In April of 1861 about 125 men left Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee for the war front in Virginia. They were the Atchafalaya Guard, assigned to the 2nd Louisiana Infantry. Their sacrifice brought them through over a dozen major battles, including Gettysburg, Manassas, Appomattox, and Malvern Hill. The guard were largely made up of planters along the Atchafalaya and French Creole farmers of Bayou des Glaises from Moreauville to Simmesport.