CIVIL AFFAIRS.--PRESIDENT JOHNSON.
Major Delany was fully cognizant of the exceeding delicacy of his
position, filling, as he was, a position of trust and honor such as no
man of his race had ever yet obtained under the general government; and
how easily it could be compromised _in his case_! yet his old ardor
in contributing his efforts in building up any measure, or uprooting
whatever opposition presented itself in the onward march of his race,
remained unabated.
Notwithstanding his position in the army, yet to every one aware
of his life-long consecration to the interests of his race, there
would be no hesitancy on their part to decide on which side he would
be found in any matter in which he should choose between them and
his position. While he studiously avoided the general discussion of
politics, he was by no means indifferent to the political aspect of
the times, and aided, in his position as the military official, as he
had formerly done in deeds as the civilian. Thus, while in Beaufort
awaiting orders, the subject of reconstruction being under popular
discussion, he perceived that the claims of the colored people were
evaded; and that the sacrifice of lives made in countless battle-fields
by dusky warriors, that the country might be saved, was valueless
and unappreciated. His moral courage urged him to remonstrate, even
though his position should be compromised. To this end he addressed the
following to President Johnson, which afterwards found its way into
print:--
_To His Excellency_ PRESIDENT JOHNSON:
Sir: _I propose, simply_ as a black man,--one of the race most
directly interested in the question of _enfranchisement_ and
the _exercise_ of suffrage,--_a cursory view of the basis of
security for perpetuating the Union_.
When the compact was formed, the British--a foreign
nation--threatened the integrity and destruction of the
American colonies. This outside pressure drove them together
as independent states, and so long as they desired a
Union,--appreciating the power of the enemy, and comprehending
their own national strength,--it was sufficient security
against any attempt at a dissolution or foreign subjugation.
So soon, however, as, mistaking their own strength, or
designing an alliance with some other power, a portion
of those states became dissatisfied with the Union, and
recklessly sought its dissolution by a resort to the sword,
so nearly equally divided were the two sections, that foreign
intervention or an exhausting continuance of the struggle would
most certainly have effected a dissolution of the Union.
But an element, heretofore latent and unthought of,--a power
passive and unrecognized,--suddenly presented itself to the
American mind, and its arm to the nation. This power was
developed in the blacks, heretofore discarded as a national
nonentity--a dreg or excrescence on the body politic. Free,
without rights, or slaves, mainly,--therefore _things_
constructively,--when called to the country’s aid they
developed a force which proved the balance precisely called
for, and essentially necessary as an elementary part of the
national strength. Without this force, or its equivalent, the
rebellion could not have been subdued, and without it as an
inseparable national element, the Union is insecure.
What becomes necessary, then, to secure and perpetuate the
integrity of the Union, is simply the _enfranchisement_ and
recognition of the _political equality_ of the power that saved
the nation from destruction in a time of imminent peril--a
recognition of the _political equality_ of the blacks with
the whites in all of their relations as American citizens.
Therefore, with the elective franchise, and the exercise of
suffrage in all of the Southern States recently holding slaves,
there is no earthly power able to cope with the United States
as a military power; consequently nothing to endanger the
national integrity. Nor can there ever arise from this element
the same contingency to threaten and disturb the quietude of
the country as that which has just been so happily disposed of.
Because, believing themselves sufficiently able, either with or
without foreign aid, the rebels drew the sword against their
country, which developed a power in national means--military,
financial, and statesmanship--that astonished the world, and
brought them to submission. Hence, whatever their disposition
or dissatisfaction, the blacks, nor any other fractional part
of the country, with the historic knowledge before them of its
prowess, will ever be foolhardy enough to attempt rebellion
or secession. And their own political interest will ever keep
them true and faithful to the Union, thereby securing their own
liberty, and proving a lasting safe-guard as a balance in the
political scale of the country.
As the fear of the British, as an outside pressure, drove,
and for a time kept and held the Union together, so will the
fear of the loss of liberty and their political status, as an
element in this great nation, serve as the outside pressure
_necessary_ to secure the fidelity of the blacks to the Union.
And this fidelity, unlike that of the rebels, need never be
mistrusted; because, unlike them, the blacks have before them
the _proofs_ of the _power_ and _ability_ of the Union to
maintain unsullied the _prestige_ of the national integrity,
even were they, like them, traitorously disposed to destroy
their country, or see it usurped by foreign nations.
This, sir, seems to me conclusive, and is the main point upon
which I base my argument against the contingency of a future
dissolution of the American Union, and in favor of its security.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
M. R. DELANY,
_Major 104th U. S. C. T._
PORT ROYAL ISLAND, S. C., July 25, 1866.
On another occasion from his island post he stood an interested
listener to the sounds which the breeze bore up to him, telling of the
plans of reconstruction towards the Southern States. Impatient, he
watched for the action of the leaders of colored people themselves on
this momentous question, but as yet saw no evidence of it.
In his position as an officer in the service of the government, and a
civil magistrate, as all officers of the Bureau necessarily are, he was
contributing a giant’s help to the cause, which, in view of the limited
sphere apportioned his race, rendered him an invaluable auxiliary.
The political horizon had suddenly become overcast; the rôle of the
executive was changed to that of Pharaoh instead of “Moses,” and he
beheld with joy the general uprising of the colored people in their
strength to avert the threatening ruin.
It was an occasion long to be remembered, and suggestive of a moral
which should not be lost sight of by the American people. They sent
from every section of the Union delegated representatives of their own
race to the national capital, near the government, to “lobby” for their
claims in the great American body politic, as at this time these claims
were fast being evaded, if not actually ignored.
It is not yet forgotten the visit of the delegates to the president;
his remarks on the occasion, with the advice to _place their cause
before the people_; or the able manner in which the noble Douglass
replied to him, and the subsequent ringing appeal which he made resound
through the land to reach the people.
Major Delany, anxious to identify himself with the movement, though
absent from the immediate scene, showed his entire coöperation with
them in the following letter, which he addressed to them:--
BUREAU R. F. A. L.,
PORT ROYAL, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S. C.,
February, 22, 1866.
_To Messrs. G. T. DOWNING, WILLIAM WHIPPER, FREDERICK
DOUGLASS, JOHN JONES, L. H. DOUGLASS, and others, Colored
Delegation representing the Political Interests of the
Colored People of the United States, now near the Capital and
Government, Washington, D. C._
My dear Brothers: I have been watching with deep interest your
movements at Washington, near the government of your country.
I need not repeat to you that which you all know, and that
which we have oft repeated to each other privately, in council,
and through the public journals,--we are one in interest and
destiny in America. I am with you; yea, if your intentions,
designs, purposes, matter, and _manner_ continue the same as
those presented to the chief magistrate of the nation, then
I am with you always, even to the end. Be mild, as is the
nature of your race; be respectful and deferential, as you
will be; and dignified as you have been; but be determined and
persevering. Your position before the saged president, and
reply after you left him, challenges the admiration of the
world. At least it challenges mine, and as a brother you have
it.
Do not misjudge the president, but believe, as I do, that he
means to do right; that his intentions are good; that he is
interested, among those of others of his fellow-citizens,
in the welfare of the black man. That he loves Cæsar none
the less, but Rome more. Do not expect too much of him--as
black men, I mean. Do not forget that you are black and he
is white. Make large allowances for this, and take this as
the stand-point. Whatever we may think of ourselves, do not
forget that we are far in advance of our white American
fellow-citizens in that direction. Remember that men are very
differently constituted, and what one will dread and shun
another will boldly dare and venture; where one would succeed
another might fail. Not far from where I am at present posted
on the coast of South Carolina, there are several inlets, of
which I will name two--Edisto and St. Helena. Of these, one
pilot will shun one, and another the other, each taking his
vessel easily through that which he enters; while another will
not venture into either, but prefers--especially during a
storm--to go outside to sea for the safety of the vessel; all
reaching, timely, their destination, Hilton Head, in safety.
Here, what one shuns as a danger another regards as a point of
safety; and that which one dreads another dares. What General
Sherman succeeded in, General Meade might have failed in; while
General Grant may have prosecuted either with success. Men must
be measured and adjudged according to their temperaments and
peculiar constitutional faculties.
Do not grow weary nor discouraged, neither disheartened nor
impatient. Do not forget God. Think, O think how wonderfully
he made himself manifest during the war. Only think how he
confounded, not only the wisdom of the mighty of this land, but
of the world, making them confess that he is the Lord, high
over all, and most mighty. He still lives. Put your trust in
him. As my soul liveth, you will reap if you faint not. Wait!
“The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but
he that endureth to the end.” Bide your time.
Since we last met in council great changes have taken place,
and much has been gained. The battle-cry has been heard in
our midst, a terrible contest of civil war has raged, and a
death-struggle for national life summoned every lover of the
Union to the combat. We among our fellow-citizens received the
message, and eagerly obeyed the call. Our black right arms
were stripped, our bosoms bared, and we stood in the front rank
of battle. Slavery yielded, the yoke was broken, the manacles
shattered, the shackles fell, and we stood forth a race
redeemed! Instead of despair, “Glory to God!” rather let us
cry. In the cause of our country you and I have done, and still
are doing, our part, and a great and just nation will not be
unmindful of it. God is just. Stand still and see his salvation.
“Be patient in your misery;
Be meek in your despair;
Be patient, O be patient!
Suffer on, suffer on!”
Your brother in the cause of our common country,
M. R. DELANY.
Before the immediate reapers themselves could discern the whitening
harvest, he had within sight other fields in which to lead them.
For their protection, and at the same time to facilitate the duties
of the Bureau, he established a police system, each plantation or
settlement having its distinct body of policemen, not exceeding five.
This included the chief, or, as called by the freedmen, “headman,” who
made choice of his assistants, who reported, and were responsible to
him for their action; the chief, in turn, monthly reporting to Major
Delany. And all such cases as could not be settled by the chief of
police were immediately reported to him at headquarters. As it was
mutually beneficial, causing each to respect the right of the other,
this arrangement found favor with both planters and freedmen. It was
practically demonstrating the reality of the new social relation. It
was designed by him to prove the fitness of the ex-slave to perform his
part in the duties of the civil, with equal ability to that displayed
in the military service of the government, while it would seem to make
him more self-reliant, and desirous of controlling his own affairs as a
free man. It proved a success.
After its adoption, Brigadier General Nye, commanding the district
at that time, witnessing its utility, at once approved of it. And it
continued uninterrupted through all the succeeding commands.
Their vigilance in detecting fraud and other unlawful practices, it
was acknowledged, far exceeded the military police. Nothing seemed to
escape them. Indeed, it was often said their adroitness in detection
was such as might be coveted by a New York detective.
They were frequently called upon by the military authorities to
accomplish work which strictly belonged to the soldier police, but in
which they had failed.
It was a matter of general regret that there was no remuneration
provided for these men, who had so cheerfully and faithfully served the
country, aiding in establishing order where otherwise anarchy might
have ensued.