[50] Rose, "Life of Napoleon I," 333-336.
[51] As to the ability of a man of color to rise in this territory,
the life of one man, recorded by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society,
will furnish a good example. James Derham was originally a slave in
Philadelphia, sold by his master to a physician, who employed him in
the shop as an assistant in the preparation of drugs. During the war
between England and America, he was sold by this physician to a
surgeon, and by that surgeon to Dr. Robert Dove of New Orleans. Here
he learned French and Spanish so as to speak both with ease. In 1788,
he was received into the English church, when he was twenty-one and
became, says the report, "one of the most distinguished physicians in
New Orleans." "I conversed with him on medicine," says Dr. Rush, "and
found him very learned. I thought I could give him information on the
treatment of diseases, but I learned more from him that he could
expect from me." _The Columbian Gazette_, II, 742-743.
[52] Gayarré, III, p. 595.
[53] _Ibid._, IV, p. 218.
[54] _Ibid._, p. 219.
[55] Gayarré, IV, p. 219.
[56] _Ibid._, p. 229.
[57] Grace King tells a pretty story of the saving of Jean Lafitte's
life. On the very day that a price was set upon his head by Gov.
Claiborne he was invited to be the guest at a plantation, and almost
at the same instant there arrived unexpectedly Mrs. Claiborne, the
wife of the governor. The hostess, with quick presence of mind,
introduced the gentleman to the wife of the governor as Monsieur
Clement, and then hurriedly went out of the room, leaving her guests
together. She called Henriette, her confidential servant, and looking
her straight in the eyes, said: "Henriette, Gov. Claiborne has set a
price upon Monsieur Lafitte's head. Anyone who takes him a prisoner
and carries him to the governor will receive five hundred dollars
reward, and M. Laffitte's head will be cut off. Send all the other
servants away; set the table yourself, and wait on us yourself.
Remember to call M. Lafitte, M. Clement--and be careful before Mme.
Claiborne." The colored woman responded with perfect tact and
discretion. See Grace King, "New Orleans, the Place and the People,"
204.
[58] Gayarré, IV, p. 127.
[59] _Ibid._, p. 127.
[60] Gayarré, IV, p. 131.
[61] King, "New Orleans: The Place and Its People."
[62] Paul Alliot's Reflections in Robertson's "Louisiana under the
Rule of Spain," I, p. 67.
[63] _Ibid._, 103, 111.
[64] Evans, "A Pedestrian's Tour, etc." Thwaites, "Early Western
Travels," VIII, 336.
[65] Harriet Martineau painted in 1837 a picture of this society,
showing how the depravity of the settlers had worked out. "The
Quadroon girls of New Orleans," said she, "are brought up by their
mothers to be what they have been, the mistresses of white gentlemen.
The boys are some of them sent to France; some placed on land in the
back of the State; and some are sold in the slave market. They marry
women of a somewhat darker color than their own; the women of their
own color objecting to them, '_ils sont si degoutants_!' The girls are
highly educated, externally, and are, probably, as beautiful and
accomplished a set of women as can be found. Every young man early
selects one and establishes her in one of those pretty and peculiar
houses, whole rows of which may be seen in the Remparts. The connexion
now and then lasts for life; usually for several years. In the latter
case, when the time comes for the gentleman to take a wife, the
dreadful news reaches his Quadroon partner, either by letter entitling
her to call the house and furniture her own, or by the newspaper which
announces his marriage. The Quadroon ladies are rarely or never known
to form a second connexion. Many commit suicide, more die heartbroken.
Some men continue the connexion after marriage. Every Quadroon woman
believes that her partner will prove an exception to the rule of
desertion. Every white lady believes that her husband has been an
exception to the rule of seduction." See Harriet Martineau, "Society
in America," II, 326-327; see also Nuttall's Journal in Thwaites,
"Early Western Travels," XIII, 309-310.
[66] Gayerré, IV, p. 335.
[67] Gayerré, IV, p. 336.
[68] _Ibid._, p. 336.
[69] He said: "Through a mistaken policy you have heretofore been
deprived of a participation in the glorious struggle for national
rights in which our country is engaged. This no longer exists.
As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend our most
inestimable blessing. As Americans, your country looks with confidence
to her adopted children for a valorous support as a faithful return
for the advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable government. As
fathers, husbands and brothers, you are summoned to rally round the
standard of the eagle to defend all which is dear in existence.
Your country, although calling for your exertions, does not wish you
to engage in her cause without amply remunerating you for the services
rendered. Your intelligent minds are not to be led away by false
representations. Your love of honor would cause you to despise the man
who would attempt to deceive you. In the sincerity of a soldier and
the language of truth I address you.
To every noble-hearted, generous freeman--men of color, volunteering
to serve during the present contest with Great Britain and no longer,
there will be paid the same bounty in money and lands now received by
the white soldiers of the United States, viz.: $124 in money and 160
acres of land. The non-commissioned officers and privates will also be
entitled to the same monthly pay and daily rations and clothes,
furnished to any American soldier. On enrolling yourselves in
companies, the Major-General commanding will select officers from your
government from your white citizens. Your non-commissioned officers
will be appointed from among yourselves.
Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen and soldiers. You
will not, by being associated with white men in the same corps, be
exposed to improper comparisons, or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct,
independent battalion or regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you
will undivided, receive the applause and gratitude of your country
men.
To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions and my anxiety to
engage your invaluable services to our country, I have communicated my
wishes to the Governor of Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the
manner of enrollment, and will give you every necessary information on
the subject of this address." See Williams, "History of the Negro
Race," II, 25 and 26.
[70] Gayarré, IV, p. 406.
[71] He was probably regarded as a quadroon who had been accepted by
the white race. See Gayarré, IV, 406.
[72] Gayarré, IV, p. 451.
[73] _Ibid._, p. 427 et passim.
[74] For years after the Civil War, one of the most picturesque
figures in New Orleans was Jordan B. Noble, who at the time of the
Battle of New Orleans was a slim youth. It was his tireless beating of
the drum which led to battle the American forces on the nights of
December 23 and January 8. He lived to be an old man, and appeared on
several occasions at the St. Charles theatre, where a great audience
turned out to do him honor and give an ovation when he beat the drum
again as he had on those memorable nights. The Delta records a benefit
given him at the theatre in 1854. In 1851 _The New Orleans Picayune_
in commenting on the celebration of the victory of New Orleans notes
the presence in the line of parade of 90 colored veterans. "And who
did more than they to save the city?" it asks in the midst of a highly
eulogistic review of the battle. Grace King, "New Orleans, the Place
and the People," 256; and Grace King's letter to A. O. Stafford in
1904.
[75] Gayarré, IV, pp. 517-531.
[76] Fortier, "Louisiana," II, p. 231.
[77] Cable, "The Creoles," p. 211; Grace King, "New Orleans," 260.
[78] Martineau, "Society in America," p. 326 et passim.
[79] Channing, "The Jeffersonian System," 84.
[80] For a general sketch see Ballard and Curtis's "A Digest of the
Statutes of the State of Louisiana," pp. 65 et seq.
[81] Dunn, "Indiana," 234; and 1 Miss. (Walker), p. 36.
[82] See "The Revised Statutes of Louisiana," 1852, pp. 524 et seq.
[83] Rhodes, "History of the United States," III, 331.
[84] Flint, "Recollections of the Last Ten Years," 345.
[85] Olmsted, "The Cotton Kingdom," II, 213.
[86] Captain Marryat, Diary in America, 67-68.
[87] Desdunes, "Nos Hommes et Notre Histoire," 32.
[88] This fact is based on the statements of the persons concerned.
[89] Grace King, "New Orleans," 272.
[90] Trotter, "Music, and Some Musical People," pp. 339-340.
[91] _Ibid._, pp. 340-341; Desdunes, "Nos Hommes et Notre Histoire,"
pp. 117-118.
[92] The most definite picture, and the best possible of the state of
the persons of color in Louisiana, is to be found in Parton's "Butler
in New Orleans." History will never agree about Gen. Butler. He is
alternately execrated by the South, sneered at by the North, written
down by his contemporary officers, and canonized by the abolitionists.
If he did nothing else worthy of record, at least he gave the splendid
militia composed of the free men of color a chance to prove their
loyalty to the union by entering the Civil War as fighters.
We are indebted to him for the pictures he draws of the slave
population of Louisiana; of the wealth and beauty of the free men and
women of color. Their population was 18,647. "The best blood of the
South flows in the veins of these free people of color," he writes,
"and a great deal of it, for the darkest of some of them were about
the complexion of Daniel Webster." Parton, "General Butler in New
Orleans," p. 517.
[93] _New Orleans Picayune_, Feb. 9, 1862.
[94] Report of the Select Committee on the New Orleans Riots, p. 126.
[95] Ficklen, "Reconstruction in Louisiana," 121.
[96] From Ex-Lieutenant Governor Antoine we have a statement as to how
the troops were organized at Baton Rouge. Of the gallant officers of
this first regiment, one man lives to tell of its glories. This was
Col. James Lewis, who was in command for four months at Port Hudson.
[97] The battle of Port Hudson, like the battle of New Orleans, is
almost too well known to be told of. It takes its place naturally in
history with desperate fights, reminding one somewhat of the battles
of Balaklava. It was early in the morning of May 27, 1863, that the
engagement began. The colored men in line numbered 1,080. When the
order for assault was given they charged the fort, which belched forth
its flame and shot and shell. The slaughter was horrible, but the line
never wavered. Into the mill of death the colored troops hurled
themselves. The colors were shot through and almost severed from the
staff; the color-sergeant, Anselmas Planciancois, was killed, and two
corporals struggled for the honor of bearing the flag from his dying
hands. One of them was killed.
The bravest hero of the day was Capt. André Caillioux, whose name all
Louisianians remember with a thrill of pride. He was a freeman of West
Indian extraction, and fond of boasting of his blackness. With superb
heroism and splendid magnetism he led his men time and again into the
very "jaws of death" in the assault, and fell at the front in one last
heroic effort within fifty yards of the fort.
"Still forward and charge for the guns," said Caillioux,
And his shattered sword-arm was the guidon they knew;
But a fire rakes the flanks and a fire rakes the van,
He is down with the ranks that go down as one man.
A correspondent of the _New York Times_ gave a most glowing account of
the battle. "During the time the troops rallied, they were ordered to
make _six distinct charges_, losing 37 killed, 155 wounded, and
sixteen missing.... The deeds of heroism performed by these colored
men were such as the proudest white men might emulate.... I could fill
your columns with startling tales of their heroism. Although repulsed
in an attempt which, situated as things were, was almost impossible,
these regiments, though badly cut up, are still on hand, and burning
with a passion ten times hotter from their fierce baptism of blood."
See Williams, "History of the Negro Race," II, 321.
The battle of Milliken's Bend will always rank as one of the hardest
fought engagements in the Civil War. It was an important point on the
river, because it commanded Vicksburg, and in General Grant's scheme
to effect the reduction of that city, it was necessary to control this
point. The engagement was on June 6, 1863, and continued from three in
the morning until twelve noon. Never did men fight with greater
courage against such odds at the point of the bayonet than did these
colored troops. The appalling list of casualties shows how they stood
the test. Of the officers in the colored forces, seven were killed,
nine wounded, three missing. Of the enlisted men, 123 killed, 182
wounded, 113 missing. In commenting on this battle, Schouler, in his
history of the United States, speaks of the great bravery shown by the
troops, and points out there was a sudden change of opinion in the
South about enlisting colored troops on the side of the Confederacy.
"Many of the clear-sighted leaders of this section proposed seriously
to follow the Northern President's example,--and arm Negro slaves as
soldiers." He adds: "That strange conclusion, had it ever been
reached, would perhaps have reunited North and South eventually in
sentiment,--by demonstrating at length the whole fallacy upon which
the social difference of sections had so long rested. For as a
Confederate writer expressed it, 'if the Negro was fit to be a
soldier, he was not fit to be a slave,'" Schouler, "History of U. S.,"
Vol. VI, p. 407; and Williams, "History of the Negro Race," II,
326-328.
[98] Colonel Lewis's statement.
[99] Based on the statements of slaves.
[100] Rhodes, "History of the U. S.," VII, 104 et seq.; Schouler,
"History of U. S.," VI, 245 et seq.
[101] Ficklen, "Reconstruction in Louisiana," 47 et seq.
[102] _Ibid._, pp. 64, 65.
[103] In the meanwhile, Confederates had set up a capital at
Shreveport, and their governor recommended Negro conscripts in the
Confederate army. His reasoning was acute and clear: He said, "The
Negro must play an important part in the war. He caused the fight, and
he must have his portion of the burden to bear." See Ficklen,
"Reconstruction," 63.
[104] Ficklen, "Reconstruction," 63.
[105] Blaine's "Twenty Years of Congress," II, 39, 40.
[106] Lincoln, Address of, April 11, 1865.
[107] 39 Cong. House of Representatives, No. 16.
[108] Ficklen, "Reconstruction in Louisiana," 146-179.
[109] Not all Southern sympathizers saw menace in granting the Negro
political privileges. Seeing it inevitable, General Beauregard wrote
in 1867, "If the suffrage of the Negro is properly handled and
directed, we shall defeat our adversaries with their own weapons. The
Negro is Southern born. With education and property qualifications, he
can be made to take an interest in the affairs of the South, and in
its prosperity. He will side with the whites." Letter of Gen.
Beauregard.
[110] With the year 1868 one of the most picturesque and splendid
figures in the history of the state springs fully into the light.
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback had already made himself known by
his efforts to recruit soldiers for the Louisiana Native Guards; by
his stringent demands for the rights of the colored man on all
occasions. He was the dashing young Lochinvar of the political
struggle. He had made his first move in 1867 by organizing the Fourth
Ward Republican Club, and had been appointed Inspector of Customs by
Collector of Port Kellogg. In the Constitution of 1868 he took his
definite rôle of a fighter to be feared, respected and followed--and
for many a year afterwards, the history of Louisiana is written around
his name. Simmons, "Men of Mark," 672.
[111] Accounts of this appeared in the _Tribune_, the best, and almost
the only influential organ of the Republican party in the state, the
editor of which was Dr. Roudanez, a well-to-do man of color. It was
not a financial success, though a powerful factor in the political
arena. Dr. Roudanez said that he spent over $35,000 on the paper in
the effort to keep up an honest organ. It was suspended in April,
1868, but was revived later.
[112] Journal of the Convention, 124, 192, 205 et passim.
[113] Simmons, "Men of Mark," 678.
[114] Journal of the Senate, 1868, p. 21.
[115] Pinchback's own Statement.
[116] Based on the statements of the persons participating in these
affairs.
[117] Rhodes, "History of the U. S.," VII, 287.
[118] Mr. T. T. Allain is now living in Chicago. He has much to say in
praise of the efficient, honest and courageous men of color who
administered the affairs of Louisiana during this period. Mr. Allain
himself was a State Senator.
[119] The report consisted of answers to the following questions:
1. What was the condition of the accounts of the Treasurer connected
with the verification of the entries of such accounts as well as
ascertaining by such verification whether the receipts had been
correctly entered and disbursed, and the cash properly and legally
applied.
2. What mode of settlement had been established by the Treasurer in
receiving revenue turned in by tax collectors.
3. What discrimination, if any, had been exercised in the payment of
warrants.
The report in part was:
"Beyond these matters your committee find the books of the Treasurer
to have been kept in an orderly manner; the disbursements have been
regularly entered, and the cash presently all accounted for up to the
first of January, 1877, to which period this report alone extends.
These vouchers and orders are all on hand and the warrants for each
payment are properly canceled....
"These figures do not of necessity import proof absolute and
conclusive of any undue favoritism, although by circumstances and
legitimate inference they point to that conclusion. Warrants being
negotiable it has been impossible to ascertain who held those
outstanding, and therefore impossible to fix a proper proportion of
payment, but the fact that the multitude of payments made to the same
person, while other warrant holders were forced to wait, and the
intimacy existing between themselves or their employees and the
Treasurer are, undeniably, circumstances which, unexplained, justify
at least a suspicion that these parties have enjoyed facilities,
preferences and privileges at the Treasury over the general public, to
which they were not entitled.
"It is true that these figures are explained by statements that the
proportion paid the respective persons mentioned were only in
proportion to the amount which the warrants held by them bore to the
whole amount of outstanding warrants, but this explanation in itself
merits notice and explanation, because of the fact that the persons
named were the holders of such a large amount of warrants imply some
inducement on their part to invest in them, more especially as by
avocation the majority of them were not brokers but employees in the
Custom-House. Some of them have testified that all the warrants they
held were paid. Another has refused to disclose for whom he collected.
A third was a relative of a personal employee of the Treasurer. One
has been shown to be a constant frequenter of his office, and must
have been an intimate of the Treasurer's from the fact that he appears
to have been the payee of a check for $75,000 illegally drawn, as
mentioned before. They point, at least, to the necessity of such
legislation as may be adequate to prevent even possible suspicion of
favoritism in the future. Under the provisions of the acts of the
General Assembly, passed at the session of 1877, the danger of
favoritism has been very much safeguarded and needs supplementing in
only minor particulars.
"The Treasurer certainly by comparison deserves commendation for
having accounted for all moneys coming into his hands, being in this
particular a remarkable exception. EDWARD D. WHITE, JAMES D. HILL, SAM
H. BUCK."--Report of Joint Committee to Investigate the Treasurer's
Office, State of Louisiana, to the General Assembly, 1877, pp. 7-12,
Majority Report.