Editing Campti, Louisiana (section)

== History ==
The rural parish was developed for large cotton plantations, and a majority of the population were enslaved African Americans in the antebellum years. But by the time of the [[American Civil War]], a number of [[free people of color]] also lived in Campti and the area. They were known to be related to several of the longtime white families, who acknowledged them, and they were generally well accepted. According to one authority on this area, they lived nearly as white. At least nine men of color, and likely more, enlisted in the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] during the Civil War and "easily entered a predominately white military company."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jaGDoE1FB78C&dq=John+D.+Winters+%2B+Civil+War+%2B+Louisiana&pg=PA110 Lawrence L. Hewitt, Arthur W. Bergeron, Chapter: "Louisiana's Free Men of Color in Gray"], in ''Louisianians in the Civil War'', University of Missouri Press, 2002, p. 114</ref>

During the war, [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] Brigadier-General [[Andrew Jackson Smith|A. J. Smith]], with two brigades, reached Campti to assist Rear-Admiral [[David Dixon Porter|David D. Porter]]'s gunboats on the Red River there. Confederate Brigadier-General [[St. John Richardson Liddell|St. John R. Liddell]]'s scattered troops had been harassing the Union fleet but quickly retreated as Smith's overwhelming force arrived on April 13, 1864. Smith and his men burned what was left of Campti, on April 14, 1864. The gunboats were returned safely upriver to [[Grand Ecore, Louisiana|Grand Ecore]] in [[Natchitoches Parish]].<ref>[[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', [[Baton Rouge]]: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN|0-8071-0834-0}}, p. 359</ref>

In the postwar years, cotton and agriculture continued as mainstays of the economy. Later cattle raising was introduced. Large-scale agriculture and ranching have reduced economic opportunities in the rural area. The population of Campti has continued to be majority African American, reflecting the history of its development.