Researched and compiled by
Bennie J. McRae, Jr.
The organization of Union forces under the command of
Major General Edward R.S. Canby began operations on March 17,
1865 and ended on or about April 12, 1865. The major units and
commanders are listed below:
| Engineer Brigade |
Brigadier General Joseph Bailey |
| Siege Train |
Brigadier General James Totten |
| Thirteenth Army Corps |
Major General Gordon Granger |
| Sixteenth Army Corps |
Major General John M. Johnson |
| Column From Pensacola Bay, Florida |
Major General Frederick Steele |
| Cavalry |
Brigadier General Thomas J. Lucas |
| Artillery |
Brigadier General Joseph F. Knipe |
| District of South Alabama |
Brigadier General T. Kilby Smith |
Assigned to the Engineer Brigade were two U. S. Colored
Infantry Regiments, the 96th and 97th U. S. Colored Infantry
Regiments.
Assigned to the The Column From Pensacola Bay, Florida was
the First Division made up entirely of U. S. Colored Infantry,
nine regiments in three brigades.
Listed below are the regiments and a brief history which
includes previous engagement before the Mobile Campaign (USCI =
United States Colored Infantry Regiment):
- 47th USCI - Organized at Lake Providence, Louisiana, May,
1863, as the 8th Regiment Louisiana Volunteers;
redesignated the 47th USCI, March, 1864. Battles: Lake
Providence, Liverpool Heights, Yazoo City. Mustered out
January, 1866.
- 48th USCI - Organized at Lake Providence, Louisiana and
Goodrich's Landing, Louisiana, May, 1863, as the 10th
Regiment Louisiana Volunteers; redesignated the 48th
USCI, March, 1864. Battles: Bayou Tensa and Vicksburg.
Mustered out January, 1866.
- 50th USCI - Organized at Vicksburg, Mississippi, July,
1863, as the 12th Louisiana Volunteers; redesignated the
50th USCI, March, 1864. No previous major engagements
prior to the Mobile Campaign. Mustered out March, 1866.
- 51st USCI - Organized at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana and
Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 1863, as the 1st Regiment
Mississippi Volunteers; redesignated the 51st USCI,
March, 1864. Battles: Milliken's Bend, Ross Landing, and
Floyd. Mustered out June, 1866.
- 68th USCI - Organized at Benton Barracks, Missouri,
March, 1864, as the 4th Regiment Missouri Volunteers;
redesignated the 68th USCI, March, 1864. Battles: Tupelo
and Spanish Fort. Mustered out February, 1866.
- 73rd USCI - Organized at New Orleans, Louisiana,
September, 1862, as the 1st Louisiana Native Guard
Volunteers; redesignated the 1st Regiment Corps d'
Afrique, and to 73rd USCI, April 1864; consolidated
with the 96th USCI, September, 1865. Battles: Port
Hudson, Jackson, Bayou Tunica, Steamer City Belle, and
Morganzia. NOTE: The 1st Louisiana Native Guards (73rd
U. S. Colored Infantry Regiment) was the first unit of
Black soldiers to be officially mustered into the Union
Army.
- 76th USCI - Organized at New Orleans, Louisiana,
February, 1863, as the 4th Regiment Louisiana Native
Guard Volunteers; redesignated the 4th Regiment Corps
d' Afrique, June, 1863, and to the 76th USCI, April,
1864. No previous major engagement prior to the Mobile
Campaign.
- 82nd USCI - Organized at Port Hudson, Louisiana,
September, 1863 as the 10th Regiment Corps d' Afrique,
and redesignated the 82nd USCI , April, 1864. Battles:
Port Hudson, Barrancas, Mariana, Mitchell's Creek, and
Pine Barren Ford. Mustered out September, 1866.
- 86th USCI - Organized at New Orleans, Louisiana, August,
1863, as the 14th Regiment EM>Corps d' Afrique;
redesignated the 86th USCI, April 1864. No previous major
engagements prior to the Mobile Campaign.
- 96th USCI - Organized at New Orleans, Louisiana during
August, 1863, as the 2nd Regiment Engineers Corps d'
Afrique; redesignated the 96th USCI, April, 1964.
Battle: Fort Gaines. NOTE: The 96th and the 73rd USCI,
assigned to the Column From Pensacola Bay, Florida,
consolidated during September, 1865; mustered out
January, 1866.
- 97th USCI - Originally composed of soldiers transferred
from the 1st Regiment Engineers Corps d' Afrique,
and subsequently organized as the 3rd Regiment Engineers Corps
d' Afrique in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 1863;
redesignated the 97th USCI, April, 1864. Battle: Pine
Barren. Mustered out April, 1866.
REFERENCES:
Dyer, Frederick H. A COMPENDIUM OF THE WAR OF THE
REBELLION. 3 Volumes. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
Gladstone, William A. MEN OF COLOR. Gettysburg: Thomas
Publications, 1993.
Wilson, Joseph T. THE BLACK PHALANX: A History of the
Negro Soldiers of the United States in the Wars of 1775-1812,
1861-'65. Hartford, CT.: American Publishing Company, 1890.
(Copyright 1968 by Arno Press, Inc., and reprinted by Ayer
Company Publishers, Inc., 1992.)
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SOURCE OF REPORTS, ORDERS AND LETTERS:
United States War Department. THE WAR OF THE
REBELLION: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
SOURCE: United States War Department. THE WAR OF THE REBELLION: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
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