On October 11, 1863, Union Lieutenant Thomas L. Evans of the 96th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote a letter to his sister from Vermilionville, Louisiana, present-day Lafayette in Lafayette Parish. His correspondence provides a valuable firsthand account of military operations in southwestern Louisiana during the American Civil War. Evans described the difficulties of marching from Franklin to Vermilionville, the sugar plantations encountered along the route, and his thoughts about Ohio elections occurring hundreds of miles from home. Although his letter documented ordinary experiences rather than a major battlefield engagement, it offers important evidence of Union military activity, Louisiana's plantation economy, and the relationship between soldiers and political life during the war.
Vermilionville occupied an important geographical position within Louisiana's Bayou Teche region. Founded during the early nineteenth century, the community developed around land associated with Jean Mouton and the establishment of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Lafayette Parish was created from St. Martin Parish in 1823, with Vermilionville becoming its parish seat. By 1863, the surrounding countryside contained agricultural properties connected to the region's sugar-producing economy. The community retained the name Vermilionville until 1884, when it was renamed Lafayette in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette.
Evans's presence resulted from Union operations directed by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Department of the Gulf. Following the Union victory at Vicksburg in July 1863, federal military authorities continued operations throughout Louisiana and sought opportunities to extend their control westward. Banks also pursued plans involving Texas, whose connection to the Confederacy remained strategically important. A failed Union expedition against Sabine Pass in September 1863 preceded a renewed overland advance through southwestern Louisiana.
In October, Union forces under Major General William B. Franklin advanced through the Bayou Teche country. Federal troops moved through Franklin and New Iberia toward Vermilionville, encountering Confederate resistance along their route. Official military correspondence dated October 9 recorded that the XIX Corps had reached Bayou Vermilion, where Union cavalry engaged Confederate forces. Bridges were under construction, and additional troops prepared to cross the waterway. Banks simultaneously directed elements of the XIII Corps to advance from New Iberia, demonstrating the coordinated movements required to sustain the campaign.
Against this military background, Evans composed his October 11 letter. His account of the difficult march from Franklin to Vermilionville documents the physical demands imposed on soldiers operating across southern Louisiana. Long-distance movement remained central to Civil War campaigning, particularly where roads, waterways, and transportation facilities determined the accessibility of military positions. Evans's observations supplement official reports by recording experiences that command correspondence did not always emphasize.
His references to sugar plantations are particularly significant. Sugar cultivation formed a major component of Louisiana's antebellum economy, supported substantially by enslaved African American labor. The plantations encountered by Union troops represented an agricultural system profoundly affected by secession, emancipation, military occupation, and wartime disruption. Evans's observations place the Union army directly within this landscape. His letter therefore contributes to understanding the relationship between military operations and the economic institutions that shaped nineteenth-century Lafayette Parish.
The correspondence also reveals the continuing importance of national politics among Union soldiers. Evans discussed the unusual circumstances of Ohio elections while serving far from his home state. Political developments remained important to soldiers whose military service separated them from ordinary civic participation. Ohio's wartime political contests concerned questions of Union preservation, military policy, and political leadership. Evans's remarks demonstrate that military service did not eliminate soldiers' interest in elections or their connections to northern communities.
The broader correspondence preserved by Eastern Washington University provides additional context for Evans's wartime experiences. His letters document service near Vicksburg, subsequent operations in Louisiana, and later captivity following his capture in western Louisiana in April 1864. His October 1863 account forms part of this extensive personal record.
The historical significance of Evans's Vermilionville letter rests in its combination of military, economic, political, and local evidence. Official reports establish the strategic circumstances surrounding the Union advance, while Evans supplies a participant's perspective on marching, plantation landscapes, and political concerns. Together, these sources illuminate southwestern Louisiana's place within the wider Civil War and preserve an individual soldier's observations of a community undergoing profound historical change.
References / More Knowledge:
1. Evans, Thomas L. “Thomas L. Evans Letter to His Sister from Vermillionville, Louisiana, October 11, 1863.” Thomas L. Evans Civil War Correspondence, no. 92. Eastern Washington University, Archives and Special Collections. https://dc.ewu.edu/tlevans/92/
2. Eastern Washington University. “Thomas L. Evans Civil War Correspondence.” EWU Digital Commons, Regional History Collections. https://dc.ewu.edu/tlevans/
3. United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Volume XXVI, Part II, p. 758. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Digitized by Ohio State University, eHistory. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/041/0758
4. Evans, Thomas L. “Thomas L. Evans Letter to His Family from Vermillionville, Louisiana, November 6, 1863.” Thomas L. Evans Civil War Correspondence, no. 95. Eastern Washington University, Archives and Special Collections. https://dc.ewu.edu/tlevans/95/
5. Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office. “Our History.” Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. https://lafayettesheriff.com/about-us/