The Colored Regulars in the United States Army Part 20

Sergeant:--When making my report as commander of the Second Squadron, 10th U. S. Cavalry, for action of July 1, 1898, at San Juan Hills, I did not mention any enlisted men by name, as I was absent from the regiment at the time of making the report and without access to records, so that I could not positively identify and name certain men who were conspicuous during the fight; but I recollect finding a detachment of Troop D under your command on the firing line during the afternoon of July 1st. Your service and that of your men at that time was most creditable, and you deserve special credit for having brought your detachment promptly to the firing line when left without a commissioned officer.

THEO. J. WINT, Lieutenant-Colonel, 6th U.S. Cavalry.

Second Lieutenant, 10th Cavalry.

True copy:

[24] Extract from _The Statesman_, Denver, after the departure of the 25th Infantry, and the arrival of the 34th:

Two policemen killed, the murderer at large and his comrades of the 34th Regiment busy boasting of their sympathy for him, and extolling his deed to the skies, yet not a single pet.i.tion has been prepared to have the regiment removed. The 25th Infantry, with its honor undimmed by any such wanton crime, with a record unexcelled by any regiment in the service, was the target for all sorts of criticism and persecution as soon as it arrived. The one is a white regiment, composed of the sc.u.m of the earth, the other a black regiment composed of men who have yet to do one thing of which they should be ashamed. Yet Denver welcomes the one with open arms and salutes with marked favor, while she barely suffered the other to remain.

Had it been a negro soldier who committed the dastardly deed of Sat.u.r.day night the War Department would have been deluged with complaints and requests for removal, but not a word has been said against the 34th. Prejudice and hatred blacker than the wings of night has so envenomed the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the people that fairness is out of the question. Be he black, no matter how n.o.ble and good, a man must be despised. Be he white, he may commit the foulest of crimes and yet have his crimes condoned.

CHAPTER XI.

The Colored Volunteers.

The Ninth Ohio Battalion--Eighth Illinois--Twenty-third Kansas-Third North Carolina--Sixth Virginia--Third Alabama--The Immunes.

The return of the army and the repatriation of the Spanish army from Cuba, brought before the country for immediate solution the problem of garrisoning that island; and in a very short time the question of similar nature regarding Porto Rico. Ten regiments of immunes had been organized in the volunteer service partly in antic.i.p.ation of such a situation. Four of these regiments were composed of colored enlisted men. The regiments were cla.s.sed as United States Volunteer Infantry, and were numbered from one to ten, the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth being colored.

Of these four colored regiments the officers above first lieutenants were white men, except the chaplains, and in some cases the surgeons.

Very little care had been taken in enlisting the men, as it was important to get the regiments in the field as soon as possible; yet of them as a whole General Breckinridge, Inspector-General, speaks as follows: "The colored regiments of immunes, so called, raised for this war, have turned out, so far as can be judged from their camp life (as none of them have been in any actual campaign), very satisfactory. The regular colored regiments won golden opinions in battle. The experiment of having so many colored officers has not yet shown its full results. Certainly we should have the best obtainable officers for our volunteers, and therefore some such men as Colonel Young, who is a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, whether white or black, must be sought for."

Besides these four colored regiments of immunes, so-called, there were other State organizations composed entirely of colored men, mustered into the United States service, as for example the Ninth Battalion of the Ohio National Guard. This organization was composed of four companies, with colored captains and lieutenants, the staff officers also being colored, the commanding officer of the battalion being Major Young, who was a first lieutenant in the Regular Army, a graduate from the Military Academy, and an officer of experience. He is the person referred to as _Colonel_ Young by General Breckinridge, cited just above. This battalion, although not permitted to do any active campaigning, maintained itself well in that most trying of all duties for raw troops--camp duty--winning a good record in the South as well as in the North, having been stationed in Virginia, Pennsylvania and lastly in South Carolina; from which latter place it was mustered out, and the men proceeded to their homes in an orderly manner, reflecting credit upon themselves and the officers under whom they had served. This organization is mentioned first, because it was the only one of its kind commanded by a Regular Army officer, and a man who had received scientific military training.[25]

Two of these volunteer regiments, the Eighth Illinois and the Twenty-third Kansas, reached Cuba and made history there, in garrison service, coming in direct contact with the Ninth Immunes, and in no sense suffering in comparison thereto. The Eighth Illinois being the first to go to the front, in a sense deserves to be noticed here first. This remarkable regiment was developed out of the Ninth Battalion, Illinois National Guard, and owes its origin to the persistent efforts of Messrs. John R. Marshall, Robert R. Jackson, Franklin Dennison, E.H. Wright, Rev. R.C. Ransom, Rev. J.W. Thomas, S.B. Turner and doubtless many others whose names do not appear. These gentlemen named called upon the Governor of their State the next day after the President had issued his call for 175,000 volunteers, and received from that official the a.s.surance that if another call should be made they should have the opportunity to recruit their battalion to a regiment, and that he would "call that regiment first into the service," and "that every officer in that regiment will be a colored man."

After receiving this encouragement, the leaders began at once the work of organizing and recruiting, and when the second call came, May 25th, the regiment was well under way, and soon ready to go into camp to prepare for service. On June 30th it a.s.sembled in Springfield from the following places: Seven hundred men from Chicago; one hundred and twenty from Cairo; a full company from Quincy, and smaller numbers from Mound City, Metropolis and Litchfield, and nearly a company from Springfield. The regiment was sworn in during the latter half of July, the muster roll showing 1,195 men and 46 officers, every one of whom was of African descent except one private in a Chicago company.

Of these forty-six officers, ten had received college education, six were lawyers, and the others were educated in the public schools, or had served in the Regular Army as non-commissioned officers. Many of them were directly from Illinois, that is in the sense of having been born and reared in the State, and were fully accustomed to the full exercise of their rights as men and citizens. In character and intelligence the official element of the Eighth was about up to the standard of the volunteer army, as events subsequently proved.

Going into camp with the Ninth, white, this latter regiment, early in August, received an order to move to a Southern camp en route for Cuba, leaving the Eighth behind, greatly to the chagrin of both officers and men. Governor Tanner was evidently disturbed by this move, and expressed himself in the following language: "Even from the very doors of the White House have I received letters asking and advising me not to officer this regiment with colored men, but I promised to do so, and I have done it. I shall never rest until I see this regiment--my regiment--on the soil of Cuba, battling for the right and for its kinsmen."

Later the misfortunes of the First Illinois proved the opportunity of the Eighth. This regiment was in Cuba, suffering terribly with the fever, the men going down under its effects so rapidly that the Colonel in command implored Governor Tanner "to use all influence at Washington to secure the immediate recall of the First Illinois." When the Governor received this message he sent for Colonel Marshall, of the Eighth, and asked him to ascertain the sentiments of the officers and men of his regiment in regard to being sent to relieve the First.

On the 4th day of August Colonel Marshall was able to send to Washington the following dispatch:

"H. C. Corbin, Adjutant-General:--

"I called the officers of the Eighth Illinois, colored, in conference and they are unanimously and enthusiastically in favor of being sent to relieve the First Illinois at Santiago."

To this hearty dispatch came the following reply:

"The Secretary of War appreciates very much the offer of the Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry for duty in Santiago, and has directed that the regiment be sent there by steamer Yale, leaving New York next Tuesday. The main trouble with our troops now in Cuba is that they are suffering from exhaustion and exposure incident to one of the most trying campaigns to which soldiers have ever been subjected."

"H.C. Corbin, "_Adjutant-General_."

This action on the part of the regiment is said to have so pleased the President that on hearing it he declared it was the proudest moment of his life.

On the 9th of August the regiment left Springfield, and in pa.s.sing through Illinois and Ohio was greeted with the most generous enthusiasm, the people supplying the men with free lunches at every station. This was the period when the sympathy of the whole country was turned toward the colored soldier in consequence of the reports of valor and heroism that had been circulated concerning the black regulars. On the afternoon of the 11th the Yale cast off her lines, and with the first American Negro regiment that the world has ever seen, steamed out of New York harbor amid the ringing of bells and shrieks of steam whistles, and four days later, August 15, landed in Cuba. The regiment remained in Cuba until March 10, performing garrison duty so well that General Breckenridge said it was "as fine a volunteer regiment as was ever mustered into the service," and that it was "a shame to muster out of service such an excellent regiment."

The Twenty-third Kansas, made up in that State and officered as was the Eighth Illinois, by men of the same race, with the enlisted men, arrived in Cuba August 30, and in company with the Eighth Illinois Regiment, was stationed in the country about San Luis, with headquarters at that place, Colonel Marshall, of the Illinois Regiment, serving as commander of the post, and also as Governor of the Province of San Luis. A detachment of the Illinois Regiment, under command of Major Jackson, was sent to Palma Soriana, and did excellent work there in the preservation of order between the Cubans and Spaniards, who were living together in that place in outward peace but in secret resentful hostility. Major Jackson managed affairs so well that both parties came to admire him, and when he was called away expressed their regret. Captain Roots, who commanded the post after the departure of Major Jackson, was equally fortunate, especially with the Cubans, and when it was thought his command was to be removed, the citizens generally united in a pet.i.tion to the General commanding, asking that both the Captain and his command might remain in the city.

The fact is also noted by the chroniclers of the regiment that several marriages took place in Palma Soriana between soldiers of the Eighth Illinois and Cuban maidens.

The Eighth Regiment was finally settled in San Luis, occupying the old Spanish barracks and a.r.s.enal, and under Colonel Marshall's supervision the city was put in fine sanitary condition, streets and yards being carefully policed; meanwhile under the reign of order and peace which the Colonel's just methods established, confidence prevailed, business revived and the stagnation which had so long hung like a fog over the little city, departed, and in its stead came an era of bustling activity.

All was peaceful and prosperous, both with the citizens and the garrison, until the Ninth United States Volunteers came in the vicinity. Then a difficulty sprang up in which both regiments became involved, although it was in no sense serious, but it afforded a pretext for the removal of the Eighth Illinois from the city. The event turned out all the better for the Eighth, as it enabled them to establish Camp Marshall, about three miles from the city, in a healthy neighborhood, where they remained until ordered home to be mustered out. The regiment came back to Chicago in fine condition and was tendered an enthusiastic welcome by that great city. Thus two entire regiments represented the country abroad in this, its first, foreign war with a European power.

It should also be recorded that although the Ninth United States Volunteers was composed of persons who were cla.s.sed as immune, and had come chiefly from Louisiana, and notwithstanding that the officers of the regiment above lieutenants were white men, and the colonel an officer of the Regular Army of long experience, and was specially praised by so good a sanitarian as General Wood for having been, constant and untiring in his efforts to look after the welfare of his men, and that the surgeons of the regiment were white men, that deaths among the colored men numbered one officer and seventy-three enlisted men. In striking contrast with this record of the immune regiment is that of the Eighth Illinois, which was made up entirely of residents of that State and officered throughout by colored men. Its medical officers were men of high character, and its losses by death were just twenty, or but little over one-fourth the number that occurred in the immune regiment. An efficient auxiliary society to this regiment was formed of colored ladies of Chicago who forwarded to the sick in Cuba more than six hundred dollars worth of well chosen supplies, which did much for the comfort of those in the hospital; but this would not account for the great difference in the death rate of the two regiments. Though not immune, the Eighth Illinois fared very much better than the so-called immune regiment, although the latter had the benefit of white officers. The experience of the Twenty-third Kansas did not differ in any important respect from that of the Eighth Illinois. Both regiments returned to their homes in March, 1899, and were mustered out of the service, leaving behind them good records for efficiency.

The Sixth Virginia Regiment consisted of eight companies and was under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Richard C. Croxton, of the Regular Army, white, with Majors J.B. Johnson and W.H. Johnson, colored. It was mustered into service during the latter part of the summer and went into camp near Knoxville, Tennessee. Here an order came from Corps Headquarters, at Lexington, Kentucky, directing that nine of the officers, including one major, should appear before a board of examiners in order to give evidence of their fitness to command. The officers named, regarding this as uncalled for, immediately tendered their resignations. The vacancies thus created were filled by the Governor of the State, the appointees being white men. These white officers on arriving at the camp and finding themselves unwelcome, immediately followed in the wake of their colored predecessors, and tendered their resignations.

The difficulties arising from this friction were somehow adjusted, but in what manner the reports available at this time do not show. Moving to Macon, Georgia, the regiment remained in the service until some time in the winter, when it was mustered out. Much was said by the local papers to the detriment of the men composing this regiment, but viewing their action from the standpoint of the civilian and citizen, it does not appear reprehensible. They had volunteered with the understanding that their own officers, officers with whom they were well acquainted, and in whose friendship they held a place, should command them, and when they saw these officers displaced and white strangers put in their stead, they felt a pardonable indignation, and took their own way of expressing it. As soldiers, their conduct in resisting authority, cannot be commended.

The Third North Carolina Volunteer Infantry was organized as were the regiments of Illinois and Kansas, above described. The officers of the North Carolina Regiment were all colored men of that State and were men of character and note. Its commanding officer, Colonel Young, had held responsible positions under both State and National Governments, had been editor of a paper and member of the State Legislature and Major in the State militia. In character, he was above reproach, being a strict teetotaler and not even using tobacco. The regiment made a good record, but did not see any active service.

A peculiar regiment was organized in Alabama, known as the Third Alabama Volunteer Infantry, in which the enlisted men were all colored and the officers all white. The regiment saw no service and attracted no attention outside of its immediate locality.

Two companies of colored men with colored captains were also mustered into the United States service from Indiana, and finally attached to Colonel Huggins' command, although not becoming a part of his regiment, the Eighth Immunes. They were stationed at Fort Thomas, Ky., and at Chickamauga, and were mustered out early. Their officers were men of intelligence who had acquired experience by several years'

service in the militia, and the companies were exceptionally well drilled. They were designated Companies A and B and were commanded by Captains Porter and Buckner, with Lieutenant Thomas as Quartermaster.

The organization of the four immune regiments, already mentioned, gave opportunity for ninety-six colored men to obtain commissions as lieutenants. A few of these positions were seized upon by influential young white men, who held them, but with no intention of ever serving in the regiments, as they found staff positions much more congenial to their tastes. The colored men who were appointed lieutenants in these regiments were generally either young men of ability and influence who had a.s.sisted in getting up their companies, and who in many cases had received some elementary military instruction as cadets, in school, or men who had distinguished themselves by efficiency or gallantry in the Regular Army. Some exceptions there were, of course, and a few received commissions in consequence of personal friendship and political considerations. Before these regiments were mustered out of the service about one-half of the lieutenants were men from the Regular Army.

I am sure the reader will be pleased to learn that Sergeants Foster, Buck and Givens, whose deeds in Cuba have already been related, were rewarded with commissions, and that the gallant Thomas C. Butler, who rushed forward from his company's line and seized the Spanish standard at El Caney, was afterward permitted to serve in Cuba with the rank of a commissioned officer. Besides those named above, there were others also of marked ability and very respectable attainments who received commissions on general merit, as well as for gallantry. Chief among the cla.s.s promoted for efficiency was First Lieutenant James R.

Gillespie, formerly Post Quartermaster-Sergeant. Gillespie had served several years in the Tenth Cavalry and had proved himself an excellent soldier. Both in horsemanship and as marksman he was up to the standard, while his character and business qualifications were such as to secure for him a staff position of responsibility. As Quartermaster-Sergeant he held positions of important posts and filled them with great satisfaction. Because of his efficiency as a soldier he was given a commission as First Lieutenant and executed the duties of his office with the same ability that had marked his career as an enlisted man. From the Tenth Cavalry also came First Lieutenant Baker, whose commission was a tribute to his fidelity and efficiency. A soldier of high type he bore his commission and its honors as worthily as any son of our Republic. In the same category must be placed First Lieutenant Wm. McBryer, formerly Sergeant in the Twenty-fifth Infantry. McBryer had served in the Tenth Cavalry and had won a Medal of Honor in conflict with the Indians. He was a soldier distinguished by strength of character, prompt executiveness, quick decision and courage. He was also possessed of considerable literary skill, was a good speaker and attractive writer, and a man of fine parts. He was a valuable acquisition to the volunteer service and would have made a fine captain.

Of the colored sergeants from the Regular Army who were given commissions in the volunteer service it would not be extravagant to say that all were men of worth, well-tried in the service, and there was scarcely one of them but could have successfully commanded a company. Lieutenant A.J. Smith, formerly First Sergeant in the Twenty-fifth Infantry, was so well informed in the paper work of the army and in company administration particularly that he was regarded as an authority, and he was so well experienced in the whole life of a soldier, in camp, field, garrison and in battle, that it would have been difficult to find his superior in the army. To the credit of all of the enlisted men of the Regular Army referred to, who received commissions in the volunteer service, all served honorably and were mustered out without bringing any scandal of any sort upon the service.

The colored volunteers in the service acquitted themselves as well as the average volunteer, and when mustered out proceeded to their homes about as others did. The treatment accorded them in some of the Southern cities, especially in Nashville, Tennessee, did not speak well for the loyalty of that section, nor was it such as might reasonably be expected from a people who had fared so well in the offices and honors of the short war. From the best sources available, it seems inc.u.mbent to say that the many charges alleged against the colored volunteers for excessive rioting and disorder were without proper foundation, and the a.s.saults made upon them unjustifiable and cruel. The spirit of the a.s.sailants is best seen from a description of the attack made upon the unarmed discharged soldiers of the Eighth Immuners in Nashville, already alluded to. This description was made by the sheriff who partic.i.p.ated in the brutality. An officer who was on the train, and who was asleep at the time, when aroused went into the car where the men were and found that they had been beaten and robbed, and in some instances their discharges taken from them and torn up, and their weapons and money taken from them by citizens. It was about one o'clock A.M. and the men were generally asleep when attacked. The sheriff gloats over it in language which ought not be allowed to disappear:

"It was the best piece of work I ever witnessed. The police went to the depot, not armed with the regulation 'billy,'

but carrying stout hickory clubs about two and one-half feet long.

Their idea was that a mahogany or lignum vitae billy was too costly a weapon to be broken over a Negro's head. The police were on board the train before it stopped even, and the way they went for the Negroes was inspiring. The police tolerated no impudence, much less rowdyism, from the Negroes, and if a darky even looked mad, it was enough for some policeman to bend his club double over his head. In fact after the police finished with them they were the meekest, mildest, most polite set of colored men I ever saw." This language is respectfully dedicated to the memory of the proud city of Nashville, and presents to the readers the portrait of her police.

Despite this vile treatment, the colored soldier went on to his home, ready again to respond to his country's call, and to rally to the defence of his country's flag, and, incidentally, to the preservation of the lives and homes of the misguided, heartless beings who can delight in his sufferings. The hickory club belongs to one sort of warrior; the rifle to quite another. The club and rifle represent different grades of civilization. The Negro has left the club; the language from Nashville does honor to the club. Billy and bully are the theme of this officer of the law, and for a "darkey even to look mad" is ample justification for "some policeman to bend his club double over his head." Were these policemen rioters? Or were they conservaters of the peace? Judge ye!

OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE NINTH (SEPARATE) BATTALION, OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.

_By the Battalion Adjutant, Lieutenant Wilson Ballard._

The Ninth Battalion, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the only colored organization from Ohio in the Volunteer Army during the war with Spain, was, previous to the date of its muster into the United States service, known as the Ninth Battalion, Ohio National Guard. April 25th, 1898, the battalion, consisting of three companies, A from Springfield, under Captain R.R. Rudd; B from Columbus, under Captain James Hopkins, and C from Xenia, under Captain Harry H. Robinson, was ordered into camp at Columbus, Ohio. The battalion was under the command of Major Charles Fillmore.

May 14, 1898, the battalion was mustered into the volunteer service by Captain Rockefeller, U.S.A. Lieutenant Charles Young, U.S.A., then on duty at Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio, as professor of military science and tactics, was commissioned by Governor Bushnell as Major commanding the Ninth Battalion, O.V.I., relieving Major Fillmore. In order to enable Lieutenant Young to accept his volunteer commission, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence by the War Department.