During the Civil War Evergreen was run by the Union army, and the men formerly enslaved there were conscripted into working in the sugarcane fields, this time for the federal government.
Company H 80th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry Military Register Lithograph. The Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, Huntingdon Digital Library.
Almost all of the soldiers named in this lithograph came from St. John the Baptist parish and returned there after they were mustered out of the army. At the time, most did not have surnames, so they provided their slaveholders’ names instead. Note the use of Becnel, Donaldson, and Marmillion.
CONSCRIPTS FROM LEZIN BECNEL PLANTATION [EVERGREEN]
Adam (Adam Gordon)
Alexis (Alexander Becnel)
Allan
Cesar
Dick
Herainn (Aaron)
Jules
Ned (Ned Edwards)
Setors (Sanders)
Robert
Sam (Sam Dangerfield)
William
Gilbert (Isaac Gaines)
Joseph
Edmond
***NOTE: The names in the parentheses were those they adopted after the Civil War.
These men later joined the 80th Regiment and received a $200 bounty for enlisting.
The 80th United States Colored Infantry was stationed at Bonnet Carré in St. John the Baptist parish beginning in the summer of 1864. The regiment quickly drew recruits from nearby plantations. In August and September, many formerly enslaved men from Evergreen Plantation and the surrounding area enlisted. The 80th occupied Bonnet Carré point and companies from the regiment guarded “various bayous leading into Lake Maurepas” with outposts extending up to “College Point,” near present day Convent. The men who enlisted in the 80th began their military career serving and policing their own backyards.
During the regiment’s time in St. John the Baptist parish, it faced constant harassment by Confederate guerillas and marauding bands of deserters out to rob the countryside for their own gain. Félix Pierre Poché, a Confederate planter, native of neighboring St. James parish, and an adversary of the 80th, described what the soldiers were up against: “These young men. . .are serving at this point. . .as a base of quasi military operations, in the form of very frequent raids on the river in St. James or Ascension, where they provide themselves with horses and clothing which they take from various stores which they have the pleasure and duty to visit during their excursions, which, in this way, become more or less lucrative. As in everything else, there is necessarily great abuse. . .as many of these men do not limit themselves to taking only what they need, but make a veritable traffic in mules and other things which they sell here or in other places.” Union soldiers struggled to combat the rampant raiding and pillaging. In October, the commander of the District of Lafourche sent out soldiers to antagonize a band of partisans led by a man named Whittaker who had been raiding the countryside. In cooperation with this move, the commander of the 80th USCI sent a patrol across Blind River toward French Settlement in a show of force against the raiders and guerillas.
By late December, Poché was organizing an attack on the 80th USCI. He wrote in his diary, “At the invitation of some young men, I consented to take command of a little expedition which had the purpose of attacking and taking captive some Yankee pickets at Gaiennie’s mill on ‘Blind River.’” He and his men worked to “procure guns, ammunition and other articles.” The majority of the men involved in the raid were all natives of the River Parishes, with surnames like Roussel, Reine, Schexnadyre, Tassin, Chenet, Ory, and Trepagnier. These Confederate guerrillas wounded three soldiers and captured five, all part of a detachment from Company G, 80th USCI, selected to man a picket post on Blind River. One of these soldiers, Pvt. Tony More, died of his wounds. Poché and his men also took nine rifles and ammunition from the camp and robbed the colored soldiers of their “great coats.” The Confederate guerrillas then began a march to Clinton to deliver the prisoners and captured weapons to the post commander there. En route to Clinton, three of the prisoners managed to escape. Poché and other Confederate guerrillas’ actions demonstrate that while the men of the 80th never participated in any formal battle, they faced danger their entire time in service. After the incident with Poché’s men, the 80th participated in a scouting expedition from Bayou Goula to Grand River. The regiment was then sent to Camp Parapet near New Orleans.
The 80th spent the remainder of 1865 and most of 1866 in Alexandria and Shreveport in North Louisiana. They were expected to police the area and help the region adjust to post-war conditions. They encountered extreme resistance to the end of slavery and refusal to comply with the terms of Reconstruction. The area surrounding Alexandria exhibited “very little change,” and according to Lieutenant Colonel Orrin McFadden of the 80th, “Union men whether of northern or southern birth are living in extreme jeopardy of their lives.” Soldiers, former slaves, and Union supporters were subject to harassment and threats. The 80th was one of the Union regiments that remained on duty in the South in an effort to maintain order and enforce Reconstruction laws and prevent violence. The 80th’s commander, Colonel W. S. Mudgett, reported on conditions around Shreveport, “Many abuses to the freedmen are being perpetrated and the parties go free from punishment. . .as we are powerless to reach them with infantry troops. . .civil authorities will not protect the negro when calling for justice against a white man. The people are as strongly united here against. . .the US Government as. . .[at] any time during the rebellion.” Thus the 80th spent its last year in service trying to protect former slaves and citizens loyal to the government who were attempting to bring about social and political change. In fact, these soldiers were in many ways the only protection against the return of the old social order, violence, and disorder. “Take away the troops and northern men must leave or foreswear every principle of true loyalty and manhood and truckle to the prejudices of the masses,” Mudgett lamented.
The 80th USCI’s last assignment was garrison duty in Texas. It remained there until March 1, 1867, when its men were mustered out of service. The 80th holds the distinction of being the last black regiment on Reconstruction duty.
IN MEMORY OF
PRIVATE TONEY MOORE
a soldier in the 80th United States Colored Infantry who lost his life fighting for the ideal upon which this country was founded, that all men are created equal
For more information on soldiers from Evergreen Plantation who served in the 80th USCI, see Sam Dangerfield, Nancy and Adam Gordon, and Ned Edwards’ profiles in our Ancestor Project section of the website.