 |
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. |
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