James Lewis (Louisiana politician)
| James Lewis | |
|---|---|
Lewis in 1908
|
|
| Born | 1832 Wilkinson County, Mississippi |
| Died | July 11, 1914 (aged 81–82) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Occupation | Soldier, politician |
| Political party | Republican |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1862-1864 |
| Rank |
 Captain
|
| Unit | First Louisiana Volunteer Native Guards, Company K |
James Lewis (1832 - July 11, 1914) was a soldier and politician in Louisiana. He fled a position as steward on a Confederate steamboat during the American Civil War and moved to New Orleans where he helped organize the First Louisiana Volunteer Native Guards, becoming captain of Company K and serving until 1864. After the war he became politically active in what was an especially violent time in Louisiana and New Orleans politics. During reconstruction, Lewis initially worked for the Freedmen's Bureau raising money for schools. He then was made custom's inspector for a short period, before being recalled for political reasons. He entered the New Orleans Metropolitan police force, but left in 1872 after more political machinations. Lewis emerged from the period a leader in the New Orleans Republican Party and for much of the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s he held state and federal level appointed government positions, usually in the United States Treasury Department, and for a long time in the position of surveyor-general of Louisiana and Mississippi. He also was a leader in the Grand Army of the Republic, a civil war veterans organization.
James Lewis was born in Wilkinson County in 1832. Lewis was the son of a white father and mulatto mother. He was raised in Bayou Sara, Louisiana. Before the American Civil War (1861-1865), Lewis worked on steamboats, including the steamboat Ingomar where he served with Robert Reed Church.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Lewis was a steward on the CSS De Soto and was present at the fighting at the Battle of Belmont in November 1861 and the Battle of Island Number Ten and New Madrid in February, March, and April 1862. Lewis saw the war as an opportunity to fight for his own freedom and the freedom of all blacks and fled through danger to New Orleans shortly after its capture by Union Forces under David Farragut and Benjamin Butler in Late April and Early May 1862. In New Orleans, Lewis resolved to become a soldier and together with other blacks, asked for permission to raise a regiment of colored troops. Lewis raised two companies of colored infantry and was mustered into the First Louisiana Volunteer Native Guards as captain of one of these, Company K.
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