CHAPTER I.

Produced by Suzanne Shell, Josephine Paolucci and the

Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.

THE

BLACK PHALANX

AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, THE WAR OF 1812,

AND THE CIVIL WAR

BY

JOSEPH T. WILSON

LATE OF THE 2ND. REG'T. LA. NATIVE GUARD VOLS. 54TH MASS. VOLS.

AIDE-DE-CAMP TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF G. A. B.

AUTHOR OF

"EMANCIPATION," "VOICE OF A NEW RACE," "TWENTY-TWO YEARS OF FREEDOM,"

ETC., ETC.

New Foreword by

DUDLEY TAYLOR CORNISH

DA CAPO PRESS NEW YORK

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Wilson, Joseph T. (Joseph Thomas), 1836-1891.

The Black phalanx: African American soldiers in the War of Independence,

the War of 1812, and the Civil War / by Joseph T. Wilson; foreword by

Dudley Taylor Cornish.--1st Da Capo Press ed.

p. cm.

Previously published: Hartford, Conn.: American Pub. Co., 1890.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-306-80550-2

1. Afro-American soldiers--History. 2. United States--History--Civil

War, 1861-1865--Participation, Afro-American. 3.

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Participation,

Afro-American. 4. United States--History--War of 1812--Participation,

Afro-American. I. Cornish, Dudley Taylor. II. Title.

E185.63.W632 1994 93-40117

973.7-dc20 CIP

First Da Capo Press edition 1994

This Da Capo Press paperback edition of _The Black Phalanx_ is an

unabridged republication of the edition published in Hartford,

Connecticut, in 1887. It is here supplemented with a new foreword by

Dudley Taylor Cornish.

Foreword (C) 1994 by Dudley Taylor Cornish

Published by Da Capo Press, Inc.

A Subsidiary of Plenum Publishing Corporation

233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013

All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

INTRODUCTION.

By way of introduction to the American public, of the author and editor

of this book, we beg to say that Mr. Wilson is not altogether unknown to

the literary world, having already published several works relative to

the Negro race.

His services during the war of the Rebellion secured for him a

flattering recognition. He served in the 2nd Regiment Louisiana Native

Guard Volunteers, also the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers,--the most

famous of the Union negro regiments that engaged in the struggle,

receiving several wounds. He was the first negro member of the National

Council of Administration of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a

delegate to the National Encampment, and was appointed Colonel--A. D. C.

to the Commander-in-Chief G. A. R. He was chosen by his comrades to be

the historian of the negro soldiers, and has overcome many almost

insurmountable difficulties in gathering the scattered facts,

particularly those of the early wars of the United States, that were

necessary to complete this work.

THE PUBLISHERS.

DEDICATION.

_To the Brave Men Who Commanded the Black Phalanx._

SOLDIERS:--As a mark of esteem and respect for your patriotic devotion

to the cause of human freedom, I desire to dedicate to you this record

of the services of the negro soldiers, whom you led so often and

successfully in the struggle for liberty and union during the great war

of 1861-'65.

Your coming from the highest ranks of social life, undeterred by the

prevailing spirit of caste prejudice, to take commands in the largest

negro army ever enrolled beneath the flag of any civilized country, was

in itself a brave act. The organization and disciplining of over two

hundred thousand men, of a race that for more than two centuries had

patiently borne the burdens of an unrequited bondage, for the

maintenance of laws which had guaranteed to them neither rights nor

protection, was indeed a magnificent undertaking.

You were outlawed by the decrees of Jefferson Davis, criticised by many

friends at home, and contemptuously received by brother officers at

headquarters, in the field, in the trenches, and at the mess table; yet,

you did not waver in your fidelity to principle or in your heroic

leadership of those whose valor was denied until it was proven in

carnage and victory.

The record of the Black Phalanx invites the scrutiny of all who have

been disposed to taunt you for associating with "armed barbarians." No

massacre of vanquished foe stains the banners of those who followed you,

giving quarter but receiving none. It was your teaching that served as a

complete restraint against retaliation, though statesmen hinted that it

would be just. Your training developed patriotism and courage, but not

revenge. Ungrateful as Republics are said to be, ours has aimed to

recognize merit and reward it, and those who at first hailed you with

contumely, are now glad to greet you as heroes and saviors of a common

country.

No true soldier desires to forget the price of his country's liberty, or

that of his own; it is the recollection of the terrible bloody

onset--the audacious charge--the enemy's repulse, which sweetens

victory. And surely no soldiers can appreciate the final triumph with a

keener sense of gladness than those who fought against such odds as did

the Black Phalanx. Beating down prejudice and upholding the national

cause at the same time, they have inscribed upon their banners every

important battle from April, 1863, to April, 1865.

If what I have written here shall call to your minds, and present justly

to the patriotic public, the indescribable hardships which you endured

on the march, in the bivouac, and in the seething flames of the battle's

front, my task will have served its purpose. In the name of and as a

token of the gratitude of a freed race, this book is dedicated to you.

JOSEPH T. WILSON.

_Navy Hill, Richmond, Va._

PREFACE.

It was a dark, stormy night in the winter of 1882, when less than a

hundred men, all of whom had served their country in crushing the great

Rebellion of 1861-'65, gathered around a camp-fire. The white and the

colored American were there; so were the German, Frenchman, and

Irishman,--all American citizens,--all veterans of the last war. The

empty sleeve, the absent leg, the sabred face, the bullet-scarred body

of the many, told the story of the service they had seen. It was the

annual Encampment of the Department of Virginia, Grand Army of the

Republic, and the comrades of Farragut Post had tastefully arranged

their quarters for the occasion.

At midnight a sumptuous soldiers fare--baked beans, hot coffee and hard

tack--was spread before the veterans, who ate and drank heartily as in

the days when resting from the pursuit of the enemy. In the morning

hour, when weary from the joy of song and toast, it was proposed that

the history of the American negro soldier should be written, that

posterity might have a fuller and more complete record of the deeds of

the negro soldiers than had been given in the numerous already published

histories of the conflicts in which they played so important a part.

The task of preparing the history fell to my lot, and it is in obedience

to the duty laid upon me by my former comrades, with whom I shared the

toils and joys of camp, march, battle and siege, that this volume, the

result of my efforts, is launched upon the sea of war literature.

Whether or not there is any merit in the work, the reader must judge.

His charity is asked, however, toward such defects as may be apparent,

and which, perhaps, might be expected in the literary work of one whose

life has been largely spent amid the darkness of the South American

countries and the isolation of the South Sea Islands. It was not until

May, 1862, while domiciled at the capitol of Chili, that I first learned

of the war in the United States, when, hastening to this country, I fell

into the ranks with the first negro soldiers that left the Touro

Building at New Orleans, in November, 1862, and marched out on the

Opelousas road, to serve in defence of the Union.

With whatever forebodings of failure I entered upon the work of

collecting the literature of the war, from which to cull and arrange

much of the matter contained herein,--which has required years of

incessant search and appeal,--I can but _feel_ that it has been

thoroughly done. The public libraries of the cities of Boston,

Cincinnati, New Bedford, New York, the War Department at Washington, and

the private libraries of several eminent citizens, have alike been made

use of by me.

It seemed proper, also, that the memory of our forefathers should not be

allowed to remain in longer obscurity; that it was fitting to recall

_their_ deeds of heroism, that all might know the sacrifices they made

for the freedom their descendants were so long denied from enjoying. In

gathering together the scattered facts relating to the negroe's

participation in the wars of 1775 and 1812, difficulties well-nigh

insurmountable have been overcome, and it has been only through patient

and persistent effort that I have been able to prepare the chapters

devoted to the early wars of the United States.

Descriptions of a number of the battles in which negro troops took part

in the late war of the Rebellion, are given to call attention to the

unsurpassed carnage which occurred, and to give them proper place in the

war's history rather than to present a critical account of the battles.

My aim has been to write in the spirit which impelled the soldiers to go

forth to battle, and to reverse the accounts given in the popular

histories which ascribe to the generals and colonels who commanded,

instead of the soldiers who did the fighting, victory or defeat. "The

troops who do what can neither be expected nor required, are the ones

which are victorious. The men, who, tired and worn and hungry and

exhausted, yet push into battle, are those who win. They who persist

against odds, against obstacles, against hope, who proceed or hold out

reasonably, are the conquerors," says Gen. Grant's historian. With no

desire of detracting from the commanders--if I were able--the honor due

them, my aim is to credit the soldiers with whatever heroism they may

have displayed.

I acknowledge it has been a labor of love to fight many of the battles

of the war of the rebellion over again, not because of a relish for

blood and the destruction of human life, but for the memories of the

past; of the bondage of a race and its struggle for freedom, awakening

as they do the intense love of country and liberty, such as one who has

been without either feels, when both have been secured by heroic effort.

To those who have responded to my appeal for information regarding the

negro soldier, I have aimed to give full credit; if any are omitted it

is not intentionally done. To no one am I more indebted for assisting in

collecting data, than to Lt. J. M. Trotter, of the 55th Mass. Reg't. nor

am I unmindful of the kindness of Hon. Robert Lincoln, late Secretary of

War, nor that of Col. James D. Brady, member of Congress from Virginia,

for copies of public records; to Col. H. C. Corbin, for the record of

the 14th Reg't.; and to Col. D. Torrance for that of the 29th Reg't.

Conn. I am also indebted to Maj. Gen. Wm. Mahone for a map of the

defences of Petersburg, showing the crater; to the librarian of the

Young Men's Mercantile Library, of Cincinnati, for the use of Col.

Albert's carved map of Fort Wagner, and to Col. G. M. Arnold and Hon.

Joseph Jergenson for copies of historical papers; also to Hon. Libbey.

J. T. W.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

_THE WARS FOR INDEPENDENCE._

CHAPTER I.--THE WAR OF 1775. PAGE.

The Sentiments of the Colonists--The Agreement of 1774--The Resolutions

of Ga.--The Virginians Boycotting a Slaver--Tories Opposed to a Negro

Army--Caste Prejudice not strong--The Militia Law of Mass. in

1652--Negro Sentinels at Meeting houses--Crispus Attucks leads the

whites to an attack upon British Soldiers--Resolution of the Committee

of Safety--Battle of Bunker Hill--Peter Salem Kills the British Maj.

Pitcairn--Petition to the General court of Mass. Bay--Biographical

account of Peter Salem--Manumitting of Slaves to allow them to become

Soldiers--Meeting of the Committee of Conference--Gen. Washington writes

the President regarding Negro Soldiers--Action of Congress sustaining

Gen. Washington--The First Question of "color" in the Army--Negroes

allowed in the S. C. Militia--Dr. Hopkins' Article concerning

Slavery--Lord Dunmore visits Norfolk, 1775--Proclamation of Lord

Dunmore--The Dread of the Colonists--An Unreasonable Fear--Action of the

Conn. General Assembly, 1777--Letter from Gen. Green to Gen.

Washington--Daring Exploits of Prince and other Negroes at Newport, R.

I.--The Storming of Fort Griswold--Action of the State of R. I.--Action

of the State of New York, 1781--Proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton--The

Colonists beginning to favor Negro Troops--Gen. Washington's Emphatic

Language--Re-enslavement of Discharged Negro Soldiers--Action of the

Legislature of Virginia 21

CHAPTER II.--THE WAR OF 1812.

The Principal Cause of the War--Seizure of American Negro

Sailors--Outrages upon American Ships--The Declaration of War--The

Battle of Lake Erie--Negroes on American Privateers--Action of the

Legislature of La.--Review of Negro Troops in New Orleans--The Battle of

New Orleans 72

PART II.

_THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES._

CHAPTER I.--PUBLIC OPINION.

Existing Prejudice--No Prejudice in Europe--DeTocqueville's Views--The

New Race--Southern Opinions--The Negro's Ambition--The Coast Pursuit in

the Navy--A Change of Policy--Public Opinions Changed 81

CHAPTER II.--RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING.

The Unpleasant duties of a Recruiting Officer--Henry Wilson's Bill in

Congress for the Arming of Negroes, 1862--Mr. Stevens' Amendment to the

Enrollment Act, 1864--Orders for the Enrollment of Negroes in the Miss.

Valley--Curious way of Keeping ranks full--The Date of the First

Organization of Colored Troops--The Organization of the 24th Mass.

Regiment--Their Quarters at Morris Island--Refusing to do Menial

Service--Short Pay for Negro Troops--Negroes Enlisting for

Bounty--Record of total number of Negroes who Served in the Army 93

CHAPTER III.--RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

Private Miles O'Reilly's Account of Gen. Hunter's Black Troops--The

First Negro Troops in the Field--Gen. Hunter's Humorous Report to

Congress--Jefferson Davis declares Gen. Hunter and his Officers

Outlaws--Gen. Hunter's suppressed Letter to Jefferson Davis--Miles

O'Reilly's Humorous Poem, "Sambo's Right to be Kil't" 145

CHAPTER IV.--OFFICERS OF THE PHALANX.

Officers of the Phalanx--Character and Qualifications of the men who

commanded Negro Troops--The Examination of Candidates for

Commissioners--Some of the Negroes who rose from the Ranks--Gen. Banks'

idea of Officering the Corps d'Afrique 166

CHAPTER V.--DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF.

The Surrender of Confederate Negro Troops at New Orleans--Slaves

flocking to the Union Camp--Gen. Phelps desires to Arm them--Butler

Refuses--Gen. Phelps' Resignation--Gen. Butler converted to the Policy

of Arming Negroes--Negroes Enlisted at New Orleans--Gen. Weitzel placed

in Command--The fight at Mansfield--The Battle of Milliken's

Bend--Indignities offered to Phalanx Soldiers--The affair at Ship

Island--Port Hudson--The Struggle--Desperate Fighting of the Phalanx--A

Useless Effort--Perilous Duties of the Engineers--Boker's Poem on the

fight at Port Hudson 183

CHAPTER VI.--THE ARMY OF THE FRONTIER.

Iowa's splendid Response to the Call--Refusal of the Phalanx Troops to

Accept the Pay offered by the Government--Active times at Helena--The

Confederate General Dobbins makes an Attack--A Spirited Fight--A

Critical Situation--Re-enforcement by White Cavalry--The Honor Due to

Kansas--The report of the Service of Kansas Negro Troops--Col.

Crawford's report for the 2nd Kansas Regiment 220

CHAPTER VII.--DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH.

Gen. Hunter's Important Action--Organization of the 1st South

Carolina--An Expedition up the St. Mary's River--Fort

Wagner--Description of the Fort--Plans for the Assault--The forming of

the line--The Assault--Magnificent Fighting--Death of Col. Shaw--Useless

Slaughter--The Confederate Account of the Assault upon Fort

Wagner--Movements in Florida--The Landing at Jacksonville--Raids on the

surrounding country--The Advance towards Tallahassee--The Troops reach

Barbour's Station--The Battle of Olustee--Desperate Fighting on both

Sides--A Terrible Defeat--The Union Troops routed--Drawing away the

Wounded on railway cars--Return to Baldwin's--The 54th Mass.--Boykin's

Mill--The "Swamp Angel"--Inquiries Respecting Negro Troops--Labor Days

of the Negro Troops 249

CHAPTER VIII.--THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND.

Services in the West--The Mississippi River Guarded by the Phalanx--Gen.

Morgan's Historical Sketch--The Rendezvous at Gallatin--The Place

Threatened by Guerillas--Organizing a Regiment--Negro Soldiers ordered

to Alabama--An Incident--A School in camp--The Battle at Dalton,

Ga.--Good Behavior of the troops there--Honors to the 51st

Colored--Sharp Fighting at Pulaski, Tenn.--An Incident of the Fight--An

Engagement at Decatur--Ordered to Nashville--Severe Fighting at that

place--A Reconnoissance--The Defeat of Gen. Hood--A Pursuit to

Huntsville--A Glorious Record 286

CHAPTER IX.--THE PHALANX AT MARION, TENN.

Sherman's March to the Sea--Destruction of the Confederate Bridge over

the Big Black river--Confederates Attack Federals near

Morristown--Gillem's Troops Driven into Knoxville--The Confederates

Retreat--Federals Pursued to Marion--Struggle for the Possession of the

Salt Works--The Charge of the 6th Regiment--Gen. Brisbin's account of

the Battle--The Salt Works Destroyed--Personal Bravery 308

CHAPTER X.--THE BLACK FLAG.

The Phalanx acquiring a Reputation--No Blacks Paroled--Gen. Grant's

Letter to the Confederate General Taylor--Jefferson Davis' Proclamation

respecting Negro Soldiers--Mr. Davis' Third Annual Message--Action of

the Confederate Congress--Negro Soldiers Captured by the Confederates

receive Punishment--Retaliation by the Federal Government--Refusal to

Exchange captured Negro Troops--Order from President Lincoln in relation

thereto--Report of the Congressional Committee in regard to Barbarities

Inflicted upon captured Union Prisoners--Report of the Congressional

Committee in regard to the Fort Pillow Massacre--Testimony

given--Sketches of Prison Life--Schemes for Escaping from Confederate

Prisons--Life in Libby Prison--The Effect of the Fort Pillow Massacre on

the Black Soldiers--Their Desire to Retaliate--Correspondence between

Gens. Forrest and Washburn--A Confederate Account, written in 1883--A

Confederate Account of Price's Cross-Roads--Heavy Fighting--Gallant

Conduct of the Federal Cavalry--The Rout of the Federal Force--The

Phalanx Saves the White Troops from Capture--Gen. Sturgis Criticised 315

CHAPTER XI.--THE PHALANX IN VIRGINIA.

Transfer of Negro Troops from the West and South to

Virginia--Preparations for a New Campaign--9th Army Corps passing

Through Washington--Army of the Potomac--Battle at Bailey's farm--Siege

of Petersburg--Digging a Mine--Phalanx Troops preparing to lead the

Assault--Disappointment--Explosion of the Mine--Terrible

Slaughter--Failure of the Attempt to Take the Redoubt--New Movement

Against Richmond--New Market Heights--Capture of Petersburg--Fall of

Richmond--Appomattox--Surrender of Lee 377

Chapter XII.--THE ROLL OF HONOR.

Phalanx Soldiers who received Medals of Honor from the United States

Government for Heroism 463

CHAPTER XIII.--THE ROSTER OF THE BLACK PHALANX.

Complete list from the Government Records, as far as can be obtained, of

Negro Military Organizations in all branches of the Service, with their

Chief Commanders--Battles--Dates of Organization and Dismissal 464

CHAPTER XIV.--THE CONFEDERATE SERVICE.

Preparation in the South for Hostilities--Early Organizations of

Battalions of Free Negroes--Review of Troops in New Orleans--Employment

of Negroes in Constructing Fortifications--Early Enacting of State Laws

authorizing the enrollment of Negroes for Military Service--The

Appearance of a few Negro Troops announced by the Press--Apparent

Enthusiasm of some Blacks--Effect on the Negroes of the Change in

Northern Policy--Necessity for Negro Troops--Strong Opposition

throughout the South--Letters from Gen. R. E. Lee urging the

Organization of Black Regiments--Exciting Debates in the Confederate

Congress--Passage of the Negro Bill--The Clerk's of the War Department

Record--Letter from Jefferson Davis--Enlistment began, etc. 481

PART III.

_MISCELLANY._

CHAPTER I.--THE PHALANX AT SCHOOL.

Efforts of Negro Soldiers to Educate themselves--Studies pursued in the

Army--Officers acting as Teachers--Contributions to Educational

Institutions 503

CHAPTER II.--BENEVOLENCE AND FRUGALITY.

Personal Economy practiced for Benevolent purposes--Contributions to the

Lincoln Institute as a Monument--Magnificent Contributions to the

Lincoln Monument--Some figures in reference to the Freemen's Bank 508

CHAPTER III.--BIBLIOGRAPHY.

List of Publications made use of 517

APPENDIX.

ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Portrait--JOSEPH T. WILSON Frontispiece.

2. DEATH OF CRISPUS ATTUCKS Face Page 26

3. BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 34

4. ON PICKET 52

5. NAVAL BATTLE 77

6. UNSHACKLED 90

7. Portrait--ROBERT SMALLS 96

8. " --WILLIAM MORRISON "

9. " --A. GRADINE "

10. " --JOHN SMALLS "

11. QUARTERS FOR CONTRABANDS 103

12. DRIVING GOVERNMENT CATTLE 104

13. SCENE IN AND NEAR A RECRUITING OFFICE 110

14. TEAMSTER OF THE ARMY 112

15. HEADQUARTERS OF SUPERINTENDENT OF THE POOR 116

16. PROVOST GUARD SECURING CONSCRIPTS 123

17. NEW RECRUITS TAKING CARS 126

18. SCENE AT NEW BERNE, N. C. 134

19. MUSTERING INTO SERVICE 138

20. ORGANIZING AND DRILLING 142

21. FORTIFICATIONS AT HILTON HEAD 148

22. BUILDING ROADS 154

23. OFF FOR THE WAR 160

24. Portrait--MAJOR MARTIN R. DELANEY 166

25. Portrait--CAPT. O. S. B. WALL 172

26. Portrait--CAPT. P. B. S. PINCHBACK. 176

27. " --LT. JAMES M. TROTTER "

28. " --SURGEON A. T. AUGUSTA "

29. " --LT. W. H. DUPREE. "

30. Portrait--SERG'T W. H. CARNEY 180

31. WASHING IN CAMP 184

32. COOKING IN CAMP 191

33. POINT ISABEL, TEXAS 199

34. THE RECRUITING OFFICE 200

35. BATTLE OF MILLIKEN'S BEND 204

36. UNLOADING GOVERNMENT STORES 211

37. CHARGE OF THE PHALANX AT PORT HUDSON 214

38. PRESENTATION OF COLORS (1) 223

39. REPELLING AN ATTACK 231

40. CAVALRY BRINGING IN PRISONERS 236

41. CAPTURING BATTERY OF ARTILLERY 242

42. THE WOODEN HORSE 249

43. AT FORT WAGNER 255

44. BRILLIANT CHARGE OF THE PHALANX 270

45. RIVER PICKET DUTY 277

46. CHANGED CONDITIONS 286

47. SERVING REFRESHMENTS TO UNION TROOPS 306

48. SCOUTING SERVICE 312

49. FIGHTING BLOODHOUNDS 320

50. NEGROES FEEDING ESCAPING UNION PRISONERS 342

51. MASSACRE AT FORT PILLOW 350

52. PHALANX REGIMENT RECEIVING ITS FLAGS (2) 377

53. PARADE OF THE 20TH REGIMENT U. S. C. T. IN NEW YORK 378

54. SCENE IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC 391

55. AT WORK ON RIVER OBSTRUCTIONS 401

56. PHALANX CHARGE AT PETERSBURG, VA. 402

57. IN THE TRENCHES 411

58. BEFORE PETERSBURG, BURYING DEAD UNDER FLAG OF TRUCE 425

59. A GOVERNMENT BLACKSMITH SHOP 445

60. GENERAL GRANT AND THE NEGRO SENTINEL 446

61. ABRAHAM LINCOLN ENTERING RICHMOND 452

62. ON DUTY FOR THE CONFEDERATES 484

63. A CONFEDERATE SHARPSHOOTER 499

64. "PAYING OFF" 506

PART I.

THE WARS FOR INDEPENDENCE

1775-1812.

CHAPTER I.

THE WAR OF 1775.

The history of the patriotic Negro Americans who swelled the ranks of

the Colonial and Continental armies has never been written, nor was any

attempt made by the historians of that day to record the deeds of those

who dared to face death for the independence of the American Colonies.

W. H. Day, in addressing a convention of negro men at Cleveland, O., in

1852, truly said: "Of the services and sufferings of the colored

soldiers of the Revolution, no attempt has, to our knowledge, been made

to preserve a record. Their history is not written; it lies upon the

soil watered with their blood; who shall gather it? It rests with their

bones in the charnel house; who shall exhume it?" Upon reading these

lines, it occurred to me that somewhere among the archives of that

period there must exist at least a clue to the record of the negro

patriots of that war. If I cannot exclaim _Eureka_, after years of

diligent search, I take pride in presenting what I _have_ found

scattered throughout the pages of the early histories and literature,

and from the correspondence of men who in that period discussed the

topics of the day--who led and fashioned public opinion, many of whom

commanded in the field. Not a few biographers have contributed to my

fund of knowledge. To avoid as much as possible the charge of plagiarism

I have aimed to give credit to my informants for what shall follow

regarding the colored patriots in the war of the Revolution. I have

reason to believe that I have gathered much that has been obscure; that

I have exhumed the bones of that noble Phalanx who, at Bunker Hill and

Yorktown, in various military employments, served their country. It is

true they were few in number when compared to the host that entered the

service in the late Rebellion, but it must be remembered that their

number was small at that time in the country, and that the seat of war

was at the North, and not, as in the late war, at the South, where their

numbers have always been large.

Of the three hundred thousand troops in the Revolutionary war, it has

been estimated that five thousand were colored, and these came

principally from the North, whose colored population at that time was

about 50,000, while the Southern colonies contained about 300,000. The

interest felt in the two sections for the success of the cause of

independence, if referred to the army, can easily be seen. The Northern

colonies furnished two hundred and forty-nine thousand, five hundred and

three, and the Southern colonies one hundred and forty-seven thousand,

nine hundred and forty soldiers, though the whole population of each

section was within a few hundred of being equal.

The love of liberty was no less strong with the Southern than with the

Northern colored man, as their efforts for liberty show. At the North he

gained his freedom by entering the American army; at the South, only by

entering the British army, which was joined by more than fifteen

thousand colored men. Jefferson says 30,000 negroes from Virginia alone

went to the British army. I make the digression simply to assert that

had the colored men at the South possessed the same opportunity as those

at the North, of enlisting in the American army, a large force of

colored men would have been in the field, fighting for America's

independence. Of the services of the little band, scattered as they were

throughout the army, two or three in a company composed of whites, a

squad in a regiment, a few companies with an army, made it quite

impossible for their record, beyond this, to be distinct from the

organizations they were attached to. However, enough has been culled

from the history of that conflict, to show that they bore a brave part

in the struggle which wrested the colonies from the control of Great

Britain, and won for themselves and offspring, freedom, which many of

them never enjoyed. I have studiously avoided narrating the conduct of

those who cast their fortune with the British, save those who went with

Lord Dunmore, for reasons too obvious to make mention of.

The sentiments of a majority of the people of the colonies were in full

accord with the declaration opposing slavery, and they sought to give it

supremacy by their success in the conflict. Slavery, which barred the

entrance to the army of the colored man at the South, had been denounced

by the colonist before the adoption of the articles of confederation,

and was maintained solely by local regulations. As early as 1774, all

the colonies had agreed to, and their representatives to the congress

had signed, the articles of the Continental Association, by which it was

agreed, "that we will neither import nor purchase any slave imported

after the first day of December next, (1774), after which we will wholly

discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in it

ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or

manufactories to those who are concerned in it." Georgia not being

represented in this Congress, consequently was not in the Association,

but as soon as her Provincial Congress assembled in July, 1775, it

passed the following resolutions:

"_I._--_Resolved_, That this Congress will adopt and carry

into execution all and singular the measures and

recommendations of the late Continental Congress.

"_IV._--_Resolved_, That we will neither import or purchase

any slave imported from Africa or elsewhere after this day,

(July, 6.")

The sincerity with which this agreement was entered into may be seen by

the action of the colonists at Norfolk, Virginia, where, in March, 1775,

a brig arrived from the coast of Guinea, via Jamaica, with a number of

slaves on board consigned to a merchant of that town. To use a modern

phrase the vessel was _boycotted_ by the committee, who published the

following:

"TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA.

{ COMMITTEE CHAMBER,

{ NORFOLK, March 6th, 1775.

"Trusting to your sure resentment against the enemies of

your country, we, the committee, elected by ballot for the

Borough of Norfolk, hold up for your just indignation Mr.

John Brown, merchant, of this place.

"On Thursday, the 2nd of March, this committee were informed

of the arrival of the brig Fanny, Capt. Watson, with a

number of slaves for Mr. Brown; and, upon inquiry, it

appeared they were shipped from Jamaica as his property, and

on his account; that he had taken great pains to conceal

their arrival from the knowledge of the committee; and that

the shipper of the slaves, Mr. Brown's correspondent, and

the captain of the vessel, were all fully apprised of the

Continental prohibition against the article.

"From the whole of this transaction, therefore, we, the

committee for Norfolk Borough, do give it as our unanimous

opinion, that the said John Brown has wilfully and

perversely violated the Continental Association, to which he

had with his own hand subscribed obedience; and that,

agreeable to the eleventh article, we are bound, forthwith,

to publish the truth of the case, to the end that all such

foes to the rights of British America may be publicly known

and universally contemned as the enemies of American

liberty, and that every person may henceforth break off all

dealings with him."

This was the voice of a majority of the colonists, and those who

dissented were regarded as Tories, and in favor of the crown as against

the independence of the colonies, although there were many at the North

and South who held slaves, and were yet loyal to the cause of the

colonies; but the public sentiment was undoubtedly as strong against the

institution as it was in 1864. But the Tories were numerous at the

South, and by continually exciting the imagination of the whites by

picturing massacre and insurrection on the part of the negros if they

were armed, thwarted the effort of Col. Lauren's and of Congress to

raise a "negro army" at the South. The leaders were favorable to it, but

the colonists, for the reason cited, were distrustful of its

practicability. Though a strong effort was made, as will be seen, the

scare raised by the Tories prevented its success. Notwithstanding,

hundreds of colored men, slave and free, at the South, not only followed

the army but in every engagement took an active part on the side of the

colonist. They were not enrolled and mustered into the army, it is true,

but they rendered important service to the cause.

The caste prejudice now so strong in the country was then in its

infancy. A white man at that time lived with a colored woman without

fear of incurring the ostracism of his neighbors, and with the same

impunity he lived with an Indian Squaw. So common was this practice,

that in order to correct it laws were passed forbidding it. The

treatment of the slaves was not what it came to be after the war, nor

had the spirit of resentment been stifled in them as it was

subsequently. Manifestations of their courage and manliness were not

wanting when injustice was attempted to be practiced against them,

consequently the spirit and courage with which they went into the

conflict were quite equal to that of the whites, who were ever ready to

applaud them for deeds of daring. It is only through this medium that we

have discovered the meed of praise due the little Phalanx, which linked

its fortune with the success of the American army, and of whom the

following interesting facts can now be recorded.

It is well for the negro and for his descendants in America,

cosmopolitan as it is, that his race retains its distinctive

characteristics, color and features, otherwise they would not have, as

now, a history to hand down to posterity so gloriously patriotic and

interesting. His amalgamation with other races is attributable to the

relation which it bore to them, although inter-marriage was not allowed.

By the common consent of his enslavers, he was allowed to live

clandestinely with the women of his own color; sometimes from humane

considerations, sometimes from a standpoint of gain, but always as a

slave or a subject of the slave code. Reduced from his natural state of

freedom by his misfortune in tribal war, to that of a slave, and then

transported by the consent of his captors and enemies to these shores,

and sold into an unrequited bondage, the fire of his courage,--like

that of other races similarly situated, without hope of liberty; doomed

to toil,--slackened into an apathetic state, and seeming willing

servitude, which produced a resignation to fate from 1619 to 1770, more

than a century and a half. At the latter date, for the first time in the

history of what is now the United States, the negro, inspired with the

love of liberty, aimed a blow at the authority that held him in bondage.

In numerous instances, when the Indians attacked the white settlers,

particularly in the Northern colonies, negroes were summoned and took

part in the defense of the settlements.

As early as 1652, the militia law of Massachusetts required negroes,

Scotchmen and Indians,--the indentured slaves of Cromwell, who

encountered his army at the battle of Dunbar,--to train in the militia.

Nor was it an uncommon occurrence for them to be manumitted for

meritorious and courageous action in defending their masters' families,

often in the absence of the master, when attacked by the red men of the

woods. It was not infrequent to find the negro as a sentinel at the

meeting-house door; or serving as a barricade for the master's mansion.

The Indian was more of a terror to him than the boa-constrictor; though

slaves, they knew that if captured by the Indians their fate would be

the same as that of the white man; consequently they fought with a

desperation equal to that of the whites, against the common enemy. So

accustomed did they become to the use of arms, that one of the first

acts of the settlers after the Indians were driven from the forest, was

to disarm and forbid negroes keeping or handling fire-arms and weapons

of every sort. This was done from a sense of self-preservation and fear

that the negroes might (and many did) attempt to revenge themselves when

cruelly treated, or rise in mutiny and massacre the whites.

[Illustration: DEATH OF CRISPUS ATTUCKS.

While leading an attack against British troops in Boston.]

But it was not until 1770, when the fervor of rebellion had influenced

the people of the colonies, and Capt. Preston, with the King's soldiers,

appeared in King Street, Boston, to enforce the decree of the British

Parliament, that the people met the troops face to face. This lent force

to the rebellious spirit against the Mother Country, which the people of

the United Northern Colonies had felt called upon to manifest in public

meetings and by written resolutions. The soldiers were regarded as

invaders. And while the leading men of Boston were discussing and

deliberating as to what steps should be taken to drive the British

troops out of the town, Crispus Attucks, a negro runaway slave,[1] led a

crowd against the soldiers, with brave words of encouragement. The

soldiers fired upon them, killing the negro leader, Attucks, first, and

then two white men, and mortally wounding two others. A writer says:

"The presence of the British soldiers in King Street,

excited the patriotic indignation of the people. The whole

community was stirred, and sage counsellors were

deliberating and writing and talking about the public

grievances. But it was not for the 'wise and prudent' to be

first to _act_ against the encroachments of arbitrary power.

A motley rabble of saucy boys, negroes and mulattoes, Irish

Jeazues, and outlandish Jack tars, (as John Adams described

them in his plea in defence of the soldiers), could not

restrain their emotion, or stop to enquire if what they

_must_ do was according to the letter of the law. Led by

Crispus Attucks, the mulatto slave, and shouting, 'The way

to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main guard;

strike at the root; this is the nest;' with more valor than

discretion they rushed to King Street, and were fired upon

by Capt. Preston's company. Crispus Attucks was the first to

fall; he and Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were killed on

the spot. Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr were mortally

wounded. The excitement which followed was intense. The

bells of the town were rung. An impromptu town-meeting was

held, and an immense assembly was gathered. Three days

after, on the 17th, a public funeral of the martyr took

place. The shops in Boston were closed, and all the bells of

Boston and the neighboring towns were rung. It is said that

a greater number of persons assembled on this occasion, than

ever before gathered on this continent for a similar

purpose. The body of Crispus Attucks, the mulatto, had been

placed in Fanueil Hall with that of Caldwell; both being

strangers in the city. Maverick was buried from his

mother's house in Union Street, and Gray, from his

brother's, in Royal Exchange Lane. The four hearses formed a

junction in King Street, and then the procession marched in

columns six deep, with a long file of coaches belonging to

the most distinguished citizens, to the Middle Burying

Ground, where the four victims were deposited in one grave;

over which a stone was placed with the inscription:

'Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend,

Dear to your country shall your fame extend;

While to the world the lettered stone shall tell

Where Caldwell, Attucks, Gray and Maverick fell.'

"The anniversary of this event was publicly commemorated in

Boston by an oration and other exercises every year until

our National Independence was achieved, when the Fourth of

July was substituted for the Fifth of March, as the more

proper day for a general celebration. Not only was the event

commemorated, but the martyrs who then gave up their lives

were remembered and honored."

Thus the first blood for liberty shed in the colonies was that of a real

slave and a negro. As the news of the affray spread, the people became

aroused throughout the land. Soon, in every town and village, meetings

were held, and the colonists urged to resist the oppressive and

aggressive measures which the British Parliament had passed, and for the

enforcement of which troops had been stationed in Boston, and as we see,

had shot down those who dared to oppose them. In all the colonies

slavery was at this time tolerated, though the number of slaves was by

no means large in the Northern Colonies, nor had there been a general

ill treatment of them, as in after years in the Southern States. Their

war-like courage, it is true, had been slackened, but their manhood had

not been crushed.

Crispus Attucks was a fair representative of the colonial negro, as they

evinced thereafter, during the prolonged struggle which resulted in the

Independence of the United States. When the tocsin sounded "to arms, to

arms, ye who would be free," the negro responded to the call, and side

by side with the white patriots of the colonial militia, bled and died.

Mr. Bancroft in his history of the United States says:

"Nor should history forget to record, that as in the army at

Cambridge, so also in this gallant band, the free negroes of

the colony had their representatives. For the right of free

negroes to bear arms in the public defense was, at that day,

as little disputed in New England as other rights. They took

their place, not in a separate corps, but in the ranks with

the white men; and their names may be seen on the

pension-rolls of the country, side by side with those of

other soldiers of the Revolution."

It was not the free only who took up arms in defence of America's

independence; not alone those who, in preceding wars,--Indian and

French,--had gained their liberty, that swelled the ranks of the

colonial militia; but slaves, inspired by the hope of freedom, went to

the front, as Attucks had done when he cut the Gordian knot that held

the colonies to Great Britain. "From that moment we may date the

severance of the British Empire," said Daniel Webster, in his Bunker

Hill oration, referring to the massacre on the 5th of March, 1770. The

thirst for freedom was universal among the people of New England. With

them liberty was not circumscribed by condition and now, since the slave

Attucks had struck the first blow for America's independence, thereby

electrifying the colonies and putting quite a different phase upon their

grievances, the people were called upon to witness a real slave

struggling with his oppressors for his freedom. It touched the people of

the colonies as they had never been touched before, and they arrayed

themselves for true freedom.

Dr. Joseph Warren thus heralds the sentiment of the colonist, in his

oration delivered at Boston, March 5th, 1775:

"That personal freedom is the natural right of every man,

and that property, or an exclusive right to dispose of what

he has honestly acquired by his own labor, necessarily

arises therefrom, are truths which common sense has placed

beyond the reach of contradiction. And no man, or body of

men, can, without being guilty of flagrant injustice, claim

a right to dispose of the persons or acquisitions of any

other man or body of men, unless it can be proved that such

a right has arisen from some compact between the parties, in

which it has been explicitly and freely granted."

The year previous, John Hancock was the orator on the occasion of the

4th anniversary of the shedding of the first blood for the Independence

of America, and he thus presents the case to a Boston audience yet

smarting under the insult and sting given them by the British soldiery:

"But I forbear, and come reluctantly to the transactions of

that dismal night, when in such quick succession, we felt

the extremes of grief, astonishment and rage; when Heaven,

in anger, for a dreadful moment suffered Hell to take the

reins; when Satan with his chosen band opened the sluices of

New England's blood, and sacrilegiously polluted our land

with the dead bodies of her guiltless sons. Let this sad

tale of death never be told without a tear; let the heaving

bosom cause to burn with a manly indignation at the

barbarous story, through the long tracts of future time; let

every parent tell the shameful story to his listening

children 'til tears of pity glisten in their eyes, and

boiling passions shake their tender frames; and whilst the

anniversary of that ill-fated night is kept a jubilee in the

grim court of pandemonium, let all America join in one

common prayer to Heaven, that the inhuman, unprovoked

murders of the 5th of March, 1770, planned by Hillsborough

and a knot of treacherous knaves in Boston, and executed by

the cruel hand of Preston and his sanguinary coadjutors, may

ever stand in history without a parallel. But what, my

countrymen, withheld the ready arm of vengeance from

executing instant justice on the vile assassins? Perhaps you

feared promiscuous carnage might ensue, and that the

innocent might share the fate of those who had performed the

infernal deed. But were not all guilty? Were you not too

tender of the lives of those who came to fix a yoke on your

necks? But I must not too severely blame you for a fault

which great souls only can commit. May that magnificence of

spirit which scorns the low pursuit of malice; may that

generous compassion which often preserves from ruin, even a

guilty villain, forever actuate the noble bosoms of

Americans! But let not the miscreant host vainly imagine

that we feared their arms. No, those we despised; we dread

nothing but slavery. Death is the creature of a poltroon's

brains; 'tis immortality to sacrifice ourselves for the

salvation of our country. We fear not death. That gloomy

night, the pale-face moon, and the affrighted stars that

hurried through the sky, can witness that we fear not death.

Our hearts, which, at the recollection, glow with rage that

four revolving years have scarcely taught us to restrain,

can witness that we fear not death; and happy it is for

those who dared to insult us, that their naked bones are not

now piled up an ever-lasting monument of Massachusetts

bravery. But they retired; they fled, and in that flight

they found their only safety. We then expected that the hand

of public justice would soon inflict that punishment upon

the murderers, which, by the laws of God and man, they had

incurred. But let the unbiassed pen of a Robertson, or

perhaps of some equally famed American, conduct this trial

before the great tribunal of succeeding generations. And

though the murderers may escape the just resentment of an

enraged people; though drowsy justice, intoxicated by the

poisonous draft prepared for her cup, still nods upon her

rotten seat, yet be assured, such complicated crimes will

meet their due reward. Tell me, ye bloody butchers! ye

villains high and low! ye wretches who contrived, as well as

you who executed the inhuman deed! do you not feel the goads

and stings of conscious guilt pierce through your savage

bosoms? Though some of you may think yourselves exalted to a

height that bids defiance to human justice, and others

shroud yourselves beneath the mask of hypocrisy, and build

your hopes of safety on the low arts of cunning, chicanery

and falsehood; yet do you not sometimes feel the gnawings of

that worm which never dies; do not the injured shades of

Maverick, Gray, Cadwell, Attucks and Carr, attend you in

your solitary walks; arrest you in the midst of your

debaucheries and fill even your dreams with terror?"

The orators of New England poured out upon this once slave,--now hero

and martyr,--their unstinted praise. We have but to recall the

recollection of the earliest conflicts which the colonist had with the

British, in order to see the negro occupying a place in the ranks of the

patriot army. Their white fellow-citizens were only too glad to take

ground to the left, in order that they could fall in on their colors.

And they did good service whenever they fought, as the record shows.

The Committee of safety upon reviewing the situation and the army,

before the first great battle of the Revolution had been fought, adopted

the following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That it is the opinion of this committee, that

as the contest now between Great Britain and the Colonies

respects the liberties and privileges of the latter, which

the Colonies are determined to maintain, that the admission

of any persons, as soldiers, into the army now raising, but

such as are Freeman, will be inconsistent with the

principals that are supported, and reflect dishonor on this

Colony; and that no Slaves be admitted into this army upon

any consideration whatever."

The exception was well taken, and this act of the Committee, excluding

slaves from the army, placed the rebels upon the basis of patriots,

fighting for freedom. This, however, did not detract from those who had

already distinguished themselves, by their bravery at Bunker Hill a few

weeks previous, where Peter Salem, once a slave, fought side by side in

the ranks with the white soldiers. When the British Major Pitcairn

mounted the redoubt, upon that memorable occasion, shouting, "The day

is ours!" Peter Salem poured the contents of his gun into that officer's

body, killing him instantly, and checking, temporarily, the advance of

the British. Swett, in his "Sketches of Bunker Hill Battle," says:

"Major Pitcairn caused the first effusion of blood at

Lexington. In that battle, his horse was shot under him,

while he was separated from his troops. With presence of

mind he feigned himself slain; his pistols were taken from

his holsters, and he was left for dead, when he seized the

opportunity and escaped. He appeared at Bunker Hill, and,

says the historian, 'Among those who mounted the works was

the gallant Major Pitcairn, who exultingly cried out, 'The

day is ours!' when a black soldier, named Salem, shot him

through and he fell. His agonized son received him in his

arms, and tenderly bore him to the boats.' A contribution

was made in the army for the colored soldier, and he was

presented to Washington as having performed this feat."

Mr. Aaron White, of Thompson, Conn., in a letter to George Livermore,

Esq., of the Massachusetts Historical Society, writes:

"With regard to the black Hero of Bunker Hill, I never knew

him personally, nor did I ever hear from his lips the story

of his achievements; but I have better authority. About the

year 1809, I heard a soldier of the Revolution, who was

present at the Bunker Hill Battle, relate to my father the

story of the death of Major Pitcairn. He said the Major had

passed the storm of fire without, and had mounted the

redoubt, when, waving his sword, he commanded, in a loud

voice, the 'rebels' to surrender. His sudden appearance, and

his commanding air, at first startled the men immediately

before him. They neither answered nor fired; probably not

being exactly certain what was next to be done. At this

critical moment, a negro soldier stepped forward, and,

aiming his musket directly at the Major's bosom, blew him

through. My informant declared that he was so near, that he

distinctly saw the act. The story made quite an impression

on my mind. I have frequently heard my father relate the

story, and have no doubt of its truth. My father on the day

of the battle was a mere child, and witnessed the battle and

burning of Charlestown from Roxbury Hill, sitting on the

shoulders of the Rev. Mr. Jackson, who said to him as he

placed him on the ground, 'Now, boy, do you remember this!'

Consequently, after such an injunction, he would necessarily

pay particular attention to anecdotes concerning the first

and only battle he ever witnessed."

[Illustration: BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.

Peter Salem shooting the British Major Pitcairn.]

Salem was undoubtedly one of the chief heroes of that ever memorable

battle. Orator, historian, poet, all give this sable patriot credit for

having been instrumental in checking the British advance and saving the

day.

At the unveiling of the statue erected to the memory of Gen. Joseph

Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill, the orator of the occasion, Hon. Edward

Everett, said:

"It is the monument of the day of the event, of the battle

of Bunker Hill; all of the brave men who shared its

perils,--alike of Prescott and Putnam and Warren, the chiefs

of the day, and the colored man, Salem, who, is reported to

have shot the gallant Pitcairn, as he mounted the parapet.

Cold as the clods on which it rests, still as the silent

Heaven to which it soars, it is yet vocal, eloquent, in

their individual praise."

The following is a copy of a petition now in the Archive Department of

Massachusetts:

"TO THE HONORABLE GENERAL COURT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS' BAY.

"The subscribers beg leave to report to your Honorable

House, (which we do in justice to the character of so brave

a man), that under our own observation, we declare that a

negro man named Salem Poor, of Col. Frye's regiment, Capt.

Ame's company, in the late battle at Charleston, behaved

like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent

soldier. To set forth particulars of his conduct would be

tedious. We only beg leave to say, in the person of this

said negro, centers a brave and gallant soldier. The reward

due to so great and distinguished a character, we submit to

Congress.

"JONA. BREWER, Col.

THOMAS NIXON, Lt. Col.

WM. PRESCOTT, Col.

EPHM. COREY, Lieut.

JOSEPH BAKER, Lieut.

JOSHUA ROW, Lieut.

JONAS RICHARDSON, Capt

ELIPHALET BODWELL, SG'T.

THOMAS NIXON, Lt. Col.

WM. PRESCOTT, Col.

EPHM. COREY, Lieut.

JOSEPH BAKER, Lieut.

JOSHUA ROW, Lieut.

JONAS RICHARDSON, Capt.

CAMBRIDGE, Dec. 5, 1775.

"In Council Dec. 21, 1775.--Read, and sent down.

PEREZ MORTON, Dep'y Sec'y."

A biographical account of Peter Salem is given in the following

newspaper extract:

"April, 1882, the town of Framingham voted to place a

memorial stone over the grave of Peter Salem, alias Salem

Middlesex, whose last resting place in the old burial ground

at Framingham Centre has been unmarked for years. For this

purpose $150 was appropriated by the town. The committee in

charge of the matter has placed a neat granite memorial over

his grave, and it bears the following inscription: "Peter

Salem, a soldier of the revolution, Died Aug. 16, 1816.

Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga. Erected by the town, 1882."

Peter Salem was the colored man who particularly

distinguished himself in the revolutionary war by shooting

down Major Pitcairn at the battle of Bunker Hill, as he was

mounting a redoubt and shouting, "The day is ours!" this

being the time when Pitcairn fell back into the arms of his

son. Peter Salem served faithfully in the war for seven

years in the companies of minute men under the command of

Capt. John Nixon and Capt. Simon Edgell of Framingham, and

came out of it unharmed. He was a slave, and was owned,

originally, by Capt. Jeremiah Belknap of Framingham, being

sold by him to Major Lawson Buckminster of that town, he

becoming a free man when he joined the army. Salem was born

in Framingham, and, in 1783, married Katie Benson, a

Granddaughter of Nero, living for a time near what is now

the State muster field. He removed to Leicester after the

close of the war, his last abode in that town being a cabin

on the road leading from Leicester to Auburn. He was removed

to Framingham, where he had gained a settlement in 1816 and

there he died."

Salem was not the only negro at the battle of Bunker Hill. Says an

authority:

"Col. Trumbull in his celebrated historic picture of this

battle, introduces conspicuously the colored patriot. At the

time of the battle, the artist, then acting as adjutant, was

stationed with his regiment at Roxbury, and saw the action

from this point. The picture was painted in 1786 when the

event was fresh in his mind. It is a significant historical

fact, pertinent to our present research, that, among the

limited number of figures introduced on the canvas, more

than one negro soldier can be distinctly seen."

Of the others who participated in the battle we have knowledge of Salem

Poor, whose bravery won for him favorable comment.

Major Wm. Lawrence, who fought through the war for independence, from

Concord, until the peace of 1783, participating in many of the severest

battles of the war. Says a memoir:

"At Bunker Hill, where he was slightly wounded, his coat and

hat were pierced with the balls of the enemy, and were

preserved in the family for several years. At one time he

commanded a company whose rank and file were all negroes, of

whose courage, military discipline, and fidelity, he always

spoke with respect. On one occasion, being out

reconnoitering with his company, he got so far in advance of

his command, that he was surrounded, and on the point of

being made prisoner by the enemy. The men, soon discovering

his peril, rushed to his rescue, and fought with the most

determined bravery till that rescue was effectually

secured. He never forgot this circumstance, and ever took

special pains to show kindness and hospitality to any

individual of the colored race, who came near his dwelling."

The Committee of Safety having excluded slaves from the army, many were

thereafter manumitted, that they might enlist. There was no law

regulating enlistment in the army at the time which required the color

of a soldier's skin to be recorded or regarded. A prejudice existed in

the legislature that prompted that body to begin a series of special

enactments, regarding negroes, which did not exclude them altogether

from the army, but looked to their organization into exclusive

companies, batallions and regiments.

Notwithstanding the record made by the negroes who had swollen the ranks

of the American army a few weeks after the battle of Bunker Hill,

General Gates, then at Cambridge, issued the following order to the

officers, then recruiting for the service:

"You are not to enlist any deserter from the Ministerial

army, nor any stroller, negro, or vagabond, or persons

suspected of being an enemy to the liberty of America, nor

any under eighteen years of age. As the cause is the best

that can engage men of courage and principle to take up

arms, so it is expected that none but such will be accepted

by the recruiting officer. The pay, provision, &c., being so

ample, it is not doubted but that the officers sent upon

this service will, without delay, complete their respective

corps, and march the men forthwith to camp. You are not to

enlist any person that is not an American born, unless such

person has a wife and family, and is a settled resident in

this country. The persons you enlist must be provided with

good and complete arms."

This was in July, and on the 26th of the following September, Edward

Rutledge, of South Carolina, moved in the Colonial Congress that all

negroes be discharged that were in the army. As might be expected, his

proposition was strongly supported by the Southern delegates, but the

Northern delegates being so much stronger, voted it down. The negroes

were crowding so rapidly into the army, and the Northern colonists

finding their Southern comrades so strongly opposing this element of

strength, submitted the question of their enlistment to a conference

committee in October, composed of such men as Dr. Franklin, Benjamin

Harrison and Thomas Lynch, with the Deputy Governors of Connecticut and

Rhode Island. This committee met at Cambridge, with a committee of the

council of Massachusetts Bay. The object and duty of the meeting was to

consider the condition of the army, and to devise means by which it

could be improved.

General Washington was present at the meeting, and took part in the

discussions. Among others, the following subject was considered and

reported upon: "'Ought not negroes to be excluded from the new

enlistment, especially those such as are slaves?' All were thought

improper by the council of officers. '_Agreed_, That they may be

rejected altogether.'"

In the organization of the new army, were many officers and men, who had

served with negroes in the militia, and who had been re-enlisted in the

colonial army. They protested against the exclusion of their old

comrades, on account of color. So very strong were their protests that

most of the rank and file of the Northern troops regarded the matter as

of serious import to the colonies, and of danger to the wives and

families of those in the field. There was quite a large number of free

negroes in the Northern Colonies at this time, and the patriotism

displayed by those who had the opportunity of serving in the militia

during the early stages of the war, aroused a feeling which prompted a

great many masters to offer to the commander of the army the services of

their slaves, and to the slaves their freedom, if their services were

accepted. So weighty were the arguments offered, and to soften the gloom

which hung about the homes and the camps of the soldiers, Gen.

Washington wrote to the President of Congress regarding the matter, from

Cambridge, in December, 1775:

"It has been represented to me that the free negroes who

have served in this army are very much dissatisfied at being

discarded. As it is to be apprehended that they may seek

employment in the Ministerial army, I have presumed to

depart from the resolution respecting them, and have given

license for their being enlisted. If this is disapproved by

Congress, I will put a stop to it."[2]

The letter was submitted to Congress, and General Washington's action

was sustained by the passage of the following resolution: "That the free

negroes, who had served faithfully in the army at Cambridge, may be

re-enlisted therein, but no others."

The question of color first entered the army by order of Washington's

predecessor, Gen. Artemus Ward, who in his first general order required

the "complexion" of the soldier to be entered upon the roll. In October,

1775, Gen. Thomas wrote the following letter to John Adams. The general

was in every way competent to draw a true picture of the army, and had

the opportunity of observation. He says:

"I am sorry to hear that any prejudices should take place in

any Southern Colony, with respect to the troops raised in

this. I am certain that the insinuations you mention are

injurious, if we consider with what precipitation we are

obliged to collect an army. In the regiments at Roxbury, the

privates are equal to any that I served with in the last

war; very few old men, and in the ranks very few boys. Our

fifes are many of them boys. We have some negroes; but I

look on them, in general, as equally serviceable with other

men for fatigue; and in action many of them have proved

themselves brave. I would avoid all reflection, or anything

that may tend to give umbrage; but there is in this army

from the southward, a number called riflemen, who are the

most indifferent men I ever served with. These privates are

mutinous, and often deserting to the enemy; unwilling for

duty of any kind; exceedingly vicious; and I think the army

here would be as well off without them. But to do justice to

their officers, they are, some of them, likely men."

Despite all prejudice, the negro, as in all conflicts since, sought

every opportunity to show his patriotism, and his unquenchable thirst

for liberty; and no matter in what capacity he entered the service,

whether as body-servant, hostler or teamster, he always displayed the

same characteristic courage. In November of the same year the Provincial

Congress of South Carolina, by the passage of the following resolution,

gave permission to her militia officers, to use slaves in the army for

certain purposes:

"On motion, _Resolved_, That the colonels of the several

regiments of militia throughout the Colony have leave to

enroll such a number of able male slaves, to be employed as

pioneers and laborers, as public exegencies may require; and

that a daily pay of seven shillings and six-pence be allowed

for the service of each such slave while actually employed."

The foregoing resolution must not in any way be understood as

sanctioning the employment of negroes as soldiers, notwithstanding some

of the ablest men of the State advocated the enlistment of negroes in

the army; the opposition was too strong to carry the measure through

either Congress or the legislature. The feeling among the Northern

colonists may be shown by citing the views of some of their leading men,

and none perhaps was better calculated to give a clear expression of

their views, than the Rev. Dr. Hopkins, of Newport, R. I., who wrote a

"Dialogue Concerning the slavery of the Africans," published soon after

the commencement of hostilities. Here is an extract from a note to the

Dialogue:

"God is so ordering it in his providence, that it seems

absolutely necessary something should speedily be done with

respect to the slaves among us, in order to our safety, and

to prevent their turning against us in our present struggle,

in order to get their liberty. Our oppressors have planned

to gain the blacks, and induce them to take up arms against

us, by promising them liberty on this condition; and this

plan they are prosecuting to the utmost of their power, by

which means they have persuaded numbers to join them. And

should we attempt to restrain them by force and severity,

keeping a strict guard over them, and punishing them

severely who shall be detected in attempting to join our

oppressors, this will only be making bad worse, and serve to

render our inconsistence, oppression, and cruelty more

criminal, perspicuous, and shocking, and bring down the

righteous vengeance of Heaven on our heads. The only way

pointed out to prevent this threatening evil is to set the

blacks at liberty ourselves by some public acts and laws,

and then give them proper encouragement to labor, or take

arms in the defence of the American cause, as they shall

choose. This would at once be doing them some degree of

justice, and defeating our enemies in the scheme that they

are prosecuting."

Therefore it will be observed that public opinion regarding the arming

of negroes in the North and South, was controlled by sectional interest

in the one, and the love of liberty in the other. That both desired

America's Independence, no one will doubt, but that one section was

more willing than the other to sacrifice slavery for freedom, I think is

equally as plain. While the colonists were debating with much anxiety

the subject of what to do with the negroes, the New England States were

endeavoring to draw the Southern States or Colonies into the war by

electing George Washington as Commander of the army at Cambridge, and

accepting the mis-interpretations of the declarations of war. The Punic

faith with which the Southern States entered the war for liberty

humiliated the army, and wrung from its commander the letter written to

Congress, and its approval of his course in re-enlisting free negroes.

Meanwhile the British were actively engaged in recruiting and organizing

negroes into their army and navy.

In November, 1775, Lord Dunmore visited Norfolk, Virginia,[3] and, as

Governor, finding his authority as such not regarded by the whites,

issued a proclamation offering freedom to the slaves who would join the

British army. A full description of the State of affairs at that time,

is thus given by an English historian:

"In letters which had been laid before the English

Parliament, and published to the whole world, he (Lord

Dunmore) had represented the planters as ambitious, selfish

men, pursuing their own interest and advancement at the

expense of their poorer countrymen, and as being ready to

make every sacrifice of honesty and principle, and he had

said more privately, that, since they were so anxious for

liberty,--for more freedom than was consistent with the free

institutions of the Mother Country and the charter of the

Colony,--that since they were so eager to abolish a fanciful

slavery in a dependence on Great Britain, he would try how

they liked abolition of real slavery, by setting free all

their negroes and indentured servants, who were, in fact,

little better than _white_ slaves. This to the Virginians

was like passing a rasp over a gangrened place; it was

probing a wound that was incurable, or one which had not yet

been healed. Later in the year, when the battle of Bunker's

Hill had been fought, when our forts on Lake Champlain had

been taken from us, and when Montgomery and Arnold were

pressing on our possessions in Canada, Lord Dunmore carried

his threat into execution. Having established his

headquarters at Norfolk, he proclaimed freedom to all the

slaves who would repair to his standard and bear arms for

the King. The summons was readily obeyed by the most of the

negroes who had the means of escape to him. He, at the same

time, issued a proclamation, declaring martial law

throughout the colony of Virginia; and he collected a number

of armed vessels, which cut off the coasting trade, made

many prizes, and greatly distressed an important part of

that Province. If he could have opened a road to slaves in

the interior of the Province, his measures would have been

very fatal to the planters. In order to stop the alarming

desertion of the negroes, and to arrest his Lordship in his

career, the provincial Assembly detached against him a

strong force of more than a thousand men, who arrived in the

neighborhood of Norfolk in the month of December. Having

made a circuit, they came to a village called Great Bridge,

where the river Elizabeth was traversed by a bridge; but

before their arrival the bridge had been made impassable,

and some works, defended chiefly by negroes, had been thrown

up."

During the same month Edmund Pendleton wrote to Richard Henry Lee that

many slaves had flocked to the British standard:

"The Governor, * * * * marched out with three hundred and

fifty soldiers, Tories and _slaves_, to Kemp's Landing; and

after setting up his standard, and issuing his proclamation,

declaring all persons rebels who took up arms for the

country, and inviting all slaves, servants and apprentices

to come to him and receive arms, he proceeded to intercept

Hutchings and his party, upon whom he came by surprise, but

received, it seems, so warm a fire, that the ragmuffins ran

away. They were, however, rallied on discovering that two

companies of our militia gave away; and left Hutchings and

Dr. Reid with a volunteer company, who maintained their

ground bravely till they were overcome by numbers, and took

shelter in a swamp. The slaves were sent in pursuit of them;

and one of Col. Hutching's, with another, found him. On

their approach, he discharged his pistol at his slave, but

missed him; and he was taken by them, after receiving a

wound in the face with a sword. The number taken or killed

on either side is not ascertained. It is said the Governor

went to Dr. Reid's shop, and after taking the medicines and

dressing necessary for his wounded men, broke all the others

to pieces. Letters mention that slaves flock to him in

abundance: but I hope it is magnified."

Five months after he issued the proclamation, Lord Dunmore thus writes,

concerning his success:

[No. 1]

"_Lord Dunmore to the Secretary of State._

{SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN ELIZABETH RIVER, VA.,

{ 30th March, 1776.

"Your Lordship will observe by my letter, No. 34, that I

have been endeavoring to raise two regiments here--one of

white people, the other of black. The former goes on very

slowly, but the latter very well, and would have been in

great forwardness, had not a fever crept in amongst them,

which carried off a great many very fine fellows."

* * * * *

[No. 3]

{"SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOR, VA.,

{ June 26, 1776.

"I am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship, that that

fever of which I informed you in my letter No. 1 has proved

a very malignant one, and has carried off an incredible

number of our people, especially the blacks. Had it not been

for this horrid disorder, I am satisfied I should have had

no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this colony."

The dread in which the colonists held the negro was equal to that with

which they regarded the Indians. The incendiary torch, massacre,

pillage, and revolt, was ever presenting a gloomy and disastrous picture

to the colonists at the South. Their dreams at night; their thoughts by

day; in the field and in the legislature hall, were how to keep the

negro down. If one should be seen in a village with a gun, a half score

of white men would rush and take it from him, while women in the street

would take shelter in the nearest house. The wrongs which they continued

to practice upon him was a terror to them through their conscience,

though then, as in later years, many, and particularly the leaders,

endeavored to impress others with their feigned belief of the natural

inferiority of the negro to themselves. This doctrine served them, as

the whistle did the boy in the woods; they talked in that way simply to

keep their courage up, and their conscience down.

The commander of the American army regarded the action of Lord Dunmore

as a serious blow to the national cause. To take the negroes out of the

field from raising produce for the army, and place them in front of the

patriots as opposing soldiers, he saw was a danger that should be

averted. With this in view he wrote to Joseph Reed in December, saying:

"If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights

of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if

it takes the whole army to do it; otherwise, like a snowball

in rolling, his army will get size, some through fear, some

through promises, and some through inclination, joining his

standard; but that which renders the measure indispensable

is the negroes; for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them

will be tempted to join, who will be afraid to do it

without."

Notwithstanding this, the Southern States still kept the negro out of

the army. It was not until affairs became alarmingly dangerous, and a

few weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, that

the subject of arming the slaves came again before the people.

In May, 1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut postponed in one house

and rejected in the other the report of a committee "that the effective

negro and mulatto slaves be allowed to enlist with the Continental

battallions now raising in this State." But under a law passed at the

same session "white and black, bond and free, if 'able bodied,' went on

the roll together, accepted as the representatives of their 'class,' or

as substitutes for their employers." At the next session (October,

1777), the law was so amended as to authorize the selectmen of any town,

on the application of the master--after 'inquiry into the age,

abilities, circumstances, and character' of the servant or slave, and

being satisfied 'that it was likely to be consistent with his real

advantage, and that he would be able to support himself,'--to grant

liberty for his emancipation, and to discharge the master 'from any

charge or cost which may be occasioned by maintaining or supporting the

servant or slave made free as aforesaid.' Mr. J. H. Trumbull, of

Connecticut, in giving the foregoing facts, adds:

"The slave (or servant for term of years) might receive his

freedom; the master might receive exemption from draft, and

a discharge from future liabilities, to which he must

otherwise have been subjected. In point of fact, some

hundreds of blacks,--slaves and freemen,--were enlisted,

from time to time, in the regiments of State troops and of

the Connecticut line."

The British were determined, it seems, to utilize all the available

strength they could command, by enlisting negroes at the North as well

as at the South. They conceived the idea of forming regiments of them at

the North, as the letter of Gen. Greene to Gen. Washington will show:

"CAMP ON LONG ISLAND, July 21, 1776, two o'clock.

"SIR:--Colonel Hand reports seven large ships are coming up

from the Hook to the Narrows.

"A negro belonging to one Strickler, at Gravesend, was taken

prisoner (as he says) last Sunday at Coney Island. Yesterday

he made his escape, and was taken prisoner by the rifle

guard. He reports eight hundred negroes collected on Staten

Island, this day to be formed into a regiment.

I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,

N. GREENE.

"To His Excellency Gen. Washington, Headquarters, New York."

Occasionally the public would be startled by the daring and bravery of

some negro in the American army, and then the true lovers of liberty,

North and South, would again urge that negroes be admitted into the

ranks of the army. When Lt.-Col. Barton planned for the capture of the

British Maj.-Gen. Prescott, who commanded the British army at Newport R.

I., and whose capture was necessary in order to effect the release of

Gen. Lee, who was then in the hands of the British, and of the same rank

as that of Gen. Prescott, Col. Barton's plan was made a success through

the aid of Prince, a negro in Col. Barton's command. The daring of the

exploit excited the highest patriotic commendations of the Americans,

and revived the urgent appeals that had been made for a place in the

armed ranks for all men, irrespective of color. The Pennsylvania Evening

_Post_ of Aug. 7th, 1777, gives the following account of the capture:

"They landed about five miles from Newport, and three

quarters of a mile from the house, which they approached

cautiously, avoiding the main guard, which was at some

distance. _The Colonel went foremost, with a stout active

negro close behind him, and another at a small distance; the

rest followed so as to be near but not seen._

"A single sentinel at the door saw and hailed the Colonel;

he answered by exclaiming against and inquiring for, rebel

prisoners, but kept slowly advancing. The sentinel again

challenged him and required the countersign. He said he had

not the countersign; but amused the sentry by talking about

rebel prisoners, and still advancing till he came within

reach of the bayonet, which, he presenting, the colonel

struck aside, and seized him. He was immediately secured,

and ordered to be silent, on pain of instant death.

_Meanwhile, the rest of the men surrounding the house, the

negro, with his head, at the second stroke, forced a passage

into it, and then into the landlord's apartment. The

landlord at first refused to give the necessary

intelligence; but, on the prospect of present death, he

pointed to the General's chamber, which being instantly

opened by the negro's head, the Colonel, calling the General

by name, told him he was a prisoner._"

Congress voted Col. Barton a magnificent sword, but the real captor of

Gen. Prescott, so far as known, received nothing. A surgeon in the

American army, Dr. Thacher, writes, under date of Aug. 3d, 1777, at

Albany:

"The pleasing information is received here that Lieut.-Col.

Barton, of the Rhode Island Militia, planned a bold exploit

for the purpose of surprising and taking Maj.-Gen. Prescott,

the commanding officer of the Royal army at Newport. Taking

with him, in the night, about forty men, in two boats, with

oars muffled, he had the address to elude the vigilance of

the ships-of-war and guard boats; and, having arrived

undiscovered at the quarters of Gen. Prescott, they were

taken for the sentinels; and the general was not alarmed

till the captors were at the door of his lodging chamber,

which was fast closed. _A negro man, named Prince, instantly

thrust his beetle head through the panel door, and seized

his victim while in bed._ This event is extremely honorable

to the enterprising spirit of Col. Barton, and is considered

an ample retaliation for the capture of Gen. Lee by Col.

Harcourt. The event occasions great joy and exultation, as

it puts in our possession an officer of equal rank with Gen.

Lee, by which means an exchange may be obtained. Congress

resolved that an elegant sword should be presented to Col.

Barton, for his brave exploit."

To recite here every incident and circumstance illustrating the heroism

and the particular services rendered the patriotic army by negroes, who

served in regiments and companies with white soldiers, would fill this

entire volume. Yet, with the desire of doing justice to the memory of

all those negroes who aided in achieving the independence of America, I

cannot forbear introducing notices,--gathered from various sources,--of

some prominent examples.

Ebenezer Hill, a slave at Stonington, Conn., who served throughout the

war, and who took part in the battles of Saratoga and Stillwater, and

witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne.

Prince Whipple acted as bodyguard to General Whipple, one of

Washington's aids. Prince is the negro seen on horseback in the

engraving of Washington crossing the Delaware, and again pulling the

stroke oar in the boat which Washington crossed in.

At the storming of Fort Griswold, Maj. Montgomery was lifted upon the

walls of the fort by his soldiers, and called upon the Americans to

surrender. John Freeman, a negro soldier, with his pike, pinned him dead

to the earth. Among the American soldiers who were massacred by the

British soldiers, after the surrender of the fort, were two negro

soldiers, Lambo Latham and Jordan Freeman.

Quack Matrick, a negro, fought through the Revolutionary war, as a

soldier, for which he was pensioned. Also Jonathan Overtin, who was at

the battle of Yorktown. The grandfather of the historian Wm. Wells

Brown, Simon Lee, was also a soldier "in the times which tried men's

souls."

"Samuel Charlton was born in the State of New Jersey, a

slave, in the family of Mr. M., who owned, also, other

members belonging to his family--all residing in the English

neighborhood. During the progress of the war, he was placed

by his master (as a substitute for himself) in the army then

in New Jersey, as a teamster in the baggage train. He was in

active service at the battle of Monmouth, not only

witnessing, but taking a part in, the great struggle of that

day. He was also in several other engagements in different

sections of that part of the State. He was a great admirer

of General Washington, and was, at one time, attached to his

baggage train, and received the General's commendation for

his courage and devotion to the cause of liberty. Mr.

Charlton was about fifteen or seventeen years of age when

placed in the army, for which his master rewarded him with a

silver dollar. At the expiration of his time, he returned to

his master, to serve again in bondage, after having toiled,

fought and bled for liberty, in common with the regular

soldiery. Mr. M., at his death, by will, liberated his

slaves, and provided a pension for Charlton, to be paid

during his lifetime.

* * * *

"James Easton, of Bridgewater, a colored man, participated

in the erection of the fortifications on Dorchester Heights,

under command of Washington, which the next morning so

greatly surprised the British soldiers then encamped in

Boston."

"Among the brave blacks who fought in the battles for

American liberty was Major Jeffrey, a Tennesseean, who,

during the campaign of Major-General Andrew Jackson in

Mobile, filled the place of "regular" among the soldiers. In

the charge made by General Stump against the enemy, the

Americans were repulsed and thrown into disorder,--Major

Stump being forced to retire, in a manner by no means

desirable, under the circumstances. Major Jeffrey, who was

but a common soldier, seeing the condition of his comrades,

and comprehending the disastrous results about to befall

them, rushed forward, mounted a horse, took command of the

troops, and, by an heroic effort, rallied them to the

charge,--completely routing the enemy, who left the

Americans masters of the field. He at once received from the

General the title of "Major," though he could not, according

to the American policy, so commission him. To the day of his

death, he was known by that title in Nashville, where he

resided, and the circumstances which entitled him to it were

constantly the subject of popular conversation.

"Major Jeffrey was highly respected by the whites generally,

and revered, in his own neighborhood, by all the colored

people who knew him.

"A few years ago receiving an indignity from a common

ruffian, he was forced to strike him in self-defense; for

which act, in accordance with the laws of slavery in that,

as well as many other of the slave States, he was compelled

to receive, on his naked person, _nine and thirty lashes

with a raw hide!_ This, at the age of seventy odd, after the

distinguished services rendered his country,--probably when

the white ruffian for whom he was tortured was unable to

raise an arm in its defense,--was more than he could bear;

_it broke his heart_, and he sank to rise no more, till

summoned by the blast of the last trumpet to stand on the

battle-field of the general resurrection."

Jeffrey was not an exception to this kind of treatment. Samuel Lee died

on a tobacco plantation after the war.

The re-enslaving of the negroes who fought for American Independence

became so general at the South, that the Legislature of Virginia in

1783, in compliance with her honor, passed an act directing the

emancipation of certain slaves, who had served as soldiers of the State,

and for the emancipation of the slave Aberdeen.

James Armistead during the war acted as a scout and spy for LaFayette

during his campaign in Virginia, and at one time gave information of an

intended surprise to be made upon the forces of the Marquis, thereby

saving probably a rout of the army. Armistead, after the surrender of

Cornwallis at Yorktown, was returned to his master three years after the

close of the war. He was manumitted by especial act of the Virginia

Legislature, whose attention was called to the worthiness of the service

rendered by Armistead.

The opposition to the employment of negroes as soldiers, by the

persistency of its advocates and the bravery of those who were then

serving in white regiments, was finally overcome, so that their

enlistment became general and regulated by law. Companies, battalions

and regiments of negro troops soon entered the field and the struggle

for independence and liberty, giving to the cause the reality of

freedmen's fight. For three years the army had been fighting under the

smart of defeats, with an occasional signal victory, but now the tide

was about to be turned against the English. The colonists had witnessed

the heroism of the negro in Virginia at Great Bridge, and at Norfolk; in

Massachusetts at Boston and Bunker Hill, fighting, in the former, for

freedom under the British flag, in the latter for liberty, under the

banner of the colonies. The echoing shouts of the whites fell heavily

upon the ears of the black people; they caught the strain as by martial

instinct, and reverberated the appeal, "_Liberty and Independence_."

The negro's ancestors were not slaves, so upon the altar of their hearts

the fire of liberty was re-kindled by the utterances of the white

colonists. They heard Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams, whose eloquence

vehemently aroused their compatriots, and, like them, they too resolved

to be free. They held no regular organized meetings; at the North they

assembled with their white fellow-citizens; at the South each balmy gale

that swept along the banks of the rivers were laden with the negro's

ejaculations for freedom, and each breast was resolute and determined.

The advocates and friends of the measure for arming all men for freedom,

were on the alert, and now the condition of the army was such as to

enable them to press the necessity of the measure upon the attention of

the American people. Washington needed reinforcements; nay, more, the

perilous situation of the army as it lay in camp at Valley Forge, at the

conclusion of the campaign of 1777, was indeed distressing. The

encampment consisted of huts, and there was danger of a famine. The

soldiers were nearly destitute of comfortable clothing. "Many," says the

historian, "for want of shoes, walked barefoot on the frozen ground;

few, if any, had blankets for the night. Great numbers sickened; near

three thousand at a time were incapable of bearing arms."

Within fifteen miles of them lay the city of Philadelphia and the

British army. These gloomy circumstances overshadowed the recent victory

at Bennington, and the surrender of Burgoyne. Under these circumstances,

the difficulty of recruiting the patriot army may be easily imagined. A

general enlistment bill had failed to pass the legislature in the

spring, because, perhaps, the spirit of the patriots were up at the

time; but now they were down, and the advocates of arming negroes sought

the opportunity of carrying their plan. It was not attempted in

Connecticut, but in the General Assembly of Rhode Island an act was

passed for the purpose. Here are some of the principal provisions of

this act:

"_It is Voted and Resolved_, That every able-bodied negro,

mulatto, or Indian man slave in this State, may enlist into

either of the said two battalions to serve during the

continuance of the present war with Great Britain; that

every slave so enlisted shall be entitled to receive all the

bounties, wages, encouragements allowed by the Continental

Congress to any soldier enlisted into their service.

"_It is further Voted and Resolved_, That every slave so

enlisting shall, upon his passing muster before Col.

Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the

service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely free,

as though he had never been encumbered with any kind of

servitude or slavery. And in case such slave shall, by

sickness or otherwise, be unable to maintain himself, he

shall not be chargable to his master or mistress, but shall

be supported at the expense of the State.

"And whereas slaves have been by the laws deemed the

property of their owners; and therefore compensation ought

to be made to the owners for the loss of their service,--

"_It is further Voted and Resolved_, That there be allowed,

and paid by this State to the owners, for every such slave

so enlisting, a sum according to his worth at a price not

exceeding one hundred and twenty pounds for the most

valuable slave, and in proportion for a slave of less value;

_Provided_ the owner of said slave shall deliver up to the

officer who shall enlist him the clothes of said slave; or

otherwise he shall not be entitled to said sum."

[Illustration: ON PICKET]

To speak of the gallantry of the negro soldiers recalls the recollection

of some of their daring deeds at Red Bank, where four hundred men met

and repulsed, after a terrible, sanguinary struggle, fifteen hundred

Hessian troops led by Count Donop.

"The glory of the defence of Red Bank, which has been

pronounced one of the most heroic actions of the war,

belongs in reality to black men; yet who now hears them

spoken of in connection with it? Among the traits which

distinguished the black regiment was devotion to their

officers. In the attack made upon the American lines, near

Croton river, on the 13th of May, 1781, Col. Greene, the

commander of the regiment, was cut down and mortally

wounded; but the sabres of the enemy only reached him

through the bodies of his faithful blacks, who gathered

around him to protect him, _and every one of whom was

killed_."

Now the negro began to take the field; not scattered here and there

throughout the army, filling up the shattered ranks of white regiments,

but in organizations composed entirely of men of their own race,

officered, however, by white officers, men of high social and military

character and standing. The success of the measure in Rhode Island,

emboldened the effort in Massachusetts, where the advocates of separate

negro organizations had been laboring zealously for its accomplishment.

Officers of the army in the field, expressed their desire to be placed

in command of negro troops, in separate and distinct organizations.

Every effort, however, up to this time to induce Massachusetts to

consent to the proposition had failed. Rhode Island alone sent her negro

regiments to the field, whose gallantry during the war more than met the

most sanguine expectations of their warmest friends, and fully merited

the trust and confidence of the State and country. As the struggle

proceeded, re-enforcements were more frequently in demand; but recruits

were scarce, and the question of arming negroes became again prominent

in the colonies and the army.

In April, 1778, Thomas Kench, then serving in an artillery regiment,

addressed letters to the Massachusetts Legislature urging the enlistment

of negroes. He wrote:

"A re-enforcement can quickly be raised of two or three

hundred men. Will your honors grant the liberty, and give me

the command of the party? And what I refer to is negroes.

We have divers of them in our service, mixed with white men.

But I think it would be more proper to raise a body by

themselves, than to have them intermixed with the white men;

and their ambition would entirely be to outdo the white men

in every measure that the fortunes of war calls a soldier to

endure. And I could rely with dependence upon them in the

field of battle or to any post that I was sent to defend

with them; and they would think themselves happy could they

gain their freedom by bearing a part of subduing the enemy

that is invading our land, and clear a peaceful inheritance

for their masters, and posterity yet to come, that they are

now slaves to."

The letter from which this extract was made was duly referred to a joint

committee "to consider the same and report." Some days later "a

resolution of the General Assembly of Rhode Island for enlisting negroes

in the public service" was referred to the same committee. They duly

reported the draft of a law, differing little from the Rhode Island

Resolution. A separate organization of negro companies, by Kench, does

not appear to have been deemed advisable at that time. The usage was

continued of "taking," in the words of Kench, "negroes in our service,

intermixed with the white men."

The negroes of Boston and their abolition friends, rather insisted upon

the intermingling of the races in the army, believing that this course

had a greater tendency to destroy slavery, and the inequality of rights

among the blacks and whites; though it deprived the negroes, as we now

see, of receiving due credit for their valor, save in a few individual

cases. It was not in Massachusetts alone, but in many other States that

the same idea prevailed; and now the facts connected with the services

of the negroes are to be gathered only in fragments, from the histories

of villages and towns, or among the archives of the State, in a

disconnected and unsatisfactory form.

The legislature of New York, two months after the murder of Col. Greene

and his faithful negro troops at Point's Bridge, in that State, by the

British, passed an act (March, 1781) looking to the raising of two

regiments. The sixth section of the act reads as follows:

"And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that

any person who shall deliver one or more of his able-bodied

male slaves to any warrant officer, as aforesaid, to serve

in either of the above regiments or independent corps, and

produce a certificate thereof, signed by any person

authorized to muster and receive the men to be raised by

virtue of this act, and produce such certificate to the

Surveyor-General, shall, for every male slave so entered and

mustered as aforesaid, be entitled to the location and grant

of one right, in manner as in and by this act is directed;

and shall be, and hereby is discharged from any further

maintenance of such slave, any law to the contrary

notwithstanding. And such slave so entering as aforesaid,

who shall serve for the term of three years or until

regularly discharged, shall, immediately after such service

or discharge, be, and is hereby declared to be, a free man

of this State."

In 1821, in the convention which revised the constitution of New York,

Mr. Clark, speaking in favor of allowing negroes to vote, said in the

course of his remarks:

"My honorable colleague has told us, that, as the colored

people are not required to contribute to the protection or

defence of the State, they are not entitled to an equal

participation in the privileges of its citizens. But, Sir,

whose fault is this? Have they ever refused to do military

duty when called upon? It is haughtily asked, Who will stand

in the ranks shoulder to shoulder with a negro? I answer, No

one, in time of peace; no one, when your musters and

trainings are looked upon as mere pastimes; no one, when

your militia will shoulder their muskets and march to their

trainings with as much unconcern as they would go to a

sumptuous entertainment or a splendid ball. But, Sir, when

the hour of danger approaches, your white 'militia' are just

as willing that the man of color should be set up as a mark

to be shot at by the enemy, as to be set up themselves. In

the War of the Revolution, these people helped to fight your

battles by land and by sea. Some of your States were glad to

turn out corps of colored men, and to stand 'shoulder to

shoulder' with them.

"In your late war, they contributed largely towards some of

your most splendid victories. On Lakes Erie and Champlain,

where your fleets triumphed over a foe superior in numbers

and engines of death, they were manned, in a large

proportion, with men of color. And, in this very house, in

the fall of 1814, a bill passed, receiving the approbation

of all the branches of your government, authorizing the

Governor to accept the services of a corps of two thousand

free people of color. Sir, these were times which tried

men's souls. In these times it was no sporting matter to

bear arms. These were times, when a man who shouldered his

musket did not know but he bared his bosom to receive a

death wound from the enemy ere he laid it aside; and in

these times, these people were found as ready and as willing

to volunteer in your service as any other. They were not

compelled to go; they were not drafted. No, your pride had

placed them beyond your compulsory power. But there was no

necessity for its exercise; they were volunteers; yes, Sir,

volunteers to defend that very country from the inroads and

ravages of a ruthless and vindictive foe, which had treated

them with insult, degradation and slavery.

"Volunteers are the best of soldiers. Give me the men,

whatever be their complexion, that willingly volunteer, and

not those who are compelled to turn out. Such men do not

fight from necessity, nor from mercenary motives, but from

principle."

Hon. Mr. Martindale, who represented a District of the State of New

York, in Congress in 1828, thus speaks of the negro soldiers:

"Slaves, or negroes who have been slaves, were enlisted as

soldiers in the War of the Revolution; and I myself saw a

battalion of them, as fine martial-looking men as I ever

saw, attached to the Northern army."

Up to this time the East had been the theatre of the war, with now and

then a battle in some one of the Middle Colonies, but the British

discovering that the people of the South acted indifferently in

maintaining and recruiting the army, transferred their operations to

that section. Maryland then stood as a middle State or Colony. Her

statesmen, seeing the threatened danger of the invasion of Pennsylvania,

endeavored to prepare to meet it, and taking council from her sister

States at the East, accepted the negro as a soldier. In June, 1781, John

Cadwater, writing from Annapolis, Md., to Gen. Washington, says:

"We have resolved to raise, immediately, seven hundred and

fifty negroes, to be incorporated with the other troops; and

a bill is now almost completed."

It does not appear that the negroes were formed into separate

organizations in this State, but filled the depleted ranks of the

Continental regiments, where their energy and daring was not less than

that displayed by their white comrades, with whom they fought, shoulder

to shoulder. The advocates of arming the negroes were not confined to

the Eastern and Middle sections; some of the best men of the South

favored and advocated the enlistment of free negroes, and made many,

though for a long time unsuccessful, efforts to obtain legal sanction

for such enlistment throughout the South. But their advice was not

listened to, even in the face of certain invasion, and then the whites

would not, and could not be induced to rally to the defence of their own

particular section and homes.

For fear that I may be accused of too highly coloring the picture of the

Southern laxity of fervor and patriotism, I quote from the valuable

essay which accompanies the history of the American Loyalists:

"The whole number of regulars enlisted for the Continental

service, from the beginning to the close of the struggle,

was 231,959. Of these, I have once remarked, 67,907 were

from Massachusetts; and I may now add, that every State

south of Pennsylvania provided but 59,493, or 8,414 _less_

than this single State."

The men of Massachusetts did not more firmly adhere to their policy of

mixed troops as against separate organizations, based upon color, than

did the men of the South to their peculiar institution, and against the

arming of negroes, free or slave. The war having fairly set in upon

Southern soil, and so urgent the necessity for recruiting the army, that

Congress again took up the subject of enrolling negroes as soldiers. It

was decided that the general Government had no control over the States

in the matter, but a series of resolutions were adopted recommending to

the States of Georgia and South Carolina, the arming of three thousand

able-bodied negroes.

Now began an earnest battle for the carrying out of the policy, as

recommended by Congress. Its friends were among the bravest and truest

to the cause of freedom in the States. Hon. Henry Laurens lead in the

effort. Even before the matter was brought to the attention of Congress,

he wrote to Gen. Washington, as follows:

"Our affairs in the Southern department are more favorable

than we had considered them a few days ago; nevertheless,

the country is greatly distressed, and will be so unless

further re-inforcements are sent to its relief. Had we arms

for three thousand such black men as I could select in

Carolina, I should have no doubt of success in driving the

British out of Georgia, and subduing East Florida before the

end of July."

Washington knew the temper of the Southerners. He was well aware that

slaves could not be entrusted with arms within sight of the enemy's

camp, and within hearing of his proclamation of freedom to all who would

join his Majesty's standard, unless equal inducements were offered them

by the colonists, and to this he knew the Southern colonist would not

consent. In his reply to Mr. Laurens, he said:

"The policy of our arming slaves, is, in my opinion a moot

point, unless the enemy set the example. For, should we

begin to form battallions of them, I have not the smallest

doubt, if the war is to be prosecuted, of their following us

in it, and justifying the measure upon our own ground. The

contest then must be, who can arm fastest. And where are our

arms? Besides, I am not clear that a discrimination will not

render slavery more irksome to those who remain in it. Most

of the good and evil things in this life are judged of by

comparison; and I fear a comparison in this case will be

productive of much discontent in those who are held in

servitude. But, as this is a subject that has never employed

much of my thoughts, these are no more than the first crude

ideas that have struck me upon the occasion."

Washington certainly had no doubts as to the value of the negro as a

soldier, but for the reasons stated, did not give the weight of his

influence, at this important juncture, to the policy of their

enlistment, while so many of the leading men of the colonies were

favorable to the action.

Among those who advocated the raising of negro troops was Col. John

Laurens, a native of South Carolina and a brave patriot, who had acted

as aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, and had seen service in Rhode

Island and elsewhere. He was the son of Hon. Henry Laurens, at one time

President of Congress, and was noted for his high qualities of

character. A commission of lieutenant-colonel was granted to him by

Congress, and he proceeded to South Carolina to use his personal

influence to induce the Legislature to authorize the enlistment of

negroes. His services in Rhode Island had given him an opportunity to

witness the conduct and worth of the negro soldier.

Alexander Hamilton in the course of a long letter to John Jay, relating

to the mission of Col. Laurens to South Carolina, says:

"I foresee that this project will have to combat much

opposition from prejudice and self-interest. The contempt we

have been taught to entertain for the blacks makes us fancy

many things that are founded neither in reason nor

experience; and an unwillingness to part company with

property of so valuable a kind will furnish a thousand

arguments to show the impracticability or pernicious

tendency of a scheme which requires such a sacrifice. But it

should be considered, that, if we do not make use of them in

this way, the enemy probably will; and that the best way to

counteract the temptations they will hold out will be to

offer them ourselves. An essential part of the plan is to

give them their freedom with their muskets. This will secure

their fidelity, animate their courage, and, I believe, will

have a good influence upon those who remain, by opening a

door to their emancipation. This circumstance, I confess has

no small weight in inducing me to wish the success of the

project; for the dictates of humanity and true policy,

equally interest me in favor of this unfortunate class of

men."

The patriotic zeal of Col. Laurens for the accomplishment of his design

was earnest and conscientious. He wrote to his friend Hamilton in these

words:

"Ternant will relate to you how many violent struggles I

have had between duty and inclination--how much my heart was

with you, while I appeared to be most actively employed

here. But it appears to me, that I should be inexcusable in

the light of a citizen, if I did not continue my utmost

efforts for carrying the plan of the black levies into

execution, while there remains the smallest hope of

success."

The condition of the colonies and the Continental army at that time was

critical in the extreme. The campaign of 1779 had closed gloomily for

the Americans. The British had not only been active in raiding in

Virginia and destroying property, but in organizing negro troops. Lord

Dunmore, as we have seen, as early as November, 1775, had issued a

proclamation, inviting the negroes to join the Royal forces, to which a

great many slaves responded, and were organized into companies. A

regiment had been organized by the British on Long Island in 1776, and

now, Sir Henry Clinton invited them by the following proclamation:

"By his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton, K. B., General and

Commander-in-Chief of all his Majesty's Forces, within the

Colonies lying on the Atlantic Ocean, from Nova Scotia to

West Florida, inclusive, &c., &c.

PROCLAMATION.

"Whereas the enemy have adopted a practice of enrolling

_Negroes_ among their _Troops_, I do hereby give notice

_That_ all Negroes taken in arms, or upon any military

_Duty_, shall be purchased for _the public service_ at a

stated _Price_; the money to be paid to the _Captors_.

"But I do most strictly forbid any _Person_ to sell or claim

_Right_ over any Negro, the property of a Rebel, who may

take refuge in any part of this _Army_: And I do promise to

every negro who shall desert the _Rebel Standard_, full

security to follow within these _Lines_, any Occupation

which he shall think proper.

"Given under my Hand at Head-Quarters, Philipsburg, the 30th day

of June, 1779. H. CLINTON.

"By his Excellency's command, John Smith, Secretary."

It is highly probable that many negroes made their way to the British

camp. Col. Laurens wrote to General Washington, under date of February,

1780, six months after the issuing of Sir Henry Clinton's proclamation,

as follows:

"Private accounts say that General Provost is left to

command at Savannah; that his troops consist of Hessians and

Loyalists that were there before, _re-inforced by a corps of

blacks and a detachment of savages_. It is generally

reported that Sir. Henry Clinton commands the present

expedition."

Clinton left New York in the latter part of 1779, for the reduction of

Charleston, which he completed in May, three months after the date of

Col. Laurens' letter. Gen. Lincoln, who commanded the American forces at

Charleston, joined in the effort to arm the negroes. In a letter to Gov.

Rutledge, dated Charleston, March 13th, 1780, he says:

"Give me leave to add once more, that I think the measure of

raising a black corps a necessary one; that I have great

reason to believe, if permission is given for it, that many

men would soon be obtained. I have repeatedly urged this

matter, not only because Congress has recommended it, and

because it thereby becomes my duty to attempt to have it

executed, but because my own mind suggests the utility and

importance of the measure, as the safety of the town makes

it necessary."

The project of raising negro troops gained some friends in all sections,

and Statesmen, both South and North, as they talked about it, became

more free to express their approbation of the measure. They had

witnessed the militia from Virginia and North Carolina, at the battle of

Camden, throw down their arms before the enemy;[4] they had seen black

and white troops under command of Gen. Provost occupy Savannah; the

surrender of Charlestown had become necessary; and these evils were all

brought about by the apathy of the white inhabitants.

Among those who spoke out in favor of Col. Laurens' and Gen. Lincoln's

plan, was Hon. James Madison, who, on the 20th of November, 1780, wrote

to Joseph Jones:

"I am glad to find the Legislature persisting in their

resolution to recruit their line of the army for the war;

though, without deciding on the expediency of the mode under

their consideration, would it not be as well to liberate and

make soldiers at once of the blacks themselves, as to make

them instruments for enlisting white soldiers? It would

certainly be more consonant with the principles of liberty:

and, with white officers and a majority of white soldiers,

no imaginable danger could be feared from themselves; as

there certainly could be none from the effect of the example

on those who should remain in bondage; experience having

shown that a freedman immediately loses all attachment and

sympathy with his former fellow slaves."

No circumstances under which the South was placed, could induce either

their legislators or the people to adopt the recommendations of Congress

or the advice of the patriots and statesmen of their section. The

opposition to the arming of the negroes was much stronger than the love

for independence. The British, however, adopted the plan, and left no

stone unturned to augment the strength of their army. Thousands of

negroes flocked to the Royal standard at every opportunity, just as in

the war of the Rebellion in 1861-'65, they sought freedom under the

national banner.

It has ever been the rule among American historians to omit giving

credit to those negroes who sought to gain their freedom by joining the

British. They have generally also failed to acknowledge the valor of

those who swelled the ranks of the Continental army. Enough, however,

can be gathered, mostly from private correspondence, to show that the

hope of success for the Americans rested either in the docility of the

negroes at the South, or in their loyalty to the cause of Independence.

At all events, upon the action of the blacks more than upon the bravery

and valor of the American troops, depended the future status of the

Colonies; hence the solicitude of officers and of the leading citizens;

and it was not the love of universal freedom, which prompted their

efforts for arming negroes; not at all, but their keen appreciation of

the value of a neutral power, which could be utilized for the benefit of

America's Independence. Nor do I attribute other than the same motive to

the British, who did arm and did free a great many of the negroes, who

joined their service, especially at the South, where they must have

organized quite a large force,--not less than 5,000. Early in 1781,

(Feb'y) Gen. Greene, then in command in North Carolina, writing to

General Washington about the doings of the enemy in South Carolina,

where he formally commanded, says:

"The enemy have ordered two regiments of negroes to be

immediately embodied, and are drafting a great portion of

the young men of that State [South Carolina], to serve

during the war."

A few days after writing this letter, Gen. Greene met the British at

Guilford Court House, and again witnessed the cowardice of the Southern

militia,[5] whose conduct gave victory to the British, under Cornwallis.

The persistency of Col. Laurens in his effort to organize negro troops,

was still noteworthy. Having returned from France, whither he went on

important business, connected with the welfare of the States, he resumed

his "favorite pursuit." Under date of May, 19, 1782, in a letter

addressed to Washington, he says:

"The plan which brought me to this country was urged with

all the zeal which the subject inspired, both in our Privy

Council and Assembly; but the single voice of reason was

drowned by the howling of a triple-headed monster, in which

prejudice, avarice, and pusillanimity were united. It was

some degree of consolation to me, however, to perceive that

the truth and philosophy had gained some ground; the

suffrages in favor of the measure being twice as numerous as

on a former occasion. Some hopes have been lately given me

from Georgia; but I fear, when the question is put, we

shall be out-voted there with as much disparity as we have

been in this country.

* * * *

"I earnestly desire to be where any active plans are likely

to be executed, and to be near your Excellency on all

occasions in which my services can be acceptable. The

pursuit of an object which, I confess, is a favorite one

with me, because I always regarded the interests of this

country and those of the Union as intimately connected with

it, has detached me more than once from your family, but

those sentiments of veneration and attachments with which

your Excellency has inspired me, keep me always near you,

with the sincerest and most zealous wishes for a continuance

of your happiness and glory."

Here ended the project of arming negroes in South Carolina, and before

an earnest effort could be made in Georgia, the brave man laid his life

upon the altar of American liberty.

But to show the state of public opinion at the South, as understood by

the Commander-in-Chief of the American army, we have but to read

Washington's reply to Col. Laurens' last letter, in which he speaks of

"making a last effort" in Georgia. Gen. Washington uses this emphatic

language:

"I must confess that I am not at all astonished at the

failure of your plan. That spirit of freedom, which, at the

commencement of this contest, would have gladly sacrificed

everything to the attainment of its object, has long since

subsided, and every selfish passion has taken its place. It

is not the public but private interest which influences the

generality of mankind; nor can the Americans any longer

boast an exception. Under the circumstances, it would rather

have been surprising if you had succeeded; nor will you, I

fear, have better success in Georgia."

This letter settles forever any boast of the Southerners, that to them

is due the credit of gaining the independence of the United States. It

is true Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown, Va., was the last of the

series of battles fought for independence.[6] But we must remember that

the French were at Yorktown. It cannot be doubted but that from

Charleston to Yorktown the Americans met negro troops more than once

fighting under the Royal flag; while at the east, in every important

engagement between the two enemies,--British and American,--the negro

was found fighting with the Americans. This division of the negroes can

easily be accounted for, since at the North and East the object of the

war was acknowledged to be set forth in the Declaration of Independence;

at the South only so much of the Declaration was accepted as demanded

Independence from Great Britain. Therefore, though in separate and

opposing armies, the object of the negro was the same--liberty. It is to

be regretted that the historians of the Revolutionary period did not

more particularly chronicle the part taken by negroes at the South,

though enough is known to put their employment beyond doubt.

Johnson, the author of the life of Gen. Greene, speaking of Greene's

recommendation to the Legislature of South Carolina to enroll negroes,

says:

"There is a sovereign, who, at this time, draws his soldiery

from the same class of people; and finds a facility in

forming and disciplining an army, which no other power

enjoys. Nor does his immense military force, formed from

that class of his subjects, excite the least apprehension;

for the soldier's will is subdued to that of his officer,

and his improved condition takes away the habit of

identifying himself with the class from which he has been

separated. Military men know what mere machines men become

under discipline, and believe that any men, who may be

obedient, may be made soldiers; and that increasing their

numbers increases the means of their own subjection and

government."

Cornwallis doubtless had gathered within his lines a large number of

negroes, to whose energy and labor, the erection of his breastworks were

mainly due. Lafayette feeling satisfied that the position of his army

before Yorktown would confine the British, and make the escape of

Cornwallis impossible without battle, wrote to Gen. Washington in

September:

"I hope you will find we have taken the best precautions to

lessen his Lordship's escape. I hardly believe he will make

the attempt. If he does, he must give up ships, artillery,

baggage, part of his horses, and all the negroes."

All this time in some of the Northern States an opposition as strong as

at the South had existed against organizing negro troops, and in some

instances even against employing them as soldiers. The effort for

separate organizations had been going on, but with only the little

success that has been already noticed. In a biographical sketch of Col.

David Humphreys, in the "National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished

Americans," is the following:

"In November, 1782, he was, by resolution of Congress,

commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel, with order that his

commission should bear date from the 23rd of June, 1780,

when he received his appointment as aid-de-camp to the

Commander-in-Chief. He had, when in active service, given

the sanction of his name and influence in the establishment

of a company of colored infantry, attached to Meigs',

afterwards Butler's, regiment, in the Connecticut line. He

continued to be the nominal captain of that company until

the establishment of peace."

Though the Legislature of Connecticut had taken up the subject of arming

negroes generally, as early as 1777, and a bill, as we have seen, was

presented to that Legislature, for their enrollment, the advocates of

the measure, in every attempt to pass it, had been beaten. Nevertheless,

as appears by the record given above, Col. Humphrey took charge and

organized a company, with which he served until the close of the war.

But this company of fifty odd men were not all that did service in the

army from Connecticut, for in many of her white regiments, negroes, bond

and free, stood in the ranks with the whites. And, notwithstanding the

unsuccessful attempts of Col. Laurens and the advocates of negro

soldiery at the South, the negro was an attache of the Southern army,

and rendered efficient aid during the struggle, in building breastworks,

driving teams and piloting the army through dense woods, swamps, and

across rivers. Not a few were spies and drummers. To select or point out

a particular battle or siege, in which they rendered active service to

the British, would not be a difficult task, though the information at

hand is too limited for a detailed account of the part which they bore

in these struggles. The true patriots of the Revolution were not slow in

according to their black compatriots that meed of praise which was their

due. In almost every locality, either North or South, after the war,

there lived one or two privileged negroes, who, on great

occasions,--days of muster, 4th of July, Washington's birthday, and the

like,--were treated with more than ordinary courtesy by the other

people. That a great and dastardly wrong was committed upon many, in

like manner in which Simon Lee[7] was treated, is true. Many negroes at

the South, who fought for American independence were re-enslaved, and

this is so far beyond a doubt that no one denies it. The re-enslaving of

these soldiers,--not by those who took part in the conflict, but the

_stay-at-home's_,--was so flagrant an outrage that the Legislature of

Virginia, in 1783, in order to give freedom to those who had been

re-enslaved, and to rebuke the injustice of the treatment, passed the

following act:

_An Act directing the Emancipation of certain Slaves who had

served as Soldiers in this State, and for the Emancipation

of the Slave, Aberdeen._

"I. Whereas, it hath been represented to the present General

Assembly, that, during the course of the war, many persons

in this State had caused their slaves to enlist in certain

regiments or corps, raised within the same, having tendered

such slaves to the officers appointed to recruit forces

within the State, as substitutes for free persons whose lot

or duty it was to serve in such regiments or corps, at the

same time representing to such recruiting officers that the

slaves, so enlisted by their direction and concurrence, were

freemen; and it appearing further to this Assembly, that on

the expiration of the term of enlistment of such slaves,

that the former owners have attempted again to force them to

return to a state of servitude, contrary to the principles

of justice, and to their own solemn promise;

"II. And whereas it appears just and reasonable that all

persons enlisted as aforesaid, who have faithfully served

agreeable to the terms of their enlistment, and have hereby

of course contributed towards the establishment of American

liberty and independence, should enjoy the blessings of

freedom as a reward for their toils and labors.

"_Be it therefore enacted_, That each and every slave, who,

by the appointment and direction of his owner, hath enlisted

in any regiment or corps raised within this State, either on

Continental or State establishment, and hath been received

as a substitute for any free person whose duty or lot it was

to serve in such regiment or corps, and hath served

faithfully during the term of such enlistment, or hath been

discharged from such service by some officer duly authorized

to grant such discharge, shall, from and after the passing

of this act, be fully and completely emancipated, and shall

be held and deemed free, in as full and ample a manner as if

each and every one of them were specially named in this act;

and the Attorney-general for the Commonwealth is hereby

required to bring an action, _in forma pauperis_, in behalf

of any of the persons above described who shall, after the

passage of this act, be detained in servitude by any person

whatsoever; and if, upon such prosecution, it shall appear

that the pauper is entitled to his freedom in consequence of

this act, a jury shall be empaneled to assess the damages

for his detention.

"III. And whereas it has been represented to this General

Assembly, that Aberdeen, a negro man slave, hath labored a

number of years in the public service at the lead mines, and

for his meritorious services is entitled to freedom;

"_Be it therefore enacted_, That the said slave Aberdeen,

shall be, and he is hereby, emancipated and declared free in

as full and ample a manner as if he had been born free."

In 1786 an act was passed to emancipate a negro slave who had acted as a

spy for Lafayette. This practice was not perhaps wholly confined to the

South. Although Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1783, her territory

was, it seems, still subject to slave hunts, and her negro soldiers to

the insult of an attempt to re-enslave them. But Gen. Washington, though

himself a slave-holder, regarded the rights of those who fought for

liberty and national independence, with too much sacredness and the

honor of the country with too much esteem, to permit them to be set

aside, merely to accommodate those who had rendered the nation's cause

no help or assistance. Gen. Putnam received the following letter, which

needs no explanation:

"HEADQUARTERS, Feb. 2, 1783.

"SIR:--Mr. Hobby having claimed as his property a negro man

now serving in the Massachusetts Regiment, you will please

to order a court of inquiry, consisting of five as

respectable officers as can be found in your brigade, to

examine the validity of the claim and the manner in which

the person in question came into service. Having inquired

into the matter, with all the attending circumstances, they

will report to you their opinion thereon; which you will

report to me as soon as conveniently may be.

"I am, Sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

"GEORGE WASHINGTON.

"P. S.--All concerned should be notified to attend.

"Brig.-Gen. Putnam."

Not only did some of the negro soldiers who fought in the American Army

receive unjust treatment at the close of the war, but those who served

under the Royal standard, also shared a fate quite different from what

they supposed it would be when the proclamations of Lord Dunmore,

Clinton and Cornwallis, were inviting them to cast their lot with the

British.

The high character of Thomas Jefferson induces me to reproduce his

letter to Dr. Gordon, or rather that portion of it which refers to the

treatment of the negroes who went with the British army. Mr. Jefferson

says:

"From an estimate I made at that time, on the best

information I could collect, I supposed the State of

Virginia lost, under Lord Cornwallis' hand, that year, about

thirty thousand slaves; and that, of these, twenty-seven

thousand died of the small-pox and camp fever; the rest were

partly sent to the West Indies, and exchanged for rum,

sugar, coffee and fruit; and partly sent to New York, from

whence they went, at the peace, either to Nova Scotia or to

England. From this last place, I believe they have lately

been sent to Africa. History will never relate the horrors

committed by the British army in the Southern States of

America."

The heroism of the negro soldier has ever been eulogized by the true

statesmen of our country, whenever the question of the American

patriots was the theme. And I find no better eulogy to pronounce upon

them than that Hon. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, delivered in

the United States House of Representatives in 1820, and that of Hon. Wm.

Eustis, of Massachusetts, during the same debate. Mr. Pinckney said:

"It is a remarkable fact, that notwithstanding, in the

course of the Revolution, the Southern States were

continually overrun by the British, and that every negro in

them had an opportunity of leaving their owners, few did;

proving thereby not only a most remarkable attachment to

their owners, but the mildness of the treatment, from whence

their affection sprang. They then were, as they still are,

as valuable a part of our population to the union as any

other equal number of inhabitants. They were in numerous

instances the pioneers, and in all the laborers, of your

armies. To their hands were owing the erection of the

greatest part of the fortifications raised for the

protection of our country; some of which, particularly Fort

Moultrie, gave, at the early period of the inexperience and

untried valor of our citizens, immortality to American arms;

and, in the Northern States, numerous bodies of them were

enrolled into, and fought, by the side of the whites, the

battles of the Revolution."--_Annals of Congress._

And said Mr. Eustis:

"At the commencement of the Revolutionary war, there were

found in the Middle and Northern States, many blacks, and

other people of color, capable of bearing arms; a part of

them free, the greater part slaves. The freemen entered our

ranks with the whites. The time of those who were slaves was

purchased by the States; and they were induced to enter the

service in consequence of a law by which, on condition of

their serving in the ranks during the war, they were made

freemen.

"The war over, and peace restored, these men returned to

their respective States; and who could have said to them, on

their return to civil life, after having shed their blood in

common with the whites in the defence of the liberties of

their country, 'You are not to participate in the liberty

for which you have been fighting?' Certainly no white man in

Massachusetts."

Such is the historic story of the negro in the American Revolution, and

it is a sad one as regards any benefit to his own condition by his

connection with either side. But it is one of the most memorable of all

history on exhibition of the fidelity of a race to the cause of the

freedom of all men.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Ran away from his master, William Brown, of Framingham, on the 30th

of Sept. last, a Mullato Fellow, about 27 years of age, named _Crispus_,

6 feet 2 inches high, short, curl'd hair, his knees nearer together than

common; had on a light coloured Bearskin Coat, plain brown Fustain

Jacket, or brown All Wool one, new Buck skin breeches, blue Yarn

Stockings, and a checked woolen shirt. Whoever shall take up said

Runaway, and convey him to his abovesaid master, shall have _ten

pounds_, old Tenor Reward, and all necessary charges paid. And all

Masters of Vessels and others, are hereby cautioned against concealing

or carrying off said Servant on Penalty of the Law. Boston, October 2,

1750."--_Boston Gazette._

[2] Mr. Sparks appends to this letter the following note: "At a meeting

of the general officers, previously to the arrival of the committee from

Congress in camp, it was unanimously resolved, that it was not expedient

to enlist slaves in the new army; and by a large majority, negroes of

every description were excluded from enlistment. When the subject was

referred to the Committee in conference, the resolve was not adhered to,

and probably for the reason here mentioned by Washington. Many black

soldiers were in the service during all stages of the war."--Spark's

Washington, Vol. III. pp. 218-219.

[3] Dunmore after destroying Norfolk, sailed with his fleet of

men-of-war and more than fifty transports, on board of which were many

armed negroes and Royal troops, to the mouth of the Piankatank river,

and took possession of Gwynn's Island, where he landed his troops and

entrenched. Here he was attacked by Gen. Lewis' men from the opposite

shore. One of Dunmore's ships was badly damaged by cannon balls, and he

drew off and sailed up the Potomoc river, and occupied St. Georgia's

Island, after having burned a mansion at the mouth of Aqua Creek. He was

here attacked by a militia force and retired. Misfortune followed him;

disease, shipwreck and want of provisions. He soon made sail, and with

his negroes reached England, where he remained.

[4] At the first onset, a large body of the Virginia militia, under a

charge of the British infantry with fixed bayonets, threw down their

arms and fled. A considerable part of the North Carolina militia

followed their unworthy example. But the Continentals evinced the most

unyielding firmness, and pressed forward with unusual ardor. Never did

men acquit themselves more honorably. They submitted only when forsaken

by their brethren in arms, and when overpowered by numbers.

[5] "The British loss, in this battle, exceeded five hundred in killed

and wounded, among whom were several of the most distinguished officers.

The American loss was about four hundred, in killed and wounded, of

which more than three-fourths fell upon the Continentals. Though the

numerical force of Gen. Greene nearly doubled that of Cornwallis, yet,

when we consider the difference between these forces; the shameful

conduct of the North Carolina militia, who fled at the first fire; the

desertion of the second Maryland regiment, and that a body of reserve

was not brought into action, it will appear that our numbers, actually

engaged, but little exceeded that of the enemy."--_Grimshaw's U. S.

History._

[6] The Burlington _Gazette_, in an issue of some time ago, gives the

following account of an aged negro Revolutionary patriot: "The attention

of many of our citizens has doubtless been arrested by the appearance of

an old colored man, who might have been seen, sitting in front of his

residence, in east Union street, respectfully raising his hat to those

who might be passing by. His attenuated frame, his silvered head, his

feeble movements, combine to prove that he is very aged: and yet,

comparatively few are aware that he is among the survivors of the

gallant army who fought for the liberties of our country.

"On Monday last, we stopped to speak to him, and asked how old he was.

He asked the day of the month, and upon being told that it was the 24th

of May, replied, with trembling lips, 'I am very old--I am a hundred

years old to-day.'

"His name is Oliver Cromwell, and he says that he was born at the Black

Horse, (now Columbus), in this county, in the family of John Hutchins.

He enlisted in a company commanded by Capt. Lowry, attached to the

Second New Jersey Regiment, under the command of Col. Israel Shreve. He

was at the battles of Trenton, Brandywine, Princetown, Monmouth, and

Yorktown, at which latter place, he told us, he saw the last man killed.

Although his faculties are failing, yet he relates many interesting

reminiscences of the Revolution. He was with the army at the retreat of

the Delaware, on the memorable crossing of the 25th of December, 1776,

and relates the story of the battle on the succeeding day, with

enthusiasm. He gives the details of the march from Trenton to

Princetown, and told us, with much humor, that they 'knocked the British

around lively,' at the latter place. He was also at the battle of

Springfield, and says that he saw the house burning in which Mrs.

Caldwell was shot, at Connecticut Farms."

"I further learn, (says the author of the 'Colored Patriots of the

Revolution'), that Cromwell was brought up a farmer, having served his

time with Thomas Hutchins, Esq., his maternal uncle. He was, for six

years and nine months under the immediate command of Washington, whom he

loved affectionately."

"His discharge," says Dr. M'Cune Smith, "at the close of the war, was in

Washington's own handwriting, of which he was very proud, often speaking

of it. He received annually, ninety-six dollars pension. He lived a long

and honorable life. Had he been of a little lighter complexion, (he was

just half white), every newspaper in the land would have been eloquent

in praise of his many virtues."

[7] Simon Lee, the grandfather of William Wells Brown, on his mother's

side, was a slave in Virginia, and served in the war of the Revolution.

Although honorably discharged, with the other Virginia troops, at the

close of the war, he was sent back to his master, where he spent the

remainder of his life toiling on a tobacco plantation.--_Patriotism of

Colored Americans._

CHAPTER II.

THE WAR OF 1812.

While there is no intention of entering into an examination of the

causes of the war between the United States and Great Britain in 1812,

yet in order to carry out the design of the author to show that in this

war,--like all others in which the government of the United States has

been engaged,--the negro, as a soldier, took part, it is deemed

necessary to cite at least one of the incidents, perhaps _the_ incident,

which most fired the national heart of America, and hastened the

beginning of hostilities.

The war between England and France gave to the American merchant marine

interest an impetus that increased the number of vessels three-fold in a

few years; it also gave command of the carrying trade of the West

Indies, from which Napoleon's frigates debarred the English merchantmen.

In consequence England sought and used every opportunity to cripple

American commerce and shipping. One plan was to deprive American ships

of the service of English seamen. Her war vessels claimed and exercised

the right of searching for English seamen on board American vessels.

During the year 1807, the English Admiral Berkeley, in command of the

North American Station, issued instructions to commanders of vessels in

his fleet to look out for the American frigate Chesapeake, and if they

fell in with her at sea, to board her and search for deserters, as all

English seamen in the American service were regarded by England. With

the instructions, were the descriptions of four sailors, three negroes

and one white man, who were missing.

The persons who deserted from the Melampus, then lying in Hampton Roads,

were William Ware, Daniel Martin, John Strachan, John Little and Ambrose

Watts. Within a month from their escape from the Melampus, the first

three of these deserters offered themselves for enlistment, and were

received on board the Chesapeake, then at Norfolk, Va., preparing for

sea. The British consul at Norfolk, being apprized of the circumstance,

wrote a letter to the American naval officer, requesting the men to be

returned. With this request, the officer refused to comply, and the

British lost no time in endeavoring to procure an order from the

American government for their surrender. On receipt of the application,

the Secretary of the Navy ordered an examination into the characters and

claims of the men in question. The examination resulted in proof that

the three negroes, Ware, Martin and Strachan were natives of America.

The two former had "_protections_," or notarial certificates of their

citizenship;[8] Strachan had no "_protection_," but asserted that he

lost it previous to his escape. Such being the circumstances, the

government refused to give the men up, insisting that they were American

citizens, and though, they had served in the British navy, they were

pressed into the service and had a right to desert it.

The Chesapeake was one of the finest of the frigates in the American

Navy, and after receiving an outfit requiring six months to complete at

the Gosport Navy Yard, at Norfolk, Va., started for the Mediterranean.

The English frigate Leopard, which lay in the harbor at Norfolk when the

Chesapeake sailed, followed her out to sea, hailed her and sent a letter

to her commander, Commodore James Barron, demanding the surrender of the

deserters. Barron sent a note refusing to comply with the demand,

whereupon the Leopard fired several broadsides into the Chesapeake.

Barron struck his colors without firing a shot, and permitted the

officers of the Leopard to board his vessel and search her. The British

captain refused to accept the surrender of the Chesapeake, but took from

her crew the three men who had been demanded as deserters; also a

fourth, John Wilson, a white man, claimed as a runaway from a merchant

ship.

The white sailor, it was admitted by the American government, was a

British subject, and his release was not demanded; he was executed for

deserting the British Navy. Of the negroes, two only were returned by

the British government, the other one having died in England. Says an

American historian:

"An outrage like this, inflicted not by accident or the

brutality of a separate commander, naturally excited the

whole nation to the utmost.

"President Jefferson very soon interdicted American harbors

and waters to all vessels of the English Navy, and forbade

intercourse with them. He sent a vessel of war with a

special minister to demand satisfaction. The English Admiral

hanged the deserter, and dismissed the three black men with

a reprimand, blaming them for _disturbing the peace of two

nations_. That the outrage did not end in immediate war, was

due partly to the fact that the Americans had no Navy to

fight with."

Nearly four years elapsed before the final settlement of the Chesapeake

affair, and then the English government insisted upon its right to, and

issued orders for the search for British sailors to be continued; thus a

cause for quarrel remained.

The principal grounds of war, set forth in a message of the President to

Congress, June 1st, 1812, and further explained by the Committee on

Foreign Relations, in their report on the subject of the message, were

summarily:

"The impressment of American seamen by the British; the

blockade of her enemy's ports, supported by no adequate

force, in consequence of which the American commerce had

been plundered in every sea, and the great staples of the

country cut off from their legitimate markets; and the

British orders in council."

[Illustration: A NAVAL BATTLE.]

On these grounds, the President urged the declaration of war. In unison

with the recommendation of the President, the Committee on Foreign

Relations concluded their reports as follows:

"Your committee, believing that the freeborn sons of America

are worthy to enjoy the liberty which their fathers

purchased at the price of much blood and treasure, and

seeing by the measures adopted by Great Britain, a course

commenced and persisted in, which might lead to a loss of

national character and independence, feel no hesitation in

advising resistance by force, in which the Americans of the

present day will prove to the enemy and the world, that we

have not only inherited that liberty which our fathers gave

us, but also the will and power to maintain it. Relying on

the patriotism of the nation, and confidently trusting that

the Lord of Hosts will go with us to battle in a righteous

cause, and crown our efforts with success, your committee

recommend an immediate appeal to _arms_."

War was declared by Congress on the 17th of June, and proclaimed by the

President on the second day following.

The struggle was principally carried on upon the water, between the

armed vessels of the two nations, consequently no great armies were

called into active service upon the field. This was indeed fortunate for

America, whose military establishments at the time were very defective.

Congress called for twenty thousand men, but a very few enlisted. The

President was authorized to raise fifty thousand volunteers and to call

out one hundred thousand militia for the defence of the seacoast and

frontiers; but officers could not be found to nominally command the few

thousand that responded to the call; which state of affairs was no doubt

largely due to the opposition to the war, which existed in the New

England States.

Since the peace of 1783, a class of marine merchants at the North had

vied with each other in the African slave trade, in supplying the

Southern planters. Consequently the increase in negro population was

great; in 1800 it was 1,001,463, and in 1810, two years before war was

declared, 1,377,810, an increase of 376,347. Of the 1,377,810, there

were 1,181,362 slaves, and 186,448 free. Of course their increase was

not due solely to the importation by the slave trade, but the aggregate

increase was large, compared with the increase of the white population

for the same period.

The free negroes were mainly residents of the Northern States, where

they enjoyed a nominal freedom. They entered the service with alacrity;

excluded from the army, they enlisted in the navy, swelling the number

of those who, upon the rivers, lakes, bays and oceans, manned the guns

of the war vessels, in defense of Free Trade, Sailor's Rights and

Independence on the seas as well as on the land. It is quite impossible

to ascertain the exact number of negroes who stood beside the guns that

won for America just recognition from the maritime powers of the world.

Like the negro soldiers in the Revolutionary war who served with the

whites, so the negro sailors in the war of 1812 served in the American

Navy; in the mess, at the gun, on the yard-arm and in the gangway,

together with others of various nationalities, they achieved many

victories for the navy of our common country. The best evidence I can

give in substantiation of what has been written, is the following letter

from Surgeon Parsons to George Livermore, Esq., of the Massachusetts

Historical Society:

"PROVIDENCE, October 18, 1862.

"MY DEAR SIR:--In reply to your inquiries about the

employing of blacks in our navy in the war of 1812, and

particularly in the battle of Lake Erie, I refer you to

documents in Mackenzie's 'Life of Commodore Perry,' vol. i.

pp. 166 and 187.

"In 1814, our fleet sailed to the Upper Lakes to co-operate

with Colonel Croghan at Mackinac. About one in ten or twelve

of the crews were black.

"In 1816, I was surgeon of the 'Java,' under Commodore

Perry. The white and colored seamen messed together. About

one in six or eight were colored.

"In 1819, I was surgeon of the 'Guerriere,' under Commodore

Macdonough; and the proportion of blacks was about the same

in her crew. There seemed to be an entire absence of

prejudice against the blacks as messmates among the crew.

What I have said applies to the crews of the other ships

that sailed in squadrons.

"Yours very respectfully,

"USHER PARSONS."

Dr. Parsons had reference to the following correspondence between

Captain Perry and Commodore Chauncey, which took place in 1813, before

the former's victory on Lake Erie. As will be seen, Perry expressed

dissatisfaction as to the recruits sent him to man the squadron then on

Lake Erie, and with which he gained a decisive victory over the British

fleet, under command of Capt Barley:

"SIR,--I have this moment received, by express, the enclosed

letter from General Harrison. If I had officers and

men,--and I have no doubt you will send them,--I could fight

the enemy, and proceed up the lake; but, having no one to

command the 'Niagara,' and only one commissioned lieutenant

and two acting lieutenants, whatever my wishes may be, going

out is out of the question. The men that came by Mr.

Champlin are a motley set,--blacks, soldiers, and boys. I

cannot think you saw them after they were selected. I am,

however, pleased to see any thing in the shape of a

man."--_Mackenzie's Life of Perry_, vol. i. pp. 165, 166.

Commodore Chauncey then rebuked him in his reply, and set forth the

worth of the negro seaman:

"SIR,--I have been duly honored with your letters of the

twenty-third and twenty-sixth ultimo, and notice your

anxiety for men and officers. I am equally anxious to

furnish you; and no time shall be lost in sending officers

and men to you as soon as the public service will allow me

to send them from this lake. I regret that you are not

pleased with the men sent you by Messrs Champlin and Forest;

for, to my knowledge, a part of them are not surpassed by

any seamen we have in the fleet: and I have yet to learn

that the color of the skin, or the cut and trimmings of the

coat, can effect a man's qualifications or usefulness. I

have nearly fifty blacks on board of this ship, and many of

them are among my best men; and those people you call

soldiers have been to sea from two to seventeen years; and I

presume that you will find them as good and useful as any

men on board of your vessel; at least if you can judge by

comparison; for those which we have on board of this ship

are attentive and obedient, and, as far as I can judge, many

of them excellent seamen: at any rate, the men sent to Lake

Erie have been selected with a view of sending a fair

proportion of petty officers and seamen; and I presume, upon

examination, it will be found that they are equal to those

upon this lake."--_Mackenzie's Life of Perry_, vol. i. pp.

186, 187.

The battle of Lake Erie is the most memorable naval battle fought with

the British; of it Rossiter Johnson, in his "History of the War of

1812," in the description of the engagement, says:

"As the question of the fighting qualities of the black man

has since been considerably discussed, it is worth noting

that in this bloody and brilliant battle a large number of

Perry's men were negroes."

It was not left to Commodores Chauncey and Perry, solely, to applaud

them; there was not an American war vessel, perhaps, whose crew, in

part, was not made up of negroes, as the accounts of various sea fights

prove. And they are entitled to no small share of the meed of praise

given the American seamen, who fought and won victory over the British.

Not only in the Navy, but on board the privateers,[9] the American negro

did service, as the following extract will show:

"_Extract of a Letter from Nathaniel Shaler, Commander of

the private-armed Schooner Gov. Tompkins, to his Agent in

New York._

AT SEA, Jan. 1, 1813.

"Before I could get our light sails on, and almost before I

could turn round, I was under the guns, not of a transport,

but of a large _frigate_! and not more than a quarter of a

mile from her. * * Her first broadside killed two men and

wounded six others * * My officers conducted themselves in a

way that would have done honor to a more permanent service *

* * The name of one of my poor fellows who was killed ought

to be registered in the book of fame, and remembered with

reverence as long as bravery is considered a virtue. He was

a black man by the name of John Johnson. A twenty-four pound

shot struck him in the hip, and took away all the lower part

of his body. In this state, the poor brave fellow lay on the

deck, and several times exclaimed to his shipmates, '_Fire

away, my boy: no haul a color down_' The other was a black

man, by the name of John Davis, and was struck in much the

same way. He fell near me, and several times requested to be

thrown overboard, saying he was only in the way of others.

"When America has such tars, she has little to fear from the

tyrants of the ocean."--_Nile's Weekly Register, Saturday,

Feb. 26, 1814._

As in the late war of the rebellion, the negroes offered their services

at the outset when volunteers were called for, and the true patriots at

the North sought to have their services accepted; but the government

being in the control of the opponents of universal freedom and the

extension of the rights of citizenship to the negro, the effort to admit

him into the ranks of the army, even in separate organizations, was

futile. At the same time American whites would not enlist to any great

extent, and but for the tide of immigration, which before the war had

set in from Ireland, the fighting on shore would probably not have

lasted six months; certainly the invasion of Canada would not have been

attempted.

The reverses which met the American army in the first year of the war,

slackened even the enlistment that was going on and imperiled the safety

of the country, and the defences of the most important seaports and

manufacturing states. Battle after battle had been lost, the invasion of

Canada abandoned, and the British had turned their attention southward.

The war in Europe had been brought to a close, and Napoleon was a

captive. England was now at liberty to reinforce her fleet and army in

America, and fears were entertained that other European powers might

assist her in invading the United States. The negro soldier again loomed

up, and as the British were preparing to attack New Orleans with a

superior force to that of Gen. Jackson's, he sought to avail himself of

every possible help within his reach. Accordingly he issued the

following proclamation:

GENERAL JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE NEGROES.

HEADQUARTERS, SEVENTH MILITARY DISTRICT,

MOBILE, September 21, 1814.

_To the Free Colored Inhabitants of Louisiana_:

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 shall

exist.

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 around 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 should attempt

to deceive you. In the sincerity of a soldier and the

language of truth I address you.

To every noble-hearted, generous freeman 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: one hundred and twenty-four dollars

in money, and one hundred and sixty 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 for your government from

your white fellow-citizens. Your non-commissioned officers

will be appointed from among yourselves.

Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freeman 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 countrymen.

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.

ANDREW JACKSON, _Major-General Commanding._

[_Niles Register, vol. vii. p. 205._]

When the news of Gen. Jackson arming the free negroes reached the North

it created no little surprise, and greatly encouraged those, who, from

the commencement of hostilities, had advocated it. The successes of the

summer were being obliterated by the victories which the British were

achieving. The national capitol was burned; Maine had virtually fallen

into their hands; gloom and disappointment prevailed throughout the

country. Enlistment was at a stand-still, and as the British were

threatening with annihilation the few troops then in the field, it

became evident that the States would have to look to their own defence.

New York again turned her attention to her free negro population; a bill

was prepared and introduced in the legislature looking to the arming of

her negroes, and in October, a month after Gen. Jackson issued his

appeal to the negroes of Louisiana, the Legislature passed a bill of

which the following are the most important sections:

"_An Act to authorize the raising of Two Regiments of Men of Color;

passed Oct. 24, 1814._

"SECT. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New

York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the Governor

of the State be, and he is hereby authorized to raise, by

voluntary enlistment, two regiments of free men of color,

for the defence of the State for three years, unless sooner

discharged.

"SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That each of the said

regiments shall consist of one thousand and eighty

able-bodied men; and the said regiments shall be formed into

a brigade, or be organized in such manner, and shall be

employed in such service, as the Governor of the State of

New York shall deem best adapted to defend the said State.

"SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the

commissioned officers of the said regiments and brigade

shall be white men; and the Governor of the State of New

York shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to commission,

by brevet, all the officers of the said regiments and

brigade, who shall hold their respective commissions until

the council of appointment shall have appointed the officers

of the said regiments and brigade, in pursuance of the

Constitution and laws of the said State.

"SECT. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful

for any able-bodied slave, with the written assent of his

master or mistress, to enlist into the said corps; and the

master or mistress of such slave shall be entitled to the

pay and bounty allowed him for his service: and, further,

that the said slave, at the time of receiving his discharge,

shall be deemed and adjudged to have been legally manumitted

from that time, and his said master or mistress shall not

thenceforward be liable for his maintenance.--_Laws of the

State of New York, passed at the Thirty-eighth Session of

the Legislature_, chap. xviii."

The organization of negro troops was now fairly begun; at the South

enlistment was confined to the free negroes as set forth in Gen.

Jackson's Proclamation. In New York, the slaves who should enlist with

the consent of their owners were to be free at the expiration of their

service, as provided in the Sixth section of the law quoted above.

Animated by that love of liberty and country which has ever prompted

them, notwithstanding the disabilities under which they labored, to

enter the ranks of their country's defenders whenever that country has

been assailed by foes without or traitors within, the negroes responded

to the call of General Jackson and to that of New York, with a zeal and

energy characteristic only of a brave and patriotic people. Inspired by

the hope of impartial liberty, they rallied to the support of that

banner which Commodore Barron lowered when he failed to protect them

from British aggression, but which Commodore Decatur gallantly and

successfully defended.

The forcible capture and imprisonment of Ware, Martin and Strachan, the

three negroes taken from the Chesapeake, and who were recognized by the

United States authorities as citizens of the republic, was sounded as

the key-note and rallying cry of the war; the outrage served greatly to

arouse the people. The fact that the government sought to establish the

liberty of the free negroes, and the further fact that she regarded them

as citizens, heightened their indignation at the outrage committed by

the British, and appealed to their keenest patriotic sensibilities. New

York was not long in raising her two battalions, and sending it forward

to the army, then at Sacket's Harbor.

On the 18th of December, 1814, following the issuing of his

Proclamation, Gen. Jackson reviewed the troops under his command at New

Orleans, amounting to about six thousand, and of this force about five

hundred were negroes, organized into two battalions, commanded by Maj.

Lacoste and Maj. Savory. These battalions, at the close of the review,

says Parton, in his Life of Jackson, had read to them by Edward

Livingston, a member of Jackson's staff, the following address, from the

Commander of the American forces:

"TO THE EMBODIED MILITIA.--_Fellow Citizens and Soldiers:_

The General commanding in chief would not do justice to the

noble ardor that has animated you in the hour of danger, he

would not do justice to his own feeling, if he suffered the

example you have shown to pass without public notice.

* * * *

"Fellow-citizens, of every description, remember for what

and against whom you contend. For all that can render life

desirable--for a country blessed with every gift of

nature--for property, for life--for those dearer than

either, your wives and children--and for liberty, without

which, country, life, property, are no longer worth

possessing; as even the embraces of wives and children

become a reproach to the wretch who could deprive them by

his cowardice of those invaluable blessings.

* * * *

"TO THE MEN OF COLOR.--Soldiers! From the shores of Mobile I

collected you to arms,--I invited you to share in the perils

and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected

much from you; for I was not uninformed of those qualities

which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I

knew that you could endure hunger and thirst, and all the

hardships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your

nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all

that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have

found in you, united to these qualities, that noble

enthusiasm which impels to great deeds.

"Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be

informed of your conduct on the present occasion; and the

voice of the Representatives of the American nation shall

applaud your valor, as your General now praises your ardor.

The enemy is near. His sails cover the lakes. But the brave

are united; and, if he finds us contending among ourselves,

it will be for the prize of valor, and fame its noblest

reward."--_Niles's Register_, vol. vii. pp. 345, 346.

Thus in line with the white troops on the soil of Louisiana, amid a

large slave population, the negro soldiers were highly praised by the

commanding General. The British had already made their appearance on the

coast near the mouth of the Mississippi, and at the time of their

landing, General Jackson went out to meet them with two thousand one

hundred men; the British had two thousand four hundred. This was on the

23rd of December. The two armies met and fought to within a few miles of

the city, where the British general, Pakenham, who had arrived with

reinforcements, began on the 31st to lay siege. On Jan. 8th the short

but terrible struggle took place which not only taxed the energies and

displayed the great courage of both forces, but made the engagement one

of historic interest. In the short space of twenty-five minutes seven

hundred of the British were killed; fourteen hundred were wounded and

four hundred were taken prisoners. The American army was so well

protected that only four were killed and thirteen wounded. It was in

this great battle that two battalions of negroes participated, and

helped to save the city, the coveted prize, from the British. The two

battalions numbered four hundred and thirty men, and were commanded by

Maj. Lacoste and Maj. Savory. Great Britain also had her negro soldiers

there,--a regiment imported from the West Indies which headed the

attacking column against Jackson's right,--they led her van in the

battle; their failure, with that of the Irish regiment which formed also

a part of the advance column, lost the British the battle. The conduct

of the negro soldiers in Gen. Jackson's army on that occasion has ever

been applauded by the American people. Mr. Day, in Nell's "Colored

Patriots of the American Revolution," says:

"From an authenticated chart, belonging to a soldier friend,

I find that, in the battle of New Orleans, Major-General

Andrew Jackson, Commander-in-Chief, and his staff, were just

at the right of the advancing left column of the British,

and that very near him were stationed the colored soldiers.

He is numbered 6, and the position of the colored soldiers

8. The chart explanation of No. 8 reads thus:--'8. Captains

Dominique and Bluche, two 24 pounders; Major Lacoste's

battalion, formed of the men of color of New Orleans and,

Major Daquin's battalion, formed of the men of color of St.

Domingo, under Major Savary, second in command.'

"They occupied no mean place, and did no mean service.

"From other documents in my possession, I am able to state

the number of the 'battalion of St. Domingo men of color' to

have been one hundred and fifty; and of 'Major Lacoste's

battalion of Louisiana men of color,' two hundred and

eighty.

"Thus were over four hundred 'men of color' in that battle.

When it is remembered that the whole number of soldiers

claimed by Americans to have been in that battle reached

only 3600, it will be seen that the 'men of color' were

present in much larger proportion than their numbers in the

country warranted.

"Neither was there colorphobia then. Major Planche's

battalion of uniformed volunteer companies, and Major

Lacoste's 'men of color,' fought together; so, also, did

Major Daquin's 'men of color,' and the 44th, under Captain

Baker."

Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, in his speech in Congress on the Imprisonment

of Colored Seamen, September, 1850, bore this testimony to their gallant

conduct:

"I have an impression, that, not, indeed, in these piping

times of peace, but in the time of war, when quite a boy, I

have seen black soldiers enlisted, who did faithful and

excellent service. But, however it may have been in the

Northern States, I can tell the Senator what happened in the

Southern States at this period. I believe that I shall be

borne out in saying, that no regiments did better service,

at New Orleans, than did the black regiments, which were

organized under the direction of General Jackson himself,

after a most glorious appeal to the patriotism and honor of

the people of color of that region; and which, after they

came out of the war, received the thanks of General Jackson,

in a proclamation which has been thought worthy of being

inscribed on the pages of history."

Perhaps the most glowing account of the services of these black American

soldiers, appeared in an article in the New Orleans _Picayune_:

"Not the least interesting, although the most novel feature

of the procession yesterday, was the presence of ninety of

the colored veterans who bore a conspicuous part in the

dangers of the day they were now for the first time called

to assist in celebrating, and who, by their good conduct in

presence of the enemy, deserved and received the approbation

of their illustrious commander-in-chief. During the

thirty-six years that have passed away since they assisted

to repel the invaders from our shores, these faithful men

have never before participated in the annual rejoicings for

the victory which their valor contributed to gain. Their

good deeds have been consecrated only in their memories, or

lived but to claim a passing notice on the page of the

historian. Yet, who more than they deserve the thanks of the

country, and the gratitude of succeeding generations? Who

rallied with more alacrity in response to the summons of

danger? Who endured more cheerfully the hardships of the

camp, or faced with greater courage the perils of the fight?

If, in that hazardous hour, when our homes were menaced with

the horrors of war, we did not disdain to call upon the

colored population to assist in repelling the invading

horde, we should not, when the danger is passed, refuse to

permit them to unite with us in celebrating the glorious

event, which they helped to make so memorable an epoch in

our history. We were not too exalted to mingle with them in

the affray; they were not too humble to join in our

rejoicings.

"Such, we think, is the universal opinion of our citizens.

We conversed with many yesterday, and, without exception,

they expressed approval of the invitation which had been

extended to the colored veterans to take part in the

ceremonies of the day, and gratification at seeing them in a

conspicuous place in the procession.

"The respectability of their appearance, and the modesty of

their demeanor, made an impression on every observer, and

elicited unqualified approbation. Indeed, though in saying

so we do not mean disrespect to any one else, we think that

they constituted decidedly the most interesting portion of

the pageant, as they certainly attracted the most

attention."

It was during the rebellion of 1861-65 that the author saw one of the

colored drummer boys of that column beating his drum at the head of a

negro United States regiment marching through the streets of New Orleans

in 1862.

The New York battalion was organized and marched to the reinforcement of

the American army at Sacket's Harbor, then threatened by the enemy.

This battalion was said to be a fine looking body of men, well drilled

and disciplined. In Congress Mr. Martindale, of New York, said, in a

speech delivered on the 22nd January 1828, before that body:

"Slaves or negroes who had been slaves were enlisted as

soldiers in the war of the Revolution: and I myself saw a

battalion of them,--as fine martial looking men as I ever

saw attached to the Northern army in the last war

(1812),--on its march from Plattsburg to Sacket's Harbor,

where they did service for the country with credit to New

York and honor to themselves."

As in the dark days of the Revolution, so now in another period of

national danger, the negroes proved their courage and patriotism by

service in the field. However, the lamentable treatment of Major

Jeffrey[10] is evidence that these services were not regarded as a

protection against outrage.

In the two wars in which the history of the negroes has been traced in

these pages, there is nothing that mitigates against his manhood, though

his condition, either bond or free, was lowly. But on the contrary the

honor of the race has been maintained under every circumstance in which

it has been placed.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] So indiscriminate were English officers in these outrages, that it

sometimes happened that black men were seized as English seamen. At that

time the public opinion of the world was such, that few statesmen

troubled themselves much about the rights of negroes. But in another

generation, when it proved convenient in the United States to argue that

free negroes had never been citizens, it was remembered that the

cabinets of Jefferson and Madison, in their diplomatic discussions with

Great Britain, had been willing to argue that the impressment of a free

negro was the seizure of an American citizen.--_Bryant's History of the

United States._

[9] "Hammond Golar, a colored man who lived in Lynn for many years, died

a few years since at the age of 80 years. He was born a slave, was a

privateer "powder boy" in the war of 1812, and was taken to Halifax as a

prisoner. The English Government did not exchange colored prisoners

because they would then be returned to slavery, and Golar remained a

prisoner until the close of the war."

[10] See page 50

PART II.

THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.

1861.

[Illustration: UNSHACKLED.]

CHAPTER I.

PUBLIC OPINION.

It seems proper, before attempting to record the achievements of the

negro soldiers in the war of the Rebellion, that we should consider the

state of public opinion regarding the negroes at the outbreak of the

war; also, in connection therewith, to note the rapid change that took

place during the early part of the struggle.

For some cause, unexplained in a general sense, the white people in the

Colonies and in the States, came to entertain against the colored races

therein a prejudice, that showed itself in a hostility to the latter's

enjoying equal civil and political rights with themselves. Various

reasons are alleged for it, but the difficulty of really solving the

problem lies in the fact that the early settlers in this country came

without prejudice against color. The Negro, Egyptian, Arab, and other

colored races known to them, lived in European countries, where no

prejudice, on account of color existed. How very strange then, that a

feeling antagonistic to the negroes should become a prominent feature in

the character of the European emigrants to these shores and their

descendants. It has been held by some writers that the American

prejudice against the negroes was occasioned by their docility and

unresenting spirit. Surely no one acquainted with the Indian will agree

that he is docile or wanting in spirit, yet occasionally there is

manifested a prejudice against him; the recruiting officers in

Massachusetts refused to enlist Indians, as well as negroes, in

regiments and companies made up of white citizens, though members of

both races, could sometimes be found in white regiments. During the

rebellion of 1861-5, some Western regiments had one or two negroes and

Indians in them, but there was no general enlistment of either race in

white regiments.[11] The objection was on account of color, or, as some

writers claim, by the fact of the races--negro and Indian[12]--having

been enslaved. Be the cause what it may, a prejudice, strong,

unrelenting, barred the two races from enjoying with the white race

equal civil and political rights in the United States. So very strong

had that prejudice grown since the Revolution, enhanced it may be by

slavery and docility, that when the rebellion of 1861 burst forth, a

feeling stronger than law, like a Chinese wall only more impregnable,

encircled the negro, and formed a barrier betwixt him and the army.

Doubtless peace--a long peace--lent its aid materially to this state of

affairs. Wealth, chiefly, was the dream of the American from 1815 to

1860, nearly half a century; a period in which the negro was friendless,

save in a few strong-minded, iron-hearted men like John Brown in Kansas,

Wendell Philips in New England, Charles Sumner in the United States

Senate, Horace Greeley in New York and a few others, who dared, in the

face of strong public sentiment, to plead his cause, even from a humane

platform. In many places he could not ride in a street car that was not

inscribed, "_Colored persons ride in this car_." The deck of a

steamboat, the box cars of the railroad, the pit of the theatre and the

gallery of the church, were the locations accorded him. The church lent

its influence to the rancor and bitterness of a prejudice as deadly as

the sap of the Upas.

To describe public opinion respecting the negro a half a century ago, is

no easy task. It was just budding into maturity when DeTocqueville

visited the United States, and, as a result of that visit, he wrote,

from observation, a pointed criticism upon the manners and customs, and

the laws of the people of the United States. For fear that I might be

thought over-doing--heightening--giving too much coloring to the

strength, and extent and power of the prejudice against the negro I

quote from that distinguished writer, as he clearly expressed himself

under the heading, "_Present and Future condition of the three races

inhabiting the United States_." He said of the negro:

"I see that in a certain portion of the United States at the

present day, the legal barrier which separates the two races

is tending to fall away, but not that which exists in the

manners of the country. Slavery recedes, but the prejudice

to which it has given birth remains stationary. Whosoever

has inhabited the United States, must have perceived, that

in those parts of the United States, in which the negroes

are no longer slaves, they have in nowise drawn nearer the

whites; on the contrary, the prejudice of the race appears

to be stronger in those States which have abolished slavery,

than in those where it still exists. And, nowhere is it so

intolerant as in the states where servitude has never been

known. It is true, that in the North of the Union, marriages

may be legally contracted between negroes and whites, but

public opinion would stigmatize a man, who should content

himself with a negress, as infamous. If oppressed, they may

bring an action at law, but they will find none but whites

among their judges, and although they may legally serve as

jurors, prejudice repulses them for that office. In theatres

gold cannot procure a seat for the servile race beside their

former masters, in hospitals they lie apart. They _are_

allowed to invoke the same divinity as the whites. The gates

of heaven are not closed against those unhappy beings; but

their inferiority is continued to the very confines of the

other world. The negro is free, but he can share, neither

the rights, nor the labor, nor the afflictions of him, whose

equal he has been declared to be, and he cannot meet him

upon fair terms in life or death."

DeTocqueville, as is seen, wrote with much bitterness and sarcasm, and,

it is but fair to state, makes no allusion to any exceptions to the

various conditions of affairs that he mentions. In all cases matters

might not have been exactly as bad as he pictures them, but as far as

the deep-seated prejudice against the negroes, and indifference to their

rights and elevation are concerned, the facts will freely sustain the

views so forcibly presented.

The negro had no remembrance of the country of his ancestry, Africa,

and he abjured their religion. In the South he had no family; women were

merely the temporary sharer of his pleasures; his master's cabins were

the homes of his children during their childhood. While the Indian

perished in the struggle for the preservation of his home, his hunting

grounds and his freedom, the negro entered into slavery as soon as he

was born, in fact was often purchased in the womb, and was born to know,

first, that he was a slave. If one became free, he found freedom harder

to bear than slavery; half civilized, deprived of nearly all rights, in

contact with his superiors in wealth and knowledge, exposed to the rigor

of a tyrannical prejudice moulded into laws, he contented himself to be

allowed to live.

The Negro race, however, it must be remembered, is the only race that

has ever come in contact with the European race, and been able to

withstand its atrocities and oppression; all others, like the Indian,

whom they could not make subservient to their use, they have destroyed.

The Negro race, like the Israelites, multiplied so rapidly in bondage,

that the oppressor became alarmed, and began discussing methods of

safety to himself. The only people able to cope with the Anglo-American

or Saxon, with any show of success, must be of _patient fortitude,

progressive intelligence, brave in resentment and earnest in endeavor_.

In spite of his surroundings and state of public opinion the African

lived, and gave birth, largely through amalgamation with the

representatives of the different races that inhabited the United States,

to a new race,--the _American Negro_. Professor Sampson in his mixed

races says:

"The Negro is a new race, and is not the direct descent of

any people that have ever flourished. The glory of the negro

race is yet to come."

As evidence of its capacity to acquire glory, the record made in the

late struggle furnishes abundant proof. At the sound of the tocsin at

the North, negro waiter, cook, barber, boot-black, groom, porter and

laborer stood ready at the enlisting office; and though the recruiting

officer refused to list his name, he waited like the "patient ox" for

the partition--_prejudice_--to be removed. He waited two years before

even the door of the partition was opened; then he did not hesitate, but

walked in, and with what effect the world knows.

[Illustration: ROBERT SMALLS, (pilot). WILLIAM MORRISON, (sailor). A.

GRADINE, (Engineer). JOHN SMALLS, (sailor).

Four of the crew who, while the white officers were ashore in

Charleston. S. C., ran off with the Confederate war steamer, "Planter,"

passed Fort Sumter and delivered the vessel to the United States

authorities. On account of the daring exploit a special act of Congress

was passed ordering one-half the value of the captured vessel to be

invested in U. S. bonds, and the interest thereof to be annually paid

them or their heirs. Robert Smalls joined the Union army, and after the

war became active and prominent in politics.]

The war cloud of 1860 still more aroused the bitter prejudice against

the negro at both the North and South; but he was safer in South

Carolina than in New York, in Richmond than in Boston.

It is a natural consequence, when war is waged between two nations, for

those on either side to forget local feuds and unite against the common

enemy, as was done in the Revolutionary war. How different was the

situation now when the threatened war was not one between nations, but

between states of the same nation. The feeling of hostility toward the

negro was not put aside and forgotten as other troublesome matters were,

but the bitterness became intensified and more marked.

The Confederate Government though organized for the perpetual

enslavement of the negro, fostered the idea that the docility of the

negroes would allow them to be used for any purpose, without their

having the least idea of becoming freemen. Some idea may be formed of

public opinion at the South at the beginning of the war by what Mr.

Pollard, in his history, gives as the feeling at the South at the close

of the second year of the struggle:

"Indeed, the war had shown the system of slavery in the

South to the world in some new and striking aspects, and had

removed much of that cloud of prejudice, defamation,

falsehood, romance and perverse sentimentalism through which

our peculiar institution had been formerly known to Europe.

It had given a better vindication of our system of slavery

than all the books that could be written in a generation. It

had shown that slavery was an element of strength to us;

that it had assisted us in our struggle; that no servile

insurrections had taken place in the South, in spite of the

allurements of our enemy; that the slave had tilled the soil

while his master had fought; that in large districts,

unprotected by our troops, and with a white population,

consisting almost exclusively of women and children, the

slave had continued his work, quiet, faithful, and cheerful;

and that, as a conservative element in our social system,

the institution of slavery had withstood the shocks of war,

and been a faithful ally of our army, although instigated to

revolution by every art of the enemy, and prompted to the

work of assassination and pillage by the most brutal

examples of the Yankee soldiers."

With this view, the whole slave population was brought to the assistance

of the Confederate Government, and thereby caught the very first hope of

freedom. An innate reasoning taught the negro that slaves could not be

relied upon to fight for their own enslavement. To get to the

breastworks was but to get a chance to run to the Yankees; and thousands

of those whose elastic step kept time with the martial strains of the

drum and fife, as they marched on through city and town, enroute to the

front, were not elated with the hope of Southern success, but were

buoyant with the prospects of reaching the North. The confederates found

it no easy task to watch the negroes and the Yankees too; their

attention could be given to but one at a time; as a slave expressed it,

"when marsa watch the Yankee, nigger go; when marsa watch the nigger,

Yankee come." But the Yankees did not always receive him kindly during

the first year of the war.

In his first inaugural, Mr. Lincoln declared "that the property, peace

and security of no section are to be in anywise endangered by the new

incoming administration." The Union generals, except Fremont and Phelps

and a few subordinates, accepted this as public opinion, and as their

guide in dealing with the slavery question. That opinion is better

expressed in the doggerel, sung in after months by the negro troops as

they marched along through Dixie:

"McClellan went to Richmond with two hundred thousand braves,

He said, '_keep back the niggers and the Union he would save_.'

Little Mac. he had his way, still the Union is in tears,

And they call for the help of the colored volunteers."

The first two lines expressed the sentiment at the time, not only of the

Army of the Potomoc, but the army commanders everywhere, with the

exceptions named. The administration winked at the enforcement of the

fugitive slave bill by the soldiers engaged in capturing and returning

the negroes coming into the Union lines.[13] Undoubtedly it was the idea

of the Government to turn the course of the war from its rightful

channel, or in other words,--in the restoration of the Union,--to

eliminate the anti-slavery sentiment, which demanded the freedom of the

slaves.

[Illustration: QUARTERS PROVIDED FOR CONTRABANDS.]

Hon. Elisha R. Potter, of Rhode Island,--"who may," said Mr. Greeley,

"be fairly styled the hereditary chief of the Democratic party of that

State,"--made a speech on the war in the State Senate, on the 10th of

August 1861, in which he remarked:

"I have said that the war may assume another aspect, and be

a short and bloody one. And to such a war--_an anti-slavery

war_--it seems to me we are _inevitably_ drifting. It seems

to me hardly in the power of human wisdom to prevent it. We

may commence the war without meaning to interfere with

slavery; but let us have one or two battles, and get our

blood excited, and we shall not only not restore any more

slaves, but shall proclaim freedom wherever we go. And it

seems to me almost judicial blindness on the part of the

South that they do not see that this must be the inevitable

result, if the contest is prolonged."

This sentiment became bolder daily as the thinking Union men viewed the

army turning aside from its legitimate purposes, to catch runaway

negroes, and return them. Party lines were also giving away; men in the

army began to realize the worth of the negroes as they sallied up to the

rebel breastworks that were often impregnable. They began to complain,

finding the negro with his pick and spade, a greater hinderance to their

progress than the cannon balls of the enemy; and more than one said to

the confederates, when the pickets of the two armies picnicked together

in the battle's lull, as frequently they did: "We can whip you, if you

keep your negroes out of your army."

Quite a different course was pursued in the navy. Negroes were readily

accepted all along the coast on board the war vessels, it being no

departure from the regular and established practice in the service. The

view with which the loyal friends of the Union began to look at the

negro and the rebellion, was aptly illustrated in an article in the

Montgomery (Ala.) _Advertiser_ in 1861, which said:

"THE SLAVES AS A MILITARY ELEMENT IN THE SOUTH.--The total

white population of the eleven States now comprising the

Confederacy is 6,000,000, and, therefore, to fill up the

ranks of the proposed army (600,000) about ten per cent of

the entire white population will be required. In any other

country than our own such a draft could not be met, but the

Southern States can furnish that number of men, and still

not leave the material interests of the country in a

suffering condition. Those who are incapacitated for bearing

arms can oversee the plantations, and the negroes can go on

undisturbed in their usual labors. In the North the case is

different; the men who join the army of subjugation are the

laborers, the producers, and the factory operatives. Nearly

every man from that section, especially those from the rural

districts, leaves some branch of industry to suffer during

his absence. The institution of slavery in the South alone

enables her to place in the field a force much larger in

proportion to her white population than the North, or indeed

any country which is dependent entirely on free labor. The

institution is a tower of strength to the South,

particularly at the present crisis, and our enemies will be

likely to find that the 'moral cancer' about which their

orators are so fond of prating, is really one of the most

effective weapons employed against the Union by the South.

Whatever number of men may be needed for this war, we are

confident our people stand ready to furnish. We are all

enlisted for the war, and there must be no holding back

until the independence of the South is fully acknowledged."

The facts already noted became apparent to the nation very soon, and

then came a change of procedure, and the war began to be prosecuted upon

quite a different policy. Gen. McClellan, whose loyalty to the new

policy was doubted, was removed from the command of the Army of the

Potomac, and slave catching ceased. The XXXVII Congress convened in Dec.

1861, in its second session, and passed the following additional article

of war:

"All officers are prohibited from employing any of the

forces under their respective commands for the purpose of

returning fugitives from service or labor who may have

escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is

claimed to be due. Any officer who shall be found guilty by

court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed

from the service."

This was the initatory measure of the new policy, which progressed to

its fulfillment rapidly. And then what Mr. Cameron, Secretary of War,

had recommended in December, 1861, and to which the President objected,

very soon developed, through a series of enactments, in the arming of

the negro; in which the loyal people of the whole country acquiesced,

save the border states people, who fiercely opposed it as is shown in

the conduct of Mr. Wickliffe, of Kentucky; Salisbury, of Delaware, and

others in Congress.

[Illustration: DRIVING GOVT. CATTLE]

Public opinion was now changed, Congress had prohibited the surrender of

negroes to the rebels, the President issued his Emancipation

Proclamation, and more than 150,000 negroes were fighting for the Union.

The Republican party met in convention at Chicago, and nominated Mr.

Lincoln for the second term as President of the United States; the

course of his first administration was now to be approved or rejected by

the people. In the resolutions adopted, the fifth one of them related to

Emancipation and the negro soldiers. It was endorsed by a very large

majority of the voters. A writer in one of the magazines, prior to the

election, thus reviews the resolutions:

"The fifth resolution commits us to the approval of two

measures that have aroused the most various and strenuous

opposition, the Proclamation of Emancipation and the use of

negro troops. In reference to the first, it is to be

remembered that it is a war measure. The express language of

it is: 'By virtue of the power in me vested as

commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States

in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and

Government of the United States, and as a _fit and necessary

war measure for suppressing said rebellion_.' Considered

thus, the Proclamation is not merely defensible, but it is

more; it is a proper and efficient means of weakening the

rebellion which every person desiring its speedy overthrow

must zealously and perforce uphold. Whether it is of any

legal effect beyond the actual limits of our military lines,

is a question that need not agitate us. In due time the

supreme tribunal of the nation will be called to determine

that, and to its decision the country will yield with all

respect and loyalty. But in the mean time let the

Proclamation go wherever the army goes, let it go wherever

the navy secures a foothold on the outer border of the rebel

territory, and let it summon to our aid the negroes who are

truer to the Union than their disloyal masters; and when

they have come to us and put their lives in our keeping, let

us protect and defend them with the whole power of the

nation. Is there anything unconstitutional in that? Thank

God, there is not. And he who is willing to give back to

slavery a single person who has heard the summons and come

within our lines to obtain his freedom, he who would give up

a single man, woman, or child, once thus actually freed, is

not worthy the name of American. He may call himself

Confederate, if he will.

"Let it be remembered, also that the Proclamation has had a

very important bearing upon our foreign relations. It

evoked in behalf of our country that sympathy on the part of

the people in Europe, whose is the only sympathy we can ever

expect in our struggle to perpetuate free institutions.

Possessing that sympathy, moreover, we have had an element

in our favor which has kept the rulers of Europe in

wholesome dread of interference. The Proclamation relieved

us from the false position before attributed to us of

fighting simply for national power. It placed us right in

the eyes of the world, and transferred men's sympathies from

a confederacy fighting for independence as a means of

establishing slavery, to a nation whose institutions mean

constitutional liberty, and, when fairly wrought out, must

end in universal freedom."

The change of policy and of public opinion was so strongly endorsed that

it affected the rebels, who shortly passed a Congressional measure for

arming 200,000 negroes themselves. What a reversal of things; what a

change of sentiment, in less than twenty-four months![14] Mr. Lincoln,

in justifying the change, is reported to have said to Judge Mills, of

Wisconsin:

"The slightest knowledge of arithmetic will prove to any man

that the rebel armies cannot be destroyed with Democratic

strategy. It would sacrifice all the white men of the North

to do it. There are now in the service of the United States

near two hundred thousand able-bodied colored men, most of

them under arms, defending and acquiring Union territory.

The Democratic strategy demands that these forces be

disbanded, and that the masters be conciliated by restoring

them to slavery. The black men who now assist Union

prisoners to escape, they are to be converted into our

enemies in the vain hope of gaining the good will of their

masters. We shall have to fight two nations instead of one.

You cannot conciliate the South if you guarantee to them

ultimate success; and the experience of the present war

proves their success is inevitable if you fling the

compulsory labor of millions of black men into their side of

the scale. Will you give our enemies such military

advantages as insure success, and then depend on coaxing,

flattery, and concession to get them back into the Union?

Abandon all the posts now garrisoned by black men; take two

hundred thousand men from our side and put them in the

battle-field or cornfield against us, and we would be

compelled to abandon the war in three weeks. We have to hold

territory in inclement and sickly places; where are the

Democrats to do this? It was a free fight, and the field

was open to the war Democrats to put down this rebellion by

fighting against both master and slave, long before the

present policy was inaugurated. There have been men base

enough to propose to me to return to slavery the black

warriors of Port Hudson and Olustee, and thus win the

respect of the masters they fought. Should I do so, I should

deserve to be dammed in time and eternity. Come what will, I

will keep my faith with friend and foe. My enemies pretend I

am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of

abolition. So long as I am President, it shall be carried on

for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. But no human

power can subdue this rebellion without the use of the

emancipation policy, and every other policy calculated to

weaken the moral and physical forces of the rebellion.

Freedom has given us two hundred thousand men raised on

southern soil. It will give us more yet. Just so much it has

subtracted from the enemy; and instead of alienating the

South, there are now evidences of a fraternal feeling

growing up between our men and the rank and file of the

rebel soldiers. Let my enemies prove to the country that the

destruction of slavery is not necessary to the restoration

of the Union. I will abide the issue."

But the change of policy did not change the opinion of the Southerners,

who, notwithstanding the use which the Confederate Government was making

of the negro, still regarded him, in the _United States_ uniform, as a

vicious brute, to be shot at sight. I prefer, in closing this chapter,

to give the Southern opinion of the negro, in the words of a

distinguished native of that section. Mr. George W. Cable, in his

"Silent South," thus gives it:

"He was brought to our shores a naked, brutish, unclean,

captive, pagan savage, to be and remain a kind of connecting

link between man and the beasts of burden. The great changes

to result from his contact with a superb race of masters

were not taken into account. As a social factor he was

intended to be as purely zero as the brute at the other end

of his plow line. The occasional mingling of his blood with

that of the white man worked no change in the sentiment;

one, two, four, eight, multiplied upon or divided in to

zero, still gave zero for the result. Generations of

American nativity made no difference; his children and

children's children were born in sight of our door, yet the

old notion held fast. He increased to vast numbers, but it

never wavered. He accepted our dress, language, religion,

all the fundamentals of our civilization, and became forever

expatriated from his own land; still he remained, to us, an

alien. Our sentiment went blind. It did not see that

gradually, here by force and there by choice, he was

fulfilling a host of conditions that earned at least a

solemn moral right to that naturalization which no one at

first had dreamed of giving him. Frequently he even bought

back the freedom of which he had been robbed, became a

tax-payer, and at times an educator of his children at his

own expense; but the old idea of alienism passed laws to

banish him, his wife, and children by thousands from the

State, and threw him into loathsome jails as a common felon

for returning to his native land. It will be wise to

remember that these were the acts of an enlightened, God

fearing people."

[Illustration: SCENE IN AND NEAR A RECRUITING OFFICE.]

FOOTNOTES:

[11] I arrived in New York in August, 1862, from Valparaiso, Chili, on

the steamship "Bio-Bio," of Boston, and in company with two Spaniards,

neither of whom could speak English, enlisted in a New York regiment. We

were sent to the rendezvous on one of the islands in the harbor. The

third day after we arrived at the barracks, I was sent with one of my

companions to carry water to the cook, an aged negro, who immediately

recognized me, and in such a way as to attract the attention of the

corporal, who reported the matter to the commanding officer, and before

I could give the cook the hint, he was examined by the officer of the

day. At noon I was accompanied by a guard of honor to the launch, which

landed me in New York. I was a negro, that was all; how it was accounted

for on the rolls I cannot say. I was honorably discharged, however,

without receiving a certificate to that effect.

[12] The Indians referred to are many of those civilized and living as

citizens in the several States of the Union.

[13] See Appendix, "A."

[14] "Those who have declaimed loudest against the employment of negro

troops have shown a lamentable amount of ignorance, and an equally

lamentable lack of common sense. They know as little of the military

history and martial qualities of the African race as they do of their

own duties as commanders.

"All distinguished generals of modern times who have had opportunity to

use negro soldiers, have uniformly applauded their subordination,

bravery, and powers of endurance. Washington solicited the military

services of negroes in the revolution, and rewarded them. Jackson did

the same in the war of 1812. Under both those great captains, the negro

troops fought so well that they received unstinted praise."--_Charles

Sumner._