Veteran, war-worn, French-speaking chic creoles of the Donaldsonville Artillery detachment of 43 Louisiana Creole Canonniers were ordered by Lynchburg Confederate Military District commander Francis T. Nicholls, a native of Donaldsonville, to guard High Bridge. By June 1864, the Canonniers, under Lieutenant Camille Mollere, had built a bivouac of log cabins across the railroad tracks from the Overton house. Commanded by Major Victor Maurin, the post manned four casemated earthwork fortifications and twenty-one artillery pieces that covered the approaches to High Bridge. Feasted and pampered by local families of Prince Edward and Cumberland counties, the gunners came to know the post as Camp Paradise. The Donaldsonville Artillery detachment fought in the Battle of High Bridge on April 6, 1865, then joined the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat and surrendered with General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.
