CHAPTER XX.

CAPTURE AND TREATMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.

THE MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES DISTASTEFUL TO THE REBEL

AUTHORITIES.--THE CONFEDERATES THE FIRST TO EMPLOY NEGROES AS

SOLDIERS.--JEFFERSON DAVIS REFERS TO THE SUBJECT IN HIS MESSAGE,

AND THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS ORDERS ALL NEGROES CAPTURED TO BE

TURNED OVER TO THE STATE AUTHORITIES, AND RAISES THE "BLACK FLAG"

UPON WHITE OFFICERS COMMANDING NEGRO SOLDIERS.--THE NEW YORK

PRESS CALLS UPON THE GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT ITS NEGRO

SOLDIERS.--SECRETARY STANTON'S ACTION.--THE PRESIDENT'S

ORDER.--CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GEN. PECK AND GEN. PICKETT IN

REGARD TO THE KILLING OF A COLORED MAN AFTER HE HAD SURRENDERED

AT THE BATTLE OF NEWBERN.--SOUTHERN PRESS ON THE CAPTURE AND

TREATMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.--THE REBELS REFUSE TO EXCHANGE NEGRO

SOLDIERS CAPTURED ON MORRIS AND JAMES ISLANDS ON ACCOUNT OF THE

ORDER OF THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS WHICH REQUIRED THEM TO BE

TURNED OVER TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SEVERAL STATES.--JEFFERSON

DAVIS ISSUES A PROCLAMATION OUTLAWING GEN. B. F. BUTLER,--HE IS

TO BE HUNG WITHOUT TRIAL BY ANY CONFEDERATE OFFICER WHO MAY

CAPTURE HIM.--THE BATTLE OF FORT PILLOW.--THE GALLANT DEFENCE BY

THE LITTLE BAND OF UNION TROOPS.--IT REFUSES TO CAPITULATE AND IS

ASSAULTED AND CAPTURED BY AN OVERWHELMING FORCE.--THE UNION

TROOPS BUTCHERED IN COLD BLOOD.--THE WOUNDED ARE CARRIED INTO

HOUSES WHICH ARE FIRED AND BURNED WITH THEIR HELPLESS

VICTIMS.--MEN ARE NAILED TO THE OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS THROUGH

THEIR HANDS AND FEET AND BURNT ALIVE.--THE WOUNDED AND DYING ARE

BRAINED WHERE THEY LAY IN THEIR EBBING BLOOD.--THE OUTRAGES ARE

RENEWED IN THE MORNING.--DEAD AND LIVING FIND A COMMON SEPULCHRE

IN THE TRENCH.--GENERAL CHALMERS ORDERS THE KILLING OF A NEGRO

CHILD.--TESTIMONY OF THE FEW UNION SOLDIERS WHO WERE ENABLED TO

CRAWL OUT OF THE GILT EDGE, FIRE PROOF HELL AT PILLOW.--THEY GIVE

A SICKENING ACCOUNT OF THE MASSACRE BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE

ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.--GEN. FORREST'S FUTILE ATTEMPT TO

DESTROY THE RECORD OF HIS FOUL CRIME.--FORT PILLOW MASSACRE

WITHOUT A PARALLEL IN HISTORY.

The appearance of Negroes as soldiers in the armies of the United

States seriously offended the Southern view of "the eternal fitness of

things." No action on the part of the Federal Government was so

abhorrent to the rebel army. It called forth a bitter wail from

Jefferson Davis, on the 12th of January, 1863, and soon after the

Confederate Congress elevated its olfactory organ and handled the

subject with a pair of tongs. After a long discussion the following

was passed:

"_Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of

America_, In response to the message of the President,

transmitted to Congress at the commencement of the present

session, That, in the opinion of Congress, the commissioned

officers of the enemy ought _not_ to be delivered to the

authorities of the respective States, as suggested in the said

message, but all captives taken by the Confederate forces ought

to be dealt with and disposed of by the Confederate Government.

"SEC. 2. That, in the judgment of Congress, the proclamations of

the President of the United States, dated respectively September

22, 1862, and January 1, 1863, and the other measures of the

Government of the United States and of its authorities,

commanders, and forces, designed or tending to emancipate slaves

in the Confederate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to incite

them to insurrection, or to employ negroes in war against the

Confederate States, or to overthrow the institution of African

Slavery, and bring on a servile war in these States, would, if

successful, produce atrocious consequences, and they are

inconsistent with the spirit of those usages which, in modern

warfare, prevail among civilized nations; they may, therefore, be

properly and lawfully repressed by retaliation.

"SEC. 3. That in every case wherein, during the present war, any

violation of the laws or usages of war among civilized nations

shall be, or has been, done and perpetrated by those acting under

the authority of the Government of the United States, on the

persons or property of citizens of the Confederate States, or of

those under the protection or in the land or naval service of the

Confederate States, or of any State of the Confederacy, the

President of the Confederate States is hereby authorized to cause

full and ample retaliation to be made for every such violation,

in such manner and to such extent as he may think proper.

"SEC. 4. That every white person, being a commissioned officer,

or acting as such, who, during the present war, shall command

negroes or mulattoes in arms against the Confederate States, or

who shall arm, train, organize, or prepare negroes or mulattoes

for military service against the Confederate States, or who shall

voluntarily aid negroes or mulattoes in any military enterprise,

attack, or conflict in such service, shall be deemed as inciting

servile insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or

be otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

"SEC. 5. Every person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as

such in the service of the enemy, who shall, during the present

war, excite, attempt to excite, or cause to be excited, a servile

insurrection, or who shall incite, or cause to be incited, a

slave or rebel, shall, if captured, be put to death, or be

otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

"SEC. 6. Every person charged with an offence punishable under

the preceding resolutions shall, during the present war, be tried

before the military court attached to the array or corps by the

troops of which he shall have been captured, or by such other

military court as the President may direct, and in such manner

and under such regulations as the President shall prescribe; and,

after conviction, the President may commute the punishment in

such manner and on such terms as he may deem proper.

"SEC. 7. All negroes and mulattoes who shall be engaged in war,

or be taken in arms against the Confederate States, or shall give

aid or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall,

when captured in the Confederate States, be delivered to the

authorities of the State or States in which they shall be

captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future

laws of such State or States."

This document stands alone among the resolves of the civilized

governments of all Christendom. White persons acting as commissioned

officers in organizations of Colored Troops were to "be put to death!"

And all Negroes and Mulattoes taken in arms against the Confederate

Government were to be turned over to the authorities:--civil, of

course--of the States in which they should be captured, to be dealt

with according to the present or future laws of such States! Now, what

were the laws of the Southern States respecting Negroes in arms

against white people? The most cruel death. And fearing some of those

States had modified their cruel slave Code, the States were granted

the right to pass _ex post facto_ laws in order to give the

cold-blooded murder of captured Negro soldiers the semblance of

law,--and by a _civil law_ too. Colored soldiers and their officers

had been butchered before this in South Carolina, Mississippi,

Louisiana, and Florida, notwithstanding the rebels were the first to

arm Negroes, as has been already shown. If the Confederates had a

right to arm Negroes and include them in their armies, why could not

the Federal Government pursue the same policy? But the Rebel

Government had determined upon a barbarous policy in dealing with

captured Negro soldiers,--and barbarous as that policy was, the rebel

soldiers exceeded its cruel provisions tenfold. Their treatment of

Negroes was perfectly fiendish.

But what was the attitude of the Federal Government? Silence, until

the butcheries of its gallant defenders had sickened the civilized

world, and until the Christian governments of Europe frowned upon the

inhuman indifference of the Government that would _force_ its slaves

to fight its battles and then allow them to be tortured to death in

the name of "_State laws_!" Even the most conservative papers of the

North began to feel that some policy ought to be adopted whereby the

lives of Colored soldiers could be protected against the inhuman

treatment bestowed upon them when captured by the rebels. In the

spring of 1863, the "Tribune," referring to this subject, said,

editorially:

"The Government has sent Adj.-General Thomas to the West with

full authority to arm and organize the negroes for service

against the Rebels. They are to be employed to protect the

navigation of the Mississippi and other rivers against

guerrillas, and as garrisons at fortified posts, and are

evidently destined for all varieties of military duty. Seven

thousand soldiers who listened to this announcement at Fort

Curtis received it with satisfaction and applause. Gen. Thomas,

heretofore known as opposed to this and all similar measures,

urged in his address that the Blacks should be treated with

kindness; declared his belief in their capacity, and informed the

officers of the army that no one would be permitted to oppose or

in any way interfere with this policy of the Government.

"It is not directly stated, but may be inferred from the

Despatch, that the negroes are not to be encouraged to enlist,

but are to be drafted. At all events, the policy of the

Government to employ Black Troops in active service is definitely

established, and it becomes--as indeed it has been for months--a

very serious question what steps are to be taken for their

protection. The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis remains

unrevoked. By it he threatened death or slavery to every negro

taken in arms, and to their white officers the same fate. What is

the response of our Government? Hitherto, silence. The number of

negroes in its service has already increased; in South Carolina

they have already been mustered into regiments by a sweeping

conscription, and now in the West apparently the same policy is

adopted and rigorously enforced.

"Does the Government mean that the men are to be exposed not

merely to the chances of battle, but to the doom which the

unanswered Proclamation of the Rebel President threatens?

"Every black soldier now marches to battle with a halter about

his neck. The simple question is: Shall we protect and insure the

ordinary treatment of a prisoner of war? Under it, every negro

yet captured has suffered death or been sent back to the hell of

slavery from which he had escaped. The bloody massacre of black

prisoners at Murfreesboro, brooked, so far as the public knows,

no retaliation at Washington. The black servants captured at

Galveston--free men and citizens of Massachusetts--were sold into

slavery and remained there. In every instance in which they have

had the opportunity, the rebels have enforced their barbarous

proclamation. How much longer are they to be suffered to do it

without remonstrance?

"Gen. Hunter--at this moment in the field,--General. Butler, and

hundreds of other white officers are included in this

Proclamation, or were previously outlawed and adjudged a felon's

death. Delay remonstrance much longer, and retaliation must

supersede it. If the Government wishes to be spared the necessity

of retaliating, it has only to _say_ that it will retaliate--to

declare by proclamation or general order that all its soldiers

who may be captured must receive from the Rebels the treatment to

which, as prisoners of war, they are, by the usages of war,

entitled. The Government can know no distinction of color under

its flag. The moment a soldier shoulders a musket he is invested

with every military right which belongs to a white soldier. He is

at least and above all things entitled to the safeguards which

surround his white comrades.

"It is not possible to suppose the Government means to withhold

them; we only urge that the wisest, safest, and humanest, as well

as the most honorable policy, is at once to announce its

purpose."[112]

The able article just quoted had a wholesome effect upon many

thoughtful men at the South, and brought the blush to the cheek of the

nation. A few of the Southern journals agreed with Mr. Greeley that

the resolves of the Confederate Congress were unjustifiable; that the

Congress had no right to say what color the Union soldiers should be;

and that such action would damage their cause in the calm and humane

judgment of all Europe. But the Confederate Congress was unmoved and

unmovable upon this subject.

Three Colored men had been captured in Stone River on the gun-boat

"Isaac Smith." They were free men; but, notwithstanding this, they

were placed in close confinement and treated like felons. Upon the

facts reaching the ear of the Government, Secretary Stanton took three

South Carolina prisoners and had them subjected to the same treatment,

and the facts telegraphed to the Rebel authorities. Commenting upon

the question of the treatment of captured Colored soldiers the

"Richmond Examiner" said:

"It is not merely the pretension of a regular Government

affecting to deal with 'Rebels,' but it is a deadly stab which

they are aiming at our institutions themselves--because they know

that, if we were insane enough to yield this point, to treat

Black men as the equals of White, and insurgent slaves as

equivalent to our brave soldiers, the very foundation of Slavery

would be fatally wounded."

Shortly after this occurrence an exchange of prisoners took place in

front of Charleston. The rebels returned only white prisoners. When

upbraided by the Union officers for not exchanging Negroes the reply

came that under the resolutions of the Confederate Congress they could

not deliver up any Negro soldiers. This fact stirred the heart of the

North, and caused the Government to act. The following order was

issued by the President:

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, }

"WASHINGTON, July 30, 1863. }

"It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its

citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially

to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public

service. The law of nations, and the usages and customs of war,

as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to

color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To

sell or enslave any captured person, on account of his color, and

for no offense against the laws of war, is a relapse into

barbarism, and a crime against the civilization of the age.

"The Government of the United States will give the same

protection to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or

enslave any one because of his color, the offense shall be

punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our

possession.

"It is therefore ordered that, for every soldier of the United

States killed in violation of the laws of war, a Rebel soldier

shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or

sold into Slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor

on public works, and continued at such labor until the other

shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of

war.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"By order of the Secretary of War.

"E. D. TOWNSEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_."

In the early spring of 1864, there was a great deal said in the

Southern journals and much action had in the rebel army respecting the

capture and treatment of Negro soldiers. The "Richmond Examiner"

contained an account of the battle of Newbern, North Carolina, in

which the writer seemed to gloat over the fact that a captured Negro

had been hung after he had surrendered. It came to the knowledge of

Gen. Peck, commanding the army of the District of North Carolina, when

the following correspondence took place:

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AND DISTRICT OF }

"NORTH CAROLINA, NEWBERN, NORTH }

"CAROLINA, Feb. 11, 1864: }

"Major-General PICKETT, _Department of Virginia and North

Carolina, "Confederate Army, Petersburg_.

"GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose a slip cut from the

Richmond 'Examiner,' February eighth, 1864. It is styled 'The

Advance on Newbern,' and appears to have been extracted from the

Petersburg 'Register,' a paper published in the city where your

headquarters are located.

"Your attention is particularly invited to that paragraph which

states 'that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by a negro soldier from

the other side of the river, which he was spanning with a pontoon

bridge, and that the negro was watched, followed, taken, and

hanged after the action at Thomasville.

"'THE ADVANCE ON NEWBERN.--The Petersburg "Register" gives the

following additional facts of the advance on Newbern: Our army,

according to the report of passengers arriving from Weldon, has

fallen back to a point sixteen miles west of Newbern. The reason

assigned for this retrograde movement was that Newbern could not

be taken by us without a loss on our part which would find no

equivalent in its capture, as the place was stronger than we had

anticipated. Yet, in spite of this, we are sure that the

expedition will result in good to our cause. Our forces are in a

situation to get large supplies from a country still abundant, to

prevent raids on points westward, and keep tories in check, and

hang them when caught.

"'From a private, who was one of the guard that brought the batch

of prisoners through, we learn that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by

a negro soldier from the other side of the river, which he was

spanning with a pontoon bridge. The negro was watched, followed,

taken, and hanged after the action at Thomasville. It is stated

that when our troops entered Thomasville, a number of the enemy

took shelter in the houses and fired upon them. The Yankees were

ordered to surrender, but refused, whereupon our men set fire to

the houses, and their occupants got, bodily, a taste in this

world of the flames eternal.'

"The Government of the United States has wisely seen fit to

enlist many thousand colored citizens to aid in putting down the

rebellion, and has placed them on the same footing in all

respects as her white troops.

* * * * *

"Believing that this atrocity has been perpetrated without your

knowledge, and that you will take prompt steps to disavow this

violation of the usages of war, and to bring the offenders to

justice, I shall refrain from executing a rebel soldier until I

learn your action in the premises.

"I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"JOHN J. PECK,

"_Major-General_."

REPLY OF GENERAL PICKETT.

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NORTH }

"CAROLINA, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, February 16, 1864. }

"Major-General JOHN J. PECK, U. S. A., _Commanding at Newbern_:

"GENERAL: Your communication of the eleventh of February is

received. I have the honor to state in reply, that the paragraph

from a newspaper inclosed therein, is not only without foundation

in fact, but so ridiculous that I should scarcely have supposed

it worthy of consideration; but I would respectfully inform you

that had I caught _any negro_, who had killed either officer,

soldier, or citizen of the Confederate States, I should have

caused him to be immediately executed.

"To your threat expressed in the following extract from your

communication, namely: 'Believing that this atrocity has been

perpetrated without your knowledge, and that you will take prompt

steps to disavow this violation of the usages of war, and to

bring the offenders to justice, I shall refrain from executing a

rebel soldier until I learn of your action in the premises,' I

have merely to say that I have in my hands and subject to my

orders, captured in the recent operations in this department,

some four hundred and fifty officers and men of the United States

army, and for every man you hang I will hang ten of the United

States army.

"I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"J. E. PICKETT,

"_Major-General Commanding_."[113]

As already indicated, some of the Southern journals did not endorse

the extreme hardships and cruelties to which the rebels subjected the

captured Colored men. During the month of July, 1863, quite a number

of Colored soldiers had fallen into the hands of the enemy on Morris

and James islands. The rebels did not only refuse to exchange them as

prisoners of war, but treated them most cruelly.

On this very important subject, in reply to some strictures of the

Charleston "Mercury" (made under _misapprehension_), the Chief of

Staff of General Beauregard addressed to that journal the following

letter:

"HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF S. C., GA., AND FLA., }

"CHARLESTON, S. C., August 12, 1863. }

"Colonel R. B. RHETT, Jr., _Editor of_ 'Mercury':

"In the 'Mercury' of this date you appear to have written under a

misapprehension of the facts connected with the present _status_

of the negroes captured in arms on Morris and James Islands,

which permit me to state as follows:

"The Proclamation of the President, dated December twenty-fourth,

1862, directed that all negro slaves captured in arms should be

at once delivered over to the executive authorities of the

respective States to which they belong, to be dealt with

according to the laws of said States.

"An informal application was made by the State authorities for

the negroes captured in this vicinity; but as none of them, it

appeared, had been slaves of citizens of South Carolina, they

were not turned over to the civil authority, for at the moment

there was no official information at these headquarters of the

Act of Congress by which 'all negroes and mulattoes, who shall be

engaged in war, or be taken in arms against the confederate

States, or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the

confederate States,' were directed to be turned over to the

authorities of 'State or States in which they shall be captured,

to be dealt with according to the present or future laws of such

State or States.'

"On the twenty-first of July, however, the Commanding General

telegraphed to the Secretary of War for instructions as to the

disposition to be made of the negroes captured on Morris and

James Islands, and on the twenty-second received a reply that

they must be turned over to the State authorities, by virtue of

the joint resolutions of Congress in question.

"Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth July, as soon as a copy of the

resolution or act was received, his Excellency Governor Bonham

was informed that the negroes captured were held subject to his

orders, to be dealt with according to the laws of South Carolina.

"On the same day (twenty-ninth July) Governor Bonham requested

that they should be retained in military custody until he could

make arrangements to dispose of them; and in that custody they

still remain, awaiting the orders of the State authorities.

"Respectfully, your obedient servant,

"THOMAS JORDAN,

"_Chief of Staff._"

The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis, referred to in the second

paragraph of Mr. Jordan's letter, had declared Gen. Butler "a felon,

an outlaw, and an enemy of mankind." It recited his hanging of

Mumford; the neglect of the Federal Government to explain or

disapprove the act; the imprisonment of non-combatants; Butler's woman

order; his sequestration of estates in Western Louisiana; and the

inciting to insurrection and arming of slaves. Mr. Davis directed any

Confederate officer who should capture Gen. Butler to hang him

immediately and without trial. Mr. Davis's proclamation is given here,

as history is bound to hold him personally responsible for the

cruelties practised upon Negro soldiers captured by the rebels from

that time till the close of the war.

"First. That all commissioned officers in the command of said

Benjamin F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as

soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, but as robbers and

criminals, deserving death; and that they and each of them be,

whenever captured, reserved for execution.

"Second. That the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers

in the army of said Butler be considered as only the instruments

used for the commission of crimes perpetrated by his orders, and

not as free agents; that they, therefore, be treated, when

captured as prisoners of war, with kindness and humanity, and be

sent home on the usual parole that they will in no manner aid or

serve the United States in any capacity during the continuance of

this war, unless duly exchanged.

"Third. That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once

delivered over to the executive authorities of the respective

States to which they belong, to be dealt with according to the

laws of said States.

"Fourth. That the like orders be executed in all cases with

respect to all commissioned officers of the United States, when

found serving in company with said slaves in insurrection against

the authorities of the different States of this Confederacy.

"[Signed and sealed at Richmond, Dec. 23, 1862.]

"JEFFERSON DAVIS."

The ghastly horrors of Fort Pillow stand alone in the wide field of

war cruelties. The affair demands great fortitude in the historian who

would truthfully give a narrative of such bloody, sickening detail.

On the 18th of April, 1864, Gen. N. B. Forrest, commanding a corps of

Confederate cavalry, appeared before Fort Pillow, situated about

forty miles above Memphis, Tennessee, and demanded its surrender. It

was held by Major L. F. Booth, with a garrison of 557 men, 262 of whom

were Colored soldiers of the 6th U. S. Heavy Artillery; the other

troops were white, under Major Bradford of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry.

The garrison was mounted with six guns. From before sunrise until nine

A.M. the Union troops had held an outer line of intrenchments; but

upon the death of Major Booth Major Bradford retired his force into

the fort. It was situated upon a high bluff on the Mississippi River,

flanked by two ravines with sheer declivities and partially timbered.

The gun-boat "New Era" was to have coöperated with the fort, but on

account of the extreme height of the bluff, was unable to do much. The

fighting continued until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when the

firing slackened on both sides to allow the guns to cool off. The "New

Era," nearly out of shell, backed into the river to clean her guns.

During this lull Gen. Forrest sent a flag of truce demanding the

unconditional surrender of the fort. A consultation of the Federal

officers was held, and a request made for twenty minutes to consult

the officers of the gun-boat. Gen. Forrest refused to grant this,

saying that he only demanded the surrender of the fort and not the

gun-boat. He demanded an immediate surrender, which was promptly

declined by Major Bradford. During the time these negotiations were

going on, Forrest's men were stealing horses, plundering the buildings

in front of the fort, and closing in upon the fort through the

ravines, which was unsoldierly and cowardly to say the least. Upon

receiving the refusal of Major Booth to capitulate, Forrest gave a

signal and his troops made a frantic charge upon the fort. It was

received gallantly and resisted stubbornly, but there was no use of

fighting. In ten minutes the enemy, assaulting the fort in the centre,

and striking it on the flanks, swept in. The Federal troops

surrendered; but an indiscriminate massacre followed. Men were shot

down in their tracks; pinioned to the ground with bayonet and sabre.

Some were clubbed to death while dying of wounds; others were made to

get down upon their knees, in which condition they were shot to death.

Some were burned alive, having been fastened into the buildings, while

still others were nailed against the houses, tortured, and then burned

to a crisp. A little Colored boy only eight years old was lifted to

the horse of a rebel who intended taking him along with him, when

Gen. Forrest meeting the soldier ordered him to put the child down and

shoot him. The soldier remonstrated, but the stern and cruel order was

repeated, emphasized with an oath, and backed with a threat that

endangered the soldier's life, so he put the child on the ground and

shot him dead! From three o'clock in the afternoon until the merciful

darkness came and threw the sable wings of night over the carnival of

death, the slaughter continued. The stars looked down in pity upon the

dead--ah! they were beyond the barbarous touch of the rebel

fiends--and the dying; and the angels found a spectacle worthy of

their tears. And when the morning looked down upon the battle-field,

it was not to find it peaceful in death and the human hyenas gone.

Alas! those who had survived the wounds of the day before were set

upon again and brained or shot to death.

The Committee on the Conduct and Expenditures of the War gave this

"Horrible Massacre" an investigation. They examined such of the Union

soldiers as escaped from death at Fort Pillow and were sent to the

Mound City Hospital, Illinois. The following extracts from the

testimony given before the Committee, the Hons. Ben. F. Wade and D. W.

Gooch, give something of an idea of this the most cruel and inhuman

affair in the history of the civilized world.

Manuel Nichols (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States

Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Question. Were you in the late fight at Fort Pillow?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Q. Were you wounded there?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. When?

A. I was wounded once about a half an hour before we gave up.

Q. Did they do any thing to you after you surrendered?

A. Yes, sir; they shot me in the head under my left ear, and the

morning after the fight they shot me again in the right arm. When

they came up and killed the wounded ones, I saw some four or five

coming down the hill. I said to one of our boys: "Anderson, I

expect if those fellows come here they will kill us." I was lying

on my right side, leaning on my elbow. One of the black soldiers

went into the house where the white soldiers were. I asked him if

there was any water in there, and he said yes; I wanted some, and

took a stick and tried to get to the house. I did not get to the

house. Some of them came along, and saw a little boy belonging

to Company D. One of them had his musket on his shoulder, and

shot the boy down. He said: "All you damned niggers come out of

the house; I am going to shoot you." Some of the white soldiers

said: "Boys, it is only death anyhow; if you don't go out they

will come in and carry you out." My strength seemed to come to me

as if I had never been shot, and I jumped up and ran down the

hill. I met one of them coming up the hill; he said: "Stop!" but

I kept on running. As I jumped over the hill, he shot me through

the right arm.

Q. How many did you see them kill after they had surrendered?

A. After I surrendered I did not go down the hill. A man shot me

under the ear, and I fell down and said to myself: "If he don't

shoot me any more this won't hurt me." One of their officers came

along and hallooed: "Forrest says no quarter! no quarter!" and

the next one hallooed: "Black flag! black flag!"

Q. What did they do then?

A. They kept on shooting. I could hear them down the hill.

Q. Did you see them bury any body?

A. Yes, sir; they carried me around right to the corner of the

Fort, and I saw them pitch men in there.

Q. Was there any alive?

A. I did not see them bury any body alive.

Q. How near to you was the man who shot you under the ear?

A. Right close to my head. When I was shot in the side, a man

turned me over, and took my pocket-knife and pocket-book. I had

some of these brass things that looked like cents. They said:

"Here's some money; here's some money." I said to myself: "You

got fooled that time."

Major Williams (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States

Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.

By the Chairman:

Q. Where were you raised?

A. In Tennessee and North Mississippi.

Q. Where did you enlist?

A. In Memphis.

Q. Who was your captain?

A. Captain Lamburg.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was your captain with you?

A. No, sir; I think he was at Memphis.

Q. Who commanded your company?

A. Lieutenant Hunter and Sergeant Fox were all the officers we

had.

Q. What did you see done there?

A. We fought them right hard during the battle, and killed some

of them. After a time they sent in a flag of truce. They said

afterward that they did it to make us stop firing until their

reinforcements could come up. They said that they never could

have got in if they had not done that; that we had whipped them;

that they had never seen such a fight.

Q. Did you see the flag of truce?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did they do when the flag of truce was in?

A. They kept coming up nearer, so that they could charge quick. A

heap of them came up after we stopped firing.

Q. When did you surrender?

A. I did not surrender until they all ran.

Q. Were you wounded then?

A. Yes, sir; after the surrender.

Q. At what time of day was that?

A. They told me it was about half after one o'clock, I was

wounded. Immediately we retreated.

Q. Did you have any arms in your hands when they shot you?

A. No, sir; I was an artillery man, and had no arms.

Q. Did you see the man who shot you?

A. No, sir.

Q. Did you hear him say any thing?

A. No, sir; I heard nothing. He shot me, and I was bleeding

pretty free, and I thought to myself: "I will make out it was a

dead shot, and maybe I will not get another."

Q. Did you see any others shot?

A. No, sir.

Q. Was there any thing said about giving quarter?

A. Major Bradford brought in a black flag, which meant no

quarter. I heard, some of the rebel officers say: "You damned

rascals, if you had not fought us so hard, but had stopped when

we sent in a flag of truce, we would not have done any thing to

you." I heard one of the officers say: "Kill all the niggers";

another one said: "No; Forrest says take them and carry them with

him to wait upon him and cook for him, and put them in jail and

send them to their masters." Still they kept on shooting. They

shot at me after that, but did not hit me; a rebel officer shot

at me. He took aim at my side; at the crack of his pistol I fell.

He went on and said: "There's another dead nigger."

Q. Was there any one shot in the hospital that day?

A. Not that I know of. I think they all came away and made a raft

and floated across the mouth of the creek and got into a flat

bottom.

Q. Did you see any buildings burned?

A. I stayed in the woods all day Wednesday. I was there Thursday

and looked at the buildings. I saw a great deal left that they

did not have a chance to burn up. I saw a white man burned up who

was nailed up against the house.

Q. A private or an officer?

A. An officer; I think it was a lieutenant in the Tennessee

cavalry.

Q. How was he nailed?

A. Through his hands and feet right against the house.

Q. Was his body burned?

A. Yes, sir; burned all over--I looked at him good.

Q. When did you see that?

A. On the Thursday after the battle.

Q. Where was the man?

A. Right in front of the Fort.

Jacob Thompson (Colored), sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Were you a soldier at Fort Pillow?

A. No, sir; I was not a soldier; but I went up in the Fort and

fought with the rest. I was shot in the hand and the head.

Q. When were you shot?

A. After I surrendered.

Q. How many times were you shot?

A. I was shot but once; but I threw my hand up, and the shot went

through my hand and my head.

Q. Who shot you?

A. A private.

Q. What did he say?

A. He said: "God damn you, I will shoot you, old friend."

Q. Did you see anybody else shot?

A. Yes, sir; they just called them out like dogs, and shot them

down. I reckon they shot about fifty, white and black, right

there. They nailed some black sergeants to the logs, and set the

logs on fire.

Q. When did you see that?

A. When I went there in the morning I saw them; they were burning

all together.

Q. Did they kill them before they burned them?

A. No, sir; they nailed them to the logs; drove the nails right

through their hands.

Q. How many did you see in that condition?

A. Some four or five; I saw two white men burned.

Q. Was there any one else there who saw that?

A. I reckon there was; I could not tell who.

Q. When was it that you saw them?

A. I saw them in the morning after the fight; some of them were

burned almost in two. I could tell they were white men, because

they were whiter than the colored men.

Q. Did you notice how they were nailed?

A. I saw one nailed to the side of a house; he looked like he was

nailed right through his wrist. I was trying then to get to the

boat when I saw it.

Q. Did you see them kill any white men?

A. They killed some eight or nine there. I reckon they killed

more than twenty after it was all over; called them out from

under the hill, and shot them down. They would call out a white

man and shoot him down, and call out a colored man and shoot him

down; do it just as fast as they could make their guns go off.

Q. Did you see any rebel officers about there when this was going

on?

A. Yes, sir; old Forrest was one.

Q. Did you know Forrest?

A. Yes, sir; he was a little bit of a man. I had seen him before

at Jackson.

Ransom Anderson (Colored), Company B, Sixth United States Heavy

Artillery, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Where were you raised?

A. In Mississippi.

Q. Were you a slave?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Where did you enlist?

A. At Corinth.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Describe what you saw done there.

A. Most all the men that were killed on our side were killed

after the fight was over. They called them out and shot them

down. Then they put some in the houses and shut them up, and

then burned the houses.

Q. Did you see them burn?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Were any of them alive?

A. Yes, sir; they were wounded, and could not walk. They put them

in the houses, and then burned the houses down.

Q. Do you know they were in there?

A. Yes, sir; I went and looked in there.

Q. Do you know they were in there when the house was burned?

A. Yes, sir; I heard them hallooing there when the houses were

burning.

Q. Are you sure they were wounded men, and not dead men, when

they were put in there?

A. Yes, sir; they told them they were going to have the doctor

see them, and then put them in there and shut them up, and burned

them.

Q. Who set the house on fire?

A. I saw a rebel soldier take some grass and lay it by the door,

and set it on fire. The door was pine plank, and it caught easy.

Q. Was the door fastened up?

A. Yes, sir; it was barred with one of those wide bolts.

James Walls, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. To what company did you belong?

A. To Company E, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Under what officers did you serve?

A. I was under Major Bradford and Captain Potter.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State what you saw there of the fight, and what was done after

the place was captured.

A. We fought them for some six or eight hours in the Fort, and

when they charged our men scattered and ran under the hill; some

turned back and surrendered, and were shot. After the flag of

truce came in I went down to get some water. As I was coming back

I turned sick, and laid down behind a log. The secesh charged,

and after they came over I saw one go a good ways ahead of the

others. One of our men made to him and threw down his arms. The

bullets were flying so thick there I thought I could not live

there, so I threw down my arms and surrendered. He did not shoot

me then, but as I turned around he or some other one shot me in

the back.

Q. Did they say any thing while they were shooting?

A. All I heard was: "Shoot him, shoot him!" "Yonder he goes!"

"Kill him, kill him!" That is about all I heard.

Q. How many do you suppose you saw shot after they surrendered?

A. I did not see but two or three shot around me. One of the boys

of our company, named Taylor, ran up there, and I saw him shot

and fall. Then another was shot just before me, like--shot down

after he threw down his arms.

Q. Those were white men?

A. Yes, sir. I saw them make lots of niggers stand up, and then

they shot them down like hogs. The next morning I was lying

around there waiting for the boat to come up. The secesh would be

prying around there, and would come to a nigger, and say: "You

ain't dead, are you?" They would not say any thing; and then the

secesh would get down off their horses, prick them in their

sides, and say: "Damn you, you ain't dead; get up." Then they

would make them get up on their knees, when they would shoot them

down like hogs.

* * * * *

Q. Did you see any rebel officers about while this shooting was

going on?

A. I do not know as I saw any officers about when they were

shooting the negroes. A captain came to me a few minutes after I

was shot; he was close by me when I was shot.

Q. Did he try to stop the shooting?

A. I did not hear a word of their trying to stop it. After they

were shot down, he told them not to shoot them any more. I begged

him not to let them shoot me again, and he said they would not.

One man, after he was shot down, was shot again. After I was shot

down, the man I surrendered to went around the tree I was against

and shot a man, and then came around to me again and wanted my

pocket-book. I handed it up to him, and he saw my watch-chain and

made a grasp at it, and got the watch and about half the chain.

He took an old Barlow knife I had in my pocket. It was not worth

five cents; was of no account at all, only to cut tobacco with.

Lieutenant McJ. Leming, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What is your rank and position?

A. I am a First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Thirteenth

Tennessee Cavalry. A short time previous to the fight I was

Post-Adjutant at Fort Pillow, and during most of the engagement

I was acting as Post-Adjutant. After Major Booth was killed,

Major Bradford was in command. The pickets were driven in just

before sunrise, which was the first intimation we had that the

enemy were approaching. I repaired to the Fort, and found that

Major Booth was shelling the rebels as they came up toward the

outer intrenchments. They kept up a steady fire by sharp-shooters

behind trees and logs and high knolls. The Major thought at one

time they were planting some artillery, or looking for places to

plant it. They began to draw nearer and nearer, up to the time

our men were all drawn into the Fort. Two companies of the

Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry were ordered out as sharp-shooters,

but were finally ordered in. We were pressed on all sides.

I think Major Booth fell not later than nine o'clock. His

Adjutant, who was then acting Post-Adjutant, fell near the same

time. Major Bradford then took the command, and I acted as

Post-Adjutant. Previous to this, Major Booth had ordered some

buildings in front of the Fort to be destroyed, as the enemy's

sharp-shooters were endeavoring to get possession of them. There

were four rows of buildings, but only the row nearest the fort

was destroyed; the sharp-shooters gained possession of the others

before they could be destroyed. The fight continued, one almost

unceasing fire all the time, until about three o'clock. They

threw some shells, but they did not do much damage with their

shells.

I think it was about three o'clock that a flag of truce

approached. I went out, accompanied by Captain Young, the

Provost-Marshal of the post. There was another officer, I think,

but I do not recollect now particularly who it was, and some four

mounted men. The rebels announced that they had a communication

from General Forrest. One of their officers there, I think, from

his dress, was a colonel. I received the communication, and they

said they would wait for an answer. As near as I remember, the

communication was as follows:

"HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE CAVALRY, }

"NEAR FORT PILLOW, April 12, 1864. }

"As your gallant defence of the Fort has entitled you to the

treatment of brave men [or something to that effect], I now

demand an unconditional surrender of your force, at the same

time assuring you that they will be treated as prisoners of

war. I have received a fresh supply of ammunition, and can

easily take your position.

"N. B. FORREST.

"MAJOR L. F. BOOTH,

"_Commanding United States Forces_."

I took this message back to the Fort. Major Bradford replied that

he desired an hour for consultation and consideration with his

officers and the officers of the gun-boat. I took out this

communication to them, and they carried it back to General

Forrest. In a few minutes another flag of truce appeared, and I

went out to meet it. Some one said, when they handed the

communication to me: "That gives you twenty minutes to surrender;

I am General Forrest." I took it back. The substance of it was:

"Twenty minutes will be given you to take your men outside of the

Fort. If in that time they are not out, I will immediately

proceed to assault your works," or something of that kind. To

this Major Bradford replied: "I will not surrender." I took it

out in a sealed envelope, and gave it to him. The general opened

it and read it. Nothing was said; we simply saluted, and they

went their way, and I returned back into the Fort.

Almost instantly the firing began again. We mistrusted, while

this flag of truce was going on, that they were taking horses out

at a camp we had. It was mentioned to them, the last time that

this and other movements excited our suspicion, that they were

moving their troops. They said that they had noticed it

themselves, and had it stopped; that it was unintentional on

their part, and that it should not be repeated.

It was not long after the last flag of truce had retired, that

they made their grand charge. We kept them back for several

minutes. What was called ---- brigade or battalion attacked the

centre of the Fort where several companies of colored troops were

stationed. They finally gave way, and, before we could fill up

the breach, the enemy got inside the Fort, and then they came in

on the other two sides, and had complete possession of the Fort.

In the mean time nearly all the officers had been killed,

especially of the colored troops, and there was no one hardly to

guide the men. They fought bravely indeed until that time. I do

not think the men who broke had a commissioned officer over them.

They fought with the most determined bravery, until the enemy

gained possession of the Fort. They kept shooting all the time.

The negroes ran down the hill toward the river, but the rebels

kept shooting them as they were running; shot some again after

they had fallen; robbed and plundered them. After every thing was

all gone, after we had given up the Fort entirely, the guns

thrown away and the firing on our part stopped, they still kept

up their murderous fire, more especially on the colored troops, I

thought, although the white troops suffered a great deal. I know

the colored troops had a great deal the worst of it. I saw

several shot after they were wounded; as they were crawling

around, the secesh would step out and blow their brains out.

About this time they shot me. It must have been four or half-past

four o'clock. I saw there was no chance at all, and threw down my

sabre. A man took deliberate aim at me, but a short distance from

me, certainly not more than fifteen paces, and shot me.

Q. With a musket or pistol?

A. I think it was a carbine; it may have been a musket, but my

impression is, that it was a carbine. Soon after I was shot I was

robbed. A secesh soldier came along, and wanted to know if I had

any greenbacks. I gave him my pocket-book. I had about a hundred

dollars, I think, more or less, and a gold watch and gold chain.

They took every thing in the way of valuables that I had. I saw

them robbing others. That seemed to be the general way they

served the wounded, so far as regards those who fell in my

vicinity. Some of the colored troops jumped into the river, but

were shot as fast as they were seen. One poor fellow was shot as

he reached the bank of the river. They ran down and hauled him

out. He got on his hands and knees, and was crawling along, when

a secesh soldier put his revolver to his head, and blew his

brains out. It was about the same thing all along, until dark

that night.

I was very weak, but I finally found a rebel who belonged to a

society that I am a member of (the Masons), and he got two of our

colored soldiers to assist me up the hill, and he brought me some

water. At that time it was about dusk. He carried me up just to

the edge of the Fort, and laid me down. There seemed to be quite

a number of dead collected there. They were throwing them into

the outside trench, and I heard them talking about burying them

there. I heard one of them say: "There is a man who is not quite

dead yet." They buried a number there; I do not know how many.

I was carried that night to a sort of little shanty that the

rebels had occupied during the day with their sharp-shooters. I

received no medical attention that night at all. The next morning

early I heard the report of cannon down the river. It was the

gun-boat 28 coming up from Memphis; she was shelling the rebels

along the shore as she came up. The rebels immediately ordered

the burning of all the buildings, and ordered the two buildings

where the wounded were to be fired. Some one called to the

officer who gave the order, and said there were wounded in them.

The building I was in began to catch fire. I prevailed upon one

of our soldiers who had not been hurt much to draw me out, and I

think others got the rest out. They drew us down a little way, in

a sort of gully, and we lay there in the hot sun without water or

any thing.

About this time a squad of rebels came around, it would seem for

the purpose of murdering what negroes they could find. They began

to shoot the wounded negroes all around there, interspersed with

the whites. I was lying a little way from a wounded negro, when a

secesh soldier came up to him, and said: "What in hell are you

doing here?" The colored soldier said he wanted to get on the

gun-boat. The secesh soldier said: "You want to fight us again,

do you? Damn you, I'll teach you," and drew up his gun and shot

him dead. Another negro was standing up erect a little way from

me--he did not seem to be hurt much. The rebel loaded his gun

again immediately. The negro begged of him not to shoot him, but

he drew up his gun and took deliberate aim at his head. The gun

snapped, but he fixed it again, and then killed him. I saw this.

I heard them shooting all around there--I suppose killing them.

By the Chairman:

Q. Do you know of any rebel officers going on board our gun-boat

after she came up?

A. I don't know about the gun-boat, but I saw some of them on

board the "Platte Valley," after I had been carried on her. They

came on board, and I think went into drink with some of our

officers. I think one of the rebel officers was General Chalmers.

Q. Do you know what officers of ours drank with them?

A. I do not.

Q. You know that they did go on board the "Platte Valley" and

drink with some of our officers?

A. I did not see them drinking at the time, but I have no doubt

they did; that was my impression from all I saw, and I thought

our officers might have been in better business.

Q. Were our officers treating these rebel officers with

attention?

A. They seemed to be; I did not see much of it, as they passed

along by me.

Q. Do you know whether or not the conduct of the privates, in

murdering our soldiers after they had surrendered, seemed to have

the approval of their officers?

A. I did not see much of their officers, especially during the

worst of those outrages; they seemed to be back.

Q. Did you observe any effort on the part of their officers to

suppress the murders?

A. No, sir; I did not see any where I was first carried; just

about dusk, all at once several shots were fired just outside.

The cry was: "They are shooting the darkey soldiers." I heard an

officer ride up and say: "Stop that firing; arrest that man." I

suppose it was a rebel officer, but I do not know. It was

reported to me, at the time, that several darkeys were shot then.

An officer who stood by me, a prisoner, said that they had been

shooting them, but that the general had had it stopped.

Q. Do you know of any of our men in the hospital being murdered?

A. I do not.

Q. Do you know any thing of the fate of your Quartermaster,

Lieutenant Akerstrom?

A. He was one of the officers who went with me to meet the flag

of truce the last time. I do not know what became of him; that

was about the last I saw of him. I heard that he was nailed to a

board and burned, and I have very good reason for believing that

was the case, although I did not see it. The First Lieutenant of

Company D of my regiment says that he has an affidavit to that

effect of a man who saw it.

Francis A. Alexander, sworn and examined.

By the Chairman:

Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?

A. Company C, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Were you at Fort Pillow at the fight there?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who commanded your regiment?

A. Major Bradford commanded the regiment, and Lieutenant Logan

commanded our company.

Q. By what troops was the Fort attacked?

A. Forrest was in command. I saw him.

Q. Did you know Forrest?

A. I saw him there, and they all said it was Forrest. Their own

men said so.

Q. By what troops was the charge made?

A. They are Alabamians and Texans.

Q. Did you see any thing of a flag of truce?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State what was done while the flag of truce was in.

A. When the flag of truce came up our officers went out and held

a consultation, and it went back. They came in again with a flag

of truce; and while they were consulting the second time, their

troops were coming up a gap or hollow, where we could have cut

them to pieces. They tried it before, but could not do it. I saw

them come up there while the flag of truce was in the second

time.

Q. That gave them an advantage?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Were you wounded there?

A. Not in the Fort. I was wounded after I left the Fort and was

going down the hill.

Q. Was that before or after the Fort was taken?

A. It was afterward.

Q. Did you have any arms in your hand at the time they shot you?

A. No, sir; I threw my gun away, and started down the hill, and

got about twenty yards, when I was shot through the calf of the

leg.

Q. Did they shoot you more than once?

A. No, sir; they shot at me, but did not hit me more than once.

Q. Did they say why they shot you after you had surrendered?

A. They said afterward they intended to kill us all for being

there with their niggers.

Q. Were any rebel officers there at the time this shooting was

going on?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did they try to stop it?

A. One or two of them did.

Q. What did the rest of them do?

A. They kept shouting and hallooing at the men to give no

quarter. I heard that cry very frequent.

Q. Was it the officers that said that?

A. I think it was. I think it was them, the way they were going

on. When our boys were taken prisoners, if anybody came up who

knew them, they shot them down. As soon as ever they recognized

them, wherever it was, they shot them.

Q. After they had taken them prisoners?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you know any thing about their shooting men in the

hospitals?

A. I know of their shooting negroes in there. I don't know about

white men.

Q. Wounded negro men?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who did that?

A. Some of their troops. I don't know which of them. The next

morning I saw several black people shot that were wounded, and

some that were not wounded. One was going down the hill before

me, and the officer made him come back up the hill; and after I

got in the boat I heard them shooting them.

Q. You say you saw them shoot negroes in the hospital the next

morning?

A. Yes, sir; wounded negroes who could not get along; one with

his leg broke. They came there the next day and shot him.

John F. Ray, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?

A. Company B, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Were you at Fort Pillow, when it was attacked?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. At what time were you wounded?

A. I was wounded about two o'clock, after the rebels got in the

breastworks.

Q. Was it before or after you had surrendered?

A. It was after I threw down my gun, as they all started to run.

Q. Will you state what you saw there?

A. After I surrendered they shot down a great many white fellows

right close to me--ten or twelve, I suppose--and a great many

negroes, too.

Q. How long did they keep shooting our men after they

surrendered?

A. I heard guns away after dark shooting all that evening,

somewhere; they kept up a regular fire for a long time, and then

I heard the guns once in a while.

Q. Did you see any one shot the next day?

A. I did not; I was in a house, and could not get up at all.

Q. Do you know what became of the Quartermaster of your regiment,

Lieutenant Akerstrom?

A. He was shot by the side of me.

Q. Was he killed?

A. I thought so at the time; he fell on his face. He was shot in

the forehead, and I thought he was killed. I heard afterward he

was not.

Q. Did you notice any thing that took place while the flag of

truce was in?

A. I saw the rebels slipping up and getting in the ditch along

our breastworks.

Q. How near did they come up?

A. They were right at us; right across from the breastworks. I

asked them what they were slipping up there for. They made answer

that they knew their business.

Q. Are you sure this was done while the flag of truce was in?

A. Yes, sir. There was no firing; we could see all around; we

could see them moving up all around in large force.

Q. Was any thing said about it except what you said to the

rebels?

A. I heard all our boys talking about it. I heard some of our

officers remark, as they saw it coming, that the white flag was a

bad thing; that they were slipping on us. I believe it was

Lieutenant Akerstrom that I heard say it was against the rules of

war for them to come up in that way.

Q. To whom did he say that?

A. To those fellows coming up; they had officers with them.

Q. Was Lieutenant Akerstrom shot before or after he had

surrendered?

A. About two minutes after the flag of truce went back, during

the action.

Q. Do you think of any thing else to state? If so, go on and

state it.

A. I saw a rebel lieutenant take a little negro[114] boy up on

the horse behind him; and then I heard General Chalmers--I think

it must have been--tell him to "Take that negro down and shoot

him," or "Take him and shoot him," and he passed him down and

shot him.

Q. How large was the boy?

A. He was not more than eight years old. I heard the lieutenant

tell the other that the negro was not in the service; that he was

nothing but a child; that he was pressed and brought in there.

The other one said; "Damn the difference; take him down and shoot

him, or I will shoot him." I think it must have been General

Chalmers. He was a smallish man; he had on a long gray coat, with

a star on his coat.[115]

The country and the world stood aghast. The first account of this

human butchery was too much for credence: after a while the truth

began to dawn upon the country; and at last the people admitted that

in a Christian land like America a deed so foul--blacker than hell

itself!--had actually been perpetrated. The patience of the North and

the Union army gave way to bitterest imprecations; the exultation and

applause of the South and Confederate army were succeeded by serious

thoughts and sad reflections. But it is the duty of impartial history

to record that this bloody, sickening affair was not endorsed by all

the rebels.

In a letter dated Okalona, Mississippi, June. 14, 1864, to the

"Atlanta Appeal," a rebel gives this endorsement of Forrest's conduct

at Fort Pillow:

"You have heard that our soldiers buried negroes alive at Fort

Pillow. This is true. At the first fire after Forrest's men

scaled the walls, many of the negroes threw down their arms and

fell as if they were dead. They perished in the pretence, and

could only be restored at the point of the bayonet. To

resuscitate some of them, more terrified than the rest, they were

rolled into the trenches made as receptacles for the fallen.

Vitality was not restored till breathing was obstructed, and then

the resurrection began. On these facts is based the pretext for

the crimes committed by Sturgis, Grierson, and their followers.

You must remember, too, that in the extremity of their terror, or

for other reasons, the Yankees and negroes in Fort Pillow

neglected to haul down their flag. In truth, relying upon their

gun-boats, the officers expected to annihilate our forces after

we had entered the fortifications. They did not intend to

surrender.

"A terrible retribution, in any event, has befallen the ignorant,

deluded Africans."

Gen. Forrest was a cold-blooded murderer; a fiend in human form. But

as the grave has opened long since to receive him; and as the cause he

represented has perished from the earth, it is enough to let the

record stand without comment, and God grant without malice! It is the

duty of history to record that there is to be found no apologist for

cruelties that rebels inflicted upon brave but helpless Black soldiers

during the war for the extirpation of slavery. The Confederate conduct

at Pillow must remain a foul stain upon the name of the men who fought

to perpetuate human slavery in North America, but failed.

FOOTNOTES:

[112] New York Tribune, April 14, 1863.

[113] Rebellion Recs., vol. viii. Doc. pp. 418, 419.

[114] Gen. Chalmers has denied, with vehemence, that he ever did any

cruel act at Fort Pillow, but the record is against him. Soldiers

under brave, intelligent, and humane officers could never be guilty of

such cruel and unchristian conduct as these rebels at Pillow. Gen.

Chalmers is responsible. As an illustration of the gentle and

forgiving spirit of the Negro, it should be recorded here that many

supported the candidacy of Gen. Chalmers for Congress, and voted for

him at the recent election in Mississippi.

[115] See Report of Committee on Conduct of War.

Part 8.

_THE FIRST DECADE OF FREEDOM._

CHAPTER XXI.

RECONSTRUCTION[116]--MISCONSTRUCTION.

1865-1875.

THE WAR OVER, PEACE RESTORED, AND THE NATION CLEANSED OF A

PLAGUE.--SLAVERY GIVES PLACE TO A LONG TRAIN OF

EVENTS.--UNSETTLED CONDITION OF AFFAIRS AT THE SOUTH.--THE

ABSENCE OF LEGAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT NECESSITATES THE ESTABLISHMENT

OF PROVISIONAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT.--AN ACT ESTABLISHING A BUREAU

FOR REFUGEES AND ABANDONED LANDS.--CONGRESSIONAL METHODS FOR THE

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH.--GEN. U. S. GRANT CARRIES THESE

STATES IN 1868 AND 1872.--BOTH BRANCHES OF THE LEGISLATURES IN

ALL THE SOUTHERN STATES CONTAIN NEGRO MEMBERS.--THE ERRORS OF

RECONSTRUCTION CHARGEABLE TO BOTH SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

Appomattox had taken her place in history; and the echo of the triumph

of Federal arms was heard in the palaces of Europe. The United States

Government had survived the shock of the embattled arms of a gigantic

Rebellion; had melted the manacles of four million slaves in the fires

of civil war; had made four million bondmen freemen; had wiped slavery

from the map of North America; had demonstrated the truth that the

Constitution is the supreme law of the land; and that the United

States is a NATION, not a league.

The brazen-mouthed, shotted cannon were voiceless; a million muskets

and swords hung upon the dusty walls of silent arsenals; and war

ceased from the proud altitudes of the mountains of Virginia to where

the majestic Atlantic washes the shores of the Carolinas. A million

soldiers in blue melted quietly into the modest garb of citizens. The

myriad hum of busy shuttles, clanking machinery, and whirling wheels

proclaimed the day of peace. Families and communities were restored

and bound together by the indissoluble, golden ties of domestic

charities. The war was over; peace had been restored; and the nation

was cleansed of a plague.

But what was to be done with the millions of Negroes at the South? The

war had made them free. That was all. They could leave the plantation.

They had the right of locomotion; were property no longer. But what a

spectacle! Here were four million human beings without clothing,

shelter, homes, and, alas! most of them without names. The galling

harness of slavery had been cut off of their weary bodies, and like a

worn-out beast of burden they stood in their tracks scarcely able to

go anywhere. Like men coming from long confinement in a dark dungeon,

the first rays of freedom blinded their expectant eyes. They were

almost delirious with joy. The hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows,

the pain and waiting, the prayers and tears of the cruel years of

slavery gave place to a long train of events that swept them out into

the rapid current of a life totally different from the checkered

career whence they had just emerged. It required time, patience, and

extraordinary wisdom on the part of the Government to solve the

problem of this people's existence--of this "Nation born in a day."

Their joy was too full, their peace too profound, and their

thanksgiving too sincere to attract their attention at once to the

vulgar affairs of daily life. One fervent, beautiful psalm of praise

rose from every Negro hut in the South, and swelled in majestic

sweetness until the nation became one mighty temple canopied by the

stars and stripes, and the Constitution as the common altar before

whose undimmed lights a ransomed race humbly bowed.

The emancipated Negroes had no ability, certainly no disposition, to

reason concerning the changes and disasters which had overtaken their

former masters. The white people of the South were divided into three

classes. _First_, those who felt that defeat was intolerable, and a

residence in this country incongenial. They sought the service of the

Imperial cause in war-begrimed Mexico; they went to Cuba, Australia,

Egypt, and to Europe. _Second_, those who returned to their homes

after the "affair at Appomattox," and sitting down under the

portentous clouds of defeat, refused to take any part in the

rehabilitation of their States. _Third_, those who accepted the

situation and stood ready to aid in the work of reconstruction.

In the unsettled condition of affairs at the close of hostilities, as

there was no legal State governments at the South, necessity and

prudence suggested the temporary policy of dividing the South into

military districts. A provisional military government in the conquered

States was to pursue a pacific, protective, helpful policy. The people

of both races were to be fed and clothed. Schools were to be

established; agriculture and industry encouraged. Courts were to be

established of competent jurisdiction to hear and decide cases among

the people. Such a government while military in name was patriarchal

in spirit. As early as the spring of 1865, before the war was over, an

act was passed by Congress providing for the destitute of the South.

"AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BUREAU FOR THE RELIEF OF FREEDMEN AND

REFUGEES.

"_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled_, That there is

hereby established in the War Department, to continue during the

present war of rebellion, and for one year thereafter, a Bureau

of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, to which shall be

committed, as hereinafter provided, the supervision and

management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all

subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or

from any district of country within the territory embraced in the

operations of the army, under such rules and regulations as may

be prescribed by the head of the bureau and approved by the

President. The said bureau shall be under the management and

control of a commissioner, to be appointed by the President, by

and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose compensation

shall be three thousand dollars per annum, and such number of

clerks as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of War, not

exceeding one chief clerk, two of the fourth class, two of the

third class, three of the second class, and five of the first

class. And the commissioner and all persons appointed under this

act shall, before entering upon their duties, take the oath of

office prescribed in an act entitled, 'An act to prescribe an

oath of office, and for other purposes,' approved July 2, 1862.

And the commissioners and the chief clerk shall, before entering

upon their duties, give bonds to the Treasurer of the United

States, the former in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and the

latter in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the

faithful discharge of their duties respectively, with securities

to be approved as sufficient by the attorney general, which bonds

shall be filed in the office of the First Comptroller of the

Treasury, to be by him put in suit for the benefit of any injured

party, upon any breach of the conditions thereof.

"SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the Secretary of War

may direct such issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel as he

may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and

supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, and

their wives and children, under such rules and regulations as he

may direct.

"SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the President may, by

and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an

assistant commissioner for each of the States declared to be in

insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, under the

direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the

provisions of this act, and he shall give a bond to the Treasurer

of the United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in

the form and manner prescribed in the first section of this act.

Each of said assistant commissioners shall receive an annual

salary of two thousand and five hundred dollars, in full

compensation for all his services. And any military officer may

be detailed and assigned to duty under this act without increase

of pay or allowances. The commissioner shall, before the

commencement of each regular session of Congress, make full

report of his proceedings, with exhibits of the state of his

accounts, to the President, who shall communicate the same to

Congress, and shall also make special reports whenever required

to do so by the President, or either house of Congress. And the

assistant commissioners shall make quarterly reports of their

proceedings to the commissioner, and also such other special

reports as from time to time may be required.

"SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the commissioner,

under the direction of the President, shall have authority to set

apart for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen such tracts of

land, within the insurrectionary States, as shall have been

abandoned, or to which the United States shall have acquired

title by confiscation, or sale, or otherwise. And to every male

citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall

be assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the

person to whom it is so assigned shall be protected in the use

and enjoyment of the land for the term of three years, at an

annual rent not exceeding six per centum upon the value of said

land as it was appraised by the State authorities in the year

1860, for the purpose of taxation, and in case no such appraisal

can be found, then the rental shall be based upon the estimated

value of the land in said year, to be ascertained in such manner

as the commissioner may, by regulation, prescribe. At the end of

said term, or at any time during said term, the occupants of any

parcels so assigned may purchase the land and receive such title

thereto as the United States can convey, upon paying therefor

the value of the land, as ascertained and fixed for the purpose

of determining the annual rent as aforesaid.

"SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That all acts and parts of

acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby

repealed.

"ROBERT C. SCHENCK, HENRY WILSON,

"GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, JAMES HARLAN,

"JAMES S. ROLLINS, W. T. WILLEY,

"_Managers on part of House._ _Managers on part of Senate._"

To have subjected the late rebellious States to military rule for a

stated term of years, say a decade or a generation, would have given

force to the hasty statement of rebels and their sympathizers in the

courts of Europe. It was charged that the United States Government

fought to subjugate the Confederate States. The United States did not

"begin it," and did not intend, at any time, to lay the mailed hand of

military power against the throat of the rights of loyal citizens or

loyal States. The _sine qua non_ of reconstruction was _loyalty to the

Federal Government_. But while this idea was next to the heart of the

Government, the sudden and horrible taking off of Abraham Lincoln

discovered many master-builders, who built not well or wisely. The

early education of Andrew Johnson was not in line with the work of

reconstruction. His sympathies were with the South in spite of his

position and circumstances. The friends of his early political life

were more potent than the friends of a sound, sensible, and loyal

policy upon which to build the shattered governments of the South. And

by indicating and advocating a policy at variance with the logical

events of the war, he was guilty of a political crime, and did the

entire nation an irreparable injury.

Congress seemed to be unequal to the task of perfecting a proper plan

for reconstructing the Southern States. To couple general amnesty to

the rebels with suffrage to the Negroes was a most fatal policy. It

has been shown that there was but one class of white men in the South

friendly to reconstruction,--numerically, small; and mentally, weak.

But it was thought best to do this. To a triple element Congress

committed the work of reconstruction. The "_Scalawag_," the

"_Carpet-bagger_," and the _Negro_. Who were this trio? The scalawag

was the native white man who made up the middle class of the South;

the planter above, the Negro below. And between this upper and nether

millstone he was destined to be ground to powder, under the old

regime. A "nigger-driver," without schools, social position, or money,

he was "the poor white trash" of the South. He was loyal during the

war, because in the triumph of the Confederacy, with slavery as its

corner-stone, he saw no hope for his condition. Those of them who

fought under the rebel flag were unwilling conscripts. They had no

qualifications for governing--except that they were _loyal_; and this

was of no more use to them in this great work, than _piety_ in the

pulpit when the preacher cannot repeat the Lord's prayer without

biting his tongue. The carpet-baggers ran all the way from "good to

middling." Some went South with fair ability and good morals, where

they lost the latter article and never found it; while many more went

South to get all they could and keep all they got. The Negro could

boast of numerical strength only. The scalawag managed the Negro, the

latter did the voting, while the carpet-bagger held the offices. And

when there were "more stalls than horses" the Negroes and scalawags

occasionally got an office.

The rebels were still in a swoon.

The States were reconstructed, after a manner, and the governments

went forward.

In 1868 Gen. U. S. Grant carried these States. It was like the handle

on a jug, all on one side. The rebels took no part; but after a while

a gigantic Ku Klux conspiracy was discovered. This organization sought

to obstruct the courts, harass the Negroes, and cripple local

governments. It spread terror through the South and made a political

graveyard of startling dimensions. The writ of _habeas corpus_ was

suspended; arrests made, trials and convictions secured, and the

penitentiary at Albany, New York, crowded with the enemies of law and

order. A subsidence followed, and the scalawag-carpetbag-Negro

governments began a fresh existence.

In 1872 Gen. Grant carried the Southern States again, meeting with but

little resistance. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina there

were Negro lieutenant-governors. The Negroes were learning rapidly the

lesson of rotation in office, and demanded recognition. Alabama,

Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, were

represented, in part, by Negroes in the National House of

Representatives, and Mississippi in the Senate as well. Both branches

of the Legislatures of all the Southern States contained Negro

members; while many of the most important and lucrative offices in

the States were held by Negroes.

The wine cup, the gaming-table, and the parlors of strange women

charmed many of these men to the neglect of important public duties.

The bonded indebtedness of these States began to increase, the State

paper to depreciate, the burden of taxation to grow intolerable, bad

laws to find their way into the statute-books, interest in education

and industry to decline, the farm Negroes to grow idle and gravitate

to the infectious skirts of large cities, and the whole South went

from bad to worse.

The hand of revenge reached for the shot-gun, and before its deadly

presence white leaders were intimidated, driven out, or destroyed.

Before 1875 came, the white element in the Republican party at the

South was reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Thus abandoned,

the Negro needed the presence of the United States army while he

voted, held office, and drew his salary. But even the army lacked the

power to inject life into the collapsed governments at the South.

The mistake of reconstruction was twofold: on the part of the Federal

Government, in committing the destinies of the Southern States to

hands so feeble; and on the part of the South, in that its best men,

instead of taking a lively interest in rebuilding the governments they

had torn down, allowed them to be constructed with untempered mortar.

Neither the South nor the Government could say: "Thou canst not say I

did it: shake not thy gory locks at me." Both were culpable, and both

have suffered the pangs of remorse.

FOOTNOTES:

[116] I am preparing a History of the Reconstruction of the Late

Confederate States, 1865-1880. Hence I shall not enter into a thorough

treatment of the subject in this work. It will follow this work, and

comprise two volumes.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION.

THE APPARENT IDLENESS OF THE NEGRO SPORADIC RATHER THAN

GENERIC.--HE QUIETLY SETTLES DOWN TO WORK.--THE GOVERNMENT MAKES

AMPLE PROVISIONS FOR HIS EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT.--THE

MARVELLOUS PROGRESS MADE BY THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH IN

EDUCATION.--EARLIEST SCHOOL FOR FREEDMEN AT FORTRESS MONROE IN

1861.--THE RICHMOND INSTITUTE FOR COLORED YOUTH.--THE UNLIMITED

DESIRE OF THE NEGROES TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION.--GENERAL ORDER

ORGANIZING A "BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED

LANDS."--GEN. O. O. HOWARD APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF THE

BUREAU.--REPORT OF ALL THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU FROM 1865-1867.--AN ACT INCORPORATING THE

FREEDMAN'S BANK AND TRUST COMPANY.--THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY

AS SHOWN FROM 1866-1871.--FINANCIAL STATEMENT BY THE TRUSTEES FOR

1872.--FAILURE OF THE BANK.--THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

OF THE COLORED PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH.--THE NEGRO RARELY RECEIVES

JUSTICE IN SOUTHERN COURTS.--TREATMENT OF NEGROES AS CONVICTS IN

SOUTHERN PRISONS.--INCREASE OF THE COLORED PEOPLE FROM

1790-1880.--NEGROES SUSCEPTIBLE OF THE HIGHEST CIVILIZATION.

Surely some good did come out of Nazareth. The poor, deluded,

misguided, confiding Negro finished his long holiday at last, and

turning from the dream of "forty acres and a mule," settled down to

the stubborn realities of his new life of duties, responsibilities,

and privileges. His idleness was sporadic, not generic,--it was simply

reaction. He had worked faithfully, incessantly for two centuries and

a half; had enriched the South with the sweat of his brow; and in two

wars had baptized the soil with his patriotic blood. And when the year

of jubilee came he enjoyed himself right royally.

This disposition to frolic on the part of the Negro gave rise to grave

concern among his friends, and was promptly accepted as conclusive

proof of his unfitness for the duties of a freeman by his enemies. But

he soon dispelled the fears of his friends and disarmed the prejudices

of his foes.

As already shown there was no provision made for the education of the

Negro before the war; every thing had been done to keep him in

ignorance. To emancipate 4,000,000 of slaves and absorb them into the

political life of the government without detriment to both was indeed

a formidable undertaking. Republics gain their strength and

perpetuity from the self-governing force in the people; and in order

to be self-governing a people must be educated. Moreover, all good

laws that are cheerfully obeyed are but the emphatic expression of

public sentiment. Where the great majority of the people are kept in

ignorance the tendency is toward the production of two other classes,

aristocrats and political "Herders." The former seek to get as far

from "the common herd" as possible, while the latter bid off the

rights of the poor and ignorant to the highest bidder.

It was quite appropriate for the Government to make speedy provision

for plying the mass of ignorant Negroes with school influences. And

the liberality of the provision was equalled by the eagerness of the

Negroes to learn. Nor should history fail to record that the

establishment of schools for freedmen by the Government was the

noblest, most sensible act it could have done. What the Negroes have

accomplished through these schools is the marvel of the age.

On the 20th of May, 1865, Major-Gen. O. O. Howard was appointed

Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. He gave great attention to the

subject of education; and after planting schools for the freedmen

throughout a great portion of the South, in 1870--five years after the

work was begun--he made a report. It was full of interest. In five

years there were 4,239 schools established, 9,307 teachers employed,

and 247,333 pupils instructed. In 1868 the average attendance was

89,396; but in 1870 it was 91,398, or 79-3/4 per cent. of the total

number enrolled. The emancipated people sustained 1,324 schools

themselves, and owned 592 school buildings. The Freedmen's Bureau

furnished 654 buildings for school purposes. The wonderful progress

they made from year to year, in scholarship, may be fairly judged by

the following, corresponding with the half year in 1869:

JULY, 1869. JULY, 1870.

Advanced readers 43,746 43,540

Geography 36,992 39,321

Arithmetic 51,172 52,417

Writing 53,606 58,034

Higher branches 7,627 9,690

There were 74 high and normal schools, with 8,147 students; and 61

industrial schools, with 1,750 students in attendance. In doing this

great work--for buildings, repairs, teachers, etc.,--$1,002,896.07

was expended. Of this sum the _freedmen raised_ $200,000.00! This was

conclusive proof that emancipation was no mistake. Slavery was a

twofold cross of woe to the land. It did not only degrade the slave,

but it blunted the sensibilities, and, by its terrible weight, carried

down under the slimy rocks of society some of the best white people in

the South. Like a cankerous malady its venom has touched almost every

side of American life.

The white race is in a constant and almost overpowering relation to

the other races upon this continent. It is the duty of this great

totality of intellectual life and force, to supply adequate facilities

for the education of the less intelligent and less fortunate. Of every

ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants there are:

WHITE. COLORED. CHINESE. INDIANS.

In the States 8,711 1,269 15 5

In the Territories 8,711 1,017 158 114

In the whole Union 8,711 1,266 16 7

When we turn our attention to the Southern States, we shall find that

the white people are in excess of the Colored as follows:

MAJORITY.

Alabama 45,874

Arkansas 239,946

Delaware 79,427

Florida 4,368

Georgia 93,774

Kentucky 876,442

Maryland 430,106

Missouri 1,485,075

North Carolina 286,820

Tennessee 613,788

Texas 311,225

Virginia 199,248

West Virginia 406,043

while the Colored people are in excess in only three States, having

over the whites the following majorities:

MAJORITY.

Louisiana 2,145

South Carolina 126,147

Mississippi 61,305

This leaves the whites in these sixteen States in a majority of

4,882,539, over the Colored people. There are more than two whites to

every Colored in the entire population in these States.

Group the States and territories into three geographical classes, and

designate them as Northern, Pacific, and Southern. The first may

comprise all the "free States," where slavery never existed; put in

the second the three Pacific States and all the territories, except

the District of Columbia; and in the third gather all the "slave

States" and the District. Now then, in the Northern class, out of

every 14 persons who can neither read nor write, 13 are white. In the

Pacific class, out of every 23 who can neither read nor write, 20 are

white. In the Southern class, out of every 42 who can neither read nor

write, 15 are white. Thus it can be seen that the white illiterates of

the United States outnumber those of all the other races together. It

might be profitable to the gentlemen who, upon every convenient

occasion, rail about "the deplorable ignorance of the blacks," to look

up this question a little![117]

The Colored people have made wonderful progress in educational matters

since the war. Take a few States for examples of what they are doing.

In Georgia, in 1860, there were 458,540 slaves. In 1870 there were 87

private schools, 79 teachers with 3,021 pupils. Of other schools, more

public in character, there were 221, with an attendance of 11,443

pupils. In 1876 the Colored school population of this State was

48,643, with 879 schools; and with 55,268 pupils in public and private

schools in 1877.

In South Carolina, in 1874, there were 63,415 Colored children

attending the public schools; in 1876 there were 70,802, or an

increase of 7,387.

In Virginia, in 1870, there were 39,000 Colored pupils in the schools,

which were few in number. In 1874 there were 54,941 pupils; in 1876

there were 62,178, or again of 7,237. In 1874 there were 539 teachers;

in 1876 there were 636, or an increase of 97. In 1874 there were 1,064

schools for Colored youth; in 1876 there were 1,181, or an increase of

117.

In the District of Columbia, in 1871, there were 4,986 Colored

children in 69 schools, with 71 teachers. In 1876, of Colored schools

in the District, 62 were primary, 13 grammar, and 1 high, with an

enrolment of 5,454.

The following statistics exhibit the wonderful progress the Colored

people of the South have made during the brief period of their freedom

in the department of education. These tables come as near showing the

extent, the miraculous magnitude of the work, as is possible.

COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF EDUCATION AT THE SOUTH.

_Table showing comparative population and enrolment of the White and

Colored races in the public schools of the recent slave States, with

total annual expenditure for the same in 1879._

White. Colored.

States. ------------------------ -----------------------

[A] [B] [C] [A] [B] [C] [D][a]

Alabama 214,098 106,950 50 162,551 67,635 42 $377,033

Arkansas [b]174,253 [b]39,063 22 [b]62,348 [b]13,980 22 205,449

Delaware 31,849 23,830 75 3,800 2,842 75 223,638

Florida [c]40,606 [bc]18,169 45 [c]42,001[bc]18,795 45 [c]134,880

Georgia [c]236,319 147,192 62[c]197,125 79,435 40 465,748

Kentucky [d]476,870 [e]208,500 48 [d]62,973 [e]19,107 30[e]1,130,000

Louisiana [c]141,130 44,052 31[c]133,276 34,476 26 529,065

Maryland [f]213,669 138,029 65 [f]63,591 27,457 43 1,551,558

Mississippi 156,434 105,957 68 205,936 111,796 54 641,548

Missouri 663,135 428,992 65 39,018 20,790 53 3,069,464

North Carolina 271,348 153,534 57 154,841 85,215 55 337,541

South Carolina [e]83,813 58,368 70[e]144,315 64,095 44 319,320

Tennessee 388,355 208,858 54 126,288 55,829 44 710,652

Texas [b]160,482 [c]111,048 69 [b]47,842 [c]35,896 75 837,913

Virginia 280,849 72,306 26 202,852 35,768 18 570,389

West Virginia 198,844 132,751 67 7,279 3,775 52 709,071

District of

Columbia[c] 26,426 16,085 61 [c]12,374 9,045 73 368,343

------------------------------------------------------------

Total 3,758,480 2,013,684 1,668,410 685,942 12,181,602

Transcriber's Note: The following column heading text appeared

directly above the respective columns. The text is shown here

to minimize the table width.

[A] School population.

[B] Enrolment.

[C] Percentage of school population enrolled.

[D] Total expenditure for both races.

[a] In Delaware and Kentucky the school tax collected from Colored

citizens is the only State appropriation for the support of Colored

schools; in Maryland there is a biennial appropriation by the

Legislature; in the District of Columbia one third of the school

moneys is set apart for Colored public schools; and in the other

States mentioned above the school moneys are divided in proportion to

the school population without regard to race.

[b] Estimated by the Bureau.

[c] In 1878.

[d] For whites the school age is 6-20; for Colored, 6-16.

[e] In 1877.

[f] Census of 1870.

_Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the Colored race

for 1879._

Name and class of institution. Location.

Students.

Instructors. |

Religious | |

denomination. | |

NORMAL SCHOOLS. | | |

| | |

Rust Normal Institute Huntsville, Ala. Meth. 3 235

State Normal School for Colored

Students Huntsville, Ala. . 2 51

Lincoln Normal University Marion, Ala. . [a]5 [a]225

Emerson Institute Mobile, Ala. Cong. 6 240

Alabama Baptist Normal and

Theological School Selma, Ala. Bapt. 6 250

Normal department of

Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 6 95

State Normal School for Colored

Students Pine Bluff, Ark. . 4 72

Normal department of Atlanta

University Atlanta, Ga. Cong. [a]176

Haven Normal School Waynesboro', Ga. Meth. 125

Normal department of Berea College Berea, Ky. Cong. [b] [b]

Normal department of New Orleans

University New Orleans, La. Meth. . .

Normal department of Straight

University New Orleans, La. Cong. [b] 91

Peabody Normal School New Orleans, La. . [a]2 [a]35

Baltimore Normal School

for Colored Pupils Baltimore, Md. . 4 190

Centenary Biblical Institute Baltimore, Md. M. E. [a]5 [a]75

Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 4 46

Tougaloo University and

Normal School Tougaloo, Miss. Cong. 6 96

Lincoln Institute Jefferson, Mo. . 6 139

State Normal School for Colored

Students Fayetteville, N. C. . 3 93

Bennett Seminary Greensboro'. N. C. Meth. 3 125

Lumberton Normal School Lumberton, N. C. . 2 51

St. Augustine's Normal School Raleigh, N. C. P. E. 4 81

Shaw University Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. 5 192

Institute for Colored Youth Philadelphia, Pa. Friends. . 300

Avery Normal Institute Charleston, S. C. Cong. 8 322

Normal department of Brainerd

Institute Chester, S. C. Presb. 3 50

Claflin University,

normal department Orangeburg, S. C. M. E. 3 167

Fairfield Normal Institute Winnsboro', S. C. Presb. 390

The Warner Institute Jonesborough, Tenn. . [c]4 [c]149

Knoxville College Knoxville, Tenn. Presb. 13 240

Freedman's Normal Institute Maryville, Tenn. Friends. [a]4 [a]229

Le Moyne Normal Institute Memphis, Tenn. Cong. [a]200

Central Tennessee College, normal [a]7

department Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 3 114

Nashville Normal and Theological

Institute Nashville, Tenn. Bapt. 6 231

Normal department of

Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. 5 215

Tillotson Collegiate and Normal

Institute Austin, Tex. . 3 158

State Normal School of Texas for

Colored Students Prairie View, Tex. . 3 49

Hampton Normal and Agricultural

Institute[d] Hampton, Va. Cong. [e]28 [e]320

St. Stephen's Normal School Petersburg, Va. P. E. 8 240

Miner Normal School Washington, D. C. . 5 19

Normal department of

Howard University Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 2 95

Normal department of

Wayland Seminary Washington, D. C. Bapt. [f] [f]

---- -----

Total 181 6,171

INSTITUTIONS FOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION.

Trinity School Athens, Ala. Cong. 2 162

Dadeville Seminary Dadeville, Ala. M. E. . .

Lowery's Industrial Academy Hunstville, Ala. . . .

Swayne School Montgomery, Ala. Cong. 6 470

Burrell School Selma, Ala. Cong. 5 448

Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 12 212

Walden Seminar Little Rock, Ark. M. E. . .

Cookman Institute Jacksonville, Fla. M. E. [a]5 [a]140

Clark University Atlanta, Ga. M. E. 5 167

Storrs School Atlanta, Ga. Cong. 5 528

[a] In 1878.

[b] Included in university and college reports.

[c] For two years.

[d] In addition to the aid given by the American Missionary

Association, this institute is aided from the income of Virginia's

agricultural college land fund.

[e] For all departments.

[f] Reported under schools of theology.

_Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the Colored race

for 1879.--_Continued.

Name and class of institution. Location.

Students.

Instructors. |

Religious | |

denomination. | |

| | |

INSTITUTIONS FOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. | | |

--Continued. | | |

| | |

Howard Normal Institute Cuthbert, Ga. Cong. 3 66

La Grange Seminary La Grange, Ga. M. E. 4 140

Lewis High School Macon, Ga. Cong. 2 110

Beach Institute Savannah, Ga. Cong. 6 338

St. Augustine's School Savannah, Ga. P. E. . .

Day School for Colored Children New Orleans, La. R. C. . 80

St. Augustine's School New Orleans, La. R. C. 3 60

St. Mary's School for

Colored Girls New Orleans, La. R. C. . 60

St. Francis's Academy Baltimore, Md. R. C. . 50

Meridian Academy Meridian, Md. M. E. . .

Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 4 45

Scotia Seminary Concord, N. C. Cong. 8 152

St. Augustine's School New Berne, N. C. P. E. . .

Estey Seminary Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. . .

Washington School Raleigh, N. C. Cong. 3 149

St. Barnabas School Wilmington, N. C. P. E. [a]100

Williston Academy and

Normal School Wilmington, N. C. Cong. [a]6 [a]126

Albany Enterprise Academy Albany, Ohio Non-sect. 4 64

Polytechnic and Industrial

Institute Bluffton, S. C. Non-sect. 8 265

High School for Colored Pupils Charleston, S. C. P. E. . .

Wallingford Academy Charleston, S. C. Presb. 6 261

Brainerd Institute Chester, S. C. Presb. 5 300

Benedict Institute Columbia, S. C. Bapt. 4 142

Brewer Normal School Greenwood, S. C. Cong. [a]1 [a]58

West Tennessee Preparatory School Mason, Tenn. Meth. 2 76

Canfield School Memphis, Tenn. P. E. . .

West Texas Conference Seminary Austin, Tex. M. E. . .

Wiley University Marshall, Tex. M. E. [a]3 [a]123

Thyne Institute Chase City, Va. U. Presb. 3 213

Richmond Institute Richmond, Va. Bapt. 3 92

St. Philip's Church School Richmond, Va. P. E. 2 100

St. Mary's School Washington, D. C. P. E. . .

--- -----

Total 120 5,297

UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

Atlanta University Atlanta, Ga. Cong. [ab]13 [a]71

Berea College Berea. Ky. Cong. [b]12 [b]180

Leland University New Orleans, La. Bapt. [a]6 [ac]91

New Orleans University New Orleans, La. M. E. 5 92

Straight University New Orleans, La. Cong. [b]11 [d]260

Shaw University Holly Springs,Miss. M. E. 6 273

Alcorn University Rodney, Miss. Non-sect. 10 180

Biddle University Charlotte, N.C. Presb. 9 151

Wilberforce University Wilberforce, Ohio M. E. 15 [b]150

Lincoln University Lincoln

University, Pa. Presb. [a]9 [a]74

Claflin University and College

of Agriculture Orangeburg. S. C. M. E. 10 165

Central Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 13 139

Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. 13 74

Agricultural and Mechanical

College Hempstead, Tex. . . .

Hampton Normal and Agricultural

Institute Hampton, Va. Cong. [e] [e]

Howard University[f] Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 5 [f]33

--- -----

Total 137 1,933

[a] In 1878.

[b] For all departments.

[c] These are preparatory.

[d] Normal students are here reckoned as preparatory.

[e] Reported with normal schools.

[f] This institution is open to both races, and the figures given are

known to include some whites.

_Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the

Colored race for 1879.--_Continued.

Name and class of institution. Location.

Students.

Instructors. |

Religious | |

denomination. | |

| | |

SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY. | | |

| | |

Alabama Baptist Normal and

Theological School Selma, Ala. Bapt. 1 .

Theological department of

Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 2 14

Institute for the Education

of Colored Ministers Tuscaloosa, Ala. Presb.

Atlanta Baptist Seminary Atlanta, Ga. Bapt. 3 113

Theological department of Leland

University New Orleans, La. Bapt. [a]2 [a]55

Thomson biblical Institute (New

Orleans University) New Orleans, La. M. E. [a]1 [a]16

Theological department of

Straight University New Orleans, La. Cong. 1 21

Centenary Bible Institute Baltimore, Md. Meth. [a]6 [a]20

Theological department of Shaw

University Holly Springs,Miss. Meth. [a]2 [a]17

Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 2 31

Theological department of Biddle

University Charlotte. N. C. Presb. 4 8

Bennett Seminary Greensboro', N. C. Meth. 2 6

Theological department of Shaw

Univers'y Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. 2 59

Theological Seminary of

Wilberforce University Wilberforce, Ohio M. E. 7 16

Theological department of Lincoln Lincoln

University University, Pa. Presb. [a]7 [a]22

Baker Theological Institute

(Claflin University) Orangeburg, S. C. Meth. 2 28

Nashville Normal and Theological

Institute Nashville, Tenn. Bapt. 6 50

Theological course in

Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. [a]2 [a]12

Theological department of Central

Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 4 45

Richmond Institute Richmond, Va. Bapt. 10 86

Theological department of Howard

University Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 4 50

Wayland Seminary Washington, D. C. Bapt. [b]9 [b]84

---- -----

Total 79 762

SCHOOLS OF LAW.

Law department of Straight

University New Orleans, La. [a]4 [a]28

Law department of Shaw

University Holly Springs. Miss. [a]1 [a]6

Law department of Howard

University Washington, D. C. 3 8

---- ----

Total 8 42

SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE.

Medical department of

New Orleans University New Orleans. La [a]5 [a]8

Medical department of Shaw

University Holly Springs, Miss. [a]1 [a]4

Meharry medical department of

Central Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. 9 22

Medical department of

Howard Univers'y Washington, D. C. 8 65

---- ----

Total 23 99

SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB AND

THE BLIND.

Institution for the Colored Blind

and Deaf-Mutes Baltimore, Md. 1 30

North Carolina Institution for

the Deaf and Dumb and the

Blind (Colored department) Raleigh, N. C. [ab]15 [a]60

----- -----

Total 16 120

[a] In 1878.

[b] For all departments.

_Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the

Colored race for 1879._

Institutions for

secondary

States. Public schools. Normal schools. instruction.

----------------- -------------- --------------

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [C] [D] [E]

Alabama 162,551 67,635 6 28 1,096 6 25 1,292

Arkansas 62,348 13,986 1 4 72 1 . .

Delaware 3,800 2,842 . . . . . .

Florida 42,001 18,795 . . . 1 5 140

Georgia 197,125 79,435 2 . 301 7 25 1,349

Kentucky 62,973 19,107 1 . . . . .

Louisiana 133,276 34,476 3 2 126 3 3 200

Maryland 63,591 27,457 2 9 265 1 . 50

Mississippi 205,936 111,796 2 10 142 2 4 45

Missouri 39,018 20,700 1 6 139 . . .

North Carolina 154,841 85,215 5 17 542 6 17 527

Ohio . . . . . 1 4 64

Pennsylvania . . 1 . 300 . . .

South Carolina 144,315 64,095 4 14 929 6 24 1,026

Tennessee 126,288 55,829 7 42 1,378 2 2 76

Texas 47,842 35,896 2 6 207 2 3 123

Virginia 202,852 35,768 2 36 560 3 8 405

West Virginia 7,279 3,775 . . . . . .

District of Columbia 12,374 9,045 3 7 114 1 . .

--------- ------- -- --- ----- -- --- -----

Total 1,668,410 685,942 42 181 6,171 42 120 5,297

Transcriber's Note: The following column heading text appeared

directly above the respective columns. The text is shown here

only to minimize the table width.

[A] School population.

[B] Enrolment.

[C] Schools.

[D] Teachers.

[E] Pupils.

_Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the

Colored race for 1879._--Continued.

Universities and Schools of

colleges. theology. Schools of law.

------------------- ------------------ ----------------

Pupils. Pupils. Pupils.

States Teachers. | Teachers. | Teachers. |

Schools. | | Schools. | | Schools. | |

| | | | | | | | |

Alabama . . . 3 3 14 . . .

Georgia 1 13 71 1 3 113 . . .

Kentucky 1 12 180 . . . . . .

Louisiana 3 22 443 3 4 92 1 4 28

Maryland . . . 1 6 29 . . .

Mississippi 2 16 453 2 4 48 1 1 6

North Carolina 1 9 151 3 8 73 . . .

Ohio 1 15 150 1 7 16 . . .

Pennsylvania 1 9 74 1 7 22 . . .

South Carolina 1 10 165 1 2 28 . . .

Tennessee 2 26 213 3 12 107 . . .

Texas 1 . . . . . . . .

Virginia 1 . . 1 10 86 . . .

District of Columbia 1 5 33 2 13 134 1 3 8

-- --- ----- -- -- --- - - --

Total 16 137 1,933 22 79 762 3 8 42

_Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the

Colored race for 1879._--Continued.

Schools for the

deaf and dumb and

Schools of medicine. the blind.

-------------------- ------------------

Pupils. Pupils.

States Teachers. | Teachers. |

Schools. | | Schools. | |

| | | | | |

Louisiana 1 5 8 . . .

Maryland . . . 1 1 30

Mississippi 1 1 4 . . .

North Carolina . . . 1 15 90

Tennessee 1 9 22 . . .

District of Columbia 1 8 65 . . .

- -- -- - -- ---

Total 4 23 99 2 16 120

_Table showing the number of schools for the Colored race and

enrolment in them by institutions without reference to States._

Class of institutions. Schools. Enrolment.

--------- ----------

Public schools [a]14,341 [a]585,942

Normal schools 42 6,171

Institutions for secondary instruction 42 5,297

Universities and colleges 16 1,933

Schools of theology 22 762

Schools of law 3 42

Schools of medicine 4 99

Schools for the deaf and dumb and the blind 2 120

------ -------

Total 14,472 700,366

[a] To these should be added 417 schools, having an enrolment of

20,487 in reporting free States, making total number of Colored public

schools 14,758, and total enrolment in them 706,429; this makes the

total number of schools, as far as reported, 14,889, and total number

of the Colored race under instruction in them 720,853. The Colored

public schools of those States in which no separate reports are made,

however, are not included; and the Colored pupils in white schools

cannot be enumerated.

Virginia has done more intelligent and effective educational work than

any other State in the South. The Hon. W. H. Ruffner has no equal in

America as a superintendent of public instruction. He is the Horace

Mann of the South.

It appears from the reports of the Freedmen's Bureau that the earliest

school for freedmen was opened by the American Missionary Association

at Fortress Monroe, September, 1861; and before the close of the war,

Hampton and Norfolk were leading points where educational operations

were conducted; but after the cessation of hostilities, teachers were

sent from Northern States, and schools for freedmen were opened in

all parts of the State.

The Colored normal school at Richmond, and the one at Hampton, were

commenced in 1867 and 1868. Captain C. S. Schaeffer, Bureau officer at

Christiansburg, commenced his remarkable efforts about the same time

in Montgomery County.

School superintendents for each State were appointed by the Freedmen's

Bureau, July 12, 1865, and a general superintendent, or "Inspector of

Schools," was appointed in September, 1865. These superintendents were

instructed "to work as much as possible in conjunction with State

officers, who may have had school matters in charge, and to take

cognizance of all that was being done to educate refugees and

freedmen." In 1866 an act of Congress was passed enlarging the powers

of the Bureau, and partially consolidating all the societies and

agencies engaged in educational work among the freedmen. In this bill

$521,000 were appropriated for carrying on the work, to which was to

be added forfeitures of property owned by the Confederate Government.

Up to January 1, 1868, over a million of dollars was expended for

school purposes among the freedmen. In Virginia 12,450 pupils are

reported for 1867. Mr. Manly, the Virginia superintendent, reports the

following statistics for the year 1867-8: Schools, 230; teachers, 290;

pupils enrolled, 14,300; in average attendance, 10,320; the cost as

follows:

From Charity $78,766

From the Freedmen 10,789

From the Bureau 42,844

--------

Total Cost $132,399

The amount raised from freedmen was in the form of small tuition fees

of from ten to fifty cents a month--a system approved by Mr. Manly.

In the final report to the Freedmen's Bureau, made July 1, 1870, the

Virginia statistics are: Schools, 344; teachers, 412; pupils, 18,234;

the average attendance, 78 per cent. This year the freedmen paid

$12,286.50 for tuition. Mr. C. S. Schaeffer and Mr. Samuel H. Jones,

who remained in Virginia as teachers--the former still at

Christiansburg, and the latter, until very lately, at Danville--both

acted as assistants to Mr. Manly. A considerable number of

school-houses were built in Virginia by the Bureau, including the

splendid normal and high school building in Richmond, erected and

equipped at a cost of $25,000, and afterward turned over to the city.

After the conclusion of his superintendency, Mr. Manly continued for

several years to do valuable service as principal of this school.

"The Freedmen's Bureau ceased its educational operations in the

summer of 1870, and in the autumn of that year our State public

schools were opened. So that, counting from the beginning of the

mission school at Hampton in 1861, there has been an unbroken

succession of schools for freedmen in one region for nineteen

years; and at a number of leading points in the State--such as

Norfolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Danville, Charlottesville,

Christiansburg, etc.--an unbroken line of schools for fourteen

years and upwards. These efforts, however, of the Federal

Government toward educating the rising generation of Colored

people, could not have been designed as any thing more than an

experiment, intended first to test and then to stimulate the

appetite of those people for learning. And in this view they were

entirely successful in both particulars; for the children flocked

to the schools, attended well, made good progress in knowledge,

and paid a surprising amount of money for tuition.

"But, considered as a serious attempt to educate the children of

the freedmen, the movement was wholly inadequate, even when

contrasted with the operations of our imperfect State system. The

largest number enrolled in the schools supported by the combined

efforts of the Bureau, the charitable societies, and the tuition

fees, was 18,234, in 1870. The next year we had in our public

schools considerably over double this number, and an annual

increase ever since, always excepting those two dark years

(_tenebricosus and tenebricosissimus_), 1878 and 1879."[118]

"Two institutions for the education of the Colored race, founded

before the beginning of our school, system, are still in

successful operation, but remain independent of our school

system. One of them has some connection with the State by reason

of the receipt of one-third of the proceeds of the Congressional

land-grant for education. I refer to the well-known Hampton

Normal and Agricultural Institute, and the Richmond Colored

Institute. Nothing need be said in reference to the Hampton

School, except that its numbers and usefulness are constantly

increasing under the continued superintendence of the indomitable

Gen. Armstrong. Its reports, which are published every year as

State documents in connection with the Report of this department,

are so accessible to all, that I will only repeat here the

testimony often given, that in my opinion this is the most

valuable of all the schools opened on this Continent for Colored

people. Its most direct benefit is in furnishing to our State

schools a much-needed annual contribution of teachers; and

teachers so good and acceptable that the demand for them is

always much greater than the supply.

"The Richmond Institute has more of a theological intent, but it

also sends out many good teachers. As a school it has prospered

steadily under the excellent management of the Rev. C. H. Corey,

D.D.; and it will soon be accommodated in a large new and

handsome building. Both these institutions receive their support

chiefly from the North."[119]

It will be seen that the tables we give refer only to the work done in

educating the Negro in the Southern States. Much has been done in the

Northern States, but in quite a different manner. The work of

education for the Negro at the South had to begin at the bottom. There

were no schools at all for this people; and hence the work began with

the alphabet. And there could be no classification of the scholars.

All the way from six to sixty the pupils ranged in age; and even some

who had given slavery a century of their existence--mothers and

fathers in Israel--crowded the schools established for their race.

Some ministers of the Gospel after a half century of preaching entered

school to learn how to spell out the names of the twelve Apostles. Old

women who had lived out their threescore years and ten prayed that

they might live to spell out the Lord's prayer, while the modest

request of many departing patriarchs was that they might recognize the

Lord's name in print. The sacrifices they made for themselves and

children challenged the admiration of even their former owners.

The unlettered Negroes of the South carried into the school-room an

inborn love of music, an excellent memory, and a good taste for the

elegant--almost grandiloquent--in speech, gorgeous in imagery, and

energetic in narration; their apostrophe and simile were wonderful.

Geography and history furnished great attractions, and they developed

ability to master them. In mathematics they did not do so well, on

account of the lack of training to think consecutively and

methodically. It is a mistake to believe this a mental infirmity of

the race; for a very large number of the students in college at the

present time do as well in mathematics, geometry, trigonometry,

mensuration, and conic sections as the white students of the same

age; and some of them excel in mathematics.