The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-03-21
Rev. Mansfield French.

ntN. MNuSuctu FItBCu pOputAIy hhoNh
as chaplain French, prominent Metho-
dist minister and widely known friend Of
the colored race, died at HE pastoral
charge, Pearsalls, l.. l., on Wednesday
morning, the 10Th inst, aged sixty-six
years. Mr.. French had spent varied,
active and highly useful life. lie was
born at Manchester, Vt, February 81,
1910 The youth of the deceased preacher
was spent on his fathers farm and at the
then noted Bennington Seminary, where
he made excellent progress in classics and
mathematics.
During his theological studies and after
their completion he founded the seminary
which soon became Marietta college, was
principal of Circleville female seminary
aud founded the Granville female seminary
In 1882 he married Miss Austa NJ. Win
chell, cousin of DR.. Alexander Winchel
the eminent geologist. In the year 1916
he Joined the Methodist Episcopal church
and entered her itinerant ministry in the
North Ohio conference. Mr.. French was
"a fervent and remarkably successful pas
tor for several years hundreds being
brought into the church through his labors.
Here also. by church appointment. he
served as President of Xenia female college
and as agent for the OHIO Wesleyan Uni
versity, and then for Wilberforce Univer-
sity. Wiberforce University was the first
college opened for the colored race in
America. Soon after the capture of Hilton
Head and the South Carolina coast by the
Sherman naval expedition, at the urgent
solicitation of Lewis Tappan and others,
he went to Washington and laid before the
president his views of the nations duty to-
ward the ''contraband slaves Of that de-
partment. He was then given pass and
commission to visit all forts, etc., in the
south occupied by northern forces. Soon
after he came north and organized the
great Cooper institute meeting of February
20, 1862 The result of this meeting was
the organization of the National Freed
mans relief association, whose object was
the sustaining of the work of education of
the blacks, planned by Mr.. French in the
SOUTH On the 3D. of March he sailed for
Port Royal, with large corps of teachers
These were the first teachers furnished by
the north to the late slaves, the forerunners
of great host to follow them. He next
secured for the black man the right to fight
under the flag of his country. But the
struggle for it WAS a hard one. Mr. French
labored with the authorities necessarily for
three days to obtain il. When the order
was granted it was under the most strict in
functions that its contents should not be
divulged in the north. Mr.. Stanton's own
words to Mr.. French were :-"For heav-
ems sake don't let the New York Herald
get hold of this.
The first result of this authority was the
expedition with the steamer Darlington
down the coast of Florida, for the double
purpose of destroying extensive salt works
invaluable to the rebel cause and of enlist
ing colored troops. This expedition was
formally in chBrse of the military officers,
bat actually commanded by Mr.. French
(who was under fire in the action. and it
was completely successful in both its main
objects. He wrote the enlistment roll
himself, aud on the return of the vessel to
Port Royal he turned over to white off,
GERS the "first South Carolina Volunteers, -
nearly 200 strong Thus the black man
gained one more step toward the recogni-
ton of his rights as an American citizen.
This latter work was performed by Mr..
French, under commission as a chaplain in
the United States army. lie held this
commission only twenty-seven days less
than six years, and upon it, under various
official designations, he executed all the re-
mainder of his work in the national service.
His private papers for this period contain
the original draft of the act of congress
organizing the Freedman's Bureau, which
mans crest raid Ind made emancinotioo
onerative in the interior % south Care
Ina and Georgia he wa commissioned IN,
General G,Imore Inno o. tae5 10 nroceod
throueb those states and .,i,strn p' tha
nlanters freedmen and other ,nhshitanis
Of The conntrv GENERALLY in their individusI
and relative drties nm ler the now order "t
thinas develonad bv tho xyar
n was dnrinS tbis ,our hat Mr. Ere,cb
pave an exam6le If noe,ical retrihn,ion
nnon the great rebel leader RoSert
,roomhs Toomhs had hoosted IN tho 400,