1st Louisiana Native Guard ( CSA ) The 1st Louisiana Native Guard ( CSA ) was a Confederate Louisiana militia of " free persons of color " formed in 1861 in New Orleans , Louisiana . It was disbanded in February 1862 ; some of the members joined the Union Army ' s 1st Louisiana Native Guard regiment ( later the 73rd Regiment Infantry U . S . Colored Troops ) . Confederate Louisiana militia . Shortly after Louisiana ' s secession , Governor Thomas Overton Moore issued pleas for troops on April 17 and April 21 , 1861 . In response to the governor ' s request , a committee of ten prominent New Orleans free blacks called a meeting at the Catholic Institute on April 22 . About two thousand people attended the meeting where muster lists were opened , with about 1 , 500 free blacks signing up . Governor Moore accepted the services of these men as part of the state ' s miltia . The new militia regiment was formed on May 2 , 1861 , consisting mostly of " free persons of color " Creole French Speakers ( gens de couleur ) between the ages of 15 and 50 . At that time , an estimated 10 , 000 African American residents of the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans had gained their freedom . On May 29 , 1861 , Governor Moore appointed three white officers as commanders of the regiment , and company commanders were appointed from among the free blacks of the regiment . The militia unit was the first of any North American unit to have African - American officers . This regiment was called the Louisiana Native Guard . Though ten per cent of its members would later join the Union Army ' s 1st Louisiana Native Guard , the two were separate military units . André Cailloux , who later became a hero of the Siege of Port Hudson as a Union officer , served as a lieutenant in this Confederate Louisiana militia regiment of the Native Guard . Jamaican - born Lieutenant Morris W . Morris , who served as an officer in the Confederate Louisiana militia regiment and subsequently served for six weeks in the Union Native Guard regiment , was unique in that he was of Jewish ancestry , making him both the only Black Jewish Confederate officer and the only Black Jewish Union officer . He later became a famous actor as Lewis Morrison and his granddaughters , Joan , Constance and Barbara Bennett , were actresses whose Black ancestry was never revealed . The South did not use this Confederate Native Guard regiment in any military action , and failed to provide it with uniforms or arms . Most of the men in the unit used their own resources to obtain weapons and uniforms which were displayed in a parade in New Orleans on January 8 , 1862 . It was largely considered part of the Confederacy ' s " public relations " campaign . The Native Guard tried to become known by offering their service to escort Union prisoners , captured from Manassas , through New Orleans . Despite the Confederacy choosing white militiamen instead , the Native Guard still participated in two other grand reviews . The Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in January 1862 that reorganized the militia into only “ . . . free white males capable of bearing arms … ” . The 1st Louisiana Native Guard was affected by this law . It was forced to disband on February 15 , 1862 , when the new law took effect . " Their demise was only temporary , however , for Governor Moore reinstated the Native Guards on March 24 after the Federal navy under Admiral David G . Farragut entered the Mississippi River . " As the regular Confederate forces under Major General Mansfield Lovell abandoned New Orleans , the Native Guard were left to fend for themselves . The Native Guard were again , and in finality , ordered to disband by General John L . Lewis , of the Louisiana Militia , on April 29 , 1862 , as the Union troops entered the city to take possession of it . General Lewis cautioned the Native Guard to hide their muskets and dispose of their uniforms before returning home . Companies of the Confederate 1st Louisiana Native Guard prior to disbanding in 1862 :