which enlisted from Sabine parish. Mr. Curtis resides near Many, while Captain Nash, as he is familiarly known, is a resident of Natchitoches parish. Directly following the war Captain Nash lived at Colfax and was sheriff of Grant parish when the terrible race riot took place there, April 13, 1873, in which ninety-five negroes and several white citizens were killed, but which had the effect of checking the attempts to force government by negroes upon the people of Louisiana.
The Sabine Rifles
The Sabine Rifles were sent for service with the army in Virginia and were assigned to Stonewall Jackson’s brigade. They accompanied that illustrious commander on his famous campaigns and participated in some of the bloodiest engagements of the war. Mr. Curtis says the company was so badly depleted that when they marched to the battle of the Wilderness (May 5, 1864) only fourteen men were able to be in line. Mr. Curtis was seriously wounded during this battle and saw his comrade, Robert Runnels, killed by his side. This was the last battle in which the famous company participated, for all had been killed, wounded, died in camp or taken prisoners. The survivors, as noted above, were later released and they returned to Louisiana. Captain McArthur was a young man and came to Sabine parish from the state of Maine in the ’50s. He had been educated for the law, but after coming to Louisiana he engaged in teaching school. In view of the political complexion of his native state, it might seem strange that the captain cast his lot with the Confederacy, but he was undoubtedly loyal and brave and endeared himself to the people among whom he lived in Sabine parish. Following the early battles of the war he was promoted to the rank of major for distinguished services and bravery, and would probably have attained a higher position if his life had been spared. He was killed at the battle of Winchester, and his brother, an officer in the Union army, came and carried his remains to his old home in Maine for burial.
The Sabine Rebels
The next military organization to leave Sabine for the front was the “Sabine Rebels,” which was mustered in as Company B of the 17th Louisiana Regiment in September, 1861. Colonel S. S. Heard commanded this regiment, which went to Camp Moore immediately after its organization, but returned to New Orleans in November, 1861. The following January the regiment proceeded to Corinth, thence to Shiloh and on April 6th and 7th (1862) participated in that memorable battle, after which they retired to Corinth. In May the army went to Vicksburg. The regiment was then assigned to patrol duty on the V. S. & P. Railway between Vicksburg and Jackson, at Edwards Station and later did similar service along the Mississippi River. While employed in patrolling the river the Sabine Rebels participated in the battle of Port Gibson and took part in a number of minor engagements including the battle of Chickasaw Bayou. On May 17, 1863, they retired within the fortifications of Vicksburg which was invested by the Federal armies, who prosecuted one of the most famous sieges of the war. Penned up on all sides, and without hope of relief, the Confederates capitulated on July 4th (1863). The Confederates were paroled and the soldiers of the Sabine Company returned home.
The original muster roll1 of the Sabine Rebels and the records of the members follow:
Captain D. W. Self, promoted to major, came home, served his parish as sheriff, dead; First Lieutenant L. J. Nash, now living at Many; Lieutenant Mat Thompson, came home and died; Lieutenant S. T. Sibley, living; Sergeant C. Bray, dead; Sergeant John Weeks, deserted; Sergeant R. W. Arnett, died at home; Sergeant Henry Frances, died in camp; Sergeant T. T. Small, died at home; Corporal V. Byles, Corporal W. J. Grarius, dead; Corporal S. B. Sanford, died at home; F. D. Self, died at home; S. S. Andrews, dead; W. H. Addison, died at home; I. A. Addison, living; William Addison, killed at Vicksburg; Gin Arthur, living; Dave Bray, living; Joseph Brown, killed at Vicksburg; F. A. Barker, killed at Vicksburg; Archie Addison, killed at Vicksburg; W. L. Buzzle, died at home; Dr. W. R. Curtis, regimental surgeon, died at home; Taylor Curtis, came home, died in Texas; W. J. Cooper, living; James Cooper, living; Archie Fitts, died at home; M. M. Duggan, living; J. S. Duggan, died at home; W. J. Duggan, died at home; Fred Dupre, died at home; Tom Dixon, died at home; G. W. Dixon, dead; D. R. Gandy, living; D. P. Gandy, died at home; J. H. Gooch, dead; W. M. Harges, living; Tom Herndon, killed at Vicksburg; Tom Horton, dead; Jack Luman, died at home; Glendy McLanahan, living; John J. McCollister, living; Thomas McCollister, died in camp; John McConathy, died at home; A. J. McConathy, dead; G. W. Neal, died at home; H. D. Pearce, living; Levi Pruett, killed at Vicksburg; P. P. Provence, dead; George Perkins, died at home; W. J. Powell, killed at Port Gibson; James A. Small, living; G. W. Small, died at home; J. A. Stroud, died at home; R. D. Sibley, living; T. B. Sibley, living; James Spears, dead; J. C. Jordan, died at home; William Johnson, killed at Vicksburg; S. B. Jackson, died at home; Sam Lucius, died at home; Dan Lucius, dead; L. W. Knippers, living; Tom Lowe, killed at Port Gibson; Joe Kelley, dead; H. B. Miller, died at home; B. W. Miller, died at home; Charley Mayers, died at home; Sam Miller, Tom Miller, John Miller and Payton Miller, died at home; W. B. Miller, dead; Dare Miller, living; Elijah Miller, dead; Elisha Miller, died at home; J. E. Miller, dead; Seabe Mains, dead; Felix McLanahan, dead; Noah Mains, living; William Roaton, died at home; Hard Stroud, died at home; W. J. Salter, dead; Seabe Speights, dead; Moses Salter, died at home; Jehu Skinner, living; James Stone, died at home; Albert Self, dead; William Self, died at home; Maj Stroud, died in camp; E. A. Salter, living; Frank Self, Jr., dead; James Whittaker, killed at Shiloh; William Tastrick, died at home; J. M. Wright, living; W. R. Wright, living; T. J. Williams, living; J. H. Williams, Sr., living; Cris Whitley, living; T. A. Wheeler, living; Martin Williams, dead; Richard Lee, died at home; J. Fisher Smith, came home and died.
While the army was at Vicksburg, Company B was reorganized with D. W. Self, captain, C. W. Dixon, Will Duggan and F. D. Self, lieutenants. Later Captain Self was promoted to major and Lieutenant Frank D. Self was commissioned as captain and J. Fisher Smith as lieutenant. Lieutenant Smith had previously resigned his commission as an officer in the Sabine Rifles with the army of Virginia and returned home, but in a short time re-enlisted as a private with the Sabine Rebels. Lieutenant L. J. Nash, owing to ill health, left the company at Vicksburg, and his organization had been surrendered and paroled before he was able to return.
Lieutenant Nash saved the original flag of the Sabine Rebels and kept it in his possession until recently, when he presented the relic to his niece, Miss McNeely.
In 1862 Captain Wright organized a company in Sabine parish, but after proceeding to New Orleans it disbanded. The men went in all directions. One squad went to Edwards Station, Miss., and were mustered into Company B, 17th Louisiana Infantry, by Lieutenant L. J. Nash. Measles and pneumonia were prevailing at this camp, and among those who died there of these diseases were Joe and William White, recruits from Captain Wright’s disbanded company.
Holland’s Company
Captain Holland organized a company in Sabine parish. W. M. McConathy of Hornbeck, a survivor of that organization, furnished the writer with the following named citizens who were also members of Holland’s company: Jabes McConathy, J. B. Prewitt, Tolivar Kay, W. M. Kay, W. J. Langton, Sr., and Asa Langton.
Many citizens of Sabine parish enlisted in companies organized at other places. In 1862 several from Ward One joined Company C of Natchitoches parish, which finally became a part of the Consolidated Crescent Regiment and won distinction at the battle of Mansfield, April, 1864. Among those thus enlisting were: W. F. Leach, died in camp; T. G. Coburn, living; I. J. Leach, killed at Mansfield; W. M. Lyles, killed at Mansfield; W. Smith, died in camp; W. M. Lester, died since the war; H. J. Lester, living; Malachia Gandy, J. M. Andera, W. S. Ellzey, J. B. Ricks, died since the war; Adam Cole, living; Barry Boswell, living; John Isgitt and W. M. Isgitt, wounded at Mansfield and died since war.
In 1864 the following citizens of Sabine parish enlisted in Capt. Works’ cavalry then being organized at Woodville, Texas, and which was assigned to Colonel Terry’s Rangers: Abe Wrinkle, living; Silas Vanshoebrook, living; Will Thompson, dead; William Peace, dead; Wade Barr, dead; Joe Maxey, living.
G. W. Cain, at present a citizen of Mena, served in Holland’s and Wright’s companies, but later joined the famous Crescent Regiment.
John K. Parrott, John B. Vandegaer, Steve Martinez and John McCormic were also among the Sabine citizens who were with the Crescent Regiment and participated in the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. With the exception of Mr. Vandegaer, all the above-named citizens are still living.
Sabine Men in the Uncivil War
A splendid detailed story of these great battles which took place near the border of Sabine parish, April 8th and 9th, 1864, has been furnished by John E. Hewitt, editor of the Mansfield Enterprise, and historians have told the story; hence a summary of those engagements will suffice here. The battles were fought after the first soldiers to go from Sabine had finished their fight for the Confederacy, and those who did not die on the battlefields had returned home on paroles.
In the early spring of 1864 General Banks, in command of a Federal force of 31,000 troops, advanced from New Orleans with Shreveport as the objective point and with the intention of threatening an invasion of Texas. The Federals were supported in the march up Red River by a fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter. General Steele, who commanded a Federal force in Arkansas, was ordered to co-operate with Banks in the capture of Shreveport, which was occupied by a Confederate army under command of General E. Kirby Smith, who was chief commander of the Confederate forces west of the Mississippi. His principal lieutenant was General “Dick” Taylor, a son of General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican war.
In 1863 Generals Taylor, Thomas Green, and Mouton, with small forces, kept the Federals from overrunning Louisiana, among the notable engagements being the battle of Berwick Bay on June 23 of that year. Following the reverses to the Confederate arms at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Taylor was forced to turn his attention to the defense of West Louisiana. He was reorganizing his army at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill when Banks’ army was advancing up the river to give him battle. Banks’ army was divided in two divisions and General Taylor, whose entire force was about 11,000 men, decided to strike the army by crushing one division after another.
The battle began at a place known as Honeycut Hill, three and one-half miles from Mansfield, on the morning of April 8, where the Federal advance found a force of Confederate cavalry. General Green’s cavalry occupied the attention of the Federals while Taylor formed his line of battle on the opposite side of the Moss plantation from that on which the Federals were advancing. “Had the Federal advance been resolutely pushed,” relates Mr. Hewitt, “they could have occupied Mansfield that morning without scarcely firing a gun.” The Federals formed their line of battle just west of the old Sabine Cross-roads and posted 11 pieces of artillery to command Honeycut Hill, supported by an Iowa brigade. At 1:30 p.m. General Banks ordered forward two brigades of infantry, passing the line of Iowa troops, and a brigade which comprised a Massachusetts regiment, the 18th Kentucky and 130th Illinois. Banks established his headquarters at Antioch church and awaited an attack.
While General Green was detaining Banks at Honeycut Hill, General Taylor sent forward three regiments of infantry and posted six pieces of artillery on the Mansfield–Natchitoches road, which, with a part of the 2nd and 8th Louisiana cavalry, formed the Confederate left. In the afternoon, to prevent a flanking movement on the Confederate left, the Louisiana troops and General Polignac’s Texas brigade shifted from the right to the left. The Federals replied to this move by opening up an artillery fire, which was met by tremendous fire from the Confederate guns.
Captain Thigpen’s company of the Crescent Regiment were sent out as skirmishers, and at 3:30 p.m. General Mouton was ordered to support these sharpshooters. He ordered his brigade forward which was shortly followed by an advance along the entire Confederate line. The Crescent Regiment was the first to reach the strongly entrenched Federals and the fight began at close range. A volley from the Illinois regiment killed 55 men in the Crescent, including every field officer, and wounded over 150. “This dreadful charge,” says Mr. Hewitt, “staggered this gallant regiment; man after man grabbed the fallen colors and tried to bear them onward, only to fall as fast as they took it. Six had fallen, including the gallant Captain Robert Seth Fields of New Orleans, when that peerless regiment, without colors and few soldiers, rushed forward, forced the line of the Federals, who were barricaded behind piles of rails, overwhelmed and captured the 130th Illinois regiment and threw into confusion the entire Federal line.
The cost was terrible, for the 130th Illinois was a typical regiment of American farmers who did not shoot and run away, but who stood up manfully, realizing that they held the key to the situation, and that victory or defeat depended upon their being able to hold their position. It looked like the immovable had been struck by the irresistible and that something had to happen. The Illinois regiment had suffered almost as much as had the Crescent, and Colonel Reed lay wounded on the field. In the moment of furious fighting and utter confusion, General Mouton and staff rushed forward at the head of the leaderless, but furiously fighting Crescent. One of his staff brought forward the blood-stained regimental flag, when it was greeted with a volley from the stubbornly resisting Federals and again fell to the ground, this time stained with the life-blood of General Alfred Mouton, as game a man as ever laid down his life as a willing sacrifice upon the altar of his country, three balls having pierced his manly breast. The conflict was almost a hand-to-hand affair, but the Illinois regiment were soon all killed, wounded or taken prisoners. It was a soldier’s fight, for neither regiment had an officer left to make or take a surrender.”
While this engagement was in progress, General Green’s Texas cavalry routed the Kansas cavalry, and then, dismounting, quickly defeated a line of Federal infantry. The 18th and 27th Louisiana Regiments met and defeated Massachusetts troops, General Polignac assaulted and captured the Federal artillery at Honeycut Hill and the entire line of the invaders was broken, and the army began a retreat. General Banks’ army was completely demoralized and defeated, and while retreating he was harassed by Confederate cavalry, who captured large quantities of wagons, horses and supplies. Banks made a stand at Chapman’s Hill, and General Taylor sent a brigade of Texas infantry against him, but he held his position and darkness put a stop to the fight. During the night Banks’ entire army retreated in the direction of Pleasant Hill. The Confederate loss was 450 killed and 1,200 wounded. The Federal loss was as follows: Every regimental commander in the 13th Corps, either captured, killed or wounded; 385 men killed, 1,100 wounded, 2,800 prisoners; 20 cannon, 400 loaded wagons and teams, and a large number of small arms, horses and supplies. The Federals engaged in the battle numbered 13,000 while the Confederates numbered less than 11,000.
The next morning, April 9, General Taylor decided to complete his victory by again attacking Banks. The Federals, however, had now been reinforced and had about 18,000 men in line. Taylor waited for the arrival of some Arkansas and Missouri regiments under the command of General Churchill and his army now numbered about 12,500 men. The battle began about 3 o’clock in the afternoon when Churchill’s men were ordered forward with a view of turning the Federal left. Here the Missouri troops made a brave fight, but, as was the case at Mansfield, it remained for Generals Green’s and Polignac’s cavalry to turn the tide of battle and when night came the Confederates were in possession of the field. During the night Banks retreated to Grand Ecore and later to Alexandria, laying waste the country as he went.
The battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill were among the bloodiest contests of the war. Some old citizens of Sabine who went over the battlefields immediately after the engagements recall the scenes with horror. The dead were buried in pits and several days were spent in clearing the field of the carnage. The bullet-scarred trees there still bear evidence of that stubborn conflict.
These were the last battles fought in Louisiana and a few months later the war was brought to end. Then came the period of “reconstruction” which extended over a dozen years or until the administration of Francis T. Nicholls as governor. The Southern men accepted the result of the four years’ war in a spirit that characterizes true American manhood and returned to their dilapidated, if not devastated, homes and bravely undertook the work of rebuilding on the foundation of shattered hopes. This was, indeed, a greater battle than any in which they had participated on fields where clashing arms and the cannon’s roar argued their cause. Deprived of their political rights, they were forced to renew their civil pursuits under the government of strangers, whose only aim was their personal gain. The “carpet-bagger” did not thrive in the “Free State of Sabine,” which never surrendered to the domination of piebald officials, but in many sections of the state clashes between citizens and the interlopers and negroes were frequent. The cause of the white Southerners eventually triumphed and the country entered upon a new epoch of existence which was marked by an advancement along all lines of endeavor that is unexcelled by any people in the history of the world. And that chivalrous spirit which brought glory to the people of the South on the battlefield and led them through the humiliating period which followed will inspire them in the peaceful pursuits of life and with an unfaltering loyalty to the constitution of the Old Republic.
Back to: Sabine Parish – Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Back to: Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Source
Belisle, John G., History of Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Many, La. : The Sabine banner press, 1912.
- This roll was furnished by Mr. James A. Small, a survivor of the company, who in 1910, suffered the misfortune of becoming totally blind. [↩]