Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-05-22
Will the Negro Fight?-Wil he
Work?


address at Cooper Institute, New York, OF
Monday evening, filled with wisdom and truth
From it we make the following extract, and
commend it to those Coppers troubled with
nigger on the spine:
"Will the slaves fightg Well, if any mar
asks you tell them no. Will he work ? Il
any man asks you tell him no. But if he
asks you whether the negro will fight tell him
yes. Applause If he asks you whether
the negro will work tell him yes-work even
for patriotism without wages, as he has work
ed at Fortress Monroe, the United States prom.
ising him ten dollars month, keeping the
first three dollars for any stray contrabands
that might join him, taking the second four
dollars for clothing the contraband himself,
and the other three dollars which Sam keeps
Laughter Will he fight? Ask Higginson
He says in one Of his private letters that when
he carried that first regiment to st. Mary IS
one soldier got seven buckshot in the back
of his neck, and unlike some white volun-
teers, afraid Of the hospital, he got comrade
to dig them out with a jack knife, and went
on to the next battle. Laughter. Another;
wounded in the left arm, afraid of the hospi-
tai, kept it secret for forty eight hours, until
the swelling and pain were too great to be
borne, and at last he owned up sick. A third
injured in the leg, bore it in silence for the
sake of fighting one more skirmish, and then,
when they sent him on picket duty, he could
not stand, owned up and went to the hospi-
tal Applause Do you think those men
will fight? Another, with most ludicrous
carelessness, went into the skirmsh forward
dozen rods, fired, fell back, forward again,
but it was noticed he moved very awkward
ly. When the skirmish was over, it was dis
covered that in order to increase his scanty
rations, he had picked up a live goose when
he entered the fight, and held it all the time
between his legs. [Great laughter. had
the pleasure the other day of speaking to
Gen. Butler for the first time in my life,
thanking him for New Orleans, and asked
him his experience with the negro. Well,
said he, when Mcclellan was on tn" Peninsula,
felt that was very scaRt of men, and the
army of Corinth might be down upon me at
any day, and said to the Government, Send
me men if you expect me to keep New Or
leans and they answered: We can't spare
you man, but you must hold New Orleans
l sent back word, Then will 90 10 Africa
He sent to the officers of the old New Or
leans colored regiments and said to them,
"Will you fight for us ?" Willingly they
answered "Then send me regiment" In
ten days they gave him thousand men, and
brought him their commissions as line officers.
Said he, Would you like to be colonel or
major ?" "No, sir; give US white men,
"Then," SAID the Major General, "give me
another regiment" then another, and in ninety
days four regiments and battery and then
noticing mullato capita n, worth half mil
lion, speaking five languages, welcoming him
at banquet at his own house of seven
courses served on silver, he thought such
man had too much interest in New Orleans
to defend it as a captain, and offered him
majors commission. The captain answered
'' No matter where fight; I only wish to
spend what have, and fight as long as can
if only my boy may stand in the street equal
to white boy when the war is over" APP
plause.] Well, your New York brother went
down there, and thought he was not good
enough to associate with. How that regiment
was recruited you know-perhaps not in the
sixteenth ward-those Zouaves who demand
ed the mastering out of officers, and almost
Of men, before they would fight. Now l tell
you my opinion-a Yankee, and just from
the hub-I don't believe that there was one
man in that Zouave regiment fit to associate
with the negroes If New Orleans 1 don't
believe there was man in it, for the man that
went down to the second city of the Union,
and had it in his heart to refuse to stand side !
by side with its sons to defend its soil, is not
worthy to associate with them. (Cheers.)