History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 / Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens

At the battle of Appomattox a division of picked Colored Troops (Gen. Birney[107]) accomplished some most desperate and brilliant fighting, and received the praise of the white troops who acted as their support.

From the day the Government put arms into the hands of Negro soldiers to the last hour of the Slave-holders' Rebellion they rendered effective aid in suppressing the rebellion and in saving the Union. They fought a twofold battle—conquered the prejudices and fears of the white people of the North and the swaggering insolence and lofty confidence of the South.

As to the efficiency of Negroes as soldiers abundant testimony awaits the hand of the historian. The following letter speaks for itself.

ADJ.-GEN. THOMAS ON NEGRO SOLDIERS.

"War Dep't, Adj.-General's Office, }
"Washington, May 30, 1864. }

"Hon. H. Wilson:

"Dear Sir: On several occasions when on the Mississippi River, I contemplated writing to you respecting the colored troops and to suggest that, as they have been fully tested as soldiers, their pay should be raised to that of white troops, and I desire now to give my testimony in their behalf. You are aware that I have been engaged in the organization of freedmen for over a year, and have necessarily been thrown in constant contact with them.

"The negro in a state of slavery is brought up by the master, from early childhood, to strict obedience and to obey implicitly the dictates of the white man, and they are thus led to believe that they are an inferior race. Now, when organized into troops, they carry this habit of obedience with them, and their officers being entirely white men, the negroes promptly obey their orders.

"A regiment is thus rapidly brought into a state of discipline. They are a religious people—another high quality for making good soldiers. They are a musical people, and thus readily learn to march and accurately perform their manœuvres. They take pride in being elevated as soldiers, and keep themselves, as their camp grounds, neat and clean. This I know from special inspection, two of my staff-officers being constantly on inspecting duty. They have proved a most important addition to our forces, enabling the Generals in active operations to take a large force of white troops into the field; and now brigades of blacks are placed with the whites. The forts erected at the important points on the river are nearly all garrisoned by blacks—artillery regiments raised for the purpose,—say at Paducah and Columbus, Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee, Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi and most of the works around New Orleans.

"Experience proves that they manage heavy guns very well. Their fighting qualities have also been fully tested a number of times, and I am yet to hear of the first case where they did not fully stand up to their work. I passed over the ground where the 1st Louisiana made the gallant charge at Port Hudson, by far the stronger part of the rebel works. The wonder is that so many have made their escape. At Milliken's Bend where I had three incomplete regiments,—one without arms until the day previous to the attack,—greatly superior numbers of the rebels charged furiously up to the very breastworks. The negroes met the enemy on the ramparts, and both sides freely used the bayonet—a most rare occurrence in warfare, as one of the other party gives way before coming in contact with the steel. The rebels were defeated With heavy loss. The bridge at Moscow, on the line of railroad from Memphis to Corinth, was defended by one small regiment of blacks. A cavalry attack of three times their number was made, the blacks defeating them in three charges made by the Rebels.

"They fought them hours till our cavalry came up, when the defeat was made complete, many of the dead being left on the field.

"A cavalry force of three hundred and fifty attacked three hundred rebel cavalry near the Big Black with signal success, a number of prisoners being taken and marched to Vicksburg. Forrest attacked Paducah with 7,500 men. The garrison was between 500 and 600, nearly 400 being colored troops recently raised. What troops could have done better? So, too, they fought well at Fort Pillow till overpowered by greatly superior numbers.

"The above enumerated cases seem to me sufficient to demonstrate the value of the colored troops.

"I have the honor to be, very respectfully,

"Your obedient servant,

"L. Thomas, Adj.-General.

In regard to the conduct of the Colored Troops at Petersburg, a correspondent to the "Boston Journal" gave the following account from the lips of Gen. Smith:

"A few days ago I sat in the tent of Gen. W. F. Smith, commander of the 18th Corps, and heard his narration of the manner in which Gen. Hinks' division of colored troops stood the fire and charged upon the Rebel works east of Petersburg on the 16th of June. There were thirteen guns pouring a constant fire of shot and shell upon those troops, enfilading the line, cutting it lengthwise and crosswise, 'Yet they stood unmoved for six hours. Not a man flinched. [These are the words of the General.] It was as severe a test as I ever saw. But they stood it, and when my arrangements were completed for charging the works, they moved with the steadiness of veterans to the attack. I expected that they would fall back, or be cut to pieces; but when I saw them move over the field, gain the works and capture the guns, I was astounded. They lost between 500 and 600 in doing it. There is material in the negroes to make the best troops in the world, if they are properly trained.'

"These are the words of one of the ablest commanders and engineers in the service. A graduate of West Point, who, earlier in the war, had the prejudices which were held by many other men against the negro. He has changed his views. He is convinced, and honorably follows his convictions, as do all men who are not stone blind or perversely wilful."[108]

Gen. Blunt in a letter to a friend speaks of the valor of Colored Troops at the battle of Honey Springs. He says:

"The negroes (1st colored regiment) were too much for the enemy, and let me here say that I never saw such fighting as was done by that negro regiment. They fought like veterans, with a coolness and valor that is unsurpassed. They preserved their line perfect throughout the whole engagement, and although in the hottest of the fight, they never once faltered. Too much praise cannot be awarded them for their gallantry. The question that negroes will fight is settled, besides they make better soldiers in every respect, than any troops I have ever had under my command."[109]

The following from the Washington correspondent of the "New York Tribune" is of particular value:

"In speaking of the soldierly qualities of our colored troops, I do not refer specially to their noble action in the perilous edge of battle; that is settled, but to their docility and their patience of labor and suffering in the camp and on the march.

"I have before me a private letter from a friend, now Major in one of the Pennsylvania colored regiments, a portion of which I think the public should find in your columns. He says in speaking of service in his regiment: 'I am delighted with it. I find that these colored men learn every thing that pertains to the duties of a soldier much faster than any white soldiers I have ever seen. The reason is apparent,—not that they are smarter than white men, but they feel promoted; they feel as though their whole sphere of life was advanced and enlarged. They are willing, obedient, and cheerful; move with agility, and are full of music, which is almost a sine qua non to soldierly bearing.'

"Soon after the letter of which the above is an extract was written, the regiment was ordered to the field from which the Major writes again: 'The more I know and see of these negro regiments, the more I am delighted with the whole enterprise. It is truly delightful to command a regiment officered as these are. In all my experience I have never known a better class of officers.... I have charge of the school of non-commissioned officers here. I drill them once a day and have them recite from the oral instructions given them the day before. I find them more anxious to learn their duties and more ready to perform them when they know them than any set of non-commissioned officers I ever saw.... There is no discount on these fellows at all. Give me a thousand such men as compose this regiment and I desire no stronger battalion to lead against an enemy that is at once their oppressors and traitors to my, and my soldiers' country.'

"This testimony is worth a chapter of speculation. The Major alludes to one fact above, moreover, to which the public attention has not been often directed—the excellent and able men who are in command of our colored troops. They are generally men of heart—men of opinions—men whose generous impulses have not been chilled in 'the cold shade of West Point.'

"The officer from whose letter I have quoted was a volunteer in the ranks of a Pennsylvania regiment from the day of the attack on Sumter until August, 1862. His bravery, his devotion to the principles of freedom, his zeal in the holy cause of his country through all the campaigns of the calamitous McClellan, won the regard and attention of our loyal Governor Curtin, who, with rare good sense and discrimination, took him from the ranks and made him first, Lieut.-Colonel, and then Colonel of a regiment in the nine months' service. He carried himself through all in such a manner as fully justified the Governor's confidence, and has stepped now into a position where his patriotic zeal can concentrate the valor of these untutored free men in defense of our imperilled country. So long as these brave colored men are officered by gallant, high-hearted, slave-hating men, we can never despair of the Republic."[110]

Mr. D. Aden in a letter to Col. Darling, dated Norfolk, Va., Feb. 22, 1864, said:

"During the expedition last October to Charles City Court House, on the Peninsula, the colored troops marched steadily through storm and mud; and on coming up with the enemy, behaved as bravely under fire as veterans. An officer of the 1st N. Y. Mounted Rifles—a most bitter opponent and reviler of colored troops—who was engaged in this affair, volunteered the statement that they had fought bravely, and, in his own language, more expressive than elegant, were 'bully boys'—which coming from such a source, might be regarded as the highest praise.

"During the recent advance toward Richmond to liberate the Union prisoners, the 4th, 5th, and 9th regiments formed part of the expedition and behaved splendidly. They marched thirty miles in ten hours, and an unusually small number straggled on the route."

Col. John A. Foster of the 175th New York, in January, 1864, wrote to Col. Darling as follows:

"While before Port Hudson, during the siege of that place, I was acting on Col. Gooding's staff, prior to the arrival of my regiment at that place. On the assault of May 27, 1863, Col. Gooding was ordered to proceed to the extreme right of our lines and oversee the charge of the two regiments constituting the negro-brigade, and I accompanied him.

"We witnessed them in line of battle, under a very heavy fire of musketry, and siege and field pieces. There was a deep gully or bayou before them, which they could not cross nor ford in the presence of the enemy, and hence an assault was wholly impracticable. Yet they made five several attempts to swim and cross it, preparatory to an assault on the enemy's works; and in this, too, in fair view of the enemy, and at short musket range. Added to this, the nature of the enemy's works was such that it allowed an enfilading fire. Success was impossible; yet they behaved as cool as if veterans, and when ordered to retire, marched off as if on parade. I feel satisfied that, if the position of the bayou had been known and the assault made a quarter of a mile to the left of where it was, the place would have been taken by this negro brigade on that day.

"On that day I witnessed the attack made by the divisions of Generals Grover and Paine, and can truly say I saw no steadier fighting by those daring men than did the negroes in this their first fight.

"On the second assault, June 14th, in the assault 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 endorsement 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, fortitude, 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!

CHAPTER XX.
CAPTURE AND TREATMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.

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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.