_Expedition up the St. Mary’s River.--The Negroes Long for a
Fight.--Their Gallantry in Battle._
The Department of the South, under Major-Gen. Hunter, was the first in
which the negro held the musket. By consent of the commanding-general, I
give the following interesting report from Col. T. W. Higginson:--
“On Board Steamer ‘Rex Deford,’ Sunday, Feb. 1, 1863.
“_Brig-Gen. Saxton, Military Governor, &c_.
“_General_,--I have the honor to report the safe return of the
expedition under my command, consisting of four hundred and sixty-two
officers and men of the First Regiment of South-Carolina Volunteers, who
left Beaufort on Jan. 23, on board the steamers: John Adams,’ ‘Planter,’
and ‘Ben Deford.’
“The expedition has carried the regimental flag and the President’s
proclamation far into the interior of Georgia and Florida. The men
have been repeatedly under fire; have had infantry, cavalry, and even
artillery, arrayed against them; and have, in every instance, come
off, not only with unblemished honor, but with undisputed triumph. At
Township, Fla., a detachment of the expedition fought a cavalry company
which met us unexpectedly, on a midnight march through pine woods, and
which completely surrounded us. They were beaten off with a loss on
our part of one man killed and seven wounded; while the opposing party
admits twelve men killed (including Lieut. Jones, in command of the
company), besides many wounded. So complete was our victory, that the
enemy scattered, hid in the woods all night, not returning to his camp,
which was five miles distant, until noon next day; a fact which was
unfortunately unknown until too late to follow up our advantage. Had I
listened to the urgent appeals of my men, and pressed the flying enemy,
we could have destroyed his camp; but, in view of the darkness, his
uncertain numbers and swifter motions, with your injunctions of caution,
I judged it better to rest satisfied with the victory already gained.
“On another occasion, a detachment of about two hundred and fifty men,
on board the ‘John Adams,’ fought its way forty miles up and down a
river, the most dangerous in the department,--the St. Mary’s; a river
left untraversed by our gunboats for many months, as it required a boat
built like the ‘John Adams’ to ascend it successfully. The stream is
narrow, swift, winding, and bordered at many places with high bluffs,
which blazed with rifle-shots. With our glasses, as we approached these
points, we could see mounted men by the hundreds galloping through the
woods, from point to point, to await us; and, though fearful of our shot
and shell, they were so daring against musketry, that one rebel actually
sprang from the shore upon the large boat which was towed at our stern,
where he was shot down by one of my sergeants. We could see our shell
scatter the rebels as they fell among them, and some terrible execution
must have been done; but not a man of this regiment was killed or
wounded, though the steamer is covered with bullet-marks, one of which
shows where our brave Capt. Clifton, commander of the vessel, fell dead
beside his own pilot-house, shot through the brain by a Minie-ball.
Major Strong, who stood beside him, escaped as if by magic, both of
them being unnecessarily exposed without my knowledge. The secret of our
safety was in keeping the regiment below, except the gunners; but this
required the utmost energy of the officers, as the men were wild to
come on deck, and even implored to be landed on shore, and charge on the
enemy. Nobody knows any thing about these men who has not seen them in
battle. I find that I myself knew nothing. There is a fiery energy about
them beyond any thing of which I have ever read, unless it be the French
Zouaves. It requires the strictest discipline to hold them in hand.
During our first attack on the river, before I got them all penned
below, they crowded at the open ends of the steamer, loading and firing
with inconceivable rapidity, and shouting to each other, ‘Never give it
up!’ When collected into the hold, they actually fought each other for
places at the few port-holes from which they could fire on the enemy.
“Meanwhile, the black gunners, admirably trained by Lieuts. Stockdale
and O’Neil (both being accomplished artillerists), and Mr. Heron, of the
gunboat, did their duty without the slightest protection, and with great
coolness, amid a storm of shot.
“No officer in this regiment now doubts that the key to the successful
prosecution of this war lies in the unlimited employment of black
troops. Their superiority lies simply in the fact that they know the
country, which white troops do not; and, moreover, that they have
peculiarities of temperament, position, and motive, which belong to them
alone. Instead of leaving their homes and families to fight, they are
fighting for their homes and families; and they show the resolution and
sagacity which a personal purpose gives. It would have been madness
to attempt with the bravest white troops what I have successfully
accomplished with black ones.
“Every thing, even to the piloting of the vessel, and the selection of
the proper points for cannonading, was done by my own soldiers; indeed,
the real conductor of the whole expedition at the St. Mary’s was
Corporal Robert Sutton, of Company G, formerly a slave upon the St.
Mary’s River; a man of extraordinary qualities, who needs nothing but a
knowledge of the alphabet to entitle him to the most signal promotion.
In every instance where I followed his advice, the predicted result
followed; and I never departed from it, however slightly, without having
reason for subsequent regret.
“I have the honor to be, &c.,
“T. W. HIGGINSON,
“_Col. Com. First Regiment South-Carolina Vols._”