Louisiana Tigers - Tiger Execution

Tiger Execution

As cited in "Dishonored Heroes," Gary Schreckengost's 1st Louisiana Special Battalion: Wheat's Tigers in the Civil War (McFarland, 2008): With the Federal rout at Manassas, the men of the Special Battalion were able to supplement their Louisiana-made equipment with Yankee-provided "Indian rubber coats and splendid blankets, besides hats, shoes, pants, pistols, swords and some money and jewels." One reporter from the New Orleans Daily Delta stated: “ that the knapsacks and haversacks of our Bengalese friends were all marked in large letter ‘U.S.’ I inquired what the letters meant. ‘A few weeks ago,’ was the ready reply, ‘they meant ‘Uncle Sam,’ now they mean ‘us.’”

During the next several weeks, the Tigers and others performed picket duty north of Manassas, up around Centreville, Fairfax Courthouse, and at times, even as far north as the Potomac River itself. Like during their time up at Seneca Falls, these weeks mostly went undocumented but were important in the maturity of the Tigers as aggressive, independent-minded fighters. There were also reports of a few more occasions of "friendly fire" with the blue-clad Tiger Rifles. Because of this, the men of the Tiger Rifles decided to dye-out the indigo from their jackets, turning them into a dull tan-grey. According to the Warren Letters, the Tigers bleach out the indigo blue dye from their jackets, making them take on the color of an “over-ripe peach with some blue mottlin here and there” (i.e., a dull tan-grey with blue splotches). By fiat, the red trim was lightened into a pinkish color. "Grandaddy said they had bolied the jackets in a concotion of potash, water and vinegar to get rid of the indigo color leavin the jackets the color of an over-ripe peach with some blue mottlin here and there. The red trim fading to a pink." There is also a water color painted by Leon Fremaux of the 6th Louisiana that shows two Tigers with various colors of mottled tan-gray as well as some other eye-witness accounts that state that the Tigers wore jackets of tan or grey.

And as for Major Wheat, he did indeed defy the doctors’ grim prognosis of death and slowly recovered from his horrid wounds. Francis Shober, Wheat’s brother-in-law from North Carolina, was the first to reach the Old Filibuster’s bedside in a cabin not far from the railroad depot at Manassas. Arriving on July 25, Shober found Wheat “still improving and…rallying very rapidly….His life seems to be a charmed one and he is still full of vitality and strength.”

While bed-ridden, the Tiger commander received a steady flow of visitors, consisting mostly officers and men from his battalion. On one occasion, he saw a Tiger Zouave peering through a window into his room with “an expression of great anxiety on his face.” Wheat invited him in and when the Tiger came to his bedside, the Old Filibuster, struggling to raise his right hand, said: “Come here my Royal Bengal, and let me shake your paw.” General Beauregard also visited the bed-ridden filibuster, assuring him that the gallant actions of he and his men at Manassas “will not be forgotten.”

While Wheat recovered from his wounds in Camp Pickens, “a serious rift” arose between Captain Alexander White of the Tiger Rifles and Captain William McCausland of Colonel Evans’s staff. McCausland apparently called White a coward for failing to rise from the ground when “his horse was shot under him” during the Tigers’ retreat from Matthews's Hill. White of course denied the accusation and called McCausland a liar. McCausland retorted, and the argument escalated to the point where White answered McCausland’s slander by challenging him to a duel. The weapons chosen for the subsequent test of honor were “Mississippi rifles at short range.” White, the faster of the two, mortally wounded McCausland who was “bored through the hips.” Briefly arrested for the matter, White was quietly sent back to New Orleans to not only reduce tensions within the brigade, but to also escort the wounded Obedia Miller back to his home and recruit more idle but patriotic lads to help fill the ranks of the now-famous Tiger Battalion. It was during this time that White had his photograph taken.

On August 3 Wheat was well enough to be moved to Culpeper, thirty miles below Manassas, for his convalescence. This he spent in the home of James Barbour, an old family friend. While there, Barbour and Wheat had several discussions concerning Roberdeau’s military service. Barbour believed that Wheat could serve the Confederate cause in a much greater capacity than as major of a battalion of infantry. On August 12 he wrote to Virginia Governor John Letcher to press the Confederate government to promote the Old Filibuster to a rank more commensurate to his abilities. He writes:

Dear Sir: Major Roberdeau Wheat who was severely wounded in the battle…at Manassas…will be ready for active service in a week or two. As he is a native of our state…it is appropriate to present to you…the past career of this remarkable man…. An intense ambition for military distinction has been the controlling influence in his life and has made his life a career of rich and bold adventure.…He was educated at the Military High School under Reverend now Colonel Pendleton. He served in the Mexican War under Scott as a Captain of Cavalry. He commanded a Louisiana regiment in Lopez’s expedition against Cuba. He was for ten years a brigadier general in the Mexican Service. He held an artillery command in Walker’s Nicaraguan Expedition. He was with Garibaldi in Italy being volunteer aid to Avezano second in command to Garibaldi. He raised a battalion in New Orleans and came to Manassas…where it was his fortune to open the last battle…. In the thick of the fight he received a wound which was at the time considered mortal…. A man only 35 years of age of his intelligent courage and energy has vast capacity for public service in these strange wild scenes that surround us. He is a man of fine abilities and good education…. A chance for noticeable service is all that he asks. He has earned promotion by his skill and courage and his blood…. President Davis, General Beauregard, and the Secretary of War know him and can suggest more in his favor than I have said if attention be called to his case. The rank which he now holds is not sufficient to offer him much opportunity for the distinction for which he yearns. Promotion is sought not for the honor which it confers but for what it may enable him to win. I am sure that it cannot be necessary to say more to enlist you in his interest. Very Respy and Truly, Jas. Barbour"

While the Old Filibuster recovered from his wounds in Culpeper, politicking for a higher position, Beauregard’s Army of the Potomac and Johnston’s Army of the Shenandoah were merged into one force under the overall command of Johnston. The unified army was subsequently divided into four divisions with at least three generally state-specific brigades each. As such, all of the Louisiana infantry units which had been assigned to the Army of the Potomac, Roberdeau Wheat’s Special Battalion and Isaac Seymour’s Sixth, Harry Hays’s Seventh, Henry Kelly’s Eighth, and Richard Taylor’s Ninth regiments were assembled into one brigade, the “Louisiana Brigade,” and put under the command of Brig. Gen. William H.T. Walker of Georgia, “a man of command military experience.” The Louisiana Brigade was then assigned to Maj. Gen. Richard “Old Baldy” Ewell’s division along with the brigades of Arnold Elzey and Isaac Ridgeway Trimble.

The hard-hitting 6th Louisiana, much like Wheat’s Battalion, consisted mostly of Irish or German immigrant dock workers from New Orleans with a sprinkling of up-country farmers and such from Union, Sabine, Tensas or St. Landry Parishes. They were “hardy fellows, turbulent in camp and required a strong hand, but responded to kindness and justice and readily followed their officers to the death.” The “Irish Sixth,” as the regiment was popularly known, was commanded by 57-year-old Yale graduate and Seminole and Mexican wars veteran Isaac Seymour who had been, at the outbreak of this war, the editor of the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin.

The 7th Louisiana or the “Pelican Regiment” was commanded by Harry Thompson Hays, a 41-year-old Mexican War veteran and New Orleans attorney. It consisted mostly of bourgeois New Orleans Creoles, many of whom belonged to the prestigious Pickwick Club which helped organize the annual Mardi Gras. The 8th and 9th regiments, commanded by Colonels Henry Kelly and Richard Taylor, respectively, unlike the 6th and 7th regiments, which principally hailed from southern Louisiana, consisted of farmers, laborers, and planters’ sons from northern Louisiana. Many of these men, coming from the more “Southern” part of the state, felt especially apprehensive about being brigaded with the lowly “wharf rats, thieves, and outcasts” from the Tiger Battalion. They apparently feared them worse than the Federal army. Richard Taylor, commander of the 9th Louisiana at the time, remembered: "With the army at this time was a battalion...commanded by Major Wheat.… So villainous was the reputation of the battalion that every commander desired to be rid of it."

Private Henry Handerson, a soldier in Taylor’s regiment, echoed his commander’s sentiments when he wrote: "Considerably to our horror, in the formation of the brigade encampment, Wheat’s battalion, was located immediately next to the 9th Louisiana Regiment, and, indeed, just alongside of my company."

Private William Trahern of the 6th Louisiana said of the Tigers: "A greater lot of thieves and cut-throats never trod this hemisphere… gorgeous uniforms and fairly good drilling men of great courage and bravery…. they possessed neither of these qualities…. cowards and wharf rats drawn from the low down population of every human race known."

Private Randolph Abbott Shotwell of the 1st North Carolina Battalion, Trimble’s brigade, said of them: "Major Bob Wheat’s famous battalion of New Orleans ‘Tigers’ (composed of the dregs of that great city, and certainly not ill-named, for a more fierce, ruffianly, ferocious set of desperadoes are rarely assembled in a civilized country) were encamped near Manassas, and were the terror of the neighborhood; even their own officers could not always restrain them.

Captain William Oates of the 15th Alabama, Trimble’s brigade, remembered that the Tiger Rifles of Wheat’s Battalion: "...with their half savage uniform, made the observed of all observers. They were composed mainly of adventurous wharf rats, cut throats, and bad characters generally; and although they fought with reckless bravery…they were actuated more by a spirit of adventure and love of plunder than by love of country. They had neither respect nor fear of any man, but one, and he was Major Wheat, their commander." (As cited in Schreckengost)

The Tigers’ fame and reputation quickly spread throughout the rest of the Confederacy. Mrs. Sallie Putnam of Richmond, for example, wrote: "The battalion of ‘Tigers’ from New Orleans, commanded by the intrepid Wheat, were, as their name denotes, men of desperate courage but questionable morals. They were well suited to the shock of battle, but wholly unfitted for the more important details of the campaign. Among them were many of lawless character, whose fierce passions were kept in abeyance by the superior discipline of their accomplished commander…. Educated under influences the most pious and refining, he was gentle, easy, grateful and dignified in society; toward men in his command he was kind, but grave and reserved, and exacting in the performance of duty; in battle he was fiery, impetuous and resolute."

In short, one Virginian wryly proclaimed, “The wild, looting Tigers of Major Bob Wheat made not a pious crew, but they fought.”

In August and September, many of the Tigers, as with others in Johnston’s army, stuffed in crowded, muddy, and bug-infested camps around Manassas, came down with the dreaded “camp fever” that always tended to plague armies of the period. In Wheat’s Battalion alone, of the 390 soldiers listed as being present in August 1861, a full 239, well more than half, were on the sick rolls. To help alleviate the crisis, in late-September, Johnston sent his divisions out to create their own encampments and Ewell’s division was dispatched north to build “Camp Beauregard,” a new fortified encampment around Centreville.

With the Star Battalion snuggled in with the rest of the Louisiana Brigade, and with Wheat still convalescing in Culpeper, General Walker placed the Tigers, who had been nominally commanded by Captain Harris of the Walker Guards since the battle, under the tutelage of a known disciplinarian, Lt. Col. Charles de Choiseul of the 7th Louisiana. De Choiseul did not relish his new assignment, however, as evidenced in a letter he wrote to Emma Louise Walton on September 5, 1861: "I have become a ‘Tiger.’ Don’t start. I am the victim of circumstance, not of my own will…. Whether Tigers devour me, or whether I will succeed in taming them, remains to be seen. What is more likely, is that they will remain in their high state of undiscipline. For the officers, or at least the majority of them, are worse than the men."

It did not take long for the raucous Tigers to test out their new commander. “The whole set got royally drunk,” de Choiseul remembered, and a nasty brawl ensued soon after he took command. When the colonel sent his staff to quell the disturbance, one of Lieutenant Adrian’s fiery Zouaves apparently grabbed his rifle, pointed it at one of de Choiseul’s lieutenants, and “snapped the lock at him.” This was an act of extreme insubordination and insolence, and the Tiger was quickly arrested and thrown into the brigade stockade. Later that same day, several Tiger Zouaves reportedly beat up and robbed their washerwoman—after she was no doubt paid—and de Choiseul also had them arrested.

In spite of this crackdown, however, the drunken brawls continued. Private Randolph Abbott Shotwell of the 1st North Carolina Battalion, Trimble’s brigade remembered: was said to have used his pistols now and then to quiet some outbreak. Unfortunately, he left camp on one occasion, and many of the worst characters became so drunk and unruly, that the officer of the guard undertook to maintain order, but was set upon, badly beaten, and forced to fly in peril of his life, pursued by the mutinous ‘Tigers.’ So great was the tumult that the 7th Louisiana, the nearest regiment adjacent, was called to overawe the mutineers. Several men were injured more or less in the fray."

It was also during this period that eighteen men were listed as deserting from the Special Battalion and before the year was out, Lieutenant E.B. Sloan of the Walker Guards resigned his commission.

It did not take a battle to create casualties in the Special Battalion, either. Sergeant Joseph Cooper of the Tiger Rifles, for example, was “killed by accident, September 23, 1861.” Private James Purcell, from the same company, was “killed accidentally by Thomas Riggs of Company D on October 4, 1861.” On October 20, Private John Travers of the Tiger Rifles reportedly murdered a fellow Irishman, James McCormack of the 6th Louisiana—probably during a drunken brawl—and once members of the Sixth hunted him down, he was thrown in the brigade stockade to await trial. Inactivity, the lack of Wheat’s towering presence, alcohol, and cultural proclivities, hearkening back to their days along the docks of New Orleans, seemed to be the root causes of the mayhem. Captain James Nisbet of the 21st Georgia, Trimble’s brigade, remembered one particular rumble in which alcohol played a pivotal role. He writes: " I was reading by a comfortable fire in my quarters, when I heard a tremendous racket down in the company quarters. On looking out, I saw a fight going on between ten or twelve Zouaves and men of my company. I ran down there and commanded the peace, which the sergeants restored after much difficulty. Several of Wheat’s Tiger Rifles were lying on the ground, having been knocked down by my men. They said they had been robbed of their whiskey, by some boys of company, who met them, and asked for a drink, and then ran off with the bottles; that they had followed them to get satisfaction. I said, 'You seem to have gotten it, from the looks of your bloody heads.' I ordered the sergeant to take them to my quarters and give them water and towels, and after they had washed, I got them a drink all round, and said I was sorry they had been robbed; that if such disorders were reported to men, I would punish the perpetrators, but to come into that company for a row, was a dangerous business. 'These men would have killed some of you if I had not stopped em,' said I. And they went off, saying: 'We are much obliged, sor, but Wheat’s battalion kin clean up the whole damned 21st Georgia any time'” They were Irish; and of course, loved a scrap."

According the Warren Papers, "Tiger Life": "Sojer'n purt near is the mos' lazee fair an borin sport a man can take up. Folks waggle bout all the fightin an killin ... fact tis sojerin is mostly doin a lot a walkin and a lot more layin about. Time were spent beeved up an when this was the lay of things, the days was spent with mornins spent doin sojer things such as marchin an calls for thems that was sick and thems that was present. Now and again they was some squamp as a constable or provost would come by an spirit one of the fellars of to Loosianer to face the law overn somethin afore the war sech as fer stealin a nag, chivying some shill or cut pursin some rich fellar alongst the traces to N'leans. They was a spell of that in the early days as they was some rascals amongst us thatd earned they keep the natchez under the hill style.Victuals was always seeked and fellars was always on the leap for whatever could be had. They was much cravin of spirits an seemed no matter how mean livin got they was always busthead about. Vice an sin often held court amongst the Tiger Rifles and they was much troubles cause of the intemperant nature of the tribe. This fer the most part was paid no mind by the Officers as they kin that we was a rough an tumble sort common to Loosianer an many was the blind eye amongst the Officers . They was a share a set to's an humbugs. Most of em was a disputes after bein in the cups an went from 'jes cuz' ... the Tiger Mottif for a set to .. .to more complex such as petty theivin disputin over wagerin or spirits or cuz a fellar was jes plumb ugly. The triber squabbled of'n an they was many set to's with lots of colorful swamp talk .. sech as ' Im half gator, half mule ... all tiger and raw ... back up you bastards Im fixin to cut loose" an some worst with much blood chilin waggle. Soons the fist would go and theyd be a tussle in the dust. Soon as they was tired they'd forgit and be hangin on each other braying like jackasses and swillin busthead outn a lovin cup. Manys an eve when they'd be a couple of the fellars that'd been in they cups an soon nuff they'd whsiper amongst themselves an with cackles would suddenly bolt up an start strollin. Asked whar they was off to they'd grin like devils and say they was off on the crawl. Soon they'd be some roarin down the line an runners sent to tow in these that had stirred a row. Crawlin the line an lookin for a row or a swill lost its shine after they was several of the fellars shot up at Camp Florida for bashin ol' Hayes durin a round of fisticuffs with some curs in the 8th Loosianer.Side from this, they was much wagerin and gamin about. Fellars would wager on who could jump the highest, spit the futhest (as they was always baccy about) or who could spit a hit a palmetter bug or the like, run the futhest, fight the hardest. They was games of roundies, throwin bones, skat an buckin the tiger. A treat was a round of "hands" which was always ripe with chivvy. Those thems that wagered on it never'd learn an they'd play with a fever. They was the occasional fete with dancin and singin.... Sojer'n purt near is the mos' lazee fair an borin sport a man can take up. Folks waggle bout all the fightin an killin .. fact tis sojerin is mostly doin a lot a walkin and a lot more layin about. Time were spent beeved up an when this was the lay of things, the days was spent with mornins spent doin sojer things such as marchin an calls for thems that was sick and thems that was present. Now and again they was some squamp as a constable or provost would come by an spirit one of the fellars of to Loosianer to face the law overn somethin afore the war sech as fer stealin a nag, chivying some shill or cut pursin some rich fellar alongst the traces to N'leans. They was a spell of that in the early days as they was some rascals amongst us thatd earned they keep the natchez under the hill style. Victuals was always sought and fellars was always on the leap for whatever could be had. They was much cravin of spirits an seemed no matter how mean livin got they was always busthead about. Vice an sin often held court amongst the Tiger Rifles and they was much troubles cause of the intemperant nature of the tribe. This fer the most part was paid no mind by the Officers as they kin that we was a rough an tumble sort common to Loosianer an many was the blind eye amongst the Officers . They was a share a set to's an humbugs. Most of em was a disputes after bein in the cups an went from 'jes cuz' ... the Tiger Mottif for a set to .. to more complex such as petty theivin disputin over wagerin or spirits or cuz a fellar was jes plumb ugly. The triber squabbled of'n an they was many set to's with lots of colorful swamp talk .. sech as ' Im half gator, half mule .. all tiger and raw ... back up you bastards Im fixin to cut loose" an some worst with much blood chilin waggle. Soons the fist would go and theyd be a tussle in the dust. Soon as they was tired they'd forgit and be hangin on each other braying like jackasses and swillin busthead outn a lovin cup. Manys an eve when they'd be a couple of the fellars that'd been in they cups an soon nuff they'd whsiper amongst themselves an with cackles would suddenly bolt up an start strollin. Asked whar they was off to they'd grin like devils and say they was off on the crawl. Soon they'd be some roarin down the line an runners sent to tow in these that had stirred a row. Crawlin the line an lookin for a row or a swill lost its shine after they was several of the fellars shot up at Camp Florida for bashin ol' Hayes durin a round of fisticuffs with some curs in the 8th Loosianer.Side from this, they was much wagerin and gamin about. Fellars would wageron who could jump the highest, spit the futhest (as they was always baccy about) or who could spit a hit a palmetter bug or the like, run the futhest, fight the hardest. They was games of roundies, throwin bones, skat an buckin the tiger. A treat was a round of "hands" which was always ripe with chivvy. Those thems that wagered on it never'd learn an they'd play with a fever. They was the occasional fete with dancin and singin.They was much as far as chores. They was always kit to mend an punkin chuckers to be soaped an oiled. They was them that knew they letters to send word home, they was hagglin over some choice item an they was always nappin an scroungin ..."

The in-camp shenanigans, plus the fact that the battalion was not being converted into a full-blown regiment as Wheat had promised, spurred Captain Buhoup—who had originally joined the battalion with the understanding that he would gain a field commission—to petition to have his Catahoula Guerrillas transferred out of the battalion. Without Wheat around to dissuade or stop him, Buhoup’s incessant politicking worked, and by October the Guerrillas were assigned to the 7th Louisiana Battalion and later the 15th Louisiana Regiment.

Soon thereafter, Wheat, who was barely fit for service and certainly not well enough to tame his rowdy Tigers, rejoined his now-dishonored battalion and Colonel de Choiseul was relieved of his burden. One Tiger reported: "Maj. Wheat is with us again, but looking badly. He came back Saturday. It would have done anyone good to have seen the boys on Friday evening. We came in from a hard drill of about three hours and were cooking something to eat when told us that Major Wheat was coming. We fell in ranks, and with the rest of the battalion went to meet him, singing and shouting. We marched about two miles, only to be disappointed, for the Major had stopped on the road, too weak to come farther. There are not many officers who could get a reception as he did on Saturday. We went out again, and escorted him in, and he then made us a speech."

Upon his return to active duty, Wheat undoubtedly replaced the blood-stained blue uniform that he wore during the late battle with a bluish-gray wool double-breasted frock coat as per Confederate army regulations. His blue collar would have sported a single golden star, denoting the rank of major, and he probably would have had a double braid of Austrian knot running up his sleeve. He reportedly retained his distinctive red kepi. (As cited in Schreckengost).

In early November, Ewell’s division was moved to “Camp Florida,” about a half mile from Centreville, where General Walker was dubiously transferred from the Louisiana Brigade and Colonel Richard Taylor of the 9th Regiment was promoted to take his place. Needless to say, Taylor’s promotion to brigadier general was controversial. For one, General Walker was simply brushed aside, and, more importantly, Taylor was the junior-most colonel of the brigade. Colonel Seymour, a veteran of the Seminole and Mexican Wars as well as the recent battle of Manassas, was not only the most senior officer in the brigade, but was also arguably the most qualified. In fact, of all the colonels in the brigade—Seymour, Hays, and Kelly—Taylor had the least combat experience (none). Many within the brigade therefore felt that Taylor was promoted only because of his famous father, President Zachary Taylor, and his relationship with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was once married to his bereaved sister. Colonel Seymour, the man who probably should have gotten the job in the first place said,"I never stood a ghost of a chance for ; I never expected it and of course, I am not disappointed—because—I can not be used as a politician.”

Private Henry Henderson of the 9th Louisiana, Taylor’s old command, felt that the St. Charles Parish sugar planter was promoted because he was a “a regular martinet in the line of discipline…who cared nothing for the men but for his own advancement."

Whatever the reasons for his promotion, Taylor was challenged by General Johnston to whip his Louisianans, especially Wheat’s seemingly out-of-control Tigers, into shape. To do so, Johnston promised to support Taylor “in any measures to enforce discipline.” On October 28, just a few days after Taylor’s elevation, a gang of drunken Zouaves from the Tiger Rifles, apparently led by Privates Dennis Corcoran and Michael O’Brien, made the terrible mistake of testing Taylor’s resolve when they attacked the brigade stockade, knocking the officer on duty to the ground and seizing the guards’ weapons. The mob then attempted to break fellow Tiger John Travers, who was being held on a murder charge, out of the jail. All of this was preceded by a fight between Corcoran and O'Brien with some members of the 8th Louisiana. During the scuffle, one of the Zouaves reportedly struck Colonel Harry Hays of the 7th Louisiana. Enraged, several other men of the brigade, who had had it with the Tigers, quickly squashed the riot and Corcoran, O’Brien, and their Tiger brethren were subsequently arrested and thrown into the stockade to await trial

According to the Warren Papers "Tiger Execution":

We had been beeved up at Florida for winterin in '61.R'cellection is the Major Rob was down to his uppers an stoved some from bein shot durin the great skeedaddle. Don't believe he was thar at this time an place. Livin was put lazy faire. We'uns had roosted quite grand an settled in. They was a gaggle of grubby types about that would peddle us needful things. A fellar could buy ev'rthing from chickens and baccy, to pies, to popskull and fine clothes. It twas some time afore Christmas, script money had been paid to the tribe and several of the fellars had been off to visit the peddlers. Theyd come home with several kettles of busthead and one was wearin some finery and fooforaw. Theyd been nippin at the vile soup and was some bagged, all puttin on airs as if they was gents. They was in gay spirits an was quite handy at passin the kettle about. The fellar that had got him a set of snappy dud's an was now summarily broke .... Im thinkin his name was O'bryan says to his chums that they was a rascal down in amongst the 8th... name of jackson or joplin or the like ... what had owed him some coin from wagerin a week gone by. Says he, they'uns jes was paid same as us an this would be a right practical time to go an collect the debt.They was much opinion throwed up on the matter an some was thinkin it'd be best to wait till a bit later in the day. Obryan filled with spiritous licker was havin none of it ... along with his mess chum corkran an several other likely confederates set off'n a crawl to enforce the debt.It was some time later when they was a major row down amongst the 8th with callin for the guard an White an Lt D headed off. Some of thems that had been down amongst the 8th came slinkin back out a breath sayin that the was a major squamp and that 2 of the fellars was gettin clink.as the waggle went... was that Obryan had gone down amongst the 8th with his chums in tow an made demand to jackson for the coin what was rightfully his'n. Jackson was said to crawfish an sed they was no coin owed. Obryan some bagged proceeded to cuss him good and renew his demand. When this was naysaid then they was an exchange of fisticuffs an soon nuff Jacksons messmates was in the row with thems from our tribe. Things got purt lively tell some officers come on hand and was fixin to break it up. Ol Hays reached in an grabt hold of a tiger an was prompt knocked reelin in a puddle. Ol Hayes took e'ception to bein knocked on his ass an soon nuff the jig was up an he was wavin his finger here an there demandin to know who twas that snaked him. Obryan in his snappy dudes was scooped up as the leader of this an soon nough his pard corkran was scooped for boot. It was figured corkran was the one thatd snaked ol Hayes. The waggle was they was to stand trial. Seemed they was talk that these fellars might git shot for laying hands on an officer.This started some whisperin amongst the tribe .. this after more busthead .. that perhaps we out to go and swear them free. The big sergeant tolt us that ifn we tried we'd likely git ourself shot as well an in the end it wouldn't amount to mcuh good. They was waggle that ifn Major Rob was about this wouldn't be goin on, and so the waggle went. They was even fritter about doin ol jackson in fer his part in this awful mess."

This little episode led to the first executions in the Confederate Army of the Potomac. In an effort to enforce discipline, the government had given general court martials the power to execute soldiers convicted of capital crimes such as murder, treason, or mutiny. General Taylor, as well as most of the other officers of the brigade who were sick and tired of the depraved activities of the Tigers, agreed that Corcoran and O’Brien were among the more caustic men of the battalion (albeit the army), and decided to make an example of them. Because the riot at the guard house and Hays’s subsequent thrashing were considered to be acts of mutiny, the two men were court martialled the next day, November 29, found guilty, and sentenced to be shot by members of their own company, “for the sake of the example.”

The highly publicized execution took place a week later on December 6, 1861, in a “little hollow or depression forming a natural amphitheater, upon the slopes of which a vast multitude of soldiers assembled at 10:00 A.M.” It was witnessed by Ewell’s entire division which was drawn up on three sides of a hollow square, facing inward, with Taylor’s brigade in the center, Elzey’s on the right, and Trimble’s on the left. Members of the press and other onlookers watched from vantage points in some trees or surrounding hills. Once the division was formed, a covered wagon, escorted by two companies from Colonel Kelly’s 8th Louisiana, slowly drove into the open portion of the square where it stopped in front of two large stakes, “driven into the ground about ten feet apart.” Beside the stakes were “two plain wooden coffins and matching grave sites, stark reminders of the business at hand.” Soon after the wagon stopped, six men got out, Corcoran and O’Brien, still in their distinctive Tiger Zouave uniforms (grayish-brown), a Catholic priest, Father Smoulders of the 8th Regiment, who was dressed in a “long black cassock and three-corned cap,” and three officers. At the same time, twelve files (24 men) from the Tiger Rifles marched forward toward the stakes which were “awaiting their occupants.” Private Randolph Shotwell of the 1st North Carolina Battalion, Trimble’s brigade, remembered: "Bright and beautiful was the morning; the sky unclouded; the air crisp and unbracing, and all nature looking fresh and buoyant as if in contrast with the gloom that rested upon the hearts of the thirty thousand spectators gathered upon the hillsides. The solemnity of feeling became so deepened into intense silence as slowly toward the fatal spot approached the funeral cortege; the brass band mournfully playing the dirge 'Death March' from 'Saul,' the doomed men with a priest, and the guards following the musicians, and being followed in turn by the 'firing party' of 24 men of the same company to which the offenders belonged. The procession halted at the graves."

The condemned men were led forward to the stakes when Colonel Kelly rode up and read the charges with which they had been found guilty and the accompanying sentence which condemned them to death. Once done, Corcoran and O’Brien’s hands were tied behind their backs and they were led backward a short distance where they were “made to kneel with their backs resting against two strong posts driven into the ground, about twenty or thirty yards apart.” As this was done, Father Smoulders went back and forth between the condemned men, “comforting them and preparing them for the awful death.” Once situated, Kelly read Corcoran and O’Brien’s supposed last statement to their comrades: "We acknowledge the justice of our sentence. May the rendering up of our lives prove a benefit…and a lesson to all to guard against the vice of drunkenness…we die a soldier’s death alter of military order and discipline…. Don’t grieve for us! We are going to a better world! Do not mangle us; shoot at our hearts if you love us! Boys, God bless you, and good-bye!"

Kelly next signaled Father Smoulders to move away, to have Corcoran and O’Brien blindfolded, and to have the firing squad prepare to carry out their duty. Little did the Tiger executioners know that a company from the 8th Regiment was not far behind, ready to gun them down if they failed to carry out their assigned mission. Major David French Boyd of the 9th Louisiana remembered: "There had been some reason to suspect that the firing squad of the Tigers, as detailed, would at the critical moment disobey orders and refuse to fire on their comrades. To meet this contingency, firm old Henry Kelly, colonel of the 8th Louisiana Regiment, was relied on, with but few in the secret. He had his men load their guns in camp before marching. Why they never knew, only they thought it was a matter of course somehow at an execution. A trusted company merely happened to take position immediately to the rear of the firing party of Tigers, their captain with the secret orders to fire on them should they prove mutinous and fail to fire."

All doubts were removed, however, when Lieutenant Adrian, who was wearing a “long scarlet tunic,” dryly hammered out the appropriate commands of “Ready,” “Aim,” and “Fire!” In the subsequent volley, Corcoran and O’Brien were “killed instantaneously, falling forward on their knees, riddled with bullets.” Overwhelmed with emotion, Private Daniel Corcoran broke from the Tiger Rifles’ formation and ran up to his dead brother’s body and held it, sobbing. A Richmond Dispatch correspondent wrote: "The most affecting part of this scene was immediately following the discharge of musketry. One of the men had a brother in the crowd, who, before the smoke of the volley cleared from the spot, ran to his side and supported him as his life-blood ebbed away, and felt the last quiver of mortality as the soldier’s body fell into his arms...It was heart-rending, to see the poor brother’s agony…. The death of the criminal was borne with stolidity, but the simple sight of such heartfelt, brotherly grief moistened every eye."

Once the bodies were cut away from the posts and loaded into the coffins, they were lowered into their graves and covered up. Afterwards, some curious soldiers combed the execution site for pieces of the stakes or other macabre relics until some men from the Star Battalion, led by Daniel Corcoran himself, angrily dispersed the foragers with fixed bayonets or Bowie Knives. Sergeant Zachary Gilmer of the 18th Virginia, witness to the execution, wrote: "Today I witnessed the most effecting sight and heart rending affair that has transpired during the campaign. It was the public execution of Denis Cochrane and Mik O’brian (two of the New Orleans Tigers)…They met their fate without a sigh, without a murmur. They neither feared God, man nor the Devil…These two men I think are the first that have been shot and I hope the last. My idea of this decision is that the men are now going into winter quarters and to prevent them slipping off home, for they thought they would have to make an example of some one and they concluded this the best time and it fell to these poor Tigers to share such an unfortunate lot. Yet perhaps they deserved it for they are the lowest scrapings of the Mississippi and New Orleans and fear not death itself. Court Martials are always formed entirely of officers. Never have a single Private."

Description of the execution of Pvts. Dennis Corcoran and Michael O'Brien, as reported by Edward Hewitt, 2nd Lt. in Tiger Rifles. The letter was published in the Daily True Delta: Camp Florida Dec. 12, 1861 Dear Captain, A feeling of sadness pervades Camp Florida. On the 9th inst., Dennis Corcoran and Michael O'Brien were shot in pursuance of the sentence of a court martial held at Centreville. I will give you a brief account of the cause that led to this lamentable calamity. On the 29th Nov., Dennis and Mike became under the influence of liquor and were involved in some difficulty with some persons in the quarters of the 7th Louisiana Volunteers. During the melee several persons were knocked down, among whom, it was alleged, was Col. Harry Hays. The balance of the statement I have from an eyewitness, Capt. O.P. Miller, of our Battalion, who happened to be passing late in the afternoon at the time the difficulty was progressing. His attention was called by hearing Red's name shouted and immediately upon seeing Col. Hays with a revolver pointed at Corcoran, he sprang between them, requesting Col. Hays not to shoot and desiring Red to be quiet. He succeeded inputting an end to the disturbance, and both Corocran and O'Brien came peaceably to their quarters. Shortly after, a request cam that the two should be arrested, and Lt. Kennon, who was officer of the day, had them confined to our guard house, where they remained under arrest until after their trial and conviction - the evening of the 5th of December - when they were confined in the general guard house and informed that they were allowed until the morning of the 9th of Dec., to prepare themselves to their God and Judge. Father Smoulders, chaplain of the 8th Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, whom I believe to be a sincere Christian and most holy man, visited them in the tent where they were to be confined, and remained with them up to the time of their executions, labouring for the salvation of their precious souls, and as he so lovingly expressed it, he believed their repentance to be sincere, and that his labours had not been in vain. The language of both men and their conduct were such as become true soldiers, who, even with their lives, were prepared to serve their country by submitting bravely to the fate ordered by the insulted dignity of the law. Corcoran and O'Brien both expressed themselves most patriotically. They were ready to die for the preservation of the glorious cause for which they had been fighting; and although they would rather have died on the battlefield, they were ready to die in any way for the interest of their country. No ignomy was attached to their death. They would die a soldier's and the world should know Tiger's can always die like men. They wrote a most touching and affectionate letter of farewell to their officers, spiritual adviser Father Smoulders, friends, companions and brother soldiers, advising them to abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors and instancing their untimely end as a terrible example of the fruits of indulging in reason destroying drink. The morning of the execution they bade an affectionate farewell to their companions, forgave all the past as they hoped to be forgiven, expressed a belief that a merciful God, through the intercession of the Blessed Saviour, would pardon all their sins and receive their souls for an eternity of bliss. When brought to the place of execution Corcoran saluted the party who were detailed to execute the last office with a cheerful, "good morning my little lads; don't grieve for use; we are going to a better world," "Don't mangle us; shoot at our hearts if you love us. Boys, God bless you, good-bye!" Oh, Captain, that scene! Those strong, stern men, who had braved death upon the shores of the Potomac and fought side by side with the doomed upon the blood-stained field of Manassa, bowed their head upon their rifles, and it was plainly seen each head was bursting with agony; every eye moistened with sympathetic tears. Red says: "Boys it was at the C's yesterday; it is at the D's today, and I am ready." Both of them requested to be shot standing, and not to be blind folded, as they did not fear to look death in the face, they had done so before on several occasions, when they were not as well prepared to meet God as they then were. They had always had the name of having pluck through life and it had not deserted them yet. Upon being informed that they would have to kneel and be blind folded, Red replied: "Father I kneel to God! Tigers a last good-bye. God receive our spirits!" A volley! Two lives had paid the penalty of their offence. Two soldiers fell martyrs to military discipline. Tow heroes died. May they, in the language of Jere Clemens, have received the patriots reward; "The crown that hangs upon the throne of sapphire and of gold, awaiting all who die for their country." "And which when justice placed it on their brows, she handed the record of their lives to mercy: then turned away until all that was bad and sinful was erased." Captain, we who knew the men respect their memories, and grant their last request - a soldiers epitaph. I can say no more; a deep impression has been made upon my mind that can never be erased while time with me shall last and when eternity shall open for me my soul will meet and mingle in loving communion with those brave spirits forever.

According to the Warren Letters: "Word come down after some days that they was to be shot dead for snakin an officer and they was a request by thems that they not die at the hands of outsiders an that they was an oath for the Tiger Rifles to do em in. They was a request put out for thems that would volunteer to shoot these fine fellars and noe would have it. They was a threat of makin somes do it an soon nuff it was decided that they would eb a drawin of sorts to see who'd git monikered with this rancid affair. Thems that was unlucky and got the short end was given instruction.They was an old lost field back amongst the trees up near the top of Florida and this was where these 2 fellars was to meet their end. Co B was kinder boxed in. Formin a 3 side refusal we was then packed in many rank an file deep with fellars from the Battalion an the 8th. They was waggle that ifn they was any foolery or thems doin the shootin refused to do they duty they was to be shot as well. We was purt riled but all held tongue as they was whipsperin that they was some wanted to shoot all of Co B an be done with us for the trouble some had caused. Obryan an corkran was marched out with drums rattlin an a Priest in tow. It were a cool but clear an sunny morninin and they was jaunty of step noddin here an there as they was brought in the front of the refusal. They was a readin of the charge an so forth .. They was offered up a blinder and both refused. They was then offered to give up they last words. Im thinkin it was Obryan .. steps up, the sun shinin on him, he was a site in full costume of blue coat an pinchbecks and spat. His head bare, he had kept the fancy new shirt an sportin tie he'd jes bought afore this all come about. He's lookin us up and down, clear of eye an strong of carry he says - Well fallars they got us good an looks like they aint no way out.Im regrettin the wickedness of demon rum an the like and this wouldn't be comin about had we been of a more temperant breedin and clear of thinkin. Im thinkin that my pards had best heed this n stay clear of licker as it has kilt me an corky sure and will git you all as well. Remember what happens here today. So ends them that puts a divil in they mouth. Fellars we die as Tiger-Rifles shot by our own. Fallars ya give me nothin in the past so I ask fer one thing ... aim true an let loose with a clear eye. God Bless you boys and hoorah the cause. With this they was made to kneel .. though they didn't care to... an the Priest said his words till they was the command for the fellars to do their duty. They was one long volley an both these fellars was blowed back a sprawl. Smoke hung in the refusal an they wasn't a dry eye amongst Co B and some t'others. We was marched off quick with much mutterin, oath an some threat.Those 2 fellars was buried war they fell ... ta'gether friends in life and tagether in death. Fine sould an they antics was some missed.They was a purty hushed wake about and after all was said an done was much more tame an crawls ceased. They was some squabblin an the like was put much kept amongst the tribe an never out amongst the other fellars. We heard Major Rob upon comin back some time later were purt agitated over this whole thing though nothin ever come of it. We did git square with ol jackson an it was after a style to skeer him while on picket duty, fellars dressed in our finery would howl an moan in the moonlight. word had it he was some convinced them dead Tigers had come back to git the coin what was owed squarely to em."

After the executions, things apparently began to calm down. “Punishment, so closely following offense,” Taylor snidely proclaimed, “it produced a marked effect.” Besides, winter was setting in, alcohol was strictly forbidden, and Ewell’s division was moved to Camp Carondolet, about three miles east of Manassas atop Willcoxen Hill, to build cabins for the winter. It was also during this time that Wheat’s long lost company, the Rough and Ready Rangers from New Orleans, was finally sent up from Camp Moore to join the battalion. Wheat put the company under Captain Atkins, his Irish aide-de-camp who was recently commissioned by the Confederate government for his actions at Manassas. Atkins renamed the company Wheat’s Life Guards and it officially became Company E, 2nd Louisiana Battalion.

With the addition of the Life Guards, the Louisiana Tiger Battalion took on its permanent organization. The Old Dominion Guards, formerly Company E, became Company D, taking the Catahoula Guerrillas’ old slot. Wheat’s Life Guards, the new addition, became the new or second Company E. The Walker Guards remained Company A, the Tiger Rifles Company B, the Delta Rangers Company C, and Major Wheat remained the battalion’s commander, Captain Harris acting as his second. Lieutenant Charles Pitman of the Delta Rangers replaced Lieutenant Richard Dickinson who was seriously wounded at Manassas as the battalion adjutant. Lieutenant Samuel Dushane of the Tiger Rifles remained the battalion quartermaster, Bruce Putnam, the battalion’s original sergeant major, was promoted to lieutenant in the Life Guards and Sergeant John Wrigley of the Walker Guards took his place. Sergeant H.H. Tabor of the Delta Rangers was appointed as Wheat’s ordnance specialist; Dr. William Love remained the battalion’s surgeon; and Solomon Solomon, the Jewish merchant from New Orleans and Obedia Miller’s business associate, remained the battalion’s sutler. Lieutenant William Foley, with Obedia Miller’s return to New Orleans, became the commander of the Old Dominion Guards until the battalion was disbanded in 1862.

Once the New Orleans Battalion settled into its winter encampment, well under Taylor’s heel, Wheat felt comfortable enough to host several “Tiger dinners” to entertain friends and impress dignitaries in order to polish his own and the Tiger Battalion’s tarnished reputations. Major David French Boyd of the 9th Louisiana remembered: "Wheat gave what was known as 'The Tiger Dinner' to many of his friends, including the leading officers of the army. Beauregard and Dick Taylor, our brigade commander, suspecting what might occur, prudently excused themselves. A more brilliant set of clever men, military or civilian, perhaps never sat around a board during the war…. Wheat was the prince of hosts and entertained royally. He had a superb dinner for his distinguished guests within his large marquee, and gave a more plebeian feast to his Tigers on the outside. But all were filled with plenty and good cheer. The choicest of liquors and wines were served within the tent; the Tigers stole all they wanted from the outside, and all were happy. A fine band enlivened the occasion with its sweetest strains. And while the Major and his guests within were toasting and responding, reviving old memories and dreaming of glorious careers, the Tigers were having fun, too, on the outside. To the music of the band, mounted on the horses of the generals; two big Tigers on Joe Johnston’s big bay; they rode around and around, circus fashion, and ran races up and down the road as long as they were sober enough to stick on….At about two o’clock in the morning Wheat and his guests were well hors de combat, and the commander was hauled to his headquarters in an ambulance; maybe his horse was too tired!"

Similarly, Wheat and Major Frederick Skinner of the 1st Virginia Regiment were supposedly engaged in a friendly contest to see who was better at creating gourmet meals in the field. Major Skinner wrote: " difficult to compete with Wheat’s cabeza de buey al ranchero; an ox head, with skin and horns intact, covered in a pit of coals and baked like a potato. To prepare the meal, Wheat decapitated an ox, sewed loose skin over the neck cut, and buried the head in the coals at tattoo. The next morning, the head was dug up and brought into tent covered with ashes and dirt. as repulsive an object as my eyes ever beheld, but giving a most appetizing odor. The dirt and ashes were brushed off and the skin and horns speedily and skillfully removed, and lo! A metamorphosis occurred. We had before us a dish as grateful to the eyes as to the nostrils."

The Tiger dinners seem to have eased the trepidations of many at Camp Beauregard and a good relationship was in fact forged between the Special Battalion and the 9th Louisiana, a regiment that was initially abhorred by the Tigers’ presence. Private Harry Handerson remembered: "We never had the slightest difficulty with, and in fact the regiment and the battalion got along together so well that they were often jestingly called 'the happy family'…. Major Wheat and Stafford became warm friends, and in this way we saw quite a little of the renowned filibuster and free-lance."