Piece of cypress ceiling board damaged by a shell fragment during the Civil War. Amet-Boyer House, Moreauville, Louisiana, circa 17 May 1864. 8 x 23 in. Informational placard to board recto. 

This ceiling board from the second floor of the Amet-Boyer House in Moreauville, Louisiana, exhibits shell damage from nearby skirmishes taking place around 17 May 1864. According to the placard on the board, "Two doors and other parts of the room were likewise struck or pierced by the iron missiles." 

At the time, there were in fact skirmishes occurring in Moreauville. The Union was retreating from attempting to plant a flag in Texas as part of the Red River Campaign when it passed through Moreauville on 17 May 1864. The Battle of Yellow Bayou, which occurred the next day, was the last major battle of the Red River Campaign, resulting in a Union victory. 

Today, the Amet-Boyer (now Amet-Lougarre) House still stands in Moreauville, but is in serious disrepair. It was purchased in 2022 in hopes of being restored, but nothing has been reported about its status since. 

Provenance: Greg Coco Collection

Gregory Coco (1946–2009) served for decades as a National Park Service Ranger and Licensed Battlefield Guide. A prolific historian, he authored sixteen books and numerous articles on the Civil War, including A Strange and Blighted Land and A Vast Sea of Misery, both regarded as enduring classics of Gettysburg scholarship.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Relics, Militaria]