King's Battery, Louisiana Artillery (Confederate)

Brief History
Organized May 14, 1862 as St. Martin Rangers, but converted to artillery May 1863. Assigned as Company D to the 16th Louisiana Infantry Battalion, but functioned as an independent unit. Was known as Bull Battery because their cannon was pulled by oxen. The unit was stationed near Alexandria, Natchitoches, and finally was captured at Fort DeRussy on the Red River near Marksville in March 1864. After exchange, the men served as cavalrymen or mounted infantrymen.

"Units of the Confederate States Army" by Joseph H. Crute, Jr. contains no history for this unit.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Many men from St. Martin Parish.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 40 men on its roster for this unit. Possibly this unit did not complete its organization, and the men went to other units. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Louisiana in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Louisiana in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Louisiana, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.