Charles Didier Dreux (May 11, 1832 – July 5, 1861) was the first Confederate field officer killed 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 ...

. He was the son of Guy Dreux and Léontine Arnoult. Prior to the Civil War, Dreux had served as district attorney and a member of the Louisiana state legislature. 30,000 mourners attended his funeral in New Orleans. He is buried in

Metairie Cemetery Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in southeastern Louisiana. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road (and fo ...

Tributes

According to

Grace King Grace Elizabeth King (November 29, 1852 – January 14, 1932) was an American author of Louisiana stories, history, and biography, and a leader in historical and literary activities. King began her literary career as a response to George Washin ...

, those who knew him described him "as a man of great personal magnetism; brilliant, eloquent, dashing." He left for the battlefield as lieutenant colonel of the Louisiana Guard Battalion, in command of Dreux's (1st) Battalion, composed of the first five companies that volunteered from Louisiana. Three months later, he died at Young's Mill (

Warwick, Virginia Warwick is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1952 until 1958. Formed by a political conversion of the former Warwick County, Virginia (1634–1952), it is now part of the independ ...

, now Newport News, Virginia) while on a failed mission to capture Union officers who often ate breakfast at Smith's Farm. His last words were "Steady, boys! Steady!” An ''Elegy on the Death of Lt. Col. Chas. Dreux'', words by James R. Randall and music by G. M. Loening, was published in New Orleans in 1861.

Monument

A monument to Dreux is located in New Orleans at the intersection of Canal Street and South Jefferson Davis Parkway. The text on the monument reads: Vandalism to the statue includes having its nose was chiseled off in 2017, being covered in a white hood and spray-painted with obscenities in 2018, and being pulled down in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreux, Charles Didier 1832 births 1861 deaths People of Louisiana in the American Civil War Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War 1861 in the American Civil War 19th-century American lawyers Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American legislators Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Louisiana 19th-century Louisiana politicians