For some reason Louisiana has always been singularly rich in artillery. During the Civil War the State furnished a surprisingly large number of batteries to the Confederate armies. At the opening of the Spanish-American War there were seven batteries of National Guard Artillery, and for several years following there were ten batteries in the city of New Orleans alone. Up to a year ago this city held five batteries in the service. Before the Washington Artillery was organized there were several batteries in New Orleans which drew their membership from the French or Spanish population, and it was to distinguish the new battery from these that it was first called the Native American Artillery. The exact day of its foundation is not known, but the newspapers of 1838 and 1839 occasionally refer to it or its captain, E. L. Tracy.
In 1841 the battery was attached to a body of American volunteer infantry known as the Washington Battalion, of which C. F. Hozey was Major and J. B. Walton was Adjutant. In 1843 Captain Henry Forno assumed command, Captain Tracy having been promoted to the command of the battalion. The following year three other companies were added and the battalion became the Washington Regiment, under Colonel Persifer F. Smith, who later became a Brigadier-General in the regular establishment. J. B. Walton was the Lieutenant-Colonel.
In 1845 the battery saw its first war service in General Zachary Taylor's army, leaving New Orleans on August 22nd for Corpus Christi , equipped with six 6-pounder bronze guns. After three months' duty the battery was relieved by artillery of the regular army. The following year volunteer infantry was called for and the battery again responded, equipped on this occasion as infantry, and served as company A of the Washington Regiment, to the command of which Walton had been promoted. It embarked on May 9th, 1846, and served until July 21st, and was commanded by Captain Isaac F. Stockton. The details of these two tours of duty are lacking, as all records prior to 1860 were destroyed when the old armory was fired after the fall of New Orleans during the Civil War. The only note that remains is that it embarked for the front three days after receiving the call.
Shortly after the return from Mexico , the regiment fell to pieces; the battery adopted the regimental name, and has been known ever since as the Washington Artillery. The only relic of this period now preserved is the center of a red silk standard bearing a tiger head, the emblem of the command. The seal and the badge of the active corps are crossed cannon encircled by a belt upon which is inscribed the motto, "Try Us," and the name of the organization. When and why this motto and seal were adopted is not known. On account of the tiger-head emblem the command is sometimes confused with a regiment of Louisiana infantry which was known during the Civil War as "Wheat's Louisiana Tigers." There is no connection, however, between the two.
During the fifties, the city of New Orleans offered a site for an armory "as long as the Washington Artillery remains in possession of the city's cannon," and upon the election of Colonel Walton to the command of the battery the building was begun. It was completed in 1858, and the front wall still stands in Girod Street, an interesting example of early armory design. It was the work of a member of the command, William A. Freret, who later became supervising architect of the United States . While the command was absent during the Civil War the property was confiscated, and during reconstruction days was sold. The organization has never been compensated.
During the Civil War the organization had a long and interesting period of service, opening with the seizure of the United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge on January 10th, 1861. The rush to arms at this time is shown in the expansion of the battery into two batteries on January 28th, to be followed by further expansion into a battalion of four batteries March 3d. On Washington's birthday the Confederate Secretary of War, Judah P. Benjamin, on behalf of the ladies of New Orleans, presented the battalion with an embroidered silk standard, and on May 13th the command volunteered "for the war," was accepted and mustered in on May 26th as part of the regular army of the Confederate States. The day after it was mustered in it entrained for Richmond , under the command of Major James B. Walton, with W. Miller Owen as Adjutant. The personnel was drawn from the best element of New Orleans , and many were socially and financially prominent. They brought their own equipment of nine guns to Virginia , the six guns used in Mexico with two 12-pound howitzers, and one 8-pounder rifle. The batteries were known as, First, Second, Third and Fourth Companies, and were commanded by Captain H. M. Isaacson, First Lieutenant C. C. Lewis, Captain M. Buck Miller, and Captain Benjamin Franklin Eshleman respectively. The battalion arrived in Richmond on June 4th, was supplied with horses and placed under the instruction of Lieutenants T. L. Rosser, James Dearing and J. J. Garnet, who were fresh from West Point , and who later rose to high rank in the Confederate Army.
Six weeks later, July 18th, the Third Company under Captain Miller with four 6-pounders, and three rifles of the First Company under Lieutenant C. W. Squires, drove Battery E, Third U. S. Field Artillery with two 10-pounder Parrott rifles, two 6-pounder howitzers, and two 6-pounders, together with a platoon of Battery G. Fifth U. S. Field Artillery with two 20-pounder Parrot rifles from the field at Blackburn's Ford, Bull Run. By a strange coincidence it was the present commanding officer of Battery E, Third Field Artillery, Captain Fred T. Austin, who made the Federal inspection under which the Washington Artillery mustered in under the Dick Bill in 1909.
In the battle of Bull Run , July 21, 1861, the positions of the batteries were as follows:
The Second Company under Lieutenant T. L. Rosser with four 12-pounder howitzers, at Union Mills Ford;
The Third Company, under Captain W. B. Miller with two 6-pounder smooth bores, at McLean 's Ford;
A platoon of the Third Company under Lieutenant J. J. Garnet with one 6-pounder, smooth bore, and one 6-pounder rifle, at Blackburn's Ford.
Three sections of the First Company under Captain C. W. Squires with three 6-pounder smooth bores, and a platoon of the First Company under Lieutenant J. B. Richardson with two 6-pounder rifles, at the Henry House.
The opposing batteries near the Henry House were those of Griffin and Ricketts. Eleven guns were captured, one disabled, one caisson exploded and Capt. Ricketts taken.
In January, 1862, $1,499.16 was subscribed by officers and men for the relief of fire-swept Charleston .
The Spring was spent in maneuvering on the peninsula, and on May 13th, the Third Company under Captain Miller with three 24-pounder howitzers, blocked the advance of Federal gunboats on the James River at Drewry's Bluff.
On May 31st the Battalion was not engaged, but while the battle of Seven Pines was being fought, Captain Buck Miller of the Third Company, carried off an abandoned battery of four Napoleons, which, by a singular coincidence, had been commanded by a Captain Miller in the Federal service. An ambulance of the Second Rhode Island Infantry was also taken and was used throughout the war for a headquarters wagon and was always referred to as "The Second Rhode Island."
On June 6th, the First Company under Captain Squires engaged in a two-hour artillery duel at New Bridge at Garnett's Farm on the Chickahominy, exploding a caisson, after which the opposing force withdrew.
On June 20th, Colonel Walton was appointed Longstreet's Chief of Artillery, and the Washington Artillery was assigned as the reserve artillery of Longstreet's Division.
After the departure of the Battalion from New Orleans , those members whose family or business affairs had not permitted their leaving, began the organization of a fifth and a sixth battery. The call of General Beauregard in February of 1862 for troops to serve in the Army of Tennessee, resulted in the consolidation of these two batteries into what was known as the Fifth Company, Washington Artillery. This battery was mustered in on March 6th under Captain W. I. Hodgson, with 156 men and two 6-pounder smooth bores, two 6-pounder rifles, and two 12-pounder howitzers. It entrained on March 8th for Grand Junction , where horses were supplied, and on the 27th marched to Corinth, Miss. , where it was assigned to Anderson 's Brigade, Ruggles’ Division. On April 6th and 7th it fought at Shiloh from five successive advanced positions, firing 738 rounds, losing 7 killed, 27 wounded and 28 horses killed; 3 caissons, a battery wagon and forge were abandoned for want of teams.
The battery under the command of Captain C. H. Slocomb played a conspicuous role in the capture of Mumsfordsville. Perryville, Knoxville , Murfreesboro and Jackson . It distinguished itself in the great battle of Chickamauga , and lost six guns on Missionary Ridge . It captured other guns and fought desperately in fight after fight throughout the Georgia campaign. After the siege of Atlanta , back they went to Nashville , spiked their four guns and ended their career in the siege of Spanish Fort in Mobile Bay .
The details of much of the service of this battery are difficult to obtain, as the papers of the Company were lost in the Tennessee campaign. In all, 418 men served in its ranks; 50 were killed and over a hundred were wounded. It fought twenty-three battles and fifteen minor engagements, lost 143 horses, expended 5,906 rounds of ammunition and marched 3,285 miles.
At Beverly Ford near Rappahannock Station, on August 23, 1862, the First Company under Captain Squires, with four 3-inch rifles, and the Third Company under Captain Miller, with four 12-pounder Napoleons, were engaged in what was purely an artillery battle which lasted four hours and resulted in the repulse of the enemy. The losses were 10 killed, 13 wounded, and 22 horses killed; 756 rounds were fired.
In the second battle of Manassas on August 29th, the First Company under Captain Squires with three rifles, and the Third Company under Captain Miller with four Napoleons, together with twelve other guns of other batteries, were placed between the flanks of Jackson's and Longstreet's Corps, and fought for two hours, when the Third Company was sent to a new position on Longstreet's left. On the 30th, the Second Company under Capt. J. B. Richardson, occupied a position near the Chinn house with two 6-pounder bronze guns and two 12-pounder howitzers, and captured a battery of four Napoleons, fully horsed, which they manned and turned upon the retiring foe. The Fourth Company under Captain B. F. Eshleman with two 6-pounders and two 12-pounder howitzers, also occupied a position near the Chinn house and was hotly engaged. It later moved forward to the Conrad house and until 9 p. m. continued the action in the direction of Centerville . A platoon of the First Company under Lieutenant Edward Owen, was used on the 31st to "speed the parting guest." The casualties for the three days were one killed and nine wounded. No record is available of the loss of horses or the expenditure of ammunition.
In the battle of Antietam, or as it is called in the South, "Sharpsburg," the First Company, under Captain Squires, was posted on the ridge east of the town, on the right of the turnpike, with two 3-inch rifles and two 10-pounder Parrotts. On the right of the First Company was the Third Company, Captain Miller, with four 12-pounder Napoleons; across a ravine on the right, in an orchard in front of D. R. Jones' Division, the Second Company, under Captain Richardson, with two 12-pounder Napoleons and two 12-pounder howitzers. Still further to the right was the Fourth Company, Captain Eshleman, with two 6-pounder bronze guns and two 12-pounder howitzers.
At a critical moment when the center of Lee's front was heavily pressed, the Third Company was in front of a corn field and orchard through which the enemy was advancing in force. Here one of its caissons was exploded, but the battery remained in position inflicting heavy loss until 4 p. m., when it was withdrawn to replenish ammunition. So depleted were the gun detachments that Longstreet's staff officers served as cannoneers, the general himself directing the fire.
The sectors of the First and Second companies included the Stone Bridge . At about noon the Fourth Company shifted its fire to a six-gun battery just going into action near the lower ford.
A. P. Hill reached the field at 2:30 p. m., and in the last phase of the fight on September 17th, the Washington Artillery was represented by ten guns drawn from all the batteries, and played an important role in checking and pushing back Burnside's Corps. The casualties were 13 killed, 51 wounded, and 2 missing. No record is available of the expenditure of ammunition but this must have been considerable as caissons were frequently refilled throughout the day or new ones sent to the guns.
At Fredericksburg , December 13, 1862, the First, Third, and Fourth Companies occupied redoubts on the crest of Marye's Hill, while the Second Company reported to General Pickett near Lee's Hill. This was the first occasion on which the Washington Artillery used earth works. The Fourth Company, Captain Eshleman, with two 12-pounder howitzers and two 12-pounder Napoleons, occupied the right. On the left of the Fourth Company came the Third Company, under Captain Miller, with two 12-pounder Napoleons. On the left of the Third was the First Company, Captain Squires, extending to the Plank road, with two 3-inch rifles and one 10-pounder Parrott, one of which under Lieutenant Galbraith being placed in the road. Incessant fire was maintained for five hours, and the guns were withdrawn at 5 p. m., the losses being 3 killed and 24 wounded. This was, like Gettysburg , one of the great panoramic battles where the whole field was in sight, and the effect of the fire at point blank ranges was easily observed. During the battle one of the Napoleons was taken from its redoubt and placed in the open to secure greater effect.
Some days after the battle a subscription was raised to relieve the destitute people of Fredericksburg and the battalion Washington Artillery contributed $1,391.00.
While Lee and Jackson were fighting Hooker in that astounding battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, a very important duty was assigned the Battalion which, with Barksdale's Mississippians and Hays's Louisianians, was sent back to retard Sedgwick in any effort to reach Hooker in time to aid him. Again the guns of the command occupied the crest of Marye's Hill with the 18th and 21st Mississippi in the sunken road. The First Company, under Squires, with two 3-inch rifles, occupied a position to the right of the Marye house. An ammunition chest under a tree still marks the spot. The Second Company, with four guns, under Richardson , was sent to Hamilton 's Crossing on the extreme right. The Third Company with two 12-pounder Napoleons under Lieutenant Brown was posted near the plank-road. One gun under Lieutenant A. Hero accompanied General Hays to the left. One howitzer of the Second Company and one of the Fourth under Lieutenants Apps and DeRussy, occupied works to the left of the plank-road. These works are still plainly traceable. On the extreme left the Fourth Company placed two guns under Captain Joseph Norcom.
After a stubborn defense the weakness of the line was discovered during a flag of truce, and Marye's Hill was over-run. Each battery lost one gun except the First Company which lost two, the first guns lost by the battalion. Four men were killed, nine wounded, and three officers and 29 men were captured with their guns. The Second Company coming to the rescue could accomplish nothing, and sacrificed a gun before it would retire, making six guns lost in all, two 3-inch rifles, two 12-pounder howitzers, and two 12-pounder Napoleons. Sedgwick, however, failed to reach Hooker. The officers and men captured were taken to Washington , thence to Fort Delaware , and on the 20th were exchanged and reported for duty after an absence of just twenty days.
At Gettysburg , the battalion reached the field at 8 a. m. on the 2nd of July, and on the morning of the 3rd was placed on the left of the peach orchard under the command of Major B. F. Eshleman. The two signal guns for the great cannonade which preceded Pickett's charge were fired by the right platoon of the First Company under Lieutenant C. H. C. Brown, the right gun under Sergeant W. T. Hardie, the second under Sergeant P. O. Fazende, each exploding a caisson of an opposing battery.
The First Company with two 12-pounder Napoleons, under Captain Squires, occupied the extreme right of all the Artillery, near the Emmitsburg Road at the Peach Orchard; the Second Company, with one 3-inch rifle, one 12-pounder Napoleon and one 12-pounder howitzer, under Captain Richardson, was placed on the left of the First Company. The Third Company under Captain Miller with three 12-pounder Napoleons, occupied a position on the left of the Second Company, and on their left was the Fourth Company under Captain Norcom, with two 12-pounder Napoleons. The First and Third Companies followed Pickett's charge to a point where they could enfilade the enemy's line until Pickett fell back and their ammunition was exhausted.
The losses were 3 killed, 26 wounded and 16 captured; 39 horses were killed. The expenditure of ammunition is not recorded but must have been heavy as the cannonade was continued until the chests were empty.
At Drewry's Bluff on May 16, 1864, Hagood's brigade and the First Company under Captain Edward Owen with four guns, were sent forward on the turnpike to a point near the outer line of works and there captured Captain Belger and his two 12-pounder Napoleons and Captain Ashby's (3rd N. Y. Artillery) three 20-pounder Parrotts. Colonel Eshleman, Adjutant Kursheedt and Sergeant Major Randolph manned one of the captured Parrott rifles to accelerate the retreating foe. The captured guns were presented on the field to the First Company in recognition of their splendid work. The Second Company under Richardson occupied Fort Stevens with four guns. The Third Company under Captain A. Hero with four guns was near the Saddler house to the right of Beauregard's headquarters. The Fourth Company under Captain Norcom occupied a position on the right flank near the R. & P. R. R., and beside three field-pieces manned four guns of position. The casualties were 9 killed and 21 wounded.
The command went into the trenches at Petersburg on June 18, 1864, and there remained until April 2, 1865, making the last stand at Fort Gregg under Lieutenant F. McElroy. During the retreat to Appomattox the Second Company under Captain Richardson served with the rear guard and was engaged up to 11 p. m. the night before the surrender.
One officer, Lieutenant C. H. C. Brown and nine men from the First and Fourth Companies served as an escort for President Davis and were present at his capture.
In all 808 men had served in the ranks of the Washington Artillery in Virginia and Tennessee of whom 139 were killed or died of wounds. Four hundred and twelve were present for duty at the end of the war, of whom 92 still survive.
The battalion had fought in sixty battles and a number of minor engagements, six of its officers were promoted out of the command, several rising to the rank of Major and Brigadier Generals.
As soon as a sufficient number of its members had returned to New Orleans after the surrender, two attempts were made to reorganize the Battalion, but the Federal Commander dispersed both meetings and Confederate military organizations were prohibited, so the Washington Artillery took on a civil and benevolent character to care for its impoverished members and their families and the families of the dead. In 1875 the embargo was removed and, at once, the command was armed and equipped at its own expense, purchasing a battery of 3-inch Parrott rifles from the Government.
Colonel Walton and the old officers again assumed command, but the reduced numbers formed but three batteries known as A. B. and C. successors to the Third, Fifth and First Companies, respectively.
In 1876 Colonel William Miller Owen, the Civil War Adjutant, was elected to command the Battalion, and in 1880 a monument was erected to the memory of the men in its ranks who gave their lives to their country. In 1881 Lieutenant-Colonel John B. Richardson was promoted to command, and the Battalion purchased its present arsenal.
In 1898 the Battalion volunteered for service in the Spanish-American War, and one battery commanded by Captain Fred Kornbeck, recruited from the entire command was accepted, but the war terminated before the Government could equip it for the field.
Following the Spanish War the Washington Artillery again expanded into five batteries, but upon the enactment of the Dick Bill, fearing that the interpretations to be placed upon its requirements might injure its esprit de corps or destroy its identity, the Battalion mustered out of the service, and existed at its own expense as an independent command until 1909, when it was demonstrated that service under the Dick Bill would be beneficial. It was then mustered in and is now composed of three batteries conforming in all respects to the regulations and striving to perfect its training for any service it may be called upon to perform.
During its years of peace service it has repeatedly done riot duty both in New Orleans and at various points in Louisiana . In 1912 it was called to conduct refugee camps for flood sufferers along the Mississippi River located at Vicksburg , Baton Rouge , Milliken's Bend and other points.
During the days of interstate competitive drills the Washington Artillery under Capt. Eugene May took first prize at Dubuque in 1884, Mobile and Philadelphia in 1885, Galveston , 1886, and Austin , 1888. It took second place at New Orleans in 1885, and third place at New Orleans and Nashville in 1883.
The following works have been published upon its history:
"A Soldier's Story of the War," by Corporal Napier Bartlett, of the Third Company. Published in 1874.
"In Camp and Battle with the Washington Artillery," by Colonel William Miller Owen, 1885.
"Washington Artillery Souvenir," by Lieutenant-Colonel John B. Richardson ; 1894.
"A Reminiscent Story of the Great Civil War," by Major H. H. Baker, of the Fourth Company; 1913.
All of the present officers have attended the Artillery Schools either at Fort Riley or Tobyhanna, and four have attended the school of Fire at Fort Sill and have been graduated.
The Field Artillery Journal - 1939
July-August 1939, page 344.
WASHINGTON ARTILLERY 101 YEARS OLD
Reading in the last issue of THE JOURNAL that another National Guard Regiment, which had just celebrated its centennial, was the oldest such organization outside the original thirteen states; Lieut. Walter J. Ledig, 141st Artillery, of New Orleans, points to the official history of his own unit, the famous Washington Artillery, and quotes therefrom: "The earliest date the United States War Department officially will concede for the organization of the Washington Artillery as this is written is 1838. Since that official notification, research has uncovered documentary proof that the Washington Artillery was a military unit under that name as early as 1818.
"The obscurity surrounding the exact date of origin of the Washington Artillery under that name is because in 1862, when New Orleans fell before the attack of Admiral Farragut's fleet and the advance of General Butler's army in the War Between the States, one of the early acts of the Union forces holding the city was to burn the Washington Artillery Armory. In that fire were destroyed all the old records of the command."
[Editor’s Note: Please refer to the Historic Washington Artillery photograph albums for a better idea of the antiquity of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. There are three photographs of a newspaper clipping in the Robert and Linda Melancon Collection. The clipping from the New Orleans GAZETTE AND COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER of Friday, November 26, 1819, printed and published by Peter K. Wagner of No. 25 Bienville Street reads,
Washington Artillerists.
On Sunday nezt the 27th inst, you will
assemble in front of the Presbyterian Church,
in full uniform, at 2 o’clock, p.m. precisely,
instead of 3 [as stated in your notices.] Per
order. C.WILLARD,
oov 25 O. S.
The Washington Artillery Armory on Girod Street, of which there are three photographs in the Historic Washington Artillery photo albums, was originally occupied by the Fire Co. No. 19. In 1857, City of New Orleans Ordinance No. and Series 3633 OS granted the use of that building to the Washington Artillery for use as an arsenal. As is evident from at two of the photographs, the façade displayed profiles of George Washington and a set of crossed cannons. Paid for in full and dedicated in 1858, it would see little use by the Washington Artillery. It was burned and confiscated by the Union soldiers of the occupation of New Orleans in 1862, and sold in 1867. The façade of the building survived and at one time was displayed in Washington Artillery Park in close proximity to the JAX brewery building. At some point, evidently in the 1970s, the façade was removed from Washington Artillery Park and supposedly placed in storage. No one seems to know today where is was stored. ]
