Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1864-08-25
The Black Troops.


There can be nothing more pitifuI thar
the malevolent esgeIness with which Ger
tain newspapers defide the coIored troops fol
being no drawer than the white troops Al
Petersburg. Did the unhappy panic a
Bull Run, thfee years ago, prove tina,
white men were cowarda Did the misfor
fortune ofthe noble Second Corps, Eve Oh
six weeks since, Which General Hancok an.
Dounced must be retrieved, show that they
were posr soldiers? Or did every sensible
man say at once that the reputation of that
brave corps was not to be lost by nishap
which might occur to the best corps of the
best army in, the word?- Upon the occasion
Of the late disasterto General NJ Cook 'scav-
alry-caused by The fact, as reported. that
the men were drunk with wbiskyA-is il
sneeringly asserted that ifthe Government
chooses to employ white cavalry, nothing is
to be expected but that they will get drunk
and bo whipped on every occasion2 li'
Ofcourse not. When we read Of M Cooks
misfortune we remember Sheridan's, and
Kautz's, and Grierson's, and Averilps dar-
ing and victorious excursions, and we ac-
knowledge with pride and gratitude the
valor Of our cavalry while we regret every
mischance that befalls them. When we
heard that the Seconds Corps had been
fanked and had lost prisoners, we recalled
their dauntless conduct at Sppttsylvania and
in the Wilderness, and chafed with them
over the temporary shadow that obscured
their name. And every sensible and true
American citizen, when he reads ef the
faltering and retreat of the colored troops at
Petersburg, recollects Fort Wagner, Olus-
tee, Milliken's Bend, and Badly Smiths
charge upon the same ground at Peters
burg, and knows that the failure is not the
proof of cowardice or incompetency, but is
one Of the painful events from which the re-
cord of no corps and no army can be entirely
free. : -''. f'ils o..... . tH.
We have always insisted that oolored men
should have the same chance Of fighting in
this war that white men have; and we have
always believed that, battle for battle, they
would show the same spirit and pluck. Nor
has the history of the war, the Hast as
sault at Petersburg included, beled our be-
lief. And we may fairly ask whether any
class of men-white, black, red, or yellow
services had been SO grudgingly re-
warded; who knew that their capture was
equivalent to torture, massacre, or slavery,
and for whose wrongs retaliation so loudly
promised was as yet not inflicted; who were
so inaligped, rebuffed, and insulted as the
colored men in this country are--we may
fairly ask whether any soldiers would have
bought more steadfastly and braveIy and
willingly than the colored troops in the I'm
ion army? ''"
The mental and moral condition of those
who begrudgo fair play to the most unfor-
tunate, but by no means the least neriter-
GUS class of our population, is one of the
most melancholy phenomena OF the times.
The want of that fair play has produced the
war, and until we concede it the war under
some form will continue. The most brutal
part Of our population, deluded by "Con
servative" demagogues. necessarily declare
that ''niggers are only f. for slaves" The
most intelligent American citizens, and the
conscience of all Christian civilization, re-
jects the foul injustice. 1t is the conflict of
that enlightened sense Of equity and right
with the ferocious determination to elass
privilege and prejudice which is reddening |
our soil every where. Whoever cherishes |
it postpones the peace which can be perma-
nently established upon Justice only. |
The more thoughtful among those who !
are committed by party-spirit and jealous
to fostering the unmaniy refusal to allow
the black race fair play in this country must |
sometimes clearly see the hopelessuess of |
their cause. They know as we'll as we that |
their profession Of seeking the real interest |
of that race isa self.delusion. They know
that the word slavery expresses some form
Of injustice, disguise it as they may; and
they are consequently aware that they are
fighting against the human heart, against |
the instinct of civilization, and against the
peace of the world. In such contest, how
evey they may prolong it. they are doomed |
to defeat and ignominy. They know, as we
all do, that General Greene in commencing I
the 'valor Of the colored troops in the reto-
lutionary battle of Rhode Island Is !" more
humane and ennobling figure to our imagi-
nations than he would have been had he
sneered at them as unfit for soldiers be-,
cause they were "piggers." For, that is not
the spirit which makes honorable men or
great pations We, too, are passing into /
history. And in our children's eyes which
will seem nobler, the men who died brayely
lighting, upon the slopes of Wagner and
and on the plains Of Olustee
and Milliken's Bend, or those who cohtempts
uously cried as they read the story Of the
last Petersburg assault, "Pshaw niggers
never will make soldiers y" Harper's Week.
"! y'5Isj ''' 'a' a''l ~ IN. 'tgeos I