I have a diary of a soldier of Company F, 17th La. Inf., stating: ". . .Charles Jones of Black River [elected] colonel, and Capt. Herd [elected] Colonel of our regiment . ." Note the phonetic spelling --"Herd". The private's letter was dated Oct. 14, 1861.
In April of 1863 Colonel [not general] was in command of Fort Livingston in Barataria Bay. During a court of inquiry concerning decisions in Louisiana's defenses by General Mansfield Lovell, he was asked to give the names of officers of his staff, and inpart Lovell responded: " . . .Col. Heard at Fort Livingston and Little Temple."
The inquiry can be found in Vol. 6 of the Official Records.
The records show that in March of 1862, the 17th La. Inf. under Col. Heard was detailed to Col. Preston Pond's 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division of General Daniel Ruggles' 2nd Grand Division of the Army of the Mississppi.