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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Negro Race in America from
+1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2), by George Washington Williams
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2)
+ Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens
+
+Author: George Washington Williams
+
+Release Date: June 18, 2007 [EBook #21851]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: Every effort has been made to replicate this text
+as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings
+and other inconsistencies. Text that has been changed to correct an
+obvious error is noted at the end of this ebook.]
+
+
+
+
+ HISTORY
+
+ OF THE
+
+ NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA
+
+ _FROM 1619 TO 1880._
+
+ NEGROES AS SLAVES, AS SOLDIERS, AND AS CITIZENS
+
+ TOGETHER WITH
+
+ A PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATION OF THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN
+ FAMILY, AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF AFRICA, AND AN
+ ACCOUNT OF THE NEGRO GOVERNMENTS OF
+ SIERRA LEONE AND LIBERIA.
+
+ BY
+
+ GEORGE W. WILLIAMS,
+
+ FIRST COLORED MEMBER OF THE OHIO LEGISLATURE, AND LATE JUDGE
+ ADVOCATE OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF OHIO, ETC.
+
+ _IN TWO VOLUMES._
+
+ VOLUME II.
+
+ 1800 TO 1880.
+
+
+ NEW YORK
+ G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS,
+ 27 AND 29 WEST 23D STREET.
+
+ 1883.
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT,
+
+ BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS,
+
+ 1882
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+This second volume brings the HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA
+from 1800 down to 1880. It consists of six parts and twenty-nine
+chapters. Few memories can cover this eventful period of American
+history. Commencing its career with the Republic, slavery grew with
+its growth and strengthened with its strength. The dark spectre kept
+pace and company with liberty until separated by the sword. Beginning
+with the struggle for restriction or extension of slavery, I have
+striven to record, in the spirit of honest and impartial historical
+inquiry, all the events of this period belonging properly to my
+subject. The development and decay of anti-slavery sentiment at the
+South; the pious efforts of the good Quakers to ameliorate the
+condition of the slaves; the service of Negroes as soldiers and
+sailors; the anti-slavery agitation movement; the insurrections of
+slaves; the national legislation on the slavery question; the John
+Brown movement; the war for the Union; the valorous conduct of Negro
+soldiers; the emancipation proclamations; the reconstruction of the
+late Confederate States; the errors of reconstruction; the results of
+emancipation; vital, prison, labor, educational, financial, and social
+statistics; the exodus--cause and effect; and a sober prophecy of the
+future,--are all faithfully recorded.
+
+After seven years I am loath to part with the saddest task ever
+committed to human hands! I have tracked my bleeding countrymen
+through the widely scattered documents of American history; I have
+listened to their groans, their clanking chains, and melting prayers,
+until the woes of a race and the agonies of centuries seem to crowd
+upon my soul as a bitter reality. Many pages of this history have been
+blistered with my tears; and, although having lived but a little more
+than a generation, my mind feels as if it were cycles old.
+
+The long spectral hand on the clock of American history points to the
+completion of the second decade since the American slave became an
+American citizen. How wondrous have been his strides, how marvellous
+his achievements! Twenty years ago we were in the midst of a great
+war for the extinction of slavery; in this anniversary week I complete
+my task, record the results of that struggle. I modestly strive to
+lift the Negro race to its pedestal in American history. I raise this
+post to indicate the progress of humanity; to instruct the present, to
+inform the future. I commit this work to the considerate judgment of
+my fellow-citizens of every race, "with malice toward none, and
+charity for all."
+
+ GEO. W. WILLIAMS.
+
+HOFFMAN HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY, Dec. 28, 1882.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+Part 4.
+
+_CONSERVATIVE ERA--NEGROES IN THE ARMY AND NAVY._
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+RESTRICTION AND EXTENSION. 1800-1825.
+
+ PAGE
+
+ Commencement of the Nineteenth Century.--Slave Population of
+ 1800.--Memorial presented to Congress calling Attention to the
+ Slave-trade to the Coast of Guinea.--Georgia cedes the Territory
+ lying West of her to become a State.--Ohio adopts a State
+ Constitution.--William Henry Harrison appointed Governor of the
+ Territory of Indiana.--An Act of Congress prohibiting the
+ Importation of Slaves into the United States or
+ Territories.--Slave Population of 1810.--Mississippi applies for
+ Admission into the Union with a Slave Constitution.--Congress
+ besieged by Memorials urging more Specific Legislation against
+ the Slave-trade.--Premium offered to the Informer of every
+ illegally imported African seized within the United
+ States.--Circular-letters sent to the Naval Officers on the
+ Sea-coast of the Slave-holding States.--President Monroe's
+ Message to Congress on the Question of Slavery.--Petition
+ presented by the Missouri Delegates for the Admission of that
+ State into the Union.--The Organization of the Arkansas
+ Territory.--Resolutions passed for the Restriction of Slavery in
+ New States.--The Missouri Controversy.--The Organization of the
+ Anti-slavery Societies.--An Act for the Gradual Abolition of
+ Slavery in New Jersey.--Its Provisions.--The Attitude of the
+ Northern Press on the Slavery Question.--Slave Population of
+ 1820.--Anti-slavery Sentiment at the North 1
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+NEGRO TROOPS IN THE WAR OF 1812.
+
+ Employment of Negroes as Soldiers in the War of 1812.--The New
+ York Legislature authorizes the Enlistment of a Regiment of
+ Colored Soldiers.--Gen. Andrew Jackson's Proclamation to the Free
+ Colored Inhabitants of Louisiana calling them to Arms.--Stirring
+ Address to the Colored Troops the Sunday before the Battle of New
+ Orleans.--Gen. Jackson anticipates the Valor of his Colored
+ Soldiers.--Terms of Peace at the Close of the War by the
+ Commissioners at Ghent.--Negroes placed as Chattel
+ Property.--Their Valor in War secures them no Immunity in Peace
+ 23
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+NEGROES IN THE NAVY.
+
+ No Proscription against Negroes as Sailors.--They are carried
+ upon the Rolls in the Navy without Regard to their
+ Nationality.--Their Treatment as Sailors.--Commodore Perry's
+ Letter to Commodore Chauncey in Regard to the Men sent
+ him.--Commodore Chauncey's Spirited Reply.--The Heroism of the
+ Negro set forth in the Picture of Perry's Victory on Lake
+ Erie.--Extract of a Letter from Nathaniel Shaler, Commander of a
+ Private Vessel.--He cites Several Instances of the Heroic Conduct
+ of Negro Sailors 28
+
+
+PART 5.
+
+_ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION._
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+RETROSPECTION AND REFLECTION. 1825-1850.
+
+ The Security of the Institution of Slavery at the South.--The
+ Right to hold Slaves questioned.--Rapid Increase of the Slave
+ Population.--Anti-slavery Speeches in the Legislature of
+ Virginia.--The Quakers of Maryland and Delaware emancipate their
+ Slaves.--The Evil Effect of Slavery upon Society.--The Conscience
+ and Heart of the South did not respond to the Voice of Reason or
+ the Dictates of Humanity 31
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ANTI-SLAVERY METHODS.
+
+ The Antiquity of Anti-slavery Sentiment.--Benjamin Lundy's
+ Opposition to Slavery in the South and at the North.--He
+ establishes the "Genius of Universal Emancipation."--His Great
+ Sacrifices and Marvellous Work in the Cause of
+ Emancipation.--William Lloyd Garrison edits a Paper at
+ Bennington, Vermont.--He pens a Petition to Congress for the
+ Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia.--Garrison the
+ Peerless Leader of the Anti-slavery Agitation.--Extract from a
+ Speech delivered by Daniel O'Connell at Cork, Ireland.--Increase
+ of Anti-slavery Societies in the Country.--Charles Sumner
+ delivers a Speech on the "Anti-slavery Duties of the Whig
+ Party."--Marked Events of 1846.--Sumner the Leader of the
+ Political Abolition Party.--Heterodox Anti-slavery Party.--Its
+ Sentiments.--Horace Greeley the Leader of the Economic
+ Anti-slavery Party.--The Aggressive Anti-slavery Party.--Its
+ Leaders.--The Colonization Anti-slavery Society.--American
+ Colonization Society.--Manumitted Negroes colonize on the West
+ Coast of Africa.--A Bill establishing a Line of Mail Steamers to
+ the Coast of Africa.--It provides for the Suppression of the
+ Slave-trade, the Promotion of Commerce, and the Colonization of
+ Free Negroes.--Extracts from the Press warmly urging the Passage
+ of the Bill.--The Underground Railroad Organization.--Its
+ Efficiency in freeing Slaves.--Anti-Slavery Literature.--It
+ exposes the True Character of Slavery.--"Uncle Tom's Cabin," by
+ Harriet Beecher Stowe, pleaded the Cause of the Slave in Twenty
+ Different Languages.--The Influence of "Impending Crisis." 37
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+ANTI-SLAVERY EFFORTS OF FREE NEGROES.
+
+ Intelligent Interest of Free Negroes in the Agitation
+ Movement.--"First Annual Convention of the People of Color" held
+ at Philadelphia.--Report of the Committee on the Establishment of
+ a College for Young Men of Color.--Provisional Committee
+ appointed in each City.--Conventional Address.--Second Convention
+ held at Benezet Hall, Philadelphia.--Resolutions of the
+ Meeting.--Conventional Address.--The Massachusetts General
+ Colored Association.--Convention of Anti-slavery Women of America
+ at New York.--Prejudice against admitting Negroes into White
+ Societies.--Colored Orators.--Their Eloquent Pleas for their
+ Enslaved Race 61
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+NEGRO INSURRECTIONS.
+
+ The Negro not so Docile as supposed.--The Reason why he was kept
+ in Bondage.--Negroes possessed Courage but lacked
+ Leaders.--Insurrection of Slaves.--Gen. Gabriel as a
+ Leader.--Negro Insurrection planned in South Carolina.--Evils of,
+ revealed.--The "Nat. Turner" Insurrection in South Hampton
+ County, Virginia.--The Whites arm themselves to repel the
+ Insurrectionists.--Capture and Trial of "Nat. Turner."--His
+ Execution.--Effect of the Insurrection upon Slaves and
+ Slave-holders 82
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE "AMISTAD" CAPTIVES.
+
+ The Spanish Slaver "Amistad" sails from Havana, Cuba, for Porto
+ Principe.--Fifty-four Native Africans on Board.--Joseph Cinquez,
+ the Son of an African Prince.--The "Amistad" captured and taken
+ into New London, Conn.--Trial and Release of the Slaves.--Tour
+ through the United States.--Return to their Native Country in
+ Company with Missionaries.--The Anti-slavery Cause benefited by
+ their Stay in the United States.--Their Appreciation of Christian
+ Civilization 93
+
+
+Part 6.
+
+_THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION._
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+NORTHERN SYMPATHY AND SOUTHERN SUBTERFUGES. 1850-1860.
+
+ Violent Treatment of Anti-slavery Orators.--The South
+ misinterprets the Mobocratic Spirit of the North.--The
+ "Garrisonians" and "Calhounites."--Slave Population of
+ 1830-1850.--The Thirty-first Congress.--Motion for the Admission
+ of New Mexico and California.--The Democratic and Whig Parties on
+ the Treatment of the Slave Question.--Convention of the
+ Democratic Party at Baltimore, Maryland.--Nomination of Franklin
+ Pierce for President.--Whig Party Convention.--Nomination of Gen.
+ Winfield Scott for the Presidency by the Whigs.--Mr. Pierce
+ elected President in 1853.--A Bill introduced to repeal the
+ "Missouri Compromise."--Speech by Stephen A. Douglass.--Mr.
+ Chase's Reply.--An Act to organize the Territories of Kansas and
+ Nebraska.--State Militia in the South make Preparations for
+ War.--President Buchanan in Sympathy with the South. 97
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE "BLACK LAWS" OF "BORDER STATES."
+
+ Stringent Laws enacted against Free Negroes and
+ Mulattoes.--Fugitive-slave Law respected in Ohio.--A Law to
+ prevent Kidnapping.--The First Constitution of Ohio.--History of
+ the Dred Scott case.--Judge Taney's Opinion in this Case.--Ohio
+ Constitution of 1851 denied Free Negroes the Right to vote.--The
+ Establishment of Colored Schools.--Law in Indiana Territory in
+ Reference to Executions.--An Act for the Introduction of Negroes
+ and Mulattoes into the Territory.--First Constitution of
+ Indiana.--The Illinois Constitution of 1818.--Criminal Code
+ enacted.--Illinois Legislature passes an Act to prevent the
+ Emigration of Free Negroes into the State.--Free Negroes of the
+ Northern States endure Restriction and Proscription 111
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE NORTHERN NEGROES.
+
+ Nominal Rights of Free Negroes in the Slave States.--Fugitive
+ Slaves seek Refuge in Canada.--Negroes petition against Taxation
+ without Representation.--A Law preventing Negroes from other
+ States from settling in Massachusetts.--Notice to Blacks,
+ Indians, and Mulattoes, warning them to leave the
+ Commonwealth.--The Rights and Privileges of the Negro
+ restricted.--Colored Men turn their Attention to the Education of
+ their own Race.--John V. De Grasse, the first Colored Man
+ admitted to the Massachusetts Medical Society.--Prominent Colored
+ Men of New York and Philadelphia.--The Organization of the
+ African Methodist Episcopal and Colored Baptist
+ Churches.--Colored Men distinguish themselves in the
+ Pulpit.--Report to the Ohio Anti-slavery Society of Colored
+ People in Cincinnati in 1835.--Many purchase their
+ Freedom.--Henry Boyd, the Mechanic and Builder.--He becomes a
+ Successful Manufacturer in Cincinnati.--Samuel T. Wilcox, the
+ Grocer.--His Success in Business in Cincinnati.--Ball & Thomas,
+ the Photographers.--Colored People of Cincinnati evince a Desire
+ to take Care of themselves.--Lydia P. Mott establishes a Home for
+ Colored Orphans.--The Organization effected in 1844.--Its
+ Success.--Formation of a Colored Military Company called "The
+ Attucks Guards."--Emigration of Negroes to Liberia.--The Colored
+ People live down much Prejudice 125
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+NEGRO SCHOOL LAWS. 1619-1860.
+
+ The Possibilities of the Human Intellect.--Ignorance Favorable to
+ Slavery.--An Act by the Legislature of Alabama imposing a Penalty
+ on any one instructing a Colored Person.--Educational Privileges
+ of the Creoles in the City of Mobile.--Prejudice against Colored
+ Schools in Connecticut.--The Attempt of Miss Prudence Crandall to
+ admit Colored Girls into her School at Canterbury.--The
+ Indignation of the Citizens at this Attempt to mix the Races in
+ Education.--The Legislature of Connecticut passes a Law
+ abolishing the School.--The Building assaulted by a Mob.--Miss
+ Crandall arrested and imprisoned for teaching Colored Children
+ against the Law.--Great Excitement.--The Law finally
+ repealed.--An Act by the Legislature of Delaware taxing Persons
+ who brought into, or sold Slaves out of, the State.--Under Act of
+ 1829 Money received for the Sale of Slaves in Florida was added
+ to the School Fund in that State.--Georgia prohibits the
+ Education of Colored Persons under Heavy Penalty.--Illinois
+ establishes Separate Schools for Colored Children.--The "Free
+ Mission Institute" at Quincy, Illinois, destroyed by a Missouri
+ Mob.--Numerous and Cruel Slave Laws in Kentucky retard the
+ Education of the Negroes.--An Act passed in Louisiana preventing
+ the Negroes in any Way from being instructed.--Maine gives Equal
+ School Privileges to Whites and Blacks.--St. Francis Academy for
+ Colored Girls founded in Baltimore in 1831.--The Wells
+ School.--The First School for Colored Children established in
+ Boston by Intelligent Colored Men in 1798.--A School-house for
+ the Colored Children built and paid for out of a Fund left by
+ Abiel Smith for that Purpose.--John B. Russworm one of the
+ Teachers and afterward Governor of the Colony of Cape Palmas,
+ Liberia.--First Primary School for Colored Children established
+ in 1820.--Missouri passes Stringent Laws against the Instruction
+ of Negroes.--New York provides for the Education of
+ Negroes.--Elias Neau opens a School in New York City for Negro
+ Slaves in 1704.--"New York African Free School" in 1786.--Visit
+ of Lafayette to the African Schools in 1824.--His
+ Address.--Public Schools for Colored Children in New
+ York.--Colored Schools in Ohio.--"Cincinnati High School" for
+ Colored Youths founded in 1844.--Oberlin College opens its Doors
+ to Colored Students.--The Establishment of Colored Schools in
+ Pennsylvania by Anthony Benezet in 1750.--His Will.--"Institute
+ for Colored Youths" established in 1837.--"Avery College" at
+ Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, founded in 1849.--Ashmun Institute,
+ or Lincoln University, founded in October, 1856.--South Carolina
+ takes Definite Action against the Education or Promotion of the
+ Colored Race in 1800-1803-1834.--Tennessee makes no
+ Discrimination against Color in the School Law of 1840.--Little
+ Opportunity afforded in Virginia for the Colored Man to be
+ enlightened.--Stringent Laws enacted.--History of Schools for the
+ Colored Population in the District of Columbia 147
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+JOHN BROWN--HERO AND MARTYR.
+
+ John Brown's Appearance in Kansas.--He denounces Slavery in a
+ Political Meeting at Osawatomie.--Mrs. Stearns's Personal
+ Recollection of John Brown.--Kansas infested by Border
+ Ruffians.--The Battle of Harper's Ferry.--The Defeat and Capture
+ of Captain John Brown.--His Last Letter written to Mrs.
+ Steams.--His Trial and Execution.--His Influence upon the
+ Anti-slavery Question at the North.--His Place in History 214
+
+
+Part 7.
+
+_THE NEGRO IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION._
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DEFINITION OF THE WAR ISSUE.
+
+ Increase of Slave Population in Slave-holding States from
+ 1850-1860.--Products of Slave Labor.--Basis of Southern
+ Representation.--Six Seceding States organize a New
+ Government.--Constitution of the Confederate Government.--Speech
+ by Alexander H. Stephens.--Mr. Lincoln in Favor of Gradual
+ Emancipation.--He is elected President of the United States.--The
+ Issue of the War between the States 228
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+"A WHITE MAN'S WAR."
+
+ The First Call for Troops.--Rendition of Fugitive Slaves by the
+ Army.--Col. Tyler's Address to the People of Virginia.--General
+ Isaac R. Sherwood's Account of an Attempt to secure a Fugitive
+ Slave in his Charge.--Col. Steedman refuses to have his Camp
+ searched for Fugitive Slaves by Order from Gen. Fry.--Letter from
+ Gen. Buell in Defence of the Rebels in the South.--Orders issued
+ by Generals Hooker, Williams, and Others, in Regard to harboring
+ Fugitive Slaves in Union Camps.--Observation Concerning Slavery
+ from the "Army of the Potomac."--Gen. Butler's Letter to Gen.
+ Winfield Scott.--It is answered by the Secretary of War.--Horace
+ Greeley's Letter to the President.--President Lincoln's
+ Reply.--Gen. John C. Fremont, Commander of the Union Army in
+ Missouri, issues a Proclamation emancipating Slaves in his
+ District.--It is disapproved by the President.--Emancipation
+ Proclamation by Gen. Hunter.--It is rescinded by the
+ President.--Slavery and Union joined in a Desperate Struggle 241
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE NEGRO ON FATIGUE DUTY.
+
+ Negroes employed as Teamsters and in the Quartermaster's
+ Department.--Rebel General Mercer's Order to the Slave-holders
+ issued from Savannah.--He receives Orders from the Secretary of
+ War to impress a Number of Negroes to build Fortifications.--The
+ Negro proves himself Industrious and earns Promotion 260
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+ Congress passes an Act to confiscate Property used for
+ Insurrectionary Purposes.--A Fruitless Appeal to the President to
+ issue an Emancipation Proclamation.--He thinks the Time not yet
+ come for such an Action, but within a Few Weeks changes his
+ Opinion and issues an Emancipation Proclamation.--The Rebels show
+ no Disposition to accept the Mild Terms of the Proclamation.--Mr.
+ Davis gives Attention to the Proclamation in his Third Annual
+ Message.--Second Emancipation Proclamation issued by President
+ Lincoln January 1, 1863.--The Proclamation imparts New Hope to
+ the Negro 263
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+ The Question of the Military Employment of Negroes.--The Rebels
+ take the First Step toward the Military Employment of
+ Negroes.--Grand Review of the Rebel Troops at New
+ Orleans.--General Hunter Arms the First Regiment of Loyal Negroes
+ at the South.--Official Correspondence between the Secretary of
+ War and General Hunter respecting the Enlistment of the Black
+ Regiment.--The Enlistment of Five Negro Regiments authorized by
+ the President.--The Policy of General Phelps in Regard to the
+ Employment of Negroes as Soldiers in Louisiana.--A Second Call
+ for Troops by the President.--An Attempt to amend the Army
+ Appropriation Bill so as to prohibit the Further Employment of
+ Colored Troops.--Governor John A. Andrew, of Massachusetts,
+ authorized by Secretary of War to organize Two Regiments of
+ Colored Troops.--General Lorenzo Thomas is despatched to the
+ Mississippi Valley to superintend the Enlistment of Negro
+ Soldiers in the Spring of 1863.--An Order issued by the War
+ Department in the Fall of 1863 for the Enlistment of Colored
+ Troops.--The Union League Club of New York City raises Two
+ Regiments.--Recruiting of Colored Troops in Pennsylvania.--Major
+ George L. Stearns assigned Charge of the Recruiting of Colored
+ Troops in the Department of the Cumberland.--Free Military School
+ established at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.--Endorsement of the
+ School by Secretary Stanton.--The Organization of the
+ School.--Official Table giving Number of Colored Troops in the
+ Army.--The Character of Negro Troops.--Mr. Greeley's Editorial on
+ "Negro Troops."--Letter from Judge-Advocate Holt to the Secretary
+ of War on the "Enlistment of Slaves."--The Negro Legally and
+ Constitutionally a Soldier.--History records his Deeds of
+ Patriotism. 276
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+ Justification of the Federal Government in the Employment of
+ Slaves as Soldiers.--Trials of the Negro Soldier.--He undergoes
+ Persecution from the White Northern Troops, and Barbarous
+ Treatment from the Rebels.--Editorial of the "New York Times" on
+ the Negro Soldiers in Battle.--Report of the "Tribune" on the
+ Gallant Exploits of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers.--Negro
+ Troops in all the Departments.--Negro Soldiers in the Battle of
+ Port Hudson.--Death of Captain Andre Callioux.--Death of
+ Color-Sergeant Anselmas Planciancois.--An Account of the Battle
+ of Port Hudson.--Official Report of General Banks.--He applauds
+ the Valor of the Colored Regiments at Port Hudson.--George H.
+ Boker's Poem on "The Black Regiment."--Battle of Milliken's Bend,
+ June, 1863.--Description of the Battle.--Memorable Events of
+ July, 1863.--Battle on Morris Island.--Bravery of Sergeant
+ Carney.--An Account of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment by Edward
+ L. Pierce to Governor Andrew.--Death of Col. Shaw.--Colored
+ Troops in the Army of the Potomac.--Battle of Petersburg.--Table
+ showing the Losses at Nashville.--Adjt.-Gen. Thomas on Negro
+ Soldiers.--An Extract from the "New York Tribune" in Behalf of
+ the Soldierly Qualities of the Negroes.--Letter received by Col.
+ Darling from Mr. Aden and Col. Foster praising the Eminent
+ Qualifications of the Negro for Military Life.--History records
+ their Deeds of Valor in the Preservation of the Union 310
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+CAPTURE AND TREATMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.
+
+ The Military Employment of Negroes Distasteful to the Rebel
+ Authorities.--The Confederates the First to employ Negroes as
+ Soldiers.--Jefferson Davis refers to the Subject in his Message,
+ and the Confederate Congress orders All Negroes captured to be
+ turned over to the State Authorities, and raises the "Black Flag"
+ upon White Officers commanding Negro Soldiers.--The New York
+ Press calls upon the Government to protect its Negro
+ Soldiers.--Secretary Stanton's Action.--The President's
+ Order.--Correspondence between Gen. Peck and Gen. Pickett in
+ Regard to the Killing of a Colored Man after he had surrendered
+ at the Battle of Newbern.--Southern Press on the Capture and
+ Treatment of Negro Soldiers.--The Rebels refuse to exchange Negro
+ Soldiers captured on Morris and James Islands on Account of the
+ Order of the Confederate Congress which required them to be
+ turned over to the Authorities of the Several States.--Jefferson
+ Davis issues a Proclamation outlawing Gen. B. F. Butler.--He is
+ to be hung without Trial by any Confederate Officer who may
+ capture him.--The Battle of Fort Pillow.--The Gallant Defence by
+ the Little Band of Union Troops.--It refuses to capitulate and is
+ assaulted and captured by an Overwhelming Force.--The Union
+ Troops butchered in Cold Blood.--The Wounded are carried into
+ Houses which are fired and burned with their Helpless
+ Victims.--Men are nailed to the Outside of Buildings through
+ their Hands and Feet and burned alive.--The Wounded and Dying are
+ brained where they lay in their Ebbing Blood.--The Outrages are
+ renewed in the Morning.--Dead and Living find a Common Sepulchre
+ in the Trench.--General Chalmers orders the Killing of a Negro
+ Child.--Testimony of the Few Union Soldiers who were enabled to
+ crawl out of the Gilt-Edge, Fire-Proof Hell at Pillow.--They give
+ a Sickening Account of the Massacre before the Senate Committee
+ on the Conduct of the War.--Gen. Forrest's Futile Attempt to
+ destroy the Record of his Foul Crime.--Fort Pillow Massacre
+ without a Parallel in History 350
+
+
+Part 8.
+
+_THE FIRST DECADE OF FREEDOM._
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION--MISCONSTRUCTION. 1865-1875.
+
+ The War over, Peace restored, and the Nation cleansed of a
+ Plague.--slavery gives Place to a Long Train of
+ Events.--Unsettled Condition of Affairs at the South.--The
+ Absence of Legal Civil Government necessitates the Establishment
+ of Provisional Military Government.--An Act establishing a Bureau
+ for Refugees and Abandoned Lands.--Congressional Methods for the
+ Reconstruction of the South.--Gen. U. S. Grant carries these
+ States in 1868 and 1872.--Both Branches of the Legislatures in
+ all the Southern States contain Negro Members.--The Errors of
+ Reconstruction chargeable to both Sections of the Country 377
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION.
+
+ The Apparent Idleness of the Negro Sporadic rather than
+ Generic.--He quietly settles down to Work.--The Government makes
+ Ample Provisions for his Educational and Social Improvement.--The
+ Marvellous Progress made by the People of the South in
+ Education.--Earliest School for Freedmen at Fortress Monroe in
+ 1861.--The Richmond Institute for Colored Youth.--The Unlimited
+ Desire of the Negroes to obtain an Education.--General Order
+ organizing a "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned
+ Lands."--Gen. O. O. Howard appointed Commissioner of the
+ Bureau.--Report of all the Receipts and Expenditures of the
+ Freedman's Bureau from 1865-1867.--An Act Incorporating the
+ Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company.--The Business of the
+ Company as shown from 1866-1871.--Financial Statement by the
+ Trustees for 1872.--Failure of the Bank.--The Social and
+ Financial Condition of the Colored People in the South.--The
+ Negro rarely receives Justice in Southern Courts.--Treatment of
+ Negroes as Convicts in Southern Prisons.--Increase of the Colored
+ People from 1790-1880.--Negroes susceptible of the Highest
+ Civilization 384
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+REPRESENTATIVE COLORED MEN.
+
+ Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.--The Legal Destruction
+ of Slavery and a Constitutional Prohibition.--Fifteenth Amendment
+ granting Manhood Suffrage to the American Negro.--President
+ Grant's Special Message upon the Subject.--Universal Rejoicing
+ among the Colored People.--The Negro in the United States Senate
+ and House of Representatives.--The Negro in the Diplomatic
+ Service of the Country.--Frederick Douglass--His Birth,
+ Enslavement, Escape to the North, and Life as a Freeman.--Becomes
+ an Anti-slavery Orator.--Goes to Great Britain.--Returns to
+ America.--Establishes the "North Star."--His Eloquence,
+ Influence, and Brilliant Career.--Richard Theodore Greener.--His
+ Early Life, Education, and Successful Literary Career.--John P.
+ Green.--His Early Struggles to obtain an Education.--A Successful
+ Orator, Lawyer, and Useful Legislator.--Other Representative
+ Colored Men.--Representative Colored Women 419
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
+
+ Its Origin, Growth, Organization, and Excellent Influence.--Its
+ Publishing House, Periodicals, and Papers.--Its Numerical and
+ Financial Strength.--Its Missionary and Educational
+ Spirit.--Wilberforce University 452
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
+
+ Founding of the M. E. Church of America in 1768.--Negro Servants
+ and Slaves among the First Contributors to the Erection of the
+ First Chapel in New York.--The Rev. Harry Hosier the First Negro
+ Preacher in the M. E. Church in America.--His Remarkable
+ Eloquence as a Pulpit Orator.--Early Prohibition against
+ Slave-holding in the M. E. Church.--Strength of the Churches and
+ Sunday-schools of the Colored Members in the M. E. Church.--The
+ Rev. Marshall W. Taylor, D.D.--His Ancestors.--His Early Life and
+ Struggles for an Education.--He Teaches School in Kentucky.--His
+ Experiences as a Teacher.--Is ordained to the Gospel Ministry and
+ becomes a Preacher and Missionary Teacher.--His Settlement as
+ Pastor in Indiana and Ohio.--Is given the Title of Doctor of
+ Divinity by the Tennessee College.--His Influence as a Leader,
+ and his Standing as a Preacher 465
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE COLORED BAPTISTS OF AMERICA.
+
+ The Colored Baptists an Intelligent and Useful People.--Their
+ Leading Ministers in Missouri, Ohio, and in New England.--The
+ Birth, Early Life, and Education of Duke William Anderson.--As
+ Farmer, Teacher, Preacher, and Missionary.--His Influence in the
+ West.--Goes South at the Close of the War.--Teaches in a
+ Theological Institute at Nashville, Tennessee.--Called to
+ Washington.--Pastor of 19th Street Baptist Church.--He occupies
+ Various Positions of Trust.--Builds a New Church.--His Last
+ Revival.--His Sickness and Death.--His Funeral and the General
+ Sorrow at his Loss.--Leonard Andrew Grimes, of Boston,
+ Massachusetts.--His Piety, Faithfulness, and Public Influence for
+ Good.--The Completion of his Church.--His Last Days and Sudden
+ Death.--General Sorrow.--Resolutions by the Baptist Ministers of
+ Boston.--A Great and Good Man Gone 475
+
+
+Part 9.
+
+_THE DECLINE OF NEGRO GOVERNMENTS._
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+REACTION, PERIL, AND PACIFICATION.
+
+1875-1880.
+
+ The Beginning of the End of the Republican Governments at the
+ South.--Southern Election Methods and Northern Sympathy.--Gen.
+ Grant not Responsible for the Decline and Loss of the Republican
+ State Governments at the South.--A Party without a Live
+ Issue.--Southern War Claims.--The Campaign of 1876.--Republican
+ Lethargy and Democratic Activity.--Doubtful Results.--The
+ Electoral Count in Congress.--Gen. Garfield and Congressmen
+ Foster and Hale to the Front as Leaders.--Peaceful
+ Results.--President Hayes's Southern Policy.--Its Failure.--The
+ Ideas of the Hon. Charles Foster on the Treatment of the Southern
+ Problem.--"Nothing but Leaves" from Conciliation.--A New Policy
+ demanded by the Republican Party.--A Remarkable Speech by the
+ Hon. Charles Foster at Upper Sandusky, Ohio.--He calls for a
+ Solid North against a Solid South.--He sounds the Key-note for
+ the North and the Nation responds.--The Decay and Death of the
+ Negro Governments at the South Inevitable.--The Negro must turn
+ his Attention to Education, the Accumulation of Property and
+ Experience.--He will return to Politics when he shall be Equal to
+ the Difficult Duties of Citizenship 516
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE EXODUS--CAUSE AND EFFECT.
+
+ The Negroes of the South delight in their Home so Long as it is
+ Possible for them to remain.--The Policy of abridging their
+ Rights Destructive to their Usefulness as Members of
+ Society.--Political Intimidation, Murder, and Outrage disturb the
+ Negroes.--The Plantation Credit System the Crime of the
+ Century.--The Exodus not inspired by Politicians, but the Natural
+ Outcome of the Barbarous Treatment bestowed upon the Negroes by
+ the Whites.--The Unprecedented Sufferings of 60,000 Negroes
+ fleeing from Southern Democratic Oppression.--Their Patient
+ Christian Endurance.--Their Industry, Morals, and Frugality.--The
+ Correspondent of the "Chicago Inter-Ocean" sends Information to
+ Senator Voorhees respecting the Refugees in Kansas.--The Position
+ of Gov. St. John and the Faithful Labors of Mrs. Comstock.--The
+ Results of the Exodus Beneficent.--The South must treat the Negro
+ Better or lose his Labor 529
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+RETROSPECTION AND PROSPECTION.
+
+ The Three Grand Divisions of the Tribes of Africa.--Slave Markets
+ of America supplied from the Diseased and Criminal Classes of
+ African Society.--America robs Africa of 15,000,000 Souls in 360
+ Years.--Negro Power of Endurance.--His Wonderful Achievements as
+ a Laborer, Soldier, and Student.--First in War, and First in
+ Devotion to the Country.--His Idiosyncrasies.--Mrs. Stowe's
+ Errors.--His Growing Love for Schools and Churches.--His General
+ Improvement.--The Negro will endure to the End.--He is Capable
+ for All the Duties of Citizenship.--Amalgamation will not
+ obliterate the Race.--The American Negro will civilize
+ Africa.--America will establish Steamship Communication with the
+ Dark Continent.--Africa will yet be composed of States, and
+ "Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her Hands unto God." 544
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA.
+
+
+
+
+Part 4.
+
+_CONSERVATIVE ERA--NEGROES IN THE ARMY AND NAVY._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+RESTRICTION AND EXTENSION.
+
+1800-1825.
+
+ COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.--SLAVE POPULATION OF
+ 1800.--MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO CONGRESS CALLING ATTENTION TO THE
+ SLAVE-TRADE TO THE COAST OF GUINEA.--GEORGIA CEDES THE TERRITORY
+ LYING WEST OF HER TO BECOME A STATE.--OHIO ADOPTS A STATE
+ CONSTITUTION.--WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF THE
+ TERRITORY OF INDIANA.--AN ACT OF CONGRESS PROHIBITING THE
+ IMPORTATION OF SLAVES INTO THE UNITED STATES OR
+ TERRITORIES.--SLAVE POPULATION OF 1810.--MISSISSIPPI APPLIES FOR
+ ADMISSION INTO THE UNION WITH A SLAVE CONSTITUTION.--CONGRESS
+ BESIEGED BY MEMORIALS URGING MORE SPECIFIC LEGISLATION AGAINST
+ THE SLAVE-TRADE.--PREMIUM OFFERED TO THE INFORMER OF EVERY
+ ILLEGALLY IMPORTED AFRICAN SEIZED WITHIN THE UNITED
+ STATES.--CIRCULAR LETTERS SENT TO THE NAVAL OFFICERS ON THE
+ SEACOAST OF THE SLAVE-HOLDING STATES.--PRESIDENT MONROE'S MESSAGE
+ TO CONGRESS ON THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY.--PETITION PRESENTED BY
+ THE MISSOURI DELEGATES FOR THE ADMISSION OF THAT STATE INTO THE
+ UNION.--THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ARKANSAS TERRITORY.--RESOLUTIONS
+ PASSED FOR THE RESTRICTION OF SLAVERY IN NEW STATES.--THE
+ MISSOURI CONTROVERSY.--THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY
+ SOCIETIES.--AN ACT FOR THE GRADUAL ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN NEW
+ JERSEY.--ITS PROVISIONS.--THE ATTITUDE OF THE NORTHERN PRESS ON
+ THE SLAVERY QUESTION.--SLAVE POPULATION OF 1820.--ANTI-SLAVERY
+ SENTIMENT AT THE NORTH.
+
+
+The nineteenth century opened auspiciously for the cause of the Negro.
+Although slavery had ceased to exist in Massachusetts and Vermont, the
+census of 1800 showed that the slave population in the other States
+was steadily on the increase. In the total population of 5,305,925,
+there were 893,041 slaves. The subjoined table exhibits the number of
+slaves in each of the slave-holding States in the year 1800.
+
+ CENSUS OF 1800--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ District of Columbia 3,244
+ Connecticut 951
+ Delaware 6,153
+ Georgia 59,404
+ Indiana Territory 135
+ Kentucky 40,343
+ Maryland 105,635
+ Mississippi Territory 3,489
+ New Jersey 12,422
+ New Hampshire 8
+ New York 20,343
+ North Carolina 133,296
+ Pennsylvania 1,706
+ Rhode Island 381
+ South Carolina 146,151
+ Tennessee 13,584
+ Virginia 345,796
+ -------
+ Aggregate 893,041
+
+On the 2d of January, 1800, a number of Colored citizens of the city
+and county of Philadelphia presented a memorial to Congress, through
+the delegate from that city, Mr. Waln, calling attention to the
+slave-trade to the coast of Guinea. The memorial charged that the
+slave-trade was clandestinely carried on from various ports of the
+United States contrary to law; that under this wicked practice free
+Colored men were often seized and sold as slaves; and that the
+fugitive-slave law of 1793 subjected them to great inconvenience and
+severe persecutions. The memorialists did not request Congress to
+transcend their authority respecting the slave-trade, nor to
+emancipate the slaves, but only to prepare the way, so that, at an
+early period, the oppressed might go free.
+
+Upon a motion by Mr. Waln for the reference of the memorial to the
+Committee on the Slave-trade, Rutledge, Harper, Lee, Randolph, and
+other Southern members, made speeches against such a reference. They
+maintained that the petition requested Congress to take action on a
+question over which they had no control. Waln, Thacher, Smilie, Dana,
+and Gallatin contended that there were portions of the petition that
+came within the jurisdiction of the Constitution, and, therefore,
+ought to be received and acted upon. Mr. Rutledge demanded the yeas
+and nays; but in such a spirit as put Mr. Waln on his guard, so he
+withdrew his motion, and submitted another one by which such parts of
+the memorial as came within the jurisdiction of Congress should be
+referred. Mr. Rutledge raised a point of order on the motion of the
+gentleman from Pennsylvania that a "part" of the memorial could not be
+referred, but was promptly overruled. Mr. Gray, of Virginia, moved to
+amend by adding a declaratory clause that the portions of the
+memorial, not referred, inviting Congress to exercise authority not
+delegated, "have a tendency to create disquiet and jealousy, and
+ought, therefore, to receive the pointed disapprobation of this
+House." After some discussion, it was finally agreed to strike out the
+last clause and insert the following: "ought therefore to receive no
+encouragement or countenance from this House." The call of the roll
+resulted in the adoption of the amendment, with but one vote in the
+negative by Mr. Thacher, of Maine, an uncompromising enemy of slavery.
+The committee to whom the memorial was referred brought in a bill
+during the session prohibiting American ships from supplying slaves
+from the United States to foreign markets.
+
+On the 2d of April, 1802, Georgia ceded the territory lying west of
+her present limits, now embracing the States of Alabama and
+Mississippi. Among the conditions she exacted was the following:
+
+ "That the territory thus ceded shall become a State, and be
+ admitted into the Union as soon as it shall contain sixty
+ thousand free inhabitants, or at an earlier period, if Congress
+ shall think it expedient, on the same conditions and
+ restrictions, with the same privileges, and in the same manner,
+ as provided in the ordinance of Congress of the 13th day of July,
+ 1787, for the government of the western territory of the United
+ States: which ordinance shall, in all its parts, extend to the
+ territory contained in the present act of cession, the article
+ only excepted which forbids slavery."
+
+The demand was acceded to, and, as the world knows, Alabama and
+Mississippi became the most cruel slave States in the United States.
+
+Ohio adopted a State constitution in 1802-3, and the residue of the
+territory not included in the State as it is now, was designated as
+Indiana Territory. William Henry Harrison was appointed governor. One
+of the earliest moves of the government of the new territory was to
+secure a modification of the ordinance of 1787 by which slavery or
+involuntary servitude was prohibited in the territory northwest of the
+Ohio River. It was ordered by a convention presided over by Gen.
+Harrison in 1802-3, that a memorial be sent to Congress urging a
+restriction of the ordinance of 1787. It was referred to a select
+committee, with John Randolph as chairman. On the 2d of March, 1803,
+he made a report by the unanimous request of his committee, and the
+portion referring to slavery was as follows:
+
+ "The rapid population of the State of Ohio sufficiently evinces,
+ in the opinion of your committee, that the labor of slaves is not
+ necessary to promote the growth and settlement of colonies in
+ that region. That this labor--demonstrably the dearest of
+ any--can only be employed in the cultivation of products more
+ valuable than any known to that quarter of the United States;
+ that the committee deem it highly dangerous and inexpedient to
+ impair a provision wisely calculated to promote the happiness and
+ prosperity of the northwestern country, and to give strength and
+ security to that extensive frontier. In the salutary operations
+ of this sagacious and benevolent restraint, it is believed that
+ the inhabitants of Indiana will, at no very distant day, find
+ ample remuneration for a temporary privation of labor and of
+ emigration."
+
+After discussing the subject-matter embodied in the memorial from the
+territory of Indiana, the committee presented eight resolves, one of
+which related to the subject of slavery, and was as follows:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That it is inexpedient to suspend, for a limited
+ time, the operation of the sixth article of the compact between
+ the original States and the people and the States west of the
+ river Ohio."
+
+Congress was about to close its session, and, therefore, there was no
+action taken upon this report. At the next session it went into the
+hands of a new committee whose chairman was Caesar Rodney, of Delaware,
+who had just been elected to Congress. On the 17th of February, 1804,
+Mr. Rodney made the following report:
+
+ "That taking into their consideration the facts stated in the
+ said memorial and petition, they are induced to believe that a
+ qualified suspension, for a limited time, of the sixth article of
+ compact between the original States and the people and States
+ west of the river Ohio, might be productive of benefit and
+ advantage to said territory."
+
+After discussing other matters contained in the Indiana petition, the
+committee says, in reference to slavery:
+
+ "That the sixth article of the ordinance of 1787, which
+ prohibited slavery within the said territory, be suspended in a
+ qualified manner for ten years, so as to permit the introduction
+ of slaves born within the United States, from any of the
+ individual States: _provided_, that such individual State does
+ not permit the importation of slaves from foreign countries;
+ _and_ provided _further_, that the descendants of all such slaves
+ shall, if males, be free at the age of twenty-five years, and, if
+ female, at the age of twenty-one years."
+
+The House did not take up and act upon this report, and so the matter
+passed for the time being. But the original memorial, with several
+petitions of like import, came before Congress in 1805-6. They were
+referred to a select committee, and on the 14th of February, 1806, Mr.
+Garnett, of Virginia, the chairman, made the following favorable
+report:
+
+ "That, having attentively considered the facts stated in the said
+ petitions and memorials, they are of opinion that a qualified
+ suspension for a limited time, of the sixth article of compact
+ between the original States and the people and States west of the
+ river Ohio, would be beneficial to the people of the Indiana
+ Territory. The suspension of this article is an object almost
+ universally desired in that Territory.
+
+ "It appears to your committee to be a question entirely different
+ from that between Slavery and Freedom; inasmuch as it would
+ merely occasion the removal of persons, already slaves, from one
+ part of the country to another. The good effects of this
+ suspension, in the present instance, would be to accelerate the
+ population of that Territory, hitherto retarded by the operation
+ of that article of compact, as slave-holders emigrating into the
+ Western country might then indulge any preference which they
+ might feel for a settlement in the Indiana Territory, instead of
+ seeking, as they are now compelled to do, settlements in other
+ States or countries permitting the introduction of slaves. The
+ condition of the slaves themselves would be much ameliorated by
+ it, as it is evident, from experience, that the more they are
+ separated and diffused, the more care and attention are bestowed
+ on them by their masters--each proprietor having it in his power
+ to increase their comforts and conveniences, in proportion to the
+ smallness of their numbers. The dangers, too (if any are to be
+ apprehended), from too large a black population existing in any
+ one section of country, would certainly be very much diminished,
+ if not entirely removed. But whether dangers are to be feared
+ from this source or not, it is certainly an obvious dictate of
+ sound policy to guard against them, as far as possible. If this
+ danger does exist, or there is any cause to apprehend it, and our
+ Western brethren are not only willing but desirous to aid us in
+ taking precautions against it, would it not be wise to accept
+ their assistance?
+
+ "We should benefit ourselves, without injuring them, as their
+ population must always so far exceed any black population which
+ can ever exist in that country, as to render the idea of danger
+ from that source chimerical."
+
+After a lengthy discussion of matters embodied in the Indiana
+memorial, the committee recommended the following resolve on the
+question of slavery:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the sixth article of the ordinance of 1787,
+ which prohibits slavery within the Indiana Territory, be
+ suspended for ten years, so as to permit the introduction of
+ slaves born within the United States, from any of the individual
+ States."
+
+The report and resolves were made the special order for the following
+Monday, but were never called up.
+
+At the opening of the next session, Gen. Harrison presented another
+letter, accompanied by several resolves passed by the Legislative
+Council and House of Representatives, urging the passage of a measure
+restricting the ordinance of 1787. The letter and enclosures were
+received on the 21st of January, 1807, and referred to the following
+select committee: Parke, of Indiana, chairman; Alston, North Carolina;
+Masters, New York; Morrow, Ohio; Rhea, Tennessee; Sandford, Kentucky;
+Trigg, Virginia.
+
+On the 12th of February, 1807, the chairman, Mr. Parke, made the
+following report in favor of the request of the memorialists [the
+_third_]. It was unanimous.
+
+ "The resolutions of the Legislative Council and House of
+ Representatives of the Indiana Territory relate to a suspension,
+ for the term of ten years, of the sixth article of compact
+ between the United States and the Territories and States
+ northwest of the river Ohio, passed the 13th July, 1787. That
+ article declares that there shall be neither Slavery nor
+ involuntary servitude in the said Territory.
+
+ "The suspension of the said article would operate an immediate
+ and essential benefit to the Territory, as emigration to it will
+ be inconsiderable for many years, except from those States where
+ Slavery is tolerated.
+
+ "And although it is not considered expedient to force the
+ population of the Territory, yet it is desirable to connect its
+ scattered settlements, and, in admitted political rights, to
+ place it on an equal footing with the different States. From the
+ interior situation of the Territory, it is not believed that
+ slaves could ever become so numerous as to endanger the internal
+ peace or future prosperity of the country. The current of
+ emigration flowing to the Western country, the Territories should
+ all be opened to their introduction. The abstract question of
+ Liberty and Slavery is not involved in the proposed measure, as
+ Slavery now exists to a considerable extent in different parts of
+ the Union; it would not augment the number of slaves, but merely
+ authorize the removal to Indiana of such as are held in bondage
+ in the United States. If Slavery is an evil, means ought to be
+ devised to render it least dangerous to the community, and by
+ which the hapless situation of the slaves would be most
+ ameliorated; and to accomplish these objects, no measure would be
+ so effectual as the one proposed. The Committee, therefore,
+ respectfully submit to the House the following resolution:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That it is expedient to suspend, from and after the
+ 1st day of January, 1808, the sixth article of compact between
+ the United States and the Territories and States northwest of the
+ Ohio, passed the 13th day of July, 1787, for the term of ten
+ years."
+
+Like its predecessor this report was made a special order, but was
+never taken up.
+
+On the 7th of November, 1807, the President laid a letter from Gen.
+Harrison [probably the one already referred to], and the resolves of
+his Legislature, before Congress, and that body referred them to a
+select committee consisting of Franklin, of North Carolina; Ketchel,
+of New Jersey; and Tiffin, of Ohio.
+
+On the 13th of November, Mr. Franklin made the following adverse
+report:
+
+ "The Legislative Council and House of Representatives, in their
+ resolutions, express their sense of the propriety of introducing
+ Slavery into their Territory, and solicit the Congress of the
+ United States to suspend, for a given number of years, the sixth
+ article of compact, in the ordinance for the government of the
+ Territory northwest of the Ohio, passed the 13th day of July,
+ 1787. That article declares: 'There shall be neither Slavery nor
+ involuntary servitude within the said Territory.'
+
+ "The citizens of Clark County, in their remonstrance, express
+ their sense of the impropriety of the measure, and solicit the
+ Congress of the United States not to act on the subject, so as to
+ permit the introduction of slaves into the Territory; at least,
+ until their population shall entitle them to form a constitution
+ and State government.
+
+ "Your Committee, after duly considering the matter, respectfully
+ submit the following resolution:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That it is not expedient at this time to suspend the
+ sixth article of compact for the government of the Territory of
+ the United States northwest of the river Ohio."
+
+Thus ended in defeat the stubborn effort to secure a restriction of
+the ordinance of 1787, and the admission of slavery into the Territory
+lying west of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, now comprising the
+States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
+
+In his message to Congress at the commencement of the session of
+1806-7, President Jefferson suggested to that body the wisdom of
+abolishing the African slave-trade. He said in this connection:
+
+ "I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on the approach of the
+ period at which you may interpose your authority,
+ constitutionally, to withdraw the citizens of the United States
+ from all further participation in those violations of human
+ rights which have so long been continued on the unoffending
+ inhabitants of Africa, and which the morality, the reputation,
+ and the best interest of our country have long been eager to
+ proscribe."
+
+This portion of the message was referred to a select committee; and in
+due time they reported a bill "to prohibit the importation or bringing
+of slaves into the United States or the territories thereof after the
+31st day of December, 1807."
+
+Mr. Early, of Georgia, the chairman of the committee, inserted a
+clause into the bill requiring that all slaves illegally imported
+"should be forfeited and sold for life for the benefit of the United
+States." A long debate ensued and was conducted with fiery earnestness
+from beginning to end. It was urged in support of the above
+regulation, that nothing else could be done but to sell them; that it
+would never do to release them in the States where they might be
+captured, poor, ignorant, and dangerous. It was said by the opponents
+of the measure, that Congress could not regulate the matter, as the
+States had the reserved authority to have slavery, and were,
+therefore, competent to say who should be free and who bond. It was
+suggested, farther along in the debate, that Congress might order such
+slaves into such States as prohibited slavery, where they could be
+bound out for a term of years. After a great many able speeches the
+House refused to strike out the forfeiture clause by a vote of
+sixty-three to thirty-six. When the act was called up for final
+passage, it was amended by inserting a clause imposing a fine of
+$20,000, upon all persons concerned in fitting out a vessel for the
+slave-trade; and likewise a fine of $5,000, and forfeiture of the
+vessel for taking on board any Negro or Mulatto, or any person of
+color, in any foreign port with the intention of selling them in the
+United States.
+
+During these efforts at restriction the slave population was growing
+daily. The census of 1810 showed that within a decade the slave
+population had sprung from 893,041, in 1800, to 1,191,364,--an
+increase of 33 per cent. The following table exhibits this remarkable
+fact:
+
+ CENSUS OF 1810.--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ District of Columbia 5,395
+ Rhode Island 108
+ Connecticut 310
+ Pennsylvania 795
+ Delaware 4,177
+ New Jersey 10,851
+ New York 15,017
+ Louisiana 34,660
+ Tennessee 44,535
+ Kentucky 80,561
+ Georgia 105,218
+ Maryland 111,502
+ North Carolina 168,824
+ South Carolina 196,365
+ Virginia 392,518
+ Mississippi Territory 17,088
+ Indiana Territory 237
+ Louisiana Territory 3,011
+ Illinois Territory 168
+ Michigan Territory 24
+
+On the 10th of December, 1817, Mississippi applied for admission into
+the Union with a slave constitution. The provisions relating to
+slavery dispensed with grand juries in the indictment of slaves, and
+trial by jury was allowed only in trial of capital cases.
+
+During the session of 1817-8, Congress was besieged by a large number
+of memorials praying for more specific legislation against the
+slave-trade. During the session the old fugitive-slave act was amended
+so as to make it more effective, and passed by a vote of eighty-four
+to sixty-nine. In the Senate, with several amendments, and heated
+debate, it passed by a vote of seventeen to thirteen; but upon being
+returned to the House for concurrence, the Northern members had heard
+from their constituents, and the bill was tabled, and its friends were
+powerless to get it up.
+
+In 1818-9, Congress passed an act offering a premium of fifty dollars
+to the informer of every illegally imported African seized within the
+United States, and twenty-five dollars for those taken at sea. The
+President was authorized to have such slaves removed beyond the limits
+of the United States, and to appoint agents on the West Coast of
+Africa to superintend their reception. An effort was made to punish
+slave-trading with death. It passed the House, but was struck out in
+the Senate.
+
+On the 12th of January, 1819, the Secretary of the Navy transmitted to
+the Speaker of the House of Representatives copies of circular letters
+that had been sent to the naval officers on the various stations along
+the sea-coast of the slave-holding States. The following letter is a
+fair sample of the remainder:[1]
+
+ "NAVY DEPARTMENT, January 22, 1811.
+
+ "SIR:--I hear, not without great concern, that the law
+ prohibiting the importation of slaves has been violated in
+ frequent instances, near St. Mary's, since the gun-boats have
+ been withdrawn from that station.
+
+ "We are bound by law, by the obligations of humanity and sound
+ policy, to use our most strenuous efforts to restrain this
+ disgraceful traffic, and to bring those who shall be found
+ engaged in it to those forfeitures and punishments which are by
+ law prescribed for such offences.
+
+ "Hasten the equipment of the gun-boats which, by my letter of the
+ 24th ultimo, you were directed to equip, and as soon as they
+ shall be ready, despatch them to St. Mary's with orders to their
+ commanders to use all practicable diligence in enforcing the law
+ prohibiting the importation of slaves, passed March 2, 1807,
+ entitled 'An Act to prohibit the importation of slaves into any
+ port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States from
+ and after the 1st day of January, 1808.' The whole of this law,
+ but especially the 7th section, requires your particular
+ attention; that section declares, that _any_ ship or vessel which
+ shall be found in any river, port, bay, or harbor, or on the high
+ seas, within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, or
+ hovering on the coast thereof, having on board any negro,
+ mulatto, or person of color, for the purpose of selling them as
+ slaves, or with intent to land the same in any port or place
+ within the jurisdiction of the United States, contrary to the
+ prohibition of the act, shall, together with her tackle, apparel,
+ and furniture, and the goods and effects which shall be found on
+ board the same, be forfeited and may be seized, prosecuted, and
+ condemned in any court of the United States having jurisdiction
+ thereof.
+
+ "It further authorizes the President of the United States to
+ cause any of the armed vessels of the United States to be manned
+ and employed to cruise on any part of the coast of the United
+ States, or territories thereof, and to instruct and direct the
+ commanders to seize, take, and bring into any port of the United
+ States, all such ships or vessels; and, moreover, to seize, take,
+ and bring into any port of the United States, all ships or
+ vessels _of the United States, wherever found on the high seas_,
+ contravening the provisions of the act, to be proceeded against
+ according to law.
+
+ "You will, therefore, consider yourself hereby especially
+ instructed and required, and you will instruct and require all
+ officers placed under your command, to seize, take, and bring
+ into port, _any vessel of whatever nature_, found in any river,
+ port, bay, or harbor, or on the high seas, within the
+ jurisdictional limits of the United States, or hovering on the
+ coast thereof, having on board any negro, mulatto, or person of
+ color, for the purpose of selling them as slaves, or with intent
+ to land the same, contrary to law; and, moreover, to seize, take,
+ and bring into port, all ships or vessels _of the United States_,
+ wheresoever found on the high seas or elsewhere, contravening the
+ provisions of the law. Vessels thus to be seized, may be brought
+ into _any_ port of the United States; and when brought into port,
+ must, without delay, be reported to the district-attorney of the
+ United States residing in the district in which such port may be,
+ who will institute such further proceedings as law and justice
+ require.
+
+ "Every person found on board of such vessels must be taken
+ especial care of. The negroes, mulattoes, or persons of color,
+ are to be delivered to such persons as the respective States may
+ appoint to receive the same. The commanders and crews of such
+ vessels will be held under the prosecutions of the
+ district-attorneys, to answer the pains and penalties prescribed
+ by law for their respective offences. Whenever negroes,
+ mulattoes, or persons of color shall be delivered to the persons
+ appointed to receive the same, duplicate receipts must be taken
+ therefore, and if no person shall be appointed by the respective
+ States to receive them, they must be delivered 'to the overseers
+ of the poor of the port or place where such ship or vessel may be
+ brought or found,' and an account of your proceedings, together
+ with the number and descriptive list of such negroes, mulattoes,
+ or persons of color, must be immediately transmitted to the
+ governor or chief magistrate of the State. You will communicate
+ to me, minutely, all your proceedings.
+
+ "I am, sir, respectfully, etc.
+ PAUL HAMILTON.
+
+ "H. G. CAMPBELL, _Commanding Naval Officer_,
+ Charleston, S. C."
+
+On the 17th of December, 1819, President Monroe sent the following
+message to Congress on the subject of the slave-trade:
+
+ "MESSAGE.
+
+ "_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+ States_:
+
+ "Some doubt being entertained respecting the true intent and
+ meaning of the act of the last session, entitled 'An Act in
+ addition to the Acts prohibiting the slave-trade,' as to the
+ duties of the agents, to be appointed on the coast of Africa, I
+ think it proper to state the interpretation which has been given
+ of the act, and the measures adopted to carry it into effect,
+ that Congress may, should it be deemed advisable, amend the same,
+ before further proceeding is had under it.
+
+ "The obligation to instruct the commanders of all our armed
+ vessels to seize and bring into port all ships or vessels of the
+ United States, wheresoever found, having on board any negro,
+ mulatto, or person of color, in violation of former acts for the
+ suppression of the slave-trade, being imperative, was executed
+ without delay. No seizures have yet been made, but, as they were
+ contemplated by the law, and might be presumed, it seemed proper
+ to make the necessary regulations applicable to such seizures for
+ carrying the several provisions of the act into effect.
+
+ "It is enjoined on the executive to cause all negroes, mulattoes,
+ or persons of color, who may be taken under the act, to be
+ removed to Africa. It is the obvious import of the law, that none
+ of the persons thus taken should remain within the United States;
+ and no place other than the coast of Africa being designated,
+ their removal or delivery, whether carried from the United States
+ or landed immediately from the vessels in which they were taken,
+ was supposed to be confined to that coast. No settlement or
+ station being specified, the whole coast was thought to be left
+ open for the selection of a proper place, at which the persons
+ thus taken should be delivered. The executive is authorized to
+ appoint one or more agents, residing there, to receive such
+ persons; and one hundred thousand dollars are appropriated for
+ the general purposes of the law.
+
+ "On due consideration of the several sections of the act, and of
+ its humane policy, it was supposed to be the intention of
+ Congress, that all the persons above described, who might be
+ taken under it, and landed in Africa, should be aided in their
+ return to their former homes, or in their establishment at or
+ near the place where landed. Some shelter and food would be
+ necessary for them there, as soon as landed, let their subsequent
+ disposition be what it might. Should they be landed without such
+ provision having been previously made, they might perish. It was
+ supposed, by the authority given to the executive to appoint
+ agents residing on that coast, that they should provide such
+ shelter and food, and perform the other beneficent and charitable
+ offices contemplated by the act. The coast of Africa having been
+ little explored, and no persons residing there who possessed the
+ requisite qualifications to entitle them to the trust being known
+ to the executive, to none such could it be committed. It was
+ believed that citizens only, who would go hence, well instructed
+ in the views of their government, and zealous to give them
+ effect, would be competent to these duties, and that it was not
+ the intention of the law to preclude their appointment. It was
+ obvious that the longer these persons should be detained in the
+ United States in the hands of the marshals, the greater would be
+ the expense, and that for the same term would the main purpose of
+ the law be suspended. It seemed, therefore, to be incumbent on me
+ to make the necessary arrangements for carrying this act into
+ effect in Africa, in time to meet the delivery of any persons who
+ might be taken by the public vessels, and landed there under it.
+
+ "On this view of the policy and sanctions of the law, it has been
+ decided to send a public ship to the coast of Africa with two
+ such agents, who will take with them tools and other implements
+ necessary for the purposes above mentioned. To each of these
+ agents a small salary has been allowed--fifteen hundred dollars
+ to the principal, and twelve hundred to the other. All our public
+ agents on the coast of Africa receive salaries for their
+ services, and it was understood that none of our citizens
+ possessing the requisite qualifications would accept these
+ trusts, by which they would be confined to parts the least
+ frequented and civilized, without a reasonable compensation. Such
+ allowance, therefore, seemed to be indispensable to the execution
+ of the act. It is intended, also, to subject a portion of the sum
+ appropriated, to the order of the principal agent, for the
+ special objects above stated, amounting in the whole, including
+ the salaries of the agents for one year, to rather less than one
+ third of the appropriation. Special instructions will be given to
+ these agents, defining, in precise terms, their duties in regard
+ to the persons thus delivered to them; the disbursement of the
+ money by the principal agent; and his accountability for the
+ same. They will also have power to select the most suitable place
+ on the coast of Africa, at which all persons who may be taken
+ under this act shall be delivered to them, with an express
+ injunction to exercise no power founded on the principle of
+ colonization, or other power than that of performing the
+ benevolent offices above recited, by the permission and sanction
+ of the existing government under which they may establish
+ themselves. Orders will be given to the commander of the public
+ ship in which they will sail, to cruise along the coast, to give
+ the more complete effect to the principal object of the act.
+
+ "JAMES MONROE.
+
+ "WASHINGTON, December, 17, 1819."
+
+In March, 1818, the delegate from Missouri presented petitions from
+the inhabitants of that territory, praying to be admitted into the
+Union as a State. They were referred to a select committee, and a bill
+was reported for the admission of Missouri as a State on equal footing
+with the other States. The bill was read twice, when it was sent to
+the Committee of the Whole, where it was permitted to remain during
+the entire session. During the next session, on the 13th of February,
+1819, the House went into the Committee of the Whole with Gen. Smith,
+of Maryland, in the chair. The committee had two sittings during which
+they discussed the bill. Gen. Tallmadge, of New York, offered the
+following amendment directed against the life of the clause admitting
+slavery:
+
+ "And provided that the introduction of slavery, or involuntary
+ servitude, be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes
+ whereof the party has been duly convicted, and that all children
+ born within the said State, after the admission thereof into the
+ Union, shall be declared free at the age of twenty-five years."
+
+A long and an able discussion followed, in which the authority of the
+government to prohibit slavery under new State governments was
+affirmed and denied. On coming out of the Committee of the Whole, the
+yeas and nays were demanded on the amendment prohibiting the
+introduction of slavery into Missouri, and resulted as follows: yeas,
+87,--only one vote from the South, Delaware; nays, 76,--ten votes
+from Northern States. Upon the latter clause of the amendment--"and
+that all children of slaves, born within the said State, after the
+admission thereof into the Union, shall be declared free at the age of
+twenty-five years": yeas, 82,--one vote from Maryland; nays,
+78,--fourteen from Northern States. And thus the entire amendment of
+Gen. Tallmadge was sustained, and being reported to the House, passed
+by a vote 98 to 56.
+
+The bill reached the Senate on the 17th of February, and after its
+second reading was referred to a select committee. On the 22d of
+February, the chairman, Mr. Tait, of Georgia, reported the bill back
+with amendments, striking out the Tallmadge restriction clauses. The
+House went into the Committee of the Whole on the 27th of February, to
+consider the bill, when Mr. Wilson, of New Jersey, moved to postpone
+the further consideration of the bill until the 5th of March. It was
+rejected. The committee then began to vote upon the recommendations of
+the select committee. Upon striking out the House amendment, providing
+that all the children of slaves born within said State should be free,
+etc., it was carried by a vote of 27 to 7, eleven Northern Senators
+voting to strike out. The seven votes against striking out were all
+from free States.
+
+Upon the clause prohibiting servitude except for crimes, etc., 22
+votes were cast for striking out,--five being from Northern States;
+against striking out, 16,--and they were all from Northern States.
+
+Thus amended, the bill was ordered to be engrossed, and on the 2d of
+March--the last day but one of the session--was read a third time and
+passed. It was returned to the House, where the amendments were read,
+when Mr. Tallmadge moved that the bill be indefinitely postponed. His
+motion was rejected by a vote of: yeas, 69; nays, 74. But upon a
+motion to concur in the Senate amendments, the House refused to
+concur: yeas, 76; nays, 78. The Senate adhered to their amendments,
+and the House adhered to their disagreement by a vote of 76 to 66; and
+thus the bill fell between the two Houses and was lost.
+
+The southern portion of the territory of Missouri, which was not
+included within the limits of the proposed State, was organized as a
+separate territory, under the designation of the Arkansas Territory.
+After considerable debate, and several attempts to insert an amendment
+for the restriction of slavery, the bill creating the territory of
+Arkansas passed without any reference to slavery, and thus the
+territory was left open to slavery, and also the State some years
+later.
+
+The Congressional discussion of the slavery question aroused the
+anti-slavery sentiment of the North, which found expression in large
+and earnest meetings, in pungent editorials, and numerous memorials.
+At Trenton, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and other places, the
+indignation against slavery was great. On December 3, 1819, a large
+meeting was held in the State House at Boston, when a resolution was
+adopted to memorialize Congress on the subject of "restraining the
+increase of slavery in _new States_ to be admitted into the Union."
+The memorial was drawn by Daniel Webster, and signed by himself,
+George Blake, Josiah Quincy, James T. Austin, and others. The New York
+Legislature passed resolutions against the extension of slavery into
+the territories and new States; and requested the Congressmen and
+instructed the Senators from that State not to vote for the admission
+of any State into the Union, except such State should pledge itself to
+unqualified restriction in the letter and spirit of the ordinance of
+1787. These resolutions were signed on January 17, 1820.
+
+On the 24th of January the New Jersey Legislature followed in the same
+strain, with six pertinent resolves, a copy of which the governor was
+requested to forward "to each of the senators and representatives of
+this State, in the Congress of the United States."
+
+Pennsylvania had taken action on the 11th of December, 1819; but the
+resolves were not signed by Gov. William Findlay until the 16th of the
+month. The Legislature was composed of fifty-four Democrats and twenty
+Whigs, and yet there was not a dissenting vote cast.
+
+Two Southern States passed resolutions,--Delaware and Kentucky: the
+first in favor of restriction, the last opposed to restriction.
+
+The effort to secure the admission of Missouri with a slave
+constitution was not dead, but only sleeping. The bill was called up
+as a special order on the 24th of January, 1820. It occupied most of
+the time of the House from the 25th of January till the 19th of
+February, when a bill came from the Senate providing for the admission
+of Maine into the Union, but containing a rider authorizing the people
+of Missouri to adopt a State constitution, etc., without restrictions
+respecting slavery. The bill providing for the admission of Maine had
+passed the House during the early days of the session, and now
+returned to the House for concurrence in the rider. The debate on the
+bill and amendments had occupied much of the time of the Senate. In
+the Judiciary Committee on the 16th of February, the question was
+taken on amendments to the Maine admission bill, authorizing Missouri
+to form a State constitution, making no mention of slavery: and
+twenty-three votes were cast against restriction,--three from Northern
+States; twenty-one in favor of restriction,--but only two from the
+South.
+
+Mr. Thomas offered a resolution reaffirming the doctrine of the sixth
+article of the ordinance of 1787, and declaring its applicability to
+all that territory ceded to the United States by France, under the
+general designation of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six
+degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, etc. But on the following
+day he withdrew his original amendment, and submitted the following:
+
+ "_And be it further enacted_, That in all the territory ceded by
+ France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which
+ lies north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, north latitude,
+ excepting only such part thereof as is included within the limits
+ of the State contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary
+ servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crime whereof the
+ party shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is hereby
+ forever prohibited. Provided always, that any person escaping
+ into the same, from where labor or service is lawfully claimed in
+ any State or territory of the United States, such fugitive may be
+ lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her
+ labor or service as aforesaid."
+
+Mr. Trimble, of Ohio, offered a substitute, but it was rejected. The
+question recurring upon the passage of the amendment of Mr. Thomas,
+excluding slavery from all the territory north and west of Missouri,
+it was carried by a vote of 34 to 20.
+
+Thus amended, the bill was ordered to engrossment by a vote of 24 to
+20. On the 18th of February the bill passed, and this was its
+condition when it came to the House. By a vote of 93 to 72 the House
+agreed not to leave the Missouri question on the Maine bill as a
+rider; but immediately thereafter struck out the Thomas Senate
+amendment by a vote of 159 to 18. The House disagreed to the
+remaining Senate amendments, striking out the clause restricting
+slavery in Missouri by a vote of 102 to 68.
+
+Thus rejected, the bill was returned to the Senate shorn of its
+amendments. After four days of debate in the Senate it was decided not
+to recede from the attachment of the Missouri subject to the Maine
+bill; not to recede from the amendment prohibiting slavery west of
+Missouri, and north of 36 deg. 30' north latitude, and insisted upon the
+remaining amendments without division.
+
+When the bill was returned to the House a motion was made to insist
+upon its disagreement to all but section nine of the Senate
+amendments, and was carried by a vote of 97 to 76.
+
+The Senate asked for a committee of conference upon differences
+between the two Houses, which was cheerfully granted by the House. On
+the 2d of March, Mr. Holmes, of Massachusetts, as chairman, made the
+following report:
+
+ "1. The Senate should give up the combination of Missouri in the
+ same bill with Maine.
+
+ "2. The House should abandon the attempt to restrict Slavery in
+ Missouri.
+
+ "3. Both Houses should agree to pass the Senate's separate
+ Missouri bill, with Mr. Thomas's restriction or compromising
+ proviso, excluding Slavery from all territory north and west of
+ Missouri.
+
+ "The report having been read,
+
+ "The first and most important question was put, viz.:
+
+ "Will the House concur with the Senate in so much of the said
+ amendments as proposes to strike from the fourth section of the
+ [Missouri] bill the provision prohibiting Slavery or involuntary
+ servitude in the contemplated State, otherwise than in the
+ punishment of crimes?"
+
+The vote resulted as follows: For giving up restriction on Missouri,
+yeas, 90; against giving up restriction of slavery in Missouri, 87.
+
+Mr. Taylor, of New York, offered an amendment to include Arkansas
+Territory under the prohibition of slavery in the territory west and
+north of Missouri, but his amendment was cut off by a call for the
+previous question. Then the House concurred in the Senate amendment
+excluding forever slavery from the territory west and north of
+Missouri by a vote of 134 to 42! And on the following day the bill
+admitting Maine into the Union was passed without opposition.
+
+Thus the Northern delegates in Congress were whipped into line, and
+thus did the South gain her point in the extension of slavery in
+violation of the sacred compact between the States contained in the
+ordinance of 1787.
+
+But the struggle was opened afresh when Missouri presented herself for
+admission on the 16th of November, 1820. The constitution of this new
+State, adopted by her people on the 19th of July, 1820, contained the
+following resolutions which greatly angered the Northern members, who
+so keenly felt the defeat and humiliation they had Suffered so
+recently:
+
+ "The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws, first,
+ for the emancipation of Slaves without the consent of their
+ owners, or without paying them, before such emancipation, a full
+ equivalent for such slaves so emancipated; and second: to prevent
+ _bona-fide_ emigrants to this State, or actual settlers therein,
+ from bringing from any of the United States, or from any of their
+ Territories, such persons as may there be deemed to be Slaves, so
+ long as any persons of the same description are allowed to be
+ held as Slaves by the laws of this State.
+
+ ... "It shall be their duty, as soon as may be, to pass such laws
+ as may be necessary,
+
+ "First, to prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to, and
+ settling in, this State, under any pretext whatever."
+
+Upon the motion to admit the State the vote stood: yeas, 79, nays, 93.
+Upon a second attempt to admit her, with the understanding that the
+resolution just quoted should be expunged the vote was worse than
+before, standing: yeas, 6; nays, 146!
+
+The House now rested, until a joint resolve, admitting her with but a
+vague and ineffective qualification, came down from the Senate, where
+it was passed by a vote of 26 to 18--six Senators from Free States in
+the affirmative. Mr. Clay, who had resigned in the recess, and been
+succeeded, as Speaker, by John W. Taylor, of New York, now appeared as
+the leader of the Missouri admissionists, and proposed terms of
+compromise, which were twice voted down by the Northern members, aided
+by John Randolph and three others from the South, who would have
+Missouri admitted without condition or qualification. At last, Mr.
+Clay proposed a joint committee on this subject, to be chosen by
+ballot--which the House agreed to by a vote of 101 to 55; and Mr. Clay
+became its chairman. By this committee it was agreed, that a solemn
+pledge should be required of the Legislature of Missouri, that the
+constitution of that State should not be construed to authorize the
+passage of any act, and that no act should be passed "by which any of
+the citizens of either of the States should be excluded from the
+enjoyment of the privileges and immunities to which they are entitled
+under the Constitution of the United States." The joint resolution,
+amended by the addition of this proviso, passed the House by 86 yeas
+to 82 nays; the Senate concurred (Feb. 27, 1821) by 26 yeas to 15
+nays--(all Northern but Macon, of N. C.). Missouri complied with the
+condition, and became an accepted member of the Union. Thus closed the
+last stage of the fierce Missouri controversy, which for a time seemed
+to threaten--as so many other controversies have harmlessly
+threatened--the existence of the Union.
+
+By this time there was scarcely a State in the North but that had
+organized anti-slavery, or abolition, societies. Pennsylvania boasted
+of a society that was accomplishing a great Work. Where it was
+impossible to secure freedom for the enslaved, religious training was
+imparted, and many excellent efforts made for the amelioration of the
+condition of the Negroes, bond and free. A society for promoting the
+"_Abolition of Slavery_" was formed at Trenton, New Jersey, on the 2d
+of March, 1786. It adopted an elaborate constitution, which was
+amended on the 26th of November, 1788. It did an effective work
+throughout the State; embraced in its membership some of the ablest
+men of the State; and changed public sentiment for the better by the
+methods it adopted and the literature it circulated. On the 15th of
+February, 1804, it secured the passage of the following Act for the
+gradual emancipation of the slaves in the State:
+
+ "AN ACT FOR THE GRADUAL ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.
+
+ "SECTION 1. _Be it enacted by the Council and General Assembly of
+ this State, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the
+ same_, That every child born of a slave within this State, after
+ the fourth day of July next, shall be free; but shall remain the
+ servant of the owner of his or her mother, and the executors,
+ administrators, or assigns of such owner, in the same manner as
+ if such child had been bound to service by the trustees or
+ overseers of the poor, and shall continue in such service, if a
+ male, until the age of twenty-five years, and if a female, until
+ the age of twenty-one years.
+
+ "2. _And be it enacted_, That every person being an inhabitant of
+ this State, who shall be entitled to the service of a child born
+ as aforesaid, after the said fourth day of July next, shall
+ within nine months after the birth of such child, cause to be
+ delivered to the clerk of the county whereof such person shall be
+ an inhabitant, a certificate in writing, containing the name and
+ station of such person, and the name, age, and sex of the child
+ so born; which certificate, whether the same be delivered before
+ or after the said nine months, shall be by the said clerk
+ recorded in a book to be by him provided for that purpose; and
+ such record thereof shall be good evidence of the age of such
+ child; and the clerk of such county shall receive from said
+ person twelve cents for every child so registered; and if any
+ person shall neglect to deliver such certificate to the said
+ clerk within said nine months, such person shall forfeit and pay
+ for every such offence, five dollars, and the further sum of one
+ dollar for every month such person shall neglect to deliver the
+ same, to be sued for and recovered by any person who will sue for
+ the same, the one half to the use of such prosecutor, and the
+ residue to the use of the poor of the township in which such
+ delinquent shall reside.
+
+ "3. _And be it enacted_, That the person entitled to the service
+ of any child born as aforesaid, may, nevertheless, within one
+ year after the birth of such child, elect to abandon such right;
+ in which case a notification of such abandonment, under the hand
+ of such person, shall be filed with the clerk of the township, or
+ where there may be a county poor-house established, then with the
+ clerk of the board of trustees of said poor-house of the county
+ in which such person shall reside; but every child so abandoned
+ shall be maintained by such person until such child arrives to
+ the age of one year, and thereafter shall be considered as a
+ pauper of such township or county, and liable to be bound out by
+ the trustees or overseers of the poor in the same manner as other
+ poor children are directed to be bound out, until, if a male, the
+ age of twenty-five, and if a female, the age of twenty-one; and
+ such child, while such pauper, until it shall be bound out, shall
+ be maintained by the trustees or overseers of the poor of such
+ county or township, as the case may be, at the expense of this
+ State; and for that purpose the director of the board of chosen
+ freeholders of the county is hereby required, from time to time,
+ to draw his warrant on the treasurer in favor of such trustees or
+ overseers for the amount of such expense, not exceeding the rate
+ of three dollars per month; provided the accounts for the same be
+ first certified and approved by such board of trustees, or the
+ town committee of such township; and every person who shall omit
+ to notify such abandonment as aforesaid, shall be considered as
+ having elected to retain the service of such child, and be liable
+ for its maintenance until the period to which its servitude is
+ limited as aforesaid.
+
+ "A. Passed at Trenton, Feb. 15, 1804."
+
+The public journals of the larger Northern cities began to take a
+lively interest in the paramount question of the day, which, without
+doubt, was the slavery question. Gradual emancipation was doing an
+excellent work in nearly all the Northern States, as may be seen by
+the census of 1820. When the entire slave population was footed up it
+showed an increase of 30 per cent. during the previous ten years, but
+when examined by States it was found to be on the decrease in all the
+Northern or free States, except Illinois. The slave population of
+Virginia had increased only 8 per cent.; North Carolina 21 per cent.;
+South Carolina 31 per cent.; Tennessee 79 per cent.; Mississippi 92
+per cent.; and Louisiana 99 per cent. The slave population by States
+was as follows:
+
+ CENSUS OF 1820--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ Alabama 41,879
+ District of Columbia 6,377
+ Connecticut 97
+ Delaware 4,509
+ Georgia 149,654
+ Illinois 917
+ Indiana 190
+ Kentucky 126,732
+ Louisiana 69,064
+ Maryland 107,397
+ Mississippi 32,814
+ Missouri 10,222
+ New Jersey 7,557
+ New York 10,088
+ North Carolina 205,017
+ Pennsylvania 211
+ Rhode Island 48
+ South Carolina 258,475
+ Tennessee 80,107
+ Virginia 425,153
+ Arkansas Territory 1,617
+ ---------
+ Aggregate 1,538,125
+
+The anti-slavery sentiment of the Northern States was growing, but no
+organization with a great leader at its head had yet announced its
+platform or unfurled its banner in a holy war for the emancipation of
+the Bondmen of the Free Republic of North America.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] I have in my possession large numbers of official orders and
+letters on the suppression of the slave-trade, but the space
+appropriated to this history precludes their publication. There are,
+however, some important documents in the appendix to this volume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+NEGRO TROOPS IN THE WAR OF 1812.
+
+
+ EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF 1812.--THE NEW
+ YORK LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZES THE ENLISTMENT OF A REGIMENT OF
+ COLORED SOLDIERS.--GEN. ANDREW JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE FREE
+ COLORED INHABITANTS OF LOUISIANA CALLING THEM TO ARMS.--STIRRING
+ ADDRESS TO THE COLORED TROOPS THE SUNDAY BEFORE THE BATTLE OF NEW
+ ORLEANS.--GEN. JACKSON ANTICIPATES THE VALOR OF HIS COLORED
+ SOLDIERS.--TERMS OF PEACE AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR BY THE
+ COMMISSIONERS AT GHENT.--NEGROES PLACED AS CHATTEL
+ PROPERTY.--THEIR VALOR IN WAR SECURES THEM NO IMMUNITY IN PEACE.
+
+
+When the war-clouds gathered in 1812, there was no time wasted in
+discussing whether it would be prudent to arm the Negro, nor was there
+a doubt expressed as to his valor. His brilliant achievements in the
+war of the Revolution, his power of endurance, and martial enthusiasm,
+were the golden threads of glory that bound his memory to the
+victorious cause of the American Republic. A lack of troops and an
+imperiled cause led to the admission of Negroes into the American army
+during the war of the Revolution. But it was the Negro's eminent
+fitness for military service that made him a place under the United
+States flag during the war in Louisiana. The entire country had
+confidence in the Negro's patriotism and effectiveness as a soldier.
+White men were willing to see Negroes go into the army because it
+reduced their chances of being sent forth to the tented field and
+dangerous bivouac.
+
+New York did not hesitate to offer a practical endorsement of the
+prevalent opinion that Negroes were both competent and worthy to fight
+the battles of the Nation. Accordingly, the following Act was passed
+authorizing the organization of two regiments of Negroes.
+
+ "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 be, and he is hereby, authorized to raise, by voluntary
+ enlistment, two regiments 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, authorized 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. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the commissioned
+ officers of the said regiments and brigade shall receive the same
+ pay, rations, forage, and allowances, as officers of the same
+ grade in the army of the United States; and the non-commissioned
+ officers, musicians, and privates of the said regiments shall
+ receive the same pay, rations, clothing, and allowances, as the
+ non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the army of
+ the United States; and the sum of twenty-five dollars shall be
+ paid to each of the said non-commissioned officers, musicians,
+ and privates, at the time of enlistment, in lieu of all other
+ bounty.
+
+ "SECT. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That the troops to be
+ raised as aforesaid may be transferred into the service of the
+ United States, if the Government of the United States shall agree
+ to pay and subsist them, and to refund to this State the moneys
+ expended by this State in clothing and arming them; and, until
+ such transfer shall be made, may be ordered into the service of
+ the United States in lieu of an equal number of militia, whenever
+ the militia of the State of New York shall be ordered into the
+ service of the United States.
+
+ "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.
+
+ "SECT. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That every such enrolled
+ person, who shall have become free by manumission or otherwise,
+ if he shall thereafter become indigent, shall be deemed to be
+ settled in the town in which the person who manumitted him was
+ settled at the time of such manumission, or in such other town
+ where he shall have gained a settlement subsequent to his
+ discharge from the said service; and the former owner or owners
+ of such manumitted person, and his legal representatives, shall
+ be exonerated from his maintenance, any law to the contrary
+ hereof notwithstanding.
+
+ "SECT. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That, when the troops to
+ be raised as aforesaid shall be in the service of the United
+ States, they shall be subject to the rules and articles which
+ have been or may be hereafter established by the By-laws of the
+ United States for the government of the army of the United
+ States; that, when the said troops shall be in the service of the
+ State of New York, they shall be subject to the same rules and
+ regulations; and the Governor of the said State shall be, and he
+ is hereby, authorized and directed to exercise all the power and
+ authority which, by the said rules and articles, are required to
+ be exercised by the President of the United States."[2]
+
+Gen. Andrew Jackson believed in the fighting capacity of the Negro, as
+evidenced by the subjoined proclamation:
+
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS OF 7TH 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
+ confidence 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
+ you to engage in her cause without amply remunerating you for the
+ services rendered. Your 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 serve 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-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 freemen 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_."[3]
+
+Just before the battle of New Orleans, General Jackson reviewed his
+troops, white and black, on Sunday, December 18, 1814. At the close of
+the review his Adjutant-General, Edward Livingston, rode to the head
+of the column, and read in rich and sonorous tones the following
+address:
+
+ "TO THE MEN OF COLOR.--Soldiers! 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 you 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 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."[4]
+
+But in this war, as in the Revolutionary struggle, the commissioners
+who concluded the terms of peace, armed with ample and authentic
+evidence of the Negro's valorous services, placed him among chattel
+property.
+
+And in no State in the South were the laws more rigidly enforced
+against Negroes, both free and slave, than in Louisiana. The efficient
+service of the Louisiana Negro troops in the war of 1812 was applauded
+on two continents at the time, but the noise of the slave marts soon
+silenced the praise of the "Black heroes of the battle of New
+Orleans."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Laws of the State of New York, passed at the Thirty-eighth Session
+of the Legislature, chap. xviii.
+
+[3] Niles's Register, vol. vii. p. 205.
+
+[4] Niles's Register, vol. vii. pp. 345, 346.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+NEGROES IN THE NAVY.
+
+ NO PROSCRIPTION AGAINST NEGROES AS SAILORS.--THEY ARE CARRIED
+ UPON THE ROLLS IN THE NAVY WITHOUT REGARD TO THEIR
+ NATIONALITY.--THEIR TREATMENT AS SAILORS.--COMMODORE PERRY'S
+ LETTER TO COMMODORE CHAUNCEY IN REGARD TO THE MEN SENT
+ HIM.--COMMODORE CHAUNCEY'S SPIRITED REPLY.--THE HEROISM OF THE
+ NEGRO SET FORTH IN THE PICTURE OF PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE
+ ERIE.--EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM NATHANIEL SHALER, COMMANDER OF A
+ PRIVATE VESSEL.--HE CITES SEVERAL INSTANCES OF THE HEROIC CONDUCT
+ OF NEGRO SAILORS.
+
+It is rather a remarkable fact of history that Negroes were carried
+upon the rolls of the navy without reference to their nationality.
+About one tenth of the crews of the fleet that sailed to the Upper
+Lakes to co-operate with Col. Croghan at Mackinac, in 1814, were
+Negroes. Dr. Parsons says:--
+
+ "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."[5]
+
+This ample and reliable testimony as to the treatment of Negroes as
+sailors, puts to rest all doubts as to their status in the United
+States navy.
+
+In the summer of 1813, Captain (afterwards Commodore) Perry wrote a
+letter to Commodore Chauncey in which he complained that an
+indifferent lot of men had been sent him. The following is the letter
+that he wrote.
+
+ "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 cannot think you saw them after they were selected. I
+ am, however, pleased to see any thing in the shape of a man."[6]
+
+Commodore Chauncey replied in the following sharp letter, in which he
+gave Captain Perry to understand that the color of the skin had
+nothing to do with a man's qualifications for the navy:
+
+ "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 us 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 Forrest; for, to my knowledge, a part of them are
+ not surpassed by any seamen 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 affect 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 I can judge by comparison; for those which we have
+ on board of this ship are attentive and obedient, and, as far 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."[7]
+
+Perry was not long in discovering that the Negroes whom Commodore
+Chauncey had sent him were competent, faithful, and brave; and his
+former prejudice did not prevent him from speaking their praise.
+
+ "Perry speaks highly of the bravery and good conduct of the
+ negroes, who formed a considerable part of his crew. They seemed
+ to be absolutely insensible to danger. When Captain Barclay came
+ on board the 'Niagara,' and beheld the sickly and party-colored
+ beings around him, an expression of chagrin escaped him at
+ having been conquered by such men. The fresh-water service had
+ very much impaired the health of the sailors, and crowded the
+ sick-list with patients."[8]
+
+These brave Negro sailors served faithfully through all the battles on
+the Lakes, and in the battle of Lake Erie rendered most effective
+service. Once more the artist has rescued from oblivion the heroism of
+the Negroes; for in the East Senate stairway of the Capitol at
+Washington, and in the rotunda of the Capitol at Columbus, in the
+celebrated picture of Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, a Negro sailor has
+a place among the immortalized crew.
+
+The following testimony to the bravery of Colored sailors is of the
+highest character.
+
+ "EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM NATHANIEL SHALER, COMMANDER OF THE
+ PRIVATE-ARMED SCHOONER 'GOV. TOMPKINS,' TO HIS AGENT IN NEW YORK,
+ DATED--
+
+ "AT SEA, Jan. 1, 1813.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Before I could get our light sails in, 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 boys; no haul a color down._' The
+ other was also 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 overboard, 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."[9]
+
+After praise of such a nature and from such a source, eulogy is
+superfluous.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Livermore, pp. 159, 160.
+
+[6] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. i. pp. 165, 166.
+
+[7] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. i. pp. 186, 187.
+
+[8] Analectic Magazine, vol. iii. p. 255.
+
+[9] Niles's Weekly Register, Saturday, Feb. 26, 1814.
+
+
+
+
+PART 5.
+
+_ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+RETROSPECTION AND REFLECTION.
+
+1825-1850.
+
+ THE SECURITY OF THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY AT THE SOUTH.--THE
+ RIGHT TO HOLD SLAVES QUESTIONED.--RAPID INCREASE OF THE SLAVE
+ POPULATION.--ANTI-SLAVERY SPEECHES IN THE LEGISLATURE OF
+ VIRGINIA.--THE QUAKERS OF MARYLAND AND DELAWARE EMANCIPATE THEIR
+ SLAVES.--THE EVIL EFFECT OF SLAVERY UPON SOCIETY.--THE CONSCIENCE
+ AND HEART OF THE SOUTH DID NOT RESPOND TO THE VOICE OF REASON OR
+ DICTATES OF HUMANITY.
+
+An awful silence succeeded the stormy struggle that ended in the
+violation of the ordinance of 1787. It was now time for reflection.
+The Southern statesmen had proven themselves the masters of the
+situation. The institution of slavery was secured to them, with many
+collateral political advantages. And, in addition to this, they had
+secured the inoculation of the free territory beyond the Mississippi
+and Ohio rivers with the virus of Negro-slavery.
+
+If the mother-country had forced slavery upon her colonial
+dependencies in North America, and if it were difficult and
+inconvenient to part with slave-labor, who were now responsible for
+the extension of the slave area? Southern men, of course. What
+principle or human law was strong enough to support an institution of
+such cruel proportions? The old law of European pagans born of bloody
+and destroying wars? No; for it was now the nineteenth century.
+Abstract law? Certainly not; for law is the perfection of reason--it
+always tends to conform thereto--and that which is not reason is not
+law. Well did Justinian write: "Live honestly, hurt nobody, and render
+to every one his just dues." The law of nations? Verily not; for it
+is a system of rules deducible from reason and natural justice, and
+established by universal consent, to regulate the conduct and mutual
+intercourse between independent States. The Declaration of
+Independence? Far from it; because the prologue of that incomparable
+instrument recites: "_We hold these truths to be self-evident--that
+all_ MEN _are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator
+with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are life, liberty,
+and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights,
+governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from
+the consent of the governed._" And the peerless George Bancroft has
+added: "The heart of Jefferson in writing the Declaration, and of
+Congress in adopting it, beat for all humanity; the assertion of right
+was made for all mankind and all coming generations, without any
+exception whatever; for the proposition which admits of exceptions can
+never be self-evident." There was but one authority for slavery left,
+and that was the Bible.
+
+Many slave-holders thought deeply on the question of their right to
+hold slaves. A disturbed conscience cried aloud for a "Thus saith the
+Lord," and the pulpit was charged with the task of quieting the
+general disquietude. The divine origin of slavery was heard from a
+thousand pulpits. God, who never writes a poor hand, had written upon
+the brow of every Negro, the word "_Slave_"; slavery was their normal
+condition, and the white man was God's agent in the United States to
+carry out the prophecy of Noah respecting the descendants of Ham;
+while St. Paul had sent Onesimus back to his owner, and had written,
+"Servants, obey your masters."
+
+But apologetic preaching did not seem to silence the gnawing of a
+guilty conscience. Upon the battle-fields of two great wars; in the
+army and in the navy, the Negroes had demonstrated their worth and
+manhood. They had stood with the undrilled minute-men along the dusty
+roads leading from Lexington and Concord to Boston, against the
+skilled redcoats of boastful Britain. They were among the faithful
+little band that held Bunker Hill against overwhelming odds; at Long
+Island, Newport, and Monmouth, they had held their ground against the
+stubborn columns of the Ministerial army. They had journeyed with the
+Pilgrim Fathers through eight years of despair and hope, of defeat and
+victory; had shared their sufferings and divided their glory. These
+recollections made difficult an unqualified acceptance of the doctrine
+of the divine nature of perpetual slavery. Reason downed sophistry,
+and human sympathy shamed prejudice. And against prejudice, custom,
+and political power, the thinking men of the South launched their best
+thoughts. Jefferson said: "The hour of emancipation is advancing in
+the march of time. It will come, and whether brought on by the
+generous energy of our own minds, or by the bloody process of St.
+Domingo, excited and conducted by the power of our present enemy
+[Great Britain], if once stationed permanently within our country and
+offering asylum and arms to the oppressed [Negro], is a leaf in our
+history _not yet turned over_." These words, written to Edward Coles,
+in August, 1814, were still ample food for the profound meditation of
+the slave-holders. In his "Notes on Virginia" Mr. Jefferson had
+written the following words: "_Indeed, I tremble for my country when I
+reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever._
+That, considering numbers, nature, and natural means, only a
+revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation, is among
+possible events. That it may become probable by _supernatural
+interference_. _The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with
+us in such a contest._"[10]
+
+The eloquence of Patrick Henry and the logic and philosophy of Madison
+and Jefferson rang in the ears of the people of the slave-holding
+States, and they paused to think. In forty years the Negro population
+of Virginia had increased 186 per cent.--from 1790 to 1830,--while the
+white had increased only 51 per cent. The rapid increase of the slave
+population winged the fancy and produced horrid dreams of
+insurrection; while the pronounced opposition of the Northern people
+to slavery seemed to proclaim the weakness of the government and the
+approach of its dissolution. In 1832, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, a
+grandson of Thomas Jefferson, lifted up his voice in the Legislature
+of Virginia against the institution of slavery.
+
+ Said Mr. Jefferson:--"There is one circumstance to which we are
+ to look as inevitable in the fulness of time--_a dissolution of
+ this Union_. God grant it may not happen in our time or that of
+ our children; but, sir, it must come sooner or later, and when it
+ does come, border war follows it, as certain as the night follows
+ the day. An enemy upon your frontier offering arms and asylum to
+ this population, tampering with it in your bosom, when your
+ citizens shall march to repel the invader, their families
+ butchered and their homes desolated in the rear, the spear will
+ fall from the warrior's grasp; his heart may be of steel, but it
+ must quail. Suppose an invasion in part with _black troops_,
+ speaking the same language, of the same nation, burning with
+ enthusiasm for the liberation of their race; if they are not
+ crushed the moment they put foot upon your soil, they roll
+ forward, an hourly swelling mass; your energies are paralyzed,
+ your power is gone; the morasses of the lowlands, the fastnesses
+ of the mountains, cannot save your wives and children from
+ destruction. Sir, we cannot war with these disadvantages; _peace,
+ ignoble, abject peace,--peace upon any conditions that an enemy
+ may offer, must be accepted_. Are we, then, prepared to barter
+ the liberty of our children for slaves for them?... Sir, it is a
+ practice, and an increasing practice in parts of Virginia to
+ _rear slaves for market_. How can an honorable mind, a patriot
+ and a lover of his country, bear to see this ancient Dominion,
+ rendered illustrious by the noble devotion and patriotism of her
+ sons in the cause of liberty, converted into one grand managerie,
+ where men are to be reared for market like oxen for the shambles.
+ Is this better, is it not worse, than the _Slave-Trade_, that
+ trade which enlisted the labor of the _good and the wise of every
+ creed and every clime to abolish it_?"
+
+Mr. P. A. Bolling said:--
+
+ "Mr. Speaker, it is vain for gentlemen to deny the fact, the
+ feelings of society are fast becoming adversed to slavery. The
+ moral causes which produce that feeling are on the march, and
+ will on _until the groans of slavery are heard no more in this
+ else happy country_. Look over this world's wide page--see the
+ rapid progress of liberal feelings--see the shackles falling from
+ nations who have long writhed under the galling yoke of slavery.
+ Liberty is going over the whole earth--hand-in-hand with
+ Christianity. The ancient temples of slavery, rendered venerable
+ alone by their antiquity, are crumbling into dust. Ancient
+ prejudices are flying before the light of truth--are dissipated
+ by its rays, as the idle vapor by the bright sun. The noble
+ sentiment of Burns:
+
+ 'Then let us pray that come it may,
+ As come it will for a' that,
+ That man to man, the warld o'er,
+ Shall brothers be for a' that'--
+
+ is rapidly spreading. The day-star of human liberty has risen
+ above the dark horizon of slavery, and will continue its bright
+ career, until it smiles alike on all men."
+
+Mr. C. J. Faulkner said:--
+
+ "Sir, I am gratified that no gentleman has yet risen in this
+ hall, the advocate of slavery. * * * Let me compare the condition
+ of the slave-holding portion of this commonwealth, barren,
+ desolate, and scarred, as it were, by the avenging hand of
+ Heaven, with the descriptions which we have of this same country
+ from those who first broke its virgin soil. To what is this
+ change ascribable? Alone to the withering, blasting effects of
+ slavery. If this does not satisfy him, let me request him to
+ extend his travels to the Northern States of this Union, and beg
+ him to contrast the happiness and contentment which prevail
+ throughout that country--the busy and cheerful sound of industry,
+ the rapid and swelling growth of their population, their means
+ and institutions of education, their skill and proficiency in the
+ useful arts, their enterprise and public spirit, the monuments of
+ their commercial and manufacturing industry, and, above all,
+ their devoted attachment to the government from which they derive
+ their protection, with the division, discontent, indolence, and
+ poverty of the Southern country. To what, sir, is all this
+ ascribable? 'T is to that _vice_ in the organization of society
+ by which one half of its inhabitants are arrayed in interest and
+ feeling against the other half; to that unfortunate state of
+ society in which free men regard labor as disgraceful, and slaves
+ shrink from it as a burden tyrannically imposed upon them. _'To
+ that condition of things in which half a million of your
+ population can feel no sympathy with the society in the
+ prosperity of which they are forbidden to participate, and no
+ attachment to a government at whose hands they receive nothing
+ but injustice.'_ In the language of the wise, prophetic
+ Jefferson, 'you must approach this subject, YOU MUST ADOPT SOME
+ PLAN OF EMANCIPATION, OR WORSE WILL FOLLOW.'"
+
+In Maryland and Delaware the Quakers were rapidly emancipating their
+slaves, and the strong reaction that had set in among the thoughtful
+men of the South began to threaten the institution. Men felt that it
+was a curse to the slave, and poisoned the best white society of the
+slave-holding States. As early as 1781, Mr. Jefferson, with his keen,
+philosophical insight, beheld with alarm the demoralizing tendency of
+slavery. "The whole commerce," says Mr. Jefferson, "between master and
+slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions; the
+most unrelenting despotism on the one part, and degrading submission
+on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it--for man
+is an imitative animal. This quality is the germ of all education in
+him. From his cradle to his grave he is learning to do what he sees
+others do. If a parent could find no motive, either in his
+philanthropy or his self-love, for restraining the intemperance of
+passion toward his slave, it should always be a sufficient one that
+his child is present. But generally, it is not sufficient. The parent
+storms; the child looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on
+the same airs in the circle of smaller slaves, gives a loose tongue to
+the worst of passions, and, thus nursed, educated, and daily exercised
+in tyranny, cannot but be stamped with odious peculiarities. The man
+must be a prodigy who can retain his manners and morals undepraved by
+such circumstances. And with what execration should the statesman be
+loaded, who, permitting one half the citizens thus to trample on the
+rights of the other, transforms those into despots and these into
+enemies, destroys the morals of the one part, and the _amor patriae_ of
+the other!"[11]
+
+And what was true in Virginia, as coming under the observation of Mr.
+Jefferson, was true in all the other States where slavery existed. And
+indeed it was difficult to tell whether the slave or master was
+injured the more. The ignorance of the former veiled from him the
+terrible evils of his condition, while the intelligence of the latter
+revealed to him, in detail, the baleful effects of the institution
+upon all who came within its area. It was at war with social order; it
+contracted the sublime ideas of national unity; it made men sectional,
+licentious, profligate, cruel,--and selfishness paled the holy fires
+of patriotism.
+
+But notwithstanding the profound reflection of the greatest minds in
+the South, and the philosophic prophecies of Jefferson, the conscience
+and heart of the South did not respond to the dictates of humanity.
+Cotton and cupidity led captive the reason of the South, and, once
+more joined to their idols, the slave-holders no longer heard the
+voice of prudence or justice in the slave marts of their "section."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[10] Jefferson's Writings, vol. viii, p. 404.
+
+[11] Jefferson's Writings, vol. viii. p. 403.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ANTI-SLAVERY METHODS.
+
+ THE ANTIQUITY OF ANTI-SLAVERY SENTIMENT.--BENJAMIN LUNDY'S
+ OPPOSITION TO SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH AND AT THE NORTH.--HE
+ ESTABLISHES THE "GENIUS OF UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION."--HIS GREAT
+ SACRIFICES AND MARVELLOUS WORK IN THE CAUSE OF
+ EMANCIPATION.--WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON EDITS A PAPER AT
+ BENNINGTON, VERMONT.--HE PENS A PETITION TO CONGRESS FOR THE
+ ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.--GARRISON THE
+ PEERLESS LEADER OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION.--EXTRACT FROM A
+ SPEECH DELIVERED BY DANIEL O'CONNELL AT CORK, IRELAND.--INCREASE
+ OF ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETIES IN THE COUNTRY.--CHARLES SUMNER
+ DELIVERS A SPEECH ON THE "ANTI-SLAVERY DUTIES OF THE WHIG
+ PARTY."--MARKED EVENTS OF 1846.--SUMNER THE LEADER OF THE
+ POLITICAL PARTY.--HETERODOX ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY.--ITS
+ SENTIMENTS.--HORACE GREELEY THE LEADER OF THE ECONOMIC
+ ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY.--THE AGGRESSIVE ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY.--ITS
+ LEADERS.--THE COLONIZATION ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.--AMERICAN
+ COLONIZATION SOCIETY.--MANUMITTED NEGROES COLONIZE ON THE WEST
+ COAST OF AFRICA.--A BILL ESTABLISHING A LINE OF MAIL STEAMERS TO
+ THE COAST OF AFRICA.--IT PROVIDES FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE
+ SLAVE-TRADE, PROMOTION OF COMMERCE, AND THE COLONIZATION OF FREE
+ NEGROES.--EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS WARMLY URGING THE PASSAGE OF
+ THE BILL.--THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD ORGANIZATION.--ITS EFFICIENCY
+ IN FREEING SLAVES.--ANTI-SLAVERY LITERATURE.--IT EXPOSES THE TRUE
+ CHARACTER OF SLAVERY.--"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN," BY HARRIET BEECHER
+ STOWE, PLEADED THE CAUSE OF THE SLAVE IN TWENTY DIFFERENT
+ LANGUAGES.--THE INFLUENCE OF "IMPENDING CRISIS."
+
+
+Anti-slavery sentiment is as old as the human family. It antedates the
+Bible; it was eloquent in the days of our Saviour; it preached the
+Gospel of Humanity in the palaces of the Caesars and Antonies; its
+arguments shook the thrones of Europe during the Mediaeval ages. And
+when the doctrine of property in man was driven out of Europe as an
+exile, and found a home in this New World in the West, the ancient and
+time-honored anti-slavery sentiment combined all that was good in
+brain, heart, and civilization, and hurled itself, with righteous
+indignation, against the institution of slavery, the perfected curse
+of the ages! And how wonderful that God should have committed the task
+of blotting out this terrible curse to Americans! And what "vessels of
+honor" they were whom the dear Lord chose "to proclaim liberty to the
+captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound!"
+Statesmen like Franklin, Rush, Hamilton, and Jay; divines like
+Hopkins, Edwards, and Stiles; philanthropists like Woolman, Lay, and
+Benezet! And the good Quakers--God bless them!--or _Friends_, which
+has so much tender meaning in it, did much to hasten the morning of
+freedom. In the poor Negro slave they saw Christ "an hungered," and
+they gave Him meat; "thirsty," and they gave Him drink; "a stranger,"
+and they took Him in; "naked," and they clothed Him; "sick," and they
+visited Him; "in prison," and they came unto Him. Verily they knew
+their "_neighbor_."
+
+They began their work of philanthropy as early as 1780. In
+Maryland,[12] Pennsylvania, and New Jersey the Friends emancipated all
+their slaves. At a single monthly meeting in Pennsylvania eleven
+hundred slaves were set at liberty. Nearly every Northern State had
+its anti-slavery society. They were charged with the humane task of
+ameliorating the condition of the Negro, and scattering modest
+literary documents that breathed the spirit of Christian love.
+
+But the first apostle of _Abolition Agitation_ was Benjamin Lundy. He
+was the John Baptist to the new era that was to witness the doing away
+of the law of bondage and the ushering in of the dispensation of
+universal brotherhood. He raised his voice against slave-keeping in
+Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Maryland. In 1821 he established an
+anti-slavery paper called "The Genius of Universal Emancipation,"
+which he successively published in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
+Washington City,--and frequently _en route_ during the tours he took
+through the country, wherever he could find a press. Once he made a
+tour of the free States, like another Apostle Paul, stirring up the
+love of the brethren for those who were in bonds, lecturing, obtaining
+subscribers, writing editorials, getting them printed where he could,
+stopping by the wayside to read his "proof," and directing and mailing
+his papers at the nearest post-office. Then, packing up his
+"column-rules," type, "heading," and "directing-book," he would
+journey on, a lone, solitary "Friend." He said in 1830:--
+
+ "I have, within the period above mentioned (ten years),
+ sacrificed several thousands of dollars of my own hard earnings;
+ I have travelled upwards of five thousand miles on foot and more
+ than twenty thousand in other ways; have visited nineteen States
+ of this Union, and held more than two hundred public meetings;
+ have performed two voyages to the West Indies, by which means the
+ emancipation of a considerable number of slaves has been
+ effected, and I hope the way paved for the enfranchisement of
+ many more."
+
+He was a slight-built, wiry figure; but inflamed by a holy zeal for
+the cause of the oppressed, he was almost unconscious of the vast
+amount of work he was accomplishing. As a Quaker his methods were
+moderate. His journalistic voice was not a whirlwind nor the fire, but
+the still, small voice of persuasiveness. Though it was published in a
+slave mart, his paper, a monthly, was regarded as perfectly harmless.
+But away up in Vermont there was being edited, at Bennington, a paper
+called "The Journal of the Times." It was started chiefly to advocate
+the claims of John Quincy Adams to the Presidency, but much space was
+devoted to the subject of anti-slavery. The young editor of the
+above-named journal had had experience with several other papers
+previous to this--"The Free Press," of Newburyport, Mass., and "The
+National Philanthropist," of Boston. "The Genius of Universal
+Emancipation," was among the exchanges of "The Journal of the Times,"
+and its sentiments greatly enthused the heart of the Vermont editor,
+who, under God, was destined to become the indefatigable leader of the
+Anti-slavery Movement in America, _William Lloyd Garrison_! To his
+advocacy of "temperance and peace" young Garrison added another
+excellent principle, intense hatred of slavery. He penned a petition
+for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, which he
+sent to all the postmasters in Vermont, beseeching them to secure
+signatures. As the postmasters of those days paid no postage for their
+letters, many names were secured. The petition created a genuine
+sensation in Congress. The "Journal of Commerce" about this time said:
+
+ "It appears from an article in 'The Journal of the Times,' a
+ newspaper of some promise, just established in Bennington, Vt.,
+ that a petition to Congress for the abolition of slavery in the
+ District of Columbia is about to be put in circulation in that
+ State.
+
+ "The idea is an excellent one, and we hope it will meet with
+ success. That Congress has a right to abolish slavery in that
+ District seems reasonable, though we fear it will meet with some
+ opposition, so very sensitive are the slave-holding community to
+ every movement relating to the abolition of slavery. At the same
+ time, it would furnish to the world a beautiful pledge of their
+ sincerity if they would unite with the non-slave-holding States,
+ and by a unanimous vote proclaim freedom to every soul within
+ sight of the capital of this free government. We could then say,
+ and the world would then admit our pretence, that the voice of
+ the nation is against slavery, and throw back upon Great Britain
+ that disgrace which is of right and justice her exclusive
+ property."
+
+Charmed by the originality, boldness, and humanity of Garrison, the
+meek little Quaker went to Boston by stage; and then, with staff in
+hand, walked to Bennington, Vt., to see the young man whose great
+heart-throbs for the slave he had felt in "The Journal of the Times."
+There, in the Green Mountains of Vermont, swept by the free air, and
+mantled by the pure snow, the meek Quaker communed with the strict
+Baptist, and they both took sweet counsel together. The bright torch
+that Garrison had held up to the people in Vermont was to be
+transferred to the people of Baltimore, who were "sitting in
+darkness." So, as a result of this conference, Garrison agreed to join
+Lundy in conducting "The Genius of Universal Emancipation."
+Accordingly, in September, 1829, Garrison took the principal charge of
+the Journal, enlarged it, and issued it as a weekly. Lundy was to
+travel, lecture, and solicit subscribers in its interest, and
+contribute to its editorial columns as he could from time to time.
+
+Both men were equally against slavery: Lundy for gradual emancipation
+and _colonization_; but Garrison for _immediate and unconditional
+emancipation_. Garrison said of this difference: "But I wasn't much
+help to him, for he had been all for gradual emancipation, and as soon
+as I began to look into the matter, I became convinced that immediate
+abolition was the doctrine to be preached, and I scattered his
+subscribers like pigeons."
+
+But the good "Friend" contemplated the destructive zeal of his young
+helper with the complacency so characteristic of his class, standing
+by his doctrine that every one should follow "his own light." But it
+was not long before Garrison made a bold attack upon one of the vilest
+features of the slave-trade, which put an end to his paper, and
+resulted in his arrest, trial for libel, conviction, and imprisonment.
+The story runs as follows:
+
+ "A certain ship, the 'Francis Todd,' from Newburyport, came to
+ Baltimore and took in a load of slaves for the New Orleans
+ market. All the harrowing cruelties and separations which attend
+ the rending asunder of families and the sale of slaves, were
+ enacted under the eyes of the youthful philanthropist, and in a
+ burning article he denounced the inter-State slave-trade as
+ piracy, and piracy of an aggravated and cruel kind, inasmuch as
+ those born and educated in civilized and Christianized society
+ have more sensibility to feel the evils thus inflicted than
+ imbruted savages. He denounced the owners of the ship and all the
+ parties in no measured terms, and expressed his determination to
+ 'cover with thick infamy all who were engaged in the
+ transaction.'"
+
+Then, to be sure, the sleeping tiger was roused, for there was a vigor
+and power in the young editor's eloquence that quite dissipated the
+good-natured contempt which had hitherto hung round the paper. He was
+indicted for libel, found guilty, of course, condemned, imprisoned in
+the cell of a man who had been hanged for murder. His mother at this
+time was not living, but her heroic, undaunted spirit still survived
+in her son, who took the baptism of persecution and obloquy not merely
+with patience, but with the joy which strong spirits feel in
+endurance. He wrote sonnets on the walls of his prison, and by his
+cheerful and engaging manners made friends of his jailer and family,
+who did everything to render his situation as comfortable as possible.
+Some considerable effort was made for his release, and much interest
+was excited in various quarters for him.[13]
+
+Finally, the benevolent Arthur Tappan came forward and paid the
+exorbitant fine imposed upon Garrison, and he went forth a more
+inveterate foe of slavery. This incident gave the world one of the
+greatest reformers since Martin Luther. Without money, social
+influence, or friends, Garrison lifted again the standard of liberty.
+He began a lecture tour in which God taught him the magnitude of his
+work. Everywhere mouths were sealed and public halls closed against
+him. At length, on January 1, 1831, he issued the first number of "The
+Liberator," which he continued to edit for thirty-five years, and
+discontinued it only when every slave in America was free! His methods
+of assailing the modern Goliath of slavery were thus tersely put:
+
+ "I determined, at every hazard, to lift up the standard of
+ emancipation in the eyes of the nation, within sight of Bunker
+ Hill, and in the birthplace of liberty. That standard is now
+ unfurled; and long may it float, unhurt by the spoliations of
+ time or the missiles of a desperate foe; yea, till every chain be
+ broken, and every bondman set free! Let Southern oppressors
+ tremble; let their secret abettors tremble; let all the enemies
+ of the persecuted Black tremble. Assenting to the self-evident
+ truths maintained in the American Declaration of
+ Independence,--'that all men are created equal, and endowed by
+ their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are
+ life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' I shall strenuously
+ contend for the immediate enfranchisement of our slave
+ population.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but
+ is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and
+ as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to
+ think, or speak, or write with moderation. No! No! Tell a man
+ whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to
+ moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell
+ the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into
+ which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause
+ like the present! I am in earnest. I will not equivocate--I will
+ not excuse--I will not retreat a single inch. AND I WILL BE
+ HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue
+ leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the
+ dead.
+
+ "It is pretended that I am retarding the cause of emancipation by
+ the coarseness of my invective and the precipitancy of my
+ measures. The charge is not true. On this question, my influence,
+ humble as it is, is felt at this moment to a considerable extent;
+ and it shall be felt in coming years--not perniciously, but
+ beneficially,--not as a curse, but as a blessing; and POSTERITY
+ WILL BEAR TESTIMONY THAT I WAS RIGHT. I desire to thank God that
+ He enables me to disregard 'the fear of man which bringeth a
+ snare,' and to speak truth in its simplicity and power; and I
+ here close with this dedication:
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Oppression! I have seen thee, face to face,
+ And met thy cruel eye and cloudy brow;
+ By thy soul-withering glance I fear not now--
+ For dread to prouder feelings doth give place,
+ Of deep abhorrence! Scorning the disgrace
+ Of slavish knees that at thy footstool bow,
+ I also kneel--but with far other vow
+ Do hail thee and thy herd of hirelings base;
+ I swear, while life-blood warms my throbbing veins,
+ Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand,
+ Thy brutalizing sway--till Afric's chains
+ Are burst, and Freedom rules the rescued land,
+ Trampling Oppression and his iron rod;
+ Such is the vow I take--so help me, God!"
+
+There never was a grander declaration of war against slavery. There
+never was a more intrepid leader than William Lloyd Garrison. Words
+more prophetic were never uttered by human voice. His paper did indeed
+make "Southern oppression tremble," while its high resolves and
+sublime sentiments found a response in the hearts of many people. It
+is pleasant to record that this first impression of "The Liberator"
+brought a list of twenty-five subscribers from Philadelphia, backed by
+$50 in cash, sent by James Forten, a Colored man!
+
+One year from the day he issued the first number of his paper, William
+Lloyd Garrison, at the head of eleven others, organized _The American
+Anti-Slavery Society_. It has been indicated already that he was in
+favor of immediate emancipation; but, in addition to that principle,
+he took the ground that slavery was supported by the Constitution;
+that it was "a covenant with death and an agreement with hell"; that
+as a Christian it was his duty to obey God rather than man; that his
+conscience was paramount to the Constitution, and, therefore, his duty
+was to work outside of the Constitution for the destruction of
+slavery. Thus did Garrison establish the first Anti-slavery Society in
+this country to adopt aggressive measures and demand immediate and
+unconditional emancipation. It is not claimed that his methods were
+original. Daniel O'Connell was perhaps the greatest _agitator_ of the
+present century. In a speech delivered at Cork, he said:--
+
+ "I speak of liberty in commendation. Patriotism is a virtue, but
+ it can be selfish. Give me the great and immortal Bolivar, the
+ savior and regenerator of his country. He found her a province,
+ and he has made her a nation. His first act was to give freedom
+ to the slaves upon his own estate. (Hear, hear.) In Colombia, all
+ castes and all colors are free and unshackled. But how I like to
+ contrast him with the far-famed Northern heroes! George
+ Washington! That great and enlightened character--the soldier and
+ the statesman--had but one blot upon his character. He had
+ slaves, and he gave them liberty when he wanted them no longer.
+ (Loud cheers.) Let America, in the fulness of her pride wave on
+ high her banner of freedom and its blazing stars. I point to her,
+ and say: There is one foul blot upon it: you have negro slavery.
+ They may compare their struggles for freedom to Marathon and
+ Leuctra, and point to the rifleman with his gun, amidst her woods
+ and forests, shouting for liberty and America. In the midst of
+ their laughter and their pride, I point them to the negro
+ children screaming for the mother from whose bosom they have been
+ torn. America, it is a foul stain upon your character! (Cheers.)
+ This conduct kept up by men who had themselves to struggle for
+ freedom, is doubly unjust. Let them hoist the flag of liberty,
+ with the whip and rack on one side, and the star of freedom upon
+ the other. The Americans are a sensitive people; in fifty-four
+ years they have increased their population from three millions to
+ twenty millions; they have many glories that surround them, but
+ their beams are partly shorn, for they have slaves. (Cheers.)
+ Their hearts do not beat so strong for liberty as mine.... I will
+ call for justice, in the name of the living God, and I shall find
+ an echo in the breast of every human being. (Cheers.)"[14]
+
+But while Garrison's method of agitation was not original, it was new
+to this country. He spoke as one having authority, and his fiery
+earnestness warmed the frozen feeling of the Northern people, and
+startled the entire South. One year from the formation of the society
+above alluded to (December 4, 5, and 6, 1833), a _National
+Anti-Slavery Convention_ was held in Philadelphia, with sixty
+delegates from ten States! In 1836 there were 250 auxiliary
+anti-slavery societies in thirteen States; and eighteen months later
+they had increased to 1,006. Money came to these societies from every
+direction, and the good work had been fairly started.
+
+William Lloyd Garrison created a party, and it will be known in
+history as the _Garrisonian Party_.
+
+While Mr. Garrison had taken the position that slavery was
+constitutional, there were those who held the other view, that slavery
+was unconstitutional, and, therefore, upon constitutional grounds
+should be abolished.
+
+The Whig party was the nearest to the anti-slavery society of any of
+the political organizations of the time. It had promised, in
+convention assembled, "to promote all constitutional measures for the
+overthrow of slavery, and to oppose at all times, with uncompromising
+zeal and firmness, any further addition of slave-holding States to
+this Union, out of whatever territory formed.[15] But the party never
+got beyond this. Charles Sumner was a member of the Whig party, but
+was greatly disturbed about its indifference on the question of
+slavery. In 1846 he delivered a speech before the Whig convention of
+Massachusetts on "_The Anti-Slavery Duties of the Whig Party_." He
+declared his positive opposition to slavery; said that he intended to
+attack the institution on constitutional grounds; that slavery was not
+a "covenant with death or an agreement with hell"; that he intended to
+do his work for the slave inside of the Constitution. He said:--
+
+ "There is in the Constitution no compromise on the subject of
+ slavery of a character not to be reached legally and
+ constitutionally, which is the only way in which I propose to
+ reach it. Wherever power and jurisdiction are secured to
+ Congress, they may unquestionably be exercised in conformity with
+ the Constitution. And even in matters beyond existing powers and
+ jurisdiction there is a constitutional mode of action. The
+ Constitution contains an article pointing out how at any time
+ amendments may be made thereto. This is an important article,
+ giving to the Constitution a progressive character, and allowing
+ it to be moulded to suit new exigencies and new conditions of
+ feeling. The wise framers of this instrument did not treat the
+ country as a Chinese foot, never to grow after its infancy, but
+ anticipated the changes incident to its growth."
+
+He proposed to the Whigs as their rallying watchword, the "REPEAL OF
+SLAVERY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT."
+Discussing the methods, he continued:--
+
+ "The time has passed when this can be opposed on constitutional
+ grounds. It will not be questioned by any competent authority
+ that Congress may by express legislation abolish slavery, first,
+ in the District of Columbia; second, in the territories, if there
+ should be any; third, that it may abolish the slave-trade on the
+ high seas between the States; fourth, that it may refuse to admit
+ any new State with a constitution sanctioning slavery. Nor can it
+ be doubted that the people of the free States may, in the manner
+ pointed out by the Constitution, proceed to its amendment."
+
+Thus did Charles Sumner lay down a platform for a _Political Abolition
+Party_, and of such a party he became the laurelled champion and
+leader.
+
+The year 1846 was marked by the most bitter political discussion;
+Garrison the _Agitator_, the Mexican war, and other issues had greatly
+exercised the people. At a meeting held in Tremont Temple, Boston, on
+the 5th of November, 1846, Mr. Sumner took occasion to give his
+reasons for bolting the nominee of the Whig party for Congress, Mr.
+Winthrop.[16] Mr. Sumner said that he had never heard Mr. Winthrop's
+voice raised for the slave; and that, judging from the past, he never
+expected to hear it. "Will he oppose," asked Mr. Sumner, "at all
+times, without compromise, any further addition of slave-holding
+States? Here, again, if we judge him by the past, he is wanting. None
+can forget that in 1845, on the 4th of July, a day ever sacred to
+memories of freedom, in a speech at Faneuil Hall, he volunteered, in
+advance of any other Northern Whig, to receive Texas with a welcome
+into the family of States, although on that very day she was preparing
+a constitution placing slavery beyond the reach of Legislative
+change."[17]
+
+Here, then, was another party created--a _Political Abolition
+Party_--for the suppression of slavery.
+
+In 1848, Mr. Sumner left the Whig party, and gave his magnificent
+energies and splendid talents to the organization of the _Free-Soil
+Party_, upon the principles he had failed to educate the Whigs to
+accept.
+
+Charles Sumner was in the United States Senate, where "his words were
+clothed with the majesty of Massachusetts." The young lawyer who had
+upbraided Winthrop for his indifference respecting the slave, and
+opposed the Mexican war, was consistent in the Senate, and in harmony
+with his early love for humanity. He closed his great speech on
+FREEDOM NATIONAL, SLAVERY SECTIONAL, in the following incisive
+language:--
+
+ "At the risk of repetition, but for the sake of clearness, review
+ now this argument, and gather it together. Considering that
+ slavery is of such an offensive character that it can find
+ sanction only in positive law, and that it has no such 'positive'
+ sanction in the Constitution; that the Constitution, according to
+ its Preamble, was ordained to 'establish justice,' and 'secure
+ the blessings of liberty'; that in the convention which framed
+ it, and also elsewhere at the time, it was declared not to
+ 'sanction'; that according to the Declaration of Independence,
+ and the address of the Continental Congress, the nation was
+ dedicated to 'Liberty' and the 'rights of human nature'; that
+ according to the principles of common law, the Constitution must
+ be interpreted openly, actively, and perpetually for Freedom;
+ that according to the decision of the Supreme Court, it acts upon
+ slaves, _not as property_, but as _persons_; that at the first
+ organization of the national government under Washington, slavery
+ had no national favor, existed nowhere on the national territory,
+ beneath the national flag, but was openly condemned by the
+ nation, the Church, the colleges, and literature of the times;
+ and finally, that according to an amendment of the Constitution,
+ the national government can only exercise powers delegated to it,
+ among which there is none to support slavery;--considering these
+ things, sir, it is impossible to avoid the single conclusion that
+ slavery is in no respect a national institution, and that the
+ Constitution nowhere upholds property in man."
+
+This speech set men in the North to thinking. Sumner was now the
+acknowledged leader of the only political party in the country that
+had a wholesome anti-slavery plank in its platform.
+
+Daniel Webster and the Whig party were in their grave. After the
+Democratic Convention had met and adjourned without mentioning
+Webster, a Northern farmer exclaimed when he had read the news, "_The
+South never pay their slaves_!"
+
+During all these years of agitation and struggle, the pulpit of New
+England maintained an unbroken silence on the slavery question. Doctor
+Lyman Beecher was the acknowledged leader of the orthodox pulpit. Dr.
+William E. Channing was the champion of Unitarianism and the leader of
+the heterodox pulpit. Dr. Beecher was fond of controversy, enjoyed a
+battle of words upon every thing but the slavery question. He
+proclaimed the doctrine of "_immediate repentance_"; was earnest in
+his entreaties to men to quit their "cups" at _once_; but on the
+slavery question was a slow coach. He was for _gradual_ emancipation.
+He frowned not a little upon the vigorous editorials in "The
+Liberator." He regarded Mr. Garrison as a hot-head; "having zeal, but
+not according to knowledge." Abolitionism received no encouragement
+from this venerable divine.
+
+Dr. Channing was a gentle, pure-hearted, and humane sort of a man. He
+dreaded controversy, and shunned the agitation and agitators of
+anti-slavery.
+
+The lesser lights followed the example of these bright stars in the
+churches.
+
+But all could not keep silent,--for slavery needed apologists in the
+North. Stewart, of Andover; Alexander, of Princeton; Fisk, of
+Wilberham, and many other leading ministers endeavored to prove the
+_Divine Origin and Biblical Authority of Slavery_.
+
+The silence of the pulpit drove out many anti-slavery men who, up to
+this time, had been hoping for aid from this quarter. Many went out of
+the Church temporarily, hoping that the scales would drop from the
+eyes of the preachers ere long; but others never returned-were driven
+to infidelity and bitter hatred of the Christian Church. Dr. Albert
+Barnes said: "That there was no power out of the Church that would
+sustain slavery an hour if it were not sustained in it."
+
+Among the leaders of the HETERODOX ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY--those who
+attacked the reticency, silent acquiescence, or act of support the
+Church gave slavery,--were Parker Pillsbury, James G. Birney, Stephen
+S. Foster, and Samuel Brooke. The platform of this party was clearly
+defined by Mr. Pillsbury:--
+
+ "That slavery finds its surest and sternest defence in the
+ prevailing religion of the country, is no longer questionable.
+ Let it be driven from the Church, with the burning seal of its
+ reprobation and execration stamped on its iron brow, and its fate
+ is fixed forever. Only while its horrors are baptized and
+ sanctified in the name of Christianity, can it maintain an
+ existence.
+
+ "The Anti-Slavery movement has unmasked the character of the
+ American Church. _Our religion has been found at war with the
+ interests of humanity and the laws of God._ And it is more than
+ time the world was awakened to its unhallowed influence on the
+ hopes and happiness of man, while it makes itself the palladium
+ of the foulest iniquity ever perpetrated in the sight of
+ heaven."[18]
+
+This was a bold movement, but it was doubtless a sword that was as
+dangerous to those who essayed to handle it, as to the Church whose
+destruction it was intended to effect. The doctrine that was to
+sustain and inspire this party can be briefly stated in a sentence:
+THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD, AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN.
+
+Once outside the orthodox church, Theodore Parker gave himself wholly
+to this idea. He preached the "_Gospel of Humanity_"; and, standing
+upon a broad platform, preaching a broad doctrine, bound by no
+ecclesiastical law, his claims to a place in the history of his
+county, and in the gratitude of his countrymen can be fairly audited
+when his work for the emancipation of evangelical churches from the
+thraldom of slavery is considered. He did more in his day to rupture
+the organic and sympathetic relation existing between the Northern and
+Southern churches, and, thereby, hasten the struggle between the
+sections for the extension or extinction of domestic slavery, than any
+other man in America. The men who found themselves on the outside of
+the Church gathered about Parker, and applauded his invective and
+endorsed his arraignment of the churches that had placed their hands
+upon their mouths, and their mouths in the dust, before the slave
+power. He touched a chord in the human heart, and it yielded rich
+music. He educated the pew until an occasional voice broke the long
+silence respecting the bondman of the land. First, the ministers were
+not so urgent in their invitations to Southern ministers to occupy
+their pulpits. This coldness was followed by feeble prayer and
+moderate speech on behalf of those who were bound. And the churches
+themselves began to feel that they were "an offence" to the world.
+Every note of sympathy that fell from the pulpit was amplified into a
+grand chorus of pity for the slave. And thus the leaven of human
+sympathy hid in the orthodox church of New England, leavened the whole
+body until a thousand pulpits were ablaze with a righteous
+condemnation of the wrongs of the slaves. Even Dr. Channing came to
+the conclusion that something should be "So done as not to put in
+jeopardy the peace of the slave-holding States!"[19]
+
+THE ECONOMIC ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY was headed by the industrious and
+indomitable Horace Greeley. His claim to the feelings of humanity
+should never be disputed; but as a practical man who sought to solve
+the riddle of every-day life he placed his practical views in the
+foreground. As a political economist he reasoned that slave labor was
+degrading to free labor; that free labor was better than slave labor,
+and, therefore, he most earnestly desired its abolition. Wherever you
+turn in his writings this idea gives the edge to all his arguments
+concerning slavery. "But slavery," wrote Mr. Greeley, "primarily
+considered, has still another aspect--that of a natural relation of
+simplicity to cunning, of ignorance to knowledge, of weakness to
+power. Thomas Carlyle, before his melancholy decline and fall into
+devil-worship, truly observed, that the capital mistake of Rob Roy was
+his failure to comprehend that it was cheaper to buy the beef he
+required in the Grassmarket at Glasgow than to obtain it without
+price, by harrying the lowland farms. So the first man whoever imbibed
+or conceived the fatal delusion that it was more advantageous to him,
+or to any human being, to procure whatever his necessities or his
+appetites required by address and scheming than by honest work--by the
+unrequited rather than the fairly and faithfully recompensed toil of
+his fellow-preachers--was, in essence and in heart, a slave-holder,
+and only awaited opportunity to become one in deed and practice.... It
+is none the less true, however, that ancient civilization, in its
+various national developments, was habitually corrupted, debauched,
+and ultimately ruined by slavery, which rendered labor dishonorable,
+and divided society horizontally into a small caste of the wealthy,
+educated, refined, and independent, and a vast hungry, sensual,
+thriftless, and worthless populace; rendered impossible the
+preservation of republican liberty and of legalized equality, even
+among the nominally free. Diogenes, with his lantern, might have
+vainly looked, through many a long day, among the followers of Marius,
+or Catiline, or Caesar, for a specimen of the poor but virtuous and
+self-respecting Roman citizen of the days of Cincinnatus, or even of
+Regulus."[20]
+
+But Mr. Greeley's philosophy was as destructive as his logic was
+defective. He wished the slave free, not because he loved him; but
+because of the deep concern he had for the welfare of the free, white
+working-men of America. He was willing the Negro should be free, but
+never suggested any plan of relief for his social condition, or
+prescribed for his spiritual and intellectual health. He handled the
+entire Negro problem with the icy fingers of the philosopher, and
+always applied the flinty logic of abstract political economy. He was
+an _anti-slavery_ advocate, but not an _abolitionist_. He was opposed
+to slavery, as a system at war with the social and commercial
+prosperity of the nation; but so far as the humanity of the question,
+in reaching out after the slave as an injured member of society, was
+concerned, he was silent.
+
+THE AGGRESSIVE ANTI-SLAVERY PARTY had its birth in the pugnacious
+brains of E. P. Lovejoy, James G. Birney, Cassius M. Clay, and John
+Brown. All of the anti-slavery parties had taught the doctrine of
+_non-resistance_; that if "thy enemy smite thee on thy cheek, turn the
+other also." But there were a few men who believed they were possessed
+of sacred rights, and that it was their duty to defend them, even with
+their lives. It was not a popular doctrine; and yet a conscientious
+few practised it with sublime courage whenever occasion required. In
+1836 James G. Birney, editor of _The Philanthropist_, published at
+Cincinnati, Ohio, defended his press, as best he could, against a mob,
+who finally destroyed it. And on the 7th of November, 1837, the Rev.
+Mr. Lovejoy sealed the sacred doctrine of the liberty of the press
+with his precious blood in the defence of his printing-press at Alton,
+Illinois. Cassius M. Clay went armed, and insisted upon his right to
+freely and peaceably discuss the cause of anti-slavery.
+
+But these men only laid down a great, fundamental truth; it was given
+to John Brown to write the lesson upon the hearts of the American
+people, so that they were enabled, a few years later, to practise the
+doctrine of _resistance_, and preserve the _Nation_ against the bloody
+aggressions of the Southern Confederacy.
+
+THE COLONIZATION ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY ante-dated any of the other
+organizations. Benjamin Lundy was one of the earliest advocates of
+colonization. The object of colonizationists was to transport to
+Liberia, on the West Coast of Africa, all manumitted slaves. Only
+_free_ Negroes were to be colonized. It was claimed by the advocates
+of the scheme that this was the only hope of the free Negro; that the
+proscription everywhere directed against his social and intellectual
+endeavors cramped and lamed him in the race of life; that in Liberia
+he could build his own government, schools, and business; and there
+would be nothing to hinder him in his ambition for the highest places
+in Church or State. Moreover, they claimed that the free Negro owed
+something to his benighted brethren who were still in pagan darkness;
+that a free Negro government on the West Coast of Africa could exert a
+missionary influence upon the natives, and thus the evangelization of
+Africa could be effected by the free Negro himself.[21]
+
+To this method Henry Clay, of Kentucky, Horace Mann, of Massachusetts;
+Rev. Howard Malcom, of Pennsylvania; Rev. R. R. Gurley, of New York;
+and many other persons of distinction, gave their endorsement and
+assistance. The American Colonization Society was organized in 1817.
+Its earliest supporters were from the Southern and Middle States. A
+fair idea can be had of the character of the men who sustained the
+cause of colonization by an examination of the following list of
+officers elected in March, 1834.
+
+
+ "_President._--JAMES MADISON, of Virginia.
+
+ "_Vice-Presidents._--Chief-Justice MARSHALL; General LAFAYETTE,
+ of France, Hon. WM. H. CRAWFORD, of Georgia; Hon. HENRY CLAY, of
+ Lexington, Kentucky; Hon. JOHN C. HERBERT, of Maryland; ROBERT
+ RALSTON, Esq., of Philadelphia; Gen. JOHN MASON, of Georgetown,
+ D. C.; SAMUEL BAYARD, Esq., of New Jersey; ISAAC MCKIM, Esq., of
+ Maryland; Gen. JOHN HARTWELL COCKE, of Virginia; Rt. Rev. Bishop
+ WHITE, of Pennsylvania; Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER, of Boston; Hon.
+ CHARLES F. MERCER, of Virginia; JEREMIAH DAY, D.D., of Yale
+ College; Hon. RICHARD RUSH, of Pennsylvania; Bishop MCKENDREE;
+ PHILIP E. THOMAS, Esq., of Maryland; Dr. THOMAS C. JAMES, of
+ Philadelphia; Hon. JOHN COTTON SMITH, of Connecticut; Hon.
+ THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN, of New Jersey; Hon. LOUIS MCLANE, of
+ Washington City; GERRIT SMITH, of New York; J. H. M'CLURE, Esq.,
+ of New Jersey; Gen. ALEXANDER MACOMB, of Washington City; MOSES
+ ALLEN, Esq., of New York; Gen. WALTER JONES, of Washington City;
+ F. S. KEY, Esq., of Georgetown, D. C.; SAMUEL H. SMITH, Esq., of
+ Washington City; JOSEPH GALES, Jr., Esq., of Washington City; Rt.
+ Rev. WM. MEADE, D.D., Assistant Bishop of Virginia; Hon.
+ ALEXANDER PORTER, of Louisiana; JOHN MCDONOUGH, Esq., of
+ Louisiana; Hon. SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD, of New Jersey.
+
+ "_Managers._--Rev. JAMES LAURIE, D.D.; Gen. WALTER JONES; FRANCIS
+ S. KEY; Rev. WM. HALEY; JOHN UNDERWOOD; WILLIAM W. SEATON; WALTER
+ LOWRIE; Dr. PHINEAS BRADLEY; Dr. THOMAS SEWALL.
+
+ "_Secretaries._--Rev. RALPH R. GURLEY, WILLIAM H. MACFARLAND.
+
+ "_Treasurer._--JOSEPH GALES, Senior.
+
+ "_Recorder._--PHILLIP R. FENDALL."
+
+The Colonization Society was never able to secure the sympathy of the
+various anti-slavery societies of the country; and was unable to gain
+the confidence of the Colored people to any great extent. But it had
+the advantage of being in harmony with what little humane sentiment
+there was at the South. It did not attempt to agitate. It only sought
+to colonize on the West Coast of Africa all Negroes who could secure
+legal manumission. Nearly all the Southern States had laws upon their
+statute-books requiring all emancipated slaves to leave the State. The
+question as to where they should go was supposed to be answered by the
+Colonization Society. It had much influence with Congress, and did not
+hesitate to use it. A Mr. Joseph Bryan, of Alabama, petitioned
+Congress for the establishment "of a line of Mail Steam-ships to the
+Western Coast of Africa," in the summer of 1850. The Committee on
+Naval Affairs reported favorably the following bill:
+
+ "A BILL TO ESTABLISH A LINE OF WAR STEAMERS TO THE COAST OF
+ AFRICA. [Report No. 438.]
+
+ "_In the House of Representatives, August 1, 1850. Read twice,
+ and committed to the Committee of the whole House on the State of
+ the Union._
+
+ "Mr. F. P. Stanton, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported
+ the following bill:--A bill to establish a line of war steamers
+ to the coast of Africa, for the suppression of the slave-trade,
+ and the promotion of commerce and colonization:
+
+ SEC. 1. "_Be it enacted_ by the Senate and House of
+ Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress
+ assembled, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the
+ Navy, immediately after the passage of this act, to enter into
+ contract with Joseph Bryan, of Alabama, and George Nicholas
+ Saunders, of New York, and their associates, for the building,
+ equipment, and maintenance of three steam-ships to run between
+ the United States and the coast of Africa, upon the following
+ terms and conditions, to wit:
+
+ "The said ships to be each of not less than four thousand tons
+ burden, to be so constructed as to be convertible, at the least
+ possible expense, into war steamers of the first class, and to be
+ built and equipped in accordance with plans to be submitted to
+ and approved by the Secretary of the Navy, and under the
+ superintendence of an officer to be appointed by him, two of said
+ ships to be finished and ready for sea in two and a half years,
+ and the other within three years after the date of the contract,
+ and the whole to be kept up by alterations, repairs, or
+ additions, to be approved by the Secretary of the Navy, so as to
+ be fully equal to the exigencies of the service and the faithful
+ performance of the contract. The said Secretary, at all times, to
+ exercise such control over said ships as may not be inconsistent
+ with the provisions of this act, and especially to have the power
+ to direct, at the expense of the Government, such changes in the
+ machinery and internal arrangements of the ships as he may at any
+ time deem advisable.
+
+ "Each of said ships to be commanded by an officer of the Navy,
+ who with four Passed Midshipmen to act as watch officers, and any
+ mail agents who may be sent by the Government, shall be
+ accommodated and provided for in a manner suitable to their rank,
+ at the expense of the contractors. Each of said ships, if
+ required by the Secretary, shall receive two guns of heavy
+ calibre, and the men from the United States Navy necessary to
+ serve them, who shall be provided for as aforesaid. In the event
+ of war the Government to have the right to take any or all of
+ said ships for its own exclusive use on payment of the value
+ thereof; such value not exceeding the cost, to be ascertained by
+ appraisers chosen by the Secretary of the Navy and the
+ contractors.
+
+ "Each of said ships to make four voyages per annum; one shall
+ leave New Orleans every three months; one shall leave Baltimore
+ every three months, touching at Norfolk and Charleston; and one
+ shall leave New York every three months, touching at Savannah;
+ all having liberty to touch at any of the West India Islands; and
+ to proceed thence to Liberia, touching at any of the islands or
+ ports on the coast of Africa; thence to Gibraltar, carrying the
+ Mediterranean mails; thence to Cadiz, or some other Spanish port
+ to be designated by the Secretary of the Navy; thence to Lisbon;
+ thence to Brest, or some other French port to be designated as
+ above; thence, to London, and back to the place of departure,
+ bringing and carrying the mails to and from said ports.
+
+ "The said contractors shall further agree to carry to Liberia so
+ many emigrants being free persons of color, and not exceeding
+ twenty-five hundred for each voyage, as the American Colonization
+ Society may require, upon the payment by said Society of ten
+ dollars for each emigrant over twelve years of age, and five
+ dollars for each one under that age, these sums, respectively, to
+ include all charges for baggage of emigrants and the daily supply
+ of sailors' rations. The contractors, also, to carry, bring back,
+ and accommodate, free from charge, all necessary agents of the
+ said Society.
+
+ "The Secretary of the Navy shall further stipulate to advance to
+ said contractors, as the building of said ships shall progress,
+ two thirds of the amount expended thereon; such advances to be
+ made in the bonds of the United States, payable thirty years
+ after date, and bearing five per cent. interest, and not to
+ exceed six hundred thousand dollars for each ship. And the said
+ contractors shall stipulate to repay the said advances in equal
+ annual instalments, with interest from the date of the completion
+ of said ships until the termination of the contract, which shall
+ continue fifteen years from the commencement of the service. The
+ Secretary of the Navy to require ample security for the faithful
+ performance of the contract, and to reserve a lien upon the ships
+ for the sum advanced. The Government to pay said contractors
+ forty thousand dollars for each trip, or four hundred and eighty
+ thousand dollars per annum.
+
+ "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the President of the
+ United States shall cause to be issued the bonds of the United
+ States, as the same may, from time to time, be required by the
+ Secretary of the Navy to carry out the contract aforesaid."
+
+Public sentiment, North and South, was greatly in favor of the
+measure. T. J. Durant, Esq., of New Orleans, in an elaborate letter
+addressed to the "Commercial Bulletin" of New Orleans, under date of
+September 12, 1850, answered objections, and warmly urged the passage
+of the bill. The Chaplain of the U. S. Senate, Rev. R. R. Gurley,
+wrote a letter on the 10th of October, 1850, to George N. Saunders,
+Esq., urging the measure as of paramount importance to both America
+and Africa. The press of the country generally endorsed the bill, and
+commented upon the general good to follow in numerous editorials. A
+scheme of such gigantic proportions poorly set forth the profound
+thought that harassed the public mind in regard to the crime of
+keeping men in slavery. A few extracts from the papers will suffice to
+show how the matter was regarded.
+
+
+ EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS.
+
+ "The Report of the Naval Committee to the House of
+ Representatives in favor of the establishment of a line of mail
+ steam-ships to the Western Coast of Africa, and thence via the
+ Mediterranean to London, has been received by the public press
+ throughout the Union with the warmest expressions of approbation.
+ The Whig, Democratic, and neutral papers of the North and South,
+ in the slave-holding and non-slave-holding States, with a very
+ few exceptions, appear to vie with each other in pressing its
+ consideration upon the public attention. This earnest and almost
+ unanimous support of the measure by the organs of public opinion,
+ without respect to party or section, shows the deep hold which
+ the objects it proposes to effect have upon the public favor.
+ Those objects are to promote the emigration of free persons of
+ color from this country to Liberia; also to increase the steam
+ navy, and to extend the commerce of the United States,--all, it
+ will be almost universally conceded, desirable objects. The
+ desirableness of the objects being admitted, the question is,
+ does the mode proposed for promoting them recommend itself to the
+ sanction of Congress? We are forced to the conclusion that it
+ does. We are aware that while all agree as to the expediency of
+ increasing our steam navy--some are in favor of the Government's
+ building its own steam-ships, and others advocate the
+ encouragement of lines of steam-packets, to be established by
+ private enterprise under the auspices of Government....
+
+ "The considerations, however, which in our opinion should commend
+ this measure to the favorable attention of Congress are so
+ obvious, and have been so clearly and strongly presented in the
+ report of the committee, that we need not here repeat them. If
+ the voice of the press, of all sections and of all parties, be
+ any indication of popular opinion, we are free to say, that it
+ would be difficult for Congress to pass a measure which would be
+ received with more _general_ satisfaction by the people of the
+ United States."[22]
+
+ "AFRICAN STEAM-LINES.--The entertainment by the Government of
+ Great Britain of a project for the establishment of a powerful
+ line of steam-vessels between that country and the African coast,
+ ostensibly for the conveyance of a monthly mail, and the more
+ effectual checking of the slave-traffic, is strong proof, we
+ think, of the value that the commerce between the two countries
+ is capable of becoming. It may, in addition, be regarded as
+ corroborative of the justness of the position taken by the
+ advocates of a mail-steamer line between this country and Africa.
+ We are by no means disposed to look invidiously on the
+ enterprising spirit exhibited abroad for securing a closer
+ connection with a country, the great mercantile wealth of which
+ is yet, comparatively speaking, untouched. This spirit should
+ have on us no other than a stimulating effect. Besides, for
+ years, if not ages, to come, the trade with Africa can admit of
+ no very close competition. The promised vastness of this trade,
+ whilst excluding all idea of monopoly, must continue to excite
+ the new enterprise by its unlimited rewards. It is unnecessary
+ that we should exhibit statistics to show her how largely England
+ has been benefited by persevering though frequently interrupted
+ communication with the interior parts of that great continent;
+ nor to make plain how, with better knowledge and more ready means
+ of access, mercantile risks will be lessened and mercantile
+ profits enlarged. It will be remembered that the Congressional
+ committee to whom the question of establishing mail steamers
+ between this country and Africa was referred, adverted in their
+ report to the aid its adoption would afford in the consummation
+ of the plans of the Colonization Society. On the intimate
+ relation between the one and the other, it was supposed that a
+ good part of the required success was dependent. It is something
+ singular that the colored race--those in reality most interested
+ in the future destinies of Africa--should be so lightly affected
+ by the evidences continually being presented in favor of
+ colonization. He will do a service to this country as well as
+ Africa who shall do any thing to open the eyes of the colored
+ race to the advantages of emigration to the fertile and, to them,
+ congenial shores of Africa."[23]
+
+ "AFRICA AND STEAM-SHIPS.--If but a single line of steam-ships is
+ to be authorized this Session--and the state and prospects of the
+ finances must counsel frugality and caution,--we think a line to
+ Africa fairly entitled to the preference. That continent on its
+ western side is comparatively proximate and accessible; it is
+ filled with inhabitants who need the articles we can abundantly
+ fabricate, and it is the ancestral soil of more than three
+ millions of our people--of a race on whose account we are deeply
+ debtors to justice and to heaven. That race is more plastic and
+ less conservative than the Chinese; their soil produces in
+ spontaneous profusion many articles which are to us comforts and
+ luxuries, while nearly every thing we produce is in eager demand
+ among its inhabitants, if they can but find the wherewithal to
+ pay for them. Instead of being a detriment and a depression to
+ our own manufacturing and mechanical industry, as the trade
+ induced by our costly steam-ship lines to Liverpool, Bremen, and
+ Havre mainly is, all the commerce with Africa which a more
+ intimate communication with her would secure, would be
+ advantageous to every department of American labor. Her surplus
+ products are so diverse from ours, that no collision of interests
+ between her producers and ours could ever be realized, while
+ millions' worth of her tropical products which will not endure
+ the slow and capricious transportation which is now their only
+ recourse, would come to us in good order by steam-ships, and
+ richly reward the labor of the gatherers and the enterprise of
+ the importers.
+
+ "But the social and moral aspects of this subject are still more
+ important. We are now expending life and treasure, in concert
+ with other nations, to suppress the African slave-trade, and it
+ is now generally conceded that such suppression can never be
+ effected by the means hitherto relied on. The colonization of the
+ Slave Coast, with direct reference to its Christianization and
+ civilization, is the only sure means of putting an end to this
+ inhuman traffic. And this colonization, all who are interested in
+ the work seem heartily to agree, would be immensely accelerated
+ by the establishment of a line of African steam-ships. Liberia,
+ now practically distant as Buenos Ayres, would, by such a line,
+ be brought as near us as Bremen, and the ports regularly visited
+ by our steamers could not fail rapidly to assume importance as
+ centres of commerce and of increasing intelligence and
+ industry."[24]
+
+ "THE COLONY OF LIBERIA AND ITS PROSPECTUS.--By every arrival from
+ Liberia we learn that the colony of free negroes from the United
+ States is progressing at a rate truly astonishing, and that
+ before many years it promises to be a strong and powerful
+ republic. The experiment of self-government has been completely
+ successful; the educational interests of the inhabitants are duly
+ cared for; civilization is making great headway among the
+ aborigines; and, by means of Liberia, there is a very flattering
+ prospect of the slave-trade on the coast of Africa being entirely
+ destroyed. Governor Roberts, a very intelligent colored man, of
+ mixed blood, goes even so far as to say that Liberia is destined
+ to rival the United States, and that both republics, by a unity
+ of action, can civilize and Christianize the world, and
+ especially benighted Africa. We are pleased to hear such good
+ accounts from Liberia, and we shall always be pleased to hear of
+ its success, and of the progress and welfare of its inhabitants.
+ Founded, as it has been, by American philanthropists, and peopled
+ by our emancipated slaves, the United States will ever watch its
+ progress with interest, and aid and assist it as far as it
+ possibly can."[25]
+
+But notwithstanding the apparent favor the cause of colonization
+received from the press, it was an impractical, impossible, wild, and
+visionary scheme that could not be carried to the extent its
+projectors designed. It lost strength yearly, until all were convinced
+that the Negro would be emancipated here and remain here; that it was
+as impossible to colonize a race of people as to colonize the sun,
+moon, and stars.
+
+THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD organization was perhaps one of the most
+useful auxiliaries the cause of agitation had. It could scarcely be
+called an organization. Unlike the other societies, it did not print
+its reports.[26] Like good Samaritans, its conductors did not ask
+passengers their creed; but wherever they found human beings wounded
+in body and mind by slavery, they gave them passage to the "Inn" of
+Freedom on Canadian soil.
+
+In a sense, the Underground Railroad was a secret organization. This
+was necessary, as the fugitive-slave law gave the master the right to
+pursue his slave when "fleeing from labor and service in one State
+into another," and apprehend him by due process of Federal law. The
+men who managed this road felt that they should obey God rather than
+man; that the slave's right to his freedom was greater than any law
+the nation could make through its representatives. So the Underground
+Railroad was made up of a company of godly men who stretched
+themselves across the land, from the borders of the sunny slave States
+to the snow-white shores of Canada. When men came up out of the hell
+of slavery gasping for a breath of free air, these good friends
+sheltered and fed them; and then hastened them off in the stillness of
+the night, with the everlasting stars as their ministers, toward
+Canada. The fugitives would be turned over to another conductor, who
+would conceal them until nightfall, when he would load his living
+freight into a covered conveyance, and drive all night to reach the
+next "station"; and so on until the fugitives found themselves free
+and safe under the English flag in Canada.
+
+This was the safety-valve to the institution of slavery. As soon as
+leaders arose among the slaves, refusing to endure the yoke, they came
+North. Had they remained, the direful scenes of St. Domingo would have
+been enacted, and the hot, vengeful breath of massacre would have
+swept the South as a tornado, and blanched the cheek of the civilized
+world.
+
+ANTI-SLAVERY LITERATURE wrought mightily for God in its field.[27]
+Frederick Douglass's book, "My Bondage and My Freedom"; Bishop
+Loguen's, "As a Slave and As a Freeman"; "Autobiography of a Fugitive
+Negro," by the Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward; "Twenty-two Years a Slave,
+and Forty Years a Freeman," by the Rev. Austin Stewart; "Narrative of
+Solomon Northup," "Walker's Appeal,"--all by eminent Negroes, exposed
+the true character of slavery, informed the public mind, stimulated
+healthy thought, and touched the heart of two continents with a
+sympathy almost divine.
+
+But the uncounted millions of anti-slavery tracts, pamphlets,
+journals, and addresses of the entire period of agitation were little
+more than a paper wad compared with the solid shot "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
+was to slavery. Written in vigorous English, in scintillating,
+perspicuous style; adorned with gorgeous imagery, bristling with
+living "_facts_", going to the lowest depths, mounting to the greatest
+altitudes, moving with panoramic grandeur, picturing humanity forlorn
+and outraged; giving forth the shrillest, most _despairing_ cries of
+the afflicted, and the sublimest strains of Christian faith; the
+struggle of innocent, defenceless womanhood, the subdued sorrow of
+chattel-babyhood, the yearnings of fettered manhood, and the piteous
+sobs of helpless old age,--made Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle
+Tom's Cabin" the magnifying wonder of enlightened Christendom! It
+pleaded the cause of the slave in twenty different languages; it
+engrossed the thought of philosophers, and touched the heart of youth
+with a strange pity for the slave. It covered audiences with the
+sunlight of laughter, wrapt them in sorrow, and veiled them in tears.
+It illustrated the power of the Gospel of Love, the gentleness of
+Negro character, and the powers and possibilities of the race. It was
+God's message to a people who had refused to listen to his
+anti-slavery prophets and priests; and its sad, weird, and
+heart-touching descriptions and dialogues restored the milk of human
+kindness to a million hearts that had grown callous in an age of
+self-seeking and robbery of the poor.
+
+In a political and sectional sense, the "Impending Crisis," by Helper,
+exerted a wide influence for good. It was read by merchants and
+politicians.
+
+Diverse and manifold as were the methods of the friends of universal
+freedom, and sometimes apparently conflicting, under God no honest
+effort to rid the Negro and the country of the curse of slavery was
+lost. All these agencies, running along different lines, converged at
+a common centre, and aimed at a common end--the ultimate extinction of
+the foreign and domestic slave-trade.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[12] In the Library of the New York Historical Society there is "An
+Oration Upon the Moral and Political Evil of Slavery. Delivered at a
+Public Meeting of the Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of
+Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes and Others Unlawfully Held in
+Bondage, Baltimore, July 4, 1791. By George Buchanan, M.D., Member of
+the American Philosophical Society. Baltimore: Printed by Phillip
+Edwards, MDCCXCIII."
+
+[13] Men of our Times, pp. 162, 163.
+
+[14] Speech delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Cork Anti-Slavery
+Society, 1829.
+
+[15] Sumner's Works, vol. i. p. 336.
+
+[16] At the election that took place on the 9th of November, 1846, the
+vote stood as follows: Winthrop (Whig), 5,980; Howe (Anti-Slavery),
+1,334; Homer (Democrat), 1,688; Whiton (Independent), 331. The number
+of tickets in the field indicated the state of public feeling.
+
+[17] Sumner's Works, vol. 1. p. 337.
+
+[18] Church As It Is, etc., Introduction.
+
+[19] Channing's Works, vol. ii. p. 10, sq.
+
+[20] American Conflict, vol. i. pp. 25, 26.
+
+[21] The following were the objects of the Colonization Society:
+
+"1st. To rescue the free colored people of the United States from
+their political and social disadvantages.
+
+"2d. To place them in a country where they may enjoy the benefits of
+free government, with all the blessings which it brings in its train.
+
+"3d. To spread civilization, sound morals, and true religion through
+the continent of Africa.
+
+"4. To arrest and destroy the slave-trade.
+
+"5. To afford slave-owners who wish, or are willing, to liberate their
+slaves an asylum for their reception."
+
+[22] The Republic, Sept. 11, 1850.
+
+[23] National Intelligencer, October 23, 1850.
+
+[24] Tribune, December 25, 1850.
+
+[25] Herald, December, 17, 1850.
+
+[26] It is to be regretted that William Still, the author of the U. G.
+R. R., failed to give any account of its origin, organization,
+workings, or the number of persons helped to freedom. It is an
+interesting narrative of many cases, but is shorn of that minuteness
+of detail so indispensable to authentic historical memorials.
+
+[27] Judge Stroud, William Goodell, Wendell Phillips, William Jay, and
+hundreds of other white men contributed to the anti-slavery literature
+of the period.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+ANTI-SLAVERY EFFORTS OF FREE NEGROES.
+
+ INTELLIGENT INTEREST OF FREE NEGROES IN THE AGITATION
+ MOVEMENT.--"FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE OF COLOR" HELD
+ AT PHILADELPHIA.--REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
+ A COLLEGE FOR YOUNG MEN OF COLOR.--PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE
+ APPOINTED IN EACH CITY.--CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.--SECOND CONVENTION
+ HELD AT BENEZET HALL, PHILADELPHIA.--RESOLUTIONS OF THE
+ MEETING.--CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.--THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL
+ COLORED ASSOCIATION.--CONVENTION OF ANTI-SLAVERY WOMEN OF AMERICA
+ AT NEW YORK.--PREJUDICE AGAINST ADMITTING NEGROES INTO WHITE
+ SOCIETIES.--COLORED ORATORS.--THEIR ELOQUENT PLEAS FOR THEIR
+ ENSLAVED RACE.
+
+
+The free Negroes throughout the Northern States were not passive
+during the agitation movement. They took a lively interest in the
+cause that had for its ultimate end the freedom of the slave. They did
+not comfort themselves with the consciousness that _they_ were free;
+but thought of _their brethren_ who were bound, and sympathized with
+them.
+
+"_The First Annual Convention of the People of Color_" was held in
+Philadelphia from the 6th to the 11th of June, 1831. Its sessions were
+held "in the brick Wesleyan Church, Lombard Street," "pursuant to
+public notice, ... signed by Dr. Belfast Burton and William Whipper."
+The following delegates were present:
+
+ _Philadelphia_--John Bowers, Dr. Belfast Burton, James Cornish,
+ Junius C. Morel, William Whipper.
+
+ _New York_--Rev. Wm. Miller, Henry Sipkins, Thos. L. Jennings,
+ Wm. Hamilton, James Pennington.
+
+ _Maryland_--Rev. Abner Coker, Robert Cowley.
+
+ _Delaware_--Abraham D. Shad, Rev. Peter Gardiner.
+
+ _Virginia_--Wm. Duncan.
+
+The following officers were chosen:
+
+ _President_--John Bowers.
+
+ _Vice-Presidents_--Abraham D. Shad, William Duncan.
+
+ _Secretary_--William Whipper.
+
+ _Assistant Secretary_--Thos. L. Jennings.
+
+The first concern of this convention was the condition of that class
+which it directly represented--the "free persons of color" in the
+United States. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Morel, Shad, Duncan,
+Cowley, Sipkins, and Jennings, made the following report on the
+condition of the free persons of color in the United States:
+
+ "_Brethren and Fellow-Citizens:_
+
+ "We, the Committee of Inquiry, would suggest to the Convention
+ the propriety of adopting the following resolutions, viz.:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That, in the opinion of this Convention, it is
+ highly necessary that the different societies engaged in the
+ _Canadian Settlement_ be earnestly requested to persevere in
+ their praiseworthy and philanthropic undertaking; firmly
+ believing that, at a future period, their labors will be crowned
+ with success.
+
+ "The Committee would also recommend this Convention to call on
+ the free people of color to assemble _annually_ by delegation at
+ such place as may be designated as suitable.
+
+ "They would also respectfully submit to your wisdom the necessity
+ of your deliberate reflection on the dissolute, intemperate, and
+ ignorant condition of a large portion of the colored population
+ of the United States. They would not, however, refer to their
+ unfortunate circumstances to add degradation to objects already
+ degraded and miserable; nor, with some others, improperly class
+ the virtuous of our color with the abandoned, but with the most
+ sympathizing and heartfelt commiseration, show our sense of
+ obligation as the true guardians of our interests, by giving
+ wholesome advice and good counsel.
+
+ "The Committee consider it as highly important that the
+ Convention recommend the necessity of creating a general fund, to
+ be denominated the CONVENTIONAL FUND, for the purpose of
+ advancing the objects of this and future conventions, as the
+ public good may require.
+
+ "They would further recommend, that the Declaration of
+ Independence and the Constitution of the United Stales be read in
+ our Conventions; believing, that the truths contained in the
+ former are incontrovertible, and that the latter guarantees in
+ letter and spirit to every freeman born in this country, all the
+ rights and immunities of citizenship.
+
+ "Your Committee with regret have witnessed the many oppressive,
+ unjust, and unconstitutional laws which have been enacted in the
+ different parts of the Union against the free people of color,
+ and they would call upon this Convention, as possessing the
+ rights of freemen, to recommend to the people, through their
+ delegation, the propriety of memorializing the proper
+ authorities, whenever they may feel themselves aggrieved, or
+ their rights invaded, by any cruel or oppressive laws.
+
+ "And your Committee would further report, that, in their opinion,
+ _Education_, _Temperance_, and _Economy_ are best calculated to
+ promote the elevation of mankind to a proper rank and standing
+ among men, as they enable him to discharge all those duties
+ enjoined on him by his Creator. We would, therefore, respectfully
+ request an early attention to those virtues among our brethren
+ who have a desire to be useful.
+
+ "And lastly, your Committee view with unfeigned regret, and
+ respectfully submit to the wisdom of this Convention, the
+ operations and misrepresentations of the American Colonization
+ Society in these United States.
+
+ "We feel sorrowful to see such an immense and wanton waste of
+ lives and property, not doubting the benevolent feelings of some
+ individuals engaged in that cause. But we cannot for a moment
+ doubt, but that the cause of many of our unconstitutional,
+ unchristian, and unheard-of sufferings emanate from that
+ unhallowed source; and we would call on Christians of every
+ denomination firmly to resist it."[28]
+
+The convention was in session for several days. It attracted public
+attention on account of the intelligence, order, and excellent
+judgment which prevailed. It deeply touched the young white men who
+had, but a few months previous, enlisted under the broad banner Wm.
+Lloyd Garrison had given to the breeze. They called to see Colored men
+conduct a convention. The Rev. S. S. Jocelyn, of New Haven,
+Connecticut; Arthur Tappan, of New York; Benjamin Lundy, of
+Washington, D. C.; William Lloyd Garrison, of Boston, Massachusetts;
+Thomas Shipley and Charles Pierce, of Philadelphia, visited the
+convention and were cordially received. Messrs. Jocelyn, Tappan, and
+Garrison were invited to address the convention. They delivered
+stirring addresses, and especially urged the necessity of establishing
+a college for the education of "Young Men of Color." At the suggestion
+of the speaker the convention appointed a committee with whom the
+speaker conferred. The report of the committee was as follows:
+
+ "That a plan had been submitted to them by the above-named
+ gentlemen, for the liberal education of Young Men of Color, on
+ the Manual-Labor System, all of which they respectfully submit to
+ the consideration of the Convention, are as follow:
+
+ "The plan proposed is, that a College be established at New
+ Haven, Conn., as soon as $20,000 are obtained, and to be on the
+ Manual-Labor System, by which, in connection with a scientific
+ education, they may also obtain a useful Mechanical or
+ Agricultural profession; and (they further report, having
+ received information) that a benevolent individual has offered to
+ subscribe one thousand dollars toward this object, provided that
+ a farther sum of nineteen thousand dollars can be obtained in one
+ year.
+
+ "After an interesting discussion, the above report was
+ unanimously adopted; one of the inquiries by the Convention was
+ in regard to the place of location. On interrogating the
+ gentlemen why New Haven should be the place of location, they
+ gave the following as their reasons:--
+
+ "1st. The site is healthy and beautiful.
+
+ "2d. Its inhabitants are friendly, pious, generous, and humane.
+
+ "3d. Its laws are salutary and protecting to all, without regard
+ to complexion.
+
+ "4th. Boarding is cheap and provisions are good.
+
+ "5th. The situation is as central as any other that can be
+ obtained with the same advantages.
+
+ "6th. The town of New Haven carries on an extensive West India
+ trade, and many of the wealthy colored residents in the Islands,
+ would, no doubt, send their sons there to be educated, and thus a
+ fresh tie of friendship would be formed, which might be
+ productive of much real good in the end.
+
+ "And last, though not the least, the literary and scientific
+ character of New Haven, renders it a very desirable place for the
+ location of the college."
+
+The report of the Committee was received and adopted. The Rev. Samuel
+E. Cornish was appointed general agent to solicit funds, and Arthur
+Tappan was selected as treasurer. A Provisional Committee was
+appointed in each city, as follows:
+
+ "_Boston_--Rev. Hosea Easton, Robert Roberts, James G. Barbadoes,
+ and Rev. Samuel Snowden.
+
+ "_New York_--Rev. Peter Williams, Boston Cromwell, Philip Bell,
+ Thomas Downing, Peter Voglesang.
+
+ "_Philadelphia_--Joseph Cassey, Robert Douglass, Sr., James
+ Forten, Richard Howell, Robert Purvis.
+
+ "_Baltimore_--Thomas Green, James P. Walker, Samuel G. Mathews,
+ Isaac Whipper, Samuel Hiner.
+
+ "_New Haven_--Biars Stanley, John Creed, Alexander C. Luca.
+
+ "_Brooklyn, L. I._--Jacob Deyes, Henry Thomson, Willis Jones.
+
+ "_Wilmington, Del._--Rev. Peter Spencer, Jacob Morgan, William S.
+ Thomas.
+
+ "_Albany_--Benjamin Latimore, Captain Schuyler, Captain Francis
+ March.
+
+ "_Washington, D. C._--William Jackson, Arthur Waring, Isaac
+ Carey.
+
+ "_Lancaster, Pa._--Charles Butler and Jared Grey.
+
+ "_Carlisle, Pa._--John Peck and Rowland G. Roberts.
+
+ "_Chambersburg, Pa._--Dennis Berry.
+
+ "_Pittsburgh_--John B. Vashon, Lewis Gardiner, Abraham Lewis.
+
+ "_Newark, N. J._--Peter Petitt, Charles Anderson, Adam Ray.
+
+ "_Trenton_--Samson Peters, Leonard Scott."
+
+The proceedings of the convention were characterized by a deep
+solemnity and a lively sense of the gravity of the situation. The
+delegates were of the ablest Colored men in the country, and were
+conversant with the wants of their people. The subjoined address shows
+that the committee that prepared it had a thorough knowledge of the
+public sentiment of America on the subject of race prejudice.
+
+ "CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.
+
+ "_Respected Brethren and Fellow-Citizens:_
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Our attention has been called to investigate the political
+ standing of our brethren wherever dispersed, but more
+ particularly the situation of those in this great Republic.
+
+ "Abroad, we have been cheered with pleasant views of humanity,
+ and the steady, firm, and uncompromising march of equal liberty
+ to the human family. Despotism, tyranny, and injustice have had
+ to retreat, in order to make way for the unalienable rights of
+ man. Truth has conquered prejudice, and mankind are about to rise
+ in the majesty and splendor of their native dignity.
+
+ "The cause of general emancipation is gaining powerful and able
+ friends abroad. Britain and Denmark have performed such deeds as
+ will immortalize them for their humanity, in the breasts of the
+ philanthropists of the present day; whilst, as a just tribute to
+ their virtues, after-ages will yet erect unperishable monuments
+ to their memory. (Would to God we could say thus of our own
+ native soil!)
+
+ "And it is only when we look to our own native land, to the
+ birthplace of our _fathers_, to the land for whose prosperity
+ their blood and our sweat have been shed and cruelly extorted,
+ that the Convention has had cause to hang its head and blush.
+ Laws, as cruel in themselves as they were unconstitutional and
+ unjust, have in many places been enacted against our poor
+ unfriended and unoffending brethren; laws, (without a shadow of
+ provocation on our part,) at whose bare recital the very savage
+ draws him up for fear of the contagion,--looks noble, and prides
+ himself because he bears not the name of a Christian.
+
+ "But the Convention would not wish to dwell long on this subject,
+ as it is one that is too sensibly felt to need description.
+
+ "We would wish to turn you from this scene with an eye of pity,
+ and a breast glowing with mercy, praying that the recording angel
+ may drop a tear, which shall obliterate forever the remembrance
+ of so foul a stain upon the national escutcheon of this great
+ Republic.
+
+ "This spirit of persecution was the cause of our Convention. It
+ was that first induced us to seek an asylum in the Canadas; and
+ the Convention feels happy to report to its brethren, that our
+ efforts to establish a settlement in that province have not been
+ made in vain. Our prospects are cheering; our friends and funds
+ are daily increasing; wonders have been performed far exceeding
+ our most sanguine expectations; already have our brethren
+ purchased eight hundred acres of land--and two thousand of them
+ have left the soil of their birth, crossed the lines, and laid
+ the foundation for a structure which promises to prove an asylum
+ for the colored population of these United States. They have
+ erected two hundred log-houses, and have five hundred acres under
+ cultivation.
+
+ "And now it is to your fostering care the Convention appeals, and
+ we appeal to you as to men and brethren, yet to enlarge their
+ borders.
+
+ "We therefore ask of you, brethren,--we ask of you,
+ philanthropists of every color and of every kindred,--to assist
+ us in this undertaking. We look to a kind Providence and to you
+ to say whether our desires shall be realized and our labors
+ crowned with success.
+
+ "The Convention has done its duty, and it now remains for you,
+ brethren, to do yours. Various obstacles have been thrown in our
+ way by those opposed to the elevation of the human species; but,
+ thanks to an all-wise Providence, his goodness has as yet cleared
+ the way, and our advance has been slow but steady. The only thing
+ now wanted, is an accumulation of funds, in order to enable us to
+ make a purchase agreeable to the direction of the first
+ Convention; and, to effect that purpose, the Convention has
+ recommended, to the different Societies engaged in that cause, to
+ preserve and prosecute their designs with double energy; and we
+ would earnestly recommend to every colored man (who feels the
+ weight of his degradation), to consider himself in duty bound to
+ contribute his mite toward this great object. We would say to
+ all, that the prosperity of the rising generation mainly depends
+ upon our active exertions.
+
+ "Yes, it is with us to say whether they shall assume a rank and
+ standing among the nations of the earth, as men and freemen, or
+ whether they shall still be prized and held at market-price. Oh,
+ then, by a brother's love, and by all that makes man dear to man,
+ awake in time! Be wise! Be free! Endeavor to walk with
+ circumspection; be obedient to the laws of our common country;
+ honor and respect its lawmakers and law-givers; and, through all,
+ let us not forget to respect ourselves.
+
+ "During the deliberations of this Convention, we had the favor of
+ advising and consulting with some of our most eminent and tried
+ philanthropists--men of unblemished character and of acknowledged
+ rank and standing. Our sufferings have excited their sympathy;
+ our ignorance appealed to their humanity; and, brethren, we feel
+ that gratitude is due to a kind and benevolent Creator, that our
+ excitement and appeal have neither been in vain. A plan has been
+ proposed to the Convention for the erection of a college for the
+ instruction of young men of color, on the manual-labor system, by
+ which the children of the poor may receive a regular classical
+ education, as well as those of their more opulent brethren, and
+ the charge will be so regulated as to put it within the reach of
+ all. In support of this plan, a benevolent individual has offered
+ the sum of one thousand dollars, provided that we can obtain
+ subscriptions to the amount of nineteen thousand dollars in one
+ year.
+
+ "The Convention has viewed the plan with considerable interest,
+ and, after mature deliberation, on a candid investigation, feels
+ strictly justified in recommending the same to the liberal
+ patronage of our brethren, and respectfully solicits the aid of
+ those philanthropists who feel an interest in sending light,
+ knowledge, and truth to all of the human species.
+
+ "To the friends of general education, we do believe that our
+ appeal will not be in vain. For the present ignorant and degraded
+ condition of many of our brethren in these United States (which
+ has been a subject of much concern to the Convention) can excite
+ no astonishment (although used by our enemies to show our
+ inferiority in the scale of human beings); for, what
+ opportunities have they possessed for mental cultivation or
+ improvement? Mere ignorance, however, in a people divested of the
+ means of acquiring information by books, or an extensive
+ connection with the world, is no just criterion of their
+ intellectual incapacity; and it had been actually seen, in
+ various remarkable instances, that the degradation of the mind
+ and character, which has been too hastily imputed to a people
+ kept, as we are, at a distance from those sources of knowledge
+ which abound in civilized and enlightened communities, has
+ resulted from no other causes than our unhappy situation and
+ circumstances.
+
+ "True philanthropy disdains to adopt those prejudices against any
+ people which have no better foundation than accidental
+ diversities of color, and refuses to determine without
+ substantial evidence and incontestible fact as the basis of her
+ judgment. And it is in order to remove these prejudices, which
+ are the actual causes of our ignorance, that we have appealed to
+ our friends in support of the contemplated institution.
+
+ "The Convention has not been unmindful of the operations of the
+ American Colonization Society, and it would respectfully suggest
+ to that august body of learning, talent, and worth, that, in our
+ humble opinion, strengthened, too, by the opinions of eminent men
+ in this country, as well as in Europe, that they are pursuing the
+ direct road to perpetuate slavery, with all its unchristianlike
+ concomitants, in this boasted land of freedom; and, as citizens
+ and men whose best blood is sapped to gain popularity for that
+ institution, we would, in the most feeling manner, beg of them to
+ desist; or, if we must be sacrificed to their philanthropy, we
+ would rather die at home. Many of our fathers, and some of us,
+ have fought and bled for the liberty, independence, and peace
+ which you now enjoy; and, surely, it would be ungenerous and
+ unfeeling in you to deny us an humble and quiet grave in that
+ country which gave us birth!
+
+ "In conclusion, the Convention would remind our brethren that
+ knowledge is power, and to that end, we call on you to sustain
+ and support, by all honorable, energetic, and necessary means,
+ those presses which are devoted to our instruction and elevation,
+ to foster and encourage the mechanical arts and sciences among
+ our brethren, to encourage simplicity, neatness, temperance, and
+ economy in our habits, taking due care always to give the
+ preference to the production of freemen wherever it can be had.
+ Of the utility of a General Fund, the Convention believes there
+ can exist but one sentiment, and that is for a speedy
+ establishment of the same. Finally, we trust our brethren will
+ pay due care to take such measures as will ensure a general and
+ equal representation in the next Convention
+
+ [Signed] "BELFAST BURTON,
+ "JUNIUS C. MOREL,
+ "WILLIAM WHIPPER,
+ "_Publishing Committee_."
+
+Encouraged by the good results that followed the first convention,
+another one was called, and assembled in Philadelphia, at Benezet
+Hall, Seventh Street, June 4, 1832. The following delegates were
+admitted to seats in the convention:
+
+ PENNSYLVANIA.
+
+ _Pittsburgh_--John B. Vashon.
+
+ _Philadelphia_--John Bowers, William Whipper, J. C. Morel,
+ Benjamin Paschal, F. A. Hinton.
+
+ _Carlisle_--John Peck.
+
+ _Lewistown, Miffin County_--Samuel Johnson.
+
+ NEW YORK.
+
+ _New York City_--William Hamilton, Thomas L. Jennings, Henry
+ Sipkins, Philip A. Bell.
+
+ _Brooklyn_--James Pennington.
+
+ DELAWARE.
+
+ _Wilmington_--Joseph Burton, Jacob Morgan, Abm. D. Shad, William
+ Johnson, Peter Gardiner.
+
+ MARYLAND.
+
+ _Baltimore_--Samuel Elliott, Robert Cowley, Samuel Hiner.
+
+ NEW JERSEY.
+
+ _Gloucester_--Thomas D. Coxsin, Thomas Banks.
+
+ _Trenton_--Aaron Roberts.
+
+ MASSACHUSETTS.
+
+ _Boston_--Hosea Easton.
+
+ _New Bedford_--Nathan Johnson.
+
+ CONNECTICUT.
+
+ _Hartford_--Paul Drayton.
+
+ _New Haven_--Scipio C. Augustus.
+
+ RHODE ISLAND.
+
+ _Providence_--Ichabod Northrop.
+
+On the following day the convention adjourned to the "First African
+Presbyterian Church." The following report was adopted:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That in the opinion of this Committee, the plan
+ suggested by the first General Convention, of purchasing land or
+ lands in Upper Canada, for the avowed object of forming a
+ settlement in that province, for such colored persons as may
+ choose to emigrate there, still merits and deserves our united
+ support and exertions; and further, that the appearances of the
+ times, in this our native land, demand an immediate action on
+ that subject. Adopted.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That in the opinion of this committee, we still
+ solemnly and sincerely protest against any interference, on the
+ part of the American Colonization Society, with the free colored
+ population in these United States, so long as they shall
+ countenance or endeavor to use coercive measures (either directly
+ or indirectly) to colonize us in any place which is not the
+ object of our choice. And we ask of them respectfully, as men and
+ as Christians, to cease their unhallowed persecutions of a
+ people already sufficiently oppressed, or if, as they profess to
+ have our welfare and prosperity at heart, to assist us in the
+ object of our choice.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That this committee would recommend to the members
+ of this Convention, to discountenance, by all just means in their
+ power, any emigration to Liberia or Hayti, believing them only
+ calculated to distract and divide the whole colored family."
+
+In accordance with a resolution of the previous day the Rev. R. R.
+Gurley, Secretary of the American Colonization Society, was invited to
+address the convention. He endeavored to offer an acceptable
+explanation of the Society, and to advocate its principles. But the
+Colored people, almost to a man, were opposed to colonization; and
+most of the anti-slavery societies regarded colonization as
+impracticable and hurtful to the cause of emancipation. William Lloyd
+Garrison happened to be present, and followed Gurley in a speech that
+destroyed the hopes of the friends of colonization, and greatly
+delighted the convention.
+
+While the Colored people opposed colonization they regarded Canada as
+a proper place to go. They felt that as citizens they had the right to
+decide where to go, and, when they got ready, to go on their own
+account. Canada had furnished an asylum to their flying,
+travel-soiled, foot-sore, and needy brethren,--was not so very far
+away, and, therefore, it was preferred to the West Coast of Africa.
+The committee having under consideration this subject, made the
+following comprehensive report:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the members of this Convention take into
+ consideration the propriety of effecting the purchase of lands in
+ the province of Upper Canada, as an asylum for those of our
+ bretheren who may be compelled to remove from these United
+ States, beg leave, most respectfully to report:
+
+ "That, after due consideration, they believe the resolution
+ embraces three distinct inquiries for the consideration of this
+ Convention, which should be duly weighed before they can adopt
+ the sentiments contained in the above-named resolution.
+ Therefore, your Committee conceive the resolution premature, and
+ now proceed to state the enquiries separately.
+
+ "_First._--Is it proper for the Free people of color in this
+ country, under existing circumstances, to remove to any distant
+ territory beyond these United States?
+
+ "_Secondly._--Does Upper Canada possess superior advantages and
+ conveniences to those held out in these United States or
+ elsewhere?
+
+ "_Thirdly._--Is there any certainty that the people of color will
+ be compelled by oppressive legislative enactments to abandon the
+ land of their birth for a home in a distant region?
+
+ "Your Committee, before examining those enquiries, would most
+ respectfully take a retrospective view of the object for which
+ the Convention was first associated, and the causes which have
+ actuated their deliberations.
+
+ "The expulsory laws of Ohio, in 1829, which drove our people to
+ seek a new home in Upper Canada, and their impoverished situation
+ afterward, excited a general burst of sympathy for their
+ situation, by the wise and good, over the whole country. This
+ awakened public feeling on their behalf, and numerous meetings
+ were called to raise funds to alleviate their present miseries.
+ The bright prospects that then appeared to dawn on the new
+ settlement, awakened our people to the precariousness of their
+ situations, and, in order more fully to be prepared for future
+ exigencies, and to extend the system of benevolence still further
+ to those who should remove to Upper Canada, a circular was issued
+ by five individuals, viz.:--the Rev. Richard Allen, Cyrus Black,
+ Junius C. Morel, Benjamin Pascal, and James C. Cornish, in behalf
+ of the citizens of Philadelphia, calling a convention of the
+ colored delegates from the several States, to meet on the 20th
+ day of September, 1830, to devise plans and means for the
+ establishment of a colony in Upper Canada, under the patronage of
+ the general Convention, then called.
+
+ "That Convention met, pursuant to public notice, and recommended
+ the formation of a parent society, to be established, with
+ auxiliaries in the different towns where they had been
+ represented in _general_ convention, for the purpose of raising
+ moneys to defray the object of purchasing a colony in the
+ province of Upper Canada, for those who should hereafter wish to
+ emigrate thither, and that immediately after its organization, a
+ corresponding agent should be appointed to reside at or near the
+ intended purchase.
+
+ "Our then limited knowledge of the manners, customs, and
+ privileges, and rights of aliens in Upper Canada, together with
+ the climate, soil, and productions thereof, rendered it necessary
+ to send out agents to examine the same, who returned with a
+ favorable report, except that citizens of these United States
+ could not purchase lands in Upper Canada, and legally transfer
+ the same to other individuals.
+
+ "The Convention resolved to reassemble on the first Monday in
+ June, 1831, during which time the order of the Convention had
+ been carried into operation, relative to establishing Societies
+ for the promotion of said object; and the sum and total of their
+ proceedings were, that the Convention recommended to the colored
+ people generally, when persecuted as were our brethren in Ohio,
+ to seek an Asylum in Upper Canada. During which time,
+ information having been received that a part of the white
+ inhabitants of said province had, through prejudice and the fear
+ of being overburthened with an ejected population, petitioned the
+ provincial parliament to prohibit the general influx of colored
+ population from entering their limits, which threw some
+ consternation on the prospect. The Convention did not wholly
+ abandon the subject, but turned its attention more to the
+ elevation of our people in this, our native home.
+
+ "The recent occurrences at the South have swelled the tide of
+ prejudice until it has almost revolutionized public sentiment,
+ which has given birth to severe legislative enactments in some of
+ the States, and almost ruined our interests and prospects in
+ others, in which, in the opinion of your Committee, our situation
+ is more precarious than it has been at any other period since the
+ Declaration of Independence.
+
+ "The events of the past year have been more fruitful in
+ persecution, and have presented more inducements than any other
+ period of the history of our country, for the men of color to fly
+ from the graves of their fathers, and seek new homes in a land
+ where the roaring billows of prejudice are less injurious to
+ their rights and privileges.
+
+ "Your Committee would now approach the present Convention and
+ examine the resolution under consideration, beginning with the
+ first interrogatory, viz.: Is it proper for the Free people of
+ color in this country, under existing circumstances, to remove to
+ any distant territory beyond the United States?
+
+ "If we admit the first interrogatory to be true, as it is the
+ exact spirit of the language of this resolution, now under
+ consideration, it is altogether unnecessary for us to make
+ further preparation for either our moral, intellectual, or
+ political advancement in this our own, our native land.
+
+ "Your Committee also believe that if this Convention shall adopt
+ a resolution that will, as soon as means can be obtained, remove
+ our colored population to the province of Upper Canada, the best
+ and brightest prospect of the philanthropists who are laboring
+ for our elevation in this country will be thwarted, and they will
+ be brought to the conclusion that the great object which actuated
+ their labors would now be removed, and they might now rest from
+ their labors and have the painful feeling of transmitting to
+ future generations, that an oppressed people, in the land of
+ their birth, supported by the genuine philanthropists of the age,
+ amidsts friends, companions, and their natural attachments, a
+ genial clime, a fruitful soil,--amidst the rays of as proud
+ institutions as ever graced the most favored spot that has ever
+ received the glorious rays of a meridian sun,--have abandoned
+ their homes on account of their persecutions, for a home almost
+ similarly precarious, for an abiding-place among strangers!
+
+ "Your Committee further believe that any express plan to colonize
+ our people beyond the limits of these United States, tends to
+ weaken the situation of those who are left behind, without any
+ peculiar advantage to those who emigrate. But it must be
+ admitted, that the rigid oppression abroad in the land is such,
+ that a _part_ of our suffering brethren cannot live under it, and
+ that the compulsory laws and the inducements held out by the
+ American Colonization Society are such as will cause them to
+ alienate all their natural attachments to their homes, and accept
+ of the only mode left open, which is to remove to a distant
+ Country to receive those rights and privileges of which they have
+ been deprived. And as this Convention is associated for the
+ purpose of recommending to our people the best mode of
+ alleviating their present miseries,
+
+ "Therefore, your Committee would, most respectfully, recommend to
+ the general Convention, now assembled, to exercise the most
+ vigorous means to collect monies through their auxiliaries, or
+ otherwise, to be applied in such manner, as will advance the
+ interests, and contribute to the wants of the free colored
+ population of this country generally.
+
+ "Your Committee would now most respectfully approach the _second
+ inquiry_, viz.:--Does Upper Canada possess superior advantages
+ and conveniences to those held out in the United States or
+ elsewhere?
+
+ "Your Committee, without summing up the advantages and
+ disadvantages of other situations, would, most respectfully
+ answer in the affirmative. At least they are willing to assert
+ that the advantage is much in favor of those who are obliged to
+ leave their present homes. For your more particular information
+ on that subject we would, most respectfully, refer you to the
+ interesting account given by our real and indefatigable friend,
+ Benjamin Lundy, in a late number of the "Genius of Universal
+ Emancipation." _Vide_ "Genius of Universal Emancipation," No. 10,
+ vol. 12.
+
+ "From the history there laid down, your Committee would, most
+ respectfully, request the Convention to aid, so far as in their
+ power lies, those who are obliged to seek an asylum in the
+ province of Upper Canada; and, in order that they may more
+ effectually carry their views into operation, they would
+ respectfully request them to appoint an Agent in Upper Canada, to
+ receive such funds as may be there transmitted for their use.
+
+ "Your Committee have now arrived at the _third_ and last inquiry,
+ viz.:--Is there any certainty that we, as a people, will be
+ compelled to leave this our native land, for a home in a distant
+ region? To this inquiry your Committee are unable to answer; it
+ belongs to the fruitful events of time to determine. The mistaken
+ policy of some of the friends of our improvement, that the same
+ could be effected on the shore of Africa, has raised the tide of
+ our calamity until it has overflowed the valleys of peace and
+ tranquillity--the dark clouds of prejudice have rained
+ persecution--the oppressor and the oppressed have suffered
+ together--and we have yet been protected by that Almighty arm,
+ who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, and whose
+ presence is a royal safeguard, should we place the utmost
+ reliance on his wisdom and power.
+
+ "Your Committee, while they rejoice at the noble object for which
+ the Convention was first associated, have been unable to come to
+ any conclusive evidence that lands can be purchased by this
+ Convention and legally transferred to individuals, residents of
+ said colony, so long as the present laws exist. But, while they
+ deem it inexpedient for the Convention to purchase lands in Upper
+ Canada for the purpose of erecting a colony thereon, do again,
+ most respectfully, hope that they will exercise the same laudable
+ exertions to collect funds for the comfort and happiness of our
+ people there situated, and those who may hereafter emigrate, and
+ pursue the same judicious measures in the appropriation of said
+ funds, as they would in procuring a tract of land, as expressed
+ by the resolution.
+
+ "Your Committee, after examining the various circumstances
+ connected with our situation as a people, have come, unanimously,
+ to the conclusion to recommend to this Convention to adopt the
+ following resolution, as the best mode of alleviating the
+ miseries of our oppressed brethren:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That this Convention recommend the establishment of
+ a Society, or Agent, in Upper Canada, for the purpose of
+ purchasing lands and contributing to the wants of our people
+ generally, who may be, by oppressive legislative enactments,
+ obliged to flee from these United States and take up residence
+ within her borders. And that this Convention will employ its
+ auxiliary societies, and such other means as may lie in its
+ power, for the purpose of raising monies, and remit the same for
+ the purpose of aiding the proposed object.
+
+ [Signed] "ROBERT COWLEY, }
+ "JOHN PECK, } _Committee._"
+ "WM. HAMILTON, }
+ "WM. WHIPPER, }
+ "BENJ. PASCHAL, }
+ "THOS. D. COXSIN, }
+ "J. C. MOREL, }
+
+This convention's work was carefully done, its plans were laid upon a
+broader scale, and the Colored people, beholding its proceedings, took
+heart, and went forward with zeal and courage seeking to increase
+their intelligence and wealth, and improve their social condition. In
+their address the convention did not fail to give the Colonization
+Society a parting shot.
+
+ "CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.
+
+ "_To the Free Colored Inhabitants of these United States_:
+
+ "FELLOW-CITIZENS: We have again been permitted to associate in
+ our representative character, from the different sections of this
+ Union, to pour into one common stream, the afflictions, the
+ prayers, and sympathies of our oppressed people; the axis of time
+ has brought around this glorious, annual event. And we are again
+ brought to rejoice that the wisdom of Divine Providence has
+ protected us during a year whose autumnal harvest has been a
+ reign of terror and persecution, and whose winter has almost
+ frozen the streams of humanity by its frigid legislation. It is
+ under the influence of times and feelings like these, that we now
+ address you. Of a people situated as we are, little can be said,
+ except that it becomes our duty strictly to watch those causes
+ that operate against our interests and privileges; and to guard
+ against whatever measures that will either lower us in the scale
+ of being, or perpetuate our degradation in the eyes of the
+ civilized world.
+
+ "The effects of Slavery on the bond and Colonization on the free.
+ Of the first we shall say but little, but will here repeat the
+ language of a high-minded Virginian in the Legislature of that
+ State, on the recent discussion of the slave question before that
+ honorable body, who declared, that man could not hold property in
+ man, and that the master held no right to the slave, either by a
+ law of nature or a patentee from God, but by the will of society;
+ which we declare to be an unjust usurpation of the rights and
+ privileges of men.
+
+ "But how beautiful must the prospect be to the philanthropist, to
+ view us, the children of persecution, grown to manhood,
+ associating in our delegated character to devise plans and means
+ for our moral elevation, and attracting the attention of the wise
+ and good over the whole country, who are anxiously watching our
+ deliberations.
+
+ "We have here to inform you, that we have patiently listened to
+ the able and eloquent arguments produced by the Rev. R. R.
+ Gurley, Secretary of the American Colonization Society, in behalf
+ of the doings of said Society, and Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Esq., in
+ opposition to its action.
+
+ "A more favorable opportunity to arrive at truth seldom has been
+ witnessed, but while we admire the distinguished piety and
+ Christian feelings with which he so solemnly portrayed the
+ doctrines of that institution, we do now _assert_, that the
+ result of the same has tended more deeply to rivet our solid
+ conviction, that the doctrines of said Society are at enmity with
+ the principles and precepts of religion, humanity, and justice,
+ and should be regarded by every man of color in these United
+ States as an evil, for magnitude, unexcelled, and whose doctrines
+ aim at the entire extinction of the free colored population and
+ the riveting of slavery.
+
+ "We might here repeat our protest against that institution, but
+ it is unnecessary; your views and sentiments have long since gone
+ to the world; the wings of the wind have borne your
+ disapprobation to that institution. Time itself cannot erase it.
+ You have dated your opposition from its beginning, and your views
+ are strengthened by time and circumstances, and they hold the
+ uppermost seat in your affections. We have not been unmindful of
+ the compulsory laws which caused our brethren in Ohio to seek new
+ homes in a distant land, there to share and suffer all the
+ inconveniences of exiles in an uncultivated region; which has led
+ us to admire the benevolent feelings of a rival government in its
+ liberal protection to strangers; which has induced us to
+ recommend to you, to exercise your best endeavors, to collect
+ monies to secure the purchase of lands in the Canadas, for those
+ who may by oppressive legislative enactments be obliged to move
+ thither.
+
+ "In contributing to our brethren that aid which will secure them
+ a refuge in a storm, we would not wish to be understood as
+ possessing any inclination to remove, nor in the least to
+ impoverish, that noble sentiment which we rejoice in exclaiming--
+
+ "This is _our_ own,
+ Our native land.
+
+ "All that we have done, humanity dictated it; neither inclination
+ nor alienated feelings to our country prescribed it, but that
+ power which is above all other considerations, viz.: the law of
+ necessity.
+
+ "We yet anticipate in the moral strength of this nation, a final
+ redemption from those evils that have been illegitimately
+ entailed on us as a people. We yet expect, by due exertions on
+ our part, together with the aid of the benevolent philanthropists
+ of our country, to acquire a moral and intellectual strength that
+ will unshaft the calumnious darts of our adversaries, and present
+ to the world a general character that they will feel bound to
+ respect and admire.
+
+ "It will be seen by a reference to our proceedings, that we have
+ again recommended the further prosecution of the contemplated
+ college, proposed by the last Convention, to be established at
+ New Haven, under the rules and regulations then established. A
+ place for its location will be selected in a climate and
+ neighborhood where the inhabitants are less prejudiced to our
+ rights and privileges. The proceedings of the citizens of New
+ Haven, with regard to the erection of the college, were a
+ disgrace to them, and cast a stigma on the reputed fame of New
+ England and the country. We are unwilling that the character of
+ the whole country should sink by the proceedings of a few. We are
+ determined to present to another portion of the country not far
+ distant, and at no very remote period, the opportunity of
+ gaining for them the character of a truly philanthropic spirit,
+ and of retrieving the character of the country, by the
+ disreputable proceedings of New Haven. We must have colleges and
+ high-schools on the manual-labor system, where our youth may be
+ instructed in all the arts of civilized life. If we ever expect
+ to see the influence of prejudice decrease, and ourselves
+ respected, it must be by the blessings of an enlightened
+ education. It must be by being in possession of that classical
+ knowledge which promotes genius, and causes man to soar up to
+ those high intellectual enjoyments and acquirements, which place
+ him in a situation to shed upon a country and a people that
+ scientific grandeur which is imperishable by time, and drowns in
+ oblivion's cup their moral degradation. Those who think that our
+ primary schools are capable of effecting this, are a century
+ behind the age when to have proved a question in the rule of
+ three was considered a higher attainment than solving the most
+ difficult problem in Euclid is now. They might have at that time
+ performed what some people expect of them now, in the then barren
+ state of science; but they are now no longer capable of
+ reflecting brilliancy on our national character, which will
+ elevate us from our present situation. If we wish to be
+ respected, we must build our moral character on a base as broad
+ and high as the nation itself; our country and our character
+ require it; we have performed all the duties from the menial to
+ the soldier,--our fathers shed their blood in the great struggle
+ for independence. In the late war between Great Britain and the
+ United States, a proclamation was issued to the free colored
+ inhabitants of Louisiana, September 21, 1814, inviting them to
+ take up arms in defence of their country, by Gen. Andrew Jackson.
+ And in order that you may have an idea of the manner in which
+ they acquitted themselves on that perilous occasion, we will
+ refer you to the proclamation of Thomas Butler, Aid-de-Camp.
+
+ "You there see that your country expects much from you, and that
+ you have much to call you into action, morally, religiously, and
+ scientifically. Prepare yourselves to occupy the several stations
+ to which the wisdom of your country may promote you. We have been
+ told in this Convention, by the Secretary of the American
+ Colonization Society, that there are causes which forbid our
+ advancement in this country, which no humanity, no legislation,
+ and no religion can control. Believe it not. Is not humanity
+ susceptible of all the tender feelings of benevolence? Is not
+ legislation supreme--and is not religion virtuous? Our oppressed
+ situation arises from their opposite causes. There is an
+ awakening spirit in our people to promote their elevation, which
+ speaks volumes in their behalf. We anticipated at the close of
+ the last Convention, a larger representation and an increased
+ number of delegates; we were not deceived, the number has been
+ tenfold. And we have a right to expect that future Conventions
+ will be increased by a geometrical ratio, until we shall present
+ a body not inferior in numbers to our State Legislatures, and the
+ _phenomenon_ of an _oppressed people_, deprived of the rights of
+ citizenship, in the midst of an enlightened nation, devising
+ plans and measures for their personal and mental elevation, by
+ _moral suasion alone_.
+
+ "In recommending you a path to pursue for our present good and
+ future elevation, we have taken into consideration the
+ circumstances of the free colored population, so far as it was
+ possible to ascertain their views and sentiments, hoping that at
+ a future Convention, you will all come ably represented, and that
+ your wishes and views may receive that deliberation and attention
+ for which this body is particularly associated.
+
+ "Finally, before taking our leave, we would admonish you, by all
+ that you hold dear, beware of that bewitching evil, that bane of
+ society, that curse of the world, that fell destroyer of the best
+ prospects and the last hope of civilized man,--INTEMPERANCE.
+
+ "Be righteous, be honest, be just, be economical, be prudent,
+ offend not the laws of your country,--in a word, live in that
+ purity of life, by both precept and example,--live in the
+ constant pursuit of that moral and intellectual strength which
+ will invigorate your understandings and render you illustrious in
+ the eyes of civilized nations, when they will assert that all
+ that illustrious worth which was once possessed by the Egyptians,
+ and slept for ages, has now arisen in their descendents, the
+ inhabitants of the New World."
+
+Excellent as was the work of these conventions of men of color, they
+nevertheless became the magazines from which the pro-slavery element
+secured dangerous ammunition with which to attack the anti-slavery
+movement. The white anti-slavery societies were charged with harboring
+a spirit of race prejudice; with inconsistency, in that while seeking
+freedom for the Negro by means of agitation, separate efforts were put
+forth by the white and black anti-slavery people of the North. And
+this had its due effect. Massachusetts and other States had abolition
+societies composed entirely of persons of Color. "_The Massachusetts
+General Colored Association_" organized in the early days of the
+agitation movement. It had among its leading men the most intelligent
+and public-spirited Colored citizens of Boston. James G. Barbadoes,
+Coffin Pitts, John E. Scarlett, the Eastons, Hosea and Joshua; Wm. C.
+Nell, Thomas Cole, Thomas Dalton, Frederick Brimley, Walker Lewis, and
+John T. Hilton were a few of "the faithful." In January, 1833, the
+following communication was sent to the white anti-slavery society of
+New England.
+
+ "BOSTON, January 15, 1833.
+
+ "_To the Board of Managers of the New-England Anti-Slavery
+ Society_:
+
+ "The Massachusetts General Colored Association, cordially
+ approving the objects and principles of the New-England
+ Anti-Slavery Society, would respectfully communicate their desire
+ to become auxiliary thereto. They have accordingly chosen one of
+ their members to attend the annual meeting of the Society as
+ their delegate (Mr. JOSHUA EASTON, of North Bridgewater), and
+ solicit his acceptance in that capacity.
+
+ "THOMAS DALTON, _President_,
+ "WILLIAM C. NELL, _Vice-President_.
+
+ "JAMES G. BARBADOES, _Secretary_."
+
+The request was granted, but a few hints among friends on the outside
+sufficed to demonstrate the folly and hurtfulness of anti-slavery
+societies composed exclusively of men of color. Within the next two
+years Colored organizations perished, and their members took their
+place in the white societies. Such Colored men as John B. Vashon and
+Robert Purvis, of Pennsylvania; David Ruggles and Philip A. Bell, of
+New York; and Charles Lenox Remond and Wm. Wells Brown, of
+Massachusetts, were soon seen as orators and presiding officers, in
+the different anti-slavery societies of the free States. Frederick
+Douglass, the Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward, James McCune Smith, M.D.;
+James W. C. Pennington, D.D.; Henry Highland Garnett, D.D.; Alexander
+Crummell, D.D.; and other Colored men were eloquent, earnest, and
+effective in their denunciation of the institution that enslaved their
+brethren. In England and in Europe a corps of intelligent Colored
+orators was kept busy painting, to interested audiences, the cruelties
+and iniquities of American slavery. By association and sympathy these
+Colored orators took on the polish of Anglo-Saxon scholarship. Of the
+influence of the American Anti-slavery Society upon the Colored man,
+Maria Weston Chapman once said, it is "church and university, high
+school and common school, to all who need real instruction and true
+religion. Of it what a throng of authors, editors, lawyers, orators,
+and accomplished gentlemen of color have taken their degree! It has
+equally implanted hopes and aspirations, noble thoughts, and sublime
+purposes, in the hearts of both races. It has prepared the white man
+for the freedom of the black man, and it has made the black man scorn
+the thought of enslavement, as does a white man, as far as its
+influence has extended. _Strengthen that noble influence!_ Before its
+organization, the country only saw here and there in slavery some
+'faithful Cudjoe or Dinah,' whose strong natures blossomed even in
+bondage, like a fine plant beneath a heavy stone. Now, under the
+elevating and cherishing influence of the American Anti-slavery
+Society, the colored race, like the white, furnishes Corinthian
+capitals for the noblest temples. Aroused by the American Anti-slavery
+Society, the very white men who had forgotten and denied the claim of
+the black man to the rights of humanity, now thunder that claim at
+every gate, from cottage to capitol, from school-house to university,
+from the railroad carriage to the house of God. He has a place at
+their firesides, a place in their hearts--the man whom they once
+cruelly hated for his color. So feeling, they _cannot_ send him to
+Coventry with a horn-book in his hand, and call it _instruction_! They
+inspire him to climb to their side by a visible, acted gospel of
+freedom. Thus, instead of bowing to prejudice, they conquer it."
+
+In January, 1836, Rev. Mr. Follen offered the following resolution in
+a meeting of the New England Anti-slavery Society:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we consider the Anti-slavery cause the cause of
+ philanthropy, with regard to which all human beings, white men
+ and colored men, citizens and foreigners, men and women, have the
+ same duties and the same rights."
+
+In support of his resolution, he said:
+
+ "We have been advised, if we really wished to benefit the slave
+ and the colored race generally, not unnecessarily to shock the
+ feelings, though they were but prejudices, of the white people,
+ by admitting colored persons to our Anti-slavery meetings and
+ societies. We have been told that many who would otherwise act in
+ unison with us were kept away by our disregard of the feelings of
+ the community in this respect.... But what, I would ask, is the
+ great, the single object of all our meetings and societies? Have
+ we any other object than to impress upon the community this one
+ principle, that the _colored man is a man_? And, on the other
+ hand, is not the prejudice which would have us exclude colored
+ people from our meetings and societies the same which, in our
+ Southern States, dooms them to perpetual bondage?"
+
+In May, 1837, the _Anti-slavery Women of America_ met in convention in
+New York. In a circular issued by the authority of the convention, and
+signed by Mary S. Parker, President, Angelina E. Grimkie, Secretary,
+another attack was made upon proscription in anti-slavery societies.
+There was a Colored lady named Sarah Douglass on the Central
+Committee. The following paragraphs from the circular are specimens
+sufficient to show the character of the circular; and the poetry at
+the end, written by a Colored member. Miss Sarah Forten, justified the
+hopes of her white sisters concerning the race:
+
+ "Those Societies that reject colored members, or seek to avoid
+ them, have never been active or efficient. The blessing of God
+ does not rest upon them, because they 'keep back a part of the
+ price of the land,'--they do not lay _all_ at the apostle's feet.
+
+ "The abandonment of prejudice is required of us as a proof of our
+ sincerity and consistency. How can we ask our Southern brethren
+ to make sacrifices, if we are not even willing to encounter
+ inconveniences? First cast the beam from thine own eye, then wilt
+ thou see clearly to cast it from his eye.
+
+ "We are thy sisters. God has truly said
+ That of one blood the nations He has made.
+ O Christian woman! in a Christian land,
+ Canst thou unblushing read this great command?
+ Suffer the wrongs which wring our inmost heart,
+ To draw one throb of pity on thy part?
+ Our Skins may differ, but from thee we claim
+ A sister's privilege and a sister's name."
+
+Every barrier was now broken down inside of anti-slavery
+organizations; and having conquered the prejudice that crippled their
+work, they enjoyed greater freedom in the prosecution of their labors.
+
+The Colored orators wrought a wonderful change in public sentiment. In
+the inland white communities throughout the Northern States Negroes
+were few, and the majority of them were servants; some of them
+indolent and vicious. From these few the moral and intellectual
+photograph of the entire race was taken. So it was meet that Negro
+orators of refinement should go from town to town. The North needed
+arousing and educating on the anti-slavery question, and no class did
+more practical work in this direction than the little company of
+orators, with the peerless Douglass at its head, that pleaded the
+cause of their brethren in the flesh before the cultivated audiences
+of New England, the Middle and Western States,--yea, even in the
+capital cities of conservative Europe.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[28] The Minutes, in possession of the author.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+NEGRO INSURRECTIONS.
+
+ THE NEGRO NOT SO DOCILE AS SUPPOSED.--THE REASON WHY HE WAS KEPT
+ IN BONDAGE.--NEGROES POSSESSED COURAGE BUT LACKED
+ LEADERS.--INSURRECTION OF SLAVES.--GEN. GABRIEL AS A
+ LEADER.--NEGRO INSURRECTION PLANNED IN SOUTH CAROLINA.--EVILS OF
+ SLAVERY REVEALED.--THE "NAT. TURNER" INSURRECTION IN SOUTH
+ HAMPTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA.--THE WHITES ARM THEMSELVES TO REPEL THE
+ INSURRECTIONISTS.--CAPTURE AND TRIAL OF "NAT. TURNER."--HIS
+ EXECUTION.--EFFECT OF THE INSURRECTION UPON SLAVES AND
+ SLAVE-HOLDERS.
+
+
+The supposed docility of the American Negro was counted among the
+reasons why it was thought he could never gain his freedom on this
+continent. But this was a misinterpretation of his real character.
+Besides, it was next to impossible to learn the history of the Negro
+during the years of his enslavement at the South. The question was
+often asked: Why don't the Negroes rise at the South and exterminate
+their enslavers? Negatively, not because they lacked the courage, but
+because they lacked leaders [as has been stated already, they sought
+the North and their freedom through the Underground R. R.] to organize
+them. But notwithstanding this great disadvantage the Negroes _did_
+rise on several different occasions, and did effective work.
+
+ "Three times, at intervals of thirty years, has a wave of
+ unutterable terror swept across the Old Dominion, bringing
+ thoughts of agony to every Virginian master, and of vague hope to
+ every Virginian slave. Each time has one man's name become a
+ spell of dismay and a symbol of deliverance. Each time has that
+ name eclipsed its predecessor, while recalling it for a moment to
+ fresher memory; John Brown revived the story of Nat. Turner, as
+ in his day Nat. Turner recalled the vaster schemes of
+ Gabriel."[29]
+
+Mention has been made of the insurrection of slaves in South Carolina
+in the last century. Upon the very threshold of the nineteenth
+century, "General Gabriel" made the master-class of Virginia quail
+with mortal dread. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence;
+and his plans were worthy of greater success. The following newspaper
+paragraph reveals the condition of the minds of Virginians respecting
+the Negroes:
+
+ "For the week past, we have been under momentary expectation of a
+ rising among the negroes, who have assembled to the number of
+ nine hundred or a thousand, and threatened to massacre all the
+ whites. They are armed with desperate weapons, and secrete
+ themselves in the woods. God only knows our fate; we have strong
+ guards every night under arms."
+
+The above was communicated to the "United States Gazette," printed in
+Philadelphia, under date of September 8, 1800, by a Virginia
+correspondent. The people felt that they were sleeping over a
+magazine. The movement of Gabriel was to have taken place on Saturday,
+September 1st. The rendezvous of the Negro troops was a brook, about
+six miles from Richmond. The force was to comprise eleven hundred men,
+divided into three divisions. Richmond--then a town of eight thousand
+inhabitants--was the point of attack, which was to be effected under
+cover of night. The right wing was to fall suddenly upon the
+penitentiary, lately improvised into an arsenal; the left wing was to
+seize the powder-house; and, thus equipped and supplied with the
+munitions of war, the two columns were to assign the hard fighting to
+the third column. This column was to have possession of all the guns,
+swords, knives, and other weapons of modern warfare. It was to strike
+a sharp blow by entering the town from both ends, while the other two
+columns, armed with shovels, picks, clubs, etc., were to act as a
+reserve. The white troops were scarce, and the situation, plans, etc.,
+of the Negroes were admirable.
+
+ "... the penitentiary held several thousand stand of arms; the
+ powder-house was well-stocked; the capitol contained the State
+ treasury; the mills would give them bread; the control of the
+ bridge across James River would keep off enemies from beyond.
+ Thus secured and provided, they planned to issue proclamations
+ summoning to their standard 'their fellow-negroes and the friends
+ of humanity throughout the continent.' In a week, it was
+ estimated, they would have fifty thousand men on their side, with
+ which force they could easily possess themselves of other towns;
+ and, indeed, a slave named John Scott--possibly the dangerous
+ possessor of ten dollars--was already appointed to head the
+ attack on Petersburg. But in case of final failure, the project
+ included a retreat to the mountains, with their newfound
+ property. John Brown was therefore anticipated by Gabriel sixty
+ years before, in believing the Virginia mountains to have been
+ 'created, from the foundation of the world, as a place of refuge
+ for fugitive slaves.'"[30]
+
+The plot failed, but everybody, and the newspapers also, said the plan
+was well conceived.
+
+In 1822 another Negro insurrection was planned in Charleston, S. C.
+The leader of this affair was Denmark Vesey.[31] This plot for an
+insurrection extended for forty-five or fifty miles around Charleston,
+and intrusted its secrets to thousands. Denmark Vesey, assisted by
+several other intelligent and trusty Negroes, had conceived the idea
+of slaughtering the whites in and about Charleston, and thus securing
+liberty for the blacks. A recruiting committee was formed, and every
+slave enlisted was sworn to secrecy. Household servants were rarely
+trusted. Talkative and intemperate slaves were not enlisted. Women
+were excluded from the affair that they might take care of the
+children. Peter Poyas, it was said, had enlisted six hundred without
+assistance. There were various opinions respecting the number
+enlisted. Some put it at hundreds, others thousands; one witness at
+the trial said there were nine thousand, another six thousand. But no
+white person ever succeeded in gaining the confidence of the black
+conspirators. Never was a plot so carefully guarded for so long a
+time.
+
+ "During the excitement and the trial of the supposed
+ conspirators, rumor proclaimed all, and doubtless more than all,
+ the horrors of the plot. The city was to be fired in every
+ quarter, the arsenal in the immediate vicinity was to be broken
+ open, and the arms distributed to the insurgents, and an
+ universal massacre of the white inhabitants to take place. Nor
+ did there seem to be any doubt in the mind of the people that
+ such would actually have been the result, had not the plot
+ fortunately been detected before the time appointed for the
+ outbreak. It was believed, as a matter of course, that every
+ black in the city would join in the insurrection, and that, if
+ the original design had been attempted, and the city taken by
+ surprise, the negroes would have achieved a complete and easy
+ victory. Nor does it seem at all impossible that such might have
+ been or yet may be the case, if any well-arranged and resolute
+ rising should take place."[32]
+
+This bold plot failed because a Negro named William Paul began to make
+enlistments without authority. He revealed the secret to a household
+servant, just the very man he should have left to the skilful
+manipulations of Peter Poyas or Denmark Vesey. As an evidence of the
+perfection of the plot it should be stated that after a month of
+official investigation only fifteen out of the thousands had been
+apprehended!
+
+"The leaders of this attempt at insurrection died as bravely as they
+had lived; and it is one of the marvels of the remarkable affair, that
+none of this class divulged, any of their secrets to the court. The
+men who did the talking were those who knew but little."
+
+The effect was to reveal the evils of slavery, to stir men to thought,
+and to hasten the day of freedom.
+
+"Nat." Turner combined the lamb and lion. He was a Christian and a
+_man_. He was conscious that he was a man and not a "thing";
+therefore, driven by religious fanaticism, he undertook a difficult
+and bloody task. Nathaniel Turner was born in Southampton County,
+Virginia, October 2, 1800. His master was one Benjamin Turner, a very
+wealthy and aristocratic man. He owned many slaves, and was a cruel
+and exacting master. Young "Nat." was born of slave parents, and
+carried to his grave many of the superstitions and traits of his
+father and mother. The former was a preacher; the latter a "mother in
+Israel." Both were unlettered, but, nevertheless, very pious people.
+The mother began when Nat. was quite young to teach him that he was
+born, like Moses, to be the deliverer of his race. She would sing to
+him snatches of wild, rapturous songs, and repeat portions of prophecy
+she had learned from the preachers of those times. Nat. listened with
+reverence and awe, and believed every thing his mother said. He
+imbibed the deep religious character of his parents, and soon
+manifested a desire to preach. He was solemnly set apart to "the
+Gospel Ministry" by his father, the Church, and visiting preachers. He
+was quite low in stature, dark, and had the genuine African features.
+His eyes were small, but sharp, and gleamed like fire when he was
+talking about his "mission," or preaching from some prophetic passage
+of Scripture. It is said that he never laughed. He was a dreamy sort
+of a man, and avoided the crowd. Like Moses, he lived in the solitudes
+of the mountains and brooded over the condition of his people. There
+was something grand to him in the rugged scenery that nature had
+surrounded him with. He believed that he was a prophet, a leader
+raised up by God to burst the bolts of the prison-house and set the
+oppressed free. The thunder, the hail, the storm-cloud, the air, the
+earth, the stars, at which he would sit and gaze half the night, all
+spake the language of the God of the oppressed. He was seldom seen in
+a large company, and never drank a drop of ardent spirits. Like John
+the Baptist, when he had delivered his message, he would retire to the
+fastness of the mountain, or seek the desert, where he could meditate
+upon his great work.
+
+At length he declared that God spake to him. He began to dream dreams
+and to see visions. His grandmother, a very old and superstitious
+person, encouraged him in his dreaming. But, notwithstanding, he
+believed that he had communion with God, and saw the most remarkable
+visions, he denounced in the severest terms the familiar practices
+among slaves, known as "conjuring," "gufering," and fortune-telling.
+The people regarded him with mixed feelings of fear and reverence. He
+preached with great power and authority. He loved the prophecies, and
+drew his illustrations from nature. He presented God as the
+"_All-Powerful_"; he regarded him as a great "_Warrior_." His master
+soon discovered that Nat. was the acknowledged leader among the
+slaves, and that his fame as "prophet" and "leader" was spreading
+throughout the State. The poor slaves on distant plantations regarded
+the name of Nat. Turner as very little removed from that of God.
+Though having never seen him, yet they believed in him as the man
+under whose lead they would some time march out of the land of
+bondage. His influence was equally great among the preachers, while
+many white people honored and feared him. His master thought it
+necessary to the safety of his property, to hire Nat. out to a most
+violent and cruel man. Perhaps he thought to have him "broke." If so,
+he was mistaken. Nat. Turner was the last slave to submit to an insult
+given by a white man. His new master could do nothing with him. He ran
+off, and spent thirty days in the swamps--but returned. He was
+upbraided by some of his fellow-slaves for not seeking, as he
+certainly could have done, "the land of the free." He answered by
+saying, that a voice said to him: "Return to your earthly master; for
+he who knoweth his Master's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten
+with many stripes." It was no direction to submit to an earthly
+master, but to return to him in order to carry out the will of his
+Heavenly Master. He related some of the visions he saw during his
+absence. "About that time I had a vision, and saw white spirits and
+black spirits engaged in battle; and the sun was darkened, the thunder
+rolled in the heavens, and blood flowed in streams; and I heard a
+voice saying: 'Such is your luck, such are you called on to see; and
+let it come, rough or smooth, you must surely bear it.' It was not
+long after this when he saw another vision. He says a spirit appeared
+unto him and spake as follows: "The serpent is loosened, and Christ
+has laid down the yoke he has borne for the sins of men; and you must
+take it up and fight against the serpent, for the time is fast
+approaching when the first shall be last, and the last shall be
+first." These visions and many others enthused Nat., and led him to
+believe that the time was near when the Blacks would be "first" and
+the whites "last."
+
+The plot for a general uprising was laid in the month of February,
+1831. He had seen the last vision. He says: "I was told I should arise
+and prepare myself, and slay my enemies with their own weapons." He
+was now prepared to arrange the details of his plot. He appointed a
+meeting, to which he invited four trusted friends, Sam. Edwards, Hark
+Travis, Henry Porter, and Nelson Williams. A wild and desolate glen
+was chosen as the place of meeting, and night the time when they could
+perfect their plans without being molested by the whites. They brought
+with them provisions, and ate while they debated among themselves the
+methods by which to carry out their plan of blood and death. The main
+difficulty that confronted them was how to get arms. Nat. remembered
+that a spirit had instructed him to "slay my enemies with their own
+weapons," so they decided to follow these instructions. After they had
+decided upon a plan, "the prophet Nat." arose, and, like a great
+general, made a speech to his small but brave force. "Friends and
+brothers," said he, "we are to commence a great work to-night! Our
+race is to be delivered from slavery, and God has appointed us as the
+men to do his bidding; and let us be worthy of our calling. I am told
+to slay all the whites we encounter, without regard to age or sex. We
+have no arms or ammunition, but we will find these in the houses of
+our oppressors; and, as we go on, others can join us. Remember, we do
+not go forth for the sake of blood and carnage; but it is necessary
+that, in the commencement of this revolution, all the whites we meet
+should die, until we have an army strong enough to carry on the war
+upon a Christian basis. Remember that ours is not a war for robbery,
+nor to satisfy our passions; it is a _struggle for freedom_. Ours must
+be deeds, not words. Then let's away to the scene of action!"
+
+The blow was struck on the night of the 21st of August, 1831, in
+Southampton County, near Jerusalem Court-House. The latter place is
+about seventy miles from Richmond. Not only Southampton County but old
+Virginia reeled under the blow administered by the heavy hand of Nat.
+Turner. On their way to the first house they were to attack, that of a
+planter by the name of Joseph Travis, they were joined by a slave
+belonging to a neighboring plantation. We can find only one name for
+him, "Will." He was the slave of a cruel master, who had sold his wife
+to the "nigger traders." He was nearly six feet in height, well
+developed, and the most powerful and athletic man in the county. He
+was marked with an ugly scar, extending from his right eye to the
+extremity of the chin. He hated his master, hated slavery, and was
+glad of an opportunity to wreak his vengeance upon the whites. He
+armed himself with a sharp broadaxe, under whose cruel blade many a
+white man fell. Nat.'s speech gives us a very clear idea of the scope
+and spirit of his plan. We quote from his confession at the time of
+the trial, and will let him tell the story of this terrible
+insurrection.
+
+ "On returning to the house, Hark went to the door with an axe,
+ for the purpose of breaking it open, as we knew we were strong
+ enough to murder the family should they be awakened by the noise;
+ but, reflecting that it might create an alarm in the
+ neighborhood, we determined to enter the house secretly, and
+ murder them whilst sleeping. Hark got a ladder and set it against
+ the chimney, on which I ascended, and, hoisting a window, entered
+ and came down stairs, unbarred the doors, and removed the guns
+ from their places. It was then observed that I must spill the
+ first blood, on which, armed with a hatchet and accompanied by
+ Will., I entered my master's chamber. It being dark, I could not
+ give a death-blow. The hatchet glanced from his head; he sprang
+ from his bed and called his wife. It was his last word. Will.
+ laid him dead with a blow of his axe."
+
+After they had taken the lives of this family, they went from
+plantation to plantation, dealing death-blows to every white man,
+woman, or child they found. They visited vengeance upon every white
+household they came to. The excitement spread rapidly, and the whites
+arose and armed themselves in order to repel these insurrectionists.
+
+ "The first news concerning the affair was in the shape of a
+ letter from Col. Trezvant, which reached Richmond Tuesday
+ morning, too late for the columns of the (Richmond) "Enquirer,"
+ which was a triweekly. The letter was written on the 21st of
+ August, and lacked definiteness, which gave rise to doubts in
+ reference to the 'insurrection.' It was first sent to
+ Petersburgh, and was then immediately dispatched to the Mayor of
+ Richmond.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Arms and ammunition were dispatched in wagons to the county of
+ Southampton. The four volunteer companies of Petersburgh, the
+ dragoons and Lafayette artillery company of Richmond, one
+ volunteer company from Norfolk and one from Portsmouth, and the
+ regiments of Southampton and Sussex, were at once ordered out.
+ The cavalry and infantry took up their line of march on Tuesday
+ evening, while the artillery embarked on the steamer 'Norfolk,'
+ and landed at Smithfield.... A member of the Richmond dragoons,
+ writing from Petersburgh, under date of the 23d, after careful
+ examination, thought that 'about two hundred and fifty negroes
+ from a camp-meeting about the Dismal Swamp had murdered about
+ sixty, persons, none of them families much known.'"[33]
+
+Will., the revengeful slave, proved himself the most destructive and
+cruel of Nat.'s followers. A hand to hand battle came. The whites were
+well armed, and by the force of their superior numbers overcame the
+army of the "Prophet,"--five men. Will. would not surrender. He laid
+three white men dead at his feet, when he fell mortally wounded. His
+last words were: "Bury my axe with me," believing that in the next
+world he would need it for a similar purpose. Nat. fought with great
+valor and skill with a short sword, and finding it useless to continue
+the struggle, escaped with some of his followers to the swamps, where
+he defied the vigilance of the military and the patient watching of
+the citizens for more than two months. He was finally compelled to
+surrender. When the Court asked: "Guilty or not guilty?" he pleaded:
+"Not guilty." He was sustained during his trial by his unfaltering
+faith in God. Like Joan of Arc, he "heard the spirits," the "voices,"
+and believed that God had "sent him to free His people."
+
+In the impression of the "Enquirer" of the 30th of August, 1831, the
+first editorial, or leader, is under the caption of THE BANDITTE. The
+editor says:
+
+ "They remind one of a parcel of blood-thirsty wolves rushing down
+ from the Alps; or, rather like a former incursion of the Indians
+ upon the white settlements. Nothing is spared: neither age nor
+ sex respected--the helplessness of women and children pleads in
+ vain for mercy.... The case of Nat. Turner warns us. No black-man
+ ought to be permitted to turn a Preacher through the country. The
+ law must be enforced--or the tragedy of Southampton appeals to us
+ in vain."[34]
+
+A remarkable prophecy was made by Nat. The trial was hurried, and,
+like a handle on a pitcher, was on one side only. He was sentenced to
+die on the gallows. He received the announcement with stoic
+indifference, and was executed at Jerusalem, the county seat of
+Southampton, in April, 1831. He died like a man, bravely, calmly;
+looking into eternity, made radiant by a faith that had never
+faltered. He prophesied that on the day of his execution the sun would
+be darkened, and other evidences of divine disapprobation would be
+seen. The sheriff was much impressed by Nat.'s predictions, and
+consequently refused to have any thing to do with the hanging. No
+Colored man could be secured to cut the rope that held the trap. An
+old white man, degraded by drink and other vices, was engaged to act
+as executioner, and was brought forty miles. Whether it was a
+fulfilment of Nat.'s prophecy or not, the sun was hidden behind angry
+clouds, the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the most
+terrific storm visited that county ever known. All this, in connection
+with Nat.'s predictions, made a wonderful impression upon the minds of
+the Colored people, and not a few white persons were frightened, and
+regretted the death of the "Prophet."
+
+The results of this uprising, led by a lone man--he was alone, and
+yet he was not alone,--are apparent when we consider that fifty-seven
+whites and seventy-three Blacks were killed and many were wounded.
+
+The first reliable list of the victims of the "tragedy" was written on
+the 24th of August, 1831.
+
+ "List of the dead that have been buried:--At Mrs. Whiteheads', 7;
+ Mrs. Waller's, 13; Mr. Williams', 3; Mr. Barrows', 2; Mr.
+ Vaughn's, 5; Mrs. Turner's, 3; Mr. Travis's, 5; Mr. J. Williams',
+ 5; Mr. Reice's, 4; Names unknown, 10; Total, 57."
+
+Then there was a feeling of unrest among the slaves and a fear among
+the whites throughout the State. Even the proceedings of the trial of
+Nat. were suppressed for fear of evil consequences among the slaves.
+But now all are free, and the ex-planters will not gnash their teeth
+at this revelation. Nat. Turner's insurrection, like all other
+insurrections led by oppressed people, lacked detail and method.
+History records but one successful uprising--San Domingo has the
+honor. Even France failed in 1789, and in 1848. There is always a zeal
+for freedom, but not according to knowledge. No stone marks the
+resting-place of this martyr to freedom, this great religious fanatic,
+this Black John Brown. And yet he has a prouder and more durable
+monument than was ever erected of stone or brass. The image of Nat.
+Turner is carved on the fleshy tablets of four million hearts. His
+history has been kept from the Colored people, at the South, but the
+women have handed the tradition to their children, and the "Prophet
+Nat." is still marching on.
+
+Of the character of this remarkable man, Mr. Gray, the gentleman to
+whom he made his confession, had the following to say:--
+
+ "It has been said that he was ignorant and cowardly, and that his
+ object was to murder and rob, for the purpose of obtaining money
+ to make his escape. It is notorious that he was never known to
+ have a dollar in his life, to swear an oath, or drink a drop of
+ spirits. As to his ignorance, he certainly never had the
+ advantages of education; but he can read and write, and for
+ natural intelligence and quickness of apprehension, is surpassed
+ by few men I have ever seen. As to his being a coward, his
+ reason, as given, for not resisting Mr. Phipps, shows the
+ decision of his character. When he saw Mr. Phipps present his
+ gun, he said he knew it was impossible for him to escape, as the
+ woods were full of men; he therefore thought it was better for
+ him to surrender, and trust to fortune for his escape.
+
+ "He is a complete fanatic, or plays his part most admirably. On
+ other subjects he possesses an uncommon share of intelligence,
+ with a mind capable of attaining any thing, but warped and
+ perverted by the influence of early impressions. He is below the
+ ordinary stature, though strong and active, having the true negro
+ face, every feature of which is strongly marked. I shall not
+ attempt to describe the effect of his narrative, as told and
+ commented on by himself, in the condemned hole of the prison: the
+ calm, deliberate composure with which he spoke of his late deeds
+ and intentions; the expression of his fiend-like face, when
+ excited by enthusiasm; still bearing the stains of the blood of
+ helpless innocence about him, clothed with rags and covered with
+ chains, yet daring to raise his manacled hands to Heaven, with a
+ spirit soaring above the attributes of man. I looked on him, and
+ the blood curdled in my veins."
+
+In the "Richmond Enquirer," of September 2, 1831, appeared the
+following: "It is reported that a map was found, and said to have been
+drawn by Nat. Turner, with _polk-berry juice_, which was a description
+of the county of Southampton."
+
+The influence of this bloody insurrection spread beyond the Old
+Dominion, and for years afterward, in nearly every Southern State the
+whites lived in a state of dread. To every dealer in flesh and blood
+the "Nat. Turner Insurrection" was a stroke of poetic justice.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[29] Atlantic Monthly, vol. x. p. 337.
+
+[30] Atlantic Monthly, vol. x. p. 339.
+
+[31] Atlantic Monthly, vol. vii. pp. 728, 744.
+
+[32] Atlantic Monthly, vol. vii. p. 737.
+
+[33] Richmond Enquirer, August 26, 1831.
+
+[34] Richmond Enquirer, August 26 and 30, 1831.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE "AMISTAD" CAPTIVES.
+
+ THE SPANISH SLAVER "AMISTAD" SAILS FROM HAVANA, CUBA, FOR PORTO
+ PRINCIPE.--FIFTY-FOUR NATIVE AFRICANS ON BOARD.--JOSEPH CINQUEZ,
+ THE SON OF AN AFRICAN PRINCE.--THE "AMISTAD" CAPTURED AND TAKEN
+ INTO NEW LONDON, CONN.--TRIAL AND RELEASE OF THE SLAVES.--TOUR
+ THROUGH THE UNITED STATES.--RETURN TO THEIR NATIVE COUNTRY IN
+ COMPANY WITH MISSIONARIES.--THE ANTI-SLAVERY CAUSE BENEFITED BY
+ THEIR STAY IN THE UNITED STATES.--THEIR APPRECIATION OF CHRISTIAN
+ CIVILIZATION.
+
+
+On the 28th of June, 1839, the "Amistad," a Spanish slaver (schooner),
+with Captain Ramon Ferrer in command, sailed from Havana, Cuba, for
+Porto Principe, a place in the island of Cuba, about 100 leagues
+distant. The passengers were Don Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz, with
+fifty-four Africans just from their native country, Lemboko, as
+slaves. Among the slaves was one man, called in Spanish, Joseph
+Cinquez,[35] said to be the son of an African prince. He was possessed
+of wonderful natural abilities, and was endowed with all the elements
+of an intelligent and intrepid leader. The treatment these captives
+received was very cruel. They were chained down between the
+decks--space not more than four feet--by their wrists and ankles;
+forced to eat rice, sick or well, and whipped upon the slightest
+provocation. On the fifth night out, Cinquez chose a few trusty
+companions of his misfortunes, and made a successful attack upon the
+officers and crew. The captain and cook struck down, two sailors put
+ashore, the Negroes were in full possession of the vessel. Montes was
+compelled, under pain of death, to navigate the vessel to Africa. He
+steered eastwardly during the daytime, but at night put about hoping
+to touch the American shore. Thus the vessel wandered until it was
+cited off of the coast of the United States during the month of
+August. It was described as a "long, low, black schooner." Notice was
+sent to all the collectors of the ports along the Atlantic Coast, and
+a steamer and several revenue cutters were dispatched after her.
+Finally, on the 26th of August, 1839, Lieut. Gedney, U. S. Navy,
+captured the "Amistad," and took her into New London, Connecticut.
+
+The two Spaniards and a Creole cabin boy were examined before Judge
+Andrew T. Judson, of the United States Court, who, without examining
+the Negroes, bound them over to be tried as pirates. The poor Africans
+were cast into the prison at New London. Public curiosity was at a
+high pitch; and for a long time the "_Amistad captives_" occupied a
+large place in public attention. The Africans proved to be natives of
+the Mendi country, and quite intelligent. The romantic story of their
+sufferings and meanderings was given to the country through a
+competent interpreter; and many Christian hearts turned toward them in
+their lonely captivity in a strange land. The trial was continued
+several months. During this time the anti-slavery friends provided
+instruction for the Africans. Their minds were active and receptive.
+They soon learned to read, write, and do sums in arithmetic. They
+cultivated a garden of some fifteen acres, and proved themselves an
+intelligent and industrious people.
+
+The final decision of the court was that the "Amistad captives" were
+not slaves, but freemen, and, as such, were entitled to their liberty.
+The good and liberal Lewis Tappan had taken a lively interest in these
+people from the first, and now that they were released from prison,
+felt that they should be sent back to their native shores and a
+mission started amongst their countrymen. Accordingly he took charge
+of them and appeared before the public in a number of cities of New
+England. An admission fee of fifty cents was required at the door, and
+the proceeds were devoted to leasing a vessel to take them home. Large
+audiences greeted them everywhere, and the impression they made was of
+the highest order. Mr. Tappan would state the desire of the people to
+return to their native land, appeal to the philanthropic to aid them,
+and then call upon the people to read the Scriptures, sing songs in
+their own language, and then in the English. Cinquez would then
+deliver an account of their capture, the horrors of the voyage, how he
+succeeded in getting his manacles off, how he aided his brethren to
+loose their fetters, how he invited them to follow him in an attempt
+to gain their liberty, the attack, and their rescue, etc., etc. He was
+a man of magnificent physique, commanding presence, graceful manners,
+and effective oratory. His speeches were delivered in Mendi, and
+translated into English by an interpreter.
+
+ "It is impossible," wrote Mr. Tappan from Boston, "to describe
+ the novel and deeply interesting manner in which he acquitted
+ himself. The subject of his speech was similar to that of his
+ countrymen who had spoken in English; but he related more
+ minutely and graphically the occurrences on board the "Amistad."
+ The easy manner of Cinquez, his natural, graceful, and energetic
+ action, the rapidity of his utterance, and the remarkable and
+ various expressions of his countenance, excited admiration and
+ applause. He was pronounced a powerful natural orator, and one
+ born to sway the minds of his fellow-men. Should he be converted
+ and become a preacher of the cross in Africa what delightful
+ results may be anticipated!"
+
+A little fellow called Kali, only eleven years of age, pleased the
+audience everywhere he went by his ability not only to spell any word
+in the Gospels, but sentences, without blundering. For example, he
+would spell out a sentence like the following sentence, naming each
+letter and syllable, and recapitulating as he went along, until he
+pronounced the whole sentence: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall
+inherit the earth."
+
+Of their doings in Philadelphia, Mr. Joseph Sturge wrote:
+
+ "On this occasion, a very crowded and miscellaneous assembly
+ collected to see and hear the Mendians, although the admission
+ had been fixed as high as half a dollar, with the view of raising
+ a fund to carry them to their native country. Fifteen of them
+ were present, including one little boy and three girls. Cinque,
+ their chief, spoke with great fluency in his native language; and
+ his action and manner were very animated and graceful. Not much
+ of his speech was translated, yet he greatly interested his
+ audience. The little boy could speak our language with facility;
+ and each of them read, without hesitation, one or two verses in
+ the New Testament. It was impossible for any one to go away with
+ the impression, that in native intellect these people were
+ inferior to the whites. The information which I privately
+ received from their tutor, and others who had full opportunities
+ of appreciating their capacities and attainments, fully confirmed
+ my own very favorable impressions."
+
+But all the while their sad hearts were turning toward their home and
+the dear ones so far away. One of them eloquently declared: "If Merica
+men offer me as much gold as fill this cap full up, and give me
+houses, land, and every ting, so dat I stay in this country, I say:
+'No! no! I want to see my father, my mother, my brother, my sister.'"
+Nothing could have been more tender and expressive. They were willing
+to endure any hardships short of life that they might once more see
+their own, their native land. The religious instruction they had
+enjoyed made a wonderful impression on their minds. One of them said:
+"We owe every thing to God; he keeps us alive, and makes us free. When
+we go to home to Mendi we tell our brethren about God, Jesus Christ,
+and heaven." Another one was asked: "What is faith?" and replied:
+"Believing in Jesus Christ, and trusting in him." Reverting to the
+murder of the captain and cook of the "Amistad," one of the Africans
+said that if it were to be done over again he would pray for rather
+than kill them. Cinquez, hearing this, smiled and shook his head. When
+asked if he would not pray for them, said: "Yes, I would pray for 'em,
+an' kill 'em too."
+
+These captives were returned to their native country in the fall of
+1841, accompanied by five missionaries. Their objective point was
+Sierra Leone, from which place the British Government assisted them to
+their homes. Their stay in the United States did the anti-slavery
+cause great good. Here were poor, naked, savage pagans, unable to
+speak English, in less than three years able to speak the English
+language and appreciate the blessings of a Christian civilization.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[35] Sometimes written Cinque.
+
+
+
+
+PART 6.
+
+_THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+NORTHERN SYMPATHY AND SOUTHERN SUBTERFUGES.
+
+1850-1860.
+
+ VIOLENT TREATMENT OF ANTI-SLAVERY ORATORS.--THE SOUTH
+ MISINTERPRETS THE MOBOCRATIC SPIRIT OF THE NORTH.--THE
+ "GARRISONIANS" AND "CALHOUNITES"--SLAVE POPULATION OF
+ 1830-1850.--THE THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS.--MOTION FOR THE ADMISSION
+ OF NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.--THE DEMOCRATIC AND WHIG PARTIES ON
+ THE TREATMENT OF THE SLAVE QUESTION.--CONVENTION OF THE
+ DEMOCRATIC PARTY AT BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.--NOMINATION OF FRANKLIN
+ PIERCE FOR PRESIDENT.--WHIG PARTY CONVENTION.--NOMINATION OF GEN.
+ WINFIELD SCOTT FOR THE PRESIDENCY BY THE WHIGS.--MR. PIERCE
+ ELECTED PRESIDENT IN 1853.--A BILL INTRODUCED TO REPEAL THE
+ "MISSOURI COMPROMISE."--SPEECH BY STEPHEN A. DOUGLASS.--MR.
+ CHASE'S REPLY.--AN ACT TO ORGANIZE THE TERRITORIES OF KANSAS AND
+ NEBRASKA.--STATE MILITIA IN THE SOUTH MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR
+ WAR.--PRESIDENT BUCHANAN IN SYMPATHY WITH THE SOUTH.
+
+
+The arguments of anti-slavery orators were answered everywhere
+throughout the free States by rotten eggs, clubs, and missiles. The
+public journals, as a rule, were unfriendly and intolerant. Even
+Boston could contemplate, with unruffled composure, a mob of her most
+"reputable citizens" dragging Mr. Garrison through the streets with a
+halter about his neck. Public meetings were broken up by pro-slavery
+mobs; owners of public halls required a moneyed guarantee against the
+destruction of their property, when such halls were used for
+anti-slavery meetings. Colored schools were broken up, the teachers
+driven away, and the pupils maltreated.
+
+The mobocratic demonstrations in the Northern States were the
+thermometer of public feeling upon the subject of slavery. The South
+was, therefore, emboldened; for the political leaders in that section
+thought they saw a light from the distance that encouraged them to
+entertain the belief and indulge the hope that their present sectional
+institution could be made national. Southerners thought slavery would
+grow in the cold climate of the North, excited into a lively existence
+by the warmth of a generous sympathy. But the South misinterpreted the
+real motive that inspired opposition to anti-slavery agitation in the
+North. The violent opposition came from the mercantile class and
+foreign element who believed that the agitation of the slavery
+question was a practical disturbance of their business affairs. The
+next class, more moderate in opposition to agitation, believed slavery
+constitutional, and, therefore, argued that anti-slavery orators were
+traitors to the government. The third class, conservative, did not
+take sides, because of the unpopularity of agitation on the one hand,
+and because of an harassing conscience on the other.
+
+There were two classes of men who were seeking the dissolution of the
+Union. The Garrisonians sought this end in the hope of forming another
+Union _without_ slavery.
+
+In an address delivered by Wm. Lloyd Garrison, July 20, 1860, at the
+Framingham celebration, he declares:
+
+ "Our object is the abolition of slavery _throughout the land_;
+ and whether in the prosecution of our object this party goes up
+ or the other party goes down, it is nothing to us. We cannot
+ alter our course one hair's breadth, nor accept a compromise of
+ our principles for the hearty adoption of our principles. I am
+ for _meddling with slavery everywhere_--_attacking it by night
+ and by day, in season and out of season_ (no, it can never be out
+ of season)--in order to _effect its overthrow_. (Loud applause.)
+ Higher yet will be my cry. Upward and onward! No union with
+ slave-holders! Down with this slave-holding government! Let this
+ 'covenant with death and agreement with hell' be annulled! _Let
+ there be a free, independent, Northern republic_, and _the speedy
+ abolition of slavery_ will inevitably follow! (Loud applause.) So
+ I am laboring to dissolve this blood-stained Union as a work of
+ paramount importance. Our mission is to regenerate public
+ opinion."
+
+The Calhounites sought the dissolution of the Union in order that
+another Union might be formed _with_ slavery as its chief
+corner-stone. Inspired by this hope and misguided by the apparent
+sympathy of the North, Southern statesmen began _preparations to
+dissolve the Union of the United States_.
+
+During these years of agitation and discussion, although the foreign
+slave-trade had been suppressed, the slave population increased at a
+wonderful ratio.
+
+ CENSUS OF 1830.--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ District of Columbia 6,119
+ Delaware 3,292
+ Florida 15,501
+ Georgia 217,531
+ Illinois 747
+ Kentucky 165,213
+ Louisiana 109,588
+ Maryland 102,994
+ Alabama 117,549
+ Mississippi 65,659
+ Missouri 25,091
+ New Jersey 2,254
+ North Carolina 245,601
+ South Carolina 315,401
+ Tennessee 141,603
+ Virginia 469,757
+ Arkansas 4,576
+ ---------
+ Aggregate 2,008,476
+
+Now, this was the year the agitation movement began. Instead of the
+slave population decreasing during the first decade of anti-slavery
+discussion and work, it really increased 478,412![36]
+
+ CENSUS OF 1840.--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ Alabama 253,532
+ Arkansas 19,935
+ District of Columbia 4,694
+ Delaware 2,605
+ Florida 25,717
+ Georgia 280,944
+ Illinois 331
+ Kentucky 182,258
+ Louisiana 168,452
+ Maryland 89,737
+ Mississippi 195,211
+ Missouri 58,240
+ New Jersey 674
+ New York 4
+
+ CENSUS OF 1840.--SLAVE POPULATION.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Pennsylvania 64
+ North Carolina 245,817
+ South Carolina 327,038
+ Tennessee 183,059
+ Virginia 449,087
+ ---------
+ Aggregate 2,487,399
+
+During the next decade the slave population swept forward to an
+increase of 716,858. The entire population of slaves was 3,204,313;
+2,957,657 were unmixed Africans, and 246,656 were Mulattoes. The free
+Colored population amounted to 434,495, of whom 275,400 were unmixed,
+and 159,095 mixed or Mulatto. The total number of families owning
+slaves in 1850 was 347,525.
+
+ CENSUS OF 1850.--SLAVE POPULATION.
+
+ Alabama 342,844
+ Arkansas 47,100
+ District of Columbia 3,687
+ Delaware 2,290
+ Florida 39,310
+ Georgia 381,682
+ Kentucky 210,981
+ Louisiana 244,809
+ Maryland 90,368
+ Mississippi 309,878
+ Missouri 87,422
+ New Jersey 236
+ North Carolina 288,548
+ South Carolina 384,984
+ Tennessee 239,459
+ Texas 58,161
+ Virginia 472,528
+ Utah Territory 26
+ ---------
+ Total 3,204,313
+
+The Thirty-first Congress was three weeks attempting an organization,
+and at last effected it by the election of a Southerner to the
+Speakership, the Hon. Howell Cobb, of Georgia. President Zachary
+Taylor had called the attention of Congress to the admission of
+California and New Mexico into the Union, in his message to that body
+upon its assembling. On the 4th of January, 1850, Gen. Sam. Houston,
+United States Senator from Texas, submitted the following proposition
+to the Senate:
+
+ "WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States, possessing only a
+ delegated authority, has no power over the subject of negro
+ slavery within the limits of the United States, either to
+ prohibit or to interfere with it in the States, territories, or
+ districts, where, by municipal law, it now exists, or to
+ establish it in any State or territory where it does not exist;
+ but as an assurance and guarantee to promote harmony, quiet
+ apprehension, and remove sectional prejudice, which by
+ possibility might impair or weaken love and devotion to the Union
+ in any part of the country, it is hereby
+
+ "_Resolved_, That, as the people in territories have the same
+ inherent rights of self-government as the people in the States,
+ if, in the exercise of such inherent rights, the people in the
+ newly acquired territories, by the annexation of Texas and the
+ acquisition of California and New Mexico, south of the parallel
+ of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude,
+ extending to the Pacific Ocean, shall establish negro slavery in
+ the formation of their State governments, it shall be deemed no
+ objection to their admission as a State or States into the Union,
+ in accordance with the Constitution of the United States."
+
+On the 29th of January, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, submitted to the
+United States Senate the following propositions looking toward an
+amicable adjustment of the entire slavery question:
+
+ "1. _Resolved_, That California, with suitable boundaries, ought,
+ upon her application, to be admitted as one of the States of this
+ Union, without the imposition by Congress of any restriction in
+ respect to the exclusion or introduction of slavery within those
+ boundaries.
+
+ "2. _Resolved_, That as slavery does not exist by law, and is not
+ likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired by the
+ United States from the republic of Mexico, it is inexpedient for
+ Congress to provide by law either for its introduction into, or
+ exclusion from, any part of the said territory; and that
+ appropriate territorial governments ought to be established by
+ Congress in all the said territory not assigned as within the
+ boundaries of the proposed State of California, without the
+ adoption of any restriction or condition on the subject of
+ slavery.
+
+ "3. _Resolved_, That the western boundary of the State of Texas
+ ought to be fixed on the Rio del Norte, commencing one marine
+ league from its mouth, and running up that river to the southern
+ line of New Mexico, thence with that line eastwardly, and so
+ continuing in the same direction to the line as established
+ between the United States and Spain, excluding any portion of New
+ Mexico, whether lying on the east or west of that river.
+
+ "4. _Resolved_, That it be proposed to the State of Texas, that
+ the United States will provide for the payment of all that
+ portion of the legitimate and _bona-fide_ public debt of that
+ State contracted prior to its annexation to the United States,
+ and for which the duties on foreign imports were pledged by the
+ said State to its creditors, not exceeding the sum of----
+ dollars, in consideration of the said duties so pledged having
+ been no longer applicable to that object after the said
+ annexation, but having thenceforward become payable to the United
+ States; and upon the condition, also, that the said State of
+ Texas shall, by some solemn and authentic act of her Legislature,
+ or of a convention, relinquish to the United States any claim
+ which she has to any part of New Mexico.
+
+ "5. _Resolved_, That it is inexpedient to abolish slavery in the
+ District of Columbia whilst that institution continues to exist
+ in the State of Maryland, without the consent of that State,
+ without the consent of the people of the District, and without
+ just compensation to the owners of slaves within the District.
+
+ "6. _But Resolved_, That it is expedient to prohibit within the
+ District, the slave-trade in slaves brought into it from States
+ or places beyond the limits of the District, either to be sold
+ therein as merchandise, or to be transported to other markets
+ without the District of Columbia.
+
+ "7. _Resolved_, That more effectual provision ought to be made by
+ law, according to the requirement of the Constitution, for the
+ restitution and delivery of persons bound to service or labor in
+ any State, who may escape into any other State or territory in
+ the Union. And
+
+ "8. _Resolved_, That Congress has no power to prohibit or
+ obstruct the trade in slaves between the slave-holding States,
+ but that the admission or exclusion of slaves brought from one
+ into another of them, depends exclusively upon their own
+ particular laws."
+
+Senator Bell, of Tennessee, offered a series of resolutions on the
+same question on the 28th of February, containing nine resolves. As
+usual, on all propositions respecting slavery, the debate was
+protracted, earnest, and able. The Clay resolutions attracted most
+attention. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, said:
+
+ "Sir, we are called upon to receive this as a measure of
+ compromise! As a measure in which we of the minority are to
+ receive nothing. A measure of compromise! I look upon it as but a
+ modest mode of taking that, the claim to which has been more
+ boldly asserted by others; and, that I may be understood upon
+ this question, and that my position may go forth to the country
+ in the same columns that convey the sentiments of the Senator
+ from Kentucky, I here assert, that never will I take less than
+ the Missouri compromise line extended to the Pacific Ocean, with
+ the specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the
+ territory below that line; and that, before such territories are
+ admitted into the Union as States, slaves may be taken there from
+ any of the United States at the option of the owners. I can never
+ consent to give additional power to a majority to commit further
+ aggressions upon the minority in this Union, and will never
+ consent to any proposition which will have such a tendency,
+ without a full guaranty or counteracting measure is connected
+ with it."
+
+A number of very able speeches were made on the resolutions of Mr.
+Clay, but the most characteristic one--the one most thoroughly
+representing the sentiment of the South--was made by John C. Calhoun.
+He said:
+
+ "The Union was in danger. The cause of this danger was the
+ discontent at the South. And what was the cause of this
+ discontent? It was found in the belief which prevailed among them
+ that they could not, consistently with honor and safety, remain
+ in the Union. And what had caused this belief? One of the causes
+ was the long-continued agitation of the slave question at the
+ North, and the many aggressions they had made on the rights of
+ the South. But the primary cause was in the fact, that the
+ equilibrium between the two sections at the time of the adoption
+ of the Constitution had been destroyed. The first of the series
+ of acts by which this had been done, was the ordinance of 1787,
+ by which the South had been excluded from all the northwestern
+ region. The next was the Missouri compromise, excluding them from
+ all the Louisiana territory north of thirty-six degrees thirty
+ minutes, except the State of Missouri,--in all 1,238,025 square
+ miles, leaving to the South the southern portion of the original
+ Louisiana territory, with Florida, to which had since been added
+ the territory acquired with Texas,--making in all but 609,023
+ miles. And now the North was endeavoring to appropriate to
+ herself the territory recently acquired from Mexico, adding
+ 526,078 miles to the territory from which the South was, if
+ possible, to be excluded. Another cause of the destruction of
+ this equilibrium was our system of revenue (the tariff), the
+ duties falling mainly upon the Southern portion of the Union, as
+ being the greatest exporting States, while more than a due
+ proportion of the revenue had been disbursed at the North.
+
+ "But while these measures were destroying the equilibrium between
+ the two sections, the action of the government was leading to a
+ radical change in its character. It was maintained that the
+ government itself had the right to decide, in the last resort,
+ as to the extent of its powers, and to resort to force to
+ maintain the power it claimed. The doctrines of General Jackson's
+ proclamation, subsequently asserted and maintained by Mr.
+ Madison, the leading framer and expounder of the Constitution,
+ were the doctrines which, if carried out, would change the
+ character of the government from a federal republic, as it came
+ from the hands of its framers, into a great national consolidated
+ democracy."
+
+Mr. Calhoun also spoke of the anti-slavery agitation, which, if not
+arrested, would destroy the Union; and he passed a censure upon
+Congress for receiving abolition petitions. Had Congress in the
+beginning adopted the course which he had advocated, which was to
+refuse to take jurisdiction, by the united voice of all parties, the
+agitation would have been prevented. He charged the North with false
+professions of devotion to the Union, and with having violated the
+Constitution. Acts had been passed in Northern States to set aside and
+annul the clause of the slavery question, with the avowed purpose of
+abolishing slavery in the States, which was another violation of the
+Constitution. And during the fifteen years of this agitation, in not a
+single instance had the people of the North denounced these agitators.
+How then could their professions of devotion to the Union be sincere?
+
+Mr. Calhoun disapproved both the plan of Mr. Clay and that of
+President Taylor, as incapable of saving the Union. He would pass by
+the former without remark, as Mr. Clay had been replied to by several
+Senators. The Executive plan could not save the Union, because it
+could not satisfy the South that it could safely or honorably remain
+in the Union. It was a modification of the Wilmot proviso, proposing
+to effect the same object, the exclusion of the South from the new
+territory. The Executive proviso was more objectionable than the
+Wilmot. Both inflicted a dangerous wound upon the Constitution, by
+depriving the Southern States of equal rights as joint partners in
+these territories; but the former inflicted others equally great. It
+claimed for the inhabitants the right to legislate for the
+territories, which belonged to Congress. The assumption of this right
+was utterly unfounded, unconstitutional, and without example. Under
+this assumed right, the people of California had formed a constitution
+and a State government, and appointed Senators and Representatives. If
+the people as adventurers had conquered the territory and established
+their independence, the sovereignty of the country would have been
+vested in them. In that case they would have had the right to form a
+State government, and afterward they might have applied to Congress
+for admission into the Union. But the United States had conquered and
+acquired California; therefore, to them belonged the sovereignty and
+the powers of government over the territory. Michigan was the first
+case of departure from the uniform rule of acting. Hers, however, was
+a slight departure from established usage. The ordinance of 1787
+secured to her the right of becoming a State when she should have
+60,000 inhabitants. Congress delayed taking the census. The people
+became impatient; and after her population had increased to twice that
+number, they formed a constitution without waiting for the taking of
+the census; and Congress waived the omission, as there was no doubt of
+the requisite number of inhabitants. In other cases there had existed
+territorial governments.
+
+Having shown how the Union could not be saved, he then proceeded to
+answer the question how it could be saved. There was but one way
+certain. Justice must be done to the South, by a full and final
+settlement of all the questions at issue. The North must concede to
+the South an equal right to the acquired territory, and fulfil the
+stipulations respecting fugitive slaves; must cease to agitate the
+slave question, and join in an amendment of the Constitution,
+restoring to the South the power she possessed of protecting herself,
+before the equilibrium between the two sections had been destroyed by
+the action of the government.
+
+Here was a clear statement of the position and feelings of the South
+respecting slavery. The ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri compromise
+of 1820 "were destroying the equilibrium between the _two sections_!"
+And the anti-slavery agitation, "if not arrested, would destroy the
+Union!" The sophistry of Calhoun sought a reasonable excuse for the
+South to dissolve the Union. In a speech of his, written during a
+spell of sickness, and read by Mr. Mason, of Virginia, he referred to
+Washington as "the illustrious Southerner." When it was read in the
+Senate Mr. Cass said:
+
+ "Our Washington--the Washington of our whole country--receives in
+ this Senate the epithet of 'Southerner,' as if that great man,
+ whose distinguished characteristic was his attachment to his
+ country, and his whole country, who was so well known, and who,
+ more than any one, deprecated all sectional feeling and all
+ sectional action, loved Georgia better than he loved New
+ Hampshire, because he happened to be born on the southern bank of
+ the Potomac. I repeat, sir, that I heard with great pain that
+ expression from the distinguished Senator from South Carolina."
+
+There was certainly no ground for reasonable complaint on the part of
+the South. From the convention that framed the Federal Constitution,
+through all Congressional struggle, and in national politics as well,
+the South had secured nearly all measures asked for. And the
+discussion in Congress at this time was intended to divert attention
+from the real object of the South. Another fugitive-slave law was
+demanded by the South, and the Northern members voted them the right
+to hunt slaves upon free soil. The law passed, and was approved on the
+18th of September, 1850.
+
+It was difficult to choose between the Democratic and Whig parties by
+reading the planks in their platforms referring to the subject of
+slavery. On the 1st of June, 1852, the Democratic Convention, at
+Baltimore, Maryland, nominated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, for
+the Presidency, on the forty-ninth ballot. This plank defined the
+position of that party on the question of slavery.
+
+ "That Congress has no power under the Constitution to interfere
+ with or control the domestic institutions of the several States,
+ and that such States are the sole and proper judges of every
+ thing appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the
+ Constitution; that all efforts of the abolitionists, or others,
+ made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery,
+ or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to
+ lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences; and that
+ all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the
+ happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and
+ permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any
+ friend of our political institutions.
+
+ "That the foregoing proposition covers, and was intended to
+ embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress; and
+ therefore the Democratic party of the Union, standing on this
+ national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful
+ execution of the acts known as the compromise measures settled by
+ the last Congress--the act for reclaiming fugitives from service
+ or labor included; which act being designed to carry out an
+ express provision of the Constitution, can not with fidelity
+ thereto be repealed, nor so changed as to destroy or impair its
+ efficiency.
+
+ "That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing,
+ in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question,
+ under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made."
+
+The Whig party, at the same city, in convention assembled, on the 16th
+of June, 1852, nominated Gen. Winfield Scott, for the Presidency, on
+the fifty-third ballot. The Whig party declared its position on the
+slavery question as follows:
+
+ "That the series of acts of the Thirty-first Congress--the act
+ known as the fugitive-slave law included--are received and
+ acquiesced in by the Whig party of the United States, as a
+ settlement in principle and substance of the dangerous and
+ exciting question which they embrace; and so far as they are
+ concerned, we will maintain them and insist on their strict
+ enforcement, until time and experience shall demonstrate the
+ necessity of further legislation, to guard against the evasion of
+ the laws on the one hand, and the abuse of their powers on the
+ other, not impairing their present efficiency; and we deprecate
+ all agitation of the question thus settled, as dangerous to our
+ peace; and will discountenance all efforts to continue or renew
+ such agitation whenever, wherever, or however the attempt may be
+ made; and we will maintain this system as essential to the
+ nationality of the Whig party of the Union."
+
+The political contest ended in the autumn in favor of Mr. Pierce. The
+public journals in many parts of the country thought the end of the
+"slavery question" had come, and that as the Whigs were determined to
+"discountenance all efforts to continue or renew" the agitation of the
+subject, there was no fear of sectional strife.
+
+In his inaugural address, March 4, 1853, President Pierce said:
+
+ "I believe that involuntary servitude is recognized by the
+ Constitution. I believe that the States where it exists are
+ entitled to efficient remedies to enforce the constitutional
+ provisions. I hold that the compromise measures of 1850 are
+ strictly constitutional, and to be unhesitatingly carried into
+ effect. And now, I fervently hope that the question is at rest,"
+ etc.
+
+In the month of December, upon the assembling of Congress, the
+President, in his message to that body, again referred to slavery as
+"a subject which had been set at rest by the deliberate judgment of
+the people." But on the 15th of December, nine days after the message
+of the President had been received by Congress, Mr. Dodge, of Iowa,
+submitted to the Senate a bill to organize the territory of Nebraska,
+which was referred to the Committee on Territories. After some
+discussion in the committee, it was finally reported back to the
+Senate by Mr. Douglass, of Illinois, with amendments. The report was
+elaborate, and raised considerable doubt as to whether the amendments
+did not repeal the Missouri compromise. A special report was made on
+the 4th of January, 1854, so amending the bill as to remove all doubt;
+and, contemplating the opening of all the vast territory secured
+forever to freedom, startled the nation from the "repose" it had
+apparently taken from agitation on the slavery question, and opened an
+interminable controversy.
+
+On the 16th of January, Mr. Dixon, of Kentucky, gave notice that he
+would introduce a bill clearly repealing the Missouri compromise. The
+first champion of the repeal of the compromise of 1820 was a Northern
+Senator, Stephen A. Douglass, of Illinois. He hung a massive
+argument--excelling rather in quantity than in quality--upon the
+following propositions:
+
+ "From these provisions, it is apparent that the compromise
+ measures of 1850 affirm, and rest upon, the following
+ propositions:
+
+ "_First._--That all questions pertaining to slavery in the
+ territories, and the new States to be formed therefrom, are to be
+ left to the decision of the people residing therein, by their
+ appropriate representatives, to be chosen by them for that
+ purpose.
+
+ "_Second._--That 'all cases involving title to slaves,' and
+ 'questions of personal freedom,' are to be referred to the
+ adjudication of the local tribunals, with the right of appeal to
+ the Supreme Court of the United States.
+
+ "_Third._--That the provision of the Constitution of the United
+ States in respect to fugitives from service, is to be carried
+ into faithful execution in all 'the original territories,' the
+ same as in the States.
+
+ "The substitute for the bill which your committee have prepared,
+ and which is commended to the favorable action of the Senate,
+ proposes to carry these propositions and principles into
+ practical operation, in the precise language of the compromise
+ measures of 1850."
+
+Mr. Douglass said:
+
+ "The legal effect of this bill, if passed, was neither to
+ legislate slavery into nor out of these territories, but to leave
+ the people to do as they pleased. And why should any man, North
+ or South, object to this principle? It was by the operation of
+ this principle, and not by any dictation from the Federal
+ government, that slavery had been abolished in half of the twelve
+ States in which it existed at the time of the adoption of the
+ Constitution."
+
+On the 3d of February, Mr. Chase, of Ohio, moved to amend by striking
+out the words, "was superseded by the principles of the legislation of
+1850, commonly called the compromise measures, and," so that the
+clause would read: "That the Constitution, and all laws of the United
+States which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force
+and effect within the said territory of Nebraska as elsewhere within
+the United States, except the eighth section of the act preparatory to
+the admission of Missouri into the Union, approved March 6, 1820,
+which is hereby declared inoperative."
+
+Mr. Chase then proceeded to reply to Mr. Douglass. He called attention
+to that part of the President's message which referred to the "repose"
+of the subject of slavery, and then said:
+
+ "The agreement of the two old political parties, thus referred to
+ by the Chief Magistrate of the country, was complete, and a large
+ majority of the American people seemed to acquiesce in the
+ legislation of which he spoke. A few of us, indeed, doubted the
+ accuracy of these statements, and the permanency of this repose.
+ We never believed that the acts of 1850 would prove to be a
+ permanent adjustment of the slavery question. But, sir, we only
+ represented a small, though vigorous and growing party in the
+ country. Our number was small in Congress. By some we were
+ regarded as visionaries, by some as factionists; while almost all
+ agreed in pronouncing us mistaken. And so, sir, the country was
+ at peace. As the eye swept the entire circumference of the
+ horizon and upward to mid-heaven, not a cloud appeared; to common
+ observation there was no mist or stain upon the clearness of the
+ sky. But suddenly all is changed; rattling thunder breaks from
+ the cloudless firmament. The storm bursts forth in fury. And now
+ we find ourselves in the midst of an agitation, the end and issue
+ of which no man can foresee.
+
+ "Now, sir, who is responsible for this renewal of strife and
+ controversy? Not we, for we have introduced no question of
+ territorial slavery into Congress; not we, who are denounced as
+ agitators and factionists. No, sir; the quietists and the
+ finalists have become agitators; they who told us that all
+ agitation was quieted, and that the resolutions of the political
+ conventions put a final period to the discussion of slavery. This
+ will not escape the observation of the country. It is _slavery_
+ that renews the strife. It is slavery that again wants room. It
+ is slavery with its insatiate demand for more slave territory and
+ more slave States. And what does slavery ask for now? Why, sir,
+ it demands that a time-honored and sacred compact shall be
+ rescinded--a compact which has endured through a whole
+ generation--a compact which has been universally regarded as
+ inviolable, North and South--a compact, the constitutionality of
+ which few have doubted, and by which all have consented to
+ abide."
+
+But notwithstanding the able and eloquent speech of Mr. Chase, his
+amendment only received thirteen votes. The debate went on until the
+3d of March, when the bill was placed upon its passage, and even then
+the discussion went on. When the vote was finally taken, the bill
+passed by a vote of 37 yeas to 14 nays. The bill went to the House,
+where it was made a substitute to a bill already introduced, and
+passed by a vote of 113 yeas to 100 nays as follows:
+
+ "Representatives from free States in favor of the bill, 44.
+ "Representatives from slave States in favor of the bill, 69.
+ ----
+ 113.
+
+ "Representatives from free States against the bill, 91.
+ "Representatives from slave States against the bill, 9.
+ ----
+ 100."
+
+And thus, approved by the President, the measure became a law under
+the title of "_An Act to Organize the Territories of Kansas and
+Nebraska_."
+
+Congress had violated the sublimest principles of law, had broken
+faith with the people; had opened a wide door to slavery; had blotted
+from the map of the United States the last asylum where the oppressed
+might seek protection; had put the country in a way to be reddened
+with a fratricidal war, and made our flag a flaunting lie in the eyes
+of the civilized world. There was nothing to be done now but to let
+the leaven of sectional malice work, that had been hurled into the
+slavery discussions in Congress. The bloodless war of words was now
+transferred to the territory of Kansas, where a conflict of political
+parties, election frauds, and assassination did their hateful work.
+
+The South began to put her State militia upon a war footing, and to
+make every preparation for battle. The Administration of President
+Buchanan was in the interest of the South from beginning to end. He
+refused to give Gov. John W. Geary, of Kansas, the military support
+the "_border ruffians_" made necessary; allowed the public debt to
+increase, our precious coin to go abroad, our treasury to become
+depleted, our navy to go to the distant ports of China and Japan, our
+army to our extremest frontiers, the music of our industries to cease;
+and the faith of a loyal people in the perpetuity of the republic was
+allowed to faint amid the din of mobs and the threats of secession.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[36] There were nearly 500 slaves held in Northern States not placed
+in this census.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE "BLACK LAWS" OF "BORDER STATES."
+
+ STRINGENT LAWS ENACTED AGAINST FREE NEGROES AND
+ MULATTOES.--FUGITIVE-SLAVE LAW RESPECTED IN OHIO.--A LAW TO
+ PREVENT KIDNAPPING.--THE FIRST CONSTITUTION OF OHIO.--HISTORY OF
+ THE DRED SCOTT CASE.--JUDGE TANEY'S OPINION IN THIS CASE.--OHIO
+ CONSTITUTION OF 1851 DENIED FREE NEGROES THE RIGHT TO VOTE.--THE
+ ESTABLISHMENT OF COLORED SCHOOLS.--LAW IN INDIANA TERRITORY IN
+ REFERENCE TO EXECUTIONS.--AN ACT FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF NEGROES
+ AND MULATTOES INTO THE TERRITORY.--FIRST CONSTITUTION OF
+ INDIANA.--THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION OF 1818.--CRIMINAL CODE
+ ENACTED.--ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE PASSES AN ACT TO PREVENT THE
+ EMIGRATION OF FREE NEGROES INTO THE STATE.--FREE NEGROES OF THE
+ NORTHERN STATES ENDURE RESTRICTION AND PROSCRIPTION.
+
+
+Although slavery was excluded from all the new States northwest of the
+Ohio River, the free Negro was but little better off in Ohio, Indiana,
+and Illinois than in any of the Southern States. From the earliest
+moment of the organic existence of the border free States, severe laws
+were enacted against free Negroes and Mulattoes. At the second session
+of the first Legislature of the State of Ohio, "_An Act to Regulate
+Black and Mulatto Persons_"[37] was passed.
+
+ Sec. 1. That no black or mulatto person shall be permitted to
+ settle or reside in this State "without a certificate of his or
+ her actual freedom."
+
+ 2. Resident blacks and mulattoes to have their names recorded,
+ etc. (Amended in 1834, Jan. 5 1, Curwen, 126.) _Proviso_, "That
+ nothing in this act contained shall bar the lawful claim to any
+ black or mulatto person."
+
+ 3. Residents prohibited from hiring black or mulatto persons not
+ having a certificate.
+
+ 4. Forbids, under penalty, to "harbor or secrete any black or
+ mulatto person the property of any person whatever," or to
+ "hinder or prevent the lawful owner or owners from re-taking,"
+ etc.
+
+ 5. Black or mulatto persons coming to reside in the State with a
+ legal certificate, to record the same.
+
+ 6. "That in case any person or persons, his or their agent or
+ agents, claiming any black or mulatto person or persons that now
+ are or hereafter may be in this State, may apply, upon making
+ satisfactory proof that such black or mulatto person or persons
+ are the property of him or her who applies, to any associate
+ judge or justice of the peace within the State, the associate
+ judge or justice is hereby empowered and required, by his
+ precept, to direct the sheriff or constable to arrest such black
+ or mulatto person or persons, and deliver the same, in the county
+ or township where such officers shall reside, to the claimant or
+ claimants, or his or their agent or agents, for which service the
+ sheriff or constable shall receive such compensation as he is
+ entitled to receive in other cases for similar services."
+
+ 7. "That any person or persons who shall attempt to remove or
+ shall remove from this State, or who shall aid and assist in
+ removing, contrary to the provisions of this act, any black or
+ mulatto person or persons, without first proving, as herein
+ before directed, that he, she, or they is or are legally entitled
+ so to do, shall, on conviction thereof before any court having
+ cognizance of the same, forfeit and pay the sum of one thousand
+ dollars, one half to the use of the informer and the other half
+ to the use of the State, to be recovered by the action of debt
+ _quitam_ or indictment, and shall moreover be liable to the
+ action of the party injured."
+
+So here upon free soil, under a State government that did not
+recognize slavery in its constitution, the Negro was compelled to
+produce a certificate of freedom. Thus the fugitive-slave law was
+recognized, but at the same time an unlawful removal of free Negroes
+from the State was forbidden.
+
+At the session of 1806-7, "_An Act to Amend the Act Entitled 'an Act
+Regulating Black and Mulatto Persons_,'" was passed amending the old
+law. The first act simply required "a certificate of freedom"; the
+amended law required Negroes and Mulattoes intending to settle in Ohio
+to give a bond not to become a charge upon the county in which they
+settled. Section four reads as follows:
+
+ "4. That no black or mulatto person or persons shall hereafter be
+ permitted to be sworn or give evidence in any court of record or
+ elsewhere in this State, in any cause depending or matter of
+ controversy where either party to the sale is a white person, or
+ in any prosecution which shall be instituted in behalf of this
+ State, against any white person."[38]
+
+But this law did not apply to persons a shade nearer white than
+Mulatto [the seven-eighths law].[39] Their testimony was admissible,
+while that of Negroes and Mulattoes was not admitted against them. In
+Jordan _vs._ Smith [1846], 14, Ohio, p. 199: "A black person sued by a
+white, may make affidavit to a plea so as to put the plaintiff to
+proof."
+
+Attention has been called to the fact that the fugitive-slave law was
+respected in Ohio. In 1818-19, a law was passed to prevent the
+unlawful kidnapping of free Negroes, which, in its preamble, recites
+the provisions of the law of Congress, passed February 12, 1793,
+respecting fugitives from service and labor.[40] And in 1839 the
+Legislature passed another act relating to "fugitives from labor,"
+etc., paving the way by the following recital:
+
+ "WHEREAS, The second section of the fourth article of the
+ Constitution of the United States declares that 'no person'
+ [etc., reciting it]; and whereas the laws now in force within the
+ State of Ohio are wholly inadequate to the protection pledged by
+ this provision of the Constitution to the Southern States of this
+ Union; and whereas it is the duty of those who reap the largest
+ measure of benefits conferred by the Constitution to recognize to
+ their full extent the obligations which that instrument imposes;
+ and whereas it is the deliberate conviction of this General
+ Assembly that the Constitution can only be sustained as it was
+ framed by a spirit of just compromise; therefore."
+
+ Sec. 1. Authorizes judges of courts of record, "or any justice of
+ the peace, or the mayor of any city or town corporate," on
+ application, etc., of claimant, to bring the fugitive before a
+ judge within the county where the warrant was issued, or before
+ some State judge with certain cautions as to proving the official
+ character of the officer issuing the warrant; gives the form of
+ warrant, directing the fugitive to be brought before, etc., "to
+ be be dealt with as the law directs."[41]
+
+J. Peck, Esq. [9, Ohio, p. 212], refers to the laws of 1818-19, and
+1830-31, as a recognition by the State of Ohio of the power of
+Congress to pass the act of 1793, though that the act was not
+specially mentioned.
+
+The first constitution of Ohio [1802] restricted the right of suffrage
+to "all white male inhabitants." "In all elections, all white male
+inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the
+State one year next preceding the election, and who have paid or are
+charged with a State or county tax, shall enjoy the right of an
+elector," etc.[42] This was repeated in the Bill of Rights adopted in
+1851.[43]
+
+Article iv., Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States says:
+"The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and
+immunities of citizens in the several States." The question as to
+whether free Negroes were included in the above was discussed at great
+length in the Dred Scott case, where Chief-Justice Taney took the
+ground that a Negro was not a citizen under the fourth article of the
+Constitution. But the fourth article of the Articles of Confederation
+[1778] recognized free Negroes as citizens. It is given here:
+
+ "ART. 4.--The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship
+ and intercourse among the people of the different States in this
+ Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States--paupers,
+ vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted--shall be entitled
+ to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several
+ States; and the people of each State shall have free ingress and
+ regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all
+ the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties,
+ impositions, and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof,
+ respectively; provided that such restrictions shall not extend so
+ far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any
+ State, from any other State, of which the owner is an inhabitant;
+ provided, also, that no imposition, duty, or restriction shall be
+ laid by any State on the property of the United States, or either
+ of them."[44]
+
+By this it is evident that "paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from
+justice" were the only persons excluded from the right of citizenship.
+The following is the history of the Dred Scott case:
+
+ "In the year 1834, the plaintiff was a negro slave belonging to
+ Dr. Emerson, who was a surgeon in the army of the United States.
+ In that year, 1834, said Dr. Emerson took the plaintiff from the
+ State of Missouri to the military post at Rock Island, in the
+ State of Illinois, and held him there as a slave until the month
+ of April or May, 1836. At the time last mentioned, said Dr.
+ Emerson removed the plaintiff from said military post at Rock
+ Island to the military post at Fort Snelling, situate on the west
+ bank of the Mississippi River, in the territory known as Upper
+ Louisiana, acquired by the United States of France, and situate
+ north of the latitude of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north,
+ and north of the State of Missouri. Said Dr. Emerson held the
+ plaintiff in slavery at said Fort Snelling, from said
+ last-mentioned date until the year 1838.
+
+ "In the year 1835, Harriet, who is named in the second count of
+ the plaintiff's declaration, was the negro slave of Major
+ Taliaferro, who belonged to the army of the United States. In
+ that year, 1835, said Major Taliaferro took said Harriet to said
+ Fort Snelling, a military post, situated as herein before stated,
+ and kept her there as a slave until the year 1836, and then sold
+ and delivered her as a slave at said Fort Snelling unto the said
+ Dr. Emerson herein before named. Said Dr. Emerson held said
+ Harriet in slavery at said Fort Snelling until the year 1838.
+
+ "In the year 1836, the plaintiff and said Harriet at said Fort
+ Snelling, with the consent of said Dr. Emerson, who then claimed
+ to be their master and owner, intermarried, and took each other
+ for husband and wife. Eliza and Lizzie, named in the third count
+ of the plaintiff's declaration, are the fruit of that marriage.
+ Eliza is about fourteen years old, and was born on board the
+ steamboat 'Gipsey,' north of the north line of the State of
+ Missouri, and upon the river Mississippi. Lizzie is about seven
+ years old, and was born in the State of Missouri, at the military
+ post called Jefferson Barracks.
+
+ "In the year 1838, said Dr. Emerson removed the plaintiff and
+ said Harriet and their said daughter Eliza from said Fort
+ Snelling to the State of Missouri, where they have ever since
+ resided.
+
+ "Before the commencement of this suit, said Dr. Emerson sold and
+ conveyed the plaintiff, said Harriet, Eliza, and Lizzie to the
+ defendant, as slaves, and the defendant has ever since claimed to
+ hold them and each of them as slaves.
+
+ "At the time mentioned in the plaintiff's declaration, the
+ defendant, claiming to be owner as aforesaid, laid his hands upon
+ said plaintiff, Harriet, Eliza, and Lizzie, and imprisoned them,
+ doing in this respect, however, no more than what he might
+ lawfully do if they were of right his slaves at such times.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "It is agreed that Dred Scott brought suit for his freedom in the
+ Circuit Court of St. Louis County; that there was a verdict and
+ judgment in his favor; that on a writ of error to the Supreme
+ Court the judgment below was reversed, and the same remanded to
+ the Circuit Court, where it has been continued to await the
+ decision of this case.
+
+ "In May, 1854, the cause went before a jury, who found the
+ following verdict, viz.: 'As to the first issue joined in this
+ case, we of the jury find the defendant not guilty; and as to the
+ issue secondly above joined, we of the jury find that before and
+ at the time when, etc., in the first count mentioned, the said
+ Dred Scott was a negro slave, the lawful property of the
+ defendant; and as to the issue thirdly above joined, we, the
+ jury, find that before and at the time when, etc., in the second
+ and third counts mentioned, the said Harriet, wife of said Dred
+ Scott, and Eliza and Lizzie, the daughters of the said Dred
+ Scott, were negro slaves, the lawful property of the defendant.'
+
+ "Whereupon, the court gave judgment for the defendant.
+
+ "After an ineffectual motion for a new trial, the plaintiff filed
+ the following bill of exceptions.
+
+ "On the trial of this cause by the jury, the plaintiff, to
+ maintain the issues on his part, read to the jury the following
+ agreed statement of facts (see agreement above). No further
+ testimony was given to the jury by either party. Thereupon the
+ plaintiff moved the court to give to the jury the following
+ instructions, viz.:
+
+ "'That, upon the facts agreed to by the parties, they ought to
+ find for the plaintiff.' The court refused to give such
+ instruction to the jury, and the plaintiff, to such refusal, then
+ and there duly excepted.
+
+ The court then gave the following instruction to the jury, on
+ motion of the defendant:
+
+ "'The jury are instructed, that upon the facts in this case, the
+ law is with the defendant.' The plaintiff excepted to this
+ instruction.
+
+ "Upon these exceptions, the case came up to the Supreme Court,
+ December term, 1856."[45]
+
+Judge Taney gave the following opinion:
+
+ "The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were
+ imported into this country and sold as slaves, become a member of
+ the political community formed and brought into existence by the
+ Constitution of the United States, and as such become entitled to
+ all the rights and privileges and immunities guaranteed by that
+ instrument to the citizen? One of which rights is the privilege
+ of suing in a court of the United States in the cases specified
+ in the Constitution.
+
+ "It will be observed that the plea applies to that class of
+ persons only whose ancestors were negroes of the African race,
+ and imported into this country, and sold and held as slaves. The
+ only matter in issue before the court, therefore, is, whether the
+ descendants of such slaves, when they shall be emancipated, or
+ who are born of parents who had become free before their birth,
+ are citizens of a State, in the sense in which the word citizen
+ is used in the Constitution of the United States. And this being
+ the only matter in dispute on the pleadings, the court must be
+ understood as speaking in this opinion of that class only, that
+ is, of those persons who are the descendants of Africans who were
+ imported into this country and sold as slaves.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "We proceed to examine the case as presented by the pleadings.
+
+ "The words 'people of the United States' and 'citizens' are
+ synonymous terms, and mean the same thing. They both describe the
+ political body who, according to our republican institutions,
+ form the sovereignty, and who hold the power and conduct the
+ government through their representatives. They are what we
+ familiarly call the 'sovereign people, and every citizen is one
+ of this people, and a constituent member of this sovereignty. The
+ question before us is, whether the class of persons described in
+ the plea in abatement compose a portion of this people, and are
+ constituent members of this sovereignty. We think they are not,
+ and that they are not included, and were not intended to be
+ included, under the word 'citizen' in the Constitution, and can
+ therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that
+ instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United
+ States. On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a
+ subordinate [405] and inferior class of beings, who had been
+ subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not,
+ yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or
+ privileges but such as those who held the power and the
+ government might choose to grant them.
+
+ "It is not the province of the court to decide upon the justice
+ or injustice, the policy or impolicy, of these laws....
+
+ "In discussing this question, we must not confound the rights of
+ citizenship which a State may confer within its own limits, and
+ the rights of citizenship as a member of the Union. It does not
+ by any means follow, because he has all the rights and privileges
+ of a citizen of a State, that he must be a citizen of the United
+ States. He may have all of the rights and privileges of the
+ citizen of a State, and yet not be entitled to the rights and
+ privileges of a citizen of any other State. For, previous to the
+ adoption of the Constitution of the United States, every State
+ had the undoubted right to confer on whomsoever it pleased the
+ character of citizen, and to endow him with all its rights. But
+ this character of course was confined to the boundaries of the
+ State, and gave him no rights or privileges in other States
+ beyond those secured to him by the laws of nations and the comity
+ of States. Nor have the several States surrendered the power of
+ conferring these rights and privileges by adopting the
+ Constitution of the United States. Each State may still confer
+ them upon an alien, or any one it thinks proper, or upon any
+ class or description of persons; yet he would not be a citizen in
+ the sense in which that word is used in the Constitution of the
+ United States, nor entitled to sue as such in one of its courts,
+ nor to the privileges and immunities of a citizen in the other
+ States. The rights which he would acquire would be restricted to
+ the State which gave them. The Constitution has conferred on
+ Congress the right to establish an uniform rule of
+ naturalization, and this right is evidently exclusive, and has
+ always been held by this court to be so. Consequently no State,
+ since the adoption of the Constitution, can, by naturalizing an
+ alien, invest him with the rights and privileges secured to a
+ citizen of a State under the Federal Government, although, so far
+ as the State alone was concerned, he would undoubtedly be
+ entitled to the rights of a citizen, and clothed with all the
+ [406] rights and immunities which the Constitution and laws of
+ the State attached to that character.
+
+ "It is very clear, therefore, that no State can, by any act or
+ law of its own, passed since the adoption of the Constitution,
+ introduce a new member into the political community created by
+ the Constitution of the United States. It cannot make him a
+ member of this community by making him a member of its own. And,
+ for the same reason, it cannot introduce any person or
+ description of persons who were not intended to be embraced in
+ this new political family, which the Constitution brought into
+ existence, but were intended to be excluded from it.
+
+ "The question then arises, whether the provisions of the
+ Constitution, in relation to the personal rights and privileges
+ to which the citizen of a State should be entitled, embraced the
+ negro African race, at that time in this country, or who might
+ afterwards be imported, who had then or should afterwards be made
+ free in any State; and to put it in the power of a single State
+ to make him a citizen of the United States, and indue him with
+ the full rights of citizenship in every other State without their
+ consent. Does the Constitution of the United States act upon him
+ whenever he shall be made free under the laws of a State, and
+ raised there to the rank of a citizen, and immediately clothe him
+ with all the privileges of a citizen in every other State and in
+ its own courts?
+
+ "The court think the affirmative of these propositions cannot be
+ maintained. And if it cannot, the plaintiff in error could not be
+ a citizen of the State of Missouri, within the meaning of the
+ Constitution of the United States, and, consequently, was not
+ entitled to sue in its courts."[46]
+
+This decision of the Supreme Court on the plea in abatement that the
+plaintiff (a Negro, Dred Scott) was not a citizen in the sense of the
+word in Article iii, Sec. 2 of the Constitution, was based upon an
+erroneous idea respecting the location of the word _citizen_ in the
+instrument. The premise of the court was wrong, and hence the
+feebleness of the reasoning and the false conclusions. Article iii,
+Section 2 of the Constitution, extends judicial power to all cases, in
+law and equity, "between citizens of different States, between
+citizens of the same State," etc. But Article iv, Section 2, declares
+that "citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and
+immunities of citizens in the several States." The plea in abatement
+was brought under Article iii, but all the judges, except Justice
+McLean, built their decision upon the word _citizen_ as it stood in
+Article iv.
+
+By the constitution of Ohio, adopted in 1851, free Negroes were not
+only denied the right to vote, but were excluded from the militia
+service. This law was not repealed until 1878.
+
+Neither the constitution of 1802, nor that of 1851, discriminated
+against free Negroes in matters of education; but separate schools
+have been maintained in Ohio from the beginning down to the present
+time, by special acts of the Legislature.
+
+In the territory of Indiana there were quite a number of Negroes from
+the beginning of the century. Some were slaves. In 1806, the first
+Legislature, at its second session, passed a law in reference to
+_executions_, as follows:
+
+ "Sec. 7. And whereas doubts have arisen whether the time of
+ service of negroes and mulattoes, bound to service in this
+ territory, may be sold on execution against the master, _Be it
+ therefore enacted_ that the time of service of such negroes or
+ mulattoes may be sold on execution against the master, in the
+ same manner as personal estate, immediately from which sale the
+ said negroes or mulattoes shall serve the purchaser or purchasers
+ for the residue of their time of service; and the said purchasers
+ and negroes and mulattoes shall have the same remedies against
+ each other as by the laws of the territory are mutually given
+ them in the several cases therein mentioned, and the purchasers
+ shall be obliged to fulfil to the said servants the contracts
+ they made with the masters, as expressed in the indenture or
+ agreement of servitude, and shall, for want of such contract, be
+ obliged to give him or them their freedom due at the end of the
+ time of service, as expressed in the second section of the law of
+ the territory, entitled 'Law concerning servants,' adopted the
+ twenty-second day of September, eighteen hundred and three. This
+ act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day
+ of February next."[47]
+
+This was bold legislation; but it was not all. Negroes were required
+to carry passes, as in the slave States. And on the 17th of September,
+1807, "_An Act for the Introduction of Negroes and Mulattoes into_"
+the territory was passed.
+
+ "Sec. 1. That it shall and may be lawful for any person being the
+ owner or possessor of any negroes or mulattoes of and above the
+ age of fifteen years, and owning service and labor as slaves in
+ any of the States or territories of the United States, or for any
+ citizens of the said States or territories purchasing the same to
+ bring the said negroes and mulattoes into this territory.
+
+ "Sec. 2. The owners or possessors of any negroes or mulattoes as
+ aforesaid, and bringing the same into this territory, shall,
+ within thirty days after such removal, go with the same before
+ the clerk of Court of Common Pleas of proper county, and in
+ presence of said clerk the said owner or possessor shall
+ determine and agree to, and with his or her negro or mulatto,
+ upon the term of years which the said negro or mulatto will and
+ shall serve his or her said owner or possessor, and the clerk
+ shall make a record.
+
+ "Sec. 3. If any negro or mulatto removed into this territory as
+ aforesaid shall refuse to serve his or her owner as aforesaid, it
+ shall and may be lawful for such person, within sixty days
+ thereafter, to remove the said negro or mulatto to any place [to]
+ which by the laws of the United States or territory from whence
+ such owner or possessor may [have come] or shall be authorized to
+ remove the same. (As quoted in Phoebe v. Jay, Breese, Ill. R.,
+ 208.)
+
+ "Sec. 4. An owner failing to act as required in the preceding
+ sections should forfeit all claim and right to the service of
+ such negro or mulatto.
+
+ "Sec. 5. Declares that any person removing into this territory
+ and being the owner or possessor of any negro or mulatto as
+ aforesaid, under the age of fifteen years, or if any person shall
+ hereafter acquire a property in any negro or mulatto under the
+ age aforesaid, and who shall bring them into this territory, it
+ shall and may be lawful for such person, owner, or possessor to
+ hold the said negro to service or labor--the males until they
+ arrive at the age of thirty-five, and females until they arrive
+ at the age of thirty-two years.
+
+ "Sec. 6. Provides that any person removing any negro or mulatto
+ into this territory under the authority of the preceding
+ sections, it shall be incumbent on such person, within thirty
+ days thereafter, to register the name and age of such negro or
+ mulatto with the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for the
+ proper county.
+
+ "Sec. 7. Requires new registry on removal to another county."
+
+ "Secs. 8, 9. Penalties by fine for breach of this act.
+
+ "Sec. 10. Clerk to take security that negro be not chargeable
+ when his term expires.
+
+ "Sec. 12. Fees.
+
+ "Sec. 13. That the children born in said territory of a parent of
+ color owning service or labor, by _indenture_ according to law,
+ should serve the master or mistress of such parent--the males
+ until the age of thirty, and the females until the age of
+ twenty-eight years. (As quoted in Boon v. Juliet, 1836, 1,
+ Scammon, 258.)
+
+ "Sec. 14. That an act respecting apprentices misused by their
+ master or mistress should apply to such children. (See the
+ statute cited in Rankin v. Lydia, 2, A. K. Marshall's Ky., 467;
+ and in Jarrot v. Jarrot, 2, Gilman, 19.) This act was repealed in
+ 1810."[48]
+
+Under the first constitution of Indiana, adopted in 1816, Negroes were
+not debarred from the elective franchise. In Article i, Section 1, of
+the Bill of Rights, this remarkable language occurs: "That all men are
+born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent,
+and unalienable rights," etc. But the very next year the primal rights
+of the Negro as a citizen were struck down by the following: "No
+negro, mulatto, or Indian shall be a witness, except in pleas of the
+State against negroes, mulattoes, or Indians, or in civil cases where
+negroes, mulattoes, or Indians alone shall be parties."[49]
+
+In 1819 [March 22d], an execution law was passed by which the time of
+service of Negroes could be sold on execution against the master, in
+the same manner as personal estate. From the time of the sale, such
+Negroes or Mulattoes were compelled to serve the buyer until the
+expiration of the term of service.[50]
+
+In 1831, an act regulating free Negroes and Mulattoes, servants and
+slaves, declared:
+
+ "Sec. 1. Negroes and mulattoes emigrating into the State shall
+ give bond, etc.
+
+ "Sec. 2. In failure of this, such negro, etc., may be hired out
+ and the proceeds applied to his benefit, or removed from the
+ State under the poor law.
+
+ "Sec. 3. Penalty for committing such without authority.
+
+ "Sec. 4. Penalty for harboring such who have not given bond.
+
+ "Sec. 5. That the right of any persons to pass through this
+ State, with his, her, or their negroes or mulattoes, servant or
+ servants, when emigrating or travelling to any other State or
+ territory or country, making no unnecessary delay, is hereby
+ declared and secured."[51]
+
+In 1851 the new constitution limited the right of franchise to "white
+male citizens of the United States." "No negro or mulatto shall have
+the right of suffrage."
+
+ "Art. xii., Sec. 1. The militia shall consist of all able-bodied
+ white male persons, between, etc.
+
+ "Art. xiii., Sec. 1. No negro or mulatto shall come into, or
+ settle in the State after the adoption of this Constitution.
+
+ "Sec. 2. All contracts made with any negro or mulatto coming into
+ the State contrary to the foregoing section shall be void; and
+ any person who shall employ such negro or mulatto or encourage
+ him to remain in the State shall be fined not less than ten, nor
+ more than five hundred dollars.
+
+ "Sec. 3. All fines which may be collected for a violation of the
+ provisions of this article, or of any law hereafter passed for
+ the purpose of carrying the same into execution, shall be set
+ apart and appropriated for the colonization of such negroes and
+ mulattoes and their descendants as may be in the State at the
+ adoption of this Constitution and may be willing to emigrate.
+
+ "Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall pass laws to carry out the
+ provisions of this article."
+
+Other severe laws were enacted calculated to modify and limit the
+rights of free persons of color.
+
+The first constitution of the State of Illinois, adopted in 1818,
+limited the [Art. ii, Sec. 27] elective franchise to "free white"
+persons. Article v, Sec. 1, exempted "negroes, mulattoes, and Indians"
+from service in the militia. In March, 1819, "_An Act Respecting Free
+Negroes, Mulattoes, Servants, and Slaves_" passed. Sec. 1 required
+Negro and Mulatto persons coming into the State to produce a
+certificate of freedom. Sec. 2 required them to register their family
+as well as themselves. Sec. 3 required persons bringing slaves into
+the State, for the purpose of emancipating them, to give bonds. Passes
+were required of Colored people, and many other hard exactions. The
+bill above referred to contained twenty-five sections.[52]
+
+On the 6th of January, 1827, a criminal code was enacted for offences
+committed by Negroes and servants, which contained many cruel
+features. On the 2d of February a law was passed declaring that all
+Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians were incompetent to be witnesses in
+any court against a white person; and that a person having one fourth
+part Negro blood shall be adjudged a Mulatto. This law was re-enacted
+in 1845.[53] In 1853, February 12th, the Legislature of Illinois
+passed "_An Act to Prevent the Immigration of Free Negroes into this
+State_."
+
+ "Secs. 1, 2. Fine and imprisonment for bringing slave, for any
+ purpose, into the State. _Proviso_: 'That this shall not be
+ construed so as to affect persons or slaves, _bona fide_,
+ travelling through this State from and to any other State in the
+ United States.'
+
+ "Sec. 3. Misdemeanor for negro or mulatto, bond or free, to come
+ with intention of residing.
+
+ "Sec. 4. Such may be prosecuted and fined or sold, for time, for
+ fine and costs.
+
+ "Secs. 5, 6, 7. If such do not afterwards remove, increased fine
+ and like proceedings, etc., etc. Appeal allowed to the circuit.
+
+ "Sec. 8. If claimed as fugitive slave, after being thus arrested,
+ a justice of the peace, 'after hearing the evidence, and being
+ satisfied that the person or persons claiming said negro or
+ mulatto is or are the owner or owners of and entitled to the
+ custody of said negro or mulatto, in accordance with the laws of
+ the United States passed upon this subject,' shall give the owner
+ a certificate, after his paying the costs and the negro's unpaid
+ fine, 'and the said owner or agent so claiming shall have a right
+ to take and remove said slave out of the State.'
+
+ "Sec. 9. Punishment of justice for nonfeasance, and of witness
+ falsely accusing negro."[54]
+
+While slavery had no legal, constitutional existence in the three
+border States, there were, in fact, quite a number of slaves within
+their jurisdiction during the first generation of their existence. And
+the free people of Color were, _first_, denied the right of
+citizenship; _second_, excluded from the militia service; _third_,
+ruled out of the courts whenever their testimony was offered against a
+white person; _fourth_, could not come into the free border States
+without producing a certificate of freedom; and, _fifth_, were annoyed
+by many little, mean laws in the exercise of the few rights they were
+suffered to enjoy. A full description of the infamous "_Black Code_"
+of these States would occupy too much space, and, therefore, the dark
+subject must be dismissed. Posterity shall know, however, how
+patiently the free Negroes of the Northern States endured the
+restrictions and proscriptions which law and public sentiment threw
+across their social and political pathway!
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[37] 1, Chase, p. 393, sects. 1-7.
+
+[38] 1, Chase, p. 555.
+
+[39] Jeffries _vs._ Ankeny, 11, Ohio, p. 375.
+
+[40] 2, Chase L., p. 1052.
+
+[41] Curwen, p. 533.
+
+[42] Revised Statutes of Ohio, vol. i. p. 60.
+
+[43] Ibid., p. 111.
+
+[44] Elliot's Debates, vol. i. p. 79.
+
+[45] Sanford's Dred Scott Case, pp. 397-399.
+
+[46] Howard's Reports, vol. xix. pp. 403-405, sq.
+
+[47] Hurd, vol ii. p. 123.
+
+[48] Terr. laws 1807-8, p. 423.
+
+[49] Laws of 1817, ch. 3, sec. 52.
+
+[50] See Hurd, vol. ii. p. 129.
+
+[51] Revised Laws of Indiana, 1838.
+
+[52] Session Laws, 1819, p. 354. R. S., 1833, p. 466.
+
+[53] R. S., 1845, p. 154.
+
+[54] Rev. St. of 1856, p. 780.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE NORTHERN NEGROES.
+
+ NOMINAL RIGHTS OF NEGROES IN THE SLAVE STATES.--FUGITIVE SLAVES
+ SEEK REFUGE IN CANADA.--NEGROES PETITION AGAINST TAXATION WITHOUT
+ REPRESENTATION.--A LAW PREVENTING NEGROES FROM OTHER STATES FROM
+ SETTLING IN MASSACHUSETTS.--NOTICE TO BLACKS, INDIANS, AND
+ MULATTOES, WARNING THEM TO LEAVE THE COMMONWEALTH.--THE RIGHTS
+ AND PRIVILEGES OF THE NEGRO RESTRICTED.--COLORED MEN TURN THEIR
+ ATTENTION TO THE EDUCATION OF THEIR OWN RACE.--JOHN V. DEGRASSE,
+ THE FIRST COLORED MAN ADMITTED TO THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL
+ SOCIETY.--PROMINENT COLORED MEN OF NEW YORK AND
+ PHILADELPHIA.--THE ORGANIZATION OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST
+ EPISCOPAL AND COLORED BAPTIST CHURCHES.--COLORED MEN DISTINGUISH
+ THEMSELVES IN THE PULPIT.--REPORT TO THE OHIO ANTI-SLAVERY
+ SOCIETY OF COLORED PEOPLE IN CINCINNATI IN 1835.--MANY PURCHASE
+ THEIR FREEDOM.--HENRY BOYD, THE MECHANIC AND BUILDER.--HE BECOMES
+ A SUCCESSFUL MANUFACTURER IN CINCINNATI.--SAMUEL T. WILCOX, THE
+ GROCER.--HIS SUCCESS IN BUSINESS IN CINCINNATI.--BALL AND THOMAS,
+ THE PHOTOGRAPHERS.--COLORED PEOPLE OF CINCINNATI EVINCE A DESIRE
+ TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.--LYDIA P. MOTT ESTABLISHES A HOME FOR
+ COLORED ORPHANS.--THE ORGANIZATION EFFECTED IN 1844.--ITS
+ SUCCESS.--FORMATION OF A COLORED MILITARY COMPANY CALLED "THE
+ ATTUCKS GUARDS."--EMIGRATION OF NEGROES TO LIBERIA.--THE COLORED
+ PEOPLE LIVE DOWN MUCH PREJUDICE.
+
+
+In 1850 there were 238,187 free Negroes in the slave States. Their
+freedom was merely nominal. They were despised beneath the slaves, and
+were watched with suspicious eyes, and disliked by their brethren in
+bondage.
+
+In 1850 there were 196,016 free Negroes in the Northern States. Their
+increase came from [chiefly] two sources, viz.: births and emancipated
+persons from the South. Fugitive slaves generally went to Canada, for
+in addition to being in danger of arrest under the fugitive-slave law,
+none of the State governments in the North sympathized with escaped
+Negroes. The Negroes in the free States were denied the rights of
+citizenship, and were left to the most destroying ignorance. In 1780,
+some free Negroes, of the town of Dartmouth, petitioned the General
+Court of Massachusetts for relief from taxation, because they were
+denied the privileges and duties of citizenship. The petition set
+forth the hardships free Negroes were obliged to endure, even in
+Massachusetts, and was in itself a proof of the fitness of the
+petitioners for the duties of citizenship.
+
+ "_To the Honorable Council and House of Representatives, in
+ General Court Assembled, for the State of Massachusetts Bay, in
+ New England_:
+
+ "The petition of several poor negroes and mulattoes, who are
+ inhabitants of the town of Dartmouth, humbly showeth:
+
+ "That we being chiefly of the African extract, and by reason of
+ long bondage and hard slavery, we have been deprived of enjoying
+ the profits of our labor or the advantage of inheriting estates
+ from our parents, as our neighbors the white people do, having
+ some of us not long enjoyed our own freedom; yet of late,
+ contrary to the invariable custom and practice of the country, we
+ have been, and now are, taxed both in our polls and that small
+ pittance of estate which, through much hard labor and industry,
+ we have got together to sustain ourselves and families withall.
+ We apprehend it, therefore, to be hard usage, and will doubtless
+ (if continued) reduce us to a state of beggary, whereby we shall
+ become a burthen to others, if not timely prevented by the
+ interposition of your justice and power.
+
+ "Your petitioners further show, that we apprehend ourselves to be
+ aggrieved, in that, while we are not allowed the privilege of
+ freemen of the State, having no vote or influence in the election
+ of those that tax us, yet many of our color (as is well known)
+ have cheerfully entered the field of battle in the defence of the
+ common cause, and that (as we conceive) against a similar
+ exertion of power (in regard to taxation) too well known to need
+ a recital in this place.
+
+ "We most humble request, therefore, that you would take our
+ unhappy case into your serious consideration, and, in your wisdom
+ and power, grant us relief from taxation, while under our present
+ depressed circumstances; and your poor petitioners, as in duty
+ bound, shall ever pray, etc.
+
+ "JOHN CUFFE,
+ "ADVENTUR CHILD,
+ "PAUL CUFFE,
+ "SAMUEL GRAY, [his x mark.]
+ "PERO ROWLAND, [his x mark.]
+ "PERO RUSSELL, [his x mark.]
+ "PERO COGGESHALL.
+
+ "Dated at Dartmouth, the 10th of February, 1780.
+
+ "Memorandum in the handwriting of John Cuffe:
+
+ "This is the copy of the petition which we did deliver unto the
+ Honorable Council and House, for relief from taxation in the days
+ of our distress. But we received none. JOHN CUFFE."[55]
+
+Not discouraged at the failure that attended the above petition, the
+indefatigable Paul Cuffe, addressed the following to the selectmen of
+his town the next year.
+
+ "A REQUEST.
+
+ "_To the Selectmen of the Town of Dartmouth, Greeting_:
+
+ We, the subscribers, your humble petitioners, desire that you
+ would, in your capacity, put a stroke in your next warrant for
+ calling a town meeting, so that it may legally be laid before
+ said town, by way of vote, to know the mind of said town, whether
+ all free negroes and mulattoes shall have the same privileges in
+ this said Town of Dartmouth as the white people have, respecting
+ places of profit, choosing of officers, and the like, together
+ with all other privileges in all cases that shall or may happen
+ or be brought in this our said Town of Dartmouth. We, your
+ petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray,
+
+ [Signed] "JOHN CUFFE,
+ "PAUL CUFFE,
+
+ "Dated at Dartmouth, the 22d of the 4th mo., 1781,"
+
+As early as 1788 Massachusetts passed a law requiring all Negroes who
+were not citizens, to leave the Commonwealth within two months from
+the date of the publication of the law. It has been said, upon good
+authority, that this law was drawn by several of the ablest lawyers in
+the Bay State, and was intended to keep out all Negroes from the South
+who, being emancipated, might desire to settle there. It became a law
+on the 26th of March, 1788, and instead of becoming a dead letter, was
+published and enforced in post-haste. The following section is the
+portion of the act pertinent to this inquiry.
+
+ "V. _Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid_ [the
+ Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled],
+ that no person being an African or Negro, other than a subject of
+ the Emperor of Morocco, or a citizen of some one of the United
+ States (to be evidenced by a certificate from the Secretary of
+ the State of which he shall be a citizen), shall tarry within
+ this Commonwealth, for a longer time than two months, and upon
+ complaint made to any Justice of the Peace within this
+ Commonwealth, that any such person has been within the same more
+ than two months, the said Justice shall order the said person to
+ depart out of this Commonwealth, and in case that the said
+ African or Negro shall not depart as aforesaid, any Justice of
+ the Peace within this Commonwealth, upon complaint and proof
+ made that such person has continued within this Commonwealth ten
+ days after notice given him or her to depart as aforesaid, shall
+ commit the said person to any house of correction within the
+ county, there to be kept to hard labor, agreeable to the rules
+ and orders of the said house, until the Sessions of the Peace,
+ next to be holden within and for the said county; and the master
+ of the said house of correction is hereby required and directed
+ to transmit an attested copy of the warrant of commitment to the
+ said Court on the first day of their said session, and if upon
+ trial at the said Court, it shall be made to appear that the said
+ person has thus continued within the Commonwealth, contrary to
+ the tenor of this act, he or she shall be whipped not exceeding
+ ten stripes, and ordered to depart out of this Commonwealth
+ within ten days; and if he or she shall not so depart, the same
+ process shall be had and punishment inflicted, and so _toties
+ quoties_."[56]
+
+The following notice, with the subjoined names, shows that the cruel
+law was enforced.
+
+ NOTICE TO BLACKS.
+
+ The Officers of Police having made return to the Subscriber of
+ the names of the following persons, who are Africans or Negroes,
+ not subjects of the Emperor of _Morocco_ nor citizens of the
+ _United States_, the same are hereby warned and directed to
+ depart out of this Commonwealth before the 10th day of October
+ next, as they would avoid the pains and penalties of the law in
+ that case provided, which was passed by the Legislature, March
+ 26, 1788.
+
+ CHARLES BULFINCH,
+ _Superintendent_.
+
+ _By Order and Direction of the Selectmen._
+
+ _Portsmouth_--Prince Patterson, Eliza Cotton, Flora Nash.
+
+ _Rhode Island_--Thomas Nichols and Philis Nichols, Hannah
+ Champlin, Plato Alderson, Raney Scott, Jack Jeffers, Thomas
+ Gardner, Julius Holden, Violet Freeman, Cuffy Buffum, Sylvia
+ Gardner, Hagar Blackburn, Dolly Peach, Polly Gardner, Sally
+ Alexander, Philis Taylor.
+
+ _Providence_--Dinah Miller, Salvia Hendrick, Rhode Allen, Nancy
+ Hall, Richard Freeman, Elizabeth Freeman, Nancy Gardner, Margaret
+ Harrison.
+
+ _Connecticut_--Bristol Morandy, John Cooper, Scipio Kent,
+ Margaret Russell, Phoebe Seamore, Phoebe Johnson, Jack Billings.
+
+ _New London_--John Denny, Thomas Burdine, Hannah Burdine.
+
+ _New York_--Sally Evens, Sally Freeman, Caesar West and Hannah
+ West, Thomas Peterson, Thomas Santon, Henry Sanderson, Henry
+ Wilson, Robert Willet, Edward Cole, Mary Atkins, Polly Brown,
+ Amey Spalding, John Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, George Homes,
+ Prince Kilsbury, Abraham Fitch, Joseph Hicks, Abraham Francis,
+ Elizabeth Francis, Sally Williams, William Williams, Rachel
+ Pewinck, David Dove, Esther Dove, Peter Bayle, Thomas Bostick,
+ Katy Bostick, Prince Hayes, Margaret Bean, Nancy Hamik, Samuel
+ Benjamin, Peggy Ocamum, Primus Hutchinson.
+
+ _Philadelphia_--Mary Smith, Richard Allen, Simon Jeffers, Samuel
+ Posey, Peter Francies, Prince Wales, Elizabeth Branch, Peter
+ Gust, William Brown, Butterfield Scotland, Clarissa Scotland,
+ Cuffy Cummings, John Gardner, Sally Gardner, Fortune Gorden,
+ Samuel Stevens.
+
+ _Baltimore_--Peter Larkin and Jenny Larkin, Stepney Johnson, Anne
+ Melville.
+
+ _Virginia_--James Scott, John Evens, Jane Jackson, Cuffey Cook,
+ Oliver Nash, Robert Woodson, Thomas Thompson.
+
+ _North Carolina_--James Jurden, Polly Johnson, Janus Crage.
+
+ _South Carolina_--Anthony George, Peter Cane.
+
+ _Halifax_--Catherine Gould, Charlotte Gould, Cato Small, Philis
+ Cole, Richard M'Coy.
+
+ _West Indies_--James Morfut and Hannah his wife, Mary Davis,
+ George Powell, Peter Lewis, Charles Sharp, Peter Hendrick,
+ William Shoppo and Mary Shoppo, Isaac Johnson, John Pearce,
+ Charles Esings, Peter Branch, Newell Symonds, Rosanna Symonds,
+ Peter George, Lewis Victor, Lewis Sylvester, John Laco, Thomas
+ Foster, Peter Jesemy, Rebecca Jesemy, David Bartlet, Thomas
+ Grant, Joseph Lewis, Hamet Lewis, John Harrison, Mary Brown,
+ Boston Alexander.
+
+ _Cape Francois_--Casme Francisco and Nancy his wife, Mary
+ Fraceway.
+
+ _Aux Cayes_--Susannah Ross.
+
+ _Port-au-Prince_--John Short.
+
+ _Jamaica_--Charlotte Morris, John Robinson.
+
+ _Bermuda_--Thomas Williams.
+
+ _New Providence_--Henry Taylor.
+
+ _Liverpool_--John Mumford.
+
+ _Africa_--Francis Thompson, John Brown, Mary Joseph, James
+ Melvile, Samuel Bean, Hamlet Earl, Cato Gardner, Charles Mitchel,
+ Sophia Mitchel, Samuel Frazier, Samuel Blackburn, Timothy
+ Philips, Joseph Ocamum.
+
+ _France_--Joseph ----
+
+ _Isle of France_--Joseph Lovering.
+
+
+ LIST OF INDIANS AND MULATTOES.
+
+ The following persons from several of the United States, being
+ people of colour, commonly called Mulattoes, are presumed to come
+ within the intention of the same law, and are accordingly warned
+ and directed to depart out of the Commonwealth before the 10th
+ day of October next.
+
+ _Rhode Island_--Peter Badger, Kelurah Allen, Waley Green, Silvia
+ Babcock.
+
+ _Providence_--Polly Adams, Paul Jones.
+
+ _Connecticut_--John Brown, Polly Holland, John Way and Nancy Way,
+ Peter Virginia, Leville Steward, Lucinda Orange, Anna Sprague,
+ Britton Doras, Amos Willis, Frank Francies.
+
+ _New London_--Hannah Potter.
+
+ _New York_--Jacob and Nelly Cummings, James and Rebecca Smith,
+ Judith Chew, John Schumagger, Thomas Willouby, Peggy Willouby,
+ John Reading, Mary Reading, Charles Brown, John Miles, Hannah
+ Williams, Betsy Harris, Douglass Brown, Susannah Foster, Thomas
+ Burros, Mary Thomson, James and Freelove Buck, Lucy Glapcion,
+ Lucy Lewis, Eliza Williams, Diana Bayle, Caesar and Sylvia Caton,
+ ---- Thompson, William Guin.
+
+ _Albany_--Elone Virginia, Abijah Reed and Lydia Reed, Abijah
+ Reed, Jr., Rebecca Reed and Betsy Reed.
+
+ _New Jersey_--Stephen Boadley, Hannah Victor.
+
+ _Philadelphia_--Polly Boadley, James Long, Hannah Murray,
+ Jeremiah Green, Nancy Principeso, David Johnson, George Jackson
+ William Coak, Moses Long.
+
+ _Maryland_--Nancy Gust.
+
+ _Baltimore_--John Clark, Sally Johnson.
+
+ _Virginia_--Sally Hacker, Richard and John Johnson, Thomas
+ Stewart, Anthony Paine, Mary Burk, William Hacker, Polly Losours,
+ Betsy Guin, Lucy Brown.
+
+ _Africa_--Nancy Doras.[57]
+
+The constitutions of nearly all the States, statutes, or public
+sentiment drove the Negro from the ballot-box, excused him from the
+militia, and excluded him from the courts. Although born on the soil,
+a soldier in two wars, an industrious, law-abiding _person_, the
+Negro, nevertheless, was not regarded as a member of political
+society. He was taxed, but enjoyed no representation; was governed by
+laws, and yet, had no voice in making the laws.
+
+The doors of nearly all the schools of the entire North were shut in
+his face; and the few separate schools accorded him were given
+grudgingly. They were usually held in the lecture-room of some Colored
+church edifice, or thrust off to one side in a portion of the city or
+town toward which aristocratic ambition would never turn. These
+schools were generally poorly equipped; and the teachers were either
+Colored persons whose opportunities of securing an education had been
+poor, or white persons whose mental qualifications would not encourage
+them to make an honest living among their own race; there were noble
+exceptions.
+
+A deeply rooted prejudice shut the Negro out from the trades. He could
+not acquire the art of setting type, civil engineering, building
+machinery, house carpentering, or any of the trades. The schools of
+medicine, law, and theology were not open to him; and even if he
+secured admission into some gentleman's office, or instruction from
+some divine, the future gave him no promise. The white wings of hope
+were broken in an ineffectual attempt to move against the bitter winds
+of persecution, under the dark sky of hate and proscription.
+Corporations, churches, theatres, and political parties made the Negro
+a subject of official action. If a Negro travelled by stage coach, it
+was among the baggage in the "boot," or on top with the driver. If he
+were favored with a ride on a street car, it was in a separate car
+marked, "_This car for Colored people_." If he journeyed any distance
+by rail, he was assigned to the "Jim Crow" car, or "smoker," where
+himself and family were subjected to inconvenience, insult, and the
+society of the lowest class of white rowdies. If he were hungry and
+weary at the end of the journey, there was "no room for him in the
+inn," and, like his Master, was assigned a place among the cattle. If
+he were so fortunate as to get into a hotel as a servant, bearing the
+baggage of his master, he slept in the garret, and took his meals in
+the kitchen. It mattered not who the Colored man was--whether it was
+Langston, the lawyer, McCune Smith, the physician, or Douglass, the
+orator--he found no hotel that would give him accommodations. And
+forsooth, if some host had the temerity to admit a Negro to his
+dining-room, a dozen white guests would leave the hotel rather than
+submit to the "_outrage_!"
+
+The places of amusements in all the large cities in the North excluded
+the Negro; and when he did gain admission, he was shown to the
+gallery, where he could enjoy peanut-hulls, boot-blacks, and
+"black-legs." Occasionally the side door of a college was put ajar for
+some invincible Negro. But this was a performance of very rare
+occurrence; and the instances are easily remembered.
+
+When courts and parties, corporations and companies had refused to
+accord the Negro the rights that were his due as a man, he carried his
+case to the highest earthly court, the Christian Church. He felt sure
+of sympathy and succor from this source. The Church had stood through
+the centuries as a refuge for the unfortunate and afflicted. But,
+alas! the Church shrank from the Negro as if he had been a reptile. If
+he gained admission it was to the "Negro pew" in the "organ loft." If
+he secured the precious "emblems of the broken body and shed blood" of
+his Divine Master, it was after the "white folks" were through. If the
+cause of the Negro were mentioned in the prayer or sermon, it was in
+the indistinct whisper of the moral coward who occupied the sacred
+desk. And when the fight was on at fever heat, when it was popular to
+plead the cause of the slave and demand the rights of the free Negro,
+the Church was the last organization in the country to take a position
+on the question; and even then, her "moderation was known to all men."
+
+If the Negro had suffered from neglect only, had been left to solve
+the riddle of his anomalous existence without further embarrassment,
+it would have been well. But no, it was not so. Studied insolence
+jostled Colored men and women from the streets of the larger cities;
+mobocratic violence broke up assemblages and churches of Colored
+people; and malice sought them in the quiet of their homes--outraged
+and slew them in cold blood. Thus with the past as a haunting, bitter
+recollection, the present filled with fear and disaster, and the
+future a shapeless horror, think ye life was sweet to the Negro?
+Bitter? Bitter as death? Ay, bitter as hell!
+
+Driven down from the lofty summit of laudable ambitions into the
+sultry plains of domestic drudgery and menial toil, nearly every ray
+of hope had perished upon the strained vision of the Negro. The only
+thing young Colored men could aspire to was the position of a waiter,
+the avocation of a barber, the place of a house-servant or groom, and
+teach or preach to their own people with little or no qualifications.
+Denied the opportunities and facilities of securing an education, they
+were upbraided by the press and pulpit, in private gatherings and
+public meetings, for their ignorance, which was enforced by a narrow
+and contracted public prejudice.
+
+But "none of these things moved" the Negro. Undismayed he bowed to his
+herculean task with a complacency and courage worthy of any race or
+age of the world's history. The small encouragement that came to him
+from the conscientious minority of white men and women was as
+refreshing as the cool ocean breeze at even-tide to the feverish brow
+of a travel-soiled pilgrim. The Negro found it necessary to exert
+_himself_, to lift himself out of his social, mental, and political
+dilemma by the straps of his boots. Colored men turned their attention
+to the education of themselves and their children. Schools were begun,
+churches organized, and work of general improvement and self-culture
+entered into with alacrity and enthusiasm. Boston had among its
+teachers the scholarly Thomas Paul; among its clergymen Leonard A.
+Grimes and John T. Raymond; among its lawyers Robert Morris and E. G.
+Walker; among its business men J. B. Smith and Coffin Pitts; among its
+physicians John R. Rock and John V. DeGrasse; among its authors Brown
+and Nell; and among its orators Remond and Hilton. Robert Morris was
+admitted to the bar in Boston, on Thursday, June 27, 1850, at a
+meeting of the members of the Suffolk County Bar. The record is as
+follows:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That ROBERT MORRIS, Esq., be recommended for
+ admittance to practice as a Counsellor and Attorney of the
+ Circuit and District Courts of the United States.
+
+ "(Signed) ELLIS GRAY LORING, _Chairman_.
+ "CHAS. THEO. RUSSELL, _Secretary_."
+
+John V. DeGrasse, M.D., an eminent physician of Boston was perhaps the
+most accomplished Colored gentleman in New England between 1850-1860.
+The following notice appeared in a Boston journal in August, 1854:
+
+ "On the 24th of August, 1854, Mr. DeGrasse was admitted in due
+ form a member of the 'Massachusetts Medical Society.' It is the
+ first instance of such honor being conferred upon a colored man
+ in this State, at least, and probably in the country; and
+ therefore it deserves particular notice, both because the means
+ by which he has reached this distinction are creditable to his
+ own intelligence and perseverance, and because others of his
+ class may be stimulated to seek an elevation which has hitherto
+ been supposed unattainable by men of color. The Doctor is a
+ native of New York City, where he was born in June, 1825, and
+ where he spent his time in private and public schools till 1840.
+ He then entered the Oneida Institute, Beriah Green, President,
+ and spent one year; but as Latin was not taught there, he left
+ and entered the Clinton Seminary, where he remained two years,
+ intending to enter college in the fall of 1843. He was turned
+ from this purpose, however, by the persuasions of a friend in
+ France, and after spending two years in a college in that
+ country, he returned to New York in November, 1845, and commenced
+ the study of medicine with Dr. Samuel R. Childs, of that city.
+ There he spent two years in patient and diligent study, and then
+ two more in attending the medical lectures of Bowdoin College,
+ Me. Leaving that institution with honor in May, 1849, he went
+ again to Europe in the autumn of that year, and spent
+ considerable time in the hospitals of Paris, travelling, at
+ intervals, through parts of France, England, Italy, and
+ Switzerland. Returning home in the ship 'Samuel Fox,' in the
+ capacity of surgeon, he was married in August, 1852, and since
+ that time he has practised medicine in Boston. Earning a good
+ reputation here by his diligence and skill, he was admitted a
+ member of the Medical Society, as above stated. Many of our most
+ respectable physicians visit and advise with him whenever counsel
+ is required. The Boston medical profession, it must be
+ acknowledged, has done itself honor in thus discarding the law of
+ caste, and generously acknowledging real merit, without regard to
+ the hue of the skin."
+
+The Colored population of New York was equal to the great emergency
+that required them to put forth their personal exertions. Dr. Henry
+Highland Garnet, Dr. Charles B. Ray, and the Rev. Peter Williams in
+the pulpit; Charles L. Reason and William Peterson as teachers; James
+McCune Smith and Philip A. White as physicians and chemists; James
+Williams and Jacob Day among business men, did much to elevate the
+Negro in self-respect and self-support.
+
+Philadelphia early ranked among her foremost leaders of the Colored
+people, William Whipper, Stephen Smith, Robert Purvis, William Still,
+Frederick A. Hinton, and Joseph Cassey. From an inquiry instituted in
+1837, it was ascertained that out of the 18,768 Colored people in
+Philadelphia, 250 had paid for their freedom the aggregate sum of
+$79,612, and that the real and personal property owned by them was
+near $1,500,000. There were returns of several chartered benevolent
+societies for the purpose of affording mutual aid in sickness and
+distress, and there were sixteen houses of public worship, with over
+4,000 communicants. And in Western Pennsylvania there were John Peck,
+John B. Vashon, Geo. Gardner, and Lewis Woodson. Every State in the
+North seemed to produce Colored men of marked ability to whom God
+committed a great work. Their examples of patient fortitude, industry,
+and frugality, and their determined efforts to obtain knowledge and
+build up character, stimulated the youth of the Negro race to greater
+exertions in the upward direction.
+
+The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized as early as 1816.
+Its churches grew and its ministry increased in numbers, intelligence,
+and piety, until it became the most powerful organization of Colored
+men on the continent. The influence of this organization upon the
+Colored race in America was excellent. It brought the people together,
+not only in religious sympathy, but by the ties of a common interest
+in all affairs of their race and condition. The men in the
+organization who possessed the power of speech, who had talents to
+develop, and an ambition to serve their race, found this church a wide
+field of usefulness.
+
+The Colored Baptists were organized before the Methodists, [in
+Virginia,] but their organization has always lacked strength. The form
+of government, being purely Democratic, was adapted to a people of
+larger intelligence and possessed of greater capacity for
+self-government. But, notwithstanding this fact, the "independent"
+order of Colored Baptists gave the members and clergymen of the
+denomination exalted ideas of government, and abiding confidence in
+the capacity of the Negro for self-government. No organization of
+Colored people in America has produced such able men as the Colored
+Baptist Church.
+
+In Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, Colored men distinguished
+themselves in the pulpit, in the forum, in business, and letters.
+William Howard Day, of Cleveland, during this period [1850-1860]
+Librarian of the Cleveland Library and editor of a newspaper; John
+Mercer Langston, of Oberlin; John Liverpool and John I. Gaines, of
+Cincinnati, Ohio, were good men and true. What they did for their race
+was done worthily and well. At the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, held
+at Putnam on the 22d, 23d, and 24th of April, 1835, the committee on
+the condition of the "people of Color," made the following report from
+Cincinnati:
+
+ The number of Colored people in Cincinnati is about 2,500. As
+ illustrating their general condition, we will give the statistics
+ of one or two small districts. The families in each were visited
+ from house to house, taking them all as far as we went:
+
+ Number of families in one of these districts 26
+ " of individuals 125
+ " of heads of families 49
+ " of heads of families who are professors of religion 19
+ " of children at school 20
+ " of _heads of families_ who have been slaves 39
+ " of individuals who have been slaves 95
+ Time since they obtained their freedom, from 1 to 15 years;
+ average, 7 years.
+ Number of individuals who have purchased themselves 23
+ Whole amount paid for themselves $9,112
+ Number of fathers and mothers still in slavery 9
+ " of children 18
+ " of brothers and sisters 98
+ " of newspapers taken 0
+ " of heads of families who can read 2
+
+ EMPLOYMENT OF HEADS OF FAMILIES.
+
+ Common laborers and porters 7
+ Dealers in second-hand clothing 1
+ Hucksters 1
+ Carpenters 2
+ Shoe-blacks 6
+ Cooks and waiters 11
+ Washer-women 18
+
+ Five of these women purchased themselves from slavery. One paid
+ four hundred dollars for herself, and has since bought a house
+ and lot worth six hundred dollars. All this she has done by
+ washing.
+
+ Another individual had bargained for his wife and two children.
+ Their master agreed to take four hundred and twenty dollars for
+ them. He succeeded at length in raising the money, which he
+ carried to their owner. "I shall charge you thirty dollars more
+ than when you was here before," said the planter, "for your wife
+ is in a family-way, and you may pay thirty dollars for that or
+ not take her, just as you please." "And so," said he (patting
+ the head of a little son, three years old, who hung upon his
+ knee), "I had to pay thirty dollars for this little fellow six
+ months before he was born."
+
+ Number of families in another district 63
+ " of individuals 258
+ " of heads of families 106
+ " of families who are professors of religion 16
+ " of heads of families at school 53
+ " of newspapers taken 7
+ Amount of property in real estate $9,850
+ Number of _individuals_ who have been slaves 108
+ " of _heads of families_ who have been slaves 69
+ Age at which they obtained their freedom, from 3 months to
+ 60 years; average, 33 years.
+ Time since they obtained their freedom, from 4 weeks to 27
+ years; average, 9 years.
+ Number of heads of families who have purchased themselves, 36
+ Whole amount paid for themselves $21,515.00
+ Average price $597.64
+ Number of children which the same families have already
+ purchased 14
+ Whole amount paid for these children $2,425.75
+ Average price $173.27
+ Total amount paid for these parents and children $23,940.75
+ Number of parents still in slavery 16
+ " of husbands or wives 7
+ " of children 35
+ " of brothers and sisters 144
+
+ These districts were visited without the least reference to their
+ being exhibited separately. If they give a fair specimen of the
+ whole population (and we believe that to be a fact), then we have
+ the following results: 1,129 of the Colored population of
+ Cincinnati have been in slavery; 476 have purchased themselves,
+ at the total expense of $215,522.04, averaging for each, $452.77;
+ 163 parents are still in slavery, 68 husbands and wives, 346
+ children, 1,579 brothers and sisters.
+
+ There are a large number in the city who are now working out
+ their own freedom--their free papers being retained as security.
+ One man of our acquaintance has just given his master seven notes
+ of one hundred dollars each, one of which he intends to pay every
+ year, till he has paid them all; his master promises then to give
+ him his free papers. After paying for himself, he intends to buy
+ his wife and then his children. Others are buying their husbands
+ or wives, and others again their parents or children. To show
+ that on this subject they have sympathies like other people, we
+ will state a single fact. A young man, after purchasing himself,
+ earned three hundred dollars. This sum he supposed was sufficient
+ to purchase his aged mother, a widow, whom he had left in slavery
+ five years before, in Virginia. Hearing that she was for sale, he
+ started immediately to purchase her. But, after travelling five
+ hundred miles, and offering all his money, he was refused. Not
+ because she was not for sale, nor because he did not offer her
+ full value. She had four sons and daughters with her, and the
+ planter thought he could do better to keep the family together
+ and send them all down the river. In vain the affectionate son
+ pleaded for his mother. The planter's heart was steel. He would
+ not sell her, and with a heavy heart the young man returned to
+ Cincinnati. He has since heard that they were sold in the New
+ Orleans market "_in lots to suit purchasers_."
+
+Cincinnati produced quite a number of business men among her Colored
+population.
+
+
+HENRY BOYD
+
+was born in the State of Kentucky, on the 14th day of May, 1802. He
+received some instruction in reading and writing. He was bound out to
+a gentleman, from whom he learned the cabinet-making trade. He
+developed at quite an early age a genius for working in all kinds of
+wood--could make any thing in the business. He came to Ohio in 1826,
+and located in Cincinnati. He was a fine-looking man of twenty-four
+years, and a master mechanic. He expected to secure employment in some
+of the cabinet shops in the city. Accordingly, he applied at several,
+but as often as he applied he was refused employment on the ground of
+complexional prejudice. In some instances the proprietor was willing
+that a Colored man should work for him, but the white mechanics would
+not work by the side of a Colored man. In other cases it was quite
+different. The proprietors would not entertain the idea of securing
+the services of a "Black mechanic." So it was for weeks that Mr. Boyd
+sought an opportunity to use his skill in the direction of his genius
+and training; but he sought in vain. Disappointed, though not
+disheartened, he turned to the work of a stevedore, which he did for
+four months. At the expiration of this time he found employment with a
+house-builder. Within six months from the time he began work as a
+builder he had so thoroughly mastered the trade that he quit working
+as a journeyman, formed a co-partnership with a white man, and went
+into business. The gentleman with whom he joined his fortunes was a
+mechanic of excellent abilities, and acknowledged the superior fitness
+of Boyd for the business.
+
+As a builder he succeeded first-rate for four years. But his color was
+against him. His white partner would make the contracts, secure the
+jobs, and then Boyd would come forward when the work was to be done.
+He had an abundance of work, and always finished it to the entire
+satisfaction of his patrons. It is impossible to estimate just how
+many houses he built, but the number is not small. He had made a
+beginning, and secured some capital. He did not like the builder's
+trade, and only entered it at the first from necessity--as a
+stepping-stone to his own trade, for which he had a great deal of
+enthusiasm. In 1836, ten years after his arrival in Cincinnati, he
+engaged in the manufacture of bedsteads. For six years he carried on
+this business--found a ready market and liberal pay. He brought to his
+business some of the oldest buyers in the bedstead line, and had a
+trade that kept him busy at all seasons of the year. His very
+excellent business habits won for him many friends, and through their
+solicitations he enlarged his business by manufacturing all kinds of
+furniture. He put up a building on the corner of Eighth Street and
+Broadway, where he carried on his manufacturing from 1836 till 1859, a
+period of twenty-three years. His business required four large
+buildings and a force of skilful workmen, never less than twenty,
+frequently fifty. He used the most approved machinery and paid
+excellent wages.
+
+His manufactory presented, perhaps, what was never seen in this
+country before or since. His workmen represented almost all the
+leading races. There were Negroes, Americans, Irishmen, Scotchmen,
+Englishmen, Frenchmen, and men of other nationalities. And they didn't
+bite each other! Their relations were pleasant.
+
+He was burned out three times, but he rebuilt and went ahead. He was
+doing such an extensive business that some thought it advisable to
+destroy his buildings. His losses were very heavy, yet he kept right
+on, and kept up his business for some time; but finally had to yield
+at the last fire, when he had no insurance.
+
+He invented a machine to turn the rails of a bed, but being a Colored
+man he could not take out a patent. He, therefore, had one taken out
+in the name of a white gentleman. "The Boyd bedstead" sold throughout
+the United States then, and was popular for many years after he quit
+the business.
+
+He has been engaged in several different businesses since he quit
+manufacturing, and for the last nine years has been in the employ of
+the city.
+
+
+SAMUEL T. WILCOX.
+
+In 1850 Samuel T. Wilcox decided to embark in some business venture in
+Cincinnati. Accordingly he built a store on the northeast corner of
+Broadway and Fifth streets. He at once occupied it as a grocer. In
+those days fancy groceries were not kept. But Mr. Wilcox opened a new
+era in the business. He introduced fancy articles, such as all
+varieties of canned fruit, choice liquors, cigars, first quality of
+hams, all kinds of dried fruit, the best brands of sugars, molasses,
+and fine soaps. He made a specialty of these, and succeeded admirably.
+
+His trade was divided between two classes--the finest river packets
+and the best families of the city. His customers were the very _best
+families_--people of wealth and high standing. And perhaps no grocer
+of his times in Cincinnati did so large a business as Samuel T.
+Wilcox.
+
+His business increased rapidly until he did about $140,000 _of trade
+per year_! This continued for six years, when his social habits were
+not favorable to permanent success. He had been sole owner of the
+business up to this time. He sold out one half of the store to Charles
+Roxboro, Sr.; thus the firm name became "Wilcox & Roxboro." The latter
+gentleman was energetic and business-like in his habits. He cast his
+courage and marvellous tact against the high tide of business disaster
+that came sweeping along in the last days of the firm. He resorted to
+every honorable and safe expedient in order to avert failure. But the
+handwriting was upon the wall. He failed. Wilcox had begun business
+with $25,000 cash. He had accumulated $60,000 in real estate, and had
+transacted $140,000 of business in a single year! He failed because
+his life was immoral, his habits extravagant, and his attention to
+business indifferent.
+
+
+ALEX. S. THOMAS.
+
+This gentleman came to Cincinnati in 1852, where he made the
+acquaintance of a Colored gentleman of intelligence, J. P. Ball, who
+was in the daguerrian business at Nos. 28 and 30 West Fourth Street.
+Mr. Thomas became affianced to Miss Elizabeth Ball, sister of J. P.
+Ball; and after they were married, Mr. Thomas accepted the position of
+reception clerk for his brother-in-law. He filled this position with
+credit and honor for the space of one year. It was now 1853.
+Daguerrotypes were all the "rage." Photography was unknown. Mr. Ball
+had an excellent run of custom, and was making money rapidly.
+
+As operator, Mr. Ball soon discovered that Mr. Thomas was a man of
+quick perception, thorough, and entirely trustworthy. He soon became
+familiar with the instrument, and in 1854 began to "operate." He
+continued at the instrument during the remainder of the time he spent
+at 28 West Fourth Street. He shortly acquired the skill of an old and
+well-trained operator; and his success in this department of the
+business added greatly to the already well-established reputation of
+the gallery.
+
+Mr. Thomas was not satisfied with being a successful clerk and
+first-class operator. He wanted to go into business for himself.
+Accordingly he opened a gallery at No. 120 West Fourth Street, near
+the "Commercial," under the firm name of "Ball & Thomas." The rooms
+were handsomely fitted up, and the building leased for five years.
+
+In May, 1860, a severe tornado passed over the city, destroying much
+property and several lives. The roof of the Commercial [Potter's
+Building] was carried away; part passed over the gallery of Ball &
+Thomas, while part went through the operating room, and some fragments
+of timber, etc., penetrated a saloon in the rear of the photographic
+gallery, and killed a child and a woman. The gallery was a complete
+wreck, the instruments, chemicals, scenery, cases, pictures, carpets,
+furniture, and every thing else, were ruined. This was in the early
+days of the firm. All their available capital had been converted into
+stock, used in fitting up the gallery. Ball & Thomas were young
+men--they were Colored men, and were financially ruined. Apparently
+their business was at an end. But they were artists; and many white
+families in Cincinnati recognized them as such. Their white friends
+came to the rescue. The gallery was fitted up again most elaborately,
+and was known as "the finest photographic gallery west of the
+Alleghany Mountains."
+
+This marked a distinct era in the history of the firm, and many
+persons often remarked that the luckiest moment in their history was
+when the roof of the Commercial building sat down upon them. For years
+the best families of the city patronized the famous firm of Ball &
+Thomas. They had more business than they could attend to at times, and
+consequently had to engage extra help. These were years of
+unprecedented success. One hundred dollars a day was small money then.
+The firm became quite wealthy. After spending fifteen years at 120
+they returned to 30 West Fourth Street, where they remained until May,
+1874.
+
+Photographers move considerable, and it is seldom that men in this
+business remain in one street or building as long as Ball & Thomas.
+They passed twenty-one of the best years of the firm in Fourth Street.
+This is both a compliment to the public and themselves. It shows, on
+the one hand, that Colored men can conduct business like white men,
+and, on the other hand, if Colored men have ability to carry on any
+kind of business, white people will patronize them.
+
+The old stand at 30 West Fourth Street was fitted up anew, and
+business began with all the wonted zeal and desire to please the
+public which characterized the firm in former years. The rooms were at
+once elegant and capacious. Their motto was to do the best work at the
+cheapest rates. But as in all other businesses, so in photographic
+art, there was competition. And rather than do poor work at the low
+rates of competitors, they decided to remove to another locality.
+Accordingly, in May, 1874, they moved into No. 146 West Fifth Street.
+The building was leased for a term of years. It was in no wise adapted
+to the photographic business. The walls were cut out, doors made,
+stairs changed, skylight put in, chemical rooms constructed,
+gas-fixtures put in, papering, painting, and graining done, carpets
+and new furniture ordered. It cost the firm more than $2,800 to enter
+this new stand.
+
+The first year at the new stand was characterized by liberal custom
+and excellent work. The old customers who were delighted with the work
+done at 30 West Fourth Street, were convinced that the firm had
+redoubled its artistic zeal, and was determined to outdo the palmy
+days of Fourth Street. The business, which at this time was in a
+flourishing condition, was destined to suffer an interruption in the
+death of Thomas Carroll Ball, the senior member of the firm. It was
+at a time when the trade demanded the energies of both gentlemen. But
+Death never tarries to consider the far-reach of results or the wishes
+of the friends of his subject. The business continued. Ball Thomas,
+the son of Mr. A. S. Thomas, who had grown up under the faithful
+tuition of his father, now became a successful retouching artist. For
+the last two years Mr. Thomas has conducted the business alone. He is
+now doing business at 166 West Fifth Street, and it is said that he is
+doing a good business.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Colored people of Cincinnati evinced not only an anxiety to take
+care of themselves, but took steps early toward securing a home for
+the orphans in their midst.
+
+In _ante-bellum_ days there was no provision made for Colored paupers
+or Colored orphans. Where individual sympathy or charity did not
+intervene, they were left to die in the midst of squalid poverty, and
+were cast into the common ditch, without having medical aid or
+ministerial consolation. There was not simply studious neglect, but a
+strong prohibition against their entrance into institutions sustained
+by the county and State for white persons not more fortunate than
+they. At one time a good Quaker was superintendent of the county
+poorhouse. His heart was touched with kindest sympathy for the
+uncared-for Colored paupers in Cincinnati. He acted the part of a true
+Samaritan, and gave them separate quarters in the institution of which
+he was the official head. This fact came to the public ear, and the
+trustees of the poorhouse, in accordance with their own convictions
+and in compliance with the complexional prejudices of the community,
+discharged the Quaker for this breach of the law. The Colored paupers
+were turned out of this lazar-house on the Sabbath. The time to
+perpetuate this crime against humanity was indeed significant--on the
+Lord's day. The God of the poor and His followers beheld the streets
+of Christian Cincinnati filled with the maimed, halt, sick, and poor,
+who were denied the common fare accorded the white paupers! There was
+no sentiment in those days, either in the pulpit or press, to raise
+its voice against this act of cruelty and shame.
+
+Lydia P. Mott, an eminent member of the Society of Friends and an able
+leader of a conscientious few, espoused the cause of the motherless,
+fatherless, and homeless Colored children of this community. She
+attracted the attention and won the confidence of the few
+Abolitionists of this city. She determined to establish a home for
+these little wanderers, and immediately set to work at a plan. The
+late Salmon P. Chase was then quite young, a man of brilliant
+abilities and of anti-slavery sentiments. He joined himself to the
+humane movement of Lydia P. Mott, with the following persons:
+Christian Donaldson, James Pullan, William Donaldson, Robert Buchanan,
+John Liverpool, Richard Phillips, John Woodson, Charles Satchell, Wm.
+W. Watson, William Darnes, Michael Clark, A. M. Sumner, Reuben P.
+Graham, Louis P. Brux, Sarah B. McLain, Mrs. Eustis, Mrs. Dr. Stanton,
+Mrs. Hannah Cooper, Mrs. Mary Jane Gordon, Mrs. Susan Miller, Mrs.
+Rebecca Darnes, Mrs. Charlotte Armstrong, Mrs. Eliza Clark, Mrs. Ruth
+Ellen Watson, and others. Six of the gentlemen and four of the ladies
+were white. Only six of this noble company are living at this time.
+
+The organization was effected in 1844, and the act of incorporation
+was drawn up by Salmon P. Chase. It was chartered in February, 1845,
+the passage of the act having been assured through the personal
+influence of Mr. Chase upon the members of the Legislature.
+
+The first Board of Trustees under the charter were William Donaldson,
+John Woodson, Richard Phillips, Christian Donaldson, Reuben P. Graham,
+Richard Pullan, Charles Satchell, Louis P. Brux, and John Liverpool.
+But one is alive--Richard Pullan.
+
+The first building the Trustees secured as an asylum was on Ninth
+Street, between Plum and Elm. They paid a rental of $12.50 per month.
+The building was owned by Mr. Nicholas Longworth, but the ground was
+leased by him from Judge Burnet. The Trustees ultimately purchased the
+building for $1,500; and in 1851 the ground also was purchased of Mr.
+Groesbeck for $4,400 in cash.
+
+During the three or four years following, the institution had quite an
+indifferent career. The money requisite to run it was not forthcoming.
+The children were poorly fed and clothed, and many times there was no
+money in the treasury at all. The Trustees were discouraged, and it
+seemed that the asylum would have to be closed. But just at this time
+that venerable Abolitionist and underground railroader, Levi Coffin,
+with his excellent wife, "Aunt Kitty," came to the rescue. He took
+charge of the institution as superintendent, and his wife assumed the
+duties of matron. Through their exertions and adroit management they
+succeeded in enlisting the sympathy of many benevolent folk, and
+secured the support of many true friends.
+
+It was now 1866. The asylum building presented a forlorn aspect. It
+was far from being a comfortable shelter for the children. But a lack
+of funds forbade the Trustees from having it repaired. They began to
+look about for a more desirable and comfortable building. During the
+closing year of the Rebellion a large number of freedmen sought the
+shelter of our large Northern cities. Cincinnati received her share of
+them, and acted nobly toward them. The government authorities built a
+hospital for freedmen in a very desirable locality in Avondale. At
+this time (1866), the building, which was very capacious, was not
+occupied. The Trustees secured a change in the charter, permitting
+them, by consent of the subscribers, to sell the Ninth Street
+property, and purchase the hospital building and the accompanying six
+acres in Avondale. The Ninth Street property brought $9,000; the
+purchase in Avondale, refitting, etc., cost $11,000, incurring a debt
+of $2,000.
+
+During the first twenty-two years of the institution much good was
+accomplished. Hundreds of children--orphans and friendless
+children--found shelter in the asylum, which existed only through the
+almost superhuman efforts of the intelligent Colored persons in the
+community, and the unstinted charity of many generous white persons.
+The asylum has been pervaded with a healthy religious atmosphere; and
+many of its inmates have gone forth to the world giving large promise
+of usefulness. An occasional letter from former inmates often proves
+that much good has been done; and that some of these children, without
+the kindly influence and care of the asylum, instead of occupying
+places of usefulness and trust in society, might have drifted into
+vagrancy and crime.
+
+Amidst the struggle for temporal welfare, the Colored people of
+Cincinnati were not unmindful of the interests and destinies of the
+Union. A military company was formed, bearing the name of _Attucks
+Guards_. On the 25th of July, 1855, an association of ladies presented
+a flag to the company. The address, on the part of the ladies, was
+delivered by Miss Mary A. Darnes. Among many excellent things, she
+said:
+
+ "Should the love of liberty and your country ever demand your
+ services, may you, in imitation of that noble patriot whose name
+ you bear, promptly respond to the call, and fight to the last
+ for the great and noble principles of liberty and justice, to the
+ glory of your fathers and the land of your birth.
+
+ "The time is not far distant when the _slave must be free_; if
+ not by moral and intellectual means, it must be done by the
+ sword. Remember, gentlemen, should duty call, it will be yours to
+ obey, and strike to the last for freedom or the grave.
+
+ "But God forbid that you should be called upon to witness our
+ peaceful homes involved in war. May our eyes never behold this
+ flag in any conflict; let the quiet breeze ever play among its
+ folds, and the fullest peace dwell among you!"
+
+While the great majority of the Colored people in the country were
+bowing themselves cheerfully to the dreadful task of living among
+wolves, some of the race were willing to brave the perils of the sea,
+and find a new home on the West Coast of Africa. Between the years of
+1850-1856, 9,502 Negroes went to Liberia, of whom 3,676 had been born
+free. In 1850, there were 1,467 manumitted, while 1,011 ran away from
+their masters.
+
+Notwithstanding the many disadvantages under which the free Negroes of
+the North had to labor, they accomplished a great deal. In an
+incredibly short time they built schools, planted churches,
+established newspapers; had their representatives in law, medicine,
+and theology before the world as the marvel of the centuries. Shut out
+from every influence calculated to incite them to a higher life, and
+provoke them to better works, nevertheless, the Colored people were
+enabled to live down much prejudice, and gained the support and
+sympathy of noble men and women of the Anglo-Saxon race.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[55] This is inserted in this volume as the more appropriate place.
+
+[56] Slavery in Massachusetts, pp. 228, 229.
+
+[57] Massachusetts Mercury, vol. xvi. No. 22, Sept. 16, 1780.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+NEGRO SCHOOL LAWS.
+
+1619-1860.
+
+ THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE HUMAN INTELLECT.--IGNORANCE FAVORABLE TO
+ SLAVERY.--AN ACT BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA IMPOSING A PENALTY
+ ON ANY ONE INSTRUCTING A COLORED PERSON.--EDUCATIONAL PRIVILEGES
+ OF THE CREOLES IN THE CITY OF MOBILE.--PREJUDICE AGAINST COLORED
+ SCHOOLS IN CONNECTICUT.--THE ATTEMPT OF MISS PRUDENCE CRANDALL TO
+ ADMIT COLORED GIRLS INTO HER SCHOOL AT CANTERBURY.--THE
+ INDIGNATION OF THE CITIZENS AT THIS ATTEMPT TO MIX THE RACES IN
+ EDUCATION.--THE LEGISLATURE OF CONNECTICUT PASSES A LAW
+ ABOLISHING THE SCHOOL.--THE BUILDING ASSAULTED BY A MOB.--MISS
+ CRANDALL ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED FOR TEACHING COLORED CHILDREN
+ AGAINST THE LAW.--GREAT EXCITEMENT.--THE LAW FINALLY
+ REPEALED.--AN ACT BY THE LEGISLATURE OF DELAWARE TAXING PERSONS
+ WHO BROUGHT INTO, OR SOLD SLAVES OUT OF, THE STATE.--UNDER ACT OF
+ 1829 MONEY RECEIVED FOR THE SALE OF SLAVES IN FLORIDA WAS ADDED
+ TO THE SCHOOL FUND IN THAT STATE.--GEORGIA PROHIBITS THE
+ EDUCATION OF COLORED PERSONS UNDER HEAVY PENALTY.--ILLINOIS
+ ESTABLISHES SEPARATE SCHOOLS FOR COLORED CHILDREN.--THE "FREE
+ MISSION INSTITUTE" AT QUINCY, ILLINOIS, DESTROYED BY A MISSOURI
+ MOB.--NUMEROUS AND CRUEL SLAVE LAWS IN KENTUCKY RETARD THE
+ EDUCATION OF THE NEGROES.--AN ACT PASSED IN LOUISIANA PREVENTING
+ THE NEGROES IN ANY WAY FROM BEING INSTRUCTED.--MAINE GIVES EQUAL
+ SCHOOL PRIVILEGES TO WHITES AND BLACKS.--ST. FRANCIS ACADEMY FOR
+ COLORED GIRLS FOUNDED IN BALTIMORE IN 1831.--THE WELLS
+ SCHOOL.--THE FIRST SCHOOL FOR COLORED CHILDREN ESTABLISHED IN
+ BOSTON BY INTELLIGENT COLORED MEN IN 1798.--A SCHOOL-HOUSE FOR
+ THE COLORED CHILDREN BUILT AND PAID FOR OUT OF A FUND LEFT BY
+ ABIEL SMITH FOR THAT PURPOSE.--JOHN B. RUSSWORM ONE OF THE
+ TEACHERS AND AFTERWARD GOVERNOR OF THE COLONY OF CAPE PALMAS,
+ LIBERIA.--FIRST PRIMARY SCHOOL FOR COLORED CHILDREN ESTABLISHED
+ IN 1820.--MISSOURI PASSES STRINGENT LAWS AGAINST THE INSTRUCTION
+ OF NEGROES.--NEW YORK PROVIDES FOR THE EDUCATION OF
+ NEGROES.--ELIAS NEAU OPENS A SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY FOR NEGRO
+ SLAVES IN 1704.--"NEW YORK AFRICAN FREE SCHOOL" IN 1786.--VISIT
+ OF LAFAYETTE TO THE AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN 1824.--HIS
+ ADDRESS.--PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR COLORED CHILDREN IN NEW
+ YORK.--COLORED SCHOOLS IN OHIO.--"CINCINNATI HIGH SCHOOL" FOR
+ COLORED YOUTHS FOUNDED IN 1844.--OBERLIN COLLEGE OPENS ITS DOORS
+ TO COLORED STUDENTS.--THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COLORED SCHOOLS IN
+ PENNSYLVANIA BY ANTHONY BENEZET IN 1750.--HIS WILL.--"INSTITUTE
+ FOR COLORED YOUTHS" ESTABLISHED IN 1837.--"AVERY COLLEGE," AT
+ ALLEGHENY CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, FOUNDED IN 1849.--ASHMUN INSTITUTE,
+ OR LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, FOUNDED IN OCTOBER, 1856.--SOUTH CAROLINA
+ TAKES DEFINITE ACTION AGAINST THE EDUCATION OR PROMOTION OF THE
+ COLORED RACE IN 1800-1803-1834.--TENNESSEE MAKES NO
+ DISCRIMINATION AGAINST COLOR IN THE SCHOOL LAW OF 1840.--LITTLE
+ OPPORTUNITY AFFORDED IN VIRGINIA FOR THE COLORED MAN TO BE
+ ENLIGHTENED.--STRINGENT LAWS ENACTED.--HISTORY OF SCHOOLS FOR THE
+ COLORED POPULATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
+
+
+The institution of American slavery needed protection from the day of
+its birth to the day of its death. Whips, thumbscrews, and manacles of
+iron were far less helpful to it than the thraldom of the intellects
+of its hapless victims. "Created a little lower than the angels,"
+"crowned with glory and honor," armed with authority "over every
+living creature," man was intended by his Maker to rule the world
+through his intellect. The homogeneousness of the crude faculties of
+man has been quite generally admitted throughout the world; while even
+scientists, differing widely in many other things, have united in
+ascribing to the human mind everywhere certain possibilities. But one
+class of men have dissented from this view--the slave-holders of all
+ages. A justification of slavery has been sought in the alleged belief
+of the inferiority of the persons enslaved; while the broad truism of
+the possibilities of the human mind was confessed in all legislation
+that sought to prevent slaves from acquiring knowledge. So the
+slave-holder asserted his belief in the mental inferiority of the
+Negro, and then advertised his lack of faith in his assertion by
+making laws to prevent the Negro intellect from receiving those truths
+which would render him valueless as a slave, but equal to the duties
+of a freeman.
+
+
+ALABAMA
+
+had an act in 1832 which declared that "Any person or persons who
+shall attempt to teach any free person of color or slave to spell,
+read, or write, shall, upon conviction thereof by indictment, be fined
+in a sum not less than $250, nor more than $500." This act also
+prohibited with severe penalties, by flogging, "any free negro or
+person of color" from being in company with any slaves without written
+permission from the owner or overseer of such slaves; it also
+prohibited the assembling of more than five male slaves at any place
+off the plantation to which they belonged; but nothing in the act was
+to be considered as forbidding attendance at places of public worship
+held by white persons. No slave or free person of color was permitted
+to "preach, exhort, or harangue any slave or slaves, or free persons
+of color, except in the presence of five respectable slave-holders, or
+unless the person preaching was licensed by some regular body of
+professing Christians in the neighborhood, to whose society or church
+the negroes addressed properly belonged."
+
+In 1833, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Mobile were authorized
+by an act of the Legislature to grant licenses to such persons as they
+deemed suitable to give instruction to the children of free Colored
+Creoles. This applied only to those who resided in the city of Mobile
+and county of Baldwin. The instruction was to be given at brief
+periods, and the children had to secure a certificate from the mayor
+and aldermen. The ground of this action was the treaty between France
+and the United States in 1803, by which the rights and privileges of
+citizens had been secured to the Creoles residing in the above places
+at the time of the treaty.
+
+
+ARKANSAS,
+
+so far as her laws appear, did not prohibit the education of Negroes;
+but a study of her laws leaves the impression that the Negroes there
+were practically denied the right of instruction.
+
+
+CONNECTICUT
+
+never legislated against educating Colored persons, but the prejudice
+was so strong that it amounted to the same thing. The intolerant
+spirit of the whites drove the Colored people of Hartford to request a
+separate school in 1830. Prejudice was so great against the presence
+of a Colored school in a community of white people, that a school,
+established by a very worthy white lady, was mobbed and then
+legislated out of existence.
+
+ "In the summer of 1832, Miss Prudence Crandall, an excellent,
+ well-educated Quaker young lady, who had gained considerable
+ reputation as a teacher in the neighboring town of Plainfield,
+ purchased, at the solicitation of a number of families in the
+ village of Canterbury, Connecticut, a commodious house in that
+ village, for the purpose of establishing a boarding and day
+ school for young ladies, in order that they might receive
+ instruction in higher branches than were taught in the public
+ district school. Her school was well conducted, but was
+ interrupted early in 1833 in this wise: Not far from the village
+ a worthy colored man was living, by the name of Harris, the owner
+ of a good farm, and in comfortable circumstances. His daughter
+ Sarah, a bright girl, seventeen years of age, had passed with
+ credit through the public school of the district in which she
+ lived, and was anxious to acquire a better education, to qualify
+ herself to become a teacher of the colored people. She applied to
+ Miss Crandall for admission to her school. Miss Crandall
+ hesitated, for prudential reasons, to admit a colored person
+ among her pupils; but Sarah was a young lady of pleasing
+ appearance and manners, well known to many of Miss Crandall's
+ present pupils, having been their classmate in the district
+ school, and was, moreover, a virtuous, pious girl, and a member
+ of the church in Canterbury. No objection could be made to her
+ admission, except on acount of her complexion, and Miss Crandall
+ decided to receive her as a pupil. No objection was made by the
+ other pupils, but in a few days the parents of some of them
+ called on Miss Crandall and remonstrated; and although Miss
+ Crandall pressed upon their consideration the eager desire of
+ Sarah for knowledge and culture, and the good use she wished to
+ make of her education, her excellent character, and her being an
+ accepted member of the same Christian church to which they
+ belonged, they were too much prejudiced to listen to any
+ arguments--'they would not have it said that their daughters went
+ to school with a nigger girl.' It was urged that if Sarah was not
+ dismissed, the white pupils would be withdrawn; but although the
+ fond hopes of success for an institution which she had
+ established at the risk of all her property, and by incurring a
+ debt of several hundred dollars, seemed to be doomed to
+ disappointment, she decided not to yield to the demand for the
+ dismissal of Sarah; and on the 2d day of March, 1833, she
+ advertised in the 'Liberator' that on the first Monday in April
+ her school would be open for 'young ladies and little misses of
+ color.' Her determination having become known, a fierce
+ indignation was kindled and fanned by prominent people of the
+ village and pervaded the town. In this juncture, the Rev. Samuel
+ J. May, of the neighboring town of Brooklyn, addressed her a
+ letter of sympathy, expressing his readiness to assist her to the
+ extent of his power, and was present at the town meeting held on
+ the 9th of March, called for the express purpose of devising and
+ adopting such measures as 'would effectually avert the nuisance
+ or speedily abate it if it should be brought into the village.'
+
+ "The friends of Miss Crandall were authorized by her to state to
+ the moderator of the town meeting that she would give up her
+ house, which was one of the most conspicuous in the village, and
+ not wholly paid for, if those who were opposed to her school
+ being there would take the property off her hands at the price
+ for which she had purchased it, and which was deemed a reasonable
+ one, and allow her time to procure another house in a more
+ retired part of the town.
+
+ "The town meeting was held in the meeting-house, which, though
+ capable of holding a thousand people, was crowded throughout to
+ its utmost capacity. After the warning for the meeting had been
+ read, resolutions were introduced in which were set forth the
+ disgrace and damage that would be brought upon the town if a
+ school for colored girls should be set up there, protesting
+ emphatically against the impending evil, and appointing the civil
+ authority and select-men a committee to wait upon 'the person
+ contemplating the establishment of said school, and persuade her,
+ if possible, to abandon the project.'
+
+ "The resolutions were advocated by Rufus Adams, Esq., and Hon.
+ Andrew T. Judson, who was then the most prominent man of the
+ town, and a leading politician in the State, and much talked of
+ as the Democratic candidate for governor, and was a
+ representative in Congress from 1835 to 1839, when he was elected
+ judge of the United States District Court, which position he held
+ until his death in 1853, adjudicating, among other causes, the
+ libel of the 'Amistad' and the fifty-four Africans on board.
+ After his address on this occasion, Mr. May, in company with Mr.
+ Arnold Buffum, a lecturing agent of the New England Anti-Slavery
+ Society, applied for permission to speak in behalf of Miss
+ Crandall, but their application was violently opposed, and the
+ resolutions being adopted, the meeting was declared, by the
+ moderator, adjourned.
+
+ "Mr. May at once stepped upon the seat where he had been sitting,
+ and rapidly vindicated Miss Crandall, replying to some of the
+ misstatements as to her purposes and the character of her
+ expected pupils, when he gave way to Mr. Buffum, who had spoken
+ scarcely five minutes before the trustees of the church ordered
+ the house to be vacated and the doors to be shut. There was then
+ no alternative but to yield.
+
+ "Two days afterward Mr. Judson called on Mr. May, with whom he
+ had been on terms of a pleasant acquaintance, not to say of
+ friendship, and expressed regret that he had applied certain
+ epithets to him; and went on to speak of the disastrous effect on
+ the village from the establishment of 'a school for nigger
+ girls.' Mr. May replied that his purpose was, if he had been
+ allowed to do so, to state at the town meeting Miss Crandall's
+ proposition to sell her house in the village at its fair
+ valuation, and retire to some other part of the town. To this Mr.
+ Judson replied: 'Mr. May, we are not merely opposed to the
+ establishment of that school in Canterbury, we mean there shall
+ not be such a school set up anywhere in the State.'
+
+ "Mr. Judson continued, declaring that the colored people could
+ never rise from their menial condition in our country, and ought
+ not to be permitted to rise here; that they were an inferior race
+ and should not be recognized as the equals of the whites; that
+ they should be sent back to Africa, and improve themselves there,
+ and civilize and Christianize the natives. To this Mr. May
+ replied that there never would be fewer colored people in this
+ country than there were then; that it was unjust to drive them
+ out of the country; that we must accord to them their rights or
+ incur the loss of our own; that education was the primal,
+ fundamental right of all the children of men; and that
+ Connecticut was the last place where this should be denied.
+
+ "The conversation was continued in a similar strain, in the
+ course of which Mr. Judson declared with warmth: 'That nigger
+ school shall never be allowed in Canterbury, nor in any town of
+ this State'; and he avowed his determination to secure the
+ passage of a law by the Legislature then in session, forbidding
+ the institution of such a school in any part of the State.
+
+ "Undismayed by the opposition and the threatened violence of her
+ neighbors, Miss Crandall received, early in April, fifteen or
+ twenty colored young ladies and misses from Philadelphia, New
+ York, Providence, and Boston, and the annoyances of her
+ persecutors at once commenced: all accommodations at the stores
+ in Canterbury being denied her, her pupils being insulted
+ whenever they appeared on the streets, the doors and door-steps
+ of her house being besmeared, and her well filled with filth;
+ under all of which, both she and her pupils remained firm. Among
+ other means used to intimidate, an attempt was made to drive away
+ those innocent girls by a process under the obsolete vagrant law,
+ which provided that the select-men of any town might warn any
+ person, not an inhabitant of the State, to depart forthwith,
+ demanding $1.67 for every week he or she remained after receiving
+ such warning; and in case the fine was not paid and the person
+ did not depart before the expiration of ten days after being
+ sentenced, _then he or she should be whipped on the naked body,
+ not exceeding ten stripes_.
+
+ "A warrant to that effect was actually served upon Eliza Ann
+ Hammond, a fine girl from Providence, aged seventeen years; but
+ it was finally abandoned, and another method was resorted to,
+ most disgraceful to the State as well as the town. Foiled in
+ their attempts to frighten away Miss Crandall's pupils by their
+ proceedings under the obsolete 'pauper and vagrant law,' Mr.
+ Judson and those who acted with him pressed upon the Legislature,
+ then in session, a demand for the enactment of a law which should
+ enable them to accomplish their purpose; and in that bad purpose
+ they succeeded, by securing the following enactment, on the 24th
+ of May, 1833, known as the '_black law_.'
+
+ "'Whereas, attempts have been made to establish literary
+ institutions in this State for the instruction of colored persons
+ belonging to other States and countries, which would tend to the
+ great increase of the colored population of the State, and
+ thereby to the injury of the people: therefore,
+
+ "'_Be it enacted, etc._, That no person shall set up or establish
+ in this State any school, academy, or other literary institution
+ for the instruction or education of colored persons, who are not
+ inhabitants of this State, or harbor or board, for the purpose of
+ attending or being taught or instructed in any such school,
+ academy, or literary institution, any colored person who is not
+ an inhabitant of any town in this State, without the consent in
+ writing, first obtained, of a majority of the civil authority,
+ and also of the select-men of the town in which such school,
+ academy, or literary institution is situated,' etc.
+
+ "'And each and every person who shall knowingly do any act
+ forbidden as aforesaid, or shall be aiding or assisting therein,
+ shall for the first offense forfeit and pay to the treasurer of
+ this State a fine of $100, and for the second offense $200, and
+ so double for every offense of which he or she shall be
+ convicted; and all informing officers are required to make due
+ presentment of all breaches of this act.'
+
+ "On the receipt of the tidings of the passage of this law, the
+ people of Canterbury were wild with exultation; the bells were
+ rung and a cannon was fired to manifest the joy. On the 27th of
+ June, Miss Crandall was arrested and arraigned before Justices
+ Adams and Bacon, two of those who had been the earnest opponents
+ of her enterprise; and the result being predetermined, the trial
+ was of course brief, and Miss Crandall was 'committed' to take
+ her trial at the next session of the Supreme Court at Brooklyn,
+ in August. A messenger was at once dispatched by the party
+ opposed to Miss Crandall to Brooklyn, to inform Mr. May, as her
+ friend, of the result of the trial, stating that she was in the
+ hands of the sheriff, and would be put in jail unless he or some
+ of her friends would 'give bonds' for her in a certain sum."
+
+The denouement may be related most appropriately in the language of
+Mr. May:
+
+ "I calmly told the messenger that there were gentlemen enough in
+ Canterbury whose bond for that amount would be as good or better
+ than mine, and I should leave it for them to do Miss Crandall
+ that favor. 'But,' said the young man, 'are you not her friend?'
+ 'Certainly,' I replied, 'too sincerely her friend to give relief
+ to her enemies in their present embarrassment, and I trust you
+ will not find any one of her friends, or the patrons of her
+ school, who will step forward to help them any more than myself.'
+ 'But, sir,' he cried, 'do you mean to allow her to be put in
+ jail?' 'Most certainly,' was my answer, 'if her persecutors are
+ unwise enough to let such an outrage be committed.' He turned
+ from me in blank surprise, and hurried back to tell Mr. Judson
+ and the justices of his ill success.
+
+ "A few days before, when I first heard of the passage of the law,
+ I had visited Miss Crandall with my friend, Mr. George W. Benson,
+ and advised with her as to the course she and her friends ought
+ to pursue when she should be brought to trial. She appreciated at
+ once and fully the importance of leaving her persecutors to show
+ to the world how base they were, and how atrocious was the law
+ they had induced the Legislature to enact--a law, by the force of
+ which a woman might be fined and imprisoned as a felon in the
+ State of Connecticut for giving instruction to colored girls. She
+ agreed that it would be best for us to leave her in the hands of
+ those with whom the law originated, hoping that, in their
+ madness, they would show forth all their hideous features.
+
+ "Mr. Benson and I, therefore, went diligently around to all who
+ he knew were friendly to Miss Crandall and her school, and
+ counselled them by no means to give bonds to keep her from
+ imprisonment, because nothing would expose so fully to the public
+ the egregious wickedness of the law and the virulence of her
+ persecutors as the fact that they had thrust her into jail.
+
+ "When I found that her resolution was equal to the trial which
+ seemed to be impending, that she was ready to brave and to bear
+ meekly the worst treatment that her enemies would venture to
+ subject her to, I made all the arrangements for her comfort that
+ were practicable in our prison. It fortunately happened that the
+ most suitable room, unoccupied, was the one in which a man named
+ Watkins had recently been confined for the murder of his wife,
+ and out of which he had been taken and executed. This
+ circumstance we foresaw would add not a little to the public
+ detestation of the _black law_. The jailer, at my request,
+ readily put the room in as nice order as was possible, and
+ permitted me to substitute for the bedstead and mattrass on which
+ the murderer had slept, fresh and clean ones from my own house
+ and Mr. Benson's.
+
+ "About 2 o'clock, P.M., another messenger came to inform me that
+ the sheriff was on the way from Canterbury to the jail with Miss
+ Crandall, and would imprison her unless her friends would give
+ the required bail. Although in sympathy with Miss Crandall's
+ persecutors, he saw clearly the disgrace that was about to be
+ brought upon the State, and begged me and Mr. Benson to avert it.
+ Of course we refused. I went to the jailer's house and met Miss
+ Crandall on her arrival. We stepped aside. I said: 'If now you
+ hesitate--if you dread the gloomy place so much as to wish to be
+ saved from it, I will give bonds for you even now.' 'Oh, no,' she
+ promptly replied, 'I am only afraid they will not put me in jail.
+ Their evident hesitation and embarrassment show plainly how much
+ they deprecated the effect of this part of their folly, and
+ therefore I am the more anxious that they should be exposed, if
+ not caught in their own wicked devices.
+
+ "We therefore returned with her to the sheriff and the company
+ that surrounded him, to await his final act. He was ashamed to do
+ it. He knew it would cover the persecutors of Miss Crandall and
+ the State of Connecticut with disgrace. He conferred with several
+ about him, and delayed yet longer. Two gentlemen came and
+ remonstrated with me in not very seemly terms: 'It would be a
+ ---- shame, an eternal disgrace to the State, to have her put
+ into jail--into the very room that Watkins had last occupied.'
+
+ "'Certainly, gentlemen,' I replied, 'and this you may prevent if
+ you please.'
+
+ "'Oh!' they cried, 'we are not her friends; we are not in favor
+ of her school; we don't want any more ---- niggers coming among
+ us. It is your place to stand by Miss Crandall and help her now.
+ You and your ---- abolition brethren have encouraged her to
+ bring this nuisance into Canterbury, and it is ---- mean in you
+ to desert her now.'
+
+ "I rejoined: 'She knows we have not deserted her, and do not
+ intend to desert her. The law which her persecutors have
+ persuaded our legislators to enact is an infamous one, worthy of
+ the dark ages. It would be just as bad as it is whether we would
+ give bonds for her or not. But the people generally will not so
+ soon realize how bad, how wicked, how cruel a law it is unless we
+ suffer her persecutors to inflict upon her all the penalties it
+ prescribes. She is willing to bear them for the sake of the cause
+ she has so nobly espoused. If you see fit to keep her from
+ imprisonment in the cell of a murderer for having proffered the
+ blessings of a good education to those who in our country need it
+ most, you may do so; _we shall not_.'
+
+ "They turned from us in great wrath, words falling from their
+ lips which I shall not repeat.
+
+ "The sun had descended nearly to the horizon; the shadows of
+ night were beginning to fall around us. The sheriff could defer
+ the dark deed no longer. With no little emotion, and with words
+ of earnest deprecation, he gave that excellent, heroic, Christian
+ young lady into the hands of the jailer, and she was led into the
+ cell of Watkins. So soon as I had heard the bolts of her prison
+ door turned in the lock, and saw the key taken out, I bowed and
+ said: 'The deed is done, completely done. It cannot be recalled.
+ It has passed into the history of our nation and our age.' I went
+ away with my steadfast friend, George W. Benson, assured that the
+ legislators of the State had been guilty of a most unrighteous
+ act, and that Miss Crandall's persecutors had also committed a
+ great blunder; that they all would have much more reason to be
+ ashamed of her imprisonment than she or her friends could ever
+ have.
+
+ "The next day we gave the required bonds. Miss Crandall was
+ released from the cell of the murderer, returned home, and
+ quietly resumed the duties of her school until she should be
+ summoned as a culprit into court, there to be tried by the
+ infamous '_Black Law of Connecticut_.' And, as we expected, so
+ soon as the evil tidings could be carried in that day, before
+ Professor Morse had given to Rumor her telegraphic wings, it was
+ known all over the country and the civilized world, that an
+ excellent young lady had been imprisoned as a criminal--yes, put
+ into a murderer's cell--in the State of Connecticut, for opening
+ a school for the instruction of colored girls. The comments that
+ were made upon the deed in almost all the newspapers were far
+ from grateful to the feelings of her persecutors. Even many who,
+ under the same circumstances, would probably have acted as badly
+ as Messrs. A. T. Judson & Co., denounced their procedure as
+ 'un-Christian, inhuman, anti-Democratic, base, mean.'
+
+ "On the 23d of August, 1833, the first trial of Miss Crandall
+ was had in Brooklyn, the seat of the county of Windham, Hon.
+ Joseph Eaton presiding at the county court.
+
+ "The prosecution was conducted by Hon. A. T. Judson, Jonathan A.
+ Welch, Esq., and I. Bulkley, Esq. Miss Crandall's counsel was
+ Hon. Calvin Goddard, Hon. W. W. Elsworth, and Henry Strong, Esq.
+
+ "The judge, somewhat timidly, gave it as his opinion 'that the
+ law was constitutional and obligatory on the people of the
+ State.'
+
+ "The jury, after an absence of several hours, returned into
+ court, not having agreed upon a verdict. They were instructed and
+ sent out again, and again a third time, in vain; they stated to
+ the judge that there was no probability that they could ever
+ agree. Seven were for conviction and five for acquittal, so they
+ were discharged.
+
+ "The second trial was on the 3d of October, before Judge Daggett
+ of the Supreme Court, who was a strenuous advocate of the black
+ law. His influence with the jury was overpowering, insisting in
+ an elaborate and able charge that the law was constitutional,
+ and, without much hesitation, the verdict was given against Miss
+ Crandall. Her counsel at once filed a bill of exceptions, and
+ took an appeal to the Court of Errors, which was granted. Before
+ that, the highest legal tribunal in the State, the cause was
+ argued on the 22d of July, 1834. Both the Hon. W. W. Elsworth and
+ the Hon. Calvin Goddard argued with great ability and eloquence
+ against the constitutionality of the black law. The Hon. A. T.
+ Judson and Hon. C. F. Cleaveland said all they could to prove
+ such a law consistent with the _Magna Charta_ of our republic.
+ The court reserved a decision for some future time; and that
+ decision was never given, it being evaded by the court finding
+ such defects in the information prepared by the State's attorney
+ that it ought to be quashed.
+
+ "Soon after this, an attempt was made to set the house of Miss
+ Crandall on fire, but without effect. The question of her duty to
+ risk the lives of her pupils against this mode of attack was then
+ considered, and upon consultation with friends it was concluded
+ to hold on and bear a little longer, with the hope that this
+ atrocity of attempting to fire the house, and thus expose the
+ lives and property of her neighbors, would frighten the
+ instigators of the persecution, and cause some restraint on the
+ 'baser sort.' But a few nights afterward, about 12 o'clock, being
+ the night of the 9th of September, her house was assaulted by a
+ number of persons with heavy clubs and iron bars, and windows
+ were dashed to pieces. Mr. May was summoned the next morning, and
+ after consultation it was determined that the school should be
+ abandoned."
+
+Mr. May thus concluded his account of this event, and of the
+enterprise:
+
+ "The pupils were called together and I was requested to announce
+ to them our decision. Never before had I felt so deeply sensible
+ of the cruelty of the persecution which had been carried on for
+ eighteen months in that New England village, against a family of
+ defenseless females. Twenty harmless, well-behaved girls, whose
+ only offense against the peace of the community was that they had
+ come together there to obtain useful knowledge and moral culture,
+ were to be told that they had better go away, because, forsooth,
+ the house in which they dwelt would not be protected by the
+ guardians of the town, the conservators of the peace, the
+ officers of justice, the men of influence in the village where it
+ was situated. The words almost blistered my lips. My bosom glowed
+ with indignation. I felt ashamed of Canterbury, ashamed of
+ Connecticut, ashamed of my country, ashamed of my color."[58]
+
+Thus ended the generous, disinterested, philanthropic Christian
+enterprise of Prudence Crandall, but the law under which her
+enterprise was defeated was repealed in 1838.
+
+It is to be regretted that Connecticut earned such an unenviable place
+in history as this. It seems strange, indeed, that such an occurrence
+could take place in the nineteenth century in a free State in a
+republic in North America! But such is "the truth of history."
+
+
+DELAWARE
+
+never passed any law against the instruction of Negroes, but in 1833
+passed an act taxing every person who sold a slave out of the State,
+or brought one into the State, five dollars, which went into a school
+fund for the education of _white children alone_. In 1852, the Revised
+Statutes provided for the taxation of all the property of the State
+for the support of the schools for _white children_ alone. So, by
+implication, Delaware prohibited the education of Colored children.
+
+In 1840, the Friends formed the African School Association in
+Wilmington; and under its management two excellent schools, for boys
+and girls, were established.
+
+
+FLORIDA.
+
+On the 28th of December, 1848, an act was passed providing "for the
+establishment of common schools." The right to vote at district
+meetings was conferred upon every person whose property was liable to
+taxation for school purposes; but only white children were allowed
+school privileges.
+
+In the same year an act was passed providing that the school funds
+should consist of "the proceeds of the school lands," and of all
+estates, real or personal, escheating to the State, and "the proceeds
+of all property found on the coast or shores of the State." In 1850
+the counties were authorized to provide, by taxation, not more than
+four dollars for each child within their limits of the proper school
+age. In the same year the amount received from the sale of any slave,
+under the act of 1829, was required to be added to the school fund.
+The common school law was revised in 1853, and the county
+commissioners were authorized to add from the county treasury any sum
+they thought proper for the support of common schools.[59]
+
+
+GEORGIA
+
+passed a law in 1770 (copied from S. C. Statutes, passed in 1740),
+fixing a fine of L20 for teaching a slave to read or write. In 1829
+the Legislature enacted the following law:
+
+ "If any slave, negro, or free person of color, or any white
+ person, shall teach any other slave, negro, or free person of
+ color to read or write either written or printed characters, the
+ said free person of color or slave shall be punished by fine and
+ whipping, or fine or whipping, at the discretion of the court;
+ and if a white person so offend, he, she, or they shall be
+ punished with a fine not exceeding $500, and imprisonment in the
+ common jail at the discretion of the court."
+
+In 1833 the above law was consolidated into a penal code. A penalty of
+$100 was provided against persons who employed any slave or free
+person of Color to set type or perform any other labor about a
+printing-office requiring a knowledge of reading or writing. During
+the same year an ordinance was passed in the city of Savannah, "that
+if any person shall teach or cause to be taught any slave or free
+person of color to read or write within the city, or who shall keep a
+school for that purpose, he or she shall be fined in a sum not
+exceeding $100 for each and every such offense; and if the offender be
+a slave or free person of color, he or she may also be whipped, not
+exceeding thirty-nine lashes."
+
+In the summer of 1850 a series of articles by Mr. F. C. Adams appeared
+in one of the papers of Savannah, advocating the education of the
+Negroes as a means of increasing their value and of attaching them to
+their masters. The subject was afterward taken up in the Agricultural
+Convention which met at Macon in September of the same year. The
+matter was again brought up in September, 1851, in the Agricultural
+Convention, and after being debated, a resolution was passed that a
+petition be presented to the Legislature for a law granting permission
+to educate the slaves. The petition was presented to the Legislature,
+and Mr. Harlston introduced a bill in the winter of 1852, which was
+discussed and passed in the lower House, to repeal the old law, and to
+grant to the masters the privilege of educating their slaves. The bill
+was lost in the senate by two or three votes.[60]
+
+ILLINOIS'
+
+school laws contain the word "white" from beginning to end. There is
+no prohibition against the education of Colored persons; but there
+being no mention of them, is evidence that they were purposely
+omitted. Separate schools were established for Colored children before
+the war, and a few white schools opened their doors to them. The Free
+Mission Institute at Quincy was destroyed by a mob from Missouri in
+_ante-bellum_ days, because Colored persons were admitted to the
+classes.
+
+
+INDIANA
+
+denied the right of suffrage to her Negro population in the
+constitution of 1851. No provision was made for the education of the
+Negro children. And the cruelty of the laws that drove the Negro from
+the State, and pursued him while in it, gave the poor people no hope
+of peaceful habitation, much less of education.
+
+
+KENTUCKY
+
+never put herself on record against the education of Negroes. By an
+act passed in 1830, all the inhabitants of each school district were
+taxed to support a common-school system. The property of Colored
+persons was included, but they could not vote or enjoy the privileges
+of the schools. And the slave laws were so numerous and cruel that
+there was no opportunity left the bondmen in this State to acquire any
+knowledge of books even secretly.
+
+
+LOUISIANA
+
+passed an act in 1830, forbidding free Negroes to enter the State. It
+provided also, that whoever should "write, print, publish, or
+distribute any thing having a tendency to produce discontent among the
+free colored population, or insubordination among the slaves," should,
+on conviction thereof, be imprisoned "_at hard labor for life, or
+suffer death_, at the discretion of the court." And whoever used
+language calculated to produce discontent among the free or slave
+population, or was "instrumental in bringing into the State any paper,
+book, or pamphlet having such tendency," was to "suffer imprisonment
+at hard labor, not less than three years nor more than twenty-one
+years, or death, at the discretion of the court." "All persons,"
+continues the act, "who shall teach, or permit, or cause to be taught,
+any slave to read or write, shall be imprisoned not less than one
+month nor more than twelve months."
+
+In 1847, a system of common schools for "the education of white youth
+was established." It was provided that "one mill on the dollar, upon
+the _ad valorem_ amount of the general list of taxable property,"
+should be levied for the support of the schools.
+
+
+MAINE
+
+gave the elective franchise and ample school privileges to all her
+citizens, without regard to race or color, by her constitution of
+1820.
+
+
+MARYLAND
+
+always restricted the right of suffrage to her "white male
+inhabitants," and, therefore, always refused to make any provisions
+for the education of her Negro population. There is nothing upon her
+statute-books prohibiting the instruction of Negroes, but the law that
+designates her schools for "white children" is sufficient proof that
+Negro children were purposely omitted and excluded from the benefits
+of the schools.
+
+St. Frances Academy for Colored girls was founded in connection with
+the Oblate Sisters of Providence Convent, in Baltimore, June 5, 1829,
+under the hearty approbation of the Most Rev. James Whitfield, D.D.,
+the Archbishop of Baltimore at that time, and receiving the sanction
+of the Holy See, October 2, 1831. The convent originated with the
+French Fathers, who came to Baltimore from San Domingo as refugees, in
+the time of the revolution in that island in the latter years of last
+century. There were many Colored Catholic refugees who came to
+Baltimore during that period, and the French Fathers soon opened
+schools there for the benefit of the refugees and other Colored
+people. The Colored women who formed the original society which
+founded the convent and seminary, were from San Domingo; though they
+had, some of them, certainly, been educated in France. The schools
+which preceded the organization of the convent were greatly favored
+by. Most Rev. Ambrose Marechal, D.D., who was a French Father, and
+Archbishop of Baltimore from 1817 to 1828, Archbishop Whitfield being
+his successor. The Sisters of Providence is the name of a religious
+society of Colored women who renounced the world to consecrate
+themselves to the Christian education of Colored girls. The following
+extract from the announcement which, under the caption of "Prospectus
+of a School for Colored Girls under the Direction of the Sisters of
+Providence," appeared in the columns of the "Daily National
+Intelligencer," October 25, 1831, shows the spirit in which the school
+originated, and at the same time shadows forth the predominating ideas
+pertaining to the province of the race at that period.
+
+The prospectus says:
+
+ "The object of this institute is one of great importance,
+ greater, indeed, than might at first appear to those who would
+ only glance at the advantages which it is calculated to directly
+ impart to the leading portion of the human race, and through it
+ to society at large. In fact, these girls will either become
+ mothers of families or household servants. In the first case the
+ solid virtues, the religious and moral principles which they may
+ have acquired in this school will be carefully transferred as a
+ legacy to their children. Instances of the happy influence which
+ the example of virtuous parents has on the remotest lineage in
+ this humble and naturally dutiful class of society are numerous.
+ As to such as are to be employed as servants, they will be
+ intrusted with domestic concerns and the care of young children.
+ How important, then, it will be that these girls shall have
+ imbibed religious principles, and have been trained up in habits
+ of modesty, honesty, and integrity."[61]
+
+The Wells School, established by a Colored man by the name of Nelson
+Wells, in 1835, gave instruction to free children of color. It was
+managed by a board of trustees who applied the income of $7,000 (the
+amount left by Mr. Wells) to the support of the school. It
+accomplished much good.
+
+
+MASSACHUSETTS.
+
+A separate school for Colored children was established in Boston, in
+1798, and was held in the house of a reputable Colored man named
+Primus Hall. The teacher was one Elisha Sylvester, whose salary was
+paid by the parents of the children whom he taught. In 1800 sixty-six
+Colored citizens presented a petition to the School Committee of
+Boston, praying that a school might be established for their benefit.
+A sub-committee, to whom the petition had been referred, reported in
+favor of granting the prayer, but it was voted down at the next town
+meeting. However, the school taught by Mr. Sylvester did not perish.
+Two young gentlemen from Harvard University, Messrs. Brown and
+Williams, continued the school until 1806. During this year the
+Colored Baptists built a church edifice in Belknap Street, and fitted
+up the lower room for a school for Colored children. From the house of
+Primus Hall the little school was moved to its new quarters in the
+Belknap Street church. Here it was continued until 1835, when a
+school-house for Colored children was erected and paid for out of a
+fund left for the purpose by Abiel Smith, and was subsequently called
+"Smith School-house." The authorities of Boston were induced to give
+$200.00 as an annual appropriation, and the parents of the children in
+attendance paid 121/2 cents per week. The school-house was dedicated
+with appropriate exercises, Hon. William Minot delivering the
+dedicatory address.
+
+The African school in Belknap Street was under the control of the
+school committee from 1812 to 1821, and from 1821 was under the charge
+of a special sub-committee. Among the teachers was John B. Russworm,
+from 1821 to 1824, who entered Bowdoin College in the latter year, and
+afterward became governor of the colony of Cape Palmas in Southern
+Liberia.
+
+The first primary school for Colored children in Boston was
+established in 1820, two or three of which were subsequently kept
+until 1855, when they were discontinued as separate schools, in
+accordance with the general law passed by the Legislature in that
+year, which provided that, "in determining the qualifications of
+scholars to be admitted into any public school, or any district school
+in this commonwealth, no distinction shall be made on account of the
+race, color, or religious opinions of the applicant or scholar." "Any
+child, who, on account of his race, color, or religious opinions
+should be excluded from any public or district school, if otherwise
+qualified," might recover damages in an action of _tort_, brought in
+the name of the child in any court of competent jurisdiction, against
+the city or town in which the school was located.[62]
+
+
+MISSISSIPPI
+
+passed an act in 1823 providing against the meeting together of
+slaves, free Negroes, or Mulattoes above the number of five. They were
+not allowed to meet at any public house in the night; or at any house,
+for teaching, reading, or writing, in the day or night. The penalty
+for the violation of this law was whipping, "not exceeding
+thirty-nine" lashes.
+
+In 1831 an act was passed making it "unlawful for any slave, free
+negro, or mulatto to preach the Gospel," upon pain of receiving
+thirty-nine lashes upon the naked back of the presumptuous preacher.
+If a Negro received written permission from his master he might preach
+to the Negroes in his immediate neighborhood, providing six
+respectable white men, owners of slaves, were present.
+
+In 1846, and again in 1848, school laws were enacted, but in both
+instances schools and education were prescribed for "white youth
+between the ages of six and twenty years."
+
+
+MISSOURI
+
+ordered all free persons of color to move out of the State in 1845. In
+1847 an act was passed providing that "no person shall keep or teach
+any school for the instruction of negroes or mulattoes in reading or
+writing in this State."
+
+
+NEW YORK
+
+had the courage and patriotism, in 1777, to extend the right of
+suffrage to every male inhabitant of full age. But by the revised
+constitution, in 1821, this liberal provision was abridged so that
+"no man of color, unless he shall have been for three years a citizen
+of this State, and for one year next preceding any election, shall be
+seized and possessed of a freehold estate of $250 over and above all
+debts and encumbrances charged thereon, and shall have been actually
+rated and paid a tax thereon, shall be entitled to vote at any such
+election. And no person of color shall be subject to direct taxation
+unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as
+aforesaid." In 1846, and again in 1850, a Constitutional amendment
+conferring equal privileges upon the Negroes, was voted down by large
+majorities.
+
+A school for Negro slaves was opened in the city of New York in 1704
+by Elias Neau, a native of France, and a catechist of the "Society for
+the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." After a long
+imprisonment for his public profession of faith as a Protestant, he
+founded an asylum in New York. His sympathies were awakened by the
+condition of the Negroes in slavery in that city, who numbered about
+1,500 at that time. The difficulties of holding any intercourse with
+them seemed almost insurmountable. At first he could only visit them
+from house to house, after his day's toil was over; afterward he was
+permitted to gather them together in a room in his own house for a
+short time in the evening. As the result of his instructions at the
+end of four years, in 1708, the ordinary number under his instruction
+was 200. Many were judged worthy to receive the sacrament at the hands
+of Mr. Vesey, the rector of Trinity Church, some of whom became
+regular and devout communicants, remarkable for their orderly and
+blameless lives.
+
+But soon after this time some Negroes of the Carmantee and Pappa
+tribes formed a plot for setting fire to the city and murdering the
+English on a certain night. The work was commenced but checked, and
+after a short struggle the English subdued the Negroes. Immediately a
+loud and angry clamor arose against Elias Neau, his accusers saying
+that his school was the cause of the murderous attempt. He denied the
+charge in vain; and so furious were the people that, for a time, his
+life was in danger. The evidence, however, at the trial proved that
+the Negroes most deeply engaged in this plot were those whose masters
+were most opposed to any means for their instruction. Yet the offence
+of a few was charged upon the race, and even the provincial government
+lent its authority to make the burden of Neau the heavier. The common
+council passed an order forbidding Negroes "to appear in the streets
+after sunset, without lanthorns or candles"; and as they could not
+procure these, the result was to break up the labors of Neau. But at
+this juncture Governor Hunter interposed, and went to visit the school
+of Neau, accompanied by several officers of rank and by the society's
+missionaries, and he was so well pleased that he gave his full
+approval to the work, and in a public proclamation called upon the
+clergy of the province to exhort their congregations to extend their
+approval also. Vesey, the good rector of Trinity Church, had long
+watched the labors of Neau and witnessed the progress of his scholars,
+as well as assisted him in them; and finally the governor, the
+council, mayor, recorder, and two chief justices of New York joined in
+declaring that Neau "in a very eminent degree deserved the
+countenance, favor, and protection of the society." He therefore
+continued his labors until 1722, when, "amid the unaffected sorrow of
+his negro scholars and the friends who honored him for their sake, he
+was removed by death."
+
+The work was then continued by "Huddlestone, then schoolmaster in New
+York"; and he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Wetmore, who removed in 1726
+to Rye; whereupon the Rev. Mr. Colgan was appointed to assist the
+rector of Trinity Church, and to carry on the instruction of the
+Negroes. A few years afterward Thomas Noxon assisted Mr. Colgan, and
+their joint success was very satisfactory. Rev. R. Charlton, who had
+been engaged in similar labor at New Windsor, was called to New York
+in 1732, where he followed up the work successfully for fifteen years,
+and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Auchmuty. Upon the death of Thomas
+Noxon, in 1741, Mr. Hildreth took his place, who, in 1764, wrote that
+"not a single black admitted by him to the holy communion had turned
+out badly, or in any way disgraced his profession." Both Auchmuty and
+Hildreth received valuable support from Mr. Barclay, who, upon the
+death of Mr. Vesey, in 1746, had been appointed to the rectory of
+Trinity Church.
+
+The frequent kidnapping of free persons of color excited public alarm
+and resulted in the formation of "The New York Society for Promoting
+the Manumission of Slaves, and Protecting such of them as have been or
+may be Liberated." These are the names of the gentlemen who organized
+the society, and became the board of trustees of the "_New York
+African Free School_":
+
+Melancthon Smith, Jno. Bleeker, James Cogswell, Lawrence Embree,
+Thomas Burling, Willett Leaman, Jno. Lawrence, Jacob Leaman, White
+Mattock, Mathew Clarkson, Nathaniel Lawrence, Jno. Murray, Jr.
+
+Their school, located in Cliff Street, between Beekman and Ferry, was
+opened in 1786, taught by Cornelius Davis, attended by about forty
+pupils of both sexes, and appears, from their book of minutes, to have
+been satisfactorily conducted. In the year 1791 a female teacher was
+added to instruct the girls in needle-work, the expected advantages of
+which measure were soon realized and highly gratifying to the society.
+In 1808 the society was incorporated, and in the preamble it is
+recorded that "a free school for the education of such persons as have
+been liberated from bondage, that they may hereafter become useful
+members of the community," has been established. It may be proper here
+to remark that the good cause in which the friends of this school were
+engaged, was far from being a popular one. The prejudices of a large
+portion of the community were against it; the means in the hands of
+the trustees were often very inadequate, and many seasons of
+discouragement were witnessed; but they were met by men who, trusting
+in the Divine support, were resolved neither to relax their exertions
+nor to retire from the field.
+
+Through the space of about twenty years they struggled on; the number
+of scholars varying from forty to sixty, until the year 1809, when the
+Lancasterian, or monitorial, system of instruction was introduced
+(this being the second school in the United States to adopt the plan),
+under a new teacher, E. J. Cox, and a very favorable change was
+produced, the number of pupils, and the efficiency of their
+instruction being largely increased.
+
+Soon after this, however, in January, 1814, their school-house was
+destroyed by fire, which checked the progress of the school for a
+time, as no room could be obtained large enough to accommodate the
+whole number of pupils. A small room in Doyer Street was temporarily
+hired, to keep the school together till further arrangements could be
+made, and an appeal was made to the liberality of the citizens and to
+the corporation of the city, which resulted in obtaining from the
+latter a grant of two lots of ground in William. Street, on which to
+build a new school-house; and in January, 1815, a commodious brick
+building, to accommodate 200 pupils, was finished on this lot, and
+the school was resumed with fresh vigor and increasing interest. In a
+few months the room became so crowded that it was found necessary to
+engage a separate room, next to the school, to accommodate such of the
+pupils as were to be taught sewing. This branch had been for many
+years discontinued, but was now resumed under the direction of Miss
+Lucy Turpen, a young lady whose amiable disposition and faithful
+discharge of her duties rendered her greatly esteemed both by her
+pupils and the trustees. This young lady, after serving the board for
+several years, removed with her parents to Ohio, and her place was
+supplied by Miss Mary Lincrum, who was succeeded by Miss Eliza J. Cox,
+and the latter by Miss Mary Ann Cox, and she by Miss Carolina Roe,
+under each of whom the school continued to sustain a high character
+for order and usefulness.
+
+The school in William Street increasing in numbers, another building
+was found necessary, and was built on a lot of ground 50 by 100 feet
+square, on Mulberry Street, between Grand and Hester streets, to
+accommodate five hundred pupils, and was completed and occupied, with
+C. C. Andrews for teacher, in May, 1820.
+
+General Lafayette visited this school September 10, 1824, an abridged
+account of which is copied from the "Commercial Advertiser" of that
+date:
+
+ VISIT OF LAFAYETTE TO THE AFRICAN SCHOOL IN 1824.
+
+ "At 1 o'clock the general, with the company invited for the
+ occasion, visited the African free school, on Mulberry Street.
+ This school embraces about 500 scholars; about 450 were present
+ on this occasion, and they are certainly the best disciplined and
+ most interesting school of children we have ever witnessed. As
+ the general was conducted to a seat, Mr. Ketchum adverted to the
+ fact that as long ago as 1788 the general had been elected a
+ member of the institution (Manumission Society) at the same time
+ with Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson, of England. The general
+ perfectly remembered the circumstances, and mentioned
+ particularly the letter he had received on that occasion from the
+ Hon. John Jay, then president of the society. One of the pupils,
+ Master James M. Smith, aged eleven years, then stepped forward
+ and gracefully delivered the following address:
+
+ "'GENERAL LAFAYETTE: In behalf of myself and fellow-schoolmates
+ may I be permitted to express our sincere and respectful
+ gratitude to you for the condescension you have manifested this
+ day in visiting this institution, which is one of the noblest
+ specimens of New York philanthropy. Here, sir, you behold
+ hundreds of the poor children of Africa sharing with those of a
+ lighter hue in the blessings of education; and while it will be
+ our pleasure to remember the great deeds you have done for
+ America, it will be our delight also to cherish the memory of
+ General Lafayette as a friend to African emancipation, and as a
+ member of this institution.'
+
+ "To which the general replied, in his own characteristic style,
+ 'I thank you, my dear child.'
+
+ "Several of the pupils underwent short examinations, and one of
+ them explained the use of the globes and answered many questions
+ in geography."
+
+
+PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR COLORED CHILDREN.
+
+These schools continued to flourish under the same management, and
+with an attendance varying from 600 in 1824 to 862 in 1832, in the
+latter part of which year the Manumission Society, whose schools were
+not in part supported by the public fund, applied to the Public School
+Society for a committee of conference to effect a union. It was felt
+by the trustees that on many accounts it was better that the two sets
+of schools should remain separate, but, fearing further diversion of
+the school fund, it was desirable that the number of societies
+participating should be as small as possible, and arrangements were
+accordingly made for a transfer of the schools and property of the
+elder society. After some delay, in consequence of legislative action
+being found necessary to give a title to their real estate, on the 2d
+of May, 1834, the transfer was effected, all their schools and school
+property passing into the hands of the New York Public School Society,
+at an appraised valuation of $12,130.22.
+
+The aggregate register of these schools at the time of the transfer
+was nearly 1,400, with an average attendance of about one half that
+number. They were placed in charge of a committee with powers similar
+to the committee on primary schools, but their administration was not
+satisfactory, and it was soon found that the schools had greatly
+diminished in numbers, efficiency, and usefulness. A committee of
+inquiry was appointed, and reported that, in consequence of the great
+anti-slavery riots and attacks on Colored people, many families had
+removed from the city, and of those that remained many kept their
+children at home; they knew the Manumission Society as their special
+friends, but knew nothing of the Public School Society; the reduction
+of all the schools but one to the grade of primary had given great
+offence; also the discharge of teachers long employed, and the
+discontinuance of rewards, and taking home of spelling books; strong
+prejudices had grown up against the Public School Society. The
+committee recommended a prompt assimilation of the Colored schools to
+the white; the establishment of two or more upper schools in a new
+building; a normal school for Colored monitors; and the appointment of
+a Colored man as school agent, at $150 a year. The school on Mulberry
+Street at this time, 1835, was designated Colored Grammar School No.
+1. A. Libolt was principal, and registered 317 pupils; there were also
+six primaries, located in different parts of the city, with an
+aggregate attendance of 925 pupils.
+
+In 1836 a new school building was completed in Laurens Street, opened
+with 210 pupils, R. F. Wake (colored), principal, and was designated
+Colored Grammar School No. 2. Other means were taken to improve the
+schools, and to induce the Colored people to patronize them; the
+principal of No. 1, Mr. Libolt, was replaced by Mr. John Peterson,
+colored, a sufficient assurance of whose ability and success we have
+in the fact that he has been continued in the position ever since. A
+"Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children" was
+organized, and established two additional schools, one in Thomas
+Street, and one in Centre, and a marked improvement was manifest; but
+it required a long time to restore the confidence and interest felt
+before the transfer, and even up to 1848 the aggregate attendance in
+all the Colored schools was only 1,375 pupils.
+
+In the winter of 1852 the first evening schools for Colored pupils
+were opened; one for males and one for females, and were attended by
+379 pupils. In the year 1853 the Colored schools, with all the schools
+and school property of the Public School Society, were transferred to
+the "Board of Education of the City and County of New York," and still
+further improvements were made in them; a normal school for Colored
+teachers was established, with Mr. John Peterson, principal, and the
+schools were graded in the same manner as those for white children.
+Colored Grammar School No. 3, was opened at 78 West Fortieth Street,
+Miss Caroline W. Simpson, principal, and in the ensuing year three
+others were added; No. 4 in One Hundred and Twentieth Street (Harlem),
+Miss Nancy Thompson, principal; No. 5, at 101 Hudson Street, P. W.
+Williams, principal; and No. 6, at 1,167 Broadway, Prince Leveridge,
+principal. Grammar Schools Nos. 2, 3, and 4, had primary departments
+attached, and there were also at this time three separate primary
+schools, and the aggregate attendance in all was 2,047. Since then the
+attendance in these schools has not varied much from these figures.
+The schools themselves have been altered and modified from time to
+time, as their necessity seemed to indicate; though under the general
+management of the Board of Education, they have been in the care of
+the school officers of the wards in which they are located, and while
+in some cases they received the proper attention, in others they were
+either wholly, or in part, neglected. A recent act has placed them
+directly in charge of the Board of Education, who have appointed a
+special committee to look after their interests, and measures are
+being taken by them which will give this class of schools every
+opportunity and convenience possessed by any other, and, it is hoped,
+will also improve the grade of its scholarship.[63]
+
+
+NORTH CAROLINA
+
+suffered her free persons of color to maintain schools until 1835,
+when they were abolished by law. During the period referred to, the
+Colored schools were taught by white teachers, but after 1835 the few
+teachers who taught Colored children in private houses were Colored
+persons. The public-school system of North Carolina provided that no
+descendant from Negro ancestors, to the fourth generation inclusive,
+should enjoy the benefit thereof.
+
+
+OHIO.
+
+The first schools for Colored children in Ohio were established at
+Cincinnati in 1820, by Colored men. These schools were not kept up
+regularly. A white gentleman named Wing, who taught a night school
+near the corner of Vine and Sixth Streets, admitted Colored pupils
+into his school. Owen T. B. Nickens, a public-spirited and intelligent
+Colored man, did much to establish schools for the Colored people.
+
+In 1835 a school for Colored children was opened in the Baptist Church
+on Western Row. It was taught at different periods by Messrs. Barbour,
+E. Fairchild, W. Robinson, and Augustus Wattles; and by the
+following-named ladies: Misses Bishop, Matthews, Lowe, and Mrs.
+Merrell. Although excellent teachers as well as upright ladies and
+gentlemen, they were subjected to great persecutions. They were unable
+to secure board, because the spirit of the whites would not
+countenance the teachers of Negro schools, and they spelled the word
+with two g's. And at times the teachers were compelled to close the
+school on account of the violence of the populace. The salaries of the
+teachers were paid partly by an educational society of white
+philanthropists, and partly by such Colored persons as had means. Of
+the latter class were John Woodson, John Liverpool, Baker Jones,
+Dinnis Hill, Joseph Fowler, and William O'Hara.
+
+In 1844, the Rev. Hiram S. Gilmore, founded the "Cincinnati High
+School" for Colored youth. Mr. Gilmore was a man rich in sentiments of
+humanity, and endowed plenteously with executive ability and this
+world's goods. All these he consecrated to the elevation and education
+of the Colored people.
+
+This school-house was located at the east end of Harrison Street, and
+was in every sense a model building, comprising five rooms, a chapel,
+a gymnasium, and spacious grounds. The pupils increased yearly, and
+the character of the school made many friends for the cause. The
+following persons taught in this school: Joseph H. Moore, Thomas L.
+Boucher, David P. Lowe, Dr. A. L. Childs, and W. F. Colburn. Dr.
+Childs became principal of the school in 1848.
+
+In 1849, the Legislature passed an act establishing schools for
+Colored children, to be maintained at the public expense. In 1850, a
+board of Colored trustees was elected, teachers employed, and
+buildings hired. The schools were put in operation. The law of 1849
+provided that so much of the funds belonging to the city of Cincinnati
+as would fall to the Colored youth, by a _per capita_ division, should
+be held subject to the order of the Colored trustees. But their order
+was not honored by the city treasurer, upon the ground that under the
+constitution of the State only electors could hold office; that
+Colored men were not electors, and, therefore, could not hold office.
+After three months the Colored schools were closed, and the teachers
+went out without their salaries.
+
+John I. Gaines, an intelligent and fearless Colored leader, made a
+statement of the case to a public meeting of the Colored people of
+Cincinnati, and urged the employment of counsel to try the case in
+the courts. Money was raised, and Flamen Ball, Sr., was secured to
+make an application for _mandamus_. The case was finally carried to
+the Supreme Court and won by the Colored people.
+
+In 1851, the schools were opened again; but the rooms were small and
+wretchedly appointed, and the trustees unable to provide better ones.
+Without notice the Colored trustees were deposed. The management of
+the Colored schools was vested in a board of trustees and school
+visitors, who were also in charge of the schools for the white
+children. This board, under a new law, had authority to appoint six
+Colored men who were to manage the Colored schools with the exception
+of the school fund. This greatly angered the leading Colored men, and,
+therefore, they refused to endorse this new management.
+
+The law was altered in 1856, giving the Colored people the right to
+elect, by ballot, their own trustees.
+
+In 1858, Nicholas Longworth built the first school-house for the
+Colored people, and gave them the building on a lease of fourteen
+years, in which time they were to pay for it--$14,000. In 1859, a
+large building was erected on Court Street.
+
+Oberlin College opened its doors to Colored students from the moment
+of its existence in 1833, and they have never been closed at any time
+since. It was here that the incomparable Finney, with the fierceness
+of John Baptist, the gentleness of John the Evangelist, the logic of
+Paul, and the eloquence of Isaiah, pleaded the cause of the American
+slave, and gave instruction to all who sat at his feet regardless of
+color or race. George B. Vashon, William Howard Day, John Mercer
+Langston, and many other Colored men graduated from Oberlin College
+before any of the other leading colleges of the country had consented
+to give Colored men a classical education.
+
+
+PENNSYLVANIA.
+
+Anthony Benezet established, in 1750, the first school for Colored
+people in this State, and taught it himself without money and without
+price. He solicited funds for the erection of a school-house for the
+Colored children, and of their intellectual capacities said: "I can
+with truth and sincerity declare that I have found among the negroes
+as great variety of talents as among a like number of whites, and I am
+bold to assert that the notion entertained by some, that the blacks
+are inferior in their capacity, is a vulgar prejudice, founded on the
+pride or ignorance of their lordly masters, who have kept their slaves
+at such a distance as to be unable to form a right judgment of them."
+
+He died on the 3d of May, 1784, universally beloved and sincerely
+mourned, especially by the Negro population of Pennsylvania, for whose
+education he had done so much. The following clause in his will
+illustrates his character in respect to public instruction:
+
+ "I give my above said house and lot, or ground-rent proceeding
+ from it, and the rest and residue of my estate which shall remain
+ undisposed of after my wife's decease, both real and personal, to
+ the public school of Philadelphia, founded by charter, and to
+ their successors forever, in trust, that they shall sell my house
+ and lot on perpetual ground-rent forever, if the same be not
+ already sold by my executors, as before mentioned, and that as
+ speedily as may be they receive and take as much of my personal
+ estate as may be remaining, and therewith purchase a yearly
+ ground-rent, or ground-rents, and with the income of such
+ ground-rent proceeding from the sale of my real estate, hire and
+ employ a religious-minded person, or persons, to teach a number
+ of negro, mulatto, or Indian children to read, write, arithmetic,
+ plain accounts, needle-work, etc. And it is my particular desire,
+ founded on the experience I have had in that service, that in the
+ choice of such tutors, special care may be had to prefer an
+ industrious, careful person of true piety, who may be or become
+ suitably qualified, who would undertake the service from a
+ principle of charity, to one more highly learned, not equally
+ disposed; this I desire may be carefully attended to, sensible
+ that from the number of pupils of all ages, the irregularity of
+ attendance their situation subjects them to will not admit of
+ that particular inspection in their improvement usual in other
+ schools, but that the real well-doing of the scholars will very
+ much depend upon the master making a special conscience of doing
+ his duty; and shall likewise defray such other necessary expense
+ as may occur in that service; and as the said remaining income of
+ my estate, after my wife's decease, will not be sufficient to
+ defray the whole expense necessary for the support of such a
+ school, it is my request that the overseers of the said public
+ school shall join in the care and expense of such school, or
+ schools, for the education of negro, mulatto, or Indian children,
+ with any committee which may be appointed by the monthly meetings
+ of Friends in Philadelphia, or with any other body of benevolent
+ persons who may join in raising money and employing it for the
+ education and care of such children; my desire being that as
+ such a school is now set up, it may be forever maintained in this
+ city."
+
+Just before his death he addressed the following note to the
+"overseers of the school for the instruction of the black people."
+
+ "My friend, Joseph Clark, having frequently observed to me his
+ desire, in case of my inability of continuing the care of the
+ negro school, of succeeding me in that service, notwithstanding
+ he now has a more advantageous school, by the desire of doing
+ good to the black people makes him overlook these pecuniary
+ advantages, I much wish the overseers of the school would take
+ his desires under their peculiar notice and give him such due
+ encouragement as may be proper, it being a matter of the greatest
+ consequence to that school that the master be a person who makes
+ it a principle to do his duty."
+
+The noble friends were early in the field as the champions of
+education for the Negroes. It was Anthony Benezet, who, on the 26th of
+January, 1770, secured the appointment of a committee by the monthly
+meeting of the Friends, "to consider on the instruction of negro and
+mulatto children in reading, writing, and other useful learning
+suitable to their capacity and circumstances." On the 30th of May,
+1770, a special committee of Friends sought to employ an instructor
+"to teach, not more at one time than thirty children, in the first
+rudiments of school learning and in sewing and knitting." Moles
+Paterson was first employed at a salary of L80 a year, and an
+additional sum of L11 for one half of the rent of his dwelling-house.
+Instruction was free to the poor; but those who were able to pay were
+required to do so "at the rate of 10s. a quarter for those who write,
+and 7s. 6d. for others."
+
+In 1784, William Waring was placed in charge of the larger children,
+at a salary of L100; and Sarah Dougherty, of the younger children and
+girls, in teaching spelling, reading, sewing, etc., at a salary of
+L50. In 1787, aid was received from David Barclay, of London, in
+behalf of a committee for managing a donation for the relief of
+Friends in America; and the sum of L500 was thus obtained, which, with
+the fund derived from the estate of Benezet, and L300 from Thomas
+Shirley, a Colored man, was appropriated to the erection of a
+school-house. In 1819 a committee of "women Friends," to have
+exclusive charge of the admission of girls and the general
+superintendence of the girls' school, was associated with the
+overseers in the charge of the school. In 1830, in order to relieve
+the day school of some of the male adults who had been in the habit of
+attending, an evening school for the purpose of instructing such
+persons gratuitously was opened, and has been continued to the present
+time. In 1844, a lot was secured on Locust Street, extending along
+Shield's Alley, now Aurora Street, on which a new house was erected in
+1847, the expense of which was paid for in part from the proceeds of
+the sale of a lot bequeathed by John Pemberton. Additional
+accommodations were made to this building, from time to time, as room
+was demanded by new classes of pupils.
+
+In 1849, a statistical return of the condition of the people of color
+in the city and districts of Philadelphia shows that there were then
+one grammar school, with 463 pupils; two public primary schools, with
+339; and an infant school, under the charge of the Pennsylvania
+Abolition Society, of 70 pupils, in Clifton Street: a ragged and a
+moral-reform school, with 81 pupils. In West Philadelphia there was
+also a public school, with 67 pupils; and, in all, there were about 20
+private schools, with 300 pupils; making an aggregate of more than
+1,300 children receiving an education.
+
+In 1859, according to Bacon's "Statistics of the Colored People of
+Philadelphia," there were 1,031 Colored children in public schools,
+748 in charity schools of various kinds, 211 in benevolent and
+reformatory schools, and 331 in private schools, making an aggregate
+of 2,321 pupils; besides four evening schools, one for adult males,
+one for females, and one for young apprentices. There were 19
+Sunday-schools connected with the congregations of the Colored people,
+and conducted by their own teachers, containing 1,667 pupils, and four
+Sunday-schools gathered as mission schools by members of white
+congregations, with 215 pupils. There was also a "Public Library and
+Reading-room" connected with the "Institute for Colored Youth,"
+established in 1853, having about 1,300 volumes; besides three other
+small libraries in different parts of the city. The same pamphlet
+shows that there were 1,700 of the Colored population engaged in
+different trades and occupations, representing every department of
+industry.[64]
+
+In 1794, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society established a school for
+children of the people of color, and in 1809 erected a school building
+at a cost of four thousand dollars, which they designated as "Clarkson
+Hall," in 1815. In 1813, a board of education was organized consisting
+of thirteen persons, with a visiting committee of three, whose duty it
+was to visit the schools once each week. In 1818, the school board, in
+their report, speak very kindly and encouragingly of the Clarkson
+Schools, which, they say, "furnish a decided refutation of the charge
+that the mental endowments of the descendants of Africa are inferior
+to those possessed by their white brethren. We can assert, without
+fear of contradiction, that the pupils of this seminary will sustain a
+fair comparison with those of any other institution in which the same
+elementary branches are taught."
+
+In 1820, an effort was made to have the authorities of the white
+schools provide for the education of the Colored children as well as
+the whites, because the laws of the State required the education of
+all the youth. The comptrollers of the public schools confessed that
+the law provided for the education of "poor and indigent children,"
+and that it extended to those of persons of color. Accordingly, in
+1822, a school for the education of indigent persons of color of both
+sexes, was opened in Lombard Street, Philadelphia. In 1841, a primary
+school was opened in the same building. In 1833, the "Unclassified
+School" in Coates Street, and at frequent intervals after this several
+schools of the same grade, were started in West Philadelphia.
+
+In 1837, by the will of Richard Humphreys, who died in 1832, an
+"Institute for Colored Youth" was started. The sum of ten thousand
+dollars was devised to certain trustees who were to pay it over to
+some society that might be disposed to establish a school for the
+education of the "descendants of the African race in school learning
+in the various branches of the mechanic arts and trade, and in
+agriculture." Thirty members of the society of Friends formed
+themselves into an association for the purpose of carrying out the
+wishes and plans of Mr. Humphreys. In the preamble of the constitution
+they adopted, their ideas and plans were thus set forth:
+
+ "We believe that the most successful method of elevating the
+ moral and intellectual character of the descendants of Africa, as
+ well as of improving their social condition, is to extend to them
+ the benefits of a good education, and to instruct them in the
+ knowledge of some useful trade or business, whereby they may be
+ enabled to obtain a comfortable livelihood by their own industry;
+ and through these means to prepare them for fulfilling the
+ various duties of domestic and social life with reputation and
+ fidelity, as good citizens and pious men."
+
+In order to carry out the feature of agricultural and mechanic arts,
+the association purchased a farm in Bristol township, Philadelphia
+County, in 1839, where boys of the Colored race were taught farming,
+shoemaking, and other useful trades. The incorporation of the
+institution was secured in 1842, and in 1844 another friend
+dying--Jonathan Zane--added a handsome sum to the treasury, which,
+with several small legacies, made $18,000 for this enterprise. But in
+1846 the work came to a standstill; the farm with its equipments was
+sold, and for six years very little was done, except through a night
+school.
+
+In 1851, a lot for a school building was purchased on Lombard Street,
+and a building erected, and the school opened in the autumn of 1852,
+for boys, under the care of Charles L. Reason, an accomplished young
+Colored teacher from New York. A girls' school was opened the same
+year, and, under Mr. Reason's excellent instruction, many worthy and
+competent teachers and leaders of the Negro race came forth.
+
+Avery College, at Allegheny City, was founded by the Rev. Charles
+Avery, a native of New York, but for the greater part of a long and
+useful life adorned by the noblest virtues, a resident of
+Pennsylvania. By will he left $300,000 for the christianization of the
+African race; $150,000 to be used in Africa, and $150,000 in America.
+He left $25,000 as an endowment fund for Avery College.
+
+At a stated meeting during the session of the Presbytery at New
+Castle, Pa., October 5, 1853, it was resolved that "there shall be
+established within our bounds, and under our supervision, an
+institution, to be called the Ashum Institute, for the scientific,
+classical, and theological education of colored youth of the male
+sex."
+
+Accordingly, J. M. Dickey, A. Hamilton, R. P. Dubois, ministers; and
+Samuel J. Dickey and John M. Kelton, ruling elders, were appointed a
+committee to perfect the idea. They were to solicit and receive funds,
+secure a charter from the State of Pennsylvania, and erect suitable
+buildings for the institute. On the 14th of November, 1853, they
+purchased thirty acres of land at the cost of $1,250. At the session
+of the Legislature in 1854, a charter was granted establishing "at or
+near a place called Hinsonville, in the county of Chester, an
+institution of learning for the scientific, classical, and theological
+education of colored youth of the male sex, by the name and style of
+Ashum Institute." The trustees were John M. Dickey, Alfred Hamilton,
+Robert P. Dubois, James Latta, John B. Spottswood, James M. Crowell,
+Samuel J. Dickey, John M. Kelton, and William Wilson.
+
+By the provisions of the charter the trustees were empowered "to
+procure the endowment of the institute, not exceeding the sum of
+$100,000; to confer such literary degrees and academic honors as are
+usually granted by colleges"; and it was required that "the institute
+shall be open to the admission of colored pupils of the male sex, of
+all religious denominations, who exhibit a fair moral character, and
+are willing to yield a ready obedience to the general regulations
+prescribed for the conduct of the pupils and the government of the
+institute."
+
+The institute was formally dedicated on the 31st of December, 1856. It
+is now known as Lincoln University.
+
+
+RHODE ISLAND
+
+conferred the right of elective franchise upon her Colored citizens by
+her constitution in 1843, and ever since equal privileges have been
+afforded them. In 1828 the Colored people of Providence petitioned for
+a separate school, but it was finally abolished by an act of the
+Legislature.
+
+
+SOUTH CAROLINA
+
+took the lead in legislating against the instruction of the Colored
+race, as she subsequently took the lead in seceding from the Union. In
+1740, while yet a British province, the Legislature passed the
+following law:
+
+ "Whereas the having of slaves taught to write, or suffering them
+ to be employed in writing, may be attended with inconveniences,
+ _Be it enacted_, That all and every person and persons
+ whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach, or cause any slave or
+ slaves to be taught, or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe
+ in any manner of writing whatever, hereafter taught to write,
+ every such person or persons shall for every such offense forfeit
+ the sum of L100 current money."
+
+In 1800 the State Assembly passed an act, embracing free Colored
+people as well as slaves in its shameful provisions, enacting "that
+assemblies of slaves, free negroes, mulattoes, and mestizoes, whether
+composed of all or any such description of persons, or of all or any
+of the same and a proportion of white persons, met together for the
+purpose of _mental_ instruction in a confined or secret place, or with
+the gates or doors of such place barred, bolted, or locked, so as to
+prevent the free ingress to and from the same," are declared to be
+unlawful meetings; the officers dispersing such unlawful assemblages
+being authorized to "inflict such corporal punishment, not exceeding
+twenty lashes, upon such slaves, free negroes, mulattoes, and
+mestizoes, as they may judge necessary for deterring them from the
+like unlawful assemblage in future." Another section of the same act
+declares, "that it shall not be lawful for any number of slaves, free
+negroes, mulattoes, or mestizoes, even in company with white persons,
+to meet together and assemble for the purpose of mental instruction or
+religious worship before the rising of the sun or after the going down
+of the same." This section was so oppressive, that in 1803, in answer
+to petitions from certain religious societies, an amending act was
+passed forbidding any person before 9 o'clock in the evening "to break
+into a place of meeting wherever shall be assembled the members of any
+religious society of the State, provided a majority of them shall be
+white persons, or other to disturb their devotions unless a warrant
+has been procured from a magistrate, if at the time of the meeting
+there should be a magistrate within three miles of the place; if not,
+the act of 1800 is to remain in full force."
+
+On the 17th of December, 1834, definite action was taken against the
+education of free Colored persons as well as slaves. The first section
+is given:
+
+ "SECTION 1. If any person shall hereafter teach any slave to read
+ or write, or shall aid or assist in teaching any slave to read or
+ write, or cause or procure any slave to be taught to read or
+ write, such person, if a free white person, upon conviction
+ thereof shall, for each and every offense against, this act, be
+ fined not exceeding $100 and imprisonment not more than six
+ months; or, if a free person of color, shall be whipped not
+ exceeding fifty lashes, and fined not exceeding $50, at the
+ discretion of the court of magistrates and freeholders before
+ which such free person of color is tried; and if a slave, to be
+ whipped, at the discretion of the court, not exceeding fifty
+ lashes, the informer to be entitled to one-half the fine and to
+ be a competent witness. And if any free person of color or slave
+ shall keep any school or other place of instruction for teaching
+ any slave or free person of color to read or write, such free
+ person of color or slave shall be liable to the same fine,
+ imprisonment, and corporal punishment as by this act are imposed
+ and inflicted on free persons of color and slaves for teaching
+ slaves to write."
+
+The second section forbids, under pain of severe penalties, the
+employment of any Colored persons as "clerks or salesmen in or about
+any shop, store, or house used for trading."
+
+
+TENNESSEE
+
+passed a law in 1838 establishing a system of common schools by which
+the scholars were designated as "white children over the age of six
+years and under sixteen." In 1840 an act was passed in which no
+discrimination against color appeared. It simply provided that "all
+children between the ages of six and twenty-one years shall have the
+privilege of attending the public schools." And while there was never
+afterward any law prohibiting the education of Colored children, the
+schools were used exclusively by the whites.
+
+
+TEXAS
+
+never put any legislation on her statute-books withholding the
+blessings of the schools from the Negro, for the reason, doubtless,
+that she banished all free persons of color, and worked her slaves so
+hard that they had no hunger for books when night came.
+
+
+VIRGINIA,
+
+under Sir William Berkeley, was not a strong patron of education for
+the masses. For the slave there was little opportunity to learn, as he
+was only allowed part of Saturday to rest, and kept under the closest
+surveillance on the Sabbath day. The free persons of color were
+regarded with suspicion, and little chance was given them to cultivate
+their minds.
+
+On the 2d of March, 1819, an act was passed prohibiting "all meetings
+or assemblages of slaves, or free negroes, or mulattoes, mixing and
+associating with such slaves, at any meeting-house or houses, or any
+other place or places, in the night, or at any school or schools for
+teaching them reading and writing either in the day or night." But
+notwithstanding this law, schools for free persons of color were kept
+up until the Nat. Turner insurrection in 1831, when, on the 7th of
+April following, the subjoined act was passed:
+
+ "SEC. 4. _And be it enacted_, That all meetings of free negroes
+ or mulattoes at any school-house, church, meeting-house, or other
+ place, for teaching them reading or writing, either in the day or
+ night, under whatsoever pretext, shall be deemed and considered
+ an unlawful assembly; and any justice of the county or
+ corporation wherein such assemblage shall be, either from his own
+ knowledge, or on the information of others of such unlawful
+ assemblage or meeting, shall issue his warrant directed to any
+ sworn officer or officers, authorizing him or them to enter the
+ house or houses where such unlawful assemblage or meeting may be,
+ for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing such free negroes
+ or mulattoes, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offender
+ or offenders, at the discretion of any justice of the peace, not
+ exceeding 26 lashes.
+
+ "SEC. 5. _And be it enacted_, That if any person or persons
+ assemble with free negroes or mulattoes at any school-house,
+ church, meeting-house, or other place, for the purpose of
+ instructing such free negroes or mulattoes to read or write, such
+ persons or persons shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in a
+ sum not exceeding $50, and, moreover, may be imprisoned, at the
+ discretion of a jury, not exceeding two months.
+
+ "SEC. 6. _And be it enacted_, That if any white person, for pay
+ or compensation, shall assemble with any slaves for the purpose
+ of teaching, and shall teach any slave to read or write, such
+ person, or any white person or persons contracting with such
+ teacher so to act, who shall offend as aforesaid, shall, for each
+ offense, be fined, at the discretion of a jury, in a sum not less
+ than $10, nor exceeding $100, to be recovered on an information
+ or indictment."
+
+This law was rigidly enforced, and in 1851, Mrs. Margaret Douglass, a
+white lady from South Carolina, was cast into the Norfolk jail for
+violating its provisions.
+
+West Virginia was not admitted into the Union until 1863. Wisconsin,
+Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey did not prohibit the education
+of their Colored children.
+
+
+THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
+
+presents a more pleasing and instructive field for the examination of
+the curious student of history.
+
+In 1807, the first school-house for the use of Colored pupils was
+erected in Washington, D. C., by three Colored men, named George Bell,
+Nicholas Franklin, and Moses Liverpool. Not one of this trio of Negro
+educators knew a letter of the alphabet; but having lived as slaves in
+Virginia, they had learned to appreciate the opinion that learning was
+of great price. They secured a white teacher, named Lowe, and put
+their school in operation.
+
+At this time the entire population of free persons amounted to 494
+souls. After a brief period the school subsided, but was reorganized
+again in 1818. The announcement of the opening of the school was
+printed in the "National Intelligencer" on the 29th of August, 1818.
+
+ "_A School_,
+
+ Founded by an association of free people of color, of the city of
+ Washington, called the 'Resolute Beneficial Society,' situate
+ near the Eastern Public School and the dwelling of Mrs. Fenwick,
+ is now open for the reception of children of free people of color
+ and others, that ladies or gentlemen may think proper to send to
+ be instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar,
+ or other branches of education apposite to their capacities, by a
+ steady, active, and experienced teacher, whose attention is
+ wholly devoted to the purposes described. It is presumed that
+ free colored families will embrace the advantages thus presented
+ to them, either by subscribing to the funds of the society, or by
+ sending their children to the school. An improvement of the
+ intellect and morals of colored youth being the objects of this
+ institution, the patronage of benevolent ladies, and gentlemen,
+ by donation or subscription, is humbly solicited in aid of the
+ fund, the demands thereon being heavy and the means at present
+ much too limited. For the satisfaction of the public, the
+ constitution and articles of association are printed and
+ published. And to avoid disagreeable occurrences, no writings are
+ to be done by the teacher for a slave, neither directly nor
+ indirectly, to serve the purpose of a slave on any account
+ whatever. Further particulars may be known by applying to any of
+ the undersigned officers.
+
+ "WILLIAM COSTIN, _President_.
+ "GEORGE HICKS, _Vice-President_.
+ "JAMES HARRIS, _Secretary_.
+ "GEORGE BELL, _Treasurer_.
+ "ARCHIBALD JOHNSON, _Marshal_.
+ "FRED. LEWIS, _Chairman of the Committee_.
+ "ISAAC JOHNSON,} _Committee_.
+ "SCIPIO BEENS, }
+
+ "N. B.--An evening school will commence on the premises on the
+ first Monday of October, and continue throughout the season.
+
+ "[Symbol: Right pointing hand.] The managers of Sunday-schools in
+ the eastern district are thus most dutifully informed that on
+ Sabbath-days the school-house belonging to this society, if
+ required for the tuition of colored youth, will be uniformly at
+ their service.
+
+ _August 29, 3t._"
+
+This school was first taught by a Mr. Pierpont, of Massachusetts, a
+relative of the poet, and after several years was succeeded by a
+Colored man named John Adams, the first teacher of his race in the
+District of Columbia. The average attendance of this school was about
+sixty-five or seventy.
+
+MR. HENRY POTTER'S SCHOOL.
+
+The third school for Colored children in Washington was established by
+Mr. Henry Potter, an Englishman, who opened his school about 1809, in
+a brick building which then stood on the southeast corner of F and
+Seventh streets, opposite the block where the post-office building now
+stands. He continued there for several years and had a large school,
+moving subsequently to what was then known as Clark's Row on
+Thirteenth Street, west, between G and H streets, north.
+
+MRS. HALL'S SCHOOL.
+
+During this period Mrs. Anne Maria Hall started a school on Capitol
+Hill, between the old Capitol and Carroll Row, on First Street, east.
+After continuing there with a full school for some ten years, she
+moved to a building which stood on what is now the vacant portion of
+the Casparis House lot on A Street, close to the Capitol. Some years
+later she went to the First Bethel Church, and after a year or two she
+moved to a house still standing on E Street, north, between Eleventh
+and Twelfth, west, and there taught many years. She was a Colored
+woman from Prince George's County, Maryland, and had a respectable
+education, which she obtained at schools with white children in
+Alexandria. Her husband died early, leaving her with children to
+support, and she betook herself to the work of a teacher, which she
+loved, and in which, for not less than twenty-five years, she met with
+uniform success. Her schools were all quite large, and the many who
+remember her as their teacher speak of her with great respect.
+
+
+MRS. MARY BILLING'S SCHOOL.
+
+Of the early teachers of Colored schools in this district there is no
+one whose name is mentioned with more gratitude and respect by the
+intelligent Colored residents than that of Mrs. Mary Billing, who
+established the first Colored school that was gathered in Georgetown.
+She was an English woman; her husband, Joseph Billing, a
+cabinet-maker, coming from England in 1800, settled with his family
+that year in Washington, and dying in 1807, left his wife with three
+children. She was well educated, a capable and good woman, and
+immediately commenced teaching to support her family. At first, it is
+believed, she was connected with the Corporation School of Georgetown.
+It was while in a white school certainly that her attention was
+arrested by the wants of the Colored children, whom she was accustomed
+to receive into her schools, till the opposition became so marked that
+she decided to make her school exclusively Colored. She was a woman of
+strong religious convictions, and being English, with none of the
+ideas peculiar to slave society, when she saw the peculiar destitution
+of the Colored children in the community around her, she resolved to
+give her life to the class who seemed most to need her services. She
+established a Colored school about 1810, in a brick house still
+standing on Dunbarton Street, opposite the Methodist church, between
+Congress and High streets, remaining there till the winter of
+1820-'21, when she came to Washington and opened a school in the house
+on H Street, near the Foundry Church, then owned by Daniel Jones, a
+Colored man, and still owned and occupied by a member of that family.
+She died in 1826, in the fiftieth year of her age. She continued her
+school till failing health, a year or so before her death, compelled
+its relinquishment. Her school was always large, it being patronized
+in Georgetown as well as afterward by the best Colored families of
+Washington, many of whom sent their children to her from Capitol Hill
+and the vicinity of the Navy Yard. Most of the better-educated Colored
+men and women now living, who were school children in her time,
+received the best portion of their education from her, and they all
+speak of her with a deep and tender sense of obligation. Henry Potter
+succeeded her in the Georgetown school, and after him Mr. Shay, an
+Englishman, who subsequently came to Washington and for many years had
+a large Colored school in a brick building known as the Round Tops, in
+the western part of the city, near the Circle, and still later
+removing to the old Western Academy building, corner of I and
+Seventeenth streets. He was there till about 1830, when he was
+convicted of assisting a slave to his freedom, and sent a term to the
+penitentiary. Mrs. Billing had a night school in which she was greatly
+assisted by Mr. Monroe, a government clerk and a Presbyterian elder,
+whose devout and benevolent character is still remembered in the
+churches. Mrs. Billing had scholars from Bladensburg and the
+surrounding country, who came into Georgetown and boarded with her and
+with others. About the time when Mrs. Billing relinquished her school
+in 1822 or 1823, what may be properly called
+
+
+THE SMOTHERS SCHOOL-HOUSE,
+
+was built by Henry Smothers on the corner of Fourteenth and H streets,
+not far from the Treasury building. Smothers had a small
+dwelling-house on this corner, and built his school-house on the rear
+of the same lot. He had been long a pupil of Mrs. Billing, and had
+subsequently taught a school on Washington Street, opposite the Union
+Hotel in Georgetown. He opened his school in Washington in the old
+corporation school-house, built in 1806, but some years before this
+period abandoned as a public school-house. It was known as the Western
+Academy, and is still standing and used as a school-house on the
+corner of I and Nineteenth streets, west. When his school-house on
+Fourteenth and H streets was finished, his school went into the new
+quarters. This school was very large, numbering always more than a
+hundred and often as high as a hundred and fifty scholars. He taught
+here about two years, and was succeeded by John W. Prout about the
+year 1825. Prout was a man of ability. In 1831, May 4, there was a
+meeting, says the "National Intelligencer" of that date, of "the
+colored citizens, large and very respectable, in the African Methodist
+Episcopal Church," to consider the question of emigrating to Liberia.
+John W. Prout was chosen to preside over the assemblage, and the
+article in the "Intelligencer" represents him as making "a speech of
+decided force and well adapted to the occasion, in support of a set of
+resolutions which he had drafted, and which set forth views adverse to
+leaving the soil that had given them birth, their true and veritable
+home, _without the benefits of education_." The school under Prout was
+governed by a board of trustees and was organized as
+
+A FREE SCHOOL,
+
+and so continued two or three years. The number of scholars was very
+large, averaging a hundred and fifty. Mrs. Anne Maria Hall was the
+assistant teacher. It relied mainly for support upon subscription,
+twelve and a half cents a month only being expected from each pupil,
+and this amount was not compulsory. The school was free to all Colored
+children, without money or price, and so continued two or three years,
+when failing of voluntary pecuniary support (it never wanted
+scholars), it became a regular tuition school. The school under Mr.
+Prout was called the "Columbian Institute," the name being suggested
+by John McLeod, the famous Irish school-master, who was a warm friend
+of this institution after visiting and commending the scholars and
+teachers, and who named his new building, in 1835, the Columbian
+Academy. The days of thick darkness to the Colored people were
+approaching. The Nat. Turner insurrection in Southampton County,
+Virginia, which occurred in August, 1831, spread terror everywhere in
+slave communities. In this district, immediately upon that terrible
+occurrence, the Colored children, who had in very large numbers been
+received into the Sabbath-schools in the white churches, were all
+turned out of those schools. This event, though seeming to be a fiery
+affliction, proved a blessing in disguise. It aroused the energies of
+the Colored people, taught them self-reliance, and they organized
+forthwith Sabbath-schools of their own. It was in the Smothers
+school-house that they formed their first Sunday-school, about the
+year 1832, and here they continued their very large school for several
+years, the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church ultimately springing
+from the school organization. It is important to state in this
+connection that
+
+
+THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL,
+
+always an extremely important means of education for Colored people in
+the days of slavery, was emphatically so in the gloomy times now upon
+them. It was the Sabbath-school that taught the great mass of the free
+people of color about all the school knowledge that was allowed them
+in those days, and hence the consternation which came upon them when
+they found themselves excluded from the schools of the white churches.
+Lindsay Muse, who has been the messenger for eighteen Secretaries of
+the Navy, successively, during fifty-four years, from 1828 to the
+present time, John Brown, Benjamin M. McCoy, Mr. Smallwood, Mrs.
+Charlotte Norris, afterward wife of Rev. Eli Nugent, and Siby McCoy,
+are the only survivors of the resolute little band of Colored men and
+women who gathered with and guided that Sunday-school. They had, in
+the successor of Mr. Prout, a man after their own heart,
+
+
+JOHN F. COOK,
+
+who came into charge of this school in August, 1834, about eight years
+after his aunt, Alethia Tanner, had purchased his freedom. He learned
+the shoemaker's trade in his boyhood, and worked diligently, after the
+purchase of his freedom, to make some return to his aunt for the
+purchase-money. About the time of his becoming of age, he dislocated
+his shoulder, which compelled him to seek other employment, and in
+1831, the year of his majority, he obtained the place of assistant
+messenger in the Land Office. Hon. John Wilson, now Third Auditor of
+the Treasury, was the messenger, and was Cook's firm friend till the
+day of his death. Cook had been a short time at school under the
+instruction of Smothers and Prout, but when he entered the Land Office
+his education was at most only the ability to stumble along a little
+in a primary reading-book. He, however, now gave himself in all his
+leisure moments, early and late, to study. Mr. Wilson remembers his
+indefatigable application, and affirms that it was a matter of
+astonishment at the time, and that he has seen nothing in all his
+observations to surpass and scarcely to equal it. He was soon able to
+write a good hand, and was employed with his pen in clerical work by
+the sanction of the commissioner, Elisha Hayward, who was much
+attached to him. Cook was now beginning to look forward to the life of
+a teacher, which, with the ministry, was the only work not menial in
+its nature then open to an educated Colored man. At the end of three
+years he resigned his place in the Land Office, and entered upon the
+work which he laid down only with his life. It was then that he gave
+himself wholly to study and the business of education, working with
+all his might; his school numbering quite a hundred scholars in the
+winter and a hundred and fifty in the summer. He had been in his work
+one year when the storm which had been, for some years, under the
+discussion of the slavery question, gathering over the country at
+large, burst upon this district.
+
+
+THE SNOW RIOT,
+
+or "Snow storm," as it has been commonly called, which occurred in
+September, 1835, is an event that stands vividly in the memory of all
+Colored people who lived in this community at that time. Benjamin
+Snow, a smart Colored man, keeping a restaurant on the corner of
+Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, was reported to have made some
+remark of a bravado kind derogatory to the wives of white mechanics;
+whereupon this class, or those assuming to represent them, made a
+descent upon his establishment, destroying all his effects. Snow
+himself, who denied using the offensive language, with difficulty
+escaped unharmed, through the management of white friends, taking
+refuge in Canada, where he still resides. The military was promptly
+called to the rescue, at the head of which was General Walter Jones,
+the eminent lawyer, who characterized the rioters, greatly to their
+indignation, as "a set of ragamuffins," and his action was thoroughly
+sanctioned by the city authorities.
+
+At the same time, also, there was a fierce excitement among the
+mechanics at the Navy Yard, growing out of the fact that a large
+quantity of copper bolts being missed from the yard and found to have
+been carried out in the dinner-pails by the hands, the commandant had
+forbid eating dinners in the yard. This order was interpreted as an
+insult to the white mechanics, and threats were made of an assault on
+the yard, which was put in a thorough state of defence by the
+commandant. The rioters swept through the city, ransacking the houses
+of the prominent Colored men and women, ostensibly in search of
+anti-slavery papers and documents, the most of the gang impelled
+undoubtedly by hostility to the Negro race and by motives of plunder.
+Nearly all the Colored school-houses were partially demolished and the
+furniture totally destroyed, and in several cases they were completely
+ruined. Some private houses were also torn down or burnt. The Colored
+schools were nearly all broken up, and it was with the greatest
+difficulty that the Colored churches were saved from destruction, as
+their Sabbath-schools were regarded, and correctly regarded, as the
+means through which the Colored people, at that time, procured much of
+their education.
+
+The rioters sought, especially, for John F. Cook, who, however, had
+seasonably taken from the stable the horse of his friend, Mr. Hayward,
+the Commissioner of the Land Office, an anti-slavery man, and fled
+precipitately from the city. They marched to his school-house,
+destroyed all the books and furniture, and partially destroyed the
+building. Mrs. Smothers, who owned both the school-house and the
+dwelling adjoining the lots, was sick in her house at the time, but an
+alderman, Mr. Edward Dyer, with great courage and nobleness of spirit,
+stood between the house and the mob for her protection, declaring that
+he would defend her house from molestation with all the means he could
+command. They left the house unharmed, and it is still standing on the
+premises. Mr. Cook went to Columbia, Pennsylvania, opened a school
+there, and did not venture back to his home till the autumn of 1836.
+At the time the riot broke out, General Jackson was absent in
+Virginia. He returned in the midst of the tumult, and immediately
+issuing orders in his bold, uncompromising manner to the authorities
+to see the laws respected at all events, the violence was promptly
+subdued. It was, nevertheless, a very dark time for the Colored
+people. The timid class did not for a year or two dare to send their
+children to school, and the whole mass of the Colored people dwelt in
+fear day and night. In August, 1836, Mr. Cook returned from
+Pennsylvania and reopened his school, which under him had, in 1834,
+received the name of
+
+
+UNION SEMINARY.
+
+During his year's absence he was in charge of a free Colored public
+school in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which he
+surrendered to the care of Benjamin M. McCoy when he came back to his
+home, Mr. McCoy going there to fill out his engagement.
+
+He resumed his work with broad and elevated ideas of his business.
+This is clearly seen in the plan of his institution, embraced in the
+printed annual announcements and programmes of his annual exhibitions,
+copies of which have been preserved. The course of study embraced
+three years, and there was a male and a female department, Miss
+Catharine Costin at one period being in charge of the female
+department. Mr. Seaton, of the "National Intelligencer," among other
+leading and enlightened citizens and public men, used to visit his
+school from year to year, and watch its admirable working with deep
+and lively interest. Cook was at this period not only watching over
+his very large school, ranging from 100 to 150 or more pupils, but was
+active in the formation of the "First Colored Presbyterian Church of
+Washington," which was organized in November, 1841, by Rev. John C.
+Smith, D.D., and worshipped in this school-house. He was now also
+giving deep study to the preparation for the ministry, upon which, in
+fact, as a licentiate of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, he
+had already in some degree entered. At a regular meeting of "The
+presbytery of the District of Columbia," held in Alexandria, May 3,
+1842, this church, now commonly called the Fifteenth Street
+Presbyterian Church, was formally received under the care of that
+presbytery, the first and still the only Colored Presbyterian church
+in the district. Mr. Cook was elected the first pastor July 13, 1843,
+and preached his trial sermon before ordination on the evening of that
+day in the Fourth Presbyterian Church (Dr. J. C. Smith's) in the city,
+in the presence of a large congregation. This sermon is remembered as
+a manly production, delivered with great dignity and force, and deeply
+imbued with the spirit of his work. He was ordained in the Fifteenth
+Street Church the next evening, and continued to serve the church with
+eminent success till his death in 1855. Rev. John C. Smith, D.D., who
+had preached his ordination sermon, and been his devoted friend and
+counsellor for nearly twenty years, preached his funeral sermon,
+selecting as his text, "There was a man sent from God whose name was
+John." There were present white as well as Colored clergymen of no
+less than five denominations, many of the oldest and most respectable
+citizens, and a vast concourse of all classes white and Colored. "The
+Fifteenth Street Church," in the words of Dr. Smith in relation to
+them and their first pastor, "is now a large and flourishing
+congregation of spiritually-minded people. They have been educated in
+the truth and the principles of our holy religion, and in the new,
+present state of things the men of this church are trusted, relied on
+as those who fear God and keep His commandments. The church is the
+monument to John F. Cook, the first pastor, who was faithful in all
+his house, a workman who labored night and day for years, and has
+entered into his reward. 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.'
+'They rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.'"
+
+In 1841, when he entered, in a preliminary and informal way, upon the
+pastorate of the Fifteenth Street Church, he seems to have attempted
+to turn his seminary into a high school, limited to twenty-five or
+thirty pupils, exclusively for the more advanced scholars of both
+sexes; and his plan of studies to that end, as seen in his
+prospectus, evinces broad and elevated views--a desire to aid in
+lifting his race to higher things in education than they had yet
+attempted. His plans were not put into execution, in the matter of a
+high school, being frustrated by the circumstances that there were so
+few good schools in the city for the Colored people, at that period,
+that his old patrons would not allow him to shut off the multitude of
+primary scholars which were depending upon his school. His seminary,
+however, continued to maintain its high standard, and had an average
+attendance of quite 100 year after year, till he surrendered up his
+work in death.
+
+He raised up a large family and educated them well. The oldest of the
+sons, John and George, were educated at Oberlin College. The other
+three, being young, were in school when the father died. John and
+George, it will be seen, succeeded their father as teachers,
+continuing in the business down to the present year. Of the two
+daughters, the elder was a teacher till married in 1866, and the other
+is now a teacher in the public schools of the city. One son served
+through the war as sergeant in the Fortieth Colored Regiment, and
+another served in the navy.
+
+At the death of the father, March 21, 1855, the school fell into the
+hands of the son, John F. Cook, who continued it till May, 1857, when
+it passed to a younger son, George F. T. Cook, who moved it from its
+old home, the Smothers House, to the basement of the Presbyterian
+Church, in the spring of 1858, and maintained it till July, 1859. John
+F. Cook, jr., who had erected a new school-house on Sixteenth Street,
+in 1862, again gathered the school which the tempests of the war had
+dispersed, and continued it till June, 1867, when the new order of
+things had opened ample school facilities throughout the city, and the
+teacher was called to other duties. Thus ended the school which had
+been first gathered by Smothers nearly forty-five years before, and
+which, in that long period, had been continually maintained with
+seldom less than one hundred pupils, and for the most part with one
+hundred and fifty, the only suspensions being in the year of the Snow
+riot, and in the two years which ushered in the war.
+
+The Smothers House, after the Cook school was removed in 1858, was
+occupied for two years by a _free Catholic school_, supported by "The
+St. Vincent de Paul Society," a benevolent organization of Colored
+people. It was a very large school with two departments, the boys
+under David Brown, and the girls under Eliza Anne Cook, and averaging
+over one hundred and fifty scholars. When this school was transferred
+to another house, Rev. Chauncey Leonard, a Colored Baptist clergyman,
+now pastor of a church in Washington, and Nannie Waugh opened a school
+there, in 1861, that became as large as that which had preceded it in
+the same place. This school was broken up in 1862 by the destruction
+of the building at the hands of the incendiaries, who, even at that
+time, were inspired with all their accustomed vindictiveness toward
+the Colored people. But this was their last heathenish jubilee, and
+from the ashes of many burnings imperishable liberty has sprung forth.
+
+About the time that Smothers built his school-house, in 1823,
+
+
+LOUISA PARKE COSTIN'S SCHOOL
+
+was established in her father's house on Capitol Hill, on A Street,
+south, under the shadow of the Capitol. This Costin family came from
+Mount Vernon immediately after the death of Martha Washington, in
+1802. The father, William Costin, who died suddenly in his bed, May
+31, 1842, was for twenty-four years messenger for the Bank of
+Washington in this city. His death was noticed at length in the
+columns of the "National Intelligencer" in more than one communication
+at the time. The obituary notice, written under the suggestions of the
+bank officers who had previously passed a resolution expressing their
+respect for his memory, and appropriating fifty dollars toward the
+funeral expenses, says: "It is due to the deceased to say that his
+colored skin covered a benevolent heart"; concluding with this
+language:
+
+"The deceased raised respectably a large family of children of his
+own, and, in the exercise of the purest benevolence, took into his
+family and supported four orphan children. The tears of the orphan
+will moisten his grave, and his memory will be dear to all those--a
+numerous class--who have experienced his kindness"; and adding these
+lines:
+
+ "Honor and shame from _no condition_ rise;
+ Act well your part--there all the honor lies."
+
+John Quincy Adams, also, a few days afterward, in a discussion of the
+wrongs of slavery, alluded to the deceased in these words, "The late
+William Costin, though he was not white, was as much respected as any
+man in the district, and the large concourse of citizens that attended
+his remains to the grave, as well white as black, was an evidence of
+the manner in which he was estimated by the citizens of Washington."
+His portrait, taken by the direction of the bank authorities, still
+hangs in the directors' room, and it may also be seen in the houses of
+more than one of the old and prominent residents of the city.
+
+William Costin's mother, Ann Dandridge, was the daughter of a
+half-breed (Indian and Colored), her grandfather being a Cherokee
+chief, and her reputed father was the father of Martha Dandridge,
+afterward Mrs. Custis, who, in 1759, was married to General
+Washington. These daughters, Ann and Martha, grew up together on the
+ancestral plantations. William Costin's reputed father was white, and
+belonged to a prominent family in Virginia, but the mother, after his
+birth, married one of the Mount Vernon slaves by the name of Costin,
+and the son took the name of William Costin. His mother, being of
+Indian descent made him, under the laws of Virginia, a free-born man.
+In 1800 he married Philadelphia Judge (his cousin), one of Martha
+Washington's slaves, at Mount Vernon, where both were born in 1780.
+The wife was given by Martha Washington at her decease to her
+granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis, who was the wife of Thomas Law, of
+Washington. Soon after William Costin and his wife came to Washington,
+the wife's freedom was secured on kind and easy terms, and the
+children were all born free. This is the account which William Costin
+and his wife and his mother, Ann Dandridge, always gave of their
+ancestry, and they were persons of great precision in all matters of
+family history, as well as of the most marked scrupulousness in their
+statements. Their seven children, five daughters and two sons, went to
+school with the white children on Capitol Hill, to Mrs. Maria Haley
+and other teachers. The two younger daughters, Martha and Frances,
+finished their education at the Colored convent in Baltimore. Louisa
+Parke and Ann had passed their school days before the convent was
+founded. Louisa Parke Costin opened her school at nineteen years of
+age, continuing it with much success till her sudden death in 1831,
+the year in which her mother also died. When Martha returned from the
+convent seminary, a year or so later, she reopened the school,
+continuing it till about 1839. This school, which was maintained some
+fifteen years, was always very full. The three surviving sister own
+and reside in the house which their father built about 1812. One of
+these sisters married Richard Henry Fisk, a Colored man of good
+education, who died in California, and she now has charge of the
+Senate ladies' reception-room. Ann Costin was for several years in the
+family of Major Lewis (at Woodlawn, Mount Vernon), the nephew of
+Washington. Mrs. Lewis (Eleanor Custis) was the granddaughter of
+Martha Washington. This school was not molested by the mob of 1835,
+and it was always under the care of a well-bred and well-educated
+teacher.
+
+
+THE WESLEYAN SEMINARY.
+
+While Martha Costin was teaching, James Enoch Ambush, a Colored man,
+had also a large school in the basement of the Israel Bethel Church,
+on Capitol Hill, for a while, commencing there in April, 1833, and
+continuing in various places till 1843, when he built a school-house
+on E Street, south, near Tenth, island, and established what was known
+as "The Wesleyan Seminary," and which was successfully maintained for
+thirty-two years, till the close of August, 1865. The school-house
+still stands, a comfortable one-story wooden structure, with the sign
+"Wesleyan Seminary" over the door, as it has been there for
+twenty-five years. This was the only Colored school on the island of
+any account for many years, and in its humble way it accomplished a
+great amount of good. For some years Mr. Ambush had given much study
+to botanic medicine, and since closing his school he has become a
+botanic physician. He is a man of fine sense, and without school
+advantages, has acquired a respectable education.
+
+
+FIRST SEMINARY FOR COLORED GIRLS.
+
+The first seminary in the District of Columbia for Colored girls was
+established in Georgetown, in 1827, under the special auspices of
+Father Vanlomen, a benevolent and devout Catholic priest, then pastor
+of the Holy Trinity Church, who not only gave this interesting
+enterprise his hand and his heart, but for several years himself
+taught a school of Colored boys three days in a week, near the
+Georgetown college gate, in a small frame house, which was afterward
+famous as the residence of the broken-hearted widow of Commodore
+Decatur. This female seminary was under the care of Maria Becraft, who
+was the most remarkable Colored young woman of her time in the
+district, and, perhaps, of any time. Her father, William Becraft, born
+while his mother, a free woman, was the housekeeper of Charles
+Carroll, of Carrollton, always had the kindest attentions of this
+great man, and there are now pictures, more than a century and a half
+old, and other valuable relics from the Carroll family in the
+possession of the Becraft family, in Georgetown, which Charles
+Carroll, of Carrollton, in his last days presented to William Becraft
+as family keepsakes. William Becraft lived in Georgetown sixty-four
+years, coming there when eighteen years of age. He was for many years
+chief steward of Union Hotel, and a remarkable man, respected and
+honored by everybody. When he died, the press of the district noticed,
+in a most prominent manner, his life and character. From one of the
+extended obituary notices, marked with heavy black lines, the
+following paragraph is copied:
+
+ "He was among the last surviving representatives of the old
+ school of well-bred, confidential, and intelligent domestics, and
+ was widely known at home and abroad from his connection, in the
+ capacity of steward for a long series of years, and probably from
+ its origin, and until a recent date, with the Union Hotel,
+ Georgetown, with whose guests, for successive generations, his
+ benevolent and venerable aspect, dignified and obliging manners,
+ and moral excellence, rendered him a general favorite."
+
+Maria Becraft was marked, from her childhood, for her uncommon
+intelligence and refinement, and for her extraordinary piety. She was
+born in 1805, and first went to school for a year to Henry Potter, in
+Washington, about 1812; afterward attending Mrs. Billing's school
+constantly till 1820. She then, at the age of fifteen, opened a school
+for girls in Dunbarton Street, in Georgetown, and gave herself to the
+work, which she loved, with the greatest assiduity, and with uniform
+success. In 1827, when she was twenty-two years of age, her remarkable
+beauty and elevation of character so much impressed Father Vanlomen,
+the good priest, that he took it in hand to give her a higher style of
+school in which to work for her sex and race, to the education of
+which she had now fully consecrated herself. Her school was
+accordingly transferred to a larger building, which still stands on
+Fayette Street, opposite the convent, and there she opened a boarding
+and day school for Colored girls, which she continued with great
+success till August, 1831, when she surrendered her little seminary
+into the care of one of the girls that she had trained, and in October
+of that year joined the convent at Baltimore as a Sister of
+Providence, where she was the leading teacher till she died, in
+December, 1833, a great loss to that young institution, which was
+contemplating this noble young woman as its future Mother Superior.
+Her seminary in Georgetown averaged from thirty to thirty-five pupils,
+and there are those living who remember the troop of girls, dressed
+uniformly, which was wont to follow in procession their pious and
+refined teacher to devotions on the Sabbath at Holy Trinity Church.
+The school comprised girls from the best Colored families of
+Georgetown, Washington, Alexandria, and surrounding country. The
+sisters of the Georgetown convent were the admirers of Miss Becraft,
+gave her instruction, and extended to her most heartfelt aid and
+approbation in all her noble work, as they were in those days wont to
+do in behalf of the aspiring Colored girls who sought for education,
+withholding themselves from such work only when a depraved and
+degenerate public sentiment upon the subject of educating the Colored
+people had compelled them to a more rigid line of demarcation between
+the races. Ellen Simonds and others conducted the school a few years,
+but with the loss of its original teacher it began to fail, and
+finally became extinct. Maria Becraft is remembered, wherever she was
+known, as a woman of the rarest sweetness and exaltation of Christian
+life, graceful and attractive in person and manners, gifted,
+well-educated, and wholly devoted to doing good. Her name as a Sister
+of Providence was Sister Aloyons.
+
+
+MISS MYRTILLA MINER'S SEMINARY
+
+for Colored girls was initiated in Washington. This philanthropic
+woman was born in Brookfield, Madison County, New York, in 1815. Her
+parents were farmers, with small resources for the support of a large
+family. The children were obliged to work, and the small advantages of
+a common school were all the educational privileges furnished to them.
+Hop-raising was a feature in their farming, and this daughter was
+accustomed to work in the autumn, picking the hops. She was of a
+delicate physical organization, and suffered exceedingly all her life
+with spinal troubles. Being a girl of extraordinary intellectual
+activity, her place at home chafed her spirit. She was restless,
+dissatisfied with her lot, looked higher than her father, dissented
+from his ideas of woman's education, and, in her desperation, when
+about twenty-three years old, wrote to Mr. Seward, then recently
+elected Governor of her State, asking him if he could show her how it
+was possible for a woman in her circumstances to become a scholar;
+receiving from him the reply that he could not, but hoped a better day
+was coming, wherein woman might have a chance to be and to do to the
+extent of her abilities. Hearing at this time of a school at Clinton,
+Oneida County, New York, for young women, on the manual-labor system,
+she decided to go there; but her health being such as to make manual
+labor impossible at the time, she wrote to the principal of the Clover
+Street Seminary, Rochester, New York, who generously received her,
+taking her notes for the school bills, to be paid after completing her
+education. Grateful for this noble act, she afterward sent her younger
+sister there to be educated, for her own associate as a teacher; and
+the death of this talented sister, when about to graduate and come as
+her assistant in Washington, fell upon her with crushing force. In the
+Rochester school, with Myrtilla Miner, were two free Colored girls,
+and this association was the first circumstance to turn her thoughts
+to the work to which she gave her life. From Rochester she went to
+Mississippi, as a teacher of planters' daughters, and it was what she
+was compelled to see, in this situation, of the dreadful practices and
+conditions of slavery, that filled her soul with a pity for the
+Colored race, and a detestation of the system that bound them, which
+held possession of her to the last day of her life. She remained there
+several years, till her indignant utterances, which she would not
+withhold, compelled her employer, fearful of the results, to part
+reluctantly with a teacher whom he valued. She came home broken down
+with sickness, caused by the harassing sights and sounds that she had
+witnessed in plantation life, and while in this condition she made a
+solemn vow that whatever of life remained to her should be given to
+the work of ameliorating the condition of the Colored people. Here her
+great work begins. She made up her mind to do something for the
+education of free Colored girls, with the idea that through the
+influence of educated Colored women she could lay the solid
+foundations for the disenthrallment of their race. She selected the
+district for the field of her efforts, because it was the common
+property of the nation, and because the laws of the district gave her
+the right to educate _free_ Colored children, and she attempted to
+teach none others. She opened her plan to many of the leading friends
+of freedom, in an extensive correspondence, but found especially, at
+this time, a wise and warm encourager and counsellor in her scheme, in
+William R. Smith, a Friend, of Farmington, near Rochester, New York,
+in whose family she was now a private teacher. Her correspondents
+generally gave her but little encouragement, but wished her God-speed
+in what she should dare in the good cause. One Friend wrote her from
+Philadelphia; entering warmly into her scheme, but advised her to wait
+till funds could be collected. "I do not want the wealth of Croesus,"
+was her reply; and the Friend sent her $100, and with this capital, in
+the autumn of 1851, she came to Washington to establish a Normal
+School for the education of Colored girls, having associated with her
+Miss Anna Inman, an accomplished and benevolent lady of the Society of
+Friends, from Southfield, Rhode Island, who, however, after teaching a
+class of Colored girls in French, in the house of Jonathan Jones, on
+the island, through the winter, returned to New England. In the autumn
+of 1851 Miss Miner commenced her remarkable work here in a small room,
+about fourteen feet square, in the frame house then, as now, owned and
+occupied by Edward C. Younger, a Colored man, as his dwelling, on
+Eleventh Street, near New York Avenue. With but two or three girls to
+open the school, she soon had a roomful, and to secure larger
+accommodation, moved, after a couple of months, to a house on F
+Street, north, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets, west, near
+the houses then occupied by William T. Carroll and Charles H. Winder.
+This house furnished her a very comfortable room for her school, which
+was composed of well-behaved girls from the best Colored families of
+the district. The persecution of those neighbors, however, compelled
+her to leave, as the Colored family who occupied the house was
+threatened with conflagration, and after one month her little school
+found a more unmolested home in the dwelling-house of a German family
+on K Street, near the western market. After tarrying a few months
+here, she moved to L Street, into a room in the building known, as
+"The Two Sisters," then occupied by a white family. She now saw that
+the success of her school demanded a school-house, and in
+reconnoitring the ground she found a spot suiting her ideas as to size
+and locality, with a house on it, and in the market at a low price.
+She raised the money, secured the spot, and thither, in the summer of
+1851, she moved her school, where for seven years she was destined to
+prosecute, with the most unparalleled energy and conspicuous success,
+her remarkable enterprise. This lot, comprising an entire square of
+three acres, between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets, west, N and O
+streets, north, and New Hampshire Avenue, selected under the guidance
+of Miss Miner, the contract being perfected through the agency of
+Sayles J. Bowen, Thomas Williamson, and Allen M. Gangewer, was
+originally conveyed in trust to Thomas Williamson and Samuel Rhodes,
+of the Society of Friends, in Philadelphia. It was purchased of the
+executors of the will of John Taylor, for $4,000, the deed being
+executed June 8, 1853, the estimated value of the property now being
+not less than $30,000. The money was mainly contributed by Friends, in
+Philadelphia, New York, and New England. Catharine Morris, a Friend,
+of Philadelphia, was a liberal benefactor of the enterprise, advancing
+Miss Miner $2,000, with which to complete the purchase of the lot, the
+most, if not all, of which sum, it is believed, she ultimately gave to
+the institution; and Harriet Beecher Stowe was another generous
+friend, who gave her money and her heart to the support of the brave
+woman who had been willing to go forth alone at the call of duty. Mr.
+Rhodes, some years editor of the "Friends' Quarterly Review," died
+several years ago, near Philadelphia. Mr. Williamson, a conveyancer in
+that city, and father of Passmore Williamson, is still living, but
+some years ago declined the place of trustee. The board, at the date
+of the act of incorporation, consisted of Benjamin Tatham, a Friend,
+of New York City, Mrs. Nancy M. Johnson, of Washington, and Myrtilla
+Miner, and the transfer of the property to the incorporated body was
+made a few weeks prior to Miss Miner's death. This real estate,
+together with a fund of $4,000 in government stocks, is now in the
+hands of a corporate body, under act of Congress approved March 3,
+1863, and is styled "The Institution for the Education of Colored
+Youth in the District of Columbia." The officers of the corporation at
+this time are John C. Underwood, president; Francis G. Shaw,
+treasurer; George E. Baker, secretary; who, with Nancy M. Johnson, S.
+J. Bowen, Henry Addison, and Rachel Howland, constitute the executive
+committee. The purpose of the purchase of this property is declared,
+in a paper signed by Mr. Williamson and Mr. Rhodes, dated
+Philadelphia, June 8, 1858, to have been "_especially for the
+education of colored girls_."
+
+This paper also declares that "the grounds were purchased at the
+special instance of Myrtilla Miner," and that "the contributions by
+which the original price of said lot, and also the cost of the
+subsequent improvements thereof, were procured chiefly by her
+instrumentality and labors." The idea of Miss Miner in planting a
+school here was to train up a class of Colored girls, in the midst of
+slave institutions, who should show forth in their culture and
+capabilities, to the country and to mankind, that the race was fit for
+something higher than the degradation which rested upon them. The
+amazing energy with which this frail woman prosecuted her work is well
+known to those who took knowledge of her career. She visited the
+Colored people of her district from house to house, and breathed a new
+life into them pertaining to the education of their daughters. Her
+correspondence with the philanthropic men and women of the North was
+immense. She importuned Congressmen, and the men who shaped public
+sentiment through the columns of the press, to come into her school
+and see her girls, and was ceaseless in her activities day and night,
+in every direction, to build up, in dignity and refinement, her
+seminary, and to force its merits upon public attention.
+
+The buildings upon the lot when purchased--a small frame dwelling of
+two stories, not more than twenty-five by thirty-five feet in
+dimensions, with three small cabins on the other side of the
+premises--served for the seminary and the homes of the teacher and her
+assistant. The most aspiring and decently bred Colored girls of the
+district were gathered into the school; and the very best Colored
+teachers in the schools, of the district at the present time, are
+among those who owe their education to this self-sacrificing teacher
+and her school. Mrs. Means, aunt of the wife of General Pierce, then
+President of the United States, attracted by the enthusiasm of this
+wonderful person, often visited her in the midst of her work, with the
+kindest feelings; and the fact that the carriage from the Presidential
+mansion was in this way frequently seen at the door of this humble
+institution, did much to protect it from the hatred with which it was
+surrounded.
+
+Mr. Seward and his family were very often seen at the school, both
+Mrs. Seward and her daughter Fanny being constant visitors; the
+latter, a young girl at the time, often spending a whole day there.
+Many other Congressmen of large and generous instincts, some of them
+of pro-slavery party relations, went out there, all confessing their
+admiration of the resolute woman and her school, and this kept evil
+men in abeyance.
+
+The opposition to the school throughout the district was strong and
+very general, among the old as well as the young. Even Walter Lenox,
+who, as mayor, when the school was first started, gave the teacher
+assurances of favor in her work, came out in 1857, following the
+prevailing current of depraved public sentiment and feeding its tide,
+in an elaborate article in the "National Intelligencer," under his own
+signature; assailed the school in open and direct language, urging
+against it that it was raising the standard of education among the
+Colored population, and distinctly declaring that the white population
+of the district would not be just to themselves to permit the
+continuance of an institution which had the temerity to extend to the
+Colored people "a degree of instruction so far beyond their social and
+political condition, which condition must continue," the article goes
+on to say, "in this and every other slave-holding community." This
+article, though fraught with extreme ideas, and to the last degree
+prescriptive and inflammatory, neither stirred any open violence, nor
+deterred the courageous woman in the slightest degree from her work.
+When madmen went to her school-room threatening her with personal
+violence, she laughed them to shame; and when they threatened to burn
+her house, she told them that they could not stop her in that way, as
+another house, better than the old, would immediately rise from its
+ashes.
+
+The house was set on fire in the spring of 1860, when Miss Miner was
+asleep in the second story, alone, in the night-time, but the smell of
+the smoke awakened her in time to save the building and herself from
+the flames, which were extinguished. The school-girls, also, were
+constantly at the mercy of coarse and insulting boys along the
+streets, who would often gather in gangs before the gate to pursue and
+terrify these inoffensive children, who were striving to gather wisdom
+and understanding in their little sanctuary. The police took no
+cognizance of such brutality in those days. But their dauntless
+teacher, uncompromising, conscientious, and self-possessed in her
+aggressive work, in no manner turned from her course by this
+persecution, was, on the other hand, stimulated thereby to higher
+vigilance and energy in her great undertaking. The course of
+instruction in the school was indeed of a higher order than had
+hitherto been opened to the Colored people of the district, as was
+denounced against the school by Walter Lenox, in his newspaper attack.
+Lectures upon scientific and literary subjects were given by
+professional and literary gentlemen, who were friends to the cause.
+The spacious grounds afforded to each pupil an ample space for a
+flower bed, which she was enjoined to cultivate with her own hands and
+to thoroughly study. And an excellent library, a collection of
+paintings and engravings, the leading magazines and choice newspapers,
+were gathered and secured for the humble home of learning, which was
+all the while filled with students, the most of whom were bright,
+ambitious girls, composing a female Colored school, which, in dignity
+and usefulness, has had no equal in the district since that day. It
+was her custom to gather in her vacations and journeys not only money,
+but every thing else that would be of use in her school, and in this
+way she not only collected books, but maps, globes, philosophical, and
+chemical, and mathematical apparatus, and a great variety of things to
+aid in her instruction in illustrating all branches of knowledge. This
+collection was stored in the school building during the war, and was
+damaged by neglect, plundered by soldiers, and what remains is not of
+much value. The elegant sofa-bedstead which she used during all her
+years in the seminary, and which would be an interesting possession
+for the seminary, was sold, with her other personal effects, to Dr.
+Carrie Brown (Mrs. Winslow), of Washington, one of her bosom friends,
+who stood at her pillow when she died.
+
+Her plan embraced the erection of spacious structures, upon the site
+which had been most admirably chosen, complete in all their
+appointments for the full accommodation of a school of one hundred and
+fifty boarding scholars. The seminary was to be a female college,
+endowed with all the powers and professorships belonging to a
+first-class college for the other sex. She did not contemplate its
+springing up into such proportions, like a mushroom, in a single
+night, but it was her ambition that the institution should one day
+attain that rank. In the midst of her anxious, incessant labors, her
+physical system began so sensibly to fail, that in the summer of 1858,
+under the counsel of the friends of herself and her cause, she went
+North to seek health, and, as usual in all her journeys, to beg for
+her seminary, leaving her girls in the care of Emily Howland, a noble
+young woman, who came down here for the love of the cause, without
+money and without price, from the vicinity of Auburn, New York. In the
+autumn, Miss Miner returned to her school; Miss Howland still
+continuing with her through the winter, a companion in her trials,
+aiding her in her duties, and consenting to take charge of the school
+again in the summer of 1859, while Miss Miner was on another journey
+for funds and health. In the autumn of that year, after returning from
+her journey, which was not very successful she determined to suspend
+the school, and to go forth into the country with a most persistent
+appeal for money to erect a seminary building, as she had found it
+impossible to get a house of any character started with the means
+already in her hands. She could get no woman, whom she deemed fit to
+take her work, willing to continue her school, and in the spring of
+1860, leasing the premises, she went North on her errand. In the
+ensuing year she traversed many States, but the shadow of the
+Rebellion was on her path, and she gathered neither much money nor
+much strength. The war came, and in October, 1862, hoping, but vainly,
+for health from a sea-voyage and from the Pacific climate, she sailed
+from New York to California. When about to return, in 1866, with
+vivacity of body and spirit, she was thrown from a carriage in a
+fearful manner; blighting all the high hopes of resuming her school
+under the glowing auspices she had anticipated, as she saw the
+Rebellion and the hated system tumbling to pieces. She arrived in New
+York, in August of that year, in a most shattered condition of body,
+though with the fullest confidence that she should speedily be well
+and at her work in Washington. In the first days of December she went
+to Washington in a dying condition, still resolute to resume her work;
+was carried to the residence of her tried friend, Mrs. Nancy M.
+Johnson; and on the tenth of that month, surrounded by the friends who
+had stood with her in other days, she put off her wasted and wearied
+body in the city which had witnessed her trials and her triumphs, and
+her remains slumber in Oak Hill Cemetery.
+
+Her seminary engaged her thoughts to the last day of her life. She
+said in her last hours that she had come back here to resume her work,
+and could not leave it thus unfinished. No marble marks the
+resting-place of this truly wonderful woman, but her memory is
+certainly held precious in the hearts of her throngs of pupils, in the
+hearts of the Colored people of this district, and of all who took
+knowledge of her life, and who reverenced the cause in which she
+offered herself a willing sacrifice. Her assistants in the school were
+Helen Moore, of Washington; Margaret Clapp, Amanda Weaver, and Anna H.
+Searing, of New York State, and two of her pupils, Matilda Jones, of
+Washington, and Emma Brown, of Georgetown, both of whom subsequently,
+through the influence of Miss Miner and Miss Howland, finished their
+education at Oberlin, and have since been most superior teachers in
+Washington. Most of the assistant teachers from the North were from
+families connected with the Society of Friends, and it has been seen
+that the bulk of the money came from that society. The sketch would be
+incomplete without a special tribute to Lydia B. Mann, sister of
+Horace Mann, who came here in the fall of 1856, from the Colored
+Female Orphan Asylum of Providence, R. I., of which she was then, as
+she continues to be, the admirable superintendent, and, as a pure
+labor of love, took care of the school in the most superior manner
+through the autumn and winter, while Miss Miner was North recruiting
+her strength and pleading for contributions. It was no holiday duty to
+go into that school, live in that building, and work alone with head
+and hands, as was done by all those refined and educated women who
+stood from time to time in that humble, persecuted seminary. Miss Mann
+is gratefully remembered by her pupils here and their friends.
+
+Mention should also be made of Emily Howland, who stood by Miss Miner
+in her darkest days, and whose whole heart was with her in all her
+work. She is a woman of the largest and most self-sacrificing
+purposes, who has been and still is giving her best years, all her
+powers, talents, learning, refinement, wealth, and personal toil, to
+the education and elevation of the Colored race. While here she
+adopted, and subsequently educated in the best manner, one of Miss
+Miner's pupils, and assisted several others of her smart girls in
+completing their education at Oberlin. During the war she was teaching
+contrabands in the hospital and the camp, and is now engaged in
+planting a colony of Colored people in Virginia with homes and a
+school-house of their own.
+
+A seminary, such as was embraced in the plan of Miss Miner, is
+exceedingly demanded by the interest of Colored female education in
+the District of Columbia and the country at large, and any scheme by
+which the foundations that she laid so well may become the seat of
+such a school, would be heartily approved by all enlightened friends
+of the Colored race. The trustees of the Miner property, not
+insensible of their responsibilities, have been carefully watching for
+the moment when action on their part would seem to be justified. They
+have repeatedly met in regard to the matter, but, in their counsels,
+hitherto, have deemed it wise to wait further developments. They are
+now about to hold another meeting, it is understood, and it is to be
+devoutly hoped that some plan will be adopted by which a school of a
+high order may be, in due time, opened for Colored girls in this
+district, who exceedingly need the refining, womanly training of such
+a school.
+
+The original corporators of Miss Miner's institution were Henry
+Addison, John C. Underwood, George C. Abbott, William H. Channing,
+Nancy M. Johnson, and Myrtilla Miner. The objects, as expressed in the
+charter, "are to educate and improve the moral and intellectual
+condition of such of the colored youth of the nation as may be placed
+under its care and influence."
+
+
+MARY WORMLEY'S SCHOOL.
+
+In 1830, William Wormley built a school-house for his sister Mary,
+near the corner of Vermont Avenue and I Street, where the restaurant
+establishment owned and occupied by his brother, James Wormley, now
+stands. He had educated his sister expressly for a teacher, at great
+expense, at the Colored Female Seminary in Philadelphia, then in
+charge of Miss Sarah Douglass, an accomplished Colored lady, who is
+still a teacher of note in the Philadelphia Colored High School.
+William Wormley was at that time a man of wealth. His livery-stable,
+which occupied the place where the Owen House now stands, was one of
+the largest and best in the city. Miss Wormley had just brought her
+school into full and successful operation when her health broke down,
+and she lived scarcely two years. Mr. Calvert, an English gentleman,
+still living in the first ward, taught a class of Colored scholars in
+this house for a time, and James Wormley was one of the class. In the
+autumn of 1834, William Thomas Lee opened a school in the same place,
+and it was in a flourishing condition in the fall of 1835, when the
+Snow mob dispersed it, sacking the school-house, and partially
+destroying it by fire. William Wormley was at that time one of the
+most enterprising and influential Colored men of Washington, and was
+the original agent of the "Liberator" newspaper for this district.
+The mob being determined to lay hold of him and Lee, they fled from
+the city to save their lives, returning when General Jackson, coming
+back from Virginia a few days after the outbreak, gave notice that the
+fugitives should be protected. The persecution of William Wormley was
+so violent and persistent, that his health and spirits sank under its
+effects, his business was broken up, and he died a poor man, scarcely
+owning a shelter for his dying couch. The school-house was repaired
+after the riot, and occupied for a time by Margaret Thompson's school,
+and still stands in the rear of James Wormley's restaurant.
+
+
+BENJAMIN M'COY'S, AND OTHER SCHOOLS.
+
+About this time another school was opened in Georgetown, by Nancy
+Grant, a sister of Mrs. William Becraft, a well-educated Colored
+woman. She was teaching as early as 1828, and had a useful school for
+several years. Mr. Nuthall, an Englishman, was teaching in Georgetown
+during this period, and as late as 1833 he went to Alexandria and
+opened a school in that city. William Syphax, among others now
+resident in Washington, attended his school in Alexandria about 1833.
+He was a man of ability, well educated, and one of the best teachers
+of his time in the district. His school in Georgetown was at first in
+Dunbarton Street, and afterward on Montgomery.
+
+The old maxim, that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
+Church," seems to find its illustration in this history. There is no
+period in the annals of the country in which the fires of persecution
+against the education of the Colored race burned more fiercely in this
+district, and the country at large, than in the five years from 1831
+to 1836, and it was during this period that a larger number of
+respectable Colored schools were established than in any other five
+years prior to the war. In 1833, the same year in which Ambush's
+school was started, Benjamin M. McCoy, a Colored man, opened a school
+in the northern part of the city, on L Street, between Third and
+Fourth streets, west. In 1834 he moved to Massachusetts Avenue,
+continuing his school there till he went to Lancaster County,
+Pennsylvania, in the autumn of 1836, to finish the engagement of Rev.
+John F. Cook, who came back to Washington at that time and re-opened
+his school. The school at Lancaster was a free public Colored school,
+and Mr. McCoy was solicited to continue another year; but declining,
+came back, and in 1837 opened a school in the basement of Asbury
+Church, which, in that room and in the house adjoining, he maintained
+with great success for the ensuing twelve years. Mr. McCoy was a pupil
+of Mrs. Billing and Henry Smothers; is a man of good sense, and his
+school gave a respectable rudimental education to multitudes, who
+remember him as a teacher with great respect. He is now a messenger in
+the Treasury Department. In 1833, a school was established by Fanny
+Hampton, in the western part of the city, on the northwest corner of K
+and Nineteenth streets. It was a large school, and was continued till
+about 1842, the teacher dying soon afterward. She was half-sister of
+Lindsay Muse. Margaret Thompson succeeded her, and had a flourishing
+school of some forty scholars on Twenty-sixth Street, near the avenue,
+for several years, about 1846. She subsequently became the wife of
+Charles H. Middleton, and assisted in his school for a brief time.
+About 1830, Robert Brown commenced a small school, and continued it at
+intervals for many years till his death. As early as 1833, there was a
+school opened in a private house in the rear of Franklin Row, near the
+location of the new Franklin School building. It was taught by a white
+man, Mr. Talbot, and continued a year or two. Mrs. George Ford, a
+white teacher, a native of Virginia, kept a Colored school in a brick
+house still standing on New Jersey Avenue, between K and L streets.
+She taught there many years, and as early, perhaps, as half a century
+ago.
+
+
+DR. JOHN H. FLEET'S SCHOOL
+
+was opened, in 1836, on New York Avenue, in a school-house which stood
+nearly on the spot now occupied by the Richards buildings at the
+corner of New York Avenue and Fourteenth Street. It had been
+previously used for a white school, taught by Mrs. McDaniel, and was
+subsequently again so used. Dr. Fleet was a native of Georgetown, and
+was greatly assisted in his education by the late Judge James Morsell,
+of that city, who was not only kind to this family, but was always
+regarded by the Colored people of the district as their firm friend
+and protector. John H. Fleet, with his brothers and sisters, went to
+the Georgetown Lancasterian School, with the white children, for a
+long period, in their earlier school days, and subsequently to other
+white schools. He was also for a time a pupil of Smothers and Prout.
+He was possessed of a brilliant and strong intellect, inherited from
+his father, who was a white man of distinguished abilities. He studied
+medicine in Washington, in the office of Dr. Thomas Henderson, who had
+resigned as assistant surgeon in the army, and was a practising
+physician of eminence in Washington. He also attended medical lectures
+at the old medical college, corner of Tenth and E streets. It was his
+intention at that time to go to Liberia, and his professional
+education was conducted under the auspices of the Colonization
+Society. This, with the influence of Judge Morsell, gave him
+privileges never extended here to any other Colored man. He decided,
+however, not to go to Liberia, and in 1836 opened his school. He was a
+refined and polished gentleman, and conceded to be the foremost
+Colored man in culture, in intellectual force, and general influence
+in this district at that time. His school-house on New York Avenue was
+burned by an incendiary about 1843, and his flourishing and excellent
+school was thus ended. For a time he subsequently taught music, in
+which he was very proficient; but about 1846 he opened a school on
+School-house Hill, in the Hobbrook Military School building, near the
+corner of N Street, north, and Twenty-third Street, west, and had a
+large school there till about 1851, when he relinquished the business,
+giving his attention henceforth exclusively to music, and with eminent
+success. He died in 1861. His school was very large and of a superior
+character.
+
+
+CHARLES H. MIDDLETON'S SCHOOL
+
+was started in the same section of the city, in a school-house which
+then stood, near the corner of Twenty-second Street, west, and I,
+north, and which had been used by Henry Hardy for a white school.
+Though both Fleet's and Johnson's schools were in full tide of success
+in that vicinity, he gathered a good school, and when his two
+competitors retired--as they both did about this time,--his school
+absorbed a large portion of their patronage, and was thronged. In
+1852, he went temporarily with his school to Sixteenth Street, and
+thence to the basement of Union Bethel Church on M Street, near
+Sixteenth, in which, during the administration of President Pierce, he
+had an exceedingly large and excellent school, at the same period when
+Miss Miner was prosecuting her signal work. Mr. Middleton, now a
+messenger in the Navy Department, a native of Savannah, Ga., is
+free-born, and received his very good education in schools in that
+city, sometimes with white and sometimes with Colored children. When
+he commenced his school he had just returned from the Mexican war, and
+his enterprise is especially worthy of being made prominent, not only
+because of his high style as a teacher, but also because it is
+associated with
+
+
+THE FIRST MOVEMENT FOR A FREE COLORED PUBLIC SCHOOL.
+
+This movement originated with a city officer, Jesse E. Dow, who, in
+1848 and 1849, was a leading and influential member of the common
+council. He encouraged Mr. Middleton to start his school, by assuring
+him that he would give all his influence to the establishment of free
+schools for Colored as well as for white children, and that he had
+great confidence that the council would be brought to give at least
+some encouragement to the enterprise. In 1850 Mr. Dow was named among
+the candidates for the mayoralty; and when his views in this regard
+were assailed by his opponents, he did not hesitate to boldly avow his
+opinions, and to declare that he wished no support for any office
+which demanded of him any modification of these convictions. The
+workmen fail, but the work succeeds. The name of Jesse E. Dow merits
+conspicuous record in this history for this bold and magnanimous
+action. Mr. Middleton received great assistance in building up his
+school from Rev. Mr. Wayman, then pastor of the Bethel Church, and
+afterward promoted to the bishopric. The school was surrendered
+finally to Rev. J. V. B. Morgan, the succeeding pastor of the church,
+who conducted the school as a part of the means of his livelihood.
+
+
+ALEXANDER CORNISH AND OTHERS.
+
+In the eastern section of the city, about 1840, Alexander Cornish had
+a school several years in his own house on D Street, south, between
+Third and Fourth, east, with an average of forty scholars. He was
+succeeded, about 1846, by Richard Stokes, who was a native of Chester
+County, Pa. His school, averaging one hundred and fifty scholars, was
+kept in the Israel Bethel Church, near the Capitol, and was continued
+for about six years. In 1840, there was a school opened by Margaret
+Hill in Georgetown, near Miss English's seminary. She taught a very
+good school for several years.
+
+
+ALEXANDER HAYS'S SCHOOL
+
+was started on Ninth Street, west, near New York Avenue. Mr. Hays was
+born in 1802, and belonged originally to the Fowler family in
+Maryland. When a boy he served for a time at the Washington Navy Yard,
+in the family of Captain Dove, of the navy, the father of Dr. Dove, of
+Washington, and it was in that family that he learned to read. Michael
+Tabbs had a school at that time at the Navy Yard, which he taught in
+the afternoons _under a large tree_, which stood near the old Masonic
+Hall. The Colored children used to meet him there in large numbers
+daily, and while attending this singular school, Hays was at the same
+time taught by Mrs. Dove, with her children. This was half a century
+ago. In 1826, Hays went to live in the family of R. S. Coxe, the
+eminent Washington lawyer, who soon purchased him, paying Fowler $300
+for him. Mr. Coxe did this at the express solicitation of Hays, and
+seventeen years after he gave him his freedom--in 1843. While living
+with Mr. Coxe he had married Matilda Davis, the daughter of John
+Davis, who served as steward many years in the family of Mr. Seaton,
+of the "National Intelligencer." The wedding was at Mr. Seaton's
+residence, and Mr. Coxe and family were present on the occasion. In
+1836, he bought the house and lot which they still own and occupy, and
+in 1842, the year before he was free, Hays made his last payment, and
+the place was conveyed to his wife. She was a free woman, and had
+opened a school in the house in 1841. Hays had many privileges while
+with Mr. Coxe, and with the proceeds of his wife's school they paid
+the purchase-money ($550) and interest in seven years. Mr. Hays was
+taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by Mr. Coxe, his wife, and
+daughters, while a slave in their family. When the Colored people were
+driven from the churches, in the years of the mobs, Mrs. Coxe
+organized a large Colored Sabbath-school in her own parlor, and
+maintained it for a long period, with the cooperation of Mr. Coxe and
+the daughters. Mr. Hays was a member of this school. He also attended
+day schools, when his work would allow of it. This was the education
+with which, in 1845, he ventured to take his wife's school in charge.
+He is a man of good-sense, and his school flourished. He put up an
+addition to his house, in order to make room for his increasing
+school, which was continued down to 1857--sixteen years from its
+opening. He had also a night school and taught music, and these two
+features of his school he has revived since the war. This school
+contained from thirty-five to forty-five pupils. Rev. Dr. Samson, Mr.
+Seaton, and Mr. Coxe often visited his school and encouraged him in
+his excellent work. Thomas Tabbs used also to come into his school and
+give him aid and advice, as also did John McLeod.
+
+
+MR. AND MRS. FLETCHER'S SCHOOL
+
+was opened about 1854, in the building in which Middleton first
+taught, on I, near Twenty-second Street. Mr. Fletcher was an
+Englishman, a well-educated gentleman, and a thorough teacher. He was
+induced to open the school by the importunities of some aspiring
+Colored young men in that part of the city, who desired first-rate
+instruction. He soon became the object of persecution, though he was a
+man of courtesy and excellent character. His school-house was finally
+set on fire and consumed, with all its books and furniture; but the
+school took, as its asylum, the basement of the John Wesley Church.
+The churches which they had been forced to build in the days of the
+mobs, when they were driven from the white churches which they had
+aided in building, proved of immense service to them in their
+subsequent struggles. Mrs. Fletcher kept a variety store, which was
+destroyed about the time the school was opened. She then became an
+assistant in her husband's school, which numbered over one hundred and
+fifty pupils. In 1858, they were driven from the city, as persecution
+at that time was particularly violent against all white persons who
+instructed the Colored people. This school was conducted with great
+thoroughness, and had two departments, Mrs. Fletcher, who was an
+accomplished person, having charge of the girls in a separate room.
+
+
+ELIZA ANNE COOK,
+
+a niece of Rev. John F. Cook, and one of his pupils, who has been
+teaching for about fifteen years, should be mentioned. She attended
+Miss Miner's school for a time, and was afterward at the Baltimore
+convent two years. She opened a school in her mother's house, and
+subsequently built a small school-house on the same lot, Sixteenth
+Street, between K and L streets. With the exception of three years,
+during which she was teaching in the free Catholic school opened in
+the Smothers school-house in 1859, and one year in the female school
+in charge of the Colored sisters, she has maintained her own private
+school from 1854 down to the present time, her number at some periods
+being above sixty, but usually not more than twenty-five or thirty.
+
+
+MISS WASHINGTON'S SCHOOL.
+
+In 1857, Annie E. Washington opened a select primary school in her
+mother's house, on K Street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth
+streets, west. The mother, a widow woman, was a laundress, and by her
+own labor has given her children good advantages, though she had no
+such advantages herself. This daughter was educated chiefly under Rev.
+John E. Cook and Miss Miner, with whom she was a favorite scholar. Her
+older sister was educated at the Baltimore convent. Annie E.
+Washington is a woman of native refinement, and has an excellent
+aptitude for teaching, as well as a good education. Her schools have
+always been conducted with system and superior judgment, giving
+universal satisfaction, the number of her pupils being limited only by
+the size of her room. In 1858, she moved to the basement of the
+Baptist Church, corner of Nineteenth and I streets, to secure larger
+accommodations, and there she had a school of more than sixty scholars
+for several years.
+
+
+A FREE CATHOLIC COLORED SCHOOL.
+
+A free school was established in 1858, and maintained by the St.
+Vincent de Paul Society, an association of Colored Catholics, in
+connection with St. Matthew's Church. It was organized under the
+direction of Father Walter, and kept in the Smothers school-house for
+two years, and was subsequently for one season maintained on a smaller
+scale in a house on L Street, between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets,
+west, till the association failed to give it the requisite pecuniary
+support after the war broke out. This school has already been
+mentioned.
+
+
+OTHER SCHOOLS.
+
+In 1843, Elizabeth Smith commenced a school for small children on the
+island in Washington, and subsequently taught on Capitol Hill. In
+1860, she was the assistant of Rev. Wm. H. Hunter, who had a large
+school in Zion Wesley Church, Georgetown, of which he was the pastor.
+She afterward took the school into her own charge for a period, and
+taught among the contrabands in various places during the war.
+
+About 1850, Isabella Briscoe opened a school on Montgomery Street,
+near Mount Zion Church, Georgetown. She was well educated, and one of
+the best Colored teachers in the district before the Rebellion. Her
+school was always well patronized, and she continued teaching in the
+district up to 1868.
+
+Charlotte Beams had a large school for a number of years, as early as
+1850, in a building next to Galbraith Chapel, I Street, north, between
+Fourth and Fifth, west. It was exclusively a girls' school in its
+later years. The teacher was a pupil of Enoch Ambush, who assisted her
+in establishing her school.
+
+A year or two later, Rev. James Shorter had a large school in the
+Israel Bethel Church, and Miss Jackson taught another good school on
+Capitol Hill about the same time. The above-mentioned were all Colored
+teachers.
+
+Among the excellent schools broken up at the opening of the war, was
+that of Mrs. Charlotte Gordon, Colored, on Eighth Street, in the
+northern section of the city. It was in successful operation several
+years, and the number in attendance sometimes reached one hundred and
+fifty. Mrs. Gordon was assisted by her daughter.
+
+In 1841, David Brown commenced teaching on D Street, south, between
+First and Second streets, island, and continued in the business till
+1858, at which period he was placed in charge of the large Catholic
+free school in the Smothers house, as has been stated.[65]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Here is a picture that every Negro in the country may contemplate with
+satisfaction and pride. In the stronghold of slavery, under the shadow
+of the legalized institution of slavery, within earshot of the
+slave-auctioneer's hammer, amid distressing circumstances, poverty,
+and proscription, three unlettered ex-slaves, upon the threshold of
+the nineteenth century, sowed the seed of education for the Negro race
+in the District of Columbia, from which an abundant harvest has been
+gathered, and will be gathered till the end of time!
+
+What the Negro has done to educate himself, the trials and hateful
+laws that have hampered him during the long period anterior to 1860,
+cannot fail to awaken feelings of regret and admiration among the
+people of both sections and two continents.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[58] Recollections of the Anti-Slavery Conflict, by Rev. Samuel J.
+May.
+
+[59] Barnard, p. 337.
+
+[60] Barnard, p. 339.
+
+[61] Barnard, pp. 205, 206.
+
+[62] Barnard, p. 357.
+
+[63] Barnard, pp. 364-366.
+
+[64] Barnard, pp. 377, 378.
+
+[65] Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1871.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+JOHN BROWN--HERO AND MARTYR.
+
+ JOHN BROWN'S APPEARANCE IN KANSAS.--HE DENOUNCES SLAVERY IN A
+ POLITICAL MEETING AT OSAWATOMIE.--MRS. STEARNS'S PERSONAL
+ RECOLLECTION OF JOHN BROWN.--KANSAS INFESTED BY BORDER
+ RUFFIANS.--THE BATTLE OF HARPER'S FERRY.--THE DEFEAT AND CAPTURE
+ OF CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN.--HIS LAST LETTER WRITTEN TO MRS.
+ STEARNS.--HIS TRIAL AND EXECUTION.--HIS INFLUENCE UPON THE
+ SLAVERY QUESTION AT THE NORTH.--HIS PLACE IN HISTORY.
+
+
+On the 9th of May, 1800, at Torrington, Connecticut, was born a man
+who lived for two generations, but accomplished the work of two
+centuries. That man was John Brown, who ranks among the world's
+greatest heroes. Greater than Peter the Hermit, who believed himself
+commissioned of God to redeem the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of
+infidels; greater than Joanna Southcote, who deemed herself big with
+the promised Shiloh; greater than Ignatius Loyola, who thought the Son
+of Man appeared to him, bearing His cross upon His shoulders, and
+bestowed upon him a Latin commission of wonderful significance;
+greater than Oliver Cromwell, the great Republican Protector; and
+greater than John Hampden,--he deserves to rank with William of
+Orange.
+
+John Brown was nearly six feet high, slim, wiry, dark in complexion,
+sharp in feature, dark hair sprinkled with gray, eyes a dark gray and
+penetrating, with a countenance that betokened frankness, honesty, and
+firmness. His brow was prominent, the centre of the forehead flat, the
+upper part retreating, which, in conjunction with his slightly Roman
+nose, gave him an interesting appearance. The crown of his head was
+remarkably high, in the regions of the phrenological organs of
+firmness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, indicating a stern will,
+unswerving integrity, and marvellous self-possession. He walked
+rapidly with a firm and elastic tread. He was somewhat like John
+Baptist, taciturn in habits, usually wrapped in meditation. He was
+rather meteoric in his movements, appearing suddenly and unexpectedly
+at this place, and then disappearing in the same mysterious manner.
+
+When Kansas lay bleeding at the feet of border ruffians; when Congress
+gave the free-State settlers no protection, but was rather trying to
+drag the territory into the Union with a slave constitution,--without
+noise or bluster John Brown dropped down into Osage County. He was not
+a member of the Republican party; but rather hated its reticency. When
+it cried Halt! he gave the command _Forward, march_! He was not in
+sympathy with any of the parties, political or anti-slavery. All were
+too conservative to suit him. So, as a political orphan he went into
+Kansas, organized and led a new party that swore eternal death to
+slavery. The first time he appeared in a political meeting in Kansas,
+at Osawatomie, the politicians were trimming their speeches and
+shaping their resolutions to please each political faction. John Brown
+took the floor and made a speech that threw the convention into
+consternation. He denounced slavery as the curse of the ages; affirmed
+the manhood of the slave; dealt "middle men" terrible blows; and said
+he could "see no use in talking." "Talk," he continued, "is a national
+institution; but it does no good for the slave." He thought it an
+excuse very well adapted for weak men with tender consciences. Most
+men who were afraid to fight, and too honest to be silent, deceived
+themselves that they discharged their duties to the slave by
+denouncing in fiery words the oppressor. His ideas of duty were far
+different; the slaves, in his eyes, were prisoners of war; their
+tyrants, as he held, had taken up the sword, and must perish by it.
+This was his view of the great question of slavery.
+
+The widow of the late Major George L. Stearns gives the following
+personal recollections of John Brown, in a bright and entertaining
+style. Mrs. Stearns's noble husband was very intimately related to the
+"old hero," and what Mrs. Stearns writes is of great value.
+
+ "The passage of the Fugitive-Slave Bill in 1850, followed by the
+ virtual repeal of the Missouri Compromise, under the name of the
+ Kansas Nebraska Act, in 1854, alarmed all sane people for the
+ safety of republican institutions; and the excitement reached a
+ white heat when, on the 22d of May, 1856, Charles Sumner was
+ murderously assaulted in the Senate chamber by Preston S. Brooks,
+ of South Carolina, for words spoken in debate: the celebrated
+ speech of the 19th and 20th of May, known as 'The Crime Against
+ Kansas.' That same week the town of Lawrence in the territory of
+ Kansas was sacked and burned in the interest of the slave power.
+ The atrocities committed by the 'Border Ruffians' upon the
+ free-State settlers sent a thrill of terror through all
+ law-abiding communities. In Boston the citizens gathered in
+ Faneuil Hall to consider what could be done, and a committee was
+ chosen, with Dr. S. G. Howe as chairman, for the relief of
+ Kansas, called the 'Kansas Relief Committee.' After some $18,000
+ or $20,000 had been collected, chiefly in Boston, and forwarded
+ to Kansas, the interest flagged, and Mr. Stearns, who had been
+ working with that committee, saw the need of more energetic
+ action; so one day he went to Dr. Howe, and told him he was ready
+ to give _all_ his time, and much of his money, to push forward
+ the work. Dr. Howe seeing that here was the man for the hour,
+ immediately resigned, and Mr. Stearns was chosen unanimously
+ chairman of the 'Massachusetts State Kansas Committee,' which
+ took the place of the one first organized. In the light of
+ subsequent history it is difficult to believe the apathy and
+ blindness which failed to recognize the significance of this
+ attack upon Kansas by the slave-holding power. Only faithful
+ watchmen in their high towers could see that it was the first
+ battle-ground between the two conflicting systems of freedom and
+ slavery, which was finally to culminate in the war of the
+ Rebellion. 'Working day and night without haste or rest,' failing
+ in no effort to rouse and stimulate the community, still Mr.
+ Stearns found that a vitalizing interest was wanting. When Gov.
+ Reeder was driven in disguise from the territory, he wrote to him
+ to come to Boston and address the people. He organized a
+ mass-meeting for him in Tremont Temple, and for a few days the
+ story he related stimulated to a livelier activity the more
+ conservative people, who were inclined to think the reports of
+ the free-State men much exaggerated. Soon, however, things
+ settled back into the old sluggish way; so that for three
+ consecutive committee meetings the chairman was the only person
+ who presented himself at the appointed time and place. Nothing
+ daunted, he turned to the country towns, and at the end of five
+ months he had raised by his personal exertions, and through his
+ agents, the sum of $48,000. Women formed societies all over the
+ State, for making and furnishing clothing, and various supplies,
+ which resulted in an addition of some $20,000 or $30,000 more. In
+ January, 1867, this species of work was stopped, by advices from
+ Kansas that no more contributions were needed, except for
+ _defense_. At this juncture Mr. Stearns wrote to John Brown, that
+ if he would come to Boston and consult with the friends of
+ freedom he would pay his expenses. They had never met, but
+ 'Osawatomie Brown' had become a cherished household name during
+ the anxious summer of 1856.[66] Arriving in Boston, they were
+ introduced to each other in the street by a Kansas man, who
+ chanced to be with Mr. Stearns on his way to the committee rooms
+ in Nilis's Block, School Street. Captain Brown made a profound
+ impression on all who came within the sphere of his moral
+ magnetism. Emerson called him 'the most ideal of men, for he
+ wanted to put all his ideas into action.' His absolute
+ superiority to all selfish aims and narrowing pride of opinion
+ touched an answering chord in the self-devotion of Mr. Stearns. A
+ little anecdote illustrates the modest estimate of the work he
+ had in hand. After several efforts to bring together certain
+ friends to meet Captain Brown at his home in Medford, he found
+ that Sunday was the only day that would serve their several
+ convenience, and being a little uncertain how it might strike his
+ ideas of religious propriety, he prefaced his invitation with
+ something like an apology. With characteristic promptness came
+ the reply: 'Mr. Stearns, I have a little ewe-lamb that I want to
+ pull out of the ditch, and the Sabbath will be as good a day as
+ any to do it.'
+
+ "It was this occasion which furnished to literature one of the
+ most charming bits of autobiography. Our oldest son, Harry, a lad
+ of eleven years, was an observant listener, and drank eagerly
+ every word that was said of the cruel wrongs in Kansas, and of
+ slavery everywhere. When the gentlemen rose to go, he privately
+ asked his father if he might be allowed to give all his spending
+ money to John Brown. Leave being granted, he bounded away, and
+ returning with his small treasure, said: 'Captain Brown, will you
+ buy something with this money for those poor people in Kansas,
+ and some time will you write to me and tell me _what sort of a
+ little boy_ you were?' 'Yes, my son, I will, and God bless you
+ for your kind heart!' The autobiography has been printed many
+ times, but never before with the key which unlocked it.
+
+ "It may not be out of place to describe the impression he made
+ upon the writer on this first visit. When I entered the parlor,
+ he was sitting near the hearth, where glowed a bright open fire.
+ He rose to greet me, stepping forward with such an erect,
+ military bearing; such fine courtesy of demeanor and grave
+ earnestness, that he seemed to my instant thought some old
+ Cromwellian hero suddenly dropped down before me; a suggestion
+ which was presently strengthened by his saying [proceeding with
+ the conversation my entrance had interrupted]: 'Gentlemen, I
+ consider the Golden Rule and the Declaration of Independence one
+ and inseparable; and it is better that a whole generation of men,
+ women, and children should be swept away, than that this crime of
+ slavery should exist one day longer.' These words were uttered
+ like rifle balls; in such emphatic tones and manner that our
+ little Carl, not three years old, remembered it in manhood as one
+ of his earliest recollections. The child stood perfectly still,
+ in the middle of the room, gazing with his beautiful eyes on this
+ new sort of man, until his absorption arrested the attention of
+ Captain Brown, who soon coaxed him to his knee, tho' the look of
+ awe and childlike wonder remained. His dress was of some dark
+ brown stuff, quite coarse, but its exactness and neatness
+ produced a singular air of refinement. At dinner, he declined all
+ dainties, saying that he was unaccustomed to luxuries, even to
+ partaking of butter.
+
+ "The 'friends of freedom' with whom Mr. Stearns had invited John
+ Brown to consult were profoundly impressed with his sagacity,
+ integrity, and devotion; notably among these were R. W. Emerson,
+ Theodore Parker, H. D. Thoreau, A. Bronson Alcott, F. B. Sanborn,
+ Dr. S. G. Howe, Col. T. W. Higginson, Gov. Andrew, and others. In
+ February (1857) he appeared before a committee of the State
+ Legislature, to urge that Massachusetts should make an
+ appropriation in money in aid of those persons who had settled in
+ Kansas from her own soil. The speech is printed in Redpath's
+ 'Life.' He obtained at this time, from the Massachusetts State
+ Kansas Committee,[67] some two hundred Sharp's rifles, with which
+ to arm one hundred mounted men for the defense of Kansas, who
+ could also be of service to the peculiar property of Missouri. In
+ those dark days of slave-holding supremacy, the friends of
+ freedom felt justified in aiding the flight of its victims to
+ free soil whenever and wherever opportunity offered. The
+ Fugitive-Slave Law was powerless before the law written on the
+ enlightened consciences of those devoted men and women. These
+ rifles had been forwarded previously to the National Committee at
+ Chicago, for the defense of Kansas, but for some unexplained
+ reasons had never proceeded farther than Tabor, in the State of
+ Iowa. Later on, Mr. Stearns, in his individual capacity,
+ authorized Captain Brown to purchase two hundred revolvers from
+ the Massachusetts Arms Company, and paid for them from his
+ private funds, thirteen or fifteen hundred dollars. During the
+ summer of 1857 he united with Mr. Amos A. Lawrence and others in
+ paying off the mortgage held by Mr. Gerritt Smith on his house
+ and farm at North Elba, N. Y., he paying two hundred and sixty
+ dollars. It would be difficult to state the entire amount of
+ money Mr. Stearns put into the hands of John Brown for
+ Anti-Slavery purposes and his own subsistence. He kept no account
+ of what he gave. In April or May, 1857, he gave him a check for
+ no less a sum than seven thousand dollars. Early in 1858, Hon.
+ Henry Wilson wrote to Dr. S. G. Howe that he had learned John
+ Brown was suspected of the intention of using those arms in other
+ ways than for the _defense_ of Kansas; and by order of the
+ committee, Mr. Stearns wrote (under date May 14, 1858) to Brown
+ not to use them for any other purpose, and to hold them subject
+ to his order, as chairman of said committee. When the operations
+ of the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee virtually ceased, in
+ June or July, 1858, it happened that this committee were some
+ four thousand dollars in debt to Mr. Stearns, for advances of
+ money from time to time to keep the organization in existence;
+ and it was voted to make over to the chairman these two hundred
+ Sharp's rifles as part payment of the committee's indebtedness.
+ They were of small account to Mr. Stearns. He knew them to be in
+ good hands, and troubled himself no further about them, either
+ the rifles or the revolvers; although keeping up from time to
+ time a correspondence with his friend upon the all-engrossing
+ subject.
+
+ "In February of 1859, John Brown was in Boston, and talked with
+ some of his friends about the feasibility of entrenching himself,
+ with a little band of men, in the mountains of Virginia, familiar
+ to him from having surveyed them as engineer in earlier life. His
+ plan was to open communication with the slaves of neighboring
+ plantations, collect them together, and send them off in squads,
+ as he had done in Missouri, 'without snapping a gun.' Mr. Stearns
+ had so much more faith in John Brown's opposition to _Slavery_,
+ than in any theories he advanced of the _modus operandi_, that
+ they produced much less impression on his mind than upon some
+ others gifted with more genius for details. _From first to last,
+ he believed in John Brown._ His plans, or theories, might be
+ feasible, or they might not. If the glorious old man wanted money
+ to try his plans, he should have it. His plans might fail;
+ probably would, but _he_ could never be a failure. There he
+ stood, unconquerable, in the panoply of divine Justice. Both of
+ these men were of the martyr type. No thought or consideration
+ for themselves, for _history_, or the estimation of others, ever
+ entered into their calculations. It was the service of _Truth_
+ and _Right_ which brought them together, and in that service they
+ were ready to die.
+
+ "In the words of an eminent writer[68]: 'A common spirit made
+ these two men recognize each other at first sight; and the power
+ of both lay in that inability to weigh difficulties against duty,
+ that instant step of thought to deed, which makes individuals
+ fully possessed by the idea of the age, the turning-points of its
+ destiny; hands in the right place for touching the match to the
+ train it has laid, or for leading the public will to the heart of
+ its moral need. They knew each other as minute-men on the same
+ watch; as men to be found _in_ the breach, before others knew
+ where it was; they were one in pity, one in indignation, one in
+ moral enthusiasm, burning beneath features set to patient
+ self-control; one in simplicity, though of widely different
+ culture; one in religious inspiration, though at the poles of
+ religious thought. The old frontiersman came from his wilderness
+ toils and agonies to find within the merchant's mansion of art
+ and taste by the side of Bunker Hill, a perfect sympathy: the
+ reverence of children, tender interest in his broken household,
+ free access to a rich man's resources, and even a valor kindred
+ with his own.'
+
+ "The attack upon Harper's Ferry was a 'side issue,' to quote the
+ words of John Brown, Jr., and a departure from his father's
+ original plan. It certainly took all his friends by surprise. In
+ his letter of Nov. 15, 1859 (while in prison), to his old
+ schoolmaster, the Rev. H. L. Vaill, are these words: 'I am not as
+ yet, in the _main_, at all disappointed. I have been a good deal
+ disappointed as it regards _myself_ in not keeping up to my own
+ plans; but I now feel entirely reconciled to that even: for God's
+ plan was infinitely better, _no doubt_, or I should have kept my
+ own. Had Samson kept to his determination of not telling Delilah
+ wherein his great strength lay, he would probably have never
+ overturned the house. _I did not tell Delilah_; but I was induced
+ to act very _contrary to my better judgment_.'[69]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "It is idle to endeavor to explain, by any methods of the
+ _understanding_, any rules of worldly wisdom, or prudence, this
+ influx of the Divine Will, which has made John Brown already an
+ ideal character. 'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and we hear
+ the sound thereof; but know not whence it cometh, or whither it
+ goeth.' So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Man works in
+ the midst of laws which execute themselves, more especially, if
+ by virtue of obedience he has lost sight of all selfish aims, and
+ perceives that Truth and Right alone can claim allegiance.
+ Emerson says: 'Divine intelligence carries on its administration
+ by good men; that great men are they who see that the spiritual
+ are greater than any material forces; and that really there never
+ was any thing great accomplished but under religious impulse.'
+
+ "The deadly _Atheism_ of Slavery was rolling its car of
+ Juggernaut all over the beautiful Republic, and one pure soul was
+ inspired to confront it by a practical interpretation of the
+ Golden Rule.
+
+ "That Virginia would hang John Brown was a foregone conclusion.
+ The Moloch of Slavery would have nothing less. His friends
+ exerted themselves to secure the best counsel which could be
+ induced to undertake the _formality_ of a defense, foremost among
+ whom was Mr. Stearns. A well-organized plan was made to rescue
+ him, conducted by a brave man from Kansas, Col. James Montgomery,
+ but a message came from the prisoner, that he should not feel at
+ liberty to walk out, if the doors were left open; a sense of
+ honor to his jailer (Captain Acvis) forbidding any thing of the
+ kind.
+
+ "Not a little anxiety was felt lest certain of his adherents
+ might be summoned as witnesses, whose testimony would lessen the
+ chances of acquittal, and possibly involve their own lives. John
+ A. Andrew (afterward Gov. Andrew) gave it as his opinion, after
+ an exhaustive search of the records, that Virginia would have no
+ right to summon these persons from Massachusetts, but
+ subsequently changed his opinion, and urged Mr. Stearns to take
+ passage to Europe, sending him home one day to pack his valise.
+ The advice was opposed to his instincts, but he considered that
+ his wife should have a voice in the matter, who decided, 'midst
+ many tears and prayers, that if slavery required another victim,
+ he must be ready.
+
+ "With Dr. Howe it was quite different. He became possessed with a
+ dread that threatened to overwhelm his reason. He was in delicate
+ health, and constitutionally subject to violent attacks of
+ nervous headache. One day he came to Medford and insisted that
+ Mr. Stearns should accompany him to Canada, urging that if he
+ remained here he should be insane, and that Mr. Stearns of all
+ his friends was the only one who would be at all satisfactory to
+ him. This request, or rather demand, Mr. Stearns promptly
+ declined. How well I remember his agitation, walking up and down
+ the room, and finally entreating Mr. Stearns for 'friendship's
+ sake' to go and take care of him. I can recall no instance of
+ such self-abnegation in my husband's self-denying career. He did
+ not _stoop_ to an _explanation_, even when Dr. Howe declared in
+ his presence, some months later, "that he never did any thing in
+ his life he so much wished to take back." I had hoped that Dr.
+ Howe would himself have spared me from making this contribution
+ to the truth of history.
+
+ "On the 2d of December, Mr. Stearns yearned for the solitude of
+ his own soul, in communion of spirit, with the friend who, on
+ that day, would 'make the gallows glorious like the Cross'; and
+ he left Dr. Howe and took the train for Niagara Falls. There,
+ sitting alone beside the mighty rush of water, he solemnly
+ consecrated his remaining life, his fortune, and all that was
+ most dear, to the _cause_ in whose service John Brown had died.
+
+ "How well and faithfully he kept his vow, may partly be seen in
+ his subsequent efforts in recruiting the colored troops at a
+ vital moment in the terrible war of the Rebellion which so
+ swiftly followed the sublime apotheosis of 'Old John Brown.'"[70]
+
+That John Brown intended to free the slaves, and nothing more, the
+record shows clearly. His move on Harper's Ferry was well planned,
+and had all the parties interested done their part the work would have
+been done well. As to the rectitude of his intentions he gives the
+world this leaf of history:
+
+ "And now, gentlemen, let me press this one thing on your minds.
+ You all know how dear life is to you, and how dear your lives are
+ to your friends: and in remembering that, consider that the lives
+ of others are as dear to them as yours are to you. Do not,
+ therefore, take the life of any one if you can possibly avoid it;
+ but if it is necessary to take life in order to save your own,
+ then make sure work of it."--John Brown, before the battle at
+ Harper's Ferry.
+
+ "I never did intend murder, or treason, or the destruction of
+ property, or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion, or to make
+ insurrection. The design on my part was to free the
+ slaves."--John Brown, after the battle at Harper's Ferry.
+
+Distance lends enchantment to the view. What the world condemns to-day
+is applauded to-morrow.
+
+We must have a "fair count" on the history of yesterday and last year.
+The events chronicled yesterday, when the imagination was wrought upon
+by exciting circumstances, need revision to-day.
+
+The bitter words spoken this morning reproach at eventide the smarting
+conscience. And the judgments prematurely formed, and the conclusions
+rapidly reached, maybe rectified and repaired in the light of departed
+years and enlarged knowledge.
+
+John Brown is rapidly settling down to his proper place in history,
+and "the madman" has been transformed into a "saint." When Brown
+struck his first blow for freedom, at the head of his little band of
+liberators, it was almost the universal judgment of both Americans and
+foreigners that he was a "fanatic." It seemed the very soul of
+weakness and arrogance for John Brown to attempt to do so great a work
+with so small a force. Men reached a decision with the outer and
+surface facts. But many of the most important and historically
+trustworthy truths bearing upon the motive, object, and import of that
+"bold move," have been hidden from the public view, either by
+prejudice or fear.
+
+Some people have thought John Brown--"_The Hero of Harper's Ferry_"--a
+hot-headed, blood-thirsty brigand; they animadverted against the
+precipitancy of his measures, and the severity of his invectives; said
+that he was lacking in courage and deficient in judgment; that he
+retarded rather than accelerated the cause he championed. But this
+was the verdict of other times, not the judgment of to-day.
+
+John Brown said to a personal friend during his stay in Kansas: "Young
+men must learn to wait. Patience is the hardest lesson to learn. I
+have waited for twenty years to accomplish my purpose." These are not
+the words of a mere visionary idealist, but the mature language of a
+practical and judicious leader, a leader than whom the world has never
+seen a greater. By greatness is meant deep convictions of duty, a
+sense of the Infinite, "a strong hold on truth," a "conscience void of
+offence toward God and man," to which the appeals of the innocent and
+helpless are more potential than the voices of angry thunder or
+destructive artillery. Such a man was John Brown. He was strong in his
+moral and mental nature, as well as in his physical nature. He was
+born to lead; and he led, and made himself the pro-martyr of a cause
+rapidly perfecting. All through his boyhood days he felt himself
+lifted and quickened by great ideas and sublime purposes. He had
+flowing in his veins the blood of his great ancestor, Peter Brown, who
+came over in the "Mayflower"; and the following inscription appears
+upon a marble monument in the graveyard at Canton Centre, New York:
+"In memory of Captain John Brown, who died in the Revolutionary army,
+at New York, September 3, 1776. He was of the fourth generation, in
+regular descent, from Peter Brown, one of the Pilgrim Fathers, who
+landed from the 'Mayflower,' at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 22,
+1620." This is the best commentary on his inherent love of absolute
+liberty, his marvellous courage and transcendent military genius. For
+years he elaborated and perfected his plans, working upon the public
+sentiment of his day by the most praiseworthy means. He bent and bowed
+the most obdurate conservatism of his day, and rallied to his
+standards the most eminent men, the strongest intellects in the North.
+His ethics and religion were as broad as the universe, and beneficent
+in their wide ramification. And it was upon his "religion of
+humanity," that embraced our entire species, that he proceeded with
+his herculean task of striking off the chains of the enslaved. Few,
+very few of his most intimate friends knew his plans--the plan of
+freeing the slaves. Many knew his great faith, his exalted sentiments,
+his ideas of liberty, in their crudity; but to a faithful few only did
+he reveal his stupendous plans in their entirety.
+
+Hon. Frederick Douglass and Colonel Richard J. Hinton, knew more of
+Brown's real purposes than any other persons, with the exception of J.
+H. Kagi, Osborn Anderson, Owen Brown, Richard Realf, and George B.
+Gill.
+
+"Of men born of woman," there is not a greater than John Brown. He was
+the forerunner of Lincoln, the great apostle of freedom.
+
+One year before he went to Harper's Ferry, a friend met Brown in
+Kansas [in June, 1858], and learned that during the previous month he
+had brought almost all of his plans to perfection; and that the day
+and hour were fixed to strike the blow. One year before, a convention
+had met, on the 8th of May, 1858, at Chatham, Canada. At this
+convention a provisional constitution and ordinances were drafted and
+adopted, with the following officers: Commander-in-Chief, John Brown;
+Secretary of War, J. H. Kagi; Members of Congress, Alfred M.
+Ellsworth, Osborn Anderson; Treasurer, Owen Brown; Secretary of the
+Treasury, Geo. B. Gill; Secretary of State, Richard Realf.
+
+John Brown made his appearance in Ohio and Canada in the spring of
+1859. He wrote letters, made speeches, collected funds for his little
+army, and made final arrangements with his Northern allies, etc. He
+purchased a small farm, about six miles from Harper's Ferry, on the
+Maryland side, and made it his ordnance depot. He had 102 Sharp's
+rifles, 68 pistols, 55 bayonets, 12 artillery swords, 483 pikes, 150
+broken handles of pikes, 16 picks, 40 shovels, besides quite a number
+of other appurtenances of war. This was in July. He intended to make
+all of his arrangements during the summer of 1859, and meet his men in
+the Alleghanies in the fall of the same year.
+
+The apparent rashness of the John Brown movement may be mitigated
+somewhat by the fact that he failed to carry out his original plan.
+During the summer of 1859 he instructed his Northern soldiers and
+sympathizers to be ready for the attack on the night of the 24th of
+October, 1859. But while at Baltimore, in September, he got the
+impression that there was conspiracy in his camp, and in order to
+preclude its consummation, suddenly, without sending the news to his
+friends at the North, determined to strike the first blow on the night
+of the 17th of October. The news of his battle and his bold stand
+against the united forces of Virginia and Maryland swept across the
+country as the wild storm comes down the mountain side. Friend and foe
+were alike astonished and alarmed. The enemies of the cause he
+represented, when they recovered from their surprise, laughed their
+little laugh of scorn, and eased their feelings by referring to him as
+the "madman." Friends faltered, and, while they did not question his
+earnestness, doubted his judgment. "Why," they asked, "should he act
+with such palpable rashness, and thereby render more difficult and
+impossible the emancipation of the slaves?" They claimed that the blow
+he struck, instead of severing, only the more tightly riveted, the
+chains upon the helpless and hapless Blacks. But in the face of
+subsequent history we think his surviving friends will change their
+views. There is no proof that his fears were not well grounded; that a
+conspiracy was in progress. And who can tell whether a larger force
+would have been more effective, or the night of the 24th more
+opportune? May it not be believed that the good old man was right, and
+that Harper's Ferry was just the place, and the 17th of October just
+the time to strike for freedom, and make the rock-ribbed mountains of
+Virginia to tremble at the presence of a "master!"--the king of
+freedom?
+
+He was made a prisoner on the 19th of October, 1859, and remained
+until the 7th of November without a change of clothing or medical aid.
+Forty-two days from the time of his imprisonment he expiated his crime
+upon the scaffold--a crime against slave-holding, timorous Virginia,
+for bringing liberty to the oppressed. He was a man, and there was
+nothing that interested man which was foreign to his nature. He had
+gone into Virginia to save life, not to destroy it. The sighs and
+groans of the oppressed had entered into his soul.
+
+He had heard the Macedonian cry to come over and help them. He went,
+and it cost him his life, but he gave it freely.
+
+Captain Acvis, the jailer, said: "He was the gamest man I ever saw."
+And Mr. Valandingham, at that time a member of Congress from Ohio, and
+who examined him in court, said in a speech afterward.
+
+ "It is in vain to underrate either the man or the conspiracy.
+ Captain John Brown is as brave and resolute a man as ever headed
+ an insurrection, and, in a good cause, and with a sufficient
+ force, would have been a consummate partisan commander. He has
+ coolness, daring, persistency, stoic faith and patience, and a
+ firmness of will and purpose unconquerable! He is the farthest
+ possible remove from the ordinary ruffian, fanatic, or madman."
+
+No friend, howsoever ardent in his love, could have woven a chaplet
+more worthy than the one placed upon the brow of the old hero by his
+most embittered foe. A truer estimate of John Brown cannot be had.
+
+South Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky sent a rope to hang him, but,
+the first two lacking strength, Kentucky had the everlasting disgrace
+of furnishing the rope to strangle the noblest man that ever lived in
+any age.
+
+The last letter he ever wrote was written to Mrs. Geo. L. Stearns, and
+she shall give its history:
+
+ This letter requires the history which attaches to it, and
+ illustrates the consideration which the brave martyr had for
+ those in any way connected with him. It was written on a half
+ sheet of paper, the exact size of the pages of a book into which
+ he carefully inserted it, and tied up in a handkerchief with
+ other books and papers, which he asked his jailer (Mr. Avis) to
+ be allowed to go with his body to North Elba, and which Mrs.
+ Brown took with her from the Charlestown prison. Her statement to
+ me about it is this: She had been at home some two weeks, had
+ looked over the contents of the handkerchief many times, when one
+ day in turning the leaves of that particular book, she came upon
+ this letter, on which she said she found two or three blistered
+ spots, the only _tear drops_ she had seen among his papers. They
+ are now yellow with time. On the back of the half sheet was
+ written: "Please mail this to her," which she did, and so it
+ reached my hand; seeming as if from the world to which his spirit
+ had fled. It quite overwhelmed my husband. Presently he said:
+ "See, dear, how careful the old man has been, he would not even
+ direct it with your name to go from Virginia to Boston through
+ the post-offices; and altho' it contains no message to me, one of
+ those '_farewells_!' is intended for me, and also the 'Love to
+ _All_ who love their neighbors.'"
+
+ "CHARLESTOWN, JEFFERSON CO VA. 29th Nov. 1859.
+
+ "MRS. GEORGE L. STEARNS
+ "Boston, Mass.
+
+ "My Dear Friend:--No letter I have received since my imprisonment
+ here, has given me more satisfaction, or comfort, than yours of
+ the 8th inst. I am quite cheerful: and never more happy. Have
+ only time to write you a word. May God forever reward you _and
+ all yours_.
+
+ "_My love to_ ALL who love their neighbors. I have asked to be
+ _spared_ from having any _mock, or hypocritical prayers made over
+ me_ when I am publicly _murdered_; and that my only _religious
+ attendents_ be _poor little, dirty, ragged, bareheaded and
+ barefooted, Slave Boys; and Girls_, led by some old _gray-headed
+ slave Mother_.
+
+ "Farewell. Farewell.
+ "Your Friend,
+ "JOHN BROWN."[71]
+
+The man who hung him, Governor Wise, lived to see the plans of Brown
+completed and his most cherished hopes fulfilled. He heard the warning
+shot fired at Sumter, saw Richmond fall, the war end in victory to the
+party of John Brown; saw the slave-pen converted into the
+school-house, and the four millions Brown fought and died for,
+elevated to the honors of citizenship. And at last he has entered the
+grave, where his memory will perish with his body, while the soul and
+fame of John Brown go marching down the centuries!
+
+Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, and John Brown have to wait the calmer
+judgments of future generations. These men believed that God sent them
+to do a certain work--to reveal a hidden truth; to pour light into the
+minds of benighted and superstitious men. They completed their work;
+they did nobly and well, then bowed to rest--
+
+ "With patriarchs of the infant world--with kings,
+ The powerful of the earth,"
+
+while generation after generation studies their handwriting on the
+wall of time and interprets their thoughts. Despised, persecuted, and
+unappreciated while in the flesh, they are honored after death, and
+enrolled among earth's good and great, her wise and brave. The shock
+Brown gave the walls of the slave institution was felt from its centre
+to its utmost limits. It was the entering wedge; it laid bare the
+accursed institution, and taught good men everywhere to hate it with a
+perfect hatred. Slavery received its death wound at the hands of a
+"lonely old man." When he smote Virginia, the non-resistants, the
+anti-slavery men, learned a lesson. They saw what was necessary to the
+accomplishment of their work, and were now ready for the "worst." He
+rebuked the conservatism of the North, and gave an example of
+adherence to duty, devotion to truth, and fealty to God and man that
+make the mere "professor" to tremble with shame. "John Brown's body
+lies mouldering in the clay," but his immortal name will be pronounced
+with blessings in all lands and by all people till the end of time.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[66] This was in the last days of 1856.
+
+[67] The committee also authorized him to draw on their treasurer,
+Patrick L. Jackson, for $500.
+
+[68] Samuel Johnson, the accomplished Oriental scholar and devoted
+friend of the slave.
+
+[69] The italics are his.
+
+[70] The above account of Capt. Brown was prepared for us by the widow
+of the late Major Geo. L. Stearns. It is printed as written, and
+breathes a beautiful spirit of love and tender remembrance for the two
+heroes mentioned.
+
+[71] This letter is printed for the first time, with Mrs. Stearns's
+consent.
+
+
+
+
+PART 7.
+
+_THE NEGRO IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DEFINITION OF THE WAR ISSUE.
+
+ INCREASE OF SLAVE POPULATION IN SLAVE-HOLDING STATES FROM
+ 1850-1860.--PRODUCTS OF SLAVE LABOR.--BASIS OF SOUTHERN
+ REPRESENTATION.--SIX SECEDING STATES ORGANIZE A NEW
+ GOVERNMENT.--CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT.--SPEECH
+ BY ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS.--MR. LINCOLN IN FAVOR OF GRADUAL
+ EMANCIPATION.--HE IS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.--THE
+ ISSUE OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.
+
+In 1860 there were, in the fifteen slave-holding States, 12,240,000
+souls, of whom 8,039,000 were whites, 251,000 free persons of color,
+and 3,950,000 were slaves. The gain of the entire population of the
+slave-holding States, from 1850-1860, was 2,627,000, equal to 27.33
+per cent. The slave population had increased 749,931, or 23.44 per
+cent., not including the slaves in the District of Columbia, where
+they had lost 502 slaves during the decade. The nineteen
+non-slave-holding States and the seven territories, including the
+District of Columbia, contained 19,203,008 souls, of whom 18,920,771
+were whites, 237,283 free persons of color, and 41,725 civilized
+Indians. The actual increase of this population was 5,624,101, or
+41.24 per cent. During the same period--1850-1860--the total
+population of free persons of color in the United States increased
+from 434,449 to 487,970, or at the rate of 12.33 per cent., annual
+increase of above 1 per cent. In 1850 the Mulattoes were 11.15 per
+cent., regarding the United States as one aggregate, and in 1860 were
+13.25 per cent., of the entire Colored population.
+
+ TOTAL COLORED POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
+ --------------+-----------------------+---------------
+ | Numbers. | Proportions.
+ +-----------+-----------+-------+-------
+ Colored. | 1850. | 1860. | 1850. | 1860.
+ --------------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------
+ Blacks | 3,233,057 | 3,853,478 | 88.85 | 86.75
+ Mulattoes | 405,751 | 588,352 | 11.15 | 13.25
+ --------------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------
+ Total Colored | 3,638,808 | 4,441,830 |100.00 |100.00
+ --------------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------
+
+So, in ten years, from 1850-1860, the increase of blacks above the
+current deaths was 620,421, or more than one half of a million, while
+the corresponding increase of Mulattoes was 182,601. Estimating the
+deaths to have been 22.4 per cent. during the same period, or one in
+40 annually, the total births of Blacks in ten years was about
+1,345,000, and the total births of Mulattoes about 273,000. Thus it
+appears, in the prevailing order, that of every 100 births of Colored,
+about 17 were Mulattoes, and 83 Blacks, indicating a ratio of nearly 1
+to 5.
+
+There were:
+
+ Deaf and dumb slaves 531
+ Blind 1,387
+ Insane 327
+ Idiotic 1,182
+ -----
+ Total 3,427
+
+There were 400,000 slaves in the towns and cities of the South, and
+2,804,313 in the country. The products of slave labor in 1850 were as
+follows:
+
+ SLAVE LABOR PRODUCTS IN 1850.
+
+ Cotton $98,603,720
+ Tobacco 13,982,686
+ Cane sugar 12,378,850
+ Hemp 5,000,000
+ Rice 4,000,000
+ Molasses 2,540,179
+ ------------
+ $136,505,435
+
+There were 347,525 slave-holders against 5,873,893 non-slave-holders
+in the slave States. The representation in Congress was as follows:
+
+ Northern representatives based on white population 142
+ Northern representatives based on Colored population 2
+ Southern representatives based on white population 68
+ Southern representatives based on free Colored population 2
+ Southern representatives based on slave population 20
+ Ratio of representation for 1853 93,420
+
+The South owned 16,652 churches, valued at $22,142,085; the North
+owned 21,357 churches, valued at $65,167,586. The South printed
+annually 92,165,919 copies of papers and periodicals; the North
+printed annually 334,146,081 copies of papers and periodicals. The
+South owned, other than private, 722 libraries, containing 742,794
+volumes; the North owned, other than private, 14,902 libraries,
+containing 3,882,217 volumes.
+
+In sentiment, motive, and civilization the two "Sections" were as far
+apart as the poles. New England, Puritan, Roundhead civilization could
+not fellowship the Cavaliers of the South. There were not only two
+sections and two political parties in the United States;--there were
+two antagonistic governmental ideas. John C. Calhoun and Alexander H.
+Stephens, of the South, represented the idea of the separate and
+individual sovereignty of each of the States; while William H. Seward
+and Abraham Lincoln, of the North, represented the idea of the
+centralization of governmental authority, so far as it was necessary
+to secure uniformity of the laws, and the supremacy of the Federal
+Constitution. On the 25th of October, 1858, in a speech delivered in
+Rochester, N. Y., William H. Seward said:
+
+ "Our country is a theatre which exhibits, in full operation, two
+ radically different political systems: the one resting on the
+ basis of servile or slave labor; the other on the basis of
+ voluntary labor of freemen.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "The two systems are at once perceived to be incongruous. They
+ never have permanently existed together in one country, and they
+ never can.
+
+ ... "These antagonistic systems are continually coming in closer
+ contact, and collision ensues.
+
+ "Shall I tell you what this collision means? It is an
+ irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and
+ it means that the United States must, and will, sooner or later,
+ become entirely a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free labor
+ nation. Either the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina, and
+ the sugar plantations of Louisiana, will ultimately be tilled by
+ free-labor, and Charleston and New Orleans become marts for
+ legitimate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields and wheat
+ fields of Massachusetts and New York must again be surrendered by
+ their farmers to the slave culture and to the production of
+ slaves, and Boston and New York become once more markets for
+ trade in the bodies and souls of men."
+
+Upon the eve of the great Rebellion, Mr. Seward said in the United
+States Senate:
+
+ "A free Republican government like this, notwithstanding all its
+ constitutional checks, cannot long resist and counteract the
+ progress of society.
+
+ "Free labor has at last apprehended its rights and its destiny,
+ and is organizing itself to assume the government of the
+ Republic. It will henceforth meet you boldly and resolutely here
+ (Washington); it will meet you everywhere, in the territories and
+ out of them, where-ever you may go to extend slavery. It has
+ driven you back in California and in Kansas; it will invade you
+ soon in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and Texas. It
+ will meet you in Arizona, in Central America, and even in Cuba.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "You may, indeed, get a start under or near the tropics, and seem
+ safe for a time, but it will be only a short time. Even there you
+ will found States only for free labor, or to maintain and occupy.
+ The interest of the whole race demands the ultimate emancipation
+ of all men. Whether that consummation shall be allowed to take
+ effect, with needful and wise precautions against sudden change
+ and disaster, or be hurried on by violence, is all that remains
+ for you to decide. The white man needs this continent to labor
+ upon. His head is clear, his arm is strong, and his necessities
+ are fixed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "It is for yourselves, and not for us, to decide how long and
+ through what further mortifications and disasters the contest
+ shall be protracted before Freedom shall enjoy her already
+ assured triumph.
+
+ "You may refuse to yield it now, and for a short period, but your
+ refusal will only animate the friends of freedom with the courage
+ and the resolution, and produce the union among them, which alone
+ is necessary on their part to attain the position itself,
+ simultaneously with the impending overthrow of the existing
+ Federal Administration and the constitution of a new and more
+ independent Congress."
+
+Mr. Lincoln said during a discussion of the impending crisis:
+
+ "I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave
+ and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do
+ not expect the house to fall, but I do expect that it will cease
+ to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.
+ Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of
+ it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief
+ that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates
+ will push it forward until it shall become alike lawful in all
+ the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.
+
+ "I have always hated slavery as much as any Abolitionist. I have
+ always been an old-line Whig. I have always hated it, and I
+ always believed it in a course of ultimate extinction. If I were
+ in Congress, and a vote should come up on a question whether
+ slavery should be prohibited in a new territory, in spite of the
+ Dred Scott decision I would vote that it should."
+
+Notwithstanding the confident tone of Mr. Lincoln's statement that he
+did "not expect the house to fall," it _did_ fall, and great was the
+fall thereof!
+
+On Saturday, 9th of February, 1861, six seceding States met at
+Montgomery, Alabama, and organized an independent government. The
+ordinances of secession were passed by the States as follows:
+
+ STATE. DATE. YEAS. NAYS.
+ South Carolina Dec. 20, 1860 169 ----
+ Mississippi Jan. 9, 1861 84 15
+ Alabama Jan. 11, 1861 61 39
+ Florida Jan. 11, 1861 62 7
+ Georgia Jan. 19, 1861 228 89
+ Louisiana Jan. 25, 1861 113 17
+
+The following delegates presented their credentials and were admitted
+and represented their respective States:
+
+ ALABAMA.--R. W. Walker, R. H. Smith, J. L. M. Curry, W. P.
+ Chilton, S. F. Hale Colon, J. McRae, John Gill Shorter, David P.
+ Lewis, Thomas Fearn.
+
+ FLORIDA.--James B. Owens, J. Patten Anderson, Jackson Morton (not
+ present).
+
+ GEORGIA.--Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, F. S. Bartow, M. J.
+ Crawford, E. A. Nisbet, B. H. Hill, A. R. Wright, Thomas R. Cobb,
+ A. H. Kenan, A. H. Stephens.
+
+ LOUISIANA.--John Perkins, Jr., A. Declonet, Charles M. Conrad, D.
+ F. Kenner, G. E. Sparrow, Henry Marshall.
+
+ MISSISSIPPI.--W. P. Harris, Walter Brooke, N. S. Wilson, A. M.
+ Clayton, W. S. Barry, J. T. Harrison.
+
+ SOUTH CAROLINA.--R. B. Rhett, R. W. Barnwell, L. M. Keitt, James
+ Chestnut, Jr., C. G. Memminger, W. Porcher Miles, Thomas J.
+ Withers, W. W. Boyce.
+
+A president and vice-president were chosen by unanimous vote.
+President--Honorable Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi.
+Vice-President--Honorable Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia. The
+following gentlemen composed the Cabinet:
+
+Secretary of State, Robert Toombs; Secretary of Treasury, C. G.
+Memminger; Secretary of Interior (Vacancy); Secretary of War, L. P.
+Walker; Secretary of Navy, John Perkins, Jr.; Postmaster-General, H.
+T. Ebett; Attorney-General, J. P. Benjamin.
+
+The Constitution of the Confederate Government did not differ so very
+radically from the Federal Constitution. The following were the chief
+points:
+
+ "1. The importation of African negroes from any foreign country
+ other than the slave-holding States of the Confederate States is
+ hereby forbidden, and Congress is required to pass such laws as
+ shall effectually prevent the same.
+
+ "2. Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction
+ of slaves from any State not a member of this Confederacy.
+
+ "The Congress shall have power:
+
+ "1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, for
+ revenue necessary to pay the debts and carry on the government of
+ the Confederacy, and all duties, imposts, and excises shall be
+ uniform throughout the Confederacy.
+
+ "A slave in one State escaping to another shall be delivered,
+ upon the claim of the party to whom said slave may belong, by the
+ Executive authority of the State in which such slave may be
+ found; and in any case of abduction or forcible rescue, full
+ compensation, including the value of slave, and all costs and
+ expense, shall be made to the party by the State in which such
+ abduction or rescue shall take place.
+
+ "2. The government hereby instituted shall take immediate step's
+ for the settlement of all matters between the States forming it
+ and their late confederates of the United States in relation to
+ the public property and public debt at the time of their
+ withdrawal from them; these States hereby declaring it to be
+ their wish and earnest desire to adjust everything pertaining to
+ the common property, common liabilities, and common obligations
+ of that Union, upon principles of right, justice, equity, and
+ good faith."
+
+At first blush it would appear that the new government had not been
+erected upon the slave question; that it had gone as far as the
+Federal Government to suppress the foreign slave-trade; and that
+nobler and sublimer ideas and motives had inspired and animated the
+Southern people in their movement for a new government. But the men
+who wrote the Confederate platform knew what they were about. They
+knew that to avoid the charge that would certainly be made against
+them, of having seceded in order to make slavery a national
+institution, they must be careful not to exhibit such intentions in
+their Constitution. But that the South seceded on account of the
+slavery question, there can be no historical doubt whatever. Jefferson
+Davis, President, so-called, of the Confederate Government, said in
+his Message, April 29, 1861:
+
+ "When the several States delegated certain powers to the United
+ States Congress, a large portion of the laboring population
+ consisted of African slaves, imported into the colonies by the
+ mother-country. In twelve out of the thirteen States, negro
+ slavery existed; and the right of property in slaves was
+ protected by law. This property was recognized in the
+ Constitution; and provision was made against its loss by the
+ escape of the slave.
+
+ "The increase in the number of slaves by further importation from
+ Africa was also secured by a clause forbidding Congress to
+ prohibit the slave-trade anterior to a certain date; and in no
+ clause can there be found any delegation of power to the
+ Congress, authorizing it in any manner to legislate to the
+ prejudice, detriment, or discouragement of the owners of that
+ species of property, or excluding it from the protection of the
+ Government.
+
+ "The climate and soil of the Northern States soon proved
+ unpropitious to the continuance of slave labor; whilst the
+ converse was the case at the South. Under the unrestricted free
+ intercourse between the two sections, the Northern States
+ consulted their own interest, by selling their slaves to the
+ South, and prohibiting slavery within their limits. The South
+ were willing purchasers of a property suitable to their wants,
+ and paid the price of the acquisition without harboring a
+ suspicion that their quiet possession was to be disturbed by
+ those who were inhibited not only by want of constitutional
+ authority, but by good faith as vendors, from disquieting a title
+ emanating from themselves.
+
+ "As soon, however, as the Northern States that prohibited
+ African slavery within their limits had reached a number
+ sufficient to give their representation a controlling voice in
+ the Congress, a persistent and organized system of hostile
+ measures against the rights of the owners of slaves in the
+ Southern States was inaugurated, and gradually extended. A
+ continuous series of measures was devised and prosecuted for the
+ purpose of rendering insecure the tenure of property in slaves.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "With interests of such overwhelming magnitude imperilled, the
+ people of the Southern States were driven by the conduct of the
+ North to the adoption of some course of action to avoid the
+ danger with which they were openly menaced. With this view, the
+ Legislatures of the several States invited the people to select
+ delegates to conventions to be held for the purpose of
+ determining for themselves what measures were best adapted to
+ meet so alarming a crisis in their history."[72]
+
+Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President, as he was called, said, in a
+speech delivered at Savannah, Georgia, 21st of March, 1861:
+
+ "The new Constitution has put at rest _forever_ all the agitating
+ questions relating to our peculiar institution,--African slavery
+ as it exists amongst us, the proper status of the negro in our
+ form of civilization. _This was the immediate cause of the late
+ rupture and present revolution._ JEFFERSON, in his forecast, had
+ anticipated this, as the 'rock upon which the old Union would
+ split.' He was right. What was conjecture with him is now a
+ realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth
+ upon which that great rock _stood_ and _stands_, may be doubted.
+ _The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading
+ statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution,
+ were, that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the
+ laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially,
+ morally, and politically._ It was an evil they knew not well how
+ to deal with; but the general opinion of the men of that day was,
+ that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the
+ institution would be evanescent, and pass away. This idea, though
+ not incorporated in the Constitution, was the prevailing idea at
+ the time. The Constitution, it is true, secured every essential
+ guarantee to the institution while it should last; and hence no
+ argument can be justly used against the constitutional guarantees
+ thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. _Those
+ ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the
+ assumption of the equality of races. This was an error._ It was a
+ sandy foundation; and the idea of a government built upon
+ it,--when the 'storm came and the wind blew, it _fell_.'
+
+ "_Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas.
+ Its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great
+ truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that
+ slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and
+ normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the
+ history of the world, based upon this great physical,
+ philosophical, and moral truth._ This truth has been slow in the
+ process of its development, like all other truths in the various
+ departments of science. It has been so even amongst us. Many who
+ hear me, perhaps, can recollect well that this truth was not
+ generally admitted, even within their day."[73]
+
+Now, then, what was the real issue between the Confederate States and
+the United States? Why, it was extension of slavery by the former, and
+the restriction of slavery by the latter. To put the issue as it was
+understood by Northern men--in poetic language, it was "_The Union as
+it is_." While the South, at length, through its leaders, acknowledged
+that slavery was their issue, the North, standing upon the last
+analysis of the Free-Soil idea of resistance to the further
+inoculation of free territory with the virus of slavery, refused to
+recognize slavery as an issue. But what did the battle cry of the
+loyal North, "_The Union as it is_," mean? A Union half free and half
+slave; a dual government, if not in fact, certainly in the brains and
+hearts of the people; two civilizations at eternal and inevitable war
+with each other; a Union with the canker-worm of slavery in it,
+impairing its strength every year and threatening its life; a Union in
+which two hostile ideas of political economy were at work, and where
+unpaid slave labor was inimical to the interests of the free
+workingmen. And it should not be forgotten that the Republican party
+acknowledged the right of Southerns to hunt slaves in the free States,
+and to return such slaves, under the fugitive-slave law, to their
+masters. Mr. Lincoln was not an Abolitionist, as many people think.
+His position on the question was clearly stated in the answers he gave
+to a number of questions put to him by Judge Douglass in the latter
+part of the summer of 1858. Mr. Lincoln said:
+
+ "Having said this much, I will take up the judge's
+ interrogatories as I find them printed in the Chicago 'Times,'
+ and answer them _seriatim_. In order that there may be no mistake
+ about it, I have copied the interrogatories in writing, and also
+ my answers to them. The first one of these interrogatories is in
+ these words:
+
+ "Question 1. 'I desire to know whether Lincoln to-day stands, as
+ he did in 1854, in favor of the unconditional repeal of the
+ Fugitive-Slave Law?'
+
+ "Answer. I do not now, nor ever did, stand in favor of the
+ unconditional repeal of the Fugitive-Slave Law.
+
+ "Q. 2. 'I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to-day,
+ as he did in 1854, against the admission of any more slave States
+ into the Union, even if the people want them?'
+
+ "A. I do not now, nor ever did, stand pledged against the
+ admission of any more slave States into the Union.
+
+ "Q. 3. 'I want to know whether he stands pledged against the
+ admission of a new State into the Union with such a constitution
+ as the people of that State may see fit to make.'
+
+ "Q. 4. 'I want to know whether he stands to-day pledged to the
+ abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia?'
+
+ "A. I do not stand to-day pledged to the abolition of slavery in
+ the District of Columbia.
+
+ "Q. 5. 'I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to the
+ prohibition of the slave-trade between the different States?'
+
+ "A. I do not stand pledged to the prohibition of the slave-trade
+ between the different States.
+
+ "Q. 6. 'I desire to know whether he stands pledged to prohibit
+ slavery in all the territories of the United States, north as
+ well as south of the Missouri Compromise line?'
+
+ "A. I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the
+ _right_ and _duty_ of Congress to prohibit slavery in all the
+ United States territories. [Great applause.]
+
+ "Q. 7. 'I desire him to answer whether he is opposed to the
+ acquisition of any new territory unless slavery is first
+ prohibited therein?'
+
+ "A. I am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of
+ territory; and, in any given case, I would or would not oppose
+ such acquisition, accordingly as I might think such acquisition
+ would or would not agitate the slavery question among ourselves.
+
+ "Now, my friends, it will be perceived upon an examination of
+ these questions and answers, that so far I have only answered
+ that I was not _pledged_ to this, that, or the other. The judge
+ has not framed his interrogatories to ask me any thing more than
+ this, and I have answered in strict accordance with the
+ interrogatories, and have answered truly that I am not _pledged_
+ at all upon any of the points to which I have answered. But I am
+ not disposed to hang upon the exact form of his interrogatories.
+ I am rather disposed to take up at least some of these questions,
+ and state what I really think upon them.
+
+ "As to the first one, in regard to the Fugitive-Slave Law, I have
+ never hesitated to say, and I do not now hesitate to say, that I
+ think, under the Constitution of the United States, the people of
+ the Southern States are entitled to a congressional slave law.
+ Having said that, I have had nothing to say in regard to the
+ existing Fugitive-Slave Law, further than that I think it should
+ have been framed so as to be free from some of the objections
+ that pertain to it, without lessening its efficiency. And
+ inasmuch as we are not now in an agitation in regard to an
+ alteration or modification of that law, I would not be the man to
+ introduce it as a new subject of agitation upon the general
+ question of slavery.
+
+ "In regard to the other question, of whether I am pledged to the
+ admission of any more slave States into the Union, I state to you
+ very frankly that I would be exceedingly sorry ever to be put in
+ a position of having to pass upon that question. I should be
+ exceedingly glad to know that there would never be another slave
+ State admitted into the Union; but I must add, that if slavery
+ shall be kept out of the territories during the territorial
+ existence of any one given territory, and then the people shall,
+ having a fair chance and a clear field, when they come to adopt
+ the constitution, do such an extraordinary thing as to adopt a
+ slave constitution, uninfluenced by the actual presence of the
+ institution among them, I see no alternative, if we own the
+ country, but to admit them into the Union. [Applause.]
+
+ "The third interrogatory is answered by the answer to the second,
+ it being, as I conceive, the same as the second.
+
+ "The fourth one is in regard to the abolition of slavery in the
+ District of Columbia. In relation to that I have my mind very
+ distinctly made up. I should be exceedingly glad to see slavery
+ abolished in the District of Columbia. I believe that Congress
+ possesses the constitutional power to abolish it. Yet, as a
+ member of Congress, I should not, with my present views, be in
+ favor of _endeavoring_ to abolish slavery in the District of
+ Columbia, unless it would be upon these conditions: _First_, that
+ the abolition should be gradual; _second_, that it should be on a
+ vote of the majority of qualified voters in the district; and,
+ _third_, that compensation should be made to unwilling owners.
+ With these three conditions I confess I would be exceedingly glad
+ to see Congress abolish slavery in the District of Columbia; and,
+ in the language of Henry Clay, 'sweep from our capital that foul
+ blot upon our nation.'
+
+ "In regard to the fifth interrogatory, I must say here that, as
+ to the question of the abolition of the slave-trade between the
+ different States, I can truly answer, as I have, that I am
+ _pledged_ to nothing about it. It is a subject to which I have
+ not given that mature consideration that would make me feel
+ authorized to state a position so as to hold myself entirely
+ bound by it. In other words, that question has never been
+ prominently enough before me to induce me to investigate whether
+ we really have the constitutional power to do it. I could
+ investigate it, if I had sufficient time, to bring myself to a
+ conclusion upon that subject; but I have not done so, and I say
+ so frankly to you here, and to Judge Douglass. I must say,
+ however, that if I should be of opinion that Congress does
+ possess the constitutional power to abolish slave-trading among
+ the different States, I should still not be in favor of the
+ exercise of that power unless upon some conservative principle as
+ I conceive it, akin to what I have said in relation to the
+ abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
+
+ "My answer as to whether I desire that slavery should be
+ prohibited in all territories of the United States, is full and
+ explicit within itself, and cannot be made clearer by any
+ comments of mine. So, I suppose, in regard to the question
+ whether I am opposed to the acquisition of any more territory
+ unless slavery is first prohibited therein, my answer is such
+ that I could add nothing by way of illustration, or making myself
+ better understood, than the answer which I have placed in
+ writing.
+
+ "Now, in all this the judge has me, and he has me on the record.
+ I suppose he had flattered himself that I was really entertaining
+ one set of opinions for one place, and another set for another
+ place--that I was afraid to say at one place what I uttered at
+ another. What I am saying here I suppose I say to a vast audience
+ as strongly tending to abolitionism as any audience in the State
+ of Illinois, and I believe I am saying that which, if it would be
+ offensive to any persons and render them enemies to myself, would
+ be offensive to persons in this audience."[74]
+
+Here, then, is the position of Mr. Lincoln set forth with deliberation
+and care. He was opposed to any coercive measures in settling the
+slavery question; he was for gradual emancipation; and for admitting
+States into the Union with a slave constitution. Within twenty-four
+months, without a change of views, he was nominated for and elected to
+the Presidency of the United States.
+
+With no disposition to interfere with the institution of slavery, Mr.
+Lincoln found himself chief magistrate of a great _nation_ in the
+midst of a great rebellion. And in his inaugural address on the 4th of
+March, 1861, he referred to the question of slavery again in a manner
+too clear to admit of misconception, affirming his previous views:
+
+ "There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives
+ from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly
+ written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions:
+
+ "'No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws
+ thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law
+ or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor,
+ but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such
+ service or labor may be due.'
+
+ "It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by
+ those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive
+ slaves; and the intention of the lawgiver is the law.
+
+ "All members of Congress swear their support to the whole
+ Constitution--to this provision as well as any other. To the
+ proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms
+ of this clause 'shall be delivered up,' their oaths are
+ unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper,
+ could they not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and pass a law
+ by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath?
+
+ "There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should
+ be enforced by National or by State authority; but surely that
+ difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be
+ surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to
+ others by which authority it is done; and should any one, in any
+ case, be content that this oath shall go unkept on a merely
+ unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept?"
+
+So the issues were joined in war. The South aggressively, offensively
+sought the extension and perpetuation of slavery. The North passively,
+defensively stood ready to protect her free territory, but not to
+interfere with slavery. And there was no day during the first two
+years of the war when the North would not have cheerfully granted the
+slave institution an indefinite lease of _legal_ existence upon the
+condition that the war should cease.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[72] National Intelligencer, Tuesday, May 7, 1861.
+
+[73] National Intelligencer, Tuesday, April, 2, 1861.
+
+[74] Barrett, pp. 177-180.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+"A WHITE MAN'S WAR."
+
+ THE FIRST CALL FOR TROOPS.--RENDITION OF FUGITIVE SLAVES BY THE
+ ARMY.--COL. TYLER'S ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA.--GENERAL
+ ISAAC R. SHERWOOD'S ACCOUNT OF AN ATTEMPT TO SECURE A FUGITIVE
+ SLAVE IN HIS CHARGE.--COL. STEEDMAN REFUSES TO HAVE HIS CAMP
+ SEARCHED FOR FUGITIVE SLAVES, BY ORDER FROM GEN. FRY.--LETTER
+ FROM GEN. BUELL IN DEFENCE OF THE REBELS IN THE SOUTH.--ORDERS
+ ISSUED BY GENERALS HOOKER, WILLIAMS, AND OTHERS, IN REGARD TO
+ HARBORING FUGITIVE SLAVES IN UNION CAMPS.--OBSERVATION CONCERNING
+ SLAVERY FROM THE "ARMY OF THE POTOMAC."--GEN. BUTLER'S LETTER TO
+ GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT.--IT IS ANSWERED BY THE SECRETARY OF
+ WAR.--HORACE GREELEY'S LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT.--PRESIDENT
+ LINCOLN'S REPLY.--GEN. JOHN C. FREMONT, COMMANDER OF THE UNION
+ ARMY IN MISSOURI, ISSUES A PROCLAMATION EMANCIPATING SLAVES IN
+ HIS DISTRICT.--IT IS DISAPPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT.--EMANCIPATION
+ PROCLAMATION BY GEN. HUNTER.--IT IS RESCINDED BY THE
+ PRESIDENT.--SLAVERY AND UNION JOINED IN A DESPERATE STRUGGLE.
+
+
+When the war clouds broke over the country and hostilities began, the
+North counted the Negro on the outside of the issue. The Federal
+Government planted itself upon the policy of the "defence of the free
+States,"--pursued a defensive rather than an offensive policy. And,
+whenever the Negro was mentioned, the leaders of the political parties
+and the Union army declared that it was "_a white mans war_."
+
+The first call for three months' troops indicated that the authorities
+at Washington felt confident that the "trouble" would not last long.
+The call was issued on the 15th of April, 1861, and provided for the
+raising of 75,000 troops. It was charged by the President that certain
+States had been guilty of forming "combinations too powerful to be
+suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings," and then
+he proceeded to state:
+
+ "The details for this object will be immediately communicated to
+ the State authorities through the War Department. I appeal to all
+ loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to
+ maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our
+ National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and to
+ redress wrongs already long enough endured. I deem it proper to
+ say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called
+ forth, will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and
+ property which have been seized from the Union; and in every
+ event the utmost care will be observed, consistently with the
+ objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of,
+ or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful
+ citizens of any part of the country; and I hereby command the
+ persons composing the combinations aforesaid, to disperse and
+ retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days
+ from this date."[75]
+
+There was scarcely a city in the North, from New York to San
+Francisco, whose Colored residents did not speedily offer their
+services to the States to aid in suppressing the Rebellion. But
+everywhere as promptly were their services declined. The Colored
+people of the Northern States were patriotic and enthusiastic; but
+their interest was declared insolence. And being often rebuked for
+their loyalty, they subsided into silence to bide a change of public
+sentiment.
+
+The almost unanimous voice of the press and pulpit was against a
+recognition of the Negro as the cause of the war. Like a man in the
+last stages of consumption who insists that he has only a bad cold, so
+the entire North urged that slavery was not the cause of the war: it
+was a little local misunderstanding. But the death of the gallant Col.
+Elmer E. Elsworth palsied the tongues of mere talkers; and in the
+tragic silence that followed, great, brave, and true men began to
+think.
+
+Not a pulpit in all the land had spoken a word for the slave. The
+clergy stood dumb before the dreadful issue. But one man was found,
+like David of old, who, gathering his smooth pebble of fact from the
+brook of God's eternal truth, boldly met the boastful and erroneous
+public sentiment of the hour. That man was the Rev. Justin D. Fulton,
+a Baptist minister of Albany, New York. He was chosen to preach the
+funeral sermon of Col. Elsworth, and performed that duty on Sunday,
+May 26, 1861. Speaking of slavery, the reverend gentleman said:
+
+ "Shall this magazine of danger be permitted to remain? _We must
+ answer this question. If we say no, it is no!_ Slavery is a curse
+ to the North. It impoverishes the South, and demoralizes both. It
+ is the parent of treason, the seedling of tyranny, and the
+ fountain-source of all the ills that have infected our life as a
+ people, being the central cause of all our conflicts of the past
+ and the war of to-day. What reason have we for permitting it to
+ remain? God does not want it, for His truth gives freedom. The
+ South does not need it, for it is the chain fastened to her limb
+ that fetters her progress. Morality, patriotism, and humanity
+ alike protest against it.
+
+ "The South fights for slavery, for the despotism which it
+ represents, for the ignoring the rights of labor, and for
+ reducing to slavery or to serfdom all whose hands are hardened by
+ toil.
+
+ "Why not make the issue at once, which shall inspire every man
+ that shoulders his musket with a noble purpose? Our soldiers need
+ to be reminded that this government was consecrated to freedom by
+ those who first built here the altars of worship, and planted on
+ the shore of the Western Continent the tree of liberty, whose
+ fruit to-day fills the garners of national hope.... I would not
+ forget that I am a messenger of the Prince of Peace. My motives
+ for throwing out these suggestions are three-fold: 1. Because I
+ believe God wants us to be actuated by motives not one whit less
+ philanthropic than the giving of freedom to four million of
+ people. 2. I confess to a sympathy for and faith in the slave,
+ and cherish the belief that if freed, the war would become
+ comparatively bloodless, and that as a people we should enter on
+ the discharge of higher duties and a more enlarged prosperity. 3.
+ The war would hasten to a close, and the end secured would then
+ form a brilliant dawn to a career of prosperity unsurpassed in
+ the annals of mankind."[76]
+
+Brave, prophetic words! But a thousand vituperative editors sprang at
+Mr. Fulton's utterances, and as snapping curs, growled at and shook
+every sentence. He stood his ground. He took no step backward. When
+notice was kindly sent him that a committee would wait on him to treat
+him to a coat of tar and feathers, against the entreaties of anxious
+friends, he sent word that he would give them a warm reception. When
+the best citizens of Albany said the draft could not be enforced
+without bloody resistance, the Rev. Mr. Fulton exclaimed: "If the
+floodgates of blood are to be opened, we will not shoot down the poor
+and ignorant, but the swaggering and insolent men whose hearts are not
+in this war!"
+
+The "Atlas and Argus," in an editorial on _Ill-Timed Pulpit
+Abolitionism_, denounced Rev. Mr. Fulton in bitterest terms; while the
+"Evening Standard" and "Journal" both declared that the views of the
+preacher were as a fire-brand thrown into the magazine of public
+sentiment.
+
+Everywhere throughout the North the Negro was counted as on the
+outside. Everywhere it was merely "a war for the Union," which was
+half free and half slave.
+
+When the Union army got into the field at the South it was confronted
+by a difficult question. What should be done with the Negroes who
+sought the Union lines for protection from their masters? The
+sentiment of the press, Congress, and the people of the North
+generally, was against interference with the slave, either by the
+civil or military authorities. And during the first years of the war
+the army became a band of slave-catchers. Slave-holders and sheriffs
+from the Southern States were permitted to hunt fugitive slaves under
+the Union flag and within the lines of Federal camps. On the 22d of
+June, 1861, the following paragraph appeared in the "Baltimore
+American":
+
+ "Two free negroes, belonging to Frederick, Md., who concealed
+ themselves in the cars which conveyed the Rhode Island regiment
+ to Washington from this city, were returned that morning by
+ command of Colonel Burnside, who _supposed them to be slaves_.
+ The negroes were accompanied by a sergeant of the regiment, who
+ lodged them in jail."
+
+On the 4th of July, 1861, Col. Tyler, of the 7th Ohio regiment,
+delivered an address to the people of Virginia; a portion of which is
+sufficient to show the feeling that prevailed among army officers on
+the slavery question:
+
+ "To you, fellow-citizens of West Virginia--many of whom I have so
+ long and favorably known,--I come to aid and protect. [The
+ grammar is defective.]
+
+ "I have no selfish ambition to gratify, no personal motives to
+ actuate. I am here to protect you in person and property--to aid
+ you in the execution of the law, in the maintenance of peace and
+ order, in the defence of the Constitution and the Union, and in
+ the extermination of our common foe. As our enemies have belied
+ our mission, and represented us as a band of Abolitionists, I
+ desire to assure you that the relation of master and servant as
+ recognized in your State shall be respected. Your authority over
+ that species of property shall not in the least be interfered
+ with. To this end I assure you that those under my command have
+ peremptory orders to take up and hold any negroes found running
+ about the camp without passes from their masters."
+
+When a few copies had been struck off, a lieutenant in Captain G. W.
+Shurtleff's company handed him one. He waited upon the colonel, and
+told him that it was not true that the troops had been ordered to
+arrest fugitive slaves. The colonel threatened to place Captain
+Shurtleff in arrest, when he exclaimed: "I'll never be a
+slave-catcher, so help me God!" There were few men in the army at this
+time who sympathized with such a noble declaration, and, therefore,
+Captain Shurtleff found himself in a very small minority.
+
+The following account of an attempt to secure a fugitive slave from
+General Isaac R. Sherwood has its historical value. General Sherwood
+was as noble a _man_ as he was a brave and intelligent soldier. He
+obeyed the still small voice in his soul and won a victory for
+humanity:
+
+ "In the February and March of 1863, I was a major in command of
+ 111th O. V. I regiment. I had a servant, as indicated by army
+ regulations, in charge of my private horse. He was from
+ Frankfort, Ky., the property of a Baptist clergyman. When the
+ troops passed through Frankfort, in the fall of 1862, he left his
+ master, and followed the army. He came to me at Bowling Green,
+ and I hired him to take care of my horse. He was a lad about
+ fifteen years old, named _Alfred Jackson_.
+
+ "At this time, Brig.-Gen. Boyle, or Boyd (I think Boyle), was in
+ command of the District of Kentucky, and had issued his general
+ order, that fugitive slaves should be delivered up. Brig.-Gen. H.
+ M. Judah was in command of Post of Bowling Green, also of our
+ brigade, there stationed.
+
+ "The owner of Alfred Jackson found out his whereabouts, and sent
+ a U. S. marshal to Bowling Green to get him. Said marshal came to
+ my headquarters under a pretence to see my very fine
+ saddle-horse, but really to identify Alfred Jackson. The horse
+ was brought out by Alfred Jackson. The marshal went to Brig.-Gen.
+ Judah's headquarters and got a written order addressed to me,
+ describing the lad and ordering me to deliver the boy. This order
+ was delivered to me by Col. Sterling, of Gen. Judah's staff, in
+ person. I refused to obey it. I sent word to Gen. Judah that he
+ could have my sword, but while I commanded that regiment no
+ fugitive slave should ever be delivered to his master. The
+ officer made my compliments to Gen. Judah as aforesaid, and I was
+ placed under arrest for disobedience to orders, and my sword
+ taken from me.
+
+ "In a few days the command was ordered to move to Glasgow, Ky.,
+ and Gen. Judah, not desiring to trust the regiment in command of
+ a captain, I was temporarily restored to command, pending the
+ meeting of a court-martial to try my case. When the command moved
+ I took Alfred Jackson along. After we reached Glasgow, Ky., Gen.
+ Judah sent for me, and said if I would then deliver up Alfred
+ Jackson he would restore me to command. The United States marshal
+ was present. This I again refused to do.
+
+ "The same day, I sent an ambulance out of the lines, with Alfred
+ Jackson tucked under the seat, in charge of a man going North,
+ and I gave him money to get to Hillsdale, Michigan, where he
+ went, and where he resided and grew up to be a good man and a
+ citizen. I called the attention of Hon. James M. Ashley (then
+ Member of Congress) to the matter, and under instructions from
+ Secretary Stanton, Gen. Boyle's order was revoked, and I never
+ delivered a fugitive, nor was I ever tried."
+
+In Mississippi, in 1862, Col. James B. Steedman (afterward
+major-general) refused to honor an order of Gen. Fry, delivered by the
+man who wanted the slave in Steedman's camp. Col. Steedman read the
+order and told the bearer that he was a rebel; that he could not
+search _his_ camp; and that he would give him just ten minutes to get
+out of the camp, or he would riddle him with bullets. When Gen. Fry
+asked for an explanation of his refusal to allow his camp to be
+searched, Col. Steedman said he would never consent to have his camp
+searched by a _rebel_; that he would use every bayonet in his regiment
+to protect the Negro slave who had come to him for protection; and
+that he was sustained by the Articles of War, which had been amended
+about that time.
+
+Again, in the late summer of 1863, at Tuscumbia, Tennessee, Gen. Fry
+rode into Col. Steedman's camp to secure the return of the slaves of
+an old lady whom he had known before the war. Col. Steedman said he
+did not know that any slaves were in his camp; and that if they were
+there they should not be taken except they were willing to go. Gen.
+Fry was a Christian gentleman of a high Southern type, and combined
+with his loyalty to the Union an abiding faith in "the sacredness of
+slave property." Whether he ever recovered from the malady, history
+saith not.
+
+The great majority of regular army officers were in sympathy with the
+idea of protecting slave property. Gen. T. W. Sherman, occupying the
+defences of Port Royal, in October, 1861, issued the following
+proclamation to the people of South Carolina:
+
+ "In obedience to the orders of the President of these United
+ States of America, I have landed on your shores with a small
+ force of National troops. The dictates of a duty which, under
+ the Constitution, I owe to a great sovereign State, and to a
+ proud and hospitable people, among whom I have passed some of the
+ pleasantest days of my life, prompt me to proclaim that we have
+ come among you with no feelings of personal animosity; no desire
+ to harm your citizens, destroy your property, or interfere with
+ any of your lawful rights, or your social and local institutions,
+ beyond what the causes herein briefly alluded to may render
+ unavoidable."[77]
+
+This proclamation sounds as if the general were a firm believer in
+State sovereignty; and that he was possessed with a feeling that he
+had landed in some strange land, among a people of different
+civilization and peculiar institutions.
+
+On the 13th of November, 1861, Major-Gen. John A. Dix, upon taking
+possession of the counties of Accomac and Northampton, Va., issued the
+following proclamation:
+
+ "The military forces of the United States are about to enter your
+ counties as a part of the Union. They will go among you as
+ friends, and with the earnest hope that they may not, by your own
+ acts, be compelled to become your enemies. They will invade no
+ right of person or property. On the contrary, your laws, your
+ institutions, your usages, will be scrupulously respected. There
+ need be no fear that the quietude of any fireside will be
+ disturbed, unless the disturbance is caused by yourselves.
+
+ "Special directions have been given not to interfere with the
+ condition of any person held to domestic servitude; and, in order
+ that there may be no ground for mistake or pretext for
+ misrepresentation, commanders of regiments or corps have been
+ instructed not to permit such persons to come within their
+ lines."[78]
+
+Gen. Halleck, while in command of the Union forces in Missouri, issued
+his "Order No. 3." as follows:
+
+ "It has been represented that important information, respecting
+ the number and condition of our forces, is conveyed to the enemy
+ by means of fugitive slaves who are admitted within our lines. In
+ order to remedy this evil, it is directed that no such person be
+ hereafter permitted to enter the lines of any camp, or of any
+ forces on the march, and that any now within such lines be
+ immediately excluded therefrom."
+
+On the 23d of February, 1862, in "Order No. 13," he referred to the
+slave question as follows:
+
+ "It does not belong to the military to decide upon the relation
+ of master and slave. Such questions must be settled by the civil
+ courts. No fugitive slaves will, therefore, be admitted within
+ our lines or camps, except when specially ordered by the general
+ commanding."
+
+On the 18th of February, 1862, Major-Gen. A. E. Burnside issued a
+proclamation in which he said to the people:
+
+ "The Government asks only that its authority may be recognized;
+ and we repeat, in no manner or way does it desire to interfere
+ with your laws, constitutionally established, your institutions
+ of any kind whatever, your property of any sort, or your usages
+ in any respect."
+
+The following letter from Gen. Buell shows how deeply attached he was
+to the "constitutional guaranties" accorded to the rebels of the
+South:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, }
+ "NASHVILLE, March 6, 1862. }
+
+ "_Dear Sir_: I have the honor to receive your communication of
+ the 1st instant, on the subject of fugitive slaves in the camps
+ of the army.
+
+ "It has come to my knowledge that slaves sometimes make their way
+ improperly into our lines; and in some instances they may be
+ enticed there; but I think the number has been magnified by
+ report. Several applications have been made to me by persons
+ whose servants have been found in our camps; and in every
+ instance that I know of the master has recovered his servant and
+ taken him away.
+
+ "I need hardly remind you that there will always be found some
+ lawless and mischievous person in every army; but I assure you
+ that the mass of this army is law-abiding, and that it is neither
+ its disposition nor its policy to violate law or the rights of
+ individuals in any particular. With great respect, your obedient
+ servant,
+
+ "D. C. BUELL,
+ "_Brig.-Gen. Commanding Department._
+
+ "Hon. J. R. UNDERWOOD, _Chairman Military Committee_,
+ "Frankfort, Ky."
+
+So "in every instance" the master had recovered his slave when found
+in Gen. Buell's camp!
+
+On the 26th of March, 1862, Gen. Joseph Hooker, commanding the "Upper
+Potomac," issued the following order:
+
+ "_To Brigade and Regimental Commanders of this Division_:
+
+ "Messrs. Nally, Gray, Dunnington, Dent, Adams, Speake, Price,
+ Posey, and Cobey, citizens of Maryland, have negroes supposed to
+ be with some of the regiments of this division. The
+ brigadier-general commanding directs that they be permitted to
+ visit all the camps of his command, in search of their property;
+ and if found, that they be allowed to take possession of the
+ same, without any interference whatever. Should any obstacle be
+ thrown in their way by any officer or soldier in the division, he
+ will be at once reported by the regimental commander to these
+ headquarters."
+
+In the spring of 1862, Gen. Thos. Williams, in the Department of the
+Gulf, issued the following order[79]:
+
+ "In consequence of the demoralizing and disorganizing tendencies
+ to the troops of harboring runaway negroes, it is hereby ordered
+ that the respective commanders of the camps and garrisons of the
+ several regiments, 2d brigade, turn all such fugitives in their
+ camps or garrisons out beyond the limits of their respective
+ guards and sentinels.
+
+ "By order of
+ "Brig.-Gen. T. WILLIAMS."[80]
+
+In a letter dated "Headquarters Army of the Potomac, July 7, 1862,"
+Major-Gen. Geo. B. McClellan made the following observations
+concerning slavery:
+
+ "This Rebellion has assumed the character of a war; as such it
+ should be regarded; and it should be conducted upon the highest
+ principles known to Christian civilization. It should not be a
+ war looking to the subjugation of the people of any State, in any
+ event. It should not be at all a war upon populations, but
+ against armed forces and political organizations. Neither
+ confiscation of property, political executions of persons,
+ territorial organization of States, nor forcible abolition of
+ slavery should be contemplated for a moment."
+
+But the drift of the sentiment of the army was in the direction of
+compromise with the slavery question. Nearly every statesman at
+Washington--in the White House and in the Congress--and nearly every
+officer in the army regarded the Negro question as purely political
+and not military. That it was a problem hard of solution no one could
+doubt. Hundreds of loyal Negroes, upon the orders of general
+officers, were turned away from the Union lines, while those who had
+gotten on the inside were driven forth to the cruel vengeance of rebel
+masters. Who could solve the problem? Major-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler
+banished the politician, and became the loyal, patriotic _soldier_! In
+the month of May, 1861, during the time Gen. Butler commanded the
+Union forces at Fortress Monroe, three slaves made good their escape
+into his lines. They stated that they were owned by Col. Mallory, of
+the Confederate forces in the front; that he was about to send them to
+the North Carolina seaboard to work on rebel fortifications; and that
+the fortifications were intended to bar that coast against the Union
+arms. Having heard this statement, Gen. Butler, viewing the matter
+from a purely military stand-point, exclaimed: "These men are
+_contraband_ of war; set them at work." Here was a solution of the
+entire problem; here was a blow delivered at the backbone of the
+Rebellion. He claimed no right to act as a politician, but acting as a
+loyal-hearted, clear-headed _soldier_, he coined a word and hurled a
+shaft at the enemy that struck him in a part as vulnerable as the heel
+of Achilles. In his letter to the Lieut.-Gen. of the Army, Winfield
+Scott, 27th of May, 1861, he said:
+
+ "Since I wrote my last, the question in regard to slave property
+ is becoming one of very serious magnitude. The inhabitants of
+ Virginia are using their negroes in the batteries, and are
+ preparing to send their women and children South. The escapes
+ from them are very numerous, and a squad has come in this
+ morning, and my pickets are bringing in their women and children.
+ Of course these can not be dealt with upon the theory on which I
+ designed to treat the services of able-bodied men and women who
+ might come within my lines, and of which I gave you a detailed
+ account in my last dispatch.
+
+ "I am in the utmost doubt what to do with this species of
+ property. Up to this time I have had come within my lines men and
+ women, with their children,--entire families,--each family
+ belonging to the same owner. I have therefore determined to
+ employ--as I can do very profitably--the able-bodied persons in
+ the party, issuing proper food for the support of all; charging
+ against their services the expense of care and sustenance of the
+ non-laborers; keeping a strict and accurate account, as well of
+ the services as of the expenditures; having the worth of the
+ services and the cost of the expenditures determined by a board
+ of survey hereafter to be detailed. I know of no other manner in
+ which to dispose of this subject and the questions connected
+ therewith. As a matter of property, to the insurgents it will be
+ of very great moment--the number that I now have amounting, as I
+ am informed, to what in good times would be of the value of
+ $60,000.
+
+ "Twelve of these negroes, I am informed, have escaped from the
+ erection of the batteries on Sewell's Point, which fired upon my
+ expedition as it passed by out of range. As a means of offense,
+ therefore, in the enemy's hands, these negroes, when able-bodied,
+ are of great importance. Without them the batteries could not
+ have been erected; at least, for many weeks. As a military
+ question it would seem to be a measure of necessity, and deprives
+ their masters of their services.
+
+ "How can this be done? As a political question, and a question of
+ humanity, can I receive the services of a father and a mother and
+ not take the children? Of the humanitarian aspect, I have no
+ doubt; of the political one, I have no right to judge. I
+ therefore submit all this to your better judgment, and, as these
+ questions have a political aspect, I have ventured--and I trust I
+ am not wrong in so doing--to duplicate the parts of my dispatch
+ relating to this subject, and forward them to the Secretary of
+ War.
+
+ "Your obedient servant,
+ "BENJ. F. BUTLER.
+
+ "Lt.-General SCOTT."[81]
+
+The letter of Gen. Butler was laid before the Secretary of War, who
+answered it as follows:
+
+ "SIR: Your action in respect to the negroes who came within your
+ lines, from the service of the rebels, is approved. The
+ Department is sensible of the embarrassments which must surround
+ officers conducting military operations in a State, by the laws
+ of which slavery is sanctioned. The Government can not recognize
+ the rejection by any State of its Federal obligations, resting
+ upon itself. Among these Federal obligations, however, no one can
+ be more important than that of suppressing and dispersing any
+ combination of the former for the purpose of overthrowing its
+ whole constitutional authority. While, therefore, you will permit
+ no interference, by persons under your command, with the
+ relations of persons held to service under the laws of any State,
+ you will, on the other hand, so long as any State within which
+ your military operations are conducted remains under the control
+ of such armed combinations, refrain from surrendering to alleged
+ masters any persons who come within your lines. You will employ
+ such persons in the services to which they will be best adapted;
+ keeping an account of the labor by them performed, of the value
+ of it, and the expenses of their maintenance. The question of
+ their final disposition will be reserved for future
+ determination.
+
+ "SIMON CAMERON, _Secretary of War_.
+
+ "To Maj.-Gen. BUTLER.
+
+In an account of the life and services of Capt. Grier Talmadge, the
+"Times" correspondent says:
+
+ "To the deceased, who was conservative in his views and actions,
+ belongs the credit of first enunciating the 'contraband' idea as
+ subsequently applied in the practical treatment of the slaves of
+ rebels, Early in the spring of 1861, Flag-Officer Pendergrast, in
+ command of the frigate 'Cumberland,' then the vessel blockading
+ the Roads, restored to their owners certain slaves that had
+ escaped from Norfolk. Shortly after, the Flag-Officer, Gen.
+ Butler, Capt. Talmadge, and the writer chanced to meet in the
+ ramparts of the fortress, when Capt. T. took occasion, warmly,
+ but respectfully, to dissent from the policy of the act, and
+ proceeded to advance some arguments in support of his views.
+ Turning to Gen. Butler, who had just assumed command of this
+ department, he said: 'General, it is a question you will have to
+ decide, and that, too, very soon; for in less than twenty-four
+ hours deserting slaves will commence swarming to your lines. The
+ rebels are employing their slaves in thousands in constructing
+ batteries all around us. And, in my judgment, in view of this
+ fact, not only slaves who take refuge within our lines are
+ contrabands, but I hold it as much our duty to seize and capture
+ those employed, or intended to be employed, in constructing
+ batteries, as it is to destroy the arsenals or any other
+ war-making element of the rebels, or to capture and destroy the
+ batteries themselves.' Within two days after this conversation,
+ Gen. Butler has the question practically presented to him, as
+ predicted, and he solved it by applying the views advanced by the
+ deceased."[82]
+
+The conservative policy of Congress, the cringing attitude of the
+Government at Washington, the reverses on the Potomac, the disaster of
+Bull Run, the apologetic tone of the Northern press, the expulsion of
+slaves from the Union lines, and the conduct of "Copperheads" in the
+North--who crawled upon their stomachs, snapping and biting at the
+heels of Union men and Union measures,--bred a spirit of unrest and
+mob violence. It was not enough that the service of free Negroes was
+declined; they were now hunted out and persecuted by mobs and other
+agents of the disloyal element at the North. Like a man sick unto
+death the Government insisted that it only had a slight cold, and that
+it would be better soon. The President was no better informed as to
+the nature of the war than other conservative Republicans. On the 19th
+of August, 1862, Horace Greeley addressed an open letter to the
+President, known as "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," of which the
+following are specimen passages:
+
+ "On the face of this wide earth, Mr. President, there is not one
+ disinterested, determined, intelligent champion of the Union
+ cause who does not feel that all attempts to put down the
+ Rebellion, and at the same time uphold its inciting cause, are
+ preposterous and futile--that the Rebellion, if crushed out
+ to-morrow, would be renewed within a year if slavery were left in
+ full vigor--that army officers, who remain to this day devoted to
+ slavery, can at best be but half-way loyal to the Union--and that
+ every hour of deference to slavery is an hour of added and
+ deepened peril to the Union. I appeal to the testimony of your
+ Embassadors in Europe. It is freely at your service, not mine.
+ Ask them to tell you candidly whether the seeming subserviency of
+ your policy to the slave-holding, slavery-upholding interest, is
+ not the perplexity, the despair, of statesmen of all parties; and
+ be admonished by the general answer!
+
+ "I close, as I began, with the statement that what an immense
+ majority of the loyal millions of your countrymen require of you
+ is a frank, declared, unqualified, ungrudging execution of the
+ laws of the land, more especially of the Confiscation Act. That
+ Act gives freedom to the slaves of rebels coming within our
+ lines, or whom those lines may at any time inclose,--we ask you
+ to render it due obedience by publicly requiring all your
+ subordinates to recognize and obey it. The rebels are everywhere
+ using the late anti-negro riots in the North--as they have long
+ used your officers' treatment of negroes in the South--to
+ convince the slaves that they have nothing to hope from a Union
+ success--that we mean in that case to sell them into a bitter
+ bondage to defray the cost of the war. Let them impress this as a
+ truth on the great mass of their ignorant and credulous bondmen,
+ and the Union will never be restored--never. We can not conquer
+ ten millions of people united in solid phalanx against us,
+ powerfully aided by Northern sympathizers and European allies. We
+ must have scouts, guides, spies, cooks, teamsters, diggers, and
+ choppers, from the blacks of the South--whether we allow them to
+ fight for us or not--or we shall be baffled and repelled. As one
+ of the millions who would gladly have avoided this struggle at
+ any sacrifice but that of principle and honor, but who now feel
+ that the triumph of the Union is indispensable not only to the
+ existence of our country, but to the well-being of mankind, I
+ entreat you to render a hearty and unequivocal obedience to the
+ law of the land.
+
+ "Yours,
+ "HORACE GREELEY."[83]
+
+It was an open letter. Mr. Greeley had evidently lost sight of his
+economic theories as applied to slavery in the abstract, and now, as a
+practical philosopher, caught hold of the question by the handle. Mr.
+Lincoln replied within a few days, but was still joined to his
+abstract theories of constitutional law. He loved the Union, and all
+he should do for the slave should be done to help the Union, not the
+slave. He was not desirous of saving or destroying slavery. But
+certainly he had spoken more wisely than he knew when he had asserted,
+a few years before, that "a nation half free and half slave, could not
+long exist." That was an indestructible truth. Had he adhered to that
+doctrine the way would have been easier. In every thing he consulted
+the Constitution. His letter is interesting reading.
+
+ "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON,}
+ "August 22, 1862.}
+
+ "Hon. HORACE GREELEY:
+
+ "_Dear Sir_: I have just read yours of the 19th instant,
+ addressed to myself through the New York Tribune.
+
+ "If there be in it any statements or assumptions of fact which I
+ may know to be erroneous, I do not now and here controvert them.
+
+ "If there be any inferences which I may believe to be falsely
+ drawn, I do not now and here argue against them.
+
+ "If there be perceptible in it an impatient and dictatorial tone,
+ I waive it in deference to an old friend whose heart I have
+ always supposed to be right.
+
+ "As to the policy 'I seem to be pursuing,' as you say, I have not
+ meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would
+ save it in the shortest way under the Constitution.
+
+ "The sooner the national authority can be restored, the nearer
+ the Union will be the Union as it was.
+
+ "If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could
+ at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them.
+
+ "If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could
+ at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them.
+
+ "_My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to
+ save or destroy slavery._
+
+ "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do
+ it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it;
+ and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I
+ would also do that.
+
+ "What I do about slavery and the Colored race, I do because I
+ believe it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I
+ forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the
+ Union.
+
+ "I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts
+ the cause; and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more will
+ help the cause.
+
+ "I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I
+ shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true
+ views.
+
+ "I have here stated my purpose according to my views of official
+ duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal
+ wish that all men everywhere could be free.
+
+ "Yours,
+ "A. LINCOLN."[84]
+
+But there were few men among the general officers of the army who
+either reached the conclusion by their own judgment, or were aided by
+the action of General Butler, that it was their duty to confiscate
+_all the property_ of the enemy. Acting upon the plainest principle of
+military law, Major-General John C. Fremont, commanding the Department
+of the Missouri, or the Union forces in that State, issued the
+following proclamation:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS OF THE WESTERN DEP'T,}
+ "ST. LOUIS, August 31st. }
+
+ "Circumstances, in my judgment, of sufficient urgency, render it
+ necessary that the Commanding General of this Department should
+ assume the administrative power of the State. Its disorganized
+ condition, the helplessness of the civil authority, the total
+ insecurity of life, and the devastation of property by bands of
+ murderers and marauders, who infest nearly every county in the
+ State, and avail themselves of the public misfortunes and the
+ vicinity of a hostile force to gratify private and neighborhood
+ vengeance, and who find an enemy wherever they find plunder,
+ finally demand the severest measures to repress the daily
+ increasing crimes and outrages which are driving off the
+ inhabitants and ruining the State. In this condition, the public
+ safety and the success of our arms require unity of purpose,
+ without let or hindrance to the prompt administration of affairs.
+
+ "In order, therefore, to suppress disorders, to maintain, as far
+ as now practicable, the public peace, and to give security and
+ protection to the persons and property of loyal citizens, I do
+ hereby extend and declare established martial law throughout the
+ Stale of Missouri. The lines of the army of occupation in this
+ State are, for the present, declared to extend from Leavenworth,
+ by way of the posts of Jefferson City, Rolla, and Ironton, to
+ Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi River.
+
+ All persons who shall be taken with arms in their hands, within
+ these lines, shall be tried by Court Martial, and, if found
+ guilty, will be shot. The property, real and personal, of all
+ persons in the State of Missouri who shall take up arms against
+ the United States, or shall be directly proven to have taken
+ active part with their enemies in the field, is declared to be
+ confiscated to the public use; and their slaves, if any they
+ have, are hereby declared free men.
+
+ "All persons who shall be proven to have destroyed, after the
+ publication of this order, railroad tracks, bridges, or
+ telegraphs, shall suffer the extreme penalty of the law.
+
+ "All persons engaged in treasonable correspondence, in giving or
+ procuring aid to the enemies of the United States, in disturbing
+ the public tranquillity by creating and circulating false reports
+ or incendiary documents, are in their own interest warned that
+ they are exposing themselves.
+
+ "All persons who have been led away from their allegiance are
+ required to return to their homes forthwith; any such absence,
+ without sufficient cause, will be held to be presumptive evidence
+ against them.
+
+ "The object of this declaration is to place in the hands of the
+ military authorities the power to give instantaneous effect to
+ existing laws, and to supply such deficiencies as the conditions
+ of war demand. But it is not intended to suspend the ordinary
+ tribunals of the country, where the law will be administered by
+ the civil officers in the usual manner and with their customary
+ authority, while the same can be peaceably exercised.
+
+ "The Commanding General will labor vigilantly for the public
+ welfare, and, in his efforts for their safety, hopes to obtain
+ not only the acquiescence, but the active support, of the people
+ of the country.
+
+ "J. C. FREMONT, _Major-Gen. Com_."[85]
+
+This magnificent order thrilled the loyal hearts of the North with
+joy; but the President, still halting and hesitating, requested a
+modification of the order so far as it related to the liberation of
+slaves. This Gen. Fremont declined to do unless ordered to do so by
+his superior. Accordingly the President wrote him as follows:
+
+ "WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 11, 1861.
+
+ "Major-Gen. JOHN C. FREMONT:
+
+ "_Sir_:--Yours of the 8th, in answer to mine of the 2d inst., is
+ just received. Assured that you, upon the ground, could better
+ judge of the necessities of your position than I could at this
+ distance, on seeing your proclamation of August 30th, I
+ perceived no general objection to it; the particular clause,
+ however, in relation to the confiscation of property and the
+ liberation of slaves, appeared to me to be objectionable in its
+ non-conformity to the Act of Congress, passed the 6th of last
+ August, upon the same subjects; and hence I wrote you, expressing
+ my wish that that clause should be modified accordingly. Your
+ answer, just received, expresses the preference on your part that
+ I should make an open order for the modification, which I very
+ cheerfully do. It is, therefore, ordered that the said clause of
+ said proclamation be so modified, held, and construed, as to
+ conform with, and not to transcend, the provisions on the same
+ subject contained in the Act of Congress entitled 'An Act to
+ Confiscate Property Used for Insurrectionary Purposes,' approved
+ August 6, 1861; and that the said act be published at length with
+ this order.
+
+ "Your obedient servant,
+ "A. LINCOLN."[86]
+
+Gen. Fremont's removal followed speedily. He was in advance of the
+slow coach at Washington, and was sent where he could do no harm to
+the enemy of the country, by emancipating Negroes. It seems as if
+there were nothing else left for Gen. Fremont to do but to free the
+slaves in his military district. They were the bone and sinew of
+Confederate resistance. It was to weaken the enemy that the general
+struck down this peculiar species of property, upon which the enemy of
+the country relied so entirely.
+
+Major-Gen. David Hunter assumed command at Hilton Head, South
+Carolina, on the 31st of March, 1862. On the 9th of May he issued the
+following "General Order:"
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS DEP'T OF THE SOUTH,
+ "HILTON HEAD, S. C., May 9, 1862.
+
+ "_General Order_, No. 11.
+
+ "The three States of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina,
+ comprising the Military Department of the South, having
+ deliberately declared themselves no longer under the United
+ States of America, and, having taken up arms against the United
+ States, it becomes a military necessity to declare them under
+ martial law.
+
+ "This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862.
+ Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether
+ incompatible. The persons in these States--Georgia, Florida, and
+ South Carolina--heretofore held as slaves, are therefore declared
+ forever free."[87]
+
+But the President, in ten days after its publication, rescinded the
+order of General Hunter, in the following Proclamation:
+
+ "_And whereas_, The same [Hunter's proclamation] is producing
+ some excitement and misunderstanding, therefore, I, Abraham
+ Lincoln, President of the United States, proclaim and declare
+ that the Government of the United States had no knowledge or
+ belief of an intention on the part of Gen. Hunter to issue such a
+ proclamation, nor has it yet any authentic information that the
+ document is genuine: and, further, that neither Gen. Hunter nor
+ any other commander or person have been authorized by the
+ Government of the United States to make proclamation declaring
+ the slaves of any State free; and that the supposed proclamation
+ now in question, whether genuine or false, is altogether void, so
+ far as respects such declaration. I further make known that,
+ whether it be competent for me, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army
+ and Navy, to declare the slaves of any State or States free; and
+ whether at any time, or in any case, it shall have become a
+ necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the Government to
+ exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under my
+ responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I cannot feel
+ justified in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field.
+
+ "Those are totally different questions from those of police
+ regulations in armies or in camps.
+
+ "On the sixth day of March last, by a special Message, I
+ recommended to Congress the adoption of a joint resolution, to be
+ substantially as follows:
+
+ "'_Resolved_, That the United States ought to cooeperate with any
+ State which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to
+ such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its
+ discretion, to compensate for the inconveniences, public and
+ private, produced by such change of system.'
+
+ "The resolution, in the language above quoted, was adopted by
+ large majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands an
+ authentic, definite, and solemn proposal of the nation to the
+ States and people most interested in the subject-matter. To the
+ people of these States now I mostly appeal. I do not argue--I
+ beseech you to make the arguments for yourselves. You cannot, if
+ you would, be blind to the signs of the times.
+
+ "I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, ranging,
+ if it may be, far above partisan and personal politics.
+
+ "This proposal makes common cause for a common object, casting no
+ reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it
+ contemplates would come gently as the dews of Heaven, not rending
+ or wrecking any thing. Will you not embrace it? So much good has
+ not been done by one effort in all past time, as, in the
+ Providence of God, it is now your high privilege to do. May the
+ vast future not have to lament that you have neglected it!
+
+ "In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
+ seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
+
+ "Done at the city of Washington this 19th day of May, in the year
+ of our Lord 1862, and of the independence of the United States
+ the eighty-sixth.
+
+ "(Signed) ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
+
+ "By the President:
+ "W. H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State._"
+
+The conservative policy of the President greatly discouraged the
+friends of the Union, who felt that a vigorous prosecution of the war
+was the only hope of the nation. Slavery and the Union had joined in a
+terrible struggle for the supremacy. Both could not exist. Our
+treasury was empty; our bonds depreciated; our credit poor; our
+industries languishing; and the channels of commerce were choked.
+European governments were growing impatient at the dilatory policy of
+our nation; and every day we were losing sympathy and friends. Our
+armies were being repulsed and routed; and Columbia's war eagles were
+wearily flapping their pinions in the blood-dampened dust of a
+nerveless nation. But the Negro was still on the outside,--it was "a
+white man's war."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[75] Rebellion Recs., vol. i. Doc., p. 63.
+
+[76] Albany Atlas and Argus, May 27, 1861.
+
+[77] Greeley, vol. ii. p. 240.
+
+[78] Rebellion Records, vol. iii. Doc. p. 376.
+
+[79] I have quite a large number of such orders, but the above will
+suffice.
+
+[80] Greeley, vol. ii. p. 246.
+
+[81] Greeley, vol. ii. p. 238.
+
+[82] New York Times.
+
+[83] Greeley, vol. ii. pp. 249, 250.
+
+[84] Greeley, vol. ii. p. 250.
+
+[85] Greeley, vol. i. p. 585.
+
+[86] Greeley, vol. ii. pp. 239, 240.
+
+[87] Greeley, vol. ii. p. 246.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE NEGRO ON FATIGUE DUTY.
+
+ NEGROES EMPLOYED AS TEAMSTERS AND IN THE QUARTERMASTER'S
+ DEPARTMENT.--GENERAL MERCER'S ORDER TO THE SLAVE-HOLDERS ISSUED
+ FROM SAVANNAH.--HE RECEIVES ORDERS FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR TO
+ IMPRESS A NUMBER OF NEGROES TO BUILD FORTIFICATIONS.--THE NEGRO
+ PROVES HIMSELF INDUSTRIOUS AND EARNS PROMOTION.
+
+
+The light began to break through the dark cloud of prejudice in the
+minds of the friends of the Union. If a Negro were useful in building
+rebel fortifications, why not in casting up defences for the Union
+army? Succeeding Gen. Butler in command at Fortress Monroe, on the
+14th of October, 1861, Major-Gen. Wool issued an order, directing that
+"all colored persons called contrabands," employed by officers or
+others within his command, must be furnished with subsistence by their
+employers, and paid, if males, not less than four dollars per month,
+and that "all able-bodied colored persons, not employed as aforesaid,"
+will be immediately put to work in the Engineer's or the
+Quartermaster's Department. On the 1st of November, Gen. Wool directed
+that the compensation of "contrabands" working for the government
+should be five to ten dollars per month, with soldier's rations. These
+Negroes rendered valuable service in the sphere they were called upon
+to fill.
+
+In the Western army, Gen. James B. Steedman was the first man to
+suggest the idea of employing Negroes as teamsters. He saw that every
+Negro who drove a team of mules gave to the army one more white
+soldier with a musket in his hands; and so with the sympathy and
+approval of the gallant Gen. Geo. H. Thomas, Gen. Steedman put eighty
+Negroes into uniforms, and turned them over to an experienced white
+"wagon-master." The Negroes made excellent teamsters, and the plan was
+adopted quite generally.
+
+In September, 1862, an order from Washington directed the employment
+of fifty thousand Negro laborers in the Quartermaster's Department,
+under Generals Hunter and Saxton! This showed that the authorities at
+Washington had begun to get their eyes open on this question. "And
+while speaking of the negroes," wrote a "Times" correspondent, in
+1862, from Hilton Head, "let me present a few statistics obtained from
+an official source, respecting the success which has crowned the
+experiment of employing them as free paid laborers upon the
+plantations. The population of the Division (including Port Royal, St.
+Helena and Ladies' islands, with the smaller ones thereto adjacent,
+but excluding Hilton Head and its surroundings) is as follows:
+
+ "Effective 3,817
+ "Non-effective 3,110
+ -----
+ "Total 6,927
+
+"The number of acres under cultivation on the same islands, is:
+
+ "Of Corn 6,444
+ "Of Cotton 3,384
+ "Of Potatoes 1,407
+
+"A little calculation will show that the negroes have raised enough
+corn and potatoes to support themselves, besides a crop of cotton (now
+ripe) somewhat smaller than in former years, but still of very
+considerable value to the Government."[88]
+
+Gen. Mercer issued the following order at Savannah, Georgia, which
+shows that the rebels did not despise the fatigue services of Negroes:
+
+ "C. S. ENGINEER'S OFFICE, }
+ "SAVANNAH, GA., Aug. 1, 1863.}
+
+ "The Brigadier-General Commanding desires to inform the
+ slave-holders of Georgia that he has received authority from the
+ Secretary of War to impress a number of negroes sufficient to
+ construct such additional fortifications as are necessary for the
+ defence of Savannah.
+
+ "He desires, if possible, to avoid the necessity of impressment,
+ and therefore urges the owners of slave property to volunteer the
+ services of their negroes. He believes that, while the planters
+ of South Carolina are sending their slaves by thousands to aid
+ the defence of Charleston, the slave-holders of Georgia will not
+ be backward in contributing in the same patriotic manner to the
+ defence of their own seaport, which has so far resisted
+ successfully all the attacks of the enemy at Fort McAllister and
+ other points.
+
+ "Remember, citizens of Georgia, that on the successful defence of
+ Georgia depends the security of the interior of your State, where
+ so much of value both to yourselves and to the Confederacy at
+ large is concentrated. It is best to meet the enemy at the
+ threshold, and to hurl back the first wave of invasion. Once the
+ breach is made, all the horrors of war must desolate your now
+ peaceful and quiet homes. Let no man deceive himself. If Savannah
+ falls the fault will be yours, and your own neglect will have
+ brought the sword to your hearth-stones.
+
+ "The Brigadier-General Commanding, therefore, calls on all the
+ slave-holders of Eastern, Southern, and Southwestern Georgia, but
+ especially those in the neighborhood of Savannah, to send him
+ immediately one fifth of their able-bodied male slaves, for whom
+ transportation will be furnished and wages paid at the rate of
+ twenty-five dollars per month, the Government to be responsible
+ for the value of such Negroes as may be killed by the enemy, or
+ may in any manner fall into his hands. By order of
+
+ "Brig.-Gen. MERCER, _Commanding_.
+
+ "JOHN MCCRADY,
+ "_Captain and Chief Engineer, State of Georgia_."[89]
+
+Negroes built most of the fortifications and earth-works for Gen.
+Grant in front of Vicksburg. The works in and about Nashville were
+cast up by the strong arm and willing hand of the loyal Blacks. Dutch
+Gap was dug by Negroes, and miles of earthworks, fortifications, and
+corduroy-roads were made by Negroes. They did fatigue duty in every
+department of the Union army. Wherever a Negro appeared with a shovel
+in his hand, a white soldier took his gun and returned to the ranks.
+There were 200,000 Negroes in the camps and employ of the Union
+armies, as servants, teamsters, cooks, and laborers. What a mighty
+host! Suppose the sentiment that early met the Negro on the picket
+lines and turned him back to the enemy had continued, 50,000 white
+soldiers would have been required in the Engineer's and
+Quartermaster's Department; while 25,000 white men would have been
+required for various other purposes, outside of the ranks of the army.
+
+A narrow prejudice among some of the white troops, upon whose pedigree
+it would not be pleasant to dwell, met the Negro teamster, with a blue
+coat and buttons with eagles on them, with a growl. They disliked to
+see the Negro wearing a Union uniform;--it looked too much like
+equality.
+
+But in his lowly station as a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, the
+Negro proved himself industrious, trustworthy, efficient, and
+cheerful. He earned promotion, and in due time secured it.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[88] Times, Sept. 4, 1862.
+
+[89] Rebellion Recs., vol. vii. Doc. p. 479.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATIONS.
+
+ CONGRESS PASSES AN ACT TO CONFISCATE PROPERTY USED FOR
+ INSURRECTIONARY PURPOSES.--A FRUITLESS APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT TO
+ ISSUE AN EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.--HE THINKS THE TIME NOT YET
+ COME FOR SUCH AN ACTION, BUT WITHIN A FEW WEEKS CHANGES HIS
+ OPINION AND ISSUES AN EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.--THE REBELS SHOW
+ NO DISPOSITION TO ACCEPT THE MILD TERMS OF THE PROCLAMATION.--MR.
+ DAVIS GIVES ATTENTION TO THE PROCLAMATION IN HIS THIRD ANNUAL
+ MESSAGE.--SECOND EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY PRESIDENT
+ LINCOLN JANUARY 1, 1863.--THE PROCLAMATION IMPARTS NEW HOPE TO
+ THE NEGRO.
+
+
+The position taken by General Butler on the question of receiving into
+the Federal lines the slaves of persons who were in rebellion against
+the National Government, and who were liable to be used in service
+against the government by their owners, had its due influence in
+Washington. But all the general officers did not share in the views of
+General Butler. As many as twenty Union generals still had it in their
+minds that it was the duty of the army "to catch run-away slaves"; and
+they afforded rebels every facility to search their camps. They
+arrested fugitive Negroes and held them subject to the order of their
+masters. Congress was not long in seeing the suicidal tendency of such
+a policy, and on the 6th of August, 1861, passed "An Act to Confiscate
+Property Used for Insurrectionary Purposes." Notwithstanding this act,
+General McClellan and other officers still clung to the obsolete
+doctrine of "the sacredness of slave property." His conduct finally
+called forth the following letter from the Secretary of State:
+
+ "CONTRABANDS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
+
+ "DEPARTMENT OF STATE, }
+ "WASHINGTON CITY, December 4, 1861. }
+
+ "_To Major-General George B. McClellan, Washington_:
+
+ "GENERAL: I am directed by the President to call your attention
+ to the following subject:
+
+ "Persons claimed to be held to service or labor under the laws of
+ the State of Virginia, and actually employed in hostile service
+ against the Government of the United States, frequently escape
+ from the lines of the enemy's forces and are received within the
+ lines of the Army of the Potomac. This Department understands
+ that such persons, afterward coming into the city of Washington,
+ are liable to be arrested by the city police, upon presumption,
+ arising from color, that they are fugitives from service or
+ labor.
+
+ "By the fourth section of the act of Congress, approved August 6,
+ 1861, entitled 'An Act to Confiscate Property Used for
+ Insurrectionary Purposes,' such hostile employment is made a full
+ and sufficient answer to any further claim to service or labor.
+ Persons thus employed and escaping are received into the military
+ protection of the United States, and their arrest as fugitives
+ from service or labor should be immediately followed by the
+ military arrest of the parties making the seizure.
+
+ "Copies of this communication will be sent to the Mayor of the
+ City of Washington and to the Marshal of the District of
+ Columbia, that any collision between the civil and military
+ authorities may be avoided.
+
+ "I am, General, your very obedient,
+ "WM. H. SEWARD."
+
+It was now 1862. The dark war clouds were growing thicker. The Union
+army had won but few victories; our troops had to fight a tropical
+climate, the forces of nature, and an arrogant, jubilant, and
+victorious enemy. Autumn had come but nothing had been accomplished.
+The friends of the Union who favored a speedy and vigorous prosecution
+of the war, besieged the President with letters, memorials, and
+addresses to "_do something_." But intrenched behind his
+"constitutional views" of how the war should be managed he heard all,
+but would pot yield. On the 13th of September, 1862, a deputation of
+gentlemen, representing the various Protestant denominations of
+Chicago, called upon the President and urged him to adopt a vigorous
+policy of emancipation as the only way to save the Union; but he
+denied the request. He said:
+
+ "The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree. For
+ instance: the other day, four gentlemen of standing and
+ intelligence from New York called as a delegation on business
+ connected with the war; but before leaving two of them earnestly
+ besought me to proclaim general Emancipation; upon which the
+ other two at once attacked them. You know also that the last
+ session of Congress had a decided majority of anti-slavery men,
+ yet they could not unite on this policy. And the same is true of
+ the religious people. Why, the Rebel soldiers are praying with a
+ great deal more earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and
+ expecting God to favor their side: for one of our soldiers, who
+ had been taken prisoner, told Senator Wilson a few days since
+ that he met nothing so discouraging as the evident sincerity of
+ those he was among in their prayers. But we will talk over the
+ merits of the case.
+
+ "What good would a proclamation of Emancipation from me do,
+ especially as we are now situated? I do not want to issue a
+ document that the whole world will see must necessarily be
+ inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet. Would my
+ word free the slaves, when I cannot even enforce the Constitution
+ in the Rebel States? Is there a single court, or magistrate, or
+ individual, that would be influenced by it there? And what reason
+ is there to think it would have any greater effect upon the
+ slaves than the late law of Congress, which I approved, and which
+ offers protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel masters who
+ come within our lines? Yet I cannot learn that that law has
+ caused a single slave to come over to us. And, suppose they could
+ be induced by a proclamation of freedom from me to throw
+ themselves upon us, what should we do with them? How can we feed
+ and care for such a multitude? Gen. Butler wrote me a few days
+ since that he was issuing more rations to the slaves who have
+ rushed to him than to all the White troops under his command.
+ They eat, and that is all; though it is true Gen. Butler is
+ feeding the Whites also by the thousand; for it nearly amounts to
+ a famine there. If, now, the pressure of the war should call off
+ our forces from New Orleans to defend some other point, what is
+ to prevent the masters from reducing the Blacks to Slavery again;
+ for I am told that whenever the rebels take any Black prisoners,
+ free or slave, they immediately auction them off! They did so
+ with those they took from a boat that was aground in the
+ Tennessee river a few days ago. And then I am very ungenerously
+ attacked for it! For instance, when, after the late battles at
+ and near Bull Run, an expedition went out from Washington, under
+ a flag of truce, to bury the dead and bring in the wounded, and
+ the Rebels seized the Blacks who went along to help, and sent
+ them into Slavery, Horace Greeley said in his paper that the
+ Government would probably do nothing about it. What _could_ I do?
+
+ "Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible result of good
+ would follow the issuing of such a proclamation as you desire?
+ Understand: I raise no objection against it on legal or
+ constitutional grounds; for, as Commander-in-Chief of the army
+ and navy in time of war, I suppose I have a right to take any
+ measure which may best subdue the enemy; nor do I urge objections
+ of a moral nature, in view of possible consequences of
+ insurrection and massacre at the South. I view this matter as a
+ practical war measure, to be decided on according to the
+ advantages or disadvantages it may offer to the suppression of
+ the Rebellion."
+
+Not discouraged, the deputation urged in answer to his conservative
+views, that a policy of emancipation would strengthen the cause of the
+Union in Europe, and place the government upon high humane grounds,
+where it could boldly and confidently appeal to Almighty God in an
+honest attempt to save His poor children from the degrading curse of
+American slavery. But the President replied:
+
+ "I admit that Slavery is at the root of the Rebellion, or at
+ least its _sine qua non_. The ambition of politicians may have
+ instigated them to act; they would have been impotent without
+ Slavery as their instrument. I will also concede that
+ Emancipation would help us in Europe, and convince them that we
+ are incited by something more than ambition. I grant, further,
+ that it would help somewhat at the North, though not so much, I
+ fear, as you and those you represent imagine. Still, some
+ additional strength would be added in that way to the war; and
+ then, unquestionably, it would weaken the Rebels by drawing off
+ their laborers, which is of great importance; but I am not so
+ sure we could do much with the Blacks. If we were to arm them, I
+ fear that in a few weeks the arms would be in the hands of the
+ Rebels; and, indeed, thus far, we have not had arms enough to
+ equip our White troops. I will mention another thing, though it
+ meet only your scorn and contempt. There are fifty thousand
+ bayonets in the Union army from the Border Slave States. It would
+ be a serious matter if, in consequence of a proclamation such as
+ you desire, they should go over to the Rebels. I do not think
+ they all would--not so many, indeed, as a year ago, or as six
+ months ago--not so many to-day as yesterday. Every day increases
+ their Union feeling. They are also getting their pride enlisted,
+ and want to beat the Rebels. Let me say one thing more: I think
+ you should admit that we already have an important principle to
+ rally and unite the people, in the fact that constitutional
+ government is at stake. This is a fundamental idea, going down
+ about as deep as anything."[90]
+
+But there were millions of prayers ascending to the God of Battles
+daily that the President might have the courage and disposition to
+pursue a course required by the lamentable condition of the Union. And
+just nine days from the time he thought a proclamation not warranted
+and impracticable, he issued the following:
+
+ "I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America,
+ and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby
+ proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will
+ be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the
+ constitutional relation between the United States and each of the
+ States, and the people thereof, in which States that relation is
+ or may be suspended or disturbed.
+
+ "That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to
+ again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering
+ pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all Slave
+ States, so called, the people whereof may not then be in
+ rebellion against the United States, and which States may then
+ have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt,
+ immediate or gradual abolishment of Slavery within their
+ respective limits; and that the effort to colonize persons of
+ African descent, with their consent, upon this continent or
+ elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the
+ governments existing there, will be continued.
+
+ "That, on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one
+ thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as
+ slaves within any State, or designated part of the State, the
+ people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United
+ States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the
+ Executive Government of the United States, including the military
+ and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the
+ freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress
+ such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for
+ their actual freedom.
+
+ "That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid,
+ by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if
+ any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in
+ rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State,
+ or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith
+ represented in the Congress of the United States, by members
+ chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified
+ voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the
+ absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive
+ evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in
+ rebellion against the United States.
+
+ "That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled
+ 'An Act to make an additional Article of War,' approved March
+ 13th, 1862; and which act is in the words and figures following:
+
+ "'_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
+ the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That
+ hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an additional
+ article of war for the government of the Army of the United
+ States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such:
+
+ "'SECTION 1. All officers or persons in the military or naval
+ service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of
+ the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of
+ returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped
+ from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be
+ due; and any officer who shall be found guilty of a court-martial
+ of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service.
+
+ "'SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That this act shall take
+ effect from and after its passage.'
+
+ "Also, to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled 'An Act
+ to Suppress Insurrection, to Punish Treason and Rebellion, to
+ Seize and Confiscate Property of Rebels, and for other Purposes,'
+ approved July 16, 1862; and which sections are in the words and
+ figures following:
+
+ "'SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That all slaves of persons
+ who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the
+ Government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid
+ or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge
+ within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such
+ persons, or deserted by them and coming under the control of the
+ Government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons
+ found _on_ [or] being within any place occupied by Rebel forces
+ and afterward occupied by forces of the United States, shall be
+ deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their
+ servitude, and not again held as slaves.
+
+ "'SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That no slave escaping
+ into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any
+ other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or
+ hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offense
+ against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall
+ first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of
+ such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has
+ not borne arms against the United States in the present
+ Rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no
+ person engaged in the military or naval service of the United
+ States shall, under any pretense whatever, assume to decide on
+ the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor
+ of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the
+ claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service.'
+
+ "And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the
+ military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey,
+ and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act
+ and sections above recited.
+
+ "And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens
+ of the United States, who shall have remained loyal thereto
+ throughout the Rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the
+ constitutional relation between the United States and their
+ respective States and people, if that relation shall have been
+ suspended or disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of
+ the United States, including the loss of slaves.
+
+ "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
+ seal of the United States to be affixed.
+
+ "Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-second day of
+ September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
+ sixty-two, and of the independence of the United States the
+ eighty-seventh.
+
+ [L. S.] "ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
+
+ "By the President:
+ "WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_."
+
+But why this change in the views of the President? History, thus far,
+is left to conjecture. It was hinted that our embassadors in Western
+Europe had apprised the State Department at Washington that an early
+recognition of the Southern Confederacy was possible, even probable.
+It was also stated that he was waiting for the issue at the battle of
+Antietam, which was fought on the 17th--five days before the
+proclamation was issued. But neither explanation stands in the light
+of the positive and explicit language of the President on the 13th of
+September. However, he issued the proclamation,--the Divine Being may
+have opened his eyes to see the angel that was to turn him aside from
+the destruction that awaited the Union that he sought to save with
+slavery preserved!
+
+The sentiment of the people upon the wisdom of the proclamation was
+expressed in the October elections. New York, New Jersey,
+Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois went democratic; while the
+supporters of the Administration fell off in Michigan and other
+Western States. In the Congress of 1860 there were 78 Republicans and
+37 Democrats; in 1862 there were 57 Administration representatives,
+and 67 in the Opposition.
+
+The army did not take kindly to the proclamation. It was charged that
+"the war for the Union was changed into a war for the Negro." Some
+officers resigned, while many others said that if they _thought_ they
+were fighting to free the "niggers" they would resign. This sentiment
+was contagious. It found its way into the rank and file of the troops,
+and did no little harm. The following telegram shows that the rebels
+were angered not a little at the President:
+
+ "CHARLESTON, S. C., Oct. 13, 1862.
+
+ "HON. WM. P. MILES, Richmond, Va.:
+
+ "Has the bill for the execution of Abolition prisoners, after
+ January next, been passed? Do it; and England will be stirred
+ into action. It is high time to proclaim the black flag after
+ that period. Let the execution be with the garrote.
+
+ "(Signed) G. T. BEAUREGARD."
+
+But the proclamation was a harmless measure. _First_, it declared that
+the object of the war was to restore "the constitutional relation
+between the United States and each of the States." After nearly two
+years of disastrous war Mr. Lincoln declares the object of the war.
+Certainly no loyal man had ever entertained any other idea than the
+one expressed in the proclamation. It was not a war on the part of the
+United States to destroy her children, nor to disturb her own
+constitutional, comprehensive unity. It must have been understood,
+then, from the commencement, that the war begun by the seceding States
+was waged on the part of the United States to preserve the _Union of
+the States_, and restore them to their "constitutional relation."
+
+_Second_, the proclamation implored the slave States to accept
+(certainly in the spirit of compromise) a proposition from the United
+States to emancipate their slaves for a _pecuniary consideration_,
+and, by their gracious consent, assist in _colonizing_ loyal Negroes
+in this country or in Africa!
+
+_Third_, the measure proposed to free slaves of persons and States in
+rebellion against the lawful authority of the United States Government
+on the first day of January, 1863. Nothing more difficult could have
+been undertaken than to free _only_ the slaves of persons and States
+in _actual_ rebellion against the Government of the United States.
+Persons in _actual_ rebellion would be _most_ likely to have immediate
+oversight of this species of their property; and the owners of slaves
+in the States in _actual_ rebellion against the United States
+Government would doubtless be as thoroughly prepared to take care of
+slave property as the muskets in their rebellious hands.
+
+_Fourth_, this emancipation proclamation (?) proposed to pay out of
+the United States Treasury,--for all slaves of loyal masters lost in a
+rebellion begun by slave-holders and carried on by slave-holders!
+
+Under the condition of affairs no emancipation proclamation was
+necessary. Treason against the United States is "levying war against
+them," or "adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."
+The rebel States were guilty of treason; and from the moment Sumter
+was fired upon, every slave in the Confederate States was _ipso facto_
+free!
+
+But it was an occasion for rejoicing. The President had taken a step
+in the right direction, and, thank God! he never retraced it.
+
+A severe winter had set in. The rebels had shown the kind-hearted
+President no disposition to accept the mild terms of his proclamation.
+On the contrary, it was received with gnashing of teeth and bitter
+imprecations. On the 12th of January, 1863, the titular President of
+the Confederate States, in his third Annual Message, gave attention to
+the proclamation of the President of the United States. Mr. Davis
+said:
+
+ "It has established a state of things which can lead to but one
+ of three possible consequences--the extermination of the slaves,
+ the exile of the whole white population of the Confederacy, or
+ absolute and total separation of these States from the United
+ States. This proclamation is also an authentic statement by the
+ Government of the United States of its inability to subjugate the
+ South by force of arms, and, as such, must be accepted by neutral
+ nations, which can no longer find any justification in
+ withholding our just claims to formal recognition. It is also, in
+ effect, an intimation to the people of the North that they must
+ prepare to submit to a separation now become inevitable; for that
+ people are too acute not to understand that a restitution of the
+ Union has been rendered forever impossible by the adoption of a
+ measure which, from its very nature, neither admits of retraction
+ nor can coexist with union.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "We may well leave it to the instincts of that common humanity
+ which a beneficent Creator has implanted in the breasts of our
+ fellow-men of all countries to pass judgment on a measure by
+ which several millions of human beings of an inferior
+ race--peaceful and contented laborers in their sphere--are doomed
+ to extermination, while at the same time they are encouraged to a
+ general assassination of their masters by the insidious
+ recommendation to abstain from violence unless in necessary
+ self-defense. Our own detestation of those who have attempted the
+ most execrable measures recorded in the history of guilty man is
+ tempered by profound contempt for the impotent rage which it
+ discloses. So far as regards the action of this Government on
+ such criminals as may attempt its execution, I confine myself to
+ informing you that I shall--unless in your wisdom you deem some
+ other course more expedient--deliver to the several State
+ authorities all commissioned officers of the United States that
+ may hereafter be captured by our forces in any of the States
+ embraced in the proclamation, that they may be dealt with in
+ accordance with the laws of those States providing for the
+ punishment of criminals engaged in exciting servile insurrection.
+ The enlisted soldiers I shall continue to treat as unwilling
+ instruments in the commission of these crimes, and shall direct
+ their discharge and return to their homes on the proper and usual
+ parole."
+
+And although the President and his supporters had not reaped the
+blessings their hopes had sown, they were, nevertheless, not without
+hope. For when the sober second thought of the nation took the place
+of prejudice and undue excitement, the proclamation had more friends.
+And so, in keeping with his promise, the President issued the
+following proclamation on the first of January, 1863.
+
+ "_Whereas_, on the 22d day of September, in the year of our Lord
+ 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United
+ States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
+
+ "'That on the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord 1863,
+ all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of
+ a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against
+ the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever
+ free; and the Executive Government of the United States,
+ including the military and naval authority thereof, will
+ recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do
+ no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any
+ efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
+
+ "'That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid,
+ by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if
+ any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in
+ rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State,
+ or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith
+ represented in the Congress of the United States, by members,
+ chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified
+ voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the
+ absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive
+ evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in
+ rebellion against the United States.'
+
+ "Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United
+ States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief
+ of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual
+ armed rebellion against the authority and Government of the
+ United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for
+ suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in
+ the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
+ and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed
+ for the full period of one hundred days from the day first above
+ mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States
+ wherein the people thereof respectively are this day in rebellion
+ against the United States, the following, to wit:
+
+ "Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard,
+ Plaquemine, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James,
+ Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St.
+ Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans),
+ Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North
+ Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties
+ designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley,
+ Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and
+ Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and
+ which excepted parts are, for the present, left precisely as if
+ this proclamation were not issued.
+
+ "And, by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do
+ order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said
+ designated States and parts of States, are and henceforward shall
+ be free; and that the Executive Government of the United States,
+ including the military and naval authorities thereof, will
+ recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
+
+ "And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to
+ abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and
+ I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor
+ faithfully for reasonable wages.
+
+ "And I further declare and make known that such persons, of
+ suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of
+ the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and
+ other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
+
+ "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice,
+ warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke
+ the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of
+ Almighty God.
+
+ "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name and caused the
+ seal of the United States to be affixed.
+
+ "Done at the City of Washington, this 1st day of January, in the
+ year of our Lord 1863, and of the independence of the United
+ States the 87th.
+
+ [L. S.]
+
+ "By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
+ "WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_."
+
+Even this proclamation--not a measure of humanity--to save the Union,
+not the slave--left slaves in many counties and States at the South.
+It was a war measure, pure and simple. It was a blow aimed at the most
+vulnerable part of the Confederacy. It was destroying its
+corner-stone, and the ponderous fabric was doomed to a speedy and
+complete destruction. It discovered that the strength of this Sampson
+of rebellion lay in its vast slave population. To the slave the
+proclamation came as the song of the rejoicing angels to the shepherds
+upon the plains of Bethlehem. It was like music at night, mellowed by
+the distance, that rouses slumbering hopes, gives wings to fancy, and
+peoples the brain with blissful thoughts. The notes of freedom came
+careering to them across the red, billowy waves of battle and thrilled
+their souls with ecstatic peace. Old men who, like Samuel the prophet,
+believing the ark of God in the hands of the Philistines, and were
+ready to give up the ghost, felt that it was just the time to begin to
+live. Husbands were transported with the thought of gathering to their
+bosoms the wife that had been sold to the "nigger traders"; mothers
+swooned under the tender touch of the thought of holding in loving
+embrace the children who pined for their care; and young men and
+maidens could only "think thanksgiving and weep gladness."
+
+The slave-holder saw in this proclamation the handwriting upon the
+walls of the institution of slavery. The brightness and revelry of his
+banqueting halls were to be succeeded by gloom and sorrow. His riches,
+consisting in human beings, were to disappear under the magic touch of
+the instrument of freedom. The chattel was to be transformed into a
+person, the person into a soldier, the soldier into a citizen--and
+thus the Negro slave, like the crawling caterpillar, was to leave his
+grovelling situation, and in new form, wing himself to the sublime
+heights of free American citizenship!
+
+The Negroes had a marvellous facility of communicating news to each
+other. The proclamation, in spite of the precautions of the rebel
+authorities, took to itself wings. It came to the plantation of weary
+slaves as the glorious light of a new-born day. It flooded the hovels
+of slaves with its golden light and rich promise of "_forever free_."
+Like St. Paul the poor slaves could exclaim:
+
+ "In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in
+ watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by
+ long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love
+ unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the
+ armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by
+ honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers,
+ and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and,
+ behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet
+ alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having
+ nothing, and yet possessing all things."
+
+And the significant name of Abraham--"father of the faithful"--was
+pronounced by the Negroes with blessings, and mingled in their songs
+of praise.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[90] Greeley, vol. ii. pp. 251, 252.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+ THE QUESTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES.--THE REBELS TAKE THE
+ FIRST STEP TOWARD THE MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES.--GRAND
+ REVIEW OF THE REBEL TROOPS AT NEW ORLEANS.--GENERAL HUNTER ARMS
+ THE FIRST REGIMENT OF LOYAL NEGROES AT THE SOUTH.--OFFICIAL
+ CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF WAR AND GENERAL HUNTER
+ RESPECTING THE ENLISTMENT OF THE BLACK REGIMENT.--THE ENLISTMENT
+ OF FIVE NEGRO REGIMENTS AUTHORIZED BY THE PRESIDENT.--THE POLICY
+ OF GENERAL PHELPS IN REGARD TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS
+ SOLDIERS IN LOUISIANA.--A SECOND CALL FOR TROOPS BY THE
+ PRESIDENT.--AN ATTEMPT TO AMEND THE ARMY APPROPRIATION BILL SO AS
+ TO PROHIBIT THE FURTHER EMPLOYMENT OF COLORED TROOPS.--GOVERNOR
+ JOHN A. ANDREW, OF MASSACHUSETTS, AUTHORIZED BY SECRETARY OF WAR
+ TO ORGANIZE TWO REGIMENTS OF COLORED TROOPS.--GENERAL LORENZO
+ THOMAS IS DESPATCHED TO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TO SUPERINTEND THE
+ ENLISTMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS IN THE SPRING OF 1863.--AN ORDER
+ ISSUED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT IN THE FALL OF 1863 FOR THE
+ ENLISTMENT OF COLORED TROOPS.--THE UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF NEW YORK
+ CITY.--RECRUITING OF COLORED TROOPS IN PENNSYLVANIA.--GEORGE L.
+ STEARNS ASSIGNED CHARGE OF THE RECRUITING OF COLORED TROOPS IN
+ THE DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND.--FREE MILITARY SCHOOL
+ ESTABLISHED AT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.--ENDORSEMENT OF THE
+ SCHOOL BY SECRETARY STANTON.--THE ORGANIZATION OF THE
+ SCHOOL.--OFFICIAL TABLE GIVING NUMBER OF COLORED TROOPS IN THE
+ ARMY.--THE CHARACTER OF NEGRO TROOPS.--MR. GREELEY'S EDITORIAL ON
+ "NEGRO TROOPS."--LETTER FROM JUDGE ADVOCATE HOLT TO THE SECRETARY
+ OF WAR ON THE "ENLISTMENT OF SLAVES."--THE NEGRO LEGALLY AND
+ CONSTITUTIONALLY A SOLDIER.--HISTORY RECORDS HIS DEEDS OF
+ PATRIOTISM.
+
+
+At no time during the first two years of the war was the President or
+the Congress willing to entertain the idea of employing Negroes as
+soldiers. It has been shown that the admission of loyal Negroes into
+the Union lines, and into the service of the Engineer's and
+Quartermaster's Department, had been resisted with great stubbornness
+by the men in the "chief places." There were, however, a few men, both
+in and out of the army, who secretly believed that the Negro was
+needed in the army, and that he possessed all the elements necessary
+to make an excellent soldier. Public sentiment was so strong against
+the employment of Negroes in the armed service that few men had the
+courage of conviction; few had the temerity to express their views
+publicly. In the summer of 1860,--before the election of Abraham
+Lincoln,--General J. Watts De Peyster, of New York, wrote an article
+for a Hudson paper, in which he advocated the arming of Negroes as
+soldiers, should the Southern States declare war against the
+Government of the United States. The article was reproduced in many
+other papers, pronounced a fire-brand, and General De Peyster severely
+denounced for his advice. But he stood his ground, and when the war
+did come he gave to his country's service three gallant sons; and from
+the first to the last was an efficient and enthusiastic supporter of
+the war for the Union.
+
+The rebels took the first step in the direction of the military
+employment of Negroes as soldiers. Two weeks after the firing upon
+Sumter took place, the following note appeared in the "Charleston
+Mercury":
+
+ Several companies of the Third and Fourth Regiments of Georgia
+ passed through Augusta for the expected scene of
+ warfare--Virginia. Sixteen well-drilled companies of volunteers
+ and one negro company, from Nashville, Tennessee, offered their
+ services to the Confederate States."[91]
+
+In the "Memphis Avalanche" and "Memphis Appeal" of the 9th, 10th, and
+11th of May, 1861, appeared the following notice:
+
+ "ATTENTION, VOLUNTEERS: Resolved by the Committee of Safety, that
+ C. Deloach, D. R. Cook, and William B. Greenlaw be authorized to
+ organize a volunteer company composed of our patriotic free men
+ of color, of the city of Memphis, for the service of our common
+ defence. All who have not enrolled their names will call at the
+ office of W. B. Greenlaw & Co.
+
+ "F. TITUS, _President_.
+
+ "F. W. FORSYTHE, _Secretary_."
+
+On the 9th of February, 1862, the rebel troops had a grand review, and
+the "Picayune," of New Orleans, contained the following paragraph:
+
+ "We must also pay a deserved compliment to the companies of free
+ colored men, all very well drilled, and comfortably uniformed.
+ Most of these companies, quite unaided by the administration,
+ have supplied themselves with arms without regard to cost or
+ trouble. One of these companies, commanded by the well-known
+ veteran, Captain Jordan, was presented, a little before the
+ parade, with a fine war-flag of the new style. This interesting
+ ceremony took place at Mr. Cushing's store, on Camp, near Common
+ Street. The presentation was made by Mr. Bigney, and Jordan made,
+ on this occasion, one of his most felicitous speeches."
+
+And on the 4th of February, 1862, the "Baltimore Traveller" contained
+the following paragraph:
+
+ "ARMING OF NEGROES AT RICHMOND.--Contrabands who have recently
+ come within the Federal lines at Williamsport, report that all
+ the able-bodied colored men in that vicinity are being taken to
+ Richmond, formed into regiments, and armed for the defence of
+ that city."
+
+The following telegram was sent out:
+
+ "NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 23, 1861.
+
+ "Over twenty-eight thousand troops were reviewed to-day by
+ Governor Moore, Major-General Lovell, and Brig.-General Ruggles.
+ The line was over seven miles long. One regiment comprised
+ fourteen hundred free colored men."
+
+These are sufficient to show that from the earliest dawn of the war
+the rebel authorities did not frown upon the action of local
+authorities in placing arms into the hands of free Negroes.
+
+The President of the United States was still opposing any attempt on
+the part of the supporters of the war to constrain him to approve of
+the introduction of Negroes into the army. But the Secretary of War,
+the Hon. Simon Cameron, had sent an order to Brig.-Gen. T. W. Sherman,
+directing him to accept the services of all loyal persons who desired
+to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion in and about Port Royal.
+When Gen. David Hunter relieved Gen. Sherman, the latter turned over
+to him the instructions of the Secretary of War. There was no mention
+of color, nor was any class of persons mentioned save "loyal persons."
+Gen. Hunter was a gentleman of broad, liberal, and humane views, and
+seeing an opportunity open to employ Negroes as soldiers, in the
+spring of 1862 directed the organization of a regiment of blacks. He
+secured the best white officers for the regiment, and it soon obtained
+a fine condition of discipline. The news of a Union Negro regiment in
+South Carolina completely surprised the people at Washington. On the
+9th of June, 1862, Mr. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, introduced in the
+National House of Representatives a resolution of inquiry, calling
+upon Gen. Hunter to explain to Congress his unprecedented conduct in
+arming Negroes to fight the battles of the Union. Mr. Stanton was now
+at the head of the War Department, and the following correspondence
+took place:
+
+
+ "GENERAL HUNTER'S NEGRO REGIMENT.
+
+ "OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT, June 14, 1862.
+
+ "_Hon. G. A. Grow, Speaker of the House of Representatives_:
+
+ "SIR: A resolution of the House of Representatives has been
+ received, which passed the ninth instant, to the following
+ effect:
+
+ "'_Resolved_, That the Secretary of War be directed to inform
+ this House if Gen. Hunter, of the Department of South Carolina,
+ has organized a regiment of South Carolina volunteers for the
+ defence of the Union, composed of black men (fugitive slaves),
+ and appointed a Colonel and officers to command them.
+
+ "'2d. Was he authorized by the Department to organize and muster
+ into the army of the United States, as soldiers, the fugitive or
+ captive slaves?
+
+ "'3d. Has he been furnished with clothing, uniforms, etc., for
+ such force?
+
+ "'4th. Has he been furnished, by order of the Department of War,
+ with arms to be placed in the hands of the slaves?
+
+ "'5th. To report any orders given said Hunter, and correspondence
+ between him and the Department.'"
+
+ "In answer to the foregoing resolution, I have the honor to
+ inform the House;
+
+ "1st. That this Department has no official information whether
+ Gen. Hunter, of the Department of South Carolina, has or has not
+ organized a regiment of South Carolina volunteers for the defence
+ of the Union, composed of black men, fugitive slaves, and
+ appointed the Colonel and other officers to command them. In
+ order to ascertain whether he has done so or not, a copy of the
+ House resolution has been transmitted to Gen. Hunter, with
+ instructions to make immediate report thereon.
+
+ "2d. Gen. Hunter was not authorized by the Department to organize
+ and muster into the army of the United States the fugitive or
+ captive slaves.
+
+ "3d. Gen. Hunter, upon his requisition as Commander of the South,
+ has been furnished with clothing and arms for the force under his
+ command, without instructions as to how they should be used.
+
+ "4th. He has not been furnished by order of the Department of War
+ with arms to be placed within the hands of 'those slaves.'
+
+ "5th. In respect to so much of said resolution as directs the
+ Secretary 'to report to the House my orders given said Hunter,
+ and correspondence between him and the Department,' the President
+ instructs me to answer that the report, at this time, of the
+ orders given to and correspondence between Gen. Hunter and this
+ Department would, in his opinion, be incompatible with the public
+ welfare.
+
+ "Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ "EDWIN M. STANTON,
+ "_Secretary of War_."
+
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT, }
+ "WASHINGTON, July 2, 1862. }
+
+ "SIR: On reference to the answer of this Department of the
+ fourteenth ultimo to the resolution of the House of
+ Representatives of the ninth of last month, calling for
+ information respecting the organization by Gen. Hunter, of the
+ Department of South Carolina, of a regiment of volunteers for the
+ defence of the Union, composed of black men, fugitive slaves,
+ etc., it will be seen that the resolution had been referred to
+ that officer with instructions to make an immediate report
+ thereon. I have now the honor to transmit herewith the copy of a
+ communication just received from Gen. Hunter, furnishing
+ information as to his action touching the various matters
+ indicated in the resolution.
+
+ "I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient
+ servant,
+
+ "EDWIN M. STANTON,
+ "_Secretary of War_.
+
+ "Hon. G. A. GROW,
+ "_Speaker of the House of Representatives_."
+
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, }
+ "PORT ROYAL, S. C., June 23, 1862. }
+
+ "Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_, Washington.
+
+ "SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a
+ communication from the Adjutant-General of the army, dated June
+ thirteenth, 1862, requesting me to furnish you with the
+ information necessary to answer certain resolutions introduced in
+ the House of Representatives, June ninth, 1862, on motion of the
+ Hon. Mr. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, their substance being to
+ inquire:
+
+ "First. Whether I had organized or was organizing a regiment of
+ 'fugitive slaves' in this department?
+
+ "Second. Whether any authority had been given to me from the War
+ Department for such organization? and
+
+ "Third. Whether I had been furnished, by order of the War
+ Department, with clothing, uniforms, arms, equipments, etc., for
+ such a force?
+
+ "Only having received the letter covering these inquiries at a
+ late hour on Saturday night, I urge forward my answer in time for
+ the steamer sailing to-day (Monday)--this haste preventing me
+ from entering as minutely as I could wish upon many points of
+ detail, such as the paramount importance of the subject calls
+ for. But, in view of the near termination of the present session
+ of Congress, and the widespread interest which must have been
+ awakened by Mr. Wickliffe's resolutions, I prefer sending even
+ this imperfect answer to waiting the period necessary for the
+ collection of fuller and more comprehensive data.
+
+ "To the first question, therefore, I reply that no regiment of
+ 'fugitive slaves' has been or is being organized in this
+ department. There is, however, a fine regiment of persons whose
+ late masters are 'fugitive rebels,'--men who everywhere fly
+ before the appearance of the national flag, leaving their
+ servants behind them to shift as best they can for themselves. So
+ far, indeed, are the loyal persons composing this regiment from
+ seeking to avoid the presence of their late owners, that they are
+ now, one and all, working with remarkable industry to place
+ themselves in a position to go in full and effective pursuit of
+ their fugacious and traitorous proprietors.
+
+ "To the second question I have the honor to answer that the
+ instructions given to Brig.-Gen. T. W. Sherman, by the Hon. Simon
+ Cameron, late Secretary of War, and turned over to me by
+ succession for my guidance, do distinctly authorize me to employ
+ all loyal persons offering their services in defence of the Union
+ and for the suppression of this rebellion in any manner I might
+ see fit, or that the circumstances might call for. There is no
+ restriction as to the character or color of the persons to be
+ employed, or the nature of the employment, whether civil or
+ military, in which their services should be used. I conclude,
+ therefore, that I have been authorized to enlist 'fugitive
+ slaves' as soldiers, could any such be found in this department.
+ No such characters, however, have yet appeared within view of our
+ most advanced pickets, the loyal slaves everywhere remaining on
+ their plantations to welcome us, aid us, and supply us with food,
+ labor, and information. It is the masters who have in every
+ instance been the 'fugitives,' running away from loyal slaves as
+ well as loyal soldiers, and whom we have only partially been able
+ to see--chiefly their heads over ramparts, or, rifle in hand,
+ dodging behind trees--in the extreme distance. In the absence of
+ any 'fugitive-master law,' the deserted slaves would be wholly
+ without remedy, had not the crime of treason given them the right
+ to pursue, capture, and bring back those persons of whose
+ protection they have been thus suddenly bereft.
+
+ "To the third interrogatory it is my painful duty to reply that I
+ never have received any specific authority for issues of
+ clothing, uniforms, arms, equipments, and so forth, to the troops
+ in question--my general instructions from Mr. Cameron to employ
+ them in any manner I might find necessary, and the military
+ exigencies of the department and the country being my only, but,
+ in my judgment, sufficient justification. Neither have I had any
+ specific authority for supplying these persons with shovels,
+ spades, and pickaxes, when employing them as laborers, nor with
+ boats and oars when using them as lightermen; but these are not
+ points included in Mr. Wickliffe's resolution. To me it seemed
+ that liberty to employ men in any particular capacity implied
+ with it liberty also to supply them with the necessary tools; and
+ acting upon this faith I have clothed, equipped, and armed the
+ only loyal regiment yet raised in South Carolina.
+
+ "I must say, in vindication of my own conduct, that had it not
+ been for the many other diversified and imperative claims on my
+ time, a much more satisfactory result might have been hoped for;
+ and that in place of only one, as at present, at least five or
+ six well-drilled, brave, and thoroughly acclimated regiments
+ should by this time have been added to the loyal forces of the
+ Union.
+
+ "The experiment of arming the blacks, so far as I have made it,
+ has been a complete and even marvellous success. They are sober,
+ docile, attentive, and enthusiastic, displaying great natural
+ capacities for acquiring the duties of the soldier. They are
+ eager beyond all things to take the field and be led into action;
+ and it is the unanimous opinion of the officers who have had
+ charge of them, that in the peculiarities of this climate and
+ country they will prove invaluable auxiliaries, fully equal to
+ the similar regiments so long and successfully used by the
+ British authorities in the West-India Islands.
+
+ "In conclusion, I would say it is my hope--there appearing no
+ possibility of other reenforcements, owing to the exigencies of
+ the campaign in the Peninsula--to have organized by the end of
+ next fall, and to be able to present to the Government, from
+ forty-eight to fifty thousand of these hardy and devoted
+ soldiers.
+
+ "Trusting that this letter may form part of your answer to Mr.
+ Wickliffe's resolutions, I have the honor to be, most
+ respectfully, your very obedient servant,
+
+ "D. HUNTER,
+ "_Major-General Commanding_."
+
+Mr. Wickliffe seemed to feel that he had received an exhaustive reply
+to his resolution of inquiry, but his colleague, Mr. Dunlap, offered
+the following resolution on the 3d of July, 1862, which was never
+acted upon:
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the sentiments contained in the paper read to
+ this body yesterday, approving the arming of slaves, emanating
+ from Major-General David Hunter, clothed in discourteous
+ language, are an indignity to the American Congress, an insult to
+ the American people and our brave soldiers in arms; for which
+ sentiments, so uttered, he justly merits our condemnation and
+ censure."
+
+There was quite a flutter among the politicians in the rear, and many
+army officers felt that the United States uniform had been disgraced
+by being put upon "fugitive slaves."
+
+Within a few weeks after the affair in Congress alluded to above, two
+United States Senators,[92] charmed with the bold idea of General
+Hunter, called upon the President to urge him to accept the services
+of two Negro regiments. The "New York Herald" of the 5th of August,
+1862, gave an account of the interview under the caption of
+"_Important Decision of the President_."
+
+ "The efforts of those who love the negro more than the Union to
+ induce the President to swerve from his established policy are
+ unavailing. He will neither be persuaded by promises nor
+ intimidated by threats. To-day he was called upon by two United
+ States Senators and rather peremptorily requested to accept the
+ services of two negro regiments. They were flatly and
+ unequivocally rejected. The President did not appreciate the
+ necessity of employing the negroes to fight the battles of the
+ country and take the positions which the white men of the nation,
+ the voters, and sons of patriotic sires, should be proud to
+ occupy; there were employments in which the negroes of rebel
+ masters might well be engaged, but he was not willing to place
+ them upon an equality with our volunteers, who had left home and
+ family and lucrative occupations to defend the Union and the
+ Constitution, while there were volunteers or militia enough in
+ the loyal States to maintain the Government without resort to
+ this expedient. If the loyal people were not satisfied with the
+ policy he had adopted, he was willing to leave the administration
+ to other hands. One of the Senators was impudent enough to tell
+ the President he wished to God he would resign."[93]
+
+But there the regiment was,--one thousand loyal and competent
+soldiers; and there was no way out but for the government to father
+the regiment, and, therefore, on the 25th of August, 1862, the
+Secretary of War sent General Rufus Saxton the following order:
+
+ "3. In view of the small force under your command, and the
+ inability of the Government at the present time to increase it,
+ in order to guard the plantations and settlements occupied by the
+ United States from invasion, and protect the inhabitants thereof
+ from captivity and murder by the enemy, you are also authorized
+ to arm, uniform, equip, and receive into the service of the
+ United States, such number of Volunteers of African descent as
+ you may deem expedient, not exceeding five thousand; and may
+ detail officers to instruct them in military drill, discipline,
+ and duty, and to command them; the persons so received into
+ service, and their officers, to be entitled to and receive the
+ same pay and rations as are allowed by law to Volunteers in the
+ service.
+
+ "4. You will occupy, if possible, all the islands and plantations
+ heretofore occupied by the Government, and secure and harvest the
+ crops, and cultivate and improve the plantations.
+
+ "5. The population of African descent, that cultivate the land
+ and perform the labor of the Rebels, constitute a large share of
+ their military strength, and enable the White masters to fill the
+ Rebel armies, and wage a cruel and murderous war against the
+ people of the Northern States. By reducing the laboring strength
+ of the Rebels, their military power will be reduced. You are,
+ therefore, authorized, by every means in your power, to withdraw
+ from the enemy their laboring force and population, and to spare
+ no effort, consistent with civilized warfare, to weaken, harass,
+ and annoy them, and to establish the authority of the Government
+ of the United States within your Department."
+
+But public sentiment was growing with every passing day. The very
+presence of the Negro regiment at Port Royal converted the most
+pronounced enemies of Negro troops into friends and admirers. The
+newspaper correspondents filled their letters to the papers North with
+most extravagant praise of the Negro soldier; and the President was
+driven from his position of "_no negro soldiers_."
+
+The correspondent of the "Times," in a letter dated September 4, 1862,
+wrote:
+
+ "There is little doubt that the next mail from the North will
+ bring an order from the War Department recalling Major-Gen.
+ Hunter to a field of greater activity. The Government had not
+ lent him a hearty support in carrying out his policy of arming
+ the blacks, by which alone he could make himself useful in this
+ department to the National cause; and, therefore, more than two
+ months since he applied to be relieved, rather than sit supinely
+ with folded hands when his military abilities might be found of
+ service elsewhere. Now, however, I have reason to believe that
+ Gen. Hunter's views upon the question of forming negro regiments,
+ have been unreservedly adopted by the President, and the whole
+ question has assumed such a different phase that Gen. Hunter
+ almost regrets that he is to leave the department. The last mail
+ brought the authorization of the President to _enlist_ five negro
+ regiments, each of a thousand negroes, to be armed and uniformed
+ for the service of the United States, and also authorizes the
+ enrollment of an additional 50,000 to be employed in the
+ Quartermaster's Department nominally as laborers, but as they are
+ to be organized into companies and uniformed, and a portion of
+ their time is to be spent in drilling, it is easy to understand
+ that the possibility of their being used as soldiers is not lost
+ sight of. The exact time of commencing the work of enlisting the
+ colored recruits, I am not able to state, but that it will be
+ shortly, to my mind, there is not a shadow of doubt. The only way
+ in which the men can be obtained is by the establishment of posts
+ at various places upon the coast, where the negroes, assured of
+ protection, will flock to us by thousands. Past experience and
+ present information both go to prove this fact, and to establish
+ these posts more men will be required; therefore we may soon
+ expect that the Government will be deriving positive advantages
+ from this department which, heretofore, has been only negative of
+ service, as the field of experiments and the testing of ideas.
+ Gen. Saxton will go to Washington by the first steamer, for
+ consultation with the President on the subject."
+
+Just what one thing changed the President so suddenly upon the
+question of the employment of Negroes as soldiers was not known.
+
+In Louisiana the Negroes were anxious to enlist in the service of the
+Union, and with this object in view thousands of them sought the
+Federal camps. Brig.-Gen. J. W. Phelps, commanding the forces at
+Carrolton, La., found his camps daily crowded with fugitives from
+slavery. What to do with them became a question of great moment. Gen.
+Phelps became convinced that it was impossible to subdue a great
+rebellion if slavery were to have the protection of Federal bayonets.
+He gave the Negroes who came to his camp protection; and for this was
+reported to his superior officer, Gen. Butler. In a report to the
+latter officer's Adjutant-General, on June 16, 1862, he said:
+
+ "The enfranchisement of the people of Europe has been, and is
+ still, going on, through the instrumentality of military service;
+ and by this means our slaves might be raised in the scale of
+ civilization and prepared for freedom. Fifty regiments might be
+ raised among them at once, which could be employed in this
+ climate to preserve order, and thus prevent the necessity of
+ retrenching our liberties, as we should do by a large army
+ exclusively of Whites. For it is evident that a considerable army
+ of Whites would give stringency to our Government; while an army
+ partly of Blacks would naturally operate in favor of freedom and
+ against those influences which at present most endanger our
+ liberties. At the end of five years, they could be sent to
+ Africa, and their places filled with new enlistments."
+
+Receiving no specific response to this overture, Gen. Phelps made a
+requisition of arms, clothing, etc., for "three regiments of Africans,
+which I propose to raise for the defense of this point"; adding:
+
+ "The location is swampy and unhealthy; and our men are dying at
+ the rate of two or three a day.
+
+ "The Southern loyalists are willing, as I understand, to furnish
+ their share of the tax for the support of the war; but they
+ should also furnish their quota of men; which they have not thus
+ far done. An opportunity now offers of supplying the deficiency;
+ and it is not safe to neglect opportunities in war. I think that,
+ with the proper facilities, I could raise the three regiments
+ proposed in a short time. Without holding out any inducements, or
+ offering any reward, I have now upward of 300 Africans organized
+ into five companies, who are all willing and ready to show their
+ devotion to our cause in any way that it may be put to the test.
+ They are willing to submit to any thing rather than to slavery.
+
+ "Society, in the South, seems to be on the point of dissolution;
+ and the best way of preventing the African from becoming
+ instrumental in a general state of anarchy, is to enlist him in
+ the cause of the Republic. If we reject his services, any petty
+ military chieftain, by offering him freedom, can have them for
+ the purpose of robbery and plunder. It is for the interests of
+ the South, as well as of the North, that the African should be
+ permitted to offer his block for the temple of freedom.
+ Sentiments unworthy of the man of the present day--worthy only of
+ another Cain--could alone prevent such an offer from being
+ accepted.
+
+ "I would recommend that the cadet graduates of the present year
+ should be sent to South Carolina and this point, to organize and
+ discipline our African levies; and that the more promising
+ non-commissioned officers and privates of the army be appointed
+ as company officers to command them. Prompt and energetic efforts
+ in this direction would probably accomplish more toward a speedy
+ termination of the war, and an early restoration of peace and
+ unity, than any other course which could be adopted."[94]
+
+Gen. Butler advised Gen. Phelps to employ "contrabands" for mere
+fatigue duty, and charged him not to use them as soldiers. On the 31st
+of July, 1862, Gen. Phelps rejoined by informing Gen. Butler: "I am
+not willing to become the mere slave-driver you propose, having no
+qualifications that way," and immediately tendered his resignation.
+
+Nothing could stay the mighty stream of fugitives that poured into the
+Union lines by day and by night. Nothing could cool the ardor of the
+loyal Negroes who so earnestly desired to share the perils and honors
+of the Federal army. There was but one course left and that was to
+call the Negroes to arms as Gen. Jackson had done nearly a half
+century before. Gen. Butler repented his action toward the gallant and
+intelligent Phelps, and on the 24th of August, 1862, appealed to the
+free Colored men of New Orleans to take up arms in defence of the
+Union. As in the War of 1812, they responded to the call with
+enthusiasm; and in just two weeks one thousand Negroes were organized
+into a regiment. All the men and line officers were Colored; the
+staff-officers were white. Another regiment was raised and officered
+like the first--only two white men in it; while the third regiment was
+officered without regard to nationality. Two Colored batteries were
+raised, but all the officers were white because there were no Negroes
+found who understood that arm of the service.
+
+The summer was gone, and Gen. McClellan, instead of "taking Richmond,"
+had closed his campaign on the Peninsula most ingloriously. The
+President was compelled to make another call for troops--60,000.
+Conscription was unavoidable in many places, and prejudice against the
+military employment of Negroes began to decrease in proportion to the
+increase of the chances of white men to be drafted. On the 16th of
+July, 1862, Gen. Henry Wilson, United States Senator from
+Massachusetts, and Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs,
+introduced a bill in the Senate amending the act of 1795, prescribing
+the manner of the calling forth of the militia to suppress
+insurrections, etc. Several amendments were offered, much debate was
+had, and finally it passed, amended, empowering the President to
+accept "persons of African descent, for the purpose of constructing
+entrenchments or performing camp service, or _any_ war service for
+which they may be found competent." It was agreed, grudgingly, to free
+the slaves of rebels _only_ who should faithfully serve the
+country,--but _not_ their wives and children! The vote was 28 yeas to
+9 nays. It went to the House, where it was managed by Mr. Stevens, of
+Pennsylvania, and upon a call of the previous question was passed. On
+the next day, July 17th, it received the signature of the President,
+and became the law of the land.
+
+On the 28th of January the Army Appropriation bill was under
+consideration in the United States Senate. Garrett Davis, of Kentucky,
+had opposed, by the most frantic and desperate efforts, every attempt
+to use Negroes in any capacity to aid in the suppression of the
+Rebellion. Accordingly he offered the following amendment to the
+Appropriation bill:
+
+ "Provided, That no part of the sums appropriated by this act
+ shall be disbursed for the pay, subsistence, or any other
+ supplies, of any negro, free or slave, in the armed military
+ service of the United States."
+
+It received 8 votes, with 28 against it. Those who sustained the
+amendment were all Democrats:
+
+Messrs. Carlyle, G. Davis, Kennedy, Latham, Nesmith, Powell, Turpie,
+and Wall.
+
+The fight against the employment of Negroes as soldiers was renewed.
+On every occasion the opposition was led by a Kentucky representative!
+On the 21st of December, 1863, during the pendency of the Deficiency
+bill in the House, Mr. Harding, of Kentucky, desired to amend it by
+inserting the following:
+
+ "_Provided_, That no part of the moneys aforesaid shall be
+ applied to the raising, arming, equipping, or paying of negro
+ soldiers."
+
+It was rejected: yeas, 41; nays, 105. The yeas were:
+
+Messrs. Ancona, Bliss, James S. Brown, Coffroth, Cox, Dawson,
+Dennison, Eden, Edgerton, Eldridge, Finck, Grider, Hall, Harding,
+Harrington, Benjamin G. Harris, Charles M. Harris, Philip Johnson,
+William Johnson, King, Knapp, Law, Long, Marcy, McKinney, William H.
+Miller, James R. Morris, Morrison, Noble, John O'Neill, Pendleton,
+Samuel J. Randall, Rogers, Ross, Scott, Stiles, Strouse, Stuart,
+Chilton A. White, Joseph W. White, Yeaman.
+
+On the 26th of January, 1863, the Secretary of War authorized Gov.
+John A. Andrew, of Massachusetts, to raise two regiments of Negro
+troops to serve three years. The order allowed the governor to raise
+"volunteer companies of artillery for duty in the forts of
+Massachusetts and elsewhere, and such companies of infantry for the
+volunteer military service as he may find convenient, and may include
+persons of African descent, organized into separate corps."
+
+The Governor of Massachusetts immediately delegated authority to John
+W. M. Appleton to superintend the recruiting of the 54th
+Massachusetts, the first regiment of free Colored men raised at the
+North. The regiment was filled by the 13th of May, and ready to march
+to the front. It had been arranged that the regiment should pass
+through New York City on its way to the scene of the war in South
+Carolina, but the Chief of Police of New York suggested that the
+regiment would be subject to insult if it came. The regiment was sent
+forth with the blessings of Massachusetts and the prayers of its
+patriotic people. It went by water to South Carolina.
+
+While Massachusetts was engaged in recruiting Negro soldiers, Gen.
+Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the United States Army, was
+despatched from Washington to the Mississippi Valley, where he
+inaugurated a system of recruiting service for Negroes. In a speech to
+the officers and men in the organization of white troops, he said, on
+the 8th of April, 1863, at Lake Providence, La.:
+
+ "You know full well--for you have been over this country--that
+ the Rebels have sent into the field all their available fighting
+ men--every man capable of bearing arms; and you know they have
+ kept at home all their slaves for the raising of subsistence for
+ their armies in the field. In this way they can bring to bear
+ against us all the strength of their so-called Confederate
+ States; while we at the North can only send a portion of our
+ fighting force, being compelled to leave behind another portion
+ to cultivate our fields and supply the wants of an immense army.
+ The Administration has determined to take from the Rebels this
+ source of supply--to take their negroes and compel them to send
+ back a portion of their whites to cultivate their deserted
+ plantations--and very poor persons they would be to fill the
+ place of the dark-hued laborer. They must do this, or their
+ armies will starve. * * *
+
+ "All of you will some day be on picket duty; and I charge you
+ all, if any of this unfortunate race come within your lines, that
+ you do not turn them away, but receive them kindly and
+ cordially. They are to be encouraged to come to us; they are to
+ be received with open arms; they are to be fed and clothed; they
+ are to be armed."
+
+On the 1st of May, 1863, Gen. Banks, in an order directing the
+recruiting of the "Corps d'Afrique," said:
+
+ "The prejudices or opinions of men are in no wise involved"; and
+ "it is not established upon any dogma of equality, or other
+ theory, but as a practical and sensible matter of business. The
+ Government makes use of mules, horses, uneducated and educated
+ White men, in the defense of its institutions. Why should not the
+ negro contribute whatever is in his power for the cause in which
+ he is as deeply interested as other men? We may properly demand
+ from him whatever service he can render," etc., etc.
+
+In the autumn of 1863, Adjutant-General Thomas issued the following
+order respecting the military employment of Negroes as soldiers:
+
+
+ "ENLISTMENT OF COLORED TROOPS.
+
+ "GENERAL ORDERS, No. 329.
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, }
+ "WASHINGTON, D. C., October 13, 1863. }
+
+ "WHEREAS, The exigencies of the war require that colored troops
+ be enlisted in the States of Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee,
+ it is
+
+ "ORDERED BY THE PRESIDENT, That the Chief of the Bureau for the
+ Organization of Colored Troops shall establish recruiting
+ stations at convenient places within said States, and give public
+ notice thereof, and be governed by the following regulations:
+
+ "First. None but able-bodied persons shall be enlisted.
+
+ "Second. The State and county in which the enlistments are made
+ shall be credited with the recruits enlisted.
+
+ "Third. All persons enlisted into the military service shall
+ forever thereafter be FREE.
+
+ "Fourth. Free persons, and slaves with the written consent of
+ their owners, and slaves belonging to those who have been engaged
+ in or given aid or comfort to the rebellion, may now be
+ enlisted--the owners who have not been engaged in or given aid to
+ the rebellion being entitled to compensation as hereinafter
+ provided.
+
+ "Fifth. If within thirty days from the date of opening
+ enlistments, notice thereof and of the recruiting stations being
+ published, a sufficient number of the description of persons
+ aforesaid to meet the exigencies of the service should not be
+ enlisted, then enlistments may be made of slaves without
+ requiring consent of their owners, but they may receive
+ compensation as herein provided for owners offering their slaves
+ for enlistment.
+
+ "Sixth. Any citizen of said States, who shall offer his or her
+ slave for enlistment into the military service, shall, if such
+ slave be accepted, receive from the recruiting officer a
+ certificate thereof, and become entitled to compensation for the
+ service of said slave, not exceeding the sum of three hundred
+ dollars, upon filing a valid deed of manumission and of release,
+ and making satisfactory proof of title. And the recruiting
+ officer shall furnish to any claimant of descriptive list of any
+ person enlisted and claimed under oath to be his or her slave,
+ and allow any one claiming under oath that his or her slave has
+ been enlisted without his or her consent, the privilege of
+ inspecting the enlisted man for the purpose of identification.
+
+ "Seventh. A board of three persons shall be appointed by the
+ President, to whom the rolls and recruiting lists shall be
+ furnished for public information, and, on demand exhibited, to
+ any person claiming that his or her slave has been enlisted
+ against his or her will.
+
+ "Eighth. If a person shall within ten days after the filing of
+ said rolls, make a claim for the service of any person so
+ enlisted, the board shall proceed to examine the proof of title,
+ and, if valid, shall award just compensation, not exceeding three
+ hundred dollars for each slave enlisted belonging to the
+ claimant, and upon the claimant filing a valid deed of
+ manumission and release of service, the board shall give the
+ claimant a certificate of the sum awarded, which on presentation
+ shall be paid by the chief of the Bureau.
+
+ "Ninth. All enlistments of colored troops in the State of
+ Maryland, otherwise than in accordance with these regulations,
+ are forbidden.
+
+ "Tenth. No person who is or has been engaged in the rebellion
+ against the Government of the United States, or who in any way
+ has or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the
+ Government, shall be permitted to present any claim or receive
+ any compensation for the labor or service of any slave, and all
+ claimants shall file with their claim an oath of allegiance to
+ the United States. By order of the President.
+
+ "E. D. TOWNSEND,
+ "_Assistant Adjutant-General_."
+
+This order was extended, on October 26th, to Delaware, at the personal
+request of Governor Cannon.
+
+On the 12th of November, 1863, the Union League Club of New York City
+appointed a committee for the purpose of recruiting Colored troops.
+Col. George Bliss was made chairman and entered upon the work with
+energy and alacrity. On the 23d of November the committee addressed a
+letter to Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, stating that as he
+had no authority to grant them permission to enlist a Negro regiment;
+and as the National Government was unwilling to grant such authority
+without the sympathy and assent of the State government, they would
+feel greatly obliged should his excellency grant the committee his
+official concurrence. Gov. Seymour assured the committee of his
+official inability to grant authority for the raising of Colored
+troops,--just what the committee had written him,--and referred them
+to the National Government, on the 27th of November. The committee
+applied to the authorities at Washington, and on the 5th of December,
+1863, the Secretary of War granted them authority to raise the 20th
+Regiment of United States Colored Troops. Having secured the authority
+of the Government to begin their work, the committee wrote Gov.
+Seymour: "We express the hope that, so far as in your power, you will
+give to the movement your aid and countenance." The governor never
+found the time to answer the request of the committee!
+
+The work was pushed forward with zeal and enthusiasm. The Colored men
+rallied to the call, and within two weeks from the time the committee
+called for Colored volunteers 1,000 men responded. By the 27th of
+January, 1864, a second regiment was full; and thus in forty-five days
+the Union League Club Committee on the Recruiting of Colored Regiments
+had raised 2,000 soldiers!
+
+Out of 9,000 men of color, eligible by age--18 to 45 years--to go into
+the service, 2,300 enlisted in less than sixty days. There was no
+bounty held out to them as an incentive to enlist; no protection
+promised to their families, nor to them should they fall into the
+hands of the enemy. But they were patriots! They were willing to
+endure any thing rather than the evils that would surely attend the
+triumph of the Confederacy. They went to the front under auspicious
+circumstances.
+
+The 20th Regiment, under the command of Col. Bartram, landed at
+Thirty-Sixth Street, was headed by the police and the patriotic
+members of the Union League Club, and had a triumphal march through
+the city.
+
+ "The scene of yesterday," says a New York paper, "was one which
+ marks an era of progress in the political and social history of
+ New York. A thousand men with black skins and clad and equipped
+ with the uniforms and arms of the United States Government,
+ marched from their camp through the most aristocratic and busy
+ streets, received a grand ovation at the hands of the wealthiest
+ and most respectable ladies and gentlemen of New York, and then
+ moved down Broadway to the steamer which bears them to their
+ destination--all amid the enthusiastic cheers, the encouraging
+ plaudits, the waving handkerchiefs, the showering bouquets and
+ other approving manifestations of a hundred thousand of the most
+ loyal of our people.
+
+ "In the month of July last the homes of these people were burned
+ and pillaged by an infuriated political mob; they and their
+ families were hunted down and murdered in the public streets of
+ this city; and the force and majesty of the law were powerless to
+ protect them. Seven brief months have passed, and a thousand of
+ these despised and persecuted men march through the city in the
+ garb of United States soldiers, in vindication of their own
+ manhood, and with the approval of a countless multitude--in
+ effect saving from inevitable and distasteful conscription the
+ same number of those who hunted their persons and destroyed their
+ homes during those days of humiliation and disgrace. This is
+ noble vengeance--a vengeance taught by Him who commanded, 'Love
+ them that hate you; do good to them that persecute you.'"
+
+The recruiting of Colored troops in Pennsylvania was carried on,
+perhaps, with more vigor, intelligence, and enthusiasm than in any of
+the other free States. A committee for the recruiting of men of color
+for the United States army was appointed at Philadelphia, with Thomas
+Webster as Chairman, Cadwalader Biddle, as Secretary, and S. A.
+Mercer, as Treasurer. This committee raised $33,388.00 for the
+recruiting of Colored regiments. The 54th and 55th Massachusetts
+regiments had cost about $60,000, but this committee agreed to raise
+three regiments at a cost of $10,000 per regiment.
+
+The committee founded a camp, and named it "Camp William Penn," at
+Shelton Hill, near Philadelphia. On the 26th of June, 1863, the first
+squad of eighty men went into camp. On the 3d of February, 1864, the
+committee made the following statement, in reference to the raising of
+regiments:
+
+ "On the 24th July, 1863, the First (3d United States) regiment
+ was full.
+
+ "On the 13th September, 1863, the Second (6th United States)
+ regiment was full.
+
+ "On the 4th December, 1863, the Third (8th United States)
+ regiment was full.
+
+ "On the 6th January, 1864, the Fourth (22d United States)
+ regiment was full.
+
+ "On the 3d February, 1864, the Fifth (25th United States)
+ regiment was full.
+
+ "August 13th, 1863, the Third United States regiment left Camp
+ William Penn, and was in front of Fort Wagner when it
+ surrendered.
+
+ "October 14th, 1863, the Sixth United States regiment left for
+ Yorktown.
+
+ "January 16th, 1864, the Eighth United States regiment left for
+ Hilton Head.
+
+ "The 22d and 25th regiments are now at Camp William Penn, waiting
+ orders from the Government."
+
+The duty of recruiting "Colored troops" in the Department of the
+Cumberland was committed by Secretary Stanton to an able, honest, and
+patriotic man, Mr. George L. Stearns, of Massachusetts. Mr. Stearns
+had devoted his energies, wealth, and time to the cause of the slave
+during the holy anti-slavery agitation. He was a wealthy merchant of
+Boston; dwelt, with a noble wife and beautiful children, at Medford.
+He had been, from the commencement of the agitation, an ultra
+Abolitionist. He regarded slavery as a gigantic system of complicated
+evils, at war with all the known laws of civilized society; inimical
+to the fundamental principles of political economy; destructive to
+republican institutions; hateful in the sight of God, and ever
+abhorrent to all honest men. He hated slavery. He hated truckling,
+obsequious, cringing hypocrites. He put his feelings into vigorous
+English, and keyed his deeds and actions to the sublime notes of
+charity that filled his heart and adorned a long and eminently useful
+life. He gave shelter to the majestic and heroic John Brown. His door
+was--like the heavenly gates--ajar to every fugitive from slavery, and
+his fiery earnestness kindled the flagging zeal of many a conservative
+friend of God's poor.
+
+Such a man was chosen to put muskets into the hands of the Negroes in
+the Department of the Cumberland. His rank was that of major, with the
+powers of an assistant adjutant-general. He took up his headquarters
+at Nashville, Tennessee. He carried into the discharge of the duties
+of his important office large executive ability, excellent judgment,
+and rare fidelity. He organized the best regiments that served in the
+Western army. When he had placed the work in excellent condition he
+committed it to the care of Capt. R. D. Mussey, who afterward was
+made the Colonel of the 100th U. S. Colored Troops.
+
+The intense and unrelenting prejudice against the Negroes, and their
+ignorance of military tactics, made it necessary for the Government to
+provide suitable white commissioned officers. The prospect was
+pleasing to many young white men in the ranks; and ambition went far
+to irradicate prejudice against Negro soldiers. Nearly every white
+private and non-commissioned officer was expecting the lightning to
+strike him; _every_ one expected to be promoted to be a commissioned
+officer, and, therefore, had no prejudice against the men they hoped
+to command as their _superior_ officers. To prepare the large number
+of applicants for commissions in Colored regiments a "Free Military
+School" was established at No. 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
+Secretary Stanton gave the school the following official endorsement
+in the spring of 1864.
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT, }
+ "WASHINGTON CITY, March 21, 1864. }
+
+ "THOMAS WEBSTER, ESQ., _Chairman_,
+ "1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
+
+ "SIR: The project of establishing a free Military School for the
+ education of candidates for the position of commissioned officers
+ in the Colored Troops, received the cordial approval of this
+ Department. Sufficient success has already attended the workings
+ of the institution to afford the promise of much usefulness
+ hereafter in sending into the service a class of instructed and
+ efficient officers.
+
+ "Very respectfully,
+ "Your obedient servant,
+ "EDWIN M. STANTON,
+ "_Secretary of War_."
+
+In reply to a letter from Thomas Webster, Esq., Chairman, etc., of the
+Recruiting Committee, General Casey sent the following letter:
+
+ "WASHINGTON, D. C., March 7, 1864.
+
+ "DEAR SIR: Yours of the 4th instant is received, and I have
+ directed the Secretary of the Board to attend to your request.
+
+ "It gives me great pleasure to learn that your School is
+ prospering, and I am also pleased to inform you that the Board of
+ which I am President has not as yet rejected one of your
+ candidates. I am gratified to see that the necessity of
+ procuring competent officers for the armies of the Republic is
+ beginning to be better appreciated by the public.
+
+ "I trust I shall never have occasion to regret my agency in
+ suggesting the formation of your School, and I am sure the
+ country owes your Committee much for the energy and judgment with
+ which it has carried it out. The liberality which opens its doors
+ to the young men of all the States is noble, and does honor to
+ those citizens of Philadelphia from whom its support is
+ principally derived.
+
+ "Truly yours,
+ "SILAS CASEY,
+ "_Major-General_.
+
+ "TO THOMAS WEBSTER, ESQ., _Chairman_,
+ "1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia."
+
+In reference to applicants the following letter was written by the
+Adjutant-General:
+
+ "GENERAL ORDERS, }
+ "No. 125." }
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT,"
+ "ADJUTANT-GEN.'S OFFICE,
+ "WASHINGTON, March 29, 1864.
+
+ "Furloughs, not to exceed thirty days in each case, to the
+ non-commissioned officers and privates of the army who may desire
+ to enter the Free Military School at Philadelphia, may be granted
+ by the Commanders of Armies and Departments, when the character,
+ conduct, and capacity of the applicants are such as to warrant
+ their immediate and superior commanders in recommending them for
+ commissioned appointments in the regiments of colored troops.
+
+ "By order of the Secretary of War.
+
+ "E. D. TOWNSEND,
+ "_Assistant Adjutant-General_."
+
+The organization of the school was as follows:
+
+
+ _Chief Preceptor._
+
+ JOHN H. TAGGART
+
+ (Late Colonel 12th Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps),
+ _Professor of Infantry Tactics and Army Regulations_.
+
+ _Assistant Professors._
+
+
+ _MILITARY STAFF._
+
+ ALBERT L. MAGILTON
+ (Graduate of West Point Military Academy, and late Colonel 4th
+ Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps),
+ _Professor of Infantry Tactics and Army Regulations._
+
+ LEVI FETTERS
+ (Late Captain 175th Pennsylvania Regiment),
+ _Professor of Infantry Tactics and Army Regulations._
+
+ STUDENT DANL. W. HERR
+ (Late 1st Lieutenant Co. E., 122d Pennsylvania Regiment),
+ _Post Adjutant._
+
+ STUDENT J. HALE SYPHER, OF PENNSYLVANIA,
+ _Field Adjutant._
+
+ STUDENT LOUIS M. TAFT. M.D.
+ (Graduate of University of Penn.),
+ _Surgeon._
+
+
+ _ACADEMIC STAFF._
+
+ JOHN P. BIRCH, A.M.,
+ A. E. ROGERSON, A.M.,
+ _Professors of Mathematics, Geography, and History_
+
+ Wm. L. WILSON,
+ _Librarian and Phonographic Clerk._
+
+ STUDENT CHARLES BENTRICK, SR.,
+ _Postmaster._
+
+ JAMES BUCHANAN (COLORED),
+ _Messenger._
+
+Within less than six months 1,051 applicants had been examined; 560
+passed, and 491 were rejected.
+
+Four regular classes were formed, and in addition to daily recitations
+the students were required to drill twice every day. The school
+performed excellent work; and furnished for the service many brave and
+efficient officers.
+
+By December, 1863, 100,000 Colored Troops were in the service. About
+50,000 were armed by that time and in the field.
+
+Everywhere they were winning golden laurels by their aptitude in
+drill, their patient performance of the duties of the camp, and by
+their matchless courage in the deadly field. The young white officers
+who so cheerfully bore the odium of commanding Colored Troops, and who
+so heroically faced the dangers of capture and cruel death, had no
+superiors in the army. They had the supreme satisfaction of commanding
+brave men to whom they soon found themselves deeply attached. It was a
+school in which the noblest and purest patriot might feel himself
+honored and inspired to the performance of deathless deeds of valor.
+
+The following tables indicate the manner in which the work was done.
+
+_Analysis of Examination of Applicants for Command of Colored Troops,
+before the Board at Washington, of which Major-General Silas Casey is
+President, from the organization of the Board to March 29th, 1864,
+inclusive._
+
+ Number accepted and for
+ what rank recommended.
+ ---------------------------
+ Colonels.
+ | Lieutenant-Colonels.
+ | | Majors.
+ Rank. | | | Captains.
+ | | | | 1st Lieutenants.
+ | | | | | 2d Lieutenants.
+ Number | | | | | | Number
+ examined. | | | | | | rejected.
+ Colonels 4 - - 2 - - - 2
+ Lieutenant-Colonels 3 - 2 - - 1 - -
+ Majors 9 2 3 1 2 - - 1
+ Captains 68 3 7 8 20 5 3 22
+ 1st Lieutenants 52 3 - 4 10 8 7 20
+ 2d Lieutenants 24 - - - 9 2 3 10
+ Sergeants 505 - 1 - 62 75 133 234
+ Corporals 230 - - - 23 46 64 97
+ Privates 449 - - - 26 57 124 242
+ Civilians 429 1 6 15 48 49 94 216
+ --------------------------------------
+ 1,773 9 19 30 200 243 428 844
+ Students of the
+ Philadelphia Free
+ Military School 94 2 4 6 28 25 25 4
+ --------------------------------------
+ 1,867 11 23 36 228 268 453 848
+
+_Analysis of the Examination to 31st March, 1864, of the Students of
+the Philadelphia Free Military School, before the Board of Examiners
+at Washington, for Applicants for Command of Colored Troops,
+Major-General Silas Casey, President._
+
+ Number accepted and for
+ what rank recommended.
+ ---------------------------
+ Colonels.
+ | Lieut-Colonels.
+ | | Majors.
+ Rank. | | | Captains.
+ | | | | 1st Lieutenants.
+ | | | | | 2d Lieutenants.
+ Number | | | | | | Number
+ examined. | | | | | | rejected.
+ Sergeants 14 - 1 - 3 3 6 1
+ Corporals 8 - - - 2 4 2 -
+ Privates 33 1 - 1 9 11 10 1
+ Civilians[95] 39 1 3 5 14 6 8 2
+ ----------------------------------------
+ 94 2 4 6 28 24 26 4
+
+The following official table gives the entire number of Colored Troops
+in the army from beginning to end.
+
+ STATES AND TERRITORIES.
+
+ Colored Troops furnished
+ 1861-'65.
+ Connecticut 1,764
+ Maine 104
+ Massachusetts 3,966
+ New Hampshire 125
+ Rhode Island 1,837
+ Vermont 120
+ ------
+ Total of New England States 7,916
+
+ New Jersey 1,185
+ New York 4,125
+ Pennsylvania 8,612
+ ------
+ Total of Middle States 13,922
+
+ STATES AND TERRITORIES.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Colored Troops furnished
+ 1861-'65.
+ Colorado Ter. 95
+ Dakota Ter. -
+ Illinois 1,811
+ Indiana 1,537
+ Iowa 440
+ Kansas 2,080
+ Michigan 1,387
+ Minnesota 104
+ Nebraska Ter. -
+ New Mexico Ter. -
+ Ohio 5,092
+ Wisconsin 165
+ ------
+ Total, Western States and Territories 12,711
+
+ California -
+ Nevada -
+ Oregon -
+ Washington Ter. -
+ Delaware 954
+ Dist. Columbia 3,269
+ Kentucky 23,703
+ Maryland 8,718
+ Missouri 8,344
+ West Virginia 196
+ ------
+ Total, Border States 45,184
+
+ Alabama 4,969
+ Arkansas 5,526
+ Florida 1,044
+ Georgia -
+ Louisiana 3,486
+ Mississippi 17,869
+ North Carolina 5,035
+ South Carolina 5,462
+ Tennessee 20,133
+ Texas 47
+ Virginia -
+ ------
+ Total, Southern States 63,571
+
+ STATES AND TERRITORIES.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Colored Troops furnished
+ 1861-'65.
+ Indian Nation -
+ Colored Troops[96] -
+ -------
+ Grand Total 173,079
+ At Large 733
+ Not accounted for 5,083
+ Officers 7,122
+ -------
+ Total 186,017
+
+Notwithstanding the complete demonstration of fact that Negroes were
+required as United States soldiers, there were many opposers of the
+movement. Some of the best men and leading journals were very
+conservative on this question. An elaborate and cautious editorial in
+the "New York Times" of February 16, 1863, fairly exhibits the
+nervousness of the North on the subject of the military employment of
+the Negro.
+
+ "USE OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+ "One branch of Congress has rejected a bill authorizing the
+ enlistment of negro soldiers. Mr. Sumner declares his intention
+ to persist in forcing the passage of such a law by offering it as
+ an amendment to some other bill. Meantime the President, by laws
+ already enacted, has full authority over the subject, and we can
+ see no good object to be attained by forcing it into the
+ discussions of Congress and adding it to the causes of dissension
+ already existing in the country at large.
+
+ "A law of last Congress authorized the President to use the
+ negroes as laborers or _otherwise_, as they can be made most
+ useful in the work of quelling the rebellion. Under this
+ authority, it is understood that he has decided to use them in
+ certain cases as soldiers. Some of them are already employed in
+ garrisoning Southern forts, on the Mississippi River, which
+ whites cannot safely occupy on account of the climate. Governor
+ Sprague has authority to raise negro regiments in Rhode Island,
+ and has proclaimed his intention to lead them when raised in
+ person, and Gov. Andrew has received similar authority for the
+ State of Massachusetts. We see, therefore, not the slightest
+ necessity for any further legislation on this subject, and hope
+ Mr. Sumner will consent that Congress may give its attention,
+ during the short remainder of its session, to topics of pressing
+ practical importance.
+
+ "Whether negroes shall or shall not be employed as soldiers,
+ seems to us purely a question of expediency, and to be solved
+ satisfactorily only by experiment. As to our _right_ so to employ
+ them, it seems absurd to question it for a moment. The most
+ bigoted and inveterate stickler for the absolute divinity of
+ slavery in the Southern States would scarcely insist that, as a
+ matter of right, either constitutional or moral, we could not
+ employ negroes as soldiers in the army. Whether they are, or are
+ not, by nature, by law, or by usage, the equals of the white man,
+ makes not the slightest difference in this respect. Even those at
+ the North who are so terribly shocked at the prospect of their
+ being thus employed, confine their objections to grounds of
+ expediency. They urge:
+
+ "1st. That the negroes will not fight. This, if true, is
+ exclusive against their being used as soldiers. But we see no way
+ of testing the question except by trying the experiment. It will
+ take but a very short time and but very few battles to determine
+ whether they have courage, steadiness, subjection to military
+ discipline and the other qualities essential to good soldiership
+ or not. If they have, this objection will fall, if not then
+ beyond all question they will cease to be employed.
+
+ "2d. It is said that the whites will not fight with them--that
+ the prejudice against them is so strong that our own citizens
+ will not enlist, or will quit the service, if compelled to fight
+ by their side,--and that we shall thus lose two white soldiers
+ for one black one that we gain. If this is true, they ought not
+ to be employed. The object of using them is to strengthen our
+ military force; and if the project does not accomplish this, it
+ is a failure. The question, moreover, is one of fact, not of
+ theory. It matters nothing to say that it _ought_ not to have
+ this effect--that the prejudice is absurd and should not be
+ consulted. The point is, not what men _ought_ to do, but what
+ they will _do_. We have to deal with human nature, with
+ prejudice, with passion, with habits of thought and feeling, as
+ well as with reason and sober judgment and the moral sense.
+ Possibly the Government may have made a mistake in its estimate
+ of the effect of this measure on the public mind. The use of
+ negroes as soldiers may have a worse effect on the army and on
+ the people than they have supposed.
+
+ "But this is a matter of opinion upon which men have differed.
+ Very prominent and influential persons, Governors of States,
+ Senators, popular Editors and others have predicted the best
+ results from such a measure, while others have anticipated the
+ worst. The President has resolved to try the experiment. If it
+ works well, the country will be the gainer. If not, we have no
+ doubt it will be abandoned. If the effect of using negroes as
+ soldiers upon the army and the country, proves to be depressing
+ and demoralizing, so as to weaken rather than strengthen our
+ military operations, they will cease to be employed. The
+ President is a practical man, not at all disposed to sacrifice
+ practical results to abstract theories.
+
+ "3d. It is said we shall get no negroes--or not enough to prove
+ of any service. In the free States very few will volunteer, and
+ in the Slave States we can get but few, because the Rebels will
+ push them Southward as fast as we advance upon them. This may be
+ so. We confess we share, with many others, the opinion that it
+ will.
+
+ "But we may as well wait patiently the short time required to
+ settle the point. When we hear more definitely from Gov.
+ Sprague's black battalions and Gov. Andrew's negro brigades, we
+ shall know more accurately what to think of the measure as one
+ for the Free States; and when we hear further of the success of
+ Gen. Banks and Gen. Saxton in enlisting them at the South, we can
+ form a better judgment of the movement there. If we get very few
+ or even none, the worst that can be said will be that the project
+ is a failure; and the demonstration that it is so will have
+ dissipated another of the many delusions which dreamy people have
+ cherished about this war.
+
+ "4th. The use of negroes will exasperate the South; and some of
+ our Peace Democrats make that an objection to the measure. We
+ presume it will; but so will any other scheme we may adopt which
+ is warlike and effective in its character and results. If that
+ consideration is to govern us, we must follow Mr. Vallandingham's
+ advice and stop the war entirely, or as Mr. McMasters puts it in
+ his Newark speech, go 'for an immediate and _unconditional_
+ peace.' We are not quite ready for _that_ yet.
+
+ "The very best thing that can be done under existing
+ circumstances, in our judgment, is to possess our Souls in
+ patience while _the experiment_ is being tried. The problem will
+ probably speedily solve itself--much more speedily than heated
+ discussion or harsh criminations can solve it."
+
+It didn't require a great deal of time for the Black troops to make a
+good impression; and while the Congress, the press, and the people
+were being exercised over the probable out-come, the first regiment of
+ex-slaves ever equipped for the service was working a revolution in
+public sentiment. On the last day of January, 1863, the "New York
+Tribune" printed the following editorial on the subject:
+
+ "A disloyal minority in the House is factiously resisting the
+ passage of the Steven's bill, authorizing the President to raise
+ and equip 150,000 soldiers of African descent. Meanwhile, in the
+ Department of the South a full regiment of blacks has been
+ enlisted under Gen. Saxton; is already uniformed and armed, and
+ has been actively drilling for the last seven weeks. A letter
+ which we printed on Wednesday from our Special Correspondent, who
+ is usually well qualified to judge of its military proficiency,
+ says of this regiment that no honest-minded, unprejudiced
+ observer could come to any other conclusion than that it had
+ attained a remarkable proficiency in the short period during
+ which it had been drilled. We have in addition from an officer of
+ the regiment, who is thoroughly informed as to its condition, a
+ very interesting statement of its remarkable progress, and some
+ valuable suggestions on the employment of negro troops in
+ general.
+
+ "'This regiment--the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel
+ Thomas Wentworth Higginson--marched on the 17th for the first
+ time through the streets of Beaufort. It was the remark of many
+ bitterly pro-slavery officers that they looked "splendidly." They
+ marched through by platoons, and returned by the flank; the
+ streets were filled with soldiers and citizens, but every man
+ looked straight before him and carried himself steadily. How many
+ white regiments do the same? One black soldier said: "We didn't
+ see a thing in Beaufort; ebery man hold his head straight up to
+ de front, ebery step was worth a half dollar."
+
+ "'Many agreed with what is my deliberate opinion,' writes this
+ officer, 'that no regiment in this department can, even now,
+ surpass this one. In marching in regimental line I have not seen
+ it equalled. In the different modes of passing from line into
+ column, and from column into line, in changing front,
+ countermarching, forming divisions, and forming square, whether
+ by the common methods, or by Casey's methods, it does itself the
+ greatest credit. Nor have I yet discovered the slightest ground
+ of inferiority to white troops.
+
+ "'So far is it from being true that the blacks as material
+ soldiers are inferior to white, that they are in some respects
+ manifestly superior; especially in aptness for drill, because of
+ their imitativeness and love of music; docility in discipline,
+ when their confidence is once acquired; and enthusiasm for the
+ cause. _They_ at least know what they are fighting for. They have
+ also a _pride_ as soldiers, which is not often found in our white
+ regiments, where every private is only too apt to think himself
+ specially qualified to supersede his officers. They are above all
+ things faithful and trustworthy on duty from the start. In the
+ best white regiments it has been found impossible to trust
+ newly-enlisted troops with the countersign--they invariably
+ betray it to their comrades. There has been but one such instance
+ in this black regiment, and that was in the case of a mere boy,
+ whose want of fidelity excited the greatest indignation among his
+ comrades.
+
+ "'Drunkenness, the bane of our army, does not _exist_ among the
+ black troops. There has not been _one_ instance in the regiment.
+ Enough. The only difficulty which threatened to become at all
+ serious was that of absence without leave and overstaying passes,
+ but this was checked by a few decided measures and has ceased
+ entirely.
+
+ "'When this regiment was first organized, some months ago, it had
+ to encounter bitter hostility from the white troops at Port
+ Royal, and there was great exultation when General Hunter found
+ himself obliged to disband it. Since its reorganization this
+ feeling seems to have almost disappeared. There is no complaint
+ by the privates of insult or ill-treatment, formerly
+ disgracefully common from their white comrades.
+
+ "'It has been supposed that these black troops would prove fitter
+ for garrison duty than active service in the field. No impression
+ could be more mistaken. Their fidelity as sentinels adapts them
+ especially, no doubt, to garrison duty; but their natural place
+ is in the advance. There is an inherent dash and fire about them
+ which white troops of more sluggish Northern blood do not
+ emulate, and their hearty enthusiasm shows itself in all ways.
+ Such qualities are betrayed even in drill, as anybody may know
+ who has witnessed the dull, mechanical way in which ordinary
+ troops make a bayonet charge on the parade ground, and contrasts
+ it with the spirit of those negro troops in the same movement.
+ They are to be used, moreover, in a country which they know
+ perfectly. Merely from their knowledge of wood-craft and
+ water-craft, it would be a sheer waste of material to keep them
+ in garrison. It is scarcely the knowledge which is at once
+ indispensable and impossible to be acquired by our troops. See
+ these men and it is easier to understand the material of which
+ the famous Chasseurs d'Afrique are composed.'
+
+ "General Saxton, in a letter published yesterday, said: 'In no
+ regiment have I ever seen duty performed with so much
+ cheerfulness and alacrity. * * * In the organization of this
+ regiment I have labored under difficulties which might have
+ discouraged one who had less faith in the wisdom of the measure;
+ but I am glad to report that the experiment is a complete
+ success. My belief is that when we get a footing on the mainland
+ regiments may be raised which will do more than any now in the
+ service to put an end to this rebellion.'
+
+ "We are learning slowly, very slowly, in this war to use the
+ means of success which lie ready to our hands. We have learnt at
+ last that the negro is essential to our success, but we are still
+ hesitating whether to allow him to do all he can or only a part.
+
+ "It will not take many such proofs as this black regiment now
+ offers to convince us of the full value of our new allies. But we
+ ought to go beyond that selfishness which regards only our own
+ necessities and remember that the negro has a right to fight for
+ his freedom, and that he will be all the more fit to enjoy his
+ new destiny by helping to achieve it."
+
+On the 28th of March, 1863, Mr. Greeley sent forth the following able
+and sensible editorial on the Negro as a soldier:
+
+ "NEGRO TROOPS.
+
+ "Facts are beginning to dispel prejudices. Enemies of the negro
+ race, who have persistently denied the capacity and doubted the
+ courage of the Blacks, are unanswerably confuted by the good
+ conduct and gallant deeds of the men whom they persecute and
+ slander. From many quarters come evidence of the swiftly
+ approaching success which is to crown what is still by some
+ persons deemed to be the experiment of arming whom the
+ Proclamation of Freedom liberates.
+
+ "The 1st and 2d South Carolina Volunteers, under Colonels
+ Higginson and Montgomery, have ascended the St. John's River in
+ Florida as far as Jacksonville, and have re-occupied that
+ important town which was once before taken and afterward
+ abandoned by the Union forces. Many of the negroes composing
+ these regiments had been slaves in this very place. Their memory
+ of old wrongs, of the privations, outrages and tortures of
+ Slavery, must here, if anywhere, have been fresh and vivid, and
+ the passions which opportunity for just revenges stimulates even
+ in white breasts, ought to have been roused more than in all
+ other places on the spot where they had suffered.
+
+ "If, then, Jacksonville were to-day in ashes, and the ghastly
+ spirit visions of '_The World_' materialized into terrible
+ realities, the negro haters would have no, cause to be
+ disappointed. '_The World_' hailed the alleged repulse and
+ massacre of the negroes and white officers--a report which it
+ invented outright, in sheer malignity, in order to forestall
+ public opinion by creating a belief in the failure of the
+ expedition--would have changed into agonized shrieks over the
+ outrages on its Southern brethren. The experiment of subjecting
+ negroes to military rules and accustoming them to those amenities
+ of civilized warfare which the rebels so uniformly practice would
+ again have been declared to be a hopeless failure; and for the
+ hundredth time the Proclamation and the radicals who advised it
+ would have been pilloried for public execration.
+
+ "Since, however, the contrary of all this is true, it may be
+ presumed by a confiding public which does not read it that '_The
+ World_' has honestly acknowledged the injustice of its slanders.
+ It is unpleasant to disabuse a confiding public on any subject,
+ but we who are sometimes obliged to look at that paper as a
+ professional duty, regret to say that we have not discovered a
+ single evidence of its repentance. The facts are, however, that
+ Colonel Higginson's men landed quietly at Jacksonville, marched
+ through its streets in perfect order, committed no outrages or
+ excesses of any kind, and by the testimony of all witnesses
+ conducted themselves with a military decorum and perfect
+ discipline which is far from common among white regiments in
+ similar circumstances. They have gone before this time still
+ further into the interior, and will doubtless do good service in
+ a direction where their presence has been least expected by the
+ Rebels. In the only instance in which the white chivalry ventured
+ to make a stand against them, the whites were defeated and driven
+ off the field by the Blacks.
+
+ "The truth is that the fitness of negroes to be soldiers has long
+ since, in this country and elsewhere, been amply demonstrated,
+ and the success of Col. Higginson's Black Troops is no matter of
+ surprise to any person tolerably well informed about the history
+ of the race. If it were in any sense an experiment, the only
+ thing to be tested was the obstinacy of our Saxon prejudice which
+ denied the possibility of success, and did what it could to
+ prevent it. But even Saxon prejudice must shortly yield to the
+ logic of facts."
+
+In the face of the fact that the United States Government had employed
+Negroes as soldiers to fight the battles of the Union, there were men
+of intelligence who held that it was all wrong in fact, in policy, and
+in point of law. And this opinion attained such proportions that the
+Secretary of War felt called upon to request the opinion of Judge
+Advocate Holt. It is given here.
+
+ ENLISTMENT OF SLAVES.
+
+ In a letter to Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, dated Aug. 20,
+ 1863, Judge Advocate Holt said: "The right of the Government to
+ employ for the suppression of the rebellion persons of African
+ Descent held to service or labor under the local law, rests
+ firmly on two grounds:
+
+ "First, as property. Both our organic law and the usages of our
+ institutions under it recognize fully the authority of the
+ Government to seize and apply to public use private property, on
+ making compensation therefor. What the use may be to which it is
+ to be applied does not enter into the question of the right to
+ make the seizure, which is untrammelled in its exercise, save by
+ the single condition mentioned.
+
+ "Secondly, as persons. While those of African Descent held to
+ service or labor in several of the States, occupy under the laws
+ of such States, the status of property; they occupy also under
+ the Federal Government, the status of 'persons.' They are
+ referred to so _nomine_ in the Constitution of the United States,
+ and it is not as property but as 'persons' that they are
+ represented on the floor of Congress, and thus form a prominent
+ constituent element alike in the organization and practical
+ administration of the Government.
+
+ "The obligation of all persons--irrespective of creed or
+ color--to bear arms, if physically capable of doing so, in
+ defence of the Government under which they live and by which
+ they are protected, is one that is universally acknowledged and
+ enforced. Corresponding to this obligation is the duty resting on
+ those charged with the administration of the Government, to
+ employ such persons in the military service whenever the public
+ safety may demand it. Congress realized both this obligation on
+ the one hand, and this duty on the other when, by the 12th
+ section of the Act of the 17th of July, 1862, it was enacted that
+ 'the President be and is hereby authorized to receive into the
+ service of the United States for the purpose of constructing
+ intrenchments, or performing camp service or any other labor, or
+ any military or naval service for which they may be found
+ competent, persons of African Descent, and such persons shall be
+ enrolled and organized under such regulations not inconsistent
+ with the Constitution, and the laws, as the President may
+ prescribe.'
+
+ "The terms of this Act are without restriction and no distinction
+ is made, or was intended to be made, between persons of African
+ Descent held to service or labor or those not so held.
+
+ "The President is empowered to receive them all into the military
+ service, and assign them such duty as they may be found competent
+ to perform.
+
+ "The tenacious and brilliant valor displayed by troops of this
+ race at Port Hudson, Milliken's Bend, and Fort Wagner, has
+ sufficiently demonstrated to the President and to the country,
+ the character of service of which they are capable. In the
+ interpretation given to the Enrolment Act, free citizens of
+ African Descent are treated as citizens of the United States, in
+ the sense of the law, and are everywhere being drafted into the
+ military service.
+
+ "In reference to the other class of persons of this race--those
+ held to service or labor--the 12th section of the Act of July
+ 17th is still in full force, and the President may in his
+ discretion receive them into the army and assign them to such
+ field of duty as he may deem them prepared to occupy. In view of
+ the loyalty of this race, and of the obstinate courage which they
+ have shown themselves to possess, they certainly constitute at
+ this crisis in our history a most powerful and reliable arm of
+ the public defence. Whether this arm shall now be exerted is not
+ a question of power or right, but purely of policy, to be
+ determined by the estimate which may be entertained of the
+ conflict in which we are engaged, and of the necessity that
+ presses to bring this waste of blood and treasure to a close. A
+ man precipitated into a struggle for his life on land or sea,
+ instinctively and almost necessarily puts forth every energy with
+ which he is endowed, and eagerly seizes upon every source of
+ strength within his grasp; and a nation battling for existence,
+ that does not do the same, may well be regarded as neither wise
+ nor obedient to that great law of self-preservation, from which
+ are derived our most urgent and solemn duties. That there exists
+ a prejudice against the employment of persons of African Descent
+ is undeniable; it is, however, rapidly giving way, and never had
+ any foundation in reason or loyalty. It originated with and has
+ been diligently nurtured by those in sympathy with the Rebellion,
+ and its utterance at this moment is necessarily in the interests
+ of treason.
+
+ "Should the President feel that the public interests require he
+ shall exert the power with which he is clothed by the 12th
+ section of the Act of the 17th of July, his action should be in
+ subordination to the Constitutional principle which exacts that
+ compensation shall be made for private property devoted to the
+ public uses. A just compensation to loyal claimants to the
+ service or labor of persons of African Descent enlisted in our
+ army, would accord with the uniform practice of the Government
+ and the genius of our institutions!
+
+ "Soldiers of this class, after having perilled their lives in the
+ defence of the Republic, could not be re-enslaved without a
+ national dishonor revolting and unendurable for all who are
+ themselves to be free. The compensation made, therefore, should
+ be such as entirely to exhaust the interest of claimants; so that
+ when soldiers of this class lay down their arms at the close of
+ the war, they may at once enter into the enjoyment of that
+ freedom symbolized by the flag which they have followed and
+ defended."
+
+The Negro was now a soldier, legally, "constitutionally." He had
+donned the uniform of an American soldier; was entrusted with the
+honor and defence of his country, and had set before him liberty as
+his exceeding great reward. Rejected at first he was at last urged
+into the service--even _drafted_! He was charged with the solution of
+a great problem--his fitness, his valor. History shall record his
+deeds of patriotism, his marvellous achievements, his splendid
+triumphs.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[91] Charleston Mercury, April 30, 1861.
+
+[92] They were, no doubt, from Massachusetts.
+
+[93] New York Herald, Tuesday, August 5, 1862.
+
+[94] Greeley, vol. ii, pp. 517, 518.
+
+[95] Many of these had previously been in the three months', nine
+months', and three years' service, from which they had been honorably
+discharged.
+
+[96] This gives Colored Troops enlisted in the States in rebellion;
+besides this, there were 92,576 Colored Troops (included with the
+white soldiers) in the quotas of the several States.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+ JUSTIFICATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF
+ SLAVES AS SOLDIERS.--TRIALS OF THE NEGRO SOLDIER.--HE UNDERGOES
+ PERSECUTION FROM THE WHITE NORTHERN TROOPS, AND BARBAROUS
+ TREATMENT FROM THE REBELS.--EDITORIAL OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES" ON
+ THE NEGRO SOLDIER IN BATTLE.--REPORT OF THE "TRIBUNE" ON THE
+ GALLANT EXPLOITS OF THE 1ST SOUTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS.--NEGRO
+ TROOPS IN ALL THE DEPARTMENTS.--NEGRO SOLDIERS IN THE BATTLE OF
+ PORT HUDSON.--DEATH OF CAPTAIN ANDRE CALLIOUX.--DEATH OF
+ COLOR-SERGEANT ANSELMAS PLANCIANCOIS.--AN ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE
+ OF PORT HUDSON.--OFFICIAL REPORT OF GEN. BANKS.--HE APPLAUDS THE
+ VALOR OF THE COLORED REGIMENTS AT PORT HUDSON.--GEORGE H. BOKER'S
+ POEM ON "THE BLACK REGIMENT."--BATTLE OF MILLIKEN'S BEND, JUNE,
+ 1863.--DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE.--MEMORABLE EVENTS OF JULY,
+ 1863.--BATTLE ON MORRIS ISLAND.--BRAVERY OF SERGEANT CARNEY.--AN
+ ACCOUNT OF THE 54TH MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT BY EDWARD L. PIERCE TO
+ GOVERNOR ANDREW.--DEATH OF COL. SHAW.--COLORED TROOPS IN THE ARMY
+ OF THE POTOMAC.--BATTLE OF PETERSBURG.--TABLE SHOWING THE LOSSES
+ AT NASHVILLE.--ADJT.-GEN. THOMAS ON NEGRO SOLDIERS.--AN EXTRACT
+ FROM THE "NEW YORK TRIBUNE" IN BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERLY QUALITIES
+ OF THE NEGROES.--LETTER RECEIVED BY COL. DARLING FROM MR. ADEN
+ AND COL. FOSTER PRAISING THE EMINENT QUALIFICATIONS OF THE NEGRO
+ FOR MILITARY LIFE.--HISTORY RECORDS THEIR DEEDS OF VALOR IN THE
+ PRESERVATION OF THE UNION.
+
+
+All history, ancient and modern, Pagan and Christian, justified the
+conduct of the Federal Government in the employment of slaves as
+soldiers. Greece had tried the experiment; and at the battle of
+Marathon there were two regiments of heavy infantry composed of
+slaves. The beleaguered city of Rome offered freedom to her slaves who
+should volunteer as soldiers; and at the battle of Cannae a regiment
+of Roman slaves made Hannibal's cohorts reel before their unequalled
+courage. When Abraham heard of the loss of his stock, he armed his
+slaves, pursued the enemy, and regained his possessions. Negro
+officers as well as soldiers had shared the perils and glories of the
+campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte; and even the royal guard at the Court
+of Imperial France had been mounted with black soldiers. In two wars
+in North America Negro soldiers had followed the fortunes of military
+life, and won the applause of white patriots on two continents. So
+then all history furnished a precedent for the guidance of the United
+States Government in the Civil War in America.
+
+But there were several aggravating questions which had to be referred
+to the future. In both wars in this country the Negro had fought a
+foreign foe--an enemy representing a Christian civilization. He had a
+sense of security in going to battle with the colonial fathers; for
+their sacred battle-songs gave him purpose and courage. And, again,
+the Negro knew that the English soldier had never disgraced the
+uniform of Hampden or Wellington by practising the cruelties of
+uncivilized warfare upon helpless prisoners. In the Rebellion it was
+altogether different. Here was a war between the States of one Union.
+Here was a war between two sections differing in civilization. Here
+was a war all about the _Negro_; a war that was to declare him forever
+bond, or forever free. Now, in such a war the Negro appeared in battle
+against his master. For two hundred and forty-three years the Negro
+had been learning the lesson of obedience and obsequious submission to
+the white man. The system of slavery under which he had languished had
+destroyed the family relation, the source of all virtue, self-respect,
+and moral growth. The tendency of slavery was to destroy the
+confidence of the slave in his ability and resources, and to
+disqualify him for those relations where the noblest passion of
+mankind is to be exercised in an intelligent manner--_amor patriae_.
+
+Negro soldiers were required by an act of Congress to fight for the
+Union at a salary of $10 per month, with $3 deducted for
+clothing--leaving them only $7 per month as their actual pay. White
+soldiers received $13 per month and clothing.[97]
+
+The Negro soldiers had to run the gauntlet of the persecuting hate of
+white Northern troops, and, if captured, endure the most barbarous
+treatment of the rebels, without a protest on the part of the
+Government--for at least nearly a year. Hooted at, jeered, and stoned
+in the streets of Northern cities as they marched to the front to
+fight for the Union; scoffed at and abused by white troops under the
+flag of a common country, there was little of a consoling or inspiring
+nature in the experience of Negro soldiers.
+
+"But none of these things" moved the Negro soldier. His qualifications
+for the profession of arms were ample and admirable. To begin with,
+the Negro soldier was a patriot of the highest order. No race of
+people in the world are more thoroughly domestic, have such tender
+attachments to home and friends as the Negro race. And when his soul
+was quickened with the sublime idea of liberty for himself and
+kindred--that his home and country were to be rid of the triple curse
+of slavery--his enthusiasm was boundless. His enthusiasm was not mere
+animal excitement. No white soldier who marched to the music of the
+Union possessed a more lofty conception of the sacredness of the war
+for the Union than the Negro. The intensity of his desires, the
+sincerity of his prayers, and the sublimity of his faith during the
+long and starless night of his bondage made the Negro a poet, after a
+fashion. To him there was poetry in our flag--the red, white, and
+blue. Our national odes and airs found a response in his soul, and
+inspired him to the performance of heroic deeds. He was always seeing
+something "sublime," "glorious," "beautiful," "grand," and "wonderful"
+in war. There was poetry in the swinging, measured tread of companies
+and regiments in drill or battle; and dress parade always found the
+Negro soldier in the height of his glory. His love of harmonious
+sounds, his musical faculty, and delight of show aided him in the
+performance of the most difficult manoeuvres. His imitativeness gave
+him facility in handling his musket and sabre; and his love of
+domestic animals, and natural strength made him a graceful cavalryman
+and an efficient artilleryman.
+
+The lessons of obedience the Negro had learned so thoroughly as a
+slave were turned to good account as a soldier. He obeyed orders to
+the letter. He never used his discretion; he added nothing to, he
+subtracted nothing from, his orders; he made no attempt at reading
+between the lines; he did not interpret--he _obeyed_. Used to outdoor
+life, with excellent hearing, wonderful eyesight, and great vigilance,
+he was a model picket. Heard every sound, observed every moving thing,
+and was quick to shoot, and of steady aim. He was possessed of
+exceptionally good teeth, and, therefore, could bite his cartridge and
+hard tack. He had been trained to long periods of labor, poor food,
+and miserable quarters, and therefore, could endure extreme fatigue
+and great exposure.
+
+His docility of nature, patient endurance, and hopeful disposition
+enabled him to endure long marches, severe hardships, and painful
+wounds. His joyous, boisterous songs on the march and in the camp; his
+victorious shout in battle, and his merry laughter in camp proclaimed
+him the insoluble enigma of military life. He never was discouraged;
+_melancholia_ had no abiding place in his nature.
+
+But how did the Negro meet his master in battle? How did he stand
+fire? On the 31st of July, 1863, the "New York Times," editorially
+answered these questions as follows:
+
+ "Negro soldiers have now been in battle at Port Hudson and at
+ Milliken's Bend in Louisiana; at Helena in Arkansas, at Morris
+ Island in South Carolina, and at or near Fort Gibson in the
+ Indian Territory. In two of these instances they assaulted
+ fortified positions and led the assault; in two they fought on
+ the defensive, and in one they attacked rebel infantry. In all of
+ them they acted in conjunction with white troops and under
+ command of white officers. In some instances they acted with
+ distinguished bravery, and in all they acted as well as could be
+ expected of raw troops.
+
+ "Some of these negroes were from the cotton States, others from
+ New England States, and others from the slave States of the
+ Northwest. Those who fought at Port Hudson were from New Orleans;
+ those who fought at Battery Wagner were from Boston; those who
+ fought at Helena and Young's Point were from the river counties
+ of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Those who fought in the
+ Indian Territory were from Missouri."
+
+This is warm praise from a journal of the high, though conservative,
+character of the "Times." Warmer praise and more unqualified praise of
+the Negro soldier's fighting qualities could not be given. And it was
+made after a careful weighing of all the facts and evidence supplied
+from careful and reliable correspondents. But more specific evidence
+was being furnished on every hand. The 1st South Carolina
+Volunteers--the first regiment of Negroes existed during the
+war,--commanded by Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, was the first
+Black regiment of its character under the fire of the enemy. The
+regiment covered itself with glory during an expedition upon the St.
+John's River in Florida. The "Times" gave the following editorial
+notice of the expedition at the time, based upon the official report
+of the colonel and a letter from its special correspondent:
+
+ "THE NEGROES IN BATTLE.
+
+ "Colonel Higginson, of the 1st S. C. Volunteers, furnishes an
+ entertaining official report of the exploits of his black
+ regiment in Florida. He seems to think it necessary to put his
+ case strongly, and in rather exalted language, as well as in such
+ a way as to convince the public that negroes will fight. In this
+ expedition, his battalion was repeatedly under fire--had rebel
+ cavalry, infantry, and, says he, 'even artillery' arranged
+ against them, yet in every instance, came off with unblemished
+ honor and undisputed triumph. His men made the most urgent
+ appeals to him to be allowed to press the flying enemy. They
+ exhibited the most fiery energy beyond anything of which Colonel
+ Higginson ever read, unless it may be in the case of the French
+ Zouaves. He even says that 'it would have been madness to attempt
+ with the bravest white troops what he successfully accomplished
+ with black ones.' No wanton destruction was permitted, no
+ personal outrages desired, during the expedition. The regiment,
+ besides the victories which it achieved, and the large amount of
+ valuable property which it secured, obtained a cannon and a flag
+ which the Colonel very properly asks permission for the regiment
+ to retain. The officers and men desire to remain permanently in
+ Florida, and obtain supplies of lumber, iron, etc., for the
+ Government. The Colonel puts forth a very good suggestion, to the
+ effect that a 'chain of such posts would completely alter the
+ whole aspect of the war in the seaboard slave States, and would
+ accomplish what no accumulation of Northern regiments can so
+ easily effect.' This is the very use for negro soldiers suggested
+ in the Proclamation of the President. We have no doubt that the
+ whole State of Florida might easily be held for the Government in
+ this way, by a dozen negro regiments."[98]
+
+On the 11th of February, 1863, the "Times" gave the following account
+of the exploits of this gallant regiment in the following explicit
+language:
+
+ "ACCOUNT OF A SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION INTO GEORGIA AND FLORIDA WITH
+ A FORCE OF FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE 1ST
+ SOUTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS.
+
+ "The bravery and good conduct of the regiment more than equalled
+ the high anticipations of its commander. The men were repeatedly
+ under fire,--were opposed by infantry, cavalry, and
+ artillery,--fought on board a steamer exposed to heavy musketry
+ fire from the banks of a narrow river,--were tried in all ways,
+ and came off invariably with honor and success. They brought away
+ property to a large amount, capturing also a cannon and a flag,
+ which the Colonel asks leave to keep for the regiment, and which
+ he and they have fairly won.
+
+ "It will not need many such reports an this--and there have been
+ several before it--to shake our inveterate Saxon prejudice
+ against the capacity and courage of negro troops. Everybody knows
+ that they were used in the Revolution, and in the last war with
+ Great Britain fought side by side with white troops, and won
+ equal praises from Washington and Jackson. It is shown also that
+ black sailors employed on our men-of-war, are valued by their
+ commanders, and are on equal terms with their white comrades. If
+ on the sea, why not on the land? No officer who has commanded
+ black troops has yet reported against them. They are tried in the
+ most unfavorable and difficult circumstances, but never fail.
+ When shall we learn to use the full strength of the formidable
+ ally who is only waiting for a summons to rally under the flag of
+ the Union? Colonel Higginson says: 'No officer in this regiment
+ now doubts that the successful prosecution of this war lies in
+ the unlimited employment of black troops.' The remark is true in
+ a military sense, and it has a still deeper political
+ significance.
+
+ "When General Hunter has scattered 50,000 muskets among the
+ negroes of the Carolinas, and General Butler has organized the
+ 100,000 or 200,000 blacks for whom he may perhaps shortly carry
+ arms to New Orleans, the possibility of restoring the Union as it
+ was, with slavery again its dormant power, will be seen to have
+ finally passed away. The negro is indeed the key to success."[99]
+
+So here, in the Department of the South, where General Hunter had
+displayed such admirable military judgment, first, in emancipating the
+slave, and second, in arming them; here where the white Union soldiers
+and their officers had felt themselves insulted; and where the
+President had disarmed the 1st regiment of ex-slaves and removed the
+officer who had organized it, a few companies of Negro troops had
+fought rebel infantry, cavalry, artillery, and guerillas, and put them
+all to flight. They had invaded the enemy's country, made prisoners,
+and captured arms and flags; and without committing a single
+depredation. Prejudice gave room to praise, and the exclusive, distant
+spirit of white soldiers was converted into the warm and close
+admiration of comradeship. The most sanguine expectations and high
+opinions of the advocates of Negro soldiers were more than realized,
+while the prejudice of Negro haters was disarmed by the flinty logic
+and imperishable glory of Negro soldiership.[100]
+
+Every Department had its Negro troops by this time; and everywhere the
+Negro was solving the problem of his military existence. At Port
+Hudson in May, 1863, he proved himself worthy of his uniform and the
+object of the most extravagant eulogies from the lips of men who were,
+but a few months before the battle, opposed to Negro soldiers. Mention
+has been made in another chapter of the Colored regiment raised in New
+Orleans under General Butler. After remaining in camp from the 7th of
+September, 1862, until May, 1863, they were quite efficient in the use
+of their arms. The 1st Louisiana regiment was ordered to report to
+General Dwight. The regiment was at Baton Rouge. Its commanding
+officer, Colonel Stafford [white], was under arrest when the regiment
+was about ready to go to the front.
+
+The line officers assembled at his quarters to assure him that the
+regiment would do its duty in the day of battle, and to tender their
+regrets that he could not lead them on the field. At this moment the
+color-guard marched up to receive the regimental flags. Colonel
+Stafford stepped into his tent and returned with the flags. He made a
+speech full of patriotism and feeling, and concluded by saying:
+"_Color-guard, protect, defend, die for, but do not surrender these
+flags!_" Sergeant Planciancois said: "Colonel, I will bring back these
+colors to you in honor, or report to God the reason why!" Noble words
+these, and brave! And no more fitting epitaph could mark the
+resting-place of a hero who has laid down his life in defence of human
+liberty! A king might well covet these sublime words of the dauntless
+Planciancois!
+
+
+PORT HUDSON.
+
+It was a question of grave doubt among white troops as to the fighting
+qualities of Negro soldiers. There were various doubts expressed by
+the officers on both sides of the line. The Confederates greeted the
+news that "niggers" were to meet them in battle with derision, and
+treated the whole matter as a huge joke. The Federal soldiers were
+filled with amazement and fear as to the issue.
+
+It was the determination of the commanding officer at Port Hudson to
+assign this Negro regiment to a post of honor and danger. The regiment
+marched all night before the battle of Port Hudson, and arrived at one
+Dr. Chambers's sugar house on the 27th of May, 1863. It was just 5 A.
+M. when the regiment stacked arms. Orders were given to rest and
+breakfast in one hour. The heat was intense and the dust thick, and so
+thoroughly fatigued were the men that many sank in their tracks and
+slept soundly.
+
+Arrangements were made for a field hospital, and the drum corps
+instructed where to carry the wounded. Officers' call was beaten at
+5:30, when they received instructions and encouragement. "Fall in" was
+sounded at 6 o'clock, and soon thereafter the regiment was on the
+march. The sun was now shining in his full strength upon the field
+where a great battle was to be fought. The enemy was in his
+stronghold, and his forts were crowned with angry and destructive
+guns. The hour to charge had come. It was 7 o'clock. There was a
+feeling of anxiety among the white troops as they watched the
+movements of these Blacks in blue. The latter were anxious for the
+fray. At last the command came, "Forward, double-quick, march!" and on
+they went over the field of death. Not a musket was heard until the
+command was within four hundred yards of the enemy's works, when a
+blistering fire was opened upon the left wing of the regiment.
+Unfortunately Companies A, B, C, D, and E wheeled suddenly by the left
+flank. Some confusion followed, but was soon over. A shell--the first
+that fell on the line--killed and wounded about twelve men. The
+regiment came to a right about, and fell back for a few hundred yards,
+wheeled by companies, and faced the enemy again with the coolness and
+military precision of an old regiment on parade. The enemy was busy at
+work now. Grape, canister, shell, and musketry made the air hideous
+with their noise. A masked battery commanded a bluff, and the guns
+could be depressed sufficiently to sweep the entire field over which
+the regiment must charge. It must be remembered that this regiment
+occupied the extreme right of the charging line. The masked battery
+worked upon the left wing. A three-gun battery was situated in the
+centre, while a half dozen large pieces shelled the right, and
+enfiladed the regiment front and rear every time it charged the
+battery on the bluff. A bayou ran under the bluff, immediately in
+front of the guns. It was too deep to be forded by men. These brave
+Colored soldiers made six desperate charges with indifferent success,
+because
+
+ "Cannon to right of them,
+ Cannon to left of them,
+ Cannon in front of them
+ Volleyed and thundered;
+ Stormed at with shot and shell."
+
+The men behaved splendidly. As their ranks were thinned by shot and
+grape, they closed up into place, and kept a good line. But no matter
+what high soldierly qualities these men were endowed with, no matter
+how faithfully they obeyed the oft-repeated order to "charge," it was
+both a moral and physical impossibility for these men to cross the
+deep bayou that flowed at their feet--already crimson with patriots'
+blood--and capture the battery on the bluff. Colonel Nelson, who
+commanded this black brigade, despatched an orderly to General Dwight,
+informing him that it was not in the nature of things for his men to
+accomplish any thing by further charges. "Tell Colonel Nelson," said
+General Dwight, "I shall consider that he has accomplished nothing
+unless he takes those guns." This last order of General Dwight's will
+go into history as a cruel and unnecessary act. He must have known
+that three regiments of infantry, torn and shattered by about fifteen
+or twenty heavy guns, with an impassable bayou encircling the bluff,
+could accomplish nothing by charging. But the men, what could they do?
+
+ "Theirs not to make reply,
+ Theirs not to reason why,
+ Theirs but to do and die."
+
+
+DEATH OF CAPTAIN ANDRE CALLIOUX.
+
+Again the order to charge was given, and the men, worked up to a
+feeling of desperation on account of repeated failures, raised a cry
+and made another charge. The ground was covered with dead and wounded.
+Trees were felled by shell and solid shot; and at one time a company
+was covered with the branches of a falling tree. Captain Callioux was
+in command of Company E, the color company. He was first wounded in
+the left arm--the limb being broken above the elbow. He ran to the
+front of his company, waving his sword and crying, "Follow me." But
+when within about fifty yards of the enemy he was struck by a shell
+and fell dead in front of his company.
+
+Many Greeks fell defending the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian
+army, but history has made peculiarly conspicuous Leonidas and his
+four hundred Spartans. In a not distant future, when a calm and
+truthful history of the battle of Port Hudson is written,
+notwithstanding many men fought and died there, the heroism of the
+"Black Captain," the accomplished gentleman and fearless soldier,
+Andre Callioux, and his faithful followers, will make a most
+fascinating picture for future generations to look upon and study.
+
+
+DEATH OF COLOR-SERGEANT ANSELMAS PLANCIANCOIS.
+
+"Colonel, I will bring back these colors to you in honor, or report to
+God the reason why." It was now past 11 A.M., May 27, 1863. The men
+were struggling in front of the bluff. The brave Callioux was lying
+lifeless upon the field, that was now slippery with gore and crimson
+with blood. The enemy was directing his shell and shot at the flags of
+the First Regiment. A shell, about a six-pounder, struck the
+flag-staff, cut it in two, and carried away part of the head of
+Planciancois. He fell, and the flag covered him as a canopy of glory,
+and drank of the crimson tide that flowed from his mutilated head.
+Corporal Heath caught up the flag, but no sooner had he shouldered the
+dear old banner than a musket ball went crashing through his head and
+scattered his brains upon the flag, and he, still clinging to it, fell
+dead upon the body of Sergeant Planciancois. Another corporal caught
+up the banner and bore it through the fight with pride.
+
+This was the last charge--the seventh; and what was left of this
+gallant Black brigade came back from the hell into which they had
+plunged with so much daring and forgetfulness seven times.
+
+They did not capture the battery on the bluff it's true, but they
+convinced the white soldiers on both sides that they were both willing
+and able to help fight the battles of the Union. And if any person
+doubts the abilities of the Negro as a soldier, let him talk with
+General Banks, as we have, and hear "his golden eloquence on the black
+brigade at Port Hudson."
+
+A few days after the battle a "New York Times" correspondent sent the
+following account to that journal:
+
+ "BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON.
+
+ "In an account of the Battle of Port Hudson, the 'Times'
+ correspondent says: 'Hearing the firing apparently more fierce
+ and continuous to the right than anywhere else, I hurried in that
+ direction, past the sugar house of Colonel Chambers, where I had
+ slept, and advanced to near the pontoon bridge across the Big
+ Sandy Bayou, which the negro regiments had erected, and where
+ they were fighting most desperately. I had seen these brave and
+ hitherto despised fellows the day before as I rode along the
+ lines, and I had seen General Banks acknowledge their respectful
+ salute as he would have done that of any white troops; but still
+ the question was--with too many,--"Will they fight?" The black
+ race was, on this eventful day, to be put to the test, and the
+ question to be settled--now and forever,--whether or not they are
+ entitled to assert their right to manhood. Nobly, indeed, have
+ they acquitted themselves, and proudly may every colored man
+ hereafter hold up his head, and point to the record of those who
+ fell on that bloody field.
+
+ "'General Dwight, at least, must have had the idea, not only that
+ they were men, but something _more than men_, from the terrific
+ test to which he put their valor. Before any impression had been
+ made upon the earthworks of the enemy, and in full face of the
+ batteries belching forth their 62 pounders, these devoted people
+ rushed forward to encounter grape, canister, shell, and musketry,
+ with no artillery but two small howitzers--that seemed mere
+ pop-guns to their adversaries--and no reserve whatever.
+
+ "'Their force consisted of the 1st. Louisiana Native Guards (with
+ colored field-officers) under Lieut.-Colonel Bassett, and the 3d
+ Louisiana Native Guards, Colonel Nelson (with white
+ field-officers), the whole under command of the latter officer.
+
+ "'On going into action they were 1,080 strong, and formed into
+ four lines, Lieut.-Colonel Bassett, 1st Louisiana, forming the
+ first line, and Lieut.-Colonel Henry Finnegas the second. When
+ ordered to charge up the works, they did so with the skill and
+ nerve of old veterans, (black people, be it remembered who had
+ never been in action before,) but the fire from the rebel guns
+ was so terrible upon the unprotected masses, that the first few
+ shots mowed them down like grass and so continued.
+
+ "'Colonel Bassett being driven back, Colonel Finnegas took his
+ place, and his men being similarly cut to pieces, Lieut.-Colonel
+ Bassett reformed and recommenced; and thus these brave people
+ went in, from morning until 3:30 p.m., under the most hideous
+ carnage that men ever had to withstand, and that very few white
+ ones would have had nerve to encounter, even if ordered to.
+ During this time, they rallied, and _were ordered to make six
+ distinct charges_, losing thirty-seven killed, and one hundred
+ and fifty-five wounded, and one hundred and sixteen missing,--the
+ majority, if not all, of these being, in all probability, now
+ lying dead on the gory field, and without the rites of sepulture;
+ for when, by flag of truce, our forces in other directions were
+ permitted to reclaim their dead, the benefit, through some
+ neglect, was not extended to these black regiments.
+
+ "'The deeds of heroism performed by these colored men were such
+ as the proudest white men might emulate. Their colors are torn to
+ pieces by shot, and literally bespattered by blood and brains.
+ The color-sergeant of the 1st. La., on being mortally wounded,
+ hugged the colors to his breast, when a struggle ensued between
+ the two color-corporals on each side of him, as to who should
+ have the honor of bearing the sacred standard, and during this
+ generous contention one was seriously wounded. One black
+ lieutenant actually mounted the enemy's works three or four
+ times, and in one charge the assaulting party came within fifty
+ paces of them. Indeed, if only ordinarily supported by artillery
+ and reserve, no one can convince us that they would not have
+ opened a passage through the enemy's works.
+
+ "'Capt. Callioux of the 1st. La., a man so black that he actually
+ prided himself upon his blackness, died the death of a hero,
+ leading on his men in the thickest of the fight. One poor wounded
+ fellow came along with his arm shattered by a shell, and jauntily
+ swinging it with the other, as he said to a friend of mine:
+ "Massa, guess I can fight no more." I was with one of the
+ captains, looking after the wounded going in the rear of the
+ hospital, when we met one limping along toward the front. On
+ being asked where he was going, he said: "I been shot bad in the
+ leg, captain, and dey want me to go to de hospital, but I guess I
+ can gib 'em some more yet." I could go on filling your columns
+ with startling facts of this kind, but I hope I have told enough
+ to prove that we can hereafter rely upon black arms as well as
+ white in crushing this internal rebellion. I long ago told you
+ there was an army of 250,000 men ready to leap forward in defence
+ of freedom at the first call. You know where to find them and
+ what they are worth.
+
+ "'Although repulsed in an attempt which--situated as things
+ were--was all but impossible, these regiments, though badly cut
+ up, are still on hand, and burning with a passion ten times
+ hotter from their fierce baptism of blood. Who knows, but that it
+ is a black hand which shall first plant the standard of the
+ Republic upon the doomed ramparts of Port Hudson?"[101]
+
+The official report of Gen. Banks is given in full. It shows the
+disposition of the troops, and applauds the valor of the Colored
+regiments.
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE GULF, }
+ "BEFORE PORT HUDSON, May 30, 1863. }
+
+ "_Major-General H: W. Halleck, General-in-Chief, Washington._
+
+ "GENERAL:--Leaving Sommesport on the Atchafalaya, where my
+ command was at the date of my last dispatch, I landed at Bayou
+ Sara at two o'clock on the morning of the 21st.
+
+ "A portion of the infantry were transported in steamers, and the
+ balance of the infantry, artillery, cavalry, and wagon-train
+ moving down on the west bank of the river, and from this to Bayou
+ Sara.
+
+ "On the 23d a junction was effected with the advance of
+ Major-General Augur and Brigadier-General Sherman, our line
+ occupying the Bayou Sara road at a distance five miles from Port
+ Hudson.
+
+ "Major-General Augur had an encounter with a portion of the enemy
+ on the Bayou Sara road in the direction of Baton Rouge, which
+ resulted in the repulse of the enemy, with heavy loss.
+
+ "On the 25th the enemy was compelled to abandon his first line of
+ works.
+
+ "General Weitzel's brigade, which had covered our rear in the
+ march from Alexandria, joined us on the 26th, and on the morning
+ of the 27th a general assault was made upon the fortifications.
+
+ "The artillery opened fire between 5 and 6 o'clock, which was
+ continued with animation during the day. At 10 o'clock Weitzel's
+ brigade, with the division of General Grover, reduced to about
+ two brigades, and the division of General Emory, temporarily
+ reduced by detachments to about a brigade, under command of
+ Colonel Paine, with two regiments of colored troops, made an
+ assault upon the right of the enemy's works, crossing Sandy
+ Creek, and driving them through the woods to their
+ fortifications.
+
+ "The fight lasted on this line until 4 o'clock, and was very
+ severely contested. On the left, the infantry did not come up
+ until later in the day; but at 2 o'clock an assault was opened on
+ the centre and left of centre by the divisions under
+ Major-General Augur and Brigadier-General Sherman.
+
+ "The enemy was driven into his works, and our troops moved up to
+ the fortifications, holding the opposite sides of the parapet
+ with the enemy on the right. Our troops still hold their position
+ on the left. After dark the main body, being exposed to a flank
+ fire, withdrew to a belt of woods, the skirmishers remaining
+ close upon the fortifications.
+
+ "In the assault of the 27th, the behavior, of the officers and
+ men was most gallant, and left nothing to be desired. Our limited
+ acquaintance of the ground and the character of the works, which
+ were almost hidden from our observation until the moment of
+ approach, alone prevented the capture of the post.
+
+ "On the extreme right of our line I posted the first and third
+ regiments of negro troops. The First regiment of Louisiana
+ Engineers, composed exclusively of colored men, excepting the
+ officers, was also engaged in the operations of the day. The
+ position occupied by these troops was one of importance, and
+ called for the utmost steadiness and bravery in those to whom it
+ was confided.
+
+ "It gives me pleasure to report that they answered every
+ expectation. Their conduct was heroic. No troops could be more
+ determined or more daring. They made, during the day, three
+ charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy
+ losses, and holding their position at nightfall with the other
+ troops on the right of our line. The highest commendation is
+ bestowed upon them by all the officers in command on the right.
+ Whatever doubt may have existed before as to the efficiency of
+ organizations of this character, the history of this day proves
+ conclusively to those who were in a condition to observe the
+ conduct of these regiments, that the Government will find in this
+ class of troops effective supporters and defenders.
+
+ "The severe test to which they were subjected, and the determined
+ manner in which they encountered the enemy, leave upon my mind no
+ doubt of their ultimate success. They require only good officers,
+ commands of limited numbers, and careful discipline, to make them
+ excellent soldiers.
+
+ "Our losses from the 23d to this date, in killed, wounded, and
+ missing, are nearly 1,000, including, I deeply regret to say,
+ some of the ablest officers of the corps. I am unable yet to
+ report them in detail.
+
+ "I have the honor to be, with much respect
+
+ "Your obedient servant,
+ "N. P. BANKS,
+ "_Major-General Commanding_."
+
+The effect of this battle upon the country can scarcely be described.
+Glowing accounts of the charge of the Black Regiments appeared in
+nearly all the leading journals of the North. The hearts of orators
+and poets were stirred to elegant utterance. The friends of the Negro
+were encouraged, and their number multiplied. The Colored people
+themselves were jubilant. Mr. George H. Boker, of Philadelphia, the
+poet friend of the Negro, wrote the following elegant verses on the
+gallant charge of the 1st Louisiana:
+
+
+THE BLACK REGIMENT.
+
+MAY 27, 1863.
+
+BY GEORGE H. BOKER.
+
+ Dark as the clouds of even,
+ Ranked in the western heaven,
+ Waiting the breath that lifts
+ All the dread mass, and drifts
+ Tempest and falling brand
+ Over a ruined land;--
+ So still and orderly,
+ Arm to arm, knee to knee,
+ Waiting the great event,
+ Stands the black regiment.
+
+ Down the long dusky line
+ Teeth gleam and eyeballs shine;
+ And the bright bayonet,
+ Bristling and firmly set,
+ Flashed with a purpose grand,
+ Long ere the sharp command
+ Of the fierce rolling drum
+ Told them their time had come,
+ Told them what work was sent
+ For the black regiment.
+
+ "Now," the flag-sergeant cried,
+ "Though death and hell betide,
+ Let the whole nation see
+ If we are fit to be
+ Free in this land; or bound
+ Down, like the whining hound--
+ Bound with red stripes of pain
+ In our old chains again!"
+ Oh! what a shout there went
+ From the black regiment!
+
+ "Charge!" Trump and drum awoke,
+ Onward the bondmen broke;
+ Bayonet and sabre-stroke
+ Vainly opposed their rush.
+ Through the wild battle's crush,
+ With but one thought aflush,
+ Driving their lords like chaff,
+ In the guns' mouths they laugh;
+ Or at the slippery brands
+ Leaping with open hands,
+ Down they tear man and horse,
+ Down in their awful course;
+ Trampling with bloody heel
+ Over the crashing steel,
+ All their eyes forward bent,
+ Rushed the black regiment.
+
+ "Freedom!" their battle-cry--
+ "Freedom! or leave to die!"
+ Ah! and they meant the word,
+ Not as with us 't is heard,
+ Not a mere party-shout:
+ They gave their spirits out
+ Trusted the end to God,
+ And on the gory sod
+ Rolled in triumphant blood.
+ Glad to strike one free blow,
+ Whether for weal or woe;
+ Glad to breathe one free breath,
+ Though on the lips of death,
+ Praying--alas! in vain!--
+ That they might fall again,
+ So they could once more see
+ That burst to liberty!
+ This was what "freedom" lent
+ To the black regiment.
+
+ Hundreds on hundreds fell;
+ But they are resting well;
+ Scourges and shackles strong
+ Never shall do them wrong.
+ Oh, to the living few,
+ Soldiers, be just and true!
+ Hail them as comrades tried;
+ Fight with them side by side;
+ Never, in field or tent,
+ Scorn the black regiment!
+
+The battle of Milliken's Bend was fought on the 6th of June, 1863. The
+troops at this point were under the command of Brig.-Gen. E. S.
+Dennis. The force consisted of the 23d Iowa, 160 men; 9th La., 500;
+11th La., 600; 1st Miss., 150; total, 1,410. Gen. Dennis's report
+places the number of his troops at 1,061; but evidently a clerical
+error crept into the report. Of the force engaged, 1,250 were Colored,
+composing the 9th and 11th Louisiana and the 1st Mississippi. The
+attacking force comprised six Confederate regiments--about 3,000
+men,--under the command of Gen. Henry McCulloch. This force, coming
+from the interior of Louisiana, by the way of Richmond, struck the 9th
+Louisiana and two companies of Federal cavalry, and drove them within
+sight of the earthworks at the Bend. It was now nightfall, and the
+enemy rested, hoping and believing himself able to annihilate the
+Union forces on the morrow.
+
+During the night a steamboat passed the Bend, and Gen. Dennis availed
+himself of the opportunity of sending to Admiral Porter for
+assistance. The gun-boats, "Choctaw" and "Lexington" were despatched
+to Milliken's Bend from Helena. As the "Choctaw" was coming in sight,
+at 3 o'clock in the morning, the rebels made their first charge on the
+Federal earthworks, filling the air with their vociferous cries: "No
+_quarter!_" to Negroes and their officers. The Negro troops had just
+been recruited, and hence knew little or nothing of the manual or use
+of arms. But the desperation with which they fought has no equal in
+the annals of modern wars. The enemy charged the works with desperate
+fury, but were checked by a deadly fire deliberately delivered by the
+troops within. The enemy fell back and charged the flanks of the Union
+columns, and, by an enfilading fire, drove them back toward the river,
+where they sought the protection of the gun-boats. The "Choctaw"
+opened a broadside upon the exulting foe, and caused him to beat a
+hasty retreat. The Negro troops were ordered to charge, and it was
+reported by a "Tribune" correspondent that many of the Union troops
+were killed before the gun-boats could be signalled to "_cease
+firing_." The following description of the battle was given by an
+eye-witness of the affair, and a gentleman of exalted character:
+
+ "My informant states that a force of about one thousand negroes
+ and two hundred men of the Twenty-third Iowa, belonging to the
+ Second brigade, Carr's division (the Twenty-third Iowa had been
+ up the river with prisoners, and was on its way back to this
+ place), was surprised in camp by a rebel force of about two
+ thousand men. The first intimation that the commanding officer
+ received was from one of the black men, who went into the
+ colonel's tent and said: 'Massa, the secesh are in camp.' The
+ colonel ordered him to have the men load their guns at once. He
+ instantly replied: 'We have done did dat now, massa.' Before the
+ colonel was ready, the men were in line, ready for action. As
+ before stated, the rebels drove our force toward the gun-boats,
+ taking colored men prisoners and murdering them. This so enraged
+ them that they rallied and charged the enemy more heroically and
+ desperately than has been recorded during the war. It was a
+ genuine bayonet charge, a hand-to-hand fight, that has never
+ occurred to any extent during this prolonged conflict. Upon both
+ sides men were killed with the butts of muskets. White and black
+ men were lying side by side, pierced by bayonets, and in some
+ instances transfixed to the earth. In one instance, two men, one
+ white and the other black, were found dead, side by side, each
+ having the other's bayonet through his body. If facts prove to be
+ what they are now represented, this engagement of Sunday morning
+ will be recorded as the most desperate of this war. Broken limbs,
+ broken heads, the mangling of bodies, all prove that it was a
+ contest between enraged men: on the one side from hatred to a
+ race; and on the other, desire for self-preservation, revenge for
+ past grievances and the inhuman murder of their comrades. One
+ brave man took his former master prisoner, and brought him into
+ camp with great gusto. A rebel prisoner made a particular
+ request, that his own negroes should not be placed over him as a
+ guard. Dame Fortune is capricious! His request was _not_ granted.
+ Their mode of warfare does not entitle them to any privileges. If
+ any are granted, it is from magnanimity to a fellow-foe.
+
+ "The rebels lost five cannon, two hundred men killed, four
+ hundred to five hundred wounded, and about two hundred prisoners.
+ Our loss is reported to be one hundred killed and five hundred
+ wounded; but few were white men."[102]
+
+Mr. G. G. Edwards, who was in the fight, wrote, on the 13th of June:
+
+ "Tauntingly it has been said that negroes won't fight. Who say
+ it, and who but a dastard and a brute will dare to say it, when
+ the battle of Milliken's Bend finds its place among the heroic
+ deeds of this war? This battle has significance. It demonstrates
+ the fact that the freed slaves will fight."
+
+The month of July, 1863, was memorable. Gen. Mead had driven Lee from
+Gettysburg, Grant had captured Vicksburg, Banks had captured Port
+Hudson, and Gillmore had begun his operations on Morris Island. On the
+13th of July the New York Draft Riot broke out. The Democratic press
+had advised the people that they were to be called upon to fight the
+battles of the "Niggers" and "Abolitionists"; while Gov. Seymour
+"_requested_" the rioters to await the return of his adjutant-general
+whom he had despatched to Washington to have the President suspend the
+draft. The speech was either cowardly or treasonous. It meant, when
+read between the lines, it is unjust for the Government to draft you
+men; I will try and get the Government to rescind its order, and until
+_then_ you are respectfully requested to suspend your violent acts
+against _property_. But the riot went on. When the troops under Gen.
+Wool took charge of the city, thirteen rioters were killed, eighteen
+wounded, and twenty-four made prisoners. The rioters rose ostensibly
+to resist the draft, but there were three objects before them:
+robbery, the destruction of the property of the rich sympathizers with
+the Union, and the assassination of Colored persons wherever found.
+They burned the Colored Orphans' Asylum, hung Colored men to lamp
+posts, and destroyed the property of this class of citizens with
+impunity.
+
+During these tragic events in New York a gallant Negro regiment was
+preparing to lead an assault upon the rebel Fort Wagner on Morris
+Island, South Carolina. On the morning of the 16th of July, 1863, the
+54th Massachusetts--first Colored regiment from the North--was
+compelled to fall back upon Gen. Terry from before a strong and fresh
+rebel force from Georgia. This was on James Island. The 54th was doing
+picket duty, and these early visitors thought to find Terry asleep;
+but instead found him awaiting their coming with all the vigilance of
+an old soldier. And in addition to the compliment his troops paid the
+enemy, the gunboats "Pawnee," "Huron," "Marblehead," "John Adams," and
+"Mayflower" paid their warmest respects to the intruders. They soon
+withdrew, having sustained a loss of 200, while Gen. Terry's loss was
+only about 100. It had been arranged to concentrate the Union forces
+on Morris Island, open a bombardment upon Fort Wagner, and then charge
+and take it on the 18th. The troops on James Island were put in motion
+to form a junction with the forces already upon Morris Island. The
+march of the 54th Mass., began on the night of the 16th and continued
+until the afternoon of the 18th. Through ugly marshes, over swollen
+streams, and broken dykes--through darkness and rain, the regiment
+made its way to Morris Island where it arrived at 6 A.M. of the 18th
+of July. The bombardment of Wagner was to have opened at daylight of
+this day; but a terrific storm sweeping over land and sea prevented.
+It was 12:30 P.M. when the thunder of siege guns, batteries, and
+gunboats announced the opening of the dance of death. A semicircle of
+batteries, stretching across the island for a half mile, sent their
+messages of destruction into Wagner, while the fleet of iron vessels
+battered down the works of the haughty and impregnable little fort.
+All the afternoon one hundred great guns thundered at the gates of
+Wagner. Toward the evening the bombardment began to slacken until a
+death-like stillness ensued. To close this part of the dreadful
+programme Nature lifted her hoarse and threatening voice, and a severe
+thunder-storm broke over the scene. Darkness was coming on. The brave
+Black regiment had reached Gen. Strong's headquarters fatigued,
+hungry, and damp. No time could be allowed for refreshments. Col. Shaw
+and Gen. Strong addressed the regiment in eloquent, inspiring
+language. Line of battle was formed in three brigades. The first was
+led by Gen. Strong, consisting of the 54th Massachusetts (Colored),
+Colonel Robert Gould Shaw; the 6th Connecticut, Col. Chatfield; the
+48th New York, Col. Barton; the 3d New Hampshire, Col. Jackson; the
+76th Pennsylvania, Col. Strawbridge; and the 9th Maine. The 54th was
+the only regiment of Colored men in the brigade, and to it was
+assigned the post of honor and danger in the front of the attacking
+column. The shadows of night were gathering thick and fast. Gen.
+Strong took his position, and the order to charge was given. On the
+brave Negro regiment swept amid the shot and shell of Sumter,
+Cumming's Point, and Wagner. Within a few minutes the troops had
+double-quicked a half mile; and but few had suffered from the heavy
+guns; but suddenly a terrific fire of small arms was opened upon the
+54th. But with matchless courage the regiment dashed on over the
+trenches and up the side of the fort, upon the top of which Sergt. Wm.
+H. Carney planted the colors of the regiment. But the howitzers in the
+bastions raked the ditch, and hand-grenades from the parapet tore the
+brave men as they climbed the battle-scarred face of the fort. Here
+waves the flag of a Northern Negro regiment; and here its brave,
+beautiful, talented young colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was saluted by
+death and kissed by immortality! Gen. Strong received a mortal wound,
+while Col. Chatfield and many other heroic officers yielded a full
+measure of devotion to the cause of the Union. Three other colonels
+were wounded,--Barton, Green, and Jackson. The shattered brigade
+staggered back into line under the command of Major Plympton, of the
+3d New Hampshire, while the noble 54th retired in care of Lieutenant
+Francis L. Higginson. The second brigade, composed of the 7th New
+Hampshire, Col. H. S. Putnam; 626 Ohio, Col. Steele; 67th Ohio, Col.
+Vorhees; and the 100th New York, under Col. Danby, was led against the
+fort, by Col. Putnam, who was killed in the assault. So this brigade
+was compelled to retire. One thousand and five hundred (1,500) men
+were thrown away in this fight, but one fact was clearly established,
+that Negroes could and would fight as bravely as white men. The
+following letter, addressed to the Military Secretary of Gov. Andrew,
+of Massachusetts, narrates an instance of heroism in a Negro soldier
+which deserves to go into history:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS 54TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLS. }
+ "MORRIS ISLAND, S. C., Oct. 15, 1863. }
+
+ "COLONEL: I have the honor to forward you the following letter,
+ received a few days since from Sergeant W. H. Carney, Company C,
+ of this regiment. Mention has before been made of his heroic
+ conduct in preserving the American flag and bearing it from the
+ field, in the assault on Fort Wagner on the 18th of July last,
+ but that you may have the history complete, I send a simple
+ statement of the facts as I have obtained them from him, and an
+ officer who was an eye-witness:
+
+ "When the Sergeant arrived to within about one hundred yards of
+ the fort--he was with the first battalion, which was in the
+ advance of the storming column--he received the regimental
+ colors, pressed forward to the front rank, near the Colonel, who
+ was leading the men over the ditch. He says, as they ascended the
+ wall of the fort, the ranks were full, but as soon as they
+ reached the top, 'they melted away' before the enemy's fire
+ 'almost instantly.' He received a severe wound in the thigh, but
+ fell only upon his knees. He planted the flag upon the parapet,
+ lay down on the outer slope, that he might get as much shelter as
+ possible; there he remained for over half an hour, till the 2d
+ brigade came up. He kept the colors flying until the second
+ conflict was ended. When our forces retired he followed, creeping
+ on one knee, still holding up the flag. It was thus that Sergeant
+ Carney came from the field, having held the emblem of liberty
+ over the walls of Fort Wagner during the sanguinary conflict of
+ the two brigades, and having received two very severe wounds, one
+ in the thigh and one in the head. Still he refused to give up his
+ sacred trust until he found an officer of his regiment.
+
+ "When he entered the field hospital, where his wounded comrades
+ were being brought in, they cheered him and the colors. Though
+ nearly exhausted with the loss of blood, he said: 'Boys, the old
+ flag never touched the ground.'
+
+ "Of him as a man and soldier, I can speak in the highest term of
+ praise.
+
+ "I have the honor to be, Colonel, very respectfully,
+
+ "Your most obedient servant,
+ "M. S. LITTLEFIELD,
+ "_Col. Comd'g 54th Reg't Mass. Vols._
+
+ "Col. A. G. BROWN, Jr., _Military Secretary to his Excellency
+ John A. Andrew, Mass._"
+
+It was natural that Massachusetts should feel a deep interest in her
+Negro regiment: for it was an experiment; and the fair name of the Old
+Bay State had been committed to its keeping. Edward L. Pierce gave the
+following account of the regiment to Gov. John A. Andrew:
+
+ "BEAUFORT, July 22, 1863.
+
+ "MY DEAR SIR: You will probably receive an official report of the
+ losses in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts by the mail which leaves
+ to-morrow, but perhaps a word from me may not be unwelcome. I saw
+ the officers and men on James Island on the thirteenth instant,
+ and on Saturday last saw them at Brigadier-General Strong's tent,
+ as they passed on at six or half-past six in the evening to Fort
+ Wagner, which is some two miles beyond. I had been the guest of
+ General Strong, who commanded the advance since Tuesday. Colonel
+ Shaw had become attached to General Strong at St. Helena, where
+ he was under him, and the regard was mutual. When the troops left
+ St. Helena they were separated, the Fifty-fourth going to James
+ Island. While it was there, General Strong received a letter from
+ Colonel Shaw, in which the desire was expressed for the transfer
+ of the Fifty-fourth to General Strong's brigade. So when the
+ troops were brought away from James Island, General Strong took
+ this regiment into his command. It left James Island on Thursday,
+ July sixteenth, at nine P.M., and marched to Cole's Island, which
+ they reached at four o'clock on Friday morning, marching all
+ night, most of the way in single file over swampy and muddy
+ ground. There they remained during the day, with hard-tack and
+ coffee for their fare, and this only what was left in their
+ haversacks; not a regular ration. From eleven o'clock of Friday
+ evening until four o'clock of Saturday they were being put on the
+ transport, the General Hunter, in a boat which took about fifty
+ at a time. There they breakfasted on the same fare, and had no
+ other food before entering into the assault on Fort Wagner in the
+ evening.
+
+ "The General Hunter left Cole's Island for Folly Island at six
+ A.M., and the troops landed at the Pawnee Landing about half-past
+ nine A.M., and thence marched to the point opposite Morris
+ Island, reaching there about two o'clock in the afternoon. They
+ were transported in a steamer across the inlet, and at five P.M.
+ began their march for Fort Wagner. They reached Brigadier-General
+ Strong's quarters, about midway on the island, about six or
+ half-past six, where they halted for five minutes. I saw them
+ here, and they looked worn and weary.
+
+ "General Strong expressed a great desire to give them food and
+ stimulants, but it was too late, as they were to lead the charge.
+ They had been without tents during the pelting rains of Thursday
+ and Friday nights. General Strong had been impressed with the
+ high character of the regiment and its officers, and he wished to
+ assign them the post where the most severe work was to be done,
+ and the highest honor was to be won. I had been his guest for
+ some days, and knew how he regarded them. The march across Folly
+ and Morris Islands was over a very sandy road, and was very
+ wearisome. The regiment went through the centre of the island,
+ and not along the beach where the marching was easier. When they
+ had come within about one thousand six hundred yards of Fort
+ Wagner, they halted and formed in line of battle--the Colonel
+ leading the right and the Lieutenant-Colonel the left wing. They
+ then marched four hundred yards further on and halted again.
+ There was little firing from the enemy at this point, one solid
+ shot falling between the wings, and another falling to the right,
+ but no musketry.
+
+ "At this point the regiment, together with the next supporting
+ regiments, the Sixth Connecticut, Ninth Maine, and others,
+ remained half an hour. The regiment was addressed by General
+ Strong and Colonel Shaw. Then at half-past seven or a quarter
+ before eight o'clock the order for the charge was given. The
+ regiment advanced at quick time, changed to double-quick when at
+ some distance on. The intervening distance between the place
+ where the line was formed and the Fort was run over in a few
+ minutes. When within one or two hundred yards of the Fort, a
+ terrific fire of grape and musketry was poured upon them along
+ the entire line, and with deadly results. It tore the ranks to
+ pieces and disconcerted some. They rallied again, went through
+ the ditch, in which were some three feet of water, and then up
+ the parapet. They raised the flag on the parapet, where it
+ remained for a few minutes. Here they melted away before the
+ enemy's fire, their bodies falling down the slope and into the
+ ditch. Others will give a more detailed and accurate account of
+ what occurred during the rest of the conflict.
+
+ "Colonel Shaw reached the parapet, leading his men, and was
+ probably killed. Adjutant James saw him fall. Private Thomas
+ Burgess, of Company I, told me that he was close to Colonel Shaw;
+ that he waved his sword and cried out: 'Onward, boys!' and, as he
+ did so, fell. Burgess fell, wounded, at the same time. In a
+ minute or two, as he rose to crawl away, he tried to pull Colonel
+ Shaw along, taking hold of his feet, which were near his own
+ head, but there appeared to be no life in him. There is a report,
+ however, that Colonel Shaw is wounded and a prisoner, and that it
+ was so stated to the officers who bore a flag of truce from us,
+ but I cannot find it well authenticated. It is most likely that
+ this noble youth has given his life to his country and to
+ mankind. Brigadier-General Strong (himself a kindred spirit) said
+ of him to-day, in a message to his parents: 'I had but little
+ opportunity to be with him, but I already loved him. No man ever
+ went more gallantly into battle. None knew but to love him.' I
+ parted with Colonel Shaw between six and seven, Saturday evening,
+ as he rode forward to his regiment, and he gave me the private
+ letters and papers he had with him, to be delivered to his
+ father. Of the other officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell is
+ severely wounded in the groin; Adjutant James has a wound from a
+ grape-shot in his ankle, and a flesh-wound in his side from a
+ glancing ball or piece of shell. Captain Pope has had a
+ musket-ball extracted from his shoulder. Captain Appleton is
+ wounded in the thumb, and also has a contusion on his right
+ breast from a hand-grenade. Captain Willard has a wound in the
+ leg, and is doing well. Captain Jones was wounded in the right
+ shoulder. The ball went through and he is doing well. Lieutenant
+ Homans wounded by a ball from a smooth-bore musket entering the
+ left side, which has been extracted from the back. He is doing
+ well.
+
+ "The above-named officers are at Beaufort, all but the last
+ arriving there on Sunday evening, whither they were taken from
+ Morris Island to Pawnee Landing, in the Alice Price, and thence
+ to Beaufort in the Cosmopolitan, which is specially fitted up for
+ hospital service and is provided with skilful surgeons under the
+ direction of Dr. Bontecou. They are now tenderly cared for with
+ an adequate corps of surgeons and nurses, and provided with a
+ plentiful supply of ice, beef and chicken broth, and stimulants.
+ Lieutenant Smith was left at the hospital tent on Morris Island.
+ Captain Emilio and Lieutenants Grace, Appleton, Johnston, Reed,
+ Howard, Dexter, Jennison, and Emerson, were not wounded and are
+ doing duty. Lieutenants Jewett and Tucker were slightly wounded
+ and are doing duty also. Lieut. Pratt was wounded and came in
+ from the field on the following day. Captains Russell and
+ Simpkins are missing. The Quartermaster and Surgeon are safe and
+ are with the regiment.
+
+ "Dr. Stone remained on the Alice Price during Saturday night,
+ caring for the wounded until she left Morris Island, and then
+ returned to look after those who were left behind. The Assistant
+ Surgeon was at the camp on St. Helena Island, attending to duty
+ there. Lieutenant Littlefield was also in charge of the camp at
+ St. Helena. Lieutenant Higginson was on Folly Island with a
+ detail of eighty men. Captain Bridge and Lieutenant Walton are
+ sick and were at Beaufort or vicinity. Captain Partridge has
+ returned from the North, but not in time to participate in the
+ action.
+
+ "Of the privates and non-commissioned officers I send you a list
+ of one hundred and forty-four who are now in the Beaufort
+ hospitals. A few others died on the boats or since their arrival
+ here. There may be others at the Hilton Head Hospital; and others
+ are doubtless on Morris Island; but I have no names or statistics
+ relative to them. Those in Beaufort are well attended to--just as
+ well as the white soldiers, the attentions of the surgeons and
+ nurses being supplemented by those of the colored people here,
+ who have shown a great interest in them. The men of the regiment
+ are very patient, and where their condition at all permits them,
+ are cheerful. They express their readiness to meet the enemy
+ again, and they keep asking if Wagner is yet taken. Could any one
+ from the North see these brave fellows as they lie here, his
+ prejudice against them, if he had any, would all pass away. They
+ grieve greatly at the loss of Colonel Shaw, who seems to have
+ acquired a strong hold on their affections. They are attached to
+ their other officers, and admire General Strong, whose courage
+ was so conspicuous to all. I asked General Strong if he had any
+ testimony in relation to the regiment to be communicated to you.
+ These are his precise words, and I give them to you as I noted
+ them at the time:
+
+ "'The Fifty-fourth did well and nobly, only the fall of Colonel
+ Shaw prevented them from entering the Fort. They moved up as
+ gallantly as any troops could, and with their enthusiasm they
+ deserve a better fate.' The regiment could not have been under a
+ better officer than Colonel Shaw. He is one of the bravest and
+ most genuine men. His soldiers loved him like a brother, and go
+ where you would through the camps you would hear them speak of
+ him with enthusiasm and affection. His wound is severe, and there
+ are some apprehensions as to his being able to recover from it.
+ Since I found him at the hospital tent on Morris Island, about
+ half-past nine o'clock on Saturday, I have been all the time
+ attending to him or the officers of the Fifty-fourth, both on the
+ boats and here. Nobler spirits it has never been my fortune to
+ be with. General Strong, as he lay on the stretcher in the tent,
+ was grieving all the while for the poor fellows who lay uncared
+ for on the battle-field, and the officers of the Fifty-fourth
+ have had nothing to say of their own misfortunes, but have
+ mourned constantly for the hero who led them to the charge from
+ which he did not return. I remember well the beautiful day when
+ the flags were presented at Readville, and you told the regiment
+ that your reputation was to be identified with its fame. It was a
+ day of festivity and cheer. I walk now in these hospitals and see
+ mutilated forms with every variety of wound, and it seems all a
+ dream. But well has the regiment sustained the hope which you
+ indulged, and justified the identity of fame which you trusted to
+ it.
+
+ "I ought to add in relation to the fight on James Island, on July
+ sixteenth, in which the regiment lost fifty men, driving back the
+ rebels, and saving, as it is stated, three companies of the Tenth
+ Connecticut, that General Terry, who was in command on that
+ Island, said to Adjutant James:
+
+ "'Tell your Colonel that I am exceedingly pleased with the
+ conduct of your regiment. They have done all they could do.'
+
+ "Yours truly,
+ "EDWARD L. PIERCE."[103]
+
+The Negro in the Mississippi Valley, and in the Department of the
+South had won an excellent reputation as a soldier. In the spring of
+1864 Colored Troops made their _debut_ in the army of the Potomac. In
+the battles at Wilson's Wharf, Petersburg, Deep Bottom, Chapin's Farm,
+Fair Oaks, Hatcher's Run, Farmville, and many other battles, these
+soldiers won for themselves lasting glory and golden opinions from the
+officers and men of the white organizations. On the 24th of May, 1864,
+Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee called at Wilson's Wharf to pay his respects to two
+Negro regiments under the command of Gen. Wild. But the chivalry of
+the South were compelled to retire before the destructive fire of
+Negro soldiers. A "Tribune" correspondent who witnessed the engagement
+gave the following account the next day:
+
+ "At first the fight raged fiercely on the left. The woods were
+ riddled with bullets; the dead and wounded of the rebels were
+ taken away from this part of the field, but I am informed by one
+ accustomed to judge, and who went over the field to-day, that
+ from the pools of blood and other evidences the loss must have
+ been severe. Finding that the left could not be broken, Fitz-Hugh
+ Lee hurled his chivalry--dismounted of course--upon the right.
+ Steadily they came on, through obstructions, through slashing,
+ past abattis without wavering. Here _one_ of the advantages of
+ colored troops was made apparent. They obeyed orders, and bided
+ their time. When well tangled in the abattis the death-warrant,
+ 'Fire,' went forth. Southern chivalry quailed before Northern
+ balls, though fired by negro hands. Volley after volley was
+ rained upon the superior by the inferior race, and the chivalry
+ broke and tried to run."
+
+On the 8th of June Gen. Gillmore, at the head of 3,500 troops, crossed
+the Appomattox, and moved on Petersburg by turnpike from the north.
+Gen. Kautz, with about 1,500 cavalry, was to charge the city from the
+south, or southwest; and two gun-boats and a battery were to bombard
+Fort Clinton, defending the approach up the river. Gillmore was
+somewhat dismayed at the formidable appearance of the enemy, and,
+thinking himself authorized to use his own discretion, did not make an
+attack. On the 10th of June, Gen. Kautz advanced without meeting any
+serious resistance until within a mile and one half of the city, drove
+in the pickets and actually entered the city! Gillmore had attracted
+considerable attention on account of the display he made of his
+forces; but when he declined to fight, the rebels turned upon Kautz
+and drove him out of the city.
+
+Gen. Grant had taken up his headquarters at Bermuda Hundreds, whence
+he directed Gen. Butler to despatch Gen. W. F. Smith's corps against
+Petersburg. The rebel general, A. P. Hill, commanding the rear of
+Lee's army, was now on the south front of Richmond. Gen. Smith moved
+on toward Petersburg, and at noon of the 15th of June, 1864, his
+advance felt the outposts of the enemy's defence about two and one
+half miles from the river. Here again the Negro soldier's fighting
+qualities were to be tested in the presence of our white troops. Gen.
+Hinks commanded a brigade of Negro soldiers. This brigade was to open
+the battle and receive the fresh fire of the enemy. Gen. Hinks--a most
+gallant soldier--took his place and gave the order to charge the rebel
+lines. Here under a clear Virginia sky, in full view of the Union
+white troops, the Black brigade swept across the field in magnificent
+line. The rebels received them with siege gun, musket, and bayonet,
+but they never wavered. In a short time they had carried a line of
+rifle-pits, driven the enemy out in confusion, and captured two large
+guns. It was a supreme moment; all that was needed was the order, "On
+to Petersburg," and the city could have been taken by the force there
+was in reserve for the Black brigade. But he who doubts is damned, and
+he who dallies is a dastard. Gen. Smith hesitated. Another assault was
+not ordered until near sundown, when the troops cleared another line
+of rifle-pits, made three hundred prisoners, and captured sixteen
+guns, sustaining a loss of only six hundred. The night was clear and
+balmy; there was nothing to hinder the battle from being carried on;
+but Gen. Smith halted for the night--a fatal halt. During the night
+the enemy was reenforced by the flower of Lee's army, and when the
+sunlight of the next morning fell upon the battle field it revealed an
+almost new army,--a desperate and determined enemy. Then it seems that
+Gens. Meade and Hancock did not know that Petersburg was to be
+attacked. Hancock's corps had lingered in the rear of the entire army,
+and did not reach the front until dusk. Why Gen. Smith delayed the
+assault until evening was not known. Even Gen. Grant, in his report of
+the battle, said: "Smith, for some reason that I have never been able
+to satisfactorily understand, did not get ready to assault the enemy's
+main lines until near sundown." But whatever the reason was, his
+conduct cost many a noble life and the postponement of the end of the
+war.
+
+On the 16th of June, 1864, Gens. Burnside and Warren came up. The 18th
+corps, under Gen. Smith, occupied the right of the Federal lines, with
+its right touching the Appomattox River. Gens. Hancock, Burnside, and
+Warren stretched away to the extreme left, which was covered by
+Kautz's cavalry. After a consultation with Gen. Grant, Gen. Meade
+ordered a general attack all along the lines, and at 6 P.M. on the
+16th of June, the battle of Petersburg was opened again. Once more a
+division of Black troops was hurled into the fires of battle, and once
+more proved that the Negro was equal to all the sudden and startling
+changes of war. The splendid fighting of these troops awakened the
+kindliest feelings for them among the white troops, justified the
+Government in employing them, stirred the North to unbounded
+enthusiasm, and made the rebel army feel that the Negro was the equal
+of the Confederate soldier under all circumstances. Secretary Stanton
+was in a state of ecstasy over the behavior of the Colored troops at
+Petersburg, an unusual thing for him. In his despatch on this battle,
+he said:
+
+ "The hardest fighting was done by the black troops. The forts
+ they stormed were the worst of all. After the affair was over
+ Gen. Smith went to thank them, and tell them he was proud of
+ their courage and dash. He says they cannot be exceeded as
+ soldiers, and that hereafter he will send them in a difficult
+ place as readily as the best white troops."[104]
+
+The "Tribune" correspondent wrote on the day of the battle:
+
+ "The charge upon the advanced works was made in splendid style;
+ and as the 'dusky warriors' stood shouting upon the parapet, Gen.
+ Smith decided that 'they would do,' and sent word to storm the
+ first redoubt. Steadily these troops moved on, led by officers
+ whose unostentatious bravery is worthy of emulation. With a shout
+ and rousing cheers they dashed at the redoubt. Grape and canister
+ were hurled at them by the infuriated rebels. They grinned and
+ pushed on, and with a yell that told the Southern chivalry their
+ doom, rolled irresistibly over and into the work. The guns were
+ speedily turned upon those of our 'misguided brethren,' who
+ forgot that discretion was the better part of valor. Another
+ redoubt was carried in the same splendid style, and the negroes
+ have established a reputation that they will surely maintain.
+
+ "Officers on Gen. Hancock's staff, as they rode by the redoubt,
+ surrounded by a moat with water in it, over which these negroes
+ charged, admitted that its capture was a most gallant affair. The
+ negroes bear their wounds quite as pluckily as the white
+ soldiers."
+
+Here the Colored Troops remained, skirmishing, fighting, building
+earthworks, and making ready for the next assault upon Petersburg,
+which was to take place on the 30th proximo. In the actions of the
+18th, 21st, 23d, 24th, 25th, and 28th of June, the Colored Troops had
+shared a distinguished part. The following letter on the conduct of
+the Colored Troops before Petersburg, written by an officer who
+participated in all the actions around that city, is worth its space
+it gold:
+
+ "IN THE FIELD, NEAR PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, }
+ "June 27, 1864. }
+
+ "The problem is solved. The negro is a man, a soldier, a hero.
+ Knowing of your laudable interest in the colored troops, but
+ particularly those raised under the immediate auspices of the
+ Supervisory Committee, I have thought it proper that I should
+ let you know how they acquitted themselves in the late actions in
+ front of Petersburg, of which you have already received newspaper
+ accounts. If you remember, in my conversations upon the character
+ of these troops, I carefully avoided saying anything about their
+ fighting qualities till I could have an opportunity of trying
+ them.
+
+ "That opportunity came on the fifteenth instant, and since, and I
+ am now prepared to say that I never, since the beginning of this
+ war, saw troops fight better, more bravely, and with more
+ determination and enthusiasm. Our division, commanded by General
+ Hinks, took the advance on the morning of the fifteenth instant,
+ arrived in front of the enemy's works about nine o'clock A.M.,
+ formed line, charged them, and took them most handsomely. Our
+ regiment was the first in the enemy's works, having better ground
+ to charge over than some of the others, and the only gun that was
+ taken on this first line was taken by our men. The color-sergeant
+ of our regiment planted his colors on the works of the enemy, a
+ rod in advance of any officer or man in the regiment. The effect
+ of the colors being thus in advance of the line, so as to be seen
+ by all, was truly inspiring to our men, and to a corresponding
+ degree dispiriting to the enemy. We pushed on two and a half
+ miles further, till we came in full view of the main defences of
+ Petersburg. We formed line at about two o'clock P.M.,
+ reconnoitred and skirmished the whole afternoon, and were
+ constantly subject to the shells of the enemy's artillery. At
+ sunset we charged these strong works and carried them. Major Cook
+ took one with the left wing of our regiment as skirmishers, by
+ getting under the guns, and then preventing their gunners from
+ using their pieces, while he gained the rear of the redoubt,
+ where there was no defence but the infantry, which, classically
+ speaking, 'skedaddled.' We charged across what appeared to be an
+ almost impassable ravine, with the right wing all the time
+ subject to a hot fire of grape and canister, until we got so far
+ under the guns as to be sheltered, when the enemy took to their
+ rifle-pits as infantrymen. Our brave fellows went steadily
+ through the swamp, and up the side of a hill, at an angle of
+ almost fifty degrees, rendered nearly impassable by fallen
+ timber. Here again our color-sergeant was conspicuous in keeping
+ far ahead of the most advanced, hanging on to the side of the
+ hill, till he would turn about and wave the stars and stripes at
+ his advancing comrades; then steadily advancing again, under the
+ fire of the enemy, till he could almost have reached their
+ rifle-pits with his flagstaff. How he kept from being killed I do
+ not know, unless it can be attributed to the fact that the party
+ advancing up the side of the hill always has the advantage of
+ those who hold the crest. It was in this way that we got such
+ decided advantage over the enemy at South Mountain. We took, in
+ these two redoubts, four more guns, making, in all, five for our
+ regiment, two redoubts, and part of a rifle-pit as our day's
+ work. The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh United States colored troops
+ advanced against works more to the left. The Fourth United States
+ colored troops took one more redoubt, and the enemy abandoned the
+ other. In these two we got two more guns, which made, in all,
+ seven. The Sixth regiment did not get up in time, unfortunately,
+ to have much of the sport, as it had been previously formed in
+ the second line. We left forty-three men wounded and eleven
+ killed in the ravine, over which our men charged the last time.
+ Our loss in the whole day's operations was one hundred-and
+ forty-three, including six officers, one of whom was killed. Sir,
+ there is no underrating the good conduct of these fellows during
+ these charges; with but a few exceptions, they all went in as old
+ soldiers, but with more enthusiasm. I am delighted that our first
+ action resulted in a decided victory.
+
+ "The commendations we have received from the Army of the Potomac,
+ including its general officers, are truly gratifying. Hancock's
+ corps arrived just in time to relieve us (we being out of
+ ammunition), before the rebels were reinforced and attempted to
+ retake these strong works and commanding positions, without which
+ they could not hold Petersburg one hour, if it were a part of
+ Grant's plan to advance against it on the right here.
+
+ "General Smith speaks in the highest terms of the day's work, as
+ you have doubtless seen, and he assured me, in person, that our
+ division should have the guns we took as trophies of honor. He is
+ also making his word good in saying that he could hereafter trust
+ colored troops in the most responsible positions. Colonel Ames,
+ of the Sixth United States colored troops, and our regiment, have
+ just been relieved in the front, where we served our tour of
+ forty-eight hours in turn with the other troops of the corps.
+ While out, we were subjected to some of the severest shelling I
+ have ever seen, Malvern Hill not excepted. The enemy got twenty
+ guns in position during the night, and opened on us yesterday
+ morning at daylight. Our men stood it, behind their works, of
+ course, as well as any of the white troops. Our men,
+ unfortunately, owing to the irregular features of ground, took no
+ prisoners. Sir, we can bayonet the enemy to terms on this matter
+ of treating colored soldiers as prisoners of war far sooner than
+ the authorities at Washington can bring him to it by negotiation.
+ This I am morally persuaded of. I know, further, that the enemy
+ won't fight us if he can help it. I am sure that the same number
+ of white troops could not have taken those works on the evening
+ of the fifteenth; prisoners that we took told me so. I mean
+ prisoners who came in after the abandonment of the fort, because
+ they could not get away. They excuse themselves on the ground of
+ pride; as one of them said to me: 'D----d if men educated as we
+ have been will fight with niggers, and your government ought not
+ to expect it.' The real fact is, the rebels will not stand
+ against our colored soldiers when there is any chance of their
+ being taken prisoners, for they are conscious of what they justly
+ deserve. Our men went into these works after they were taken,
+ yelling 'Fort Pillow!' The enemy well knows what this means, and
+ I will venture the assertion, that that piece of infernal
+ brutality enforced by them there has cost the enemy already two
+ men for every one they so inhumanly murdered."[105]
+
+The 9th corps, under Burnside, containing a splendid brigade of
+Colored Troops, had finally pushed its way up to one hundred and fifty
+yards of the enemy's works. In the immediate front a small fort
+projected out quite a distance beyond the main line of the enemy's
+works. It was decided to place a mine under this fort and destroy it.
+Just in the rear of the 9th corps was a ravine, which furnished a safe
+and unobserved starting-point for the mine. It was pushed forward with
+great speed and care. When the point was reached directly under the
+fort, chambers were made to the right and left, and then packed with
+powder or other combustibles. It was understood from the commencement
+that the Colored Troops were to have the post of honor again, and
+charge after the mine should be sprung. The inspecting officer having
+made a thorough examination of the entire works reported to Gen.
+Burnside that the "Black Division was the fittest for this perilous
+service." But Gen. Grant was not of the same opinion. Right on the eve
+of the great event he directed the three white commanders of divisions
+to _draw lots_--who should _not_ go into the crater! The lot fell to
+the poorest officer, for a dashing, brilliant movement, in the entire
+army; Gen. Ledlie.
+
+The mine was to be fired at 3:30 A.M., on the morning of the 30th of
+July, 1864. The match was applied, but the train did not work. Lieut.
+Jacob Douty and Sergt. Henry Rees, of the 48th Pennsylvania, entered
+the gallery, removed the hindering cause, and at 4:45 A.M. the match
+was applied and the explosion took place. The fort was lifted into the
+air and came down a mass of ruins, burying 300 men. Instead of a fort
+there was a yawning chasm, 150 feet long, 25 feet wide, and about 25
+or 30 feet deep. At the same moment all the guns of the Union forces
+opened from one end of their line to the other. It was verily a
+judgment morn. Confusion reigned among the Confederates. The enemy
+fled in disorder from his works. The way to Petersburg was open,
+unobstructed for several hours; all the Federal troops had to do was
+to go into the city at a trail arms without firing a gun. Gen. Ledlie
+was not equal to the situation. He tried to mass his division in the
+mouth of the crater. The 10th New Hampshire went timidly into line,
+and when moved forward broke into the shape of a letter V, and
+confusion indescribable followed. Gens. Potter and Wilcox tried to
+support Ledlie, but the latter division had halted after they had
+entered the crater, although the enemy had not recovered from the
+shock. Gen. Potter, by _some_ means, got his division out of the
+crater and gallantly led a charge toward the crest, but so few
+followed him that he was compelled to retire. After all had been lost,
+after the rebels had regained their composure, Gen. Burnside was
+_suffered_ to send in his "Black Division." It charged in splendid
+order to the right of the crater toward the crest, but was hurled back
+into the crater by a destructive fire from batteries and muskets. But
+they rallied and charged the enemy again and again until nightfall;
+exhausted and reduced in numbers, they fell back into the friendly
+darkness to rest. The Union loss was 4,400 killed, wounded, and
+captured. Again the Negro had honored his country and covered himself
+with glory. Managed differently, with the Black Division as the
+charging force, Petersburg would have fallen, the war would have ended
+before the autumn, and thousands of lives would have been saved. But a
+great sacrifice had to be laid upon the cruel altar of race prejudice.
+
+In the battles around Nashville about 8,000 or 10,000 Colored Troops
+took part, and rendered efficient aid. Here the Colored Troops, all of
+them recruited from slave States, stormed fortified positions of the
+enemy with the bayonet through open fields, and behaved like veterans
+under the most destructive fire. In his report of the battle of
+Nashville, Major-Gen. James B. Steedman said:
+
+ "The larger portion of these losses, amounting in the aggregate
+ to fully twenty-five per cent. of the men under my command who
+ were taken into action, it will be observed, fell upon the
+ Colored Troops. The severe loss of this part of my troops was in
+ the brilliant charge on the enemy's works on Overton Hill on
+ Friday afternoon. I was unable to discover that _color_ made any
+ difference in the fighting of my troops. All, white and black,
+ nobly did their duty as soldiers, and evinced cheerfulness and
+ resolution, such as I have never seen excelled in any campaign of
+ the war in which I have borne a part."[106]
+
+The following table shows the losses in this action:
+
+ -------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+-----------------
+ | Killed.|Wounded.|Missing.| Total. |
+ |--------+--------+--------+--------+
+ |Officers|Officers|Officers|Officers|
+ | | Men | | Men| | Men| | Men |
+ -------------------+--+-----+---+----+---+----+--+-----+-----------------
+ Fourteenth U. S. | | | | | | | | |}Organized as the
+ Colored Infantry | | 4 | | 41| | 20| | 65 |}First Colored
+ Forty-fourth U. S. | | | | | | | | |}Brigade,
+ Colored Infantry | 1| 2 | | 27| 2| 49| 3| 78 |}Colonel T. J.
+ Sixteenth U. S. | | | | | | | | |}Morgan,
+ Colored Infantry | | 1 | | 2| | | | 3 |}commanding.
+ Eighteenth U. S. | | | | | | | | |}
+ Colored Infantry | | 1 | | 5| | 3| | 9 |}
+ Seventeenth U. S. | | | | | | | | |}
+ Colored Infantry | 7| 14 | 4| 64| | | 6| 78 |}
+ | | | | | | | | |
+ Twelfth U. S. | | | | | | | | |{Organized as the
+ Colored Infantry | 3| 10 | 3| 99| | | 6| 109 |{Second Colored
+ Thirteenth U. S. | | | | | | | | |{Brigade, Col.
+ Colored Infantry | 4| 51 | 4| 161| | 1| 8| 213 |{C. K. Thompson,
+ One Hundredth U.S. | | | | | | | | |{commanding.
+ Colored Infantry | | 12 | 5| 116| | | 5| 128 |{
+ | | | | | | | | |
+ Eighteenth Ohio | | | | | | | | |}Included in the
+ Infantry | 2| 9 | 2| 38| | 9| 4| 56 |}Provisional
+ Sixty-eighth | | | | | | | | |}Division,
+ Indiana Infantry | | 1 | | 7| | | | 8 |}A. C.,
+ Provisional | | | | | | | | |}Brigadier-
+ Division, A. C. | 1| 19 | 3| 74| | 33| 4| 126 |}General Cruft,
+ | | | | | | | | |}commanding.
+ Twentieth Indiana | | | | | | | | |
+ Battery | | | 2| 6| | | 2| 6 |Captain Osborn.
+ |--+-----+---+----+---+----+--+-----+
+ Aggregate |18| 124 | 23| 640| 2| 115|38| 879 |
+ | | | | | | | | 38 |
+ | | | | | | | -----|
+ Total | | | | | | | | 917 |
+ -------------------+--+-----+---+----+---+----+--+-----+-----------------
+
+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 manoeuvres. 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!
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[97] This was remedied at length, after the 54th Massachusetts
+Infantry had refused pay for a year, unless the regiment could be
+treated as other regiments. Major Sturges, Agent for the State of
+Massachusetts, 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. Document, 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
+ ASSAULTED AND CAPTURED BY AN OVERWHELMING FORCE.--THE UNION
+ TROOPS BUTCHERED IN COLD BLOOD.--THE WOUNDED ARE CARRIED INTO
+ HOUSES WHICH ARE FIRED AND BURNED WITH THEIR HELPLESS
+ VICTIMS.--MEN ARE NAILED TO THE OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS THROUGH
+ THEIR HANDS AND FEET AND BURNT ALIVE.--THE WOUNDED AND DYING ARE
+ BRAINED WHERE THEY LAY IN THEIR EBBING BLOOD.--THE OUTRAGES ARE
+ RENEWED IN THE MORNING.--DEAD AND LIVING FIND A COMMON SEPULCHRE
+ IN THE TRENCH.--GENERAL CHALMERS ORDERS THE KILLING OF A NEGRO
+ CHILD.--TESTIMONY OF THE FEW UNION SOLDIERS WHO WERE ENABLED TO
+ CRAWL OUT OF THE GILT EDGE, FIRE PROOF HELL AT PILLOW.--THEY GIVE
+ A SICKENING ACCOUNT OF THE MASSACRE BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE
+ ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.--GEN. FORREST'S FUTILE ATTEMPT TO
+ DESTROY THE RECORD OF HIS FOUL CRIME.--FORT PILLOW MASSACRE
+ WITHOUT A PARALLEL IN HISTORY.
+
+
+The appearance of Negroes as soldiers in the armies of the United
+States seriously offended the Southern view of "the eternal fitness of
+things." No action on the part of the Federal Government was so
+abhorrent to the rebel army. It called forth a bitter wail from
+Jefferson Davis, on the 12th of January, 1863, and soon after the
+Confederate Congress elevated its olfactory organ and handled the
+subject with a pair of tongs. After a long discussion the following
+was passed:
+
+ "_Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of
+ America_, In response to the message of the President,
+ transmitted to Congress at the commencement of the present
+ session, That, in the opinion of Congress, the commissioned
+ officers of the enemy ought _not_ to be delivered to the
+ authorities of the respective States, as suggested in the said
+ message, but all captives taken by the Confederate forces ought
+ to be dealt with and disposed of by the Confederate Government.
+
+ "SEC. 2. That, in the judgment of Congress, the proclamations of
+ the President of the United States, dated respectively September
+ 22, 1862, and January 1, 1863, and the other measures of the
+ Government of the United States and of its authorities,
+ commanders, and forces, designed or tending to emancipate slaves
+ in the Confederate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to incite
+ them to insurrection, or to employ negroes in war against the
+ Confederate States, or to overthrow the institution of African
+ Slavery, and bring on a servile war in these States, would, if
+ successful, produce atrocious consequences, and they are
+ inconsistent with the spirit of those usages which, in modern
+ warfare, prevail among civilized nations; they may, therefore, be
+ properly and lawfully repressed by retaliation.
+
+ "SEC. 3. That in every case wherein, during the present war, any
+ violation of the laws or usages of war among civilized nations
+ shall be, or has been, done and perpetrated by those acting under
+ the authority of the Government of the United States, on the
+ persons or property of citizens of the Confederate States, or of
+ those under the protection or in the land or naval service of the
+ Confederate States, or of any State of the Confederacy, the
+ President of the Confederate States is hereby authorized to cause
+ full and ample retaliation to be made for every such violation,
+ in such manner and to such extent as he may think proper.
+
+ "SEC. 4. That every white person, being a commissioned officer,
+ or acting as such, who, during the present war, shall command
+ negroes or mulattoes in arms against the Confederate States, or
+ who shall arm, train, organize, or prepare negroes or mulattoes
+ for military service against the Confederate States, or who shall
+ voluntarily aid negroes or mulattoes in any military enterprise,
+ attack, or conflict in such service, shall be deemed as inciting
+ servile insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or
+ be otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.
+
+ "SEC. 5. Every person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as
+ such in the service of the enemy, who shall, during the present
+ war, excite, attempt to excite, or cause to be excited, a servile
+ insurrection, or who shall incite, or cause to be incited, a
+ slave or rebel, shall, if captured, be put to death, or be
+ otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.
+
+ "SEC. 6. Every person charged with an offence punishable under
+ the preceding resolutions shall, during the present war, be tried
+ before the military court attached to the array or corps by the
+ troops of which he shall have been captured, or by such other
+ military court as the President may direct, and in such manner
+ and under such regulations as the President shall prescribe; and,
+ after conviction, the President may commute the punishment in
+ such manner and on such terms as he may deem proper.
+
+ "SEC. 7. All negroes and mulattoes who shall be engaged in war,
+ or be taken in arms against the Confederate States, or shall give
+ aid or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall,
+ when captured in the Confederate States, be delivered to the
+ authorities of the State or States in which they shall be
+ captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future
+ laws of such State or States."
+
+This document stands alone among the resolves of the civilized
+governments of all Christendom. White persons acting as commissioned
+officers in organizations of Colored Troops were to "be put to death!"
+And all Negroes and Mulattoes taken in arms against the Confederate
+Government were to be turned over to the authorities:--civil, of
+course--of the States in which they should be captured, to be dealt
+with according to the present or future laws of such States! Now, what
+were the laws of the Southern States respecting Negroes in arms
+against white people? The most cruel death. And fearing some of those
+States had modified their cruel slave Code, the States were granted
+the right to pass _ex post facto_ laws in order to give the
+cold-blooded murder of captured Negro soldiers the semblance of
+law,--and by a _civil law_ too. Colored soldiers and their officers
+had been butchered before this in South Carolina, Mississippi,
+Louisiana, and Florida, notwithstanding the rebels were the first to
+arm Negroes, as has been already shown. If the Confederates had a
+right to arm Negroes and include them in their armies, why could not
+the Federal Government pursue the same policy? But the Rebel
+Government had determined upon a barbarous policy in dealing with
+captured Negro soldiers,--and barbarous as that policy was, the rebel
+soldiers exceeded its cruel provisions tenfold. Their treatment of
+Negroes was perfectly fiendish.
+
+But what was the attitude of the Federal Government? Silence, until
+the butcheries of its gallant defenders had sickened the civilized
+world, and until the Christian governments of Europe frowned upon the
+inhuman indifference of the Government that would _force_ its slaves
+to fight its battles and then allow them to be tortured to death in
+the name of "_State laws_!" Even the most conservative papers of the
+North began to feel that some policy ought to be adopted whereby the
+lives of Colored soldiers could be protected against the inhuman
+treatment bestowed upon them when captured by the rebels. In the
+spring of 1863, the "Tribune," referring to this subject, said,
+editorially:
+
+ "The Government has sent Adj.-General Thomas to the West with
+ full authority to arm and organize the negroes for service
+ against the Rebels. They are to be employed to protect the
+ navigation of the Mississippi and other rivers against
+ guerrillas, and as garrisons at fortified posts, and are
+ evidently destined for all varieties of military duty. Seven
+ thousand soldiers who listened to this announcement at Fort
+ Curtis received it with satisfaction and applause. Gen. Thomas,
+ heretofore known as opposed to this and all similar measures,
+ urged in his address that the Blacks should be treated with
+ kindness; declared his belief in their capacity, and informed the
+ officers of the army that no one would be permitted to oppose or
+ in any way interfere with this policy of the Government.
+
+ "It is not directly stated, but may be inferred from the
+ Despatch, that the negroes are not to be encouraged to enlist,
+ but are to be drafted. At all events, the policy of the
+ Government to employ Black Troops in active service is definitely
+ established, and it becomes--as indeed it has been for months--a
+ very serious question what steps are to be taken for their
+ protection. The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis remains
+ unrevoked. By it he threatened death or slavery to every negro
+ taken in arms, and to their white officers the same fate. What is
+ the response of our Government? Hitherto, silence. The number of
+ negroes in its service has already increased; in South Carolina
+ they have already been mustered into regiments by a sweeping
+ conscription, and now in the West apparently the same policy is
+ adopted and rigorously enforced.
+
+ "Does the Government mean that the men are to be exposed not
+ merely to the chances of battle, but to the doom which the
+ unanswered Proclamation of the Rebel President threatens?
+
+ "Every black soldier now marches to battle with a halter about
+ his neck. The simple question is: Shall we protect and insure the
+ ordinary treatment of a prisoner of war? Under it, every negro
+ yet captured has suffered death or been sent back to the hell of
+ slavery from which he had escaped. The bloody massacre of black
+ prisoners at Murfreesboro, brooked, so far as the public knows,
+ no retaliation at Washington. The black servants captured at
+ Galveston--free men and citizens of Massachusetts--were sold into
+ slavery and remained there. In every instance in which they have
+ had the opportunity, the rebels have enforced their barbarous
+ proclamation. How much longer are they to be suffered to do it
+ without remonstrance?
+
+ "Gen. Hunter--at this moment in the field,--General. Butler, and
+ hundreds of other white officers are included in this
+ Proclamation, or were previously outlawed and adjudged a felon's
+ death. Delay remonstrance much longer, and retaliation must
+ supersede it. If the Government wishes to be spared the necessity
+ of retaliating, it has only to _say_ that it will retaliate--to
+ declare by proclamation or general order that all its soldiers
+ who may be captured must receive from the Rebels the treatment to
+ which, as prisoners of war, they are, by the usages of war,
+ entitled. The Government can know no distinction of color under
+ its flag. The moment a soldier shoulders a musket he is invested
+ with every military right which belongs to a white soldier. He is
+ at least and above all things entitled to the safeguards which
+ surround his white comrades.
+
+ "It is not possible to suppose the Government means to withhold
+ them; we only urge that the wisest, safest, and humanest, as well
+ as the most honorable policy, is at once to announce its
+ purpose."[112]
+
+The able article just quoted had a wholesome effect upon many
+thoughtful men at the South, and brought the blush to the cheek of the
+nation. A few of the Southern journals agreed with Mr. Greeley that
+the resolves of the Confederate Congress were unjustifiable; that the
+Congress had no right to say what color the Union soldiers should be;
+and that such action would damage their cause in the calm and humane
+judgment of all Europe. But the Confederate Congress was unmoved and
+unmovable upon this subject.
+
+Three Colored men had been captured in Stone River on the gun-boat
+"Isaac Smith." They were free men; but, notwithstanding this, they
+were placed in close confinement and treated like felons. Upon the
+facts reaching the ear of the Government, Secretary Stanton took three
+South Carolina prisoners and had them subjected to the same treatment,
+and the facts telegraphed to the Rebel authorities. Commenting upon
+the question of the treatment of captured Colored soldiers the
+"Richmond Examiner" said:
+
+ "It is not merely the pretension of a regular Government
+ affecting to deal with 'Rebels,' but it is a deadly stab which
+ they are aiming at our institutions themselves--because they know
+ that, if we were insane enough to yield this point, to treat
+ Black men as the equals of White, and insurgent slaves as
+ equivalent to our brave soldiers, the very foundation of Slavery
+ would be fatally wounded."
+
+Shortly after this occurrence an exchange of prisoners took place in
+front of Charleston. The rebels returned only white prisoners. When
+upbraided by the Union officers for not exchanging Negroes the reply
+came that under the resolutions of the Confederate Congress they could
+not deliver up any Negro soldiers. This fact stirred the heart of the
+North, and caused the Government to act. The following order was
+issued by the President:
+
+ "EXECUTIVE MANSION, }
+ "WASHINGTON, July 30, 1863. }
+
+ "It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its
+ citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially
+ to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public
+ service. The law of nations, and the usages and customs of war,
+ as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to
+ color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To
+ sell or enslave any captured person, on account of his color, and
+ for no offense against the laws of war, is a relapse into
+ barbarism, and a crime against the civilization of the age.
+
+ "The Government of the United States will give the same
+ protection to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or
+ enslave any one because of his color, the offense shall be
+ punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our
+ possession.
+
+ "It is therefore ordered that, for every soldier of the United
+ States killed in violation of the laws of war, a Rebel soldier
+ shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or
+ sold into Slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor
+ on public works, and continued at such labor until the other
+ shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of
+ war.
+
+ "ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
+
+ "By order of the Secretary of War.
+ "E. D. TOWNSEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_."
+
+In the early spring of 1864, there was a great deal said in the
+Southern journals and much action had in the rebel army respecting the
+capture and treatment of Negro soldiers. The "Richmond Examiner"
+contained an account of the battle of Newbern, North Carolina, in
+which the writer seemed to gloat over the fact that a captured Negro
+had been hung after he had surrendered. It came to the knowledge of
+Gen. Peck, commanding the army of the District of North Carolina, when
+the following correspondence took place:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AND DISTRICT OF }
+ "NORTH CAROLINA, NEWBERN, NORTH }
+ "CAROLINA, Feb. 11, 1864: }
+
+ "Major-General PICKETT, _Department of Virginia and North
+ Carolina, "Confederate Army, Petersburg_.
+
+ "GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose a slip cut from the
+ Richmond 'Examiner,' February eighth, 1864. It is styled 'The
+ Advance on Newbern,' and appears to have been extracted from the
+ Petersburg 'Register,' a paper published in the city where your
+ headquarters are located.
+
+ "Your attention is particularly invited to that paragraph which
+ states 'that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by a negro soldier from
+ the other side of the river, which he was spanning with a pontoon
+ bridge, and that the negro was watched, followed, taken, and
+ hanged after the action at Thomasville.
+
+ "'THE ADVANCE ON NEWBERN.--The Petersburg "Register" gives the
+ following additional facts of the advance on Newbern: Our army,
+ according to the report of passengers arriving from Weldon, has
+ fallen back to a point sixteen miles west of Newbern. The reason
+ assigned for this retrograde movement was that Newbern could not
+ be taken by us without a loss on our part which would find no
+ equivalent in its capture, as the place was stronger than we had
+ anticipated. Yet, in spite of this, we are sure that the
+ expedition will result in good to our cause. Our forces are in a
+ situation to get large supplies from a country still abundant, to
+ prevent raids on points westward, and keep tories in check, and
+ hang them when caught.
+
+ "'From a private, who was one of the guard that brought the batch
+ of prisoners through, we learn that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by
+ a negro soldier from the other side of the river, which he was
+ spanning with a pontoon bridge. The negro was watched, followed,
+ taken, and hanged after the action at Thomasville. It is stated
+ that when our troops entered Thomasville, a number of the enemy
+ took shelter in the houses and fired upon them. The Yankees were
+ ordered to surrender, but refused, whereupon our men set fire to
+ the houses, and their occupants got, bodily, a taste in this
+ world of the flames eternal.'
+
+ "The Government of the United States has wisely seen fit to
+ enlist many thousand colored citizens to aid in putting down the
+ rebellion, and has placed them on the same footing in all
+ respects as her white troops.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Believing that this atrocity has been perpetrated without your
+ knowledge, and that you will take prompt steps to disavow this
+ violation of the usages of war, and to bring the offenders to
+ justice, I shall refrain from executing a rebel soldier until I
+ learn your action in the premises.
+
+ "I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+ "JOHN J. PECK,
+ "_Major-General_."
+
+
+ REPLY OF GENERAL PICKETT.
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NORTH }
+ "CAROLINA, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, February 16, 1864. }
+
+ "Major-General JOHN J. PECK, U. S. A., _Commanding at Newbern_:
+
+ "GENERAL: Your communication of the eleventh of February is
+ received. I have the honor to state in reply, that the paragraph
+ from a newspaper inclosed therein, is not only without foundation
+ in fact, but so ridiculous that I should scarcely have supposed
+ it worthy of consideration; but I would respectfully inform you
+ that had I caught _any negro_, who had killed either officer,
+ soldier, or citizen of the Confederate States, I should have
+ caused him to be immediately executed.
+
+ "To your threat expressed in the following extract from your
+ communication, namely: 'Believing that this atrocity has been
+ perpetrated without your knowledge, and that you will take prompt
+ steps to disavow this violation of the usages of war, and to
+ bring the offenders to justice, I shall refrain from executing a
+ rebel soldier until I learn of your action in the premises,' I
+ have merely to say that I have in my hands and subject to my
+ orders, captured in the recent operations in this department,
+ some four hundred and fifty officers and men of the United States
+ army, and for every man you hang I will hang ten of the United
+ States army.
+
+ "I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+ "J. E. PICKETT,
+ "_Major-General Commanding_."[113]
+
+As already indicated, some of the Southern journals did not endorse
+the extreme hardships and cruelties to which the rebels subjected the
+captured Colored men. During the month of July, 1863, quite a number
+of Colored soldiers had fallen into the hands of the enemy on Morris
+and James islands. The rebels did not only refuse to exchange them as
+prisoners of war, but treated them most cruelly.
+
+On this very important subject, in reply to some strictures of the
+Charleston "Mercury" (made under _misapprehension_), the Chief of
+Staff of General Beauregard addressed to that journal the following
+letter:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF S. C., GA., AND FLA., }
+ "CHARLESTON, S. C., August 12, 1863. }
+
+ "Colonel R. B. RHETT, Jr., _Editor of_ 'Mercury':
+
+ "In the 'Mercury' of this date you appear to have written under a
+ misapprehension of the facts connected with the present _status_
+ of the negroes captured in arms on Morris and James Islands,
+ which permit me to state as follows:
+
+ "The Proclamation of the President, dated December twenty-fourth,
+ 1862, directed that all negro slaves captured in arms should be
+ at once delivered over to the executive authorities of the
+ respective States to which they belong, to be dealt with
+ according to the laws of said States.
+
+ "An informal application was made by the State authorities for
+ the negroes captured in this vicinity; but as none of them, it
+ appeared, had been slaves of citizens of South Carolina, they
+ were not turned over to the civil authority, for at the moment
+ there was no official information at these headquarters of the
+ Act of Congress by which 'all negroes and mulattoes, who shall be
+ engaged in war, or be taken in arms against the confederate
+ States, or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the
+ confederate States,' were directed to be turned over to the
+ authorities of 'State or States in which they shall be captured,
+ to be dealt with according to the present or future laws of such
+ State or States.'
+
+ "On the twenty-first of July, however, the Commanding General
+ telegraphed to the Secretary of War for instructions as to the
+ disposition to be made of the negroes captured on Morris and
+ James Islands, and on the twenty-second received a reply that
+ they must be turned over to the State authorities, by virtue of
+ the joint resolutions of Congress in question.
+
+ "Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth July, as soon as a copy of the
+ resolution or act was received, his Excellency Governor Bonham
+ was informed that the negroes captured were held subject to his
+ orders, to be dealt with according to the laws of South Carolina.
+
+ "On the same day (twenty-ninth July) Governor Bonham requested
+ that they should be retained in military custody until he could
+ make arrangements to dispose of them; and in that custody they
+ still remain, awaiting the orders of the State authorities.
+
+ "Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ "THOMAS JORDAN,
+ "_Chief of Staff._"
+
+The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis, referred to in the second
+paragraph of Mr. Jordan's letter, had declared Gen. Butler "a felon,
+an outlaw, and an enemy of mankind." It recited his hanging of
+Mumford; the neglect of the Federal Government to explain or
+disapprove the act; the imprisonment of non-combatants; Butler's woman
+order; his sequestration of estates in Western Louisiana; and the
+inciting to insurrection and arming of slaves. Mr. Davis directed any
+Confederate officer who should capture Gen. Butler to hang him
+immediately and without trial. Mr. Davis's proclamation is given here,
+as history is bound to hold him personally responsible for the
+cruelties practised upon Negro soldiers captured by the rebels from
+that time till the close of the war.
+
+ "First. That all commissioned officers in the command of said
+ Benjamin F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as
+ soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, but as robbers and
+ criminals, deserving death; and that they and each of them be,
+ whenever captured, reserved for execution.
+
+ "Second. That the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers
+ in the army of said Butler be considered as only the instruments
+ used for the commission of crimes perpetrated by his orders, and
+ not as free agents; that they, therefore, be treated, when
+ captured as prisoners of war, with kindness and humanity, and be
+ sent home on the usual parole that they will in no manner aid or
+ serve the United States in any capacity during the continuance of
+ this war, unless duly exchanged.
+
+ "Third. That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once
+ delivered over to the executive authorities of the respective
+ States to which they belong, to be dealt with according to the
+ laws of said States.
+
+ "Fourth. That the like orders be executed in all cases with
+ respect to all commissioned officers of the United States, when
+ found serving in company with said slaves in insurrection against
+ the authorities of the different States of this Confederacy.
+
+ "[Signed and sealed at Richmond, Dec. 23, 1862.]
+
+ "JEFFERSON DAVIS."
+
+The ghastly horrors of Fort Pillow stand alone in the wide field of
+war cruelties. The affair demands great fortitude in the historian who
+would truthfully give a narrative of such bloody, sickening detail.
+
+On the 18th of April, 1864, Gen. N. B. Forrest, commanding a corps of
+Confederate cavalry, appeared before Fort Pillow, situated about
+forty miles above Memphis, Tennessee, and demanded its surrender. It
+was held by Major L. F. Booth, with a garrison of 557 men, 262 of whom
+were Colored soldiers of the 6th U. S. Heavy Artillery; the other
+troops were white, under Major Bradford of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry.
+The garrison was mounted with six guns. From before sunrise until nine
+A.M. the Union troops had held an outer line of intrenchments; but
+upon the death of Major Booth Major Bradford retired his force into
+the fort. It was situated upon a high bluff on the Mississippi River,
+flanked by two ravines with sheer declivities and partially timbered.
+The gun-boat "New Era" was to have cooeperated with the fort, but on
+account of the extreme height of the bluff, was unable to do much. The
+fighting continued until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when the
+firing slackened on both sides to allow the guns to cool off. The "New
+Era," nearly out of shell, backed into the river to clean her guns.
+During this lull Gen. Forrest sent a flag of truce demanding the
+unconditional surrender of the fort. A consultation of the Federal
+officers was held, and a request made for twenty minutes to consult
+the officers of the gun-boat. Gen. Forrest refused to grant this,
+saying that he only demanded the surrender of the fort and not the
+gun-boat. He demanded an immediate surrender, which was promptly
+declined by Major Bradford. During the time these negotiations were
+going on, Forrest's men were stealing horses, plundering the buildings
+in front of the fort, and closing in upon the fort through the
+ravines, which was unsoldierly and cowardly to say the least. Upon
+receiving the refusal of Major Booth to capitulate, Forrest gave a
+signal and his troops made a frantic charge upon the fort. It was
+received gallantly and resisted stubbornly, but there was no use of
+fighting. In ten minutes the enemy, assaulting the fort in the centre,
+and striking it on the flanks, swept in. The Federal troops
+surrendered; but an indiscriminate massacre followed. Men were shot
+down in their tracks; pinioned to the ground with bayonet and sabre.
+Some were clubbed to death while dying of wounds; others were made to
+get down upon their knees, in which condition they were shot to death.
+Some were burned alive, having been fastened into the buildings, while
+still others were nailed against the houses, tortured, and then burned
+to a crisp. A little Colored boy only eight years old was lifted to
+the horse of a rebel who intended taking him along with him, when
+Gen. Forrest meeting the soldier ordered him to put the child down and
+shoot him. The soldier remonstrated, but the stern and cruel order was
+repeated, emphasized with an oath, and backed with a threat that
+endangered the soldier's life, so he put the child on the ground and
+shot him dead! From three o'clock in the afternoon until the merciful
+darkness came and threw the sable wings of night over the carnival of
+death, the slaughter continued. The stars looked down in pity upon the
+dead--ah! they were beyond the barbarous touch of the rebel
+fiends--and the dying; and the angels found a spectacle worthy of
+their tears. And when the morning looked down upon the battle-field,
+it was not to find it peaceful in death and the human hyenas gone.
+Alas! those who had survived the wounds of the day before were set
+upon again and brained or shot to death.
+
+The Committee on the Conduct and Expenditures of the War gave this
+"Horrible Massacre" an investigation. They examined such of the Union
+soldiers as escaped from death at Fort Pillow and were sent to the
+Mound City Hospital, Illinois. The following extracts from the
+testimony given before the Committee, the Hons. Ben. F. Wade and D. W.
+Gooch, give something of an idea of this the most cruel and inhuman
+affair in the history of the civilized world.
+
+Manuel Nichols (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States
+Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Question. Were you in the late fight at Fort Pillow?
+
+ Answer. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Were you wounded there?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. When?
+
+ A. I was wounded once about a half an hour before we gave up.
+
+ Q. Did they do any thing to you after you surrendered?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; they shot me in the head under my left ear, and the
+ morning after the fight they shot me again in the right arm. When
+ they came up and killed the wounded ones, I saw some four or five
+ coming down the hill. I said to one of our boys: "Anderson, I
+ expect if those fellows come here they will kill us." I was lying
+ on my right side, leaning on my elbow. One of the black soldiers
+ went into the house where the white soldiers were. I asked him if
+ there was any water in there, and he said yes; I wanted some, and
+ took a stick and tried to get to the house. I did not get to the
+ house. Some of them came along, and saw a little boy belonging
+ to Company D. One of them had his musket on his shoulder, and
+ shot the boy down. He said: "All you damned niggers come out of
+ the house; I am going to shoot you." Some of the white soldiers
+ said: "Boys, it is only death anyhow; if you don't go out they
+ will come in and carry you out." My strength seemed to come to me
+ as if I had never been shot, and I jumped up and ran down the
+ hill. I met one of them coming up the hill; he said: "Stop!" but
+ I kept on running. As I jumped over the hill, he shot me through
+ the right arm.
+
+ Q. How many did you see them kill after they had surrendered?
+
+ A. After I surrendered I did not go down the hill. A man shot me
+ under the ear, and I fell down and said to myself: "If he don't
+ shoot me any more this won't hurt me." One of their officers came
+ along and hallooed: "Forrest says no quarter! no quarter!" and
+ the next one hallooed: "Black flag! black flag!"
+
+ Q. What did they do then?
+
+ A. They kept on shooting. I could hear them down the hill.
+
+ Q. Did you see them bury any body?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; they carried me around right to the corner of the
+ Fort, and I saw them pitch men in there.
+
+ Q. Was there any alive?
+
+ A. I did not see them bury any body alive.
+
+ Q. How near to you was the man who shot you under the ear?
+
+ A. Right close to my head. When I was shot in the side, a man
+ turned me over, and took my pocket-knife and pocket-book. I had
+ some of these brass things that looked like cents. They said:
+ "Here's some money; here's some money." I said to myself: "You
+ got fooled that time."
+
+Major Williams (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States
+Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.
+
+By the Chairman:
+
+ Q. Where were you raised?
+
+ A. In Tennessee and North Mississippi.
+
+ Q. Where did you enlist?
+
+ A. In Memphis.
+
+ Q. Who was your captain?
+
+ A. Captain Lamburg.
+
+ Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Was your captain with you?
+
+ A. No, sir; I think he was at Memphis.
+
+ Q. Who commanded your company?
+
+ A. Lieutenant Hunter and Sergeant Fox were all the officers we
+ had.
+
+ Q. What did you see done there?
+
+ A. We fought them right hard during the battle, and killed some
+ of them. After a time they sent in a flag of truce. They said
+ afterward that they did it to make us stop firing until their
+ reinforcements could come up. They said that they never could
+ have got in if they had not done that; that we had whipped them;
+ that they had never seen such a fight.
+
+ Q. Did you see the flag of truce?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. What did they do when the flag of truce was in?
+
+ A. They kept coming up nearer, so that they could charge quick. A
+ heap of them came up after we stopped firing.
+
+ Q. When did you surrender?
+
+ A. I did not surrender until they all ran.
+
+ Q. Were you wounded then?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; after the surrender.
+
+ Q. At what time of day was that?
+
+ A. They told me it was about half after one o'clock, I was
+ wounded. Immediately we retreated.
+
+ Q. Did you have any arms in your hands when they shot you?
+
+ A. No, sir; I was an artillery man, and had no arms.
+
+ Q. Did you see the man who shot you?
+
+ A. No, sir.
+
+ Q. Did you hear him say any thing?
+
+ A. No, sir; I heard nothing. He shot me, and I was bleeding
+ pretty free, and I thought to myself: "I will make out it was a
+ dead shot, and maybe I will not get another."
+
+ Q. Did you see any others shot?
+
+ A. No, sir.
+
+ Q. Was there any thing said about giving quarter?
+
+ A. Major Bradford brought in a black flag, which meant no
+ quarter. I heard, some of the rebel officers say: "You damned
+ rascals, if you had not fought us so hard, but had stopped when
+ we sent in a flag of truce, we would not have done any thing to
+ you." I heard one of the officers say: "Kill all the niggers";
+ another one said: "No; Forrest says take them and carry them with
+ him to wait upon him and cook for him, and put them in jail and
+ send them to their masters." Still they kept on shooting. They
+ shot at me after that, but did not hit me; a rebel officer shot
+ at me. He took aim at my side; at the crack of his pistol I fell.
+ He went on and said: "There's another dead nigger."
+
+ Q. Was there any one shot in the hospital that day?
+
+ A. Not that I know of. I think they all came away and made a raft
+ and floated across the mouth of the creek and got into a flat
+ bottom.
+
+ Q. Did you see any buildings burned?
+
+ A. I stayed in the woods all day Wednesday. I was there Thursday
+ and looked at the buildings. I saw a great deal left that they
+ did not have a chance to burn up. I saw a white man burned up who
+ was nailed up against the house.
+
+ Q. A private or an officer?
+
+ A. An officer; I think it was a lieutenant in the Tennessee
+ cavalry.
+
+ Q. How was he nailed?
+
+ A. Through his hands and feet right against the house.
+
+ Q. Was his body burned?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; burned all over--I looked at him good.
+
+ Q. When did you see that?
+
+ A. On the Thursday after the battle.
+
+ Q. Where was the man?
+
+ A. Right in front of the Fort.
+
+Jacob Thompson (Colored), sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Q. Were you a soldier at Fort Pillow?
+
+ A. No, sir; I was not a soldier; but I went up in the Fort and
+ fought with the rest. I was shot in the hand and the head.
+
+ Q. When were you shot?
+
+ A. After I surrendered.
+
+ Q. How many times were you shot?
+
+ A. I was shot but once; but I threw my hand up, and the shot went
+ through my hand and my head.
+
+ Q. Who shot you?
+
+ A. A private.
+
+ Q. What did he say?
+
+ A. He said: "God damn you, I will shoot you, old friend."
+
+ Q. Did you see anybody else shot?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; they just called them out like dogs, and shot them
+ down. I reckon they shot about fifty, white and black, right
+ there. They nailed some black sergeants to the logs, and set the
+ logs on fire.
+
+ Q. When did you see that?
+
+ A. When I went there in the morning I saw them; they were burning
+ all together.
+
+ Q. Did they kill them before they burned them?
+
+ A. No, sir; they nailed them to the logs; drove the nails right
+ through their hands.
+
+ Q. How many did you see in that condition?
+
+ A. Some four or five; I saw two white men burned.
+
+ Q. Was there any one else there who saw that?
+
+ A. I reckon there was; I could not tell who.
+
+ Q. When was it that you saw them?
+
+ A. I saw them in the morning after the fight; some of them were
+ burned almost in two. I could tell they were white men, because
+ they were whiter than the colored men.
+
+ Q. Did you notice how they were nailed?
+
+ A. I saw one nailed to the side of a house; he looked like he was
+ nailed right through his wrist. I was trying then to get to the
+ boat when I saw it.
+
+ Q. Did you see them kill any white men?
+
+ A. They killed some eight or nine there. I reckon they killed
+ more than twenty after it was all over; called them out from
+ under the hill, and shot them down. They would call out a white
+ man and shoot him down, and call out a colored man and shoot him
+ down; do it just as fast as they could make their guns go off.
+
+ Q. Did you see any rebel officers about there when this was going
+ on?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; old Forrest was one.
+
+ Q. Did you know Forrest?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; he was a little bit of a man. I had seen him before
+ at Jackson.
+
+Ransom Anderson (Colored), Company B, Sixth United States Heavy
+Artillery, sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Q. Where were you raised?
+
+ A. In Mississippi.
+
+ Q. Were you a slave?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Where did you enlist?
+
+ A. At Corinth.
+
+ Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Describe what you saw done there.
+
+ A. Most all the men that were killed on our side were killed
+ after the fight was over. They called them out and shot them
+ down. Then they put some in the houses and shut them up, and
+ then burned the houses.
+
+ Q. Did you see them burn?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Were any of them alive?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; they were wounded, and could not walk. They put them
+ in the houses, and then burned the houses down.
+
+ Q. Do you know they were in there?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; I went and looked in there.
+
+ Q. Do you know they were in there when the house was burned?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; I heard them hallooing there when the houses were
+ burning.
+
+ Q. Are you sure they were wounded men, and not dead men, when
+ they were put in there?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; they told them they were going to have the doctor
+ see them, and then put them in there and shut them up, and burned
+ them.
+
+ Q. Who set the house on fire?
+
+ A. I saw a rebel soldier take some grass and lay it by the door,
+ and set it on fire. The door was pine plank, and it caught easy.
+
+ Q. Was the door fastened up?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; it was barred with one of those wide bolts.
+
+James Walls, sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Q. To what company did you belong?
+
+ A. To Company E, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.
+
+ Q. Under what officers did you serve?
+
+ A. I was under Major Bradford and Captain Potter.
+
+ Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. State what you saw there of the fight, and what was done after
+ the place was captured.
+
+ A. We fought them for some six or eight hours in the Fort, and
+ when they charged our men scattered and ran under the hill; some
+ turned back and surrendered, and were shot. After the flag of
+ truce came in I went down to get some water. As I was coming back
+ I turned sick, and laid down behind a log. The secesh charged,
+ and after they came over I saw one go a good ways ahead of the
+ others. One of our men made to him and threw down his arms. The
+ bullets were flying so thick there I thought I could not live
+ there, so I threw down my arms and surrendered. He did not shoot
+ me then, but as I turned around he or some other one shot me in
+ the back.
+
+ Q. Did they say any thing while they were shooting?
+
+ A. All I heard was: "Shoot him, shoot him!" "Yonder he goes!"
+ "Kill him, kill him!" That is about all I heard.
+
+ Q. How many do you suppose you saw shot after they surrendered?
+
+ A. I did not see but two or three shot around me. One of the boys
+ of our company, named Taylor, ran up there, and I saw him shot
+ and fall. Then another was shot just before me, like--shot down
+ after he threw down his arms.
+
+ Q. Those were white men?
+
+ A. Yes, sir. I saw them make lots of niggers stand up, and then
+ they shot them down like hogs. The next morning I was lying
+ around there waiting for the boat to come up. The secesh would be
+ prying around there, and would come to a nigger, and say: "You
+ ain't dead, are you?" They would not say any thing; and then the
+ secesh would get down off their horses, prick them in their
+ sides, and say: "Damn you, you ain't dead; get up." Then they
+ would make them get up on their knees, when they would shoot them
+ down like hogs.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Q. Did you see any rebel officers about while this shooting was
+ going on?
+
+ A. I do not know as I saw any officers about when they were
+ shooting the negroes. A captain came to me a few minutes after I
+ was shot; he was close by me when I was shot.
+
+ Q. Did he try to stop the shooting?
+
+ A. I did not hear a word of their trying to stop it. After they
+ were shot down, he told them not to shoot them any more. I begged
+ him not to let them shoot me again, and he said they would not.
+ One man, after he was shot down, was shot again. After I was shot
+ down, the man I surrendered to went around the tree I was against
+ and shot a man, and then came around to me again and wanted my
+ pocket-book. I handed it up to him, and he saw my watch-chain and
+ made a grasp at it, and got the watch and about half the chain.
+ He took an old Barlow knife I had in my pocket. It was not worth
+ five cents; was of no account at all, only to cut tobacco with.
+
+Lieutenant McJ. Leming, sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. What is your rank and position?
+
+ A. I am a First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Thirteenth
+ Tennessee Cavalry. A short time previous to the fight I was
+ Post-Adjutant at Fort Pillow, and during most of the engagement
+ I was acting as Post-Adjutant. After Major Booth was killed,
+ Major Bradford was in command. The pickets were driven in just
+ before sunrise, which was the first intimation we had that the
+ enemy were approaching. I repaired to the Fort, and found that
+ Major Booth was shelling the rebels as they came up toward the
+ outer intrenchments. They kept up a steady fire by sharp-shooters
+ behind trees and logs and high knolls. The Major thought at one
+ time they were planting some artillery, or looking for places to
+ plant it. They began to draw nearer and nearer, up to the time
+ our men were all drawn into the Fort. Two companies of the
+ Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry were ordered out as sharp-shooters,
+ but were finally ordered in. We were pressed on all sides.
+
+ I think Major Booth fell not later than nine o'clock. His
+ Adjutant, who was then acting Post-Adjutant, fell near the same
+ time. Major Bradford then took the command, and I acted as
+ Post-Adjutant. Previous to this, Major Booth had ordered some
+ buildings in front of the Fort to be destroyed, as the enemy's
+ sharp-shooters were endeavoring to get possession of them. There
+ were four rows of buildings, but only the row nearest the fort
+ was destroyed; the sharp-shooters gained possession of the others
+ before they could be destroyed. The fight continued, one almost
+ unceasing fire all the time, until about three o'clock. They
+ threw some shells, but they did not do much damage with their
+ shells.
+
+ I think it was about three o'clock that a flag of truce
+ approached. I went out, accompanied by Captain Young, the
+ Provost-Marshal of the post. There was another officer, I think,
+ but I do not recollect now particularly who it was, and some four
+ mounted men. The rebels announced that they had a communication
+ from General Forrest. One of their officers there, I think, from
+ his dress, was a colonel. I received the communication, and they
+ said they would wait for an answer. As near as I remember, the
+ communication was as follows:
+
+ "HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE CAVALRY, }
+ "NEAR FORT PILLOW, April 12, 1864. }
+
+ "As your gallant defence of the Fort has entitled you to the
+ treatment of brave men [or something to that effect], I now
+ demand an unconditional surrender of your force, at the same
+ time assuring you that they will be treated as prisoners of
+ war. I have received a fresh supply of ammunition, and can
+ easily take your position.
+
+ "N. B. FORREST.
+
+ "MAJOR L. F. BOOTH,
+ "_Commanding United States Forces_."
+
+ I took this message back to the Fort. Major Bradford replied that
+ he desired an hour for consultation and consideration with his
+ officers and the officers of the gun-boat. I took out this
+ communication to them, and they carried it back to General
+ Forrest. In a few minutes another flag of truce appeared, and I
+ went out to meet it. Some one said, when they handed the
+ communication to me: "That gives you twenty minutes to surrender;
+ I am General Forrest." I took it back. The substance of it was:
+ "Twenty minutes will be given you to take your men outside of the
+ Fort. If in that time they are not out, I will immediately
+ proceed to assault your works," or something of that kind. To
+ this Major Bradford replied: "I will not surrender." I took it
+ out in a sealed envelope, and gave it to him. The general opened
+ it and read it. Nothing was said; we simply saluted, and they
+ went their way, and I returned back into the Fort.
+
+ Almost instantly the firing began again. We mistrusted, while
+ this flag of truce was going on, that they were taking horses out
+ at a camp we had. It was mentioned to them, the last time that
+ this and other movements excited our suspicion, that they were
+ moving their troops. They said that they had noticed it
+ themselves, and had it stopped; that it was unintentional on
+ their part, and that it should not be repeated.
+
+ It was not long after the last flag of truce had retired, that
+ they made their grand charge. We kept them back for several
+ minutes. What was called ---- brigade or battalion attacked the
+ centre of the Fort where several companies of colored troops were
+ stationed. They finally gave way, and, before we could fill up
+ the breach, the enemy got inside the Fort, and then they came in
+ on the other two sides, and had complete possession of the Fort.
+ In the mean time nearly all the officers had been killed,
+ especially of the colored troops, and there was no one hardly to
+ guide the men. They fought bravely indeed until that time. I do
+ not think the men who broke had a commissioned officer over them.
+ They fought with the most determined bravery, until the enemy
+ gained possession of the Fort. They kept shooting all the time.
+ The negroes ran down the hill toward the river, but the rebels
+ kept shooting them as they were running; shot some again after
+ they had fallen; robbed and plundered them. After every thing was
+ all gone, after we had given up the Fort entirely, the guns
+ thrown away and the firing on our part stopped, they still kept
+ up their murderous fire, more especially on the colored troops, I
+ thought, although the white troops suffered a great deal. I know
+ the colored troops had a great deal the worst of it. I saw
+ several shot after they were wounded; as they were crawling
+ around, the secesh would step out and blow their brains out.
+
+ About this time they shot me. It must have been four or half-past
+ four o'clock. I saw there was no chance at all, and threw down my
+ sabre. A man took deliberate aim at me, but a short distance from
+ me, certainly not more than fifteen paces, and shot me.
+
+ Q. With a musket or pistol?
+
+ A. I think it was a carbine; it may have been a musket, but my
+ impression is, that it was a carbine. Soon after I was shot I was
+ robbed. A secesh soldier came along, and wanted to know if I had
+ any greenbacks. I gave him my pocket-book. I had about a hundred
+ dollars, I think, more or less, and a gold watch and gold chain.
+ They took every thing in the way of valuables that I had. I saw
+ them robbing others. That seemed to be the general way they
+ served the wounded, so far as regards those who fell in my
+ vicinity. Some of the colored troops jumped into the river, but
+ were shot as fast as they were seen. One poor fellow was shot as
+ he reached the bank of the river. They ran down and hauled him
+ out. He got on his hands and knees, and was crawling along, when
+ a secesh soldier put his revolver to his head, and blew his
+ brains out. It was about the same thing all along, until dark
+ that night.
+
+ I was very weak, but I finally found a rebel who belonged to a
+ society that I am a member of (the Masons), and he got two of our
+ colored soldiers to assist me up the hill, and he brought me some
+ water. At that time it was about dusk. He carried me up just to
+ the edge of the Fort, and laid me down. There seemed to be quite
+ a number of dead collected there. They were throwing them into
+ the outside trench, and I heard them talking about burying them
+ there. I heard one of them say: "There is a man who is not quite
+ dead yet." They buried a number there; I do not know how many.
+
+ I was carried that night to a sort of little shanty that the
+ rebels had occupied during the day with their sharp-shooters. I
+ received no medical attention that night at all. The next morning
+ early I heard the report of cannon down the river. It was the
+ gun-boat 28 coming up from Memphis; she was shelling the rebels
+ along the shore as she came up. The rebels immediately ordered
+ the burning of all the buildings, and ordered the two buildings
+ where the wounded were to be fired. Some one called to the
+ officer who gave the order, and said there were wounded in them.
+ The building I was in began to catch fire. I prevailed upon one
+ of our soldiers who had not been hurt much to draw me out, and I
+ think others got the rest out. They drew us down a little way, in
+ a sort of gully, and we lay there in the hot sun without water or
+ any thing.
+
+ About this time a squad of rebels came around, it would seem for
+ the purpose of murdering what negroes they could find. They began
+ to shoot the wounded negroes all around there, interspersed with
+ the whites. I was lying a little way from a wounded negro, when a
+ secesh soldier came up to him, and said: "What in hell are you
+ doing here?" The colored soldier said he wanted to get on the
+ gun-boat. The secesh soldier said: "You want to fight us again,
+ do you? Damn you, I'll teach you," and drew up his gun and shot
+ him dead. Another negro was standing up erect a little way from
+ me--he did not seem to be hurt much. The rebel loaded his gun
+ again immediately. The negro begged of him not to shoot him, but
+ he drew up his gun and took deliberate aim at his head. The gun
+ snapped, but he fixed it again, and then killed him. I saw this.
+ I heard them shooting all around there--I suppose killing them.
+
+By the Chairman:
+
+ Q. Do you know of any rebel officers going on board our gun-boat
+ after she came up?
+
+ A. I don't know about the gun-boat, but I saw some of them on
+ board the "Platte Valley," after I had been carried on her. They
+ came on board, and I think went into drink with some of our
+ officers. I think one of the rebel officers was General Chalmers.
+
+ Q. Do you know what officers of ours drank with them?
+
+ A. I do not.
+
+ Q. You know that they did go on board the "Platte Valley" and
+ drink with some of our officers?
+
+ A. I did not see them drinking at the time, but I have no doubt
+ they did; that was my impression from all I saw, and I thought
+ our officers might have been in better business.
+
+ Q. Were our officers treating these rebel officers with
+ attention?
+
+ A. They seemed to be; I did not see much of it, as they passed
+ along by me.
+
+ Q. Do you know whether or not the conduct of the privates, in
+ murdering our soldiers after they had surrendered, seemed to have
+ the approval of their officers?
+
+ A. I did not see much of their officers, especially during the
+ worst of those outrages; they seemed to be back.
+
+ Q. Did you observe any effort on the part of their officers to
+ suppress the murders?
+
+ A. No, sir; I did not see any where I was first carried; just
+ about dusk, all at once several shots were fired just outside.
+ The cry was: "They are shooting the darkey soldiers." I heard an
+ officer ride up and say: "Stop that firing; arrest that man." I
+ suppose it was a rebel officer, but I do not know. It was
+ reported to me, at the time, that several darkeys were shot then.
+ An officer who stood by me, a prisoner, said that they had been
+ shooting them, but that the general had had it stopped.
+
+ Q. Do you know of any of our men in the hospital being murdered?
+
+ A. I do not.
+
+ Q. Do you know any thing of the fate of your Quartermaster,
+ Lieutenant Akerstrom?
+
+ A. He was one of the officers who went with me to meet the flag
+ of truce the last time. I do not know what became of him; that
+ was about the last I saw of him. I heard that he was nailed to a
+ board and burned, and I have very good reason for believing that
+ was the case, although I did not see it. The First Lieutenant of
+ Company D of my regiment says that he has an affidavit to that
+ effect of a man who saw it.
+
+Francis A. Alexander, sworn and examined.
+
+By the Chairman:
+
+ Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?
+
+ A. Company C, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.
+
+ Q. Were you at Fort Pillow at the fight there?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Who commanded your regiment?
+
+ A. Major Bradford commanded the regiment, and Lieutenant Logan
+ commanded our company.
+
+ Q. By what troops was the Fort attacked?
+
+ A. Forrest was in command. I saw him.
+
+ Q. Did you know Forrest?
+
+ A. I saw him there, and they all said it was Forrest. Their own
+ men said so.
+
+ Q. By what troops was the charge made?
+
+ A. They are Alabamians and Texans.
+
+ Q. Did you see any thing of a flag of truce?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. State what was done while the flag of truce was in.
+
+ A. When the flag of truce came up our officers went out and held
+ a consultation, and it went back. They came in again with a flag
+ of truce; and while they were consulting the second time, their
+ troops were coming up a gap or hollow, where we could have cut
+ them to pieces. They tried it before, but could not do it. I saw
+ them come up there while the flag of truce was in the second
+ time.
+
+ Q. That gave them an advantage?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Were you wounded there?
+
+ A. Not in the Fort. I was wounded after I left the Fort and was
+ going down the hill.
+
+ Q. Was that before or after the Fort was taken?
+
+ A. It was afterward.
+
+ Q. Did you have any arms in your hand at the time they shot you?
+
+ A. No, sir; I threw my gun away, and started down the hill, and
+ got about twenty yards, when I was shot through the calf of the
+ leg.
+
+ Q. Did they shoot you more than once?
+
+ A. No, sir; they shot at me, but did not hit me more than once.
+
+ Q. Did they say why they shot you after you had surrendered?
+
+ A. They said afterward they intended to kill us all for being
+ there with their niggers.
+
+ Q. Were any rebel officers there at the time this shooting was
+ going on?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Did they try to stop it?
+
+ A. One or two of them did.
+
+ Q. What did the rest of them do?
+
+ A. They kept shouting and hallooing at the men to give no
+ quarter. I heard that cry very frequent.
+
+ Q. Was it the officers that said that?
+
+ A. I think it was. I think it was them, the way they were going
+ on. When our boys were taken prisoners, if anybody came up who
+ knew them, they shot them down. As soon as ever they recognized
+ them, wherever it was, they shot them.
+
+ Q. After they had taken them prisoners?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Did you know any thing about their shooting men in the
+ hospitals?
+
+ A. I know of their shooting negroes in there. I don't know about
+ white men.
+
+ Q. Wounded negro men?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. Who did that?
+
+ A. Some of their troops. I don't know which of them. The next
+ morning I saw several black people shot that were wounded, and
+ some that were not wounded. One was going down the hill before
+ me, and the officer made him come back up the hill; and after I
+ got in the boat I heard them shooting them.
+
+ Q. You say you saw them shoot negroes in the hospital the next
+ morning?
+
+ A. Yes, sir; wounded negroes who could not get along; one with
+ his leg broke. They came there the next day and shot him.
+
+John F. Ray, sworn and examined.
+
+By Mr. Gooch:
+
+ Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?
+
+ A. Company B, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.
+
+ Q. Were you at Fort Pillow, when it was attacked?
+
+ A. Yes, sir.
+
+ Q. At what time were you wounded?
+
+ A. I was wounded about two o'clock, after the rebels got in the
+ breastworks.
+
+ Q. Was it before or after you had surrendered?
+
+ A. It was after I threw down my gun, as they all started to run.
+
+ Q. Will you state what you saw there?
+
+ A. After I surrendered they shot down a great many white fellows
+ right close to me--ten or twelve, I suppose--and a great many
+ negroes, too.
+
+ Q. How long did they keep shooting our men after they
+ surrendered?
+
+ A. I heard guns away after dark shooting all that evening,
+ somewhere; they kept up a regular fire for a long time, and then
+ I heard the guns once in a while.
+
+ Q. Did you see any one shot the next day?
+
+ A. I did not; I was in a house, and could not get up at all.
+
+ Q. Do you know what became of the Quartermaster of your regiment,
+ Lieutenant Akerstrom?
+
+ A. He was shot by the side of me.
+
+ Q. Was he killed?
+
+ A. I thought so at the time; he fell on his face. He was shot in
+ the forehead, and I thought he was killed. I heard afterward he
+ was not.
+
+ Q. Did you notice any thing that took place while the flag of
+ truce was in?
+
+ A. I saw the rebels slipping up and getting in the ditch along
+ our breastworks.
+
+ Q. How near did they come up?
+
+ A. They were right at us; right across from the breastworks. I
+ asked them what they were slipping up there for. They made answer
+ that they knew their business.
+
+ Q. Are you sure this was done while the flag of truce was in?
+
+ A. Yes, sir. There was no firing; we could see all around; we
+ could see them moving up all around in large force.
+
+ Q. Was any thing said about it except what you said to the
+ rebels?
+
+ A. I heard all our boys talking about it. I heard some of our
+ officers remark, as they saw it coming, that the white flag was a
+ bad thing; that they were slipping on us. I believe it was
+ Lieutenant Akerstrom that I heard say it was against the rules of
+ war for them to come up in that way.
+
+ Q. To whom did he say that?
+
+ A. To those fellows coming up; they had officers with them.
+
+ Q. Was Lieutenant Akerstrom shot before or after he had
+ surrendered?
+
+ A. About two minutes after the flag of truce went back, during
+ the action.
+
+ Q. Do you think of any thing else to state? If so, go on and
+ state it.
+
+ A. I saw a rebel lieutenant take a little negro[114] boy up on
+ the horse behind him; and then I heard General Chalmers--I think
+ it must have been--tell him to "Take that negro down and shoot
+ him," or "Take him and shoot him," and he passed him down and
+ shot him.
+
+ Q. How large was the boy?
+
+ A. He was not more than eight years old. I heard the lieutenant
+ tell the other that the negro was not in the service; that he was
+ nothing but a child; that he was pressed and brought in there.
+ The other one said; "Damn the difference; take him down and shoot
+ him, or I will shoot him." I think it must have been General
+ Chalmers. He was a smallish man; he had on a long gray coat, with
+ a star on his coat.[115]
+
+The country and the world stood aghast. The first account of this
+human butchery was too much for credence: after a while the truth
+began to dawn upon the country; and at last the people admitted that
+in a Christian land like America a deed so foul--blacker than hell
+itself!--had actually been perpetrated. The patience of the North and
+the Union army gave way to bitterest imprecations; the exultation and
+applause of the South and Confederate army were succeeded by serious
+thoughts and sad reflections. But it is the duty of impartial history
+to record that this bloody, sickening affair was not endorsed by all
+the rebels.
+
+In a letter dated Okalona, Mississippi, June. 14, 1864, to the
+"Atlanta Appeal," a rebel gives this endorsement of Forrest's conduct
+at Fort Pillow:
+
+ "You have heard that our soldiers buried negroes alive at Fort
+ Pillow. This is true. At the first fire after Forrest's men
+ scaled the walls, many of the negroes threw down their arms and
+ fell as if they were dead. They perished in the pretence, and
+ could only be restored at the point of the bayonet. To
+ resuscitate some of them, more terrified than the rest, they were
+ rolled into the trenches made as receptacles for the fallen.
+ Vitality was not restored till breathing was obstructed, and then
+ the resurrection began. On these facts is based the pretext for
+ the crimes committed by Sturgis, Grierson, and their followers.
+ You must remember, too, that in the extremity of their terror, or
+ for other reasons, the Yankees and negroes in Fort Pillow
+ neglected to haul down their flag. In truth, relying upon their
+ gun-boats, the officers expected to annihilate our forces after
+ we had entered the fortifications. They did not intend to
+ surrender.
+
+ "A terrible retribution, in any event, has befallen the ignorant,
+ deluded Africans."
+
+Gen. Forrest was a cold-blooded murderer; a fiend in human form. But
+as the grave has opened long since to receive him; and as the cause he
+represented has perished from the earth, it is enough to let the
+record stand without comment, and God grant without malice! It is the
+duty of history to record that there is to be found no apologist for
+cruelties that rebels inflicted upon brave but helpless Black soldiers
+during the war for the extirpation of slavery. The Confederate conduct
+at Pillow must remain a foul stain upon the name of the men who fought
+to perpetuate human slavery in North America, but failed.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[112] New York Tribune, April 14, 1863.
+
+[113] Rebellion Recs., vol. viii. Doc. pp. 418, 419.
+
+[114] Gen. Chalmers has denied, with vehemence, that he ever did any
+cruel act at Fort Pillow, but the record is against him. Soldiers
+under brave, intelligent, and humane officers could never be guilty of
+such cruel and unchristian conduct as these rebels at Pillow. Gen.
+Chalmers is responsible. As an illustration of the gentle and
+forgiving spirit of the Negro, it should be recorded here that many
+supported the candidacy of Gen. Chalmers for Congress, and voted for
+him at the recent election in Mississippi.
+
+[115] See Report of Committee on Conduct of War.
+
+
+
+
+Part 8.
+
+_THE FIRST DECADE OF FREEDOM._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION[116]--MISCONSTRUCTION.
+
+1865-1875.
+
+ THE WAR OVER, PEACE RESTORED, AND THE NATION CLEANSED OF A
+ PLAGUE.--SLAVERY GIVES PLACE TO A LONG TRAIN OF
+ EVENTS.--UNSETTLED CONDITION OF AFFAIRS AT THE SOUTH.--THE
+ ABSENCE OF LEGAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT NECESSITATES THE ESTABLISHMENT
+ OF PROVISIONAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT.--AN ACT ESTABLISHING A BUREAU
+ FOR REFUGEES AND ABANDONED LANDS.--CONGRESSIONAL METHODS FOR THE
+ RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH.--GEN. U. S. GRANT CARRIES THESE
+ STATES IN 1868 AND 1872.--BOTH BRANCHES OF THE LEGISLATURES IN
+ ALL THE SOUTHERN STATES CONTAIN NEGRO MEMBERS.--THE ERRORS OF
+ RECONSTRUCTION CHARGEABLE TO BOTH SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.
+
+
+Appomattox had taken her place in history; and the echo of the triumph
+of Federal arms was heard in the palaces of Europe. The United States
+Government had survived the shock of the embattled arms of a gigantic
+Rebellion; had melted the manacles of four million slaves in the fires
+of civil war; had made four million bondmen freemen; had wiped slavery
+from the map of North America; had demonstrated the truth that the
+Constitution is the supreme law of the land; and that the United
+States is a NATION, not a league.
+
+The brazen-mouthed, shotted cannon were voiceless; a million muskets
+and swords hung upon the dusty walls of silent arsenals; and war
+ceased from the proud altitudes of the mountains of Virginia to where
+the majestic Atlantic washes the shores of the Carolinas. A million
+soldiers in blue melted quietly into the modest garb of citizens. The
+myriad hum of busy shuttles, clanking machinery, and whirling wheels
+proclaimed the day of peace. Families and communities were restored
+and bound together by the indissoluble, golden ties of domestic
+charities. The war was over; peace had been restored; and the nation
+was cleansed of a plague.
+
+But what was to be done with the millions of Negroes at the South? The
+war had made them free. That was all. They could leave the plantation.
+They had the right of locomotion; were property no longer. But what a
+spectacle! Here were four million human beings without clothing,
+shelter, homes, and, alas! most of them without names. The galling
+harness of slavery had been cut off of their weary bodies, and like a
+worn-out beast of burden they stood in their tracks scarcely able to
+go anywhere. Like men coming from long confinement in a dark dungeon,
+the first rays of freedom blinded their expectant eyes. They were
+almost delirious with joy. The hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows,
+the pain and waiting, the prayers and tears of the cruel years of
+slavery gave place to a long train of events that swept them out into
+the rapid current of a life totally different from the checkered
+career whence they had just emerged. It required time, patience, and
+extraordinary wisdom on the part of the Government to solve the
+problem of this people's existence--of this "Nation born in a day."
+Their joy was too full, their peace too profound, and their
+thanksgiving too sincere to attract their attention at once to the
+vulgar affairs of daily life. One fervent, beautiful psalm of praise
+rose from every Negro hut in the South, and swelled in majestic
+sweetness until the nation became one mighty temple canopied by the
+stars and stripes, and the Constitution as the common altar before
+whose undimmed lights a ransomed race humbly bowed.
+
+The emancipated Negroes had no ability, certainly no disposition, to
+reason concerning the changes and disasters which had overtaken their
+former masters. The white people of the South were divided into three
+classes. _First_, those who felt that defeat was intolerable, and a
+residence in this country incongenial. They sought the service of the
+Imperial cause in war-begrimed Mexico; they went to Cuba, Australia,
+Egypt, and to Europe. _Second_, those who returned to their homes
+after the "affair at Appomattox," and sitting down under the
+portentous clouds of defeat, refused to take any part in the
+rehabilitation of their States. _Third_, those who accepted the
+situation and stood ready to aid in the work of reconstruction.
+
+In the unsettled condition of affairs at the close of hostilities, as
+there was no legal State governments at the South, necessity and
+prudence suggested the temporary policy of dividing the South into
+military districts. A provisional military government in the conquered
+States was to pursue a pacific, protective, helpful policy. The people
+of both races were to be fed and clothed. Schools were to be
+established; agriculture and industry encouraged. Courts were to be
+established of competent jurisdiction to hear and decide cases among
+the people. Such a government while military in name was patriarchal
+in spirit. As early as the spring of 1865, before the war was over, an
+act was passed by Congress providing for the destitute of the South.
+
+ "AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BUREAU FOR THE RELIEF OF FREEDMEN AND
+ REFUGEES.
+
+ "_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
+ United States of America in Congress assembled_, That there is
+ hereby established in the War Department, to continue during the
+ present war of rebellion, and for one year thereafter, a Bureau
+ of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, to which shall be
+ committed, as hereinafter provided, the supervision and
+ management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all
+ subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or
+ from any district of country within the territory embraced in the
+ operations of the army, under such rules and regulations as may
+ be prescribed by the head of the bureau and approved by the
+ President. The said bureau shall be under the management and
+ control of a commissioner, to be appointed by the President, by
+ and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose compensation
+ shall be three thousand dollars per annum, and such number of
+ clerks as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of War, not
+ exceeding one chief clerk, two of the fourth class, two of the
+ third class, three of the second class, and five of the first
+ class. And the commissioner and all persons appointed under this
+ act shall, before entering upon their duties, take the oath of
+ office prescribed in an act entitled, 'An act to prescribe an
+ oath of office, and for other purposes,' approved July 2, 1862.
+ And the commissioners and the chief clerk shall, before entering
+ upon their duties, give bonds to the Treasurer of the United
+ States, the former in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and the
+ latter in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the
+ faithful discharge of their duties respectively, with securities
+ to be approved as sufficient by the attorney general, which bonds
+ shall be filed in the office of the First Comptroller of the
+ Treasury, to be by him put in suit for the benefit of any injured
+ party, upon any breach of the conditions thereof.
+
+ "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the Secretary of War
+ may direct such issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel as he
+ may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and
+ supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, and
+ their wives and children, under such rules and regulations as he
+ may direct.
+
+ "SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the President may, by
+ and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an
+ assistant commissioner for each of the States declared to be in
+ insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, under the
+ direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the
+ provisions of this act, and he shall give a bond to the Treasurer
+ of the United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in
+ the form and manner prescribed in the first section of this act.
+ Each of said assistant commissioners shall receive an annual
+ salary of two thousand and five hundred dollars, in full
+ compensation for all his services. And any military officer may
+ be detailed and assigned to duty under this act without increase
+ of pay or allowances. The commissioner shall, before the
+ commencement of each regular session of Congress, make full
+ report of his proceedings, with exhibits of the state of his
+ accounts, to the President, who shall communicate the same to
+ Congress, and shall also make special reports whenever required
+ to do so by the President, or either house of Congress. And the
+ assistant commissioners shall make quarterly reports of their
+ proceedings to the commissioner, and also such other special
+ reports as from time to time may be required.
+
+ "SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the commissioner,
+ under the direction of the President, shall have authority to set
+ apart for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen such tracts of
+ land, within the insurrectionary States, as shall have been
+ abandoned, or to which the United States shall have acquired
+ title by confiscation, or sale, or otherwise. And to every male
+ citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall
+ be assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the
+ person to whom it is so assigned shall be protected in the use
+ and enjoyment of the land for the term of three years, at an
+ annual rent not exceeding six per centum upon the value of said
+ land as it was appraised by the State authorities in the year
+ 1860, for the purpose of taxation, and in case no such appraisal
+ can be found, then the rental shall be based upon the estimated
+ value of the land in said year, to be ascertained in such manner
+ as the commissioner may, by regulation, prescribe. At the end of
+ said term, or at any time during said term, the occupants of any
+ parcels so assigned may purchase the land and receive such title
+ thereto as the United States can convey, upon paying therefor
+ the value of the land, as ascertained and fixed for the purpose
+ of determining the annual rent as aforesaid.
+
+ "SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That all acts and parts of
+ acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby
+ repealed.
+
+ "ROBERT C. SCHENCK, HENRY WILSON,
+ "GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, JAMES HARLAN,
+ "JAMES S. ROLLINS, W. T. WILLEY,
+ "_Managers on part of House._ _Managers on part of Senate._"
+
+To have subjected the late rebellious States to military rule for a
+stated term of years, say a decade or a generation, would have given
+force to the hasty statement of rebels and their sympathizers in the
+courts of Europe. It was charged that the United States Government
+fought to subjugate the Confederate States. The United States did not
+"begin it," and did not intend, at any time, to lay the mailed hand of
+military power against the throat of the rights of loyal citizens or
+loyal States. The _sine qua non_ of reconstruction was _loyalty to the
+Federal Government_. But while this idea was next to the heart of the
+Government, the sudden and horrible taking off of Abraham Lincoln
+discovered many master-builders, who built not well or wisely. The
+early education of Andrew Johnson was not in line with the work of
+reconstruction. His sympathies were with the South in spite of his
+position and circumstances. The friends of his early political life
+were more potent than the friends of a sound, sensible, and loyal
+policy upon which to build the shattered governments of the South. And
+by indicating and advocating a policy at variance with the logical
+events of the war, he was guilty of a political crime, and did the
+entire nation an irreparable injury.
+
+Congress seemed to be unequal to the task of perfecting a proper plan
+for reconstructing the Southern States. To couple general amnesty to
+the rebels with suffrage to the Negroes was a most fatal policy. It
+has been shown that there was but one class of white men in the South
+friendly to reconstruction,--numerically, small; and mentally, weak.
+But it was thought best to do this. To a triple element Congress
+committed the work of reconstruction. The "_Scalawag_," the
+"_Carpet-bagger_," and the _Negro_. Who were this trio? The scalawag
+was the native white man who made up the middle class of the South;
+the planter above, the Negro below. And between this upper and nether
+millstone he was destined to be ground to powder, under the old
+regime. A "nigger-driver," without schools, social position, or money,
+he was "the poor white trash" of the South. He was loyal during the
+war, because in the triumph of the Confederacy, with slavery as its
+corner-stone, he saw no hope for his condition. Those of them who
+fought under the rebel flag were unwilling conscripts. They had no
+qualifications for governing--except that they were _loyal_; and this
+was of no more use to them in this great work, than _piety_ in the
+pulpit when the preacher cannot repeat the Lord's prayer without
+biting his tongue. The carpet-baggers ran all the way from "good to
+middling." Some went South with fair ability and good morals, where
+they lost the latter article and never found it; while many more went
+South to get all they could and keep all they got. The Negro could
+boast of numerical strength only. The scalawag managed the Negro, the
+latter did the voting, while the carpet-bagger held the offices. And
+when there were "more stalls than horses" the Negroes and scalawags
+occasionally got an office.
+
+The rebels were still in a swoon.
+
+The States were reconstructed, after a manner, and the governments
+went forward.
+
+In 1868 Gen. U. S. Grant carried these States. It was like the handle
+on a jug, all on one side. The rebels took no part; but after a while
+a gigantic Ku Klux conspiracy was discovered. This organization sought
+to obstruct the courts, harass the Negroes, and cripple local
+governments. It spread terror through the South and made a political
+graveyard of startling dimensions. The writ of _habeas corpus_ was
+suspended; arrests made, trials and convictions secured, and the
+penitentiary at Albany, New York, crowded with the enemies of law and
+order. A subsidence followed, and the scalawag-carpetbag-Negro
+governments began a fresh existence.
+
+In 1872 Gen. Grant carried the Southern States again, meeting with but
+little resistance. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina there
+were Negro lieutenant-governors. The Negroes were learning rapidly the
+lesson of rotation in office, and demanded recognition. Alabama,
+Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, were
+represented, in part, by Negroes in the National House of
+Representatives, and Mississippi in the Senate as well. Both branches
+of the Legislatures of all the Southern States contained Negro
+members; while many of the most important and lucrative offices in
+the States were held by Negroes.
+
+The wine cup, the gaming-table, and the parlors of strange women
+charmed many of these men to the neglect of important public duties.
+The bonded indebtedness of these States began to increase, the State
+paper to depreciate, the burden of taxation to grow intolerable, bad
+laws to find their way into the statute-books, interest in education
+and industry to decline, the farm Negroes to grow idle and gravitate
+to the infectious skirts of large cities, and the whole South went
+from bad to worse.
+
+The hand of revenge reached for the shot-gun, and before its deadly
+presence white leaders were intimidated, driven out, or destroyed.
+Before 1875 came, the white element in the Republican party at the
+South was reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Thus abandoned,
+the Negro needed the presence of the United States army while he
+voted, held office, and drew his salary. But even the army lacked the
+power to inject life into the collapsed governments at the South.
+
+The mistake of reconstruction was twofold: on the part of the Federal
+Government, in committing the destinies of the Southern States to
+hands so feeble; and on the part of the South, in that its best men,
+instead of taking a lively interest in rebuilding the governments they
+had torn down, allowed them to be constructed with untempered mortar.
+Neither the South nor the Government could say: "Thou canst not say I
+did it: shake not thy gory locks at me." Both were culpable, and both
+have suffered the pangs of remorse.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[116] I am preparing a History of the Reconstruction of the Late
+Confederate States, 1865-1880. Hence I shall not enter into a thorough
+treatment of the subject in this work. It will follow this work, and
+comprise two volumes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION.
+
+ THE APPARENT IDLENESS OF THE NEGRO SPORADIC RATHER THAN
+ GENERIC.--HE QUIETLY SETTLES DOWN TO WORK.--THE GOVERNMENT MAKES
+ AMPLE PROVISIONS FOR HIS EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT.--THE
+ MARVELLOUS PROGRESS MADE BY THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH IN
+ EDUCATION.--EARLIEST SCHOOL FOR FREEDMEN AT FORTRESS MONROE IN
+ 1861.--THE RICHMOND INSTITUTE FOR COLORED YOUTH.--THE UNLIMITED
+ DESIRE OF THE NEGROES TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION.--GENERAL ORDER
+ ORGANIZING A "BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED
+ LANDS."--GEN. O. O. HOWARD APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF THE
+ BUREAU.--REPORT OF ALL THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE
+ FREEDMEN'S BUREAU FROM 1865-1867.--AN ACT INCORPORATING THE
+ FREEDMAN'S BANK AND TRUST COMPANY.--THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
+ AS SHOWN FROM 1866-1871.--FINANCIAL STATEMENT BY THE TRUSTEES FOR
+ 1872.--FAILURE OF THE BANK.--THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL CONDITION
+ OF THE COLORED PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH.--THE NEGRO RARELY RECEIVES
+ JUSTICE IN SOUTHERN COURTS.--TREATMENT OF NEGROES AS CONVICTS IN
+ SOUTHERN PRISONS.--INCREASE OF THE COLORED PEOPLE FROM
+ 1790-1880.--NEGROES SUSCEPTIBLE OF THE HIGHEST CIVILIZATION.
+
+
+Surely some good did come out of Nazareth. The poor, deluded,
+misguided, confiding Negro finished his long holiday at last, and
+turning from the dream of "forty acres and a mule," settled down to
+the stubborn realities of his new life of duties, responsibilities,
+and privileges. His idleness was sporadic, not generic,--it was simply
+reaction. He had worked faithfully, incessantly for two centuries and
+a half; had enriched the South with the sweat of his brow; and in two
+wars had baptized the soil with his patriotic blood. And when the year
+of jubilee came he enjoyed himself right royally.
+
+This disposition to frolic on the part of the Negro gave rise to grave
+concern among his friends, and was promptly accepted as conclusive
+proof of his unfitness for the duties of a freeman by his enemies. But
+he soon dispelled the fears of his friends and disarmed the prejudices
+of his foes.
+
+As already shown there was no provision made for the education of the
+Negro before the war; every thing had been done to keep him in
+ignorance. To emancipate 4,000,000 of slaves and absorb them into the
+political life of the government without detriment to both was indeed
+a formidable undertaking. Republics gain their strength and
+perpetuity from the self-governing force in the people; and in order
+to be self-governing a people must be educated. Moreover, all good
+laws that are cheerfully obeyed are but the emphatic expression of
+public sentiment. Where the great majority of the people are kept in
+ignorance the tendency is toward the production of two other classes,
+aristocrats and political "Herders." The former seek to get as far
+from "the common herd" as possible, while the latter bid off the
+rights of the poor and ignorant to the highest bidder.
+
+It was quite appropriate for the Government to make speedy provision
+for plying the mass of ignorant Negroes with school influences. And
+the liberality of the provision was equalled by the eagerness of the
+Negroes to learn. Nor should history fail to record that the
+establishment of schools for freedmen by the Government was the
+noblest, most sensible act it could have done. What the Negroes have
+accomplished through these schools is the marvel of the age.
+
+On the 20th of May, 1865, Major-Gen. O. O. Howard was appointed
+Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. He gave great attention to the
+subject of education; and after planting schools for the freedmen
+throughout a great portion of the South, in 1870--five years after the
+work was begun--he made a report. It was full of interest. In five
+years there were 4,239 schools established, 9,307 teachers employed,
+and 247,333 pupils instructed. In 1868 the average attendance was
+89,396; but in 1870 it was 91,398, or 79-3/4 per cent. of the total
+number enrolled. The emancipated people sustained 1,324 schools
+themselves, and owned 592 school buildings. The Freedmen's Bureau
+furnished 654 buildings for school purposes. The wonderful progress
+they made from year to year, in scholarship, may be fairly judged by
+the following, corresponding with the half year in 1869:
+
+ JULY, 1869. JULY, 1870.
+ Advanced readers 43,746 43,540
+ Geography 36,992 39,321
+ Arithmetic 51,172 52,417
+ Writing 53,606 58,034
+ Higher branches 7,627 9,690
+
+There were 74 high and normal schools, with 8,147 students; and 61
+industrial schools, with 1,750 students in attendance. In doing this
+great work--for buildings, repairs, teachers, etc.,--$1,002,896.07
+was expended. Of this sum the _freedmen raised_ $200,000.00! This was
+conclusive proof that emancipation was no mistake. Slavery was a
+twofold cross of woe to the land. It did not only degrade the slave,
+but it blunted the sensibilities, and, by its terrible weight, carried
+down under the slimy rocks of society some of the best white people in
+the South. Like a cankerous malady its venom has touched almost every
+side of American life.
+
+The white race is in a constant and almost overpowering relation to
+the other races upon this continent. It is the duty of this great
+totality of intellectual life and force, to supply adequate facilities
+for the education of the less intelligent and less fortunate. Of every
+ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants there are:
+
+ WHITE. COLORED. CHINESE. INDIANS.
+ In the States 8,711 1,269 15 5
+ In the Territories 8,711 1,017 158 114
+ In the whole Union 8,711 1,266 16 7
+
+When we turn our attention to the Southern States, we shall find that
+the white people are in excess of the Colored as follows:
+
+ MAJORITY.
+ Alabama 45,874
+ Arkansas 239,946
+ Delaware 79,427
+ Florida 4,368
+ Georgia 93,774
+ Kentucky 876,442
+ Maryland 430,106
+ Missouri 1,485,075
+ North Carolina 286,820
+ Tennessee 613,788
+ Texas 311,225
+ Virginia 199,248
+ West Virginia 406,043
+
+while the Colored people are in excess in only three States, having
+over the whites the following majorities:
+
+ MAJORITY.
+ Louisiana 2,145
+ South Carolina 126,147
+ Mississippi 61,305
+
+This leaves the whites in these sixteen States in a majority of
+4,882,539, over the Colored people. There are more than two whites to
+every Colored in the entire population in these States.
+
+Group the States and territories into three geographical classes, and
+designate them as Northern, Pacific, and Southern. The first may
+comprise all the "free States," where slavery never existed; put in
+the second the three Pacific States and all the territories, except
+the District of Columbia; and in the third gather all the "slave
+States" and the District. Now then, in the Northern class, out of
+every 14 persons who can neither read nor write, 13 are white. In the
+Pacific class, out of every 23 who can neither read nor write, 20 are
+white. In the Southern class, out of every 42 who can neither read nor
+write, 15 are white. Thus it can be seen that the white illiterates of
+the United States outnumber those of all the other races together. It
+might be profitable to the gentlemen who, upon every convenient
+occasion, rail about "the deplorable ignorance of the blacks," to look
+up this question a little![117]
+
+The Colored people have made wonderful progress in educational matters
+since the war. Take a few States for examples of what they are doing.
+In Georgia, in 1860, there were 458,540 slaves. In 1870 there were 87
+private schools, 79 teachers with 3,021 pupils. Of other schools, more
+public in character, there were 221, with an attendance of 11,443
+pupils. In 1876 the Colored school population of this State was
+48,643, with 879 schools; and with 55,268 pupils in public and private
+schools in 1877.
+
+In South Carolina, in 1874, there were 63,415 Colored children
+attending the public schools; in 1876 there were 70,802, or an
+increase of 7,387.
+
+In Virginia, in 1870, there were 39,000 Colored pupils in the schools,
+which were few in number. In 1874 there were 54,941 pupils; in 1876
+there were 62,178, or again of 7,237. In 1874 there were 539 teachers;
+in 1876 there were 636, or an increase of 97. In 1874 there were 1,064
+schools for Colored youth; in 1876 there were 1,181, or an increase of
+117.
+
+In the District of Columbia, in 1871, there were 4,986 Colored
+children in 69 schools, with 71 teachers. In 1876, of Colored schools
+in the District, 62 were primary, 13 grammar, and 1 high, with an
+enrolment of 5,454.
+
+The following statistics exhibit the wonderful progress the Colored
+people of the South have made during the brief period of their freedom
+in the department of education. These tables come as near showing the
+extent, the miraculous magnitude of the work, as is possible.
+
+
+COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF EDUCATION AT THE SOUTH.
+
+_Table showing comparative population and enrolment of the White and
+Colored races in the public schools of the recent slave States, with
+total annual expenditure for the same in 1879._
+
+
+ White. Colored.
+ States. ------------------------ -----------------------
+ [A] [B] [C] [A] [B] [C] [D][a]
+ Alabama 214,098 106,950 50 162,551 67,635 42 $377,033
+ Arkansas [b]174,253 [b]39,063 22 [b]62,348 [b]13,980 22 205,449
+ Delaware 31,849 23,830 75 3,800 2,842 75 223,638
+ Florida [c]40,606 [bc]18,169 45 [c]42,001[bc]18,795 45 [c]134,880
+ Georgia [c]236,319 147,192 62[c]197,125 79,435 40 465,748
+ Kentucky [d]476,870 [e]208,500 48 [d]62,973 [e]19,107 30[e]1,130,000
+ Louisiana [c]141,130 44,052 31[c]133,276 34,476 26 529,065
+ Maryland [f]213,669 138,029 65 [f]63,591 27,457 43 1,551,558
+ Mississippi 156,434 105,957 68 205,936 111,796 54 641,548
+ Missouri 663,135 428,992 65 39,018 20,790 53 3,069,464
+ North Carolina 271,348 153,534 57 154,841 85,215 55 337,541
+ South Carolina [e]83,813 58,368 70[e]144,315 64,095 44 319,320
+ Tennessee 388,355 208,858 54 126,288 55,829 44 710,652
+ Texas [b]160,482 [c]111,048 69 [b]47,842 [c]35,896 75 837,913
+ Virginia 280,849 72,306 26 202,852 35,768 18 570,389
+ West Virginia 198,844 132,751 67 7,279 3,775 52 709,071
+ District of
+ Columbia[c] 26,426 16,085 61 [c]12,374 9,045 73 368,343
+ ------------------------------------------------------------
+ Total 3,758,480 2,013,684 1,668,410 685,942 12,181,602
+
+ Transcriber's Note: The following column heading text appeared
+ directly above the respective columns. The text is shown here
+ to minimize the table width.
+
+ [A] School population.
+ [B] Enrolment.
+ [C] Percentage of school population enrolled.
+ [D] Total expenditure for both races.
+
+[a] In Delaware and Kentucky the school tax collected from Colored
+citizens is the only State appropriation for the support of Colored
+schools; in Maryland there is a biennial appropriation by the
+Legislature; in the District of Columbia one third of the school
+moneys is set apart for Colored public schools; and in the other
+States mentioned above the school moneys are divided in proportion to
+the school population without regard to race.
+
+[b] Estimated by the Bureau.
+
+[c] In 1878.
+
+[d] For whites the school age is 6-20; for Colored, 6-16.
+
+[e] In 1877.
+
+[f] Census of 1870.
+
+ _Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the Colored race
+ for 1879._
+
+
+ Name and class of institution. Location.
+ Students.
+ Instructors. |
+ Religious | |
+ denomination. | |
+ NORMAL SCHOOLS. | | |
+ | | |
+ Rust Normal Institute Huntsville, Ala. Meth. 3 235
+ State Normal School for Colored
+ Students Huntsville, Ala. . 2 51
+ Lincoln Normal University Marion, Ala. . [a]5 [a]225
+ Emerson Institute Mobile, Ala. Cong. 6 240
+ Alabama Baptist Normal and
+ Theological School Selma, Ala. Bapt. 6 250
+ Normal department of
+ Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 6 95
+ State Normal School for Colored
+ Students Pine Bluff, Ark. . 4 72
+ Normal department of Atlanta
+ University Atlanta, Ga. Cong. [a]176
+ Haven Normal School Waynesboro', Ga. Meth. 125
+ Normal department of Berea College Berea, Ky. Cong. [b] [b]
+ Normal department of New Orleans
+ University New Orleans, La. Meth. . .
+ Normal department of Straight
+ University New Orleans, La. Cong. [b] 91
+ Peabody Normal School New Orleans, La. . [a]2 [a]35
+ Baltimore Normal School
+ for Colored Pupils Baltimore, Md. . 4 190
+ Centenary Biblical Institute Baltimore, Md. M. E. [a]5 [a]75
+ Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 4 46
+ Tougaloo University and
+ Normal School Tougaloo, Miss. Cong. 6 96
+ Lincoln Institute Jefferson, Mo. . 6 139
+ State Normal School for Colored
+ Students Fayetteville, N. C. . 3 93
+ Bennett Seminary Greensboro'. N. C. Meth. 3 125
+ Lumberton Normal School Lumberton, N. C. . 2 51
+ St. Augustine's Normal School Raleigh, N. C. P. E. 4 81
+ Shaw University Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. 5 192
+ Institute for Colored Youth Philadelphia, Pa. Friends. . 300
+ Avery Normal Institute Charleston, S. C. Cong. 8 322
+ Normal department of Brainerd
+ Institute Chester, S. C. Presb. 3 50
+ Claflin University,
+ normal department Orangeburg, S. C. M. E. 3 167
+ Fairfield Normal Institute Winnsboro', S. C. Presb. 390
+ The Warner Institute Jonesborough, Tenn. . [c]4 [c]149
+ Knoxville College Knoxville, Tenn. Presb. 13 240
+ Freedman's Normal Institute Maryville, Tenn. Friends. [a]4 [a]229
+ Le Moyne Normal Institute Memphis, Tenn. Cong. [a]200
+ Central Tennessee College, normal [a]7
+ department Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 3 114
+ Nashville Normal and Theological
+ Institute Nashville, Tenn. Bapt. 6 231
+ Normal department of
+ Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. 5 215
+ Tillotson Collegiate and Normal
+ Institute Austin, Tex. . 3 158
+ State Normal School of Texas for
+ Colored Students Prairie View, Tex. . 3 49
+ Hampton Normal and Agricultural
+ Institute[d] Hampton, Va. Cong. [e]28 [e]320
+ St. Stephen's Normal School Petersburg, Va. P. E. 8 240
+ Miner Normal School Washington, D. C. . 5 19
+ Normal department of
+ Howard University Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 2 95
+ Normal department of
+ Wayland Seminary Washington, D. C. Bapt. [f] [f]
+ ---- -----
+ Total 181 6,171
+
+
+ INSTITUTIONS FOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION.
+
+ Trinity School Athens, Ala. Cong. 2 162
+ Dadeville Seminary Dadeville, Ala. M. E. . .
+ Lowery's Industrial Academy Hunstville, Ala. . . .
+ Swayne School Montgomery, Ala. Cong. 6 470
+ Burrell School Selma, Ala. Cong. 5 448
+ Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 12 212
+ Walden Seminar Little Rock, Ark. M. E. . .
+ Cookman Institute Jacksonville, Fla. M. E. [a]5 [a]140
+ Clark University Atlanta, Ga. M. E. 5 167
+ Storrs School Atlanta, Ga. Cong. 5 528
+
+[a] In 1878.
+
+[b] Included in university and college reports.
+
+[c] For two years.
+
+[d] In addition to the aid given by the American Missionary
+Association, this institute is aided from the income of Virginia's
+agricultural college land fund.
+
+[e] For all departments.
+
+[f] Reported under schools of theology.
+
+ _Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the Colored race
+ for 1879.--_Continued.
+
+ Name and class of institution. Location.
+ Students.
+ Instructors. |
+ Religious | |
+ denomination. | |
+ | | |
+ INSTITUTIONS FOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. | | |
+ --Continued. | | |
+ | | |
+ Howard Normal Institute Cuthbert, Ga. Cong. 3 66
+ La Grange Seminary La Grange, Ga. M. E. 4 140
+ Lewis High School Macon, Ga. Cong. 2 110
+ Beach Institute Savannah, Ga. Cong. 6 338
+ St. Augustine's School Savannah, Ga. P. E. . .
+ Day School for Colored Children New Orleans, La. R. C. . 80
+ St. Augustine's School New Orleans, La. R. C. 3 60
+ St. Mary's School for
+ Colored Girls New Orleans, La. R. C. . 60
+ St. Francis's Academy Baltimore, Md. R. C. . 50
+ Meridian Academy Meridian, Md. M. E. . .
+ Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 4 45
+ Scotia Seminary Concord, N. C. Cong. 8 152
+ St. Augustine's School New Berne, N. C. P. E. . .
+ Estey Seminary Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. . .
+ Washington School Raleigh, N. C. Cong. 3 149
+ St. Barnabas School Wilmington, N. C. P. E. [a]100
+ Williston Academy and
+ Normal School Wilmington, N. C. Cong. [a]6 [a]126
+ Albany Enterprise Academy Albany, Ohio Non-sect. 4 64
+ Polytechnic and Industrial
+ Institute Bluffton, S. C. Non-sect. 8 265
+ High School for Colored Pupils Charleston, S. C. P. E. . .
+ Wallingford Academy Charleston, S. C. Presb. 6 261
+ Brainerd Institute Chester, S. C. Presb. 5 300
+ Benedict Institute Columbia, S. C. Bapt. 4 142
+ Brewer Normal School Greenwood, S. C. Cong. [a]1 [a]58
+ West Tennessee Preparatory School Mason, Tenn. Meth. 2 76
+ Canfield School Memphis, Tenn. P. E. . .
+ West Texas Conference Seminary Austin, Tex. M. E. . .
+ Wiley University Marshall, Tex. M. E. [a]3 [a]123
+ Thyne Institute Chase City, Va. U. Presb. 3 213
+ Richmond Institute Richmond, Va. Bapt. 3 92
+ St. Philip's Church School Richmond, Va. P. E. 2 100
+ St. Mary's School Washington, D. C. P. E. . .
+ --- -----
+ Total 120 5,297
+
+
+ UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
+
+ Atlanta University Atlanta, Ga. Cong. [ab]13 [a]71
+ Berea College Berea. Ky. Cong. [b]12 [b]180
+ Leland University New Orleans, La. Bapt. [a]6 [ac]91
+ New Orleans University New Orleans, La. M. E. 5 92
+ Straight University New Orleans, La. Cong. [b]11 [d]260
+ Shaw University Holly Springs,Miss. M. E. 6 273
+ Alcorn University Rodney, Miss. Non-sect. 10 180
+ Biddle University Charlotte, N.C. Presb. 9 151
+ Wilberforce University Wilberforce, Ohio M. E. 15 [b]150
+ Lincoln University Lincoln
+ University, Pa. Presb. [a]9 [a]74
+ Claflin University and College
+ of Agriculture Orangeburg. S. C. M. E. 10 165
+ Central Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 13 139
+ Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. 13 74
+ Agricultural and Mechanical
+ College Hempstead, Tex. . . .
+ Hampton Normal and Agricultural
+ Institute Hampton, Va. Cong. [e] [e]
+ Howard University[f] Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 5 [f]33
+ --- -----
+ Total 137 1,933
+
+[a] In 1878.
+
+[b] For all departments.
+
+[c] These are preparatory.
+
+[d] Normal students are here reckoned as preparatory.
+
+[e] Reported with normal schools.
+
+[f] This institution is open to both races, and the figures given are
+known to include some whites.
+
+ _Statistics of institutions for the instruction of the
+ Colored race for 1879.--_Continued.
+
+ Name and class of institution. Location.
+ Students.
+ Instructors. |
+ Religious | |
+ denomination. | |
+ | | |
+ SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY. | | |
+ | | |
+ Alabama Baptist Normal and
+ Theological School Selma, Ala. Bapt. 1 .
+ Theological department of
+ Talladega College Talladega, Ala. Cong. 2 14
+ Institute for the Education
+ of Colored Ministers Tuscaloosa, Ala. Presb.
+ Atlanta Baptist Seminary Atlanta, Ga. Bapt. 3 113
+ Theological department of Leland
+ University New Orleans, La. Bapt. [a]2 [a]55
+ Thomson biblical Institute (New
+ Orleans University) New Orleans, La. M. E. [a]1 [a]16
+ Theological department of
+ Straight University New Orleans, La. Cong. 1 21
+ Centenary Bible Institute Baltimore, Md. Meth. [a]6 [a]20
+ Theological department of Shaw
+ University Holly Springs,Miss. Meth. [a]2 [a]17
+ Natchez Seminary Natchez, Miss. Bapt. 2 31
+ Theological department of Biddle
+ University Charlotte. N. C. Presb. 4 8
+ Bennett Seminary Greensboro', N. C. Meth. 2 6
+ Theological department of Shaw
+ Univers'y Raleigh, N. C. Bapt. 2 59
+ Theological Seminary of
+ Wilberforce University Wilberforce, Ohio M. E. 7 16
+ Theological department of Lincoln Lincoln
+ University University, Pa. Presb. [a]7 [a]22
+ Baker Theological Institute
+ (Claflin University) Orangeburg, S. C. Meth. 2 28
+ Nashville Normal and Theological
+ Institute Nashville, Tenn. Bapt. 6 50
+ Theological course in
+ Fisk University Nashville, Tenn. Cong. [a]2 [a]12
+ Theological department of Central
+ Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. M. E. 4 45
+ Richmond Institute Richmond, Va. Bapt. 10 86
+ Theological department of Howard
+ University Washington, D. C. Non-sect. 4 50
+ Wayland Seminary Washington, D. C. Bapt. [b]9 [b]84
+ ---- -----
+ Total 79 762
+
+
+ SCHOOLS OF LAW.
+
+ Law department of Straight
+ University New Orleans, La. [a]4 [a]28
+ Law department of Shaw
+ University Holly Springs. Miss. [a]1 [a]6
+ Law department of Howard
+ University Washington, D. C. 3 8
+ ---- ----
+ Total 8 42
+
+
+ SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE.
+
+ Medical department of
+ New Orleans University New Orleans. La [a]5 [a]8
+ Medical department of Shaw
+ University Holly Springs, Miss. [a]1 [a]4
+ Meharry medical department of
+ Central Tennessee College Nashville, Tenn. 9 22
+ Medical department of
+ Howard Univers'y Washington, D. C. 8 65
+ ---- ----
+ Total 23 99
+
+ SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB AND
+ THE BLIND.
+
+ Institution for the Colored Blind
+ and Deaf-Mutes Baltimore, Md. 1 30
+ North Carolina Institution for
+ the Deaf and Dumb and the
+ Blind (Colored department) Raleigh, N. C. [ab]15 [a]60
+ ----- -----
+ Total 16 120
+
+[a] In 1878.
+
+[b] For all departments.
+
+ _Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the
+ Colored race for 1879._
+
+ Institutions for
+ secondary
+ States. Public schools. Normal schools. instruction.
+ ----------------- -------------- --------------
+ [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [C] [D] [E]
+ Alabama 162,551 67,635 6 28 1,096 6 25 1,292
+ Arkansas 62,348 13,986 1 4 72 1 . .
+ Delaware 3,800 2,842 . . . . . .
+ Florida 42,001 18,795 . . . 1 5 140
+ Georgia 197,125 79,435 2 . 301 7 25 1,349
+ Kentucky 62,973 19,107 1 . . . . .
+ Louisiana 133,276 34,476 3 2 126 3 3 200
+ Maryland 63,591 27,457 2 9 265 1 . 50
+ Mississippi 205,936 111,796 2 10 142 2 4 45
+ Missouri 39,018 20,700 1 6 139 . . .
+ North Carolina 154,841 85,215 5 17 542 6 17 527
+ Ohio . . . . . 1 4 64
+ Pennsylvania . . 1 . 300 . . .
+ South Carolina 144,315 64,095 4 14 929 6 24 1,026
+ Tennessee 126,288 55,829 7 42 1,378 2 2 76
+ Texas 47,842 35,896 2 6 207 2 3 123
+ Virginia 202,852 35,768 2 36 560 3 8 405
+ West Virginia 7,279 3,775 . . . . . .
+ District of Columbia 12,374 9,045 3 7 114 1 . .
+ --------- ------- -- --- ----- -- --- -----
+ Total 1,668,410 685,942 42 181 6,171 42 120 5,297
+
+ Transcriber's Note: The following column heading text appeared
+ directly above the respective columns. The text is shown here
+ only to minimize the table width.
+
+ [A] School population.
+ [B] Enrolment.
+ [C] Schools.
+ [D] Teachers.
+ [E] Pupils.
+
+ _Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the
+ Colored race for 1879._--Continued.
+
+ Universities and Schools of
+ colleges. theology. Schools of law.
+ ------------------- ------------------ ----------------
+ Pupils. Pupils. Pupils.
+ States Teachers. | Teachers. | Teachers. |
+ Schools. | | Schools. | | Schools. | |
+ | | | | | | | | |
+ Alabama . . . 3 3 14 . . .
+ Georgia 1 13 71 1 3 113 . . .
+ Kentucky 1 12 180 . . . . . .
+ Louisiana 3 22 443 3 4 92 1 4 28
+ Maryland . . . 1 6 29 . . .
+ Mississippi 2 16 453 2 4 48 1 1 6
+ North Carolina 1 9 151 3 8 73 . . .
+ Ohio 1 15 150 1 7 16 . . .
+ Pennsylvania 1 9 74 1 7 22 . . .
+ South Carolina 1 10 165 1 2 28 . . .
+ Tennessee 2 26 213 3 12 107 . . .
+ Texas 1 . . . . . . . .
+ Virginia 1 . . 1 10 86 . . .
+ District of Columbia 1 5 33 2 13 134 1 3 8
+ -- --- ----- -- -- --- - - --
+ Total 16 137 1,933 22 79 762 3 8 42
+
+ _Summary of statistics of institutions for the instruction of the
+ Colored race for 1879._--Continued.
+
+ Schools for the
+ deaf and dumb and
+ Schools of medicine. the blind.
+ -------------------- ------------------
+ Pupils. Pupils.
+ States Teachers. | Teachers. |
+ Schools. | | Schools. | |
+ | | | | | |
+ Louisiana 1 5 8 . . .
+ Maryland . . . 1 1 30
+ Mississippi 1 1 4 . . .
+ North Carolina . . . 1 15 90
+ Tennessee 1 9 22 . . .
+ District of Columbia 1 8 65 . . .
+ - -- -- - -- ---
+ Total 4 23 99 2 16 120
+
+ _Table showing the number of schools for the Colored race and
+ enrolment in them by institutions without reference to States._
+
+ Class of institutions. Schools. Enrolment.
+ --------- ----------
+ Public schools [a]14,341 [a]585,942
+ Normal schools 42 6,171
+ Institutions for secondary instruction 42 5,297
+ Universities and colleges 16 1,933
+ Schools of theology 22 762
+ Schools of law 3 42
+ Schools of medicine 4 99
+ Schools for the deaf and dumb and the blind 2 120
+ ------ -------
+ Total 14,472 700,366
+
+[a] To these should be added 417 schools, having an enrolment of
+20,487 in reporting free States, making total number of Colored public
+schools 14,758, and total enrolment in them 706,429; this makes the
+total number of schools, as far as reported, 14,889, and total number
+of the Colored race under instruction in them 720,853. The Colored
+public schools of those States in which no separate reports are made,
+however, are not included; and the Colored pupils in white schools
+cannot be enumerated.
+
+Virginia has done more intelligent and effective educational work than
+any other State in the South. The Hon. W. H. Ruffner has no equal in
+America as a superintendent of public instruction. He is the Horace
+Mann of the South.
+
+It appears from the reports of the Freedmen's Bureau that the earliest
+school for freedmen was opened by the American Missionary Association
+at Fortress Monroe, September, 1861; and before the close of the war,
+Hampton and Norfolk were leading points where educational operations
+were conducted; but after the cessation of hostilities, teachers were
+sent from Northern States, and schools for freedmen were opened in
+all parts of the State.
+
+The Colored normal school at Richmond, and the one at Hampton, were
+commenced in 1867 and 1868. Captain C. S. Schaeffer, Bureau officer at
+Christiansburg, commenced his remarkable efforts about the same time
+in Montgomery County.
+
+School superintendents for each State were appointed by the Freedmen's
+Bureau, July 12, 1865, and a general superintendent, or "Inspector of
+Schools," was appointed in September, 1865. These superintendents were
+instructed "to work as much as possible in conjunction with State
+officers, who may have had school matters in charge, and to take
+cognizance of all that was being done to educate refugees and
+freedmen." In 1866 an act of Congress was passed enlarging the powers
+of the Bureau, and partially consolidating all the societies and
+agencies engaged in educational work among the freedmen. In this bill
+$521,000 were appropriated for carrying on the work, to which was to
+be added forfeitures of property owned by the Confederate Government.
+Up to January 1, 1868, over a million of dollars was expended for
+school purposes among the freedmen. In Virginia 12,450 pupils are
+reported for 1867. Mr. Manly, the Virginia superintendent, reports the
+following statistics for the year 1867-8: Schools, 230; teachers, 290;
+pupils enrolled, 14,300; in average attendance, 10,320; the cost as
+follows:
+
+ From Charity $78,766
+ From the Freedmen 10,789
+ From the Bureau 42,844
+ --------
+ Total Cost $132,399
+
+The amount raised from freedmen was in the form of small tuition fees
+of from ten to fifty cents a month--a system approved by Mr. Manly.
+
+In the final report to the Freedmen's Bureau, made July 1, 1870, the
+Virginia statistics are: Schools, 344; teachers, 412; pupils, 18,234;
+the average attendance, 78 per cent. This year the freedmen paid
+$12,286.50 for tuition. Mr. C. S. Schaeffer and Mr. Samuel H. Jones,
+who remained in Virginia as teachers--the former still at
+Christiansburg, and the latter, until very lately, at Danville--both
+acted as assistants to Mr. Manly. A considerable number of
+school-houses were built in Virginia by the Bureau, including the
+splendid normal and high school building in Richmond, erected and
+equipped at a cost of $25,000, and afterward turned over to the city.
+After the conclusion of his superintendency, Mr. Manly continued for
+several years to do valuable service as principal of this school.
+
+ "The Freedmen's Bureau ceased its educational operations in the
+ summer of 1870, and in the autumn of that year our State public
+ schools were opened. So that, counting from the beginning of the
+ mission school at Hampton in 1861, there has been an unbroken
+ succession of schools for freedmen in one region for nineteen
+ years; and at a number of leading points in the State--such as
+ Norfolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Danville, Charlottesville,
+ Christiansburg, etc.--an unbroken line of schools for fourteen
+ years and upwards. These efforts, however, of the Federal
+ Government toward educating the rising generation of Colored
+ people, could not have been designed as any thing more than an
+ experiment, intended first to test and then to stimulate the
+ appetite of those people for learning. And in this view they were
+ entirely successful in both particulars; for the children flocked
+ to the schools, attended well, made good progress in knowledge,
+ and paid a surprising amount of money for tuition.
+
+ "But, considered as a serious attempt to educate the children of
+ the freedmen, the movement was wholly inadequate, even when
+ contrasted with the operations of our imperfect State system. The
+ largest number enrolled in the schools supported by the combined
+ efforts of the Bureau, the charitable societies, and the tuition
+ fees, was 18,234, in 1870. The next year we had in our public
+ schools considerably over double this number, and an annual
+ increase ever since, always excepting those two dark years
+ (_tenebricosus and tenebricosissimus_), 1878 and 1879."[118]
+
+ "Two institutions for the education of the Colored race, founded
+ before the beginning of our school, system, are still in
+ successful operation, but remain independent of our school
+ system. One of them has some connection with the State by reason
+ of the receipt of one-third of the proceeds of the Congressional
+ land-grant for education. I refer to the well-known Hampton
+ Normal and Agricultural Institute, and the Richmond Colored
+ Institute. Nothing need be said in reference to the Hampton
+ School, except that its numbers and usefulness are constantly
+ increasing under the continued superintendence of the indomitable
+ Gen. Armstrong. Its reports, which are published every year as
+ State documents in connection with the Report of this department,
+ are so accessible to all, that I will only repeat here the
+ testimony often given, that in my opinion this is the most
+ valuable of all the schools opened on this Continent for Colored
+ people. Its most direct benefit is in furnishing to our State
+ schools a much-needed annual contribution of teachers; and
+ teachers so good and acceptable that the demand for them is
+ always much greater than the supply.
+
+ "The Richmond Institute has more of a theological intent, but it
+ also sends out many good teachers. As a school it has prospered
+ steadily under the excellent management of the Rev. C. H. Corey,
+ D.D.; and it will soon be accommodated in a large new and
+ handsome building. Both these institutions receive their support
+ chiefly from the North."[119]
+
+It will be seen that the tables we give refer only to the work done in
+educating the Negro in the Southern States. Much has been done in the
+Northern States, but in quite a different manner. The work of
+education for the Negro at the South had to begin at the bottom. There
+were no schools at all for this people; and hence the work began with
+the alphabet. And there could be no classification of the scholars.
+All the way from six to sixty the pupils ranged in age; and even some
+who had given slavery a century of their existence--mothers and
+fathers in Israel--crowded the schools established for their race.
+Some ministers of the Gospel after a half century of preaching entered
+school to learn how to spell out the names of the twelve Apostles. Old
+women who had lived out their threescore years and ten prayed that
+they might live to spell out the Lord's prayer, while the modest
+request of many departing patriarchs was that they might recognize the
+Lord's name in print. The sacrifices they made for themselves and
+children challenged the admiration of even their former owners.
+
+The unlettered Negroes of the South carried into the school-room an
+inborn love of music, an excellent memory, and a good taste for the
+elegant--almost grandiloquent--in speech, gorgeous in imagery, and
+energetic in narration; their apostrophe and simile were wonderful.
+Geography and history furnished great attractions, and they developed
+ability to master them. In mathematics they did not do so well, on
+account of the lack of training to think consecutively and
+methodically. It is a mistake to believe this a mental infirmity of
+the race; for a very large number of the students in college at the
+present time do as well in mathematics, geometry, trigonometry,
+mensuration, and conic sections as the white students of the same
+age; and some of them excel in mathematics.
+
+The majority of the Colored students in the Southern schools qualify
+themselves to teach and preach; while the remainder go to law and
+medicine. Few educated Colored men ever return to agricultural life.
+There are two reasons for this: First, reaction. There is an erroneous
+idea among some of these young men that labor is dishonorable; that an
+educated man should never work with his hands. Second, some of them
+believe that a profession gives a man consequence. Such silly ideas
+should be abandoned--they must be abandoned! There is a great demand
+for educated farmers and laborers. It requires an intelligent man to
+conduct a farm successfully, to sell the products of his labor, and to
+buy the necessaries of life. No profession can furnish a man with
+brains, or provide him a garment of respectability. Every man must
+furnish brains and tact to make his calling and election sure in this
+world, as well as by faith in the world to come. Unfortunately there
+has been but little opportunity for Colored men or boys to get
+employment at the trades: but prejudice is gradually giving way to
+reason and common-sense; and the day is not distant when the Negro
+will have a free field in this country, and will then be responsible
+for what he is not that is good. The need of the hour is a varied
+employment for the Negro race on this continent. There is more need of
+educated mechanics, civil engineers, surveyors, printers, artificers,
+inventors, architects, builders, merchants, and bankers than there is
+demand for lawyers, physicians, or clergymen. Waiters, barbers,
+porters, boot-blacks, hack-drivers, grooms, and private valets find
+but little time for the expansion of their intellects. These places
+are not dishonorable; but what we say is, _there is room at the top_!
+An industrial school, something like Cooper Institute, situated
+between New York and Philadelphia, where Colored boys and girls could
+learn the trades that race prejudice denies them now, would be the
+grandest institution of modern times. It matters not how many million
+dollars are given toward the education of the Negro; so long as he is
+deprived of the privilege of learning and plying the trades and
+mechanic arts his education will injure rather than help him.[120] We
+would rather see a Negro boy build an engine than take the highest
+prize in Yale or Harvard.
+
+It is quite difficult to get at a clear idea of what has been done in
+the Northern States toward the education of the Colored people. In
+nearly all the States on the borders of the Ohio and Mississippi
+rivers "Colored schools" still exist; and in many instances are kept
+alive through the spirit of the self-seeking of a few Colored persons
+who draw salaries in lieu of their continuance. They should be
+abolished, and will be, as surely as heat follows light and the rising
+of the sun. In the New England, Middle, and extreme Western States,
+with the exception of Kansas, separate schools do not exist. The doors
+of all colleges, founded and conducted by the white people in the
+North, are open to the Colored people who desire to avail themselves
+of an academic education. At the present time there are one hundred
+and sixty-nine Colored students in seventy white colleges in the
+Northern States; and the presidents say they are doing well.
+
+_The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands_ was
+established in the spring of 1865 to meet the state of affairs
+incident upon the closing scenes of the great civil war. The Act
+creating the Bureau was approved and became a law on the 3d of March,
+1865. The Bureau was to be under the management of the War Department,
+and its officers were liable for the property placed in their hands
+under the revised regulations of the army. In May, 1865, the following
+order was issued from the War Department appointing Major-Gen. O. O.
+Howard Commissioner of the Bureau:
+
+ "[GENERAL ORDERS NO. 91.]
+
+ "WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, }
+ "WASHINGTON, May 12, 1865. }
+
+ "Order Organizing Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned
+ "Lands.
+
+ "I. By the direction of the President, Major General O. O. Howard
+ is assigned to duty in the War Department as Commissioner of the
+ Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, under the act
+ of Congress entitled 'An act to establish a bureau for the relief
+ of freedmen and refugees,' to perform the duties and exercise all
+ the rights, authority, and jurisdiction vested by the act of
+ Congress in such Commissioner. General Howard will enter at once
+ upon the duties of Commissioner specified in said act.
+
+ "II. The Quartermaster General will, without delay, assign and
+ furnish suitable quarters and apartments for the said bureau.
+
+ "III. The Adjutant General will assign to the said bureau the
+ number of competent clerks authorized by the act of Congress.
+
+ "By order of the President of the United States:
+
+ "E. D. Townsend,
+ "_Assistant Adjutant General_."
+
+Gen. Howard entered upon the discharge of the vast, varied, and
+complicated duties of his office with his characteristic zeal,
+intelligence, and high Christian integrity. Hospitals were founded for
+the care of the sick, infirm, blind, deaf, and dumb. Rations were
+issued, clothing distributed, and lands apportioned to the needy and
+worthy.
+
+From May 30, 1865, to November 20, 1865, inclusive, this Bureau
+furnished transportation for 1,946 freedmen, and issued to this class
+of persons in ten States, 1,030,100 rations.
+
+ "Congress, when it created the bureau, made no appropriation to
+ defray its expenses; it has, however, received funds from
+ miscellaneous sources, as the following report will show:
+
+ "In several of the States, Virginia, North and South Carolina,
+ Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas,
+ Missouri, and the District of Columbia, the interests of the
+ freedmen were under the control of military officers assigned by
+ the War Department previous to the organization of this bureau.
+ Their accounts became naturally absorbed in the accounts of the
+ bureau, and the following report embraces all the receipts and
+ expenditures in all States now under control of the bureau since
+ January 1, 1865:"
+
+ RECEIPTS.
+
+ Amount on hand January 1, 1865, and received since, to October
+ 31, 1865:
+
+ From freedmen's fund $466,028 35
+ From retained bounties 115,236 49
+ For clothing, fuel, and subsistence 7,704 21
+ Farms 76,709 12
+ From rents of buildings 56,012 42
+ From rents of lands 125,521 00
+ From Quartermaster's department 12,200 00
+ From conscript fund 13,498 11
+ From schools (tax and tuition) 34,486 58
+ ----------
+ Total received 907,396 28
+
+ EXPENDITURES.
+
+ Freedmen's fund $8,009 14
+ Clothing, fuel, and subsistence 75,504 05
+ Farms 40,069 71
+ Household furniture 2,904 90
+ Rents of buildings 11,470 88
+ Labor (by freedmen and other employes) 237,097 62
+ Repairs of buildings 19,518 46
+ Contingent expenses 46,328 07
+ Rents of lands 300 00
+ Internal revenue 1,379 86
+ Conscript fund 6,515 37
+ Transportation 1,445 51
+ Schools 27,819 60
+ ----------
+ Total expended 478,363 17
+
+
+ RECAPITULATION.
+
+ Total amount received $907,396 28
+ Total amount expended 478,363 17
+ -----------
+ Balance on hand October 31, 1865 429,033 11
+ Deduct the amount held as retained bounties 115,236 49
+
+ Balance on hand October 31, 1865, available
+ to meet liabilities 313,796 62[121]
+
+It was the policy of the Government to help the freedmen on to their
+feet; to give them a start in the race of self-support and manhood.
+They received such assistance as was given them with thankful hearts,
+and were not long in placing themselves upon a safe foundation for
+their new existence. Out of a population of 350,000 in North Carolina
+only 5,000 were receiving aid from the Government in the fall of 1865.
+Each month witnessed a wonderful reduction of the rations issued to
+the freedmen. In the month of August, 1865, Gen. C. B. Fisk had
+reduced the number of freedmen receiving rations from 3,785 to 2,984,
+in Kentucky. In the same month, in Mississippi, Gen. Samuel Thomas, of
+the 64th U. S. C. I., had reduced the number of persons receiving
+rations to 669. In his report for 1865, Gen. Thomas said:
+
+ "The freedmen working land assigned them at Davis's Bend, Camp
+ Hawley, near Vicksburg, De Soto Point, opposite, and at
+ Washington, near Natchez, are all doing well. These crops are
+ maturing fast; as harvest time approaches, I reduce the number of
+ rations issued and compel them to rely on their own resources. At
+ least 10,000 bales of cotton will be raised by these people, who
+ are conducting cotton crops on their own account. Besides this
+ cotton, they have gardens and corn enough to furnish bread for
+ their families and food for their stock till harvest time
+ returns. * * * A more industrious, energetic body of citizens
+ does not exist than can be seen at the colonies now."
+
+Speaking of the industry of the freed people Gen. Thomas added: "I
+have lately visited a large portion of the State, and find it in much
+better condition than I expected. In the eastern part fine crops of
+grain are growing; the negroes are at home working quietly; they have
+contracted with their old masters at fair wages; all seem to accept
+the change without a shock."
+
+From June 1, 1865, to September 1, 1866, the Freedmen's Bureau issued
+to the freed people of the South 8,904,4511/2 rations, and was able to
+make the following financial showing of the Refugees' and Freedmen's
+fund. From November 1, 1865, to October 1, 1866, the receipts and
+expenditures were as follows:
+
+ Amount on hand November 1, 1865 $313,796 62
+
+ Received from various sources, as follows:
+
+ Freedmen's fund $367,659 93
+ Clothing, fuel, and subsistence 2,074 55
+ Farms (sales of crops) 109,709 98
+ Rent of buildings 48,560 87
+ Rent of lands 113,641 78
+ Conscript funds 140 95
+ Transportation 1,053 50
+ Schools (taxes) 64,145 86
+ -------------
+ Total on hand and received $1,020,784 04
+
+ EXPENDITURES.
+ Freedmen's fund $7,411 32
+ Clothing, fuel, and subsistence 13,870 93
+ Farms (fencing, seeds, tools, etc.) 7,210 66
+ Labor (by freedmen and other employes) 426,918 12
+ Rent of buildings (offices, etc.) 50,186 61
+ Repairs of buildings 1,957 47
+
+ EXPENDITURES.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Contingent expenses 74,295 77
+ Rent of lands (restored) 9,260 58
+ Quartermaster's department 11 26
+ Internal revenue (tax on salaries) 7,965 22
+ Conscript fund 1,664 01
+ Transportation 22,387 01
+ Schools 115,261 56
+ -----------
+ Total expended $738,400 52
+ -----------
+ Balance on hand October 1, 1866 $282,383 52
+
+In September, 1866, the Bureau had on hand:
+
+ RECAPITULATION.
+
+ Balance on hand of freedmen's fund $282,383 52
+ Balance of District destitute fund 18,328 67
+ Balance of appropriation 6,856,259 30
+ -------------
+ Total $7,156,971 49
+
+ Estimated amount due subsistence
+ department $297,000 00
+ Transportation reported unpaid 26,015 94
+ Transportation estimated due 20,000 00
+ Estimated amount due medical department 100,000 00
+ Estimated, amount due quartermaster's
+ department 200,000 00
+ -----------
+ $643,015 94
+ -------------
+ Total balance for all purposes of
+ expenditures $6,513,955 55
+ -------------
+
+But the estimate of Gen. Howard for funds to run the Bureau for the
+fiscal year commencing July 1, 1867, only called for the sum of three
+million eight hundred and thirty-six thousand and three hundred
+dollars, as follows:
+
+
+ Salaries of assistant commissioners,
+ sub-assistants, and agents $147,500
+ Salaries of clerks 82,800
+ Stationery and printing 63,000
+ Quarters and fuel 200,000
+ Subsistence stores 1,500,000
+ Medical department 500,000
+ Transportation 800,000
+ School superintendents 25,000
+ Buildings for schools and asylums, including
+ construction, rental, and repairs 500,000
+ Telegraphing and postage 18,000
+ ----------
+ $3,836,300
+
+This showed that the freed people were rapidly becoming
+self-sustaining, and that the aid rendered by the Government was used
+to a good purpose.
+
+Soon after Colored Troops were mustered into the service of the
+Government a question arose as to some safe method by which these
+troops might save their pay against the days of peace and personal
+effort. The noble and wise Gen. Saxton answered the question and met
+the need of the hour by establishing a Military Savings Bank at
+Beaufort, South Carolina. Soldiers under his command were thus enabled
+to husband their funds. Gen. Butler followed in this good work, and
+established a similar one at Norfolk, Virginia. These banks did an
+excellent work, and so favorably impressed many of the friends of the
+Negro that a plan for a Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company was
+at once projected. Before the spring campaign of 1865 opened up, the
+plan was presented to Congress; a bill introduced creating such a
+bank, was passed and signed by President Lincoln on the 3d of March.
+The following is the Act:
+
+ "AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND TRUST "COMPANY.
+
+ "_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
+ United States of America in Congress assembled:_ That Peter
+ Cooper, William C. Bryant, A. A. Low, S. B. Chittenden, Charles
+ H. Marshall, William A. Booth, Gerrit Smith, William A. Hall,
+ William Allen, John Jay, Abraham Baldwin, A. S. Barnes, Hiram
+ Barney, Seth B. Hunt, Samuel Holmes, Charles Collins, R. R.
+ Graves, Walter S. Griffith, A. H. Wallis, D. S. Gregory, J. W.
+ Alvord, George Whipple, A. S. Hatch, Walter T. Hatch, E. A.
+ Lambert, W. G. Lambert, Roe Lockwood, R. H. Manning, R. W. Ropes,
+ Albert Woodruff, and Thomas Denny, of New York; John M. Forbes,
+ William Claflin, S. G. Howe, George L. Stearns, Edward Atkinson,
+ A. A. Lawrence, and John M. S. Williams, of Massachusetts;
+ Edward Harris and Thomas Davis, of Rhode Island; Stephen Colwell,
+ J. Wheaton Smith, Francis E. Cope, Thomas Webster, B. S. Hunt,
+ and Henry Samuel, of Pennsylvania; Edward Harwood, Adam Poe, Levi
+ Coffin, J. M. Walden, of Ohio, and their successors, are
+ constituted a body corporate in the City of Washington, in the
+ District of Columbia, by the name of the FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND
+ TRUST COMPANY, and by that name may sue and be sued in any court
+ of the United States.
+
+ "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the persons named in
+ the first section of this act shall be the first Trustees of the
+ Corporation, and all vacancies by death, resignation, or
+ otherwise, in the office of Trustee shall be filled by the Board,
+ by ballot, without unnecessary delay, and at least ten votes
+ shall be necessary for the election of any Trustee. The Trustees
+ shall hold a regular meeting, at least once in each month, to
+ receive reports of their officers on the affairs of the
+ Corporation, and to transact such business as may be necessary;
+ and any Trustee omitting to attend the regular meetings of the
+ Board for six months in succession, may thereupon be considered
+ as having vacated his place, and a successor may be elected to
+ fill the same.
+
+ "SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the business of the
+ Corporation shall be managed and directed by the Board of
+ Trustees, who shall elect from their number a President and two
+ Vice-Presidents, and may appoint such other officers as they may
+ see fit; nine of the Trustees, of whom the President or one of
+ the Vice-Presidents shall be one, shall form a quorum for the
+ transaction of business at any regular or adjourned meeting of
+ the Board of Trustees; and the affirmative vote of at least seven
+ members of the Board shall be requisite in making any order for,
+ or authorizing the investment of, any moneys, or the sale or
+ transfer of any stock or securities belonging to the Corporation,
+ or the appointment of any officer receiving any salary therefrom.
+
+ "SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the Board of Trustees
+ of the Corporation shall have power, from time to time, to make
+ and establish such By-Laws and regulations as they shall judge
+ proper with regard to the elections of officers and their
+ respective functions, and generally for the management of the
+ affairs of the Corporation, provided such By-Laws and regulations
+ are not repugnant to this act, or to the Constitution or laws of
+ the United States.
+
+ "SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That the general business
+ and object of the Corporation hereby created shall be, to receive
+ on deposit such sums of money as may, from time to time, be
+ offered therefor, by or on behalf of persons heretofore held in
+ slavery in the United States, or their descendants, and investing
+ the same in the stocks, bonds, Treasury notes, or other
+ securities of the United States.
+
+ "SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty
+ of the Trustees of the Corporation to invest, as soon as
+ practicable, in the securities named in the next preceding
+ section, all sums received by them beyond an available fund, not
+ exceeding one third of the total amount of deposits with the
+ Corporation, at the discretion of the Trustees, which available
+ funds may be kept by the Trustees, to meet current payments of
+ the Corporation, and may by them be left on deposit, at interest
+ or otherwise, or in such available form as the Trustees may
+ direct.
+
+ "SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That the Corporation may,
+ under such regulations as the Board of Trustees shall, from time
+ to time, prescribe, receive any deposit hereby authorized to be
+ received, upon such trusts and for such purposes, not contrary to
+ the laws of the United States, as may be indicated in writing by
+ the depositor, such writing to be subscribed by the depositor and
+ acknowledged or proved before any officer in the civil or
+ military service of the United States, the certificate of which
+ acknowledgment or proof shall be endorsed on the writing; and the
+ writing, so acknowledged or proved, shall accompany such deposit
+ and be filed among the papers of the Corporation, and be
+ carefully preserved therein, and may be read in evidence in any
+ court or before any judicial officer of the United States,
+ without further proof; and the certificate of acknowledgment or
+ proof shall be _prima facie_ evidence only of the due execution
+ of such writing.
+
+ "SEC. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That all sums received on
+ deposit shall be repaid to such depositor when required, at such
+ time, with such interest, not exceeding seven per centum per
+ annum, and under such regulations as the Board of Trustees shall,
+ from time to time, prescribe, which regulations shall be posted
+ up in some conspicuous place in the room where the business of
+ the Corporation shall be transacted, but shall not be altered so
+ as to affect any deposit previously made.
+
+ "SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That all trusts upon which,
+ and all purposes for which any deposit shall be made, and which
+ shall be indicated in the writing to accompany such deposit,
+ shall be faithfully performed by the Corporation, unless the
+ performing of the same is rendered impossible.
+
+ "SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That when any depositor
+ shall die, the funds remaining on deposit with the Corporation to
+ his credit, and all accumulations thereof, shall belong and be
+ paid to the personal representatives of such depositor, in case
+ he shall have left a last will and testament, and in default of a
+ last will and testament, or of any person qualifying under a last
+ will and testament, competent to act as executor, the Corporation
+ shall be entitled, in respect to the funds so remaining on
+ deposit to the credit of any such depositor, to administration
+ thereon in preference to all other persons, and letters or
+ administration shall be granted to the Corporation accordingly in
+ the manner prescribed by law in respect to granting of letters of
+ administration, with the will annexed, and in cases of intestacy.
+
+ "SEC. 11. _And be it further enacted_, That in the case of the
+ death of any depositor, whose deposit shall not be held upon any
+ trust created pursuant to the provisions hereinbefore contained,
+ or where it may prove impossible to execute such trust, it shall
+ be the duty of the Corporation to make diligent efforts to
+ ascertain and discover whether such deceased depositor has left a
+ husband, wife, or children, surviving, and the Corporation shall
+ keep a record of the efforts so made, and of the results thereof;
+ and in case no person lawfully entitled thereto shall be
+ discovered, or shall appear, or claim the funds remaining to the
+ credit of such depositor before the expiration of two years from
+ the death of such depositor, it shall be lawful for the
+ Corporation to hold and invest such funds as a separate trust
+ fund, to be applied, with the accumulations thereof, to the
+ education and improvement of persons heretofore held in slavery,
+ or their descendants, being inhabitants of the United States, in
+ such manner and through such agencies as the Board of Trustees
+ shall deem best calculated to effect that object; _Provided_,
+ That if any depositor be not heard from within five years from
+ the date of his last deposit, the Trustees shall advertise the
+ same in some paper of general circulation in the State where the
+ principal office of the Company is established, and also in the
+ State where the depositor was last heard from; and if, within two
+ years thereafter, such depositor shall not appear, nor a husband,
+ wife, or child of such depositor, to claim his deposits, they
+ shall be used by the Board of Trustees as hereinbefore provided
+ for in this section.
+
+ "SEC. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That no President,
+ Vice-President, Trustee, officer, or servant of the Corporation
+ shall, directly or indirectly, borrow the funds of the
+ Corporation or its deposits, or in any manner use the same, or
+ any part thereof, except to pay necessary expenses, under the
+ direction of the Board of Trustees. All certificates or other
+ evidences of deposit made by the proper officers shall be as
+ binding on the Corporation as if they were made under their
+ common seal. It shall be the duty of the Trustees to regulate the
+ rate of interest allowed to the depositors, so that they shall
+ receive, as nearly as may be, a rateable proportion of all the
+ profits of the Corporation, after deducting all necessary
+ expenses; _Provided, however_, That the Trustees may allow to
+ depositors to the amount of five hundred dollars or upward one
+ per centum less than the amount allowed others; _And provided,
+ also_, Whenever it shall appear that, after the payment of the
+ usual interest to depositors, there is in the possession of the
+ Corporation an excess of profits over the liabilities amounting
+ to ten per centum upon the deposits, such excess shall be
+ invested for the security of the depositors in the Corporation;
+ and thereafter, at each annual examination of the affairs of the
+ Corporation, any surplus over and above such ten per centum
+ shall, in addition to the usual interest, be divided rateably
+ among the depositors, in such manner as the Board of Trustees
+ shall direct.
+
+ "SEC. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That whenever any deposits
+ shall be made by any minor, the Trustees of the Corporation may,
+ at their discretion, pay to such depositor such sum as may be due
+ to him, although no guardian shall have been appointed for such
+ minor, or the guardian of such minor shall not have authorized
+ the drawing of the same; and the check, receipt, or acquittance
+ of such minor shall be as valid as if the same were executed by a
+ guardian of such minor, or the minor were of full age, if such
+ deposit was made personally by such minor. And whenever any
+ deposits shall have been made by married women, the Trustees may
+ repay the same on their own receipts.
+
+ "SEC. 14. _And be it further enacted_, That the Trustees shall
+ not directly or indirectly receive any payment or emolument for
+ their services as such, except the President and Vice-President.
+
+ "SEC. 15. _And be it further enacted_, That the President,
+ Vice-President, and subordinate officers and agents of the
+ Corporation, shall respectively give such security for their
+ fidelity and good conduct as the Board of Trustees may, from time
+ to time, require, and the Board shall fix the salaries of such
+ officers and agents.
+
+ "SEC. 16. _And be it further enacted_, That the books of the
+ Corporation shall, at all times during the hours of business, be
+ open for inspection and examination to such persons as Congress
+ shall designate or appoint.
+
+ "Approved March 3, 1865."
+
+Eleven of these banks were established in 1865, nine in 1866, three in
+1868, one in 1869, and the remainder in 1870, after the charter had
+been amended as follows:
+
+ "AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED 'AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE
+ FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND TRUST COMPANY,' APPROVED MARCH THIRD,
+ EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE.
+
+ "_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
+ United Stales of America, in Congress assembled_, That the fifth
+ section of the Act entitled 'An Act to Incorporate the Freedman's
+ Savings and Trust Company,' approved March third, eighteen
+ hundred and sixty-five, be, and the same is hereby, amended by
+ adding thereto at the end thereof the words following: 'and to
+ the extent of one half in bonds or notes, secured by mortgage on
+ real estate in double the value of the loan; and the corporation
+ is also authorized hereby to hold and improve the real estate now
+ owned by it in the city of Washington, to wit: the west half of
+ lot number three; all of lots four, five, six, seven, and the
+ south half of lot number eight, in square number two hundred and
+ twenty-one, as laid out and recorded in the original plats or
+ plan of said city: _Provided_, That said corporation shall not
+ use the principal of any deposits made with it for the purpose of
+ such improvement.'
+
+ "SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That Congress shall have
+ the right to alter or repeal this amendment at any time.
+
+ "Approved May 6, 1870."
+
+The company was organized on the 16th of May, 1865, and the trustees
+made their first report on the 8th of June, 1865. Deposits up to this
+date were $700, besides $7,956.38 transferred from the Military
+Savings Bank at Norfolk, Virginia, on the 3d of June. On the 1st of
+August the first branch office was opened at Washington, D. C., and on
+the 1st of September it had a balance due its depositors of $843.84.
+
+Other branches were opened during the year at Louisville, Richmond,
+Nashville, Wilmington, Huntsville, Memphis, Mobile, and Vicksburg.
+December 14, 1865, the Military Bank at Beaufort, organized October
+16, 1865, was, by order of General Saxton, transferred to this
+company, with its balance of $170,000. At the end of the first year,
+March 1, 1866, fourteen branch offices had been opened, and the
+balance due depositors was $199,283.42.
+
+The total deposits made by freedmen in them, from their establishment
+up to July 1, 1870, was $16,960,336, of which over $2,000,000 still
+remained on deposit. The total amount of deposits in the Richmond
+branch up to that date was $318,913, and the balance undrawn $84,537.
+The average amount deposited by the various depositors was nearly
+$284. So far as the facts were obtained, it appeared that about
+seventy per cent. of the money drawn from these banks was invested in
+real estate and in business.
+
+By the financial statement of the banking company, for August, 1871,
+it appears that in the thirty-four banks then in operation the
+deposits made during that month, which was considered "dull," amounted
+to $882,806.67, and that the total amount to the credit of the
+depositors was $3,058,232.81. In the Richmond branch, the deposits
+for that month were $17,790.60, and the total amount due depositors
+was $123,733.75; all of which was to the credit of Colored people,
+except $6,929.19. A branch shortly before had been established in
+Lynchburg, which showed a balance due depositors of $7,382.83.
+
+The following table shows the business of the company for the years
+1866-1871:
+
+_Table Showing the Relative Business of the Company for Each Fiscal
+Year._
+
+ For year ending Total amount of Total amount of Balance due
+ March 1. deposits. drafts. depositors.
+ --------------- --------------- --------------- -------------
+ 1866 $305,167 00 $105,883 58 $199,283 42
+ 1867 1,624,853 33 1,258,515 00 366,338 33
+ 1868 3,582,378 36 2,944,079 36 638,299 00
+ 1869 7,257,798 63 6,184,333 32 1,073,465 31
+ 1870 12,605,781 95 10,948,775 20 1,657,006 75
+ 1871 19,952,647 36 17,497,111 25 2,455,836 11
+
+ For year ending Deposits each Drafts each Gain each
+ March 1. year. year. year.
+ --------------- ------------- ------------- ------------
+ 1866 $305,167 00 $105,883 58 $199,283 42
+ 1867 1,319,686 33 1,152,631 42 167,054 91
+ 1868 1,957,525 03 1,685,564 36 271,960 67
+ 1869 3,675,420 27 3,240,253 96 435,166 31
+ 1870 5,347,983 32 4,764,441 88 583,341 44
+ 1871 7,347,165 41 6,548,336 05 798,829 36
+
+ The total amount of deposits received from the organization
+ of the company to October 1, 1871--six years
+ from the opening of the first branch--was $25,977,435 48
+ Total drafts during the same period were 22,850,926 47
+ --------------
+ Leaving due depositors October 1, 1871 3,126,509 01
+ The _total assets_ of company on same day
+ amounted to 3,157,206 17
+ --------------
+ The interest paid during this time amounted to 180,565 35
+
+In 1872 the trustees made the following interesting statement:
+
+THE FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND TRUST COMPANY.
+
+FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 1872.
+
+ Deposits for Drafts for Total amount Total amount Balance due
+ BRANCHES. the month. the month. of Deposits. of Drafts. Depositors.
+ ----------------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- ------------- -----------
+ Atlanta, Georgia $9,419 68 $11,242 30 $245,200 27 $223,020 17 $22,180 10
+ Augusta, Georgia 10,771 99 9,217 94 367,653 16 284,406 14 83,247 02
+ Baltimore, Maryland 29,755 52 18,644 57 1,278,042 32 996,371 98 281,670 34
+ Beaufort, South Carolina 189,600 74 184,924 40 2,993,873 30 2,944,441 88 49,431 42
+ Charleston, South Carolina 67,668 83 84,464 53 3,100,641 65 2,795,176 24 305,465 41
+ Columbus, Mississippi 2,426 15 4,364 34 132,036 46 121,776 67 10,259 79
+ Columbia, Tennessee 2,552 55 2,086 05 34,088 97 15,738 76 18,350 21
+ Huntsville, Alabama 7,343 50 10,127 61 416,617 72 364,382 51 52,235 21
+ Jacksonville, Florida 67,292 09 57,307 54 3,312,424 55 3,234,445 72 77,978 83
+ Lexington, Kentucky 14,383 85 11,221 13 238,680 22 188,308 76 50,371 46
+ Little Rock, Arkansas 7,871 27 9,506 37 172,392 10 154,914 42 17,477 68
+ Louisville, Kentucky 18,311 01 17,535 74 1,057,587 71 914,504 61 143,083 10
+ Lynchburg, Virginia 3,104 48 1,242 56 36,880 98 18,354 87 18,526 11
+ Macon, Georgia 6,808 98 7,061 52 197,050 01 156,308 75 40,741 26
+ Memphis, Tennessee 20,045 40 27,197 06 970,096 09 840,218 91 129,877 18
+ Mobile, Alabama 11,136 05 18,645 62 1,039,097 05 933,424 30 105,672 75
+ Montgomery, Alabama 8,522 90 8,679 60 238,106 08 213,861 71 24,244 37
+ Natchez, Mississippi 25,548 53 15,005 17 649,256 70 612,985 74 36,270 96
+ Nashville, Tennessee 15,731 46 17,098 58 739,691 88 625,166 40 114,525 48
+ New Berne, North Carolina 38,113 83 37,775 73 1,057,688 32 1,001,645 74 56,042 58
+ New Orleans, Louisiana 193,145 48 207,878 53 2,393,584 08 2,171,056 95 222,527 13
+ New York, New York 133,209 58 74,461 61 1,673,249 36 1,227,449 57 445,799 79
+ Norfolk, Virginia 16,771 88 17,757 38 1,048,762 05 916,047 59 132,714 46
+ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11,451 12 9,887 49 357,924 89 278,641 10 79,283 79
+ Raleigh, North Carolina 5,663 28 4,660 18 231,685 82 202,032 44 29,653 38
+ Richmond, Virginia 64,112 51 53,900 72 1,082,152 71 912,933 45 169,219 26
+ Savannah, Georgia 30,951 23 27,066 33 1,031,173 38 893,321 30 137,852 02
+ Shreveport, Louisiana 20,688 72 21,105 59 299,428 39 264,707 78 34,720 61
+ St. Louis, Missouri 26,323 93 20,599 02 615,876 74 526,490 86 89,385 88
+ Tallahassee, Florida 4,589 45 4,526 75 361,614 57 329,618 33 31,996 24
+ Vicksburg, Mississippi 61,691 73 60,068 28 2,962,235 58 2,823,700 87 138,534 71
+ Washington, Dist. Colum'a 323,555 79 296,321 26 7,438,918 17 6,406,092 39 1,032,825 78
+ Wilmington, N'th Carolina 10,714 10 12,632 65 457,360 75 407,512 51 49,848 24
+ Alexandria, Virginia 1,929 91 685 80 14,091 77 1,626 35 12,465 42
+ $1,461,207 52 $1,364,899 95 $38,245,163 80 $34,000,685 77 $4,244,478 03
+
+ Total amount of deposits for the month $1,461,207 56
+ Total amount of drafts for the month 1,364,899 95
+ -------------
+ Gain for the month 96,307 61
+ =============
+
+ Total amount of deposits $38,245,163 80
+ Total amount of drafts 34,000,685,77
+ --------------
+ Total amount due depositors $4,244,478 03
+ ==============
+
+This first experiment of the new citizen in saving his funds was
+working admirably. Each report was more cheering than the preceding
+one. The deposits were generally made by day laborers, house servants,
+farmers, mechanics, and washerwomen. Two facts were established, viz.:
+that the Negroes of the South were working; and that they were saving
+their earnings. Northern as well as Southern whites were agreeably
+surprised.
+
+But bad management doomed the institution to irreparable ruin. The
+charter was violated in the establishment of branch banks; "persons
+who were never held in bondage and their descendants" were allowed to
+deposit funds in the bank; money was loaned upon valueless securities
+and meaningless collaterals, and in the fall of 1873, having been kept
+open for a long time on money borrowed on collateral securities
+belonging to its customers, the bank failed!
+
+During the brief period of its existence about $57,000,000 had been
+deposited. The liabilities of the institution at the time of the
+failure, as corrected to date, were $3,037,483, of which $73,774.34
+were special deposits and preferred claims. The number of open
+accounts at the time of the failure were 62,000. The _nominal_ assets
+at the time of the failure were $2,693,093.20. And in the almost
+interminable list of over-drafts amounting to $55,567.63, there
+appeared but one solitary surety!
+
+On the 20th of June, 1874, Congress passed an act permitting the very
+men who had destroyed the bank to nominate three Commissioners, who,
+upon the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, should wind up the
+affairs of this insolvent institution. Section 7 of the Act reads as
+follows:
+
+ "SEC. 7. That whenever it shall be deemed advisable by the
+ trustees of said corporation to close up its entire business,
+ then they shall select three competent men, not connected with
+ the previous management of the institution and approved by the
+ Secretary of the Treasury, to be known and styled commissioners,
+ whose duty it shall be to take charge of all the property and
+ effects of said Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, close up
+ the principal and subordinate branches, collect from the branches
+ all the deposits they have on hand, and proceed to collect all
+ sums due said company, and dispose of all the property owned by
+ said company, as speedily as the interests of the corporation
+ require, and to distribute the proceeds among the creditors pro
+ rata, according to their respective amounts; they shall make a
+ pro rata dividend whenever they have funds enough to pay twenty
+ per centum of the claims of depositors. Said commissioners,
+ before they proceed to act, shall execute a joint bond to the
+ United States, with good sureties, in the penal sum of one
+ hundred thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful discharge
+ of their duties as commissioners aforesaid, and shall take an
+ oath to faithfully and honestly perform their duties as such,
+ which bonds shall be executed in presence of the Secretary of the
+ Treasury, be approved by him, and by him safely kept; and
+ whenever said trustees shall file with the Secretary of the
+ Treasury a certified copy of the order appointing said
+ commissioners, and they shall have executed the bonds and taken
+ the oath aforesaid, then said commissioners shall be invested
+ with the legal title to all of said property of said company, for
+ the purposes of this act, and shall have full power and authority
+ to sell the same, and make deeds of conveyance to any and all of
+ the real estate sold by them to the purchasers. Said
+ commissioners may employ such agents as are necessary to assist
+ them in closing up said company, and pay them a reasonable
+ compensation for their services out of the funds of said company;
+ and the said commissioners shall retain out of said funds a
+ reasonable compensation for their trouble, to be fixed by the
+ Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency,
+ and not exceeding three thousand dollars each per annum. Said
+ commissioners shall deposit all sums collected by them in the
+ Treasury of the United States until they make a pro rata
+ distribution of the same."
+
+There are several legal questions that history would like to ask. 1.
+Did not the trustees of the Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company
+violate their charter in establishing branch banks? 2. Were not the
+trustees personally liable for receiving deposits from persons who
+were neither "heretofore held in slavery" nor the descendants of such
+persons? 3. Were not persons "heretofore held in slavery" and "their
+descendants" preferred creditors? 4. Had Congress the authority to go
+outside of the Federal bankruptcy laws and create such special
+machinery for the settlement of a collapsed bank? This matter may come
+before Congress in a new shape some time in the future.
+
+The three commissioners, at a salary of $3,000 per annum, were charged
+with the settlement of the affairs of the bank. They were Jno. A. J.
+Creswell, Robert Purvis, and R. H. T. Leipold. Mr. Creswell was
+retained by the United States before the Alabama Claims Commission at
+a salary of $10,000 per annum; while Mr. Leipold was a lawyer with
+considerable practice. But neither one of these gentlemen ever entered
+a court on behalf of the company. In a little more than five years
+they used up out of the assets of the company, $40,000 for their
+salaries; paid for salaries to agents, $64,000, and $31,000 for
+attorneys' fees, aggregating $135,000--nearly one half of the amount
+distributed among depositors for the same length of time.
+
+The more the commissioners examined, the greater the liabilities of
+the company grew. On the 1st of October, 1875, a dividend of 20 per
+cent. was declared; on the 1st of February, 1878, a dividend of 10 per
+cent. was declared; on the 21st of August, 1880, they declared another
+dividend of 10 per cent.; and on the 14th of April, 1881, a circular
+was sent out as a crumb of comfort to the anxious, defrauded, and
+outraged depositors. It is not enough for history to pronounce the
+failure of this bank an irreparable calamity to the Colored people of
+the South; it should be branded as a _crime_! There was no more
+necessity for the failure of this bank than for the failure of the
+United States Treasury. Its management was criminal; and Congress
+should yet seek out and punish the guilty; and the depositors should
+be indemnified out of the United States Treasury. Justice and equity
+demand it.
+
+The failure of the Freedman's Bank worked great mischief among the
+Colored people in the South. But hardy, persistent, earnest, and
+hopeful, they turned again to the work of making and saving money.
+They have been more prudent than their circumstances, in some
+instances, would seem to warrant. In Georgia the Colored people have
+made wonderful progress in business matters.
+
+ Amount of
+ Money and Household
+ No. of Solvent and
+ Acres of Value of City or Town Debts of Kitchen
+ Polls. Land. Land. Property. all Kinds. Furniture.
+ ------- ------- ---------- ------------ ---------- ----------
+ 88,522 541,199 $1,348,758 $1,094,435 $73,253 $448,713
+
+
+ Value of all
+ other Property
+ Horses, Plantation not before Aggregate Total Amount
+ Mules, Hogs, and Enumerated Value of of Tax Assessed
+ Sheep, Mechanical except Whole on Polls
+ and Cattle. Tools. Annual Crops, Property. and Property.
+ Provisions, etc.
+ ----------- ---------- ---------------- ---------- ---------------
+ $1,704,230 $143,258 $369,751 $5,182,398 $106,660.39
+
+ Increase in number of acres since return of 1878 39,309
+ Increase in wealth since return of 1878 $57,523
+
+In Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, and in
+Maryland, Colored men have possessed themselves of excellent farms
+and moderate fortunes. In Baltimore a company of Colored men own a
+ship dock, and transact a large business. Some of the largest orange
+plantations in Florida are owned by Colored men. On most of the
+plantations, and in many of the large towns and cities Colored
+mechanics are quite numerous. The Montgomeries who own the plantation,
+once the property of Jefferson Davis, extending for miles along the
+Mississippi, are probably the best business men in the South. In
+Louisiana, P. P. Deslonde, A. Dubuclet, Hon. T. T. Allain, and State
+Senator Young are men who, although taking a lively interest in
+politics, have accumulated property and saved it.
+
+There is nothing vicious in the character of the Southern Negro. He is
+gentle, affectionate, and faithful. If it has appeared, through false
+figures, that he is a criminal, there is room for satisfactory
+explanation. In 1870, out of a population, of persons of color, in all
+the States and Territories, of 4,880,009, there were only 9,400 who
+were receiving aid on the 1st of June, 1870; and only 8,056 in all the
+prisons of America. Nine tenths of these were South, and could neither
+read nor write.
+
+During the Rebellion, when every white male from fifteen to seventy
+was out fighting to sustain the Confederacy--when the Southern
+Government was robbing the cradle and the grave for soldiers--the
+wives and children of the Confederates were committed to the care and
+keeping of their slaves. And what is the verdict of history? That
+these women were outraged and their children brained? No! But that
+during all those years of painful anxiety, of hope and fear, of fiery
+trial and severe privation, those faithful Negroes toiled, not only to
+support the wives and children of the men who were fighting to make
+slavery national and perpetual, but fed the entire rebel army, and
+never laid the weight of a finger upon the head of any of the women or
+children entrusted to their care! To this virtue of fidelity to their
+worst enemies they added still another, loyalty to the Union flag and
+escaping Union soldiers. All night long they would direct the lonely,
+famishing, fainting, and almost delirious Union soldier in a safe way,
+and then when the night and morning met they would point their pilgrim
+friends to the North Star, hide them and feed them during the day, and
+then return to the plantation to care for the loved ones of the men
+who starved Union soldiers and hunted them down with bloodhounds! This
+is the brightest gem that history can place upon the brow of the
+Negro; and in conferring it there is no one found to object.
+
+Since the war the crime among Colored people is to be accounted for
+upon two grounds, viz.: ignorance, and a combination of circumstances
+over which they had no control. It was one thing for the Negro to
+understand the cruel laws of slavery, but when he found himself a
+freeman he was not able to know what was an infraction of the law.
+They did not know what in law constituted a _tort_, or a civil action
+from a sled. The violent passions pampered in slavery, the destruction
+of the home, the promiscuous mingling of the sexes, a conscience
+enfeebled by disuse, made them easy transgressors. The Negro is not a
+criminal generically; he is an accidental criminal. The judiciary and
+juries of the South are responsible for the alarming prison statistics
+which stand against the Negro. It takes generations for men to
+overcome their prejudices. With a white judge and a white jury a Negro
+is guilty the moment he makes his appearance in court. It is seldom
+that a Negro can get judgment against a white person under the most
+favorable circumstances. The Negroes who appear in courts are of the
+poorer and more ignorant class. They have no funds with which to
+employ counsel, and have but few intelligent lawyers to come to their
+rescue. In cases of theft, especially of poultry, pigs, sheep, fruit,
+etc., it is next to impossible to convince a white judge or jury that
+the defendant is not guilty. They reason that because the half-fed,
+overworked slave appropriated articles of food, as a freeman the Negro
+was not changed. They ascribed a general habit, growing out of trying
+circumstances, to the Negro as a slave that he soon learned to regard
+as morally wrong when a freeman.
+
+But the most effective agency in filling Southern prisons with Negroes
+has been, and is, the chain-gang system--the farming out of convict
+labor. Just as great railway, oil, and telegraph companies in the
+North have been capable of controlling legislation, so the
+corporations at the South which take the prisoners of the State off of
+the hands of the Government, and then speculate upon the labor of the
+prisoners, are able to control both court and jury. It has been the
+practice, and is now, in some of the Southern States, to pronounce
+long sentences upon able-bodied young Colored men, whose offences, in
+a Northern court, could not be visited with more than a few months'
+confinement and a trifling fine. The object in giving Negro men a long
+term of years, is to make sure the tenure of the soulless
+corporations upon the convicts whose unhappy lot it is to fall into
+their iron grasp. In some of the Southern States a strong and healthy
+Negro convict brings thirty-seven cents a day to the State, while he
+earns a dollar for the corporations above his expenses. The convicts
+are cruelly treated--especially in Georgia and Kentucky;--their food
+is poor, their quarters miserable, and their morals next to the brute
+creation. In many of these camps men and women are compelled to sleep
+in the same bunks together, with chains upon their limbs, in a
+promiscuous manner too sickening and disgusting to mention. When a
+prisoner escapes he is hunted down by fiery dogs and cruel guards; and
+often the poor prisoner is torn to pieces by the dogs or beaten to
+death by the guards. No system of slavery was ever equal in its cruel
+and dehumanizing details to this convict system, which, taking
+advantage of race prejudice on the one hand and race ignorance on the
+other, with cupidity and avarice as its chief characteristics, has
+done more to curse the South than all things else since the war.
+
+It was predicted by persons hostile to the rights and citizenship of
+the Negro, that a condition of freedom would not be in harmony with
+his character; that it would destroy him, and that he would destroy
+the country and party which tried to make him agree to a state of
+independent life; that having been used to the "kind treatment"(?) of
+his master he would find himself unequal to the responsibilities of
+freedom; and that his migratory disposition would lead him into a
+climate too cold for him, where he would be welcomed to an
+inhospitable grave.
+
+It is true that a great many Negroes died during the first years of
+their new life. The joy of emancipation and the excitement that
+disturbed business swept the Negroes into the large cities. Like the
+shepherds who left their flocks on the plains and went into Bethlehem
+to see the promised redemption, these people sought the centres of
+excitement. The large cities were overrun with them. The demand for
+unskilled labor was not great. From mere spectators they became
+idlers, helpless and offensive to industrious society. Ignorant of
+sanitary laws, imprudent in their daily living, changing from the pure
+air and plain diet of farm life to the poisonous atmosphere and rich,
+fateful food of the city, many fell victims to the sudden change from
+bondage to freedom, from darkness to light, and from the fleshpots,
+garlic, and onions of their Egyptian bondage to the milk and honey of
+the Canaan of their deliverance.
+
+But this was in accordance with an immutable law of nature. Every year
+a large number of birds perish in an attempt to change their home;
+every spring-time many flowers die at their birth. The law of the
+survival of the fittest is impartial and inexorable. The Creator said
+centuries ago "the soul that sinneth shall surely die," and the law
+has remained until the present time. Those who sinned ignorantly or
+knowingly died the death; but those who obeyed the laws of health, of
+man, and of God, lived to be useful members of society.
+
+But this was the exception to the rule. The Negro race in America is
+not dying out. The charge is false. The wish was father to the
+thought, while no doubt many honest people have been misled by false
+figures. Nearly all white communities at the South had more than
+enough of physicians; and science and culture were summoned to the aid
+of the white mother in the hour of childbirth. The record of births
+was preserved with pride and official accuracy; and thus there was a
+record upon which to calculate the increase. But, on the contary,
+among the Negroes there were no physicians and no record of births.
+The venerable system of midwifery prevailed. In burying their dead,
+however, this people were compelled to obtain a burial permit from the
+Board of Health. Thus the statistics were all on one side--all deaths
+and no births. Looking at these statistics it did seem that the race
+was dying out. But the Government steps in and takes the census every
+decade, and, thereby, the world is enabled, upon reliable figures, to
+estimate the increase or decrease of the Colored race. The subjoined
+table exhibits the increase of the Colored people for nine decades.
+
+ Colored gain
+ Year. Colored. per cent.
+ ----- --------- ------------
+ 1st census. 1790 757,208
+ 2d " 1800 1,002,037 32.3 1st decade.
+ 3d " 1810 1,377,808 37.5 2d "
+ 4th " 1820 1,771,656 28.6 3d "
+ 5th " 1830 2,328,642 31.5 4th "
+ 6th " 1840 2,873,648 23.4 5th "
+ 7th " 1850 3,638,808 26.6 6th "
+ 8th " 1860 4,441,830 22.1 7th "
+ 9th " 1870 4,880,009 9.9[122] 8th "
+ 10th " 1880 6,580,793 34.8 9th "
+
+So here is a remarkable fact, that from 757,208 in 1790 the Negro race
+has grown to be 6,580,793 in 1880! The theory that the race was dying
+out under the influences of civilization at a greater ratio than under
+the annihilating influences of slavery was at war with common-sense
+and the efficient laws of Christian society. Emancipation has taken
+the mother from field-work to house-work. The slave hut has been
+supplanted by a pleasant house; the mud floor is done away with; and
+now, with carpets on the floor, pictures on the wall, a better quality
+of food properly prepared, the influence of books and papers, and the
+blessings of a preached Gospel, the Negro mother is more prolific, and
+the mortality of her children reduced to a minimum. The Negro is not
+dying out. On the contrary he has shown the greatest recuperative
+powers, and against the white population of the United States as it
+stands to-day--if it were not fed by European immigrants,--within the
+next hundred years the Negroes would outnumber the whites 12,000,000!
+Or at an increase of 33-1/3 per cent. the Negro population in 1980
+would be 117,000,000! providing the ratio of increase continues the
+same between the races.
+
+And in addition to the fact that the Negro, like the Irishman, is
+prolific, is able to reproduce his species, it should be recorded that
+the Negro intellect is growing and expanding at a wonderful rate. The
+children of ten and twelve years of age are more apt to-day than those
+of the same age ten years ago. And the children of the next generation
+will have no superiors in any of the schools of the country.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[117] For an account of this problem, see the Appendix to this volume.
+
+[118] See the annual reports of the Superintendent of Public
+Instruction for Virginia. There were more than 18,234 Colored children
+in the schools of this State in 1870.
+
+[119] Annual Report of the Hon. W. H. Ruffner, for 1874.
+
+[120] For an account of the John F. Slater Bequest of $1,000.000 for
+the education of the freedmen, see the Appendix to this volume.
+
+[121] See report of the Commissioner.
+
+[122] There is no disguising the fact that the ninth census was
+incorrect. No doubt it was the worst we have ever had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+REPRESENTATIVE COLORED MEN.
+
+ THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION.--THE LEGAL DESTRUCTION
+ OF SLAVERY AND A CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION.--FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT
+ GRANTING MANHOOD SUFFRAGE TO THE AMERICAN NEGRO.--PRESIDENT
+ GRANT'S SPECIAL MESSAGE UPON THE SUBJECT.--UNIVERSAL REJOICING
+ AMONG THE COLORED PEOPLE.--THE NEGRO IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE
+ AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.--THE NEGRO IN THE DIPLOMATIC
+ SERVICE OF THE COUNTRY.--FREDERICK DOUGLASS.--HIS BIRTH,
+ ENSLAVEMENT, ESCAPE TO THE NORTH, AND LIFE AS A FREEMAN.--BECOMES
+ AN ANTI-SLAVERY ORATOR.--GOES TO GREAT BRITAIN.--RETURNS TO
+ AMERICA.--ESTABLISHES THE "NORTH STAR."--HIS ELOQUENCE,
+ INFLUENCE, AND BRILLIANT CAREER.--RICHARD THEODORE GREENER.--HIS
+ EARLY LIFE, EDUCATION, AND SUCCESSFUL LITERARY CAREER.--JOHN P.
+ GREEN.--HIS EARLY STRUGGLES TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION.--A SUCCESSFUL
+ ORATOR, LAWYER, AND USEFUL LEGISLATOR.--OTHER REPRESENTATIVE
+ COLORED MEN.--REPRESENTATIVE COLORED WOMEN.
+
+
+The Government could not escape the logic of the position it took when
+it made the Negro a soldier, and invoked his aid in putting down the
+slave-holders' Rebellion. As a soldier he stood in line of promotion:
+the Government destroyed the Confederacy when it placed muskets in the
+hands of the slaves; and at the close of the war had to legally render
+slavery forever impossible in the United States. The bloody deduction
+of the great struggle had to be made a living, legal verity in the
+Constitution, and hence the Thirteenth Amendment.
+
+ "ARTICLE XIII.
+
+ "SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as
+ a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
+ convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
+ subject to their jurisdiction.
+
+ "SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
+ appropriate legislation."
+
+This was the consummation of the ordinance of 1787, carried to its
+last analysis, applied in its broadest sense. It drove the last nail
+in the coffin of slavery, and blighted the fondest hope of the friends
+of secession.
+
+But there was need for another amendment to the Constitution
+conferring upon the Colored people manhood suffrage. On the 27th of
+February, 1869, the Congress passed a resolution recommending the
+Fifteenth Amendment for ratification by the Legislatures of the
+several States. On the 30th of March, 1870, President U. S. Grant sent
+a special message to Congress, calling the attention of that body to
+the proclamation of the Secretary of State in reference to the
+ratification of the Amendment by twenty-nine of the States.
+
+ SPECIAL MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT GRANT ON RATIFICATION OF THE
+ FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT:
+
+ "_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
+
+ "It is unusual to notify the two houses of Congress, by message,
+ of the promulgation, by proclamation of the Secretary of State,
+ of the ratification of a constitutional amendment. In view,
+ however, of the vast importance of the XVth Amendment to the
+ Constitution, this day declared a part of that revered
+ instrument, I deem a departure from the usual custom justifiable.
+ A measure which makes at once four millions of people voters, who
+ were heretofore declared by the highest tribunal in the land not
+ citizens of the United States, nor eligible to become so, (with
+ the assertion that, 'at the time of the Declaration of
+ Independence, the opinion was fixed and universal in the
+ civilized portion of the white race, regarded as an axiom in
+ morals as well as in politics, that black men had no rights which
+ the white man was bound to respect,') is indeed a measure of
+ grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the
+ foundation of our free government to the present day.
+
+ "Institutions like ours, in which all power is derived directly
+ from the people, must depend mainly upon their intelligence,
+ patriotism, and industry. I call the attention, therefore, of the
+ newly-enfranchised race to the importance of their striving in
+ every honorable manner to make themselves worthy of their new
+ privilege. To the race more favored heretofore by our laws I
+ would say, withhold no legal privilege of advancement to the new
+ citizen. The framers of our Constitution firmly believed that a
+ republican government could not endure without intelligence and
+ education generally diffused among the people. The 'Father of his
+ Country,' in his farewell address, uses this language: 'Promote,
+ then, as a matter of primary importance, institutions for the
+ general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of
+ the government gives force to public opinion, it is essential
+ that public opinion should be enlightened.' In his first annual
+ message to Congress the same views are forcibly presented, and
+ are again urged in his eighth message.
+
+ "I repeat that the adaption of the XVth Amendment to the
+ Constitution completes the greatest civil change and constitutes
+ the most important event that has occurred since the nation came
+ into life. The change will be beneficial in proportion to the
+ heed that is given to the urgent recommendations of Washington.
+ If these recommendations were important then, with a population
+ of but a few millions, how much more important now, with a
+ population of forty millions, and increasing in a rapid ratio.
+
+ "I would therefore call upon Congress to take all the means
+ within their constitutional powers to promote and encourage
+ popular education throughout the country; and upon the people
+ everywhere to see to it that all who possess and exercise
+ political rights shall have the opportunity to acquire the
+ knowledge which will make their share in the government a
+ blessing and not a danger. By such means only can the benefits
+ contemplated by this amendment to the Constitution be secured.
+
+ "U. S. GRANT.
+
+ "EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 30, 1870."
+
+ CERTIFICATE OF MR. SECRETARY FISH RESPECTING THE RATIFICATION OF
+ THE XVTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION, MARCH 30, 1870.
+
+ "HAMILTON FISH, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+ "_To all to whom these presents may come, greeting_:
+
+ "Know ye that the Congress of the United States, on or about the
+ 27th day of February, in the year 1869, passed a resolution in
+ the words and figures following, to wit:
+
+ "A RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the
+ United States.
+
+ "_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
+ United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of
+ both houses concurring.)_ That the following article be proposed
+ to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the
+ Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by
+ three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the
+ Constitution, namely:
+
+ "ARTICLE XV.
+
+ "SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote
+ shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any
+ State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of
+ servitude.
+
+ "SEC. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
+ appropriate legislation.
+
+ "And, further, that it appears, from official documents on file
+ in this department, that the amendment to the Constitution of the
+ United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the
+ legislatures of the States of North Carolina, West Virginia,
+ Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, South
+ Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,
+ Indiana, New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, Vermont, Virginia,
+ Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota,
+ Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Texas; in all, twenty-nine States.
+
+ "And, further, that the States whose legislatures have so
+ ratified the said proposed amendment constitute three-fourths of
+ the whole number of States in the United States.
+
+ "And, further, that it appears, from an official document on file
+ in this department, that the legislature of the State of New York
+ has since passed resolutions claiming to withdraw the said
+ ratification of the said amendment which had been made by the
+ legislature of that State, and of which official notice had been
+ filed in this department.
+
+ "And, further, that it appears, from an official document on file
+ in this department, that the legislature of Georgia has by
+ resolution ratified the said proposed amendment.
+
+ "Now, therefore, be it known that I, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of
+ State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the 2d
+ section of the act of Congress, approved the 20th day of April,
+ 1818, entitled "An act to provide for the publication of the laws
+ of the United States, and for other purposes," do hereby certify,
+ that the amendment aforesaid has become valid, to all intents and
+ purposes, as part of the Constitution of the United States.
+
+ "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
+ seal of the Department of State to be affixed.
+
+ "Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of March, in the
+ year of our Lord, 1870, and of the independence of the United
+ States, the ninety-fourth.
+
+ [SEAL.]
+
+ "HAMILTON FISH."
+
+The Emancipation Proclamation itself did not call forth such genuine
+and wide-spread rejoicing as the message of President Grant. The event
+was celebrated by the Colored people in all the larger cities North
+and South. Processions, orations, music and dancing proclaimed the
+unbounded joy of the new citizen. In Philadelphia Frederick Douglass,
+Bishop Jabez P. Campbell, I. C. Wears, and others delivered eloquent
+addresses to enthusiastic audiences. Mr. Douglass deeply wounded the
+religious feelings of his race by declaring; "I shall not dwell in
+any hackneyed cant by thanking God for this deliverance which has
+been wrought out through our common humanity." A hundred pulpits, a
+hundred trenchant pens sprang at the declaration with fiery
+indignation; and it was some years before the bold orator was able to
+make himself tolerable to his people. There was little of the spirit
+of tolerance among the Colored people at the time, and upon such an
+occasion the remark was regarded as imprudent, to say the least.
+
+A new era was opened up before the Colored people. They were now for
+the first time in possession of their full political rights. On the
+25th of February, 1870, Hiram R. Revels took his seat as United States
+Senator from Mississippi. On the 9th of January, 1861, Mississippi
+passed her ordinance of secession, and Jefferson Davis resigned his
+seat as United States Senator. Within a brief decade a civil war had
+raged for four and a half years; and after the seceding Mississippi
+had passed through the refining fires of battle and had been purged of
+slavery, she sent to succeed the arch traitor a _Negro_,[123] a
+representative of the race that Mr. Davis intended to be the
+corner-stone of his new government!![124] It was God's work, and
+marvellous in the eyes of the world. But this was not all. Just one
+year from the day and hour Senator Revels took his seat in the United
+States Senate, on the 24th of February, 1871, Jefferson F. Long, a
+_Negro_, was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives from
+Georgia, the State of Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice-President of the
+Confederate States!! And then, as if to add glory to glory, the
+American Government despatched E. D. Bassett, a Colored man from
+Pennsylvania, as Minister Resident and Consul-General to Hayti! And
+with almost the same stroke of his pen, President Grant sent J. Milton
+Turner, a Colored man from Missouri, as Resident Minister and
+Consul-General to Liberia! Mr. Bassett came from Philadelphia where
+the Declaration of Independence was written and proclaimed, and where
+the noble Dr. Franklin had stood against the slavery compromises of
+the Constitution! Philadelphia, then, the birthplace of American
+Independence, had the honor of furnishing the first Negro who was to
+illustrate the lofty sentiment of the equality of _all_ men before the
+law. And the republic that Mr. Bassett went to had won diplomatic
+relations with all the civilized powers of the earth through the
+matchless valor and splendid statesmanship of Toussaint L'Ouverture.
+This was a black republic that had a history and a name among the
+peoples of the world.
+
+Mr. Turner went from Missouri, the first State to violate the
+ordinance of 1787, and to establish slavery "northwest of the Ohio"
+River. He went to a republic on the West Coast of Africa that had been
+built by the industry, intelligence, and piety of Negroes who had
+flown from the accursed influences of American slavery. The
+slave-ships had disappeared from the coast, and commercial fleets,
+from all lands came to trade with the citizens of a free republic
+whose ministers were welcomed in every court of Europe, and whose
+official acts were clothed with the authority and majesty of "_the
+Republic of Liberia_!"
+
+In this same period Frederick Douglass was made a Presidential Elector
+for the State of New York; and thus helped cast the vote of that great
+commonwealth for U. S. Grant as President, in 1872. In the chief city
+of this State the first Federal Congress met, and on the first day of
+its first session spent the entire time in discussing the slavery
+question. Through the streets of this same city Mr. Douglass had to
+skulk and hide from slave-catchers on his way from the hell of
+slavery, to the land of freedom. In this city, a few years later, he
+was hounded by a pro-slavery mob,--but at last he represented the
+popular will of its noblest citizens when they had chosen him to act
+for them in the Electoral College.
+
+Born a slave, some time during the present century, on the eastern
+shore, Maryland, in the county of Talbot, and in the district of
+Tuckahoe, Frederick Douglass was destined by nature and God to be a
+giant in the great moral agitation for the extinction of slavery and
+the redemption of his race. He came of two extremes--representative
+Negro and representative Saxon. Tall, large-boned, colossal frame,
+compact head, broad, expressive face adorned with small brown,
+mischievous eyes, nose slightly Grecian, chin square set, and thin
+lips, Frederick Douglass would attract attention upon the streets of
+any city in Europe or America. His life as a slave was studded with
+painful experiences. Early separation from his mother, neglect, and
+then cruel treatment gave to the holy cause of freedom one of its
+ablest champions, and to slavery one of its most invincible opponents.
+
+Transferred from Talbot County to Baltimore, Maryland, where he spent
+seven years, Mr. Douglass began to extend the horizon of his
+intellectual vision, and to come face to face with the hideous monster
+of slavery in the moments of reflection upon his condition in contrast
+with that of a fairer race about him. Inadvertently his mistress began
+to teach him characters of letters; but she was stopped by the advice
+of her husband, because it was thought inimical to the interest of the
+master to teach his slave. But having lighted the taper of knowledge
+in the mind of the slave boy, it was forever beyond human power to put
+it out. The incidents and surroundings of young Douglass peopled his
+brain with ideas, gave wings to his thoughts and order to his
+reasoning. The word of reproof, the angry look, and the precautions to
+prevent him from acquiring knowledge rankled in his young heart and
+covered his moral sky with thick clouds of despair. He reasoned
+himself right out of slavery, and ran away and went North.
+
+David Ruggles, a Colored gentleman of intelligence, took charge of Mr.
+Douglass in New York, and sent him to New Bedford, Massachusetts.
+Having married in New York a free Colored woman from Baltimore named
+"Anna," he was ready now to enter upon the duties of the new life as a
+freeman. He found in one Nathan Johnson, an intelligent and
+industrious Colored man of New Bedford, a warm friend, who advanced
+him a sum of money to redeem baggage held for fare, and gave him the
+name which he has since rendered illustrious.
+
+The intellectual growth of Mr. Douglass from this on was almost
+phenomenal. He devoured knowledge with avidity, and retained and
+utilized all he got. He used information as good business men use
+money. He made every idea bear interest; and now setting the music of
+his soul to the words he acquired, he soon earned a reputation as a
+gifted conversationalist and an impressive orator.
+
+In the summer of 1841 an anti-slavery convention was held at
+Nantucket, Massachusetts, under the direction of William Lloyd
+Garrison. Mr. Douglass had attended several meetings in New Bedford,
+where he had listened to a defence of his race and a denunciation of
+its oppressors. And when he heard of the forthcoming convention at
+Nantucket he resolved to take a little respite from the hard work he
+was performing in a brass foundry, and attend. Previous to this he had
+felt the warm heart of Mr. Garrison beating for the slave through the
+columns of the "Liberator"; had received a copy each week for a long
+time, had mastered its matchless arguments against slavery, and was,
+therefore, possessed with an idea of the anti-slavery cause. At
+Nantucket he was sought out of the vast audience and requested by
+William C. Coffin, of New Bedford, where he had heard the fervid
+eloquence of the young man as an exhorter in the Colored Methodist
+Church, to make a speech. The hesitancy and diffidence of Mr. Douglass
+were overcome by the importunate invitation to speak. He spoke: and
+from that hour a new sphere opened to him; from that hour he began to
+exert an influence against slavery which for a generation was second
+only to that of Mr. Garrison. He was engaged as an agent of the
+Anti-Slavery Society led by Mr. Garrison. He was taken in charge by
+George Foster, and in his company made a lecturing tour of the eastern
+tier of counties in the old Bay State. The meetings were announced a
+few days ahead of the lecturer. He was advertised as a "fugitive
+slave," as "a chattel," as "a thing" that could talk and give an
+interesting account of the cruelties of slavery. As a narrator he had
+few equals among the most polished white gentlemen of all New England.
+His white friends were charmed by the lucidity and succinctness of his
+account of his life as a slave, and always insisted upon his
+narrative. But he was more than a narrator, more than a story-teller;
+he was an orator, and in dealing with the problem of slavery proved
+himself to be a thinker. The old story of his bondage became stale to
+him. His friends' advice to keep on telling the same story could no
+longer be complied with; and dashing out of the beaten path of
+narration he began a career as an orator that has had no parallel on
+this continent. He found no adequate satisfaction in relating the
+experiences of a slave; his soul burned with a holy indignation
+against the institution of slavery. Having increased his vocabulary of
+words and his information concerning the purposes and plans of the
+Anti-Slavery Society, he was prepared to make an assault upon slavery.
+Instead of being the pupil of the anti-slavery friends who had
+furnished him a great opportunity, his close reasoning, blighting
+irony, merciless invective, and matchless eloquence made him the peer
+of any anti-slavery orator of his times. His appearance on the
+anti-slavery platform was sudden. He appeared as a new star of
+magnificent magnitude and surpassing beauty. All eyes were turned
+toward the "fugitive slave orator." His eloquence so astounded the
+people that few would believe he had ever felt the cruel touch of the
+lash. Moreover, he had withheld from the public, the State and place
+of his nativity and the circumstances of his escape. He had done this
+purposely for prudential reasons. In those days there was no
+protection that protected a fugitive slave against the slave-catcher
+assisted by the United States courts. To reveal his master's name and
+recount the exciting circumstances under which he had made his escape
+from bondage, Mr. Douglass felt was but to invite the slave-hounds to
+Massachusetts and endanger his liberty. But there were many good
+friends hard by who were ready to pay the market value of Mr. Douglass
+if a price were placed upon his flesh and blood. They urged him,
+therefore, to write out an account of his life as a slave,--to be
+specific; and to boldly mention names of places and persons. In 1845 a
+pamphlet written by Mr. Douglass, embodying the experiences of a
+"fugitive slave," was published by the Anti-Slavery Society. It
+breathed a fiery zeal into the apathy of the North, and drew the fire
+of the Southern press and people. For safety his friends sent him
+abroad. During the voyage, in accepting an invitation to deliver a
+lecture on slavery, he gave offence to some pro-slavery men who
+desired very much to feed his body to the inhabitants of the deep. But
+a resolute captain and a few friends were able to reduce the wrath of
+the Southerners to a minimum. The occurrence on shipboard duly found
+its way into the public journals of London; and the Southern gentlemen
+in an attempt to justify their conduct in a card drew upon themselves
+the wrath of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and gave Mr.
+Douglass an advertisement such as he could never have secured
+otherwise.
+
+Mr. Douglass spent nearly two years in Europe lecturing and writing in
+the cause of anti-slavery. He made a profound impression and helped
+the anti-slavery cause amazingly.
+
+During his absence he wrote an occasional letter to the editor of the
+"Liberator," and the first is, for composition, vigorous English,
+symbols of thought, similes, and irony, superior to any letter he ever
+wrote before or since. It bore date of January 1, 1846.
+
+ "MY DEAR FRIEND GARRISON: Up to this time I have given no direct
+ expression of the views, feelings, and opinions which I have
+ formed, respecting the character and condition of the people of
+ this land. I have refrained thus, purposely. I wish to speak
+ advisedly, and in order to do this, I have waited till, I trust,
+ experience has brought my opinions to an intelligent maturity. I
+ have been thus careful, not because I think what I say will have
+ much effect in shaping the opinions of the world, but because
+ whatever of influence I may possess, whether little or much, I
+ wish it to go in the right direction, and according to truth. I
+ hardly need say that, in speaking of Ireland, I shall be
+ influenced by no prejudices in favor of America. I think my
+ circumstances all forbid that. I have no end to serve, no creed
+ to uphold, no government to defend; and as to nation, I belong to
+ none. I have no protection at home, or resting-place abroad. The
+ land of my birth welcomes me to her shores only as a slave, and
+ spurns with contempt the idea of treating me differently; so that
+ I am an outcast from the society of my childhood, and an outlaw
+ in the land of my birth. 'I am a stranger with thee, and a
+ sojourner, as all my fathers were.' That men should be patriotic,
+ is to me perfectly natural; and as a philosophical fact, I am
+ able to give it an _intellectual_ recognition. But no further can
+ I go. If ever I had any patriotism, or any capacity for the
+ feeling, it was whipped out of me long since, by the lash of the
+ American soul-drivers.
+
+ "In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her
+ bright blue sky, her grand old woods, her fertile fields, her
+ beautiful rivers, her mighty lakes, and star-crowned mountains.
+ But my rapture is soon checked, my joy is soon turned to
+ mourning. When I remember that all is cursed with the infernal
+ spirit of slave-holding, robbery, and wrong; when I remember that
+ with the waters of her noblest rivers, the tears of my brethren
+ are borne to the ocean, disregarded and forgotten, and that her
+ most fertile fields drink daily of the warm blood of my outraged
+ sisters, I am filled with unutterable loathing, and led to
+ reproach myself that any thing could fall from my lips in praise
+ of such a land. America will not allow her children to love her.
+ She seems bent on compelling those who would be her warmest
+ friends, to be her worst enemies. May God give her repentance,
+ before it is too late, is the ardent prayer of my heart. I will
+ continue to pray, labor, and wait, believing that she cannot
+ always be insensible to the dictates of justice, or deaf to the
+ voice of humanity.
+
+ "My opportunities for learning the character and condition of the
+ people of this land have been very great. I have travelled almost
+ from the Hill of Howth to the Giant's Causeway, and from the
+ Giant's Causeway to Cape Clear. During these travels, I have met
+ with much in the character and condition of the people to
+ approve, and much to condemn; much that has thrilled me with
+ pleasure, and very much that has filled me with pain. I will not,
+ in this letter, attempt to give any description of those scenes
+ which have given me pain. This I will do hereafter. I have
+ enough, and more than your subscribers will be disposed to read
+ at one time, of the bright side of the picture. I can truly say,
+ I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life since
+ landing in this country. I seem to have undergone a
+ transformation. I live a new life. The warm and generous
+ cooperation extended to me by the friends of my despised race;
+ the prompt and liberal manner with which the press has rendered
+ me its aid; the glorious enthusiasm with which thousands have
+ flocked to hear the cruel wrongs of my down-trodden and
+ long-enslaved fellow-countrymen portrayed; the deep sympathy for
+ the slave, and the strong abhorrence of the slave-holder,
+ everywhere evinced; the cordiality with which members and
+ ministers of various religious bodies, and of various shades of
+ religious opinion, have embraced me, and lent me their aid; the
+ kind hospitality constantly proffered me by persons of the
+ highest rank in society; the spirit of freedom that seems to
+ animate all with whom I come in contact, and the entire absence
+ of every thing that looked like prejudice against me, on account
+ of the color of my skin--contrasted so strongly with my long and
+ bitter experience in the United States, that I look with wonder
+ and amazement on the transition. In the southern part of the
+ United States, I was a slave, thought of and spoken of as
+ property; in the language of the LAW, '_held, taken, reputed, and
+ adjudged to be a chattel in the hands of my owners and
+ possessors, and their executors, administrators, and assigns, to
+ all intents, constructions, and purposes whatsoever_.' (Brev.
+ Digest, 224.) In the northern states, a fugitive slave, liable to
+ be hunted at any moment like a felon, and to be hurled into the
+ terrible jaws of slavery-doomed by an inveterate prejudice
+ against color to insult and outrage on every hand, (Massachussetts
+ out of the question)--denied the privileges and courtesies common
+ to others in the use of the most humble means of conveyance--shut
+ out from the cabins of steamboats--refused admission to
+ respectable hotels--caricatured, scorned, scoffed, mocked, and
+ maltreated with impunity by any one, (no matter how black his
+ heart,) so he has a white skin. But now behold the change! Eleven
+ days and a half gone, and I have crossed three thousand miles of
+ the perilous deep. Instead of a democratic government, I am under
+ a monarchical government. Instead of the bright, blue sky of
+ America, I am covered with the soft, grey fog of the Emerald
+ Isle. I breathe, and lo! the chattel becomes a man. I gaze around
+ in vain for one who will question my equal humanity, claim me as
+ his slave, or offer me an insult. I employ a cab--I am seated
+ beside white people--I reach the hotel--I enter the same door--I
+ am shown into the same parlor--I dine at the same table--and no
+ one is offended.
+
+ No delicate nose grows deformed in my presence. I find no
+ difficulty here in obtaining admission into any place of worship,
+ instruction, or amusement, on equal terms with people as white as
+ any I ever saw in the United States. I meet nothing to remind me
+ of my complexion. I find myself regarded and treated at every
+ turn with the kindness and deference paid to white people. When I
+ go to church, I am met by no upturned nose and scornful lip to
+ tell me, '_We don't allow niggers in here!_'
+
+ "I remember, about two years ago, there was in Boston, near the
+ south-west corner of Boston Common, a menagerie. I had long
+ desired to see such a collection as I understood was being
+ exhibited there. Never having had an opportunity while a slave, I
+ resolved to seize this, my first, since my escape. I went, and as
+ I approached the entrance to gain admission, I was met and told
+ by the door-keeper, in a harsh and contemptuous tone, '_We don't
+ allow niggers in here!_' I also remember attending a revival
+ meeting in the Rev. Henry Jackson's meeting-house, at New
+ Bedford, and going up the broad aisle to find a seat, I was met
+ by a good deacon, who told me, in a pious tone, '_We don't allow
+ niggers in here!_' Soon after my arrival in New Bedford, from the
+ South, I had a strong desire to attend the Lyceum, but was told,
+ '_They don't allow niggers in here!_' While passing from New York
+ to Boston, on the steamer 'Massachusetts,' on the night of the
+ 9th of December, 1843, when chilled almost through with the cold,
+ I went into the cabin to get a little warm. I was soon touched
+ upon the shoulder, and told, '_We don't allow niggers in here!_'
+ On arriving in Boston, from an anti-slavery tour, hungry and
+ tired, I went into an eating-house, near my friend, Mr.
+ Campbell's, to get some refreshments. I was met by a lad in a
+ white apron, '_We don't allow niggers in here!_' A week or two
+ before leaving the United States, I had a meeting appointed at
+ Weymouth, the home of that glorious band of true abolitionists,
+ the Weston family, and others. On attempting to take a seat in
+ the omnibus to that place, I was told by the driver (and I never
+ shall forget his fiendish hate), '_I don't allow niggers in
+ here!_' Thank heaven for the respite I now enjoy! I had been in
+ Dublin but a few days, when a gentleman of great respectability
+ kindly offered to conduct me through all the public buildings of
+ that beautiful city; and a little afterward, I found myself
+ dining with the lord mayor of Dublin. What a pity there was not
+ some American democratic Christian at the door of his splendid
+ mansion, to bark out at my approach, '_They don't allow niggers
+ in here!_' The truth is, the people here know nothing of the
+ republican negro hate prevalent in our glorious land. They
+ measure and esteem men according to their moral and intellectual
+ worth, and not according to the color of their skin. Whatever may
+ be said of the aristocracies here, there is none based on the
+ color of a man's skin.
+
+ This species of aristocracy belongs preeminently to 'the land of
+ the free, and the home of the brave.' I have never found it
+ abroad, in any but Americans. It sticks to them wherever they go.
+ They find it almost as hard to get rid of, as to get rid of their
+ skins.
+
+ "The second day after my arrival at Liverpool, in company with my
+ friend, Buffum, and several other friends, I went to Eaton Hall,
+ the residence of the Marquis of Westminster, one of the most
+ splendid buildings in England. On approaching the door, I found
+ several of our American passengers, who came out with us in the
+ 'Cambria,' waiting for admission, as but one party was allowed in
+ the house at a time. We all had to wait till the company within
+ came out. And of all the faces, expressive of chagrin, those of
+ the Americans were preeminent. They looked as sour as vinegar,
+ and as bitter as gall, when they found I was to be admitted on
+ equal terms with themselves. When the door was opened, I walked
+ in, on an equal footing with my white fellow-citizens, and from
+ all I could see, I had as much attention paid me by the servants
+ that showed us through the house, as any with a paler skin. As I
+ walked through the building, the statuary did not fall down, the
+ pictures did not leap from their places, the doors did not refuse
+ to open, and the servants did not say, '_We don't allow niggers
+ in here_.'
+
+ "A happy new year to you, and all the friends of freedom."
+
+During the time of his visit in Europe a few friends, under the
+inspiration of one Mrs. Henry Richardson, raised money, purchased Mr.
+Douglass, and placed his freedom papers in his hands. The documents
+are of quaint historic value.
+
+ "The following is a copy of these curious papers, both of my
+ transfer from Thomas to Hugh Auld, and from Hugh to myself:
+
+ "Know all men by these Presents, That I, Thomas Auld, of Talbot
+ county, and state of Maryland, for and in consideration of the
+ sum of one hundred dollars, current money, to me paid by Hugh
+ Auld, of the city of Baltimore, in the said state, at and before
+ the sealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof,
+ I, the said Thomas Auld, do hereby acknowledge, have granted,
+ bargained, and sold, and by these presents do grant, bargain, and
+ sell unto the said Hugh Auld, his executors, administrators, and
+ assigns, ONE NEGRO MAN, by the name of FREDERICK BAILY, or
+ DOUGLASS, as he calls himself--he is now about twenty-eight years
+ of age--to have and to hold the said negro man for life. And I,
+ the said Thomas Auld, for myself, my heirs, executors, and
+ administrators, all and singular, the said FREDERICK BAILY,
+ _alias_ DOUGLASS, unto the said Hugh Auld, his executors,
+ administrators, and assigns, against me, the said Thomas Auld, my
+ executors, and administrators, and against all and every other
+ person or persons whatsoever, shall and will warrant and forever
+ defend by these presents. In witness whereof, I set my hand and
+ seal, this thirteenth day of November, eighteen hundred and
+ forty-six.
+
+ THOMAS AULD.
+
+ "Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of Wrightson Jones.
+ "JOHN C. LEAS."
+
+ "The authenticity of this bill of sale is attested by N.
+ Harrington, a justice of the peace of the state of Maryland, and
+ for the county of Talbot, dated same day as above.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "To all whom it may concern: Be it known, that I, Hugh Auld, of
+ the city of Baltimore, in Baltimore county, in the state of
+ Maryland, for divers good causes and considerations, me thereunto
+ moving, have released from slavery, liberated, manumitted, and
+ set free, and by these presents do hereby release from slavery,
+ liberate, manumit, and set free, MY NEGRO MAN, named FREDERICK
+ BAILY, otherwise called DOUGLASS, being of the age of
+ twenty-eight years, or thereabouts, and able to work and gain a
+ sufficient livelihood and maintenance; and him the said negro
+ man, named FREDERICK BAILY, otherwise called FREDERICK DOUGLASS,
+ I do declare to be henceforth free, manumitted, and discharged
+ from all manner of servitude to me, my executors, and
+ administrators forever.
+
+ "In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Auld, have hereunto set my
+ hand and seal, the fifth of December, in the year one thousand
+ eight hundred and forty-six.
+
+ HUGH AULD.
+
+ "Sealed and delivered in presence of T. Hanson Belt.
+ "JAMES N. S. T. WRIGHT."
+
+Mr. Douglass had returned to America, but the truths he proclaimed in
+England, Ireland, and Scotland echoed adown their mountains, and
+reverberated among their hills. The Church of Scotland and the press
+of England were distressed with the problem of slavery. The public
+conscience had been touched, and there was "no rest for the wicked."
+Mr. Douglass had received his name--Douglass--from Nathan Johnson, of
+New Bedford, Massachusetts, because he had just been reading about the
+virtuous Douglass in the works of Sir Walter Scott. How wonderful
+then, in the light of a few years, that a fugitive slave from America,
+bearing one of the most powerful names in Scotland should lean against
+the pillars of the _Free Church of Scotland_, and meet and vanquish
+its brightest and ablest teachers (the friends of slavery,
+unfortunately), Doctors Cunningham and Candlish!
+
+It will be remembered that Mr. Garrison had built his school upon the
+fundamental idea that slavery was constitutional; and that in order to
+secure the overthrow of the institution he was compelled to do his
+work outside of the Constitution; and to effect the good desired, the
+Union should be dissolved. With these views Mr. Douglass had coincided
+at first, and into the ranks of this party he had entered. But upon
+his return from England he changed his residence and views about the
+same time, and established his home and a newspaper in Rochester, New
+York State. Mr. Douglass gave his reasons for leaving the Garrisonian
+party as follows:
+
+ "About four years ago, upon a reconsideration of the whole
+ subject, I became convinced that there was no necessity for
+ dissolving the 'union between the northern and southern states';
+ that to seek this dissolution was no part of my duty as an
+ abolitionist; that to abstain from voting, was to refuse to
+ exercise a legitimate and powerful means for abolishing slavery;
+ and that the constitution of the United States not only contained
+ no guarantees in favor of slavery, but, on the contrary, it is,
+ in its letter and spirit, an anti-slavery instrument, demanding
+ the abolition of slavery as a condition of its own existence, as
+ the supreme law of the land."[125]
+
+It was charged by some persons that for financial reasons Mr. Douglass
+changed his views and residence; that the Garrisonians were poor; but
+that Gerrit Smith was rich; and that he assisted Mr. Douglass in
+establishing the "North Star," a weekly paper. But Mr. Douglass was a
+man of boldness of thought and independence of character; and whatever
+the motives were which led him away from his early friends he at least
+deserved credit for possessing the courage necessary to such a change.
+But Mr. Douglass was not the only anti-slavery man who imagined that
+the Constitution was an anti-slavery instrument. This was the error of
+Charles Sumner. Slavery was as legal as the right of the Government to
+coin money. As has been shown already, it was recognized and protected
+by law when the British sceptre ruled the colonies; it was recognized
+by all the courts during the Confederacy; it was acknowledged as a
+legal fact by the Treaty of Paris of 1782, and of Ghent in 1814: the
+gentlemen who framed the Constitution fixed the basis of
+representation in Congress upon three fifths of the slaves; and gave
+the owners of slaves a fugitive slave law, at the birth of the
+nation, by which to hunt their slaves in all the States and
+Territories of North America. But Mr. Douglass lived long enough to
+see that he was wrong and Mr. Garrison right; that the dissolution of
+the Union was the only way to free his race. In his way he did his
+part as faithfully and as honestly as any of his brethren in either
+one of the anti-slavery parties.
+
+Having established a reputation as an orator in England and America;
+and having lifted over the tangled path of his fugitive brethren the
+unerring, friendly "North Star," he now turned his attention to
+debating. It was a matter of regret that two such powerful and
+accomplished orators as Frederick Douglass and Samuel Ringgold Ward
+should have taken up so much precious time in splitting hairs on the
+constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery. Perhaps it did
+good. It certainly did the men good. It was an education to them, and
+exciting to their audiences. Mr. Douglass's forte was in oratory; in
+exposing the hideousness of slavery and the wrongs of his race. Mr.
+Ward--a _protege_ of Gerrit Smith's--was scholarly, thoughtful,
+logical, and eloquent. Mr. Douglass was generally worsted in debate,
+but always triumphant in oratory. A careful study of Mr. Douglass's
+speeches from the time he began his career as a public speaker down to
+the present time reveals wonderful progress in their grammatical and
+synthetical structure. He grew all the time. On the 12th of May, 1846,
+he delivered a speech at Finsbury Chapel, Moorfields, England, from
+which the following is extracted:
+
+ "All the slaveholder asks of me is silence. He does not ask me to
+ go abroad and preach _in favor_ of slavery; he does not ask any
+ one to do that. He would not say that slavery is a good thing,
+ but the best under the circumstances. The slaveholders want total
+ darkness on the subject. They want the hatchway shut down, that
+ the monster may crawl in his den of darkness, crushing human
+ hopes and happiness, destroying the bondman at will, and having
+ no one to reprove or rebuke him. Slavery shrinks from the light;
+ it hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest its deeds
+ should be reproved. To tear off the mask from this abominable
+ system, to expose it to the light of heaven, aye, to the heat of
+ the sun, that it may burn and wither it out of existence, is my
+ object in coining to this country. I want the slaveholder
+ surrounded, as by a wall of anti-slavery fire, so that he may see
+ the condemnation of himself and his system glaring down in
+ letters of light. I want him to feel that he has no sympathy in
+ England, Scotland, or Ireland; that he has none in Canada, none
+ in Mexico, none among the poor wild Indians; that the voice of
+ the civilized, aye, and savage world is against him. I would have
+ condemnation blaze down upon him in every direction, till,
+ stunned and overwhelmed with shame and confusion, he is compelled
+ to let go the grasp he holds upon the persons of his victims, and
+ restore them to their long-lost rights."
+
+This was in 1846. On the 5th of July, 1852, at Rochester, New York,
+he, perhaps, made the most effective speech of his life. The poet
+Sheridan has written: "Eloquence consists in the man, the subject, and
+the occasion." None of these conditions were wanting. There was the
+man, the incomparable Douglass; the wrongs of slavery was his subject;
+and the occasion was the 4th of July.
+
+ "FELLOW-CITIZENS:--Pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I
+ called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I
+ represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great
+ principles of political freedom and of natural justice embodied
+ in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I,
+ therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the
+ national altar, and to confess the benefits, and express devout
+ gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to
+ us?
+
+ "Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative
+ answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then
+ would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. For
+ who is there so cold, that a nation's sympathy could not warm
+ him? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that
+ would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? Who so
+ stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the
+ hallelujahs of a nation's jubilee, when the chains of servitude
+ had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man. In a case like
+ that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the 'lame man leap as
+ an hart.'
+
+ "But, such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad
+ sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the
+ pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only
+ reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in
+ which you this day rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich
+ inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence,
+ bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The
+ sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought
+ stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is _yours_, not
+ _mine_. _You_ may rejoice, _I_ must mourn. To drag a man in
+ fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call
+ upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and
+ sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking
+ me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct.
+ And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a
+ nation whose crimes, towering up to heaven, were thrown down by
+ the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrecoverable
+ ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and
+ woe-smitten people.
+
+ "'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when
+ we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the
+ midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive
+ required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us
+ mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we
+ sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O
+ Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not
+ remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.'
+
+ "Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the
+ mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous
+ yesterday, are to-day rendered more intolerable by the jubilant
+ shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully
+ remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, 'may my
+ right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the
+ roof of my mouth!' To forget them, to pass lightly over their
+ wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason
+ most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before
+ God and the world. My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN
+ SLAVERY. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics
+ from the slave's point of view. Standing there, identified with
+ the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate
+ to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of
+ this nation never looked blacker to me than on this Fourth of
+ July. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the
+ professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems
+ equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past,
+ false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to
+ the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave
+ on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is
+ outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name
+ of the Constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and
+ trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all
+ the emphasis I can command, every thing that serves to perpetuate
+ slavery--the great sin and shame of America! 'I will not
+ equivocate; I will not excuse'; I will use the severest language
+ I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man,
+ whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at
+ heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just."
+
+His speech in England was labored, heavy, and some portions of it
+ambitious. But here are measured sentences, graceful transitions,
+truth made forcible, and the oratory refined. Thus he went on from
+good to better, until the managers of leading lecture-courses of the
+land felt that the season would not be a success without Frederick
+Douglass. He began to venture into deeper water; to expound problems
+not exactly in line with the only theme that he was complete master
+of. His attempts at wit usually missed fire. He could not be funny. He
+was in earnest from the first moment the light broke into his mind in
+Baltimore. He was rarely eloquent except when denouncing slavery. He
+was not at his best in abstract thought: too much logic dampened his
+enthusiasm; and an attempt at elaborate preparation weakened his
+discourse. He was majestic when speaking of the insults he had
+received or the wrongs his race were suffering. Martin Luther said
+during the religious struggle in Germany for freedom of thought:
+"Sorrow has pressed many sweet songs out of me." It was the sorrows of
+the child-heart of Douglass the chattel, and the sorrows of the great
+man-heart of Douglass the human being, that gave the world such
+remarkable eloquence. There were but two chords in his soul that could
+yield a rich sound, viz.: sorrow and indignation. Sorrow for the
+helpless slave, and indignation against the heartless master, made him
+grand, majestic, and eloquent beyond comparison.
+
+Although he was going constantly he saved his means, and raised a
+family of two girls--one dying in her teens, an affliction he took
+deeply to heart--and three boys. When the war was on at high tide, and
+Colored soldiers required, he gave all he had, three stalwart boys,
+while he made it very uncomfortable for the Copperheads at home. At
+the close of the war he moved to Washington and became deeply
+interested in the practical work of reconstruction. He was appointed
+one of the Commissioners to visit San Domingo, when General Grant
+recommended its annexation to the United States; was a trustee of
+Howard University and of the Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust
+Company. Unfortunately he accepted the presidency of the latter
+institution after nearly all the thieves had got through with it, and
+was its official head when the crash and ruin came.
+
+Mr. Douglass's home[126] life has been pure and elevated. He has done
+well by his boys; and has aided many young men to places of usefulness
+and profit. He strangely and violently opposed the exodus of his race
+from the South, and thereby incurred the opposition of the Northern
+press and the anathemas of the Colored people. It was not just the
+thing, men said--white and black,--for a man who had been a slave in
+the South, and had come North to find a market for his labor, to
+oppose his brethren in their flight from economic slavery and the
+shot-gun policy of the South. His efforts to state and justify his
+position before the Colored people of New York were received with an
+impatient air and tolerated even for the time with ill grace. Before
+the Social Science Congress at Saratoga, New York, he met Richard T.
+Greener, a young Colored man, in a discussion of this subject. But Mr.
+Greener, a son of Harvard College, with a keen and merciless logic,
+cut right through the sophistries of Mr. Douglass; and although the
+latter gentleman threw bouquets at the audience, and indulged in the
+most exquisite word-painting, he was compelled to leave the field a
+vanquished disputant.
+
+President Hayes appointed Mr. Douglass United States Marshall for the
+District of Columbia, an office which he held until President Garfield
+made him Recorder of Deeds for the same district. He has accumulated a
+comfortable little fortune, has published three books, edited two
+newspapers, passed through a checkered and busy life; and to-day, full
+of honors and years, he stands confessedly as the first man of his
+race in North America. Not that he is the greatest in every sense; but
+considering "the depths from whence he came," the work he has
+accomplished, the character untarnished,--his memory and character,
+like the granite shaft, will have an enduring and undying place in the
+gratitude of humanity throughout the world.
+
+Among the representative young men of color in the United States--and
+now, happily in the process of time, their name is legion--Richard
+Theodore Greener has undisputed standing. He was born in Pennsylvania
+in 1844, but spent most of his life in Massachusetts. His father and
+grandfather were men of unusual intelligence, social energy, and
+public spirit. Richard T. early manifested an eagerness to learn and a
+capacity to retain and utilize. He enjoyed better surroundings in
+childhood than the average Colored child a generation ago; and always
+accustomed to hear the English correctly spoken, he had in himself
+all the required conditions to acquire a thorough education. Having
+obtained a start in the common schools, he turned to Oberlin College,
+Lorain County, Ohio,--at that time an institution toward which the
+Colored people of the country were very partial, and whose
+anti-slavery professors they loved with wonderful tenderness. For some
+of these professors, in the _Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case_, had
+preferred imprisonment in preference to obedience to the unholy
+fugitive-slave law. The years of 1862-3 were spent at Oberlin, and Mr.
+Greener showed himself an excellent student. His ambition was to excel
+in every thing. Not exactly satisfied with the course of studies at
+Oberlin, he went to Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. This
+institution was a feeder for Harvard, and using uniform text-books he
+was placed in line and harmony with the course of studies to be
+pursued at Cambridge. He entered Harvard College in the autumn of
+1865, and graduated with high honors in 1870.[127] He was the first of
+his race to enter this famous university, and while there did himself
+credit, and honored the race from which he sprang. All his
+performances were creditable. He won a second prize for reading aloud
+in his freshman year; in his sophomore year he won the first prize for
+the Boylston Declamation, notwithstanding members of the junior and
+senior classes contested. During his junior year he did not contest,
+preferring to tutor two of the competitors who were successful. In his
+senior year he won the two highest prizes, viz: the First Bowdoin for
+a Dissertation on "The Tenures of Land in Ireland," and the "Boylston
+Prize for Oratory."
+
+The entrance, achievements, and graduation of Mr. Greener received the
+thoughtful and grateful attention of the press of Europe and America;
+while what he did was a stimulating example to the young men of his
+race in the United States.
+
+At the time of his graduation there was a great demand for and a
+wide-spread need of educated Colored men as teachers. The Institute
+for Colored Youth, in Philadelphia, had been but recently deprived of
+its principal, Prof. E. D. Bassett, who had been sent as Resident
+Minister and Consul-General to the Republic of Hayti. Mr. Greener was
+called to take the chair vacated by Mr. Bassett. He was principal of
+this institution from Sept., 1870, to Dec., 1872. From Philadelphia he
+was called to fill a similar position in Sumner High School, at
+Washington, D. C. He did not remain long in Washington. His fame as an
+educator had grown until he was celebrated as a teacher throughout the
+country. He was offered and accepted the Chair of Metaphysics and
+Logic in the University of South Carolina, situate at Columbia. He
+remained here until 1877, when the Hampton Government found no virtue
+in a Negro as a teacher in an institution of the fame and standing of
+this university. In 1877 he was made Dean of the Law Department of
+Howard University, Washington, D. C., and held the position until
+1880. He graduated from the Law School of the University of South
+Carolina, and has practised in Washington since his residence there.
+In addition to his work as teacher, lawyer, and orator, Prof. Greener
+was associate editor of the _New National Era_ at Washington, D. C.,
+and his editorial _Young Men to the Front_, gave him a reputation as a
+progressive and aggressive leader which he has sustained ever since
+with marked ability.
+
+As a political speaker he began while in college, in 1868, and has
+continued down to the present time. He is a pleasant speaker, and
+acceptable and efficient in a campaign. As an orator and writer he
+excels. His early style was burdened, like that of the late Charles
+Sumner, with a too-abundant classical illustration and quotation; but
+during the last five years his illustrations are drawn largely from
+the English classics and history. His ablest effort at oratory was his
+oration on _Charles Sumner, the Idealist, Statesman, and Scholar_. It
+was by all odds the finest effort of its kind delivered in this
+country. It was eminently fitting that a representative of the race
+toward whose elevation Mr. Sumner contributed his splendid talents,
+and a graduate from the same College that honored Sumner, and from the
+State that gave him birth and opportunity, should give the true
+analysis of his noble life and spotless character.
+
+In the "National Quarterly Review" for July, 1880, Prof. Greener
+replied to an article from the pen of Mr. James Parton on _Antipathy
+to the Negro_, published in the "North American Review." Prof.
+Greener's theme was _The Intellectual Position of the Negro_. The
+following paragraphs give a fair idea of the style of Mr. Greener:
+
+ "The writer himself appears not to feel such an antipathy to us
+ that it must need find expression; for his liberality is well
+ known to those who have read his writings for the past fifteen
+ years. Nor is there any apparent ground for its appearance
+ because of any new or startling exhibitions of _antipathia_
+ against us noticeable at the present time. No argument was needed
+ to prove that there has been an unreasonable and unreasoning
+ prejudice against negroes as a class, a long-existing antipathy,
+ seemingly, ineradicable, sometimes dying out it would appear, and
+ then bursting forth afresh from no apparent cause. If Mr. Parton
+ means to assert that such prejudice is ineradicable, or is
+ increasing, or is even rapidly passing away, then is his venture
+ insufficient, because it fails to support either of these views.
+ It does not even attempt to show that the supposed antipathy is
+ general, for the author expressly, and, we think, very properly,
+ relegates its exercise to those whom he calls the most
+ ignorant--the 'meanest' of mankind.
+
+ "If his intention was to attack a senseless antipathy, hold it up
+ to ridicule, show its absurdity, analyze its constituent parts,
+ and suggest some easy and safe way for Americans to rid
+ themselves of unchristian and un-American prejudices, then has he
+ again conspicuously failed to carry out such purpose. He asserts
+ the existence of antipathies, but only by inference does he
+ discourage their maintenance, although on other topics he is
+ rather outspoken whenever he cares to express his own
+ convictions.
+
+ "On this question Mr. Parton is, to say the least, vacillating,
+ because he fails to exhibit any platform upon which we may combat
+ those who support early prejudices and justify their continuance
+ from the mere fact of their existence. We never expect Mr.
+ Gayarre and Mr. Henry Watterson to look calmly and
+ dispassionately at these questions from the negro's point of
+ view. The one gives us the old argument of De Bow's _Review_, and
+ the other deals out the _ex parte_ views of the present leaders
+ of the South. The one line of argument has been answered over and
+ over again by the old anti-slavery leaders; the pungent
+ generalizations of the latter, the present generation of negroes
+ can answer whenever the opportunity is afforded them.
+
+ "But Mr. Parton was born in a cooler and calmer atmosphere, where
+ men are accustomed to give a reason for the faith that is in
+ them, and hence it is necessary, in opening any discussion such
+ as he had provoked, that he should assign some ground of
+ opposition or support--Christian, Pagan, utilitarian,
+ constitutional, optimist, or pessimist.
+
+ "The very apparent friendliness of his intentions makes even a
+ legitimate conclusion from him seem mere conjecture, likely to be
+ successfully controverted by any subtle thinker and opponent. No
+ definite conclusion is, indeed, reached with regard to the first
+ query (Jefferson's fourteenth) with which Mr. Parton opens his
+ article: Whether the white and black races can live together on
+ this continent as equals. He lets us see at the close,
+ incidentally only, what his opinion is, and it inclines to the
+ negative. But throughout the article he is in the anomalous and
+ dubious position of one who opens a discussion which he cannot
+ end, and the logical result of whose own opinion he dares not
+ boldly state. The illustrations of the early opinions of Madison
+ and Jefferson only show how permanent a factor the negro is in
+ American history and polity, and how utterly futile are all
+ attempts at his expatriation. Following Mr. Parton's advice, the
+ negro has always prudently abstained from putting 'himself
+ against inexorable facts.' He is careful, however, to make sure
+ of two things,--that the alleged facts are verities and that they
+ are inexorable. Prejudice we acknowledge as a fact; but we know
+ that it is neither an ineradicable nor an inexorable one. We find
+ fault with Mr. Parton because he starts a trail on antipathy,
+ evidently purposeless, and fails to track it down either
+ systematically or persistently, but branches off, _desipere in
+ loco_, to talk loosely of 'physical antipathy,' meaning what we
+ usually term natural antipathy; and at last, emerging from the
+ 'brush,' where he has been hopelessly beating about from Pliny to
+ Mrs. Kemble, he gains a partial 'open' once more by asserting a
+ truism--that it is the 'ignorance of a despised class' (the lack
+ of knowledge we have of them) which nourishes these 'insensate
+ antipathies.' Here we are at one with Mr. Parton. Those who know
+ us most intimately, who have associated with us in the nursery,
+ at school, in college, in trade, in the tenderer and confidential
+ relations of life, in health, in sickness, and in death, as
+ trusted guides, as brave soldiers, as magnanimous enemies, as
+ educated and respected men and women, give up all senseless
+ antipathies, and feel ashamed to Confess they ever cherished any
+ prejudice against a race whose record is as unsullied as that of
+ any in the land."
+
+The following passages from a most brilliant speech at the Dinner of
+the Harvard Club of New York, exhibit a pure, perspicuous, and
+charming style:
+
+ "What Sir John Coleridge in his 'Life of Keble' says of the
+ traditions and influences of Oxford, each son of Harvard must
+ feel is true also of Cambridge. The traditions, the patriotic
+ record, and the scholarly attainments of her alumni are the pride
+ of the College. Her contribution to letters, to statesmanship,
+ and to active business life, will keep her memory perennially
+ green. Not one of the humblest of her children, who has felt the
+ touch of her pure spirit, or enjoyed the benefits of her culture,
+ can fail to remember what she expects of her sons wherever they
+ may be: to stand fast for good government, to maintain the
+ right, to uphold honesty and character, to be, if nothing else,
+ good citizens, and to perform, to the extent of their ability,
+ every duty assumed or imposed upon them,--democratic in their
+ aristocracy, catholic in their liberality, impartial in judgment,
+ and uncompromising in their convictions of duty. [Cheers and
+ applause.]
+
+ "Harvard's impartiality was not demonstrated solely by my
+ admission to the College. In 1770, when Crispus Attucks died a
+ patriot martyr on State Street, she answered the rising spirit of
+ independence and liberty by abolishing all distinctions founded
+ upon color, blood, and rank. Since that day, there has been but
+ one test for all. Ability, character, and merit,--these are the
+ sole passports to her favor. [Applause.]
+
+ "When, in my adopted State, I stood on the battered ramparts of
+ Wagner, and recalled the fair-haired son of Harvard who died
+ there with his brave black troops of Massachusetts,--
+
+ "'him who, deadly hurt, agen
+ Flashed on afore the charge's thunder,
+ Tippin' with fire the bolt of men,
+ Thet rived the Rebel line asunder,'--
+
+ I thanked God, with patriotic pleasure, that the first contingent
+ of negro troops from the North should have been led to death and
+ fame by an alumnus of Harvard; and I remembered, with additional
+ pride of race and college, that the first regiment of black
+ troops raised on South Carolina soil were taught to drill, to
+ fight, to plough, and to read by a brave, eloquent, and scholarly
+ descendant of the Puritans and of Harvard, Thomas Wentworth
+ Higginson. [Great applause and cheers.]
+
+ "Is it strange, then, brothers, that I there resolved for myself
+ to maintain the standard of the College, so far as I was able, in
+ public and in private life? I am honored by the invitation to be
+ present here to-night. Around me I see faces I have not looked
+ upon for a decade. Many are the intimacies of the College, the
+ society, the buskin, and the oar which they bring up, from
+ classmates and college friends. I miss, as all Harvard men must
+ miss to-night, the venerable and kindly figure of Andrew Preston
+ Peabody, the student's friend, the consoler of the plucked, the
+ encourager of the strong, Maecenas's benign almoner, the
+ felicitous exponent of Harvard's Congregational Unitarianism. I
+ miss, too, another of high scholarship, of rare poetic taste, of
+ broad liberality--my personal friend, Elbridge Jefferson Cutler,
+ loved alike by students and his fellow-members of the Faculty for
+ his conscientious performance of duty and his genial nature.
+
+ "Mr. President and brothers, my time is up. I give you 'Fair
+ Harvard,' the exemplar, the prototype of that ideal America, of
+ which the greatest American poet has written,--
+
+ "'Thou, taught by Fate to know Jehovah's plan,
+ Thet man's devices can't unmake a man,
+ An' whose free latch-string never was drawed in
+ Against the poorest child of Adam's kin."
+
+ "[Great applause.]"
+
+Prof. Greener rendered legal services in the case of Cadet Whittaker
+at West Point, and in the trial at New York City, where, as associate
+counsel with ex-Gov. Chamberlain,--an able lawyer and a magnificent
+orator,--he developed ability and industry as an attorney, and earned
+the gratitude of his race.
+
+Prof. Greener entered Harvard as a member of the Baptist Church; but
+the transcendentalism and rationalism of the place quite swept him
+from his spiritual moorings. In a recent address before a literary
+society in Washington, D. C., he is represented to have maintained
+that Mohammedanism was better for the indigenous races of Africa than
+Christianity. Dr. John William Draper made a similar mistake in his
+"_Conflict between Religion and Science!_" The learned doctor should
+have written "Conflict between the Church and Science." Religion is
+not and never was at war with science. Prof. Greener should have
+written, "Mohammedanism better for the Africans than Snake Worship."
+This brilliant young man cannot afford to attempt to exalt
+Mohammedanism above the cross of our dear Redeemer, and expect to have
+leadership in the Negro race in America. Nor can he support the
+detestable ideas and execrable philosophy of Senator John P. Jones,
+which seek to shut out the Chinaman from free America. The Negro must
+stand by the weak in a fight like this, remembering the pit from which
+he was dug. But Prof. Greener is young as well as talented; and seeing
+his mistake, will place himself in harmony with not only the rights of
+his race, but those of humanity everywhere.
+
+Blanche K. Bruce was born a slave on a plantation in Prince Edward
+County, Virginia, March 1, 1841, and in the very month and week of the
+anniversary of his birth he was sworn in as United States Senator from
+Mississippi. Reared a slave there was nothing in his early life of an
+unusual nature. He secured his freedom at the end of the war, and
+immediately sought the opportunities and privileges that would, if
+properly used, fit him for his new life as a man and a citizen. He
+went to Oberlin College where, in the Preparatory Department, he
+applied himself to his studies, attached himself to his classmates by
+charming personal manners, and gentlemanly deportment. He realized
+that there were many splendid opportunities awaiting young men of
+color at the South; and that profitable positions were going begging.
+
+Mr. Bruce made his appearance in Mississippi at an opportune moment.
+The State was just undergoing a process of reconstruction. He appeared
+at the capital, Jackson, with seventy-five cents in his pocket; was a
+stranger to every person in the city. He mingled in the great throng,
+joined in the discussions that took place by little knots of
+politicians, made every man his friend to whom he talked, and when the
+State Senate was organized secured the position of Sergeant-at-arms.
+He attracted the attention of Gov. Alcorn, who appointed him a member
+of his staff with the rank of colonel. Col. Bruce was not merely
+Sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, but was a power behind that body. His
+intelligence, his knowledge of the character of the legislation needed
+for the people of Mississippi, and the excellent impression he made
+upon the members, gave him great power in suggesting and influencing
+legislation.
+
+The sheriffs of Mississippi were not elected in those days; and the
+Governor had to look a good ways to find the proper men for such
+positions. His faith in Col. Bruce as a man and an officer led him to
+select him to be sheriff of Bolivar County. Col. Bruce discharged the
+delicate duties of his office with eminent ability, and attained a
+popularity very remarkable under the circumstances.
+
+During this time, while other politicians were dropping their money at
+the gaming-table and in the wine cup, Col. Bruce was saving his funds,
+and after purchasing a splendid farm at Floraville, on the Mississippi
+River, he made cautious and profitable investments in property and
+bonds. His executive ability was marvellous, and his successful
+management of his own business and that of the people of the county
+made him friends among all classes and in both political parties. He
+was appointed tax-collector for his county, a position that was
+calculated to tax the most accomplished financier and business man in
+the State. But Col. Bruce took to the position rare abilities, and
+managed his office with such matchless skill, that when the term of
+Henry R. Pease expired, he was chosen United States Senator from
+Mississippi on the third of February, 1875, for the constitutional
+term of six years. He took his seat on the 4th of March, 1875.
+
+He did nothing in the line of oratory while in the Senate. That was
+not his forte. He was an excellent worker, a faithful committee-man,
+and finally was chairman of the Committee on the Freedman's Savings
+Bank, etc. Mr. Bruce was chairman of the Committee on Mississippi
+Levees, where he performed good work. He presided over the Senate with
+dignity several times. To the charge that he was a "silent Senator,"
+it may be observed that it was infinitely better that he remained
+silent, than in breaking the silence to exhibit a mental feebleness in
+attempting to handle problems to which most of the Senators had given
+years of patient study. His conduct was admirable; his discretion
+wise; his service faithful, and his influence upon the honorable
+Senate and the country at large beneficial to himself and helpful to
+his race.
+
+In the convention of the Republican party at Chicago, in 1880, he was
+a candidate for Vice-President. In the spring of 1881, after the close
+of his senatorial career the President nominated him to be Register of
+the United States Treasury, and the nomination was confirmed without
+reference, after a complimentary speech from his associate, Senator L.
+Q. C. Lamar. He has appeared as a political speaker on several
+occasions. As nature did not intend him for this work, his efforts
+appear to be the products of hard labor, but nevertheless excellent;
+his estimable and scholarly wife (_nee_ Miss Wilson, of Cleveland,
+Ohio) has been a great blessing to him;--a good wife and a helpful
+companion. From a penniless slave he has risen to the position of
+writing his name upon the currency of the country. Register Bruce is a
+genial gentleman, a fast friend, and an able officer.
+
+John Mercer Langston was born a slave in Virginia; is a graduate of
+Oberlin College and Theological Institution, and as a lawyer, college
+president, foreign minister, and politician, has exerted a wide
+influence for the good of his race. As Secretary of the Board of
+Health for the District of Columbia, and as President of the Howard
+University, he displayed remarkable executive ability and sound
+business judgment. He is one of the bravest of the brave in public
+matters, and his influence upon young Colored men has been wide-spread
+and admirable. He is now serving as Resident Minister and
+Consul-General to Hayti; and ranks among the best diplomats of our
+Government.
+
+In Massachusetts, Charles L. Mitchell, George L. Ruffin, John J.
+Smith, J. B. Smith, and Wm. J. Walker have been members of the
+Legislature. In Illinois, a Colored man has held a position in the
+Board of Commissioners for Cook County--Chicago; and one has been sent
+to the Legislature. In Ohio, two Colored men have been members of the
+Legislature, one from Cincinnati and the other from Cleveland. Gov.
+Charles Foster was the first Executive in any of the Northern States
+to appoint a Colored man to a responsible position; and in this, as in
+nearly every other thing, Ohio has taken the lead. The present member
+(John P. Green) of the Legislature of Ohio representing Cuyahoga
+County, is a young man of excellent abilities both as a lawyer and as
+an orator. John P. Green was born at New Berne, North Carolina, April
+2, 1845, of free parents. His father died in 1850, and his widow was
+left to small resources in raising her family. But being an excellent
+seamstress she did very well for her five-year-old son, while she had
+an infant in her arms.
+
+In 1857 Mrs. Green moved to Ohio and located at Cleveland. Her son
+John was now able and willing to assist his mother some; and so as an
+errand-boy he hired himself out for $4 per month. He obtained about a
+year and one half of instruction in the common schools, and did well.
+In 1862 he became a waiter in a hotel, and spent every leisure moment
+in study. He succeeded in learning something of Latin and Algebra,
+without a teacher.
+
+Mr. Green had acquired an excellent style of composition, and to
+secure funds with which to complete his education, he wrote and
+published a pamphlet containing _Essays on Miscellaneous Subjects_, by
+a self-educated Colored youth. He sold about 1,500 copies in Ohio,
+Pennsylvania, and New York, and then entered the Cleveland Central
+High School. He completed a four years' classical course in two years,
+two terms, and two months. He graduated at the head of a class of
+twenty-three. He entered the law office of Judge Jesse P. Bishop, and
+in 1870 graduated from the Cleveland Law School. He turned his face
+Southward, and having settled in South Carolina, began the practice of
+law, which was attended with great success. But the climate was not
+agreeable to his health, and in 1872 he returned to the scenes of his
+early toils and struggles. He became a practising attorney in
+Cleveland, and in the spring of 1873 was elected a justice of the
+peace for Cuyahoga County by a majority of 3,000 votes. He served
+three terms as a justice, and in eight years of service as such
+decided more than 12,000 cases. As a justice he has had no equal for
+many years. In 1877 he was nominated for the Legislature, but was
+defeated by sixty-two votes. In 1881 he was again before the people
+for the Legislature, and was elected by a handsome majority.
+
+Mr. Green is rather a remarkable young man; and with good health and a
+fair field he is bound to make a success. He will bear comparison with
+any of his associates in the Legislature; and, as a clear, impressive
+speaker, has few equals in that body.
+
+There are yet at least one hundred representative men of color worthy
+of the places they hold in the respect and confidence of their race
+and the country. Their number is rapidly increasing; and ere many
+years there will be no lack of representative Colored men.[128]
+
+Colored women had fewer privileges of education before the war, and
+indeed since the war, than the men of their race, yet, nevertheless,
+many of these women have shown themselves capable and useful.
+
+
+FRANCES ELLEN HARPER
+
+was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1825. She was not permitted to
+enjoy the blessings of early educational training, but in after-years
+proved herself to be a woman of most remarkable intellectual powers.
+She applied herself to study, most assiduously; and when she had
+reached woman's estate was well educated.
+
+She developed early a fondness for poetry, which she has since
+cultivated; and some of her efforts are not without merit. She excels
+as an essayist and lecturer. She has been heard upon many of the
+leading lecture platforms of the country; and her efforts to elevate
+her sisters have been crowned with most signal success.
+
+
+MARY ANN SHADD CAREY,
+
+of Delaware, but more recently of Washington, D. C., as a lecturer,
+writer, and school teacher, has done and is doing a great deal for the
+educational and social advancement of the Colored people.
+
+
+FANNY M. JACKSON--
+
+at present Mrs. Fanny M. Jackson Coppin--was born in the District of
+Columbia, in 1837. Though left an orphan when quite a child, Mrs.
+Sarah Clark, her aunt, took charge of her, and gave her a first-class
+education. She prosecuted the gentlemen's course in Oberlin College,
+and graduated with high honors.
+
+Deeply impressed with the need of educated teachers for the schools of
+her race, she accepted a position at once in the Institute for Colored
+Youth, at Philadelphia, Pa. And here for many years she has taught
+with eminent success, and exerted a pure and womanly influence upon
+all the students that have come into her classes.
+
+Without doubt she is the most thoroughly competent and successful of
+the Colored women teachers of her time. And her example of race pride,
+industry, enthusiasm, and nobility of character will remain the
+inheritance and inspiration of the pupils of the school she helped
+make the pride of the Colored people of Pennsylvania.
+
+
+LOUISE DE MORTIE,
+
+of Norfolk, Virginia, was born of free parents in that place, in 1833,
+but being denied the privileges of education, turned her face toward
+Massachusetts.
+
+In 1853 she took up her residence in Boston. She immediately began to
+avail herself of all the opportunities of education. A most beautiful
+girl, possessed of a sweet disposition and a remarkable memory, she
+won a host of friends, and took high standing as a pupil.
+
+In 1862 she began a most remarkable career as a public reader. An
+elocutionist by nature, she added the refinement of the art; and with
+her handsome presence, engaging manners, and richly-toned voice, she
+took high rank in her profession. Just as she was attracting public
+attention by her genius, she learned of the destitution that was
+wasting the Colored orphans of New Orleans. Thither she hastened in
+the spirit of Christian love; and there she labored with an
+intelligence and zeal which made her a heroine among her people. In
+1867 she raised sufficient funds to build an asylum for the Colored
+orphans of New Orleans. But just then the yellow fever overtook her in
+her work of mercy, and she fell a victim to its deadly touch on the
+10th of October, 1867, saying so touchingly, "I belong to God, our
+Father," as she expired.
+
+Although cut off in the morning of a useful life, she is of blessed
+memory among those for whose improvement and elevation she gave the
+strength of a brilliant mind and the warmth of a genuine Christian
+heart.
+
+
+MISS CHARLOTTE L. FORTUNE--
+
+now the wife of the young and gifted clergyman, Rev. Frank J.
+Grimke,--is a native of Pennsylvania. She comes of one of the best
+Colored families of the State. She went to Salem, Massachusetts, in
+1854, where she began a course of studies in the "Higginson High
+School." She proved to be a student of more than usual application,
+and although a member of a class of white youths, Miss Fortune was
+awarded the honor of writing the Parting Hymn for the class. It was
+sung at the last examination, and was warmly praised by all who heard
+it.
+
+Miss Fortune became a contributor to the columns of the "Anti-Slavery
+Standard" and "Atlantic Monthly." She wrote both prose and poetry, and
+did admirably in each.
+
+
+EDMONIA LEWIS,
+
+the Negro sculptress, is in herself a great prophecy of the
+possibilities of her sisters in America. Of lowly birth, left an
+orphan when quite young, unable to obtain a liberal education, she
+nevertheless determined to be somebody and do something.
+
+Some years ago, while yet in humble circumstances, she visited Boston.
+Upon seeing a statue of Benjamin Franklin she stood transfixed before
+it. It stirred the latent genius within the untutored child, and
+produced an emotion she had never felt before. "I, too, can make a
+stone man," she said. Almost instinctively, she turned to that great
+Apostle of Human Liberty, Wm. Lloyd Garrison, and asked his advice.
+The kind-hearted agitator gave her a note to Mr. Brackett, the Boston
+sculptor. He received her kindly, heard her express the desire and
+ambition of her heart, and then giving her a model of a human foot and
+some clay, said: "Go home and make that. If there is any thing in you
+it will come out." She tried, but her teacher broke up her work and
+told her to try again. And so she did, and triumphed.
+
+Since then, this ambitious Negro girl has won a position as an artist,
+a studio in Rome, and a place in the admiration of the lovers of art
+on two continents. She has produced many meritorious works of art, the
+most noteworthy being _Hagar in the Wilderness_; a group of the
+_Madonna with the Infant Christ and_ _two adoring Angels_; _Forever
+Free_; _Hiawatha's Wooing_; a bust of _Longfellow, the Poet_; a bust
+of _John Brown_; and a medallion portrait of _Wendell Phillips_. The
+_Madonna_ was purchased by the Marquis of Bute, Disraeli's Lothair.
+
+She has been well received in Rome, and her studio has become an
+object of interest to travellers from all countries.
+
+Of late many intelligent young Colored women have risen to take their
+places in society, and as wives and mothers are doing much to elevate
+the tone of the race and its homes. Great care must be given to the
+education of the Colored women of America; for virtuous, intelligent,
+educated, cultured, and pious wives and mothers are the hope of the
+Negro race. Without them educated Colored men and the miraculous
+results of emancipation will go for nothing.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[123] Hiram R. Revels was the successor of Mr. Jefferson Davis. He was
+a Methodist preacher from Mississippi. It was our privilege to be
+present in the Senate when he was sworn in and took his seat.
+
+[124] This idea had been put forth in a speech by Alexander H.
+Stephens just after he had been chosen Vice-president of the
+Confederate States.
+
+[125] My Bondage and My Freedom, p. 396.
+
+[126] While this history is passing through the press, the sad
+intelligence comes of the death, after a painful illness, of his
+beloved wife. All through her life she was justly proud of her husband
+and children; and she leaves a precious memory.
+
+[127] Mr. Greener was turned back one year upon the ground of alleged
+imperfection in mathematics; but it was done in support of an old
+theory, long since exploded, that the Negro has no capacity for the
+solution of mathematical problems. We know this to be the case. But
+the charming nature and natural pluck of young Greener brought him out
+at last without a blemish in any of his studies.
+
+[128] Biography is quite a different thing from history; and the
+Colored men who may imagine themselves neglected ought to remember
+that this is a _History of the Negro Race_. We have mentioned these
+men as representative of several classes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
+
+ ITS ORIGIN, GROWTH, ORGANIZATION, AND EXCELLENT INFLUENCE.--ITS
+ PUBLISHING HOUSE, PERIODICALS, AND PAPERS.--ITS NUMERICAL AND
+ FINANCIAL STRENGTH.--ITS MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL
+ SPIRIT.--WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY.
+
+
+The African Methodist Episcopal Church of America has exerted a wider
+and better influence upon the Negro race than any other organization
+created and managed by Negroes. The hateful and hurtful spirit of
+caste and race prejudice in the Protestant Church during and after the
+American Revolution drove the Negroes out. The Rev. Richard Allen, of
+Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the founder of the African Methodist
+Episcopal Church. He gathered a few Christians in his private
+dwelling, during the year 1816, and organized a church and named it
+"_Bethel_." Its first General Conference was held in Philadelphia
+during the same year with the following representation:
+
+Rev. Richard Allen, Jacob Tapsico, Clayton Durham, James Champion, and
+Thomas Webster, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Daniel Coker, Richard
+Williams, Henry Harden, Stephen Hill, Edward Williamson, and Nicholas
+Gailliard, of Baltimore, Maryland; Peter Spencer, of Wilmington,
+Delaware; Jacob Marsh, Edward Jackson, and William Andrew, of
+Attleborough, Pennsylvania; Peter Cuff, of Salem, New Jersey.
+
+The minutes of the Conference of 1817 were lost, but in 1818 there
+were seven itinerants: Baltimore Conference--Rev. Daniel Coker,
+Richard Williams, and Rev. Charles Pierce; Philadelphia
+Conference--Bishop Allen, Rev. William Paul Quinn, Jacob Tapsico, and
+Rev. Clayton Durham.
+
+The Church grew mightily, increasing in favor with God and man. The
+zeal of its ministers was wonderful, and the spirit of missions and
+consecration to the work wrought miracles for the cause. In 1826 the
+strength of the Church was as follows:
+
+ Bishops 2
+ Annual conferences 2
+ Itinerant preachers 17
+ Stations 2
+ Circuits 10
+ Missions 5
+ Total number of members 7,927
+ Amount of salary for travelling preachers $1,054.50
+ Amount of incidental expenses $97.25
+
+The grand total amount of money raised in 1826 for all purposes was
+$1,151.75. In 1836 there were:
+
+ Bishops 3
+ Conferences 4
+ Travelling preachers 27
+ Stations 7
+ Circuits 18
+ Missions 2
+ Churches 86
+ Probable value of church property $43,000.00
+ Total salary of pastors $1,126.29
+ Amount raised for general purposes $259.59
+
+Total amount of money raised in 1836 for all purposes, $1,385.88. The
+total number of members in 1836 was 7,594. This was a decrease of 333
+members, and is to be accounted for in the numerous sales of slaves in
+the Baltimore Conference, as the decrease was in that conference. In
+1846 there were:
+
+ Bishops 4
+ Annual conferences 6
+ Travelling preachers 40
+ Stations 16
+ Circuits and missions 25
+ Churches 198
+ Probable value of church property $90,000.00
+ Total amount raised to support ministers $6,267.431/2
+ Amount raised for general purposes $963.591/2
+
+The grand total amount of money raised in 1846 for all purposes was
+$7,231.03.
+
+There were supported in the Church in 1846 three educational societies
+and three missionary societies.
+
+In 1866 there were:
+
+ Annual conferences 10
+ Bishops 4
+ Travelling preachers 185
+ Stations 50
+ Circuits 39
+ Missions 96
+ Churches 285
+ Probable value of church property $823,000.00
+ Number of Sunday-school teachers and officers, 21,000
+ " " volumes in libraries 17,818
+ " " members 50,000
+
+The amount of money expended to assist the widows and orphans was
+$5,000. The amount paid this year for the support of the pastors was
+$83,593. The amount expended for Sunday-school work was $3,000.
+
+The receipts of the Church in 1876 were as follows:
+
+ Amount of contingent money raised $2,976 85
+ Amount raised for the support of pastors 201,984 06
+ Amount raised for the support of presiding
+ elders 23,896 66
+ Amount of Dollar Money for general
+ educational purposes, etc. 28,009 97
+ Amount raised to support Sunday-schools
+ for the year 1876 17,415 33
+ Amount raised for the missionary society, 3,782 72
+ Amount raised in one year for building
+ churches 169,558 60
+ -----------
+ Total amount raised for all purposes, $447,624 19
+
+
+ STATISTICS OF MEMBERS.
+
+ _Ministers._
+
+ Number of bishops 6
+ " " travelling preachers 1,418
+ " " local preachers 3,168
+ " " exhorters 2,546
+ -----
+ Total ministerial force in 1876 7,138
+ Ministerial force in 1816 8
+ -----
+ Ministerial gain in 60 years 7,130
+
+ _Members and Probationers._
+
+ Number of members 172,806
+ " " probationers 33,525
+ -------
+ Total number of members and probationers 206,331
+
+
+ SUMMARY OF MEMBERS.
+
+ Total number of ministers 7,138
+ Total number of members and probationers 206,331
+ -------
+ Grand total membership 213,469
+
+
+ CHURCH PROPERTY.
+
+ Number of churches 1,833
+ " " parsonages 218
+
+
+ VALUE OF CHURCH PROPERTY.
+
+ Value of churches $3,064,911 00
+ " " parsonages 138,800 00
+ -------------
+ Total value of church property $3,203,711 00
+
+
+ ANNUAL CONFERENCES.
+
+ Number of annual conferences 25
+
+
+ SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.
+
+ Number of Sunday-schools 2,309
+ " " superintendents 2,458
+ " " teachers and officers 8,085
+ " " pupils 87,453
+ " " volumes in libraries 129,066
+
+
+ MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.
+
+ Number of parent home and foreign societies 11
+ " " annual conference societies 24
+ " " local societies 250
+
+
+ WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY IN 1876.
+
+ Number of students enrolled--males 375
+ " " " " --females 225
+ " " professors--males 3
+ " " " --females 7
+
+The total receipts of Wilberforce University for the year was
+$4,547.89.
+
+The assets of Wilberforce University in 1876 were as follows:
+
+ Endowment notes $18,000 00
+ College property 39,000 00
+ Bequest of Chief-Justice Chase 10,000 00
+ Nine semi-annual and annual notes 900 00
+ Bills receivable 125 00
+ Horse, wagon, etc. 200 00
+ Cash in bank 1,000 00
+ ----------
+ Total assets $69,225 00
+
+The liabilities were only $2,973.42, leaving the handsome amount of
+$66,251.58 of assets over the liabilities of the institution.
+
+The General Conference of 1880 met in St. Louis, Mo., on the third day
+of May. The following are some of the facts, as we glean from the
+reports:
+
+The Financial Secretary, Rev. J. C. Embry, reported that for the
+fiscal year ending April 24, 1880, he had received $32,336.31 for
+general purposes alone, and in the four years from April 24, 1876, to
+April 24, 1880, he had received $99,999.42 for the general expenses of
+the Church.
+
+The General Business Manager, Dr. H. M. Turner, reported the receipts
+in the Book Concern to be $50,133.76. This was the largest amount of
+business ever reported by the Concern.
+
+The receipts of the two departments were $150,133.18. The total amount
+raised in 1826 was $1,151.75. The gain since that time has been
+$148,981.43.
+
+ RECEIPTS.
+
+ Amount of contingent money $27,897 36
+ " " dollar money 33,400 00
+ " " missionary money 25,248 08
+ " " ladies' mite missionary money 2,296 06
+ " for Sunday-school purposes 115,694 40
+ " " pastors' support 1,282,465 16
+ " " pastors' travelling expenses 36,608 16
+ " " presiding elders' travelling exps. 7,338 20
+ " " presiding elders' support 106,817 20
+ -------------
+ $1,637,764 62
+
+ RECEIPTS.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Amount brought up $1,637,764 62
+ Amount for educational purposes 6,125 46
+ " " building and repairing churches 596,824 48
+ " " charitable and benevolent
+ purposes 20,937 02
+ -------------
+ Total annual collection $2,261,651 58
+ -------------
+ The amount for four years 9,046,606 24
+ The General Business Manager's report 51,000 00
+ -------------
+ Grand total for four years $9,097,606 24
+
+
+ STATISTICS OF MEMBERS.
+
+ _Travelling Preachers._
+
+ Number of bishops 9
+ " " general officers 4
+ " " travelling licentiates 434
+ " " travelling elders 445
+ " " travelling deacons 940
+ -----
+ Total number of travelling preachers 1,832
+
+ _Local Preachers._
+
+ Number of superannuated preachers 21
+ " " local preachers and exhorters 7,719
+ " " elders 42
+ " " deacons 146
+ -----
+ Total number of local preachers 7,928
+
+ _Members and Probationers._
+
+ Number of members 306,044
+ " " probationers 85,000
+ -------
+ Total number of members and probationers, 391,044
+
+
+ SUMMARY OF MEMBERS.
+
+ Total number of travelling preachers 1,832
+ " " " local preachers 7,928
+ " " " members and probationers 391,044
+ -------
+ Grand total membership 400,804
+
+ SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.
+
+ Number of Sunday-schools 2,345
+ " " teachers and officers 15,454
+ " " pupils 154,549
+ " " volumes in library 193,358
+
+
+ CHURCH PROPERTY.
+
+ Number of school-houses 88
+ " " churches 2,051
+ " " parsonages 395
+
+
+ VALUE OF CHURCH PROPERTY.
+
+ Value of school-houses $26,400 00
+ " " churches 2,884,251 00
+ " " parsonages 162,603 20
+ -------------
+ Total value of church property $3,073,254 20
+
+
+ PAPER.
+
+ Number of subscriptions to "Christian Recorder" 5,380
+
+In 1818 a publishing department was added to the work of the Church.
+But its efficiency was impaired on account of the great mass of its
+members being in slave States or the District of Columbia, where the
+laws prohibited them from attending school, and deprived them of
+reading books or papers. In 1817 the Rev. Richard Allen published a
+book of discipline; and shortly after this a Church hymn-book was
+published also. Beyond this there was but little done in this
+department until 1841, when the New York Conference passed a
+resolution providing for the publication of a monthly magazine. But
+the lack of funds compelled the projectors to issue it as a quarterly.
+For nearly eight years this magazine exerted an excellent influence
+upon the ministers and members of the Church. Its coming was looked
+forward to with a strange interest. It contained the news in each of
+the conferences; its editorials breathed a spirit of love and
+fellowship; and thus the members were brought to a knowledge of the
+character of the work being accomplished.
+
+At length the prosperity of the magazine seemed to justify the
+publication of a weekly paper. Accordingly a weekly journal, named the
+"Christian Herald," made its appearance and ran its course for the
+space of four years. In 1852, by order of the General Conference, the
+paper was enlarged and issued as the "Christian Recorder," which has
+continued to be published up to the present time. In addition to this
+a "Child's Recorder" is published as a monthly. About 50,000 copies of
+both are issued every month.
+
+The managers and editors in this department have been:
+
+From 1818 to 1826--Right-Reverened Richard Allen, First Bishop of the
+A. M. E. Church, served in the capacity of Bishop and General Book
+Steward.
+
+From 1826 to 1835--Rev. Jos. M. Corr. He was the first regularly
+appointed General Book Steward, and served until October, 1836, at
+which time he died.
+
+From 1835 to 1848--Rev. Geo. Hogarth.
+
+From 1848 to 1852--Rev. Augustus R. Green.
+
+From 1852 to 1854--Rev. M. M. Clark, Editor; Rev. W. T. Catto, General
+Book Steward, and Rev. W. H. Jones, Travelling Agent.
+
+From 1854 to 1860--Rev. J. P. Campbell (now Bishop) served in the
+capacity of General Book Steward and Editor.
+
+From 1860 to 1868--Rev. Elisha Weaver served the most of the time as
+both Manager and Editor.
+
+From 1868 to 1869--Rev. Joshua Woodlin, Manager, and Rev. B. T.
+Tanner, Editor. During the year 1869 Rev. Joshua Woodlin resigned.
+
+From 1869 to 1871--Rev. A. L. Stanford served until above date, when
+he also resigned, and Dr. B. T. Tanner was left to act in the capacity
+of Editor and Manager until May, 1872.
+
+From 1872 to 1876--Rev. W. H. Hunter, Business Manager, and Rev. B. T.
+Tanner reappointed Editor.
+
+From 1876 to 1880--Rev. H. M. Turner, Business Manager, and Rev. B. T.
+Tanner again reappointed Editor.
+
+1880--Rev. Theo. Gould, Business Manager, and Rev. B. T. Tanner was
+for the fourth term appointed Editor.
+
+In addition to the work done here on the field, this Church has been
+blessed with a true missionary spirit. It has pushed its work into
+"the regions beyond." In 1844 _The Parent Home and Foreign Missionary
+Society_ was organized by the General Conference. Its first
+corresponding secretary was appointed in 1864, John M. Brown,
+Washington, D.C.; 1865 to 1868, John M. Brown; 1868 to 1872, James A.
+Handay, Baltimore, Maryland; 1872, Rev. W. J. Gaines, Macon, Georgia;
+1873, Rev. T. G. Stewart, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1874 to 1876,
+Rev. G. W. Brodie; 1876 to 1878, Rev. Richard H. Cain, Columbia, S.C.;
+1878 to 1881, Rev. James M. Townsend, Richmond, Indiana.
+
+The following is the last report of the present missionary secretary:
+
+ RECAPITULATION.
+
+ _Receipts._
+
+ Collected for general work (including $300 from
+ the W. M. M Society) $2,630 35
+ Collected on the field in Hayti 1,221 54
+ Women's Mite Society (in addition to the above
+ $300) 364 31
+ Collected for domestic missions 3,743 87
+ ---------
+ Total receipts $7,960 07
+
+ _Expenditures._
+
+ Total expended on salaries, travelling expenses,
+ printing, etc. $7,773 10
+ Balance in Women's M. M. treasury 48 97
+ Balance in general treasury 138 00
+ ---------
+ $7,960 07
+
+ Respectfully submitted,
+ JAMES M. TOWNSEND.
+
+The work of education has been fostered and pushed forward by this
+Church. Wilberforce University is owned and managed by the Church, and
+is doing a noble work for both sexes. More than one thousand students
+have received instruction in this institution, and some of the ablest
+preachers in the denomination are proud of Wilberforce as their _Alma
+Mater_. The following gentlemen constitute the faculty:
+
+ WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ FACULTY.
+
+ REV. B. F. LEE, B.D., _President_,
+
+ _Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy and Systematic
+ Theology._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ _Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Homiletics, and Pastoral
+ Theology._
+
+ J. P. SHORTER, A.B.,
+ _Professor of Mathematics and Secretary of the Faculty._
+
+ W. S. SCARBOROUGH, A.M.,
+ _Professor of Latin and Greek._
+
+ ROSWELL F. HOWARD, A.B., B.L.,
+ _Professor of Law._
+
+ HON. JOHN LITTLE,
+ _Professor of Law._
+
+ MRS. S. C. BIERCE,
+ _Principal of Normal Department, Instructor in French, and
+ Natural Sciences._
+
+ MRS. ALICE M. ADAMS,
+ _Lady Principal, Matron, and Instructor in Academic Department._
+
+ Miss GUSSIE E. CLARK,
+ _Teacher of Instrumental Music._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ASSISTANT TEACHERS.
+
+ CARRIE E. FERGUSON,
+ _Teacher of Penmanship._
+
+ D. M. ASHBY,
+ G. S. LEWIS,
+ _Teachers of Arithmetic._
+
+ ANNA H. JONES,
+ _Teacher of Reading._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ REV. T. H. JACKSON, D.D.,
+ _General Agent._
+
+In the summer of 1856 the Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist
+Episcopal Church decided to establish in that place a university for
+the education of Colored youth. Its Board of Trustees consisted of
+twenty white and four Colored men. Mr. Alfred J. Anderson, Rev. Lewis
+Woodson, Mr. Ishmael Keith, and Bishop Payne were the Colored members.
+Among the former were State Senator M. D. Gatch and the late Salmon P.
+Chase. It was dedicated in October, 1856, when the Rev. M. P. Gaddis
+took charge. He held the position of Principal for one year, when he
+was succeeded by Professor J. R. Parker, who worked faithfully and
+successfully until 1859. Rev. R. T. Rust, D.D., became President upon
+the retirement of Mr. Parker, and accomplished a noble work. He
+raised the educational standard of the school, attracted to its
+support and halls friends and pupils, and gained the confidence of
+educators and laymen within the outside of his denomination.
+Unfortunately, his faithful labors were most abruptly terminated by
+the war of the Rebellion. The college doors were closed in 1862 for
+want of funds; the main friends of the institution having cast their
+lot with the Confederate States. It should be remembered that up to
+this time this college was in the hands of the white Methodist Church.
+The Colored Methodists bought the land and buildings on the 10th of
+March, 1863, for the sum of $10,000. The land consisted of fifty-two
+acres, with an abundance of timber, fine springs, and a commodious
+college building with a dozen beautiful cottages. And the growth of
+the institution under the management of Colored men is a credit to
+their Church and race.
+
+Bishop D. H. Payne, D.D., was elected to the presidency of the
+university, which position he has filled with rare fidelity and
+ability for the last thirteen years. In 1876 Rev. B. F. Lee, a former
+graduate of the college, was elected to occupy the presidential chair.
+It was not a position to be sought after since it had been filled for
+thirteen years by the senior bishop of the Church, but Mr. Lee was the
+choice of his official brethren and so was elected. President Lee is a
+native of New Jersey. He is about the medium height, well knit, of
+light complexion, dark hair and beard of the same color that covers a
+face handsomely moulded. He is plainly a man of excellent traits of
+character; he is somewhat bald and has a finely-cut head, broad and
+massive. He moves quickly, and impresses one as a man who is armed
+with a large amount of executive tact. His face is of a thoughtful
+cast, and does not change much when he laughs. There were many
+difficulties to hinder his administration when he took charge, but he
+surmounted them all. Under his administration the institution has
+grown financially and numerically.
+
+The following report shows the financial condition of the college at
+the present time.
+
+ RECEIPTS.
+
+ June 20, 1880.
+
+ Balance in Treasury, Avery Fund $10,000 00
+ " " Rust Prize Fund 100 00
+ " " cash 63 82
+ ----------
+ Total balance $10,163 82
+
+ RECEIPTS.--(_Continued._)
+
+ Balance $10,163 82
+ Received from Financial Secretary 200 00
+ " " tuition 1,604 49
+ " " dormitories 525 80
+ " " Unitarian Association 600 00
+ Received from loans 100 00
+ Received from interest from Avery Fund 800 00
+ Received from interest from Rust Fund 8 00
+ Received from General Agent 150 00
+ " " contributions 232 00
+ " " Philadelphia Conference 52 95
+ Received from Illinois Conference 30 00
+ " " bequest of John Pfaff 602 08
+ Received from miscellaneous 407 64
+ -------- $5,312 96
+ ----------
+ Total receipts $15,476 78
+ ==========
+
+
+ EXPENDITURES.
+
+ To salaries $3,166 15
+ " building and grounds 243 25
+ " furnishing building 177 37
+ " notes paid with interest 285 86
+ " lectures 600 00
+ " fuel 116 64
+ " Powers' Fund interest 114 90
+ " incidental 296 17
+ " insurance 219 00
+ " miscellaneous 144 21
+ ---------
+ Total expenditures $5,363 55
+
+ Balance in bank--Avery Fund securities $10,000 00
+ Balance in bank--Rust Fund securities 100 00
+ Balance in bank--cash 13 23
+ ---------- $10,113 23
+ ----------
+ $15,476 78
+ ==========
+
+ STATEMENT OF CASH RECEIPTS, FROM 1865 TO 1881.
+
+ 1865 to 1866 $10,677 82
+ 1866 to 1867 6,717 88
+ 1867 to 1868 9,000 00
+ 1868 to 1869 5,403 83
+ 1869 to 1870 9,498 24
+ 1870 to 1871 28,672 22
+ 1871 to 1872 7,270 31
+ 1872 to 1873 4,452 30
+ 1873 to 1874 6,129 77
+ 1874 to 1875 4,962 50
+ 1875 to 1876 7,805 36
+ 1876 to 1877 13,757 66
+ 1877 to 1878 14,429 15
+ 1878 to 1879 4,944 37
+ 1879 to 1880 6,942 98
+ 1880 to 1881 5,312 96
+ -----------
+ Total $145,977 35
+
+The following-named persons are the bishops of the Church: James A.
+Shorter, Daniel A. Payne, A. W. Wayman, J. P. Campbell, John M. Brown,
+T. M. D. Ward, H. M. Turner, William F. Dickerson, and R. H. Cain.
+
+The African Methodist Episcopal Church will remain through the years
+to come as the best proof of the Negro's ability to maintain himself
+in an advanced state of civilization. Commencing with nothing--save an
+unfaltering faith in God,--this Church has grown to magnificent
+proportions. Her name has gone to the ends of the earth. In the
+Ecumenical Council of the Methodists in London, 1881, its
+representatives made a splendid impression; and their addresses and
+papers took high rank.
+
+This Church has taught the Negro how to govern and how to submit to
+government. It has kept its membership under the influence of
+wholesome discipline, and for its beneficent influence upon the morals
+of the race, it deserves the praise and thanks of mankind.[129]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[129] We have to thank the Rev. B. W. Arnett, B.D., the Financial
+Secretary, for the valuable statistics used in this chapter. He is an
+intelligent, energetic, and faithful minister of the Gospel, and a
+credit to his Church and race.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
+
+ FOUNDING OF THE M. E. CHURCH OF AMERICA IN 1768.--NEGRO SERVANTS
+ AND SLAVES AMONG THE FIRST CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ERECTION OF THE
+ FIRST CHAPEL IN NEW YORK.--THE REV. HARRY HOSIER THE FIRST NEGRO
+ PREACHER IN THE M. E. CHURCH IN AMERICA.--HIS REMARKABLE
+ ELOQUENCE AS A PULPIT ORATOR.--EARLY PROHIBITION AGAINST
+ SLAVE-HOLDING IN THE M. E. CHURCH.--STRENGTH OF THE CHURCHES AND
+ SUNDAY-SCHOOLS OF THE COLORED MEMBERS IN THE M. E. CHURCH.--THE
+ REV. MARSHALL W. TAYLOR, D.D.--HIS ANCESTORS.--HIS EARLY LIFE AND
+ STRUGGLES FOR AN EDUCATION.--HE TEACHES SCHOOL IN KENTUCKY.--HIS
+ EXPERIENCES AS A TEACHER.--IS ORDAINED TO THE GOSPEL MINISTRY AND
+ BECOMES A PREACHER AND MISSIONARY TEACHER.--HIS SETTLEMENT AS
+ PASTOR IN INDIANA AND OHIO.--IS GIVEN THE TITLE OF DOCTOR OF
+ DIVINITY BY THE TENNESSEE COLLEGE.--HIS INFLUENCE AS A LEADER,
+ AND HIS STANDING AS A PREACHER.
+
+
+Phillip Embury, Barbara Heck, and Capt. Thomas Webb were the germ from
+which, in the good providence of God, has sprung the Methodist
+Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The first chapel was
+erected upon leased ground on John Street, New York City, in 1768. The
+ground was purchased in 1770. Subscriptions were asked and received
+from all classes of people for the building, from the mayor of the
+city down to African female servants known only by their Christian
+names. Here the Colored people became first identified with American
+Methodism. From this stock have sprung all who have been subsequently
+connected with it. Meetings were held, prior to the erection of John
+Street Church, in the private residence of Mrs. Heck, and in a
+rigging-loft, sixty by eighteen feet, in William Street, which was
+rented in 1767. Here Capt. Webb and Mr. Embury preached thrice a week
+to large audiences. The original design to erect a chapel must be
+credited to Mrs. Heck, the foundress of American Methodism. Mr.
+Richard Owen, a convert of Robert Strawbridge, the founder of
+Methodism in Baltimore, was the first native Methodist preacher on the
+continent. The first American Annual Conference was held in
+Philadelphia, Pa., twenty-nine years after Mr. Wesley held his first
+conference in England, with ten members, precisely the same number
+there were in his. They were Thos. Rankin, President; Richard
+Boardman, Joseph Pilmoor, Francis Asbury, Richard Wright, George
+Shadford, Thomas Webb, John King, Abraham Whiteworth, and Joseph
+Yearbry. It began Wednesday the 14th and closed Friday the 16th of
+July, 1773. All the members were foreigners, and in the Revolution
+many of them were subject to unjust suspicions of sympathy with
+England, in consequence of this fact alone. The aggregate statistical
+returns for this conference showed 1,160, which was much less than Mr.
+Rankin supposed to be the strength of Methodism in America.
+
+On the 2d of September, 1784, Rev. Thomas Coke, D.D., LL.D., a
+presbyter in the Church of England, was ordained by John Wesley, A.M.,
+Superintendent or Bishop of the Methodist Societies in America. He was
+charged with a commission to organize them into an Episcopal Church,
+and to ordain Mr. Francis Asbury an Associate Bishop. He sailed for
+America at 10 o'clock A.M., September 18th, and landed at New York,
+Wednesday, November 3, 1784. Mr. Coke at once set out on a tour of
+observation, accompanied by Harry Hosier, Mr. Asbury's travelling
+servant, a Colored minister. Hosier was one of the notable characters
+of that day. He was the first American Negro preacher of the M. E.
+Church in the United States. In 1780 Mr. Asbury alluded to him as a
+companion, suitable to preach to the Colored people. Dr. Rush,
+allowing for his illiteracy--for he could not read--pronounced him the
+greatest orator in America. He was small in stature and very black;
+but he had eyes of remarkable brilliancy and keenness; and singular
+readiness and aptness of speech. He travelled extensively with Asbury,
+Coke, and Whiteworth. He afterward travelled through New England. He
+excelled all the whites in popularity as a preacher; sharing with them
+in their public services, not only in Colored but also in white
+congregations. When they were sick or otherwise disabled they could
+trust the pulpit to Harry without fear of unfavorably disappointing
+the people. Mr. Asbury acknowledges that the best way to obtain a
+large congregation was to announce that Harry would preach. The
+multitude preferred him to the Bishop himself. Though he withstood for
+years the temptations of extraordinary popularity, he fell,
+nevertheless, by the indulgent hospitalities which were lavished upon
+him. He became temporarily the victim of wine; but possessed moral
+strength enough to recover himself. Self-abased and contrite, he
+started one evening down the neck below Southwark, Philadelphia,
+determined to remain till his backslidings were healed. Under a tree
+he wrestled in prayer into the watches of the night. Before the
+morning God restored to him the joys of His salvation. Thenceforward
+he continued faithful. He resumed his public labors. In the year 1810
+he died in Philadelphia. "Making a good end," he was borne to the
+grave by a great procession of both Colored and white admirers, who
+buried him as a hero--one overcome, but finally victorious.
+
+It is said that on one occasion, in Wilmington, Del., where Methodism
+was long unpopular, a number of the citizens, who did not ordinarily
+attend Methodist preaching, came together to hear Bishop Asbury. Old
+Asbury Chapel was, at that time, so full that they could not get in.
+They stood outside to hear the Bishop, as they supposed; but in
+reality they heard Harry. Before they left the place, they
+complimented the speaker by saying: "If all Methodist preachers could
+preach like the Bishop we should like to be constant hearers." Some
+one present replied: "That was not the Bishop, but his servant." This
+only raised the Bishop higher in their estimation, as their conclusion
+was, if such be the servant what must the master be? The truth was,
+that Harry was a more popular speaker than Asbury, or almost any one
+else in his day.[130]
+
+So we find in the very inception of Methodism in the United States the
+Colored people were conspicuously represented in its membership,
+contributing both money, labor, and eloquence to its grand success.
+
+The great founder of Methodism was an inveterate foe of human slavery,
+which he pronounced "the sum of all villainies," and in this
+particular the Methodist societies in their earliest times reflected
+his sentiments. The early preachers were especially hostile to
+slavery. In 1784 it was considered and declared to be contrary to the
+Golden Law of God, as well as every principle of the Revolution. They
+required every Methodist to execute and record, within twelve months
+after notice by the preacher, a legal instrument emancipating all
+slaves in his possession at specified ages. Any person who should not
+concur in this requirement had liberty to leave the Church within one
+year; Otherwise the preacher was to exclude him. No person holding
+slaves could be admitted to membership, or to the Lord's Supper, until
+he complied with this law. But it was to be applied only where the law
+of the State permitted.[131] These rules provoked great hostility, and
+were suspended within six months.
+
+The Church had, however, put the stamp of condemnation upon it. And
+ever in a more or less active but always consistent manner opposed it,
+until its final extirpation was accomplished, though not until the
+Church had been several times divided in favor of and against it.
+
+The Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America was
+organized in what is historically known as the Christmas Conference,
+which convened in Baltimore at ten o'clock Friday morning, December
+24, 1784, Bishop Thomas Coke, presiding. Rev. Francis Asbury was there
+consecrated a bishop. In 1786 a resolution emphatically enjoining it
+upon the preachers to leave nothing undone for the spiritual benefit
+and salvation of the Colored people was adopted. The Church is a
+limited Episcopacy. The bishops are elected by the General Conference.
+They fix the appointments of all the preachers, but the conference
+arranges their duration. The bishops hold office during good behavior.
+The General Conference is the Legislative, and the bishops, presiding
+elders, pastors, annual, district, and quarterly conferences, with the
+leaders' and stewards' meetings, and the general and local trustees,
+are the Executive Department. The ministerial orders are two: elder
+and deacon. The offices of the ministry and rank are in the order
+named,--bishop, sub-bishop, pastor, and sub-pastors. The ministry are
+classified as Effective, Supernumerary, Superannuate, and Local. The
+property of each congregation is deeded in trust for them to a Board
+of Local Trustees, who may sell, buy, or improve it for the use of
+said congregation. The stewards are officers whose labors are partly
+temporal and partly spiritual. They are entrusted with the raising of
+supplies, benevolence, and the support of the ministry. Exhorters are
+prayer-meeting leaders and general helpers in the work of the
+circuits.
+
+Methodism began in a college and has been a great patron of education.
+It has been largely devoted to the educational and religious culture
+of the Colored people in the South and in Africa. There are sixteen
+conferences of Colored members in the M. E. Church--fifteen in the
+United States and one in Liberia. For the Liberian Conference two
+Colored bishops have been consecrated, viz.: Francis Burns and
+ex-President Thomas Wright Roberts, both deceased. The present bishops
+are all white, one of whom annually visits Africa. The same is true of
+conferences in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, India,
+China, and Japan. The agency by which the Church prosecutes this work
+is the Missionary, Church Extension, Freedmen's Aid, Education, and
+Sunday-school Union societies. Books and periodicals are amply
+supplied by its own publishing house, which is the largest religious
+publishing house in the world.
+
+In the sixteen conferences there are 225,000 members, 200,000
+Sunday-school scholars, 3,500 day scholars, one medical, three law,
+and seven theological colleges, and twelve seminaries. There is
+$500,000 in school and $2,000,000 in church and parsonage property
+owned by the Colored membership! The Colored members elect their own
+representatives to the General Conference, and are fully represented
+in all the work of the Church.
+
+At the present time the Rev. Marshall W. Taylor, D. D., and the Rev.
+Wm. M. Butler are the most prominent men in the Church. Marshall
+William Boyd (alias) Taylor was born July 1, 1846, at Lexington,
+Fayette County, Kentucky, of poor, uneducated, but respectable
+parents. He was the fourth in a family of five children, three of whom
+were boys, viz.: George Summers, Francis Asbury, and himself; and two
+girls, Mary Ellen and Mary Cathrine. He is of Scotch-Irish and Indian
+descent on his father's side. Hon. Samuel Boyd, of New York; Joseph
+Boyd, of Virginia; and Lieut.-Gov. Boyd, of Kentucky, were
+blood-relations of his, and all descended from the "Clan Boyd" of
+Scotland. His mother was of African and Arabian stock. His
+grandmother, on his mother's side, Phillis Ann, was brought from
+Madagascar when a little girl, and became the slave of Mr. Alexander
+Black, a Kentucky farmer, who at his death willed his slaves free. His
+mother, Nancy Ann, thus obtained her freedom, and by the terms of the
+will she was put to the millinery trade, which she fully mastered, and
+meantime obtained an elementary knowledge of reading, writing, and
+arithmetic. She married Albert Summers, and bore to him two children,
+viz., George Summers and Mary Catharine. He ran away to prevent being
+sold, and she afterward married Samuel Boyd, to whom she bore three
+children, viz., Francis Asbury, Marshall William, and Mary Ellen. His
+father, Samuel, was the son of Hon. Samuel Boyd, of New York. He was
+noted for his independence of character; was a valuable but unruly
+slave. He was allowed an opportunity to purchase his freedom, and this
+he began to do, and had paid $250, three fourths of the price, when
+his master sold him to Tennessee. He promptly ran away from his new
+master, but unwilling to forsake his family, went back to Kentucky.
+His master pursued and overtook him at Lexington, where he had
+stopped. He refused to go back to Tennessee, and once more was
+permitted to select a master, and finally to again contract for his
+freedom, which he this time succeeded in obtaining. In consequence of
+his mother's emancipation, Marshall was free when he first saw the
+light of day. By occupation his father was a hemp-breaker, rope-maker,
+and farmer. The last he elected to follow after he was free. He
+employed his boys as farmers, but his mother strenuously opposed it,
+wishing better opportunities than could be thus afforded for their
+education. She at length succeeded in carrying her point.
+
+In religion his father at first inclined to the Baptists, of which
+Church he became a deacon in the congregation of Rev. Mr. Ferrill, of
+Pleasant Green Church, Lexington. Later he became dissatisfied with
+the Baptists, and united with the African Methodists at Frankfort, Ky.
+He finally went back to the Baptist Church and died in that faith.
+
+Marshall's mother, and all her people, so far as known, were
+Methodists. His early training and first and only religious
+impressions were Methodistic, which Church, after his conversion, he
+joined. His father had no knowledge of letters, so that all his home
+instruction came from his mother. Her text-books were the Bible,
+Methodist Catechism, and Webster's Elementary Spelling Book. And in
+these young Marshall became very proficient. He afterward attended
+school daily to Rev. John Tibbs, an African Methodist preacher, who
+came from Cincinnati to Lexington to teach free children and such of
+the slaves as would be permitted to attend. Some masters granted this
+permission, but the greater number refused it. Finally, some "_poor
+white_" fellows, unable to own slaves themselves, mobbed the teacher,
+rode him on a rail, tarred, feathered, and drove him from town. They
+were called black Indians. It was impossible to secure another teacher
+in Lexington for a day school, but Mr. George Perry, an intelligent
+free Colored man, had the courage to teach Sunday-school, in the
+Branch Methodist Church. It is now called Asbury M. E. Church.
+Marshall attended, as did his mother and brothers. In 1854 the family
+moved to Louisville, looking for a school. Finding none there, they
+continued their journey about fifty miles above there on the Ohio
+River, and landed at Ghent, a little village in Carroll County, Ky.,
+opposite Vevey, Indiana. They indulged a hope that the children would
+be allowed to attend the public schools at Vevey, but they were doomed
+in this expectation. They spent two years at Ghent. Marshall and his
+brother obtained instruction during this period from the little white
+children who attended school, after hours, using "an old hay loft back
+of a Mr. Sanders's Tavern" for a recitation-room, and paying their
+teachers with cakes and candies bought with odd pennies gathered here
+and there.
+
+On the 1st of August, 1856, there was an Emancipation celebration at
+Dayton, Ohio. Frederick Douglass was advertised to speak, and other
+eminent Abolitionists were expected to participate. Marshall's mother
+attended it. Soon after her return several slaves mysteriously
+disappeared from the vicinity of Ghent. Among them was a very valuable
+family belonging to Esquire Craig, of the village. Suspicion fastened
+on the old lady who had been off among the "Abolitionists." She was
+indicted by the Grand Jury, and thirty-six men filed into her cabin,
+and while she lay sick in bed, read the indictment to her. They
+ordered her to leave the place. She refused to go, claimed her
+innocence, but to no purpose. "They chased Francis with guns and dogs
+on the public streets in daylight; shaddowed the cabin and gave
+unmistakable evidence of a diabolical purpose." She soon after
+returned to Louisville.
+
+Young Marshall became a messenger in the law firm of J. B. Kincaid and
+John W. Barr. Here his chances were good, both of these gentlemen
+aiding him in his studies. He did his work after school hours at the
+office, and attended a school which was kept in the "Centre Street
+Colored Methodist Church," until it closed.
+
+Rev. Henry Henderson, a Colored Methodist preacher, now opened a
+school in Centre Street, and Marshall was duly enrolled among his
+pupils. On his retirement, Mrs. Elizabeth Cumings, a highly cultured
+and pious lady, taught a private school on Grayson, between Sixth and
+Seventh streets. He now went to her. She died soon after, when he was
+sent to a Mr. William H. Gibson, who had already opened a school on
+Seventh, between Jefferson and Green streets, in an old carpenter
+shop. Here he continued until 1861.
+
+In 1866 Mr. Taylor opened a Freedmen's School at Hardinsburg
+Breckenridge Co., Ky. This was in an old church, the property of the
+M. E. Church South. It had been donated for church purposes by George
+Blanford. If used otherwise it was to revert to the donor. A Negro
+school was obnoxious to the community. His was the first there had
+ever been in the village, and notwithstanding the white people had
+long since abandoned the property to the Colored people this question
+was now raised in order to break up the school. It did not succeed, as
+they easily proved that the original intent of the donor was not
+violated, since Colored people still used the property as a church.
+Failing in this the school was tormented by ruffians. Pepper was
+rolled up in cotton, set on fire, and hurled into the room to set
+every one coughing. Finally threats of personal violence were made if
+he did not leave, but Mr. Taylor armed himself, defied the enemies of
+freedom, and stayed. At last, on Christmas evening, Dec. 25, 1867, the
+house was blown up with powder. The arrangement was to set off the
+blast with a slow match so as to catch the house full of people, there
+being a school exhibition that night. The explosion took place at
+11:30 P.M., but owing to the excitement occasioned by the novelty of
+such a thing as a "Negro School Exhibition," the crowd had gathered
+much earlier than announced. The programme was completed before 11
+P.M., and by this accident the school and teacher were saved. The old
+wreck still remains a monument to color prejudice.
+
+By the aid of the Freedmen's Bureau another school-house was soon
+built, and the school proceeded. This was followed by a meeting-house.
+The white people, whose sentiments were now rapidly turning,
+subscribed liberally toward it.
+
+In 1868 an educational convention was held at Owensboro, in Davies
+Co., Ky., of which Mr. Taylor was elected president. He soon after
+wrote a manual for Colored schools, which was generally used in that
+section. In 1869 he attended the first Colored political convention
+ever held in Kentucky, at Major Hall in Frankfort. He was one of the
+Educational Committee, and submitted a report. This year he was also a
+member of a convention at Jackson Street Church, Louisville, which
+inaugurated the movement for the Lexington M. E. Conference. He was
+licensed as a local preacher this year by Rev. Hanson Tolbert at
+Hardinsburg, and was assisted in the study of theology by Rev. R. G.
+Gardiner, J. H. Lennin, and Dr. R. S. Rust. He went to Arkansas as a
+missionary teacher and preacher at the call of Rev. W. J. Gladwin, and
+remained there one year. He organized several societies, of the
+Church, taught school at Midway, Forrest City, and Wittsburg; took
+part in the political campaign of that year; and was nominated, but
+declined to run, for Representative from Saint Frances County.
+
+He preached in Texas, Indian Territory, and Missouri; was put in peril
+by the Ku Klux at Hot Springs; took the chills and returned to Ky., in
+1871. He was then appointed to the Litchfield Circuit, Southwestern
+Kentucky. In 1872 he united with the Lexington Conference of M. E.
+Church on trial. He was ordained a deacon by Bishop Levi Scott at
+Maysville, Ky., and sent to Coke Chapel, Louisville, Ky., and Wesley
+Chapel, Jeffersonville, Indiana. He remained in this charge three
+years, during which time he published the monthly "Kentucky
+Methodist," and wrote extensively for the press. He was elected
+assistant secretary, editor of the printed minutes of the conference,
+and finally secretary. In 1875 he was sent as pastor to Indianapolis,
+Ind. He was ordained elder by Bishop Wiley at Lexington in 1876, and
+returned to Indianapolis. He took an active part in the political
+campaign of 1876, and was sent to Union Chapel, Cincinnati, 1877-8. In
+1879 the faculty of Central Tennessee College, at Nashville,
+Tennessee, conferred upon him the title and credentials of a Doctor of
+Divinity. He wrote the life of Rev. Geo. W. Downing.
+
+In 1879 Dr. Taylor was appointed Presiding Elder of the Ohio District,
+Lexington Conference. In 1880 he was sent as fraternal delegate from
+the M. E. to the A. M. E. General Conference at St. Louis; he having
+been previously elected lay delegate to the General Conference of the
+M. E. Church in Brooklyn, New York, in 1879. He was the youngest
+member of that body. Upon his motion fraternal representatives were
+sent to the various Colored denominations of Methodists. He was
+appointed in 1881 as a delegate from the M. E. Church to the
+Ecumenical Conference at London, England. He was the caucus nominee of
+the Colored delegates to the General Conference in Cincinnati in 1880
+for bishop. He was always opposed to caste discriminations in Church,
+State, or society. He has opposed Colored conferences and a Colored
+bishop as tending to perpetuate discriminations. He does not oppose
+the election of Colored men, but wishes that every honor may fall upon
+them because of merit and not on account of their color. He has become
+famous as an eloquent preacher, safe teacher, ready speaker, and
+earnest worker; always aiming to do the greatest good to the greatest
+number. Certainly the Methodist Episcopal Church has reason to be
+proud of Marshall W. Taylor.
+
+In this Church there are many other worthy and able Colored preachers.
+The relations they sustain to the eloquent, scholarly, and pious white
+clergymen of the denomination are pleasant and beneficial. It is an
+education. And the fact that the best pulpits of white men are opened
+to the Colored preachers is a prophecy that race antagonisms in the
+Christian Church, so tenacious and harmful, are to perish speedily.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[130] Stevens's Hist. of M. E. Church, pp. 174, 175; also Lednum, p.
+282.
+
+[131] And there was not a single State where this rule could be
+applied. Slavery ruled the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE COLORED BAPTISTS OF AMERICA.
+
+ THE COLORED BAPTISTS AN INTELLIGENT AND USEFUL PEOPLE.--THEIR
+ LEADING MINISTERS IN MISSOURI, OHIO, AND IN NEW ENGLAND.--THE
+ BIRTH, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATION OF DUKE WILLIAM ANDERSON.--AS
+ FARMER, TEACHER, PREACHER, AND MISSIONARY.--HIS INFLUENCE IN THE
+ WEST.--GOES SOUTH AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR.--TEACHES IN A
+ THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.--CALLED TO
+ WASHINGTON.--PASTOR OF 19TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.--HE OCCUPIES
+ VARIOUS POSITIONS OF TRUST.--BUILDS A NEW CHURCH.--HIS LAST
+ REVIVAL.--HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH.--HIS FUNERAL AND THE GENERAL
+ SORROW AT HIS LOSS.--LEONARD ANDREW GRIMES, OF BOSTON,
+ MASSACHUSETTS.--HIS PIETY, FAITHFULNESS AND PUBLIC INFLUENCE FOR
+ GOOD.--THE COMPLETION OF HIS CHURCH.--HIS LAST DAYS AND SUDDEN
+ DEATH.--GENERAL SORROW.--RESOLUTIONS BY THE BAPTIST MINISTERS OF
+ BOSTON.--A GREAT AND GOOD MAN GONE.
+
+
+The Baptist Church has always been a purely democratic institution.
+With no bishops or head-men, except such as derive their authority
+from the consent of the governed, this Church has been truly
+independent and self-governing in its spirit. Its only Head is Christ,
+and its teachers such as are willing to take "the Word of God as the
+Man of their Counsel." From the time of the introduction of the
+Baptist Church into North America down to the present time, the
+Colored people have formed a considerable part of its membership. The
+generous, impartial, and genuine Christian spirit of Roger Williams
+had a tendency, at the beginning, to keep out of the Church the spirit
+of race prejudice. But the growth of slavery carried with it, as a
+logical result, the idea that the slave's presence in the Christian
+Church was a rebuke to the system. For conscience' sake the slave was
+excluded, and to oblige the feelings of those who transferred the
+spirit of social caste from gilded drawing-rooms to cushioned pews,
+even the free Negro was conducted to the organ-loft.
+
+The simplicity of the Negro led him to the faith of the Baptist
+Church; but being denied fellowship in the white congregations, he was
+compelled to provide churches for himself. In Virginia, Georgia,
+Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi the Colored Baptists were
+numerous. In the other States the Methodists and Catholics were
+numerous. There were few ministers of note at the South; but New
+England, the Middle States, and the West produced some very able
+Baptist preachers. The Rev. Richard Anderson, of St. Louis, Missouri,
+was a man of exalted piety, consummate ability, and of almost
+boundless influence in the West. He was the pastor of a large church,
+and did much to mould and direct the interests of his people
+throughout Missouri. He was deeply revered by his own people, and
+highly respected by the whites. When he died, the entire city of St.
+Louis was plunged into profound mourning, and over three hundred
+carriages--many belonging to the wealthiest families in the
+city--followed his body to the place of interment.
+
+In Ohio the Rev. Charles Satchell, the Rev. David Nickens, the Rev. W.
+P. Newman, the Rev. James Poindexter, and the Rev. H. L. Simpson were
+the leading clergymen in the Colored Baptist churches. Cincinnati has
+had for the last half century excellent Baptist churches, and an
+intelligent and able ministry. There are several associations
+embracing many live churches.
+
+In Kentucky the Colored Baptists are very numerous, and own much
+valuable property; but Virginia seems to have more Baptists among its
+great population of Colored people than any other State in the South.
+There are a dozen or more in Richmond, including the one presided over
+by the famous John Jasper. One of them has, it is said, three thousand
+members(?). But the District of Columbia has more Colored churches for
+its area and population than any other place in the United States.
+There are at least twenty-five Baptist churches in the District, and
+some of them have interesting histories. The Nineteenth Street Baptist
+Church is as an intelligent a society of Christian people of color as
+there is to be found in any city in the country. Its pulpit has always
+been occupied by the ablest ministers in the country. The Revs.
+Sampson White, Samuel W. Madden, and Duke W. Anderson were men of
+education and marked ability. And there is little doubt but what Duke
+W. Anderson was the ablest, most distinguished clergyman of color in
+the United States. And for his work's sake he deserves well of
+history.
+
+Duke William Anderson was born April 10, 1812, in the vicinity of
+Lawrenceville, Lawrence County, in the State of Illinois, of a Negro
+mother by a white father. His father, lately from North Carolina,
+fell under Gen. Harrison fighting the Indians. Like so many other
+great men he was born in an obscure place--a wigwam. At the time of
+his father's death he was quite a young baby. He was now left to the
+care of a mother who, in many respects, was like her husband, bold and
+courageous for the truth, and yet as gentle as a child. It is
+peculiarly trying and difficult for a mother who has all the comforts
+of modern city life, to train and educate her boys for the duties of
+life; and if so, how much more trying and difficult must it have been
+for a mother on the North-western frontiers, seventy years ago, to
+train her boys?
+
+Destitute of home and its comforts, without friends or money; no farm,
+school, or church, Mrs. Anderson began to train her two boys, John
+Anderson and D. W. Anderson. Of the former, little or nothing is
+known, save that he was the only brother of D. W. Anderson.
+
+True to the instincts of her motherly heart, Mrs. Anderson was
+determined to remain upon the spot purchased and consecrated by the
+blood of her lamented husband. She could not divorce herself from the
+approximate idea and object of her husband's life and death. He had
+turned from the comforts of a happy home; had chosen hardships rather
+than ease that he might realize the dream of his youth, and the object
+of his manly endeavors--the right of suffrage to all. Her children
+could not build their play-house of Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, or
+Southey. All the instruction Duke William obtained came from his
+mother. She was very large and healthy. Her complexion was of perfect
+black. She was possessed of excellent judgment, patience, and
+industry. She stored the young mind of her boy with useful
+agricultural knowledge, of which she possessed a large amount.
+
+An education does not consist in acquiring lessons, obtaining a
+simple, abstract, objective knowledge of certain sciences. It is more
+than this. It consists, also, in being able to apply and use rightly a
+given amount of knowledge. And though D. W. Anderson was never
+permitted to enter college, yet, what he got he got thoroughly, and
+used at the proper time to the best advantage.
+
+Nature was his best teacher. While yet a very young boy he was awed by
+her splendors, and attracted by the complicated workings of her
+manifold laws. He began to study the innumerable mysteries which met
+him in every direction. He heard God in the rippling water, in the
+angry tempest, in the sighing wind, and in the troops of stars which
+God marshals upon the plains of heaven. In the study of nature he
+exulted. He sat in her velvet lap, sported by her limpid waters,
+acquainted himself perfectly with her seasons, and knew the coming and
+going of every star.
+
+God was training this man for the great mission which he afterward so
+faithfully performed. No soul that was ever filled with such grand and
+humane ideas as was that of Duke William Anderson can be crushed. He
+knew no boundaries for his soul,--except God on one side and the whole
+universe on the other. He was as free in thought and feeling as the
+air he inhaled, or the birds in the bright sky over his head. His soul
+had for many years communed with the God of nature; had been taught by
+the mighty workings of truth, feeling, and genius within, and by the
+world without, that he was not to be confined to earth forever, but
+that beyond the deep blue sky, into which he so much longed to peer,
+there dwelt the Creator of all things, and there the home of the good!
+Like the "wise men of the East,"--knowing no other God but the God of
+nature,--his primitive ideas of religion were naturally based upon
+nature. In that wild and barren territory nature was impressive,
+desolate, and awful. The earth, air, and sky incited him to thought
+and stimulated his imagination. Every appearance, every
+phenomenon--the storm, the thunder,--speak the prophecies of God. He
+was filled with great thoughts and driven by grand ideas.
+
+It is difficult to compute the value of the mother to the child. It is
+the mother who loves, because she has suffered. And this seems to be
+the great law of love. Not a triumph in art, literature, or
+jurisprudence--from the story of Homer to the odes of Horace, from the
+times of Bacon and Leibnitz to the days of Tyndall and Morse--that has
+not been obtained by toil and suffering! The mother of Anderson,
+having suffered so much in her loneliness and want, knew how to train
+her boy,--the joy of her life. And he in return knew how to appreciate
+a mother's love. He remembered that to her he owed every thing,--his
+life, his health, and his early training. He remembered that in
+childhood she had often, around their little camp-fire, enchanted his
+youthful mind by the romance of the sufferings and trials of herself
+and husband. And now finding himself a young man he was determined to
+change the course of their life.
+
+No work so thoroughly develops the body and mind, and is so conducive
+to health, as farming; and, perhaps, none so independent. Anderson was
+naturally healthy and strong, so that farming agreed with him. By this
+he made a comfortable living, and soon demonstrated to his aged mother
+that she had not labored in vain, nor spent her strength for naught.
+
+For a number of years he farmed. His motto was "excelsior" in whatever
+he engaged, and in farming he realized success.
+
+As the father of Duke William Anderson had fallen under the U. S.
+flag, it became the duty of the Government to care for his widow and
+orphans. Accordingly, Duke William was sent to an Illinois school
+where he received the rudiments of a Western education. A Western
+education did not consist in reading poetry, or in examining Hebrew
+roots, but in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, and
+history. There were no soft seats, no beautifully frescoed walls,
+dotted with costly maps, or studded with beautiful pictures; not a
+school with a dozen beautiful rooms, heated by hot air. In those days
+a Western school-house was erected by the side of some public highway,
+remote from the town. It was constructed of logs,--not of the logs
+that have lost their roughness by going through the saw-mill, but logs
+cut by the axe of the hardy frontiersman. The axe was the only tool
+needed to fit the timber for the building. The building was about
+twelve feet in height, and about sixteen by twenty. The cracks were
+often left open, and sometimes closed by chips and mud. The floor was
+made of split logs with the flat side up. At one end of the building
+was a fireplace and chimney occupying the whole end of the house. At
+each end of the fireplace were laid two large stones upon which to
+rest the ends of the logs of wood, under all of which were laid
+closely large pieces of flat stones covered with an inch or two of
+mud. At the other end of the building was a door. It was constructed
+of thinly split pieces of logs held together by pieces of hickory
+withes which crossed each end of the door. This door was hung upon
+wooden hinges, one part of which, instead of being fastened to the
+door by screws, was fastened by little wooden pegs. The step at the
+door was a short piece of log flattened a little on the top and braced
+on the under side by small stones and pieces of chips. The roof was
+made of long pieces of split timber, the flat side out and the edges
+smoothed by the axe in order to make them lie snugly.
+
+Such was the school-house in which D. W. Anderson was educated. And it
+may be that the plain school in which he was educated loaned him that
+modesty, plainness, and unostentatious air, which were among the many
+remarkable traits in his character. The circumstances and society by
+which boys are surrounded help to mould their character and determine
+their future. To a healthy and vigorous body was coupled a clear and
+active mind. He loved knowledge, and was willing to buy it at any
+price--willing to make any sacrifice. He was an industrious student,
+and possessed great power of penetration and acquisition. And every
+thing he read he remembered. The greatest difficulty with students is
+that they fail to apply themselves. A man may have the ability to
+accomplish a given amount of work and yet that work can never be
+accomplished except by the severest effort. It is one thing to possess
+a negative power, but it is quite another thing to possess a positive
+power. In this world we are set over against all external laws and
+forces. We are to assume the offensive. We are to climb up to the
+stars by microscopes. We are to measure this earth by our mathematics.
+We are to penetrate its depths and lift to the sun its costly
+treasures. We are to acquaint ourselves with the workings of the
+manifold laws which lie about us. If we would know ourselves,
+understand our relation to God, we must see after the requisite
+knowledge. Suppose that Duke William Anderson had despaired of ever
+receiving an education; sat down by the way in life and said: "There
+is no use of troubling myself, I cannot get what I desire. I am
+destined to be ignorant and weak all the days of my life; and if there
+is any good thing for me it will come to me. I will sit here and
+wait." Would the world ever have known of Anderson? His life would
+have shed no perfume; his name would have been unknown and his grave
+would have been forgotten.
+
+But it was that courage which never knows defeat, it was that devotion
+that never wavers, it was that assiduity, and it was that patience
+that is certain to triumph, which bore him on to a glorious end, as a
+summer wind bears up a silver cloud. At the age of seventeen he began
+to teach school. What Colored man would have essayed to teach school
+on the frontiers fifty years ago? But D. W. Anderson was born to rule.
+He was of commanding presence, full of confidence and earnestness. He
+entered upon his new duties full of hope and joy. This was something
+new. There was a great deal of difference between handling the hoe
+and the pen. He found that there was a great difference between the
+farm and the school-house. But he was one of those boys who do every
+thing with all their might, and he was at once at home, and soon
+became master of his new situation.
+
+Three laborious years were occupied in teaching. And they were years
+of profit to teacher as well as to pupil. He labored hard to be
+thorough; and he greatly improved and finished his own education
+during his teaching.
+
+About this time young Anderson met, courted, and married Miss Ruth Ann
+Lucas.
+
+Anderson soon made all necessary arrangements, and the nuptial
+ceremony was solemnized by the village parson on the 30th of
+September, 1830. With his bride he now settled down at home. For some
+years he lived the life of a farmer. His mother was riveted to the
+spot where her devoted husband fell at the hands of a besotted Indian.
+But her son was of a progressive spirit. He longed to leave the old
+home for one more comfortable. How strange that the old should sit by
+the grave of the past, while the young never weary of chasing some
+vague fancy!
+
+He bought a tract of land, cleared it, and opened up a farm. He
+planted a large orchard; became the owner of seven horses and all the
+implements necessary to farming.
+
+By his own industry and perseverance he had now acquired a neat little
+home; on his farm he raised enough produce for the consumption of his
+family, and still there was a large quantity left for the market.
+Apples, potatoes, wheat, corn, and other commodities brought him
+handsome returns.
+
+On this farm were born five children, four of whom lived to adult age.
+The oldest child, Luther Morgan, was born October 10, 1831. The second
+child, Mary Catharine, was born in 1833. The third, George Washington,
+was born in 1835. The fourth, Elizabeth, was born in 1837. And the
+fifth and last child was born on the night of September 4, 1839, when,
+also, the mother and child died.
+
+This sad event filled a hitherto happy home with gloom, and bowed a
+strong heart with grief. Anderson was a man possessed of a very tender
+nature, though he was manly and resolute. His heart was fixed upon his
+wife, and this sad providence smote him heavily.
+
+During all these years, from his youth up, he had been very profane.
+He knew no Sabbath, worshipped no God, and was himself the highest
+law. He was filled with a grand religious sentiment, and only needed
+the grace of God to bring it out, and the love of God to show him
+where he stood.
+
+The object of his youthful affection was gone. The faithful woman who
+had walked for nineteen years by his side was no more; her eyes were
+closed to mortal things, and she had ceased to be. He followed her
+body to the grave, and there dropped a silent tear for her to whom he
+had given his heart. It was the first funeral of anyone related to
+him, and its lessons were sharply cut into his heart.
+
+He returned to a desolate home, where the sad faces of motherless
+children told that one whom they loved, and who had made home happy,
+was gone.
+
+His mind now turned to religious matters. He began to think of the
+home beyond, of Jesus, who died for sinners, and wondered if he would
+ever be able to see the loved one beyond the tide of death. As he
+dreamed of immortality, longed for heaven, and wondered if Jesus were
+his Saviour, he was filled with a deep sense of sin. He felt more
+deeply a sense of sin. He felt more and more that he was unworthy of
+the Saviour's love; and if he had his just dues, he would be "assigned
+a portion among the lost."
+
+For a long time he was bowed down under the weight of his sins, and at
+length he found peace through the blood of Christ. He was renewed. The
+avaricious man became liberal, the implacable enemy became the
+forgiving friend, and the man of cursing a man of prayer. But it was
+impossible for him to cease to grieve; so he thought he would sell the
+farm and seek another home. The farm was sold, the horses and tools,
+and every thing converted into money. The children were bound out, and
+all arrangements were perfected to seek another home.
+
+He paid a visit to Alton, Illinois, where he spent two or three years.
+In those days Alton was the city _par excellence_ of Illinois, and
+toward it flowed the tide of emigration. So favorably was he impressed
+with Alton, that he was determined to make it his home. Accordingly,
+he began to make preparations for moving the children. In the
+meanwhile he formed the acquaintance of a widow lady in Alton with
+whom he became very much pleased. She was a tall, handsome-looking
+yellow woman, of cultivated manners, and of pleasing address.
+Anderson's wife had been dead three or four years.
+
+It was now August 17, 1842, and the hand and heart of Anderson were
+offered Mrs. Mary Jane Ragens and accepted. With his new companion he
+now returned to the scenes of his early days and to the four children
+who joyfully awaited his return. He had made up his mind to settle in
+Alton. He and his new companion began to prepare for the journey. The
+family now consisted of the four children of Anderson and two children
+of his wife, making a family of six besides the two heads.
+
+During the time that intervened between the death of his first wife
+and his engagement to the second, he taught school in Vincennes,
+Indiana, Alton and Brookton, Illinois. The old home stood upon the
+Wabash River, and was quite upon the line that divided the two
+States,--Indiana and Illinois. His own children went to his school,
+and were carried across the river on his back. On the other bank stood
+the log school-house of which he was principal.
+
+In those, days it was a matter of some comment to see a Colored man
+who dared write his name or tell his age, but to see one who was
+actually a schoolmaster was the marvel of the times. His teaching was
+a matter of comment in Vincennes, but Vincennes was only a little
+country town. But to go to Alton,--that city of great fame, then,--and
+teach school, was an undertaking that required strong nerves. D. W.
+Anderson had them. He never allowed himself to think that he was any
+person other than a man and citizen clothed with all civil rights and
+armed with God-given prerogatives. And so commanding was he, that a
+man who stood in his presence instantly felt him a superior. Moreover,
+the heated feeling and public sentiment which, on the night of
+November 7, 1837, wrested from the hand of God,--to whom alone
+vengeance belongeth,--a life, were not yet abated. Lovejoy, a
+peaceable citizen, had been deprived of free speech and struck down by
+the knife of the assassin; and could it be expected that a Negro would
+be spared? The times were exciting and dangerous, and yet Anderson was
+determined to take his place and work on in the path of duty, never
+wincing, but leaving the results with God.
+
+Before in his quiet home and farm life, nature was his peculiar study.
+He had studied man in studying himself, but in the city of Alton he
+could study men. He loved to walk through its long streets, watch its
+hurrying pedestrians, and learn the manifold manifestations of city
+life.
+
+Having been converted just after the death of his first wife, but
+never having connected himself with any church, he now joined the A.
+M. E. Church of Alton. His views from the first were Baptistic, but
+circumstances placed him among the Methodists. The elder in charge was
+the powerful preacher, the successful revivalist, and the eminently
+pious man, Rev. Shadrack Stewart. Some misunderstanding arose between
+the minister in charge and some of the members, which resulted in the
+withdrawal of the pastor, Rev. S. Stewart, Anderson and family, and
+quite a number of the leading members. Minister and all connected
+themselves with the Baptists. Anderson used often to say to his
+family: "_That move placed me at home_." He was indeed at home, and
+stayed there until he was called to his heavenly rest! He loved very
+much to study the Bible, and to meditate upon its great truths. The
+more he studied it the clearer duty seemed and the deeper and purer
+his love grew for that beneficent Being whom he owned as Lord and
+King.
+
+It was now 1843. He felt that it was his duty to enter the Gospel
+ministry. Naturally a modest man, he shrank somewhat from this voice
+of God; but finally, in 1844, submitted to ordination. He was ordained
+by the Rev. John Anderson, father of the late Richard Anderson, of St.
+Louis, or by the Rev. John Livingston, of Illinois, though it is a
+matter of some doubt as to who was present at his ordination.
+
+He now moved to Upper Alton, and pitched his tent under the shadow of
+Shurtleff College. His aim was always to excel. He had absorbed every
+thing that had come within his reach, and now he had placed himself
+where he could rub against "_College men_."
+
+Some men have to study a great deal to get a very little; they lack
+the power of mental absorption, and, consequently, have to wade far
+out into the river of knowledge in order to feel the benefits of the
+invigorating waters. Not so with Anderson; he was an indefatigable
+student. He was always willing to be taught by any person who was able
+to impart knowledge. Every new word that saluted his ear was forced
+into his service; never mechanically, but always in its proper place.
+If he learned a word to-day, to-morrow he would use it in its
+grammatical relation to a sentence. He had no time for vacation; no
+mental cessation, but it was one unceasing struggle for knowledge. And
+no doubt his approximate relation to Shurtleff College helped to
+impart a certain healthy tone and solidity to his style as a writer
+and preacher which were ever strikingly manifest.
+
+In a short time he moved out from Alton about twelve miles to the town
+of Woodburn, Madison County, where he remained for a year, during
+which time he taught school and preached occasionally. In 1845 he
+bought an eighty-acre farm on Wood River, about five miles from Alton.
+He moved his family on the farm, and began to make improvements. After
+the farm had been put in good working condition, it was not hard for
+Luther, the eldest child, to manage it. It might seem strange to the
+boys of to-day, who are dwarfed by cities and cramped by a false
+civilization, to know that Luther, a boy of fourteen, could follow the
+plow and swing the cradle. But, nevertheless, his father could trust
+most of the work of the farm to these young hands.
+
+Duke William Anderson was a civilizer and a reformer. Wherever he
+placed his foot there were thrift and improvement. He never was
+satisfied with himself, or that which he did. He always felt when he
+had done a thing that he could have done it _better_. He never
+preached a sermon but what he felt that he ought to preach the next
+one _better_. In his great brain were the insatiable powers of
+civilization. He was prompt, rapid, decisive, and sagacious, working
+up to his ideal standard. It was not his object to simply improve and
+help himself; he was far from such selfishness. The basis of his
+reformatory and benevolent operations was as broad as humanity and as
+solid as granite. He never entered a community without the deep
+feeling that it should be made better, and never lived in one except
+his warm heart and willing hand went forth to minister to and
+sympathize with all who were in need.
+
+He felt keenly the bitter prejudice which pervaded the community from
+which he had just moved, and was sensible of the weakness of the few
+free Colored citizens who lived in that portion of the State. Wood
+River was a healthy place to live; and the land was cheap and rich. He
+was not shut up to any selfish motives, but was planning for the good
+of his people. He knew that "in union there is strength," and if he
+could get a number of families to move on Wood River he could form a
+settlement, and thus bring the people together in religion and
+politics, in feeling and sentiment.
+
+This plan was no idle dream. In due time he gave notice, and offered
+inducements, to the people to come. And they came from every section;
+and in a few years it had grown to be a large and prosperous
+settlement.
+
+Duke William Anderson was the central figure in this community. His
+colossal form, his clear mind, and excellent judgment, placed him at
+the head of educational and religious matters. He was parson,
+schoolmaster, and justice. All questions of theology were submitted to
+his judgment, from which there was no appeal. All social and political
+feuds were placed before him, and his advice would heal the severest
+schisms and restore the most perfect harmony.
+
+He now threw his great soul into the work of organization. He was
+filled with a grand idea. He felt that the purity and intelligence of
+the community depended upon their knowledge of the Bible and the
+preaching of the Gospel. It was a grand idea, though he had to work
+upon a small scale. It was this idea that made the Israelites
+victorious; and Anderson was determined to impress upon this community
+this primal truth. He knew that in knowledge only is there safety, and
+in science alone can certainty be found. Before this idea every thing
+must bow, and around it were to cluster, not only the hopes of that
+little community, but the prayers of four million bondmen. He was
+confident that in God he would triumph, and in Him was his trust.
+
+The work was begun in the family circle. One evening it would be at
+brother Anderson's house, and the next evening at another brother's
+house, and so on until the meetings had gone around the whole
+community. A deep work of grace was in progress. The whole community
+felt the pervading influence of the Spirit, and large results
+followed. Anderson was wrought upon powerfully. He felt to
+reconsecrate himself to the Master, and live a more faithful life.
+This feeling manifested itself in the lives of those who were
+professors of religion, and the ungodly were anxious about their
+salvation.
+
+From a very few believers the company of the redeemed had largely
+increased. One house would not accommodate them, and it became
+necessary for them to hold their meetings outdoors. It became very
+evident that this company of believers ought to be organized into a
+church, and a pastor placed over them. Duke William Anderson was the
+man to do this work, and, seeing the necessity of it, he immediately
+organized a Baptist church.
+
+He was a man who never desired to escape difficult duties--rather, he
+always was on hand when hard burdens were to be borne. He approached
+duty as something that, though at the time hard, brought peace in the
+end. He loved the approbation of conscience, and never sought to turn
+away from her teachings.
+
+It is a task seldom, if ever, coveted by the ministers of to-day, to
+attempt the building of a church edifice, though wealth, art, and all
+modern facilities await their beck.
+
+And one can easily imagine what a formidable task it must have been to
+attempt the building of a church thirty years ago. He organized a
+church out of those who had accepted the Gospel. And the next work was
+the building of a house of worship. He put his great hand to this
+work, and in a short time the house was completed and his people
+worshipping under their own vine and fig-tree.
+
+The house was unique, spacious, and comfortable, all in keeping with
+the plain people and their unpretentious pastor.
+
+There is a great deal in discipline, and Anderson knew it. Before the
+organization of his church the people had been placed under no
+discipline or charged with any special work. But now their leader
+began the work of church discipline and practical preaching. The
+feeling that every person was his own man, independent and free, under
+the preaching of Anderson, gave way to the feeling that they were
+members of one body, and Christ the head of that body. The unity of
+the church was preached with great earnestness, and followed by large
+results. It soon became evident that Duke William Anderson was no
+ordinary man, and his fame began to spread. He had sought no
+publicity, but in secret had toiled on in the path of duty.
+
+During his labors in building a meeting-house and organizing a church
+he had relinquished his hold upon the school; but now as the church
+was erected and he had more time, he was against his will urged into
+the school-room again. In the school-room he was as faithful as he was
+in the pulpit. He sought, with marvellous earnestness, to do with all
+his might that which was committed to his hands; and all his labors
+were performed as if they were being performed for himself.
+
+He was at this time pastor of a church, teacher of a school, and owner
+of an eighty acre farm. If he were going to slight any work, it would
+not be that of another, but his own. He watched the growth of his
+little church with an apostolical eye, and nipped every false doctrine
+in the bud. His excellent knowledge of human nature facilitated his
+work in the church. He knew every man, woman, and child. He made
+himself familiar with their circumstances and wants, and always placed
+himself in complete sympathy with any and all of their circumstances.
+He consequently won the confidence, love, and esteem of his people. In
+his school he was watchful and patient. He studied character, and
+classified his pupils; and was thereby enabled to deal with each pupil
+as he knew their temperament demanded. Some children are tender,
+affectionate, and obedient; while others are coarse, ugly, and
+insubordinate. Some need only to have the wrong pointed out, while
+others need the rod to convince them of bad conduct. And happy is that
+teacher who does not attempt to open every child's heart with the same
+key, or punish each with the same rod.
+
+If there is one quality more than another that the minister needs, it
+is downright earnestness--perfect sympathy with those to whom he
+preaches. What does it amount to if a man preach unless he feels what
+he preaches? Certainly no one can be moved or edified. But Anderson
+was not a cold, lifeless man. He loved to preach, though he felt a
+deep sense of unfitness. And it can be truly said of his little
+church, as was said of the early church: "And believers were the more
+added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women."
+
+It was seen by the prophetic eye of Anderson that an association would
+be the means of bringing the people together. Accordingly he went to
+work to organize an association that would take into its arms all the
+feeble communities or churches that had no pastor. In due time all
+arrangements were perfected, and a call issued for the neighboring
+churches to send their pastor and two delegates to sit in council with
+the Salem Baptist Church on Wood River, to consider the propriety of
+calling into existence such an organization. After the usual
+preliminary services, Rev. D. W. Anderson stated the object of the
+meeting, and urged the immediate action of the council in the matter.
+After the usual amount of debate incident to such an occasion, the
+proper steps were taken for the organization of an association to be
+called the "_Wood River Baptist Association_," with Rev. Duke W.
+Anderson as its first Moderator, to meet on Wood River annually. What
+a triumph! that day was the proudest of his life! He had spoken to
+the poor disheartened Baptists for fifty miles around, who were cold
+and indifferent to the Master's cause: "Awake! and stand upon your
+feet! Come with me to help the Lord against the mighty! Let us
+organize for the conflict. There is much to do; so, let us be about
+our Master's work." The call sent forth breathed new life into the
+people, and was the signal for united effort in the cause of the Lord.
+
+It was not enough that an association was formed, it was not enough
+that a few churches were represented in that association; but it must
+do definite work. It must organize where organization was needed; it
+must send out missionaries into the destitute places, and give the
+Gospel to the poor. Thus Anderson reasoned; and the association heard
+him. Gradually the Wood River Association grew and extended its
+workings throughout the entire State of Illinois.
+
+It was evident that the associational gatherings were growing so large
+that it was impossible to accommodate them. He advised the people to
+build quarters sufficient to accommodate all. Accordingly two or three
+rows of small houses were erected for the people to live in each year
+during the time the association was in session. People now came yearly
+from every part of the State. The great distances did not detain them.
+Like the Jews who returned to Jerusalem every year to attend the
+feast, they were glad when the time came to rest from their accustomed
+duties and journey toward Wood River. It was a delightful gathering.
+Brother ministers met and compared notes; while young men and maidens
+gently ministered at the tables, and led the prayer-meetings.
+
+They enjoyed those meetings. There were no conventionalities or forms
+to check the spirit of Christian love. There was perfect liberty.
+There were no strangers; for they were the children of one common
+father. They were as one family, and had all things in common. The
+utmost order and harmony characterized their gatherings. Not a cross
+word escaped a single lip. Not a rude act, on the part of the boys,
+could be seen. Boys, in those days, had the profoundest respect for
+their seniors, and held a minister of the Gospel in all the simplicity
+of a boy's esteem.
+
+In the morning of the first day of their meeting the association was
+called to order by the "_Moderator_," and opened with prayer and a
+hymn. Then, after the usual business, a sermon was preached. In the
+afternoon a doctrinal sermon was preached and discussed; and in the
+evening a missionary sermon was delivered.
+
+Like the Apostle Paul he could say to the ministers of his day, that
+he had labored more abundantly than they all. He worked with his hands
+and preached the Gospel, esteeming it an honor. The church over which
+he presided had grown to one hundred and fifty active members, besides
+a large and attentive congregation. This church had been gathered
+through his incomparable assiduity. He had come into their midst with
+a heart glowing with the love of God. He had shown himself an
+excellent farmer, faithful teacher, and consistent Christian. He had
+led one hundred and fifty souls to Christ. That was not all. In the
+pulpit he had taught them the fundamental principles of Christianity,
+and demonstrated those principles in his daily life. His royal manhood
+towered high over the community, until he became to the whole people a
+perfect measure of every thing that is lovely and of good report.
+
+He had every thing just as he could wish. He was proprietor of an
+eighty-acre farm, pastor of a flourishing church, schoolmaster of the
+community, enthroned in the affections of the people for whose
+well-being he had worked for seven years,--he might have remained the
+unrivalled and undisputed king of Woodburn community. But
+considerations rising high above his mere personal interests, led him
+to make a great sacrifice in selling his farm, severing his relation
+as pastor and teacher with a people whom he loved dearly, and who
+regarded him with a sort of superstitious reverence. The object of the
+change was that he might move to Quincy, Ill., where he might give his
+children a thorough education. He secured a scholarship in Knox
+College for his eldest son, Luther Morgan Anderson, and permission for
+him to attend. He put his son George W., and daughter, Elizabeth
+Anderson, to study in the Missionary Institute near Quincy. He now
+gave his time to farming, preaching, missionary service, and
+underground railroad work. His son, George W., says, concerning
+Missionary Institute: "At Missionary Institute the atmosphere was more
+mild, but such was the continued pressure by the slave-holding border
+of Mo., offering large rewards for the heads of the Institution, as
+well for those who were known to be connected with the underground
+railroad, that the Institution after having done much good went
+down."
+
+The years of his residence at Quincy were full of public excitement,
+peril, and strife. He was a spirited, progressive, and representative
+man. This was the time of the Illinois Prohibition Law, making it a
+criminal offence to aid or encourage a runaway slave. The slavery
+question was being sharply discussed in all quarters, and began to
+color and modify the politics of the day. Anderson was a sharp, ready,
+and formidable debater, and was the most prominent Colored man in that
+section of the country. He was gifted in the use of good English, had
+an easy flow of language, was master of the most galling satire, quick
+in repartee, prompt to see a weak point and use it to the best
+advantage. He was a pungent and racy writer, and for a number of years
+contributed many able articles to the "Quincy Whig." He never spared
+slavery. In the pulpit, in the public prints, and in private, he
+fought manfully against the nefarious traffic in human flesh.
+
+Dangerous as was the position he took he felt himself on the side of
+truth, humanity, and God, and consequently felt that no harm could
+reach him. At this time, to the duties of farmer, pastor, and
+contributor he added the severe and perilous duty of a missionary. He
+canvassed the State, preaching and lecturing against slavery. Often he
+was confronted by a mob who defied him, bantered him, but he always
+spoke. He was in every sense the child of nature, endowed with
+herculean strength, very tall, with a face beaming with benevolence
+and intelligence. He appeared at his best when opposed, and was
+enabled by his commanding presence, his phenomenal voice, and burning
+eloquence to quiet and win the most obstreperous mob.
+
+It was quite easy for a man to be carried away by the irresistible
+enthusiasm of the excited multitude, and think the rising of the
+animal spirits the impulses of his better nature. But, for a man to be
+moved from within, to feel the irresistible power of truth, to feel
+that except he obeys the voice of his better nature he is arraigned by
+conscience--though the whole world without is against him, such a man
+is a hero, deserving of the gratitude and praise of the world.
+
+There were heroes in the days of Anderson, and he was worthy of the
+high place he held among them. He was possessed of genius of the
+highest order. He appreciated the times in which he lived. He was
+equal to the work of his generation, and did not shrink from any work
+howsoever perilous. He worked between the sluggish conservatism of the
+anti-slavery element on the one hand, and the violent, mobocratic
+slave element on the other. Hence, the school of religious and
+political sentiment to which he belonged had few disciples and
+encountered many hardships. It was a desperate struggle between an
+ignorant, self-seeking majority and an intelligent, self-sacrificing
+minority. It often appears that vice has more votaries than virtue,
+that might is greater than right, and that wrong has the right of way.
+But in the light of reason, history, and philosophy, we see the
+divinity of truth and the mortality of error. We look down upon the
+great spiritual conflict going on in this world--in society and
+government,--and seeing the mutations of fortune we think we see truth
+worsted, and sound the funeral requiem of our fondest hopes, our most
+cherished ideals.
+
+But the mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly
+fine. Time rewards the virtuous and patient. It was faith in God,
+united with a superior hope, that gave him strength in the darkest
+hours of the "irrepressible conflict."
+
+He was a faithful and indefatigable worker; and the State Missionary
+Society honored him by thrice choosing him as State Missionary. About
+this time he became an active member of the "Underground Railroad."
+His presence, bearing, and high character carried conviction. He made
+men feel his superiority. He was, consequently, a safe counsellor and
+a successful manager. He was soon elevated to an official position,
+which he filled with honor and satisfaction. Many slaves were helped
+to their freedom by his efforts and advice. He was bold, yet discreet;
+wise without pedantry; humble without religious affectation; firm
+without harshness; kind without weakness.
+
+The conflict between slavery and freedom grew hotter and hotter; and
+the spirit of intolerance became more general. Anderson had proven
+himself an able defender of human freedom and a formidable enemy to
+slavery. But it _seemed_ as if his efforts in the great aggregate of
+good were unavailing. His high hopes of educating his children were
+blasted in the burning of Missionary Institute by a mob from Missouri.
+It was evident that the slave power would leave no stone unturned in
+order to accomplish their cowardly and inhuman designs. It was not
+enough to destroy the only school where all races could be educated
+together, to disturb the meetings of the few anti-slavery men who
+dared to discuss a question that they believed involved the golden
+rule and hence the well-being of the oppressed,--they put a price on
+his head. He was to be hung to the first tree if caught upon the
+sacred soil of Missouri. He was secretly, though closely watched. One
+of his sons writes: "He took a deep interest in the Underground
+Railroad in connection with a Mr. Turner and Vandorn of Quincy, and a
+Mr. Hunter and Payne of Missionary Institute. These gentlemen, I
+believe, with the exception of Mr. Payne, are alive and extensively
+known in the North."
+
+He was not lacking in the qualities of moral or physical bravery. He
+could not be bought or bullied. He was unmovable when he felt he was
+right. The bitterest assaults of his enemies only drove him nearer his
+ideas, not from them. He might have lived and died in Quincy if he had
+not greatly desired the education of his children, who were denied
+such privileges in the destruction of the institute.
+
+At this time intelligent, to say nothing of educated, ministers were
+few and far between. St. Louis was blessed with an excellent minister
+in the person of the Rev. Richard Anderson. He was a man of some
+education, fine manners, good judgment, and deep piety; beloved and
+respected by all classes both in and out of the church, white and
+black. The Rev. Galusha Anderson, D.D., who pronounced the funeral
+sermon over the remains of Richard Anderson, says he had the largest
+funeral St. Louis ever witnessed. His servant, who had been an
+attendant upon the ministrations of Richard Anderson, said mournfully,
+when asked by the doctor if they missed him: "Ah, sir, he led us as by
+a spider web!" Richard Anderson saw Duke William Anderson and loved
+him. He saw in the young man high traits of character, and in his rare
+gifts auguries of a splendid career. He saw the danger he lived in,
+the hopeless condition of public sentiment, and advised him to accept
+the pastoral charge of the Baptist church in Buffalo, N. Y., where
+also he could educate his children.
+
+Buffalo was an anti-slavery stronghold. The late Gerrit Smith was
+chief of the party in that section of New York. By his vast wealth,
+his high personal character, his deeply-rooted convictions, his
+wide-spread and consistent opposition to slavery, he was the most
+conspicuous character in the State, and made many converts to the
+anti-slavery cause. Buffalo was the centre of anti-slavery operations.
+Many conventions and conferences were held there. It was only
+twenty-four miles to the Canadian boundaries, hence it was the last
+and most convenient station of the U. G. R. R.
+
+It was now about 1854-1855. The anti-slavery sentiment was a
+recognized and felt power in the politics of the Nation. Anderson
+appeared in Buffalo just in time to participate in the debates that
+were rendering that city important. He took the pastoral charge of the
+Baptist church and high standing as a leader. He remained here quite
+two years or more, during which time he used the pulpit and the press
+as the vehicles of his invectives against slavery. He did not have to
+go to men, they went to him. He was a great moral magnet, and
+attracted the best men of the city. The white clergy recognized in him
+the qualities of a preacher and leader worthy of their admiration and
+recognition. The Rev. Charles Dennison and other white brethren
+invited him to their pulpits, where he displayed preaching ability
+worthy of the intelligent audiences that listened to his eloquent
+discourses.
+
+His stay in Buffalo was salutary. By his industry and usefulness he
+became widely known and highly respected. And when he accepted a call
+from the Groghan Street Baptist Church, of Detroit, Michigan, his
+Buffalo friends were conscious that in his departure from them they
+sustained a very great loss.
+
+It was now the latter part of 1857. The anti-slavery conflict was at
+its zenith. This controversy, as do all moral controversies, had
+brought forth many able men; had furnished abundant material for
+satire and rhetoric. This era presented a large and brilliant galaxy
+of Colored orators. There were Frederick Douglass--confessedly the
+historic Negro of America,--Charles L. Remond, Charles L. Reason,
+William Wells Brown, Henry Highland Garnett, Martin R. Delany, James
+W. C. Pennington, Robert Purvis, Phillip A. Bell, Charles B. Ray,
+George T. Downing, George B. Vashon, William C. Nell, Samuel A. Neale,
+William Whipper, Ebenezer D. Bassett, William Howard Day, William
+Still, Jermain W. Loguen, Leonard A. Grimes, John Sella Martin, and
+many others. Duke William Anderson belonged to the same school of
+orators.
+
+The church at Detroit had been under the pastoral charge of the Rev.
+William Troy, who had accepted the pulpit of the Baptist church in
+Windsor, Canada West, and started to England to solicit funds to
+complete a beautiful edifice already in process of erection. At this
+time John Sella Martin had obtained considerable notoriety as an
+orator. He had canvassed the Western States in the interest of the
+anti-slavery cause, and was now residing in Detroit. He was baptized
+and ordained by Brethren Anderson and Troy, and took charge of the
+church at Buffalo.
+
+Detroit lies in a salubrious atmosphere, upon Detroit River, not far
+from Lake Erie; and at this time was not lacking in a high social and
+moral atmosphere. The field was the most congenial he had yet labored
+in. He found an excellent church-membership, an intelligent and
+progressive people. He was heartily welcomed and highly appreciated.
+He entered into the work with zeal, and imparted an enthusiasm to the
+people. He developed new elements of strength in the church. He
+attracted a large, cultivated audience, and held them to the last day
+he remained in the city. His audience was not exclusively Colored:
+some of the best white families were regular attendants upon his
+preaching; and they contributed liberally to his support. Detroit had
+never seen the peer of Duke William Anderson in the pulpit. He did not
+simply attract large congregations on the Sabbath, but had a warm
+place in the affections of all classes, and a personal moral
+influence, which added much to the spirituality of the church. In
+every church, thus far, he had been blessed with a revival of
+religion, and souls had been added as "seals to his ministry." Detroit
+was no exception to the rule. Under his leadership, through his
+preaching and pastoral visitations the church was aroused, and the
+result a revival. Many were added to the church.
+
+It was now the spring of 1858. John Brown, the protomartyr of freedom,
+by his heroism, daring, intrepid perseverance, inspired,--swallowed
+with one great idea, had stirred all Kansas and Missouri to fear, and
+carried off eleven slaves to Canada and set them free. He had
+established his headquarters at Chatham, Canada West, and begun the
+work of organization preparatory to striking the blow at Harper's
+Ferry. Brown held his first convention at Chatham--only a few hours'
+ride from Detroit--on May 8, 1858, at 10 o'clock A.M. The convention
+was composed of some very able men. The following-named gentlemen
+composed the convention: Wm. Charles Monroe, President of the
+Convention; G. J. Reynolds, J. C. Grant, A. J. Smith, James M. Jones,
+Geo. B. Gill, M. F. Bailey, Wm. Lambert, C. W. Moffitt, John J.
+Jackson, J. Anderson, Alfred Whipple, James M. Bue, Wm. H. Leeman,
+Alfred M. Ellsworth, John E. Cook, Stewart Taylor, James W. Purnell,
+Geo. Akin, Stephen Detlin, Thomas Hickinson, John Cannet, Robinson
+Alexander, Richard Realf, Thomas F. Cary, Thomas W. Stringer, Richard
+Richardson, J. T. Parsons, Thos. M. Kinnard, Martin R. Delany, Robert
+Vanrankin, Charles H. Tidd, John A. Thomas, C. Whipple, J. D. Shad,
+Robert Newman, Owen Brown, John Brown, J. H. Harris, Charles Smith,
+Simon Fislin, Isaac Hotley, James Smith. Signed, J. H. Kagi. The
+following is the list of officers elected:
+
+Commander-in-chief, John Brown; Secretary of War, J. H. Kagi; Members
+of Congress, Alfred M. Ellsworth, Osborn Anderson; Treasurer, Owen
+Brown; Secretary of Treasury, Geo. B. Gill; Secretary of State,
+Richard Realf.
+
+The reader will see that two Andersons are mentioned, J. Anderson and
+Osborn Anderson. [Who these gentlemen are, the author does not know,
+nor has he any means of knowing.]
+
+Rev. D. W. Anderson's ministry in Detroit was a success both in and
+out of the pulpit, both among his parishioners and among those of the
+world.
+
+His wife was in every sense a pastor's wife. She bore for him the
+largest sympathy in his work; and cheered him with her prayers and
+presence in every good cause. She was intelligent and pious, loved by
+the church, honored by society. She found pleasure in visiting the
+sick, helping the poor, comforting the sorrowful, and in instructing
+the erring in ways of peace.
+
+It is almost impossible to compute the value of a pastor's wife who
+appreciates the work of saving souls. If she is a good woman her
+influence is unbounded. Every person loves her, every person looks up
+to her. There are so many little things that she can do, if not beyond
+the province of the pastor, often out of range of his influence. Mrs.
+Anderson was all that could be hoped as a pastor's wife. She was of
+medium size, in complexion light, rather reserved in her manners,
+affable in address, very sensitive in her physical and mental
+constitution. Much of Anderson's service in Detroit must go to the
+account of his sainted wife. And it may not be irrelevant to remark
+that every minister of Christ's influence and success is perceptibly
+modified by his wife--much depends upon her!
+
+Eighteen years of happy wedded life had passed. It was the autumn of
+1860. Mrs. Anderson's health was failing. Her presence was missed from
+the church, from society, and at last on the 23d of October, 1860, she
+died.
+
+On the 18th of March, 1861, he married again, Mrs. Eliza Julia Shad,
+of Chatham, Canada. He turned his attention to farming for a while, in
+order to regain his health.
+
+At the close of the war he went South and taught in a theological
+institution at Nashville. Soon after he began his work here he
+received and accepted a call from the 19th Street Baptist Church of
+Washington, D. C. Washington was in a vile condition at the close of
+the war. Its streets were mud holes; its inhabitants crowded and
+jammed by the troops and curious Negroes from the plantations. Society
+was in a critical condition. There was great need of a leader for the
+Colored people. D. W. Anderson was that man. He entered upon his work
+with zeal and intelligence. He carried into the pulpit rare abilities,
+and into the parish work a genial, kindly nature which early gave him
+a place in the affections and confidence of his flock.
+
+As a preacher he was a marvel. He generally selected his text early in
+the week. He studied its exegesis, made the plan of the sermon, and
+then began to choose his illustrations and fill in. On Sunday he would
+rise in his pulpit, a man six feet two and a half inches, and in a
+rich, clear, deliberate voice commence an extemporaneous discourse.
+His presence was majestic. With a massive head, much like that of John
+Adams, a strong brown eye that flashed as he moved on in his
+discourse, a voice sweet and well modulated, but at times rising to
+tones of thunder, graceful, ornate, forcible, and dramatic, he was the
+peer of any clergyman in Washington, and of Negroes there were none
+his equal.
+
+He showed himself a power in the social life of his people by being
+himself a living epistle. He encouraged the young, and set every one
+who knew him an example of fidelity and efficiency in the smaller
+matters of life.
+
+His early experiences were now in demand. The entire community
+recognized in him the elements of magnificent leadership. He was in
+great demand in every direction. He was elected a Trustee of the
+Howard University, of the Freedman's Saving Bank and Trust Company,
+Commissioner of Washington Asylum, Sept. 3d, 1871, and Justice of the
+Peace, 8th of April, 1869, and 9th of April, 1872. The vast amount of
+work he did on the outside did not impair his usefulness as a pastor
+or his faithfulness as a minister of the Gospel. On the contrary he
+gathered ammunition and experience from every direction. He made
+every thing help him in his preparation for the pulpit. His deep
+spiritual life, his nearness to the Master gave him power with men. No
+winter passed without a revival of grace and the conversion of scores
+of sinners. Thus the work continued until the house was both too small
+and unsafe. Plans were drawn and steps taken to build a new church
+edifice.
+
+On the first Sunday in March, 1871, the old house of worship, on the
+corner of Nineteenth and I streets was abandoned, and the congregation
+went to worship in the Stevens School building. The corner-stone of
+the new building was laid on the 5th of April, 1871, and the new
+edifice dedicated on the 19th of November, 1871, five months after the
+work had begun. The dedicatory exercises were as follows:
+
+At eleven o'clock precisely. Rev. D. W. Anderson, pastor in charge,
+announced that the hour for the religious exercises to commence had
+arrived, and he took pleasure in introducing his predecessor. Rev.
+Samuel W. Madden, of Alexandria, Va., who gave out the 934th hymn,
+which was sung with considerable fervor and spirit, the entire
+congregation rising and participating; after which, Rev. Jas. A.
+Handy, read from the 6th chapter, 2d Chronicles, and also addressed
+the throne of grace.
+
+"Lift up your heads, ye eternal gates" was admirably rendered by the
+choir, when the following letter was read from the President:
+
+ "EXECUTIVE MANSION, }
+ WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 1871. }
+
+ "To Rev. D. W. ANDERSON, No. 1971 I Street,
+
+ "SIR: The President directs me to say that your note of the 8th
+ inst., inviting him to be present at the dedication of your
+ church, was mislaid during his absence from the city, and was not
+ brought to his notice till to-day. He regrets that his
+ engagements will not admit of his attendance at the time you
+ mention. He congratulates your congregation upon the completion
+ of so handsome a place of worship, and hopes that its dedication
+ may prove an occasion of deep interest to all who share in a
+ desire to promote the spread of the Christian religion.
+
+ "I am, sir, your obedient servant,
+ "HORACE PORTER, _Secretary_."
+
+Rev. Henry Williams, of Petersburg, Va., who was announced to preach
+the dedicatory sermon, selected the following words: "And he was
+afraid, and said: How dreadful is this place! this is none other but
+the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
+
+
+Prominent among those present, who had been invited by Rev. Mr.
+Anderson, were His Excellency Governor H. D. Cooke, Hon. N. P.
+Chipman, Delegate to Congress; A. L. Sturtevant, Esq., Chief of
+Stationery Bureau, Treasury Department; Ed. Young, Esq., Chief of the
+Bureau of Statistics; Hon. A. K. Browne, Col. Wm. A. Cook, Dr. A. T.
+Augusta, and Wm. H. Thompson, Esq., of Philadelphia. While, seated
+around the altar, were Rev. Leonard A. Grimes, of Boston; Rev. Samuel.
+W Madden, of Alexandria, Va.; Rev. Geo. W. Goins, of Philadelphia;
+Rev. Jas. A. Handy, Washington; and Rev. Wm. Troy, Richmond, Va. At
+three o'clock, Rev. Leonard A. Grimes officiated and delivered an
+eloquent sermon.
+
+A work of grace followed the dedication of the church; and from month
+to month souls were converted. On the 21st of January, 1873, he wrote
+the following letter to a Baptist minister residing in Chicago:
+
+ "1921, I Street, WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 21, 1873.
+
+ "REV. R. DEBAPTIST:
+
+ "DEAR BROTHER: I write to inform you of a wonderful outpouring of
+ the Spirit of God in the 19th Street Baptist Church of which I am
+ pastor. Without any especial effort, up to the last few days,
+ there have been one to five converted every month, for the past
+ seven years, in the congregation. This led too many to think that
+ that was enough. At our watch-meeting I asked how many there were
+ who would come to the front pews and kneel before God as a token
+ to Christians to pray for them, and ten came. We had no other
+ meeting until my weekly lecture, the first Thursday night in
+ January after it. I saw a great feeling and called again; and
+ there came twenty-two. The brethren and sisters decided to hold
+ meeting the next night, and there came thirty-two who were
+ converted. Now, at this date, Monday night, 20th, there came
+ forward 'ninety-seven'; and there were over a hundred on their
+ knees praying. Twenty-two found peace in believing last night.
+
+ "We are all well. Pray for us. Write soon.
+
+ "Yours ever,
+ "D. W. ANDERSON."
+
+He was taken sick on the 7th of February, 1873, and after a painful
+illness of eleven days, he fell asleep on the 17th of February, full
+of years and honors, and was gathered to the fathers. On the Monday
+evening, just before he died, he told his wife, daughter, and a small
+company of friends who surrounded his death-bed: "It's all well," and
+then, at 7:30 P.M., quietly "fell on sleep."
+
+The news of his death cast gloom into thousands of hearts, and evoked
+eulogies and letters of condolence never before bestowed upon a Negro.
+His death was to the members of his church in the nature of a personal
+bereavement. The various interests to which he had loaned the
+enlightening influence of his judgment and the beneficence of his
+presence mourned his loss, and expressed their grief in appropriate
+resolutions. His life and character formed a fitting theme for the
+leading pulpits; and the Baptist denomination, the Negro race, and the
+nation sincerely mourned the loss of a great preacher, an able leader,
+and a pure patriot.
+
+At the request of many people of both races and political parties, his
+body was placed in state in the church for twenty-four hours, and
+thousands of people, rich and poor, black and white, sorrowfully gazed
+upon the face of the illustrious dead. The funeral services were held
+on the 20th of February, and his obsequies were the largest Washington
+had ever seen, except those of the late Abraham Lincoln. The church
+was crowded to suffocation, and the streets for many squares were
+filled with solemn mourners. Thus a great man had fallen. The officers
+of the Freedman's Bank passed the following resolutions, which were
+forwarded with the accompanying letter from the president:
+
+ "OFFICE OF THE FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND TRUST }
+ COMPANY, WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 20th, 1873. }
+
+ "At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Freedman's Savings
+ and Trust Company, held this date, the following resolutions were
+ adopted:
+
+ "1st. _Resolved_, That in the death of the Rev. D. W. Anderson,
+ Trustee and Vice-President of this Company, we sustain the loss
+ of a most excellent Christian man, and an officer of highest
+ integrity. In all his relations to us he was an endeared
+ associate, and an honored, intelligent, co-worker: ever firm in
+ purpose and faithful to those for whom he labored. Our long
+ intercourse with him impressed us with the increasing value of
+ his services to the church of which he was pastor, and to _this
+ institution_.
+
+ "We also hereby express our sincere sympathy with his immediate
+ friends, and especially his afflicted family.
+
+ "2d. _Resolved_, That, as an added expression of our esteem, this
+ Board will attend and take part in his funeral services, _as a
+ body_.
+
+ "3d. _Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon our
+ Records, and that a copy of the same be transmitted to his
+ family."
+
+ "PRINCIPAL OFFICE, }
+ FREEDMAN'S SAVINGS AND TRUST COMPANY, }
+ WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 21, '73. }
+
+ "To Mrs. D. W. ANDERSON.
+
+ "_My Dear Sister_: Allow me to transmit to you the enclosed copy
+ of resolutions passed by the Board of Trustees of the F. S. and
+ T. Comp., _with_ the sincerest assurances of my _personal_
+ sympathy.
+
+ "Very respectfully, yours, etc.,
+ "I. W. ALVORD, _President_."
+
+The Board of the Commissioners of the Washington Asylum passed the
+following resolutions of condolence:
+
+ "WHEREAS, it has pleased Divine Providence to remove from this
+ life the Rev. D. W. Anderson, late President of this Board:
+ therefore,
+
+ "_Be it resolved_, That in his death we have lost an honorable
+ and faithful associate, a genial and kind-hearted friend, whom we
+ delighted to honor and respect for his many virtues and sterling
+ worth. In him the poor have lost a sympathizing friend; the
+ criminal an even dispenser of Justice, and the Government one of
+ its most efficient officers.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we tender our most sincere sympathy to his
+ bereaved family, and condole with them in this sad dispensation
+ of Divine Providence.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the resolutions be entered upon the Journal of
+ proceedings of this Board, and a copy sent to the family of the
+ lamented deceased.
+
+ "A. B. BOHRER,
+ _Sec. B. C. W. Asylum_.
+
+ "Mrs. D. W. ANDERSON, Present."
+
+The Young People's Christian Association, which he had founded, have
+spread the following resolutions of respect upon their minutes:
+
+ "_Whereas_, It has pleased the Supreme Ruler and Architect of the
+ Universe to remove from our Association our beloved and estimable
+ brother and Corresponding Secretary D. W. Anderson, whose
+ Christian life was a beacon light, for all associated with him to
+ follow, being humble, patient, forbearing, and forgiving,
+ Therefore,
+
+ "_Resolved_, That in his death we have lost an humble and true
+ Christian, possessing the same prominent characteristics which
+ distinguished the Saviour of Mankind, doing good whenever he
+ believed he was serving his Heavenly Master, administering to the
+ poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, binding up the
+ wounds of those offended, and laboring zealously for the
+ salvation of souls, but while we feel the severe stroke of death
+ that has stricken down one of our best members, we bow humbly to
+ the will of Divine Providence, 'who doeth all things well,'
+ believing that He has summoned our brother to dwell with Him in
+ peace and happiness and to join the Army that is continually
+ singing praises to Him who rules both the Heavens and the earth,
+ so we cheerfully bow and acknowledge that our loss is his eternal
+ gain.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we tender to his bereaved family our sincere
+ and Christian sympathy in this their hour of bereavement, and
+ pray that He who has promised to be a Husband to the Widow, and a
+ Father to the Fatherless, may keep and protect them.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be engrossed and
+ sent to the family of our deceased brother, and that the same be
+ entered upon the records of the Association."
+
+And the church testified their love and sorrow in the following
+beautiful resolves:
+
+ "BAPTIST CHURCH,
+ CORNER of 19TH & I STREETS,
+ WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 28, 1873.
+
+ "_Whereas_, It has pleased the Almighty God, the Supreme Ruler of
+ the universe to remove from us our much esteemed and beloved
+ Pastor,
+
+ "REVEREND D. W. ANDERSON,
+
+ "therefore, be it,
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we deeply deplore and lament the loss of so
+ great and noble a pioneer in the cause of Christ, one who, like
+ Christ, although scorned, traduced and ill-treated by enemies,
+ went forward and labored in and out of his church for the
+ promotion of the work of his Father in Heaven.
+
+ "_Resolved_, that as a Church we feel the severe stroke that has
+ summoned from us our dearly beloved Pastor; but knowing that our
+ loss is his eternal gain, we cheerfully submit to the will and
+ order of that God who does all things well, that God who controls
+ the destinies of nations, kingdoms, and empires, that God who
+ 'moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.'
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we will endeavor by the assistance of our
+ heavenly Master to live up to the teachings and examples set by
+ our shepherd, thereby believing that when we are summoned to
+ appear at the bar of God we will meet our Pastor in that grand
+ Church above where 'sickness, pain, sorrow, or death is feared
+ and felt no more,' 'where congregations ne'er break up, and
+ Sabbath hath no end,' where 'we will sing hosannas to our
+ heavenly King, where we will meet to part no more forever.'
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we, the Church, extend to the bereaved family
+ our heartfelt sympathies, and that a copy of these resolutions be
+ sent to them, and also entered on the Church journal.
+
+ "LINDSEY MUSE, _Moderator_.
+
+ "DAVID WARNER, _Clerk_."
+
+The Mite Society of his church erected a monument to his memory in
+_Harmony Cemetery_, bearing the following inscriptions:
+
+ "The Christian Mite Society of the 19th Street Baptist Church
+ render this tribute to the memory of their beloved pastor. We
+ shall go to him, but he shall not return to us.
+
+ "Rev. D. W. ANDERSON,
+ "Born April 10th, 1812. Died Feb. 17th, 1873.
+ "'I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.'
+
+ "He was ordained in 1844, and after a ministry of 21 years
+ settled with the 19th Street Baptist Church of Washington, D. C.,
+ where he fell asleep in the midst of a great revival.
+
+ "For the cause of education, the welfare of the poor, the
+ promotion of humanity, liberty, and the conversion of the world.
+
+ "He labored faithfully until the Master called him hence."
+
+This beautiful life was studded with the noblest virtues. From
+obscurity and poverty Duke William Anderson had risen to fame and
+honors; and having spent a useful life, died in the midst of a great
+revival in the capital of the nation, holding more positions of trust
+than any other man, white or black; died with harness on, and left a
+name whose lustre will survive the corroding touch of time.
+
+The Rev. James Poindexter, of Columbus, Ohio, and the Rev. Wallace
+Shelton, of Cincinnati, are now and have been for years the foremost
+Baptist ministers of Ohio. Both men came to Ohio more than a
+generation ago, and have proven themselves able ministers of Christ.
+
+But of New England Baptist ministers Leonard Andrew Grimes is of most
+blessed memory.
+
+It was some time during the year 1840, when disputings arose--about
+what is not known--within the membership of what was known as the
+"First Independent Baptist Church," of Boston, Mass., which resulted
+in the drawing out from the same of about forty members. This party
+was led by the Rev. Mr. Black, who had been, for some time, pastor of
+the church he now left. They secured a place of worship in Smith
+Court, off of Joy Street, where they continued for a considerable
+space of time. It was not long, however, after they began to worship
+in their new home, before their highly esteemed and venerable leader
+was stricken down with disease, from which he subsequently died.
+
+This little band was now without a leader, and was, consequently,
+speedily rent by a schism within its own circle. But in the nucleus
+that finally became the Twelfth Baptist Church, there were faithful
+men and women who believed in the integrity of their cause, and,
+therefore, stood firm. They believed that "He who was for them was
+greater than all they who were against them." Though few in number,
+they felt that "one shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten
+thousand to flight," was a very pertinent passage when applied to
+themselves. And those who have been blessed to see that little
+"company of believers" grow to be an exceedingly large and prosperous
+church of Christ must be persuaded that God alone gave "the increase."
+
+For a long time this little company struggled on without a leader.
+They were called upon to walk through many discouraging scenes, and to
+humble themselves under the remorseless hand of poverty. Unable to
+secure, permanently, the services of a clergyman, they were driven to
+the necessity of obtaining whomsoever they could when the Sabbath
+came. And what a blessed thing it was for them that they were placed
+under the severe discipline of want! It taught them humility and
+faith--lessons often so hard to acquire. They bore their trials
+heroically, and esteemed it great joy to be counted worthy to suffer
+for Christ. When one Sabbath was ended they knew not whom the Lord
+would send the next; and yet they never suffered for the "Word of
+God." For He who careth for the lilies of the field, and bears up the
+falling sparrow, fed them with the "bread of life," and gave them to
+drink of the waters of salvation. "Unto the poor the Gospel was
+preached."
+
+After a few years of pain and waiting, after the watching and praying,
+the hoping and fearing, God seemed pleased to hear the prayers of this
+lonely band, and gave them a leader. It was whispered in the community
+that a very intelligent and useful man, by the name of "Grimes," of
+New Bedford, could be retained as their leader. After some
+deliberation upon the matter, they chose one of their number to pay a
+visit to "Brother Leonard A. Grimes, of New Bedford," and on behalf
+of the company worshipping in "an upper room," on Belknap Street--now
+Joy Street--Boston, extended him an invitation to come and spend a
+Sabbath with them. In accordance with their request he paid them a
+visit. Impressed with the dignity of his bearing, and the earnestness
+of his manner, the company was unanimous in an invitation, inviting
+"the young preacher" to return and remain with them for "three
+months."
+
+The invitation was accepted with alacrity, and the work begun with a
+zeal worthy of the subsequent life of "the beloved pastor of the
+Twelfth Baptist Church." Brother L. A. Grimes had been driven North on
+account of his friendly and humane relations to the oppressed. He had
+been incarcerated by the laws of slave-holding Virginia, for wresting
+from her hand, and piloting into the land of freedom, those whom
+slavery had marked as her children--or, rather, her "_goods_." A soul
+like his was too grand to live in such an atmosphere. In keeping the
+golden rule, he had insulted the laws of the institution under whose
+merciless sway thousands of human beings were groaning. He would live
+no longer where his convictions of duty were to be subordinated to,
+and palliated by, the penurious and cruel teaching of the slave
+institution. So, after having been robbed of his property, he left, in
+company with his family, for the fair shores of New England. He had
+sought no distinction, but had settled down to a quiet life in New
+Bedford. But a man of his worth could not stay in the quiet walks of
+life; he was born to lead, and heard God call him to the work his soul
+loved.
+
+His quiet, unpretentious ministry of "three months" shadowed forth the
+loving, gentle, yet vigorous and successful ministry of a quarter of a
+century; a ministry so like the Master's, not confined to sect or
+nationality, limited only by the wants of humanity and the great
+heart-love that went gushing out to friend and foe. Those who were so
+happy as to sit under his ministry for the "three months" were quite
+unwilling to be separated from one whose ministry had so greatly
+comforted and built them up. In the young preacher they had found a
+leader of excellent judgment, a pastor of tender sympathies, and a
+father who loved them with all the strength of true manly affection.
+How could they retain him? They were poor. How could they release him?
+They loved him. After much prayer and pleading, Brother Grimes was
+secured as their leader, with a salary at the rate of $100 per annum.
+He returned to New Bedford and moved his family to Boston. His salary
+barely paid his rent; but by working with his hands, as Paul did, and
+through the industry of his wife, he was enabled to get along.
+
+During all this time this little company of believers was without
+"church organization." At length a council was called and their prayer
+for organization presented. After the procedure common to such
+councils, it was voted that this company of Christian men and women be
+organized as the "Twelfth Baptist Church." The church consisted of
+twenty-three members.
+
+On the evening of the 24th of November, 1848, occurred the services of
+the recognition of the church, and the ordination of Rev. L. A. Grimes
+as its pastor. The order of exercises was as follows:
+
+Reading of Scriptures and prayer, by the Rev. Edmund Kelley; sermon,
+by the Rev. J. Banvard, subject: "The way of salvation," from Acts
+xvi, 17: "The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men
+are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of
+salvation"; hand of fellowship to the church, by the Rev. T. F.
+Caldicott; prayer of recognition and ordination, by the Rev. John
+Blain; charge to the candidate, by the Rev. Nathaniel Colver; address
+to the church, by the Rev. Rollin H. Neale; concluding prayer, by the
+Rev. Sereno Howe; benediction, by the pastor, Rev. Leonard A. Grimes.
+
+The exercises were of a very pleasant nature, and of great interest to
+the humble little church that assembled to enjoy them. It was an
+occasion of no small moment that published to the world the "Twelfth
+Baptist Church," and sent upon a mission of love and mercy, Leonard
+Andrew Grimes! It was an occasion that has brought great strength to
+the Colored people of Boston, yea, of the country! It was the opening
+of a door; it was the loosening of chains, the beginning of a ministry
+that was to stretch over a period of twenty-five years, carrying peace
+and blessing to men in every station. And may we not, with propriety,
+halt upon the threshold of our gratitude, and thank that wise Being
+who gave him, a blessing to the church a friend to humanity?
+
+Happy, thrice happy, was the little church that had wedded itself for
+life to one who had laid himself upon the altar of their common cause.
+These relations and manifold responsibilities were not hastily or
+rashly assumed. The little church felt keenly its poverty and
+weakness, while its new pastor knew that the road to prosperity lay
+through fields of toil and up heights of difficulty. Before him was no
+dark future, for the light of an extraordinary faith scattered the
+darkness as he advanced to duty. What man of intelligence, without
+capital or social influence, would have undertaken so discouraging a
+project as that to which Leonard A. Grimes unconditionally brought the
+sanctified zeal of a loving heart? To him it was purely a matter of
+duty, and it was this thought that urged him on with his almost
+superhuman burdens.
+
+But to return to the "upper chamber," and take one more look at the
+happy little church. It was not the pastor's object to begin at once
+to perfect plans to secure a place more desirable to worship in than
+their present little room. His heart longed for that enlargement of
+soul secured by a nearness to the divine Master. His heart yearned
+after those who were enemies to the "_cross of Christ_." His first
+prayer was: "O Lord, revive thy work!" and it was not offered in vain.
+A season of prayer was instituted for the outpouring of the Spirit.
+The pastor led the way to the throne of grace in a fervent and
+all-embracing prayer. A spirit of prayer fell upon his people. Every
+heart trembled in tenderest sympathy for those who were strangers to
+the "covenant of mercy"; every eye was dampened with tears of
+gratitude and love; every tongue was ready to exclaim with Watts:--
+
+ "'T was the same love that spread the feast,
+ That sweetly forced us in;
+ Else we had still refused to taste,
+ And perished in our sin."
+
+The church had reached that point in feeling where the blessing is
+sure. They heard the coming of the chariot, and felt the saving power
+of the Lord in their midst. It was a glorious revival. There were more
+converted than there were members in the church. Oh, what joy, what
+peace, what comfort in the Holy Ghost was there in that "upper
+chamber"! What tongue or pen can describe the scene in that room when
+over thirty souls were gathered into the fold! A pastor's _first_
+revival! What rejoicing! The gathering of his first children in the
+Lord! Ask Paul what conscious pride he took in those who were his
+"epistles," his "fruit in the Gospel," his "children" in Christ
+Jesus. It lifted Brother Grimes up to the heights of Pisgah in his
+rejoicing, and laid him low at the cross in his humility. "The Lord
+had done great things for him, whereof he was glad"; And they "did eat
+their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and
+having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church
+daily such as should be saved."
+
+The rooms in which they began now proved too small for their rapidly
+increasing membership. They agreed to have a building of their own. It
+was now the latter part of 1848. The business eye of the pastor fell
+upon a lot on Southac Street; and in the early part of 1849 the
+trustees purchased it. Preparations for building were at once begun.
+It seemed a large undertaking for a body of Christians so humble in
+circumstances, so weak in numbers. But faith and works were the
+_genii_ that turned the tide of prosperity in their favor. They
+decided that the ground and edifice should not exceed in cost the sum
+of $10,000. The society proposed to raise two or three thousand within
+its own membership; three thousand by loan, and solicit the remainder
+from the Christian public. Previous to this period the public knew
+little or nothing of this society. Brother Grimes had come to Boston
+almost an entire stranger, and had now to undertake the severe task of
+presenting the interests of a society so obscure and of so recent
+date. But he believed in his cause, and knew that success would come.
+He had known Dr. Neale in Washington City, during his early ministry;
+they were boys together. They met. It was a pleasant meeting. The Rev.
+Mr. Neale vouched for him before the public. It was not particularly
+necessary, for Brother Grimes carried a recommendation in his face: it
+was written all over with veracity and benevolence.
+
+Joyfully and successfully he hurried on his mission. He made friends
+of the enemies of evangelical religion, and gathered a host of
+admirers around him. The public saw in him not only the zealous pastor
+of an humble little church, but the true friend of humanity. The
+public ear was secured; his prayer was answered in the munificent
+gifts that came in from every direction. Every person seemed anxious
+to contribute something to this noble object.
+
+It was a beautiful morning! The sun never shone brighter, nor the air
+smelled sweeter or purer than on that memorable first day of August,
+1850. The first persons to usher themselves into the street that
+morning were the happy members of the "_Twelfth_ _Baptist Church_."
+Every face told of the inward joy and peace of thankful hearts. Those
+who had toiled long through the days of the church's "small things,"
+felt that their long-cherished hopes were beginning to bud.
+
+Long before the appointed hour the members and friends of the church
+began to gather to participate in the "laying of the corner-stone of
+the Twelfth Baptist Church." It was a sweet, solemn occasion.
+
+"Rev. Drs. Sharp, Neale and Colver, together with the pastor of the
+church, officiated on the occasion. The usual documents were deposited
+with the stone, and the customary proceedings gone through with, in a
+solemn and impressive manner."
+
+The occasion lent an enthusiasm for the work hitherto unknown. They
+were emboldened. The future looked bright, and on every hand the times
+were propitious. Gradually the walls of the edifice grew heavenward,
+and the building began to take on a pleasing phase. At length the
+walls had reached their proper height, and the roof crowned all. Their
+sky was never brighter. It is true a "little speck of cloud" was seen
+in the distance; but they were as unsuspicious as children. The cloud
+approached gradually, and, as it approached, took on its terrible
+characteristics. It paused a while; it trembled. Then there was a
+death-like silence in the air, and in a moment it vomited forth its
+forked lightning, and rolled its thunder along the sky. It was the
+explosion of a Southern shell over a Northern camp, that was lighted
+by the torch of ambition in the hands of fallen Webster. It was the
+culmination of slave-holding Virginia's wrath. It was invading the
+virgin territory of liberty-loving Massachusetts. It was hunting the
+fugitive on free soil, and tearing him from the very embrace of sweet
+freedom.
+
+When the time came to enlist Colored soldiers, Leonard A. Grimes was
+as untiring in his vigilance as any friend of the Fifty-fourth
+Regiment of Massachusetts volunteers, while the members of his church
+were either joining or aiding the regiment. So highly were the
+services of Brother Grimes prized that the chaplaincy of the regiment
+was not only tendered him, but urged upon him; but the multifarious
+duties of his calling forbade his going with the regiment he loved and
+revered.
+
+The ladies of his congregation were busy with their needles, thus
+aiding the cause of the Union; and no church threw its doors open more
+readily to patriotic meetings than the Twelfth Baptist Church. And
+during those dark days of the Union, when all seemed hopeless, when
+our armies were weak and small, the prayers of a faithful pastor and
+pious people ascended day and night, and did much to strengthen the
+doubting.
+
+The fugitive-slave law and civil war had done much to weaken the
+church financially and numerically. Many who fled from the
+fugitive-slave law had not returned; the young men had entered the
+service of the country, while many others were absent from the city
+under various circumstances. But notwithstanding all these facts, God
+blessed the church--even in war times,--and many were converted.
+
+The struggle was now ended. "The Boys in Blue" came home in triumph.
+The father separated from child, the husband from wife, could now meet
+again. Those who were driven before the wrath of an impious and cruel
+edict could now return to the fold without fear. What a happy occasion
+it was for the whole church! The reunion of a family long separated;
+the gathering of dispersed disciples. The occasion brought such an
+undistinguishable throng of fancies--such joy, such hope, such blessed
+fellowship--as no pen can describe.
+
+At the commencement of the Rebellion the church numbered about 246;
+and at the close of the Rebellion it numbered about 300,
+notwithstanding the discouraging circumstances under which she
+labored. The revivals that followed brought many into the church, and
+the heart of the pastor was greatly encouraged.
+
+At first it was thought that the entire cost of the land and building
+would not exceed $10,000; but the whole cost, from the time they began
+to build until the close of the war, was $14,044.09. In 1861 the
+indebtedness of the church was $2,967.62; at the close of the war it
+was about $2,000.
+
+During all these years of financial struggle the church had ever paid
+her notes with promptness and without difficulty. And now that the war
+was over, freedom granted to the enslaved, and the public again
+breathing easy, the little church, not weary of well-doing, again
+began the work of removing the remaining debt. The public was sought
+only in the most extreme necessity. The ladies held sewing circles,
+and made with the needle fancy articles to be sold in a festival,
+while the members of the church were contributing articles of wearing
+apparel, or offering their services at the sale tables. The proceeds
+were given to the society to pay its debts; and it was no mean gift.
+
+From 1865 to 1871 the church grew rapidly. Revivals were of frequent
+occurrence; and many from the South, learning of the good name of Rev.
+Mr. Grimes, sought his church when coming to Boston. But it was
+apparent that their once commodious home was now too small. The pastor
+saw this need, and began to take the proper steps to meet it. It was
+at length decided that the church should undergo repairs; and the
+pastor was armed with the proper papers to carry forward this work.
+The gallery that was situated in the east end of the church was used
+chiefly by the choir and an instrument. In making repairs it was
+thought wise to remove the organ from the gallery, and put in seats,
+and thereby accommodate a larger number of people. Then, the old
+pulpit took up a great deal of room, and by putting in a new pulpit of
+less dimensions, more room could be secured for pews. This was done,
+with the addition of a baptistry, the lack of which for nearly
+twenty-five years had driven them, in all kinds of weather, to Charles
+River. Every thing, from the basement up, underwent repairs. The pews
+were painted and furnished with book-racks. The floors were repaired,
+and covered with beautiful carpet; while the walls and ceilings were
+richly clothed with fresco, by the hands of skilful workmen. In the
+centre of the ceiling was an excellent ventilator, from which was
+suspended a very unique chandelier, with twelve beautiful globes, that
+were calculated to dispense their mellow light upon the worshippers
+below. But to crown all this expensive work and exceeding beauty thus
+bestowed upon the house, was the beautiful organ that adorned the
+southwest corner of the church, just to the pastor's right when in the
+pulpit. It was secured for the sum of two thousand five hundred
+dollars. All was accomplished. The old house of worship was now
+entirely refitted. No heart was happier than the pastor's the day the
+church was reopened.[132] The new and elegant organ sent forth its
+loud peals of music in obedience to the masterly touch of the
+"_faithful one_," who for more than twelve years was never absent from
+her post of duty, and whom none knew but to love and honor.
+
+What supreme satisfaction there is in the accomplishment of a work
+that comprehends, not the interests of an individual, but the
+interests of the greatest number of human beings! The labors of Rev.
+Mr. Grimes were bestowed upon those whom he loved. He had toiled for
+his church as a father does to support his family. And no pastor,
+perhaps, was ever more paternal to his flock than Leonard A. Grimes.
+He was a man wondrously full of loving-kindness,--a lover of mankind.
+
+It has been the rule rather than the exception, for a long time, for
+churches to carry heavy debts; and when a church is free from debt, it
+certainly furnishes a cause for great rejoicing. It was so with the
+Twelfth Baptist Church. For a long time--more than twenty years--the
+church had been before the public as an object of charity. For more
+than twenty years the people had struggled heroically amid all of the
+storms that gathered around them. Sometimes they expected to see "_the
+red flag_" upon their house of worship, but the flag Was never raised.
+
+The debts of the church had all been removed. The house was absolutely
+free from every encumbrance; the people owned their church.
+
+But the little church of twenty-three had become the large church of
+six hundred. The once commodious house was now too small for the
+communicants of the church. The pastor began to look around for a
+place to build, and considered the matter of enlarging the present
+house of worship. He had expended the strength of his manhood in the
+service of his church; he had built one house, and had never denied
+the public his service. It would seem natural that a man whose life
+had been so stormy, yea, so full of toil and care, would seek in
+advanced age the rest and quiet so much desired at that stage of life.
+But it was not so with Brother Grimes. He was willing to begin another
+lifetime work, and with all the freshness of desire and energy of
+young manhood.
+
+It was now the latter part of the winter of 1873. A revival had been
+for a long time, and was still, in progress. Converts were coming into
+the church rapidly. The heart of the pastor was never fuller of love
+than during the revival. He seemed to be in agony for sinners to be
+saved. He impatiently paced the aisles, and held private and personal
+interviews with the impenitent. He disliked to leave the church at the
+close of the services. He remained often in the vestibule, watching
+for an opportunity to say a word for the Saviour. Brother C. G. Swan,
+who preached for him once, said: "I never beheld a more heavenly face;
+it seemed as if his soul were ripe for heaven."
+
+Those who saw him in the pulpit the last Sabbath he spent on
+earth--March 9, 1874--will not soon forget the earnestness and
+impressiveness of his manner. On Wednesday, March 12th, he left the
+scene of his labors to discharge a duty nearest to his heart. He took
+$100 from his poor church, as a gift to the _Home Mission Society_,
+that was to be used in the _Freedman's Fund_.
+
+On Friday evening, March 14th, he reached home just in time to breathe
+his last in the arms of his faithful, though anxious wife. Thus he
+fell asleep in the path of duty, in the midst of a mighty work.
+
+The news of his death spread rapidly, and cast a shadow of grief over
+the entire community. The people mourned him.
+
+The morning papers gave full account and notice of his death. The
+following is one of the many notices that were given:
+
+ "DEATH OF AN ESTEEMED CLERGYMAN.
+
+ "The Rev. L. A. Grimes, the well-known and universally esteemed
+ colored clergyman, died very suddenly last evening, at his
+ residence on Everett Avenue, East Somerville. He had just
+ returned from New York, where he had been to attend the meeting
+ of the _Baptist Board of Home Missions_, of which he was a
+ member. He had walked to his home from the cars, and died within
+ fifteen minutes after his arrival. The physicians pronounce it a
+ case of apoplexy. Mr. Grimes was pastor of the Twelfth Baptist
+ Church, on Phillips Street, in this city. During the twenty-six
+ years of his ministry in Boston he had won the confidence and
+ regard, not only of his own sect, but of the entire community.
+ His labors for the good of his oppressed race attracted public
+ attention to him more than twenty years ago, and this interest
+ manifested itself in the generous contributions of Unitarians,
+ Episcopalians, and Universalists in aid of his church. During the
+ thirty-four dark days of the infamous Fugitive-Slave Law, and the
+ excitements occasioned by slave hunts in Boston, Mr. Grimes had a
+ 'level head,' and did much to keep down riotous outbreaks from
+ those who then were told that they had no rights that white men
+ were bound to respect. Fortunate, indeed, will be the church of
+ the deceased, if his successor, like him, shall be able to keep
+ them together, and lead them in righteous ways for a quarter of a
+ century."
+
+On the following Monday morning, at the ministers' meeting,
+appropriate remarks were made, and resolutions drawn up. The following
+appeared in the daily papers:
+
+ "BAPTIST MINISTERS' MEETING.
+
+ "The Monday morning meeting of the Baptist ministers of Boston
+ and vicinity was held at ten o'clock, Monday, as is the weekly
+ custom. After the devotional exercises, the committee to prepare
+ resolutions on the death of the late Rev. Leonard Andrew Grimes
+ made their report to the meeting. Pending the acceptance of the
+ report remarks eulogizing the deceased were made by Rev. R. H.
+ Neale, D.D., and others. The resolutions, which were thereupon
+ given a place upon the records of the meeting, are as follows: In
+ the death of Leonard Andrew Grimes, for twenty-seven years the
+ pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston, the city in which
+ he lived, the race for which he labored have sustained an
+ irreparable loss. The _confrere_ of Daniel Sharp, Baron Stow,
+ Phineas Stow, Nathaniel Colver, Rev. Mr. Graves of the
+ 'Reflector,' he was one whose coming might always be welcomed
+ with the exclamation of our Saviour concerning Nathaniel: 'Behold
+ an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.' His last efforts
+ were put forth for his race. He carried to the Board of the
+ American Baptist Home Mission Society, of which he had been for
+ many years an honored member, a large contribution from his
+ church, to help on Christ's work among the Freedmen, and, on
+ returning from New York, stopped at New Bedford to comfort a
+ broken-hearted mother, whose little child was dying, and then
+ came to the city, and in fifteen minutes after crossing the
+ threshold of his home passed on to God.
+
+ "His death affected the ministry and churches as when 'a
+ standard-bearer fainteth.' His familiar face was ever welcome.
+ His resolute bearing, his unswerving fidelity to Christ, to
+ truth, to the church at large, and his own denomination in
+ particular, and his life-long service as a philanthropist, his
+ devotion to the interests of the negro, to whom he was linked by
+ ties of consanguinity and of sympathy, made him a felt power for
+ good in our State and in our entire country. No man among us was
+ more sincerely respected or more truly loved. His departure,
+ while it came none too soon for the tired warrior, impoverishes
+ us with the withdrawal of an all-embracing love, and leaves God's
+ poor to suffer to an extent it is impossible to describe.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the death of this good minister of Jesus Christ
+ imposes heavy responsibilities upon his surviving brethren. The
+ interests of the race of which he was an honored representative
+ are imperilled. Their noble champion has gone up higher; but no
+ waiting Elisha saw the ascent, and cried, 'My father, my father,
+ the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof'; so who can hope
+ to wear his mantle and continue his work?
+
+ "_Resolved_, That we tender to his afflicted widow, and to the
+ church he had so long and faithfully served, this poor expression
+ of our sympathy, and this truthful evidence of our love.
+
+ "_Resolved_, That the good of his race, just passing from the
+ morning of emancipation into the noonday radiance of a liberty of
+ which they have dreamed, and for which they have prayed, demands
+ that a permanent record be made of this noble man of God."
+
+The ministers' meeting adjourned after the reading of the foregoing
+resolutions, to attend the funeral services, which were to take place
+in Charles Street Church. At an early hour in the morning the body was
+placed in front of the altar in the church of the deceased, where it
+lay in state all the forenoon, and where appropriate services were
+conducted by Drs. Cheney, Fulton, and others. Thousands, of every
+grade and hue, thronged the church to have a last fond look at the
+face so full of sunlight in life, and so peaceful in death.
+
+At one o'clock the remains were removed to Charles Street Church,
+where the funeral services were conducted with a feeling of solemnity
+and impressiveness worthy of the sad occasion. The addresses of Drs.
+Neale and Fulton were fall of tenderness and grief. Both of these
+gentlemen were, for many years, the intimate friends of the deceased.
+They were all associated together in a noble work for a number of
+years, and there were no hearts so sad as those of Brothers Neale and
+Fulton. Clergymen of every denomination were present, and the
+congregation contained men and women from all the walks of life. The
+funeral was considered one of the largest that ever took place in
+Boston.
+
+On the following Sabbath quite a number of the Boston pulpits gave
+appropriate discourses upon the "Life and Character of the late L. A.
+Grimes." The most noticeable were those delivered by Rev. R. N. Neale,
+D.D., Rev. Justin D. Fulton, D.D., and Rev. Henry A. Cook.
+
+Within the last decade quite a number of educated Colored Baptist
+clergymen have come into active work in the denomination. The old-time
+preaching is becoming distasteful to the people. The increasing
+intelligence of the congregations is an unmistakable warning to the
+preachers that a higher standard of preaching is demanded; that the
+pew is becoming as intelligent as the pulpit. The outlook is very
+encouraging. However, the danger of the hour is, that too many Negro
+churches may be organized. We have the quantity; let us _have_ the
+_quality_ now.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[132] It was our good fortune to be present. We remember distinctly
+his happy face, his words of gratitude and thanks. And as we looked
+around every face wore an expression of complete satisfaction.
+
+
+
+
+Part 9.
+
+_THE DECLINE OF NEGRO GOVERNMENTS._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+REACTION, PERIL, AND PACIFICATION.
+
+1875-1880.
+
+ THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENTS AT THE
+ SOUTH.--SOUTHERN ELECTION METHODS AND NORTHERN SYMPATHY.--GEN.
+ GRANT NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECLINE AND LOSS OF THE REPUBLICAN
+ STATE GOVERNMENTS AT THE SOUTH.--A PARTY WITHOUT A LIVE
+ ISSUE.--SOUTHERN WAR CLAIMS.--THE CAMPAIGN OF 1876.--REPUBLICAN
+ LETHARGY AND DEMOCRATIC ACTIVITY.--DOUBTFUL RESULTS.--THE
+ ELECTORAL COUNT IN CONGRESS.--GEN. GARFIELD AND CONGRESSMEN
+ FOSTER AND HALE TO THE FRONT AS LEADERS.--PEACEFUL
+ RESULTS.--PRESIDENT HAYES'S SOUTHERN POLICY.--ITS FAILURE.--THE
+ IDEAS OF THE HON. CHARLES FOSTER ON THE TREATMENT OF THE SOUTHERN
+ PROBLEM.--"NOTHING BUT LEAVES" FROM CONCILIATION.--A NEW POLICY
+ DEMANDED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.--A REMARKABLE SPEECH BY THE
+ HON. CHARLES FOSTER AT UPPER SANDUSKY, OHIO.--HE CALLS FOR A
+ SOLID NORTH AGAINST A SOLID SOUTH.--HE SOUNDS THE KEY-NOTE FOR
+ THE NORTH AND THE NATION RESPONDS.--THE DECAY AND DEATH OF THE
+ NEGRO GOVERNMENTS AT THE SOUTH INEVITABLE.--THE NEGRO MUST TURN
+ HIS ATTENTION TO EDUCATION, THE ACCUMULATION OF PROPERTY AND
+ EXPERIENCE.--HE WILL RETURN TO POLITICS WHEN HE SHALL BE EQUAL TO
+ THE DIFFICULT DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP.
+
+
+From 1868 to 1872 the Southern States had been held by the Republican
+party, with but a few exceptions, without much effort. The friends of
+the Negro began to congratulate themselves that the Southern problem
+had been solved. Every Legislature in the South had among its members
+quite a fair representation of Colored men. Among the State officers
+there was a good sprinkling of them; and in some of the States there
+were Negroes as Lieut.-Governors. Congress had opened its doors to a
+dozen Negroes; and the consular and diplomatic service had employed a
+number of them in foreign parts. And so with such evidences of
+political prosperity before their eyes the friends of the Negro at the
+North regarded his "calling and election sure."
+
+In 1873 a great financial panic came to the business and monetary
+affairs of the country. It was the logic of an inflated currency, wild
+and visionary enterprises, bad investments, and prodigal living. Banks
+tottered and fell, large business houses suspended, and financial ruin
+ran riot. Northern attention was diverted from Southern politics to
+the "destruction that seemed to waste at noon-day." Taking advantage
+of this the South seized the shot-gun and wrote on her banners: "_We
+must carry these States, peaceably if we can; forcibly if we must._"
+An organized, deliberate policy of political intimidation assumed the
+task of ridding the South of Negro government. The first step was in
+the direction of intimidating the white leaders of the Republican
+organizations; and the next was to deny employment to all intelligent
+and influential Colored Republicans. Thus from time to time the
+leaders of the Republican party were reduced to a very small number.
+Without leaders the rank and file of the party were harmless and
+helpless in State and National campaigns. This state of affairs seemed
+to justify the presence of troops at the polls on election days. Under
+an Act of Congress "the President was empowered to use the army to
+suppress domestic violence, prevent bloodshed," and to protect the
+Negroes in the constitutional exercise of the rights conferred upon
+them by the Constitution. This movement was met by the most determined
+opposition from the South, aided by the sympathy of the Northern
+press, Democratic platforms, and a considerable element in the
+Republican party.
+
+In 1874 the condition of affairs in the South was such as to alarm the
+friends of stable, constitutional government everywhere. The city of
+New Orleans was in a state of siege. Streets were blockaded with State
+troops and White Line leagues, and an open battle was fought. The
+Republican State government fell before the insurgents, and a new
+government was established _vi et armis_. Troops were sent to New
+Orleans by the President, and the lawful government was restored. The
+Liberal movement in the North, which had resulted in the defeat of the
+Republican tickets in Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey,
+Connecticut, and even in Massachusetts, greatly encouraged the Bourbon
+Democrats of the South, and excited them to the verge of the most open
+and cruel conduct toward the white and black Republicans in their
+midst.
+
+A large number of Northern Legislatures passed resolutions condemning
+the action of the President in sending troops into the South, although
+he did it in accordance with law. Many active and influential
+Republicans, displeased with the action of the Republican governments
+at the South, and the conduct of the Forty-third Congress, demanded
+the destruction of the Republican party. The Liberal movement had
+started in 1872. Its leaders thought the time had come for a new
+party, and counselled the country accordingly.
+
+The Forty-fourth Congress was organized by the Democrats. The Cabinet
+Ministers were divided on the policy pursued toward the South. In the
+autumn of 1875 the shot-gun policy carried Mississippi; and from the
+6th of July till the Republican government in that State went down
+into a bloody grave, there was an unbroken series of political
+murders.
+
+President Grant was met by a Democratic Congress; a divided Cabinet:
+Zachariah Chandler and Edwards Pierrepont were in sympathy with him;
+Bristow and Jewell represented the Liberal sentiment. Then, the
+Republican party of the North, and many leading journals, were urging
+a change of policy toward the South. The great majority of Republicans
+wanted a change, not because they did not sympathize with the Negro
+governments, but because they saw some of the best men in the party
+withdrawing their support from the administration of Gen. Grant. There
+were other men who charged that the business failures in the country
+were occasioned by the financial policy of the Republican party, and
+in a spirit of desperation were ready to give their support to the
+Democracy.
+
+It was charged by the enemies of Gen. Grant that when he was elected
+President he had a solid Republican South behind him; that under his
+administration everything had been lost; and that he was responsible
+for the political ruin which had overtaken the Republican party at the
+South. The charge was false. The errors of reconstruction under the
+administration of President Andrew Johnson, and the mistakes of the
+men who had striven to run the State governments at the South had to
+be counteracted by the administration of President Grant. This indeed
+was a difficult task. He did all he could under the Constitution; and
+when Congress endeavored to pass the Force Bill, the Hon. James G.
+Blaine, of Maine, made a speech against it in caucus. Mr. Blaine had a
+presidential ambition to serve, and esteemed his own promotion of
+greater moment than the protection of the Colored voters of the
+South. And Mr. Blaine never allowed an opportunity to pass in which he
+did not throw every obstacle in the way of the success of the Grant
+administration. Mr. Blaine has never seen fit to explain his
+opposition to the Force Bill, which was intended to strengthen the
+hands of the President in his efforts to protect the Negro voter at
+the South.
+
+When the National Republican Convention met at Cincinnati, Ohio, in
+the summer of 1876, there was still lacking a definite policy for the
+South. Presidential candidates were numerous, and the contest bitter.
+Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes, at that time Governor of Ohio, was nominated
+as a compromise candidate. There was no issue left the Republican
+party, as the "bloody shirt" had been rejected by the Liberals, and
+was generally distasteful at the North. But the initial success of the
+Democratic party South, and the loss of many Northern States to the
+Republicans, had emboldened the South to expect national success. But
+a too precipitous preparation for a raid upon the United States
+Treasury for the payment of rebel war claims threw the Republicans
+upon their guard, and, for the time being, every other question was
+sunk into insignificance. So the insolence of the "Rebel Brigadier
+Congress," and the letter of Samuel Jones Tilden, the Democratic
+candidate for the Presidency, on the question of the Southern war
+claims, gave the Republican party a fighting chance. But there were a
+desperate South and a splendid campaign organizer in Mr. Tilden to
+meet. And with a shot-gun policy, tissue ballets, and intimidation at
+the South, while a gigantic, bold, and matchless system of fraudulent
+voting was pushed with vigor in the North, there was little show of
+success for the Republican ticket. The contest on the part of the
+Republicans was spiritless. It was difficult to raise funds or excite
+enthusiasm. The Republican candidate had only a local reputation. He
+had been to Congress, but even those who had known that had forgotten
+it. A modest, retiring man, Gov. Hayes was not widely known. The old
+and tried leaders were not enthusiastic. Mr. Blaine had no second
+choice. He was for himself or nobody. The Democrats prosecuted their
+campaign with vigor, intelligence, and enthusiasm. They went "into the
+school districts," and their organization has never been equalled in
+America.
+
+The result was doubtful. One thing, however, was sure: the Negro
+governments of the South were now a thing of the past. Not a single
+State was left to the Republican party. Florida, Louisiana, and South
+Carolina were hanging by the slender thread of doubt, with the
+provisions of a returning board in favor of the Republican party. The
+returning boards were the creation of local law; their necessity
+having grown out of the peculiar methods employed by Democrats in
+carrying elections. These boards were empowered to receive and count
+the votes cast for presidential electors; and wherever it could be
+proven that intimidation and fraud had been used, the votes of such
+precincts, counties, etc., were to be thrown out. The three doubtful
+States named above were counted for the Republican presidential
+electors. Their work was carried before Congress. A high joint
+electoral commission was created by law, composed of the ablest men of
+the two parties in Congress, with the salt of judicial judgment thrown
+in. This commission examined the returns of the three doubtful States,
+and decided not to go behind the returns; and, according to a previous
+agreement, one branch of Congress ratifying, the candidate having the
+more votes was to be declared duly elected.
+
+The country was in an unprecedented state of excitement; and even
+European governments felt the shock. The enemies of Republican
+government laughed their little laugh, and said that the end of the
+republic had come. British bankers brought out into the light
+Confederate bonds; while stocks in the United States went through an
+experience as variable as the weather in the Mississippi valley. The
+public press was intemperate in its utterances, and the political
+passions of the people were inflamed every hour. The national House of
+Representatives was a vast whirlpool of excitement,--or, rather it was
+an angry sea stirred to its depths, and lashing itself into aimless
+fury by day and by night. When the vote of a State was called, some
+Democrat would object, and the Senate, which was always present, would
+retire, and the House would then open a war of words running through
+hours and sometimes days. When the debate ended, or rather when the
+House had reached the end of its parliamentary halter, the Senate
+would again enter, the vote of the State would be counted, and the
+next one called. Thus the count proceeded through anxious days and
+weary nights. Business was suspended; and the bulletin boards of
+commercial 'changes were valueless so long as the bulletin boards of
+the newspapers contained "the latest news from Washington."
+
+In this state of affairs there was need of statesmen at the head of
+the Republican minority in Congress. There were orators; but the
+demand was for men of judgment, energy, executive ability,--men in
+whom the Democrats had confidence, who could put a stop to
+filibustering, and secure a peaceful solution of a unique and
+dangerous problem.
+
+These were forthcoming; the late President Garfield and Gov. Foster,
+then a member of Congress, with Kasson, Hale, and other members of
+Congress, were among those most active and effective in securing a
+peaceful result.
+
+When the electoral fight was on, and the end seemed uncertain, these
+gentlemen stepped to the front and fairly won the reputation of
+statesmen. They saw that if the filibustering of the Democrats were
+brought to a close, it would have to be accomplished by the leaders in
+that party and on that side of the House. Accordingly they secured
+Fernando Wood, of New York, as the leader in opposition to
+filibustering, and John Young Brown, of Kentucky, as his lieutenant.
+The Republican policy was to allow the Democrats to lead and do the
+talking, while they should fall into line and vote when the proper
+time came. But Fernando Wood at the head of the Republicans as a
+leader, was a spectacle as strange and startling as Satan leading a
+prayer-meeting. It was too much for an orthodox, close-communion,
+hard-shell Republican like Martin I. Townsend!
+
+On Thursday afternoon, the last day of the alarming scenes in
+Congress, nearly everybody had lost hope. There was no telling at what
+moment the government would be in anarchy. In the midst of the
+confusion, excitement, and threatening danger, the Hon. Charles Foster
+was the most imperturbable man in Congress. On Thursday afternoon
+Senator Hoar, a member of Congress from Massachusetts, saw Mr. Foster
+seated at his desk writing as quietly and composedly as if in his
+private office; he seemed perfectly oblivious to the angry storm which
+was raging about him. The cold-blooded, conservative New England
+Senator was as greatly amazed at the serenity of the clear-headed
+Western Congressman as he was distressed at the impending disaster. He
+went to Mr. Foster and talked very discouragingly respecting the
+situation. He said that the Senate was growing impatient at the
+dilatory conduct of the House, and would probably, at the earliest
+convenience, send a message to the House demanding that the latter
+open their doors and admit the Senate to complete the count.
+Congressman Foster stated to the Senator that the House was not in a
+temper to be driven; that a resolution of the character of the one
+proposed would hinder rather than help a peaceful solution of the
+vexatious count; and that if he would only possess his soul in
+patience, before the rising of another sun R. B. Hayes would be
+peaceably and constitutionally declared the President of the United
+States. And it was even as he said; for before four o'clock the next
+morning the count was completed, and Hayes declared the President of
+the United States for the Constitutional term of four years. This is
+given as one of the many unwritten incidents that occurred during this
+angry, and, probably, most perilous controversy that ever threatened
+the life of the American Republic.
+
+A new policy for the South was now inevitable. From October 1876 till
+March 1877, President Grant had refused to recognize Chamberlain as
+Governor of South Carolina, or Packard as Governor of Louisiana. He
+had simply preserved those governments _in statu quo_. He had heard
+all that could be said in favor of the Republican side of the
+question, and seemed to believe that it was now beyond his power to
+hold up the last of the Negro governments with bayonets. He was right.
+It would have been as vain to have attempted to galvanize those
+governments into existence as to have attempted the resuscitation of a
+dead man by applying a galvanic battery. Governments must have, not
+only the subjective elements of life, but the powers of
+self-preservation. The Negro governments at the South died for the
+want of these elements. It was a pity, too, after the noble fight the
+Republican party of Louisiana and South Carolina had made, and after
+they had secured their electoral votes for Hayes, that their State
+officers who had been chosen at the same time should have been
+abandoned to their own frail governmental resources. But this was
+unavoidable. Their governments could not have existed twenty-four
+hours without the presence and aid of the United States army. And this
+could not have been done in the face of the sentiment against such use
+of the army which had grown to be nearly unanimous throughout the
+country. If the Republicans could have inaugurated their officers and
+administered their governments they would have received the applause
+of the administration at Washington and the God-speed of the
+Republican party of the North; but the moment the United States
+troops were withdrawn the Negro governments melted into nothingness.
+
+Every thing had been tried but pacification. The men who best
+understood the temper of that section knew it was incapable, as a
+whole, of receiving the olive branch in the spirit in which the North
+would tender it. But a policy of conciliation was demanded; the
+Northern journals asked it. An ex-Major-General of the Confederate
+Army was called to the Cabinet of President Hayes, and was given a
+portfolio where he could do more for the South than in any other
+place. Gen. Longstreet, a gallant Confederate soldier during the late
+war, was made Postmaster at Gainesville, Georgia, and afterward sent
+as Minister to Turkey. Col. Mosby, another Confederate soldier, or
+guerilla, was sent to China, and Col. Fitzsimmons was made Marshal of
+Georgia. It was the policy of the Hon. Charles Foster to have the
+President recognize young men at the South who had the pluck and
+ability to divide the Bourbon Democratic party of that section, and
+hasten the day of better feeling between the sections. But the
+President, either incapable of comprehending this idea, or jealous of
+the credit that the country had already bestowed upon him, blundered
+on in selecting men to represent his policy in the South who had no
+following, and were, therefore, valueless to his cause. His heart was
+right, but he put too much confidence in Southern statesmen.
+
+The South showed no signs of improvement. White Republicans were
+intimidated, persecuted, and driven out. The black Republicans were
+allowed to vote, but the Democrats counted the votes and secured all
+the offices. The President was under the influence of Alex. H.
+Stephens, of Georgia, and Wade Hampton, of South Carolina. He expected
+much; but he received nothing. Instead of gratitude he received
+arrogance. The Southern leaders in Congress sought to deprive the
+Executive of his constitutional veto; to starve the army; and to
+protract the session of Congress. The North had invited its "erring
+brethren" back, and had killed the fatted calf, but were unwilling to
+allow the fellow to eat all the veal! The conduct of the South was
+growing more intolerable every day; and the President's barren policy
+was losing him supporters. He had not tied to any safe advisers. Hon.
+Charles Foster, Senator Stanley Matthews, and Gen. James A. Garfield
+could have piloted him through many dangerous places. But he shut
+himself up in his own abilities, and left his friends on the outside.
+The South had gulped down every thing that had been given it, and was
+asking for more. Every thing had been given except the honor of the
+cause that the Union army had fought for. To complete the task of
+conciliation it was only required that the nation destroy the
+monuments to its hero dead, and open the treasury to the payment of
+rebel war claims, and pension the men who were maimed in an attempt to
+shoot the government to death. To the credit of President Hayes let
+history record that he did not surrender his veto power to arrogant
+and disloyal Southern Congressmen. He became convinced at last that
+the South was incapable of appreciating his kindness, and was willing
+to change front. His policy was inevitable. It did great good. It
+united the Republican party against the South; and a splendid cabinet,
+a clean administration, and the resumption of specie payments wrought
+wonders for the Republican party.
+
+There was a ripe sentiment in the North in favor of "a change" of
+policy. The very men who had advocated pacification; who had "flowers
+and tears for the Gray, and tears and flowers for the Blue"; who
+wanted the grave of Judas equally honored with the grave of Jesus--the
+destroyer and the Saviour of the country placed in the same
+calendar;--were the first men to grow sick of the policy of
+pacification. But what policy to inaugurate was not clear to them.
+
+In the summer of 1878 the Hon. Charles Foster returned to Ohio from
+Washington City. He had seen State governments in the North slip from
+the control of Republicans, because of the folly of the Hayes' policy
+of pacification toward the South. He had the good-sense to take in the
+situation. He saw that it was madness to attempt any longer to
+conciliate the South. He saw that the lamb and lion had lain down
+together, but that the lamb was on the inside of the lion. Brave,
+intelligent, and far-seeing, on the 1st of August, 1878, he gave the
+Republican party of the North a battle-cry that died away only amid
+the shouts of Republican State and National victories in 1880. This
+was all the North needed. A leader was demanded, and the Hon. Charles
+Foster sounded the key-note that met with a response in every loyal
+heart in the country. His idea was that as the South had not kept the
+faith; had not accorded protection to the Negro voter; had not broken
+up old Bourbon Democratic organizations, it was the imperative duty
+of the North to meet that section with a solid front. Hence his
+battle-cry: "_A Solid North against a Solid South._" The following is
+his famous speech--pure gold:
+
+ "I happened to be one who thought and believed that the
+ President's Southern policy, as far as it related to the use of
+ troops for the support of State governments, was right. I
+ sustained it upon the ground of high principle, nevertheless it
+ could have been sustained on the ground of necessity. The
+ President has extended to the people of the South the hand of
+ conciliation and friendship. He has shown a desire, probably
+ contrary to the wishes of the great mass of his party, to bring
+ about, by the means of conciliation, better relations between the
+ North and South. In doing this he has alienated from him the
+ great mass of the leading and influential Republicans of the
+ country. He had lost their sympathy, and to a great degree their
+ support. What has he received in return for these measures of
+ conciliation and kindness? How have these measures been received
+ by the South? What advance can we discover in them, of the
+ recognition of the guarantees of the rights of the Colored men
+ under the Constitutional Amendments? We see Jeff. Davis making
+ speeches as treasonable as those of 1861, and these speeches
+ endorsed and applauded by a great portion of their press and
+ people. We see also the declaration of Mr. Singleton, of
+ Mississippi, in answer to a question of mine on the floor of the
+ House, declaring that his paramount allegiance in peace and war
+ was due to his State.
+
+ "No gentleman from the South, or even of the Democratic party,
+ has taken issue with him. We see also, all over the South, a
+ disposition to resist the execution of the United States laws,
+ especially in the matter of the collection of internal revenue.
+ To-day there are four U. S. officers under arrest by the
+ authorities of the State of South Carolina, in jail and bail
+ refused, for an alleged crime in their State, while in fact these
+ officers were discharging their duty in executing the laws of the
+ United States in that State. Their State courts and their
+ officers refused to obey the writs of the United States courts in
+ the surrender of these men to the United States authorities. No
+ former act of this treasonable State shows a more defiant
+ attitude toward the U. S. Government, or a greater disposition to
+ trample upon its authority. I trust the Administration will, in
+ this case, assert in the most vigorous manner possible the
+ authority of the United States Government for the rescue and
+ protection of these officers. I have no bloody shirt to wave. If
+ there is one man in this country, more than another, who desires
+ peace and quiet between the sections, I believe I am that man.
+ Gentlemen may philosophize over this question until they are
+ gray, but you cannot escape the discussion of this question so
+ long as a Solid South menaces the peace of the country. A Solid
+ Democratic South means the control of the country by the spirit
+ and the men who sought its destruction.
+
+ "My own opinion is that there can be no peace--this question will
+ not down, until the menace of the Solid South is withdrawn. I had
+ hoped that the policy of President Hayes would lead to the
+ assertion, by a very considerable portion of the South, of their
+ antagonism to Bourbon Democracy.
+
+ "I confess to a degree of disappointment in this, though I think
+ I see signs of a breaking up of the Solid South in the
+ independent movement that seemed to be gaining a foothold in all
+ sections of that country. But the effective way to aid these
+ independent movements, this breaking up of the Solid South, is
+ for the North to present itself united against the Solid South. A
+ Solid South under the control of the Democratic party means the
+ control of the party by this element. It means the repeal of the
+ Constitutional Amendments, if not in form, in spirit. It means
+ the payment of hundreds of rebel claims. It means the payment of
+ pensions to rebel soldiers. It means the payment for slaves lost
+ in the Rebellion. It means the abrogation of that provision of
+ the Constitution which declares, that the citizens of one State
+ shall have all the rights, privileges, and immunities of the
+ citizens of other States.
+
+ "If my Democratic friends who seem to be anxious to bring about
+ peace and quiet between the sections are sincere and desire to
+ make their expressions effective, they should act with that party
+ that presents a solid front, a United North, so long as we are
+ menaced with the Solid South.
+
+ "If it could be understood in the South that they are to be met
+ with a Solid North, I do not believe that the Solid South would
+ exist in that condition a single year. They retain this position
+ because they believe that they can have the support of a fragment
+ of the North; and thus with this fragment rule and control the
+ country. I would have no fear of the control of the country by
+ the Democratic party if it were made up of something like equal
+ proportion from all sections of the country. I discuss this
+ question, first, because I believe it the most important question
+ at issue in the pending canvass. _I repeat that it is the
+ imperative duty of the North to meet the Solid South with a
+ united front._"[133]
+
+This speech was delivered at Upper Sandusky, Wyandotte Co., Ohio. It
+thrilled the North, and put new life into the Republican party. It
+gave him the nomination for governor, and from 23,000 Democratic
+majority he redeemed the State by a Republican majority of 17,000. A
+wave of enthusiasm swept the country. His battle-cry became the
+editorial of a thousand journals, and hundreds of orators found
+ammunition enough in his little speech of a hundred lines to keep up a
+campaign of two years' duration. It is a fact that history should not
+omit to record, that from the 1st of August, 1878, until the election
+of James A. Garfield to the presidency, there was no cessation to the
+campaign in the North.
+
+But the securing of a Solid North did not restore the Negro
+governments at the South. The North had rallied to rebuke an insolent
+South; to show the Democrats of that section that the United States
+Treasury should be protected, and that the honor of the nation _would_
+be maintained unsullied. If the South would not pay its honest debts
+there was every reason for believing that it would not pay the
+national debt. It was to be regretted that the Negro had been so
+unceremoniously removed from Southern politics. But such a result was
+inevitable. The Government gave him the statute-book when he ought to
+have had the spelling-book; placed him in the Legislature when he
+ought to have been in the school-house. In the great revolution that
+followed the war, the heels were put where the brains ought to have
+been. An ignorant majority, without competent leaders, could not rule
+an intelligent Caucasian minority. Ignorance, vice, poverty, and
+superstition could not rule intelligence, experience, wealth, and
+organization. It was here that the "one could chase a thousand, and
+the two could put ten thousand to flight." The Negro governments were
+built on the shifting sands of the opinions of the men who
+reconstructed the South, and when the storm and rains of political
+contest came they fell because they were not built upon the granite
+foundation of intelligence and statesmanship.
+
+It was an immutable and inexorable law which demanded the destruction
+of those governments. It was a law that knows no country, no
+nationality. Spain, Mexico, France, Turkey, Russia, and Egypt have
+felt its cruel touch to a greater or less degree. But a lesson was
+taught the Colored people that is invaluable. Let _them_ rejoice that
+they are out of politics. Let white men rule. Let them enjoy a
+political life to the exclusion of business and education, and they
+too will sooner or later be driven out of their places by the same law
+that sent the Negro to the plantations and to the schools. And if the
+Negro is industrious, frugal, saving, diligent in labor, and laborious
+in study, there is another law that will quietly and peaceably,
+without a social or political shock, restore him to his normal
+relations in politics. He will be able to build his governments on a
+solid foundation, with the tempered mortar of experience and
+knowledge. This is inevitable. The Negro will return to politics in
+the South when he is qualified to govern; will return to stay. He will
+be respected, courted and protected then. Then as a tax-payer, as well
+as a tax-gatherer, reading his own ballot, and choosing his own
+candidates, he will be equal to all the exigencies of American
+citizenship.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[133] Cincinnati Commercial, Aug. 1, 1878.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE EXODUS--CAUSE AND EFFECT.
+
+ THE NEGROES OF THE SOUTH DELIGHT IN THEIR HOME SO LONG AS IT IS
+ POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO REMAIN.--THE POLICY OF ABRIDGING THEIR
+ RIGHTS DESTRUCTIVE TO THEIR USEFULNESS AS MEMBERS OF
+ SOCIETY.--POLITICAL INTIMIDATION, MURDER, AND OUTRAGE DISTURB THE
+ NEGROES.--THE PLANTATION CREDIT SYSTEM THE CRIME OF THE
+ CENTURY.--THE EXODUS NOT INSPIRED BY POLITICIANS, BUT THE NATURAL
+ OUTCOME OF THE BARBAROUS TREATMENT BESTOWED UPON THE NEGROES BY
+ THE WHITES.--THE UNPRECEDENTED SUFFERINGS OF 60,000 NEGROES
+ FLEEING FROM SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC OPPRESSION.--THEIR PATIENT,
+ CHRISTIAN ENDURANCE.--THEIR INDUSTRY, MORALS, AND FRUGALITY.--THE
+ CORRESPONDENT OF THE "CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN" SENDS INFORMATION TO
+ SENATOR VOORHEES RESPECTING THE REFUGEES IN KANSAS.--THE POSITION
+ OF GOV. ST. JOHN AND THE FAITHFUL LABORS OF MRS. COMSTOCK.--THE
+ RESULTS OF THE EXODUS BENEFICENT.--THE SOUTH MUST TREAT THE NEGRO
+ BETTER OR LOSE HIS LABOR.
+
+
+The exodus of the Negroes from Southern States forms one of the most
+interesting pages of the almost romantic history of the race. It
+required more than ordinary causes to drive the Negro from his home in
+the sunny South to a different climate and strange country. It was no
+caprice of his nature, nor even a nomadic feeling. During the entire
+period of the existence of the Republican governments at the South the
+Negroes remained there in a state of blissful contentment. And even
+after the fall of those governments they continued in a state of quiet
+industry. But there followed the decline of those governments a policy
+as hurtful to the South as it was cruel to the Negroes.
+
+During the early years of reconstruction quite a number of Negroes
+began to invest in real estate and secure for themselves pleasant
+homes. Their possessions increased yearly, as can be seen by a
+reference to statistical reports. Some of the estates and homesteads
+of the oldest and most reputable white families, who had put every
+thing info the scales of Confederate rebellion, fell into the
+possession of ex-slaves. Such a spectacle was not only unpleasant, it
+was exasperating, to the whites. But so long as the Republican
+governments gave promise of success there was but little or no
+manifestation of displeasure on the part of the whites. Just as soon,
+however, as they became the masters of the situation, the property of
+many Negroes was seized, and sold upon the specious plea--"for
+delinquent taxes"; and the Negroes were driven from eligible places to
+the outskirts of the larger towns and cities. No Negro was allowed to
+live in the vicinity of white persons as tenants; and it became a
+social crime to sell property to Negroes in close proximity to the
+whites. In the rural districts, where Negroes had begun to secure
+small farms, this same cruel spirit was "the lion in their way." The
+spirit that sought to keep the Negro ignorant as a slave, now that he
+was at least nominally free, endeavored to deprive him of one of the
+necessary conditions of happy and useful citizenship: the possession
+of property, the aggregations of the results of honest labor. Nothing
+could have been more fatal to the growth of the Negro toward the
+perfect stature of free, intelligent, independent, and self-sustaining
+manhood and citizenship. The object and result of such a system can
+easily be judged. It was intended to keep the Negroes the laboring
+element after as well as before the war. The accomplishment of such a
+result would have been an argument in favor of the assertion of the
+South that the normal condition of the Negro was that of a serf; and
+that he, did not possess the elements necessary to the life of a
+freeman. Thus would have perished the hopes, prayers, arguments and
+claims of the friends of the cause of universal, manhood suffrage.
+
+Among the masses of laboring men the iniquitous, outrageous, thieving
+"_Plantation Credit System_" was a plague and a crime. Deprived of
+homes and property the Negroes were compelled to "work the crops on
+the shares." A plantation store was kept where the Negroes' credit was
+good for any article it contained. He got salt meat, corn meal, sugar,
+coffee, molasses, vinegar, tobacco, and coarse clothing for himself
+and family. An account was kept by "a young white man," and at the end
+of the season "a reckoning" was had. Unable to read or cipher, the
+poor, credulous, unsuspecting Negroes always found themselves in debt
+from $50 to $200! This necessitated another year's engagement; and so
+on for an indefinite period. There was nothing to encourage the
+Negroes; nothing to inspire them with hope for the future; nothing for
+their families but a languid, dead-eyed expectation that somehow a
+change _might_ come. But the crime went on unrebuked by the men who
+were growing rich from this system of petty robbery of the poor. For
+the cheapest qualities of brown sugar, for which the laboring classes
+of the North pay 8 cents, the Negroes on the plantations were charged
+11 and 13 cents a pound. Corn meal purchased at the North for 4 cents
+a quart, brought 9 and 10 cents at the plantation store. And thus for
+every article the Negroes purchased they were charged the most
+exorbitant prices.
+
+There were two results which flowed from this system, viz.: robbing
+the families of these Negroes of the barest comforts of life, and
+destroying the confidence of the Negro in the blessings and benefits
+of freedom. No man--no race of men--could endure such blighting
+influences for any length of time.
+
+Moreover the experiences of the Negroes in voting had not been
+extensive, and a sudden curtailing and abridgment of their rights was
+a shock to their confidence in the government under which they lived,
+and in the people by which they were surrounded. It was thought
+expedient to intimidate or destroy the more intelligent and determined
+Negroes; while the farm laborers were directed to refrain from voting
+the Republican ticket, or commanded to vote the Democratic ticket, or
+starve. There never was a more cruel system of slavery than this.
+
+Writing under date of January 10, 1875, General P. H. Sheridan, then
+in command at New Orleans, says:
+
+ "Since the year 1866 nearly thirty-five hundred persons, a great
+ majority of whom were colored men, have been killed and wounded
+ in this State. In 1868 the official record shows that eighteen
+ hundred and eighty-four were killed and wounded. From 1868 to the
+ present time no official investigation had been made, and the
+ civil authorities in all but a few cases have been unable to
+ arrest, convict, or punish the perpetrators. Consequently there
+ are no correct records to be consulted for information. There is
+ ample evidence, however, to show that more than twelve hundred
+ persons have been killed and wounded during this time on account
+ of their political sentiments. Frightful massacres have occurred
+ in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, Catahoula, Saint Bernard,
+ Grant, and Orleans."
+
+He then proceeded to enumerate the political murders of Colored men in
+various parishes, and says:
+
+ "Human life in this State is held so cheaply that when men are
+ killed on account of political opinions, the murderers are
+ regarded rather as heroes than as criminals in the localities
+ where they reside."
+
+This brief summary is not by a politician, but by a distinguished
+soldier, who recounts the events which had occurred within his own
+military jurisdiction. Volumes of testimony have since been taken
+confirming in all respects General Sheridan's statement, and giving in
+detail the facts relating to such murders, and the times and
+circumstances of their occurrence. The results of the elections which
+immediately followed them disclose the motives and purposes of their
+perpetrators. These reports show that in the year 1867 a reign of
+terror prevailed over almost the entire State. In the parish of St.
+Landry there was a massacre of Colored people which began on the 28th
+of September, 1868, and lasted from three to six days, during which
+time between three and four hundred of them were killed. "Thirteen
+captives were taken from the jail and shot, and a pile of twenty-five
+dead bodies were found burned in the woods." The result of this
+Democratic campaign in the parish was that the registered Republican
+majority of 1,071 was wholly obliterated, and at the election which
+followed a few weeks later, not a vote was cast for General Grant,
+while Seymour and Blair received 4,787.
+
+In the parish of Bossier a similar massacre occurred between the 20th
+and 30th of September, 1868, which lasted from three to four days,
+during which time two hundred Negroes were killed. By the official
+registry of that year the Republican voters in Bossier Parish numbered
+1,938, but at the ensuing election only _one_ Republican vote was
+cast.
+
+In the parish of Caddo, during the month of October, 1868, over forty
+Negroes were killed. The result of that massacre was that out of a
+Republican registered vote of 2,894 only _one_ was cast for General
+Grant. Similar scenes were enacted throughout the State, varying in
+extent and atrocity according to the magnitude of the Republican
+majority to be overcome.
+
+The total summing up of murders, maimings, and whippings which took
+place for political reasons in the months of September, October, and
+November, 1868, as shown by official sources, is over one thousand.
+The net political results achieved thereby may be succinctly stated as
+follows: The official registration for that year in twenty-eight
+parishes contained 47,923 names of Republican voters, but at the
+presidential election held a few weeks after the occurrence of these
+events but 5,360 Republican votes were cast, making the net Democratic
+gain from said transactions 42,563.
+
+In nine of these parishes where the reign of terror was most
+prevalent, out of 11,604 registered Republican votes only nineteen
+were cast for General Grant. In seven of said parishes there were
+7,253 registered Republican votes, but not one was cast at the ensuing
+election for the Republican ticket.
+
+In the years succeeding 1868, when some restraint was imposed upon
+political lawlessness and a comparatively peaceful election was held,
+these same Republican parishes cast from 33,000 to 37,000 Republican
+votes, thus demonstrating the purpose and the effects of the reign of
+murder in 1868.
+
+In 1876 the spirit of violence and persecution which, in parts of the
+State, had been partially restrained for a time, broke forth again
+with renewed fury. It was deemed necessary to carry that State for
+Tilden and Hendricks, and the policy which had proved so successful in
+1868 was again invoked, and with like results. On the day of general
+election in 1876 there were in the State of Louisiana 92,996
+registered white voters, and 115,310 Colored, making a Republican
+majority of the latter of 22,314. The number of white Republicans was
+far in excess of the number of Colored Democrats. It was, therefore,
+well known that if a fair election should be held the State would go
+Republican by from twenty-five to forty thousand majority. The policy
+adopted this time was to select a few of the largest Republican
+parishes and by terrorism and violence not only obliterate their
+Republican majorities, but also intimidate the Negroes in the other
+parishes. The sworn testimony found in our public documents and
+records at Washington shows that the same system of assassinations,
+whippings, burnings, and other acts of political persecution of
+Colored citizens, which had occurred in 1868, was again repeated in
+1876, and with like results.
+
+In fifteen parishes where 17,726 Republicans were registered in 1876
+only 5,758 votes were cast for Hayes and Wheeler, and in one of them
+(East Feliciana) where there were 2,127 Republicans registered, but
+_one_ Republican vote was cast. By some methods the Republican
+majority of the State was supposed to have been effectually suppressed
+and a Democratic victory assured. And because the legally constituted
+authorities of Louisiana, acting in conformity with law and justice,
+declined to count some of the parishes thus carried by violence and
+blood, the Democratic party, both North and South, has ever since
+complained that it was fraudulently deprived of the fruits of the
+victory thus achieved, and it now proposes to make this grievance the
+principal plank in the party platform[134] for the future.
+
+The worm trampled upon so persistently at length turned over. There
+was nothing left to the Negro but to go out from the land of his
+oppression and task-masters.
+
+The Exodus was not a political movement. It was not inspired from
+without. It was but the natural operation of a divine law that moved
+whole communities of Negroes to turn their faces toward the setting
+sun. When the Israelites went out of Egypt God commanded their women
+to borrow the finger-rings and ear-rings of the Egyptians. All had
+sandals on their feet, staves in their hand, and headed by a matchless
+leader. God went before them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar
+of fire by night. But when the Negroes began their exodus from the
+Egypt of their bondage they went out empty; without clothing, money,
+or leaders. They were willing to endure any hardships short of death
+to reach a land where, under their own vine and fig-tree, they could
+enjoy free speech, free schools, the privilege of an honest vote, and
+receive honest pay for honest work. And how forcibly they told why
+they left the South.
+
+ "Now, old Uncle Joe, what did you come for?"
+
+ "Oh, law! Missus, I follers my two boys an' the ole woman an'
+ then 'pears like I wants a taste of votin' afore I dies, an' the
+ ole man done wants no swamps to wade in afore he votes, 'kase he
+ must be Republican, ye see."
+
+ "Well, old Aunty, give us the sympathetic side of the story; or,
+ tell us what you think of leaving your old home."
+
+ "I done have no home nohow, if they shoots my ole man an' the
+ boys, an' gives me no money for de washin."
+
+A bright woman of twenty-five years is asked her condition, when she
+answers; "I had n't much real trouble yet, like some of my neighbors
+who lost every thing. We had a lot an' a little house, an' some stock
+on the place. We sold all out 'kase we did n't dare to stay when
+votin' time came again. Some neighbors better off than we had been all
+broken up by a pack of "_night-riders_"--all in white,--who scared
+everybody to death, run the men off to the swamps before elections,
+run the stock off, an' set fire to their places. A poor woman might
+as well be killed and done with it."
+
+In the early Spring of 1879, the now famous Exodus of the Negroes from
+the South set in toward the Northern States.
+
+ "Many already have fled to the forest and lurk on its outskirts,
+ Waiting with anxious hearts the dubious fate of the morrow. Arms
+ have been taken from us, and warlike weapons of all kinds;
+ Nothing is left but the blacksmith's sledge and the scythe of the
+ mower."
+
+The story of the emigration of a people has been often repeated since
+the world began. The Israelites of old, with their wanderings of forty
+years, furnish the theme of an inspired poem as old as history itself.
+The dreadful tale of the Kalmuck Tartars, in 1770, fleeing from their
+enemies, the Russians, over the desolate steppes of Asia in
+mid-winter; starting out six hundred thousand strong, men, women, and
+children, with their flocks and herds, and reaching the confines of
+China with only two hundred thousand left, formed an era in oriental
+annals, and made a combination from which new races of men have
+sprung. But still more appropriate to this occasion is the history of
+the Huguenots of France, driven by religious persecution to England
+and Ireland, where, under their influence, industries sprang up as the
+flowers of the field, and what was England's gain was irreparable loss
+to France.[135] The expulsion of the Acadians, a harmless and
+inoffensive people, from Nova Scotia, is another instance of the
+revenge that natural laws inflict upon tyranny and injustice. Next to
+the persecuted Pilgrims crossing a dreary ocean in mid-winter to the
+sterile coasts of a land of savages for freedom's sake, history hardly
+furnishes a more touching picture than that of forty thousand
+homeless, friendless, starving Negroes going to a land already
+consecrated with the blood of the martyrs to the cause of free Soil
+and unrestricted liberty. It was grandly strange that these poor
+people, persecuted, beaten with many stripes, hungry, friendless, and
+without clothing or shelter, should instinctively seek a home in
+Kansas where John Brown had fought the first battle for liberty and
+the restriction of slavery! Some journeyed all the way from Texas to
+Kansas in teams, with great horned oxen, and little steers in front no
+larger than calves, bowing eagerly to the weary load. Worn and weary
+with a nine weeks' journey, the travellers strained their eyes toward
+the land of hope, blindly yet beautifully "trustin' de good Lord."
+Often they buried their dead as soon as they arrived, many dying on
+the hard floor of the hastily-built wooden barracks before beds could
+be provided, but praying all night long and saying touchingly: "Come,
+Lord Jesus. Come quickly. Come with dyin' grace in one hand and savin'
+love in the other."[136]
+
+A relief association was organized at once. A dear, good, old Quaker
+lady, in her sixty-fourth year, a quarter of a century of which had
+been spent in relieving suffering humanity, came forward and offered
+her services free of charge. The association was organized as _The
+Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association_. Mrs. Comstock was just the
+person to manage the matter of raising funds and securing clothing. In
+Gov. J. P. St. John, Mrs. Comstock and the association found a
+warm-hearted Christian friend.
+
+Notwithstanding the plain, world-known causes, the Hon. D. W.
+Voorhees, United States Senator from Indiana, introduced a resolution
+providing for the investigation of "_the causes of the migration of
+the Colored people from the Southern to the Northern States_." It cost
+the Government thousands of dollars, but developed nothing save what
+the country had known for years, that the political cruelties and
+systematic robbery practised upon the Colored people in the South had
+forced them into a free country.
+
+In one year those who had taken up a residence in Kansas had become
+self-sustaining. They took hold of the work with enthusiasm; they
+proved themselves industrious and frugal.
+
+The Relief Association at first supplied them with stoves, teams, and
+seed. In round numbers, in a little more than a year, $40,000 was
+used, and 500,000 pounds of clothing, bedding, etc. England
+contributed 50,000 pounds of goods and $8,000 in money; the chief
+givers being Mrs. Comstock's friends who knew her in her good work
+abroad. Much of the remainder had come in small sums, and from the
+Christian women of America. One third was furnished by the Society of
+Friends. Ohio gave more than any other State. The State and municipal
+funds of Kansas were not drawn upon at all, though much had come from
+private sources.
+
+During the first year in Kansas, the freedmen entered upon 20,000
+acres of land, and plowed and fitted for grain-growing 3,000 acres.
+They built 300 cabins and dugouts, and accumulated $30,000. In 1878
+Henry Carter, of Tennessee, set out from Topeka on foot for Dunlap,
+sixty-five miles away; he carrying his tools, and his wife their
+bedclothes. In 1880 he had forty acres of land cleared and the first
+payment made, having earned his money on sheep ranches and elsewhere
+by daily labor. He has built a good stone cottage sixteen feet by ten,
+owns two cows, a horse, etc. In Topeka, where there were about 3,000
+refugees, nearly all paupers when they came, all have found means in
+some way to make a living. These people have shown themselves worthy
+of aid. Mrs. Comstock has heard of only five or six cases of
+intoxication in nine months, and of no arrests for stealing. They do
+not want to settle where there is no church, and are all eager to have
+a Bible and to learn. Schools have been opened for the adults--the
+public schools of Kansas wisely making no distinction on account of
+color,--and also industrial schools, especially for women, who are
+quite ignorant of the ordinary duties of home life.
+
+In the month of February, 1880, John M. Brown, Esq., General
+Superintendent of the Freedmen's Relief Association read an
+interesting report before the Association, from which the following
+extract is taken:
+
+ "The great exodus of Colored people from the South began about
+ the 1st of February, 1879. By the 1st of April 1,300 refugees had
+ gathered around Wyandotte, Ks. Many of them were in a suffering
+ condition. It was then that the Kansas Relief Association came
+ into existence for the purpose of helping the most needy among
+ the refugees from the Southern States. Up to date about 60,000
+ refugees have come to the State of Kansas to live. Nearly 40,000
+ of them were in a destitute condition when they arrived, and have
+ been helped by our association. We have received to date $68,000
+ for the relief of the refugees. About 5,000 of those who have
+ come to Kansas have gone to other States to live, leaving about
+ 55,000 yet in Kansas. About 30,000 of that number have settled in
+ the country, some of them on lands of their own or rented lands;
+ others have hired out to the farmers, leaving about 25,000 in and
+ around the different cities and towns of Kansas. There has been
+ great suffering among those remaining in and near the cities and
+ towns this winter. It has been so cold that they could not find
+ employment, and, if they did, they had to work for very low
+ wages, because so many of them are looking for work that they are
+ in each other's way.
+
+ "Most of those about the cities and towns are men with large
+ families, widows, and very old people. The farmers want only
+ able-bodied men and women for their work, and it is very hard for
+ men with large families to get homes among the farmers. Kansas
+ is a new State, and most farmers have small houses, and they
+ cannot take large families to live with them. So, when the
+ farmers call for help, they usually call for a man and his wife
+ only, or for a single man or woman.
+
+ "Now, in order that men with large families may become owners of
+ land, and be able to support their families, the K. F. R.
+ Association, if they can secure the means, will purchase cheap
+ lands, which can be bought at from $3 to $5 per acre, on long
+ time, by making a small payment in cash. They will settle the
+ refugees on those lands, letting each family have from twenty to
+ forty acres, and not settling more than sixteen families in
+ anyone neighborhood, so that they can easily obtain work from the
+ farmers in that section or near by. I do not think it best to
+ settle too many of them in any one place, because it will make it
+ hard for them to find employment.
+
+ "If our association can help them to build a small house, and
+ have five acres of their land broken, the women and children can
+ cultivate the five acres, and make enough to support their
+ families, while the men are out at work by the day to earn money
+ to meet the payments on their land as they come due. In this way
+ many families can be helped to homes of their own, where they can
+ become self-sustaining, educate their children, and be useful
+ citizens to the State of Kansas.
+
+ "Money spent in this way will be much more profitable to them
+ than so much old clothing and provisions. Then they will no
+ longer be objects of charity or a burden to benevolent people."
+
+The sad stories of this persecuted people had touched the hearts of
+the friends of humanity everywhere. Money and clothing came on every
+train, and as fast as the association could secure homes for the
+refugees they were distributed throughout the State.[137]
+
+A special correspondent of the "Chicago Inter-Ocean" was despatched to
+Topeka to report the condition of things there, and to throw some
+light upon the great intellect of Senator Voorhees. He reported as
+follows:
+
+ "TOPEKA, KAN., April 9.--During the last few days I have, in
+ obedience to your request, been taking notice of the exodus, as
+ it may be studied here at the headquarters for relief among the
+ refugees in Kansas. This is the third visit your correspondent
+ has made to the 'promised land' of the dusky hosts who, fleeing
+ from persecution and wrongs, have swarmed within its borders to
+ the number of 25,000. In a letter written while here in December
+ last the number then within the State was estimated at about
+ 15,000, and since that date at least 12,000 more have come. In
+ the 'barracks' to-day I found what seemed to be the same one
+ hundred * * * who crowded about the stove that cold December day;
+ but they were not the same, of course, for their places have been
+ filled many times with other hundreds, who have found their first
+ welcome to Kansas in the rest, food, and warmth which the charity
+ of the North has provided here. So efficient have the plan of
+ relief and the machinery of distribution been made, that of the
+ thousands who have passed through here, none have remained as a
+ burden of expense to the association more than four or five days
+ before places were found where their own labor could furnish them
+ support.
+
+ "If that pure statesman of Indiana whose great heart was so
+ filled with solicitude for the welfare of his colored brethren,
+ that he asked Congress to appropriate thousands of dollars to
+ ascertain why they moved from one State to another, will come
+ here he will be rewarded by such a flood of light on the question
+ as can never penetrate the recesses of his committee room in
+ Washington. He need hardly propound an inquiry; he had, indeed,
+ best not let his great presence be known, for in the presence of
+ Democracy the negro has learned to keep silence. But in search of
+ the truth let him go to the file of over 3,000 letters in the
+ Governor's office from negroes in the South, and read in them the
+ homely but truthful tales of suffering, oppression, and wrongs.
+ Let him note how real is their complaint, but how modest the boon
+ they seek; for in different words, sometimes in quaint and often
+ in awkward phrases, the questions are always the same: Can we be
+ free? Can we have work, and can we have our rights in Kansas? Let
+ him go next to the barracks and watch the tired, ragged, hungry,
+ scared-looking negroes as they come by the dozens on every train.
+ If he is not prompted by shame, then from caution necessary to
+ the success of his errand, let him here conceal the fact that he
+ is a Democrat, for these half-famished and terrified negroes have
+ been fleeing from Democrats in the South, and in their ignorance
+ they may not be able to comprehend the nice distinction between a
+ Northern and Southern Democrat. If he will be content simply to
+ listen as they talk among themselves, he will soon learn much
+ that the laborious cross-examination of witnesses has failed to
+ teach him. He may take note of the fact that fleeing from
+ robbery, oppression, and murder, they come only with the plea for
+ work and justice while they work. He may see reason to criticise
+ what generally has been deemed by Southern Democrats at least,
+ the unreasonable folly in a negro which prompts husband and wife
+ to go only where they can go together, but he will find nothing
+ to cause him to doubt the sincerity and good faith with which the
+ negro grapples with the problem of his new life here. If he would
+ learn more of this strength of resolution and the patience which
+ they have brought to the search for a home in a free land, let
+ him inquire concerning the lives of these refugees in Kansas. It
+ may seem of significance and worthy of approving note to him,
+ that as laborers they have been faithful and industrious; that in
+ no single case have they come back asking aid of the relief
+ association nor become burdens in any way upon corporate or
+ public charities; that as citizens they are sober and law-abiding
+ to such a degree that he would hardly be able to discover a
+ single case of crime so far among them; and, finally, that in
+ those instances where they were able to purchase a little land
+ and stock, they have made as good progress toward the acquirement
+ of homes and property as have the average poor white immigrants
+ to the State. He will first learn, then, from the refugees
+ themselves something of the desperate nature of the causes that
+ drove them from the South, and secondly, from their lives here,
+ with what thrift, patience, and determination they have met the
+ difficulties which they have encountered in their efforts to gain
+ a foothold, and as men among men, in the land of equal rights.
+ From the Hon. Milton Reynolds, President of the Auxiliary Relief
+ Association at Parsons, I learn that the negroes who have come
+ into the southern part of the State, mostly from Texas, are all
+ either settled on small tracts of land or employed as laborers at
+ from $8 to $12 per month, and are all doing well. Mr. Reynolds's
+ testimony to this effect was positive and unqualified. To assist
+ these refugees in Southern Kansas--over 3,000 in all--only $575
+ has been expended. From Judge R. W. Dawson, who was the Secretary
+ of the association under the old management and during the early
+ months of the movement, one year ago, when 6,000 refugees were
+ distributed throughout the State and provided with homes at a
+ cost of $5,000, I learned much of interest concerning the welfare
+ and progress of this advance guard of the great exodus. Judge
+ Dawson, although not connected now with the relief work, feels of
+ course a great interest in the welfare of those to whose
+ assistance he contributed much, and loses no opportunity for
+ observation of their condition while travelling over the State.
+ He says he knows of no case where one has come back to the
+ association for aid, and that, as laborers and citizens, their
+ conduct has been such as to win the approval of all classes. Four
+ colonies have been established. State lands were bought by the
+ association and given to the colonies with the understanding
+ that, to secure their title, they must make the second and third
+ payments on the land purchased on the one-third cash and
+ two-thirds time payment plan. Two of the newest of these colonies
+ are still receiving aid from the association, but the others are
+ self-sustaining and will be able, it is thought, to make the
+ small purchase payments on the land as they become due.
+
+ "If our inquiring Statesman is interested in observing in what
+ spirit these refugees receive the aid which has made existence
+ possible here during the cold winter months, he may be profited
+ by spending a few days in looking about the city of Topeka. There
+ are in Topeka alone over 3,000 refugees, and nearly all of them,
+ paupers when they came, have found means in some way to make a
+ living. In many cases it is a precarious subsistence that is
+ gained, and in not a few cases among late arrivals he would find
+ evidences of want and destitution, but, compared with this, he
+ cannot but be struck with the small number of applicants to the
+ Relief Association for aid. Only 213 rations were issued outside
+ the barracks last week to the 3,000 refugees who came here only a
+ few months since without money, and frequently without clothing,
+ to undertake what seemed under the circumstances the desperate
+ purpose of making a living.
+
+ "The dangers and difficulties which beset the refugees' departure
+ from a land where even the right to emigrate is denied him are
+ great. * * * He may learn (Mr. Voorhees), however, from copies of
+ over 1,000 letters in the Governor's office, that Gov. St. John
+ has never, in reply to their appeals, failed to warn them of the
+ difficulties that would beset their way here, and has never
+ extended them promise of other assistance than that implied in
+ the equal rights which are guaranteed to every citizen of Kansas.
+ Further than this, however surprising it may be to Mr. Voorhees'
+ theory of the causes of the exodus, it is nevertheless a fact
+ that this very association, which is charged with encouraging the
+ exodus, has sent the Rev. W. O. Lynch, a colored man, to the
+ South to warn the colored people that they must not come here
+ expecting to be fed or to find homes already prepared, and to do
+ all in his power to dissuade them from coming at all. Still they
+ come, and why they come the country has determined long in
+ advance of Mr. Voorhees' report. * * *
+
+ "While we have Mr. Voorhees here we would be glad to have him
+ glance at a State document to be found upon Governor St. John's
+ table, which bears the Great Seal and signature of Gov. O. M.
+ Roberts, of the State of Texas. It is a requisition by the
+ Governor of Texas upon the Governor of Kansas for the body of one
+ Peter Womack, a colored man, who was indicted by the Grand Jury
+ of Grimes County at the last November term for the felony of
+ fraudulently disposing of ten bushels of corn. From further
+ particulars we learn that this Peter Womack gave a mortgage early
+ in the spring of 1879 upon his crop just planted to cover a debt
+ of twenty dollars due the firm of Wilson and Howel. When Womack
+ came to gather his crop, he yields to the importunities of
+ another white creditor ten bushels of corn _to be applied_ upon
+ the debt. About this time this Peter Womack becomes influential
+ in inducing a number of his colored neighbors in Grimes County to
+ emigrate to Kansas. Undeterred by threats and despite the
+ bull-dozing methods employed to cause him to remain a 'citizen'
+ of Texas, Womack, with others, sick of a condition of citizenship
+ which is nothing less than hopeless peonage, leaves stock and
+ crops behind to seek a home in Kansas. His acts in inciting the
+ movement of these black serfs are not forgotten, however, by the
+ white chivalry of Grimes County. The evidence of this surrender
+ on a debt of ten bushels of corn, mortgaged for another debt, is
+ hunted up, presented to the Grand Jury of Grimes County, he is
+ promptly indicted for a felony, and the great State of Texas
+ rises in her majesty and demands a surrender of his body. The
+ demand is in accordance with law, undoubtedly,--Texas law,--but
+ if Texas would occasionally punish one of the white murderers who
+ do not think it necessary to leave her borders, this pursuit of a
+ negro for selling ten bushels of corn from a mortgaged crop would
+ seem a more imposing exhibition of the power of the commonwealth
+ to enforce its laws."[138]
+
+The effect, or rather the results of the Exodus have been twofold. It
+taught the Southern people that there was need of some effort to
+regain the confidence of the Negroes; that the Negro is the only
+laborer who can cultivate that section of the country; that the Negro
+can get on without the Southern people a great deal better than they
+can get on without Negro labor; that the severe political treatment
+and systematic robbery of the Negroes had not only driven them out,
+but had discouraged white people from settling or investing money at
+the South; that dissatisfied labor was against their interests; that
+it was the duty of business men in the South to take a firm stand for
+the protection of the Negroes, because every stroke of violence
+administered to the Negroes shocked and injured the business of that
+section; and that kind treatment of and protection for the Negroes
+would insure better work and greater financial prosperity. On the
+other hand, the Exodus benefited the Negroes who sought and found new
+homes in a new country; and it secured better treatment for those who
+remained behind. The Exodus was in line with a great law that governs
+nations. The Negro race must win by contact with the white race; by
+absorbing all that is good; by the inspiration of example. He must
+come in contact now not with a people who hate him, but with a people
+of industrious, sober, and honest habits; a people willing to
+encourage and instruct him in the duties of life. Race lines must be
+obliterated at the South, and the old theory of the natural
+inferiority of the Negro must give way to the demonstrations of Negro
+capacity. A new doctrine must supplant the old theories of pre-slavery
+days, and every man in the Republic must enjoy a citizenship as wide
+as the continent, and, like the coin of the Government, pass for his
+intrinsic value, and no more.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[134] See Senator Windom's speech on the Exodus, Monday, June 14,
+1880; also the report of the Senate Committee having under
+consideration the investigation of the causes of the migration of the
+Colored people from the Southern to the Northern States.
+
+[135] Pamphlet on Exodus.--Anonymous.
+
+[136] The Congregationalist, Aug. 11, 1880.
+
+[137] We visited Kansas twice in 1880, and again in 1881. We conversed
+with Gov. St. John, Mr. John M. Brown, and other gentlemen related to
+and familiar with the matter of the Exodus, and found that those who
+at the first so violently opposed the coming of the Negroes had been
+pleased with their simplicity, patience, industry, and character. They
+were all doing well. The association had discontinued its work, and
+the people were settled in quiet homes.
+
+[138] Chicago Inter-Ocean, April 15, 1880.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+RETROSPECTION AND PROSPECTION.
+
+ THE THREE GRAND DIVISIONS OF THE TRIBES OF AFRICA.--SLAVE MARKETS
+ OF AMERICA SUPPLIED FROM THE DISEASED AND CRIMINAL CLASSES OF
+ AFRICAN SOCIETY.--AMERICA ROBS AFRICA OF 15,000,000 SOULS IN 360
+ YEARS.--NEGRO POWER OF ENDURANCE.--HIS WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENTS AS
+ A LABORER, SOLDIER, AND STUDENT.--FIRST IN WAR, AND FIRST IN
+ DEVOTION TO THE COUNTRY.--HIS IDIOSYNCRASIES.--MRS. STOWE'S
+ ERRORS.--HIS GROWING LOVE FOR SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.--HIS GENERAL
+ IMPROVEMENT.--THE NEGRO WILL ENDURE TO THE END.--HE IS CAPABLE
+ FOR ALL THE DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP.--AMALGAMATION WILL NOT
+ OBLITERATE THE RACE.--THE AMERICAN NEGRO WILL CIVILIZE
+ AFRICA.--AMERICA WILL ESTABLISH STEAMSHIP COMMUNICATION WITH THE
+ DARK CONTINENT.--AFRICA WILL YET BE COMPOSED OF STATES, AND
+ "ETHIOPIA SHALL SOON STRETCH OUT HER HANDS UNTO GOD."
+
+
+It has been shown that the tribes of Africa are divisible into three
+classes: The tribes of the mountain districts, the tribes of the
+sandstone districts, and the tribes of the alluvial districts; those
+of the mountain districts most powerful, those of the sandstone
+districts less powerful, and those of the alluvial districts least
+powerful. The slave markets of America were supplied,[139] very
+largely, from two classes of Africans, viz.: the criminal class, and
+the refuse of African society, which has been preyed upon by local
+disease, decimated by wars waged by the more powerful tribes which
+have pushed down from the abundant supply that has poured over the
+terraces of the mountains for centuries. Nevertheless, some of the
+better class have found their way to this country. About 137 Negro
+tribes are represented in the United States.
+
+For every slave landed safely in North America, there was one lost in
+procuring and bringing down to the coast, and in transportation. Thus
+in the period of 360 years, Africa was robbed of about 30,000,000 of
+souls! When it is remembered that the Negroes in America sprang from
+the criminal, diseased, and inferior classes of Africa, it is nothing
+short of a phenomenon that they were able to endure such a rigorous
+state of bondage. Under-fed and over-worked; poorly clad and miserably
+housed; with the family altar cast down, and intelligent men allowed
+to run over it as swine; and with the fountains of knowledge sealed by
+law against the thirstings of human souls for knowledge, the Negroes
+of America, nevertheless, have shown the most wonderful signs of
+recuperation, and the ability to rise, against every cruel act of man
+and the very forces of nature, to a manhood and intelligent
+citizenship that converts the cautious, impartial, and conservative
+spirit of history into eulogy! They have overcome the obstacles in the
+path of the physical civilization of North America; they have earned
+billions of dollars for a profligate people; they have made good
+laborers, efficient sailors, and peerless soldiers. In three wars they
+won the crown of heroes by steady, intrepid valor; and in peace have
+shown themselves the friends of stable government. During the war for
+the Union, 186,017[140] Colored men enlisted in the service of the
+nation, _and participated in 249 battles_. From 1866 to 1873, besides
+the money saved in other banking houses, they deposited in the
+Freedmen's Banks at the South $53,000,000! From 1866 to 1875 there
+were seven Negroes as Lieutenant-Governors of Southern States; two
+served in the United States Senate, and thirteen in the United States
+House of Representatives. There have been five Negroes appointed as
+Foreign Ministers. There have been ten Negro members of Northern
+legislatures; and in the Government Departments at Washington there
+are 620 Negroes employed. Starting without schools this remarkable
+people have now 14,889 schools, with an attendance of 720,853 pupils!
+And this does not include the children of color who attend the white
+schools of the Northern States; and as far as it is possible to get
+the statistics, there are at present 169 Colored students attending
+white colleges in the Northern States.
+
+The first blood shed in the Revolution was that of a Negro, Crispus
+Attucks, on the 5th of March, 1770. The first blood shed in the war
+for the Union was that of a Negro, Nicholas Biddle, a member of the
+very first company that passed through Baltimore in April, 1861; while
+the first Negro killed in the war was named _John Brown!_ The first
+Union regiment of Negro troops raised during the Rebellion, was raised
+in the State that was first to secede from the Union, South Carolina.
+Its colonel was a Massachusetts man, and a graduate of Harvard
+College. The first action in which Negro troops participated was in
+South Carolina. The first regiment of Northern Negro troops fought its
+first battle in South Carolina, at Fort Wagner, where it immortalized
+itself. The first Negro troops recruited in the Mississippi Valley
+were recruited by a Massachusetts officer, Gen. B. F. Butler; while
+their first fighting here was directed by another Massachusetts
+officer, Gen. N. P. Banks. The first recognition of Negro troops by
+the Confederate army was in December, 1863, when Major John C.
+Calhoun, a grandson of the South Carolina statesman of that name, bore
+a flag of truce, which was received by Major Trowbridge of the First
+South Carolina Colored Regiment. The first regiment to enter
+Petersburg was composed of Negroes; while the first troops to enter
+the Confederate capital at Richmond were Gen. Godfry Weitzel's two
+divisions of Negroes. The last guns fired at Lee's army at Appomattox
+were in the hands of Negro soldiers. And when the last expiring effort
+of treason had, through foul conspiracy, laid our beloved President
+low in death, a Negro regiment guarded his remains, and marched in the
+stately procession which bore the illustrious dead from the White
+House. And on the 15th of May, 1865, at Palmetto Ranch, Texas, the 62d
+Regiment of Colored Troops fired the last volley of the war!
+
+Several attempts have been made to define the racial characteristics
+of the Negro, but they have not been attended with success.
+
+Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe has written more and written better about
+the American Negro than any other person during the present century.
+She has given laboriously and minutely wrought pictures of plantation
+life. She has held up to the gaze of the world portraitures comic and
+serio-comic, which for the gorgeousness and awfulness of their drapery
+will perish only with the language in which they are painted.
+
+But Mrs. Stowe's great characters are marred by some glaring
+imperfections. "Uncle Tom" is too goodish, too lamb-like, too
+obsequious. He is a child of full growth, yet lacks the elements of an
+enlarged manhood. His mind is feeble, body strong--too strong for the
+conspicuous absence of spirit and passion.
+
+"Dred" is the divinest character of the times--is prophet, preacher,
+and saint. He is _so_ grand. He is eloquent beyond compare, and as
+familiar with the Bible as if he were its author. And every hero Mrs.
+Stowe takes in charge must make up his mind to get religion, lots of
+it too, and then prepare to die. There is a terrible fatality among
+her leading characters.
+
+Mrs. Stowe has given but one side of Negro character, and that side is
+terribly exaggerated. But all strong natures like hers are given to
+exaggeration. Wendell Phillips never tells the truth, and yet he
+always tells the truth. He is a man of strong convictions, and always
+pronounces his conviction strongly. He has a poetical nature, is a
+word-painter, and, therefore, indulges in the license of the poet and
+painter. Mrs. Stowe belongs to this school of writers. The lamb and
+lion are united in the Negro character. Mrs. Stowe's mistake consists
+in ascribing to the Negro a peculiarly religious character and
+disposition. Here is detected the mistake. The Negro is not, as she
+supposes, the most religious being in the world. He has more religion
+and has less religion than any other of the races, in one sense. And
+yet, divorced from the circumstances by which he has been surrounded
+in this country, he is not so very religious. Mrs. Stowe seizes upon a
+characteristic that belongs to mankind wherever mankind is enslaved,
+and gently binds it about the neck of the Negro. All races of men
+become religious when oppressed. Frederick the Great was an infidel
+when with his friend Voltaire, but when suffering the reverses of war
+in Silesia he could write very pious letters to his "favorite sister."
+This is true in national character when traced to its last analysis.
+Men pray while they are down in life, but curse when up. And of
+necessity the religion of a bond people is not always healthy. There
+is an involuntary turning to a divine helper; a sort of religious
+superstition, that believes all things, hopes all things, and is
+patient. The soul of such a people is surcharged with an almost
+incredulous amount of poetry, song, and rude but grand eloquence. And
+when the songs that cheered and lighted many a heavy heart in the
+starless night of bondage shall have been rescued and purified by the
+art of music, the hymnology of this century will be greatly indebted
+to this much-abused people. So, under this religious garb, woven by
+the cruel experiences consequent upon slavery, the lion slumbers in
+the Negro.
+
+Every year since the close of the Rebellion the Negro has been taking
+on better and purer traits of character. Possessed of an impressible
+nature, a discriminating sense of the beautiful, and a deep, pure
+taste for music, his progress has been phenomenal. Strong in his
+attachments, gentle in manners, confiding, hopeful, enduring in
+affection, and benevolent to a fault, there is no limit to the outcome
+of his character.
+
+Like the oscillations of the pendulum of a clock the Negro is swinging
+from an extreme religious fanaticism to an extreme rationalism. But he
+will finally take his position upon a solid religious basis; and to
+his "faith" will add virtue, knowledge, and good works. Everywhere
+under good influences he has made a good citizen. No issue in the
+State has been foreign to him. He has proven his patriotism and his
+fondness for this land to which he was dragged in chains, and in his
+obedience to its laws and devotion to its principles has stood second
+to none. His home promises much good. His whole life seems to have
+undergone a radical change. He has shown a disposition and delight in
+the education of his children; and the constantly growing demand for
+competent teachers and educated preachers shows that he has outgrown
+his old ideas concerning education and religion. From an insatiable
+desire for gewgaws he has turned to a practice of the precepts of
+economy. From the state of semi-civilization in which he cared only
+for the comforts of the present, his desires and wants have swept
+outward and upward into the years to come and toward the Mysterious
+Future. He has learned the difficult lesson that "man shall not live
+by bread alone," and has shown himself delighted with a keen sense of
+intellectual hunger. One hundred weekly newspapers, conducted by
+Negroes, are feeding the mind of the race, binding communities
+together by the cords of common interests and racial sympathy; while
+the works of twenty Negro authors[141] lend inspiration and purpose
+to every honest effort at self-improvement.
+
+The fiery trials of the young Colored men who gained admission to West
+Point, and the noble conduct of the four regiments of black troops in
+the severe service of the frontiers have strengthened the hopes of a
+nation in the final outcome of the American Negro.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+But what of the future? Can the Negro endure the sharp competition of
+American civilization? Can he keep his position against the tendencies
+to amalgamation? Since it has been proven that the Negro is not dying
+out, but on the contrary possesses the powers of reproduction to a
+remarkable degree, a new source of danger has been discovered. It is
+said that the Negro will perish, will be absorbed by the dominant race
+ere long; that where races are crossed the inferior race suffers; and
+that mixed races lack the power to reproduce their species; and that
+hence the disappearance of the Negro is but a question of time. Mr.
+Joseph C. G. Kennedy, superintendent of the Federal Census during the
+war, took the following view of this question:
+
+ "That an unfavorable moral condition has existed and continues
+ among the free Colored, be the cause what it may, notwithstanding
+ the great number of excellent people included in that population,
+ no one can for a moment doubt who will consider that with them an
+ element exists which is to some extent positive, and that is the
+ fact of there being more than half as many mulattoes as blacks,
+ forming, as they do, 36-1/4 per cent. of the whole Colored
+ population, and they are maternally descendants of the Colored
+ race, as it is well known that no appreciable amount of this
+ admixture is the result of marriage between white and black, or
+ the progeny of white mothers--a fact showing that whatever
+ deterioration may be the consequence of this alloyage, is
+ incurred by the Colored race. Where such a proportion of the
+ mixed race exists, it may reasonably be inferred that the
+ barriers to license are not more insuperable among those of the
+ same color. That corruption of morals progresses with greater
+ admixture of races, and that the product of vice stimulates the
+ propensity to immorality, is as evident to observation as it is
+ natural to circumstances. These developments of the census, to a
+ good degree, explain the slow progress of the free Colored
+ population in the Northern States, and indicate, with unerring
+ certainty, the gradual extinction of that people the more rapidly
+ as, whether free or slave, they become diffused among the
+ dominant race. There are, however, other causes, although in
+ themselves not sufficient to account for the great excess of
+ deaths over births, as is found to occur in some Northern cities,
+ and these are such as are incident to incongenial climate and a
+ condition involving all the exposures and hardships which
+ accompany a people of lower caste. As but two censuses have been
+ taken which discriminate between the blacks and mulattoes, it is
+ not yet so easy to determine how far the admixture of the races
+ affects their vital power; but the developments already made
+ would indicate that the mingling of the races is more unfavorable
+ to vitality, than a condition of slavery, which practically
+ ignores marriage to the exclusion of the admixture of races, has
+ proved, for among the slaves the natural increase has been as
+ high as three per cent. per annum, and ever more than two per
+ cent., while the proportion of mulattoes at the present period
+ reaches but 10.41 per cent. in the slave population. Among the
+ free Colored in the Southern States, the admixture of races
+ appears to have progressed at a somewhat less ratio than at the
+ North, and we can only account for the greater proportionate
+ number of mulattoes in the North by the longer period of their
+ freedom in the midst of the dominant and more numerous race, and
+ the supposition of more mulattoes than blacks having escaped or
+ been manumitted from slavery."
+
+Whatever merit this view possessed before the war of the Rebellion, it
+is obsolete under the present organization of society. The
+environments of the Negro, the downward tendencies of his social life,
+and the exposed state in which slave laws left him, have all perished.
+In addition to his aptitude for study and capacity for improvement, he
+is now under the protecting and restraining influences of congenial
+climate; and pure sociological laws will impart to his offspring the
+power of reproduction and the ability to maintain an excellent social
+footing with the other races of the world. The learned M. A.
+DeQuatrefages says, concerning this question:
+
+ None of the eminent men with whom I regret to differ take any
+ account of the influence of the action of the surroundings. I
+ believe that the conditions of the surroundings play as important
+ a part in the crossing of races as they do in other matters. They
+ may sometimes favor, sometimes restrict, sometimes prevent, the
+ establishment of a mixed race. This simple consideration accounts
+ for many apparently contradictory facts. Etwick and Long have
+ affirmed that in Jamaica the mulattoes hold out only because they
+ are constantly recruited by the marriage of whites with
+ negresses. But in San Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, there
+ are, we may say, no whites, and the population consists of two
+ thirds mulattoes and one third negroes. The numbers of the
+ mulattoes are there well kept up by themselves without the
+ introduction of fresh blood. In respect to fertility; different
+ instances of crossing between individuals of the two same races
+ may give different results, according to the place where they are
+ effected. I believe it is unnecessary to insist and show that the
+ physical and physiological faculties of children born of mixed
+ unions ought to present analogous facts.
+
+ "In my view the aggregation of physical conditions does not in
+ itself alone constitute the environment. Social and moral
+ conditions have an equal part in it. Here, again, it is easy to
+ establish, in the results of crossings, differences which have no
+ other cause than differences in these conditions. It is true that
+ mongrels, born and grown up in the midst of the hatred of the
+ inferior race and the contempt of the superior race, are liable
+ to merit the reproaches which are commonly attached to them. On
+ the other hand, if real marriages take place between the races,
+ and their offspring are placed upon a footing of equality with
+ the mass of the population, they are quite able to reach the
+ general level, and sometimes to display superior qualities.
+
+ "All of my studies on this question have brought me to the
+ conclusion that the mixture of races has in the past had a great
+ part in the constitution of a large number of actual populations.
+ It is also clear to me that its part in the future will not be
+ less considerable. The movement of expansion, to which I have
+ just called attention, has not slackened since the days of Cortez
+ and Pizarro, but has become more extended and general. The
+ perfection of the means of communication has given it new
+ activity. The people of mixed blood already constitute a
+ considerable part of the population of certain states, and their
+ number is large enough to entitle them to be taken notice of in
+ the population of the whole world.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "These facts show that man is everywhere the same, and that his
+ passions and instincts are independent of the differences that
+ distinguish the human groups. The reason of it is that these
+ differences, however accentuated they may seem to us, are
+ essentially morphological, but do not in any way touch the wholly
+ physiological power of reproduction."[142]
+
+Race prejudice is bound to give way before the potent influences of
+character, education, and wealth. And these are necessary to the
+growth of the race. Without wealth there can be no leisure, without
+leisure there can be no thought, and without thought there can be no
+progress. The future work of the Negro is twofold: subjective and
+objective. Years will be devoted to his own education and improvement
+here in America. He will sound the depths of education, accumulate
+wealth, and then turn his attention to the civilization of Africa. The
+United States will yet establish a line of steamships between this
+country and the Dark Continent. Touching at the Grain Coast, the Ivory
+Coast, and the Gold Coast, America will carry the African
+missionaries, Bibles, papers, improved machinery, instead of rum and
+chains. And Africa, in return, will send America indigo, palm-oil,
+ivory, gold, diamonds, costly wood, and her richest treasures, instead
+of slaves. Tribes will be converted to Christianity; cities will rise,
+states will be founded; geography and science will enrich and enlarge
+their discoveries; and a telegraph cable binding the heart of Africa
+to the ear of the civilized world, every throb of joy or sorrow will
+pulsate again in millions of souls. In the interpretation of _History_
+the plans of God must be discerned, "_For a thousand years in Thy
+sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and as a watch in the
+night_."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[139] From the year 1500 to 1860 the number of slaves imported from
+Africa were as follows:
+
+ Number of Negroes imported Total.
+ into America per annum.
+
+ From 1500 to 1525 500 12,500
+ From 1525 to 1550 5,000 125,000
+ From 1550 to 1600 15,000 750,000
+ From 1600 to 1650 20,000 1,000,000
+ From 1650 to 1700 35,000 1,750,000
+ From 1700 to 1750 60,000 3,000,000
+ From 1750 to 1800 80,000 4,000,000
+ From 1800 to 1850 65,000 3,250,000
+ ----------
+ Total, 350 years 13,887,500
+ From 1850 to 1860, increase for decade 749,931
+ ----------
+ Total importation of Negro slaves into America
+ during a period of 360 years 14,637,431
+ or about 15,000,000 in round numbers.
+
+The above figures are taken from Mr. Dunbar's Mexican Papers. The
+process by which he reaches his conclusions and secures his figures is
+rather remarkable.
+
+[140] This includes the officers, most of whom were white men.
+
+[141] Thus far the Negro has not gone, as an author, beyond mere
+narration. But we may soon expect a poet, a novelist, a composer, and
+a philosophical writer.
+
+[142] Revue Scientifique, Paris.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+Part 5.
+
+_ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION._
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+WALKER'S APPEAL.
+
+One of the most remarkable papers written by a Negro during the
+Anti-Slavery Agitation Movement was the Appeal of David Walker, of
+Boston, Massachusetts. He was a shopkeeper and dealer in second-hand
+clothes. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, September 28,
+1785, of a free mother by a slave father. When quite young he said:
+"If I remain in this bloody land, I will not live long. As true as God
+reigns, I will be avenged for the sorrow which my people have
+suffered. This is not the place for me--no, no. I must leave this part
+of the country. It will be a great trial for me to live on the same
+soil where so many men are in slavery; certainly I cannot remain where
+I must hear their chains continually, and where I must encounter the
+insults of their hypocritical enslavers. Go, I must!"
+
+He went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he took up his residence. He
+applied himself to study, and in 1827, capable of reading and writing,
+he began business in Brattle Street. He was possessed of a rather
+reflective and penetrating mind. And before Mr. William Lloyd Garrison
+unfurled his flag for the Agitation Movement, David Walker wrote and
+published his Appeal in 1829. It was circulated widely, and touched
+and stirred the South as no other pamphlet had ever done. Three
+editions were published. The feeling at the South was intense. The
+following correspondence shows how deeply agitated the South was by
+Walker's Appeal. The editor of the _Boston Courier_ observed: "It will
+be recollected that some time in December last [1829] Gov. Giles sent
+a message to the Legislature of Virginia complaining of an attempt to
+circulate in the city of Richmond a seditious pamphlet, said to have
+been sent there from Boston. We find in the _Richmond Enquirer_ of the
+18th inst. [February, 1830] the following Message from the Governor,
+enclosing a correspondence which unravels all the mystery which has
+hitherto enveloped the transaction."
+
+ EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Feb. 16th, 1830.
+
+ SIR: In compliance with the advice of the Executive Council, I do
+ myself the honor of transmitting herewith the copy of a letter
+ from the Honorable Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor of Boston, conveying
+ the copy of a letter from him addressed to the Mayor of Savannah,
+ in answer to one received by him from that gentleman respecting a
+ seditious pamphlet written by a person of color in Boston, and
+ circulated by him in other parts of the United States.
+
+ Very respectfully, your obd't serv't,
+ WM. B. GILES.
+
+
+ The Hon. LINN BANKS, _Speaker of the House of Delegates_.
+
+ _To his Excellency, the Governor of Virginia_:
+
+ SIR: Perceiving that a pamphlet published in this city has been a
+ subject of animadversion and uneasiness in Virginia as well as in
+ Georgia, I have presumed that it might not be amiss to apprize
+ you of the sentiments and feelings of the city authorities in
+ this place respecting it, and for that purpose I beg leave to
+ send you a copy of my answer to a letter from the Mayor of
+ Savannah, addressed to me on that subject. You may be assured
+ that your good people cannot hold in more absolute detestation
+ the sentiments of the writer than do the people of this city, and
+ as I verily believe, the mass of the New England population. The
+ only difference is, that the insignificance of the writer, the
+ extravagance of his sanguinary fanaticism tending to disgust all
+ persons of common humanity with his object, and the very partial
+ circulation of this book, prevent the affair from being a subject
+ of excitement and hardly of serious attention.
+
+ I have reason to believe that the book is disapproved of by the
+ decent portion even of the free colored population in this place,
+ and it would be a cause of deep regret to me, and I believe to
+ all my well-disposed fellow-citizens, if a publication of this
+ character, and emanating from such a source, should be thought to
+ be countenanced by any of their number.
+
+ I have the honor to be respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ H. G. OTIS, _Mayor of the City of Boston_.
+
+ BOSTON, Feb. 10, 1830.
+
+
+ _To the Mayor of Savannah_:
+
+ SIR: Indisposition has prevented an earlier reply to your favor
+ of the 12th December. A few days before the receipt of it, the
+ _pamphlet_ had been put into my hands by one of the Board of
+ Aldermen of this city, who received it from an individual, it not
+ having been circulated here. I perused it carefully, in order to
+ ascertain whether the writer had made himself amenable to our
+ laws; but notwithstanding the extremely bad and inflammatory
+ tendency of the publication, he does not seem to have violated
+ any of these laws. It is written by a free black man, whose true
+ name it bears. He is a shopkeeper and dealer in old clothes, and
+ in a conversation which I authorized a young friend of mine to
+ hold with him, he openly avows the sentiments of the book and
+ authorship. I also hear that he declares his intention to be, to
+ circulate his pamphlets by mail, at his own expense, if he cannot
+ otherwise effect his object.
+
+ You may be assured, sir, that a disposition would not be wanting
+ on the part of the city authorities here, to avail themselves of
+ any lawful means for preventing this attempt to throw firebrands
+ into your country. We regard it with deep disapprobation and
+ abhorrence. But, we have no power to control the purpose of the
+ author, and without it we think that any public notice of him or
+ his book, would make matters worse.
+
+ We have been determined, however, to publish a general caution to
+ Captains and others, against exposing themselves to the
+ consequences of transporting incendiary writings into your and
+ the other Southern States.
+
+ I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
+ H. G. OTIS.
+
+
+Part 6.
+
+_THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION._
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+LIST OF WORKS BY NEGRO AUTHORS.
+
+"Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa." Autobiography. Boston, 1837.
+
+"Light and Truth." Lewis (R. B.). Boston, 1844.
+
+"Volume of Poems." Whitfield, (James M.). 1846.
+
+"Volume of Poems." Payne, (Daniel A., D.D.). 1850.
+
+"The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored
+People of the United States, Politically Considered." Delaney (Martin
+R.). Philadelphia, 1852.
+
+"Principia of Ethnology: The Origin of Races and Color." Delaney
+(Martin R.).
+
+"Narrative of the Life of an American Slave." London, 1847. "My
+Bondage and My Freedom." New York, 1855. "Life and Times." Hartford,
+Conn., 1882. Douglass (Frederick).
+
+"Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro," etc. Ward (Rev. Samuel Ringgold).
+London, 1855.
+
+"The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution." Nell (Wm. C).
+Boston, 1855.
+
+"Narrative of Solomon Northup." New York, 1859. "Twenty-two Years a
+Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman." Rochester, 1861. Stewart (Rev.
+Austin).
+
+"The Black Man." Boston, Mass., 1863. "The Negro in the Rebellion."
+Boston, 1867. "Clotelle." Boston, 1867. "The Rising Sun." Boston,
+1874. "Sketches of Places and People Abroad." 1854. Brown (Wm. Wells,
+M.D.).
+
+"An Apology for African Methodism." Tanner (Benj. T.). Baltimore,
+1867.
+
+"The Underground Railroad." Still (William). Philadelphia, 1872.
+
+"The Colored Cadet at West Point." Flipper (H. O.), U. S. A. New York,
+1877.
+
+"Music and Some Highly Musical People." Trotter (James M.). Boston,
+1878.
+
+"My Recollections of African Methodism." Wayman (Bishop A. W.).
+Philadelphia, Pa., 1881.
+
+"First Lessons in Greek." Scarborough (W. S., A.M.). New York, 1882.
+
+"History of the Black Brigade." Clark (Peter H.)
+
+"Uncle Tom's Story of His Life." From 1789 to 1879. Henson (Rev.
+Josiah). Boston.
+
+"The Future of Africa." New York, 1862, Charles Scribner & Co.
+
+"The Greatness of Christ," and other Sermons. Crummell (Rev.
+Alexander, D.D.). T. Whittaker, 2 and 3 Bible House, New York, 1882.
+
+"Not a Man and Yet a Man." Whitman (A. A.).
+
+"Mixed Races." Sampson (John P.). Hampton, Va., 1881.
+
+"Poems." Wheatley (Phillis). London, England, 1773.
+
+"As a Slave and as a Freeman." Loguen (Bishop, J. W.).
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE JOHN BROWN MEN.
+
+The subjoined correspondence was published in the _Republican_, J. K.
+Rukenbrod, editor, at Salem, Ohio, Wednesday, December 28, 1859. The
+beautiful spirit of self-sacrifice, the lofty devotion to the sublime
+principles of universal liberty, and the heroic welcome to the hour of
+martyrdom, invest these letters with intrinsic historic value.
+
+ LETTER FROM EDWIN COPPOCK TO HIS UNCLE JOSHUA COPPOCK.
+
+ CHARLESTON, VA., December 13, 1859.
+
+ MY DEAR UNCLE: I seat myself by the stand to write for the _last_
+ time, to thee and thy family. Though far from home, and overtaken
+ by misfortune, I have not forgotten you. Your generous
+ hospitality toward me during my short stay with you last Spring
+ is stamped indelibly upon my heart; and also the generosity
+ bestowed upon my poor brother, at the same time, who now wanders
+ an outcast from his native land. But thank God he is free, and I
+ am thankful it is I who have to suffer instead of him.
+
+ The time may come when he will remember me. And the time may come
+ when he will still further remember the _cause in which I die_.
+ Thank God the principles of the cause in which we were engaged
+ _will not die with me and my brave comrades_. They will spread
+ wider and wider, and gather strength with each hour that passes.
+
+ The voice of truth will echo through our land, bringing
+ conviction to the erring, and adding numbers to _that glorious
+ Army who will enlist under its banner_. The cause of everlasting
+ truth and justice will go on "conquering and to conquer," until
+ our broad and beautiful land shall rest beneath the banner of
+ freedom. I had hoped to live to see the dawn of that glorious
+ day. I had hoped to live to see the principles of the Declaration
+ of our Independence fully realized. I had hoped to see the dark
+ stain of slavery blotted from our land, and the _libel_ of our
+ boasted freedom erased; when we can say in truth that our beloved
+ country is "the land of the free, and the home of the
+ brave."--But this cannot be. I have heard my sentence passed, my
+ doom is sealed. But two brief days between me and eternity. At
+ the expiration of those two days, I shall stand upon the scaffold
+ to take my last look at earthly scenes. But that scaffold has but
+ little dread for me; for I honestly believe I am innocent of any
+ crime justifying such punishment.
+
+ But by the taking of my life, and the lives of my comrades,
+ Virginia is but hastening on that glorious day, when the slave
+ will rejoice in his freedom; when he can say that _I too am a
+ man_, and am groaning no more under the yoke of oppression. But I
+ must now close. Accept this short scrawl as a remembrance of me.
+ Remember me to my relatives and friends. And now Farewell.
+
+ From thy nephew,
+ EDWIN COPPOCK.
+
+ P. S. I will say for I know it will be a satisfaction to all of
+ you, that we are all kindly treated, and I hope the North will
+ not fail to give Sheriff Campbell and Captain Avis due
+ acknowledgment for their kind and noble actions.
+
+ E.
+
+
+ LETTER FROM EDWIN COPPOCK TO THOMAS WINN.
+
+ MY DEAR FRIEND THOMAS WINN: For thy love and sympathy, and for
+ thy unwearied exertion in my behalf, accept my warmest thanks. I
+ have no words to tell the gratitude and love I have for thee. And
+ may God bless thee and thy family, for the love and kindness thee
+ has always shown towards my family and me. And when life with
+ thee is over, may we meet on that shore where there is no
+ parting, is the farewell prayer of thy true friend.
+
+ EDWIN COPPOCK.
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THAT LETTER.
+
+The following is the letter from Edwin Coppock, seized upon by the
+Virginia authorities as a pretence for not commuting his sentence. The
+offensive remark consisted alone wherein he spoke of the chivalry as
+"the enemy." There certainly is nothing in this communication that
+could justify a Government in taking the life of a man whom it
+otherwise considered not guilty of a capital crime, but whose greatest
+offence was that of being found, as Wise claimed, in bad company. We
+give the letter entire:
+
+ EDWIN COPPOCK TO MRS. BROWN.
+
+ CHARLESTON JAIL, VIRGINIA, November --, 1859.
+
+ MRS. JOHN BROWN--Dear Madam: I was very sorry that your request
+ to see the rest of the prisoners was not complied with. Mrs. Avis
+ brought me a book whose pages are full of truth and beauty,
+ entitled "Voice of the True-Hearted," which she told me was a
+ present from you. For this dear token of remembrance, please
+ accept my thanks.
+
+ My comrade, J. E. Cook, and myself, deeply sympathize with you in
+ your sad bereavement. We were both acquainted with Anna and
+ Martha. They were to us as sisters, and as brothers we sympathize
+ with them in the dark hour of trial and affliction.
+
+ I was with your sons when they fell. Oliver lived but a few
+ moments after he was shot. He spoke no word, but yielded calmly
+ to his fate. Watson was shot at 10 o'clock on Monday morning, and
+ died about 3 o'clock on Wednesday morning. He suffered much.
+ Though mortally wounded at 10 o'clock, yet at 3 o'clock Monday
+ afternoon he fought bravely against the men who charged on us.
+ When the enemy were repulsed, and the excitement of the charge
+ was over, he began to sink rapidly.
+
+ After we were taken prisoners, he was placed in the guard-house
+ with me. He complained of the hardness of the bench on which he
+ was lying. I begged hard for a bed for him, or even a blanket,
+ but could obtain none for him. I took off my coat and placed it
+ under him, and held his head in my lap, in which position he died
+ without a groan or a struggle.
+
+ I have stated these facts thinking that they may afford to you,
+ and to the bereaved widows they have left, a mournful
+ consolation.
+
+ Give my love to Anna and Martha, with our last farewell.
+
+ Yours truly,
+ EDWIN COPPOCK.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ COOK'S LAST LETTER TO HIS WIFE.
+
+ CHARLESTOWN JAIL, Dec. 16, 1859.
+
+ MY DEAR WIFE AND CHILD: For the last time I take my pen to
+ address you--for the last time to speak to you through the tongue
+ of the absent. I am about to leave you and this world forever.
+ But do not give way to your grief. Look with the eyes of hope
+ beyond the vale of life, and see the dawning of that brighter
+ morrow that shall know no clouds or shadows in its sunny
+ sky--that shall know no sunset. To that eternal day I trust,
+ beloved, I am going now. For me there waits no far-off or
+ uncertain future. I am only going from my camp on earth to a home
+ in heaven; from the dark clouds of sin and grief, to the clear
+ blue skies, the flowing fountains, and the eternal joys of that
+ better and brighter land, whose only entrance is through the vale
+ of death--whose only gateway is the tomb.
+
+ Oh, yes! think that I am only going home; going to meet my
+ Saviour and my God; going to meet my comrades, and wait and watch
+ for you. Each hour that passes, every tolling bell, proclaims
+ this world is not our home. We are but pilgrims here, journeying
+ to our Father's house. Some have a long and weary road to wander;
+ shadowed o'er with doubts and fears, they often tire and faint
+ upon life's roadside; yet, still all wearied, they must move
+ along. Some make a more rapid journey, and complete their
+ pilgrimage in the bright morn of life; they know no weariness
+ upon their journey, no ills or cares of toil-worn age. I and my
+ comrades here are among that number. Our pilgrimage is nearly
+ ended; we can almost see our homes. A few more hours and we shall
+ be there.
+
+ True, it is hard for me to leave my loving partner and my little
+ one, lingering on the rugged road on which life's storms are
+ bursting. But cheer up, my beloved ones; those storms will soon
+ be over; through their last lingering shadows you will see the
+ promised rainbow. It will whisper of a happy land where all
+ storms are over. Will you not strive to meet me in that clime of
+ unending sunshine? Oh! yes, I know you will; that you will also
+ try to lead our child along that path of glory; that you will
+ claim for him an entrance to that celestial city whose maker and
+ builder is God. Teach him the way of truth and virtue. Tell him
+ for what and how his father left him ere his lips could lisp my
+ name. Pray for him. Remember that there is no golden gateway to
+ the realms of pleasure here, but there is one for the redeemed in
+ the land that lies starward. There I hope we may meet, when you
+ have completed your pilgrimage on the road of life. Years will
+ pass on and your journey will soon be ended. Live so that when
+ from the verge of life you look back you may feel no vain
+ regrets, no bitter anguish for mis-spent years. Look to God in
+ all your troubles; cast yourself on Him when your heart is dark
+ with the night of sorrow and heavy with the weight of woe. He
+ will shed over you the bright sunshine of His love, and take away
+ the burden from your heart.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ And now farewell. May that all-wise and eternal God, who governs
+ all things, be with you to guide and protect you through life,
+ and bring us together in eternal joy beyond the grave. Farewell,
+ fond partner of my heart and soul. Farewell, dear babe of our
+ love. A last, long farewell, till we meet in heaven.
+
+ I remain, in life and death, your devoted husband.
+ JOHN E. COOK.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+FUNERAL OF JOHN E. COOK.
+
+The funeral of Capt. Cook took place at Brooklyn on the 20th, from the
+residence of Mrs. S. L. Harris. The services were conducted by the
+Rev. Mr. Caldicott, of the Lee Avenue Dutch Reformed Church, and at
+the Cypress Hills Cemetery by the Rev. Wm. H. Johnson. Of the body the
+day previous, the _Tribune_ says:
+
+ Owing to the length of time that elapsed between the decease and
+ the time the body was delivered into the charge of Dr. Holmes,
+ the process of embalming has been somewhat difficult, and
+ consequently the appearance of the remains is not so natural as
+ it otherwise would have been. Last evening the body was placed
+ in an erect position, in order to allow the injected fluid to
+ settle in the veins and arteries, so as to give to the face a
+ more natural appearance. The swelling has entirely disappeared
+ from the neck and face, and the decomposition which had set in
+ had been checked. The remains will not be enshrouded until this
+ morning, when they will be placed in the coffin, enclosed in a
+ white merino robe with a satin collar, satin cord about the
+ waist, and a black neckerchief about the neck.
+
+ Yesterday afternoon the father, sisters, and wife of the deceased
+ were permitted to view the remains. His wife removed the
+ breast-pin and a miniature of their child from about his neck,
+ which she had placed there but a few days previous to his
+ execution. She is but eighteen years of age, and has an infant
+ four months old. She is from Harper's Ferry, Va., where she was
+ married about seventeen months since. She, as well as the other
+ relatives, was overwhelmed with sorrow, and it was some moments
+ before they were sufficiently recovered to be enabled to leave
+ the body. The refusal of the Consistories of the Lee Avenue and
+ Fourth Reformed Dutch Churches to permit the services to be held
+ in their edifices has given rise to the expression of much
+ feeling, and many of the friends of the deceased infer that this
+ refusal is made from a fear of censure on the part of some of the
+ members of their congregations, in allowing a Christian burial to
+ the remains.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the little burial-ground at Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, there is
+a monument dedicated to the memory of three of the John Brown Men, as
+follows:
+
+ L. S. Leary, died at Harper's Ferry, Oct. 20, 1859,
+ aged 24 years.
+ S. Green, died at Charlestown, Virginia, Dec. 2, 1850,
+ aged 28 years.
+ J. A. Copeland, died at Charlestown, Virginia, Dec. 2, 1859,
+ aged 25 years.
+
+The monument bears the following inscription:
+
+ These Colored citizens of Oberlin, the heroic associates of the
+ Immortal John Brown, gave their lives for the Slave.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE NEGRO ARTIST OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ON THE CAPITOL.
+
+When the bronze castings were being completed at the foundry of Mr.
+Mills, near Bladensburg, his foreman, who had superintended the work
+from the beginning, and who was receiving eight dollars per day,
+struck, and demanded ten dollars, assuring Mr. M. that the advance
+must be granted him, as nobody in America, except himself, could
+complete the work. Mr. M. felt that the demand was exorbitant, and
+appealed in his dilemma to the slaves who were assisting in the
+moulding. "I can do that well," said one of them, an intelligent and
+ingenious servant, who had been intimately engaged in the various
+processes. The striker was dismissed, and the negro, assisted
+occasionally by the finer skill of his master, took the striker's
+place as superintendent, and the work went on. The black
+master-builder lifted the ponderous, uncouth masses, and bolted them
+together, joint by joint, piece by piece, till they blended into the
+majestic "Freedom," who to-day lifts her head in the blue clouds above
+Washington, invoking a benediction upon the imperilled Republic!
+
+Was there a prophecy in that moment when the slave became the artist,
+and with rare poetic justice, reconstructed the beautiful symbol of
+freedom for America?[143]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[143] Washington Correspondent of the New York Tribune, December 2,
+1863.
+
+
+Part 7.
+
+_THE NEGRO IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION._
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.
+
+Gen. Benj. F. Butler commanded a number of Negro Troops at Fort
+Harrison on the 29th Sept., 1864. After white troops had been driven
+back by the enemy, Gen. Butler ordered his Negro troops to storm the
+fortified position of the enemy at the point of the bayonet. The
+troops had to charge down a hill, ford a creek, and--preceded by
+axemen who had to cut away two lines of _abatis_--then carry the works
+held by infantry and artillery. They made one of the most brilliant
+charges of the war, with "Remember Fort Pillow" as their battle-cry,
+and carried the works in an incredibly short time.
+
+Nearly a decade after this battle, Gen. Butler, then a member of
+Congress from Massachusetts, said, in a speech on the Civil Rights
+Bill of this affair:
+
+ "It became my painful duty to follow in the track of that
+ charging column, and there, in a space not wider than the clerk's
+ desk, and three hundred yards long, lay the dead bodies of five
+ hundred and forty-three of my colored comrades, fallen in defence
+ of their country, who had offered up their lives to uphold its
+ flag and its honor, as a willing sacrifice; and as I rode along
+ among them, guiding my horse this way and that way, lest he
+ should profane with his hoofs what seemed to me the sacred dead,
+ and as I looked on their bronze faces upturned in the shining
+ sun, as if in mute appeal against the wrongs of the country for
+ which they had given their lives, whose flag had only been to
+ them a flag of stripes, on which no star of glory had ever shone
+ for them--feeling I had wronged them in the past, and believing
+ what was the future of my country to them--among my dead comrades
+ there, I swore to myself a solemn oath--'May my right hand forget
+ its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,' if I
+ ever fail to defend the rights of those men who have given their
+ blood for me and my country that day and for their race forever,
+ and God helping me, I will keep that oath."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BATTLES IN WHICH COLORED TROOPS PARTICIPATED.
+
+ "Alliance," Steamer, Fla. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ March 8, 1865. May 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 99th Inf. U. S. C. T. 4th Inf.
+
+ Amite River, La. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ March 18, 1865. May 20, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 77th Inf. U. S. C. T. 1st Cav.
+
+ Appomattox Court House, Va. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ April 9, 1865. Aug. 24 and 25, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 41st Inf. U. S. C. T. 7th Inf.
+
+ Arkansas River, Ark. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ Dec. 18, 1864. Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th Inf. U. S. C. T. 19th Inf.
+
+ Ash Bayou, La. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ Nov. 19, 1864. Dec. 1, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 93d Inf. U. S. C. T. 39th Inf.
+
+ Ashepoo River, S. C. Bermuda Hundred, Va.
+ May 16, 1864. Dec. 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 34th Inf. U. S. C. T. 23d Inf.
+
+ Ashwood, Miss. Berwick, La.
+ June 25, 1864. April 26, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 63d Inf. U. S. C. T. 98th Inf.
+
+ Ashwood Landing, La. Big Creek, Ark.
+ May 1 and 4, 1864. July 26, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 64th Inf. U. S. C. T. Batt'ry E, 2d Lt. Art.;
+ 60th Inf.
+
+ Athens, Ala. Big Springs, Ky.
+ Sept. 24, 1864. Jan. --, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 106th, 110th, U. S. C. T. 12th Hy. Art.
+ and 111th Inf.
+
+ Barrancas, Fla. Black Creek, Fla.
+ July 22, 1864. July 27, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 82d Inf. U. S. C. T. 35th Inf.
+
+ Baxter's Springs, Kan. Black River, La.
+ Oct. 6, 1863. Nov. 1, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 6th Hy. Art.
+
+ Bayou Bidell, La. Bogg's Mills, Ark.
+ Oct. 15, 1864. Jan. 24, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 52d Inf. U. S. C. T. 11th (old) Inf.
+
+ Bayou Boeuf, Ark. Boyd's Station, Ala.
+ Dec. 13, 1863. March 18, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav. U. S. C. T. 101st Inf.
+
+ Bayou Mason, Miss. Boykin's Mill, S. C.
+ July --, 1864. April 18, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 66th Inf. U. S. C. T. 54th (Mass.) Inf.
+
+ Bayou St. Louis, Miss. Bradford's Springs, S. C.
+ Nov. 17, 1863. April 18, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 91st Inf. U. S. C. T. 102d Inf.
+
+ Bayou Tensas, La. Brawley Fork, Tenn.
+ Aug. 10, 1863. March 25, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 48th Inf. U. S. C. T. 17th Inf.
+
+ Bayou Tensas, La. Brice's Cross Roads, Miss.
+ July 30 and Aug. 26, 1864. June 10, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 66th Inf. U. S. C. T. Batt'y F, 2d Lt. Art.;
+ 55th and 59th Inf.
+
+ Bayou Tunica, La. Briggin Creek, S. C.
+ Nov. 9, 1863. Feb. 25, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 73d Inf. U. S. C. T. 55th (Mass.) Inf.
+
+ Bryant's Plantation, Fla. Decatur, Tenn.
+ Oct. 21, 1864. Aug. 18, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Inf. U. S. C. T. 1st Hy. Art.
+
+ Cabin Creek, Caddo Nation. Decatur, Ala.
+ July 1 and 2, 1863. Oct. 28 and 29, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 14th Inf.
+
+ Cabin Creek, Caddo Nation. Decatur, Ala.
+ Nov. 4, 1865. Dec. 27 and 28, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th Inf. U. S. C. T. 17th Inf.
+
+ Cabin Point, Va. Deep Bottom, Va.
+ Aug. 5, 1864. Aug. 14 to 18, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Cav. U. S. C. T. 7th and 9th Inf.
+
+ Camden, Ark. Deep Bottom, Va.
+ April 24, 1864. Sept. 2 and 6, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 57th Inf. U. S. C. T. 2d Cav.
+
+ Camp Marengo, La. Deep Bottom, Va.
+ Sept. 14, 1864. Oct. 1, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 63d Inf. U. S. C. T. 38th Inf.
+
+ Cedar Keys, Fla. Deep Bottom, Va.
+ Feb. 16, 1865. Oct. 31, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Inf. U. S. C. T. 127th Inf.
+
+ Chapin's Farm, Va. Deveaux Neck, S. C.
+ Sept. 29 and 30, 1864. Dec. 7, 8, and 9, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Cav.; 1st, 4th, U. S. C. T. 32d, 34th, 55th (Mass.),
+ 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 102d Inf.
+ 9th, 22d, 29th (Conn.), 36th,
+ 37th, and 38th Inf. Drury's Bluff, Va.
+ May 10, 16, and 20, 1864.
+ Chapin's Farm, Va. U. S. C. T. 2d Cav.
+ Nov. 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 22d Inf. Dutch Gap, Va.
+ Aug. 24, 1864.
+ Chattanooga, Tenn. U. S. C. T. 22d Inf.
+ Feb. --, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 18th Inf. Dutch Gap, Va.
+ Sept. 7, 1864.
+ "Chippewia," Steamer, Ark. U. S. C. T. 4th Inf.
+ Feb. 17, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. Dutch Gap, Va.
+ Nov. 17, 1864.
+ "City Belle," Steamer, La. U. S. C. T. 36th Inf.
+ May 3, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 73d Int. East Pascagoula, Miss.
+ April 9, 1863.
+ City Point, Va. U. S. C. T. Cos. B. and C.,
+ May 6, 1864. 74th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Inf.
+ Eastport, Miss.
+ City Point, Va. Oct. 10, 1864.
+ June --, 1864. U. S. C. T. 61st Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. Batt'y B, 2d Lt. Art.
+ Fair Oaks, Va.
+ Clarksville, Ark. Oct. 27 and 28, 1864.
+ Jan. 18, 1865. U. S. C. T. 1st, 5th, 9th, 22d,
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. 29th (Conn.), and
+ 37th Inf.
+ Clinton, La.
+ Aug. 25, 1864. Federal Point, N. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 4th Cav. Feb. 11, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 39th Inf.
+ Coleman's Plantation, Miss.
+ July 4, 1864. Fillmore, Va.
+ U. S. C. T. 52d Inf. Oct. 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Inf.
+ Columbia, La.
+ Feb. 4, 1864. Floyd, La.
+ U. S. C. T. 66th Inf. July --, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 51st Inf.
+ Concordia Bayou, La.
+ Aug. 5, 1864. Fort Adams, La.
+ U. S. C. T. 6th Hy. Art. Oct. 5, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+ Cow Creek, Kan.
+ Nov. 14, 1864. Fort Anderson, Ky.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th Inf. March 25, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 8th Hy. Art.
+ Cox's Bridge, N. C.
+ March 24, 1865. Fort Blakely, Ala.
+ U. S. C. T. 30th Inf. March 31 to April 9, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st,
+ Dallas, Ga. 68th, 73d, 76th,82d, and 86th Inf.
+ May 31, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 40th Inf. Fort Brady, Va.
+ Jan. 24, 1865.
+ Dalton, Ga. U. S. C. T. 118th Inf.
+ Aug. 15 and 16, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 14th Inf. Fort Burnham, Va.
+ Dec. 10, 1864.
+ Darbytown Road, Va. U. S. C. T. 41st Inf.
+ Oct. 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 7th, 8th, 9th, and Fort Burnham, Va.
+ 29th (Conn.) Inf. Jan. 24, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 7th Inf.
+ Davis's Bend, La.
+ June 2 and 29, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 64th Inf.
+
+ Fort Donelson, Tenn. Henderson, Ky.
+ Oct. 11, 1864. Sept. 25, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 4th Hy. Art. U. S. C. T. 118th Inf.
+
+ Fort Gaines, Ala. Holly Springs, Miss.
+ Aug. 2 to 8, 1864. Aug. 28, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 96th Inf. U. S. C. T. 11th (new) Inf.
+
+ Fort Gibson, Caddo Nation. Honey Hill, S. C.
+ Sept. 16, 1864. Nov. 30, 1864,
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 32d, 35th, 54th,
+ and 55th (Mass.), and 102d Inf.
+ Fort Gibson, Caddo Nation.
+ Sept., 1865. Honey Springs, Kan.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th Inf. July 17, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf.
+ Fort Jones, Ky.
+ Feb. 18, 1865. Hopkinsville, Va.
+ U. S. C. T. 12th Hy. Art. Dec. 12, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Cav.
+ Fort Pillow, Tenn.
+ April 12, 1864. Horse-Head Creek, Ark.
+ U. S. C. T. Batt'y F, 2d Lt. Art.; Feb. 17, 1864.
+ 11th (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf.
+
+ Fort Pocahontas, Va. Indian Bay, Ark.
+ Aug., 1864. April 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Cav. U. S. C. T. 56th Inf.
+
+ Fort Smith, Ark. Indiantown, N. C.
+ Aug. 24, 1864. Dec. 18, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 11th (old) Inf. U. S. C. T. 36th Inf.
+
+ Fort Smith, Ark. Indian Village, La.
+ Dec. 24, 1864. Aug. 6, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 11th Hy. Art.
+
+ Fort Taylor, Fla. Island Mound, Mo.
+ Aug. 21, 1864. Oct. 27 and 29, 1862.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Inf. U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf.
+
+ Fort Wagner, S. C. Island No. 76, Miss.
+ July 18 and Sept. 6, 1863. Jan. 20, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th (Mass.) Inf. U. S. C. T. Batt'y E, 2d Lt. Art.
+
+ Fort Wagner, S. C. Issaquena County, Miss.
+ Aug. 26, 1863. July 10 and Aug. 17, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Inf. U. S. C. T. 66th Inf.
+
+ Franklin, Miss. Jackson, La.
+ Jan. 2, 1865. Aug. 3, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav. U. S. C. T. 73d, 75th, and 78th Inf.
+
+ Ghent, Ky. Jackson, Miss.
+ Aug. 29, 1864. July 5, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 117th Inf. U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+
+ Glasgow, Mo. Jacksonville, Fla.
+ Oct. 15, 1864. March 29, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 62d Inf. U. S. C. T. 33d Inf.
+
+ Glasgow, Ky. Jacksonville, Fla.
+ March 25, 1865. May 1 and 28, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 119th Inf. U. S. C. T. 7th Inf.
+
+ Goodrich's Landing, La. Jacksonville, Fla.
+ March 24 and July 16, 1864. April 4, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 66th Inf. U. S. C. T. 3d Inf.
+
+ Grand Gulf, Miss. James Island, S. C.
+ July 16, 1864. July 16, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 53d Inf. U. S. C. T. 54th (Mass.) Inf.
+
+ Gregory's Farm, S. C. James Island, S. C.
+ Dec. 5 and 9, 1864. May 21, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 26th Inf. U. S. C. T. 55th (Mass.) Inf.
+
+ Hall Island, S. C. James Island, S. C.
+ Nov. 24, 1863. July 1 and 2, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 33d Inf. U. S. C. T. 33d and
+ 55th (Mass.) Inf.
+ Harrodsburg, Ky.
+ Oct. 21, 1864. James Island, S. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Cav. July 5 and 7, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 7th Inf.
+ Hatcher's Run, Va.
+ Oct. 27 and 28, 1864. James Island. S. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 27th, 39th, 41st, 43d, Feb. 10, 1865.
+ and 45th Inf. U. S. C. T. 55th (Mass.) Inf.
+
+ Haynes Bluff, Miss. Jenkins's Ferry, Ark.
+ Feb. 3, 1864. April 30, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 53d Inf. U. S. C. T. 79th (new) and
+ 83d (new) Inf.
+ Haynes Bluff, Miss.
+ April, 1864. Jenkins's Ferry, Ark.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav. May 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf.
+ Helena, Ark.
+ Aug. 2, 1864. John's Island, S. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 64th Inf. July 5 and 7, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 26th Inf.
+
+ John's Island, S. C. Mount Pleasant Landing, La.
+ July 9, 1864. May 15, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 7th and 34th Inf. U. S. C. T. 67th Inf.
+
+ Johnsonville, Tenn. Mud Creek, Ala.
+ Sept. 25, 1864. Jan. 5, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 13th Inf. U. S. C. T. 106th Inf.
+
+ Jones's Bridge, Va. Murfreesboro', Tenn.
+ June 23, 1864. Dec. 24, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 28th Inf. U. S. C. T. 12th Inf.
+
+ Joy's Ford, Ark. N. and N. W. R. R., Tenn.
+ Jan. 8, 1865. Sept. 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 100th Inf.
+
+ Lake Providence, La. Nashville, Tenn.
+ May 27, 1863. May 24, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 15th Inf.
+ Lawrence, Kan.
+ July 27, 1863. Nashville, Tenn.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. Dec. 2 and 21, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 44th Inf.
+ Little Rock, Ark.
+ April 26 and May 28, 1864. Nashville, Tenn.
+ U. S. C. T. 57th Inf. Dec. 7, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 18th Inf.
+ Liverpool Heights, Miss.
+ Feb. 3, 1864. Nashville, Tenn.
+ U. S. C. T. 47th Inf. Dec. 15 and 16, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 12th, 13th, 14th, 17th,
+ "Lotus," Steamer, Kan. 18th, and 100th Inf.
+ Jan. 17, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. Natchez, Miss.
+ Nov. 11, 1863.
+ Madison Station, Ala. U. S. C. T. 58th Inf.
+ Nov. 26, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 101st Inf. Natchez, Miss.
+ April 25, 1864.
+ Magnolia, Tenn. U. S. C. T. 98th Inf.
+ Jan. 7, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 15th Inf. Natural Bridge, Fla.
+ March 6, 1865.
+ Mariana, Fla. U. S. C. T. 2d and 99th Inf.
+ Sept. 27, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 82d Inf. New Kent Court House, Va.
+ March 2, 1864.
+ Marion, Va. U. S. C. T. 5th Inf.
+ Dec. 18, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 6th Cav. New Market Heights, Va.
+ June 24, 1864.
+ Marion County, Fla. U. S. C. T. 22d Inf.
+ March 10, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Inf. Olustee, Fla.
+ Feb. 20, 1864.
+ McKay's Point, S. C. U. S. C. T. 8th, 35th,
+ Dec. 22, 1864. and 54th (Mass.) Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 26th Inf.
+ Owensboro', Ky.
+ Meffleton Lodge, Ark. Aug. 27, 1864.
+ June 29, 1864. U. S. C. T. 108th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 56th Inf.
+ Palmetto Ranch, Texas.
+ Memphis, Tenn. May 15, 1865.
+ Aug. 21, 1864. U. S. C. T. 62d Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 61st Inf.
+ Pass Manchas, La.
+ Milliken's Bend, La. March 20, 1864.
+ June 5, 6, and 7, 1863. U. S. C. T. 10th Hy. Art.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Hy. Art.;
+ 49th and 51st Inf. Petersburg, Va.
+ June 15, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
+ Milltown Bluff, S. C. U. S. C. T. 5th (Mass.) Cav.;
+ July 10, 1863. 1st, 4th, 5th,6th, 7th, 10th, 19th,
+ U. S. C. T. 33d Inf. 22d, 23d, 27th, 28th, 29th,
+ 29th (Conn.), 30th, 31st, 36th,
+ Mitchell's Creek, Fla. 39th, 41st, 43d, 45th, and
+ Dec. 17, 1864. 116th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 82d Inf.
+ Pierson's Farm, Va.
+ Morganzia, La. June 16, 1864.
+ May 18, 1864. U. S. C. T. 36th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 73d Inf.
+ Pine Barren Creek, Ala.
+ Morganzia, La. Dec. 17, 18, and 19, 1864.
+ Nov. 23, 1864. U. S. C. T. 97th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 84th Inf.
+ Pine Barren Ford, Fla.
+ Moscow, Tenn. Dec. 17 and 18, 1864.
+ June 15, 1864. U. S. C. T. 82d Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 55th Inf.
+ Pine Bluff, Ark.
+ Moscow Station, Tenn. July 2, 1864.
+ Dec. 4, 1863. U. S. C. T. 64th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 61st Inf.
+ Pleasant Hill, La.
+ Mound Plantation, La. April 9, 1864.
+ June 29, 1863. U. S. C. T. 75th Inf.
+ U. S. C. T. 46th Inf.
+ Plymouth, N. C.
+ Nov. 26, 1863, and April 18, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 10th Inf.
+
+ Plymouth, N. C. Saltville, Va.
+ April 1, 1864. Oct. 2, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 37th Inf. U. S. C. T. 5th and 6th Cav.
+
+ Point Lookout, Va. Saltville, Va.
+ May 13, 1864. Dec. 20, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 36th Inf. U. S. C. T. 5th Cav.
+
+ Point of Rocks, Md. Sand Mountain, Tenn.
+ June 9, 1864. Jan. 27, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Cav. U. S. C. T. 18th Inf.
+
+ Point Pleasant, La. Sandy Swamp, N. C.
+ June 25, 1864. Dec. 18, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 64th Inf. U. S. C. T. 5th Inf.
+
+ Poison Springs, Ark. Scottsboro', Ala.
+ April 18, 1864. Jan. 8, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. U. S. C. T. 101st Inf.
+
+ Port Hudson, La. Section 37, N. and N.W.R.R., Tenn.
+ May 22 to July 8, 1863. Nov. 24, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 73d, 75th, 78th, U. S. C. T. 12th Inf.
+ 79th (old), 80th, 81st, 82d,
+ and 95th Inf. Sherwood, Mo.
+ May 18, 1863.
+ Powhatan, Va. U. S. C. T, 79th (new) Inf.
+ Jan. 25, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Cav. Simpsonville, Ky.
+ Jan. 25, 1865.
+ Prairie D'ann, Ark. U. S. C. T. 5th Cav.
+ April 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) and Smithfield, Va.
+ 83d (new) Inf. Aug. 30, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Cav.
+ Pulaski, Tenn.
+ May 13, 1864. Smithfield, Ky.
+ U. S. C. T. 111th Inf. Jan, 5, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 6th Cav.
+ Raleigh, N. C.
+ April 7, 1865. South Tunnel, Tenn.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Inf. Oct. 10, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 40th Inf.
+ Rector's Farm, Ark.
+ Dec. 19, 1864. Spanish Fort, Ala.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. March 27 to April 8, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 68th Inf.
+ Red River Expedition, La.
+ May --, 1864. Suffolk, Va.
+ U. S. C. T. 92d Inf. March 9, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Cav.
+ Richland, Tenn.
+ Sept. 26, 1864. Sugar Loaf Hill, N. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 111th Inf. Jan. 19, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 6th Inf.
+ Richmond, Va.
+ Oct. 28 and 29, 1864. Sugar Loaf Hill, N. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 2d Cav.; 7th Inf. Feb. 11, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 4th, 6th, and 30th Inf.
+ Ripley, Miss.
+ June 7, 1864. Sulphur Branch Trestle, Ala.
+ U. S. C. T. 55th Inf. Sept. 25, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 111th Inf.
+ Roache's Plantation, Miss.
+ March 31, 1864. Swift's Creek, S. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav. April 19, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 102d Inf.
+ Rolling Fork, Miss.
+ Nov. 22, 1864. Taylorsville, Ky.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav. April 18, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 119th Inf.
+ Roseville Creek, Ark.
+ March 20, 1864. Timber Hill, Caddo Nation.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf. Nov. 19, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 79th (new) Inf.
+ Ross's Landing, Ark.
+ Feb. 14, 1864. Town Creek, N. C.
+ U. S. C. T. 51st Inf. Feb. 20, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Inf.
+ St. John's River, S. C.
+ May 23, 1864. Township, Fla.
+ U. S. C. T. 35th Inf. Jan. 26, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 33d Inf.
+ St. Stephen's, S. C.
+ March 1, 1865. Tupelo, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 55th (Mass.) Inf. July 13, 14, and 15, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 59th, 61st, and 68th Inf.
+ Saline River, Ark.
+ May 4, 1864. Vicksburg, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 83d (new) Inf. Aug. 27, 1863.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th Hy. Art.
+ Saline River, Ark.
+ May --, 1865. Vicksburg, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 54th Inf. Feb. 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 52d Inf.
+ Salkehatchie, S. C.
+ Feb. 9, 1865. Vicksburg, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 102d Inf. June 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+ Saltville, Va.
+ Oct. 2, 1864. Vicksburg, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 5th and 6th Cav. July 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 48th Inf.
+
+ Vidalia, La. Williamsburg, Va.
+ July 22, 1864. March 4, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 6th Hy. Art. U. S. C. T. 6th Inf.
+
+ Wallace's Ferry, Ark. Wilmington, N. C.
+ July 26, 1864. Feb. 22, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 56th Inf. U. S. C. T. 1st. Inf.
+
+ Warsaw, N. C. Wilson's Landing, Va.
+ April 6, 1865. June 11, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 1st Inf. U. S. C. T. 1st Cav.
+
+ Waterford, Miss. Wilson's Wharf, Va.
+ Aug. 16 and 17, 1864. May 24, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 55th and 61st Inf. U. S. C. T. Batt'y B, 2d Lt. Art.;
+ 1st and 10th Inf.
+ Waterloo, La.
+ Oct. 20, 1864. Yazoo City, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 75th Inf. March 5, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.; 47th Inf.
+ Waterproof, La.
+ Feb. 14, 1864. Yazoo City, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 49th Inf. May 13, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+ Waterproof, La.
+ April 20, 1864. Yazoo City, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 63d Inf. March 15, 1865.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+ White Oak Road, Va.
+ March 31, 1865. Yazoo Expedition, Miss.
+ U. S. C. T. 29th Inf. Feb. 28, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 3d Cav.
+ White River, Ark.
+ Oct. 22, 1864.
+ U. S. C. T. 53 Inf.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+HOISTING THE BLACK FLAG.--OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS.
+
+GENERAL S. D. LEE TO GENERAL COOPER.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND }
+ EAST LOUISIANA, MERIDIAN, June 30, 1864. }
+
+ GENERAL: I have the honor to transmit copies of correspondence
+ between General Washburn, U. S. A., General Forrest, and myself,
+ which I consider very important, and should be laid before the
+ Department. It will be my endeavor to avoid, as far as is
+ consistent with my idea of the dignity of my position, resorting
+ to such an extremity as the black flag; and the onus shall be
+ with the Federal commander.
+
+ I would like that the onus be put where it properly belongs,
+ before the public, should the extremity arise. The correspondence
+ is not complete yet, and the Department will be informed of the
+ result at the earliest practicable moment.
+
+ I am, General, yours respectfully,
+ S. D. LEE, _Lieutenant-General_.
+
+ General S. COOPER, _A. and I. G., Richmond, Va._
+
+
+GENERAL FORREST TO GENERAL WASHBURN.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS FORREST'S CAVALRY, }
+ IN THE FIELD, June 14, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General Washburn, _Commanding United States Forces,
+ Memphis_:
+
+ GENERAL: I have the honor herewith to enclose copy of letter
+ received from Brigadier-General Buford, commanding United States
+ forces at Helena, Arkansas, addressed to Colonel E. W. Rucker,
+ commanding Sixth Regiment of this command; also a letter from
+ myself to General Buford, which I respectfully request you will
+ read and forward to him.
+
+ There is a matter also to which I desire to call your attention,
+ which, until now, I have not thought proper to make the subject
+ of a communication. Recent events render it necessary,--in fact,
+ demand it.
+
+ It has been reported to me that all the negro troops stationed in
+ Memphis took an oath on their knees, in the presence of
+ Major-General Hurlbut and other officers of your army, to avenge
+ Fort Pillow, and that they would show my troops no quarter.
+
+ Again, I have it from indisputable authority that the troops
+ under Brigadier-General Sturgis, on their recent march from
+ Memphis, publicly and in various places proclaimed that no
+ quarter would be shown my men. As his troops were moved into
+ action on the eleventh, the officers commanding exhorted their
+ men to remember Fort Pillow, and a large majority of the
+ prisoners we have captured from that command have voluntarily
+ stated that they expected us to murder them, otherwise they would
+ have surrendered in a body rather than taken to the bushes after
+ being run down and exhausted. The recent battle of Tishemingo
+ Creek was far more bloody than it otherwise would have been but
+ for the fact that your men evidently expected to be slaughtered
+ when captured, and both sides acted as though neither felt safe
+ in surrendering even when further resistance was useless. The
+ prisoners captured by us say they felt condemned by the
+ announcements, etc., of their own commanders, and expected no
+ quarter. In all my operations since the war began, I have
+ conducted the war on civilized principles, and desire still to do
+ so, but it is due to my command that they should know the
+ position you occupy and the policy you intend to pursue. I
+ therefore respectfully ask whether my men in your hands are
+ treated as other Confederate prisoners, also the course intended
+ to be pursued in regard to those who may hereafter fall into your
+ hands.
+
+ I have in my possession quite a number of wounded officers and
+ men of General Sturgis's command, all of whom have been treated
+ as well as we have been able to treat them, and are mostly in
+ charge of a surgeon left at Ripley by General Sturgis to look
+ after the wounded. Some of them are too severely wounded to be
+ removed at present. I am willing to exchange them for any men of
+ my command you may have, and as soon as they are able to be
+ removed will give them safe escort through my lines in charge of
+ the surgeon left with them.
+
+ I made such an arrangement with Major-General Hurlbut when he was
+ in command of Memphis, and am willing to renew it, provided it is
+ desired, as it would be better than to subject them to the long
+ and fatiguing delay necessary to a regular exchange at City
+ Point, Virginia.
+
+ I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ N. B. FORREST, _Major-General_.
+
+
+GENERAL WASHBURN TO GENERAL LEE.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, }
+ MEMPHIS, TENN., June 17, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General S. D. LEE, _Commanding Confederate Forces near
+ Tupelo, Miss._:
+
+ GENERAL: When I heard that the forces of Brigadier-General
+ Sturgis had been driven back, and a portion of them probably
+ captured, I felt considerable solicitude for the fate of the two
+ colored regiments that formed a part of the command, until I was
+ informed that the Confederate forces were commanded by you. When
+ I learned that, I became satisfied that no atrocities would be
+ committed upon those troops, but that they would receive the
+ treatment which humanity as well as their gallant conduct
+ demanded.
+
+ I regret to say that the hope that I entertained has been
+ dispelled by facts which have recently come to my knowledge.
+
+ From statements that have been made to me by colored soldiers who
+ were eye-witnesses, it would seem that the massacre at Fort
+ Pillow had been reproduced at the late affair at Bryce's
+ Cross-roads. The detail of the atrocities there committed I will
+ not trouble you with. If true, and not disavowed, they must lead
+ to consequences too fearful to contemplate. It is best that we
+ should now have a fair understanding upon this question, of the
+ treatment of this class of soldiers. If it is contemplated by the
+ Confederate government to murder all colored troops that may by
+ chance of war fall into their hands, as was the case at Fort
+ Pillow, it is but fair that it should be freely and frankly
+ avowed. Within the last six weeks I have, on two occasions, sent
+ colored troops into the field from this point. In the expectation
+ that the Confederate government would disavow the action of their
+ commanding general at the Fort Pillow massacre, I have forborne
+ to issue any instructions to the colored troops as to the course
+ they should pursue toward Confederate soldiers. No disavowal on
+ the part of the Confederate government having been made, but, on
+ the contrary, laudations from the entire Southern press of the
+ perpetrators of the massacre, I may safely presume that
+ indiscriminate slaughter is to be the fate of colored troops that
+ fall into your hands. But I am not willing to leave a matter of
+ such grave import, and involving consequences so fearful, to
+ inference, and I have therefore thought it proper to address you
+ this, believing that you would be able to indicate the policy
+ that the Confederate government intend to pursue hereafter on
+ this question.
+
+ If it is intended to raise the black flag against that
+ unfortunate race, they will cheerfully accept the issue. Up to
+ this time no troops have fought more gallantly, and none have
+ conducted themselves with greater propriety. They have fully
+ vindicated their right (so long denied) to be treated as men.
+
+ I hope that I have been misinformed in regard to the treatment
+ they have received at the battle of Bryce's Cross-roads, and that
+ the accounts received result rather from the excited imaginations
+ of the fugitives than from actual fact.
+
+ For the government of the colored troops under my command, I
+ would thank you to inform me, with as little delay as possible,
+ if it is your intention, or the intention of the Confederate
+ government, to murder colored soldiers that may fall into your
+ hands, or treat them as prisoners of war, and subject to be
+ exchanged as other prisoners.
+
+ I am, General, respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ C. C. WASHBURN, _Major-General, Commanding_.
+
+
+GENERAL WASHBURN TO GENERAL FORREST.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, }
+ MEMPHIS, TENN., June 19, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General N. B. FORREST, _Commanding Confederate Forces:_
+
+ GENERAL: Your communication of the fourteenth instant is
+ received. The letter to Brigadier-General Buford will be
+ forwarded to him.
+
+ In regard to that part of your letter which relates to colored
+ troops, I beg to say that I have already sent a communication on
+ the subject to the officer in command of the Confederate forces
+ at Tupelo.
+
+ Having understood that Major-General S. D. Lee was in command
+ there, I directed my letter to him--a copy of it I enclose. You
+ say in your letter that it has been reported to you that all the
+ negro troops stationed in Memphis took an oath on their knees, in
+ the presence of Major-General Hurlbut, and other officers of our
+ army, to avenge Fort Pillow, and that they would show your troops
+ no quarter.
+
+ I believe it is true that the colored troops did take such an
+ oath, but not in the presence of General Hurlbut. From what I can
+ learn, this act of theirs was not influenced by any white
+ officer, but was the result of their own sense of what was due to
+ themselves and their fellows who had been mercilessly
+ slaughtered.
+
+ I have no doubt that they went into the field, as you allege, in
+ the full belief that they would be murdered in case they fell
+ into your hands. The affair at Fort Pillow fully justified that
+ belief. I am not aware as to what they proclaimed on their late
+ march, and it may be, as you say, that they declared that no
+ quarter would be given to any of your men that might fall into
+ their hands.
+
+ Your declaration that you have conducted the war, on all
+ occasions, on civilized principles, cannot be accepted; but I
+ receive with satisfaction the intimation in your letter that the
+ recent slaughter of colored troops at the battle of Tishemingo
+ Creek resulted rather from the desperation with which they fought
+ than a predetermined intention to give them no quarter.
+
+ You must have learned by this time that the attempt to intimidate
+ the colored troops by indiscriminate slaughter has signally
+ failed, and that, instead of a feeling of terror, you have
+ aroused a spirit of courage and desperation that will not down at
+ your bidding.
+
+ I am left in doubt, by your letter, as to the course you and the
+ Confederate government intend to pursue hereafter in regard to
+ colored troops, and I beg you to advise me, with as little delay
+ as possible, as to your intentions.
+
+ If you intend to treat such of them as fall into your hands as
+ prisoners of war, please so state; if you do not so intend, but
+ contemplate either their slaughter or their return to slavery,
+ please state _that_, so that we may have no misunderstanding
+ hereafter. If the former is your intention, I shall receive the
+ announcement with pleasure, and shall explain the fact to the
+ colored troops at once, and desire that they recall the oath they
+ have taken; if the _latter_ is the case, then let the oath stand,
+ and upon those who have aroused this spirit by their atrocities,
+ and upon the government and people who sanction it, be the
+ consequences.
+
+ In regard to your inquiry relating to prisoners of your command
+ in our hands, I have to state that they have always received the
+ treatment which a great and humane Government extends to its
+ prisoners. What course will be pursued hereafter toward them
+ must, of course, depend on circumstances that may arise. If your
+ command, hereafter, does nothing which should properly exclude
+ them from being treated as prisoners of war, they will be so
+ treated.
+
+ I thank you for your offer to exchange wounded officers and men
+ in your hands. If you will send them in, I will exchange man for
+ man, so far as I have the ability to do so.
+
+ Before closing this letter, I wish to call your attention to one
+ case of unparalleled outrage and murder that has been brought to
+ my notice, and in regard to which the evidence is overwhelming.
+
+ Among the prisoners captured at Fort Pillow was Major Bradford,
+ who had charge of the defence of the fort after the fall of Major
+ Booth.
+
+ After being taken prisoner, he was started with other prisoners
+ of war, in charge of Colonel Duckworth, for Jackson. At
+ Brownsville they rested over night. The following morning two
+ companies were detailed by Colonel Duckworth to proceed to
+ Jackson with the prisoners.
+
+ After they had started, and proceeded a very short distance, five
+ soldiers were recalled by Colonel Duckworth, and were conferred
+ with by him; they then rejoined the column, and after proceeding
+ about five miles from Brownsville the column was halted, and
+ Major Bradford taken about fifty yards from the roadside and
+ deliberately shot by the five men who had been recalled by
+ Colonel Duckworth, and his body left unburied upon the ground
+ where he fell.
+
+ He now lies buried near the spot, and, if you desire, you can
+ easily satisfy yourself of the truth of what I assert. I beg
+ leave to say to you that this transaction hardly justifies your
+ remark, that your operations have been conducted on civilized
+ principles, and until you take some steps to bring the
+ perpetrators of this outrage to justice, the world will not fail
+ to believe that it had your sanction.
+
+ I am, General, your obedient servant,
+ C. C. WASHBURN, _Major-General Commanding_.
+
+
+GENERAL FORREST TO GENERAL WASHBURN.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS FORREST'S CAVALRY, }
+ TUPELO, MISS., June 20, 1864.}
+
+ Major-General C. C. WASHBURN, _Commanding U. S. Forces, Memphis,
+ Tenn_.
+
+ GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt (per flag of
+ truce) of your letter of the seventeenth instant, addressed to
+ Major-General S. D. Lee, or officer commanding Confederate forces
+ near Tupelo. I have forwarded it to General Lee, with a copy of
+ this letter.
+
+ I regard your letter as discourteous to the commanding officer of
+ this department, and grossly insulting to myself.
+
+ You seek by implied threats to intimidate him, and assume the
+ privilege of denouncing me as a murderer, and as guilty of the
+ wholesale slaughter of the garrison at Fort Pillow, and found
+ your assertion upon the _ex parte_ testimony of (your friends)
+ the enemies of myself and country. I shall not enter into the
+ discussion, therefore, of any of the questions involved, nor
+ undertake any refutation of the charges made by you against
+ myself; nevertheless, as a matter of personal privilege alone, I
+ unhesitatingly say that they are unfounded and unwarranted by the
+ facts. But whether those charges are true or false, they, with
+ the question you ask, as to whether negro troops, when captured,
+ will be recognized and treated as prisoners of war, subject to
+ exchange, etc., are matters which the governments of the United
+ States and Confederate States are to decide and adjust, not their
+ subordinate officers. I regard captured negroes as I do other
+ captured property, and not as captured soldiers; but as to how
+ regarded by my government, and the disposition which has been and
+ will hereafter be made of them, I respectfully refer you, through
+ the proper channel, to the authorities at Richmond. It is not the
+ policy or the interest of the South to destroy the negro; on the
+ contrary to preserve and protect him, and all who have
+ surrendered to us have received kind and humane treatment.
+
+ Since the war began I have captured many thousand Federal
+ prisoners, and they, including the survivors of the "Fort Pillow
+ Massacre," "black and white," are living witnesses of the fact
+ that with my knowledge or consent, or by my order, not one of
+ them has ever been insulted, or in any way maltreated.
+
+ You speak of your forbearance in not giving your negro troops
+ instructions and orders as to the course they should pursue in
+ regard to Confederate soldiers that might fall into their (your)
+ hands, which clearly conveys to my mind two very distinct
+ impressions. The first is, that in not giving them instructions
+ and orders, you have left the matter entirely to the discretion
+ of the negroes as to how they should dispose of prisoners.
+ Second, an implied threat to give such orders as will lead to
+ "consequences too fearful" for contemplation. In confirmation of
+ the correctness of the first impression (which your language now
+ fully develops), refer most respectfully to my letter from the
+ battle-field, Tishemingo Creek, and forwarded you by flag of
+ truce on the fourteenth instant. As to the second impression, you
+ seem disposed to take into your own hands the settlements which
+ belong to, and can only be settled by, your government; but if
+ you are prepared to take upon yourself the responsibility of
+ inaugurating a system of warfare contrary to civilized usages,
+ the onus as well as the consequences will be chargeable to
+ yourself.
+
+ Deprecating, as I should do, such a state of affairs; determined,
+ as I am, not to be instrumental in bringing it about; feeling and
+ knowing, as I do, that I have the approval of my government, my
+ people, and my conscience as to the past, and with the firm
+ belief that I will be sustained by them in my future policy, it
+ is left with you to determine what that policy shall be, whether
+ in accordance with the laws of civilised nations, or in violation
+ of them.
+
+ I am, General, yours, very respectfully,
+ N. B. FORREST, _Major-General_.
+
+
+GENERAL FORREST TO GENERAL WASHBURN.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS FORREST'S CAVALRY, }
+ IN THE FIELD, June 23, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General C. C. WASHBURN, _Commanding District of West
+ Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn._:
+
+ Your communication of the nineteenth inst. is received, in which
+ you say "you are left in doubt as to the course the Confederate
+ government intends to pursue hereafter in regard to colored
+ troops."
+
+ Allow me to say that this is a subject upon which I did not and
+ do not propose to enlighten you. It is a matter to be settled by
+ our governments through their proper officers, and I respectfully
+ refer you to them for a solution of your doubts.
+
+ You ask me to state whether "I contemplate either their slaughter
+ or their return to slavery." I answer that I slaughter no man
+ except in open warfare, and that my prisoners, both white and
+ black, are turned over to my government to be dealt with as it
+ may direct. My government is in possession of all the facts as
+ regards my official conduct, and the operations of my command
+ since I entered the service, and if you desire a proper
+ discussion and decision, I refer you again to the President of
+ the Confederate States. I would not have you understand, however,
+ that in a matter of so much importance I am indisposed to place
+ at your command and disposal any facts desired, when applied for
+ in a manner becoming an officer holding your rank and position,
+ for it is certainly desirable to every one occupying a public
+ position to be placed right before the world, and there has been
+ no time since the capture of Fort Pillow, that I would not have
+ furnished all the facts connected with its capture, had they been
+ applied for properly, but now the matter rests with the two
+ governments. I have, however, for your information, enclosed you
+ copies of the official correspondence between the commanding
+ officers at Fort Pillow and myself; also copies of a statement of
+ Captain Young, the senior officer of that garrison, together with
+ (sufficient) extracts from a report of the affair by my A. D. C.,
+ Captain Chas. W. Anderson, which I approve and endorse as
+ correct.
+
+ As to the death of Major Bradford, I knew nothing of it until
+ eight or ten days after it is said to have occurred.
+
+ On the thirteenth (the day after the capture of Fort Pillow) I
+ went to Jackson, and the report I had of the affair was this:
+ Major Bradford was, with other officers, sent to the headquarters
+ of Colonel McCulloch, and all the prisoners were in charge of one
+ of McCulloch's regiments. Bradford requested the privilege of
+ attending the burial of his brother, which was granted, he giving
+ his parole of honor to return. Instead of returning, he changed
+ his clothing and started for Memphis. Some of my men were hunting
+ deserters, and came on Bradford just as he had landed on the
+ south bank of the Hatchie, and arrested him. When arrested, he
+ claimed to be a Confederate soldier belonging to Bragg's army;
+ that he had been on furlough, and was then on his way to join his
+ command.
+
+ As he could show no papers he was believed to be a deserter, and
+ was taken to Covington, and not until he was recognized and
+ spoken to by citizens did the guards know that he was Bradford.
+
+ He was sent by Colonel Duckworth, or taken by him, to
+ Brownsville.
+
+ All of Chalmers's command went from Brownsville, _via_ La Grange,
+ and as all the other prisoners had been gone some time, and there
+ was no chance for them to catch up and place Bradford with them,
+ he was ordered by Colonel Duckworth or General Chalmers to be
+ sent south to me at Jackson.
+
+ I knew nothing of the matter until eight or ten days afterwards I
+ heard that his body was found near Brownsville. I understand that
+ he attempted to escape and was shot. If he was improperly killed,
+ nothing would afford me more pleasure than to punish the
+ perpetrators to the full extent of the law, and to show you how I
+ regard such transactions.
+
+ I can refer you to my demand on Major-General Hurlbut (no doubt
+ upon file in your office) for the delivery to Confederate
+ authorities of one Colonel Fielding Hurst and others of his
+ regiment, who deliberately took out and killed seven Confederate
+ soldiers, one of whom they left to die after cutting off his
+ tongue, punching out his eyes, splitting his mouth on each side
+ to his ears, and cutting off his privates. I have mentioned and
+ given you these facts in order that you may have no further
+ excuse or apology for referring to these matters in connection
+ with myself, and to evince to you my determination to do all in
+ my power to avoid the responsibility of causing the adoption of
+ the policy which you have determined to press. In your letter you
+ acknowledge the fact that the negro troops did take an oath on
+ bended knees to show no quarters to my men, and you say further
+ "you have no doubt they went to the battle-field expecting to be
+ slaughtered," and admit, also, the probability of their having
+ proclaimed on their march that no quarter would be shown us. Such
+ being the case, why do you ask for the disavowal on the part of
+ the commanding general of this department of the government, in
+ regard to the loss of life at Tishemingo Creek? That your troops
+ expected to be slaughtered, appears to me, after the oath they
+ took, to be a very reasonable and natural expectation. Yet you
+ who sent them out, knowing and now admitting that they had sworn
+ to such a policy, are complaining of atrocities, and demanding
+ acknowledgments and disavowals on the part of the very men you
+ sent forth sworn to slay whenever in your power.
+
+ I will, in all candor and truth, say to you that I had only heard
+ these things, but did not believe them; indeed, did not attach to
+ them the importance they deserved, nor did I know of the
+ threatened vengeance as proclaimed along the line of march until
+ the contest was over. Had I and my men known it, as you admit it,
+ the battle of Tishemingo Creek would have been noted as the
+ bloodiest battle of the war. That you sanctioned this policy is
+ plain, for you say now "that if the negro is treated as a
+ prisoner of war, you will receive with pleasure the announcement,
+ and will explain the facts to your colored troops, and _desire_
+ (not _order_) that they recall the oath; but if they are to be
+ either slaughtered or returned to slavery, let the oath stand."
+ Your rank forbids a doubt as to the fact that you and every
+ officer and man of your department are identified with the policy
+ and responsible for it, and I shall not permit you,
+ notwithstanding by your studied language in both your
+ communications you seek to limit the operations of your unholy
+ scheme, and visit its terrible consequences alone upon that
+ ignorant, deluded, but unfortunate people, the negroes, whose
+ destruction you are planning in order to accomplish ours. The
+ negroes have our sympathy, and, so far as consistent with safety,
+ we will spare them at the expense of those who are alone
+ responsible for the inauguration of a worse than savage warfare.
+
+ Now, in conclusion, I demand a plain and unqualified answer to
+ two questions, and then I have done with further correspondence
+ with you on this subject. This matter must be settled. In battle
+ and on the battle-field do you intend to slaughter my men who
+ fall into your hands? If you do not intend so to do, will they be
+ treated as prisoners of war?
+
+ I have over two thousand of Sturgis's command prisoners, and will
+ hold every officer and private hostage until I receive your
+ declarations, and am satisfied that you carry out in good faith
+ the answers you make, and until I am assured that no Confederate
+ soldier has been foully dealt with from the day of the battle of
+ Tishemingo Creek to this time. It is not yet too late for you to
+ retrace your steps and arrest the storm.
+
+ Relying, as I do, upon that Divine power which in wisdom disposes
+ of all things; relying also upon the support and approval of my
+ government and countrymen, and the unflinching bravery and
+ endurance of my troops; and with a consciousness that I have done
+ nothing to produce, but all in my power, consistent with honor
+ and the personal safety of myself and command, to prevent it, I
+ leave with you the responsibility of bringing about, to use your
+ own language, "a state of affairs too fearful to contemplate."
+
+ I am, General, yours, very respectfully,
+ N. B. FORREST, _Major-General_.
+
+
+OFFICIAL MEMORANDA.
+
+ CAHABA HOSPITAL, CAHABA, ALABAMA, }
+ May 11, 1864. }
+
+ Colonel H. C. DAVIS, _Commanding Post Cahaba_:
+
+ COLONEL: I herewith transmit you, as near as my memory serves me,
+ according to promise, the demand made by Major-General Forrest,
+ C. S. A., for the surrender of Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
+
+ Major BOOTH, _Commanding U. S. Forces, Fort Pillow, Tennessee_:
+
+ I have force sufficient to take your works by assault. I
+ therefore demand an unconditional surrender of all your forces.
+ Your heroic defence will entitle you to be treated as prisoners
+ of war, but the surrender must be unconditional. I await your
+ answer.
+
+ FORREST, _Major-General, Commanding_.
+
+
+ HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES FORCES, )
+ FORT PILLOW, TENNESSEE, April 12, 1864.)
+
+ Major-General FORREST, _Commanding Confederate Forces_:
+
+ GENERAL: Your demand for the surrender of United States forces
+ under my command received. I ask one hour for consultation with
+ my officers and the commander of gunboat No. 7, at this place. I
+ have the honor to be
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ L. F. BOOTH,
+ _Major, Commanding U. S. Forces, Fort Pillow_.
+
+
+ Major L. F. BOOTH, _Commanding United States Forces_:
+
+ I do not demand the surrender of the gunboat No. 7. I ask only
+ for the surrender of Fort Pillow, with men and munitions of war.
+ You have twenty minutes for consideration. At the expiration of
+ that time, if you do not capitulate, I will assault your works.
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ FORREST, _Major-General, Commanding_.
+
+
+ HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES FORCES, }
+ FORT PILLOW, TENNESSEE, April 12, 1864.}
+
+ Major-General FORREST, _Commanding Confederate Forces_:
+
+ GENERAL: Your second demand for the surrender of my forces is
+ received. Your demand will not be complied with.
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ L. F. BOOTH, Major,
+ _Commanding U. S. Forces, Fort Pillow_.
+
+
+ I give you the above for your own satisfaction from memory. I
+ think it is true in substance. My present condition would
+ preclude the idea of this being an official statement.
+
+ I am, Colonel, your obedient servant,
+ JOHN T. YOUNG,
+ _Captain, Company A, Twenty-fourth Mo. Inf. Vols_.
+
+
+CAPTAIN J. T. YOUNG TO MAJOR-GENERAL FORREST.
+
+ CAHABA, ALABAMA, May 19, 1864.
+
+ Major-General FORREST, _C. S. A._:
+
+ GENERAL: Your request, made through Judge P. T. Scroggs, that I
+ should make a statement of the treatment of the Federal dead and
+ wounded at Fort Pillow, has been made known to me. Details from
+ Federal prisoners were made to collect the dead and wounded. The
+ dead were buried by their surviving comrades. I saw no ill
+ treatment of their wounded on the evening of the battle, or next
+ morning. My friend, Lieutenant Leaming, Adjutant Thirteenth
+ Tennessee Cavalry, was left wounded in the sutler's store near
+ the fort, also a lieutenant Sixth U. S. Artillery; both were
+ alive next morning, and sent on board U. S. transport, among many
+ other wounded. Among the wounded were some colored troops--I
+ don't know how many.
+
+ Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ JNO. T. YOUNG, _Captain, Twenty-fourth Missouri Volunteers_.
+
+ P. S.--I have examined a report said to be made by Captain
+ Anderson (of) A. D. C. to Major-General Forrest, appendix to
+ General Forrest's report, in regard to making disposition of
+ Federal wounded left on the field at Fort Pillow, and think it is
+ correct. I accompanied Captain Anderson, on the day succeeding
+ the battle, to Fort Pillow, for the purpose above mentioned.
+
+ JOHN T. YOUNG, _Captain, Twenty-fourth Missouri Volunteers_.
+
+ A true copy.
+ SAMUEL DONALSON, Lieutenant and _A. D. C._
+ Official,
+ HENRY B. LEE, _A.D.C._
+
+
+GENERAL WASHBURN TO GENERAL FORREST.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, }
+ MEMPHIS, TENN., July 2, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General N. B. FORREST, _Commanding Confederate Forces, near
+ Tupelo_:
+
+ GENERAL: Your communications of the twentieth and twenty-third
+ ult. are received. Of the tone and temper of both I do not
+ complain. The desperate fortunes of a bad cause excuse much
+ irritation of temper, and I pass it by. Indeed, I received it as
+ a favorable augury, and as evidence that you are not indifferent
+ to the opinions of the civilized world.
+
+ In regard to the Fort Pillow affair, it is useless to prolong the
+ discussion.
+
+ I shall forward your report, which you did me the favor to
+ enclose, to my government, and you will receive the full benefit
+ of it.
+
+ The record is now made up, and a candid world will judge of it. I
+ beg leave to send you herewith a copy of the report of the
+ Investigating Committee from the United States Congress on the
+ affair. In regard to the treatment of Major Bradford, I refer you
+ to the testimony contained in that report, from which you will
+ see that he was not attempting to escape when shot. It will be
+ easy to bring the perpetrators of the outrage to justice if you
+ so desire.
+
+ I will add to what I have heretofore said, that I have it from
+ responsible and truthful citizens of Brownsville, that when Major
+ Bradford was started under an escort from your headquarters at
+ Jackson, General Chalmers remarked that "he would never reach
+ there."
+
+ You call attention, apparently as an offset to this affair of
+ Major Bradford, to outrages said to have been committed by
+ Colonel Fielding Hurst and others of his regiment (Sixth
+ Tennessee Cavalry). The outrages, if committed as stated by you,
+ are disgraceful and abhorrent to every brave and sensitive mind.
+
+ On receiving your letter I sent at once for Colonel Hurst, and
+ read him the extract pertaining to him. He indignantly denies the
+ charge against him, and until you furnish me the names of the
+ parties murdered, and the time when, and the place where, the
+ offence was committed, with the names of witnesses, it is
+ impossible for me to act. When you do that, you may rest assured
+ that I shall use every effort in my power to have the parties
+ accused tried, and if found guilty, properly punished.
+
+ In regard to the treatment of colored soldiers, it is evidently
+ useless to discuss the question further.
+
+ Your attempt to shift from yourself upon me the responsibility of
+ the inauguration of a "worse than savage warfare," is too
+ strained and far-fetched to require any response. The full and
+ cumulative evidence contained in the Congressional Report I
+ herewith forward, points to _you_ as the person responsible for
+ the barbarisms already committed.
+
+ It was _your_ soldiers who, at Fort Pillow, raised the black
+ flag, and while shooting, bayoneting, and otherwise maltreating
+ the Federal prisoners in their hands, shouted to each other in
+ the hearing of their victims that it was done by "Forrest's
+ orders."
+
+ Thus far I cannot learn that you have made any disavowal of these
+ barbarities.
+
+ Your letters to me inform me confidently that you have always
+ treated our prisoners according to the rules of civilized
+ warfare, but your disavowal of the Fort Pillow barbarities, if
+ you intend to make any, should be full, clear, explicit, and
+ published to the world.
+
+ The United States Government is, as it always has been, lenient
+ and forbearing, and it is not yet too late for you to secure for
+ yourself and your soldiers a continuance of the treatment due to
+ honorable warriors, by a public disclaimer of barbarities already
+ committed, and a vigorous effort to punish the wretches who
+ committed them.
+
+ But I say to you now, clearly and unequivocally, that such
+ measure of treatment as you mete out to Federal soldiers will be
+ measured to you again.
+
+ If you give no quarter, you need expect none. If you observe the
+ rules of civilized warfare, and treat our prisoners in accordance
+ with the laws of war, your prisoners will be treated, as they
+ ever have been, with kindness.
+
+ If you depart from these principles, you may expect such
+ retaliation as the laws of war justify.
+
+ That you may know what the laws of war are, as understood by my
+ Government, I beg leave to enclose a copy of General Orders No.
+ 100 from the War Department Adjutant-General's Office,
+ Washington, April twenty-four, 1863.
+
+ I have the honor to be, sir,
+ Very respectfully yours,
+ C. C. WASHBURN, _Major-General_.
+
+
+GENERAL LEE TO GENERAL WASHBURN.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND }
+ EAST LOUISIANA, MERIDIAN, June 28, 1864. }
+
+ Major-General C. C. WASHBURN, _Commanding Federal Forces at
+ Memphis, Tennessee_:
+
+ GENERAL: I am in receipt of your letter of the seventeenth inst.,
+ and have also before me the reply of Major-General Forrest
+ thereto. Though that reply is full, and approved by me, yet I
+ deem it proper to communicate with you upon a subject so
+ seriously affecting our future conduct and that of the troops
+ under our respective commands.
+
+ Your communication is by no means respectful to me, and is by
+ implication insulting to Major-General Forrest. This, however, is
+ overlooked in consideration of the important character of its
+ contents.
+
+ You assume as correct an exaggerated statement of the
+ circumstances attending the capture of Fort Pillow, relying
+ solely upon the evidence of those who would naturally give a
+ distorted history of the affair.
+
+ No demand for an explanation has ever been made either by
+ yourself or your government, a course which would certainly
+ recommend itself to every one desirous of hearing truth; but, on
+ the contrary, you seem to have been perfectly willing to allow
+ your soldiers to labor under false impressions upon a subject
+ involving such terrible consequences. Even the formality of
+ parades and oaths have been resorted to for the purpose of
+ inciting your colored troops to the perpetration of deeds which,
+ you say, "will lead to consequences too fearful to contemplate."
+
+ As commanding officer of this Department I desire to make the
+ following statement concerning the capture of Fort Pillow--a
+ statement supported in a great measure by the evidence of one of
+ your own officers captured at that place.
+
+ The version given by you and your government is untrue, and not
+ sustained by the facts to the extent that you indicate.
+
+ The garrison was summoned in the usual manner, and its commanding
+ officer assumed the responsibility of refusing to surrender after
+ having been informed by General Forrest of his ability to take
+ the fort, and of his fears as to what the result would be in case
+ the demand was not complied with.
+
+ The assault was made under a heavy fire, and with considerable
+ loss to the attacking party.
+
+ Your colors were never lowered, but retreated from the fort to
+ the cover of the gunboats, with arms in their hands, and
+ constantly using them.
+
+ This was true, particularly of your colored troops, who had been
+ firmly convinced by your teachings of the certainty of their
+ slaughter in case of capture. Even under these circumstances many
+ of your men--white and black--were taken prisoners.
+
+ I respectfully refer you to history for numerous cases of
+ indiscriminate slaughter, even under less aggravated
+ circumstances.
+
+ It is generally conceded by all military precedents that where
+ the issue has been fairly presented, and the ability displayed,
+ fearful results are expected to follow a refusal to surrender.
+
+ The case under consideration is almost an extreme one.
+
+ You had a servile race armed against their masters, and in a
+ country which had been desolated by almost unprecedented
+ outrages.
+
+ I assert that our officers, with all these circumstances against
+ them, endeavored to prevent the effusion of blood; and, as
+ evidence of this, I refer you to the fact that both white and
+ colored prisoners were taken, and are now in our hands.
+
+ As regards the battle of Tishemingo Creek, the statements of your
+ negro witnesses are not to be relied on. In this panic they acted
+ as might have been expected from their previous impressions. I do
+ not think many of them were killed--they are yet wandering over
+ the country, attempting to return to their masters.
+
+ With reference to the status of those captured at Tishemingo
+ Creek and Fort Pillow, I will state that, unless otherwise
+ ordered by my government, they will not be regarded as prisoners
+ of war, but will be retained and humanely treated, subject to
+ such future instructions as may be indicated.
+
+ Your letter contains many implied threats; these you can of
+ course make, and you are fully entitled to any satisfaction that
+ you may feel from having made them.
+
+ It is my intention, and that also of my subordinates, to conduct
+ this war upon civilized principles, provided you permit us to do
+ so; and I take this occasion to state that we will not shrink
+ from any responsibilities that your actions may force upon us.
+
+ We are engaged in a struggle for the protection of our homes and
+ firesides, for the maintenance of our national existence and
+ liberty; we have counted the cost and are prepared to go to any
+ extremes; and although it is far from our wish to fight under the
+ "black flag," still, if you drive us to it, we will accept the
+ issue.
+
+ Your troops virtually fought under it at the battle of Tishemingo
+ Creek, and the prisoners taken there state that they went into
+ battle with the impression that they were to receive no quarter,
+ and I suppose with the determination to give none.
+
+ I will further remark that if it is raised, so far as your
+ soldiers are concerned, there can be no distinction, for the
+ unfortunate people whom you pretend to be aiding are not
+ considered entirely responsible for their acts, influenced as
+ they are by the superior intellect of their white brothers.
+
+ I enclose for your consideration certain papers touching the Fort
+ Pillow affair, which were procured from the writer after the
+ exaggerated statements of your press were seen.
+
+ I am, General, very respectfully,
+ Your obedient servant,
+ S. D. LEE, _Lieutenant-General, Commanding_.
+
+
+ ENCLOSURE IN THE FOREGOING.
+
+ CAHABA, ALABAMA, May 16, 1864.
+
+ I was one of the bearers of the flag of truce, on the part of the
+ United States authorities, at Fort Pillow. A majority of the
+ officers of the garrison doubted whether General Forrest was
+ present, and had the impression that it was a ruse to induce the
+ surrender of the fort. At the second meeting of the flag of
+ truce, General Forrest announced himself as being General
+ Forrest; but the officers who accompanied the flag, being
+ unacquainted with the General, doubted his word, and it was the
+ opinion of the garrison, at the time of the assault, that General
+ Forrest was not in the vicinity of the fort. The commanding
+ officer refused to surrender. When the final assault was made, I
+ was captured at my post, inside the works, and have been treated
+ as a prisoner of war.
+
+ JOHN T. YOUNG,
+ _Captain, Twenty-fourth Missouri Volunteers_.
+
+ F. W. UNDERHILL, _First Lieutenant, Cavalry_.
+
+
+GENERAL WASHBURN TO GENERAL LEE.
+
+ HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, }
+ MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, July 3, 1864. }
+
+ Lieutenant-General S. D. LEE, _Commanding Department Alabama,
+ Mississippi and East Louisiana, C. S. A., Meridian, Miss.:_
+
+ GENERAL: Your letter of the twenty-eighth ult., in reply to mine
+ of the seventeenth ult., is received.
+
+ The discourtesy which you profess to discover in my letter I
+ utterly disclaim. Having already discussed at length, in a
+ correspondence with Major-General Forrest, the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, as well as the policy to be pursued in regard to
+ colored troops, I do not regard it necessary to say more on those
+ subjects. As you state that you fully approve of the letter sent
+ by General Forrest to me, in answer to mine of the seventeenth
+ ult., I am forced to presume that you fully approve of his action
+ at Fort Pillow.
+
+ Your arguments in support of that action confirm such
+ presumption. You state that the "version given by me and my
+ government is not true, and not sustained by the facts to the
+ extent I indicate." You furnish a statement of a certain Captain
+ Young, who was captured at Fort Pillow, and is now a prisoner in
+ your hands. How far the statement of a prisoner under duress and
+ in the position of Captain Young should go to disprove the sworn
+ testimony of the hundred eye-witnesses who had ample opportunity
+ of seeing and knowing, I am willing that others shall judge.
+
+ In relying, as you do, upon this certificate of Captain Young,
+ you confess that all better resources are at an end.
+
+ You are welcome to all the relief that that certificate is
+ calculated to give you. Does he say that our soldiers were not
+ inhumanly treated? No. Does he say that he was in a position to
+ see in case they had been mistreated? No. He simply says that "he
+ saw no ill-treatment of their wounded." If he was in a position
+ to see and know what took place, it was easy for him to say so.
+
+ I yesterday sent to Major-General Forrest a copy of the report of
+ the Congressional Investigating Committee, and I hope it may fall
+ into your hands. You will find there the record of inhuman
+ atrocities, to find a parallel for which you will search the page
+ of history in vain. Men--white men and black men--were crucified
+ and burned; others were hunted by bloodhounds; while others, in
+ their anguish, were made the sport of men more cruel than the
+ dogs by which they were hunted.
+
+ I have also sent to my government copies of General Forrest's
+ reports, together with the certificate of Captain Young.
+
+ The record in the case is plainly made up, and I leave it. You
+ justify and approve it, and appeal to history for precedents.
+
+ As I have said, history furnishes no parallel. True, there are
+ instances where, after a long and protracted resistance,
+ resulting in heavy loss to the assailing party, the garrison has
+ been put to the sword, but I know of no such instance that did
+ not bring dishonor upon the commander that ordered or suffered
+ it.
+
+ There is no Englishman that would not gladly forget Badajos, nor
+ a Frenchman that exults when Jaffa or the Caves of Dahra and
+ Shelas are spoken of. The massacre of Glencoe, which the world
+ has read of with horror, for nearly two hundred years, pales into
+ insignificance before the truthful recital of Fort Pillow.
+
+ The desperate defence of the Alamo was the excuse for the
+ slaughter of its brave survivors after its surrender, yet that
+ act was received with just execration, and we are told by the
+ historian that it led more than anything else to the independence
+ of Texas.
+
+ At the battle of San Jacinto the Texans rushed into action with
+ the war-cry, "Remember the Alamo," and carried all before them.
+
+ You will seek in vain for consultation in history, pursue the
+ inquiry as far as you may.
+
+ Your desire to shift the responsibility of the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, or to find excuses for it, is not strange. But the
+ responsibility still remains where it belongs, and there it will
+ remain.
+
+ In my last letter to General Forrest I stated that the treatment
+ which Federal soldiers received would be their guide hereafter,
+ and that if you give no quarter you need expect none. If you
+ observe the rules of civilized warfare I shall rejoice at it, as
+ no one can regret more than myself a resort to such measures as
+ the laws of war justify towards an enemy that gives no quarter.
+
+ Your remark that our colored soldiers "will not be regarded as
+ prisoners of war, but will be retained and humanely treated,"
+ indicating that you consider them as of more worth and importance
+ than your own soldiers who are now in our hands, is certainly
+ very complimentary to the colored troops, though but a tardy
+ acknowledgment of their bravery and devotion as soldiers; but
+ such fair words can neither do justice to the colored soldiers
+ who were butchered at Fort Pillow after they had surrendered to
+ their victors, nor relieve yourself, General Forrest, and the
+ troops serving under you, from the fearful responsibility now
+ resting upon you for those wanton and unparalleled barbarities.
+
+ I concur in your remarks that if the black flag is once raised,
+ there can be no distinction so far as our soldiers are concerned.
+ No distinction in this regard as to color is known to the laws of
+ war, and you may rest assured that the outrages we complain of
+ are felt by our white soldiers, no less than by our black ones,
+ as insults to their common banner, the flag of the United States.
+
+ I will close by a reference to your statement that many of our
+ colored soldiers "are yet wandering over the country attempting
+ to return to their masters." If this remark is intended for a
+ joke, it is acknowledged as a good one; but, if stated as a fact,
+ permit me to correct your misapprehensions by informing you that
+ most of them have returned to their respective commands, their
+ search for their late "masters" having proved bootless; and I
+ think I do not exaggerate in assuring you that there is not a
+ colored soldier here who does not prefer the fate of his comrades
+ at Fort Pillow to being returned to his "master."
+
+ I remain, General,
+ Yours, very respectfully,
+ C. C. WASHBURN, _Major-General_.
+
+
+CAPTAIN J. T. YOUNG TO GENERAL WASHBURN.
+
+ MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, September 13, 1864.
+
+ Major-General C. C. WASHBURN, Commanding District West Tennessee:
+
+ GENERAL: I have the honor to address you in regard to certain
+ papers forwarded you by Major-General Forrest, of the so-called
+ Confederate army, signed by me under protest, whilst a prisoner
+ of war at Cahaba, Alabama. I would first call your attention to
+ the manner by which these papers were procured. About
+ twenty-seventh April last, all Federal prisoners (except colored
+ soldiers) were sent to Andersonville and Macon, Georgia, myself
+ among the number. About ten days after my arrival at Macon
+ prison, a Confederate captain, with two men as guard, came to
+ that prison with an order for me to return to Cahaba. I appealed
+ to the officer in command to know why I was taken from the other
+ officers, but received no explanation. Many of my friends among
+ the Federal officers who had been prisoners longer than myself
+ felt uneasy at the proceedings, and advised me to make my escape
+ going back, as it was likely a subject of retaliation.
+ Consequently I felt considerable uneasiness of mind. On returning
+ to Cahaba, being quite unwell, I was placed in hospital, under
+ guard, with still no explanation from the military authorities.
+ On the day following, I was informed by a sick Federal officer,
+ also in hospital, that he had learned that I had been recognized
+ by some Confederate as a deserter from the Confederate army, and
+ that I was to be court-martialed and shot. The colored waiters
+ about the hospital told me the same thing, and although I knew
+ that the muster-rolls of my country would show that I had been in
+ the volunteer service since first May, 1861, I still felt uneasy,
+ having fresh in my mind Fort Pillow, and the summary manner the
+ Confederate officers have of disposing of men on some occasions.
+ With the above impressions on my mind, about three days after my
+ return to Cahaba I was sent for by the Provost Marshal, and
+ certain papers handed me, made out by General Forrest for my
+ signature. Looking over the papers, I found that signing them
+ would be an endorsement of General Forrest's official report of
+ the Fort Pillow affair. I of course returned the papers,
+ positively refusing to have anything to do with them. I was sent
+ for again the same day, with request to sign other papers of the
+ same tendency, but modified. I again refused to sign the papers,
+ but sent General Forrest a statement, that although I considered
+ some of the versions of the Fort Pillow affair, which I had read
+ in their own papers, said to be copied from Federal papers,
+ exaggerated, I also thought that his own official report was
+ equally so in some particulars.
+
+ Here the matter rested about one week, when I was sent for by
+ Colonel H. C. Davis, commander of post at Cahaba, who informed me
+ that General Forrest had sent P. T. Scroggs to see me, and have a
+ talk with me about the Fort Pillow fight; I found the judge very
+ affable and rather disposed to flatter me; he said that General
+ Forrest thought that I was a gentleman and a soldier, and that
+ the General had sent him (the judge) down to see me and talk to
+ me about the Fort Pillow fight; he then went on to tell over a
+ great many things that were testified to before the Military
+ Commission, which I was perfectly ignorant of, never having seen
+ the testimony. He then produced papers which General Forrest
+ wished me to sign. Upon examination, I found them about the same
+ as those previously shown me, and refused again to sign them, but
+ the Judge was very importunate, and finally prevailed on me to
+ sign the papers you have in your possession, pledging himself
+ that if I wished it they should only be seen by General Forrest
+ himself, that they were not intended to be used by him as
+ testimony, but merely for his own satisfaction.
+
+ I hope, General, that these papers signed by me, or rather
+ extorted from me while under duress, will not be used by my
+ government to my disparagement, for my only wish is now, after
+ three years' service and over, to recruit my health, which has
+ suffered badly by imprisonment, and _go in for the war_.
+
+ I have the honor to be, General,
+ Your obedient servant,
+ JOHN T. YOUNG,
+ _Captain, Company A, Twenty-fourth Mo. Inf._[144]
+
+It should not be forgotten that the material part of Gen. Forrest's
+defence was extorted from Capt. John T. Young, an officer in the Union
+forces at Fort Pillow. He was sick and a prisoner in the hands of the
+rebels; and while in this condition he was compelled to sign the
+papers given above, which had been made out by Forrest himself. The
+last letter of the correspondence shows that Capt. Young did not want
+the papers used by the United States Government, because they were not
+true. Moreover, the despatches of Forrest to Major Bradford make no
+mention of retaliation. The despatches above are not true copies. For
+instance, he demanded the surrender of Paducah on the 25th of March,
+1864, just before he took Fort Pillow, and this was his despatch:
+
+ H'DQU'RS FORREST'S CAVALRY CORPS, }
+ PADUCAH, March 23, 1864 }
+
+ To Col. HICKS, _Commanding Federal Forces at Paducah_:
+
+ Having a force amply sufficient to carry your works and reduce
+ the place, in order to avoid the unnecessary effusion of blood, I
+ demand the surrender of the fort and troops, with all the public
+ stores. If you surrender, you shall be treated as prisoners of
+ war; but, _if I have to storm your works, you may expect no
+ quarter_.
+
+ N. B. FORREST, _Maj.-Gen. Com'ding_.
+
+And on the 19th of April, 1864, the next day after the massacre at
+Fort Pillow, Gen. Abe Buford demanded the surrender of Columbus,
+Kentucky, in the following despatch:
+
+ _To the Commander of the United States Forces, Columbus. Ky.:_
+
+ Fully capable of taking Columbus and its garrison by force, I
+ desire to avoid shedding blood. I therefore demand the
+ unconditional surrender of the forces under your command. Should
+ you surrender, the negroes now in arms will be returned to their
+ masters. Should I be compelled to take the place by force, no
+ quarter will be shown negro troops whatever; white troops will be
+ treated as prisoners of war.
+
+ I am, sir, yours,
+ A. BUFORD, _Brig.-Gen._
+
+Now, as both Bradford and Booth were dead, it was impossible to learn
+just what language was used by Forrest in the despatches he sent them.
+But from the testimony given above, the explanation of Capt. Young and
+the language of the two despatches just quoted, addressed to the
+commander of the Union forces at Paducah and Columbus, Kentucky,
+history has made out a case against Gen. Forrest that no human being
+would covet.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[144] Rebellion Records, vol. x. pp. 721-730.
+
+
+Part 8.
+
+_THE FIRST DECADE OF FREEDOM._
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+AN EDUCATED AFRICAN.
+
+Daniel Flickinger Wilberforce, a native African, and educated in
+America, presents a striking illustration of the capabilities of the
+Negro. He was born a pagan, and when brought in contact with the
+institutions of civilization he outstripped those whose earlier life
+had been impressed with the advantages of such surroundings. There was
+nothing in his blood, or in his early rearing, to develop him. He came
+from darkness himself as well as by his ancestry. Rev. Daniel K.
+Flickinger, D.D., has been secretary of the Home Frontier and Foreign
+Missionary Society for the past twenty-five years. He was the
+companion in Africa of George Thompson, and on one of his trips had a
+short association with Livingstone. Dr. Flickinger aided in
+establishing the United Brethren Mission on the Western Coast of
+Africa, and has had his heart in it for a quarter of a century. During
+that time he has made six trips to Africa to look after this mission;
+returning from his last voyage in May, 1881. He has studied those
+people and found them apt in the schools as well as in the acquiring
+of American customs in tilling the soil and in the trades. During Dr.
+Flickinger's first visit to Africa in 1855, while at Good Hope
+Station, Mendi Mission, located on the eastern banks of Sherbro
+Island, latitude 7 deg. north, and longitude 18 deg. west, he employed a
+native to watch over him at night as he slept in his hammock, there
+being wild and dangerous tribes in the vicinity. To that man in that
+time was born a child. The father came to the missionaries the next
+day to tell them that his wife "done born picin" and wanted them to
+give it a name. Mr. Burton, the missionary in charge, suggested that
+of Daniel Flickinger, and it was taken. The missionaries had performed
+the usual marriage ceremony for as many as came within their reach,
+and broken up the former heathen customs in their immediate vicinity
+as far as possible, and this man was duly married. He took as his last
+name that of Wilberforce after the English philanthropist, who was
+dear to all Colored people, and from that time on this native and his
+family became attached to the mission, and were known by the name of
+Wilberforce. This man had children born in heathendom and under quite
+different circumstances.
+
+Dr. Flickinger soon afterward sailed for America, and soon forgot that
+he had a namesake on the distant shore. He made other trips across the
+water, but failed to come in contact with the Wilberforce family.
+Sixteen years afterward, in 1871, he was in New York City shipping
+goods to the African missionaries. The boxes, labelled "Daniel K.
+Flickinger," were being loaded and unloaded at the American Mission
+Rooms in that city, and the doctor noticed that the colored porter boy
+was about half wild over something. He asked him if there was any
+thing wrong, but got no reply. The young porter kept rolling his eyes
+and acting half scared at the name on those boxes, and finally the
+doctor asked him his name, to which there came the prompt reply,
+Daniel Flickinger Wilberforce! In his travels of a lifetime the
+missionary had often been surprised, but this bewildered him. A
+thunder-bolt could not have shocked him more. Then the two stood
+gazing at each other in perfect amazement, and neither able to tell
+how their names came to be so near alike. The boxes were forgotten.
+The boy soon had his relief and began laughing as few others could
+laugh, while the doctor was still unable to see through the mystery.
+He gave the young fellow two shillings and told him to proceed with
+the boxes. The doctor then began an investigation about the Mission
+Rooms, and found that this boy, just a short time before that, had
+been brought over on a merchant vessel to care for an invalid
+missionary lady during the voyage, that he had served a short time as
+bell-boy at a hotel, and that they had employed him in the Mission
+Rooms, but had promised to send him back on the next sail vessel. The
+doctor got his location in Africa and a complete chain of
+circumstances such as to convince him that this was the boy that was
+named after him in 1855. He told the authorities at the American
+Mission Rooms, to write to Africa and say that Dan. was well cared for
+over here, and for them to keep him till further advised. As soon as
+the doctor made his shipments to the missionaries he returned to
+Dayton and asked the Executive Committee of his Board if they would
+assist him in educating this African who had turned up in such a
+romantic manner. Consent was given, and young Wilberforce was shipped
+to Dayton. He was brought into Dr. Flickinger's office with the tag of
+an express company attached to his clothes--young, green, and, in
+fact, a raw recruit to the ranks of civilization. Seven years after
+that he bid adieu to his friends in that same office, to return to his
+people in Africa as a teacher, preacher, and physician. He was then
+one of the finest scholars of his age in this country. When he arrived
+at Dayton he of course had to have a private tutor. He was sixteen
+years old and had to start with the rudiments, but he was, at the
+beginning of the next school year, able to join classes on which he
+doubled right along. It requires a course of eight years to reach the
+High School, but in less than four years after his arrival in Dayton
+he passed the examination for admission to the High School of Dayton,
+Ohio, and was the first Colored pupil ever admitted to that school.
+Since then, other Colored pupils have annually been following his
+example. The course in the High School was four years, and the Board
+and teachers were very particularly averse to gaining time. Owing to
+Wilberforce's great aptness, that allowed him to go ahead of his
+class, he gained one year then and there, and took the honors of the
+class that started one year ahead of him. There were twenty-three
+members of that class. The Commencement was in the Opera-house at
+Dayton in 1878, and on that occasion the President of the Board said,
+without discredit to any others, he felt called upon to make special
+mention of young Wilberforce, which he did in a handsome manner. This
+was not all; the Missionary Society wanted to send Wilberforce to
+Africa in September of that year, and as he went along they had him at
+other studies. He had become an excellent musician, both vocal and
+instrumental. He had been studying theology and read Hebrew well. He
+had also taken a course of reading in medicine, so that he might be of
+service to the bodies as well as the souls of his brethren.
+Marvellous as it may seem, all of this was done in so short a time,
+and from a state of savage life up to civilized life; still it is
+true. And, besides, Wilberforce had been a reader of history and
+general literature, and was a writer of unusual merit. His progress
+has always and always will seem incredible, even to those who had
+personal knowledge of him during the time that he had this experience
+of seven years. He had a remarkable mind, was born a heathen, had no
+youthful advantages, and is to-day one of the best-informed and most
+thoroughly cultivated thinkers of his age. When he left Dayton in the
+summer of 1878, he was greatly missed. At the Colored United Brethren
+Church he was janitor, leader of a choir, organist, superintendent of
+the Sunday-school, and class leader, and when the pastor failed,
+Wilberforce also did the preaching. He was never proud. In the humble
+capacity of janitor he took excellent care of Dr. Flickinger's office,
+and was willing and ready to do anything. He was modest socially, but
+a favorite among his classmates, and not only respected but admired by
+all. He married a Dayton girl before he left for Africa, and has
+remained abroad since 1878, but he expects at no distant time to
+return to America to complete his professional studies. He belonged to
+the Sherbro tribe or people, and with them he is now laboring.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+LAFAYETTE'S PLAN OF COLONIZATION.
+
+ Now, my dear General, that you are about to enjoy some repose,
+ permit me to propose to you a scheme which may prove of great
+ benefit to the black part of the human race. Let us unite in the
+ purchase of a small estate, where we can attempt to free the
+ negroes and employ them simply as farm laborers. Such an example
+ set by you might be generally followed, and should we succeed in
+ America I shall gladly consecrate a part of my time to
+ introducing the custom into the Antilles. If this be a crude idea
+ I prefer to be considered a fool in this way rather than be
+ thought wise by an opposite conduct.[145]
+
+ 5th February, 1783.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION.
+
+As an evidence of the growing confidence in the eagerness for and
+capacity of the Negro to become an educated citizen, the handsome
+bequest of John F. Slater, Esq., for the education of the race stands
+forth as a conspicuous example. The Negroes of the South have
+acknowledged this munificent gift with that graceful gratitude so
+strikingly characteristic of them.
+
+ DRAFT OF AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE TRUSTEES OF THE JOHN F. SLATER
+ FUND.
+
+ _Whereas_, Messrs. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, of Ohio; MORRISON R.
+ WAITE, of the District of Columbia; WILLIAM E. DODGE, of New
+ York; PHILLIPS BROOKS, of Massachusetts; DANIEL C. GILMAN, of
+ Maryland; JOHN A. STEWART, of New York; ALFRED H. COLQUITT, of
+ Georgia; MORRIS K. JESUP, of New York; JAMES P. BOYCE, of
+ Kentucky; and WILLIAM A. SLATER, of Connecticut, have, by their
+ memorial, represented to the Senate and Assembly of this State
+ that a letter has been received by them from JOHN F. SLATER, of
+ Norwich, in the State of Connecticut, of which the following is a
+ copy:
+
+ To Messrs. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, of Ohio; MORRISON R. WAITE,
+ of the District of Columbia; WILLIAM E. DODGE, of New York;
+ PHILLIPS BROOKS, of Massachusetts; DANIEL C. GILMAN, of
+ Maryland; JOHN A. STEWART, of New York; ALFRED H. COLQUITT,
+ of Georgia; MORRIS K. JESUP, of New York; JAMES P. BOYCE, of
+ Kentucky; and WILLIAM A. SLATER, of Connecticut:
+
+ GENTLEMEN.--It has pleased God to grant me prosperity in my
+ business, and to put it into my power to apply to charitable
+ uses a sum of money so considerable as to require the
+ counsel of wise men for the administration of it.
+
+ It is my desire at this time to appropriate to such uses the
+ sum of one million of dollars ($1,000,000 00); and I hereby
+ invite you to procure a charter of incorporation under which
+ a charitable fund may be held exempt from taxation, and
+ under which you shall organize; and I intend that the
+ corporation, as soon as formed, shall receive this sum in
+ trust to apply the income of it according to the
+ instructions contained in this letter.
+
+ The general object which I desire to have exclusively
+ pursued, is the uplifting of the lately emancipated
+ population of the Southern States, and their posterity, by
+ conferring on them the blessings of Christian education. The
+ disabilities formerly suffered by these people, and their
+ singular patience and fidelity in the great crisis of the
+ nation, establish a just claim on the sympathy and good will
+ of humane and patriotic men. I cannot but feel the
+ compassion that is due in view of their prevailing ignorance
+ which exists by no fault of their own.
+
+ But it is not only for their own sake, but also for the
+ safety of our common country, in which they have been
+ invested with equal political rights, that I am desirous to
+ aid in providing them with the means of such education as
+ shall tend to make them good men and good
+ citizens--education in which the instruction of the mind in
+ the common branches of secular learning shall be associated
+ with training in just notions of duty toward God and man, in
+ the light of the Holy Scriptures.
+
+ The means to be used in the prosecution of the general
+ object above described, I leave to the discretion of the
+ corporation; only indicating, as lines of operation adapted
+ to the present condition of things, the training of teachers
+ from among the people requiring to be taught, if, in the
+ opinion of the corporation, by such limited selection the
+ purposes of the trust can be best accomplished; and the
+ encouragement of such institutions as are most effectually
+ useful in promoting this training of teachers.
+
+ I am well aware that the work herein proposed is nothing new
+ or untried. And it is no small part of my satisfaction in
+ taking this share in it, that I hereby associate myself with
+ some of the noblest enterprises of charity and humanity, and
+ may hope to encourage the prayers and toils of faithful men
+ and women who have labored and are still laboring in this
+ cause.
+
+ I wish the corporation which you are invited to constitute,
+ to consist at no time of more than twelve members, nor of
+ less than nine members for a longer time than may be
+ required for the convenient filling of vacancies, which I
+ desire to be filled by the corporation, and, when found
+ practicable, at its next meeting after the vacancy may
+ occur.
+
+ I designate as the first President of the corporation the
+ Honorable RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, of Ohio. I desire that it may
+ have power to provide from the income of the fund, among
+ other things, for expenses incurred by members in the
+ fulfilment of this trust, and for the expenses of such
+ officers and agents as it may appoint, and generally to do
+ all such acts as may be necessary for carrying out the
+ purposes of this trust. I desire, if it may be, that the
+ corporation may have full liberty to invest its funds
+ according to its own best discretion, without reference to,
+ or restriction by, any laws or rules, legal or equitable, of
+ any nature, regulating the mode of investment of trust
+ funds; only I wish that neither principal nor income be
+ expended in land or buildings, for any other purpose than
+ that of safe and productive investment for income. And I
+ hereby discharge the corporation, and its individual
+ members, so far as it is in my power so to do, of all
+ responsibility, except for the faithful administration of
+ this trust, according to their own honest understanding and
+ best judgment. In particular, also, I wish to relieve them
+ of any pretended claim on the part of any person, party,
+ sect, institution, or locality, to benefactions from this
+ fund, that may be put forward on any ground whatever; as I
+ wish every expenditure to be determined solely by the
+ convictions of the corporation itself as to the most useful
+ disposition of its gifts.
+
+ I desire that the doings of the corporation each year be
+ printed and sent to each of the State Libraries in the
+ United States, and to the Library of Congress.
+
+ In case the capital of the Fund should become impaired, I
+ desire that a part of the income, not greater than one half,
+ be invested, from year to year, until the capital be
+ restored to its original amount.
+
+ I purposely leave to the corporation the largest liberty of
+ making such changes in the methods of applying the income of
+ the Fund as shall seem from time to time best adapted to
+ accomplish the general object herein defined. But being
+ warned by the history of such endowments that they sometimes
+ tend to discourage rather than promote effort and
+ self-reliance on the part of beneficiaries, or to inure to
+ the advancement of learning instead of the dissemination of
+ it; or to become a convenience to the rich instead of a help
+ to those who need help, I solemnly charge my Trustees to use
+ their best wisdom in preventing any such defeat of the
+ spirit of this trust; so that my gift may continue to future
+ generations to be a blessing to the poor.
+
+ If at any time after the lapse of thirty-three years from
+ the date of this foundation it shall appear to the judgment
+ of three fourths of the members of this corporation that, by
+ reason of a change in social conditions, or by reason of
+ adequate and equitable public provision for education, or by
+ any other sufficient reason, there is no further serious
+ need of this Fund in the form in which it is at first
+ instituted, I authorize the corporation to apply the capital
+ of the Fund to the establishment of foundations subsidiary
+ to then already existing institutions of higher education,
+ in such wise as to make the educational advantages of such
+ institutions more freely accessible to poor students of the
+ colored race.
+
+ It is my wish that this trust be administered in no
+ partisan, sectional, or sectarian spirit, but in the
+ interest of a generous patriotism and an enlightened
+ Christian faith; and that the corporation about to be
+ formed, may continue to be constituted of men distinguished
+ either by honorable success in business, or by services to
+ literature, education, religion, or the State.
+
+ I am encouraged to the execution in this charitable
+ foundation of a long-cherished purpose, by the eminent
+ wisdom and success that has marked the conduct of the
+ Peabody Education Fund in a field of operation not remote
+ from that contemplated by this trust. I shall commit it to
+ your hands, deeply conscious how insufficient is our best
+ forecast to provide for the future that is known only to
+ God; but humbly hoping that the administration of it may be
+ so guided by divine wisdom, as to be, in its turn, an
+ encouragement to philanthropic enterprise on the part of
+ others, and an enduring means of good to our beloved country
+ and to our fellow-men.
+
+ I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your friend and
+ fellow-citizen,
+ JOHN F. SLATER.
+
+ NORWICH, CONN., March 4, 1882.
+
+ _And whereas_, said memorialists have further represented that
+ they are ready to accept said trust and receive and administer
+ said Fund, provided a charter of incorporation is granted by this
+ State, as indicated in said letter;
+
+ _Now, therefore_, for the purpose of giving full effect to the
+ charitable intentions declared in said letter;
+
+ _The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
+ Assembly, do enact as follows:_
+
+ SEC. 1. Rutherford B. Hayes, Morrison R. Waite, William E. Dodge,
+ Phillips Brooks, Daniel C. Gilman, John A. Stewart. Alfred H.
+ Colquitt, Morris K. Jesup, James P. Boyce, and William A. Slater,
+ are hereby created a body politic and corporate by the name of
+ THE TRUSTEES OF THE JOHN F. SLATER FUND, and by that name shall
+ have perpetual succession; said original corporators electing
+ their associates and successors, from time to time, so that the
+ whole number of corporators may be kept at not less than nine nor
+ more than twelve.
+
+ Said corporation may hold and manage, invest and re-invest all
+ property which may be given or transferred to it for the
+ charitable purposes indicated in said letter, and shall, in so
+ doing, and in appropriating the income accruing therefrom,
+ conform to and be governed by the directions in said letter
+ contained; and such property and all investments and
+ re-investments thereof, excepting real estate, shall, while owned
+ by said corporation and held for the purposes of said trust, be
+ exempt from taxation of any and every nature.
+
+ SEC. 2 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, shall be the first President
+ of the corporation, and it may elect such other officers and hold
+ such meetings, whether within or without this State, from time to
+ time, as its by-laws may authorize or prescribe.
+
+ SEC. 3. Said corporation shall annually file with the Librarian
+ of this State a printed report of its doings during the preceding
+ year.
+
+ SEC. 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+COLORED EMPLOYES IN WASHINGTON.
+
+There are six hundred and twenty persons of color employed in the
+different departments of the Government at Washington, D. C.,
+distributed as follows:
+
+ War Department 44
+ Treasury Department 342
+ Department of Justice 7
+ Department of State 20
+ Navy Department 40
+ Department of the Interior 106 men, 7 women
+ Post-Office Department 54
+ ----
+ Total 620
+
+ * * * * *
+
+NEWSPAPERS CONDUCTED BY COLORED MEN.
+
+
+ALABAMA.
+
+MOBILE.-_The Mobile Gazette_; Phillip Joseph, Editor; $2.00 per year;
+office No. 36 Conti Street.
+
+HUNTSVILLE.-_Huntsville Gazette_;----, Editor; $1.50 per year;
+Saturdays.
+
+
+ARKANSAS.
+
+HELENA.-_Golden Epoch_; H. W. Stewart. LITTLE ROCK.--_Arkansas
+Mansion_; Henry Simkens, Editor; $1.50 a year.
+
+
+CALIFORNIA.
+
+SAN FRANCISCO.--_The Elevator_, Phillip A. Bell, Editor.
+
+
+DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
+
+WASHINGTON CITY.--_People's Advocate_, established in 1876; J. W.
+Cromwell, Editor; C. A. Lemar, Manager; $1.50 a year.
+
+WASHINGTON CITY.--_The Bee_; W. C. Chase, Editor; C. C. Stewart,
+Business Manager; $2.00 per year; Saturdays; office, No. 1107 I
+Street, N. W.
+
+
+FLORIDA.
+
+PENSACOLA.--_The Journal of Progress_; Matthews & Davidson, Editors
+and Proprietors; $2.00; Saturdays.
+
+KEY WEST.--_Key West News_; J. Willis Menard, Editor; weekly; five
+columns; price, $1.50 per annum.
+
+
+GEORGIA.
+
+ATLANTA.--_Weekly Defiance_; W. H. Burnett, Editor.
+
+AUGUSTA.--_The People's Defense_; Smith, Nelson, & Co., Proprietors.
+
+AUGUSTA.--_Georgia Baptist_; Wm. J. White, Editor; $2.00 per year;
+office, No. 633 Ellis Street.
+
+SAVANNAH.--_Savannah Echo_; Hardin Bros. & Griffin, Proprietors;
+$2.00; Saturdays.
+
+
+ILLINOIS.
+
+CHICAGO.--_The Conservator_; Barnett, Clark, & Co., Editors and
+Proprietors; $2.00 per year; Saturdays; 194 Clark Street.
+
+CAIRO.--_The Three States_; M. Gladding, Publisher; Saturdays; $1.50
+per year; 190 Commercial Avenue.
+
+CAIRO.--_The Cairo Gazette_; J. J. Bird, Editor; Wednesdays and
+Saturdays; $2.50 per year.
+
+
+KANSAS.
+
+TOPEKA.--_Topeka Tribune_; E. H. White.
+
+
+KENTUCKY.
+
+LOUISVILLE.--_The Bulletin_; Adams Brothers; $2.00 per year;
+Saturdays; 562 West Jefferson Street.
+
+LOUISVILLE.--_The American Baptist_; Wm. H. Stewart.
+
+LOUISVILLE.--_Ohio Falls Express_; Dr. H. Fitzbutler, Editor; $1.50
+per year; Saturdays.
+
+BOWLING GREEN.--_Bowling Green Watchman_; C. C. Strumm, Editor; C. R.
+McDowell, Manager; Saturdays; $1.50 per year.
+
+
+LOUISIANA.
+
+NEW ORLEANS.--_Observer_; Saturdays; republican; four pages; size, 22
+x 32; subscription, $2.00; established, 1878; G. T. Ruby, Editor and
+Publisher.
+
+
+MASSACHUSETTS.
+
+BOSTON.--_The Boston Leader_; Howard L. Smith, Editor; $1.50 per year;
+office, No. 8 Boylston Street. Room 9.
+
+
+MISSISSIPPI.
+
+VERONA.--_The Banner of Liberty_; J. B, Wilkins, Editor; $1.50 per
+year.
+
+GREENVILLE.--_The Baptist Signal_; Rev. G. W. Gayles, Editor; $1.00
+per year.
+
+JACKSON.--_People's Adviser_.
+
+JACKSON.--_Mississippi Republican_; Preston Hay, Editor; $1.00;
+Saturdays.
+
+MAYERSVILLE.--_Mayersville Spectator_; W. E. Mollison, Editor; D. T.
+Williamson, Publisher; $1.50 per year; Saturdays.
+
+
+MISSOURI.
+
+ST. LOUIS.--_Tribune_; Sundays; republican; eight pages; size, 26 x
+40; subscription, $2.00; established, 1876; J. W. Wilson, Editor and
+Publisher; circulation, I.
+
+KANSAS CITY.--_The Kansas City Enterprise_; D. V. A. Nero; published
+every Wednesday and Saturday; $2.00 per year; office, No. 537 Main
+Street, Room No. 2.
+
+
+NEW JERSEY.
+
+TRENTON.--_The Sentinel_; R. Henri Herbert, Editor; Saturdays; $1.25
+per year; No. 4 North Green Street.
+
+
+NEW YORK.
+
+NEW YORK CITY.--_Progressive American_; Thursdays; four pages; size,
+22 x 31; subscription, $2.00; established, 1871; John J. Freeman,
+Editor; George A. Washington, Publisher; circulation, J.; office, 125
+W. 25th Street.
+
+NEW YORK CITY.--_New York Globe_; Geo. Parker & Co.; T. Thos. Fortune,
+Editor; office, No. 4 Cedar Street, Room 15.
+
+BROOKLYN.--_The National Monitor_; R. Rufus L. Perry, D.D.
+
+
+NORTH CAROLINA.
+
+GOLDSBOROUGH.--_The Carolina Enterprise_; E. E. Smith, Editor; $1.00
+per year; Saturday.
+
+CHARLOTTE.--_Charlotte Messenger_; W. H. Smith, Editor; $1.50 per
+year.
+
+WILSON.--_The Wilson News_; Ward, Moore, & Hill, Editors; $1.50 a
+year.
+
+RALEIGH.--_Raleigh Banner_; J. H. Williams.
+
+WILMINGTON.--_Africo-American Presbyterian_; D. J. Sanders.
+
+
+OHIO.
+
+CINCINNATI.--_The Afro-American_; Clark, Johnson, and Jackson, Editors
+and Proprietors; $1.50 per year; Saturdays; office, 172 Central
+Avenue.
+
+CINCINNATI.--_The Weekly Review_; Review Publishing Co.; Chas. W.
+Bell, Editor; $1.50 per year.
+
+
+PENNSYLVANIA.
+
+PHILADELPHIA.--_Christian Recorder_; Thursdays; Methodist; four pages;
+size, 28 x 42; subscription, $2.00; established, 1862; Rev. Benj. T.
+Tanner, D.D., Editor; Rev. Theo. Gould, Publisher; circulation, G;
+office, 631 Pine Street.
+
+
+SOUTH CAROLINA.
+
+CHARLESTON.--_The New Era_; Wm. Holloway, Business Manager; $1.50 per
+year; Saturdays; democratic; 196 Meeting Street.
+
+CHARLESTON.--_The Palmetto Press_; Robert L. Smith, Editor; $1.50 per
+year; Saturdays.
+
+
+TENNESSEE.
+
+NASHVILLE.--_Knights of Wise Men_; J. L. Brown, Editor; office. No. 5
+Cherry Street.
+
+CHATTANOOGA.--_The Enterprise_; Rev. D. W. Hays.
+
+
+TEXAS.
+
+AUSTIN.--_The Austin Citizen_; J. J. Hamilton & Co.
+
+DALLAS.--_The Baptist Journal_; S. H. Smothers, Editor; A. R. Greggs,
+Publisher.
+
+DALLAS.--_Christian Preacher_; C. M. Wilmeth.
+
+MARSHALL.--_The Christian Advocate_; M. F. Jamison.
+
+GALVESTON.--_Spectator_; Richard Nelson, Editor; $1.50 per year.
+
+PALESTINE.--_Colored American Journal_; monthly; C. W. Porter, Editor.
+
+
+VIRGINIA.
+
+RICHMOND.--_Virginia Star_; Saturdays; four pages; size, 20 x 26;
+subscription, $2.00; established, 1876; R. M. Green, M.D., O. M.
+Stewart, and P. H. Woolfolk, Editors and Publishers; circulation, K.
+
+RICHMOND.--_Industrial Herald_; John Oliver, Editor; $1.00 per year.
+
+PETERSBURGH.--_The Lancet_; Geo. F. Bragg, Jr., Manager; $1.50 per
+year; Saturdays.
+
+
+WEST VIRGINIA.
+
+WHEELING.--_The Weekly Times_; Welcome, Buckner, & Co., Publishers;
+Geo. W. Welcome, Editor; 8 pages; $1.00 per annum.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+NEGROES IN NORTHERN COLLEGES.
+
+In response to a circular sent out, seventy Northern Colleges sent
+information; and in them are at present one hundred and sixty-nine
+Colored students. The exact number of graduates cannot be ascertained,
+as these colleges do not keep a record of the nationality of their
+students.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[145] Correspondence of American Revolution, vol. iii. p. 547.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, D.D.
+
+The career of this man, who died at Monrovia, Liberia, Feb. 14, 1882,
+where he was the Minister of the United States, was extraordinary.
+Grandson of a native African, brought over in a slave-trader, himself
+born a slave, he was brought to Pennsylvania by his father, when he
+fled from slavery in 1824. Next we find him, at the age of seventeen,
+ridiculed for studying Greek and Latin; then mobbed in a New Hampshire
+seminary; then dragged from a street car in Utica; then studying
+theology with Dr. Beman in Troy, N. Y. Soon he was settled as a
+minister; afterward he travelled in Great Britain and on the Continent
+of Europe, and was sent by a Scottish Society as Presbyterian
+missionary to Jamaica, West Indies. He returned to New York, and was
+long the pastor of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church; his house escaping
+the riots in 1863 "by the foresight of his daughter, who wrenched off
+the door plate." He was the first Colored man who ever spoke in public
+in the Capitol at Washington, having preached there Sunday, Feb. 12,
+1865. In 1881 he was appointed Minister to Liberia. Dr. Garnet was
+equal in ability to Frederick Douglass, and greatly his superior in
+learning, especially excelling in logic and terse statement. We heard
+him make a speech in 1865, which in force of reasoning, purity of
+language, and propriety of utterance, was not unworthy of comparison
+with a sermon of Bishop Thomson, or an address of George William
+Curtis. As he was "a full-blooded Negro," he was a standing and
+unanswerable proof that the race is capable of all that has
+distinguished MAN. How much of history and progress could be crowded
+in a memorial inscription for him! It might be something like this:
+Born a slave in the country to which his grandfather was stolen away,
+he competed, under the greatest disadvantages, with white men for the
+prizes of life; attaining the highest intellectual culture, and a
+corresponding moral elevation, his career commanded universal respect
+in Europe and America, wherever he was known. He died the Minister of
+the United States to a civilized nation in the land whence his
+barbaric ancestors were stolen. To God, who "hath made of one blood
+all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath
+determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
+habitation" (Acts xvii: 26), be the glory. "How unsearchable are His
+judgments, and His ways past finding out!"
+
+ * * * * *
+
+EBENEZER D. BASSETT.
+
+One of the ablest diplomats the Negro race has produced is the
+Honorable Ebenezer D. Bassett, for nearly nine years the Resident
+Minister and Consul-General from the United States to Hayti. He was
+born and educated in the State of Connecticut, and for many years was
+the successful Principal of the Institute for Colored Youth at
+Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a classical scholar and for proficiency
+in the use of modern languages he has few equals among his race.
+
+Returning to this country, after years of honorable service abroad, he
+was promoted by the Haytian Government to the position of Consul at
+New York City, and at present is serving the Republic of Hayti. As an
+evidence of the high esteem in which he was held as an officer the
+following documents attest:
+
+ (COPY.)
+
+ DEPARTMENT OF STATE, }
+ WASHINGTON, October 5, 1877. }
+
+ EBENEZER D. BASSETT, Esquire, etc., etc., etc.
+
+ SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 529,
+ of the 23d August last, tendering your resignation of the office
+ of Minister Resident and Consul-General of the United States to
+ Hayti, and to inform you that it is accepted.
+
+ I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without expressing to you
+ the appreciation of the Department of the very satisfactory
+ manner in which you have discharged the duties of the mission at
+ Port au Prince during your term of office. This commendation of
+ your services is the more especially merited, because at various
+ times your duties have been of such a delicate nature as to have
+ required the exercise of much tact and discretion.
+
+ I enclose herewith a letter addressed by the President of the
+ United States to the President of Hayti, announcing your
+ retirement from the mission at Port au Prince, together with an
+ office copy of the same. You will transmit the latter to the
+ Minister of Foreign Affairs, and make arrangements for the
+ delivery of the original to the President when your successor
+ shall present his credentials.
+
+ I am, sir, your obedient servant,
+ (Signed.) F. W. SEWARD, _Acting Secretary_.
+
+ (TRANSLATION.)
+
+ BOISROND CANAL, _President of the Republic of Hayti_,
+ _To His Excellency the President of the United States of America_.
+
+ GREAT AND GOOD FRIEND: Mr. Ebenezer D. Bassett, who has resided
+ here in the capacity of Minister of the United States, has placed
+ in my hands the letter by which your Excellency has brought his
+ mission to an end.
+
+ In taking leave of me in conformity with the wishes of your
+ Excellency, he has renewed the assurance of the friendly
+ sentiments which so happily exist on the part of the Government
+ and the people of the United States toward the Government and the
+ people of the Republic of Hayti.
+
+ I have not failed to request him to transmit to your Excellency,
+ the expression of my great desire to maintain always the
+ relations of the two Countries upon the footing of that cordial
+ understanding.
+
+ It is for me a pleasing duty to acknowledge fully to your
+ Excellency, the zeal and the intelligence with which Mr. Bassett
+ has fulfilled here the high and delicate functions that had been
+ entrusted to him.
+
+ I have, therefore, been happy to be able to testify to him
+ publicly before his departure, in the name of my fellow-citizens,
+ the esteem and sincere affection which his talents, his
+ character, his private and public conduct have won for him, as
+ well as the particular sentiments of friendship and gratitude I
+ personally entertain for him.
+
+ I pray God that He may have your Excellency always in His Holy
+ keeping.
+
+ Given at the National Palace of Port au Prince, the 29th day of
+ November, 1877.
+
+ Your Good Friend,
+ (Signed) BOISROND CANAL.
+
+ Countersigned.
+ (Signed.) F. CARRIE, _Secretary of State_.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+COLORED SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN.
+
+UNITED STATES SENATORS.
+
+HIRAM R. REVELS, United States Senator from Mississippi, was born in
+Fayetteville, North Carolina, September 1, 1822; desiring to obtain an
+education, which was denied in his native State to those of African
+descent, he removed to Indiana; spent some time at the Quaker Seminary
+in Union County; entered the Methodist ministry; afterward received
+further instructions at the Clarke County Seminary, when he became
+preacher, teacher, and lecturer among his people in the States of
+Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri; at the breaking out of the war,
+he was ministering at Baltimore; he assisted in the organization of
+the first two Colored regiments in Maryland and Missouri; during a
+portion of 1863 and 1864 he taught school in St. Louis, then went to
+Vicksburg, and assisted the provost marshal in managing the freedmen
+affairs; followed on the heels of the army to Jackson; organized
+churches, and lectured; spent the next two years in Kansas and
+Missouri in preaching and lecturing on moral and religious subjects;
+returned to Mississippi, and settled at Natchez; was chosen presiding
+elder of the Methodist Church, and a member of the city council; was
+elected a United States Senator from Mississippi as a Republican,
+serving from February 25, 1870, to March 3, 1871; was pastor of a
+Methodist Episcopal church at Holly Springs, Mississippi; removed to
+Indiana, where he was pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
+at Richmond.
+
+BLANCHE K. BRUCE, United States Senator from Mississippi, was born in
+Prince Edward County, Virginia, March 1, 1841; as his parents were
+slaves, he received a limited education; became a planter in
+Mississippi in 1869; was a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, and
+sheriff and tax-collector of Bolivar County from 1872 until his
+election to the United States Senate from Mississippi, February 3,
+1875, as a Republican, to succeed Henry R. Pease, Republican, and took
+his seat March 4, 1875. His term of service expired March 3, 1881.
+
+
+UNITED STATES CONGRESSMEN.
+
+RICHARD H. CAIN was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, April 12,
+1825. His father removed to Ohio in 1831, and settled in Gallipolis.
+He had no education, except such as was afforded in Sabbath-school,
+until after his marriage; entered the ministry at an early age; became
+a student at Wilberforce University at Xenia, Ohio, in 1860, and
+remained there for one year; removed, at the breaking out of the war,
+to Brooklyn, New York, where he was a pastor for four years; was sent
+by his Church as a missionary to the freedmen in South Carolina; was
+chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention of South Carolina;
+was elected a member of the State Senate from Charleston, and served
+two years; took charge of a republican newspaper in 1868; was elected
+a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-third Congress as a
+Republican, receiving 66,825 votes against 26,394 for Lewis E.
+Johnson, and was again elected to the Forty-fifth Congress as a
+Republican, receiving 21,385 votes against 16,074 votes for M. P.
+O'Connor, Democrat.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ROBERT C. DE LARGE was born at Aiken, South Carolina, March 15, 1842;
+received such an education as was then attainable; was a farmer; was
+an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau from May, 1867, to April, 1868, when
+he was elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention; was a
+member of the House of Representatives of the State Legislature in
+1868, 1869, and 1870; was one of the State Commissioners of the
+Sinking Fund; was elected in 1870 State Land Commissioner, and served
+until he was elected a representative from South Carolina in the
+Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving 16,686 votes, against
+15,700 votes for C. C. Bowen, Independent Republican; was appointed a
+trial justice, which office he held when he died at Charlestown, South
+Carolina, February 15, 1874.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ROBERT BROWN ELLIOTT was born at Boston, Massachusetts, August 11,
+1842; received his primary education at private schools; in 1853
+entered High Holborn Academy in London, England; in 1855 entered Eton
+College, England, and graduated in 1859; studied law, and practises
+his profession; was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of
+South Carolina in 1868; was a member of the House of Representatives
+of South Carolina from July 6, 1868, to October 23, 1870; was
+appointed on the 25th of March, 1869, assistant adjutant-general,
+which position he held until he was elected a representative from
+South Carolina in the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving
+20,564 votes against 13,997 votes for J. E. Bacon, Democrat, serving
+from March 4, 1871, to 1873, when he resigned; and was re-elected to
+the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 21,627 votes
+against 1,094 votes for W. H. McCan, Democrat, serving from December
+1, 1873, to May, 1874, when he resigned, having been elected sheriff.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JERE HARALSON was born in Muscogee County, Georgia, April 1, 1846, the
+slave property of John Walker; after Walker's death, was sold on the
+auction-block in the city of Columbus, and bought by J. W. Thompson,
+after whose death he became the property of J. Haralson, of Selma, and
+so remained until emancipated in 1865; received no education until
+after he was free, when he instructed himself; was elected to the
+State House of Representatives of Alabama in 1870; was elected to the
+State Senate of Alabama in 1872; was elected a representative from
+Alabama in the Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican, receiving 19,551
+votes against 16,953 votes for F. G. Bromberg, Democrat, serving from
+December 6, 1875, to March 3, 1877; was defeated by the Republican
+candidate for the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 8,675 votes against
+9,685 votes for Charles L. Shelley, Democrat, and 7,236 votes for
+James T. Rapier, Republican.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JOHN R. LYNCH was born in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, September 10,
+1847, a slave; and he remained in slavery until emancipated by the
+results of the Rebellion, receiving no early education; a purchaser of
+his mother carried her with her children to Natchez, where, when the
+Union troops took possession, he attended evening school for a few
+months, and he has since by private study acquired a good English
+education; he engaged in the business of photography at Natchez until
+1869, when Governor Ames appointed him a justice of the peace; he was
+elected a member of the State Legislature from Adams County, and
+re-elected in 1871, serving the last term as Speaker of the House; was
+elected a representative from Mississippi in the Forty-third Congress
+as a Republican, receiving 15,391 votes against 8,430 votes for H.
+Cassidy, Sr., Democrat; and was re-elected to the Forty-fourth
+Congress as a Republican (defeating Roderick Seals, Democrat), serving
+from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1877.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+CHARLES E. NASH was born at Opelousas, Louisiana; received a
+common-school education at New Orleans; was a bricklayer by trade;
+enlisted as private in the Eighty-third Regiment, United States
+Chasseurs d'Afrique, April 20, 1863, and was promoted until he became
+acting sergeant-major of the regiment; lost a leg at the storming of
+Fort Blakely, and was honorably discharged from the army May 30, 1865;
+was elected a representative from Louisiana in the Forty-fourth
+Congress as a Republican, receiving 13,156 votes against 12,085 votes
+for Joseph M. Moore, Democrat, serving from December 6, 1875, to March
+3, 1877; was defeated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-fifth
+Congress, receiving 11,147 votes against 15,520 votes for Edward White
+Robertson, Democrat.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JOSEPH H. RAINEY was born at Georgetown, South Carolina (where both of
+his parents were slaves, but, by their industry, obtained their
+freedom), June 21, 1832; although debarred by law from attending
+school he acquired a good education, and further improved his mind by
+observation and travel; his father was a barber, and he followed that
+occupation at Charlestown till 1862, when, having been forced to work
+on the fortifications of the Confederates, he escaped to the West
+Indies, where he remained until the close of the war, when he returned
+to his native town; he was elected a delegate to the State
+Constitutional Convention of 1868, and was a member of the State
+Senate of South Carolina in 1870, resigning when elected a
+representative from South Carolina in the Forty-first Congress as a
+Republican (to fill the vacancy caused by the non-reception of B. F.
+Whittemore), by a majority of 17,193 votes over Dudley, Conservative;
+was re-elected to the Forty-second Congress, receiving 20,221 votes
+against 11,628 votes for C. W. Dudley, Democrat; was re-elected to the
+Forty-third Congress, receiving 19,765 votes, being all that were
+cast; was re-elected to the Forty-fourth Congress, receiving 14,370
+votes against 13,563 votes for Samuel Lee, Republican; was re-elected
+to the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 18,180 votes against 16,661
+votes for J. S. Richardson, Democrat, serving from March 4, 1869.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ALONZO J. RANSIER was born at Charlestown, South Carolina, in January,
+1834; was self-educated; was employed as shipping-clerk in 1850 by a
+leading merchant, who was tried for violation of law in "hiring a
+Colored clerk," and fined one cent with costs; was one of the foremost
+in the works of reconstruction in 1865; was a member of a convention
+of the friends of equal rights in October, 1865, at Charlestown, and
+was deputed to present the memorial there framed to Congress; was
+elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1868; was
+elected a member of the House of Representatives in the State
+Legislature in 1869; was chosen chairman of the State Republican
+Central Committee, which position he held until 1872; was elected a
+presidential elector on the Grant and Colfax ticket in 1868; was
+elected lieutenant-governor of South Carolina in 1870 by a large
+majority; was president of the Southern States Convention at Columbia
+in 1871; was chosen a delegate to, and was a vice-president of, the
+Philadelphia Convention which nominated Grant and Wilson in 1872; and
+was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-third
+Congress as a Republican, receiving 20,061 votes against 6,549 votes
+for W. Gurney, Independent Republican, serving from December 1, 1873,
+to March 3, 1875.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JAMES T. RAPIER was born in Florence, Alabama, in 1840; was educated
+in Canada; is a planter; was appointed a notary public by the governor
+of Alabama in 1866; was a member of the first Republican Convention
+held in Alabama, and was one of the committee that framed the platform
+of the party; represented Lauderdale County in the Constitutional
+Convention held at Montgomery in 1867; was nominated for secretary of
+State in 1870, but defeated with the rest of the ticket; was appointed
+assessor of internal revenue for the second collection-district of
+Alabama in 1871; was appointed State commissioner to the Vienna
+Exposition in. 1873 by the governor of Alabama; was elected a
+representative from Alabama in the Forty-third Congress as a
+Republican, receiving 19,100 votes against 16,000 votes for C. W.
+Oates, Democrat, serving from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1875; and
+was defeated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-fourth
+Congress, receiving 19,124 votes against 20,180 votes for Jeremiah N.
+Williams, Democrat.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ROBERT SMALLS was born at Beaufort, South Carolina, April 5, 1839;
+being a slave, was debarred by statute from attending school, but
+educated himself with such limited advantages as he could secure;
+removed to Charlestown in 1851; worked as a rigger, and led a
+seafaring life; became connected in 1861 with "The Planter," a steamer
+plying in Charlestown harbor as a transport, which he took over
+Charlestown Bar in May, 1862, and delivered her and his services to
+the commander of the United States blockading squadron; was appointed
+pilot in the United States navy, and served in that capacity on the
+monitor "Keokuk" in the attack on Fort Sumter; served as pilot in the
+quartermaster's department, and was promoted as captain for gallant
+and meritorious conduct December 1, 1863, and placed in command of
+"The Planter," serving until she was put out of commission in 1866;
+was elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1868;
+was elected a member of the State House of Representatives in 1868,
+and of the State Senate (to fill a vacancy) in 1870, and re-elected in
+1872; and was elected a representative from South Carolina in the
+Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican, receiving 17,752 votes against
+4,461 votes for J. P. M. Epping, Republican; and was re-elected to the
+Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 19,954 votes against 18,516 votes for
+G. D. Tillman, Democrat, serving from December, 6, 1875, to March 3,
+1877; and is now a member.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JOSIAH T. WALLS was born at Winchester, Virginia, December 30, 1842;
+received a common-school education; was a planter; was elected a
+member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1868; was elected a
+member of the State House of Representatives in 1868; was elected to
+the State Senate 1869-1872; claimed to have been elected a
+representative from the State-at-large to the Forty-second Congress as
+a Republican, but the election was contested by his competitor, Silas
+L. Niblack, who took the seat January 29, 1873; was re-elected for the
+State-at-large, receiving 17,503 votes against 15,881 votes for
+Niblack, Democrat; and was re-elected to the Forty-fourth Congress,
+receiving 8,549 votes against 8,178 votes for Jesse J. Finley,
+Democrat.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BENJ. STERLING TURNER was born in Halifax County, North Carolina,
+March 17, 1825; was raised as a slave, and received no early
+education, because the laws of that State made it criminal to educate
+slaves; removed to Alabama in 1830, and, by clandestine study,
+obtained a fair education; became a dealer in general merchandise; was
+elected tax-collector of Dallas County in 1867, and councilman of the
+city of Selma in 1869; was elected a representative from Alabama in
+the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving 18,226 votes
+against 13,466 votes for S. J. Cumming, Democrat, serving from March
+4, 1871, to March 3, 1873; was defeated as the Republican candidate
+for the Forty-third Congress, receiving 13,174 votes against 15,607
+votes for F. G. Bromberg, Democrat and Liberal and 7,024 votes for P.
+Joseph, Republican.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+JEFFERSON F. LONG, Macon, Georgia. Took his seat Feb. 24, 1871.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BUREAU OFFICER.
+
+Honorable BLANCHE K. BRUCE, Register of the United States Treasury;
+appointed by President James A. Garfield, 1881.
+
+
+NEGROES IN THE DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES
+GOVERNMENT.
+
+_Hayti._--E. D. BASSETT, Pennsylvania, 1869-77.
+
+_Hayti._--JOHN M. LANGSTON, District of Columbia, Minister Resident
+and Consul-General to Hayti, 1877.
+
+_Liberia._--J. MILTON TURNER, Missouri.
+
+_Liberia._--JOHN H. SMYTH, North Carolina. Reappointed in 1882.
+
+_Liberia._--HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, New York, Minister Resident and
+Consul-General to Liberia.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
+
+The following Colored men were Lieutenant-Governors during the years
+of reconstruction. At the head of them all for bravery, intelligence,
+and executive ability stands Governor Pinchback. One of the first men
+of his race to enter the army in 1862 as captain, when the conflict
+was over and his race free, he was the first Colored man in Louisiana
+to enter into the work of reconstruction. He has been and is a power
+in his State. He is true to his friends, but a terror to his enemies.
+A sketch of his life would read like a romance.
+
+ _Louisiana._ _South Carolina._ _Mississippi._
+ OSCAR J. DUNN, ALONZO J. RANSIER, ALEX. DAVIS.
+ P. B. S. PINCHBACK, RICHARD H. GLEAVES,
+ C. C. ANTOINE.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+ Acvis, Capt., his opinion of John Brown, 225.
+
+ Adams, C. F., advocates the education of Negroes, 158.
+
+ Adams, John, first Colored teacher in the D. C., 183.
+
+ Adams, John Quincy, remarks on the death of William Costin, 192.
+
+ Adams, Rufus, opposes school for Colored children in Conn., 150.
+
+ Aden, D., letter on the bravery of Negro troops, 348.
+
+ Africa, imported slaves ordered to be returned to, 12;
+ agents appointed by the United States for that purpose, 13;
+ proposed colony of free Negroes on the coast, 51;
+ a line of war steamers to be established, to suppress the
+ slave-trade, promote commerce, and colonize the coast, 53-55;
+ colonization of, by Negroes, opposed, 70;
+ the "Amistad" captives returned to, 93-96;
+ number of slaves imported from, 544.
+
+ African Methodist Episcopal Church, origin, growth, organization,
+ and influence, 135, 452;
+ numerical and financial strength, missionary and educational
+ spirit, 455-458;
+ publishing house, periodicals, and papers, 458, 459;
+ report of Wilberforce University for 1876, 455, 456;
+ list of the faculty, 460;
+ report and general statement, 462-464;
+ list of bishops, 464.
+
+ African School Association established, 157.
+
+ Aggressive Anti-Slavery Party, the, 50.
+
+ Alabama, formation of the territory of, the most cruel of slave
+ States, 3;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ 1830, 1840, 99;
+ 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes prohibited, 148;
+ recedes from the Union, 232;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institution for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Albany Atlas and Argus (The) denounces the Rev. Justin D. Fulton
+ for his views on slavery, 243.
+
+ Alexander, Francis A., his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 372.
+
+ Allegheny City, Pa., Avery College founded, 177.
+
+ Allen, Rev. Richard, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal
+ Church, 452;
+ mentioned, 458;
+ first bishop of the Church, 459.
+
+ Alton, Ill., mob destroy printing-press, 51.
+
+ Ambush, James Enoch, founds the Wesleyan Seminary, 194.
+
+ American Anti-Slavery Society, organized, 43;
+ influence of, 79, 80.
+
+ American Colonization Society, organized, list of officers, 52;
+ commended, 68;
+ protest against the colonization of Negroes in Liberia, 69, 70,
+ 73, 76.
+
+ American Missionary Association establish the first school for
+ freedmen, at Fortress Monroe, 393.
+
+ "Amistad" captives, natives of Africa, sail from Havana on the
+ Spanish slaver "Amistad," cruelly treated, take possession
+ of the ship, alter her course for Africa, 93;
+ captured by a United States vessel and carried to New London,
+ Conn., their trial and release, tour through the United
+ States, 94;
+ return to Africa, 96.
+
+ Anderson, Rev. Duke William, Colored Baptist minister, birth,
+ early life, and education, 476-478;
+ farmer, teacher, preacher, and missionary, 479-492;
+ his influence in the West, 493-496;
+ pastor of the 19th Street Baptist Church at Washington,
+ occupies various positions of trust, 497;
+ builds a new church, 498;
+ death and funeral, 499, 500;
+ resolutions on his death, 500-503.
+
+ Anderson, Ransom, testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow massacre,
+ 365.
+
+ Andrew, Gov. John A., authorizes the raising of Negro regiments, 289.
+
+ Andrew, William, representative of Attleborough, Pa., in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Anti-slavery, societies formed, 20;
+ sentiment at the North, 22;
+ agitation, 1825-1850, 31-36;
+ speeches in the Legislature of Virginia, 33-35;
+ methods, 37-60;
+ antiquity of, sentiment, 38;
+ newspapers established, 38, 39, 41;
+ Garrison, leader of the, movement, 39;
+ National Convention, number of societies in the United States,
+ 1836, 44;
+ Sumner's speech before the Whig party, 45;
+ heterodox party, 48;
+ economic party, 49;
+ aggressive party, 50;
+ colonization society, 51;
+ American colonization society, 52;
+ underground railroad organization, 58;
+ literature, 59, 60;
+ efforts of free Negroes, 61-81;
+ New England, Society, dissolution of Negro societies, 79;
+ convention of the women of America, 80;
+ prejudice against admitting Negroes into white societies, 81;
+ friends of, instruct the "Amistad" captives, 94;
+ the cause benefited by their stay in the United States, 96;
+ violent treatment of, orators, 97;
+ opposed, 98;
+ John C. Calhoun opposed to, 104.
+
+ Appleton, John W. M., superintends the enlistment of Negro regiment
+ in Mass., 289.
+
+ Appomattox, Va., bravery of Negro troops at the battle of, 344.
+
+ Arkansas, territory organized, 15;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ 1830, 1840, 99;
+ 1850, 100;
+ opposed to the education of Negroes, 149;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the U. S.,
+ 422.
+
+ Asbury, Francis, member of the first American Methodist Conference,
+ 446;
+ and bishop of the Church, 468.
+
+ Ashley, James M., opposes the return of fugitive slaves, 246.
+
+ Ashum Institute, founded, list of trustees, 178.
+
+ Attucks Guards, a Colored militia company, organized, 145.
+
+ Auchmuty, Rev. Samuel, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Auld, Hugh, master of Frederick Douglass, 431, 432.
+
+ Austin, James T., signs memorial against the increase of slavery, 16.
+
+ Avery, Rev. Charles, founder of the Avery College, 177.
+
+
+ Baily, Frederick, see Douglass, Frederick.
+
+ Ball, Flamen, counsel for the Colored people in Cincinnati, 172.
+
+ Baltimore, Md., anti-slavery newspaper published, 38;
+ cargo of slaves sent to New Orleans, to be sold, 40;
+ Democratic and Whig conventions held at, 1852, 1853, 106;
+ St. Frances Academy founded, 160;
+ the Wells school established, 161.
+
+ Bancroft, George, views on the Declaration of Independence, 32.
+
+ Banks, Maj.-Gen. N. P., orders the enlistment of Negro troops, 290;
+ official report on the battle of Port Hudson, 322;
+ commends the Negro troops for their bravery, 323.
+
+ Baptist Church, Colored, organized, 135;
+ the members an intelligent and useful people, 475;
+ their leading ministers, 476;
+ sketch of Duke William Anderson, 476-503;
+ Leonard Andrew Grimes, 504-515.
+
+ Barclay, David, donates money to the Quakers, 174.
+
+ Barclay, Rev. Henry, advocates the education of Negro slaves, 165.
+
+ Bartram, Col. Nelson B., description of Colored regiment commanded
+ by, 292.
+
+ Bassett, Lieut.-Col. Chauncey J., commands the 1st La. regiment of
+ Colored troops at the battle of Port Hudson, 320.
+
+ Bassett, E. D., appointed U. S. minister to Hayti, 423.
+
+ Beams, Charlotte, establishes a school for Colored children, 213.
+
+ Beaufort, S. C., military savings bank for Negroes established, 403.
+
+ Beauregard, Gen. G. T., urges passage of the bill for the execution
+ of prisoners, 270.
+
+ Bell, George, former slave, founds a Colored school, 182.
+
+ Becraft, Maria, sketch of, 195, 196.
+
+ Benezet, Anthony, establishes Colored school in Philadelphia, 1750,
+ 172;
+ his will, donating money for education of the Colored people, 173;
+ death, 174.
+
+ Bennington, Vt., anti-slavery newspaper published, 39.
+
+ Billing, Mary, establishes school for Colored children, 183.
+
+ Birney, Maj.-Gen. David B., bravery of Negro troops under his command,
+ refuses to march his troops in the rear of the whites, 344.
+
+ Birney, James G., member of the heterodox and aggressive anti-slavery
+ party, 48, 50;
+ his newspaper destroyed by a mob, 51.
+
+ Black Regiment, the, a poem by George H. Boker, 324.
+
+ Blake, George, signs memorial against the increase of slavery, 16.
+
+ Bleecker, John, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Blunt, Maj.-Gen. James G., letter on the bravery of Negro troops,
+ 346.
+
+ Boardman, Richard, member of the first American Methodist Conference,
+ 466.
+
+ Boker, George H., The Black Regiment, a poem by, 324.
+
+ Boiling, P. A., speech against slavery in the Legislature of
+ Virginia, 34.
+
+ Boon _vs._ Juliet, case of, mentioned, 120.
+
+ Booth, Maj. L. F., in command of Fort Pillow, his death, 360;
+ Gen. Forrest commends his bravery for the defence of the fort, 368.
+
+ Border States, number of troops furnished by, 300.
+
+ Boston, Mass., meeting in opposition to the increase of slavery,
+ held in, 1819, 16;
+ William Lloyd Garrison mobbed, 97;
+ first school for Colored children, 1798, Colored schools, Baptist
+ Church, 162;
+ meeting for the relief of Kansas, 216;
+ amount of money and arms supplied, 216, 218.
+
+ Boyd, Henry, sketch of, 138, 140.
+
+ Boyd, Marshall William, see Taylor, Rev. Marshall M.
+
+ Boyle, Brig.-Gen. Jeremiah T., orders the return of fugitive slaves,
+ 245.
+
+ Bradford, Major W. F., in command at Fort Pillow, surrenders, 360.
+
+ Briscoe, Isabella, establishes school for Colored children, 212.
+
+ Brooke, Samuel, member of the heterodox anti-slavery party, 48.
+
+ Brown, Daniel, principal of Catholic Colored school, 213.
+
+ Brown, John, member of the aggressive anti-slavery party, 50;
+ mentioned, 82;
+ hero and martyr, his birth, personal description of, 214;
+ arrives in Kansas, denounces slavery in a political meeting at
+ Osawatomie, 215;
+ at Boston, 216;
+ urges aid for the fugitive slaves, secures arms for the defence
+ of Kansas, 218;
+ his plan for freeing the slaves, 219;
+ extract of a letter while in prison in regard to the attack on
+ Harper's Ferry, plan for the rescue of, 220;
+ instructions of, before the attack on Harper's Ferry, denies the
+ charges of murder, treason, or rebellion, desires only the
+ freedom of slaves, 222;
+ descendant of a revolutionary officer, 223;
+ in Ohio and Canada, matures his plan's for the attack, purchases
+ farm near Harper's Ferry, amount of arms under his control,
+ attack on Harper's Ferry, 224;
+ defeat, capture, and execution, 225;
+ last letter to Mrs. George Steams, 226;
+ his influence upon the slavery question at the North, place in
+ history, 227;
+ held his first convention, list of the members, 495.
+
+ Brown, John M., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Brown, Robert, establishes school for Colored children, 207.
+
+ Bruce, Blanche K., his birth, enslavement, secures his freedom,
+ education, 444;
+ removes to Miss., appointed sergeant-at-arms of the State Senate,
+ sheriff of Bolivar Co., chosen U. S. Senator, 445;
+ candidate for Vice-Presidency, appointed Register of the U. S.
+ Treasury, 446.
+
+ Bryan, Joseph, petitions Congress for a line of mail steam-ships to
+ the Western Coast of Africa, 53.
+
+ Buchanan, George, oration on the moral and political evil of
+ slavery, 1791, mentioned, 38.
+
+ Buchanan, James, in sympathy with the South, refuses military
+ support to Gov. Geary, 110.
+
+ Buell, Brig.-Gen. D. C., letter to J. R. Underwood on the return
+ of fugitive slaves to their masters, 248.
+
+ Bulkley, I., counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Prudence
+ Crandall, 156.
+
+ Bureau of refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, established, 398;
+ report, 399.
+
+ Burling, Thomas, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Burns, Francis, bishop of the M. E. Church, 469.
+
+ Burnside, Maj.-Gen., Ambrose E., orders the arrest of two free
+ Negroes, 244;
+ proclamation protecting slave property, 248;
+ services of Negro troops at the siege of Petersburg, commanded by,
+ 341, 342.
+
+ Butler, Maj.-Gen., Benjamin F., letter to Gen. Scott, declaring
+ slaves contraband of war, 250;
+ orders the employment of Negroes for fatigue duty, calls for the
+ enlistment of free Negroes, 287;
+ outlawed by Jefferson Davis, 354, 359;
+ establishes military savings-bank for Negroes, 403.
+
+
+ Cain, R. H., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Calhoun, John C., his followers favor a demolition of the Union, 98;
+ speech in the United States Senate in favor of slavery, 103-105;
+ in favor of State rights, 230.
+
+ California, resolution in regard to the admission into the Union,
+ 100, 101.
+
+ Callioux, Capt. Andre, bravery at the battle of Port Hudson,
+ 318, 321;
+ his death, 319, 321.
+
+ Cameron, Simon, letter to Gen. Butler approving his action of
+ declaring slaves contraband of war, 251;
+ order in regard to enlistment of troops, 278.
+
+ Campbell, H. G., commanding naval officer at Charleston, S. C.,
+ circular letter to, in regard to the importation of slaves, 10.
+
+ Campbell, Jabez P., delivers address on the ratification of the
+ fifteenth amendment, 422;
+ bishop of the African M. E. Church, 459, 464.
+
+ Canada, Negroes settle in, 66, 70, 71;
+ Negro colonization of, opposed, 72.
+
+ Cannon, Gov. William, requests the enlistment of Negroes in
+ Delaware, 291.
+
+ Canterbury, Conn., protest of the citizens against admitting Colored
+ pupils to school, 150, 151;
+ school abolished by act of the Legislature, 152, 153;
+ school-house mobbed, 156.
+
+ Carey, Mary Ann Shadd, lecturer, writer, and school-teacher, 419.
+
+ Carney, William H., sergeant in the 54th Mass. Regiment Colored
+ Troops, his bravery at the assault on Fort Wagner, plants the
+ colors of the regiment on the fort, 329-331.
+
+ Carrollton, La., fugitive slaves offer their services to the
+ army, 285.
+
+ Casey, Maj.-Gen. Silas, letter endorsing the free military school
+ for Negroes, 296.
+
+ Cass, Lewis, speech in reply to Calhoun, in the United States
+ Senate, on slavery, 105.
+
+ Chalmers, Brig.-Gen. James R., his connection with the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 375.
+
+ Champion, James, representative of Phila. in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Chapin's Farm, Va., Negro troops engage in the battle of, 335.
+
+ Chapman, Maria Weston, her opinion of the American Anti-Slavery
+ Society, 79.
+
+ Charleston, S. C., the Negro plot of 1822, 83.
+
+ "Charleston Mercury" (The) on the exchange of captured Negro
+ soldiers, 358.
+
+ Charlton, Rev. Richard, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Chase, Salmon P., speech against the repeal of the Missouri
+ compromise, 109.
+
+ Chauncey, Isaac, letter to Captain Perry defending the enlistment
+ of Negroes in the U. S. Navy, 29.
+
+ Child, Adventur, free Negro, petitions for relief from taxation in
+ Mass., 1780, 126.
+
+ "Choctaw," gun-boat, at the battle of Milliken's Bend, 326.
+
+ Cincinnati, Ohio, mob destroys newspaper, 51;
+ report on the condition of the Colored people, 1835, 136-138;
+ prominent Colored men of, 138-143;
+ home for Colored orphans established, 144;
+ the Attucks Guards organized, 145;
+ Colored schools established, 170-172.
+
+ Cinquez, Joseph, son of an African prince, one of the "Amistad"
+ captives, leads in the capture of the ship, 93;
+ tour through the United States, describes his capture, 94;
+ returns to Africa, 96.
+
+ Clarkson, Mathew, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Clay, Cascius M., member of the aggressive anti-slavery party, 50;
+ mentioned, 51.
+
+ Clay, Henry, mentioned, 20;
+ favors colonization of free Negroes at Liberia, 52;
+ resolutions in Congress for the adjustment of the slavery
+ question, 101.
+
+ Cleaveland, C. F., counsel for the prosecution in the trial of
+ Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+ Coggeshall, Pero, free Negro, petitions for relief from taxation
+ in Mass., 1780, 126.
+
+ Cogswell, James, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Coke, Rev. Thomas, ordained bishop of the Methodist societies in
+ America, 465.
+
+ Coker, Daniel, representative of Baltimore in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Colgan, Rev. Thomas, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Colonization Anti-Slavery Society, objects of the, 51.
+
+ Colorado, number of Negro troops furnished by, 300.
+
+ Columbian Institute, Washington, D. C., 186.
+
+ Columbus, Ky., fort at, garrisoned by Negro troops, 345.
+
+ Confederate States, organized, 232;
+ list of delegates to the convention, 232, 233;
+ Jefferson Davis chosen President, Alexander H. Stephens,
+ Vice-President, Constitution adopted, 233;
+ impress Negroes to build fortifications, 261;
+ effect of President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, 271;
+ Negroes in the service of the, 277;
+ resolutions of their Congress against the military employment of
+ Negroes by the U. S., 350, 351;
+ white officers commanding Negro troops against the, and Negroes
+ captured in arms against the, to be executed, the first to
+ employ Negro soldiers, 352;
+ refuse to exchange Negro prisoners, 355-357;
+ proclamation of Jefferson Davis outlawing Gen. Butler, 358;
+ reconstruction of the, 377-383;
+ provisional military government established, 379.
+
+ Connecticut, slave population, 1800, 2;
+ 1810, 9;
+ 1820, 22;
+ prejudice against Colored schools, 149;
+ school abolished by act of Legislature, 152, 153;
+ school-house mobbed, 157;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Convention of the people of color, 1831, report on the condition
+ of free Negroes in the United States, 62;
+ on the establishment of a college, 63;
+ provisional committee appointed in each city, 64;
+ conventional address, 65-68;
+ second convention, 1832, 68;
+ resolutions on colonization, 70;
+ conventional address, 75-78.
+
+ Cook, D. R., organizes company of Negro troops, 277.
+
+ Cook, Eliza Anne, establishes school for Colored children, 211.
+
+ Cook, Major John B., Negro troops commanded by, capture redoubt
+ at Petersburg, Va., 339.
+
+ Cook, Rev. John F., sketch of, 187-191;
+ mentioned, 206, 211, 212.
+
+ Coppin, Mrs. Fanny M. _See_ Jackson, Fanny M.
+
+ Cornish, Alexander, establishes school for Colored children, 209.
+
+ Costin, Louisa Parke, establishes school for Colored
+ children, 192, 193.
+
+ Costin, William, his death, 192;
+ sketch of, 193.
+
+ Coxe, R. S., emancipates slave, 210.
+
+ Crandall, Prudence, establishes a school in Conn., admits Colored
+ pupil, 149;
+ protest of the citizens, 150, 151;
+ receives additional Colored pupils, 152;
+ school abolished by act of the Legislature, 152, 153;
+ her arrest and trial, 153-156;
+ school-house mobbed, 156.
+
+ Cuff, Peter, representative of Salem, N. J., in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Cuffe, John and Paul, free Negroes, petition for relief from
+ taxation in Mass., 1780, 126, 127.
+
+ Cumberland, Department of the, Negro troops recruited for, 294.
+
+ Cumings, Mrs. Elizabeth, school of, mentioned, 471.
+
+
+ Dandridge, Ann, family of, 193.
+
+ Darnes, Mary A., address to the Attucks Guards of Cincinnati, 145.
+
+ Davis, Jefferson, speech in the U. S. Senate, on the right to hold
+ slaves, 102;
+ chosen president of the Confederate States, 233;
+ his message to the Confederate Government, 234;
+ views on President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, 271, 350;
+ proclamation outlawing Gen. Butler, 359;
+ plantation of, owned by Negroes, 414;
+ succeeded in the U. S. Senate by a Negro, 423.
+
+ Davis, John, Negro sailor, his bravery and death, 30.
+
+ Deep Bottom, Va., Negro troops engage in the battle of, 335.
+
+ De Grasse, John T., first Colored member of the Mass. Medical
+ Society, 133;
+ sketch of, 134.
+
+ Delaware, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9;
+ in favor of restriction of slavery, 16;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ Quakers emancipate their slaves, 35;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99,
+ 1850, 100;
+ tax on slaves, added to the school fund for the education of white
+ children, 157;
+ order for the enlistment of Negroes, 291;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392.
+
+ Deloach, C., organizes company of Negro troops, 277.
+
+ Democratic Party, convention of, 1853, nominates Franklin Pierce
+ for the Presidency, defines its position on the slavery
+ question, 106.
+
+ De Mortie, Louis, her birth, education, public reader, secures
+ funds for the erection of an asylum for Colored orphans, her
+ death, 449.
+
+ De Peyster, Maj.-Gen. J. Watts, advocates the employment of Negroes
+ as soldiers, 276.
+
+ Dickerson, William F., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ District of Columbia, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9;
+ 1820, 22;
+ petition of Garrison for the abolition of slavery in, 39;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99;
+ 1850, 100;
+ schools for the education of the Negro population, 182-213;
+ Lincoln in favor of the abolishing of slavery in the, 237;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ Negro school population, 1871, 1876, 387;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393.
+
+ Dix, Maj.-Gen. John A., proclamation protecting slave property, 246.
+
+ Dixon, Archibald, introduces bill in Congress for the repeal of the
+ Missouri compromise, 108.
+
+ Dodge, Henry, introduces bill in Congress to organize the territory
+ of Nebraska, 107.
+
+ Douglass, Frederick, his book "My Bondage, and My Freedom," 59;
+ mentioned, 79, 81;
+ delivers address on the ratification of the fifteenth
+ amendment, 422;
+ birth, enslavement, 424;
+ escapes to the North, marries, life as a freeman, 425;
+ becomes an anti-slavery orator, 426;
+ publishes the experiences of a "fugitive slave," leaves for
+ Great Britain, 427;
+ letter to William Lloyd Garrison, 428;
+ his freedom purchased, copy of freedom papers, 431;
+ his former name when a slave, how he received his present
+ one, 431, 432;
+ returns to America, 432;
+ reasons for leaving the Garrisonian party, establishes the
+ newspaper "North Star," 433;
+ his eloquence, 434, 437;
+ influence and career, 437, 438;
+ death of his wife, 437;
+ mentioned, 471.
+
+ Douglass, Margaret, arrested for instructing Negroes, 181.
+
+ Douglass, Stephen A., speech in favor of the repeal of the Missouri
+ compromise, 108;
+ questions to Lincoln, on slavery, 237, 238.
+
+ Douty, Lieut. Jacob, fires the mine at the siege of
+ Petersburg, Va., 341.
+
+ Dow, Jesse E., urges the establishment of a free Colored public
+ school in the D. C., 209.
+
+ Dunlap, George W., resolution in Congress, opposing the enlistment
+ of Negroes, 282.
+
+ Durham, Rev. Clayton, representative of Phila., in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Dutch Gap, Va., excavated by Negroes, 262.
+
+ Dwight, Brig.-Gen. William, orders the Negro troops to capture
+ a battery at the battle of Port Hudson, 318.
+
+
+ Early, Peter, introduces bill in Congress for the forfeiture of
+ slaves illegally imported, 8.
+
+ Economic Anti-Slavery Party, 49.
+
+ Edwards, G. G., describes the bravery of Negro troops, 327.
+
+ Edwards, Samuel, his connection with the Negro insurrection in
+ Southampton County, Va., 87.
+
+ Elsworth, W. W., counsel for Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+ Embree, Lawrence, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Embury, Phillip, one of the founders of M. E. Church in
+ New York, 465.
+
+ Emerson, Dr., owner of the Negro slave Dred Scott, 114.
+
+ Emerson, R. W., his opinion of John Brown, 217.
+
+ Emancipation proclamations, 255, 257, 263-275;
+ the results of, 384-418.
+
+
+ Fair Oaks, Va., Negro troops engage in the battle of, 335.
+
+ Faneuil Hall, Boston, meeting for the relief of Kansas, 216.
+
+ Farmville, Va., Negro troops engaged in the battle of, 335.
+
+ Faulkner, C. J., speech against slavery in the Legislature of
+ Virginia, 35.
+
+ Ferrer, Capt. Ramon, commander of the Spanish slaver "Amistad," 93.
+
+ Ferrero, Brig.-Gen. Edward, Negro troops under the command of,
+ defeat the Hampton Legion, 349.
+
+ Finnegas, Lieut.-Col. Henry, commands the 3d La. Regiment of
+ Colored Troops at the battle of Port Hudson, 320.
+
+ Fish, Hamilton, certifies the ratification of the fifteenth
+ amendment to the Constitution of the U. S., 421.
+
+ Fleet, John H., establishes a school for Colored children, 207, 208.
+
+ Florida, slave population, 1830, 1840, 99;
+ 1850, 100;
+ proceeds of the sale of slaves added to the school-fund, 158;
+ secedes from the Union, 232; Gen. Hunter's proclamation
+ emancipating slaves, 257;
+ rescinded, 258;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Follen, Rev. Mr., speech in support of resolution on anti-slavery, 80.
+
+ Ford, Mrs. George, establishes a school for Colored children, 207.
+
+ Forrest, Maj.-Gen., N. B., attacks Fort Pillow, demands its
+ surrender, orders the massacre of Negro soldiers, 360, 361;
+ testimony against his inhuman treatment of Negroes, 361-375;
+ commends the bravery of the U. S. soldiers, 368;
+ his conduct endorsed, 375.
+
+ Fort Gibson, Ark., bravery of the Negro troops at the battle of, 313.
+
+ Fort Mackinac, Mich., Negro sailors at, 28.
+
+ Fort Pillow, Tenn., defended by Union troops, refuse to
+ capitulate, 360;
+ massacre of the Negro soldiers, 360, 361;
+ testimony in regard to the massacre, 361-375;
+ Gen. Forrest commends the bravery of the U. S. soldiers, 368.
+
+ Fort Wagner, S. C., assault on, Negro regiment leads the
+ charge, 308, 313, 328, 329.
+
+ Forte, Sarah, verses on the Negro, 81.
+
+ Forten, James, his subscription to the "Liberator," 43.
+
+ Fortress Monroe, Va., first school for freedmen established at, 393.
+
+ Fortune, Charlotte L., her education, literary abilities, 450.
+
+ Foster, Gov. Charles, appoints Negro to office, 447;
+ one of the leaders of the Republican Party in the contest over
+ the electoral count of 1876, 521;
+ his speech on "a solid North against a solid South," 525, 526.
+
+ Foster, Col. John A., letter on the bravery of the Negro troops, 348.
+
+ Franklin, Jesse, his report against the modification of the
+ ordinance of 1787, in Indian Territory, 7.
+
+ Franklin, Nicholas, former slave, establishes a Colored school, 182.
+
+ Free Mission Institute, Ill., destroyed by a mob, 159.
+
+ Free Soil Party, organized, 46.
+
+ Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company, incorporated, list of the
+ trustees, 403, 404;
+ act incorporating, amended, 407;
+ organized, 408;
+ reports, 408-410;
+ total amount deposited, failure, commissioners appointed to
+ settle the affairs of the, 411, 412;
+ dividends, 413.
+
+ Freedmen's Bureau, established, 379;
+ number of schools in charge of the, 385, 394;
+ amount expended, 386, 394, 395;
+ report, 401, 402, 403.
+
+ Friends, see Quakers.
+
+ Fry, Brig.-Gen., orders the return of fugitive slaves, 246.
+
+ Fugitive-Slave Law, of 1793, condemned, 2;
+ amended, 10;
+ of 1850, 106;
+ recognized in Ohio, 112;
+ passed in Kansas, 215;
+ Lincoln opposed to the repeal of the, 237.
+
+ Fulton, Rev. Justin D., preaches the funeral sermon of Col.
+ Elsworth, views on slavery, 242, 243.
+
+
+ Gabriel, General, leader of the Negro plot in Virginia, 1800, 83.
+
+ Gaillard, Nicholas, representative of Baltimore, in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Gaines, John I., urges the claims of the Colored people to
+ school-fund in Cincinnati, 171.
+
+ Galveston, Texas, captured Negro soldiers sold into slavery, 353.
+
+ Garnet, Henry Highland, mentioned, 79, 134.
+
+ Garnett, James M., reports in favor of the modification of the
+ ordinance of 1787, in Indiana Territory, 5.
+
+ Garrison, William Lloyd, leader of the anti-slavery movement,
+ edits newspapers, petitions Congress for the abolition of
+ slavery in the District of Columbia, 39;
+ favors immediate emancipation, imprisoned for libel, 40;
+ released, establishes the "Liberator," 41;
+ extract from his article on the abolition of slavery, 41, 42;
+ organizes the American Anti-Slavery Society, 43;
+ mentioned, 63;
+ opposed to the colonization of Negroes in Liberia, 70, 75;
+ mobbed at Boston, 97;
+ address at the Framingham celebration, 98;
+ mentioned, 425, 426;
+ Frederick Douglass's letter to, 428;
+ his views on slavery, 433.
+
+ Garrisanian Party, mentioned, 44;
+ in favor of the dissolution of the Union, 98.
+
+ Gedney, Lieut., Thomas R., captures the Spanish slaver "Amistad," 94.
+
+ Georgetown, D. C., Colored schools, 206, 207.
+
+ Georgia, slave population, 1800, 2;
+ cedes territory for the formation of Alabama and Mississippi, 3;
+ slave population, 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22,
+ 1830, 1840, 99,
+ 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes' prohibited, 158,
+ advocated, 159;
+ secedes from the Union, 232;
+ Gen. Hunter's proclamation emancipating slaves, 257,
+ rescinded, 258;
+ expedition of Negro regiment into, 314;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ number of slaves, 1860, Negro school population, 1876, 387;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ elects Negro representative to Congress, 423.
+
+ Gilmore, Rev. Hiram S., founder of the Cincinnati High School, 171.
+
+ Goddard, Calvin, counsel for Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+ Gooch, D. W., one of the committee of investigation of the Fort
+ Pillow massacre, 361.
+
+ Gordon, Charlotte, establishes a school for Colored children, 213.
+
+ "Governor Tompkins," armed schooner, bravery of Negro sailors on
+ board of the, 30.
+
+ Grant, Gen. Ulysses S., orders the attack on Petersburg, 336, 337;
+ carries the Southern States in the presidential elections of
+ 1868 and 1872, 382;
+ special message to Congress on ratification of the fifteenth
+ amendment, 420;
+ appoints Negroes in the diplomatic service, 423;
+ not responsible for the decline and loss of the republican State
+ governments at the South, 518.
+
+ Grant, Nancy, establishes a school for Colored children, 206.
+
+ Gray, Samuel, free Negro, petitions for relief from taxation,
+ in Mass., 1780, 125.
+
+ Greeley, Horace, leader of the economic anti-slavery party, 49;
+ letter to President Lincoln on slavery, 253;
+ Lincoln's reply, 254;
+ newspaper editorials on Negro troops, 303-307;
+ opposed to the resolutions of the Confederate Congress in
+ regard to Negro troops, 356.
+
+ Green, John P., his struggles to obtain an education, successful
+ orator, lawyer, and statesman, 447, 448.
+
+ Greener, Richard Theodore, his early life, 438;
+ education, first Colored graduate of Harvard University, 439;
+ principal of the Institute for Colored Youth, and Sumner High
+ School, accepts the Chair of Metaphysics and Logic in the
+ University of S. C., Dean of the Law Department of Howard
+ University, graduates from the Law School of the University
+ of S. C., literary career, 440;
+ the intellectual position of the Negro, a reply to James
+ Parton's article on the antipathy to the Negro, 441;
+ speech at the dinner of the Harvard Club, 442.
+
+ Greenlaw, William B., organizes company of Negro troops, 277.
+
+ Grimes, Rev. Leonard Andrew, Colored Baptist minister, sketch of
+ his life, 505-512;
+ death, 513;
+ resolutions on his death, 513-515.
+
+ Grow, G. A., Stanton's letters to, 279.
+
+ Guinea, memorial against the slave-trade on the coast of, 2.
+
+ Gurley, Rev. R. R., favors the colonization of free Negroes at
+ Liberia, 52, 70, 75.
+
+
+ Hall, Anne Maria, establishes school for Colored children, 183.
+
+ Hall, Primus, first school for Colored children, held in the house
+ of, 1798, 162.
+
+ Hallock, Maj.-Gen., Henry W., forbids fugitive slaves entering the
+ army, 247, 248.
+
+ Hamilton, Paul, circular letter to H. G. Campbell, in regard to the
+ importation of slaves, 10.
+
+ Hammond, Eliza Ann, arrested for attending school in Conn., 152.
+
+ Hampton, Va., school for the education of Negroes, 394;
+ normal and agricultural institute, 395.
+
+ Hampton, Fanny, establishes school for Colored children, 207.
+
+ Hampton Legion, defeated by Negro troops, 349.
+
+ Harden, Henry, representative of Baltimore in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Harper, Frances Ellen, essayist and lecturer, 419.
+
+ Harper's Ferry, Va., operations of John Brown at, 222, 224.
+
+ Harris, Sarah, protests of the citizens of Canterbury, Conn.,
+ against her attending school, 150.
+
+ Hartford, Conn., establishes a separate school for Colored
+ children, 149.
+
+ Harvard University, first Colored graduate, 439.
+
+ Hatcher's Run, Va., Negro troops engaged in the battle of, 335.
+
+ Havana, Cuba, Spanish slaver "Amistad" sails from, with slaves, 93.
+
+ Hayard, Elisha, mentioned, 187;
+ school-house destroyed by a mob, 189.
+
+ Hayes, Alexander, establishes school for Colored children, 209;
+ emancipated, his marriage, 210.
+
+ Hayes, Rutherford B., failure of his Southern policy, 522-524.
+
+ Hayti, opposition to the colonization of, by free Negroes, 70;
+ E. D. Bassett appointed Minister to, 423.
+
+ Heck, Barbara, foundress of American Methodism, 465.
+
+ Helena, Ark., bravery of Negro troops at battle of, 313.
+
+ Helper, Hinton R., influence of his book the "Impending Crisis," 60.
+
+ Henderson, Rev. Henry, school of, mentioned, 471.
+
+ Henry, Patrick, opposed to slavery, 33.
+
+ Heterodox Anti-Slavery Party, the platform of the, 48.
+
+ Higginson, Col. Thomas Wentworth, description of regiment of
+ Colored Troops commanded by, 304;
+ expedition into Georgia, 314.
+
+ Hildreth, Joseph, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Hill, Margaret, establishes school for Colored children, 209.
+
+ Hill, Stephen, representative of Baltimore in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Hinks, Brig.-Gen. Edward W., commands brigade of Negro troops at
+ the battle of Petersburg, Va., 336, 339, 346.
+
+ Holt, Joseph, letter to the Secretary of War on the enlistment of
+ slaves, 307.
+
+ Honey Springs, Ark., bravery of Negro troops at the battle of, 346.
+
+ Hooker, Maj.-Gen. Joseph, order in regard to harboring fugitive
+ slaves in the army, 249.
+
+ Hosier, Rev. Harry, first Negro preacher in the M. E. Church in
+ America, 466;
+ his eloquence as a pulpit orator, 466, 467.
+
+ Houston, Gen. Samuel, proposition to Congress on the admission of
+ California and New Mexico, 100, 101;
+ maintains Congress has no authority to prohibit or interfere with
+ slavery, 101.
+
+ Howard, Maj.-Gen. O. O. appointed Commissioner of the Freedmen's
+ Bureau, his report on schools established by the bureau, 385;
+ in charge of Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned
+ Lands, 398;
+ report, 399, 400.
+
+ Howland, Pero, free Negro, petitions for relief from taxation in
+ Mass., 1780, 126.
+
+ Huddlestone, William, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Humphreys, Richard, founder of the Institute for Colored
+ Youth, 176.
+
+ Hunter, Maj.-Gen. David, proclamation emancipating slaves, 257;
+ rescinded by President Lincoln, 258;
+ organizes Negro regiment, 278;
+ official correspondence with the Secretary of War, respecting the
+ enlistment of Negroes, 279, 280;
+ asks to be relieved of his command, 284;
+ outlawed by Jefferson Davis, 354.
+
+ Hunter, Rev. William H., establishes school for Colored people, 212.
+
+
+ Illinois, slave population in the territory of, 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22,
+ 1830, 1840, 99;
+ first constitution, Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians exempted
+ from militia service, free Negroes required to produce
+ certificate of freedom, persons bringing slaves into, for the
+ purpose of emancipating, to give bonds, 122;
+ criminal code enacted, Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians declared
+ incompetent to be witnesses, Act to prevent the immigration
+ of free Negroes into, 123;
+ separate schools for Colored children established, the Free
+ Mission Institute destroyed by mob, 159;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422;
+ Negro elected to the Legislature, 447.
+
+ Indiana, slave population in the territory of, 1800, 2;
+ William Henry Harrison, appointed governor, 3;
+ memorial to Congress for the modification of the ordinance of
+ 1787, 4-8;
+ slave population, 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22;
+ law in regard to executions against the time of service of
+ slaves, 119, 121;
+ Act for the introduction of Negroes, 120;
+ first constitution, Negroes excluded from giving testimony,
+ Act regulating free Negroes, 121;
+ Negroes denied the right of suffrage, 159;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Indians, list of, ordered to leave Mass., 130.
+
+ Institute for Colored Youth, established, 176.
+
+ Iowa, number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ "Isaac Smith," gun-boat, free Negroes captured from, 354.
+
+
+ Jackson, Alfred, fugitive slave, claimed by his master, 245;
+ leaves for Michigan, 246.
+
+ Jackson, Andrew, proclamation of, calling for Negro troops, War of
+ 1812, 25;
+ orders the suppression of the Snow riot at Washington, D. C., 189.
+
+ Jackson, Edward, representative of Attleborough, Pa., in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Jackson, Fanny M., her birth, education, 448;
+ school-teacher, 449.
+
+ Jackson, Rev. Henry, Negroes excluded from the church of, 430.
+
+ Jarrot _vs._ Jarrot, case of, mentioned, 120.
+
+ Jay, John, president of the N. Y. Society for Promoting the
+ Manumission of Slaves, 167.
+
+ Jefferson, Thomas, recommends the abolishing of the slave-trade, 8;
+ predicts the abolition of slavery, 33;
+ condemns slavery, 35.
+
+ Jerusalem Court-House, Va., Negro insurrection at, 1831, 88.
+
+ Johnson, John, Negro sailor, his bravery and death, 30.
+
+ Jordan, Thomas, letter to Col. B. R. Rhett, Jr., relative to the
+ refusal of the Confederate army to exchange captured Negro
+ soldiers, 358.
+
+ Jordan _vs._ Smith, case of, mentioned, 113.
+
+ "Journal of the Times" (The), anti-slavery newspaper, advocates the
+ claims of John Quincy Adams, 39.
+
+ Judah, Brig.-Gen., H. M., orders the return of fugitive slaves, 245.
+
+ Judge, Philadelphia, former slave to Martha Washington, 193.
+
+ Judson, Andrew T., decision in the case of the "Amistad" captives, 94;
+ advocates resolutions against school for Colored children in
+ Conn., 150;
+ secures enactment of a law abolishing the same, 152;
+ counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+
+ Kansas, fugitive-slave bill passed, speech of John Brown against
+ slavery, 215;
+ infested by border ruffians, aid for the relief of, 216;
+ arms purchased for the defence of, 218;
+ plan of John Brown for the freedom of slaves in, 219;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422;
+ freedmen's relief association, organized, 536.
+
+ Kentucky, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9;
+ opposed to the restriction of slavery, 16;
+ slave population, 1820, 22, 1830, 1840, 99, 1850, 100;
+ slave laws retard the education of the Negroes, 159;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392.
+
+ King, John, member of the first American Methodist Conference, 466.
+
+ Ku Klux, a secret organization, objects of, 382.
+
+
+ Lafayette, Marquis de, address to the scholars of the N. Y. African
+ free school, 168.
+
+ Langston, John Mercer, born a slave, education, services, Resident
+ Minister and Consul-General to Hayti, 446.
+
+ Lake Erie, N. Y., Negro sailor represented in the picture of
+ Perry's victory on, 28;
+ bravery of the Negro sailors at the battle of, 30.
+
+ Lancaster County, Pa., free public Colored school, 206.
+
+ Lawrence, John, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Lawrence, Kansas, sacked and burned by a mob, 215.
+
+ Lawrence, Nathaniel, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Leaman, Jacob, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Leaman, Willett, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Ledlie, Brig.-Gen., James H., attempts to fire the mine at the siege
+ of Petersburg, Va., 341.
+
+ Lee, General Fitz-Hugh, defeated by Negro troops at the battle of
+ Wilson's Wharf, 335.
+
+ Lee, William Thomas, his school for Colored children burned, 205;
+ threatened by mob, 206.
+
+ Leming, Lieut., Mc J., his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 367.
+
+ Lenox, Walter, opposed to the education of Colored people, 201.
+
+ Leonard, Rev. Chauncey, his school for Colored children destroyed
+ by mob, 192.
+
+ Lewis, Edmonia, Negro sculptress, sketch of, 450.
+
+ "Lexington," gun-boat, at the battle of Milliken's Bend, 326.
+
+ "Liberator" (The), anti-slavery newspaper, established, 41.
+
+ Liberia, proposed colony of free Negroes at, 51, 54, 56;
+ protest against the colonization, 70.
+
+ Lincoln, Abraham, in favor of the Union of the States, 230;
+ speech against slavery, 232;
+ his answers to Stephen A. Douglass' questions on slavery, 237-239;
+ in favor of gradual emancipation, elected President of the
+ United States, 239;
+ his inaugural address regarding slavery, 240;
+ letter in reply to Horace Greeley, on slavery, 254;
+ to Gen. Fremont, disproving his proclamation emancipating slaves
+ in Missouri, 256;
+ rescinds proclamation of Gen. Hunter, 258;
+ conservative policy of, 259;
+ his reasons for not issuing emancipation proclamation, 264-266;
+ issues emancipation proclamation, 267-269;
+ second proclamation, 272;
+ opposed to the enlistment of Negroes, 278;
+ authorizes the enlistment of Negro
+ troops, 285;
+ second call for troops, 287;
+ his order in regard to prisoners of war, 355.
+
+ Lincoln University, see Ashum Institute.
+
+ Littlefield, Col. M. S., letter describing the bravery of Sergeant
+ William II. Carney at the assault on Fort Wagner, 331.
+
+ Liverpool, Moses, former slave, erects Colored school, 182.
+
+ Livingston, Edward, address to the Negro troops before the battle
+ of New Orleans, 26.
+
+ Loguen, Bishop, his book, "As a Slave and as a Freeman,"
+ mentioned, 59.
+
+ Longworth, Nicholas, builds the first school-house for Colored
+ people in Cincinnati, 172.
+
+ Louisiana, slave population in, and territory of, 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22;
+ bravery of the Negro troops of, at the battle of New Orleans, 27;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99, 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes prohibited, 160;
+ secedes from the Union, 232;
+ fugitive slaves offer their services in the army, 285;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ bravery of the 1st regiment, Negroes, at the battle of Port
+ Hudson, 317-324, 345;
+ the 9th and 11th regiments, Negroes, at the battle of Milliken's
+ Bend, 326, 327;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ Negro population in excess of the white, 386;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Lovejoy, E. P., member of the aggressive anti-slavery party, 50;
+ killed by a mob, 51.
+
+ Lundy, Benjamin, earliest advocate of the abolition of slavery in
+ the United States, establishes anti-slavery newspaper, 1821, 38;
+ his sacrifices and work in the cause of emancipation, 38, 39;
+ visits William Lloyd Garrison, favors gradual emancipation, 40;
+ colonization of manumitted slaves, 51;
+ mentioned, 63, 73.
+
+
+ McClellan, Maj.-Gen, George B., views on slavery, 249;
+ Secretary Seward's letter to, in regard to fugitive slaves, 263.
+
+ McCoy, Benjamin M., one of the founders of Colored Sunday-school at
+ Washington, D. C., 187;
+ takes charge of public Colored school in Pa., 189;
+ school for Colored children, 206.
+
+ McCrady, John, chief engineer of Georgia, ordered to impress Negroes
+ to build fortifications, 261.
+
+ McLeod, John, in favor of the education of the Colored people, 186.
+
+ Madden, Rev. Samuel, a Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ Madison, James, opposed to slavery, 33;
+ president of the American Colonization Society, 52.
+
+ Maine, bill for the admission of, into the Union, 16,
+ admitted, 18;
+ equal school privileges granted to Negroes, 160;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Malcom, Rev. Howard, favors the colonization of free Negroes at
+ Liberia, 52.
+
+ Mallory, Col., fugitive slaves of, declared contraband of war, 250.
+
+ Mann, Horace, favors the colonization of free Negroes at Liberia, 52.
+
+ Marechal, Rev. Ambrose, in favor of the education of the
+ Negroes, 161.
+
+ Marsh, Jacob, representative of Attleborough, Pa., in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Maryland, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22;
+ Quakers emancipate their slaves, 35;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99,
+ 1850, 100;
+ Negroes excluded from the schools, St. Frances Academy
+ founded, 160;
+ the Wells school established, 161;
+ order for the enlistment of Negroes, 290;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393.
+
+ Massachusetts, petition of the free Negroes for relief from
+ taxation, 1780, 126, 127;
+ law preventing Negroes from other States from settling in, 127;
+ notice to Negroes, Indians, and Mulattoes warning them to
+ leave, 128;
+ list of the same, 128, 129;
+ first school for Colored children, 162;
+ number of Negro troops, furnished, 299;
+ captured Negro soldiers from, sold into slavery, 353.
+
+ Massachusetts General Colored Association, 78;
+ letter to New England Anti-Slavery Society desiring to become
+ auxiliary to the latter, 79.
+
+ Massachusetts Medical Society, first Colored member admitted to
+ the, 133.
+
+ Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, amount of money furnished
+ for the relief of Kansas, 216, 218.
+
+ Massachusetts Volunteers, 54th regiment, first Colored troops
+ raised at the North, 289;
+ at James Island, 328, 335;
+ march to Morris Island, 328, 329, 332;
+ assault Fort Wagner, and plant the colors of the regiment on the
+ fort, 329;
+ Edward L. Pierce's letter describing the valor and losses of the
+ regiment, 331;
+ Gen. Strong commends the bravery of the regiment, 334.
+
+ Mattock, White, mentioned, 166.
+
+ May, Rev. Samuel J., in favor of education of Colored children in
+ Conn., 150, 151, 153, 157.
+
+ Memphis, Tenn., Negro troops raised for the Confederate
+ States, 277;
+ fort garrisoned by Negroes, 345.
+
+ Mercer, Brig.-Gen. Hugh W., order to impress Negroes to build
+ fortifications, 261.
+
+ Methodist Episcopal Church founded, Negro servants and slaves
+ contributors to the erection of the first chapel in New
+ York, 1768, 465;
+ first American annual conference, 465, 466;
+ first Negro preacher in the, 466;
+ opposed to slavery, 467;
+ organized, interested in the welfare of the Negro, 468;
+ strength of the churches and Sunday-schools of the Colored
+ members in the, 469.
+
+ Michigan, slave population in the territory of, 1810, 9;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Middleton, Charles H., establishes school for Colored
+ children, 207, 208.
+
+ Milliken's Bend., La., bravery of the Negro troops at the battle
+ of, 308, 313, 326, 345.
+
+ Miner, Myrtilla, establishes seminary for Colored girls, 196;
+ sketch of, 197-205.
+
+ Minnesota, number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Minot, William, address at the dedication of the Smith
+ school-house, 162.
+
+ Mississippi, slave population in territory of, 1800, 2;
+ one of the most cruel of slave States, 3;
+ formation of the territory of, 3;
+ slave population, 1810, 9;
+ applies for admission into the Union with a slave
+ constitution, 9;
+ slave population, 1820, 22, 1830, 1840, 99, 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes prohibited, conduct of slaves regulated,
+ preaching the Gospel by slaves declared unlawful, 163;
+ secedes from the Union, 232;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ 1st regiment of Negroes at the battle of Milliken's Bend, 326;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ Negro population in excess of the white, 386;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Missouri, applies for admission into the Union, 14;
+ Arkansas formed from, 15;
+ controversy, 16-20;
+ admitted into the Union, 20;
+ slave population, 1820, 22, 1830, 1840, 99, 1850, 100;
+ Negroes ordered to leave the State, education prohibited, 163;
+ order for the enlistment of Negroes, 290;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Mitchell, Charles L., member of the Legislature of Mass., 446.
+
+ Mobile, Ala., educational privileges granted to the free Creoles, 148.
+
+ Monroe, James, message to Congress in regard to the slave-trade, 12.
+
+ Montes, Don Pedro, passenger on the Spanish slaver "Amistad,"
+ compelled by the slaves to navigate the ship, 93;
+ charged with piracy, 94.
+
+ Montgomery, Ala., Confederate States organized, 232.
+
+ Morgan, Rev. J. V. B., establishes school for Colored children, 209.
+
+ Morris, Catharine, contributes money for the education of Colored
+ people, 199.
+
+ Morris Island, S. C., battle on, Negro regiment leads the
+ assault, 313, 328, 329.
+
+ Morsell, Judge James, interested in the education of Colored
+ people, 207.
+
+ Mott, Lydia P., establishes a home for Colored orphans, 144.
+
+ Murfreesboro, Tenn., captured Negro soldiers massacred at, 353.
+
+ Murray, John, Jr., mentioned, 166.
+
+ Muse, Lindsay, one of the founders of Colored Sunday-school at
+ Washington, D. C., 186.
+
+ Mussey, Captain R. D., superintends the recruiting of Negro
+ troops, 294.
+
+
+ Nantucket, Mass., anti-slavery convention at, 425.
+
+ Nashville, Tenn., Negroes in the Confederate service, 277;
+ Negro troops recruited, 294;
+ engaged in the battle of, 342.
+
+ Natchez, Miss., fort at, garrisoned by Negro troops, 345.
+
+ National anti-slavery convention, held in Phila., 1833, 44.
+
+ Neau, Elias, establishes a school for Negro slaves, in New
+ York, 1704;
+ pupils accused of being concerned in the Negro plot, his life
+ threatened, 164;
+ his death, 165.
+
+ Nebraska, bill introduced in Congress, to organize the territory
+ of, 107, 110;
+ number of troops furnished by, 300;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Negroes, free, sold as slaves, 2;
+ premium to informer of illegally imported, seized in the
+ United States, 10;
+ imported to St. Mary's, 10;
+ to be returned to Africa, 12;
+ serve in the War of 1812, 23-27;
+ Gen. Jackson's proclamation calling for Negro troops, 25;
+ Gen. Livingston's address, 26;
+ rated as chattel property, their valor in war secures them
+ immunity in peace, at the battle of New Orleans, 27;
+ in the United States Navy, 28-30; at Fort Mackinac, 1814, 28;
+ their treatment as sailors, Captain Perry's letter to Commodore
+ Chauncey, complaining of the men sent him, 28;
+ Commodore Chauncey's reply, 29;
+ at the battle of Lake Erie, represented in the picture of Perry's
+ victory on Lake Erie, letter of Nathaniel Shaler commending
+ the bravery of the sailors under his command, 30;
+ military services, 32;
+ proposed colony of free, at Liberia, 51, 54, 56;
+ authors of anti-slavery literature, 59;
+ anti-slavery efforts of free, 61-81;
+ conventions of the people of color, 61-79;
+ condition of free, in United States, 62, 67;
+ proposed college for, 63;
+ settle in Canada, 66, 71, 73;
+ opposed to colonization in Liberia and Hayti, 70;
+ leave Ohio, for Canada, 71, 76;
+ colonization of Upper Canada, opposed, 72;
+ dissolution of anti-slavery societies composed of, 79;
+ prejudice against admitting, into white societies, eloquence of
+ the, as orators, 81;
+ insurrections of, 82-92;
+ why they were kept in bondage, 82;
+ plot of the, in Virginia, 1800, 83;
+ in Charleston, S. C., 1822, 84;
+ insurrection in Southampton County, Va., 1831, 87-89;
+ the "Amistad" captives, 93-96;
+ Northern sympathy and Southern subterfuges, 1850-1860, 97-100;
+ schools broken up, pupils maltreated, 97;
+ the "Black Laws" of "Border States," 111-124;
+ Ohio laws against free, 111, 112;
+ compelled to show certificate of freedom, 112;
+ laws against kidnapping, 113;
+ not citizens, 114, 118;
+ denied the right to vote, 119, 122;
+ excluded from the militia service, schools established for
+ free, 119;
+ Act for the introduction of, into Indiana, 120;
+ excluded from giving testimony, 121, 123;
+ exempted from militia service, 122;
+ Act to prevent the immigration of free, into Illinois, 123;
+ restrictions and proscriptions in the Northern States, 124;
+ the Northern, 125-146;
+ number of free, in the slave and Northern States, 125;
+ petition for relief from taxation of free, in Mass., 1780, 126;
+ law preventing, from other States settling in Mass., 127;
+ notice to, warning them to leave Mass., 128;
+ list of, ordered to leave Mass., 128, 129;
+ rights and privileges restricted, 130-132;
+ educated by their own race, admitted to the bar, practice of
+ medicine, pulpit, authors, orators, 133;
+ prominent, 134, 135;
+ amount paid for their freedom, 134;
+ distinguished in the pulpit, 135;
+ report on the condition of, in Cincinnati, 1835, 136-138;
+ militia company of, 145;
+ emigrate to Liberia, overcome prejudice against the race, 146;
+ school laws, 1619-1860, 147-213;
+ education of, prohibited, 148, 149, 157, 158, 160, 163, 170,
+ 178-181;
+ prejudice against the schools for, in Conn., 149;
+ resolutions against the establishing of schools for, in
+ Conn., 150;
+ school abolished, 152, 153;
+ school-house mobbed, 156, 159;
+ African School Association established, 157;
+ education of, advocated, 158, 159;
+ denied the right of suffrage, 159;
+ elective franchise and school privileges in Maine, 160;
+ schools established, 161, 162, 164, 168-178, 182-213;
+ first school established by, 162;
+ ordered to leave Missouri, 163;
+ plot for burning New York, 164;
+ prohibited the use of the streets, kidnapped, 165;
+ school trustees, 171, 172;
+ admitted to Oberlin College, 172;
+ the employment of, as clerks forbidden, 180;
+ stringent laws of Va., 180, 181;
+ attacked by a mob, 188;
+ population in United States, 229;
+ their services in the War of 1861 declined, not the cause of the
+ War of 1861, 242;
+ arrest of free, by the army, 244;
+ ordered from the Union army, 250;
+ on fatigue duty, 260-262;
+ employed as teamsters and in the quartermaster's department, 260;
+ number at Port Royal, cultivate land, self-supporting, 261;
+ order to impress, to build fortifications for Confederate
+ States, 261, 262;
+ fortifications and earthworks built by, industrious and earn
+ promotion, 262;
+ emancipation proclamations, 263-275;
+ President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation imparts new hope
+ to the, 274;
+ as soldiers in the War of 1861, 276-309;
+ in the Confederate service, 277, 278;
+ presented with war flag, 277;
+ President Lincoln opposed to the enlistment of, first regiment
+ of loyal, organized, 278;
+ official correspondence of the Secretary of War, concerning the
+ enlistment of, 279, 280;
+ their abilities as soldiers, 282;
+ President Lincoln authorizes the raising of five regiments
+ of, 285;
+ regiments of free, at New Orleans, 287;
+ bill in Congress for the employment of, as soldiers, 287;
+ action of Congress, on the proposed amendment to the army
+ appropriation bill, to prohibit the enlistment of, 288;
+ Mass. furnishes regiment of, 289;
+ official order for the enlistment of, 290;
+ New York furnishes regiments of, 292;
+ Pennsylvania regiments of, 293;
+ prejudice against, as soldiers, free military school
+ established, 293;
+ number of, in the army, 297, 299-301;
+ use of, as soldiers, 301;
+ the character of, 303;
+ as soldiers, 306, 310-349;
+ bravery of, in battle, 308, 313, 323, 329, 336, 338, 342, 345-349;
+ legally and constitutionally soldiers, 309;
+ persecuted in the army, 311;
+ expedition of the First S. C. Volunteers into Ga., and Fla., 314;
+ at the battle of Port Hudson, 316-323;
+ commended for their bravery, 323, 338, 346;
+ Boker's poem on "The Black Regiment," 324;
+ at the battle of Milliken's Bend, 326;
+ draft riot at N. Y., mob destroy orphan asylum, hang several,
+ and destroy property of, 328;
+ lead the assault on Fort. Wagner, 329, 331-335;
+ number of battles fought by, in the Army of the Potomac, 335;
+ defeat Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee at Wilson's Wharf, 335, 336;
+ at the battle of Petersburg, Va., 336-342;
+ Nashville, Tenn., 342;
+ list of the losses, 343;
+ at Appomattox, Va., their efficiency as soldiers, 344;
+ forts garrisoned by, 345;
+ soldierly qualities, 346, 347;
+ history records their deeds of valor, in the preservation of the
+ Union, 349;
+ capture and treatment of, 350-376;
+ Confederate States opposed to the military employment of, by the
+ U. S. Government, 350, 351;
+ captured in arms against the Confederate States to be executed, 352;
+ captured, sold into slavery, the government urged to protect
+ enlisted, massacre of prisoners, 353;
+ ill-treatment of free, captured on gun-boat, 354;
+ Confederate States refuse to exchange captured, as prisoners of
+ war, 355, 357;
+ defend Fort Pillow, and are massacred, 360, 361;
+ testimony in regard to the massacre, 361-375;
+ the first decade of freedom, 377-383;
+ condition of, at the close of the war, 378, 381, 382;
+ bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees established, 379;
+ in Congress, members of Legislature in the Southern States, 382;
+ the results of emancipation, 384-418;
+ advance in education, 382, 387, 388, 396;
+ number of schools attended, 382;
+ amount of money raised by, for the support of schools, 386, 394;
+ population in excess of the whites, in La., S. C., and Miss., 386;
+ comparative statistics of education at the South, 388;
+ statistics of institutions for the instruction of, 389-393;
+ Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands established, 398;
+ military savings-banks, Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company
+ established, 403, 407;
+ failure of the bank, 411, 412;
+ social and financial condition of the, in the South, 413, 414;
+ character of the Southern, 414;
+ rarely receive justice in Southern courts, 415;
+ their treatment as convicts, 416;
+ increase, from 1790-1880, 417;
+ susceptible of the highest civilization, 418;
+ representative men, 419-448;
+ ratification of the fifteenth amendment, granting manhood suffrage
+ to American, 420-422;
+ in the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives, in the
+ diplomatic service, 423;
+ representative women, 448-451;
+ African M. E. Church, 452-464;
+ contributors to the erection of the first M. E. chapel in New
+ York, 1768, 465;
+ Baptists of America, 475-515;
+ the decline of Negro governments, 516-528;
+ the exodus--cause and effect, 529;
+ abridgment of their rights, the plantation credit system, 530;
+ political intimidation, murder, and outrage against the, 531-533;
+ settle in Kansas, 536;
+ retrospection and prospection, 544;
+ power of endurance, number of tribes of, represented in U. S.,
+ achievements as laborers, soldiers, and students, 545;
+ first blood shed by, in the Revolution and the War for the
+ Union, 546.
+
+ Nelson, Col. John A., commands Negro troops at the battle of Port
+ Hudson, 318.
+
+ Nevada, ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of
+ the U. S., 422.
+
+ New Bedford, Mass., Negroes excluded from the Lyceum, 430.
+
+ Newburyport, Mass., anti-slavery newspaper published, 39;
+ ship "Francis Todd" from, engaged in the slave-trade, 40.
+
+ New England Anti-slavery Society, appoints Mass. General Colored
+ Association its auxiliary, 79;
+ resolution in regard to anti-slavery, 80.
+
+ "New Era," gun-boat, at the attack on Fort Pillow, 360.
+
+ New Hampshire, slave population, 1800, 2;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ New Haven, Conn., proposed college for young men of color, 63;
+ citizens of, oppose the erection of the college, 76.
+
+ New Jersey, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9;
+ resolutions against the extension of slavery, 16;
+ anti-slavery society formed, Act for the gradual abolition of
+ slavery, 20;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ Quakers emancipate their slaves, 38;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99,
+ 1850, 100;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299.
+
+ New London, Conn., the Spanish slaver "Amistad" captured and taken
+ to, trial of the slaves, 94.
+
+ Newman, Rev. W. P., Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ New Mexico, resolution in regard to the admission into the
+ Union, 100, 101;
+ number of troops furnished by, 300.
+
+ New Orleans, La., bravery of the Negro troops at the battle of, 27;
+ slaves from Baltimore to, to be sold, 40;
+ Negro troops in the Confederate army at, 277;
+ regiments of free Negroes organized, 287;
+ forts at, garrisoned by Negro troops, 345.
+
+ New York, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9;
+ Legislature passes resolutions against the extension of
+ slavery, 16;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ authorizes the enlistment of Negro troops in the War of 1812, 23;
+ convention of the Anti-Slavery Women of America, 80;
+ slave population, 1840, 99;
+ right of suffrage granted to every male inhabitant, 163,
+ amended, 163, 164;
+ rights of Negroes denied, 164;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ New York African Free School, organized, 165;
+ list of the trustees, sketch of, school destroyed by fire, 166;
+ Lafayette's address to the scholars, 168.
+
+ New York City, prominent Colored men of, 134;
+ school for Negro slaves, 1704, 164, 165;
+ Negro plot, 164;
+ Negroes prohibited the use of the streets, kidnapped, N. Y.
+ African Free School organized, 165;
+ school-house destroyed by fire, 166;
+ public schools for Colored children, 168-170;
+ Union League Club raise Colored troops, 292;
+ draft riot, Colored Orphan Asylum burned by mob, 328;
+ first Methodist Episcopal chapel erected, 465.
+
+ New York Public School Society, assumes control of the Colored
+ schools, 168.
+
+ New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves,
+ organized, 165.
+
+ "New York Times" (The), articles on Negro troops, 284, 301, 313,
+ 314, 320.
+
+ "New York Tribune" (The), articles on Negro troops, 303-307, 353.
+
+ Nichols, Manuel, his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 361.
+
+ Nickens, Rev. David, Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ Norfolk, Va., military savings-bank for Negroes established, 403.
+
+ North Carolina, slave population, 1800, 2, 1810, 9, 1820, 22, 1830,
+ 99, 1840, 1850, 100;
+ Colored schools abolished, education of Negroes prohibited, 170;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Northup, Solomon, narrative of, mentioned, 59.
+
+ Noxon, Thomas, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+
+ Oberlin College, Colored students admitted to, 172.
+
+ O'Connell, Daniel, extract of speech against slavery, 43.
+
+ Ohio, constitution adopted, 3;
+ Negroes leave for Canada, 71;
+ laws against free Negroes and Mulattoes, in, 112;
+ fugitive-slave law recognized, 112;
+ law to prevent kidnapping of free Negroes, 113;
+ first constitution, 113, 114;
+ free Negroes denied the right to vote, excluded from the militia
+ service, separate schools, 119;
+ Colored schools established, 170-172;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422;
+ Negroes, members of the Legislature, 447.
+
+ Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, report on the condition of the people
+ of color, 1835, 136-138.
+
+ Owen, Richard, first native Methodist preacher in America, 465.
+
+
+ Paducah, Ky., fort at, garrisoned by Negro troops, 345.
+
+ Park, Benjamin, report in favor of the modification of the ordinance
+ of 1787, in Indiana Territory, 6.
+
+ Parker, Mary S., President of the Anti-Slavery Women of
+ America, 80.
+
+ Parker, Theodore, favors the extinction of slavery, 48.
+
+ Paul, William, his connection with the Negro plot in Charleston,
+ S. C., 1822, 85.
+
+ Payne, Daniel A., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Peck, Maj.-Gen. John J., letter to Gen. Pickett, relative to killing
+ of Negro soldier after surrendering, 356.
+
+ Pemberton, John, bequest for the education of Colored people, 175.
+
+ Pennsylvania, slave population, 1800, 2, 1810, 9;
+ resolutions against the extension of slavery, 16;
+ anti-slavery society, 20;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ Quakers emancipate their slaves, 38;
+ slave population, 1840, 100;
+ Colored schools established, 172-178;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Pennsylvania Abolition Society, establish Colored schools, 175, 176.
+
+ Perry, Capt. Oliver Hazard, letter to Commodore Chauncey,
+ complaining of the Negro sailors sent him, 28;
+ commends bravery of the Negro sailors at Lake Erie, 29.
+
+ Petersburg, Va., Negro troops engaged in the siege of, 335-337;
+ lead the charge on the advance works, 338, 339.
+
+ Phelps, Brig.-Gen. J. W., report in favor of enlisting Negroes, 285;
+ applies for arms and clothing for Negro regiments, his policy in
+ regard to the employment of Negroes as soldiers, 286;
+ resigns from the army, 287.
+
+ Philadelphia, Colored citizens of, send memorial to Congress,
+ against the slave-trade, 2;
+ anti-slavery newspaper, published, 38;
+ national anti-slavery convention, 44;
+ conventions of the people of color, 61, 68;
+ prominent Colored men, 134;
+ amount paid for their freedom, 134;
+ churches, 135;
+ first Colored school established, 172;
+ Quakers establish school, 174;
+ number of public schools, condition and population of the Colored
+ people, 175;
+ Negro troops recruited, 293;
+ free military school for Negroes established, 295-298;
+ first American Methodist conference, 465.
+
+ "Philanthropist" (The), office destroyed by a mob, 51.
+
+ Phoebe _vs._ Jay, case of, mentioned, 120.
+
+ Pickett, Maj.-Gen. J. E., letter to Gen. Peck, relative to killing
+ of Negro soldier after surrender, 357.
+
+ Pierce, Rev. Charles, minister of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Pierce, Franklin, nominated for President of the United States, 106;
+ elected, in favor of slavery, 107.
+
+ Pillsbury, Parker, member of the heterodox anti-slavery party, 48.
+
+ Pilmoor, Joseph, member of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+ Planciancois, Anselmas, color-sergeant of the First Louisiana
+ Regiment of Colored Troops, his reply on receiving the colors
+ of the regiment, 316, 319;
+ bravery and death, 319.
+
+ Poindexter, Rev. James, Colored Baptist minister, 476, 503.
+
+ Port Hudson, La., bravery of the Negro troops at the battle
+ of, 308, 313, 317, 318, 322, 345.
+
+ Port Royal, S. C., first regiment of loyal Negroes, organized, 278.
+
+ Porter, Henry, his connection with the Negro insurrection in
+ Southampton Co., Va., 87.
+
+ Potter, Henry, establishes school for Colored children, 183.
+
+ Poyas, Peter, his connection with the Negro plot in Charleston,
+ S.C., 1822, 22.
+
+ Presbyterian church, the first Colored, Washington, D. C.,
+ organized, 189.
+
+ Prout, John W., establishes school for Colored children, 185, 186;
+ opposed to the emigration of Negroes to Liberia, 185.
+
+ Providence, R. I., Colored school abolished, 178.
+
+
+ Quakers, emancipate their slaves, 35, 38;
+ establish school for Negroes, 174;
+ contribute money for the education of the latter, 198, 199.
+
+ Quincy, Ill., the Free Mission Institute destroyed by a mob, 159.
+
+ Quincy, Josiah, signs memorial against the increase of slavery, 16.
+
+ Quinn, Rev. William Paul, minister of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+
+ Randolph, John, report in Congress, against the modification of the
+ ordinance of 1787, in Indiana Territory, 4.
+
+ Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, speech against slavery in the
+ Legislature of Virginia, 33.
+
+ Rankin, Thomas, president of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+ Rankin _vs._ Lydia, case of, mentioned, 120.
+
+ Ray, John F., his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 373.
+
+ Reconstruction, 1865-1875, 377-383.
+
+ Reeder, Gov. Andrew II., threatened by mob, leaves Kansas, 216.
+
+ Rees, Sergt. Henry, fires the mine at the siege of Petersburg,
+ Va., 341.
+
+ Republican party, decline of the, 518;
+ the presidential campaign of 1876, 519, 520.
+
+ Revels, Hiram R., succeeds Jefferson Davis in the U. S. Senate, 423.
+
+ Rhode Island, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22;
+ grants equal privileges to Negroes, 178;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Richardson, Mrs. Henry, raises money for the purchase of the
+ freedom of Frederick Douglass, 431.
+
+ Richmond, Va., Negro plot, 1800, 83;
+ Negroes armed for the defence of, 278;
+ schools for the education of Negroes, 394-396.
+
+ "Richmond Enquirer" (The), mentioned, 89;
+ on the Negro insurrection of 1831, 90, 92.
+
+ "Richmond Examiner" (The), on the treatment of captured Negro
+ soldiers, 354, 355.
+
+ Roberts, Thomas Wright, bishop of the M. E. Church, 469.
+
+ Rodney, Caesar, report in favor of the modification of the ordinance
+ of 1787 in Indiana Territory, 4.
+
+ Roman Catholic school for Colored people, 194, 212.
+
+ Ruffner, W. H., superintendent of public instruction,
+ commended, 393;
+ his report, 395.
+
+ Ruiz, Jose, passenger on the Spanish slaver "Amistad," 93;
+ charged with piracy, 94.
+
+ Russell, Pero, free Negro, petitions for relief from taxation in
+ Mass., 1780, 126.
+
+ Russworm, John B., teacher in the African school, Boston, Governor
+ of Cape Palmas, Liberia, 162.
+
+
+ St. Frances Academy for Colored girls, founded, 160.
+
+ St. Mary's, Md., slaves imported to, 10.
+
+ Satchell, Rev. Charles, Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ Saunders, George Nicholas, his connection with the proposed
+ steam-ship line to Africa, 53.
+
+ Savannah, Ga., education of Negroes prohibited, 158.
+
+ Saxton, Brig.-Gen. Rufus, authorized to enlist Negroes, 283;
+ establishes military savings-bank for Negroes, 403.
+
+ Scott, Dred, Negro slave, 114;
+ his marriage, children of, 115;
+ sues for his freedom, 114-118.
+
+ Scott, Lieut.-Gen. Winfield, Gen. Butler's letter to, declaring
+ slaves contraband of war, 250;
+ nominated for President, 106;
+ defeated, 107.
+
+ Seward, William H., in favor of Union of the States, 230;
+ speeches against slavery, 230, 231;
+ letter to Gen. McClellan relative to fugitive slaves, 263.
+
+ Seymour, Horatio, opinion in regard to raising Negro troops, 292;
+ addresses the draft rioters at New York, 328.
+
+ Shadford, George, member of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+ Shaler, Capt. Nathaniel, letter commending the bravery of Negro
+ sailors under his command, 30.
+
+ Shaw, Col. Robert Gould, commander of the 54th Mass. Regiment of
+ Colored Troops, leads the assault on Fort Wagner, 329, 333;
+ his death, 330, 333.
+
+ Shelton, Rev. Wallace, Colored Baptist minister, 503.
+
+ Sherman, Brig.-Gen. T. W., proclamation protecting slave
+ property, 246;
+ ordered to accept the services of all loyal persons to suppress
+ the war, 278, 281.
+
+ Sherwood, Gen. Isaac R., his account of an attempt to secure a
+ fugitive slave in his charge, 245, 246.
+
+ Shirley, Thomas, donates money for Colored school-house, 174.
+
+ Shorter, Rev. James, establishes Colored school, 213.
+
+ Shorter, James A., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Shurtleff, Capt. G. W., refuses to arrest fugitive slaves, 245.
+
+ Simpson, Rev. H. L., Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ Slave-trade, on the coast of Guinea, secretly carried on in the
+ United States, 2;
+ American ships prohibited from supplying slaves from United
+ States to foreign markets, 3;
+ Jefferson recommends the abolishing of the, 8;
+ Act of Congress in regard to persons engaged in the, 9;
+ memorials against the, 10;
+ illegal at St. Mary's, 10;
+ vessels engaged in the, to be seized, 13;
+ ship "Francis Todd," from Newburyport, Mass, engaged in the, 40;
+ bill for the suppression of the, 53;
+ Spanish slaver "Amistad," 93;
+ number of slaves imported for the, from the year 1500 to 1860, 544.
+
+ Slavery, restriction and extension, 1800-1825, 1-22;
+ increase of, 1800, 1;
+ slave population in United States, 1800, 1, 2;
+ the fugitive-slave law of 1793, source of persecution to the
+ free Colored people, 2;
+ growth of, in United States, 1810, 9;
+ President Monroe's message to Congress on the question of, 12;
+ resolutions in favor of restriction of, in the new States, 16;
+ anti-slavery societies formed, Act for the gradual abolition of,
+ in New Jersey, 20;
+ attitude of the Northern press on the question of, 21;
+ anti-slavery sentiments of the North, 22;
+ retrospection and reflection, 1825-1850, 31-36;
+ secured at the South, 31;
+ Jefferson predicts the abolition of, 33;
+ increase of, 33;
+ speeches against, in the Legislature of Virginia, 33-35;
+ evil effect upon society, 35;
+ the South in favor of, 36;
+ anti-slavery methods, 37-60;
+ anti-slavery newspapers established, 38, 39;
+ Buchanan's oration against, 1791, 38;
+ first anti-slavery society established in United States, 43;
+ O'Connell's speech against, 43;
+ Sumner's speech, 46;
+ the South entertains hope that, will become national, 98;
+ increase in the United States, 99, 100;
+ Congress has no authority to prohibit, Henry Clay's resolutions
+ in Congress for the adjustment of, does not exist by law in
+ the United States, 101;
+ Senator Bell's resolutions, Jefferson Davis's speech in
+ favor of, 102;
+ Calhoun's speech, 103-105;
+ President Pierce in favor of, 107;
+ ignorance favorable to, 148;
+ John Brown's speech against, 215;
+ speeches of William H. Seward against, 230, 231;
+ Lincoln's speech against, 230;
+ Alexander H. Stephens's speech in favor of, 235;
+ the extension of, the issue between the North and South, 236, 240;
+ Lincoln's views on, 237-239;
+ Rev. Justin D. Fulton's views on, 242, 243;
+ Gen. McClellan's views on, 249;
+ Greeley's letter to Lincoln, 253;
+ Lincoln's reply, 254;
+ struggle for the supremacy between the Union and, 259;
+ Lincoln's views on, 264-266;
+ resolutions of the Confederate Congress, 350, 351;
+ abolished in the U. S., 377;
+ the legal destruction of, and a constitutional prohibition, 419.
+
+ Slaves, number of, in the United States, 1800, 1, 2;
+ free Colored men sold as, fugitive-slave law of 1793, cause of
+ persecution to the Colored people, 2;
+ American ships prohibited from supplying, from United States to
+ foreign markets, 3;
+ importation of, prohibited, 8;
+ illegally imported to be forfeited, 8;
+ number of, in United States, 1810, 9;
+ circular-letter of the United States Navy Department in regard
+ to the importation of, premium to informer for imported,
+ seized in United States, 10;
+ number of, in United States, 1820, 22;
+ the right to hold, questioned, 32;
+ increase of, 33;
+ Quakers of Maryland and Delaware, emancipate their, 35;
+ in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 38;
+ from Baltimore, sent to New Orleans to be sold, 40;
+ Washington emancipates, 43;
+ insurrections of, 82-92;
+ why kept in bondage, 82;
+ plot of the, in Virginia, 1800, 83;
+ insurrection in Southampton County, Va., 1831, 87-89;
+ the "Amistad" captives, 93-96;
+ number of, in United States, 1830, 1840, 99;
+ Jefferson Davis's speech on the right to hold, 102;
+ the "Dred Scott" case, 114-119;
+ law in regard to executions against the time of service
+ of, 119, 121;
+ Act for the introduction of, into Indiana, 120;
+ persons emancipating, in Ill. required to give bonds, 122;
+ fugitive, seek refuge in Canada, 125;
+ rendition of fugitive, by the army, 244;
+ failure of attempts to secure fugitive, from the army, 245, 246;
+ orders in regard to harboring fugitive, in the army, 248, 249;
+ contraband of war, 250;
+ Gen. Fremont's proclamation emancipating, in Missouri, 255;
+ disapproved by President Lincoln, 256;
+ Gen. Hunter's proclamation, 257;
+ rescinded, 258;
+ order to impress, to build fortifications for Confederate
+ States, 261;
+ emancipation proclamations, 261-275;
+ Secretary Seward's letter in regard to, 263;
+ President Lincoln's proclamation, 267-269;
+ second proclamation, 272;
+ enlist in the service of the Union, 281;
+ fugitive, offer their services in the army, 285, 287;
+ Judge Advocate Holt's letter on the enlistment of, 307;
+ the U. S. Government justified in the employment of, as
+ soldiers, 310;
+ at the battle of Port Hudson, 316, Milliken's Bend, 326;
+ bravery at battle of Nashville, Tenn., 342;
+ resolutions of the Confederate Congress against the military
+ employment of, by the U. S. Government, 350, 351;
+ Confederate army refuse to exchange captured, 357, 358;
+ results of emancipation, 384-418;
+ character of the Southern, 414;
+ contributors to the erection of the first M. E. chapel in
+ N. Y., 465;
+ number of, imported from Africa, from the year 1500 to 1860, 544;
+ number of fugitive and manumitted, in United States, 1850, 146;
+ education of prohibited, 148, 158, 178-181;
+ the tax on, in Delaware, added to the school fund for the
+ education of white children only, 157;
+ proceeds of the sale of, in Florida, added to the school fund, 158;
+ conduct regulated, and preaching of the Gospel by, declared
+ unlawful in Miss., 163;
+ school for, at N. Y., 1704, 164;
+ Society for Promoting the Manumission of, organized, 165;
+ meetings of, forbidden, 180;
+ fugitive-slave bill passed, 215;
+ aid for the relief of, in Kansas, 216;
+ John Brown's plan for freeing, 219;
+ increase of, 228;
+ number in the United States, 1860, 229;
+ value of labor products of, 1850, 229;
+ number of owners of, 230;
+ Constitution of the Confederate States, 233;
+ Lincoln favors the gradual emancipation of, 239.
+
+ Smith, Abiel, founds school-house for Colored children, 162.
+
+ Smith, Elizabeth, establishes school for Colored children, 212.
+
+ Smith, James M., pupil of the N. Y. African free school, his
+ address to Gen. Lafayette, 167.
+
+ Smith, Rev., John C., organizes the First Colored Presbyterian
+ Church of Washington, D. C., 190.
+
+ Smith, Melancthon, mentioned, 166.
+
+ Smith, Maj.-Gen., W. F., marches on Petersburg, 336;
+ commends the bravery of the Negro troops, 338, 340, 346.
+
+ Smothers, Henry, establishes school for Colored children, 185.
+
+ Snow, Benjamin, cause of the Snow riot at Washington, D. C.,
+ leaves for Canada, 188.
+
+ South Carolina, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22;
+ Negro plot, 1822, 83;
+ slave population, 1830, 99,
+ 1840, 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes prohibited, 178-180;
+ secedes from the Union, 232;
+ Gen. Hunter's proclamation emancipating slaves, 257,
+ rescinded, 258;
+ regiment of loyal Negroes organized, 278;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ exploits of the first volunteers, Negro regiment, 314;
+ represented in Congress by Negroes, 382;
+ Negro population in excess of the white, 386;
+ school population, 387;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ South Carolina Volunteers, First Regiment of Colored Troops, 304, 306.
+
+ Southampton County, Va., Negro insurrection, 1831, 87-89;
+ militia ordered out, 89;
+ number of killed, 91.
+
+ Southern States, churches, libraries, and newspapers in the, 230;
+ number of troops furnished by, 300.
+
+ Spencer, Peter, representative of Wilmington, in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Stafford, Col., Spencer H., speech to the 1st La. Regiment of
+ Colored Troops before the battle of Port Hudson, 316.
+
+ Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of War, revokes order for the return
+ of fugitive slaves, 246;
+ correspondence with Gen. Hunter relative to Negro troops, 279, 280;
+ endorses the free military school for Negroes, 295;
+ commends the bravery of the Negro troops, 338;
+ his treatment of prisoners, in retaliation for cruel treatment
+ of captured Negroes, 354.
+
+ Stearns, Maj. George L., secures aid for the relief of Kansas, 216;
+ his connection with John Brown to free the slaves, 216-219;
+ superintends the recruiting of Negro troops, 294.
+
+ Stearns, Mrs. George L., personal recollections of John
+ Brown, 215-221.
+
+ Steedman, Col. James B., refuses to have his camp searched for
+ fugitive slaves, 246;
+ employs Negroes as teamsters, 260;
+ commends the bravery of Negro troops, 342.
+
+ Stephens, Alexander H., delegate from Georgia, to the convention
+ of the Confederate States, 232;
+ chosen Vice-President of the Confederate States, 233;
+ in favor of State rights, 230;
+ speech in favor of slavery, 235.
+
+ Stewart, Rev. Austin, his book "Twenty-two Years a Slave and Forty
+ Years a Freeman," mentioned, 59.
+
+ Still, William, founder of the underground railroad organization, 58.
+
+ Stokes, Richard, establishes school for Colored children, 209.
+
+ Stowe, Harriet Beecher, her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin," published
+ in different languages, 60;
+ errors in her book, 546, 547.
+
+ Strawbridge, Robert, founder of Methodism in Baltimore, 465.
+
+ Strong, Brig.-Gen. George C., commands brigade at the assault on
+ Fort Wagner, 329, 330;
+ character of, 334.
+
+ Strong, Henry, counsel for Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+ Summer, Charles, speech on "The Anti-Slavery Duties of the Whig
+ Party," 44;
+ leader of the political abolition party, 45;
+ his reasons for not supporting Robert C. Winthrop, for Congress,
+ organizes the Free Soil party, speech in Congress on
+ "Freedom National, Slavery Sectional," 46;
+ views on slavery, 433.
+
+ Sylvester, Elisha, teacher of the first school for Colored
+ children, 162.
+
+ Syphax, William, establishes school for Colored children, 206.
+
+
+ Tabbs, Michael, establishes school for Colored children, 210.
+
+ Tallmadge, James, Jr., introduces bill in Congress against the
+ introduction of slavery in Missouri, 14.
+
+ Talmadge, Capt. Grier, first to decide slaves contraband of war, 252.
+
+ Taney, Roger B., decides that the Negro is not a citizen, 114;
+ opinion in the Dred Scott case, 116.
+
+ Tanner, Alethia, purchases freedom of John F. Cook, 187.
+
+ Tapsico, Jacob, representative of Phila., in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Tappan, Arthur, secures the release of William Lloyd Garrison, 41;
+ mentioned, 63, 64.
+
+ Tappan, Lewis, takes charge of the "Amistad" captives, 94.
+
+ Taylor, John W., introduces bill in Congress prohibiting slavery
+ in Arkansas, 18;
+ in favor of the admission of Missouri, 20.
+
+ Taylor, Rev. Marshall W., his ancestors, early life and struggles
+ for an education, 469-471;
+ teaches school in Kentucky, his experiences as a teacher, 472;
+ ordained, becomes a preacher and missionary teacher in Indiana
+ and Ohio, receives the title of Doctor of Divinity, his
+ influence and standing, 473, 474;
+ opposed to Colored conferences, 474.
+
+ Tennessee, slave population, 1800, 2,
+ 1810, 9,
+ 1820, 22,
+ 1830, 99,
+ 1840, 1850, 100;
+ no discrimination in school law against color, 180;
+ order for the enlistment of Negroes, 290;
+ Negro troops recruited, 294;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392, 393.
+
+ Texas, slave population, 1850, 100;
+ exiles free Negroes, treatment of slaves, no legislation in regard
+ to educating the Negro, 180;
+ number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the instruction of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Thomas, Alexander S., sketch of, 141-143.
+
+ Thomas, Maj.-Gen. George H., approves the employment of Negroes
+ as teamsters in the army, 260.
+
+ Thomas, Jesse B., in favor of excluding slavery north and west
+ of Missouri, 17.
+
+ Thomas, Lorenzo, Adjt.-Gen., U. S. Army, speech in favor of
+ enlisting Negroes, 289;
+ order for the enlistment of Negro troops, 290;
+ letter to Henry Wilson on the efficiency of Negro soldiers, 344.
+
+ Thomas, Brig.-Gen. Samuel, report on the freedmen, 400, 401.
+
+ Thompson, Jacob, his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 364.
+
+ Thompson, Margaret, establishes school for Colored children, 206, 207.
+
+ Townsend, E. D., Assistant Adj.-Gen., U. S. Army, order for the
+ enlistment of Negro troops, 291;
+ in reference to applicants for admission to the free military
+ school, 296.
+
+ Travis, Hark, his connection with the Negro insurrection in
+ Southampton County, Va., 87, 88.
+
+ Trenton, N. J., opposed to the increase of slavery, 16;
+ anti-slavery society formed, 20.
+
+ Trinity Church, New York City, Negro slaves, communicants of, 164.
+
+ Turner, Benjamin, mentioned, 85;
+ killed by Negro mob, 88, 89.
+
+ Turner, H. M., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Turner, Nathaniel, Negro prophet, his birth and parentage, becomes
+ preacher, description of his person, 85;
+ mode of life, believes he is a prophet, his superstition,
+ denounces conjuring and fortune-telling, regarded with
+ reverence by the Negroes, acknowledged leader among the
+ slaves, hired out as a slave, 86;
+ claims to have seen visions, organizes plot for the uprising of
+ the slaves, address to his fellow-conspirators, 87;
+ leads the attack in Southampton County, Va., his confession of
+ the plot, 88;
+ trial and execution, remarkable prophecy of, 90;
+ his character, 91.
+
+ Tyler, Col. Erastus B., address to the people of Virginia,
+ promising the return of fugitive slaves, 244.
+
+
+ Underground Railroad Organization, the, 58;
+ its efficiency in freeing slaves, 59;
+ mentioned, 82.
+
+ Underwood, J. R., Gen. Buell's letter to, on the return of fugitive
+ slaves to their masters, 248.
+
+ Union League Club, N. Y. City, raise Negro regiments, 292.
+
+ Union Seminary, Washington, D. C., 189.
+
+ United States, slave population, 1800, 1, 2;
+ increase of slavery, 1;
+ slave-trade secretly carried on, 2;
+ American ships prohibited from supplying slaves from, to foreign
+ markets, 3;
+ importation of slaves prohibited, 8;
+ slaves illegally imported to be forfeited, 8;
+ slave population, 1810, 9;
+ premium offered to informers of illegally imported Africans
+ seized within the, circular-letter of the Navy Department
+ to naval officers in regard to the importation of slaves, 10;
+ President Monroe's message to Congress on the question of
+ slavery, 12;
+ appoint agents to direct the return of slaves to Africa, 13;
+ resolutions in favor of restriction of slavery in the new
+ States, 16;
+ slave population, 1820, 22;
+ Negroes serve in the War of 1812, 23-27;
+ Gen. Jackson's proclamation calling for Negro troops, 25;
+ terms of peace by the Commissioners of Ghent, 27;
+ increase of the slave population, 33;
+ first anti-slavery society established, 43;
+ number of anti-slavery societies in, 1836, 44;
+ Free Soil party organized, 46;
+ comments of the press on the proposed steam-ship line between
+ Africa and, 55-58;
+ condition of the free Negroes in, 62, 67;
+ slave population, 1830, 1840, 99,
+ 1850, 100;
+ Franklin Pierce elected President, 107;
+ number of fugitive and manumitted slaves, 1850, 146;
+ increase of slaves, 228;
+ slave population, 1860, value of slave labor products, 229;
+ six States secede from, 232;
+ Abraham Lincoln elected President, 239;
+ slavery abolished, 377;
+ Negro population, 1790-1880, 417;
+ the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, 419;
+ ratification of the fifteenth amendment, 420-422;
+ Southern election methods and Northern sympathy, 517;
+ decline of the Republican party, 518;
+ Southern war claims, 519;
+ the presidential campaign of 1876, 519, 520;
+ the electoral count in Congress, 521;
+ President Hayes's Southern policy, a failure, 522-524.
+
+ United States Army, Negro troops serve in the War of 1812, 23-27;
+ Negroes arrested, 244;
+ orders in regard to fugitive slaves in, 245, 248, 249;
+ Negroes ordered from, 250;
+ Gen. Fremont's proclamation emancipating slaves, 255;
+ Gen. Hunter's proclamation, 257;
+ fortifications and earthworks built by Negroes, 262;
+ condition of, 1862, 264;
+ opposed to President Lincoln's proclamation, 269;
+ Negroes as soldiers, 276-309;
+ first regiment of Negroes organized, 278;
+ Negro troops organized, fugitive slaves offer their
+ services, 285, 287;
+ order for the enlistment of Negro troops, 290;
+ number of Negroes in, 297, 299-301;
+ services of Negroes in the Army of the Potomac, 335.
+
+ United States Congress, proceedings on the memorial of Colored
+ citizens of Philadelphia, against the slave-trade on the coast
+ of Guinea, 2;
+ American ships prohibited from supplying slaves from the United
+ States to foreign markets, 3;
+ action on the memorial of Indiana Territory for a modification of
+ the ordinance of 1787, 4-8;
+ importation of slaves prohibited, 8;
+ slaves illegally imported, to be forfeited, 8;
+ Act in regard to persons engaged in the slave-trade, 9;
+ memorials against the slave-trade, fugitive-slave act amended,
+ premium to informer for imported slaves seized within the
+ United States, 10;
+ President Monroe's message to, on the question of slavery, 12;
+ debate on the bill to admit Missouri, 14;
+ the Missouri controversy, 16-20;
+ Garrison petitions, for the abolition of slavery in the District
+ of Columbia, 39;
+ Sumner's speech on slavery, 46;
+ bill establishing a line of war-steamers to the coast of Africa,
+ suppression of the slave-trade, promotion of commerce, and the
+ colonization of free Negroes, 53-55;
+ organization of the 31st, 100;
+ motion for the admission of California and New Mexico, 100, 101;
+ has no authority to prohibit slavery, resolutions of Henry Clay
+ for the adjustment of slavery, 101, of Senator Bell, 102;
+ speech of Jefferson Davis in favor of slavery, 102;
+ John C. Calhoun's speech, 103-105;
+ fugitive-slave law, 1850, 106;
+ bill to organize Nebraska Territory, 107;
+ to repeal the Missouri compromise, speech of Stephen A.
+ Douglass, 108;
+ reply of Salmon P. Chase, 109;
+ Act to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, 110;
+ opposed to civil and military interference with slaves, 244;
+ conservative policy of, 252;
+ passes Act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary
+ purposes, 263;
+ Act to make an additional Article of War, 267;
+ of 1860, 1862, 269;
+ resolution in regard to the enlistment of Negroes, 279;
+ action on the proposed amendment of the army appropriation
+ bill to prohibit the enlistment of Negroes, 288;
+ investigates the Fort Pillow massacre, 361-375;
+ Act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and
+ refugees, 379;
+ methods of, for reconstructing the South, 381;
+ Negroes in, 382;
+ Act to incorporate the Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust
+ Company, 403, amended, 407;
+ appoint commissioners to close up the affairs of the bank, 411;
+ authorized to enforce the thirteenth amendment, 419;
+ recommends the ratification of the fifteenth amendment, 420;
+ action on the electoral count of 1876, 521.
+
+ United States Navy, Negroes serve in the, 28-30; captures the
+ Spanish slaver "Amistad," 64.
+
+ Utah, slave population in the territory of, 100.
+
+
+ Vallandingham, C. C., speech on the character of John Brown, 225.
+
+ Vanlomen, Rev. Father, preceptor of Catholic seminary for Colored
+ girls, 194.
+
+ Vermont, number of Negro troops furnished by, 299;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ United States, 422.
+
+ Vesey, Denmark, leader of the Negro plot in Charleston, S. C.,
+ 1822, 84.
+
+ Vesey, Rev. William, rector of Trinity Church, New York, 164;
+ his death, 165.
+
+ Vicksburg, Miss., fortifications built by Negroes, 262;
+ fort at, garrisoned by Negro troops, 345.
+
+ Virginia, slave population, 1800, 2, 1810, 9, 1820, 22;
+ increased, anti-slavery speeches in the Legislature, 33-35;
+ Negro plot, 1800, 83;
+ insurrection, 1831, 87-89;
+ slave population, 1830, 99, 1840, 1850, 100;
+ education of Negroes prohibited, 180, 181;
+ Negro school population, 387;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for instruction of Negroes, 392, 394, 395;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+
+ Wade, Benjamin F., one of the committee of investigation of the
+ Fort Pillow massacre, 361.
+
+ Walls, James, his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 366.
+
+ War of 1812, Negro troops serve in the, 23-27.
+
+ War of 1861, definition of the war issue, 228;
+ States secede from the Union, 232;
+ organization and Constitution of the Confederate States, 232, 233;
+ extension of slavery the issue, 240;
+ a white man's war, first call for troops, 241;
+ rendition of fugitive slaves by the army, 244;
+ order for the return of fugitive slaves revoked, proclamations
+ protecting slave property, 246-248;
+ orders in regard to harboring fugitive slaves in the army, 248, 249;
+ slaves contraband of war, 250;
+ Gen. Fremont's proclamation emancipating slaves in Missouri, 255;
+ President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, 267-269;
+ called the war for the Negro, 269;
+ President Lincoln's second emancipation proclamation, 272;
+ employment of Negroes as soldiers, 276-309;
+ President Lincoln's call for more troops, 287;
+ order for the enlistment of Negro troops, 290;
+ number of Negroes in the army, 297, 299-301;
+ expedition of the First S. C. Volunteers, Negro Regiment,
+ into Ga. and Fla., 314;
+ battle of Port Hudson, 320-323;
+ Milliken's Bend, 326, 327;
+ memorable events of July, 1863, 328;
+ attack on Fort Wagner, 329;
+ battles fought by Negroes, in the Army of the Potomac, 335;
+ their services at the siege of Petersburg, Va., 336-342;
+ number of, engaged in the battles around Nashville, Tenn., 342;
+ capture and treatment of Negro soldiers, 350-376;
+ the Fort Pillow massacre, 360-376;
+ reconstruction of the Confederate States, 377-383;
+ end of the war, 377;
+ provisional military government established, bureau for the
+ relief of freedmen and refugees, 379.
+
+ Ward, Rev. Samuel Ringgold, his book, "Autobiography of a Fugitive
+ Negro," 59;
+ mentioned, 79;
+ anti-slavery orator, 434.
+
+ Ward, T. M. D., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Washington, D. C., first Colored school established, 1807;
+ population of free persons, 182;
+ Colored schools, 182-213;
+ the Snow riot, 188;
+ Colored church organized, 190.
+
+ Washington, Annie E., school for the education of Colored people, 209.
+
+ Washington, George, emancipates his slaves, 43; called the
+ illustrious Southerner, 105.
+
+ Waugh, Nannie, establishes school for Colored children, destroyed
+ by mob, 192.
+
+ Wayman, A. W., bishop of the African M. E. Church, 464.
+
+ Wears, I. C., delivers address on the ratification of the fifteenth
+ amendment, 422.
+
+ Webb, Capt., Thomas, one of the founders of the M. E. Church in
+ New York, 465, 466.
+
+ Webster, Daniel, author of memorial against the increase of
+ slavery, 16.
+
+ Webster, Thomas, representative of Phila. in the first conference
+ of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Welch, Jonathan A., counsel for the prosecution in the trial of
+ Prudence Crandall, 156.
+
+ Wells, Nelson, establishes school for free children of color, 161.
+
+ Wesley, John, founder of Methodism, 465, 466;
+ opposed to slavery, 467.
+
+ Wesleyan Seminary, Washington, D. C., 194.
+
+ West Virginia, number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ comparative statistics of education, 388;
+ institutions for the education of Negroes, 392;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Wetmore, Rev. James, teaches Negro slaves in New York, 165.
+
+ Whig party, opposed to slavery, 44;
+ Sumner's speech before the, 44;
+ convention of 1852, nominates Gen. Scott for the Presidency, 106;
+ defines its position on the slavery question, 107.
+
+ White, Rev. Sampson, Colored Baptist minister, 476.
+
+ Whiteworth, Abraham, member of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+ Whitfield, Rev. James, favors the education of Negroes, 160.
+
+ Wilberforce University, report for 1876, 455, 456;
+ list of the faculty, 460;
+ report and general statement, 462-464.
+
+ Wilcox, Samuel T., sketch of, 140.
+
+ Williams, Major, his testimony in regard to the Fort Pillow
+ massacre, 362.
+
+ Williams, Nelson, his connection with the Negro insurrection in
+ Southampton County, Va., 87.
+
+ Williams, Richard, representative of Baltimore in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Williams, Brig.-Gen. Thomas, order in regard to harboring fugitive
+ slaves in the army, 249.
+
+ Wilmington, Del., African School Association established, 157.
+
+ Wilson, Henry, introduces bill in Congress for the employment of
+ Negroes as soldiers, 287;
+ Gen. Thomas's letter to, on the efficiency of Negro soldiers, 344.
+
+ Wilson's Wharf, Negro troops defeat Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee at the
+ battle of, 335.
+
+ Williamson, Edward, representative of Baltimore in the first
+ conference of the African M. E. Church, 452.
+
+ Wisconsin, number of Negro troops furnished by, 300;
+ ratifies the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the
+ U. S., 422.
+
+ Wool, Maj.-Gen. John E., orders the employment of Negroes in the
+ army, 260;
+ in command of troops during the draft riot at N. Y., 328.
+
+ Wormley, Mary, establishes school for Colored children, 205.
+
+ Wormley, William, erects school-house for Colored children, 205;
+ threatened by mob, his death, 206.
+
+ Wright, Richard, member of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+
+ Yearbry, Joseph, member of the first American Methodist
+ conference, 466.
+
+
+ Zane, Jonathan, bequest for the education of Colored people, 177.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ [Transcriber's Notes:
+
+ Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
+ possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other
+ inconsistencies. The transcriber made the following changes to the
+ text to correct obvious errors:
+
+ 1. p. vi, colonizeon -> colonize on
+ 2. p. 11, juisdictional --> jurisdictional
+ 3. p. 21, enitled --> entitled
+ 4. p. 39, Genuis --> Genius
+ 5. p. 42, spoilations --> spoliations
+ 6. p. 59, Autobiograph of a Fugitive Negro" -->
+ "Autobiograph of a Fugitive Negro" (Add leading ")
+ 7. p. 60, wierd --> weird
+ 8. p. 75, docrines --> doctrines
+ 9. p. 78, elightened --> enlightened
+ 10. p. 113, warrrant --> warrant
+ 11. p. 131, persecucution --> persecution
+ 12. p. 149, acount --> account
+ 13. p. 170, mangement --> management
+ 14. p. 177, Pennyslvania --> Pennsylvania
+ 15. p. 221, litttle --> little
+ 16. p. 235, equlity --> equality
+ 17. p. 269, Diving --> Divine
+ 18. p. 314, sugggstion --> suggestion
+ 19. p. 344, surpressing --> suppressing
+ 20. p. 347, imperrilled --> imperilled
+ 21. p. 356, Register" --> "Register" (Add leading ")
+ 22. p. 358, 'Mercury --> 'Mercury' (Add ending ')
+ 23. p. 412, commisioners --> commissioners
+ 24. p. 417, contary --> contrary
+ 25. p. 420, withold --> withhold
+ 26. p. 581, posession --> possession
+ 27. p. 593, petititions --> petitions
+ 28. p. 597, auxliary --> auxiliary
+ 29. p. 601, Port Pillow --> Fort Pillow
+
+ Also, several occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes
+ remain as published.
+
+ End of Transcriber's Notes]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Negro Race in America
+from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2), by George Washington Williams
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