Monroe Federal Raids During the Civil War.

To go along with yesterday's post, I though I would compile some of the info I found in that book and talk about the three raids in Monroe. The first raid happened in the last week of August, 1863, led by Generals Leggett and Stevenson. The Confederate Commissary Store was raided and Horses and Mules … Continue reading Monroe Federal Raids During the Civil War. →

Northeast Louisiana During the Civil War

Google books is a beautiful thing! I found this book: https://www.google.com/books/edition/British_and_American_Claims/pT9HAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Tuesday night and I am fascinated by it! Basically, it is full of testimony of people living in Northeast Louisiana (and South Arkansas) during the Civil War talking about Federal and Confederate raids in the area. The widow of John Calderwood was suing the … Continue reading Northeast Louisiana During the Civil War →

An Update to The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker

Surprisingly, a couple of weeks ago, I found a little tidbit as to why Francis may have been shot. You may remember a Confederate soldier walked up to the little boy, placed a gun to his head and shot him. This new information came, from all places, from his Grandmother! Eliza Warfield was the mother-in-law … Continue reading An Update to The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker →

The Ouachita Blues and the Pelican Greys

Here is another great WPA paper about a couple of well-known confederate units out of Ouachita! https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-wpa%3A174

The History of Benton's Bell Battery

Have you ever wondered how the confederate unit known as Benton's Bell Battery, got it's name? My boss continues to digitize our WPA collection and this was a recent upload. I didn't know we had this! https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-wpa%3A167 As a side note, written on the bottom of the last page is more proof that Stephen Girard … Continue reading The History of Benton's Bell Battery →

The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker

In my time working in the Genealogy Department, I have heard of the tale of a little ten year old boy, son of Wesley John Quincy Baker, walking along the streets of Monroe with one of his family's slaves (unnamed) who was about the same age. In 1863 a Confederate soldier (said to be of … Continue reading The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker →

An Example of an old Coroner’s Report

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a list of abstracts of old Coroner's Reports from 1862 to 1929. I thought I would post one to show you what an old one looks like. There were only two pages to be found of the report of James L. Graves' death. If you have been reading … Continue reading An Example of an old Coroner’s Report →

Solving a Mystery: The Confederate Dead of Monroe City Cemetery

The Confederate Monument in Old City Cemetery Since I first became interested in Ouachita parish history, I have heard the local story that the Confederate monument in Monroe’s Old City cemetery sits on top of the burials of Confederate soldiers. Most of them would have come from the Confederate Hospital that was set up … Continue reading Solving a Mystery: The Confederate Dead of Monroe City Cemetery →

The story of Edwin Francis Jemison: Louisiana’s Most Famous Boy Soldier

By Unknown - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cwp.4a40928.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19521228 His face is haunting. He stares … Continue reading The story of Edwin Francis Jemison: Louisiana’s Most Famous Boy Soldier →

Sometimes the Dead Want to be Found!

A few years ago, as I was guiding a group through the Old City Cemetery in Monroe, someone asked me about two low vault tombs we were passing. I told the person no, but I had always meant to do research. The tombs contain the graves of a man, James L. Graves and his … Continue reading Sometimes the Dead Want to be Found! →