When the American Civil War began in 1861, the state of Florida seceded from the United States to fight for the Confederate cause. The town of St. Augustine, unsurprisingly, stood ardently with the rest of the state, and many men from the town would go off to fight in the Confederate Army. The city, however, did not remain a rebel stronghold for long, though. By March of 1862, St. Augustine had surrendered to Union forces, and would remain under federal control for the duration of the conflict. While a variety of officers and units occupied the town following its surrender, the commander of the 4th New Hampshire Infantry was particularly notable.
Colonel Louis Bell as he appears in the roster of the Fourth Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers.
Colonel Louis Bell was born in Chester, New Hampshire on March 8, 1837 to Governor Samuel Bell. His family was a prominent one in the New Hampshire political sphere. Colonel Bell was the brother of both New Hampshire Senator James Bell and New Hampshire Chief Justice Samuel D. Bell. Louis Bell would graduate from Brown University at the age of eighteen, before being admitted to the New Hampshire bar and opening a law practice in his home state. When the Civil War broke out, Bell promptly enlisted in the 1st New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment, serving as the Captain of Company A. After this 90-day regiment was disbanded, Bell joined the newly formed 4th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment, and shortly thereafter was appointed its lieutenant colonel.
This unit was briefly assigned to the Army of the Potomac before being sent to occupy territory south of Charleston, South Carolina. Bell received recognition for his service from Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman, who appointed Bell as his Chief of Staff and Inspector General. In January, 1862, Bell and his men marched into Florida, where they took Fernandina, Jacksonville, and occupied St. Augustine. St. Augustine itself had actually surrendered to Navy and Marine elements on March 11, 1862, whom Bell’s force, numbering just seventy-one men, replaced. He would then oversee the occupation of St. Augustine, and was promoted to full colonel just seven days after St. Augustine surrendered to Union forces.
Soldiers drill on the Plaza, 1862.
Initially, Bell believed that rebel skirmishers were massing in the interior of the state for an attack on the small coastal town. He would receive reinforcements after U.S. forces withdrew from Jacksonville, with some 800 U.S. Army soldiers total under his command being stationed in St. Augustine shortly thereafter. While the town did not see any major attack from Confederate forces, by the summer of 1862, Bell had become embroiled in controversy regarding his treatment of enslaved people. A report sent to the Department of the South Headquarters in Hilton Head, South Carolina, stated that Bell had returned an enslaved woman to her owner. This incensed General David Hunter, a staunch abolitionist, and he ordered Bell to be relieved of command, arrested, and court martialed.
Colonel Bell would leave St. Augustine and accompany General Alfred Terry back to Hilton Head in July of 1862 to stand trial. According to Bell, his provost guard, and one of his officers, Captain George Towle, the incident in question stemmed from a raid on several brothels operating in town that was intended to protect U.S. servicemen from venereal diseases by closing said establishments down. A group of the women found in these houses of ill repute was then put outside of the town lines with rations so as to be made an example of. Some of those exiled were of African-American descent, and were enslaved by local Confederates. According to the accounts of Bell and his men, once Bell was made aware of this, those individuals were brought back into town and placed under watch.
U.S. soldiers boarded in building where the Florida Heritage House is today (11 King Street) during the Union occupation of St. Augustine in the Civil War.
Following an investigation and trial, Bell was exonerated and his command was reinstated by September of 1862. Some sources note that the trial and investigation were perhaps less than thorough. Later that same year, Colonel Louis Bell and the 4th New Hampshire would return to South Carolina, later fighting in the siege of Charleston alongside U.S. Colored Troops, including some men from St. Augustine. In the latter days of the war, as a Union victory became more and more inevitable, forces under Colonel Bell’s command fought in both Virginia and North Carolina. In the Tar Heel State, in late 1864 and early 1865, Bell would lead two expeditions against Confederate fortifications at Fort Fisher, located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River just outside of Wilmington. While the first attack failed, the second proved successful, but Colonel Bell was mortally wounded during the fighting. He would die a few hours after the battle on January 15, 1865. His remains were returned to New Hampshire, where he is buried in the Chester Village Cemetery.
Written by Robert Covert, Special Collections Manager and Editor-In-Chief
Sources:
Graham, Thomas. El Escribano Vol. 56: Valiant Soldiers- St. Augustine’s Men of Color in The Age of Civil War and Reconstruction. St. Augustine: St. Augustine Historical Society, 2022.
Graham, Thomas. El Escribano Vol. 57: The Men on The Monument- St. Augustine’s Soldiers in Confederate Service. St. Augustine: St. Augustine Historical Society, 2025.
“Guide to the Louis Bell Papers, 1828-1900.” University of New Hampshire Library Special Collections and University Archives. University of New Hampshire. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://library.unh.edu/find/archives/collections/louis-bell-papers-1828-1900
“Louis Bell.” FindaGrave.com. Find a Grave, January 17, 2004. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8288845/louis-bell.