History of 1^st Louisiana Special Battalion

Companies And Their Commanders
Company A, Walker Guards (Orleans). Robert A. Harris.
Company B, Tiger Rifles (Orleans). Alex White.
Company C, Delta Rangers (Orleans). Henry C. Gardner, resigned July 1, 1862; Thaddeus A. Ripley.
Company D (1^st), Catahoula Guerillas (Catahoula), transfered to 7th Louisiana Battalion October 1, 1861. Jonathan W. Buhoup.
Company D (2^nd), Old Dominion Guards (Orleans), organized as Company E, became independent company mounted infantry September 1, 1862. Obed P. Miller.
Company E, Wheat's Life Guards (Orleans), added September 1, 1861. Robert G. Atkins.


The most famous Louisiana unit from the war, this battalion took the nickname "Louisiana Tigers" from its Company B. Its reputation led in time to the nickname being applied to all the Louisiana units in Virginia. Though generally represented as being completely outfitted in Zouave uniforms, the battalion had only one such company-the Tiger Rifles. The battalion began organizing at Camp Walker in New Orleans. It moved to Camp Moore and completed its organization on June 6, 1861, with five companies and 416 men. Ordered to Virginia, the battalion became the first Louisiana unit to be engaged in the war, when it fought a skirmish at Seneca Falls on the Potomac River on June 28. The men played an important role in the Battle of First Manassas, July 21, by helping to hold back the Union flank attack until more troops could come up and form a defensive line. In battle, 8 of the battalion's men were killed, 38 were wounded, and 2 were missing. The battalion was assigned to General Richard Taylor's Louisiana brigade along with the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Louisiana regiments later in the month. That winter, the men drilled and did picket duty. They sometimes fought with other Confederate units and among themselves. One of the internal fracases led to the December 9 execution by firing squad of two men of Company B, the first men executed in the Army of Northern Virginia. Taylor's brigade joined General Stonewall Jackson's army in the Shenandoah Valley in May, 1862. The battalion played the major role in the capture of Front Royal, May 23. On May 25, the battalion was detached on the left flank of the army and saw no fighting in the Battle of Winchester. The brigade distinguished itself again in the Battle of Port Republic, June 9. Rejoining the Army of Northern Virginia near Richmond, the brigade participated in the Battle of Gaine's Mill, June 27. In that fight, Major Wheat and 5 other men were killed and 16 men were wounded. The battalion was so reduced in strength by the end of the Seven Days' Campaign, and the men were so hard to control following Wheat's death, that it was recommended that the battalion be disbanded. This occured on August 15. During the war, 39 men of the battalion were killed, 15 died of disease, 2 were executed, and 1 died in an accident.

Bibliography
Bergeron, Jr., Arthur W. Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana Sate Press, 1989.