150-Years-Ago: THE FALL OF NEW ORLEANS-PART II

NEW ORLEANS TRUE DELTA

April 27, 1862

The following is a copy of the mayor's reply to the commodore's [Farragut] verbal demand for surrender of the city:

New Orleans Mayor John T. Monroe
(Kendall's History of New Orleans)

Mayoralty of New Orleans,

City Hall, April 26, 1862,

To Flag Officer D. G. Farragut, U.S. Flag Ship Hartford:

Sir - In pursuance of the resolution which he thought proper to take, out of regard for the lives of the women and children who still crowd this great metropolis, Gen. Lovell has evacuated it with his troops, and restored back to me the administration of its government and the custody of its honor.

I have, in concert with the city fathers, considered the demand you made of me on yesterday, of an unconditional surrender of the city, coupled with a requisition to hoist up the flag of the United States on the public edifices, and to haul down that which still floats to the breeze from the dome of this hall; and it becomes my duty to transmit to you the answer which the universal sentiment of my constituency no less than the promptings of my own heart dictate to me on this sad and solemn occasion.

The city is without means of defense, and utterly destitute of the force and material that might enable it to resist the overpowering armament displayed in sight of it.

I am no military man, and possess no authority beyond that of executing the municipal laws of the city of New Orleans.

It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to lead an army to the field, if I had one at my command, and I know still less how to surrender an undefended place, bad as this is, at the mercy of your gunners, and mouth of your mortars.

To surrender such a place would be an idle and unmeaning ceremony. The city is yours by the power of brutal force, and not by any choice or consent of its inhabitants. It is for you to determine what shall be the fate that awaits her.

As to the hoisting of any flag than the flag of our own adoption and allegiance, let me say to you, sir, that the man lives not in our midst whose hand and heart would not be palsied at the mere thought of such an act; nor could I find in my entire constituency so wretched and desperate a renegade as would dare to profane with his hand the sacred emblem of our aspirations.

Sir, you have manifested sentiments which would become one engaged in a better cause than that to which you have devoted your sword. I doubt not but that they spring from a noble through nature, and I know how to appreciate the emotions which inspired them.

You will have a gallant people to administer during your occupation of this city - a people sensative of all that can in the least affect its dignity and self-respect. Pray, sir, do not allow them to be insulted by the interference of such as have rendered themselves odious and contemptible by their dastardly desertion of the might struggle to which we are engage, nor of such as might remind them too painfully that they are the conquered and you the conquerors.

The obligations which I shall assume in their name shall be religiously complied with.

You may trust their honor, though you ought not to count on their submission to unmerited wrong.

In conclusion, I beg you to understand that the people of New Orleans, while unable, at this moment, to prevent you from occupying this city, do not transfer their allegiance from the government of their choice to one which they have deliberately repudiated, and that they yield simply that obedience which the conqueror is enabled to extort from the conquered.

Since writing the above, which is an answer to your verbal communication of yester4day, I have received a written communication, to which I shall replay before 12 o'clock, if possible to prepare an answer in that time.

Respectfully,

John T. Monroe .



Action of the Council.

The adjourned meeting of the joint session of the two Boards of the Common Council met, at ten o'clock this forenoon, in the Hall of the Board of Assistant Aldermen, when the following preamble and resolution were adopted:

"The Common Council of thecity of New Orleans having been advised by the military authorities that the city is indefensible, declare that not resistance will be made to the forces of the United States.

"Resolved, That the sentiments expressed in the message of his honor the mahyor of Common Council are in perfect accordance with the sentiments of this council and the entire population of this metropolis, and that the mayor be respectfully requested to set in the spirit manifested by his message.

The joint session then adjourned.

Battle of New Orleans, 1862
(Library of Congress)

THE GUNBOAT BATTLE

We have seen a prominent participant in the gunboat conflict in the neighborhood of Fort Jackson, and we have conversed with eye-witnesses of the conflict, and all that we have heard only confirms our previous expectations of the affair when it took place. The command of the Confederate boats, it appears, was taken by a Capt. Mitchell, a recent importation of the stereotyped red-tape order, from Richmond, and so thoroughly did he comprehend his duties and so ably fulfill them, that even signals of danger, of battle, nor of anything else, were provided by him, and it was only after remonstrance from our gallant river men forced him to do something, that he could be prevailed upon to arrange a simple signal for captains to communicate with the flag vessel.

He must be one of Benjamin's schools. The fight consequently was to be invaded a complete surprise; no order of battle was or could be signaled, and the captains of the gunboat fleet of Louisiana were obliged, each for himself, to do the fighting on his own hook; and gallantly and nobly, but ineffectually, did they perform their duty. The Quitman, commanded by the fearless Grant, obstinately resisted while her timbers held together the attack of three Federal vessels, each of superior force, one of which, before she herself went to the bottom, she sunk.

One man on board is known to be dead and nine and over missing, supposed also to have perished. The Charles Morgan, commanded by Capt. Kennon, also sustained her share of the unequal combat with unflinching spirit and resolution, until she, like the Quitman, went to the bottom. Her loss in men is said to have been severe, and it is said Kennon is a prisoner. The other vessels engaged with the Quitman and the Morgan on the Confederate side behaved with commendable gallantry; but fortune favored adverse, and they either sank in the conflict, or were destroyed by their officers and crews, three or four only remaining afloat.

The spectators of the fight represent it as having the appearance of absolute desperation, the vessels on both sides being fought as if the combatants upon each believed that all depended upon their own heroic resolution. Our side foiled in the fight unequally undertaken and miserably directed; but they vindicated the native valor of the race and the honor of Louisiana, and the brave who were victors cannot but entertain for them sincere respect. While chronicling thus briefly and imperfectly the self-sacrificing performances of the hastily constructed and imperfectly equipped fllet of boats of Louisiana, we cannot express the contempt every many breast must feel for the low exhibitions a set of fellows who skulk from the defense of their State in the hour of need are now making in our streets. We have fallen, after a defense that does infinite honor to the men who made it, and before our forts have yet struck their colors, or shown a particle of wavering, under the fearful deluge of shot and shell now for nearly two weeks without intermission poured upon them; but let us take care that this heroism be not sullied by the outrages of outcasts, or made to blush to see impotent personal vindictiveness attempting that it is so confident of achieving. The position of defeated valor is mortifying and afflicting enough, but while hour is untarnished success can be achieved.

150-Years-Ago THE FALL OF NEW ORLEANS: Part I

The 1862 Battle of New Orleans was raging furiously 150-years-ago.
(Library of Congress)

New Orleans Daily True Delta
April 24, 1862

April 23, 1862

To Major General Lovell:

Heavy and continued bombardment all night, and still progressing. No further casualties, excepting two men slightly wounded. God is certainly protecting us. We are still cheerful, and have an abiding faith in our ultimate success, which, I deeply regret, is not the case in the city. A people in earnest in a good cause should have more fortitude. We are making repairs as we can. Our best guns are still in good working order, although most of hem have been disabled at times. The health of the troops continues good, and they are generally in better spirits than in more quiet times. So much for discipline. From twenty to twenty-five
thousand 13-inch shells have been fired by the enemy, thousands of which have fallen within the fort. They must soon exhaust themselves, if not, we can stand it as long as they can.
J.K. Duncan,
Brigadier-General.



FROM FORT JACKSON.

The Enemy Passes the Forts!
Steamers Passed the Quarantine Station.
The Steamer Star Burned.
Three Other Steamers Burnt.
Quarantine Station, April 24 -- am.
Several of the enemy's gunboats have passed the forts, and are being resisted.
Two steamers have already passed this point, and are scanning every place.
The Star has been burnt, but do not know of any other damage.
Two or three vessels are now burning.
The Doubloon has got up safe.
(Signed) A. E. Tulda, Operator.

The Alarm sounded.At an early hour this morning, the city was thrown into a state of considerable  excitement by the rumor that several of the enemy's gunboats had succeeded in passing the forts. This report was corroborated the the police being ordered to press all manner of vehicles, to convey ammunition from the Marine Hospital to the river. At half-past 9 the bell on Dr. Palmer's church struck twelve four different times, which was the signal for all military organizations to repair to their armories. This made "confusion worse confounded," and set everybody to inquiring as to the extent of the threatened danger. Our bulletin board announce all the if information received from below. Active preparations are on foot to give the enemy a warm reception before he reaches the city, but with what prospect of success we cannot say. Thus matters stand as we go to press.

DAILY TRUE DELTA
April 26, 1862

THE RESULT YESTERDAY

Few persons will be surprised to hear that the weak defenses below the city offered but a feeble resistance to the very formidable fleet of Federal vessels which opened their fire upon them about ten o'clock yesterday. Excerpt as a point of military honor, of which civilians are, perhaps, not very good judges, the
idea of disputing their passage, once they had passed the forts, does not appear very intelligible. It was done, however, for short time, with what result to assailants or assailed we have not ascertained. About one o'clock p.m. some twelve or thirteen vessels of war had reached the river front of our city, and took
up positions which, of course, leave the authorities little choice as to terms of submission. The officer in command of these vessels, who represents Commodore Farragut, in company with a junior officer, went to the mayor's office, at two o'clock p.m., and formally demanded of that gentleman the surrender,
unconditionally, of the United States property in the city, and the possession of the city itself. To this Mayor Monroe replied that he could not comply, as the city was under martial law, and Gen. Lovell had the command. The Federal officer - who was, we think, Capt. Bailey - then asked to see Gen. L. After considerable delay he arrived, and on the same question being put to him as had been to Mr. Monroe, he answered that he could not comply with the demand. That he had removed and was removing his stores, ammunition and troops, and until that operation was completed, he must refuse to deliver up the city and to make any concession. To this Capt. Bailey rejoined, that he did not come to make war upon women and children, nor to cause unnecessarily the shedding of innocent blood, but to establish, in accordance with the laws and constitution, the authority of the United States, that must still press for acompliance with his demand. Gen. Lovell then said that when his last man was out of the city, and not before, he would surrender to the Mayor the control of the place, which we presume, was accepted as satisfactory. We report the official proceedings above, on the authority of two gentlemen who were present, and
substantially agree in their recollection of the facts. A strong feeling of dissatisfaction, humiliation and grief pervades the city, and friends and foes will not be astonished to hear that it does so. We have succumbed here, the authors of our afflictions who are they?

Stheph Russell Mallory Grave Site

The author at the Mallory grave site.

On a recent trip to Pensacola, Florida I found the grave site of Confederate Secretary of  the Navy  Stephen Russell Mallory at historic St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery. The Mallory monument is a magnificent stone with appropriate inscription. The grave site is excellently maintained and in a beautiful setting. There is also an archival plaque giving some of his history as well as a third national Confederate flag proudly lying over the site.

Stephen R. Mallory was born in 1811 (or 12 or 13, depending on the source) at Port of Spain on the island of Trinidad, British West Indies. Mallory's mother was Irish and his father was a construction engineer from Connecticut. When he was about a year old, the family moved from Trinidad and eventually settled in Key West, Florida. The young Mallory was educated in a country  school near Blakely, Alabama and when he was nine-years-old was sent to a Moravian School in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. His father died and he  helped his mother run a boarding house in Key  West to make their living. Mallory was made a customs inspector in Key  West and then studied law under Judge William Marvin from 1830 to  1834. He was admitted to the Florida bar shortly after completing his studies. Mallory  received some naval experience when he commanded a small  vessel during the  Seminole Wars in the Everglades (1836-1838). The young man married Angela Moreno, a Spanish women from Pensacola, in 1838, He served as a county judge in Monroe County, Florida and again became the customs inspector  in Key west in 1845.

Mallory was elected to the Florida state senate in 1850 and appointed chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee.in 1853. Although opposed to  secession, he resigned from the Senate January 21,  1861 after Florida left the Union. He used his influence with President Buchanan to prevent U.S. warships from coming to Pensacola and to prevent reinforcements from being  sent to the fort there. Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Mallory Secretary of the Navy on February 25, 1861, He and Postmaster General John H. Reagan were the only two Confederate cabinet members who stayed in their posts for the entirety of the Confederate government. One of his great accomplishments was organizing the training men for the Confederate Navy, and basing promotions on gallant or meritorious service. He also let numerous contracts for building gunboats, cruisers and ironclad ships. Mallory believed building ironclad ships were of the highest priority.

Stephen Russell Mallory
(Library of Congress)

Cotton bonds were used to raise money to build the Confederate warships, and set a precedent for other Confederate departments in acquisitions of the materials of war. A keen judge of men, he put such men as Raphael Semmes and John F. Maffitt in command of commerce raiders which ravaged the Union merchant fleet. Mallory also set  up naval workshops to build the navy's necessary equipment and supplies, including machinery and casting cannons. He established new shipyards for building ironclads in Selma, Mobile, Oven Bluff and Montgomery, Alabama; Columbus, Georgia; Shreveport, Louisiana; Yazoo City, Mississippi, and  Whitehall and  Edward's Ferry, North  Carolina. Because of Mallory's leadership, the Confederate Navy never had a shortage of modern armaments for its warships.

Mallory also encouraged the development of underwater mines, then called torpedoes, which caused havoc for the Union Navy. The C.S.S. Hunley, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship, became a reality during Mallory's tenure. Throughout the war Mallory and his wife were an active and popular part of the social life of Confederate Richmond. At the end of the war he accompanied President Davis in the evacuation of the city and he resigned from the cabinet on May 3, 1865 in Washington, Georgia. He met his family in LaGrange, Georgia where he was arrested by Federal authorities May 20, 1865. Incarcerated at Fort LaFayette in New York Harbor, he was finally  released March 10, 1866. Mallory reunited with his family  in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the family  returned to Pensacola in July of  that  year. He resumed the practice of law and opposed Radical Reconstruction. Stephen R. Mallory died in his home in Pensacola on November 9, 1873.



Mallory  monument at St. Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola.
(Photo by author)



Pleasant Hill Reenactment 2012 photos by Mike Jones

Here are some of the pictures I took at the 2012 Pleasant Hill reenactment on Saturday, April 14. On that day they were reenacting a scenario based on the Battle of  Mansfield, April 8, 1864. The weather was good and the reenactment was excellent.

This is an excellent reproduction of the 12th Louisiana Infantry battle flag.

Learning the fine points of stacking arms.

Entertainment on the porch of the historic dogtrot house
that was part of the  original battle.

The Confederates open fire in Saturday's battle reenactment.

The rear rank of the Confederate battle line.

This caison is ready to roll.

The Federal battle line waving "Old Glory."

The "Southern Cross" also waved proudly at Pleasant Hill.

The Confederate Navy was also reprexented
at the reenactment.

This Confederate cavalryman stands proudly with this
beautiful war horse.

The Confederates were triumphant at the end of the
reenactment, driving the Union Army off the field.

Reenactors gave the public a great
visualization of both1860s miliatry and
civilians.

150-Year-Ago -- THE SECOND DAY OF THE BATTLE OF SHILOH

Col. Alfred Mouton of the 18th
La. Inf. was among the wounded
on the second day of the Battle
of Shiloh, April 7, 1862.
(Mouton House, Lafayette, La.)

New Orleans Daily True Delta

April 20, 1862

          The Battle of Monday -- Gen. Beauregard's Dispatches to the War Department. We copy the following from the Richmond Enquirer of the 10th
         Adjutant-General Cooper received dispatches from Gen. Beauregard yesterday, stating that on Sunday night, Buell, with his force, had come up rallied and strengthened the routed Yankee column, under Grant; and that on Monday morning he gave battle to be combined forces, and engaged them until one o'clock, when he thought prudent to retire, which he did in good order. He fell back to Corinth, being compelled to abandon to the enemy a portion of the arms, stores and ammunition, captured on the 6th.
          A dispatch to one of the members of the House, giving later intelligence, states that Van Dorn with his army had effected a junction with Beauregard, and that the hero of Manassas and Shiloh was being rapidly reinforced by large additions from other quarters. He expects to give the Yankees another brush at no distant day.
          The following may be relied upon as the substance of a dispatch received at the War Department on yesterday, from Gen. G. T. Beauregard, dated at Corinth. The last paragraph is the extant language of the dispatch:
          Having defeated Gen. Grant's army, driving him from all his positions, and, taking his artillery, commissary stores, camp equipage, great quantities of ammunition, &c., on Sunday night following the day of battle, General Buell came up with his army, and crossing the river during the night, attacked our positions near the river vigorously the next morning. Our forces held these positions until one o'clock, when in conformity with Gen. Johnston's plan to fall back upon Corinth after defeating Gen. Grant, I directed our forces to retire to the line.
          The only matter for regret is that I could not secure all the immense amount of stores, artillery, ammunition, &c., which fell into our possession after the victory of the 6th.

150-Years-Ago FIRST SHILOH DISPATCHES WERE CONFUSING

Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was
killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh.
(Library of Congress)

Richmond Dispatch.

Tuesday morning...April 8, 1862.

Gen. Albert Johnston.

          Announcement of the death of General Sidney Johnston, the gallant Commander of our army in the Southwest, who breathing out his brave soul in of Victory, will be received with throughout our country. He was senior officer of our army, and in all lights that make a great military commander he had no superior on this continent. He was born in Mercer county,Ky., in 1803, and was consequently at the time of his death 59 years of age. Educated at West Point, he entered the 6th infantry, and was sent to the West. During the Black Hawk he acted as Adjutant General, President Lincoln being at the time a captain of volunteers. At the close of the war he resigned his commission, and resided first in Missouri, then in Texas. War breaking out in the latter, he entered the Texan army as a private and rose to high distinction. He after filled the post of Secretary of War. After the annexation of Texas to the United States, Johnston raised a partisan troop, he commanded and accompanied General. Taylor to Monterey. At the close of Mexican war be returned to his plantation. Under Pierce, Mr. Jefferson Davis, as Secretary of War, made Johnston Colonel of the Second Cavalry, and he Urgently received the command of the Southwestern Military district. At the outbreak the war with Utah he was chosen to command the expedition which crossed the great plains. He continued to fill that post with ability — being, in fact, dictator in the country which he occupied — until the secession of the South, when he nobly abandoned Federal flag.
          Gen. Johnston was put in command of the Southern soldiers in the Department of Kentucky and Missouri, and invested with Penitentiary authority to control all the military operations in the West. His Kentucky nativity, and his thorough knowledge of the western country, coupled with his great ability, rendered him an especially appropriate election to the important position which held at the time of his death. Gen. Johnston was six feet one inch high, of large, body, wiry frame, quiet and unassuming manners, conspiring to form a person of imposing and attractive address. His brother, Josiah Stoddard Johnston, who was blown up on a steamboat on the Red River, La., and killed, was at the time in the U. S. Senate from that State, was the second of Mr. Clay in his duel with John Randolph, and was a man of the most eminent abilities.
          Peace to the ashes of the noble soldier. A grateful country will ever keep his memory green.

Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard mis-
takenly reported the Battle
of Shiloh a Confederate
victory based on the first
day's results.

The victory at Corinth.

          Our arms have just been crowned with a glorious and most important victory near Corinth, Mississippi. The particulars are yet meagre, but enough to satisfy us that the great Yankee army, under Buell, has been signally defeated by our brave Southern troops, led by Generals worthy of them and the cause. Our joy at the event is mingled with grief for the death of the commanding General, and the heavy loss of gallant Southern men who perished in the grand battle.
          Buell's army was large; no doubt exceeding our own in number. That General was esteemed one of the best in the Federal army. His role in what the Northern press and military authorities considered to be the last scene of the rebellion, was, with the co-operation of the gunboats, to crush us in the Mississippi Valley. The gunboats assisted him in his triumph to Nashville; but there in his further advance southwards, he was forced to leave them.--Our disaster at Donelson and our retreat from Bowling Green, through Nashville to the Tennessee river, filled the enemy with confidence, and he proceeded with eagerness to follow and strike a final blow upon what he considered a remnant of a disorganized army. But Johnston and Beauregard had made a wonderful use of the brief time allowed them. They organized and reinspired their troops, and rousing the spirit of the South added largely to their strength. Thus rapidly recruited, and with a large number of undisciplined men, they lost no time in attacking the enemy as soon as he came within striking distance. The attack was made on Saturday morning, and "after ten hours hard fighting," according to General Beauregard, "we gained a complete victory."
          This is, we suppose, the heaviest battle which has taken place during the war. There were likely more men on the enemy's side engaged than in any previous contest, and on ours we probably had a force equal to that at Manassas. It is supposed that more men were engaged at one time in the fight than were at any time actively engaged at Manassas.
           This glorious triumph over one of the best of Northern Generals, and over the best troops the Federalists have brought into the field, (those from the Northwest,) is an event of the most gratifying kind. It, indeed, breaks the back of the anaconda that was to crush the South. He is no longer a constrictor. His folds have no crushing power. But the snake is scotched, not killed. He may "doze and be himself again," if we relax a title of our energy. To render him powerless, we must fight, fight, fight! We must fight all the time, and never rest until the enemy is driven from the Southland.

Louisiana Confederate's Last Letter Home

This is a photo of a soldier of the 16th Louisiana
Infantray, but identification has been lost.

Confederate's Last Letter Found by Oakdale Resident

                OAKDALE, La. - A letter written May 10, 1862 by a Confederate soldier following the Battle of Farmington, Mississippi, May 9, 1862 gives a fresh eyewitness glimpse of what battle was like for soldiers in the War For Southern Independence. The letter was first published in the Lake Charles American Press on April 11, 1962 soon after the centennial of the  Battle of Shiloh.

                The letter was written by Private Silas Griffith of Company H, 16th Louisiana Infantry to his brother John in Bayou Chicot, St. Landry Parish (modern day Evangeline Parish) Louisiana:

                May 10, 1862

                Dear Brother: I  take these few lines to let you know that I am still in the land of the living and enjoying good health and hope this finds you the same. John, I was in a fight yesterday [the Battle of Farmington, Mississippi], it lasted about an hour and there was but one of our  company who got wounded and he was  shot through the hand.

                I, and C. K. O'Neal, old Burns' son-in-law, were detailed as infirmary corps to carry off the dead and wounded. There was about 15,000 Yankees and our force was about 2,500 when we charged on them. I never saw fellows run so in my life.

                It was one of the awfulest sights I ever saw . . . to see the poor fellows dying on the field. There were two men shot dead within ten feet of me but I never got a scratch. O'Neal got his canteen shot all to pieces and he had his overcoat rolled up and tied in front  of him and a ball struck it and went  through two doubles of it. It would have killed him but the coat was all that saved him. All of our company stood fairly well but about four who left when the balls began to come pretty thick. There was a Mississippi regiment that ran when the enemy was pouring the fire in on us. I expect they will be brought up today.

                General Ringgold took the flag and rode ahead of us and hollered "Hooray for the Louisianians." I tell you we made them Yankees kick up the dust. The Colonel of the 11th Louisiana [Colonel Samuel F. Marks] run up and down  the lines when the balls were coming as thick as hail and he would tell us to give them boys hell. I thought once that he was struck and I asked him if he as hurt. He answered, "no . . . a damn Yankee" could not kill him. He is just as brave a man as I have ver seen on a battle field.

                John Montgomery stood  right up to them. It is the first battle that he and I was ever in, but John and I never expect to get that close again and come out alive. There were some balls, I am certain, that did not  land more than two  inches from my head. I am telling you actual facts. I was a little scared about that time . . . but after they fired several rounds, I did not mind at all.

                The Yankees had the advantage of us in one respect. They were all in deep  washes and it was an old field about six miles from here where the fight began from a little town called Farmington. We set fire to that place and came back. Everybody  had left there, sometime. The Yankees had just put them up a telegraph from there to the river so they could telegraph back to their  main force but we tore it down as we came back night before last.

                The enemy was within a mile  of our breast works and we thought by our going outside of breastworks and attacking them, that they would come up and give us a fight so we could use our big guns on them. But they  know we are fixed here and I don't think they will ever attack us here. I know that was their intention, to starve us out and which I don't think it would take more than six months. They  say we have got provisions enough to last about that long.

                Cyrus  is at the hospital yet but I have not  heard from him since he left camp. There is no way to get a letter to Louisiana without sending by somebody out there. There are two men out of the Big Cane Company that we are going to start for  Washington [La.]  tomorrow. I thought I would write you a few lines tolet you know that I am not killed yet.

                You must write to me if you have any chance of  sending a letter. I must bring my letter to  a close as I have to cook.

                Give my  respects to all

Yours most truly,

Silas Griffith

                The old letter was found in the old abandoned O. C. Griffith home at Bayou Chicot by Mrs. Josie Griffth Horne of Oakdale. The Griffith family settled in the Bayou Chicot area in the late 1790's.

                According to his military service record, Silas Griffith was a private in Company H, 16th Louisiana Infantry. He enlisted on September 29,1861 at Camp Moore, Louisiana. Griffith was present on rolls to October 31, 1861. On rolls from November 1861 to February 1862, he was listed as absent, sick, in hospital. On rolls from May, 1862 to October 1862, Present. On Federal Rolls of

Prisoners of War, Captured Stones River, _, 1862. Died Dec. 31, 1862, Murfreesboro.