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| Location: Colfax. Louisiana Time : Probably about 1pm or so. The Search Begins |
| I have been wanting to troll Colfax for a while and the good Captain had provided the time, so I took advantage of it. Did you know that there is a city street in Colfax that rides the top of the Red River Levee? Some might say that the levee street is the Colfax Semi-Circle as Colfax seems to be tucked into a bend in the river or at least the levee. You can ride it and look out over the town. Why didn't I take a shot of that? When you come into town from Boyce, you are immediately thrust into the most important historical part of Colfax. Colfax is famous for the trouble that was there back in "Reconstuction", some say the "Destruction" Era, after the Civil War. Not all of these buildings were there at that time but one was. I did not identify which one it was. It was supposed to have been the courthouse. I think I know, and will guess. |
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| Versions and pages on the Riot |
| I don't know. More research. Maybe those links above might tell. I'll read them later. Yea, you, too. Right. |
| The Masonic Hall, above. The very old light covers, below. |
| Below is a beautiful building. I think it has an added Throne Room. The Throne's supports do make me nervous. |
| There was a light on inside, I almost knocked. |
| An old gasoline pump sat on the front porch as a display. Perhaps it was the start of a museum a while back. |
| I followed the road around and got up on the levee street. Then when a road came up that went toward the river I followed that. I am good. It went right to the community landing where I cornered a fisherman getting ready to take off. |
| I asked how far it was to where the Cane River use to come into the Red River. Being a man of "many words", he pointed across the river. I then told him the whole history of the Red River Campaign and that I was looking for Captain Cornay. If he had missed his local history in school, he was now "caught up". This was where the whole thing happened. The yankees were coming from the right, Cornay's Battery and the 200 sharpshooter were here or across the river. Porter knew the Confederates were here and didn't like him. |
| I display this everytime I have a chance: "Meanwhile, a blocking position had been established farther downstream at the junction of the Cane and Red rivers. Here Col. J. H. Caudle of Polignac's division with Capt. Florian Cornay's four-gun battery attacked this last element of Porter's fleet as it made its way toward Alexandria. "Nineteen shells went crashing through the Cricket. She was under fire she was struck thirty eight times and lost twelve killed and nineteen wounded and during the five minutes out of a crew of fifty," says the account in Battles and Leaders (IV, 364). "The Juliet was nearly as badly hurt, with 15 casualties, but got under a bank and managed to turn back upstream". The Champion 3 exploded after being hit in the boiler and an estimated 200 of its Negro crewmen (runaway slaves) were scalded to death. The Fort Hindman remained upstream. The Cricket, aground and on fire, got free and escaped about dark. The next day the Hindman ran the batteries successfully, but the Champion 5 was sunk in the attempt. Taylor, in his memoirs, quotes Porter's report that he had been engaged by "a large number of cannon, eighteen in all, every shot of which struck this vessel [Cricket]." Taylor observes "This is high testimony to the fighting capacity of two hundred riflemen and four guns. . . ." From HERE |
| I rode back up the levee and down into town where I cornered Roger. |
| Roger was getting out of his car and headed to the house. I've gotten pushy. All they can tell me is, "Get Lost". No problem. Roger didn't. I told him I was looking for a cemetery, an old one, here in Colfax. He told me that I was in the wrong town and that the cemetery I was talking about was in Montgomery. Yea, he was right, I remembered it from my college geology trip. Roger really gave it a try, telling me of many old cemeteries in the area which I could never find. Rog, if you are reading this, thanks again for the time and information and I hope you got out to your relative's plots. I never got rained on though it was threatening all day. |
| Continuing, I ran back into La.8 as it was headed east to meet US.71. No historical marker is left unpictured. |
| It seems I had landed in the other historical part of Colfax. The area is fixed up nicely with the old stores set back off the main road with lots of parking. As I took this picture, Jason rode by. |
| Roger had told me the closest way to Montgomery was to take La.158 to US 71. Right before the bridge over Bayou Grappe I saw the old store. Why do I say, " store"? Look at the sign hanger jutting out from the front. |
| Running up 71, a great motorcycle road at this point, I saw the old road bridge and had to come back and shoot it. I wish I would have had enough time to investigate, but I had a lead and needed to pursue it. |
| Porter's quote displays the way History can be distorted. There were only Cornay's 4 cannons. |
| Maybe the one on the left? |