_The Great Fright.--Cruel Treatment of the Colored People by the Police.
--Bill Homer and his Roughs.--Military Training.--Col. Dickson.--The
Work.--Mustering Out.--The Thanks._
Hatred to the negro is characteristic of the people of Cincinnati; more
so, probably, than any other city in the West. Mobs in which the colored
citizens have been the victims have more than once occurred in that
place, to the utter disgrace of its white inhabitants,--mobs resulting
often in the loss of life, and always in the destruction of property.
The raid of John Morgan in the month of July, 1862, and, soon after, the
defeat of the Union troops in Kentucky, had given warning of impending
danger. This feeling of fear culminated on the first of September, in
the mayor of Cincinnati calling on the people to organize and prepare
for the defence of the city, in the following proclamation:--
“Mayor’s Office, _City of Cincinnati_.
“In accordance with a resolution passed by the City Council of
Cincinnati on the first instant, I hereby request that all business of
every kind or character be suspended at ten o’clock of this day, and
that all persons, employers and employees, assemble in their respective
wards, at the usual places of voting, and then and there organize
themselves in such manner as may be thought best for the defence of the
city. Every man, of every age, be he citizen or alien, who lives
under the protection of our laws, is expected to take part in the
organization.
“Witness my hand, and the corporate seal of the city of Cincinnati, this
second day of September, A.D. 1862.
“GEORGE HATCH, _Mayor._”
At two o’clock on the morning of the same day, the mayor issued another
proclamation, notifying the citizens that the police force would perform
the duty of a provost-guard, under the direction of Gen. Wallace.
The mayor’s proclamation, under ordinary circumstances, would be
explicit enough. “Every man, of every age, be he citizen or alien,”
surely meant the colored people. A number thought themselves included
in the call; but, remembering the ill-will excited by former offers
for home defence, they feared to come forward for enrolment. The
proclamation ordered the people to assemble “in the respective wards, at
the usual places of voting.” The colored people had no places of voting.
Added to this, George Hatch was the same mayor who had broken up the
movement for home defence, before mentioned. Seeking to test the
matter, a policeman was approached, as he strutted in his new dignity of
provost-guard. To the question, humbly, almost tremblingly, put,
“Does the mayor desire colored men to report for service in the city’s
defence?” he replied, “You know d------d well he does’nt mean you.
Niggers ain’t citizens.”--“But he calls on all, citizens and aliens. If
he does not mean all, he should not say so.”--“The mayor knows as well
as you do what to write, and all he wants is for you niggers to keep
quiet.” This was at nine o’clock on the morning of the second. The
military authorities had determined, however, to impress the colored
men for work upon the fortifications. The privilege of volunteering,
extended to others, was to be denied to them. Permission to volunteer
would imply some freedom, some dignity, some independent manhood. For
this the commanding officer is alone chargeable.
If the guard appointed to the duty of collecting the colored people
had gone to their houses, and notified them to report for duty on the
fortifications, the order would have been cheerfully obeyed. But the
brutal ruffians who composed the regular and special police took every
opportunity to inflict abuse and insult upon the men whom they
arrested. The special police was entirely composed of that class of the
population, which, only a month before, had combined to massacre the
colored population, and were only prevented from committing great
excesses by the fact that John Morgan, with his rough riders, had
galloped to within forty miles of the river, when the respectable
citizens, fearing that the disloyal element within might combine with
the raiders without, and give the city over to pillage, called a meeting
on ‘Change, and demanded that the riot be stopped. The special police
was, in fact, composed of a class too cowardly or too traitorous to aid,
honestly and manfully, in the defence of the city. They went from
house to house, followed by a gang of rude, foul-mouthed boys. Closets,
cellars, and garrets were searched; bayonets were thrust into beds and
bedding; old and young, sick and well, were dragged out, and, amidst
shouts and jeers, marched like felons to the pen on Plum Street,
opposite the Cathedral. No time was given to prepare for camp-life; in
most cases no information was given of the purpose for which the men
were impressed. The only-answers to questions were curses, and a brutal
“Come along now; you will find out time enough.” Had the city been
captured by the Confederates, the colored people would have suffered no
more than they did at the hands of these defenders. Tuesday night, Sept.
2, was a sad night to the colored people of Cincinnati. The greater part
of the male population had been dragged from home, across the river, but
where, and for what, none could tell.
The captain of these conscripting squads was one William Homer, and in
him organized ruffianism had its fitting head. He exhibited the brutal
malignity of his nature in a continued series of petty tyrannies. Among
the first squads marched into the yard was one which had to wait several
hours before being ordered across the river. Seeking to make themselves
as comfortable as possible, they had collected blocks of wood, and piled
up bricks, upon which they seated themselves on the shaded side of the
yard. Coming into the yard, he ordered all to rise, marched them to
another part, then issued the order, “D----n you, squat.” Turning to the
guard, he added, “Shoot the first one who rises.” Reaching the opposite
side of the river, the same squad were marched from the sidewalk into
the middle of the dusty road, and again the order, “D--n you, squat,”
and the command to shoot the first one who should rise.
The drill of this guard of white ruffians was unique, and not set down
in either Scott or Hardee. Calling up his men, he would address them
thus: “Now, you fellows, hold up your heads. Pat, hold your musket
straight; don’t put your tongue out so far; keep your eyes open: I
believe you are drunk. Now, then, I want you fellows to go out of this
pen, and bring all the niggers you can catch. Don’t come back here
without niggers: if you do, you shall not have a bit of grog. Now be
off, you shabby cusses, and come back in forty minutes, and bring me
niggers; that’s what I want.” This barbarous and inhuman treatment of
the colored citizens of Cincinnati continued for four days, without a
single word of remonstrance, except from the “Gazette.”
Finally, Col. Dickson, a humane man and gentlemanly officer, was
appointed to the command of the “Black Brigade,” and brutality gave way
to kind treatment. The men were permitted to return to their homes, to
allay the fears of their families, and to prepare themselves the better
for camp-life. The police were relieved of provost-guard duty, and on
Friday morning more men reported for duty than had been dragged together
by the police. Many had hidden too securely to be found; others had
escaped to the country. These now came forward to aid in the city’s
defence. With augmented numbers, and glowing with enthusiasm, the Black
Brigade marched to their duty. Receiving the treatment of men, they were
ready for any thing. Being in line of march, they were presented with
a national flag by Capt. Lupton, who accompanied it with the following
address:--
“I have the kind permission of your commandant, Col. Dickson, to hand
you, without formal speech or presentation, this national flag,--my
sole object to encourage and cheer you on to duty. On its broad folds is
inscribed, ‘_The Black Brigade of Cincinnati_.’ I am confident, that, in
your hands, it will not be dishonored.
“The duty of the hour is _work_,--hard, severe labor on the
fortifications of the city. In the emergency upon us, the highest and
the lowest alike owe this duty. Let it be cheerfully undertaken. He is
no _man_ who now, in defence of home and fireside, shirks duty.
“A flag is the emblem of sovereignty, a symbol and guaranty of
_protection_. Every nation and people are proud of the flag of their
country. England, for a thousand years, boasts her Red Flag and Cross
of St. George; France glories in her Tri-color and Imperial Eagle; ours,
the ‘Star-spangled Banner,’ far more beautiful than they,--_this dear
old flag!_--the sun in heaven never looked down on so proud a banner of
beauty and glory. Men of the Black Brigade, rally around it! Assert your
_manhood_; be loyal to duty; be obedient, hopeful, patient: Slavery will
soon die; the slave-holders’ rebellion, accursed of God and man, will
shortly and miserably perish. There will then be, through all the coming
ages, in very truth, a land of the free,--one country, one flag, one
destiny.
“I charge you, _men of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati_, remember
that for you, and for me, and for your children, and your children’s
children, there is but _one flag_, as there is but one Bible, and one
God, the Father of us all.”
For nearly three weeks the Black Brigade labored upon the
fortifications, their services beginning, as we have seen, Sept. 2, and
terminating Sept: 20.
When the brigade was mustered out, the commander thanked them in the
following eloquent terms:--
“_Soldiers of the Black Brigade!_ You have finished the work assigned to
you upon the fortifications for the defence of the city. You are now
to be discharged. You have labored faithfully; you have made miles of
military roads, miles of rifle-pits, felled hundreds of acres of the
largest and loftiest forest trees, built magazines and forts. The hills
across yonder river will be a perpetual monument of your labors. You
have, in no spirit of bravado, in no defiance of established prejudice,
but in submission to it, intimated to me your willingness to defend
with your lives the fortifications your hands have built. _Organized
companies of men of your race have tendered their services to aid in the
defence of the city_. In obedience to the policy of the Government, the
authorities have denied you this privilege. In the department of labor
permitted, you have, however, rendered a willing and cheerful service.
Nor has your zeal been dampened by the cruel treatment received. The
citizens, of both sexes, have encouraged you with their smiles and words
of approbation; the soldiers have welcomed you as co-laborers in the
same great cause. But a portion of the police, ruffians in character,
early learning that your services were accepted, and seeking to deprive
you of the honor of voluntary labor, before opportunity was given you to
proceed to the field, rudely seized you in the streets, in your places
of business, in your homes, everywhere, hurried you into filthy pens,
thence across the river to the fortifications, not permitting you
to make any preparation for camp-life. You have borne this with the
accustomed patience of your race; and when, under more favorable
auspices, you have received only the protection due to a common
humanity, you have labored cheerfully and effectively.
“Go to your homes with the consciousness of having performed your
duty,--of deserving, if you do not receive, the protection of the law,
and bearing with you the gratitude and respect of all honorable men.
You have learned to suffer and to wait; but, in your hours of adversity,
remember that the same God who has numbered the hairs of our heads, who
watches over even the fate of a sparrow, is the God of your race as well
as mine. The sweat-blood which the nation is now shedding at every pore
is an awful warning of how fearful a thing it is to oppress the humblest
being.”
A letter in “The Tribune,” dated Cincinnati, Sept. 7, giving an account
of the enthusiasm of the people in rallying for the city’s defence,
says, “While all have done well, the negroes, as a class, must bear away
the palm. When martial law was declared, a few prominent colored men
tendered their services in any capacity desired. As soon as it became
known that they would be accepted, Mayor Hatch’s police commenced
arresting them everywhere, dragging them away from their houses and
places of business without a moment’s notice, shutting them up in
negro-pens, and subjecting them to the grossest abuse and indignity. Mr.
Hatch is charged with secession proclivities. During the recent riots
against the negroes, the _animus_ of his police was entirely hostile
to them, and many outrages were committed upon that helpless and
unoffending class. On this occasion, the same course was pursued. No
opportunity was afforded the negro to volunteer; but they were treated
as public enemies. They were taken over the river, ostensibly to work
upon the fortification; but were scattered, detailed as cooks for white
regiments, some of them half-starved, and all so much abused that it
finally caused a great outcry. When Gen. Wallace’s attention was called
to the matter, he requested Judge William M. Dickson, a prominent
citizen, who is related by marriage to President Lincoln, to take the
whole matter in charge. Judge Dickson undertook the thankless task:
organized the negroes into two regiments of three hundred each, made
the proper provision for their comfort, and set them at work upon the
trenches. They have accomplished more than any other six hundred of the
whole eight thousand men upon the fortifications. Their work has been
entirely voluntary. Judge Dickson informed them at the outset that all
could go home who chose; that it must be entirely a labor of love with
them. _Only one man_ of the whole number has availed himself of the
privilege; the rest have all worked cheer, fully and efficiently. One of
the regiments is officered by white captains, the other by negroes. The
latter, proved so decidedly superior that both regiments will hereafter
be commanded by officers of their own race. They are not only working,
but drilling; and they already go through some of the simpler military
movements very creditably.. Wherever they appear, they are cheered by
our troops. Last night, one of the colored regiments, coming off duty
for twenty-four hours, was halted in front of headquarters, at the
Burnet House, front faced, and gave three rousing cheers for Gen.
Wallace, and three more for Judge Dickson.”