The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1862-08-14
Gen. Lew. Wallace on the Policy of
Employing Negroes in the War.

In his speech at the Great War Meet.
ing in Cincinnati last Thursday night,
Gen, Lew. Wallace, of Indiana, gall
lant soldier and ife-long Democrat,
thus advocated the policy of using the
slaves of the rebels to help our armies
in crushing the rebellion. His nrgu.
ment is plain, practical. and unanswer.
able, and was greeted with the enthusi.
ustic approval of the thousands who
heard him.
Another mistake was-and he beg
ged pardon for alluding to it, but he
spoke as q soldier, and not as a politi
cian-and he could say that he despised
the negro race, couldn't help it, and
never looked upon one without feeling
that there stalks the cause of this war
shall | 60 on? TCries Of "yes, yes,
90 on Well, don't talk about this
as politician. l will fight before the
negro is put on an equality with the
white man. Am 1 understood? Will
any man here misconstruo my meaning?
Cries of 1--WE understand you," go
in"
Well then, we made mistake in sup
posing the negro an element of weak
ness in the South. Now we find him
an elemcntof strength.
"How?' inquired voice.
How-how? l will tell you how, and
the General proceeded to illustrate it
You are called npon to enlist. You
stop and think you say that you are a
poor man, a mechanic, or farmer; that
you have a wife and family to support;
that if you go, they will starvo, aud
your farm or workshop go to ruin. And
it is good reason, and one that touch.
cs his heart nearly. Now change the
picture. Suppose me, what it is almost
impossible for me to suppose, recruit
ing officer down South. 90 to strong
able bodied man, who looks force and
ready to bite, and say we have cstab.
lished new Government and the Yam
KEGS are coming d;wn to destroy it
and put it down. Will you enlist to
sustain it? He says just as you do,
that he's got a wife and family; that his
cotton is planted and his corn ripening.
lie says | can 60 and leave my wife and
fnmily, because my negroes will take
care Of them, aud if the Yankees come
along, they'll not have them. / can
leave my crops, because my negroes
will pick and bale my cotton, and gath
.er my corn. And there are about four
millions of that kind of labor to take
care of the families and industry of the
rebels. Now, suppose l should go to
JEFF. Davis with proposition that he
should leave four millions of the white
Ten of the North undisturbed, and pro.
vide for their families. Would he do
1t? No, he'd treat The proposition with
scorn. You are the mon he wants to
get at. Now, if he won't let four mil.
lions of your laboring men stay at
home to pursue your usual avocations,
why in Gods name should we allow his
four millions to 90 on undisturbed?--
(Cheers and cries Of "that's the talk"
that's rights And / hold it to be
our duty in the field to do all we can to
weaken the enemy, and if in so doing
we can strengthen ourselves, in the
name of God, why not do it2 If slave
ry is the base of the rebel ion, why
not knock away the foundation?
If take the property of tine rebel
his fat cattle, his horses, his grain, for
the use of my soldiers, you say that is
right; but If take his Niger, there's
a hullabalOo about it. The General
proceeded next to show the advantage
to be derived from such policy. There
are 22 teams to regiment and %
teamsters, of course, generally doubled,
making the number A.. They arc de-
tailed for the time. In the eleven reg
iments forming my division, there are,
therefore, 484 men detailed for this du-
ty-almost a regiment. Our regiments
are broke in numbers now. Can we az
ford to assign them to that duty; and ifI
we can find anybody, not soldiers, to
perform that duty, what shall we do2
A voice-"Take the nggcr, General,
l see you get my idea. Take the
niger, of course, and if am permit
ted, | will do it. [Great cheering, and
you are right
Well, when on the march I've seen
weary soldiers halt for the night, doff |
their knnpsacks and stack their guns
and take up the spade and dig bitches
md throw up breastworks, to be pre-
pared against the enemy in the morn.
ng Now supPosing to each brigade
here was regiment Of negroes, whose
iuty il was to dig nSd not to fight,
vouldn't the boys, wearicd with their
ong maroh, dofFr their knnnsnnRs sfack