The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1862-06-27
From the New York World
Virginia Blacks as Goldiers in the Revo-
l1rfiNn

u
blacks as federal soldiers, even in regi-
ments by themselves; but, for the sake Of
showing how Virginia in the revolutiona-
ry struggle felt about it, we have been at
the pains Of hunting up an enactment Of
their General Assembly at it's session be-
gun at Richmond, October 90, 1898. 1t
seems that the ancestors of the present
F. f. VS. not only had no objection to
the military service of the negro, but that
he was allowed to take the place of the
white man in regularly organized white
regiments and that slaves in this way
served as substitutes for their masters.
Here we have literal serving of black
and white men side by side whereas now
the serving of black men by themselves
in companies Of their own, though they
miybt not come within thousand yards
of white soldiers, would provoke storm
of wrath, as an attempt to make the black
equal to the white man. Now how is it !?
Are the present whites superior to the
whites of the Revolution, or are the pre-
sent blacks inferior to the blacks of the
Revolution ? There must have been a
change in the one direction or in the
other, since both cannot now bear arms in
company.
All this talk about equality of the races
in connection with the necessities of war
is sheer balderdash. Were it necessary
to have black soldiers in this war we
would have them. 1t is not necessary.
Intelligent white men, whom everybody
admits make the best soldiers, are to be
had in abundance, and therefore the war
should be left to them. If perchance
there are some localities which are neces-
sary to be held, and yet which it would
be fatal to white men to undertake to hold
through the heats of midsummer, we un-
hesitatingly say, put armed blacks at that
point. The commanding general who
would sacrifice such position or the
lives of white citizen soldiers, rather than
use such means, would prove himself a
fool in the one case or murderer in the
other. We anticipate no occasion in
which there will be any such necessity.
But there is crying evil which can
not too soon be remedied. Our soldiers
in every military department are often
put to digging, ditching, telling and car
rying timber, and a great variety of heavy
work which units them for their regular
military duties, and which, if imposed
upon them through the summer, must
cause a great amount of sickness and
death. This is monstrous abuse, and
it ought not to be tolerated. Negroes
can be had in any numbers who will do
this work, or at least the great bulk of it,
and with vastly more ease than white sol
diers can, for the broiling sun has nc
power over them. Put the black man to
this drudgery and save our sons and
brothers. Each to his own business
The white men fight best-let them fight.
The black men dig best--let them dig
These are the true military necessities OF
this campaign, and should alone control.
The rigmarole of egro-phobists, and the
rigmarole of negro -philists, in connection
with this matter, are alike too ridiculous
to be needed by any sensible man who
has the success of our arms at heart.
The Virginia enactment which we were
going to quote may be found in Hen
ning's "Statutes at Large of Virginia, -
vol. xi, page 308, and reads as follows :
can act directing the emancipation Of
j certain slaves who served as soldiers in
this State, and for the emancipation OF
the slave Aberdeen.
! /. Whereas, it hath been represented
to the present General Assembly that,
during the course of the war; many per-
sons in this State had caused their Slaves
to enlist in certain regiments or corps,
raised within the same. having rendered
their slaves to the officers appointed tc
recruit forces within the State, as substi-
, tutes for free persons, whose lot OF duty
/ it was to serve in such regiments or corps,
at the same time representing to such re
cruiting officers that the slaves so enlisted
: by their direction and concurrence were
freemen and it appearing further to this
: Assembly, that on the expiration of the
, terms of enlistment of such slaves, tha
the former owners have attempted again
to force them to return to state of servi
tude, contrary to the principles of justice
and to their own solemn promise.
II. And whereas, 1t appears just ant
! reasonable that all persons enlisted a:
, aforesaid, who have faithfully served
agreeable to the terms of their enlistment
and have thereby of course contributed
t toward the establishment of American
liberty and independence, should enjoy
F the blessings of freedom as reward fol
their tolls and labors,
Be 1t therefore enacted, That each ano
every slave who, by the appointment ane
direction of his owner, hath enlisted il
S any regiment or corps raised within thi
o state, either on continental or state estab
lishment, and hath been received as sub
stitute for any free person whose duty o
: lot it was to serve in such regiment o
: corps, and hath served faithfully durin;
9 the term of such enlistment, or hath bee
Il discharged from such service by som
: officer duly authorized to grant such dis
. charge, shall, from and alter the passin
of this act, be fully and completely eman
It cipated, and shall be held and deeme
/. free, in as full and ample manner as
:, each and every of them were special
u named in this act, and the attorney gene
: raj for the commonwealth is hereby re
a quired to commence an action, IN form,
st rauperis, in behalf of any of the person
above described who shall, after the pass
age of this act, be detained in servitud
. by any person whatsoever and if, upo
l. such prosecution, it shall appear that tn