C. P. Weaver (far left) with Col. Nathan Daniels of the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Native Guards,
Capt. Benjamin Manton, U.S.S. Relief, Capt. Henry A. Adams, U.S.S. Vincennes, and Capt. Edgerlady, Ship New England.
Unfortunately, Ms. Weaver is only person in this photograph who will be able to attend the symposium.

MURRY DORTY    8:35 AM at Port Hudson

Murry Dorty is no stranger to the Louisiana Native Guards. Several years ago he gave several programs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to commemorate the African-American soldiers stationed at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island during the Civil War. Murry will give his interpretation of what it was like to be a soldier in the Native Guards during the tour of the battlefield on Saturday morning.

KEN ASHWORTH     9:10 AM at Port Hudson

Dr. Ken Ashworth is a staff archeologist with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. Ken serves on weekends as a volunteer archeologist for the Port Hudson Historic Site, where he is documenting the discovery of artifacts he and his helpers have unearthed on the battlefield.  In this picture, Ken is pointing out earthworks on the banks of Big Sandy Creek where the Telegraph Road crossed the stream.

GREG POTTS & MICHAEL FRAERING    10:00 AM at Port Hudson

Greg Potts is Manager of the Port Hudson State Historic Site. Mike Fraering is the Site's Curator. Greg and Mike will be leading the tour of the battlefield Saturday morning. They have also worked closely with Ken Ashworth on the archeological research where the Native Guards made their famous assault. Greg and Michael will lead a tour of this part of the battlefield Saturday morning.
 
 

Jim Hollandsworth is the conference director.  He is also Associate Provost at the University of Southern Mississippi and a lecturer in the Department of History.  Jim has written three books related to the Native Guards. The first, The Louisiana Native Guards, was published in 1995.  Jim's biography of Nathaniel P. Banks, Pretense of Glory, appeared in 2000, while his third book, An Absolute Massacre: The New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866, was released in March.

RAMON JOHNSON    1:10 PM at Rosedown

Ramon Johnson is a park ranger at  Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve .  He spoke to the Louisiana Native Guards Conference in New Orleans.  Ramon is shown here with PHILIP ROSE wearing the uniform of theNative Guards.  GERALDINE SMITH, Superintendent of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, will introduce Ramon.
 

C. P. WEAVER    1:40 PM at Rosedown

C. P. (Kitty) Weaver considers herself an "accidental historian."  Her interest in the Native Guards was fed by papers, diaries and artifacts found in the attic of her ancestral home in Massachusetts. Louisiana State University Press published one of these diaries, Thank God My Regiment an African One: The Civil War Diary of Colonel Nathan W. Daniels in 1998.  Kitty lives in Oakton, Virginia, and is continuing work on Daniels' diaries.
 

STEPHEN J. OCHS    3:00 PM at Rosedown

Stephen J. Ochs is a teacher and chair of the history department at Georgetown Preparatory School. The author of A Black Patriot and a White Priest: André Cailloux and Claude Paschal Maistre in Civil War New Orleans, Ochs lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is also the author of Desegregating the Altar: The Josephites and the Struggle for Black Priests, 1871-1960.

BUDGE WEIDMAN    3:45 PM at Rosedown

Budge Weidman serves as Project Manager of the Civil War Conservation Corps (CWCC) at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D. C., where she is preparing the compiled military service records of the United State Colored Troops for preservation on microfilm. Budge frequently gives talks about military service records of soldiers who fought in the Civil War and has written several articles for the National Archives.

DESCENDANTS of THE NATIVE GUARDS    4:30 PM at Rosedown

Descendants of men who served in the Native Guards are on the program too. In this picture GREG OSBORN leads a discussion among descendants who attended the conference in New Orleans last year.  Greg will return next year to moderate the panel of descendants at the end of the program.

ISIAH EDWARDS   (contact for descendants)

Isiah "Ike" Edwards, Jr., comes from a long line of American patriots. Ike's ancestors have participated in every American war since the Revolution, including the Civil War on both sides - Confederate and Union. After retiring from the Air Force in 1985, Ike returned to the New Orleans area, where he is a Facility Manager with the Naval Reserve. Ike is also a reenactor. Descendants of men who served in the Louisiana Native Guards are asked to contact Ike by e-mail.

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