The 2nd Louisiana Regiment Native Guard Infantry was a regiment in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Native Guard

The Regiment was organized in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, in October 1862, and assigned to the defenses of New Orleans to December 1862. It operated in Louisiana until January 1863, when it was sent to

Ship Island, Mississippi Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, ...

. As with its related regiment, the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, the field grade officers (

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

s and

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

s) were white, and the original line officers were black. An exception was Major

Francis E. Dumas Francis Ernest Dumas (1837 – March 26, 1901) was a wealthy plantation owner and slaveholder of Louisiana. He was of African Americans, African American and Louisiana Creole people, creole heritage and served as an officer in the Union Army duri ...

, a wealthy creole from Louisiana who had enlisted a company of his own slaves. He resigned in July 1863. Among the company officers was

P.B.S. Pinchback Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (May 10, 1837 – December 21, 1921) was an American publisher, politician, and Union Army officer. Pinchback was the second African American (after Oscar Dunn) to serve as governor and lieutenant governor of a U ...

, an educated

free man of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Na ...

who became active in the Republican Party after the war, serving as lieutenant governor and then governor of Louisiana in 1872. He was elected to the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

in 1874 and the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in 1876. He resigned his commission in 1863 because of discrimination. The remaining black officers of the regiment were all purged by Major General

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...

in early 1863.

''Corps d'Afrique''

The designation of the Regiment was changed to ''2nd Regiment, Corps d' Afrique'' on June 6, 1863. It was on garrison duty at Ship Island from June 1863 to April 1864.

74th United States Colored Troops

The Regiment designation was changed to 74th United States Colored Troops on April 4, 1864 and it was attached to defenses of New Orleans until October 1864. The regiment participated in an expedition from Fort Pike to Pearl River from September 9–12, 1864. Detachments served on an expedition from

Fort Pike Fort Pike State Historic Site is a decommissioned 19th-century United States fort, named after Brigadier General Zebulon Pike. It was built following the War of 1812 to guard the Rigolets pass in Louisiana, a strait from the Gulf of Mexico, via L ...

Bayou Bonforica In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

January 31 – February 1, 1865, and from Fort Pike to Bayou St. Louis March 28–30, 1865. The Regiment remained on garrison at Ship Island and mustered out on October 11, 1865.

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