History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and Other Items of Interest Part 11

Col. Third N.C. Vol. Inf. Com'd'g. Brigade.

THIRD ENDORs.e.m.e.nT.

Headquarters Second Division, First Army Corps,

Camp Poland, Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. 31, 1898.

Respectfully returned to the Commanding General, Third Brigade.

The enclosed communication is in form and substance so contrary to all military practice and traditions that it is returned for file at Regimental Headquarters, 6th Va. Vol. Infantry.

By command of Colonel KUERT.

(Signed) LOUIS V. CAZIARC,

a.s.sistant Adjutant-General.

FOURTH ENDORs.e.m.e.nT. Headquarters Third Brigade, Second Division, First Army Corps.

Respectfully transmitted to C.O., 6th Virginia, inviting attention to preceding Inst.

By order of Colonel YOUNG.

(Signed) A.B. COLLIER,

Captain a.s.sistant Adjutant-General.

A NEW LIEUTENANT FOR THE 6TH VIRGINIA.

October 31st, 1898, the monthly muster was in progress. There appeared in the camp a new Lieutenant--Lieut. Jno. W. Healey--formerly Sergeant-Major in the regular army. This was the first positive evidence that white officers would be a.s.signed to this regiment. This was about 9 o'clock in the morning, and at Knoxville later in the day, there were more arrivals. Then it was published that the following changes and appointments were made:

Company "D," First Battalion, was transferred to the Second Battalion; Company "F," of the Second Battalion, transferred to the First Battalion. Major E.E. Cobell, commanding Second Battalion. Captain R.L.E. Masurier, commanding Company "D." Captain W. S. Faulkner, commanding Company "E." Captain J. W. Bentley, commanding Company "G."

Captain S.T. Moore, commanding Company "H." First Lieutenant Jno. W.

Healey to Company "H." First Lieutenant A.L. Moncure to Company "G."

Second Lieutenant Geo. W. Richardson, Company "G." First Lieutenant Edwin T. Walker transferred to Company "C." November 1st officers attempted to take charge of the men who offered no violence at all, but by their manner and conduct it appeared too unpleasant and unsafe for these officers to remain, so tendered their resignations, but they were withheld for a day.

The next day, November 2, 1898, it was thought best that the colored Captains and Lieutenants would drill the companies at the 9 o'clock drill. While on the field "recall" was sounded and the companies were brought to the headquarters and formed a street column. General Bates, commanding the Corps and his staff; Col. Kuert, commanding the Brigade and Brigade staff; Maj. Louis V. Caziarc, a.s.sistant Adjutant-General: Lieut. Col. Croxton and Maj. Johnson were all there and spoke to the men. Colonel Kuert said: "Gentlemen, as commanding officer of the Brigade, I appear before you to-day asking you to do your duty; to be good soldiers, to remember your oath of enlistment, and to be careful as to the step you take, for it might cost you your life; that there are enough soldiers at my command to force you into submission should you resist. No, if you intend to accept the situation and submit to these officers placed over you, at my command, you come to a right shoulder, and if you have any grievance imaginary or otherwise present through proper military channels, and if they are proper, your wrongs will be adjusted."

"Right shoulder, Arms." Did not a man move. He then ordered them to be taken back to their company street and to "stack arms."

Before going to the company streets Major Caziarc spoke to the men as follows: "Forty years ago no Negro could bear arms or wear the blue.

You cannot disgrace the blue, but can make yourselves unworthy to wear it."

Then Maj. J.B. Johnson spoke to the men and urged upon them to keep in mind the oath of enlistment (which he read to them), in which they swore that they would "obey all officers placed over them;" that since the appointments had been made there was nothing for them to do but to accept the situation. At the conclusion of Maj. Johnson's talk to the men, Private Badger, Regimental Tailor, stepped to the front and gave the "rifle salute" and asked permission to say a word. It was granted.

He said: "When we enlisted we understood that we would go with our colored officers anywhere in or out of this country, and when vacancies occurred we expected and looked for promotion as was the policy of the Governor of Virginia toward other Virginia Regiments."

He was told that if the men had any grievance they could present it through military channels and it would be looked into. They never accepted Maj. Johnson's advice--returned to their company streets and were allowed to keep their guns. The Ordnance Officer was ordered to take all ammunition to the camp of the Thirty-first Michigan and place it in the guard-house.

The men had the freedom and pa.s.s privilege to and from the city.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAJOR J.B. JOHNSON, OF THE SIXTH VIRGINIA COLORED VOLUNTEERS.]

November 19th the command was ordered to Macon, Ga., arriving at Camp Haskell next day, with 820 men and 27 officers.

Near the camp of the Sixth Virginia was that of the Tenth Immune Regiment, in which were many Virginia boys, some of whom had been members of some of the companies of the Sixth.

Some irresponsible persons cut down a tree upon which several men had been lynched. The blame naturally fell upon the Sixth Virginia. The regiment was placed under arrest and remained so for nineteen days.

The first day the Third Engineers guarded the camp, but General Wilson, the Corps commander, removed them and put colored soldiers to guard them. On the night of November 20th, at a late hour, the camp was surrounded by all the troops available while the men were asleep and the regiment was disarmed.

While all this was going on the Thirty-first Michigan Regiment had been deployed into line behind a hill on the north and the Fourth Tennessee had been drawn up in line on the east side of the camp ready to fire should any resistance be offered.

The men quietly submitted to this strange procedure, and did not know that Gatling guns had been conveniently placed at hand to mow them down had they shown any resistance. The Southern papers called them the mutinous Sixth, and said and did every thing to place discredit upon them.

They were reviewed by General Breckinridge, General Alger, Secretary of War, and President McKinley, who applauded them for their fine and soldierly appearance.

COMMENTS ON THE THIRD NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT.

Of all the volunteer regiments the Third North Carolina seemed to be picked out as the target for attack by the Georgia newspapers. The Atlanta Journal, under large headlines, "A Happy Riddance," has the following to say when the Third North Carolina left Macon. But the Journal's article was evidently written in a somewhat of a wish-it-was-so-manner, and while reading this article we ask our readers to withhold judgment until they read Prof. C.F. Meserve on the Third North Carolina, who wrote after investigation.

The Journal made no investigation to see what the facts were, but dwells largely on rumors and imagination. It will be noted that President Meserve took the pains to investigate the subject before writing about it.

The Atlanta Journal says:

A HAPPY RIDDANCE.

The army and the country are to be congratulated on the mustering out of the Third North Carolina Regiment.

A tougher and more turbulent set of Negroes were probably never gotten together before. Wherever this regiment went it caused trouble.

While stationed in Macon several of its members were killed, either by their own comrades in drunken brawls or by citizens in self-defense.

Last night the mustered-out regiment pa.s.sed through Atlanta on its way home and during its brief stay here exhibited the same ruffianism and brutality that characterized it while in the service. But for the promptness and pluck of several Atlanta policemen these Negro ex-soldiers would have done serious mischief at the depot. Those who undertook to make trouble were very promptly clubbed into submission, and one fellow more obstreperous than the rest, was lodged in the station house.

With the exception of two or three regiments the Negro volunteers in the recent war were worse than useless. The Negro regulars, on the contrary, made a fine record, both for fighting and conduct in camp.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THIRD NORTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS AND OFFICERS.]

The mustering out of the Negro volunteers should have begun sooner and have been completed long ago.