2nd Battalion Volunteer Heavy Artillery
From Bergeron, La. Confed. Units, 9-10:
"Although authorized in October, 1863, the battalion did not complete its organization until February, 1864, probably at Columbia. The men of the unit came from the northwestern parishes of the state and were both volunteers and conscripts. On March 2, 1864, the battalion was subjected to bombardment from six Federal gunboats at Harrisonburg but probably had no cannons with which to return the enemy fire. Several weeks later, the battalion received two 24-pounder guns and remained near the Ouachita River in case Federal gunboats again moved up the stream. In early April, 1864, the men buried their guns near Columbia and marched to Shreveport. For about one week, the man manned Fort Boggs to help defend the capital city from Major General Nathaniel F. Banks's Red River expedition. The battalion returned to Columbia in late April to retrieve its two cannons, and the men operated near Pineville while the Union army occupied Alexandria. Following the Union evacuation of Alexandria, the battalion remained in the area of the town until early 1865, when it moved to Natchitoches. At the end of the war, the battalion apparently had no cannons and was attached to Brigadier General William R. Bogg's infantry brigade. The men of the battalion disbanded near Mansfield in May, 1865."
CSRC, M320, roll 46
ROSTER