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While there is no intention of entering into
an examination of the causes of the war
between the United States and Great Britain
in 1812, yet in order to carry out the
design of the author to show that in this
war, - like all others in which the
government of the United States has been
engaged, - the negro, as a soldier, took
part, it is deemed necessary to cite at
least one of the incidents, perhaps the
incident, which most fired the national
heart of America, and hastened the beginning
of hostilities.
The war between England and France gave to the American
merchant marine interest in impetus that
increased the number of vessels three-fold
in a few years; it also gave command of the
carrying trade of the West Indies, from
which Napoleon's frigates debarred the
English merchantmen. In consequence
England sought and used every opportunity to
cripple American commerce and shipping.
One plan was to deprive American ships of
the service of English seamen. Her war
vessels claimed and exercised the right of
searching for English seamen on board
American vessels. During the year
1807, the English Admiral Berkeley, in
command of the North American Station,
issued instructions to commanders of vessels
in his fleet to look out for the American
frigate Chesapeake, and if they fell in with
her at sea, to board her and search for
deserters, as all English seamen in the
American service were regarded by England.
With the instructions, were the descriptions
of four sailors, three negroes and one white
man, who were missing.
[Pg. 73]
The persons who deserted from the Melampus, then lying
in Hampton Roads, were William Ware,
Daniel Martin, John Strachan, John Little
and Melampus, the first three of
these deserters offered themselves for
enlistment, and were received on board
the Chesapeake, then at Norfolk, Va.,
preparing for sea. The British consul
at Norfolk, being apprized of the
circumstance, wrote a letter to the American
naval officer, requesting the men to be
returned. With this request, the
officer refused to comply, and the British
lost no time in endeavoring to procure an
order from the American government for their
surrender. On receipt of the
application, the Secretary of the Navy
ordered an examination into the characters
and claims of the men in question. The
examination resulted in proof that the three
negroes, Ware, Martin and Strachan
were natives of America. The two
former had "protections," or notarial
certificates of their citizenship;*
Strachan had no "protection," but
asserted that he lost it previous to his
escape. Such being the circumstances,
the government refused to give the men up,
insisting that they were American citizens,
and though, they had served in the British
navy, they were pressed into the service and
had a right to desert it.
The Chesapeake was one of the finest of the frigates in
the American Navy, and after receiving an
outfit requiring six months to complete at
the Gosport Navy Yard, at Norfolk, Va.,
started for the Mediterranean. The
English frigate Leopard, which lay in the
harbor at Norfolk when the Chesapeake
sailed, followed her out to sea, hailed her
and sent a letter to her commander,
Commodore James Barron, demanding the
surrender of the deserters. Barron
sent a note refusing to comply with the
demand, whereupon the Leopard fired several
broadsides
-----
* So indiscriminate were English officers in
these outrages, that it sometimes happened
that black men were seized as English
seamen. At that time the public
opinion of the world was such, that few
statesmen troubled themselves much about the
rights of negroes. But in another
generation, when it proved convenient in the
United States to argue that free negroes had
never been citizens, it was remembered that
the cabinets of Jefferson and Madison, in
their diplomatic discussions with Great
Britain, had been willing to argue that the
impressment of a free negro was the seizure
of an American citizen. - Bryant's
History of the United States.
[Pg. 74]
into the Chesapeake. Barron
struck his colors without firing a shot, and
permitted the officers of the Leopard to
board his vessel and search her.
The British captain refused to accept the
surrender of the Chesapeake, but took from
her crew the three men who had been demanded
as deserters; also a fourth, John Wilson,
a white man, claimed as a runaway from a
merchant ship.
The white sailor, it was admitted by the American
government, as a British subject, and his
release was not demanded; he was executed
for deserting the British Navy. Of the
negroes, two only were turned by the British
government, the other one having died in
England. Says an American historian:
"An outrage like this, inflicted not by accident or the
brutality of a separate commander, naturally
excited the whole nation to the utmost.
President Jefferson very soon interdicted
American harbors and waters to all vessels
of the English Navy, and forbade intercourse
with them. He sent a vessel of war
with a special minister to demand
satisfaction. The English Admiral
hanged the deserter, and dismissed the three
black men with a reprimand, blaming them for
disturbing the peace of two nations.
That the outrage did not end in
immediate war, was due partly to the fact
that the Americans had no Nay to fight
with."
Nearly four years elapsed before the final settlement
of the Chesapeake affair, and then the
English government insisted upon its right
to, and issued orders for the search for
British sailors to be continued; thus a
cause for quarrel remained.
The principal grounds of war, set forth in a message of
the President to Congress, June 1st, 1812,
and further explained by the Committee on
Foreign Relations, in their report on the
subject of the message, were summarily:
"The impressment of American seamen by the British; the
blockade of her enemy's ports, supported by
no adequate force, in consequence of which
the American commerce had been plundered in
every sea, and the great staples of the
country cut off from their legitimate
markets; and the British orders in council."
On these grounds, the President urged the declaration
of war. In unison with the
recommendation of the President, the
Committee on Foreign Relations concluded
their reports as follows:
[Pg. 75] - BLANK PAGE
[Pg. 76]
A NAVAL BATTLE
[Pg. 77]
"Your committee, believing that the freeborn sons of
America are worthy to enjoy the liberty
which their fathers purchased at the price
of much blood and treasure, and seeing by
the measures adopted by Great Britain, a
course commenced and persisted in, which
might lead to a loss of national character
and independence, feel no hesitation in
advising resistence by force, in
which the Americans of the present day will
prove to the enemy and the world, that we
have not only inherited that liberty which
our fathers gave us, but also the will and
power to maintain it. Receiving on the
patriotism of the nation, and confidently
trusting that the Lord of Horse will go with
us to battle in a righteous cause, and crown
our efforts with success, your committee
recommend an immediate appeal to arms."
War was declared by Congress on the 17th of June, and
proclaimed by the President on the second
day following.
The struggle was principally carried on upon the water,
between the armed vessels of the two
nations, consequently no great armies were
called into active service upon the field.
This was indeed fortunate for America, whose
military establishments at the time were
very defective. Congress called for
twenty thousand men, but a very few
enlisted. The President was authorized
to raise fifty thousand volunteers and to
call out one hundred thousand militia for
the defence of the seacoast and frontiers;
but officers could not be found to nominally
command the few thousand that responded to
the call; which state of affairs was no
doubt largely due to the opposition to the
war, which existed in the New England
States.
Since the peace of 1783, a class of marine merchants at
the North had vied with each other in the
African slave trade, in supplying the
Southern planters. Consequently the
increase in negro population was great; in
1800 it was 1,001,463, and in 1810, two
years before war was declared, 1,377, 810,
an increase of 376,347. Of the
1,377,810, there were 1,181,362 slaves, and
186,448 free. Of course their increase
was not due solely to the importation by the
slave trade, but the aggregate increase was
large, compared with the increase of the
white population for the same period.
The free negroes were mainly residents of the Northern
States, where they enjoyed a nominal
freedom. They
[Pg. 78]
entered the service with alacrity; excluded
from the army they enlisted in the navy,
swelling the number of those who, upon the
rivers, lakes, bays and oceans, manned the
guns of the war vessels, in defense of Free
Trade, Sailor's Rights and Independence on
the seas as well as on the land. It is
quite impossible to ascertain the exact
number of negroes who stood beside the guns
that won for America just recognition from
the maritime powers of the world. Like
the negro soldiers in the Revolutionary war
who served with the whites, so the whites,
so the negro sailors in the war of 1812
served in the American Navy; in the mess, at
the gun, on the yarn-arm and in the gangway,
together with others of various
nationalities, they achieved many victories
for the navy of our common country.
The best evidence I can give in
substantiation of what has been written, is
the following letter from Surgeon Parsons to
George Livermore, Esq., of the
Massachusetts Historical Society:
"PROVIDENCE, October 18, 1862.
"MY DEAR SIR: - In reply to your inquiries about the
employing of blacks in our navy in the war
of 1812, and particularly in the battle of
Lake Erie, I refer you to documents in
Mackenzie's 'Life of Commodore Perry,'
vol. i. pp. 166 and 187.
"In 1814, our fleet sailed to the Upper Lakes to
co-operate with Colonel Croghan
at Mackinac. About one in ten or
twelve of the crews were black.
"In 1816, I was surgeon of the 'Java, under
Commodore Perry. The white and
colored seamen messed together. About
one in six or eight were colored.
"In 1819, I was surgeon of the "Guerriere,' under
Commodore Macdonough; and the proportion
of blacks was about the same in her crew.
There seemed to be an entire absence of
prejudice against the blacks as messmates
among the crew. What I have said
applies to the crews of the other ships that
sailed in squadrons.
Yours very respectfully,
USHER PARSONS.
Dr. Parsons had reference to the following
correspondence between Captain Perry
and Commodore Chauncey, which took
place in 1813, before the former's victory
on Lake Erie. As will be seen,
Perry expressed dissatisfaction as to
the recruits sent him to man the squadron
then
[Pg. 79]
on Lake Erie, and with which he gained a
decisive victory over the British fleet,
under command of Capt. Barley:
"SIR, - I have this moment received, by express,
the enclosed letter from General Harrison.
If I had officers and men, - and I have no
doubt you will send them, - I could fight
the enemy, and proceed up the lake, but,
having no one to command the 'Niagara' and
only one commissioned lieutenant and two
acting lieutenants, whatever my wishes may
be, going out is out of the question.
The men that came by Mr. Champlin are
a motley set, - blacks, soldiers, and boys.
I cann t think you saw them after
they were selected. I am, however,
pleased t_ see any think in the shape of a
man." - Mackenzie's Life of Perry,
vol. 1, pp. 165, 166.
Commodore Chauncey then rebuked him in his
reply, and set forth the worth of the negro
seaman:
"SIR, - I have been duly honored with your letters of
the twenty-third and twenty-sixth ultimo,
and notice your anxiety for men and
officers. I am equally anxious to
furnish you; and no time shall be lost in
sending officers and men to you as soon as
the public service will allow me to send
them from this lake. I regret that you
are not pleased with the men sent you by
Messrs Champlin and Forest; for,
to my knowledge, a part of them are not
surpassed by any seaman we have in the
fleet: and I have yet to learn that
the color of the skin, or the cut and
trimmings of the coat, can effect a man's
qualifications or usefulness. I have
nearly fifty blacks on board of this ship,
and many of them are among my best men; and
those people you call soldiers have been to
sea from two to seventeen years; and I
presume that you will find them as good and
useful as any men on board of your vessel;
at least if you can judge by comparison; for
those which we have on board of thsi ship
are attentive and obedient, and, as I can
judge, many of them excellent seamen; at any
rate, the men sent to Lake Erie have been
selected with a view of sending a fair
proportion of petty officers and seamen; and
I presume, upon examination, it will be
found that they are equal to those upon this
lake." - Mackenzie's Life of Perry,
vol. 1. pp. 186, 187.
The
battle of Lake Erie is the most memorable
naval battle fought with the British; of it
Rossiter Johnson, in his "History of
the War of 1812," in the description
of the engagement, says:
"As
the question of the fighting qualities of
the black man has since been considerably
discussed, it is worth noting that in this
bloody and brilliant battle a large number
of Perry's men were negroes."
It was not left to Commodore Chauncey and
Perry, solely, to applaud them; there
was not an American war
[Pg. 80]
vessel, perhaps, whose crew, in part, was
not made up of negroes, as the accounts of
various sea fights prove. And they are
entitled to no small share of the meed of
praise given the American Seaman, who fought
and won victory over the British. Not
only in the Navy, but on board the
privateers,* the American negro did service,
as the following extract will show:
Extract of a Letter from Nathaniel Shaler,
Commander of the private-armed Schooner
Gov. Tompkins, to his Agent in New York.
AT SEA, Jan. 1, 1813.
"Before I could get our light sails on, and almost
before I could turn round, I was under the
guns, not of a transport, but of a large
frigate! and not more than a
quarter of a mile from her. *
* Her first
broadside killed two men and wounded six
others *
* My officers conducted
themselves in a way that would have done
honor to a more permanent service *
* * The name of one of my poor
fellows who was killed ought to be
registered in the book of fame, and
remembered with reverence as long as bravery
is considered a virtue. He was a black man
by the name of John Johnson. A twenty-four
pound shot struck him in the hip, and took
away all the lower part of his body. In this
state, the poor brave fellow lay on the
deck, and several times exclaimed to his
shipmates, ' Fire away, my boy: no haul a
color down' The other was a black man, by
the name of John Davis, and was struck in
much the same way. He fell near me, and
several times requested to be thrown over
board, saying he was only in the way of
others.
" When America has such tars, she has little to fear
from the tyrants
of the ocean."—Nile's Weekly Register,
Saturday, Feb. 20, 1814.
As in the late war of the rebellion, the negroes
offered their services at the outset when
volunteers were called for, and the true
patriots at the North sought to have their
services accepted; but the government being
in the control of the opponents of universal
freedom and the extention of the
rights of citizenship to the negro, the
effort to admit him into the ranks of the
army, even in separate organizations,
was futile. At the same time American
whites would not enlist to any great extent,
and but for the tide of immigration, which
before the war had set in from Ireland, the
fighting on shore would prob-
-----
*" Hammond Golar, a colored man who lived
in Lynn for many years, died a few years
since at the age of 80 years, lie was horn a
slave, was a privateer "powder boy" In
the war of 1S12, and was taken to Halifax as
a prisoner. The English Government, did not
exchange colored prisoners because they
would then he returned to Slavery, and
Golar remained a prisoner until the
close of the war "
[Pg. 81]
ably not have lasted six months; certainly
the invasion of Canada would not have been
attempted.
The reverses which met the American army in the first
year of the war, slackened even the
enlistment that was going on and imperiled
the safety of the country, and the defences
of the most important seaports and
manufacturing states. Battle after battle
had been lost, the invasion of Canada
abandoned, and the British had turned their
attention southward. The war in Europe had
been brought to a close, and Napoleon was a
captive. England was now at liberty to
reinforce her fleet and army in America, and
fears were entertained that other European
powers might assist her in invading the
United States. The negro soldier again
loomed up, and as the British were preparing
to attack New Orleans with a superior force
to that of Gen. Jackson's, he sought to
avail himself of every possible help within
his reach. Accordingly he issued the
following proclamation:
GENERAL JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE
NEGROES.
Headquarters, Seventh Military District,
Mobile, September 21, 1814.
To the Free Colored Inhabitants of
Louisiana:
Through a mistaken policy, you have heretofore been
deprived of a participation in the glorious
struggle for national rights in which our
country is engaged. This no longer shall
exist.
As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend
our most inestimable blessing. As Americans,
your country looks with confident* to her
adopted children for a valorous support, as
a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed
under her mild and equitable government.
As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are
summoned to rally around the standard of the
Eagle, to defend all which is dear in
existence.
Your country, although calling for your exertions, does
not wish yon to engage in her cause without
amply remunerating you for the services
rendered. Tour intelligent minds are not to
be led away by false representations. Your
love of honor would cause you to despise the
man who should attempt to deceive you. In
the sincerity of a soldier and the language
of truth I address you.
To every noble-hearted, generous freeman of color
volunteering to nerve during the present
contest with Great Britain, and no longer,
there will be paid the same bounty, in money
and lands, now received by the white
soldiers of the United States, viz: one
hundred and twenty-four dollars in money,
and one hundred and sixty acres of land. The
non
[Pg. 82]
commissioned officers and privates will also
be entitled to the same monthly pay, and
daily rations, and clothes, furnished to any
American soldier.
On enrolling yourselves in companies, the Major-General
Commanding will select officers for your
government from your white fellow-citizens.
Your non-commissioned officers will be
appointed from among yourselves.
Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freeman and
soldiers. You will not, by being associated
with white men in the same corps, be exposed
to improper comparisons or unjust sarcasm.
As a distinct, independent battalion or
regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you
will, undivided, receive the applause and
gratitude of your countrymen.
To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions, and my
anxiety to engage your invaluable services
to our country, I have communicated my
wishes to the Governor of Louisiana, who is
fully informed as to the manner of
enrollment, and will give you every
necessary information on the subject of this
address.
Andrew Jackson, Major-General Commanding.
[Niles Register, vol. vii. p. 205. ]
When the news of Gen. Jackson arming the
free negroes reached the North it created no
little surprise, and greatly encouraged
those, who, from the commencement of
hostilities, had advocated it. The
successes of the summer were being
obliterated by the victories which the
British were achieving. The national
capitol was burned; Maine had virtually
fallen into their hands; gloom and
disappointment prevailed throughout the
country. Enlistment was at a
stand-still, and as the British were
threatening with annihilation the few troops
then in the field, it became evident that
the States would have to look to their own
defence. New York again turned her
attention to her free negro population; a
bill was prepared and introduced in the
legislature looking to the arming of her
negroes, and in October, a month after
Gen. Jackson issued his appeal to
the negroes of Louisiana, the Legislature
passed a bill of which the following are the
most important sections:
"An Act to authorize the raising of Two Regiments of
Men of Color;
passed Oct. 24, 1814.
"Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of
New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, That the Governor of the State
lie, And he is hereby authorized to raise,
by voluntary enlistment, two regi-
[Pg. 83]
ments of free men of color, for the defence
of the State for three years,
unless sooner discharged.
" Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That each of the
said regiments shall consist of one thousand
and eighty able-bodied men; and the said
regiments shall be formed into a brigade, or
be organized in such manner, and shall be
employed in such service, as the Governor of
the State of New York shall deem best
adapted to defend the said State.
"Sect. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the
commissioned officers of the said regiments
and brigade shall be white men; and the
Governor of the State of New York shall be,
and he is hereby, authorised to commission,
by brevet, all the officers of the said
regiments and brigade, who shall hold their
respective commissions until the council of
appointment shall have appointed the
officers of the said regiments and brigade,
in pursuance of the Constitution and laws of
the said State.
"Sect. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be
lawful for any able-bodied slave, with the
written assent of his master or mistress, to
enlist into the said corps; and the master
or mistress of such slave shall be entitled
to the pay and bounty allowed him for his
service: and, further, that the said slave,
at the time of receiving his discharge,
shall be deemed and adjudged to have been
legally manumitted from that time, and his
said master or mistress shall not
thenceforward be liable for his
maintenance.—Laws of the State of New York,
passed at tie Thirty-eighth Session of the
Legislature, chap, xviii.
The organization of negro troops was now fairly begun;
at the South enlistment was confined to the
free negroes as set forth in Gen.
Jackson's Proclamation. In New
York, the slaves who should enlist with the
consent of their owners were to be free at
the expiration of their service, as provided
in the Sixth section of the law quoted
above.
Animated by that love of liberty and country which has
ever prompted them, notwithstanding the
disabilities under which they labored, to
enter the ranks of their country's defenders
whenever that country has been assailed by
foes without or traitors within, the negroes
responded to the call of General
Jackson and to that of New York, with a
zeal and energy characteristic only of a
brave and patriotic people. Inspired
by the hope of impartial liberty, they
rallied to the support of that banner which
Commodore Barron lowered when
he failed to protect them from British
aggression, but which Commodore
Decatur gallantly and successfully
defended.
[Pg. 84]
The forcible capture and imprisonment of
Ware, Martin and Strachan,
the three negroes taken from the Chesapeake,
and who were recognized by the United States
authorities as citizens of the republic, was
sounded as the key-note and rallying cry of
the war; the outrage served greatly to
arouse the people. The fact that the
government sought to establish the liberty
of the free negroes, and the further fact
that she regarded them as citizens,
heightened their indignation at the outrage
committed by the British, and appealed to
their keenest patriotic sensibilities.
New York was not long in raising her two
battalions, and sending it forward to the
army, then at Sacket's Harbor.
On the 18th of December, 1814, following the issuing of
his Proclamation, Gen. Jackson
reviewed the troops under his command at New
Orleans, amounting to about six thousand,
and of this force about five hundred were
negroes, organized into two battalions,
commanded by Maj. Lacoste and
Maj. Savory. These battalions,
at the close of the review, says Parton,
in his Life of Jackson, had
read to them by Edward Livingston,
a member of Jackson's staff, the
following address, from the Commander of the
American forces:
"To
the Embodied Militia.—Fellow Citizens and
Soldiers: The General commanding in
chief would not do justice to the noble
ardor that has animated you in the hour of
danger, he would not do justice to his own
feeling, if he suffered the example you have
shown to pass with out public notice.
* * *
* *
"Fellow-citizens, of every description,
remember for what and against whom you
contend. For all that can render life
desirable—for a country blessed with every
gift of nature—for property, for life—for
those dearer than either, your wives and
children—and for liberty, with out which,
country, life, property, are no longer worth
possessing; as even the embraces of wives
and children become a reproach to the wretch
who could deprive them by his cowardice of
those invaluable blessings.
* * *
* *
"To
the Men of Color.—Soldiers I From the shores
of Mobile I collected you to arms,— I
invited you to share in the perils and to
divide the glory of your white countrymen. I
expected much from you; for I was not
uninformed of those qualities which must
render yon so formidable to an invading foe.
I knew that you could endure hunger and
thirst, and all the hardships of war. I knew
that you loved the
[Pg 85]
land of your nativity, and that, like
ourselves, you had to defend all that is
most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes.
I have found in you, united to these
qualities, that noble enthusiasm which
impels to great deeds.
"Soldiers ! The President of the United States shall be
informed of your conduct on the present
occasion ; and the voice of the
Representatives of the American nation shall
applaud your valor, as your General now
praises your ardor. The enemy is near. His
sails cover the lakes. But the brave are
united; and, if he finds us contending among
ourselves, it will be for the prize of
valor, and fame its noblest reward."—
Giles's Register, vol. vii. pp. 345, 346.
Thus in line with the white troops on the soil of
Louisiana, amid a large slave population,
the negro soldiers were highly praised by
the commanding General. The British
had already made their appearance on the
coast near the mouth of the Mississippi, and
at the time of their landing, General
Jackson went out to meet them with two
thousand one hundred men; the British had
two thousand four hundred. This was on
the 23rd of December. The two armies
met and fought to within a few miles of the
city, where the British general, Pakenham,
who had arrived with reinforcements, began
on the 31st to lay seige. On Jan. 8th
the short but terrible struggle took place
which not only taxed the energies and
displayed the great courage of both forces,
but made the engagement one of historic
interest. In the short space of
twenty-five minutes seven hundred of the
British were killed; fourteen hundred were
wounded and four hundred were taken
prisoners. The American army was so
well protected that only four were killed
and thirteen wounded. It was in this
great battle that two battalions of negroes
participated, and helped to save the city,
the coveted prize, from the British.
The two battalions numbered four hundred and
thirty men, and were commanded by Maj.
Lacoste and Maj. Savory. Great
Britain also had her negro soldiers
there,—a. regiment imported from the West
Indies which headed the attacking column
against Jackson's right.—they led her
van in the battle; their failure, with that
of the Irish regiment which formed also a
part of the advance column, lost the British
the
[Pg. 86]
battle. The conduct of the negro
soldiers in Gen. Jackson's
army on that occasion has ever been
applauded by the American people.
Mr. Day, in Nell's "Colored
Patriots of the American Revolution," says:
"
From an authenticated chart, belonging to a
soldier friend, I find that, in the battle
of New Orleans, Major-General
Andrew Jackson,
Commander-in-Chief, and his staff, were just
at the right of the advancing left column of
the British, and that very near him were
stationed the colored soldiers. He is
numbered 6, and the position of the colored
soldiers 8. The chart explanation of
No. 8 reads thus:— '8. Captains
Dominique and Bluche, two 24
pounders; Major Lacoste's
battalion, formed of the men of color of New
Orleans and, Major Daquin's
battalion, formed of the men of color of St.
Uomingo, under Major Savary,
second in command. '
" They occupied no mean place, and did no mean service.
" From other documents in my possession, I am able to
state the number of the 'battalion of St.
Domingo men of color' to have been one
hundred and fifty; and of Major
Lacoste's battalion of Louisiana men of
color,' two hundred and eighty.
" Thus were over four hundred ' men of color' in that
battle. When it is remembered that the
whole number of soldiers claimed by
Americans to have been in that battle
reached only 3600, it will be seen that the
'men of color' were present in much larger
proportion than their numbers in the country
warranted.
"Neither was there colorphobia then. Major Blanche's
battalion of uniformed volunteer companies,
and Major Lacoste's ' men of color,'
fought together; so, also, did Major
Daquin's 'men of color,' and the 44th,
under Captain Baker. "
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, in his speech
in Congress on the Imprisonment of Colored
Seamen, September, 1850, bore this testimony
to their gallant conduct:
"I
have an impression, that, not, indeed, in
these piping times of peace, but in the time
of war, when quite a boy, I have seen black
soldiers enlisted, who did faithful and
excellent service. But, however it may
have been in the Northern States, I can tell
the Senator what happened in the Southern
States at this period. I believe that
I shall be borne out in saying, that no
regiments did better service, at New
Orleans, than did the black regiments, which
were organized under the direction of
General Jackson himself, after a most
glorious appeal to the patriotism and honor
of the people of color of that region; and
which, after they came out of the war,
received the thanks of General
Jackson, in a proclamation which has
been thought worthy of being inscribed on
the pages of history."
[Pg. 87]
Perhaps the most glowing account of the services of
these black American soldiers, appeared in
an article in the New Orleans Picayune:
"Not the least interesting, although the
most novel feature of the procession
yesterday, was the presence of ninety of the
colored veterans who bore a conspicuous part
in the dangers of the day they were now for
the first time called to assist in
celebrating, and who, by their good conduct
in presence of the enemy, deserved and
received the approbation of their
illustrious commander-in-chief. During
the thirty-six years that have passed away
since they assisted to repel the invaders
from our shores, these faithful men have
never before participated in the annual
rejoicings for the victory which their valor
contributed to gain. Their good deeds
have been consecrated only in their
memories, or lived but to claim a passing
notice on the page of the historian.
Yet, who more than they deserve the thanks
of the country, and the gratitude of
succeeding generations? Who rallied
with more alacrity in response to the
summons of danger? Who endured more
cheerfully the hardships of the camp, or
faced with greater courage the perils of the
fight? If, in that hazardous hour,
when our homes were menaced with the horrors
of war, we did not disdain to call upon the
colored population to assist in repelling
the invading horde, we should not, when the
danger is passed, refuse to permit them to
unite with us in celebrating the glorious
event, which they helped to make make so
memorable an epoch in our history. We
were not too exalted to mingle with them in
the affray; they were not too humble to join
in our rejoicings.
"Such, we think, is the universal opinion of our
citizens. We conversed with many
yesterday, and, without exception, they
expressed approval of the invitation which
had been extended to the colored veterans to
take part in the ceremonies of the day, and
gratification at seeing them in a
conspicuous place in the procession.
"The respectability of their appearance, and the
modesty of their demeanor, made an
impression on every observer, and elicited
unqualified approbation. Indeed,
though in saying so we do not mean
disrespect to say one else, we think that
they constituted decidedly the most
interesting portion of the pageant, as they
certainly attracted the most attention."
It
was during the rebellion of 1861-65 that the
author saw one of the colored drummers boys
of that column beating his drum at the head
of a negro United States regiment marching
through the streets of New Orleans in 1862.
The New York battalion was organized and marched to the
reinforcement of the American army at
Sacket's
[Pg. 88]
Harbor, then threatened by the enemy.
This battalion was said to be a fine looking
body of men, well drilled and disciplined.
In Congress Mr. Martindale, of New
York, said in a speech delivered on the 22nd
January, 1828, before that body:
"Slaves or negroes who had been slaves were enlisted as
soldiers in the war of the Revolution; and I
myself saw a battalion of them, - as fine
marital looking men as I ever saw attached
to the Northern army in the last war (1812),
- on its march from Plattsburg to Sacket's
Harbor, where they did service for the
country with credit to New York and honor to
themselves."
As
in the dark days of the Revolution, so now
in another period of national danger, the
negroes proved their courage and patriotism
by service in the field. However, the
lamentable treatment of Major Jeffrey*
is evidence that these services were not
regarded as a protection against outrage.
In the two wars in which the history of the negroes has
been traced in these pages, there is nothing
that mitigates against his manhood, though
his condition, either bond or free, was
lowly. But on the contrary the honor
of the race has been maintained under every
circumstance in which it has been placed.
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*See page 50
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