Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1867-02-21
Letter from General S. Brisbin
"A Serious Difficulty in Ken
tucky.
RECRUITING OFFICE,

RECRUITING OFFICE,
LEXINGTON, KY, Feb. 10.
General james f. Hade, Superintendent
Recruiting, New Orleans, La:
GENERAL: My attention has been
called to the order of the War Depart
ment dated Washington, January 95,
1867, forJidd,ng recruiting officers here
after to enlist boys ander the age Of
tlrenty-one wahout the consent Of the
parent or guardian. 1t will be almost
impossible to comply strictly with this
order in the enlistment of men for the
colored regiments. A great many
colored men, ike Topsy, say they have
no parents; yet I suppose the War De-
partment viii consider that all men
have parents somewhere, and require
the certificate on the enlistment paper
to be filed up. l should like to be in
structed also whether l am to put down
the putative father of yellow colored
man, or the actual parent; for you must
know that colored men in Kentucky
frequently have three parents as well
as sometimes none at all. To obtain
the consent of the persons whom yellow
men often say are their parents would,
l fear, be so delicate and difficult a
matter that 1 should have my bones
broken in the attempt. Besides the
official information am obliged to fur
nish, under the order of the 25th of
January, would, l am quite sure,
should it ever find its way into the do
mestic circle, sadly disturb the peace
of many of the first families of Ken
lucky. l do not like to make an official
record of amalgamation against my
Southern brethren, because it may
found ground for future actions at law
against them. When the colored peo-
pie become, as they will, part of the
law w-making power of the United States,
they may legalize and legitimatize their
birth, and sac for share Of their fath-
e,s' estate; or they may bring actions
for damages to their character, for it
certainly is great damage to coerce a
man into the world, and then deny
him.
am astonished that slavery should
ever have been made cause for war,
for, strange as it may appear, it is
nevertheless actually true, that the
people of the South, as well as those of
the North, have for long time been
engaged in the work of abolition. 1t is
true that the methods of emancipation
differed somewhat, those of the North
proposing to abolish negro slavery by
legislation, those of-the South propos-
ing to fade 1t om by infusing white blood
and brains into the negro race. Of the
two plans that of the North was un-
doubtedly the most honorable, while
that of the South was the most agreea-
bic to the feelings and prejudices of
those people South who were controlled
by an organization known as ''the Dem
ocratic party The Democratic law
of slavery gave the master absolute
control over the body of his slave, so
that every slave girl or woman was ct
all times subject to the caprice, lust,
pleasure or brutality of the master, did
not scruple to use his power, even to
the mingling of his blood with that of
his slave, is painfully evidenced by the
mixed condition of the population here
as well as elsewhere throughout the
South. Although this disgusting and
unjust plan of abolition has long been
known to the people of the South, yet
they did not consider it disgraceful. and
inasmuch as it was undertaken by
many of them in good faith, 1 do not
think it right that we should now un-
earth and parade the matter to their
discredit or make it work disadvan-
tage to them by forming ground for
future action at law against them. |
have therefore to ask that you will rep
resent the case to the Department OF
War, and urge that the order of the
25th of January may not be enforced
so far as it relates to the enlistment OF
yellow men for the colored regiments.
Very respectfully,
Your most ob't serv't,
JAMES S. BRIsBIN, U. S. A.
Recruiting Officer.