T.J. Libby 12th Maine Regiment desk, ca. 1861
Item 5517 info
Maine Historical Society
Thomas Jason Libby of Scarborough was 22 years old when he enlisted as a private in Co. C of the 12th Infantry Regiment, which was sent to Louisiana. The Union gained control of New Orleans and southern Louisiana in 1862 at which time Libby was assigned as an orderly sergeant with the Louisiana Native Guards.
Libby reportedly used this desk in that assignment.
The former Confederate unit, which had not been used in combat, was made up of free persons of color. Louisiana disbanded the guards, which then became the first black regiment in the Union army after the fall of New Orleans in 1862.
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