The Pointe Coupee Artillery was a Confederate Louisiana artillery unit[1] in the American Civil War made up primarily of men from the parishes of Pointe Coupee, East Baton Rouge, Livingston and other surrounding parishes as well as a large number of men from New Orleans.

These men received more than adequate training in Baton Rouge by experienced officers of the pre war Donaldsonville Canonniers (Louisiana) of Ascension Parish one of whom transferred to Stewart's Pointe Coupee Artillery.

They were fully equipped with six smoothbore plus an additional six Confederate manufactured 6 pounder rifled Parrott guns picked up along the way in Memphis, Tennessee.

They formed the nucleus of what would soon become Co. B. Stewart's Pointe Coupee Artillery were distinguished during the Battle of Belmont and other determined engagements defending the important Columbus, Kentucky stronghold on the Miss.

Bouanchaud in command contributed considerably to the successful Confederate ambush of pursuing Union troops at the Battle of Coffeeville in north Mississippi in early December 1862.

All three companies afterward became part of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and participated heavily in the defense of Vicksburg during the first half of 1863.

In mid April 1863 Companies A and C and their command were ordered to Tullahoma, Tennessee to reinforce General James Longstreet and his army operating around Knoxville, Tennessee but this order was countermanded some days later when a few of the gunboats and troop transport boats of the Union riverine squadron passed by the formidable Confederate Mississippi River batteries at and near Vicksburg, Mississippi on April 16, 1863.

Gen. John Adams were ordered to chase down a Union cavalry raid that eventually ran lengthwise through the center of Mississippi.

During this time Co. B assisted in the defense of the northern approaches to Vicksburg, being assigned one of few imported British Whitworth breech-loading cannon in service in the Confederate West.

At Snyder's Bluff Union Gen. W. T. Sherman warned one of his naval commanders to look out for the Whitworth bolts the Confederates were firing referring to the spirally-grooved hexagonal shaped rounds of which were exclusively Co. B of the Pointe Coupee Artillery.

Companies A and C were heavily engaged at Champion Hill during the rear guard cover of the retreating Confederate army.

Bouanchaud's part of Co. A now reinforced participated in repulsing the assaults upon and the subsequent bombardment during the siege of Jackson, Mississippi after the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863.

Most of the Vicksburg surrendered parolees of Companies A, B and C returned to their homes in Louisiana and failed to report to any of the exchange and parole camps established by the Confederate War Department for that purpose.

Bouanchaud's Battery made up one third of that battalion and consisted of 106 officers and men, four 12 pounder Napoleons, wagons and other support vehicles pulled by 82 horses and 25 mules.

These forward units successfully delayed the Union approach as Gen. Joe Johnston consolidated his troops and fortified at Resaca prior to the battle.

Most of the men of Bouanchaud's Battery who escaped capture at Selma retreated to Montgomery, Alabama and moved on to the defenses of Columbus, Georgia but fourteen of them, a detachment, volunteered to proceed to West Point, Georgia and they commanded a cannon at Fort Tyler in the Battle of West Point on April 16, 1865.