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Louisiana, unlike other southern states, primarily maintained separated white and black military organizations. A few Louisiana “free blacks”, however, served in white Confederated units and received Confederate pensions. Among them were Charles Lutz, Jean Baptiste Pierre-Auguste, and Leufroy Pierre-Auguste of St. Landry Parish, who fought with the Confederate army troops at Shiloh, Fredericksburg, and Vicksburg.

Confederate Research Sources
Civil War Service:

Auguste, Lufoy Pierre. Pvt. Co. K. 16th La. Infty. En. Sept. 29th, 1861, Camp Moore, La. Present on All Rolls from Sept., 1861, to Oct., 1862. Roll for Nov. and Dec., 1862, ?Colored Man. Dropped from Roll by Order of Col.
Gober, Dec. 8th, 1862.?

CIVIL WAR HISTORY, Volume XXXII, No. 3, September, 1986

FREE MEN OF COLOR IN GREY
Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr.

Lufroy Pierre-Auguste was born in St. Landry Parish about 1830. He was the son of Pierre Pierre-Auguste and Gabriele Tessier, free persons of color. The 1860 census shows that Lufroy worked as a stockherder for Francois P. Pitre, Jr. Lufroy left his farm and joined Captain Daniel Gober’s Big Cane rifles, which became Company K, Sixteenth Louisiana Infantry Regiment. The first two muster rolls of this company list him as a free man of color-the only such instance found in researching these men. None of the men discussed in this manuscript, except for Lutz and possibly Gabriel Grappe, pretended they were white. The other men in their units undoubtedly knew them as free blacks. The Sixteenth Louisiana fought in the battles of Shiloh, Farmington, and Perrysville. On December 8, 1862, while in camp at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Lufroy received a discharge from Confederate service. The reason given for his dicharge was that he was a “colored man.” Apparently superior authorities had finally discovered that he was black and ordered his separation from the army. Lufroy went home, but he did become involved in one other incident before war’s end. On May 13, 1865, he surprised two Jayhawkers near Opelousas. These men made up part of a band of outlaws, deserters, and draft dodgers who resisted Confederate authority. The two Jayhawkers fired at him, and he returned fire, hitting one of the men. Lufroy married in 1869, but no further information on his life after the war has come to light so far.

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1860 United States Federal Census

Name: Lufroid p Auguste
Age in 1860: 30
Birth Year: abt 1830
Birthplace: Saint Landry
Home in 1860: Opelousas, St Landry, Louisiana
Race: Mulatto
Gender: Male
Post Office: Grand Coteau
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members: Name Age
Francois P Pitre 33
Azeline C Pitre 28
Francois Pitre 10
Estelle Pitre 9
Arthure Pitre 7
Azeline Pitre 5
Armant Pitre 3
Octave Pitre 9.12
Diomel s Durio 16
Lufroid p Auguste 30

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1870 St. Landry Parish, LA Census Record

Leufroi Pierre-Auguste 40 M Mulatto LA Farmer $300 $225
Caroline Pierre-Auguste 37 F Mulatto LA
Celestine Pierre-Auguste 21 F Mulatto LA
Narcisse Pierre-Auguste 17 M Mulatto LA
Azelie Pierre-Auguste 14 F Mulatto LA
Valmont Pierre-Auguste 13 M Mulatto LA
Pierre Pierre-Auguste 11 M Mulatto LA
Eugenie Pierre-Auguste 8 F Mulatto LA *Wife of Valmont LeBlanc brother
to William, Elizabeth, Zeolide, Etienne
Meranthe Pierre-Auguste 6 F Mulatto LA *Wife of William LeBlanc

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William Leblanc m. November 26, 1879 Merante Pierre August (Opelousas Courthouse marriage #11100). Married December 18, 1879, St. Landry Catholic Church, Vol. 2, page 521
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1880 United States Federal Census

Home in 1880: 1st Ward, Saint Landry, Louisiana
Auguste Lufroid Pierre 50 M Mulatto LA Farm Laborer
Caroline Pierre 50 F Mulatto LA
Eustine Pierre 30 F Mulatto LA Daughter
Ophelia Pierre 9 F Mulatto LA Granddaughter

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1900 United States Federal Census

Name: Marrent Lablanc
Home in 1900: Police Jury Ward 1, Saint Landry, Louisiana
Age: 38
Estimated birth year: abt 1862
Birthplace: Louisiana
Relationship to head-of-house: Wife
Spouse’s name: William
Race: Black
Occupation: View image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
William Lablanc 41
Marrent Lablanc 38
Uless Lablanc 19
William Lablanc 19
Albert Lablanc 12
Marrie Lablanc 9
Robert Lablanc 7
Joseph Lablanc 5
Josephine Lablanc 5
Henry Lablanc 4
Adam Lablanc 3
Ella Lablanc 2

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1910 United States Federal Census

Name: Eulis Leblance
[Eulis Leblanc]
Age in 1910: 29
Estimated birth year: abt 1881
Birthplace: Louisiana
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father’s Birth Place: Louisiana
Mother’s Birth Place: Louisiana
Spouse’s name: Madlene
Home in 1910: Police Jury Ward 1, St Landry, Louisiana
Marital Status: Married
Race: Mulatto
Gender: Male
Eulis Leblance 29
Madlene Leblance 21
Octavie Leblance 4
Ledia Leblance 2/12

I do not know if those individuals were slaves or not. What I do know is that Federal soldiers clearly wrote home that they encountered Black Confederates in action in Virginia.

The person to contact in regard to this would be professor Ed Smith at American University. I have not seen him for quite some time. He is probably retired but it would be worth discussing the matter with him.

I do not know how many Blacks served in the Confederate ranks and I would not hazard to guess. I know that the three instances I mentioned are documented. See Contant’s, Paths of Blood for the incident at Lee’s Mills.

26 out of 1616 is 1.6%. My point is that nowhere near 1 in 10 armed Confederate soldiers was Black.

Brett

However, acceptance of the idea is the most important step!

Please note:

1) I’m not denying the presence of Black Confederate soldiers. There certainly were some. It’s just that they numbered in the hundreds rather than the hundred thousands.

2) There WERE thousands of Blacks working in jobs such as cooks and teamsters which freed up more Whites to do the actual fighting.

If you consider #2 Black Confederates, then I see how you can say 1 in 10 men with the Confederate armies was Black. If you only consider Black Confederates to be number 1, there were FAR, FAR fewer men.

Brett

What figures are you referring to? And by combatant do you mean someone who carried arms in a Confederate unit? If so, I find it very hard to believe 1 in 10 armed Confederate soldiers was black.

Brett