"In October, 1863, having applied for a position as an officer in the colored service, I was ordered before the Board of Examiners at Nashville, Tennessee, where I spent five rather anxious hours. When I entered the army I knew absolutely nothing of the details of army life; had never even drilled with a fire company. During the first three months I gathered little except a somewhat rough miscellaneous experience. As a lieutenant and staff officer I learned something, but as I had never had at any time systematic instruction from any one, I appeared before the Board with little else than vigorous health, a college education, a little experience as a soldier, a good reputation as an officer, a fair amount of common sense and a good supply of zeal. The Board averaged me, and recommended me for a Major.
"A few days after the examination, I received an order to report to Major George L. Stearns, who had charge of the organization of colored troops in that Department. He a.s.signed me to duty temporarily in a camp in Nashville.
Major Stearns was a merchant in Boston, who had been for years an ardent abolitionist, and who, among other good deeds, had befriended John Brown. He was a large-hearted, broad-minded genial gentleman. When the policy of organizing colored troops was adopted, he offered his services to the Government, received an appointment as a.s.sistant Adjutant General, and was ordered to Nashville to organize colored regiments. He acted directly under the Secretary of War, and independently of the Department Commander. To his zeal, good judgment and efficient labor, was due, very largely, the success of the work in the West.
"November 1st, 1863, by order of Major Stearns, I went to Gallatin, Tennessee, to organize the 14th United States Colored Infantry. General E. A. Paine was then in command of the post at Gallatin, having under him a small detachment of white troops. There were at that time several hundred negro men in camp, in charge of, I think, a lieutenant. They were a motley crowd,--old, young, middle aged. Some wore the United States uniform, but most of them had on the clothes in which they had left the plantations, or had worn during periods of hard service as laborers in the army. Gallatin at that time was threatened with an attack by the guerilla bands then prowling over that part of the State. General Paine had issued a hundred old muskets and rifles to the negroes in camp. They had not pa.s.sed a medical examination, had no company organization and had had no drill. Almost immediately upon my arrival, as an attack was imminent, I was ordered to distribute another hundred muskets, and to "prepare every available man for fight." I did the best I could under the circ.u.mstances, but am free to say that I regard it as a fortunate circ.u.mstance that we had no fighting to do at that time. But the men raw, and, untutored as they were, did guard and picket duty, went foraging, guarded wagon trains, scouted after guerillas, and so learned to soldier--by soldiering.
"As soon and as fast as practicable, I set about organizing the regiment. I was a complete novice in that kind of work, and all the young officers who reported to me for duty, had been promoted from the ranks and were without experience, except as soldiers. The colored men knew nothing of the duties of a soldier, except a little they had picked up as camp-followers.
"Fortunately there was one man, Mr. A. H. Dunlap, who had had some clerical experience with Col. Birney, in Baltimore, in organizing the 3rd U.S. Colored Infantry. He was an intelligent, methodical gentleman, and rendered me invaluable service. I had no Quartermaster; no Surgeon; no Adjutant. We had no tents, and the men were sheltered in an old filthy tobacco warehouse, where they fiddled, danced, sang, swore or prayed, according to their mood.
"How to meet the daily demands made upon us for military duty, and at the same time to evoke order out of this chaos, was no easy problem. The first thing to be done was to examine the men. A room was prepared, and I and my clerk took our stations at a table. One by one the recruits came before us _a la Eden, sans_ the fig leaves, and were subjected to a careful medical examination, those who were in any way physically disqualified being rejected. Many bore the wounds and bruises of the slave-driver"s lash, and many were unfit for duty by reason of some form of disease to which human flesh is heir. In the course of a few weeks, however, we had a thousand able-bodied, stalwart men.
"I was quite as solicitous about their mental condition as about their physical status, so I plied them with questions as to their history, their experience with the army, their motives for becoming soldiers, their ideas of army life, their hopes for the future, &c., &c. I found that a considerable number of them had been teamsters, cooks, officers" servants, &c., and had thus seen a good deal of hard service in both armies, in camp, on the march and in battle, and so knew pretty well what to expect. In this respect they had the advantage of most raw recruits from the North, who were wholly "unused to wars" alarms." Some of them had very n.o.ble ideas of manliness. I remember picturing to one bright-eyed fellow some of the hardships of camp life and campaigning, and receiving from him the cheerful reply, "I know all about that." I then said, "you may be killed in battle." He instantly answered, "many a better man than me has been killed in this war." When I told another one who wanted to "fight for freedom," that he might lose his life, he replied, "but my people will be free."
"The result of this careful examination convinced me that these men, though black in skin, had men"s hearts, and only needed right handling to develope into magnificent soldiers.
Among them were the same varieties of physique, temperament, mental and moral endowments and experiences, as would be found among the same number of white men. Some of them were finely formed and powerful; some were almost white; a large number had in their veins white blood of the F. F. V.
quality; some were men of intelligence, and many of them deeply religious.
"Acting upon my clerk"s suggestion, I a.s.signed them to companies according to their height, putting men of nearly the same height together. When the regiment was full, the four center companies were all composed of tall men, the flanking companies of men of medium height, while the little men were sandwiched between. The effect was excellent in every way, and made the regiment quite unique. It was not uncommon to have strangers who saw it parade for the first time, declare that the men were all of one size.
"In six weeks three companies were filled, uniformed, armed, and had been taught many soldierly ways. They had been drilled in the facings, in the manual of arms, and in some company movements.
"November 20th, Gen. G. H. Thomas commanding the Department of the c.u.mberland, ordered six companies to Bridgeport, Alabama, under command of Major H. C. Corbin. I was left at Gallatin to complete the organization of the other four companies. When the six companies were full, I was mustered in as Lieutenant-Colonel. The complete organization of the regiment occupied about two months, being finished by Jan.
1st, 1864. The field, staff and company officers were all white men. All the non-commissioned officers,--Hospital Steward, Quartermaster, Sergeant, Sergeant-Major, Orderlies, Sergeants and Corporals were colored. They proved very efficient, and had the war continued two years longer, many of them would have been competent as commissioned officers.
"When General Paine left Gallatin, I was senior officer and had command of the post and garrison, which included a few white soldiers besides my own troops. Colored soldiers acted as pickets, and no citizen was allowed to pa.s.s our lines either into the village or out, without a proper permit.
Those presenting themselves without a pa.s.s were sent to headquarters under guard. Thus many proud Southern slave-holders found themselves marched through the street, guarded by those who three months before had been slaves.
The negroes often laughed over these changed relations as they sat around their camp fires, or chatted together while off duty, but it was very rare that any Southerner had reason to complain of any unkind or uncivil treatment from a colored soldier.
"About the first of January occurred a few days of extreme cold weather, which tried the men sorely. One morning after one of the most severe nights, the officers coming in from picket, marched the men to headquarters, and called attention to their condition: their feet were frosted and their hands frozen. In some instances the skin on their fingers had broken from the effects of the cold, and it was sad to see their sufferings. Some of them never recovered from the effects of that night, yet they bore it patiently and uncomplainingly.
"An incident occurred while I was still an officer in a white regiment, that ill.u.s.trates the curious transition through which the negroes were pa.s.sing. I had charge of a company detailed to guard a wagon train out foraging. Early one morning, just as we were about to resume our march, a Kentucky lieutenant rode up to me, saluted, and said he had some runaway negroes whom he had arrested to send back to their masters, but as he was ordered away, he would turn them over to me. At that time a reward could be claimed for returning fugitive slaves. I took charge of them, and a.s.suming a stern look and manner, enquired, "Where are you going?" "Going to the Yankee army." "What for?" "We wants to be free, sir." "All right, you are free, go where you wish."
The satisfaction that came to me from their heartfelt "thank"ee, thank"ee sir," gave me some faint insight into the sublime joy that the great emanc.i.p.ator must have felt when he penned the immortal proclamation that set free four millions of human beings.
"These men afterward enlisted in my regiment, and did good service. One day, as we were on the march, they--through their lieutenant--reminded me of the circ.u.mstance, which they seemed to remember with lively grat.i.tude.
"The six companies at Bridgeport were kept very busily at work, and had but little opportunity for drill.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, considerable progress was made in both drill and discipline. I made earnest efforts to get the regiment united and relieved from so much labor, in order that they might be prepared for efficient field service as soldiers.
"In January I had a personal interview with General Thomas, and secured an order uniting the regiment at Chattanooga. We entered camp there under the shadow of Lookout Mountain, and in full view of Mission Ridge, in February, 1864. During the same month Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, from Washington, then on a tour of inspection, visited my regiment, and authorized me to subst.i.tute the eagle for the silver leaf.
"Chattanooga was at that time the headquarters of the Army of the c.u.mberland. Gen Thomas and staff, and a considerable part of the army were there. Our camp was laid out with great regularity; our quarters were substantial, comfortable and well kept. The regiment numbered a thousand men, with a full compliment of field, staff, line and non-commissioned officers. We had a good drum corps, and a band provided with a set of expensive silver instruments. We were also fully equipped; the men were armed with rifled muskets, and well clothed. They were well drilled in the manual of arms, and took great pride in appearing on parade with arms burnished, belts polished, shoes blacked, clothes brushed, in full regulation uniform, including white gloves. On every pleasant day our parades were witnessed by officers, soldiers and citizens from the North, and it was not uncommon to have two thousand spectators. Some came to make sport, some from curiosity, some because it was the fashion, and others from a genuine desire to see for themselves what sort of looking soldiers negroes would make.
"At the time that the work of organizing colored troops began in the West, there was a great deal of bitter prejudice against the movement, and white troops threatened to desert, if the plan should be really carried out. Those who entered the service were stigmatized as "n.i.g.g.e.r officers," and negro soldiers were hooted at and mal-treated by white ones.
"Apropos of the prejudice against so called n.i.g.g.e.r officers, I may mention the following incident: While an officer in the 70th Indiana, I had met, and formed a pa.s.sing acquaintance with Lieut.-Colonel ----, of the ---- Ohio Regiment. On New Years Day, 1864, I chanced to meet him at a social gathering at General Ward"s headquarters in Nashville. I spoke to him as usual, at the same time offering my hand, which apparently he did not see. Receiving only a cool bow from him, I at once turned away. As I did so he remarked to those standing near him that he "did not recognize these n.i.g.g.e.r officers." In some way, I do not know how, a report of the occurrence came to the ears of Lorenzo Thomas, the Adjutant-General of the Army, then in Nashville, who investigated the case, and promptly dismissed Colonel ---- from the United States service.
"Very few West Point officers had any faith in the success of the enterprise, and most Northern people perhaps, regarded it as at best a dubious experiment. A college cla.s.smate of mine, a young man of intelligence and earnestly loyal, although a Kentuckian, and a slave-holder, plead with me to abandon my plan of entering this service, saying, "I shudder to think of the remorse you may suffer, from deeds done by barbarians under your command."
"General George H. Thomas, though a Southerner, and a West Point graduate, was a singularly fair-minded, candid man. He asked me one day soon after my regiment was organized, if I thought my men would fight. I replied that they would. He said he thought "they might behind breastworks." I said they would fight in the open field. He thought not. "Give me a chance General," I replied, "and I will prove it."
"Our evening parades converted thousands to a belief in colored troops. It was almost a daily experience to hear the remark from visitors, "Men who can handle their arms as these do, will fight." General Thomas paid the regiment the compliment of saying that he "never saw a regiment go through the manual as well as this one." We remained in "Camp Whipple" from February, 1864, till August, 1865, a period of eighteen months, and during a large part of that time the regiment was an object lesson to the army, and helped to revolutionize public opinion on the subject of colored soldiers.
"My Lieutenant-Colonel and I rode over one evening to call on General Joe Hooker, commanding the 20th Army Corps. He occupied a small log hut in the Wauhatchie Valley, near Lookout Mountain and not far from the Tennessee river. He received us with great courtesy, and when he learned that we were officers in a colored regiment, congratulated us on our good fortune, saying that he "believed they would make the best troops in the world." He predicted that after the rebellion was subdued, it would be necessary for the United States to send an army into Mexico. This army would be composed largely of colored men, and those of us now holding high command, would have a chance to win great renown. He lamented that he had made a great mistake in not accepting a military command, and going to Nicaragua with General Walker. "Why," said he, "young gentlemen, I might have founded an empire."
"While at Chattanooga, I organized two other regiments, the 42nd and the 44th United States Colored Infantry. In addition to the ordinary instruction in the duties required of the soldier, we established in every company a regular school, teaching men to read and write, and taking great pains to cultivate in them self-respect and all manly qualities. Our success in this respect was ample compensation for our labor. The men who went on picket or guard duty, took their books as quite as indispensable as their coffee pots.
"It must not be supposed that we had only plain sailing.
Soon after reaching Chattanooga, heavy details began to be made upon us for men to work upon the fortifications then in process of construction around the town. This almost incessant labor, interfered sadly with our drill, and at one time all drill was suspended, by orders from headquarters.
There seemed little prospect of our being ordered to the field, and as time wore on and arrangements began in earnest for the new campaign against Atlanta, we grew impatient for work, and anxious for opportunity for drill and preparations for field service.
"I used every means to bring about a change, for I believed that the ultimate status of the negro was to be determined by his conduct on the battle-field. No one doubted that he would work, while many did doubt that he had courage to stand up and fight like a man. If he could take his place side by side with the white soldier; endure the same hardships on the campaign, face the same enemy, storm the same works, resist the same a.s.saults, evince the same soldierly qualities, he would compel that respect which the world has always accorded to heroism, and win for himself the same laurels which brave soldiers have always won.
"Personally, I shrink from danger, and most decidedly prefer a safe corner at my own fireside, to an exposed place in the face of an enemy on the battle-field, but so strongly was I impressed with the importance of giving colored troops a fair field and full opportunity to show of what mettle they were made, that I lost no chance of insisting upon our right to be ordered into the field. At one time I was threatened with dismissal from the service for my persistency, but that did not deter me, for though I had no yearning for martyrdom, I was determined if possible to put my regiment into battle, at whatever cost to myself. As I look back upon the matter after twenty-one years, I see no reason to regret my action, unless it be that I was not even more persistent in claiming for these men the rights of soldiers.
"I was grievously disappointed when the first of May, 1864, came, and the army was to start south, leaving us behind to hold the forts we had helped to build.
"I asked General Thomas to allow _me_, at least, to go along. He readily consented, and directed me to report to General O. O. Howard, commanding the 4th Army Corps, as Volunteer Aide. I did so, and remained with him thirty days, partic.i.p.ating in the battles of Buzzard"s Roost, Resaca, Adairsville and Dallas. At the end of that time, having gained invaluable experience, and feeling that my place was with my regiment, I returned to Chattanooga, determined to again make every possible effort to get it into active service.
"A few days after I had taken my place on General Howard"s staff, an incident occurred showing how narrowly one may escape death. General Stanley and a staff officer and General Howard and myself were making a little reconnoissance at Buzzards Roost. We stopped to observe the movements of the enemy, Stanley standing on the right, Howard next on his left, and I next. The fourth officer, Captain Flint, stood immediately in the rear of General Howard. A sharpshooter paid us a compliment in the shape of a rifle ball, which struck the ground in front of General Howard, ricocheted, pa.s.sed through the skirt of his coat, through Captain Flint"s cap, and buried itself in a tree behind.
"At Adairsville a group of about a dozen mounted officers were in an open field, when the enemy exploded a sh.e.l.l just in front and over us, wounding two officers and five horses.
A piece of the sh.e.l.l pa.s.sed through the right fore leg of my horse, a kind, docile, fearless animal, that I was greatly attached to. I lost a friend and faithful servant.
"On asking leave to return to my command, I was delighted to receive from General Howard the following note:
""HEADQUARTERS 4TH ARMY CORPS,
""ON ACKWORTH AND DALLAS ROAD, 8 MILES FROM DALLAS, GA., May 31st 1864.
""COLONEL:--This is to express my thanks for your services upon my staff during the past month, since starting upon this campaign. You have given me always full satisfaction, and more, by your a.s.siduous devotion to duty.
""You have been active and untiring on the march, and fearless in battle. Believe me,
"Your friend, O. O. HOWARD.
""_Major-General Commanding 4th Army Corps._
""To Col. T.J. Morgan, _Commanding 14th U. S. C. I._"
"General James B. Steadman, who won such imperishable renown at Chickamauga, was then in command of the District of Etowah, with headquarters at Chattanooga. I laid my case before him; he listened with interest to my plea, and a.s.sured me that if there was any fighting to be done in his district, we should have a hand in it.
"DALTON, GA.--August 15th, 1864, we had our first fight, at Dalton, Georgia. General Wheeler, with a considerable force of confederate cavalry, attacked Dalton, which was occupied by a small detachment of Union troops belonging to the 2nd Missouri, under command of Colonel Laibold. General Steadman went to Laibold"s aid, and forming line of battle, attacked and routed the Southern force. My regiment formed on the left of the 51st Indiana Infantry, under command of Col. A.
D. Streight. The fight was short, and not at all severe. The regiment was all exposed to fire. One private was killed, one lost a leg, and one was wounded in the right hand.
Company B, on the skirmish line killed five of the enemy, and wounded others. To us it was a great battle, and a glorious victory. The regiment had been recognized as soldiers; it had taken its place side by side with a white regiment; it had been under fire. The men had behaved gallantly. A colored soldier had died for liberty. Others had shed their blood in the great cause. Two or three incidents will indicate the significance of the day. Just before going into the fight, Lieutenant Keinborts said to his men: "Boys, some of you may be killed, but remember you are fighting for liberty." Henry Prince replied, "I am ready to die for liberty." In fifteen minutes he lay dead,--a rifle ball through his heart,--a willing martyr.
"During the engagement General Steadman asked his Aide, Captain Davis, to look especially after the 14th colored.
Captain Davis rode up just as I was quietly rectifying my line, which in a charge had been disarranged. Putting spurs to his horse, he dashed back to the General and rea.s.sured him by reporting that "the regiment was holding dress parade over there under fire." After the fight, as we marched into town through a pouring rain, a white regiment standing at rest, swung their hats and gave three rousing cheers for the 14th Colored. Col. Streight"s command was so pleased with the gallantry of our men that many of its members on being asked, "What regiment?" frequently replied, "51st Colored."