Signing up the Creoles.

Rebforever

Lt. Colonel
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Approved November 19, 1862.

STATE OF ALABAMA, OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF WAR,

November 19, 1862.

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original act now on file in my office.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the great seal of the State at Montgomery this 19th day of November, A. D. 1862.

[SEAL.]

P. H. BRITTAN,

Secretary of War.

AN ACT to authorize the enrollment of the Creoles of Mobile.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Alabama in General Assembly convened, That certain persons of mixed blood, residing in the city and county of Mobile, commonly known as Creoles, be, and the same are hereby, authorized to be enrolled as militia for the defense of the city and county of Mobile, if in the opinion of the mayor of the city it is expedient.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That the enrollment authorized by the first section of this act shall be made as follows, to wit: The mayor shall enroll such male Creoles between the ages of eighteen years and fifty years who wish to be enrolled. He shall then divide them into suitable companies, and appoint some discreet white man as commissioned officer to command said companies. Said companies shall be confined exclusively to the defense of the city and county of Mobile, and shall be under the command of the military authorities in the city of Mobile.

Approved November 20, 1862.

GENERAL ORDERS,

ADJT. AND INSP. GENERAL'S OFFICE, No. 92.

Richmond, November 21, 1862.

https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/128/0197
 
Interesting post, thanks for sharing!

In an essay by Brooks D Simpson, which has a fair bit of information relating to Alabama and the Creoles, he states that:

On 23 April 1862 G Huggins Cleveland wrote to the Confederate Secretary of War (George Randolph) to see whether the Confederacy would accept a battalion or regiment of Creoles, an offer that the Confederate government rejected.

As you've posted above, the State then passed legislation authorising the recruitment of Creoles into the State's militia. A company called the Creole Guards was formed subsequent to this legislation. The author states that they were assigned to guard warehouses and government stores.

In November 1863 Dabney Maury asked the War Department if the recruitment of Creoles into Confederate service, in order to use them to man the guns. This request however was also denied (by James Seddon) with the comment that blacks could serve as laborers but not be enlisted as soldiers.

It looks like a company of Creoles called the Native Guard were formed late in the war, prior to the capture of Mobile but their service seems unclear (particularly whether or not they participated in the defence of the city).

Here's the link to the citation: https://books.google.com.au/books?i...=onepage&q=confederate creoles mobile&f=false
 
Interesting post, thanks for sharing!

In an essay by Brooks D Simpson, which has a fair bit of information relating to Alabama and the Creoles, he states that:

On 23 April 1862 G Huggins Cleveland wrote to the Confederate Secretary of War (George Randolph) to see whether the Confederacy would accept a battalion or regiment of Creoles, an offer that the Confederate government rejected.

As you've posted above, the State then passed legislation authorising the recruitment of Creoles into the State's militia. A company called the Creole Guards was formed subsequent to this legislation. The author states that they were assigned to guard warehouses and government stores.

In November 1863 Dabney Maury asked the War Department if the recruitment of Creoles into Confederate service, in order to use them to man the guns. This request however was also denied (by James Seddon) with the comment that blacks could serve as laborers but not be enlisted as soldiers.

It looks like a company of Creoles called the Native Guard were formed late in the war, prior to the capture of Mobile but their service seems unclear (particularly whether or not they participated in the defence of the city).

Here's the link to the citation: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FX4zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=confederate+creoles+mobile&source=bl&ots=Gl2uGLMW77&sig=vf1_MqkeNPQLQwq8fqJQFVOhcW8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf5_TiocvdAhWIxrwKHUorA84Q6AEwDHoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=confederate creoles mobile&f=false
Thanks for the info and the book. I will take a look at it and see if there is more in the OR’s concerning this topic.
 
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