Caesar Antoine

Caesar Carpentier Antoine
13th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
In office
May 22, 1873 – April 24, 1877
GovernorWilliam P. Kellogg
Stephen B. Packard
Preceded byP.B.S. Pinchback
Succeeded byLouis A. Wiltz
Louisiana State Senator from Caddo Parish
In office
1868–1872
Personal details
Bornc. 1836
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died1921 (aged 84–85)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Resting placeNew Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
RelationsFelix C. Antoine (brother)
Residences
  • (1) Shreveport, Louisiana
  • (2) New Orleans, Louisiana
OccupationBarber, Editor, Businessman
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceUnion Army
Rank Captain
Unit7th Louisiana (Colored) Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Caesar Carpentier Antoine (c. 1836–1921) was a soldier, businessman, editor, and African-American Republican politician in Louisiana during the Reconstruction era.[1]

He was born as a free man of color in New Orleans.[1] His brother was Felix C. Antoine.[1][2]

During the Civil War, he served as Captain in the 7th Louisiana Regiment Infantry and 10th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment.[3] After the war, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a member of St. Paul's Colored Methodist Episcopal Church and lived in the Allendale neighborhood.[1]

He was elected as a state senator for Caddo Parish in 1868, partaking in the Louisiana Constitutional Convention.[1] He served until 1872 when he was elected to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, the third man of color to hold that position.[1][2] He co-founded a newspaper with P. B. S. Pinchback, his immediate predecessor.

He became a Worshipful Master in 1884. Shreveport's Freeman Lodge Number 185 of the Price Hall Masons is named in his honor.[1]

In 1887, he co-founded Comité des Citoyens, which fought the case that became Plessy v. Ferguson, and became its vice-president.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Brock, Eric J (2003). "Louisiana Political Pioneer" (PDF). Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-23.
  2. ^ a b Foner, Eric (1996). Freedom's Lawmakers. LSU Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0807120828.
  3. ^ "Antoine, Caesar C." Soldier Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved 2023-05-19.