This month Samuel Augustus Hayden (1839-1918), Louisiana native and Baptist minister, is released from Johnson’s Island Prison in Ohio. The war interrupted Johnson’s ministerial training as he enlisted in Company B, Sixteenth Regiment, Louisiana Infantry. Fighting in Shiloh (April 1862) and other western theater battles, Johnson rose to the rank of captain prior to being…
One year after the United States Army seized control of Alexandria, Louisiana, the Union abandons the town. Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks orders that the town be left intact, but two corps, ignoring the general’s orders, set about plundering and burning the city. By the end of the day, the flames have spread and the…
The Battle of Shiloh continues today, with momentum shifting to the Union and resulting in a victory for the United States. Dr. Nathaniel Alexander “Alex” Morgan (1823 – 1907), a Louisiana physician and farmer, fights in the 19th Louisiana Infantry. In a letter to his wife Fanny following the battle, he describes the battlefield action…