The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-06-27

The land of rebellion:
Cheering they greet our flag,
Dauntless battalion!
CGenr,ssfoter, Mimi, Jnne q.
First Alabama Infantry.
ICAMP lsT ALA. LOYAL INIT, NEAR Co
FRINTH, MISS, JUNE SrH, 1863 Mr.. ED1-
ToR:-You ask for Information about the
colored regiment, how we got along, ana
what we think of it. Well I must say
with all my researches and posting before
and during the war, that was not prepar-
ed to believe the half. These men, sir, are
destined to become the best soldiers IN the
ayO,,ld. Mark the prediction. They will
end this war, and in less than ten years will
| form the bulk of our National Guard
the basis of our large standing army we
will, for years, be compelled to keep In our
sickly southern sea-coast and river forts.
Mark the prediction, again.
| Why do we think so?
Because, in the first place they are phy-
| sically better adapted to the arduous duties
| of a soldiers life and hardships. The eX-
aiming surgeon pronounced some of them
to be the finest specimens of physical per-
fiction they ever saw. They were strip
ped in "regular' style.)
In the second place they know nothing
but perfect obedience, the first great requis-
tie in a soldier. They pay better attention
than our white soldiers, and rarely ever
make a mistake when movement is prop
erly explained beforehand.
| Sd. They are natural imitators and learn
the manual of arms with surprising facility
and ouickness. There are boys here fifteen
and sixteen years of age who can take up a
1nusket and execute the different maneu-
with the rapidity of lightning-a knowl-
edge of which they picked up in regiment
where they had been serving as walters.
I 4th They are the most thoroughly and
intensely loyal class of people in the whole
country, north or south. There is not a
Copperhead to be found among them, and
very little inducement for them to desert to
the rebels.
They are more intelligent, Independent
and manly than the poor whites of the
country from the fact, probably, that they
enjoyed the STAT of the land" with their
| masters whilst the poor white trash were
crowded into the mountains to starve.-
dom and fully understand its responsible
ties.
That they will fight has already been
demonstrated, and we have no doubt that
with proper officers, they would commit
less depredations when on march than
our own men. When they are drilled we
would be happy to meet an equal number
of their Copperhead slanderers, whose trail
orcus and cowaadly carcasses they are saw
) ing from the draft.
9Th, They make the best fatigue men in
} the world. Last week our seven hundred
men. besides the hundred or more called
for almost daily to unload cars IN town,
and as many more for camp, corral ano
!, farm guards, performed more hard labor
on the barracks than any two white reg.
, iments at the Post we dare say. And YET
we are expected to be half drilled by this
time, Does Gen. Dodge, who witnessed
our Battalion movements Saturday eve
ing, know that we had not so much as
, squad drill all last week? All our energies
[ are laid out upon the barracks at present
II And now in conclusion we would JUS
say that we want every one to dispel al
foolish preiudices about colored and think
, reasonably. Slavery is dead. 1t has com
mitted suicide. We are now making thu
, best possible disposition of these people,
t When this work is accomplished the wal
1 will be done, and not before. The hand Q
(. Almighty God is working with US. w
, want to take these men, as soon as posi-
' BILE, where they can save the bosoms OF ou
' intelligent northern boys and let them &C
' to their homes and friends. Thisi light ant
: proper. We intend to rescue these peopl
e from adultery, ignorance and barbarlsm
S and elevate them to the extent of the capa
, cities which God has given them. We Wisl
o to redeem our land from the merited stig
$ ma of inconsistency-of sending Mlsslona
t ries and teachers to foreign lands, whilst
protects and nourishes ignorance and bar
t barism in it's own midst. We propose t
make the South home, not prlson-houS
3 of torture, and then no negroes will wish t
f 60 North to temptthe Copperheads to anal
I 0dmati0n, (for by the way their fears abou
q amalgamation are not groundless, as tn
e Copperheads, in and out of the army, ar
g the worst amalgamaters in the worldly Ar
j Il sir, this is a great missionary work. ines
e people, doomed by two centuries OF crue
State Legislation to adultery and Ignorance
: are now to make great stride towards cav
! ilization. No man should ask for, or b
permitted to receive a position in these re
y giments who has not, and has not hGd, hi
. heart and soul in the work. Away wit
your new converts-these cowardly sneak
who have made capital out of the woes an
y tears of the race, but now, since the cul
rent has been breasted and the thing be
n come popular, creep in for the commisslo
q sake. They are the meanest and most con
e temptible creatures on Gods footstool.-
= None but moral, high-minded, intelliger
a and temperate man, has any business wit
- these regiments, and the Colonies who ar
= recommending officers to new regiments
should look well TO these things. The pc
q sition is attended with fearful responsible
j ties. 1t is emphatically great missionar
). only his life, but his very soul INTO nl
e hand. ,o,; H. -
. -Corinth (Miss.) CiGnticleer, l2th.
q MANUFACTURES OF AEMs.-Sharpe rii
mandatory at Hartford, Cohhectica',
:, to be enlarged again, after repeated Ell
>. largements. by the building OF wing tw
hundred and fifteen feet long, forty-hN
feet wide and three stories high, exclusiv
. of attic and basement. About Iour hui
Il dred and fifty men are now employed
y Sharpe's rifle factory, besides ten men al; an
lie fifty girls at their cartridge works: ~
sr company is exclusively engaged III ",
g. manufacture of carbines, and the "Orh
D. are run day and night, turning out abot
e. six hundred weapons per week. Durli
lie the year past the company have sMppe
iabout i've hundred per week,