The Ouachita telegraph., 1877-09-28
CAN THIS BE TRUE
Wholesale Charges Against the Black
Regiments of the Army.
[Chicago Timas.1

(Chtcago Times
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, Sept. 11.-In
one Of my former letters-irOm Eagle
Pass, think-some mention was made
OF the negro soldiery posted along the
Rio Grande. That mention WAS not
complimentary. 1 regret that have
nothing to take back in reference to it..
Our four regiments of blacks, namely
the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and the
Twenty fourth aud Twenty-fifth In
fantry, are next door to useless. The
Ninth cavalry is now serving In an
other department. The other three Or
ganizatiOns are at the disposal of Gen.
Ord. am glad to see the negro free.
I like to see him respectable and useful
when he succeeds in making himself
so-but his place is not the army. As
q soldier he is, generally speaking, the
least warlike, the most corrupt, the
most ignorant, and the most dishonest
defender that ever disgraced the uni
form of II nation. This may he said,
with the customary reservations, of the
average negro who enlists in the four
regiments OF our national army devoted
to his use and benefit. He is forever
peculating. His officers cannot trust
him with government property. Not
alone will he sell his equipments, but
often his clothes, to procure whisky.
In his liquor he is a beast. No woman
white or black, brown or yellow-is
| safe in his neighborhood. He prefers
the white, and when properly reused
aud fired by drink and stimulated by
opportunity, his officers wives would
hardly be held sacred by him, although
watchfulness and the special interposi-
tion Of Divine Providence have so far
prevented him concentrating outrage
=
leave his wife unprotected at a post
guarded solely by black soldiers. Sent
upon a scout aud lying around the
ranches looking after cattle thieves, the
drunken military soldiers first impulse
is to ravish some unfortunate woman.
AS u natural result he gets shot or
stabbed, or creates some terrible dis
turbance which necessitates u court
martial. Some of his officers are afraid
of the military negro. When intoxi-
Gated he is often mutinous, and cases
have been known where commanders
were compelled to shoot black sergeants
down like dogs by way of example.
| The negro causes more court martials
| than any other element in the army.
The Inspector General of this depart
| ment, under Gen. Augur, made Il re-
port to the Secretary Of War which
showed that the black regiments COM
mitted three times rs many crimes, in
proportion to their numbers, as the
| white. / do not make these state
ments on doubtful authority. Nearly
all military men know how the matter
stands. Officers placed in negro regi-
ments feel themselves, in many cases,
slighted. They have to make the best
of it, however. Some officers OF " hite
regiments frequently speak of "niggel
officers with u sneer. Decent blacks
do not often enlist, and those who do
are very soon corrupted by the others.
| It is difficult to keep the regiments
filled up, and no standard of good moral
charactar appears to berequired. They
are, generally speaking, pack Of sneak
thieves, and Of low sensual instincts,
who are neither ornamental nor useful
on the Southern frontier.