Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands

This CD-ROM contains compiled service records on the Louisiana Confederate Soldiers. It was originally published in 3 volumes. It contains records of approximately 88,000 soldiers.

Sample Entry:


Faad, Michael, Pvt. Co. G, 5th La. Inf. En. May 20, 1861, Labranche, La. Present on Rolls to Oct., 1861. Federal Rolls of Prisoners of War, Captured Mine Run, Va., May 5, 1864. Recd. at Pt. Lookout, Md., from Belle Pisins, Va., May 18, 1864. Forwd. to Elmira, N. Y., July 26, 1864. Released on Oath of Allegiance to United States, May 21, 1865.



From the Introduction:


It is reasonably certain, that there is not extant a complete and perfect record of the Individual Members of any Louisiana Confederate States Army Command.

The nearest approach to such a Record is to be found in the Records in the Office of the Commissioner of Louisiana Military Records, of such Organizations as served in the Army of Northern Virginia, where the discipline was, perchance, best and where the Muster Rolls and Reports were more promptly and regularly made.

These Records do, however, furnish many thousand proofs of Individual Soldiers complete and perfect, in establishing their devoted Service to their Country to the end of the Strife.

Patriotic Men, who were either Killed in battle, Died in Camp, or in Hospital, Languished in-Northern Prisons until after the Fall of the Confederacy, or were duly present and Paroled, at the final Surrender of the Confederate States Armies.

It is a lamentable fact, however, that a very large number, many of whom had served with honorable records, to within a short time of the close of the War, were absent without leave, at the final Surrender of their respective Commands, and therefore, were not included in the Rolls of those actually Surrendered and Paroled: their Orderly Sergeants very properly not reporting them for Parole.

These are themselves to blame, not the Parole Records, for their not being in the Parole Lists, with their former Comrades in arms.

And the plight of such as these as were in the Trans-Mississippi Department is aggravated by the fact that at the Surrender of General E. Kirby Smith May 26th. 1865, it is said the Confederate Records including the Muster Rolls, were Burned at Shreveport, La., so that there were no Records left to even show their Service up to near the time of Final Surrender.

Thus the whole burden of proof is thrown upon these absentees. This condition of absenteeism is fully established by many Official Records and Papers, not only for the Louisiana Soldiers in the West, but also for troops in other Sections of the South.

This condition gives additional luster to the loyal service of those noble men, whose devotion to duty and to Country, nerved them to stand the final test of Soldierly Honor, and while their Comrades were deserting from duty, and from them, yet stood firm and did not lay down their arms, until they could do so honorably and deserve the Parole, which is their Certificate of loyalty, faithfulness, devotion to Country, and to their enlistment Oath.

Our publication will perpetuate the certificate of honor which these have earned and they can afford to be charitable to their comrades of good record, otherwise, but who were unfortunate at the end.

Fortunately at the close of the war between the States the muster rolls and confederate papers captured by the Union Army from the Confederates, were sent to the War Department, and were there saved, collated, and compiled for reference papers.

But the people of the States both North and South were refused access to them for forty-five years after the war.

The State of Louisiana was the first state to make the fight to get access to these records, and was the first state to succeed in getting to them for Historical purposes, although many states North and South had applied and had been refused by department ruling.

And it was nearly four years after the attempt to collate and compile records of the Louisiana Confederate Soldiers was begun by Commissioner Thomas W. Castleman, that through the aid of our members of Congress, he finally got access to the vaults containing these Louisiana Records.

He then commenced the Photographing of the records which work had to be done under supervision of a Government official who counted and controlled each piece, and watched that no changes could be made in the Rolls.

All of these Photographs of War Rolls, of Louisiana Confederate Troops, are now in the Office of the Commissioner of Military Records.

They exhibit possibly 450,000 Photographs of Individual Card Records of service, of Louisiana Soldiers.

There are 24,199 Photographed Record Sheets of which 413 are Photographs of copies made in the War Department, Washington, D. C. of Rolls borrowed from Memorial Hall New Orleans, La., in 1903 for the purpose of copying them.

We have also 39,249 envelope Card Records of Paroled Soldiers, Prison Records, Death Lists, Etc.

We estimate the enlistment from Louisiana in the Confederate Army at about 56,000 and with re-enlistments other than twelve months Regiments, which re-enlisted as Commands, would go possibly to 65,000 names. When we complete our publication, the number will be more accurately established.

When completed the compilation and the publication of the Individual Record of each Soldier, in alphabetical form A to Z for future reference, with a brief History of the 982 Companies, and the various Commands from Louisiana, will add interest and usefulness to the work for all time.

These publications when completed, will be of interest to many thousand descendants of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers; and be a just and lasting tribute and monument to the Soldier himself.

It is a work, which requires the most painstaking integrity, that only facts be published, and that no omissions are permitted, which could detract from or mar the good name of any Soldier who served faithfully.