New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-08-08
To the Colored People of the United States

To the Colored People Of the United States
There are many dssemblers and falls
fers of the Greeley party in the Sou,
n who are seeking the control of the co
l., ored voters, by declaring to them th'
President Grant is not, and never has beer
a faithful and sincere friend of my rae,
Indeed, Senator Sumner makes charge
? this kind, and while l would not for a me-
ment imply that l have lost faith in the hor
/. ored Senator's sincerity and integrity, sti
| must declare that President Grants course
from the time he drew the sword in defens
Z of the old Union in the Valley of the Mis-
sissippi till he sheathed it at Appomattox
and thence to this day in his reconstructio
= policy and his war upon the Ku- klux,
, without deed or word to justify snch al
accusation.
In substantiation of my opinion-and
think | may say my race is unit with m
in this opinion-I desire to submit to you
and to the country through you, the follow
ing plain and truthful statement of the fact
!, as the records prove them to be.
STATE OF PUBLIC OPINION.
And, first, let me recall the state Of publ,
opinion as regards the extent to which tn,
welfare and rights Of four millions of my
ens!aved people were involved during the
[ first year and half of the war. quote
from letter of Mr. Lincoln's, dated August
%, 1862:
My paramount object is to save the
Union, and not either save or destroy
slavery"
Mr. Lincoln, in his proclamation, warned
the rebels that he would, on the first day OF
January following, proclaim emancipation
in those States where the people shall be in
rebellion against the United States. That
! glorious proclamation he accordingly issued;
but Kentucky, Tennessee, and portions of
Louisiana and Virginia were not included in
| it.
| He WAS ALWAYS IN ADVANCE.
General Grant commanded the armies
! which were moving southwark from Carlo
and operating in territory affected and un-
affected by tho proclamation. / find, by
consultation with an ex officer in that army,
| who knew all the orders issued, that General
| Grant was always up with, or in advance of,
authority furnished from Washington in re.
gard to the treatment Of those of our color
then slaves. Thus large number of our
people, through his orders, were furnished
| employment within his lines, or transports.
ton to homes and places of comfort for
themselves and families and education for
their children in the North. And when he
reached northern Mississippi, or the region
where the people of our color were more nu.
merous, ! find that he issued, November II,
1862, before the Emancipation Proclamation
and before authority was furnished from
Washington, but solely on his own convic-
ton of the military necessity and right, an
order caring for our people.
Those of our people fleeing from slavery
had been not inaptly designated contrabands
of war by General Butler. Those of us who
participated in or witnessed these scenes can
recall with sufficient vividness the exodus
from slavery to liberty through the Federal
lines whenever the soldiers in blue appeared.
HE FoREsEEs THE EVIL AND PROVIDES MEANS
TO AVOID 1T.
General Grant saw the demoralizng effect
upon the army of thousands of men, women,
and children pouring through the camps
he recognized, too, the humane considera-
ton which would not allow, even in those
disturbed and fearful scenes, the starvation
ofthose negroes, in regard to whom, as slaves,
the Government had not yet fixed its policy
Selecting an officer for the purpose, in Spe-
cial Order No. Is, dated Headquarters 18th
Army Corps, Department Of the Tennessee,
Lagrange, Tennessee, November IL, 1892,
he directed this officer to stake charge of
the contrabands who came into the camp,
organize them into suitable companies for
work, see that they were properly cared for,
and set them to work. He ordered suitable
guards detailed for their protection, and the
officer to report to him in person." He
followed this with ample orders to the Com
missary General and Quartermaster General
for the issuing of ratons, clothing for men,
women, and children, and implements ne.
cessary for use in their labor.
In General Orders No. Is, dated Head,
quarters 18th Army Corps, Department of
the Tennessee, Oxford, Mississippi, Decem,
Der Il, 1862, still half month before the
Emancipation Proclamation, he made the
same officer General Superintendent of these
affairs for the Department, with authority
to designate assistants and, in word, in
creasing his authority, specifying more fully
the details OF his duties, the kind of labor
in which our people were to be employed,
and enforcing their compensation. They
were TO fill every position occupied by the
soldier save what depended upon his enlist
ment Their wives and children were also
to be cared for and given employment as
far as possible.
He ANTICIPATES THE FREnDMEN's BUREAU.
Indeed, looking over a report of the
General Superintendent, which was printed |
in the winter of 1865, and favorably reviewed
by the North american Reriep, find that
each military post came to have an office,
and that Office had one officer to care for
supplies furnished them, another for the
enforcement Of justice in their behalf, an.
other for their medical attendance, another
Tor their education. All abandoned prop.
erty was ordered used for them. In all |
these benefits | find white refugees shared
also.
Al