History of the Negro Race in America Volume II Part 45

"On the second a.s.sault, June 14th, in the a.s.sault made by Gen.

Paine's division, our loss was very great in wounded, and, as there was a want of ambulance men, I ordered about a hundred negroes, who were standing idle and unharmed, to take the stretchers and carry the wounded from the field. Under a most severe fire of musketry, grape, and canister, they performed this duty with unflinching courage and nonchalance. They suffered severely in this duty both in killed and wounded; yet not a man faltered. These men had just been recruited, and were not even partially disciplined. But I next saw the negroes (engineers) working in these trenches, under a heavy fire of the enemy. They worked faithfully, and wholly regardless of exposure to the enemy's fire."

Mr. Cadwallader in his despatch concerning the battle of Spottsylvania, dated May 18th, says:

"It is a subject of considerable merriment in camp that a charge of the famous Hampton Legion, the flower of Southern chivalry, was repulsed by the Colored Troops of General Ferrero's command."[111]

These are but a _few_ of the tributes that brave and true white men cheerfully gave to the valor and loyalty of Colored Troops during the war. No officer, whose privilege it was to command or observe the conduct of these troops, has ever hesitated to give a full and cheerful endors.e.m.e.nt of their worth as men, their loyalty as Americans, and their eminent qualifications for the duties and dangers of military life. No history of the war has ever been written, no history of the war ever can be written, without mentioning the patience, endurance, fort.i.tude, and heroism of the Negro soldiers who prayed, wept, fought, bled, and died for the preservation of the Union of the United States of America!

FOOTNOTES:

[97] This was remedied at length, after the 54th Ma.s.sachusetts Infantry had refused pay for a year, unless the regiment could be treated as other regiments. Major Sturges, Agent for the State of Ma.s.sachusetts, made up the difference between $7 and $13 to disabled and discharged soldiers of this regiment, until the 15th June, 1864, when the Government came to its senses respecting this great injustice to its gallant soldiers.

[98] Times, Feb. 10, 1863.

[99] Times, Feb. 11, 1863.

[100] For the official report of Colonel Higginson and the war correspondent, see Rebellion Records, vol. vii. Doc.u.ment, pp. 176-178.

[101] New York Times, June 13, 1863.

[102] Rebellion Records, vol. vii. Doc. p. 15.

[103] Rebellion Recs., vol. vii. Doc., p. 215, 216.

[104] Herald, June 18, 1864.

[105] Rebellion Recs., vol. xi. Doc. pp. 580, 581.

[106] Rebellion Recs., vol. xi. Doc., p. 89.

[107] I remember now, as I was in the battle of Appomattox Court House, that Gen. Birney was relieved just after the battle of Farmville, because he refused to march his division in the rear of all the white troops. It was doubtless Gen. Foster who led the Colored Troops in the action at Appomattox.

[108] Tribune, July 26, 1864.

[109] Tribune, August 19, 1863.

[110] New York Tribune, Nov. 14, 1863.

[111] New York Herald, May 20, 1864.

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 a.s.sAULTED 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 h.e.l.l AT PILLOW.--THEY GIVE A SICKENING ACCOUNT OF THE Ma.s.sACRE 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 Ma.s.sACRE 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 pa.s.sed:

"_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 emanc.i.p.ate 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 inst.i.tution 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 doc.u.ment 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 pa.s.s _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 att.i.tude 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 h.e.l.l of slavery from which he had escaped. The b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.sacre of black prisoners at Murfreesboro, brooked, so far as the public knows, no retaliation at Was.h.i.+ngton. The black servants captured at Galveston--free men and citizens of Ma.s.sachusetts--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, ent.i.tled. 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 ent.i.tled 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 inst.i.tutions 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, } "WAs.h.i.+NGTON, July 30, 1863. }

"It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its citizens, of whatever cla.s.s, 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.