Overview

The Cheneyville Riflemen was a Civil War group formed in Central Louisiana to serve in the Confederate Army. This unit was made up primarily from young men who were members of planter's families along Bayou Bouef and Bayou Rapides in Rapides and Avoyelles Parishes. Some men were added to their units from New Orleans and they became part of the famous Louisiana Tigers who fought so bravely in the Civi War. Patrick Keary, whose later wife was President Jefferson Davis's niece, recruited the original group of volunteers. The group organized as a company in Rapides Parish, and the young men elected Keary as their captain. Other officers were also elected in June, 1861: John Burgess, W. H. Oliver and John R. Murphy, lieutenants; and Samuel Roberts, first sergeant. The Cheneyville Riflemen were presented with homemade flags of their unit by the ladies of the town. The men left Cheneyville for Camp Moore at Tanghipahoa in the summer of 1861. There, more recruits were added from New Orleans and the Cheneville Rifles were commissioned as part of the 8th Louisiana Infantry and were designated as Company H. The Cheneyville Rifles, along with the 8th Louisiana, left for the war front within days, and spent the next four years the Virginia Theatre. These brave central Louisiana men participated in dozens of battles, including Gettysburg, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Appomattox.