Morehouse Parish native George Sims hopes to fill a gap in the historical record by collecting information for a book about the Confederate Army’s 17th Louisiana Infantry Volunteers.
In order to get a closer look at the lives of the men who fought in the 17th Regiment, Sims is asking for help from descendants and local historians who may have information that has never been published before.
Sims, who now lives in Mansfield, Mo., retired two years ago and began doing research on the 17th Regiment because his great-grandfather was a volunteer in one of the companies.
“He was actually from Union Parish,” said Sims. “He’s been dead since 1881 with a Confederate tombstone that says ‘Captain.’ As far as I have learned, though, he was never more than a corporal.”
Sims said he has found the 17th Regiment was involved in several key battles of the Civil War.
“Usually, a prominent citizen would form a company of local volunteers,” he explained. “The company would then go to Camp Moore for boot camp. When they had enough companies, they would form a regiment.”
Historian Arthur Bergeron writes in “Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865” (LSU Press: 1989) that the 17th Regiment was organized at Camp Moore in Tangipahoa Parish in Sept. 1861, with a total of 832 men from 10 parish companies.
The Morehouse Parish company of volunteers began as Company H and later became Company G, and was nicknamed the ‘Morehouse Southrons.’ The company’s first commander was William Otterson, succeeded in May 1862 by Samuel M. Stevenson.
The 17th Regiment was also comprised of the Ouachita Southrons, Sabine Rifles, Catahoula Rebels, Phoenix Rifles, Landrum Guards, Caddo Lake Boys, Simmons Stars, Catahoula Guards and Claiborne Invincibles.
Bergeron writes the 17th Regiment went to New Orleans and then to Corinth, Miss. and fought in the Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862. Shiloh was a defeat for the Confederates who had hoped to drive Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant’s Army of Tennessee out of the area before it could link up with the Army of Ohio.
After Shiloh, the 17th Regiment was ordered to Vicksburg, Miss.
“While they were in Vicksburg, Grant was trying to find a way to get into the city,” said Sims.
Faced with Confederate guns on the hills overlooking the Mississippi River, Grant went so far as to have his soldiers and slaves dig a canal on the Louisiana side to alter the river’s course. The project failed.
“So he sent Gen. [William Tecumseh] Sherman to try to attack Vicksburg from the north,” said Sims. “I found out the 17th Regiment was right in the thick of that.”
Bergeron writes the 17th Regiment repulsed Sherman’s men on the Chickasaw Bluffs north of Vicksburg from Dec. 26-29, 1862.
The 17th Regiment also fought in the Battle of Port Gibson south of Vicksburg on May 1, 1863. The men returned to Vicksburg and fought in the Union siege on the city from May through July 1863.
The Siege of Vicksburg is considered the final major military action of the Civil War and a turning point combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg just days before.
Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton surrendered to Grant on July 4, and Grant offered parole to his defeated opponents in Vicksburg. The men of the 17th Regiment returned to their homes, then reported to parole camp in Shreveport in Jan. 1864. They reassembled and remained in garrison at Pineville, La. until May 1865, when the regiment disbanded.
“I’ve been collecting bits and pieces of the story,” said Sims. “Right now I’m trying to organize the information I’ve gotten.”
Important to the story are the backgrounds of each company and each individual soldier who fought with the 17th Regiment. Sims has written to newspapers in each of the parishes where the companies were formed, including Morehouse Parish.
“I want to have a more intimate look at the individual companies,” said Sims. “Whatever information there is, it’s probably in somebody’s attic, passed from somebody’s grandmother or in a local museum.”
For example, when volunteers came together to form companies, the local women often sewed uniforms and flags for them. Do any of these hand-sewn artifacts survive?
Fourteen soldiers of the 17th Regiment are named in “Confederate Soldiers, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana,” published by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Col. John Milton Sandidge Chapter. They are J.L. Boiter, Ira Broom, W.W. Crenshaw, C.C. Darling, William Day, J.R. Furlow, W.H. Furlow, Charles Goulette, L.H. Hill, C.H. Hubbard, F.H. Hubbard, D. Maxwell, J.H. Robinson and J.M. Robinson.
Samuel M. Stevenson is listed in the “Enumeration of Ex-Confederate Soldiers and Widows of Deceased Soldiers,” filed with the Clerk of Court in Oct. 1911. The former commander was evidently still living at the time and is listed as 77 years old.
“I hope to be able to include personal information about the men of the Morehouse company in the final book, and will welcome any information on the Morehouse Southrons, the Seventeenth Louisiana or any individuals associated with this regiment.”
Sims said anyone with information may contact him by email at georgesims@hotmail.com, by phone at 417.924.2312 or by mail at Route 2, Box 237-3, Mansfield, MO 65704-9564.
