Macheca enlists as Confederate private

On this date in 1861: Joseph P. Macheca, a Louisiana native, enlisted in the Confederate Army. (Some legends incorrectly state that Macheca was foreign-born and sat out the Civil War.)

Signed up by Lieutenant John Devereaux of the Louisiana Artillery, Macheca became a private in Gomez's Company of the 22 Louisiana Infantry, Camp Lewis near New Orleans. At that time, it was thought that the war would be over quickly. Macheca's enlistment was for just nine months.

Macheca's term of service concluded just after the federal capture of New Orleans and just before the 22nd Regiment saw serious action. After leaving the army, he is known to have participated in black market activities during the federal occupation of the city and is believed to have helped run the Union blockade of southern ports.

Macheca and the black market

On this date (Aug. 28) in 1863, Joseph Macheca of New Orleans was tried and convicted in a Union military occupation court in connection with a scheme to steal and sell barrels of U.S. Army pork and beef.

Daily Picayune

The barrels officially belonged to the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. They had been loaded aboard the steamship North America, a government transport, at Port Hudson, Louisiana (recently fallen to the Union forces after a 48-day siege). The North America steamed its cargo up the Mississippi River in support of the 4th Massachusetts' advance to Cairo, Louisiana. Remaining barrels were brought to New Orleans, and the ship captain and a steward sold some to Macheca for resale through the Macheca family produce store in the city.

While other conspirators were sent to prison, young Macheca was merely ordered to pay a $50 fine.

Joseph Macheca previously had enlisted for service in the Confederate Army and returned home to New Orleans in advance of the Union invasion of the city. Union occupiers generally controlled businesses and provisions in the region. The produce business of Macheca's step-father - a native of Malta and a British citizen - was one exception.

Following his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly gathered a small fortune through smuggling. Macheca returned after the Civil War and became a close ally of New Orleans Mafiosi while building a produce business and a shipping line.

Macheca was among those charged, tried and acquitted of the 1890 assassination of Police Chief Hennessy. The New Orleans merchant was one of eleven prisoners murdered after Orleans Parish Prison was stormed by an anti-Mafia mob in 1891.

1863: Macheca and the black market

150 years ago today (Aug. 28, 1863), Joseph Macheca of New Orleans was tried and convicted in a Union military occupation court in connection with a scheme to steal and sell barrels of U.S. Army pork and beef.

Daily Picayune

The barrels were traced to the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. They had been loaded aboard the steamship North America, a government transport, at Port Hudson, Louisiana (recently fallen to the Union forces after a 48-day siege). The North American steamed its cargo up the Mississippi River in support of the 4th Massachusetts' advance to Cairo, Louisiana. Remaining barrels were brought to New Orleans, and the captain and a steward sold some to Macheca for resale through the Macheca family produce store in the city.

While other conspirators were sent to prison, young Macheca is merely ordered to pay a $50 fine.

Joseph Macheca previously had enlisted for service in the Confederate Army and returned home to New Orleans in advance of the Union invasion. The Union occupiers generally controlled businesses and provisions in the region. The produce business of Macheca's step-father - a native of Malta and a British citizen - was one exception.

Following his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly gathered a small fortune through smuggling.

Read more about Joseph Macheca: Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia

Lincoln movie omissions

Something you won't find in the new Lincoln movie: The significant roles played by Lincoln, the Civil War and Reconstruction in the development of the first American Mafia organization, based in New Orleans.

Read:

Deep Water

Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia