New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-01-29

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applause
Sir, VIC were told yesterday also that we
must respect, in this regard, the pre- JUDGES of
the South. Pardon me; we must ArnTent the
preiudices of men in the South. We cannot
respect them; we lament them, and we pity
them. With deep sorrow, and not Extensively,
l say this. Prejudice can never be the ground
of legislation in regard to the rights of the
citizen-ncver. We must legislatc to give
| every man who is citizen Ofthe United States
all the rights that every other man has. We
must demand that prejudice shall square it.
self with that law. 1t is to meet that pre-
judicc that this legislation has been devised,
that the fourteenth article of amendments to
the Constitution OF the United States was
enacted, and to control which this lcgisla-
ton is brought forward. a prejudice is
where you do not like the thing itself. We
in the North had somewhat of this prejudice
/ against the colored man. You of the South
had none. From the rarity, they were
offensive to us. But we are getting used
| to the negro, and are getting from our former
mode OF feeling and speaking on the subject.
That was prejudice. But you had not any
such feeling of dislike or o!lcnsivcncss ut the
South. Now am getting over that feeling
and you are getting it. And it is political
| idea you are getting, aud not a.prclntlice at
all. lLaughter.] Now, sir, you will allow
me to state how L got over my rreiudccs. |
think the House got over theirs after the
exhibition We had yesterday. [ think no
man will get up here and say he speaks only
to white men again. He must at first show
himself worthy before he can speak to some
cOlored men in this House after what occurred
yesterday. [Applause.l
l got over my prejudices from The exhibit
ton of like high qualities in the negro, but
in different manner from that which, |
have no doubt, many prejudice was re-
moved against the negro in the House yes
terday. In Louisiana, in 1862, when our
arms were meeting with disaster before Rich
m0nd, | was in command of the city of New
Orleans with very few troops, and those
daily diminishing by the diseases incident to
the climate. with larger number of con-
federatc soldiers parolcd in the city than |
had troops. l called upon The Government
for reinforcemcnts, and they could not give
me any, and | therefore called upon the
colored men to enlist in defense of their
country. brought together the officers of
two coiorcd regiments that had been raised
by the cOnfedcrates for the defense of the
city against uS-but which disbanded when
we came there because they would not loht
against us, and staid at home when their
white comrades ran away-and said: GLOW
soon can you enlist me one thousand men ~
''In ten days, General" they answered: and
when the thousand men were brought to-
gether in a large hall | saw such n body of
recruits as l never saw before. Why, sir,
| every one of them had on clean shirt, a
| thing not often got in body of thousand
recruits. Laughter put colored officers
| in command of them, and organized them.
| But we had our pfeiutiiccs against Them.
was told they would not fight. ! raised an
other regiment, and by the time l got them
organized, before l could test their fighting
qualities in the field, the eXigencics of the
service required that l should be relieved
from the command of that department.
| came into command again in Virginia in
1868. | there organized twenty-five rcgi-
ments with some that were sent to me and
disciplined them. Still all my brother officers
of the regular army said my colOreI soldiers
would not fight; and felt it was necessary
that they should fight to show that their race
were capable of the duties of citizens; for
one of the highest duties of citizens is to de-
| fend their own liberties and their cOuntry's
flag and honor. On the 29th of September,
1864, was ordered by the commanding gem
eral of the armies to cross the James river at
two points and attack the cnemy's line Of
works; one in the center Of their line, Fort
Harrison, the other strong work guard
ing their left flank at New Market Heights;
and there are men on this floor who will re-
member that day, doubt not, rs do my
self. l gave the center of the line to the
white troops, the Eighteenth Corps, under
General Ord, and they attacked one very
strong work and carried il CALAMITY. | went
myself with the colored troops to attack the
enemy at New Market Heights, which was
the key to the encmy's flank on the north
side of James river. That work was re-
doubt built on the top of hill of some con-
siderable elevation, then running down into
a marsh in that marsh was a brook; then
rising again to a plain which gently rolled
away toward the river. On that plain, when
the flash of dawn was breaking, | placed q
column of three thousand colOrcd troops
in close column by division, right IN front
, with guns at fright shoulder shift"
said: "That work must be taken by the
E weight of your column no shot must be
fired ;" and to prevent their firing had tho
caps taken from the nipples Of their guns
Then 1 said: "Y our cry, when you charge
will be, Remember Fort Pilow" and as Tho
sun rose up in the heavens the order wa
given, Forward! and they marched forwar'
steadily, as if on parade-went down the hill
, across the marsh, and as they got into tn
brook they came within range of the enemy
fire, which vigorously opened upon them
They broke little as they forded the brook
and the column wavered. Oh, it was a mo
t ment Of intcnsest anxiety, but they forme
: again as they reached the firm ground, march
q ing steadily on with closed ranks under TIL
enemy's fire until the head of the column
i reached the first line Of abattis, some on
n hundred and fifty yards from the enemy
work. Then the aX-men ran to the front
cut away the heavy distractions of defense
while one thousand men of the enemy, wit
their artillery concentrated, from the redOut
poured a heavy fire upon the head of til
column hardly wider than the clerks desl
The aX-men went down under that murde
s. GUS fire; other strong hands grasp the axe
It in their stead, and the abattis cut away
e Again, at dOuble-quick, the column goes fo
IS ward to within fifty yards OF the fort, to met
n there another line of abattis. The colun
Il halts. And there very fire of hen is pou
q ing upon them. The abattis resists an
IT holds, the head of the column seemed lite
j. allv to melt away under the rain of shot ar
al she'll, the flags of the leading regiments {
" down. but a brave black hand sezes Il
It colors they are up again and wave the
.. starry light over the storm of battle aga
l. the ax-mcn fall, but strong hands and wllir
D. hearts seized the heavy sharpened trees al
= drag them away, and the column goes fo
"a ward; and with a shout that now rings
At nv ear they went over that redoubt like
he flash, and the enemy never stopped runnil
he for four miles. Applause on the floor al
le in the galleries.
al 1t became by painful duty, sir, to follow
n the track of that charging column, and thel
e. in a space not wider than the clerks DIES
n and three hundred yards long, lay the de
H. bodies of five hundred and fOrty-three of Il