2nd USCLA Battery E

Organized from 3rd Battery Louisiana Artillery, African Descent. Designated Battery "C" March 11, 1864, and Battery "E" April 26, 1864. Attached to District of Eastern Arkansas, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to September, 1865.

SERVICE -- Post and garrison duty at Helena, Ark., till muster out. Operations in Arkansas July 1-31, 1864. Action at Wallace's Ferry, Big Creek, July 26. Operations in Eastern Arkansas August 1-5, 1864. Lamb's Plantation, near Helena, August 1. Expedition from Helena to Kent's Landing August 11-14 (Detachment). Expedition up White River August 29-September 2, 1864. Mustered out September 26, 1865.

Predecessor unit: LOUISIANA VOLUNTEERS. 3rd BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (AFRICAN DESCENT). Organized at Helena, Ark., December 1, 1863. Attached to District of Eastern Arkansas, 7th Army Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, and duty at Helena, Ark., till April, 1864. Designation of Battery changed to Battery "E," 2nd U.S. Colored Light Artillery, April 26, 1864, which see.

Only two men from Williamson County enlisted in Battery E:

Pvt. Alfred (Albert) Carter enlisted on February 9, 1864 in Helena, Arkansas. He was born in Williamson County around 1842. He was described as a 22-year-old farmer. During his time in the service, he married Matilda Carter (who had probably been enslaved with him based on the same last name). They were married by the Freedmen's Bureau Officer in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 12, 1865. Two weeks later, on April 26, 1865, Pvt. Carter died of pneumonia in a hospital in Helena, Arkansas. No grave has been located. Ironically, Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne, who was killed at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, was later buried in Helena.
Pvt. John Wesley was born in Williamson County around 1840. He enlisted on November 9, 1863 in Helena, Arkansas when he was 19 years old. Just a few weeks later, he died there of pneumonia on December 12, 1863. No gravesite has been located.

Resources:

Benjamin Pearson's Civil War Diary. Pearson was the minister who performed Pvt. Carter's marriage ceremony.
ARKANSAS SIGHTSEEING: Freedom Park in Helena-West Helena honors Black Union soldiers
Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Approved Pension Application File for Anna Maria Ekstrom Lembke, Widow of Jonas Frederick Lembke, Company E, 2nd USCT Light Artillery Regiment (Application No. WC57817)

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