Pointe Coupee Artillery

The Pointe Coupee Artillery was a Confederate Louisiana artillery unit in the American Civil War. This artillery unit was commanded by Major R. A. Stewart and made up primarily of men from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, but also had members from other parishes, including East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Concordia, and Livingston.

History

The first unit, company A, was recruited and organized by Capt. R. A. Stewart in June 1861 whose members were mostly from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana and surrounding parishes. The unit received extensive training in Baton Rouge by well trained officers of the Donaldsonville Louisiana Artillery. Captain Stewart's Pointe Coupee Artillery distinguished itself in their first engagement at Belmont, Missouri in November 1861. Afterward Co. B joined Co. A in Jan. 1862 and Co. C joined in August 1862. Stewart recruited Co. B mostly from Livingston Parish and Co. C mostly from Pointe Coupee with several other parishes and southern states also represented among its members. Capt. R. A. Stewart also recruited several infantry units in these areas. Stewart's 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 in the place of the now resigned Maj. R. A. Stewart. Co. B was formally exchanged at Vicksburg, Mississippi in September 1862. At that time, Companies A & C contained 165 officers and men. Co. A was engaged at the Battle of Corinth in early October 1862 and Capt. Bouanchaud's Co. C was instrumental in the successful Confederate rear guard ambush of pursuing Union troops at Coffeeville in early December 1862. Companies A and C participated in the bombardment of the Union navy at Port Hudson in March 1863 and afterward Co. A (with infantry) were ordered to chase down Union Gen. Grierson during his cavalry raid through the center of Mississippi. All three companies were later assigned to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and participated heavily in the defense of Vicksburg in the first half of 1863. Co. B performed well during this time with heavy casualties at Fort Pemberton and Vicksburg battles. At Champion Hill Bouanchaud's eight guns of Companies A and C were heavily engaged in the rear guard cover of the retreating Confederate army. A large number of Co. C became casualties at Champion Hill with at least an 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 Yoiste successfully crossed Baker's Creek and joined the retreating Confederate army to Vicksburg. The other two gun section of Co. A led by Capt. Bouanchaud were cut off at Baker's Creek with about 5,000 of Gen. William Wing Loring's troops and retreated to Jackson, Mississippi. Meanwhile, Co. B defended the northern approaches to Vicksburg and was complimented by being assigned the British Whitworth breach loading cannon at Fort Pemberton and Vicksburg. Bouanchaud's part of Co. A participated in the 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 Vicksburg and because of this the three companies were consolidated into one under the command of Capt. Alcide Bouanchaud. Most of the men of the Pointe Coupee Artillery were never officially "exchanged" after the fall of Vicksburg. The Pointe Coupee Artillery a/k/a Bouanchaud's Battery now operated in Myrick's Artillery Battalion in the Confederate Army of Tennessee in May 1864 and at this time Myrick's Artillery Battalion mustered 308 officers and men, 209 horses, and twelve (12) pounder Napoleons. Bouanchaud's Battery consisted of 106 officers and men, four 12 pounder Napoleons, wagons and other support vehicles pulled by 82 horses and 25 mules. They arrived just in time to fight in the Battle of Resaca. They were 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. Capt. Bouanchaud personally conducted a rear guard retiring in sections maneuver while firing on the first day of the Nashville battle being distinguished as the only Confederate cannon on the entire Confederate left to successfully avoid capture. On the second day of Nashville battle some twenty of the men were killed or wounded in one volley from Union infantry as Bouanchaud's boys continued firing even firing directly at their fourth cannon after jubilent Union soldiers gathered around it in celebration. Capt. Bouanchaud and others were captured and about half of his men were killed, wounded or captured at the battle of Nashville. The remnants fought under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest 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. 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 some fourteen of them attempted to link up with other rebel forces in Atlanta. These fourteen fought in the last Civil War battle east of the Mississippi River at Fort Tyler, West Point, Georgia with one being killed 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 were killed or died of disease during the war and more than 675 men served in these companies at one time or another during the war.

Companies

See also

• Louisiana Civil War Confederate Units
• Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State

References