|
The
leaders at the South in preparing for
hostilities showed the people of the North,
and the authorities at Washington, that they
intended to carry on the war with no want of
spirit; that every energy, every nerve, was
to be taxed to its utmost tension, and that
not only every white man, but, if necessary,
every black man should be made to contribute
to the success of the cause for which the
war was inaugurated. Consequently,
with the enrollment of the whites began the
employment of the blacks.
Prejudice against the negro at the North was so strong
that it required the arm of public authority
to protect him from assault, though he
declared in favor of the Union. Not so at
the South, for as early as April, 1861, the
free negroes of New Orleans, La., held a
public meeting and began the organization of
a battalion, with officers of their own
race, with the approval of the State
government, which commissioned their negro
officers. When the Louisiana militia
was reviewed, the Native Guards (negro) made
up, in part, the first division of the State
troops. Elated at the success of being
first to place negroes in the field together
with white troops, the commanding general
sent the news over the wires to the jubilant
confederacy :
"NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 23rd,
1861.
"Over 28,000 troops were reviewed to-day by
Governor Moore,
Major-General Lovell and Brigadier-General
Ruggles. The line was over seven
miles long; one regiment comprised 1,400
free colored men."
[Pg. 482]
The population of the city of New Orleans differs
materially from that of any other city on
this side of the Atlantic Ocean. It
has several classes of colored people: the
English, French, Portuguese and Spanish all
a mixture of the African -and the American
Negro — mulatto.-numerically stronger than
either of the others, but socially and
politically less considered and privileged;
the former enjoyed distinctive rights,
somewhat as did the mulattoes in the West
Indies before slavery was abolished there.
Of these foreign classes many were planters,
and not a few merchants, all owning slaves.
It was from these classes that the 1,400
colored men, forming the Native Guard
regiment, came, and which recruited to 3,000
before the city was captured by the Union
fleet. This brigade was placed at the
United States Mint building, under command
of a creole, who, instead of following the
confederate troops out of the city when they
evacuated it, allowed his command to be cut
off, and surrendered to General
Butler.
Of course, prior to this date, the negro at the South
had taken au active part in the preparations
for war
building breastworks, mounting cannon,
digging rifle-pits and entrenchments, to
shield and protect his rebelling
master.
January 1st, 1861, Hon. J. P. Walker, at Mobile
Ala., received from R. R. Riordan, Esq.,
of Charleston, S C a dispatch rejoicing
that—
"Large gangs of negroes from plantations are at work on
the redoubts, which are substantially made
of sand-bags and coated with sheet-iron."
These doubtless were slaves, and mere machines; but the
Charleston Mercury of January 3rd,
brought the
intelligence that—
"One hundred and fifty able-bodied free colored men
yesterday offered their services
gratuitously to the governor, to hasten
forward the important work of throwing up
redoubts, wherever needed, along our coast."
Only the fire-eaters based their hope of success
against the North, - the National
Government, - upon the stub-
[Pg. 483]
born energies of the white soldiery ; the
deliberate men rested their hopes,—based
their expectations, more upon the docility
of the negro, than upon the audacity of
their white troops.
The legislature of Tennessee, which secretly placed
that State in the Southern Confederacy,
enacted in June, 1861, a law authorizing the
governor—
"To receive into the military service of
the State all male free persons of color,
between the age of 15 and 50, who should
receive $8 per mouth, clothing and rations."
And then it further provided—
" That in the event a sufficient number
of free persons of color to meet the wants
of the State shall not tender their service,
the Governor is empowered, through the
sheriffs of the different counties, to press
such persons until the requisite number is
obtained."
A few mouths after, the Memphis Avalanche, of September
3rd, 1861, exultingly announced the
appearance on the streets of Memphis, of two
regiments of negroes, under command of
confederate officers. On the 7th of
September, again the Avalanche said:
"Upwards of 1000 negroes armed with
spades and pickaxes have passed through the
city within the past few days. Their
destination is unknown, but it is supposed
that they are on their way to the 'other
side of Jordan.' "
Nor were the negroes in Virginia behind those of the
other Southern States. In April, the
Lynchburg Republican chronicled the
enrollment of a company, of free negroes in
that city, also one at Petersburg.
Thus instead of revolts among the negroes, slaves and
free, as predicted by some Union men at the
North, many became possessed of a
fervor,—originating generally in
fear,—stimulated by an enthusiasm of the
whites, that swept the populace like a
mighty sea current into the channel of war.
The negro who boasted the loudest of his
desire to fight the Yankees; who showed the
greatest anxiety to aid the confederates,
was granted the most freedom and received
the approval of his master.
The gayly decked cities; the flags, bunting and
streamers of all colors; the mounted
cavalry; the artillery trains
[Pg. 484]
with brazen cannons drawn by sturdy steeds;
followed by regiments of infantry in
brilliant uniforms, with burnished muskets,
glittering bayonets and beautiful plumes;
preceeded by brass bands discoursing the
ever alluring strains of the quick-step; all
these scenes greatly interested and
delighted the negro, and it was filling the
cup of many with ecstasy to the brim, to be
allowed to connect themselves, even in the
most menial way, with the demonstrations.
There was also an intuitive force that led
them, and they unhesitatingly followed,
feeling that though they took up arms
against the National Government, freedom was
the ultimatum. Many of those who
enlisted feared to do otherwise than fight
for slavery, for to refuse would have
invited, perchance, torture if not massacre;
to avert which many of the free blacks, as
well as some of the slaves, gave an apparent
acquiescence to the fervor of their lesser
informed comrades, who regarded any remove
from the monotony of plantation life a
respite.
The readiness with which they responded to the call was
only astonishing to those who were
unacquainted with the true feelings of the
unhappy race whose highest hope of freedom
was beyond the pearly gates of the celestial
domain. One thing that impressed the blacks
greatly was the failure of Denmark
Vesy, Nat Turner and
John Brown, whose fate was ever
held up to them as the fate of all who
attempted to free themselves or the slaves.
Escape to free land was the only possible
relief they saw on earth, and that
they realized as an individual venture, far
removed from the field-hand South of
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
It was not unnatural, then, for some to spring at the
opportunity offered to dig trenches and
assist Beauregard in mounting cannon, and
loading them with shot and shell to fire
upon Fort Sumter.
The negro did not at first realize a fight of any
magnitude possible, or that it would result
in any possible good to himself. So
while the free negroes trembled because they
were free, the slaves sought refuge from sus
[Pg. 485]
DOING MILITARY DUTY FOR THE CONFEDERATES
Negroes building fortifications for the
Confederates at James Island, S. C., under
direction of General Beauregard, to repel
the land attack of the Federal Troops.
[Pg. 486] - BLANK [Pg. 487]
picion of wanting to be free, behind, per
se, an enthusiasm springing, not from a
desire and hope for the success of
the confederates, but from a puerile
ambition to enjoy the holiday excitement.
Later on, however, when the war opened in earnest, and
the question of the freedom and slavery of
the negro entered into the struggle; when
extra care was taken to guide him to the
rear at night; when after a few thousand
Yankee prisoners, taken in battle, had
sought and obtained an opportunity of
whispering to him the real cause of the war,
and the surety of the negroes' freedom if
the North was victorious, the slave negro
went to the breastworks with no less
agility, but with prayers for the success of
the Union troops, and a determination to go
to the Yankees at the first opportunity ;
though he risked life in the undertaking.
When the breastworks had been built and the
heavy guns mounted, when a cordon of
earth-works encircled the cities throughout
the South, and after a few thousand negroes
had made good their escape into the Union
lines, then those who had labored upon the
fortifications of the South were sent back
to the cotton-fields and the plantations to
till the soil to supply the needs of the
confederate soldiers who were fighting to
keep them in bondage. But when the
policy of the North was changed and union
and liberty were made the issues of the
struggle, as against slavery and disunion,
and the Union forces began to slay their
enemies, the Confederate Government realized
the necessity of calling the negroes
from the hoe to the musket,—from the
plantations to the battle-fields.
In the incipiency of the struggle, many of the States
made provision for placing the negro at the
disposal of the Confederate Government; but
elated at their early victories, the leaders
deemed the enforcement of the laws
unnecessary, negro troops not being needed.
As the change came, however, and defeats,
with great losses in various ways depleted
the armies, the necessity of the aid of the
negroes became apparent. Stronghold
after strong hold, city after city, States
in part, fell before the march
[Pg. 488]
of the Union troops. The negro had become a
soldier in the Union army, and was helping
to crush the rebel lion. President
Lincoln had declared all slaves in
rebeldom free, and thousands of black
soldiers were marching and carrying the news
to the slaves.
This state of affairs lead President Davis and his
cabinet to resign to the inevitable, as had
the North, and to inaugurate the policy of
emancipating and arming the slaves, knowing
full well that it was sheer folly to expect
to recruit their shattered armies from the
negro population without giving them their
freedom.
It was therefore in the last days of the confederate
authorities, and it was their last hope and
effort for success. Despair had seized
upon them. The army was daily thinned
more by desertion than by the bullets of the
Union soldiers, while Sherman's march
from Atlanta to the sea had awakened the
widest alarm. In the-winter of 1864
and 1865 the question of arming the slaves
was presented as a means of recruiting the
depleted and disordered ranks of the army,
and it soon assumed an importance that made
it an absorbing topic throughout the
Confederacy. There was no other source
to recruit from. The appeal to
foreigners was fruitless. "The blacks
had been useful soldiers for the northern
army, why should they not be made to fight
for their masters?" it was asked.
Of course there was the immediate query
whether they would fight to keep themselves
in slavery. This opened up a subject
into which those who discussed it were
afraid to look; nevertheless it seemed
unavoidable that a black conscription should
be attempted, and with that in view, every
precaution was taken by those who supported
the scheme to avoid heightening the
dissensions already too prevalent for good.
The newspapers were advised of the intended
change of policy, to which not a few of them
acquiesced. General Lee
was consulted, as the following letter,
afterward printed in the Philadelphia Times,
shows:
"HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
"January 11th, 1865. }
"HON. ANDREW HUNTER: I have received
your letter of the 7th instant, and, without
confining myself to the order of your
interrogato- [Pg. 489]
riee, will endeavor to answer them by a
statement of my views on the subject.
"I shall be most happy if I can contribute to the
solution of a question in which I feel an
interest commensurate with my desire for the
welfare and happiness of our people.
"Considering the relation of master and slave
controlled by human laws, and influenced by
Christianity and an enlightened public
sentiment, as the best that can exist
between the white and black races, while
inter-mingled as at present in this country,
I would deprecate any sudden disturbance of
that relation, unless it be necessary to
avert a greater calamity to both. I
should, therefore, prefer to rely on our
white population to preserve the ratio
between our forces and that of
the enemy, which experience has shown to be
safe. But in view of the preparations
of our enemies it is our duty to prepare for
continued war and not for a battle or a
campaign, and I own I fear we can not
accomplish this without overtaxing the
capacity of our white population.
"Should the war continue under existing circumstances
the enemy may in course of time penetrate
our country, and get access to a large part
of our slave population. It is his avowed
policy to convert the able-bodied men among
them into soldiers, and emancipate all.
The success of the federal arms in the south
was followed by a proclamation from
President Lincoln for two hundred
and eighty thousand men, the effect of which
will be to stimulate the northern states to
procure as
substitutes for their own people the negroes
thus brought within their reach. Many
have already been obtained in Virginia, and
should the fortunes of war expose more of
her territory the enemy will gain a large
accession of strength. His progress
will thus add to his numbers, and at the
same time destroy slavery in a manner most
pernicious to the welfare of our people.
Their negroes will be used to hold them in
subjection, leaving the remaining force of
the enemy free to extend his
conquest.
" Whatever may be the effect of our employing negro
troops it can not be as mischievous as this.
If it end in subverting slavery it will be
accomplished by ourselves, and we can devise
the means of alleviating the evil
consequences to both races. I think,
therefore, we must decide whether slavery
shall be extinguished by our enemies and the
slaves be used against us, or use them
ourselves at the risk of the effects which
may be produced upon our social
institutions. My own opinion is that
we should employ them without delay. I
believe that, with proper regulations, they
can be made effective soldiers. They
possess the physical qualifications in an
eminent degree. Long habits of
obedience and subordination, coupled with
that moral influence which in our country
the white man possesses over the black,
furnish the best foundation for that
discipline which is the surest guarantee of
military efficiency. Our chief aim
should be to secure their fidelity.
There have been formidable armies composed
of men having no interests in the country
for which they fought beyond their pay or
the hope of plunder. But it is certain
that [Pg. 490]
the best foundation upon which the fidelity
of an army can rest, especially in a service
which imposes peculiar hardships and
privations, is the personal interest of the
soldier in the issue of the contest.
Such an interest we can give our negroes- by
granting immediate freedom to all who
enlist, and freedom at the end of the war to
the families of those who discharge their
duties faithfully, whether they survive or
not, together with the privilege of residing
at the south.
"To this might be added a bounty for faithful service.
We should not expect slaves to fight for
prospective freedom when they can secure it
at once by going to the enemy, in whose
service they will incur no greater risk than
in ours. The reasons that induce me to
recommend the employment of negro troops at
all render the effect of the measures I have
suggested upon slavery immaterial, and in my
opinion the best means of securing the
efficiency and fidelity of this auxiliary
force would be to accompany the measure with
a well-digested plan of gradual and general
emancipation. As that will be the
result of the continuance of the war, and
will certainly occur if the enemy succeed,
it seems to me most advisable to adopt it at
once, and thereby obtain all the benefits
that will accrue to our cause.
"The employment of negro troops under regulations
similar to those indicated would, in my
opinion, greatly increase our military
strength, and enable us to relieve our white
population to some extent. I think we
could dispense with the reserve forces,
except in cases of emergency. It would
disappoint the hopes which our enemies have
upon our exhaustion, deprive them in a great
measure of the aid they now derive from
black troops, and thus throw the burden of
the war upon their own people. In
addition to the great political advantages
that would result to our cause from the
adoption of a system of emancipation, it
would exercise a salutary influence upon our
negro population, by rendering more secure
the fidelity of those who become soldiers,
and diminishing the inducements to the rest
to abscond.
"I can only say in conclusion that whatever measures
are to be adopted should be adopted at once.
Every day's delay increases the difficulty.
Much time will be required to organize and
discipline the men, and action may be
deferred till it is too late.
"Very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"A true copy, J. B. W."
"(Signed,) R. E. LEE, General
This letter
was intended for members of Congress to
read, and it was circulated among them, but
all was not harmony. Many members were
bitterly opposed to arming the slaves, some
of them denounced General Lee for
writing the letter, and prepared to oppose
the measure when it should be introduced
into Congress.*
-----
*General William C. Wickham led
the opponents of the project in a very
bitter pro-slavery speech.
[Pg. 491]
At length the period for its introduction
arrived. Lee in his attempted
invasion of the north made no more careful
preparations than did Mr. Davis
and his cabinet to carry through Congress
the bill enrolling slaves and to emancipate
them. Finally the hour was at hand,
and amid the mutterings of dissenters, and
threats of members to resign their seats if
the measure was forced through, the
administration began to realize more
sensibly its weakness. However, it
stood by the carefully drawn bill.
Of course the negro people about the city of Richmond
heard of the proposition to arm and
emancipate them if they would voluntarily
fight for their old masters. They
discussed its merits with a sagacity wiser
than those who proposed the scheme, and it
is safe to say that they concluded, in the
language of one who spoke on the matter, "It
am too late, de Yankees am coming."
There were those among them, however, known
as the free class, who stood ever ready to
imitate the whites, believing that course to
be an evidence of their superiority over the
slaves. They were very anxious to
enlist.
On February 8th Senator Brown, of
Mississippi, introduced a resolution which,
if it had been adopted, would have freed
200,000 negroes and put them into the army;
but on the next day it was voted down in
secret session. Upon this very
February 9th, when Senator Brown's
resolution was lost, Mr. Benjamin,
Secretary of State, addressed a large public
meeting at Richmond. He made a very
extraordinary speech, setting forth the
policy of President Davis and
his cabinet. Emissaries of Mr.
Davis had just returned from the
Peace Conference at Fortress Monroe, where
they met representatives of the United
States government, and learned that the
conditions upon which the Southern States
could resume their relations were those
which they were compelled to accept finally.
During Mr. Benjamin's speech
he said:
[Pg. 492]
fight for you.' You must make up your minds
to try this or see your army withdrawn from
before your town. I know not where
white men can be found.''
Mr. Benjamin's speech created an intense excitement
among the slave-holders. The situation
seemed to have narrowed itself down to a
disagreeable alternative. They must
either fight themselves or let the slaves
fight. Doubtless many would have
preferred submission to Lincoln, but then
they could not save their slaves.
Immediately following Mr. Benjamin's
speech on the 11th, a bill was introduced
into the House of Representatives
authorizing the enlistment of 200,000
slaves, with the consent, of their owners.
As a test of its strength a motion was made
for the rejection of this bill, and the vote
not to reject it was more than two to one.
There was every indication that the bill
would pass. It was while this measure
was under discussion that General
Lee wrote the letter which follows in
answer to one of inquiry from a member of
the House:
"HEAD-QUARTERS CONFEDERATE STATE ARMIES,
February 18th, 1865. }
"Hon. Barksdale, House
of Representatives, Richmond/
"Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 12th inst. with reference
to the employment of negroes as soldiers.
I think the measure not only expedient but
necessary. The enemy will certainly
use them against us if he can get possession
of them, and a his present numerical
superiority will enable him to penetrate
many parts of the country, I can not see the
wisdom of the policy of holding them to
await his arrival, when we may, by timely
action and judicious management, use them to
arrest his progress. I do not think
that our white population can supply the
necessities of a long war without over
taxing its capacity, and imposing great
suffering upon our people; and I believe we
should provide resources for a protracted
struggle, not merely for a battle or a
campaign.
"In answer to your second question I can only say that,
in my opinion, under proper circumstances
the negroes will make efficient soldiers.
I think we could at least do as well with
them as the enemy, and he attaches great
importance to their assistance.
Under good officers and good instructions I
do not see why they should not become
soldiers. They possess all the
physical qualifications, and their habits of
obedience constitute a good formulation for
discipline. They furnish a more
promising material than many armies of which
we read in history, which owed their
efficiency to discipline alone. I
think those employed
[Pg. 493]
should be freed. It would be
neither wisdom nor justice, in my opinion,
to require them to serve as slaves.
The best course to pursue, it seems to me,
is to call for such as are willing to come
with the consent of their owners.
Impressment or draft would not be likely to
bring out the best class, and the use of
coercion would make the measure distasteful
to them and to their owners. I have no
doubt if Congress would authorize their
reception into service, and empower the
President to call upon individuals or States
for such as they are willing to contribute
with the condition of emancipation to all
enrolled, a sufficient number would be
forthcoming to enable us to try the
experiment.
" If it proves successful, most of the objections to
the matter would disappear, and if
individuals still remained unwilling to send
their negroes to the army, the force of
public opinion in the States would soon
bring about such legislation as would remove
all obstacles. I think the matter
should be left as far as possible to the
people and the States, which alone can
legislate as the necessities of this
particular service may require. As to
the mode of organizing them, it should be
left as free from restraint as possible.
Experience will suggest the best course, and
would be inexpedient to trammel the subject
with provisions that might in the end
prevent the adoption of reforms, suggested
by actual trial.
"With great respect,
"ROBERT E. LEE,
General."
Meanwhile the
measure, to forward which this letter was
written, was progressing very slowly.
J. B. Jones, clerk of the War
Department of the Confederate Government,
entered in his diary from day to day such
scraps of information as he was able to
glean about the progress of this important
matter. These entries are significant
of the anxiety of this
critical time. Under
February 14th we find this entry:
"Yesterday some progress was made with
the measure of 200,000 negroes for the army.
Something must be done soon."
" February 16th. - Did nothing yesterday; it is
supposed, however, that the bill recruiting
negro troops will pass. I fear when it
is too late."
"February 17th. - A letter from General Lee to
General Wise is published, thanking
the latter's brigade for resolutions
recently adopted declaring that they would
consent to gradual emancipation for the sake
of independence and peace. From all
signs slavery is doomed. But if
200,000 negro recruits can be made to fight
and can be enlisted, General Lee may
maintain the war very easily and
successfully, and the powers at Washington
may soon become disposed to abate the hard
terms of peace now exacted."
"February 21st. - The negro bill has passed one house
and will pass the other to-day, but the
measure may come too late. The enemy
is enclosing us on all sides with great
vigor and rapidity."
[Pg. 494]
"February 22nd.— Yesterday the Senate postponed action
on the negro bill. What this means I
cannot conjecture, unless there axe
dispatches from abroad with assurance of
recognition, based on stipulations of
emancipation, which can not be carried into
effect without the consent of the States,
and a majority of these seem in a fair way
of falling into the hands of the Federal
generals."
" February 24th.—Yesterday the Senate voted down the
bill to put 200,000 negroes into the army.
The papers to-day contain a letter from
General Lee, advocating the
measure as a necessity. Mr.
Hunter's* vote defeated it. He has
many negroes, and will probably lose them;
but the loss of popularity and fear of
forfeiting all chance of the succession may
have operated upon him as a politician.
What madness! 'Under which king,
Benzonian?'"
" February 25th.—Mr. Hunter's eyes seem blood-shot
since he voted against Lee's plan of
organizing negro troops."
" February 26th.—Mr. Hunter is now
reproached by the slave-holders he thought
to please for defeating the negro bill.
They say his vote will make Virginia a free
State, inasmuch as General Lee
must evacuate it for want of negro troops."
" March 2d.—Negro bill still hangs fire in Congress."
"March 9th.—Yesterday the Senate passed the negro
troops bill— Mr. Hunter voting
for it under instruction."
" March 10th.—The president has the reins now, and
Congress will be more obedient; but can they
leave the city? Advertisements for
recruiting negro troops are in the papers
this morning."
"March 17th.—We shall have a negro army. Letters
are pouring into the department from men of
military skill and character asking
authority to raise companies, battalions,
and regiments of negro troops. It is a
desperate remedy for the desperate case, and
may be successful. If 200,000
efficient soldiers can be made of this
material there is no conjecturing when the
next campaign may end. Possibly 'over
the border;' for a little success will elate
our spirits extravagantly, and the blackened
ruins of our towns, and the moans of women
and children bereft of shelter, will appeal
strongly to the army for vengeance."
"March 19th.—Unless food and men can be had Virginia
must be lost. The negro experiment will soon
be tested. Curtis says that the
letters are pouring into the department from
all quarters asking authority to raise and
command negro troops. 100,000 troops from
this source might do wonders."
-----
* It was upon the discussion of this
bill that Mr. Hunter, of Virginia,
made these significant statements and
admissions:
"When we left the old government we thought we had got
rid forever of the slavery agitation; but,
to my surprise, I find that this (the
Confederate) Government assumes power to arm
the slaves, which involves also the power of
emancipation. This proposition would
be regarded as a confession of despair.
If we are right in passing thsi measure, we
are wrong in denying to the old government
the right to interfere with slavery and to
emancipate slaves. If we offer the
slaves their freedom as a boon we confess
that we are insincere and hypocritical in
saying slavery was the best state for the
negroes themselves. I believe that the
arming and emancipating the slaves will be
an abandonment of the contest. To arm
the negroes is to give them freedom.
When they come out scarred from the conflict
they must be free."
[Pg. 495]
So ends the entries on this interesting subject in
Mr. Jones' diary. Though
the conscientious war clerk ceased to
record, the excitement and effort of the
advocates of the measure by no means
slackened. Grant's cordon
around the city drew closer and tighter each
day and hour, continually alarming the
inhabitants. Governor Smith
gave the negro soldier scheme his
personal influence and attention. The
newspapers began clamoring for conscription.
No little effort was made to raise a
regiment of free blacks and mulattoes in the
latter days of January, and early in
February a rendezvous was established at
Richmond, and a proclamation was issued by
the State authorities. A detail of
white officers was made, and enlistment
began. The agitation of the subject in
Congress, though in secret session, gave
some encouragement to the many despairing
and heart-sick soldiers of the Army of
Northern Virginia.* Their chief
commander, Lee, perhaps dreamed
nightly that he commanded 200,000 negro
troops en masse, and was driving the Yankees
and their Black Phalanx like chaff from off
the "sacred soil " of the Old
Dominion, but, alas, such a dream was never
to be realized.
About twenty negroes,†
mostly of the free class, enlisted, went
into camp, and were uniformed in Confederate
gray. These twenty men, three of whom were
slaves of Mr. Benjamin,
Confederate Secretary of State, were daily
marched into the city and drilled by their
white officers in the Capitol Square,
receiving the approving and congratulatory
plaudits of the ladies, who were alway's
present.‡
However, no accessions were gained to
their ranks, consequently the scheme, to
raise by enlistment a regiment of blacks,
was a failure, for the few volunteers
secured in Virginia and a company in
Tennessee are all that the writer has been
able to obtain any account of. The Con-
-----
*Of these twenty volunteers six of them are frequently
to be met on the steets of Richmond,
while some of them are members of the
Colored State Militia of Virginia.
†The veterans of
General Henry A. Wise's Legion adopted
resolutions commending the scheme.
‡On April 1st, 1865, quite a company of negroes, most
of whom were pressed into the service,
paraded the streetes of Richmond.
[Pg. 496]
federate authorities then sought to
strengthen the as-my by conscripting all
able-bodied negroes, free and slave, between
the age of eighteen and fifty. Monday, April
3d, was appointed as the day to begin the
draft. The Virginia State Legislature
had come to the rescue of the Davis-Lee-Benjamiu
scheme, and so had the local authorities of
Richmond, but all was to no purpose.
It was too late; they had delayed too long.
With a pitiable blindness to the approach of
his downfall, only a few days before he
became a fugitive, Jefferson Davis
wrote the following letter: *
"RICHMOND, Va., March 30th, 1865.
"His Excellency William Smith,
Governor of Virginia:
"Upon the receipt of your letter of the 27th inst. I
had a conference with the Secretary of War
and Adjutant-General in relation to your
suggestion as to the published order for the
organization of negro troops, and I hope
that the modification which has been made
will remove the objection which you pointed
out. It was never my intention to
collect negroes in depots for purposes of
instruction, but only as the best mode of
forwarding them, either as individuals or as
companies, to the command with which they
were to serve. The officers in the
different posts will aid in providing for
the negroes in their respective
neighborhoods, and in forwarding them to
depots where transportation will be
available, and aid them in reaching the
field of service for which they were
destined. The aid of gentlemen who are
willing and able to raise this character of
troops will be freely accepted. The
appointment of commanders, for reasons
obvious to you, must depend on other
considerations than the mere power to
recruit.
"I am happy to receive your assurance of success as
well as your promise to seek legislation to
secure unmistakably freedom to the slave who
shall enter the army, with a right to return
to his old home when he shall have been
honorably discharged from the military
service.
"I remain of the opinion that we should confine our
first efforts to getting volunteers, and
would prefer that you would adopt such
measures as would advance that mode of
recruiting, rather than that of which you
make enquiry, to wit: by issuing
requisitions for the slaves as authorized by
the State of Virginia.
"I have the honor to be, with much respect,
"Your obedient servant,
JEFFERSON DAVIS."
-----
* This letter is a copy of the original now in
possession of Senator George A. Brooks.
It has never before been published.
[Pg. 497] - BLANK PAGE
[Pg. 498]
UNION SOLDIERS BEFORE YORKTOWN
BRINGING DOWN A SOUTHERN ALLY.
This negro being a good marksman was induced
by the confederates to become a sharpshooter
for them, and greatly annoyed the Union
pickets before Yorktown by firing upon them
from trees, in the branches of which he
would perch himself at early morning and
remain there through the day, shooting at
such Union soldiers as happened come within
his range. His hiding place was
finally discovered however, and after
refusing to surrender, thinking himself
safe, he was brought down by a bullet
through his head.
[Pg. 499]
THE CONFEDERATE SERVICE.
The appointed time
came, but instead of the draft, amid blazing
roofs and falling walls, smoke and ashes,
deafening reports of explosions, the frenzy
of women and children, left alone not only
by the negro conscripting officers and
President Davis and his Cabinet,
but by the army and navy; in the midst of
such scenes, almost beyond description, the
Black Phalanx of the Union army entered the
burning city, the capitol of rebeldom,
scattering President Linclon's
Proclamation of Emancipation to the intended
confederate black army. For twelve
squares they chanted their war songs, "The
Colored Volunteers" and "John Brown," in the
chorus of which thousands of welcoming
freedmen and freedwomen joined, making the
welkin ring with the refrain,
|
"Glory, glory hallelujah,
Glory, glory hallelujah,
Glory, glory hallelujh,
We is free today!" |
The decisive events of
the next few days, following in rapid
succession, culminating with Lee's
surrender, on the 9th of April, at
Appomattox, left no time for further action,
and when the war was over, with the
important and radical changes that took
place, it was almost forgotten that such
projects as arming and freeing the negro had
ever been entertained in the South by the
Confederate Government.
[Pg. 500] - BLANK PAGE |
