Then take this banner, freemen bold,
And may it o'er the proudly wave,
Till we in triumph shall behold
The last oppressor in his grave.
Strong words from a young woman exhorting the locals to victory early in the American Civil War. Below is a record of an event that may have gone unnoticed for over 150 years. From the Shreveport South-Western newspaper dated 25-Sep-1861, it recaps speeches given at a sending-off for the "Caddo Lake Boys" in which a banner created by area ladies is presented, to be carried by their men marching off to war.
The presentation took place at an undisclosed location, possibly Mooringsport; or likely Albany, a defunct community on Twelve-Mile Bayou near where I-49 crosses Albany Road; a few miles east of present-day Blanchard. Presenting on behalf of the women who crafted the cloth is Callie Currie, while accepting on behalf of the Company is Thomas J. Lindsey.
The troop was comprised of area volunteers who fought for the Confederacy as Company F, one of ten forming the 17th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Led by Captain James A. Jeter of Jeter Plantation (west of Mooringsport), the unit initially marched to Monroe and then down to Camp Moore in Tangipahoa Parish (near Kentwood) where they enlisted in September 1861 and entered training. Upon completion, the 17th was stationed in New Orleans until February 1862 and then assigned to Baldwin's Brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, ordered to Corinth, Mississippi to become engaged in the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), taking place in southwest Tennessee. They also fought battles at Port Gibson, Mississippi (May 1863), and Vicksburg; where they were captured when the city surrendered to Union forces in July 1863. Some members of Company F were pardoned right away, possibly as prisoner exchanges, and sent home; while others appear to not have been released until the end of the war.
In addition to Captain Jeter, other initial leaders of the troop included 1st Lieutenant Francis G. Spearman and 2nd Lieutenants F. G. Bickham and John C. Allen. It's not clear why, but Lt. Spearman was promoted to Captain in May 1862. On the day of Spearman's promotion, Bickham was elevated to 1st Lieutenant while former Private Thomas J. Lindsey (one of the speakers in the article below) was added as new 2nd Lieutenant.
After Vicksburg the regiment reorganized and was placed in A. Thomas' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department where it continued to fight within Louisiana until the end of the war, at which time it was disbanded.
A memorial to the 17th Louisiana Infantry exists at the Vicksburg National Military Park.
An epilogue disclosing details of the principals mentioned above is forthcoming.
Banner Presentation to the Caddo Lake Boys
Previous to the departure of this company to join the army, the ladies bordering on the lake, presented it with a beautiful banner, wrought with their own tiny hands, through Miss Callie Currie, who delivered the following address:
Captain Jeter and the Caddo Lake Boys – Our country is threatened to be overrun by abolition hordes of the north – our borders are already invaded by ruthless numbers, and it is for you to say whether they will be conquerors or not.
They having neither justice or rights upon their side, while we have every thing that is good, glorious and just upon ours, never permit them to advance one foot farther upon our dear southern land. But upon the other hand you must drive them back upon their own soil, and if need be for our own safety and independence, drive them into the northern seas.
You have enlisted, gentlemen, for twelve months, but I am well satisfied that your patriotism will never permit you to lay down your muskets or sheathe your swords until you have gained our glorious Independence or as long as there is an invader left upon our soil.
I have been chosen by the ladies of ward No. 1, Caddo parish to present you this banner, and the earnest wish of our hearts is that it should be borne in the thickest of the contest that you may win honors for yourselves and peace and quiet and happiness for the homes you have left behind you.
And in the thickest of the fight, when the storm of grape-shot and musket ball fall thick and fast, think of the donors, and remember the prayers of your mothers and sisters that are ever sent up to heaven for your safety. Let there be no quarreling, but let your watchword be victory or death. Should you fail, let your flag be your winding sheet; never suffer in disgrace by being captured by the enemy; let each one bear his part nobly in its defence, for there is no death more honorable than the true soldiers – no life more disrespected than the dastard or coward.
Captain Jeter, into your hands we give these brave soldiers, stars of our society and the light of our homes; take care of them – lead them into no rash dangers, but go where your country needs you most and strike when you can accomplish most for our independence, and when you return should any of their familiar faces be missing from their ranks, let it be said their bodies were left upon the battlefield as monuments to future generations.
Then take this banner, freemen bold,
And may it o'er the proudly wave,
Till we in triumph shall behold
The last oppressor in his grave.
Thos. (Thomas) J. Lindsey on behalf of the Company replied:
“God bless the donors!” - they shall be remembered. Were I gifted with the oratory of a (Henry) Clay, or had I the political erudition of a (Daniel) Webster, it would be unnecessary to give you, fair lady an explanation of the great cause in which we have been forced to embark. It is a noble cause, too well understood by patriotic daughters of the south to need an exposition.
By the horrors and the dangers alike we are training for the battle fields and this beautiful banner which you have presented to us, is a token of our early departure for the field of action, where we shall face the thundering cannon, the clash of arms, and the death messengers flying swiftly through the air, like hail from the heavens, but amidst all these threatening dangers, the donors of this banner shall be remembered. When we are drawn out in battle array, proudly will it wave over those who will build up a breastwork with their bristling bayonets which will prove impregnable for its protection of those who will not desert their post in the hour of danger, as the best breastwork ever fabricated by the hands of the soldiers, and of such the south can boast. The matrons of '76 moulded the bullets with their own hands and bore them to their husbands ans to their fathers and brothers for the protection of their homes; and the donors of this banner and you who have presented it, are no less brave or patriotic than they. Blush not when we tell you that we are all in love. We are betrothed to liberty. She is the loadstone that has attracted thousands of brave Confederates to the battlefield – let her become our companion, and this banner shall have charms beyond any stars and stripes which have over waved in the breezes of continental America. God being our helper, victory shall perch on this banner and render powerless every opposition. Then the specious robe of disguised oppression will fall off and exhibit to the civilised world its hideous deformity – then the sarcastic invectives which our foes have hurled at us without least umbrage of provocation, will be rolled back upon their own shoulders, then the noble and liberty-loving women of the south will see the fruits of their patriotic manifestations. Well may you be ??? (assured) that we will never lay down our muskets or sheathe our blades till we secure our rights and achieve a glorious independence.
Though this banner be born in the heat of the battle and perforated with musket balls, or riddled with grape shot, never will it be dishonored by cowardice or by inglorious retreat; nor shall it be borne away as a trophy by the ruthless hands of the usurpers till they wade in human gore and all these brave soldiers lie bleeding beneath its folds should wrest it from our hands, we would tare (sic) it into fragments and lay it level with the dust. Never shall this standard be seized by those who have made widows of our women, orphans of thousands of children, and butchered our fathers and brothers, till their blood runs red on the ground and cries to us for vengeance.
The patriotic and benevolent acts of real southern women since this diabolical war has been waged against us, will brighten the pages of history and make the hearts of thousands of soldiers throb with emotion. If any of these soldiers fall in the contest, proud would they be of this banner as a winding sheet; but their best valediction would be comrades never give up the contest till the joyful shouts of victory! victory! ring through the camps.
