Fort Butler – Donaldsonville, Louisiana The Forgotten Fort

Many Civil War historical sites have disappeared over the years along with the history of the men that fought in that bloody war. It is the job of us descendents and as a UDC member, to carry on the history, of the battles, who fought in these battles, who the commanders were, how lives were lived, and lives that were lost. I would like to tell you about the brave and honorable men that died at the battle of Fort Butler and are buried in an unmarked mass grave!

On June 28, 1863, the town of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, was the site of a brutal battle during the War Between the States. During this bloody battle, a fort built by the Union army survived a fierce assault by the Confederate army. To the naked eye there is no sign of the fort on the Mississippi River bank at Donaldsonville.

The Union army built Fort Butler at a very strategic point, since Confederate forces were able to use the river all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and by-pass New Orleans. Fort Butler, with its garrison of Union troops made up mostly of freed slaves, stood in the way of any Confederate attempt to reclaim New Orleans or end the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Confederate General Alfred Mouton ordered the Confederate forces stationed in Louisiana to take for Butler. He considered this maneuver essential to the disrupted of communication between Union General Banks and New Orleans. Mouton issued the following General Order on May 31, 1863:

The Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Regiments Texas Mounted Volunteers, the Second Regiment Louisiana Calvary, Waller’s Battalion, the Valverde Battery and Nichol’s Battery will constitute the First Brigade…under the command of General Thomas Green Baylor’s Regiment, Stone’s Regiment, Gurley’s Regiment (30th Texas Partisan Rangers), Philip’s Regiment, Speight’s Battery, and Semmes Battery will constitute the Second Brigade…General J.P. Majors is assigned…command of the same.

The Texas and Arizonans marched all night on June 26, 1863, to Donaldsonville. When they were within nine miles of the town, they rested while preparing for the battle. The Texas Calvary, commanded by General Green, stormed the fort during the early hours of June 28.

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Army of the Potomac under General George B. Mcclellan Retreating from the Chickahominy in 1862

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A fierce hand-to-hand struggle ensued and lasted for three hours. As confederate troops rushed over the fort’s outer wall, they found a deep moat inside. Many were trapped and died in the barrage of bullets fired at them.

When daylight came, 31 Confederates lay dead, 114 were wounded and 107 were missing. General Green later wrote: “There never was more desperation displayed than was shown by our men engaged in this assault.”

The Confederates never succeeded in taking the fort from the Union soldiers of the Louisiana Native Guards and gunboats USS Winona and USS Princess Royal.

Historians say that Fort Butler is unique because African-Americans helped build it and then, in 1863, defended it. Some say it was the first African-American victory of the war.

After the battle, the Union army refused to allow the Confederate attackers to remove the bodies of their fallen comrades. The Confederate dead were buried in a mass grave, where they remain today.

Buried in unmarked graves at Fort Butler for 144 years:

4th Texas Mounted Volunteers
Co. A. Cartwright, Norval D., Lt.
Co. G. Stevens, M., Cpl.

5th Texas Mounted Volunteers
Co. A. Henderson, Wm., Pvt.
Co. D. Ragsdale, D.H., Capt.
Shelton, H.B., Pvt.
Coon, S.N., bugler
Co. F. Wilkenson, Jas., Pvt.
Co. G. Bridges, Ed J., Pvt.
Co. H Barnett, J., Pvt.
Co. I Dobbin, J.H., Pvt.
Co. K Long, James W. Pvt.

7th Texas Mounted Volunteers
Co. D Roach, B.J., Pvt.
Co. E Davis, R.B., Pvt.
Austin, T.J., Pvt.
Morgan, W.F., Sgt.
Co. F Barker, W.F., Pvt.
Co. G King, Alfred, Pvt.
Co. H Avery, T.G., Pvt.
Co. K House, P.M., Pvt.

3rd Arizona
Staff Phillips, Joseph, Col.
Co. A McLean, A.M., Pvt.
Co. C Walker, W.K., Lt.
Vann, Sgt.
Co. E Whitener, John, Pvt.
Co. F. Kennedy, Henry, Capt.
Roan, William B., 3rd It.
Malone, James W., Pvt.
Stilwell, Newton C., Pvt.
Renfro, Thomas, Pvt.
Robertson, Mitchell, Pvt.
Co. H. Holand, W.L. Sgt.

In 1999, the UDC dedicated a monument to the brave Confederate soldiers who died at Fort Butler. The headstone listed the name and rank of every Confederate soldier who lies buried in the mass grave. They are not forgotten, and their honor and sacrifice are not lost in time.