"I am your obedient servant,

"BENJ. F. BUTLER, Major-General Commanding.

"Brigadier-General J. W. PHELPS, Commanding at Camp Parapet."

On the same day, General Butler wrote again to General Phelps:

"NEW ORLEANS, August 2, 1862.

"GENERAL:—By the act of congress, as I understand it, the president of the United States alone has the authority to employ Africans in arms as a part of the military forces of the United States.

"Every law up to this time raising volunteer or militia forces has been opposed to their employment. The president has not as yet indicated his purpose to employ the Africans in arms.

"The arms, clothing, and camp equipage which I have here for the Louisiana volunteers, is, by the letter of the secretary of war, expressly limited to white soldiers, so that I have no authority to divert them, however much I may desire so to do.

"I do not think you are empowered to organize into companies negroes, and drill them as a military organization, as I am not surprised, but unexpectedly informed you have done. I cannot sanction this course of action as at present advised, specially when we have need of the services of the blacks, who are being sheltered upon the outskirts of your camp, as you will see by the orders for their employment sent you by the assistant adjutant-general.

"I will send your application to the president, but in the mean time you must desist from the formation of any negro military organization.

"I am your obedient servant,

"BENJ. F. BUTLER, Major-General Commanding.

"Brigadier-General PHELPS, commanding forces at Camp Parapet."

General Phelps' resignation was accepted by the Government. He received notification of the fact on the 8th of September and immediately prepared to return to his farm in Vermont. In parting with his officers, who were, like his soldiers, much attached to him, he said: "And now, with earnest wishes for your welfare, and aspirations for the success of the great cause for which you are here, I bid you good-bye." Says Parton:

"When at length, the government had arrived at a negro policy, and was arming slaves, the president offered General Phelps a major-general's commission. He replied, it is said, that he would willingly accept the commission if it were dated back to the day of his resignation, so as to carry with it an approval of his course at Camp Parapet. This was declined, and General Phelps remains in retirement. I suppose the president felt that an indorsement of General Phelps' conduct would imply a censure of General Butler, whose conduct every candid person, I think, must admit, was just, forbearing, magnanimous."

General Butler was carrying out the policy of the Government at that time, but it was not long before he found it necessary to inaugurate a policy of his own for the safety of his command. On the 5th of August Breckenridge assaulted Baton Rouge, the capital of the State, which firmly convinced General Butler of the necessity of raising troops to defend New Orleans. He had somewhat realized his situation in July and appealed to the "home authorities" for reinforcements, but none could be sent. Still, the Secretary of War said to him, in reply to his application: "New Orleans must be held at all hazards."

With New Orleans threatened and no hope of reinforcement, General Butler, on the 22d day of August, before General Phelps had retired to private life, was obliged to accept the policy of arming negroes. He issued the following order:

"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, GENERAL ORDERS "NEW ORLEANS, August 22, 1862. NO. 63.

"Whereas on the 23d day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, at a public meeting of the free colored population of the city of New Orleans, a military organization, known as the "Native Guards" (colored,) had its existence, which military organization was duly and legally enrolled as a part of the militia of the State, its officers being commissioned by Thomas O. Moore, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the militia of the State of Louisiana, in the form following, that is to say:

"'THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. [Seal of the State.]

"'By Thomas Overton Moore, Governor of the State of Louisiana, and commander-in-chief of the militia thereof.

"'In the name and by the authority of the State of Louisiana: Know ye that ——- ——, having been duly and legally elected captain of the "Native Guards" (colored,) 1st division of the Militia of Louisiana, to serve for the term of the war,

"'I do hereby appoint and commission him captain as aforesaid, to take rank as such, from the 2d day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one.

"'He is, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of his office by doing and performing all manner of things thereto belonging. And I do strictly charge and require all officers, non-commissioned officers and privates under his command, to be obedient to his orders as captain; and he is to observe and follow such orders and directions, from time to time, as he shall receive from me, or the future Governor of the State of Louisiana, or other superior officers, according to the Rules and Articles of War, and in conformity to law.

"'In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent, and the seal of the State to be hereunto annexed.

"'Given under my hand, at the city of Baton Rouge, on the second day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.

[L.S.] [Signed,] THOS. O. MOORE. "'By the Governor: [Signed,] "'P. D. Hardy, Secretary of State. [Endorsed.]

"'I, Maurice Grivot, Adjutant and Inspector General of the State of Louisiana, do hereby certify that —— ——, named in the within commission, did, on the second day of May, in the year 1861, deposit in my office his written acceptance of the office to which he is commissioned, and his oath of office taken according to law.

[Signed,] "'M. GRIVOT, Adjutant and Inspector General, La.'

"And whereas, said military organization elicited praise and respect, and was complimented in General Orders for its patriotism and loyalty, and was ordered to continue during the war, in the words following:

"'HEADQUARTERS LOUISIANA MILITIA,

"'Order No. 426.] "'Adjutant General's Office, March 24, 1862.

"'I.—The Governor and Commander-in-Chief, relying implicitly upon the loyalty of the free colored population of the city and State for the protection of their homes, their property, and for Southern rights, from the pollution of a ruthless invader, and believing that the military organization which existed prior to the 15th of February, 1862, and elicited praise and respect for the patriotic motives which prompted it, should exist for and during the war, calls upon them to maintain their organization, and to hold themselves prepared for such orders as may be transmitted to them.

"'II.—The colonel commanding will report without delay to Major General Lewis, commanding State militia.

"'By order of THOS. O. MOORE, Governor.

[Signed,] M. GRIVOT, Adjutant General.'

"And whereas, said military organization, by the same order, was directed to report to Major-General Lewis for service, but did not leave the city of New Orleans when he did:

"Now, therefore, the Commanding General, believing that a large portion of this militia force of the State of Louisiana are willing to take service in the volunteer forces of the United States, and be enrolled and organized to 'defend their homes from 'ruthless invaders;' to protect their wives and children and kindred from wrong and outrage; to shield their property from being seized by bad men; and to defend the flag of their native country as their fathers did under Jackson at Chalmette against Packenham and his myrmidons, carrying the black flag of 'beauty and booty;'

"Appreciating their motives, relying upon their 'well-known loyalty and patriotism,' and with 'praise and respect' for these brave men—it is ordered that all the members of the 'Native Guards' aforesaid, and all other free colored citizens recognized by the first and late governor and authorities of the State of Louisiana as a portion of the militia of the State, who shall enlist in the volunteer service of the United States, shall be duly organized by the appointment of proper officers, and accepted, paid, equipped, armed and rationed as are other volunteer troops of the United States, subject to the approval of the President of the United States. All such persons are required at once to report themselves at the Touro Charity Building, Front Levee St., New Orleans, where proper officers will muster them into the service of the United States.

"By command of Major General Butler:

"R. S. DAVIS, Capt. and A. A. A. G."

Notwithstanding the harsh treatment they had been receiving from Military-Governor Shepley and the Provost Guard, the rendezvous designated was the scene of a busy throng the next day. Thousands of men were enlisted during the first week, and in fourteen days a regiment was organized. The first regiment's line officers were colored, and the field officers were white. Those who made up this regiment were not all free negroes by more than half. Any negro who would swear that he was free, if physically good, was accepted, and of the many thousand slave fugitives in the city from distant plantations, hundreds found their way into Touro building and ultimately into the ranks of the three regiments formed at that building. The second, like the first, had all colored line officers; the third was officered regardless of color. This was going beyond the line laid down by General Phelps. He proposed that white men should take command of these troops exclusively. By November these three regiments were in the field, where in course of time they often met their former masters face to face and exchanged shots with them. The pro-slavery men of the North and their newspapers endeavored to make the soldiers in the field believe that the negroes would not fight; while not only the papers and the soldiers, but many officers, especially those from the West Point Academy, denounced General Butler for organizing the regiments. General Weitzel, to whose command these regiments were assigned in an expedition up the river, objected to them, and asked Butler to relieve him of the command of the expedition. Butler wrote him in reply:

"You say that in these organizations you have no confidence. As your reading must have made you aware, General Jackson entertained a different opinion upon that subject. It was arranged between the commanding general and yourself, that the colored regiments should be employed in guarding the railroad. You don't complain, in your report, that they either failed in this duty, or that they have acted otherwise than correctly and obediently to the commands of their officers, or that they have committed any outrage or pillage upon the inhabitants. The general was aware of your opinion, that colored men will not fight. You have failed to show, by the conduct of these free men, so far, anything to sustain that opinion. And the general cannot see why you should decline the command, especially as you express a willingness to go forward to meet the only organized enemy with your brigade alone, without farther support. The commanding general cannot see how the fact that they are guarding your line of communication by railroad, can weaken your defense. He must, therefore, look to the other reasons stated by you, for an explanation of your declining the command.

"You say that since the arrival of the negro regiment you have seen symptoms of a servile insurrection. But as the only regiment that arrived there got there as soon as your own command, of course the appearance of such symptoms is since their arrival.

"Have you not mistaken the cause? Is it the arrival of a negro regiment, or is it the arrival of United States troops, carrying by the act of congress freedom to this servile race? Did you expect to march into that country, drained, as you say it is, by conscription of all its able-bodied white men, without leaving the negroes free to show symptoms of servile insurrection? Does not this state of things arise from the very fact of war itself? You are in a country where now the negroes outnumber the whites ten to one, and these whites are in rebellion against the government, or in terror seeking its protection. Upon reflection, can you doubt that the same state of things would have arisen without the presence of a colored regiment? Did you not see symptoms of the same things upon the plantations here upon our arrival, although, under much less favorable circumstances for revolt?

"You say that the prospect of such an insurrection is heart-rending, and that you cannot be responsible for it. The responsibility rests upon those who have begun and carried out this war, and who have stopped at no barbarity, at no act of outrage, upon the citizens and soldiers of the United States. You have forwarded me the records of a pretended court-martial, showing that seven men of one of your regiments, who enlisted here in the Eighth Vermont, who had surrendered themselves prisoners of war, were in cold blood murdered, and, as certain information shows me, required to dig their own graves! You are asked if this is not an occurrence as heart-rending as a prospective servile insurrection.

"The question is now to be met, whether, in a hostile, rebellious part of the state, where this very murder has been committed by the militia, you are to stop in the operations of the field to put down servile insurrection, because the men and women are terror-stricken? Whenever was it heard before that a victorious general, in an unsurrendered province, stopped in his course for the purpose of preventing the rebellious inhabitants of that province from destroying each other, or refuse to take command of a conquered province lest he should be made responsible for their self-destruction?

"As a military question, perhaps, the more terror-stricken the inhabitants are that are left in your rear, the more safe will be your lines of communication. You say there have appeared before your eyes the very facts, in terror-stricken women and children and men, which you had before contemplated in theory. Grant it. But is not the remedy to be found in the surrender of the neighbors, fathers, brothers, and sons of the terror-stricken women and children, who are now in arms against the government within twenty miles of you? And when that is done, and you have no longer to fear from these organized forces, and they have returned peaceably to their homes, you will be able to use the full power of your troops to insure your safety from the so much feared (by them, not by you) servile insurrection.



"If you desire, you can send a flag of truce to the commander of these forces, embracing these views, and placing upon him the responsibility which belongs to him. Even that course will not remove it from you, for upon you it has never rested. Say to them, that if all armed opposition to the authority of the United States shall cease in Louisiana, on the west bank of the river, you are authorized by the commanding general to say, that the same protection against negro or other violence will be afforded that part of Louisiana that has been in the part already in the possession of the United States. If that is refused, whatever may ensue is upon them, and not upon you or upon the United States. You will have done all that is required of a brave, humane man, to avert from these deluded people the horrible consequences of their insane war upon the government. * * * *

"Consider this case. General Bragg is at liberty to ravage the houses of our brethren of Kentucky because the Union army of Louisiana are protecting his wife and his home against his negroes. Without that protection he would have to come back to take care of his wife, his home and his negroes. It is understood that Mrs. Bragg is one of the terrified women of whom you speak in your report.

"This subject is not for the first time under the consideration of the commanding general. When in command of the Department of Annapolis, in May, 1861, he was asked to protect a community against the consequences of a servile insurrection. He replied, that when that community laid down its arms, and called upon him for protection, he would give it, because from that moment between them and him war would cease. The same principle initiated there will govern his and your actions now; and you will afford such protection as soon as the community through its organized rulers shall ask it.

" * * * * In the mean time, these colored regiments of free men, raised by the authority of the president, and approved by him as the commander-in-chief of the army, must be commanded by the officers of the army of the United States, like any other regiment."

General Butler continued General Weitzel in command but placed the negroes under another officer. However, General Weitzel; like thousands of others, changed his mind in regard to the colored troops. "If he was not convinced by General Butler's reasoning," says Parton, "he must have been convinced by what he saw of the conduct of those very colored regiments at Port Hudson, where he himself gave such a glorious example of prudence and gallantry."

Notwithstanding these troops did good service, it did not soften or remove very much of the prejudice at the North against the negro soldiers, nor in the ranks of the army. Many incidents might be cited to show the feeling of bitterness against them.[22] However, General Butler's example was followed very soon by every officer in command, and by the time the President's Emancipation Proclamation was issued there were not less than 10,000 negroes armed and equipped along the Mississippi river. Of course the Government knew nothing of this.(?) Not only armed, but some of them had been in skirmishes with the enemy. That as a Phalanx they were invaluable in crushing the rebellion, let their acts of heroism tell. In the light of history and of their own deeds, it can be said that in courage, patriotism and dash, they were second to no troops, either in ancient or modern armies. They were enlisted after rigid scrutiny, and the examination of every man by competent surgeons. Their acquaintance with the country in which they marched, encamped and fought, made them in many instances superior to the white troops. Then to strengthen their valor and tenacity, each soldier of the Phalanx knew when he heard the long roll beat to arms, and the bugle sound the charge, that they were not to go forth to meet those who regarded them as opponents in arms, but who met them as a man in his last desperate effort for life would meet demons; they knew, also, that there was no reserve—no reinforcements behind to support them when they went to battle; their alternative was life or death. It was the consciousness of this fact that made the black phalanx a wall of adamant to the enemy.

The not unnatural willingness of the white soldiers to allow the negro troops to stop the bullets that they would otherwise have to receive was shown in General Bank's Red River Campaign. At Pleasant Grove, Dickey's black brigade prevented a slaughter of the Union troops. The black Phalanx were represented there by a brigade attached to the first division of the 19th Corps. When the confederates routed the army under Banks at Sabine Cross Roads, below Mansfield, they drove it for several hours toward Pleasant Grove, despite the ardor of the combined forces of Banks and Franklin. It became apparent that unless the confederates could be checked at this point, all was lost. General Emory prepared for the emergency on the western edge of a wood, with an open field sloping toward Mansfield. Here General Dwight formed a brigade of the black Phalanx across the road. Hardly was the line formed when out came the gallant foe driving 10,000 men before them. Flushed with two days' victory, they came charging at double quick time, but the Phalanx held its fire until the enemy was close upon them, and then poured a deadly volley into the ranks of the exultant foe, stopping them short and mowing them down like grass. The confederates recoiled, and now began a fight such as was always fought when the Southerners became aware that black soldiers were in front of them, and for an hour and a half they fought at close quarters, ceasing only at night. Every charge of the enemy was repulsed by the steady gallantry of General Emory's brigade and the black Phalanx, who saved the army from annihilation against a foe numbering three to one. During this memorable campaign the Phalanx more than once met the enemy and accepted the face of their black flag declarations. The confederates knew full well that every man of the Phalanx would fight to the last; they had learned that long before.



As early as June, 1863, General Grant was compelled, in order to show a bold front to Gens. Pemberton and Johnston at the same time, while besieging Vicksburg, to draw nearly all the troops from Milliken's Bend to his support, leaving three infantry regiments of the black Phalanx and a small force of white cavalry to hold this, to him an all important post. Milliken's Bend was well fortified, and with a proper garrison was in condition to stand a siege. Brigadier-General Dennis was in command, and the troops consisted of the 9th and 11th Louisiana Regiments, the 1st Mississippi and a small detachment of white cavalry, in all about 1,400 men, raw recruits. General Dennis looking upon the place more as a station for organizing and drilling the Phalanx, had made no particular arrangements in anticipation of an attack. He was surprised, therefore, when a force of 3,000 men, under General Henry McCulloch, from the interior of Louisiana, attacked and drove his pickets and two companies of the 23d Iowa Cavalry, (white) up to the breastworks of the Bend. The movement was successful, however, and the confederates, holding the ground, rested for the night, with the expectation of marching into the fortifications in the morning, to begin a massacre, whether a resistance should be shown them or not. The knowledge this little garrison had of what the morrow would bring it, doubtless kept the soldiers awake, preparing to meet the enemy and their own fate. About 3 o'clock, in the early grey of the morning, the confederate line was formed just outside of the intrenchments; suddenly with fixed bayonets the men came rushing over the works, driving everything before them and shouting, "No quarter! No quarter to negroes or their officers!" In a moment the blacks formed and met them, and now the battle began in earnest, hand to hand. The gunboats "Choctaw" and "Lexington" also came up as the confederates were receiving the bayonets and the bullets of the Unionists, and lent material assistance. The attacking force had flanked the works and was pouring in a deadly, enfilading musketry fire. The defenders fell back out of the way of the gunboat's shells, but finally went forward again with what was left of their 150 white allies, and drove the enemy before them and out of the captured works. One division of the enemy's troops hesitated to leave a redoubt, when a company of brave black men dashed forward at double-quick time and engaged them. The enemy stood his ground, and soon the rattling bayonets rang out amid the thunders of the gunboats and the shouts of enraged men; but they were finally driven out, and their ranks thinned by the "Choctaw" as they went over the works. The news reached General Grant and he immediately dispatched General Mower's brigade with orders to re-enforce Dennis and drive the confederates beyond the Tensas river.

A battle can be best described by one who observed it. Captain Miller, who not only was an eye-witness, but participated in the Milliken's Bend fight, writes as follows:

"We were attacked here on June 7, about three o'clock in the morning, by a brigade of Texas troops, about two thousand five hundred in number. We had about six hundred men to withstand them, five hundred of them negroes. I commanded Company I, Ninth Louisiana. We went into the fight with thirty-three men. I had sixteen killed, eleven badly wounded, and four slightly. I was wounded slightly on the head, near the right eye, with a bayonet, and had a bayonet run through my right hand, near the forefinger; that will account for this miserable style of penmanship.

"Our regiments had about three hundred men in the fight. We had one colonel wounded, four captains wounded, two first and two second lieutenants killed, five lieutenants wounded, and three white orderlies killed, and one wounded in the hand, and two fingers taken off. The list of killed and wounded officers comprised nearly all the officers present with the regiment, a majority of the rest being absent recruiting."



"We had about fifty men killed in the regiment and eighty wounded; so you can judge of what part of the fight my company sustained. I never felt more grieved and sick at heart, than when I saw how my brave soldiers had been slaughtered,—one with six wounds, all the rest with two or three, none less than two wounds. Two of my colored sergeants were killed; both brave, noble men, always prompt, vigilant, and ready for the fray. I never more wish to hear the expression, 'The niggers won't fight.' Come with me, a hundred yards from where I sit, and I can show you the wounds that cover the bodies of sixteen as brave, loyal, and patriotic soldiers as ever drew bead on a rebel.

"The enemy charged us so close that we fought with our bayonets, hand to hand. I have six broken bayonets to show how bravely my men fought. The Twenty-third Iowa joined my company on the right; and I declare truthfully that they had all fled before our regiment fell back, as we were all compelled to do.

"Under command of Col. Page, I led the Ninth and Eleventh Louisiana when the rifle-pits were retaken and held by our troops, our two regiments doing the work.

"I narrowly escaped death once. A rebel took deliberate aim at me with both barrels of his gun; and the bullets passed so close to me that the powder that remained on them burnt my cheek. Three of my men, who saw him aim and fire, thought that he wounded me each fire; One of them was killed by my side, and he fell on me, covering my clothes with his blood; and, before the rebel could fire again, I blew his brains out with my gun.

"It was a horrible fight, the worst I was ever engaged in,—not even excepting Shiloh. The enemy cried, 'No quarter!' but some of them were very glad to take it when made prisoners.

"Col. Allen, of the Sixteenth Texas, was killed in front of our regiment, and Brig.-Gen. Walker was wounded. We killed about one hundred and eighty of the enemy. The gunboat "Choctaw" did good service shelling them. I stood on the breastworks after we took them, and gave the elevations and direction for the gunboat by pointing my sword; and they sent a shell right into their midst, which sent them in all directions. Three shells fell there, and sixty-two rebels lay there when the fight was over.

* * * *

"This battle satisfied the slave-masters of the South that their charm was gone; and that the negro as a slave, was lost forever. Yet there was one fact connected with the battle of Milliken's Bend which will descend to posterity, as testimony against the humanity of slave-holders; and that is, that no negro was ever found alive that was taken a prisoner by the rebels in this fight."

The Department of the Gulf contained a far greater proportion of the Phalanx than did any other Department, and there were very few, if any, important engagements fought in this Department in which the Phalanx did not take part.

It is unpleasant here, in view of the valuable services rendered by the Phalanx, to be obliged to record that the black soldiers were subjected to many indignities, and suffered much at the hands of their white fellow comrades in arms. Repeated assaults and outrages were committed upon black men wearing the United States' uniform, not only by volunteers but conscripts from the various States, and frequently by confederate prisoners who had been paroled by the United States; these outrages were allowed to take place, without interference by the commanding officers, who apparently did not observe what was going on.

At Ship Island, Miss., there were three companies of the 13th Maine, General Neal Dow's old regiment, and seven companies of the 2nd Regiment Phalanx, commanded by Colonel Daniels, which constituted the garrison at that point. Ship Island was the key to New Orleans. On the opposite shore was a railroad leading to Mobile by which re-enforcements were going forward to Charleston. Colonel Daniels conceived the idea of destroying the road to prevent the transportation of the confederate troops. Accordingly, with about two hundred men he landed at Pascagoula, on the morning of the 9th of April. Pickets were immediately posted on the outskirts of the town, while the main body marched up to the hotel. Before long some confederate cavalry, having been apprised of the movement, advanced, drove in the pickets, and commenced an attack on the force occupying the town. The cavalry made a bold dash upon the left of the negroes, which was the work of but a moment; the brave blacks met their charge manfully, and emptied the saddles of the front rank, which caused the rear ones first to halt and then retire. The blacks were outnumbered, however, five to one, and finally were forced to abandon the town; they went, taking with them the stars and stripes which they had hoisted upon the hotel when entering it. They fell back towards the river to give the gunboat "Jackson" a chance to shell their pursuers, but the movement resulted in an apparently revengeful act on the part of the crew of that vessel, they having previously had some of their number killed in the course of a difficulty with a black sentry at Ship Island.

The commanding officer of the land force, doubtless from prudential reasons, omitted to state in his report that the men fought their way through the town while being fired upon from house-tops and windows by boys and women. That the gunboat opened fire directly on them when they were engaged in a hand to hand conflict, which so completely cut off a number of the men from the main body of the troops that their capture appeared certain. Major Dumas, however, seeing the condition of things, put spurs to his horse and went to their succor, reaching them just as a company of the enemy's cavalry made a charge. The Major, placing himself at the head of the hard-pressed men, not only repulsed the cavalry and rescued the squad, but captured the enemy's standard-bearer. The retreating force reached their transport with the loss of only one man; they brought with them some prisoners and captured flags. Colonel Daniels, in his report, speaks as follows of the heroism of the soldiers:



* * * *

"The expedition was a perfect success, accomplishing all that was intended; resulting in the repulse of the enemy in every engagement with great loss; whilst our casualty was only two killed and eight wounded. Great credit is due to the troops engaged, for their unflinching bravery and steadiness under this their first fire, exchanging volley after volley with the coolness of veterans; and for their determined tenacity in maintaining their position, and taking advantage of every success that their courage and valor gave them; and also to their officers, who were cool and determined throughout the action, fighting their commands against five times their numbers, and confident throughout of success,—all demonstrating to its fullest extent that the oppression which they have heretofore undergone from the hands of their foes, and the obloquy that had been showered upon them by those who should have been friends, had not extinguished their manhood, or suppressed their bravery, and that they had still a hand to wield the sword, and a heart to vitalize its blow.

"I would particularly call the attention of the Department to Major F. E. Dumas, Capt. Villeverd, and Lieuts. Jones and Martin, who were constantly in the thickest of the fight, and by their unflinching bravery, and admirable handling of their commands, contributed to the success of the attack, and reflected great honor upon the flag under and for which they so nobly struggled. Repeated instances of individual bravery among the troops might be mentioned; but it would be invidious where all fought so manfully and so well.

"I have the honor to be, most respectfully your obedient servant,

"N. U. DANIELS,

"Col. Second Regiment La. N. G. Vols., Commanding Post."

The 2nd Regiment, with the exception of the Colonel, Lieut.-Colonel and Adjutant, was officered by negroes, many of whom had worn the galling chains of slavery, while others were men of affluence and culture from New Orleans and vicinity.

The 2nd Regiment had its full share of prejudice to contend with, and perhaps suffered more from that cause than any other regiment of the Phalanx. Once while loading transports at Algiers, preparatory to embarking for Ship Island, they came in contact with a section of the famous Nim's battery, rated as one of the finest in the service. The arms of the 2nd Regiment were stacked and the men were busy in loading the vessel, save a few who were doing guard duty over the ammunition stored in a shed on the wharf. One of the battery-men attempted to enter the shed with a lighted pipe in his mouth, but was prevented by the guard. It was more than the Celt could stand to be ordered by a negro; watching for a chance when the guard about-faced, he with several others sprang upon him. The guard gave the Phalanx signal, and instantly hundreds of black men secured their arms and rushed to the relief of their comrade. The battery-men jumped to their guns, formed into line and drew their sabres. Lieut.-Colonel Hall, who was in command of the 2nd Regiment, stepped forward and demanded to know of the commander of the battery if his men wanted to take the men the guard had arrested. "Yes," was the officer's reply, "I want you to give them up." "Not until they are dealt with," said Colonel Hall. And then a shout and yell, such as the Phalanx only were able to give, rent the air, and the abortive menace was over. The gunners returned their sabres and resumed their work. Col. Hall, who always had perfect control of his men, ordered the guns stacked, put on a double guard, and the men of the 2nd Regiment resumed their labor of loading the transport. Of course this was early in the struggle, and before a general enlistment of the blacks.

The first, second and third regiments of the Phalanx were the nucleus of the one hundred and eighty that eventually did so much for the suppression of the rebellion and the abolition of slavery. The 1st and 3rd Regiments went up the Mississippi; the 2nd garrisoned Ship Island and Fort Pike, on Lake Pontchartrain, after protecting for several months the Opelousa railroad, so much coveted by the confederates.

A few weeks after the fight of the 2nd Regiment at Pascagoula, General Banks laid siege to Port Hudson, and gathered there all the available forces in his department. Among these were the 1st and 3rd Infantry Regiments of the Phalanx. On the 23rd of May the federal forces, having completely invested the enemy's works and made due preparation, were ordered to make a general assault along the whole line. The attack was intended to be simultaneous, but in this it failed. The Union batteries opened early in the morning, and after a vigorous bombardment Generals Weitzel, Grover and Paine, on the right, assaulted with vigor at 10 A. M., while Gen. Augur in the center, and General W. T. Sherman on the left, did not attack till 2 P. M.

Never was fighting more heroic than that of the federal army and especially that of the Phalanx regiments If valor could have triumphed over such odds, the assaulting forces would have carried the works, but only abject cowardice or pitiable imbecility could have lost such a position under existing circumstances. The negro regiments on the north side of the works vied with the bravest, making three desperate charges on the confederate batteries, losing heavily, but maintaining their position in the advance all the while.

The column in moving to the attack went through the woods in their immediate front, and then upon a plane, on the farther side of which, half a mile distant, were the enemy's batteries. The field was covered with recently felled trees, through the interlaced branches of which the column moved, and for two or more hours struggled through the obstacles, stepping over their comrades who fell among the entangled brushwood pierced by bullets or torn by flying missiles, and braved the hurricane of shot and shell.

What did it avail to hurl a few thousand troops against those impregnable works? The men were not iron, and were they, it would have been impossible for them to have kept erect, where trees three feet in diameter were crashed down upon them by the enemy's shot; they would have been but as so many ten-pins set up before skillful players to be knocked down.

The troops entered an enfilading fire from a masked battery which opened upon them as they neared the fort, causing the column first to halt, then to waver and stagger; but it recovered and again pressed forward, closing up the ranks as fast as the enemy's shells thinned them. On the left the confederates had planted a six-gun battery upon an eminence, which enabled them to sweep the field over which the advancing column moved. In front was the large fort, while the right of the line was raked by a redoubt of six pieces of artillery. One after another of the works had been charged, but in vain. The Michigan, New York and Massachusetts troops—braver than whom none ever fought a battle—had been hurled back from the place, leaving the field strewn with their dead and wounded. The works must be taken. General Nelson was ordered by General Dwight to take the battery on the left. The 1st and 3rd Regiments went forward at double quick time, and they were soon within the line of the enemy's fire. Louder than the thunder of Heaven was the artillery rending the air shaking the earth itself; cannons, mortars and musketry alike opened a fiery storm upon the advancing regiments; an iron shower of grape and round shot, shells and rockets, with a perfect tempest of rifle bullets fell upon them. On they went and down, scores falling on right and left. "The flag, the flag!" shouted the black soldiers, as the standard-bearer's body was scattered by a shell. Two file-closers struggled for its possession; a ball decided the struggle. They fell faster and faster; shrieks, prayers and curses came up from the fallen and ascended to Heaven. The ranks closed up while the column turned obliquely toward the point of fire, seeming to forget they were but men. Then the cross-fire of grape shot swept through their ranks, causing the glittering bayonets to go down rapidly. "Steady men, steady," cried bold Cailloux; his sword uplifted, his face the color of the sulphureous smoke that enveloped him and his followers, as they felt the deadly hail which came apparently from all sides. Captain Cailloux[23] was killed with the colors in his hands; the column seemed to melt away like snow in sunshine, before the enemy's murderous fire; the pride, the flower of the Phalanx, had fallen. Then, with a daring that veterans only can exhibit, the blacks rushed forward and up to the brink and base of the fortified elevation, with a shout that rose above it. The defenders emptied their rifles, cannon and mortars upon the very heads of the brave assaulters, making of them a human hecatomb. Those who escaped found their way back to shelter as best they could.



The battery was not captured; the battle was lost to all except the black soldiers; they, with their terrible loss, had won and conquered a much greater and stronger battery than that upon the bluff. Nature seems to have selected the place and appointed the time for the negro to prove his manhood and to disarm the prejudice that at one time prompted the white troops to insult and assault the negro soldiers in New Orleans. It was all forgotten and they mingled together that day on terms of perfect equality. The whites were only too glad to take a drink from a negro soldier's canteen, for in that trying hour they found a brave and determined ally, ready to sacrifice all for liberty and country. If greater heroism could be shown than that of the regiments of the Phalanx already named, surely the 1st Regiment of Engineers displayed it during the siege at Port Hudson. This regiment, provided with picks and spades for the purpose of "mining" the enemy's works, often went forward to their labor without any armed support except the cover of heavy guns, or as other troops happened to advance, to throw up breastworks for their own protection. It takes men of more than ordinary courage to engage in such work, without even a revolver or a bayonet to defend themselves against the sallies of an enemy's troops. Nevertheless this Engineer Regiment of the black Phalanx performed the duty under such trying and perilous circumstances. Many times they went forward at a double-quick to do duty in the most dangerous place during an engagement, perhaps to build a redoubt or breastworks behind a brigade, or to blow up a bastion of the enemy's. "They but reminded the lookers on," said a correspondent of a Western newspaper, "of just so many cattle going to a slaughterhouse."

A writer, speaking of the other regiments of the Phalanx, says:

"They were also on trial that day, and justified the most sanguine expectations by their good conduct. Not that they fought better than our white veterans; they did not and could not."

But there had been so much incredulity avowed regarding the courage of the negroes; so much wit lavished on the idea of negroes fighting to any purpose, that General Banks was justified in according a special commendation to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments, and to the 1st Engineer Regiment, of the Phalanx, saying, "No troops could be more determined or daring." The 1st lost its Cailloux, the 2nd its Paine, but the Phalanx won honor for the race it represented. No higher encomium could be paid a regiment than that awarded the gallant 2nd by the poet Boker:

"THE BLACK REGIMENT, OR THE SECOND LOUISIANA AT THE STORMING OF PORT HUDSON.

Dark as the clouds of even, Banked in the western heaven, Waiting the breath that lifts All the dread mass, and drifts Tempest and falling brand, Over a ruined land— So still and orderly Arm to arm, and knee to knee Waiting the great event, Stands the Black Regiment.

Down the long dusky line Teeth gleam and eyeballs shine; And the bright bayonet, Bristling and firmly set, Flashed with a purpose grand, Long ere the sharp command Of the fierce rolling drum Told them their time had come— Told them what work was sent For the Black Regiment.

'Now,' the flag sergeant cried, 'Though death and hell betide, Let the whole nation see If we are fit to be, Free in this land; or bound Down like the whining hound— Bound with red stripes of pain In our old chains again!' Oh! what a shout there went From the Black Regiment.

'Charge!' trump and drum awoke; Onward the bondmen broke Bayonet and sabre stroke Vainly opposed their rush Through the wild battle's crush, With but one thought aflush, Driving their lords like chaff,

In the gun's mouth they laugh; Or at the slippery brands Leaping with open hands, Down they tear, man and horse, Down in their awful course; Trampling with bloody heel Over the crashing steel, All their eyes forward bent, Rushed the Black Regiment.

'Freedom!' their battle cry, 'Freedom!' or leave to die!' Ah! and they meant the word, Not as with us its heard, Nor a mere party shout, They gave their spirits out; Trusted the end to God, And on the gory sod Rolled in triumphant blood, Glad to strike one free blow, Whether for weal or woe; Glad to breathe one free breath, Though on the lips of death Praying—alas! in vain! That they might fall again, So they could once more see That burst of liberty! This was what 'Freedom' lent To the Black Regiment.

Hundreds on hundreds fell; But they are resting well; Scourges and shackles strong Never shall do them wrong. Oh! to the living few, Soldiers, be just and true! Hail them as comrades tried; Fight with them side by side; Never in field or tent, Scorn the Black Regiment."

[See Appendix for further matter relating to the Department of the Gulf.]

FOOTNOTES:

[22] In November, while the 2nd Regiment was guarding the Opelousas railway, about twenty miles from Algiers, La., their pickets were fired upon, and quite a skirmish and firing was kept up during the night. Next morning the cane field along the railroad was searched but no trace of the firing party was found. A company of the 8th Vermont (white) Regiment was encamped below that of the 2nd Regiment, but they broke camp that night and left. The supposition was that it was this company who fired upon and drove in the pickets of the Phalanx regiment.

[23] Captain Andre Cailloux fell, gallantly leading his men (Co. E) in the attack. With many others of the charging column, his body lay between the lines of the Confederates and Federals, but nearer the works of the former, whose sharpshooters guarded it night and day, and thus prevented his late comrades from removing it. Several attempts were made to obtain the body, but each attempt was met with a terrific storm of lead. It was not until after the surrender that his remains were recovered, and then taken to his native city, New Orleans. The writer of this volume, himself wounded, was in the city at the time, and witnessed the funeral pageant of the dead hero, the like of which was never before seen in that, nor, perhaps, in any other American city, in honor of a dead negro. The negro captains of the 2nd Regiment acted as pall-bearers, while a long procession of civic societies followed in the rear of detachments of the Phalanx. A correspondent who witnessed the scene thus describes it:

" * * * * The arrival of the body developed to the white population here that the colored people had powerful organizations in the form of civic societies; as the Friends of the Order, of which Capt. Cailloux was a prominent member, received the body, and had the coffin containing it, draped with the American flag, exposed in state in the commodious hall. Around the coffin, flowers were strewn in the greatest profusion, and candles were kept continually burning. All the rites of the Catholic Church were strictly complied with. The guard paced silently to and fro, and altogether it presented as solemn a scene as was ever witnessed.

"In due time, the band of the Forty-second Massachusetts Regiment made its appearance, and discoursed the customary solemn airs. The officiating priest, Father Le Maistre, of the Church of St. Rose of Lima, who has paid not the least attention to the excommunication and denunciations issued against him by the archbishop of this this diocese, then performed the Catholic service for the dead. After the regular services, he ascended to the president's chair, and delivered a glowing and eloquent eulogy on the virtues of the deceased. He called upon all present to offer themselves, as Cailloux had done, martyrs to the cause of justice, freedom, and good government. It was a death the proudest might envy.

"Immense crowds of colored people had by this time gathered around the building, and the streets leading thereto were rendered almost impassable. Two companies of the Sixth Louisiana (colored) Regiment, from their camp on the Company Canal, were there to act as an escort; and Esplanade Street, for more than a mile, was lined with colored societies, both male and female, in open order, waiting for the hearse to pass through.

"After a short pause, a sudden silence fell upon the crowd, the band commenced playing a dirge; and the body was brought from the hall on the shoulders of eight soldiers, escorted by six members of the society, and six colored captains, who acted as pall-bearers. The corpse was conveyed to the hearse through a crowd composed of both white and black people, and in silence profound as death itself. Not a sound was heard save the mournful music of the band, and not a head in all that vast multitude but was uncovered.

"The procession then moved off in the following order: The hearse containing the body, with Capts. J. W. Ringgold, W. B. Barrett, S. J. Wilkinson, Eugene Mailleur, J. A. Glea, and A. St. Leger, (all of whom, we believe, belong to the Second Louisiana Native Guards), and six members of The Friends of the Order, as pall-bearers; about a hundred convalescent sick and wounded colored soldiers; the two companies of the Sixth Regiment; a large number of colored officers of all native guard regiments; the carriages containing Capt. Cailloux's family, and a number of army officers; followed by a large number of private individuals, and thirty-seven civic and religious societies.

"After moving through the principal down-town streets the body was taken to the Beinville-street cemetery, and there interred with military honors due his rank." * *

The following lines were penned at the time:

ANDRE CAILLOUX.

He lay just where he fell, Soddening in a fervid summer's sun. Guarded by an enemy's hissing shell, Rotting beneath the sound of rebels' gun Forty consecutive days, In sight of his own tent. And the remnant of his regiment.

He lay just where he fell. Nearest the rebel's redoubt and trench, Under the very fire of hell, A volunteer in a country's defence, Forty consecutive days. And not a murmur of discontent, Went from the loyal black regiment.

A flag of truce couldn't save, No, nor humanity could not give This sable warrior a hallowed grave. Nor army of the Gulf retrieve. Forty consecutive days, His lifeless body pierced and rent, Leading in assault the black regiment.

But there came days at length, When Hudson felt their blast, Though less a thousand in strength, For "our leader" vowed the last; Forty consecutive days They stormed, they charged, God sent Victory to the loyal black regiment.

He lay just where he fell, And now the ground was their's, Around his mellowed corpse, heavens tell, How his comrades for freedom swears. Forty consecutive nights The advance pass-word went. Captain Cailloux of the black regiment.



CHAPTER VI.

THE ARMY OF THE FRONTIER.

At the Far West the fires of liberty and union burned no less brightly upon the altar of the negro's devotion than at the North, East and South. The blacks of Iowa responded with alacrity to the call of the governor to strengthen the Army of the Ohio. Though the negro population was sparse—numbering in 1860, only 1069—and thinly scattered over the territory, and were enjoying all the rights and privileges of American citizenship, nevertheless they gave up the luxuries of happy homes, threw down their implements of peaceful industry, broke from the loving embrace of wives and children, and with the generous patriotism which has always characterized the conduct of the race, they rushed to the aid of their yet oppressed countrymen, and the defense of the Union.

The Gibralters of the Mississippi, Vicksburg and Port Hudson, had fallen by the might of the Union armies; the Mississippi was open to the Gulf. The shattered ranks of the victorious troops, and the depleted ranks of the Phalanx, rent and torn by the enemy during the long siege of Port Hudson, lent an inspiring zeal to the negroes of the country, which manifested itself in the rapidity of the enlistment of volunteers to fill up the gaps.



In August, 1863, the authorities of the State of Iowa began the enlistment of negroes as a part of her quota. Keokuk was selected as the place of rendezvous. On the 11th of the following October nine full companies under the command of Colonel John G. Hudson, took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and became a part of the active military force of the National Government. The regiment was designated the 1st A. D. (African Descent) Regiment Iowa Volunteers, and was mustered for three years, or during the war. Leaving Keokuk Barracks, the regiment proceeded to St. Louis, Mo., and was quartered in Benton Barracks, as a part of the forces under command of Major-General J. M. Schofield. Here company G. joined the regiment, making ten full companies. A memorable and patriotic incident occurred here: Mrs. I. N. Triplet, in behalf of the ladies of the State of Iowa, and of the city of Muscatine, presented the regiment with a beautiful silk national flag, which was carried through the storms of battle, and returned at the close of the war to the State.

On the first day of January, 1864, the regiment was ordered to report to General Beaufort at Helena, Ark., becoming a part of the garrison of that place until the following March.

One Sergeant Phillips, with some others, agitated the propriety of refusing to accept the seven dollars per month offered them by the Government, and of refusing to do duty on account of it. Sergeant Barton, however, held it was better to serve without pay than to refuse duty, as the enforcement of the President's Emancipation Proclamation was essential to the freedom of the negro race. To this latter the regiment agreed, and passed concurrent resolutions, which quelled a discussion which otherwise might have led to mutiny.

While the regiment was at Helena it took part in several skirmishes and captured a number of prisoners. In July, Colonel W. S. Brooks, in command of the 56th, 60th, and a detachment of the 3rd Artillery Phalanx Regiment, with two field guns, sallied out of Helena and proceeded down the Mississippi River, to the mouth of White River, on a transport. Here the troops disembarked. The next morning, after marching all night, Brooks halted his command for breakfast; arms were stacked and the men became scattered over the fields. Suddenly, General Dobbins, at the head of a superior confederate force, made an attack upon them; the confederates at first formed no regular line of battle, but rushed pell-mell on the scattered federals, intending, doubtless, to annihilate them at once. The Union men soon recovered their arms, but before they got into line, their commander, Colonel Brooks, had been killed, and Captain Ransey of Co. C, 60th Regiment, assumed command. The men of the Phalanx, though they had had but a short time to rest from a long march, rallied with the ardor of veterans, and fought with that desperation that men display when they realize that the struggle is either victory or death. It was not a question of numbers with them; it was one of existence, and the Phalanx resolved itself into a seeming column of iron to meet the foe as it rushed over the bodies of their dead and wounded with the rage of madmen.

The two field guns, skillfully handled by black artillery-men, did good work, plowing huge furrows through the assailants and throwing them into confusion at every charge. Still the confederates, having finally organized into line of battle, continued to charge after each repulse, pouring a terrific fire upon the United States force at each advance. It seemed as if the Phalanx must surrender; they were outnumbered two to one, and every line officer was dead or wounded. Sergeant Triplet was directing the fire of Company C; the artillery sergeant was in command of the field guns, and worked them well for two long hours. The enemy's sharpshooters stationed in the trees no longer selected their victims, for one man of the Phalanx was as conspicuous as another.

Yet another assault was made; firm stood the little band of iron men, not flinching, not moving, though the dead lay thick before them. The cannon belched out their grape shot, the musketry rattled, and once more the enemy fled back to the woods with ranks disordered. Thus from six o'clock till noonday did the weary soldiers hold their foes back. The situation became critical with the Phalanx. Their ammunition was nearly exhausted; a few more rounds and their bayonets would be their only protection against a massacre; this fact however, did not cool their determination.

In front and on their flanks the enemy began massing for a final onset. For five hours the Phalanx had fought like tigers, against a ruthless foe, and though no black flag warned them, they were not unmindful of the fate of their comrades at Fort Pillow. General Dobbins was evidently preparing to sweep the field. Several times already had he sent his men to annihilate the blacks, and as many times had they been repulsed. There was no time for the Phalanx soldiers to manoeuvre; they were in the closing jaws of death, and though they felt the day was lost, their courage did not forsake them; it was indeed a dreadful moment. The enemy was about to move upon them, when suddenly a shout,—not the yell of a foe, was heard in the enemy's rear, and the next moment a detachment of the 15th Illinois Cavalry, under command of Major Carminchael, broke through the confederate ranks and rushed to the support of the Phalanx, aligning themselves with the black soldiers, amid the cheers of the latter. Gathering up their dead and wounded, the federal force now began a retreat, stubbornly yielding, inch by inch, each foot of ground, until night threw her mantle of darkness over the scene and the confederates ceased their firing. The Phalanx loss was 50, while that of the enemy was 150. At the beginning couriers were dispatched to Helena for re-enforcements, and Colonel Hudson, with the remainder of the Phalanx troops, reached them at night too late to be of any assistance, as the confederates did not follow the retreating column.

Two days later, Colonel Hudson, with all the available men of the two Phalanx regiments,—60th, 56th and a detachment of the 3rd Phalanx artillery, with two cannons,—went down the Mississippi and up the White river, disembarked and made a three days march across the country, where the enemy was found entrenched. The Phalanx, after a spirited contest, drove them out of their works, burned their store, captured a few Texas rangers and returned to Helena. In March, 1865, the 60th Regiment was ordered to join Brig.-Gen. Reynolds' command at Little Rock, where the regiment was brigaded with the 57th, 59th and 83rd Phalanx regiments. The brigade was ordered to Texas overland, but the surrender of General Lee to Grant obviated this march. The gallant 60th was mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, on the 2nd of November, 1865, "where," says Sergeant Burton, the regimental historian, "they were greeted by the authorities and the loyal thousands of Iowa."

Kansas has undoubtedly the honor of being the first State in the Union to begin the organization of negroes as soldiers for the Federal army. The State was admitted into the Union January 29, 1861, after a long reign of hostilities within her borders, carried on by the same character of men and strictly for the same purpose which brought on the war of the Great Rebellion. In fact, it was but a transfer of hostilities from Missouri and Kansas to South Carolina and Virginia. Missouri and the South had been whipped out of Kansas and the territory admitted into the Union as a free State. This single fact was accepted by the South as a precursor of the policy of the incoming Republican administration, and three Southern senators resigned or left the United States Senate before the vote was taken for the admission of Kansas. The act of admitting Kansas as a free State, was the torch that inflamed the South, and led to the firing upon Fort Sumter the following April. The men of Kansas had long been inured to field service, and used to practice with Sharps' rifles. The men of Kansas, more than in any other State of the Union, had a right to rush to the defence of the Federal government, and they themselves felt so.

On the 9th of February, eleven days after the admission of the State into the Union, Governor Robinson took the oath of office, and on the 15th of April President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers. The first regiment responded to the call by the close of May; others speedily followed, until Kansas had in the field 20,000 soldiers. Of the regiments and companies which represented this State in the Federal army, several were composed of negroes, with a slight mixture of Indians.

It has been no easy task to learn about these regiments, but, after a long search, the writer has been enabled, through the patriotic efforts of Governor Crawford, of Kansas, who is also ex-Colonel of the 2nd Kansas Regiment, to find Mr. J. B. McAfee, late chaplain of the same regiment and Adjutant-General of Kansas, now engaged in business in Topeka. With the finding of Mr. McAfee came another difficulty; the report of the Adjutant-General, containing an account of the regiments in the war, had been accidentally burned before leaving the printing office. This difficulty was overcome, however, by the consideration ever shown the negro by Mr. McAfee, who kindly loaned his only volume of the "Military History of Kansas."

The service rendered by the Phalanx soldiery of Kansas stands second to none upon the records of that State. Their patriotism was nothing less than a fitting return for the love of liberty shown by the Free State men in rescuing Kansas from the clutches of the slave power. The discussions at the national capitol pointed Kansas out to the negro as a place where he might enjoy freedom in common with all other American citizens. He regarded it then as he does now,[24] the acme of Republican States. Those negroes who enjoyed and appreciated the sentiment that made her so, were determined as far as they were able, to stand by the men who had thus enlarged the area of freedom.

Without comment upon the bravery of these troops, the report is submitted of their conduct in camp, field, on the march and in battle, as made by those who commanded them on various occasions.

"On the 4th day of August, 1862, Captain James M. Williams, Co. F, 5th Kansas Cavalry, was appointed by Hon. James H. Lane, Recruiting Commissioner for that portion of Kansas lying north of the Kansas River, for the purpose of recruiting and organizing a regiment of infantry for the United States service, to be composed of men of African descent. He immediately commenced the work of recruiting by securing the muster-in of recruiting officers with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and by procuring supplies from the Ordnance Quartermaster and Commissary departments, and by establishing in the vicinity of Leavenworth a camp of rendezvous and instruction.

"Capt. H. C. Seaman was about the same time commissioned with like authority for that portion of Kansas lying south of the Kansas river. The work of recruiting went forward with rapidity, the intelligent portion of the colored people entering into the work heartily, and evincing by their actions a willing readiness to link their future and share the perils with their white brethren in the war of the rebellion, which then waged with such violence as to seriously threaten the nationality and life of the Republic.

"Within sixty days five hundred men were recruited and placed in camp, and a request made that a battallion be mustered into the United States service. This request was not complied with, and the reasons assigned were wholly unsatisfactory, yet accompanied with assurances of such a nature as to warrant the belief that but a short time would elapse ere the request would be complied with.

"In the meantime complications with the civil authorities in the Northern District had arisen, which at one time threatened serious results. These complications originated from the following causes, each affecting different classes:

"1st.—An active sympathy with the rebellion.

"2nd.—An intolerant prejudice against the colored race, which would deny them the honorable position in society which every soldier is entitled to, even though he gained that position at the risk of his life in the cause of the nation, which could ill afford to refuse genuine sympathy and support from any quarter.

"3rd.—On the part of a few genuine loyalists who believed that this attempt to enlist colored men would not be approved by the War Department, and that the true interests of the colored man demanded that their time should not be vainly spent in the effort.

"4th.—A large class who believed that the negro did not possess the necessary qualifications to make efficient soldiers, and that consequently the experiment would result in defeat, disaster and disgrace.

"Col. Williams, acting under the orders of his military superiors felt that it was no part of his duty to take council of any or all of these classes. He saw no course for him to pursue but to follow his instructions to the letter. Consequently, when the civil authorities placed themselves in direct opposition to those of the military, by arresting and confining the men of the command on the most frivolous charges, and indicting their commanders for crime, such as unlawfully restraining persons of their liberty, &c., by enforcing proper military discipline, he ignored the right of the civil authorities to interfere with his military actions in a military capacity and under proper authority.

"On the 28th of October, 1862, a command consisting of detachments from Captain Seaman's and Captain William's recruits, were moved and camped near Butler. This command—about two hundred and twenty-five men, under Captain Seaman,—was attacked by a confederate force of about five hundred, commanded by Colonel Cockrell but after a severe engagement the enemy was defeated with considerable loss. The negro loss was ten killed and twelve wounded, including Captain A. J. Crew; a gallant young officer, being among the first mentioned. The next morning the command was re-enforced by a few recruits under command of Captain J. M. Williams, when the enemy was pursued a considerable distance but without further fighting. This is supposed to have been the first engagement in the war in which colored troops were actually engaged. The work of recruiting, drilling and disciplining the regiment was continued under the adverse circumstances until the 13th of January, 1863, when a battallion of six companies, formed by the consolidation of Colonel Williams' recruits with those of Captain Seaman, was mustered into the U. S. service by Lieutenant Sabin, of the regular army. Between January 13th and May 2nd, 1863, the other four companies were organized, when the regimental organization was completed, appears by the roster of the regiment.



"Immediately after its organization, the regiment was ordered to Baxter Springs, where it arrived in May, 1863, and the work of drilling the regiment was vigorously prosecuted.

"Parts of two companies of the regiment, and a detachment of cavalry, and one piece of artillery, made a diversion on Shawnee, Mo. attacked and dispersed a small opposing force and captured five prisoners.

"While encamped here, on the 18th of May, a foraging party, consisting of twenty-five men from the Phalanx regiment and twenty men of the 2nd Kansas Battery, Major R. G. Ward commanding, was sent into Jasper County, Mo. This party was surprised and attacked by a force of three hundred confederates commanded by Major Livingston, and defeated, with a loss of sixteen killed and five prisoners, three of which belonged to the 2nd Kansas Battery and two of the black regiment. The men of the 2nd Kansas Battery were afterwards exchanged under a flag of truce for a like number of prisoners captured by the negro regiment. Livingston refused to exchange the black prisoners in his possession, and gave as his excuse that he should hold them subject to the orders of the confederate War Department. Shortly after this Col. Williams received information that one of the prisoners held by Livingston had been murdered by the enemy. He immediately sent a flag of truce to Livingston demanding the body of the person who committed the barbarous act. Receiving an evasive and unsatisfactory reply, Col. Williams determined to convince the Major that was a game at which two could play, and directed that one of the prisoners in his possession be shot, and within thirty minutes the order was executed. He immediately informed Major Livingston of his action, sending the information by the same party that brought the despatch to him. Suffice it to say that this ended the barbarous practice of murdering prisoners of war, so far as Livingston's command was concerned.

"Colonel Williams says:

'I visited the scene of this engagement the morning after its occurrence, and for the first time beheld the horrible evidences of the demoniac spirit of these rebel fiends in their treatment of our dead and wounded. Men were found with their brains beaten out with clubs, and the bloody weapons left by their sides and their bodies most horribly mutilated.'

"It was afterwards ascertained that the force who attacked this foraging party consisted partially of citizens of the neighborhood, who, while enjoying the protection of our armies, had collected together to assist the rebel forces in this attack. Colonel Williams directed that the region of country within a radius of five miles from the scene of conflict should be devastated, and is of opinion that this effectually prevented a like occurrence in the same neighborhood.

"Subsequently, while on this expedition, the command captured a prisoner in arms who had upon his person the evidence of having been paroled by the commanding officer at Fort Scott, Kansas, he was shot on the spot.

"The regiment remained in camp at Baxter Springs until the 27th of June, 1863, when it struck tents and marched for Fort Gibson in connection with a large supply train from Fort Scott en route to the former place.

"Colonel Williams had received information that satisfied him that the train would be attacked in the neighborhood of Cabin Creek, Cherokee Nation. He communicated this information to Lieutenant-Colonel Dodd, of the 2nd Colorado Infantry, who was in command of the escort, and volunteered to move his regiment in such manner as would be serviceable in case the expected attack should be made. The escort proper to the train consisted of six companies of the 2nd Colorado Infantry, a detachment of three companies of cavalry from the 6th and 9th Kansas, and one section of the 2nd Kansas Battery. This force was joined, on the 28th of June, by three hundred men from the Indian Brigade, commanded by Major Foreman, making altogether a force of about eight hundred effective men.

"On arriving at Cabin Creek, July 1st, 1863, the rebels were met in force—under command of Gen. Cooper. Some skirmishing occurred on that day, when it was ascertained that the enemy occupied a strong position on the south bank of the creek, and upon trial it was found that the stream was not fordable for infantry, on account of a recent shower, but it was supposed that the swollen current would have sufficiently subsided by the next morning to allow the infantry to cross. The regiment then took a strong position on the north side of the stream and camped for the night. After a consultation of officers, it was agreed that the train should be parked in the open prairie and guarded by three companies of the 2nd Colorado and a detachment of one hundred men of the 1st Colorado, and that the balance of the troops, Col. Williams commanding, should engage the enemy and drive him from his position.

"Accordingly, the next morning, July 2nd, 1863, the command moved, which consisted of the 1st Kansas Volunteer Colored Infantry, three companies of the 2nd Colorado Infantry, commanded by the gallant Major Smith, of that regiment, the detachments of cavalry and Indian troops before mentioned and four pieces of artillery, making altogether a force of about twelve hundred men. With this force, after an engagement of two hours duration, the enemy was dislodged and driven from his position in great disorder, with a loss of one hundred killed and wounded and eight prisoners. The loss on our side was eight killed and twenty-five wounded, including Major Foreman, who was shot from his horse while attempting to lead his men across the creek under the fire of the enemy, and Captain Ethan Earl, of the 1st Colored, who was wounded at the head of his company. This was the first battle in which the whole regiment had been engaged, and here they evinced a coolness and true soldiery spirit which inspired the officers in command with that confidence which subsequent battle scenes satisfactorily proved was not unfounded.

"The road being now open, the entire command proceeded to Fort Gibson, where it arrived on the evening of the 5th of July, 1863. On the 16th of July the entire force at Fort Gibson, under command of Gen. Blunt, moved upon the enemy, about six thousand strong, commanded by Gen. Cooper, and encamped at Honey Springs, twenty miles south of Fort Gibson. Our forces came upon the enemy on the morning of the 17th of July, and after a sharp and bloody engagement of two hours' duration, the enemy was totally defeated, with a loss of four hundred killed and wounded, and one hundred prisoners. At the height of the engagement, Gen. Blunt ordered Colonel Williams to move his regiment against that portion of the enemy's line held by the 29th and 30th Texas regiments and a rebel battery, with directions to charge them if he thought he could carry and hold the position. The regiment was moved at a shoulder arms, pieces loaded and bayonets fixed, under a sharp fire, to within forty paces of the rebel lines, without firing a shot. The regiment then halted and poured into their ranks a well directed volley of 'buck and ball' from the entire line, such as to throw them into perfect confusion, from which they could not immediately recover. Col. Williams' intention was, after the delivery of this volley, to charge their line and capture their battery, which the effect of this volley had doubtless rendered it possible for him to accomplish. But he was at that instant rendered insensible from gunshot wounds, and the next officer in rank, Lieutenant-Colonel Bowles, not being aware of his intentions, the project was not fully carried out. Had the movement been made as contemplated, the entire rebel line must have been captured. As it was, most of the enemy escaped, receiving a lesson, however, which taught them not to despise on the battle field the race they had long tyrannized over as having 'no rights which a white man was bound to respect.'

"Colonel Williams says:

'I had long been of the opinion that this race had a right to kill rebels, and this day proved their capacity for the work. Forty prisoners and one battle flag fell into the hands of my regiment on this field.'

"The loss to the regiment in this engagement was five killed and thirty-two wounded. After this, the regiment returned to Fort Gibson and went into camp, where it remained until the month of September, when it again moved with the Division against the confederate force under General Cooper, who fled at our approach.

"After a pursuit of one hundred miles, and across the Canadian river to Perryville, in the Choctaw Nation, all hopes of bringing them to an engagement was abandoned, and the command returned to camp on the site of the confederate Fort Davis, situated on the south side of the Arkansas river, near its junction with Grand river.

"The regiment remained in this camp, doing but little duty, until October, when orders were received to proceed to Fort Smith, where it arrived during the same month. At this point it remained until December 1st, making a march to Waldron and returning via Roseville, Arkansas, and in the same month went into winter quarters at the latter place, situated fifty miles east of Fort Smith, on the Arkansas river. The regiment remained at Roseville until March, 1864, when the command moved to join the forces of Gen. Steele, then about starting on what was known as the Camden Expedition. Joining Gen. Steele's command at the Little Missouri river, distant twenty-two miles northeast of Washington, Arkansas, the entire command moved upon the enemy, posted on the west side of Prairie de Anne, and within fifteen miles of Washington. The enemy fled, and our forces occupied their works without an engagement.

"The pursuit of the enemy in this direction was abandoned. The command arrived at Camden on the 16th of April, 1864, and occupied the place with its strong fortifications without opposition. On the day following, Colonel Williams started with five hundred men of the 1st Colorado, two hundred Cavalry, detailed from the 2nd, 6th and 14th, Kansas regiments, and one section of the 2nd Indian Battery, with a train to load forage and provisions at a point twenty miles west of Camden, on the Washington road. On the 17th he reached the place and succeeded in loading about two-thirds of the train, which consisted of two hundred wagons. At dawn the command moved towards Camden, and loaded the balance of the wagons from plantations by the wayside. At a point fourteen miles west of Camden the advance encountered a small force of the enemy, who, after a slight skirmishing, retreated down the road in such a manner as to lead Col. Williams to suspect that this movement was a feint intended to cover other movements or to draw the command into an ambuscade.

"Just previous to this he had been re-enforced by a detachment of three hundred men of the 18th Iowa Infantry, and one hundred additional cavalry, commanded by Capt. Duncan, of the 18th Iowa.

"In order to prevent any surprise, all detached foraging parties were called in, and the original command placed in the advance, leaving the rear in charge of Captain Duncan's command, with orders to keep flankers well out and to guard cautiously against a surprise. Colonel Williams at the front, with skirmishers and flankers well out, advanced cautiously to a point about one and a half miles distant, sometimes called Cross Roads, but more generally known as Poison Springs, where he came upon a skirmish line of the enemy, which tended to confirm his previous suspicion of the character and purpose of the enemy. He therefore closed up the train as well as possible in this thickly timbered region, and made the necessary preparations for fighting. He directed the cavalry, under Lieutenant Henderson, of the 6th, and Mitchell, of the 2nd, to charge and penetrate the rebel line of skirmishers, in order to develop their strength and intentions. The movement succeeded most admirably in its purposes, and the development was such that it convinced Colonel Williams that he had before him a struggle of no ordinary magnitude.

"The cavalry, after penetrating the skirmish line, came upon a strong force of the enemy, who repulsed and forced them back to their original line, not, however, without hard fighting and severe loss on our part in killed and wounded, including in the latter the gallant Lieutenant Henderson, who afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy.

"The enemy now opened on our lines with ten pieces of artillery—six in front and four on the right flank. From a prisoner Colonel Williams learned that the force of the enemy was from eight to ten thousand, commanded by Generals Price and Maxey. These developments and this information convinced him that he could not hope to defeat the enemy; but as there was no way to escape with the train except through their lines, and as the train and its contents were indispensable to the very existence of our forces at Camden, who were then out of provisions, he deemed it to be his duty to defend the train to the last extremity, hoping that our forces at Camden, on learning of the engagement, would attack the enemy in his rear, thus relieving his command and saving the train.

"With this determination, he fought the enemy's entire force from 10 A. M. until 2 P. M., repulsing three successive assaults and inflicting upon the enemy severe loss.

"In his report Colonel Williams says:

'The conflict during these four hours was the most terrific and deadly in its character of any that has ever fallen under my observation.'

"At 2 P. M. nearly one-half of our force engaged had been placed hors de combat, and the remainder were out of ammunition. No supplies arriving, the Colonel was reluctantly compelled to abandon the train to the enemy and save as much of the command as possible by taking to the swamps and canebrakes and making for Camden by a circuitous route, thereby preventing pursuit by cavalry. In this manner most of the command that was not disabled in the field reached Camden during the night of the 18th. For a more specific and statistical report of this action, in which the loss to the 1st Colored alone was 187 men and officers, the official report of Colonel J. M. Williams is herewith submitted:

'CAMDEN, ARKANSAS. April 24, 1867.

'CAPTAIN:—I have the honor to submit the following report of a foraging expedition under my command:

'In obedience to verbal orders received from Brigadier-General Thayer, I left Camden, Arkansas on the 11th instant with 695 men and two guns, with a forage train of 198 wagons.

'I proceeded westerly on the Washington road a distance of eighteen miles, where I halted the train and dispatched part of it in different directions to load; one hundred wagons with a large part of the command, under Major Ward, being sent six miles beyond the camp. These wagons returned to camp at midnight, nearly all loaded with corn.

'At sunrise on the 18th, the command started on the return, loading the balance of the train as it proceeded, there being but a few wagon loads of corn to be found at any one place. I was obliged to detail portions of the command in different directions to load the wagons, until nearly all of my available force was so employed.

'At a point known as Cross Roads, four miles west of my camping ground, I was met by a re-enforcement of three hundred and seventy-five men of the 18th Iowa Infantry, commanded by Capt. Duncan, twenty-five men of the 6th Kansas, Lieut. Phillips commanding, forty-five men of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, Lieut. Ross commanding, twenty men of the 14th Kansas Cavalry, Lieut. Smith commanding, and two mountain howitzers from the 6th Kansas Cavalry, Lieut. Walker commanding,—in all, 465 men and two mountain howitzers. These, added to my former command, made my entire force consist of eight hundred and seventy-five, two hundred and eighty-five cavalry, and four guns. But the excessive fatigue of the preceeding day, coming as it did at the close of a toilsome march of twenty-four hours without halting, had so affected the infantry that fully one hundred of the 1st Kansas Colored were rendered unfit for duty. Many of the cavalry had, in violation of orders, straggled from their command, so that at this time my effective force did not exceed one thousand men.

'At a point one mile east of this, my advance came upon a picket of the enemy, which was driven back one mile, when a line of the enemy's skirmishers presented itself. Here I halted the train, formed a line of the small force I then had in advance, and ordered that portion of the 1st Kansas Colored which had previously been guarding the rear of the train to the front, and gave orders for the train to be packed as closely as the nature of the ground would permit. I also opened a fire upon the enemy's line from the section of the 2nd Indiana Battery, for the double purpose of ascertaining if possible if the enemy had artillery in position in front, and also to draw in some foraging parties which had previously been dispatched upon either flank of the train. No response was elicited save a brisk fire from the enemy's skirmishers.

'Meanwhile, the remainder of the first Kansas Colored had come to the front, as also three detachments, which formed part of the original escort, which I formed in line facing to the front, with a detachment of the 14th Kansas Cavalry, on my right, and detachments of the 2nd and 6th Kansas Cavalry on the left flank. I also sent orders to Capt. Duncan, commanding the 18th Iowa Infantry, to so dispose of his regiment and the cavalry and howitzers which came out with him as to protect the rear of the train, and to keep a sharp lookout for a movement upon his rear and right flank.

'Meanwhile a movement of the enemy's infantry toward my right flank had been observed through the thick brush which covered the face of the country in that direction. Seeing this, I ordered forward the cavalry on my right, under Lieuts. Mitchell and Henderson, with orders to press the enemy's line, force it if possible, and at all events to ascertain his position and strength, fearing as I did that the silence of the enemy in front was but for the purpose of drawing me on to the open ground which lay in my front. At this juncture, a rebel rode into my lines and inquired for Col. DeMorse. From him I learned that General Price was in command of the rebel force and that Col. DeMorse was in command of the force on my right.

'The cavalry had advanced but four hundred yards, when a brisk fire of musketry was opened upon them from the brush, which they returned with true gallantry, but were forced to fall back. In this skirmish many of the cavalry were unhorsed, and Lieut. Henderson, of the 6th Kansas Cavalry, fell, wounded in the abdomen, while bravely and gallantly urging his command forward.

'In the meantime I formed five companies of the 1st Kansas Colored, with one piece of artillery, on my right flank, and ordered up to their assistance four companies of the 18th Iowa Infantry. Soon my orderly returned from the rear with a message from Captain Duncan, stating that he was so closely pressed in the rear by the enemy's infantry and artillery that the men could not be spared.

'At this moment the enemy opened on me with two batteries,—one of six pieces, in front, and one, of three pieces, on my right flank,—pouring in an incessant and well directed cross-fire of shot and shell. At the same time he advanced his infantry both in front and on my right flank.

'From the force of the enemy—now the first time made visible—I saw that I could not hope to defeat him, but still resolved to defend the train to the last, hoping that re-enforcements would come up from Camden.

'I suffered them to approach within one hundred yards of my line, when I opened upon them with musketry charged with buck and ball, and after a contest of fifteen minutes duration compelled them to fall back. Two fresh regiments coming up, they again rallied and advanced upon my line, this time with colors flying and continuous cheering, so loud as to drown even the roar of the musketry. Again I suffered them to approach even nearer than before, and opened upon them with buck and ball, their artillery still pouring in a cross-fire of shot and shell over the heads of their infantry, and mine replying with vigor and effect. And thus, for another quarter of an hour, the battle was waged with desperate fury. The noise and din of this almost hand to hand conflict was the loudest and most terrific it has ever been my lot to listen to. Again were they forced to fall back, and twice during this conflict were their colors brought to the ground, but as often raised.



'During these engagements fully one-half of my infantry engaged were either killed or wounded. Three companies were left without any officers, and seeing the enemy again re-enforced with fresh troops, it became evident that I could hold my line but little longer. I now directed Maj. Ward to hold the line until I could ride back and form the 18th Iowa in proper shape to support the retreat of the advanced line.

'Meanwhile, so many of the gunners had been shot from around their pieces that there were not enough to serve the guns, so I ordered them to retire to the rear of the train, and report to the cavalry officer there. Just as I was starting for the line of the 18th Iowa, my horse was shot, which delayed me until another could be procured, when I rode to the rear and formed a line of battle facing in the direction the enemy was advancing.

'Again did the enemy hurl his columns against the remnant of men that formed my front and right flank, and again were they met as gallantly as before. But my decimated ranks were unable to resist the overpowering force hurled against them, and after their advance had been checked, seeing that our lines were completely flanked on both sides, Major Ward gave the order to retire, which was done in good order, forming and charging the enemy twice before reaching the rear of the train.

'With the assistance of Major Ward and other officers, I succeeded in forming a portion of the 1st Kansas Colored in the rear of the 18th Iowa, and when the enemy approached this line, they gallantly advanced to the line of the 18th, and with them poured in their fire. The 18th maintained their line manfully, and stoutly contested the ground until nearly surrounded, when they retired, and forming again, checked the advancing foe, and still held their ground until again nearly surrounded, when they again retired across a ravine which was impassable for artillery, and I gave orders for the piece to be spiked and abandoned.

'After crossing the ravine I succeeded in forming a portion of the cavalry, which I kept in order to give the infantry time to cross the swamp which lay in our front, which they succeeded in doing. By this means nearly all, except the badly wounded, were enabled to reach the camp. Many wounded men belonging to the 1st Kansas Colored fell into the hands of the enemy, and I have the most positive assurance from eyewitnesses that they were murdered on the spot. I was forced to abandon everything to the enemy, and they thereby became possessed of the large train.