12th Battalion, Louisiana Heavy Artillery (Confederate)

Brief History
Organized near Yorktown, Virginia in 1862. This unit consisted of men from three states. They served in Richmond, Virginia and then Port Hudson, Louisiana in 1862. Following the siege of Port Hudson, the officers were sent to northern prisons and the men either went home or to parole camps. Some men reorganized in late 1863 in Mobile, Alabama, but were considered an independent unit. Some men continued to serve in the 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery. What remained of the battalion surrendered at Meridian, Mississippi on May 8, 1965.

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.

Company A – many men from Orleans Parish Company B – many men from Orleans Parish Company C – many men from Halifax Artillery, Virginia Company D – many men from Bethel Artillery, Virginia Company E – many men from Mohawk Artillery, Alabama

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.