Daniel Hubbard Willis, Jr. and the *16th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry in the Civil War (*Contained men from East Feliciana, Caddo, Livingston, Rapides, Bienville, St. Helena, and Avoyelles parishes) by Randall "Randy" Lee Willis http://www.randywillis.org Daniel Hubbard Willis, Jr. (born 2 APRIL 1839; died 22 MAY 1900) enlisted, September 29, 1861, at Camp Moore, Louisiana, in the Confederate Army as a Pvt. 5th. Company Battalion, Washington Artillery of Louisiana. He was (March 16, 1864) in Raxdale's Company E, 16th Louisiana Regiment, Gibson's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. He was promoted to 2nd Sergeant on March 5, 1865. He was captured and made a prisoner of war. Daniel was paroled at Meridian, Mississippi on May 14, 1865. Daniel H. Willis, Jr.'s obituary in the "Alexandria Town Talk" dated June 23, 1900 states: "He participated in all the hard battles of that army and for bravery, soldierly bearing, discipline and devotion to duty, he was unexcelled in his entire Brigade. He was made Orderly Sergeant of his Company at an early period of the war. It has always been said by his surviving comrades that when any particularly dangerous service was required, such as scouting parties to ascertain the position and movements of the enemy, he was always selected for the place, and never hesitated to go, let the danger be what it may. He was for a long time connected with the famous Washington Artillery, and at the battle of Chickamauga so many horses of the battery to which he was attached were killed that they had to pull the guns off the field by hand to keep them from falling in the hands of the enemy." His obituary also records: "He was paroled at Meridian, Miss., in May, 1865, and brought home with him a copy of General Gibson's farewell address to his soldiers and of him it can be truly said that through the remaining years of his life he followed the advice then given by his beloved commander. His love for the Southern cause, and for the men who wore the gray, was not dimmed by years, but he lived and died firmly convinced of the justice of the cause for which the South poured out so much of her best blood and treasure...Before death he expressed a wish that he might see his children who were at home, especially Randall L., his baby boy, whom he had named in honor of his beloved *Brigadier General, Randall Lee Gibson [I was named after my grandfather Randall Lee Willis]. He also requested that his Confederate badge be pinned on his breast and buried with him." (Also see http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.htm Film Number M378 roll 31 The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration and National Park Service). The 16th Infantry Regiment, organized during the fall of 1861 at Camp Moore, Louisiana, contained men from East Feliciana, Caddo, Livingston, Rapides, Bienville, St. Helena, and Avoyelles parishes. After fighting at Shiloh and Perryville, the unit was assigned to General D.W. Adams' and Gibson's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. It was consolidated with the 25th Louisiana Regiment from December, 1862 until the late summer of 1864. The unit participated in the difficult campaigns of the army from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, moved with Hood to Tennessee, and shared in the defense of Mobile. The regiment lost 14 killed, 48 wounded, and 27 missing at Shiloh, then the 16th/25th lost 37 killed, 159 wounded, and 17 missing of the 465 engaged at Murfreesboro and thirty-five percent of the 319 at Chickamauga. In December, 1863, it contained 265 men and 116 arms. During the Atlanta Campaign, May 8-28, 1864, its casualties were 11 killed, 47 wounded, and 5 missing. During November, 1864, the 16th had 115 officers and men fit for duty. It surrendered with the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. The field officers were Colonels Daniel Gober and Preston Pond, Jr.; Lieutenant Colonels Robert H. Lindsay, Enoch Mason, and W.E. Walker; and Majors Robert P. Oliver and Frank M. Raxsdale. *General Gibson was later an agent for Paul Tulane in founding Tulane University, of which Gibson was the first president of the board in 1885. He was elected (but not seated) as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1872; he was reelected and seated two years later and served continuously until 1882. From 1883 to 1892, he served in the U.S. Senate. I was named after my grandfather, Randall Lee Willis, whom was named after Randall Lee Gibson. See Current, ed., "Encyclopedia of the Confederacy" (also see "Army of Tennessee Louisiana Division The Association and Tumulus" by Jerry Johnson Wier, The Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1999). (Also see Randall Lee Gibson's Congressional Biography http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000165">GIBSON)