THE NEGROES AT A MILITARY POST.
The Soldiers at Waterproof.--The Black Man in Blue.--Mutiny and
Desertion.--Their Cause and Cure.--Tendering a Resignation.--No Desire
for a Barber.--Seeking Protection.--Falsehood and Truth.--Proneness to
Exaggeration.--Amusing Estimates.
The soldiers forming the garrison at Waterproof, at that time, were
from a regiment raised by Colonel Eaton, superintendent of contrabands
at Vicksburg. They were recruited in the vicinity of Vicksburg and
Milliken's Bend, especially for local defense. They made, as the
negro everywhere has made, excellent material for the army. Easily
subordinate, prompt, reliable, and keenly alert when on duty (as their
shooting at me will evince), they completely gave the lie to the Rebel
assertion that the negro would prove worthless under arms.
On one point only were they inclined to be mutinous. Their home ties
were very strong, and their affection for their wives and children
could not be overcome at once. It appeared that when this regiment
was organized it was expected to remain at Milliken's Bend, where the
families of nearly all the men were gathered. The order transferring
them to Waterproof was unlooked for, and the men made some complaint.
This was soon silenced, but after the regiment had been there three or
four weeks, a half-dozen of the men went out of the lines one night,
and started to walk to Milliken's Bend. They were brought back,
and, after several days in the guardhouse, returned to duty. Others
followed their example in attempting to go home, and for a while
the camp was in a disturbed condition. Desertions were of daily
occurrence.
It was difficult to make them understand they were doing wrong. The
army regulations and the intricacies of military law were unknown to
them. They had never studied any of General Halleck's translations
from the French, and, had they done so, I doubt if they would have
been much enlightened. None of them knew what "desertion" meant,
nor the duties of a soldier to adhere to his flag at all times. All
intended to return to the post after making a brief visit to their
families. Most of them would request their comrades to notify their
captains that they would only be absent a short time. Two, who
succeeded in eluding pursuit, made their appearance one morning as
if nothing had happened, and assured their officers that others
would shortly be back again. Gradually they came to understand
the wickedness of desertion, or absence without leave, but this
comprehension of their obligations was not easily acquired.
A captain, commanding a company at Waterproof, told me an amusing
story of a soldier "handing in his resignation." As the captain was
sitting in front of his quarters, one of his men approached him,
carrying his musket and all his accoutrements. Without a word the man
laid his entire outfit upon the ground, in front of the captain, and
then turned to walk away.
"Come back here," said the officer; "what do you mean by this?"
"I'se tired of staying here, and I'se going home," was the negro's
answer, and he again attempted to move off.
"Come back here and pick these things up," and the captain spoke in a
tone that convinced the negro he would do well to obey.
The negro told his story. He was weary of the war; he had been four
weeks a soldier; he wanted to see his family, and had concluded to
go home. If the captain desired it, he, would come back in a little
while, but he was going home then, "_any how_."
The officer possessed an amiable disposition, and explained to
the soldier the nature of military discipline. The latter was soon
convinced he had done wrong, and returned without a murmur to his
duty. Does any soldier, who reads this, imagine himself tendering his
resignation in the above manner with any prospect of its acceptance?
When the first regiment of colored volunteers was organized in Kansas,
it was mainly composed of negroes who had escaped from slavery in
Missouri. They were easily disciplined save upon a single point, and
on this they were very obstinate. Many of the negroes in Missouri, as
in other parts of the South, wear their hair, or wool, in little knots
or braids. They refused to submit to a close shearing, and threatened
to return to their masters rather than comply with the regulation.
Some actually left the camp and went home. The officers finally
carried their point by inducing some free negroes in Leavenworth,
whose heads were adorned with the "fighting cut," to visit the camp
and tell the obstinate ones that long locks were a badge of servitude.
The negroes on our plantation, as well as elsewhere, had a strong
desire to go to Waterproof to see the soldiers. Every Sunday they were
permitted to go there to attend church, the service being conducted by
one of their own color. They greatly regretted that the soldiers
did not parade on that day, as they missed their opportunities for
witnessing military drills. To the negroes from plantations in the
hands of disloyal owners, the military posts were a great attraction,
and they would suffer all privations rather than return home. Some
of them declared they would not go outside the lines under any
consideration. We needed more assistance on our plantation, but it
was next to impossible to induce negroes to go there after they found
shelter at the military posts. Dread of danger and fondness for their
new life were their reasons for remaining inside the lines. A portion
were entirely idle, but there were many who adopted various modes of
earning their subsistence.
At Natchez, Vicksburg, and other points, dealers in fruit, coffee,
lemonade, and similar articles, could be found in abundance. There
were dozens of places where washing was taken in, though it was not
always well done. Wood-sawing, house-cleaning, or any other kind of
work requiring strength, always found some one ready to perform it.
Many of those who found employment supported themselves, while
those who could not or would not find it, lived at the expense of
Government. The latter class was greatly in the majority.
I have elsewhere inserted the instructions which are printed in every
"Plantation Record," for the guidance of overseers in the olden time.
"Never trust a negro," is the maxim given by the writer of those
instructions. I was frequently cautioned not to believe any statements
made by negroes. They were charged with being habitual liars, and
entitled to no credence whatever. Mrs. B. constantly assured me the
negroes were great liars, and I must not believe them. This assurance
would be generally given when I cited them in support of any thing
she did not desire to approve. _Per contrâ_, she had no hesitation in
referring to the negroes to support any of her statements which their
testimony would strengthen. This was not altogether feminine weakness,
as I knew several instances in which white persons of the sterner sex
made reference to the testimony of slaves. The majority of Southern
men refuse to believe them on all occasions; but there are many who
refer to them if their statements are advantageous, yet declare them
utterly unworthy of credence when the case is reversed.
I have met many negroes who could tell falsehoods much easier than
they could tell the truth. I have met others who saw no material
difference between truth and its opposite; and I have met many whose
statements could be fully relied upon. During his whole life, from
the very nature of the circumstances which, surround him, the slave
is trained in deception. If he did not learn to lie it would be
exceedingly strange. It is my belief that the negroes are as truthful
as could be expected from their education. White persons, under
similar experience and training, would not be good examples for the
young to imitate. The negroes tell many lies, but all negroes are
not liars. Many white persons tell the truth, but I have met, in the
course of my life, several men, of the Caucasian race, who never told
the truth unless by accident.
I found in the plantation negroes a proneness to exaggeration, in
cases where their fears or desires were concerned. One day, a negro
from the back country came riding rapidly to our plantation, declaring
that the woods, a mile distant, were "full of Rebels," and asking
where the Yankee soldiers were. I questioned him for some time. When
his fears were quieted, I ascertained that he had seen three mounted
men, an hour before, but did not know what they were, or whether armed
or not.
When I took the plantations, Mrs. B. told me there were twenty bales
of cotton already picked; the negroes had told her so. When I surveyed
the place on the first day of my occupation, the negroes called my
attention to the picked cotton, of which they thought there were
twenty or twenty-five bales. With my little experience in cotton, I
felt certain there would be not more than seven bales of that lot.
When it was passed through the gin and pressed, there were but five
bales.
We wished to plant about fifty acres of corn on the larger plantation.
There was a triangular patch in one corner that we estimated to
contain thirty acres. The foreman of the plow-gang, who had lived
twenty years on the place, thought there were about sixty acres. He
was surprised when we found, by actual measurement, that the patch
contained twenty-eight acres. Another spot, which he thought contained
twenty acres, measured less than ten. Doubtless the man's judgment had
been rarely called for, and its exercise, to any extent, was decidedly
a new sensation.
Any thing to which the negroes were unaccustomed became the subject
of amusing calculations. The "hog-minder" could estimate with
considerable accuracy the weight of a hog, either live or dressed.
When I asked him how much he supposed his own weight to be, he was
entirely lost. On my demanding an answer, he thought it might be three
hundred pounds. A hundred and sixty would not have been far from the
real figure.
Incorrect judgment is just as prevalent among ignorant whites as
among negroes, though with the latter there is generally a tendency to
overestimate. Where negroes make wrong estimates, in three cases out
of four they will be found excessive. With whites the variation will
be diminutive as often as excessive. In judging of numbers of men, a
column of troops, for example, both races are liable to exaggerate,
the negro generally going beyond the pale-face. Fifty mounted men may
ride past a plantation. The white inhabitants will tell you a hundred
soldiers have gone by, while the negroes will think there were two or
three hundred.
I was often surprised at the ability of the negroes to tell the names
of the steamboats plying on the river. None of the negroes could
read, but many of them would designate the different boats with great
accuracy. They recognized the steamers as they would recognize the
various trees of the forest. When a new boat made its appearance they
inquired its name, and forgot it very rarely.
On one occasion a steamer came in sight, on her way up the river.
Before she was near enough for me to make out the name on her side,
one of the negroes declared it was the _Laurel Hill_. His statement
proved correct. It was worthy of note that the boat had not passed
that point for nearly a year previous to that day.