Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-12-26

AND DANCING.
because thought the negroes should fight
for their own freedom and the elevation of
their own race, and because, in other
words, as was said at the time, negro
would stop "A bullet as effectively as n white
man believed, too that properly Office =
Ell and leo eba negroes would fight sVo.-i "a
belief that was confirmed by experience
/ saw four Christmases while IA the
army, for 1 was not mustered out until
1S66-two with my old regiment, the
Twentieth Connecticut, and one, that of
1865, while on detached service as the judge
advocate of a general court martial The
Christmas which especially impressed il
self upon me, however, was that OF 1864,
which / spent with my new regiment, the
Forty-fourth, u. :. G. T.. This regiment
was recruited from among the planta-
tion negroes recently slaves Qf northern
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, with "a
small sprinkling from Mississippi. Dec.
20 1864, was my first Christmas as n field
officer, and with the colored troops-and
with all O. them-it was their first Christ
mas as soldiers and with many OF them
their first holiday as free men.
When Hood made his backward swing
from Atlanta toward Nashville, whilo
Sherman swung off on his famous march
TO the sea, the Forty fourth was among the
regiments left behind under Thomas to
prevent the imperious Hood from reach
ing the Ohio. We were not with Schofield
at Franklin, one of the dercest engage
ments of the war We did succeed in get
ting into Nashville in time to take part in
the utter rout and dispersion of Hoods
army on Dec. 10 and Is, though in getting
there our train ran into cul-de-sac lined
with Confederate batteries, and we were
only saved from annihilation by the celer-
ity with which we got off the train and
got behind cover. That night, guided by
some of our Tennessee negroes who knew
the bypaths, we eluded the Confederate
pickets and got into the Union lines
After the fight we were sent TO Chatta-
nooga and went into winter quarters. Our
men lived In huts, rude, but comfortable.
In fact, most of them were better housed,
better clothed and better fed than they had
ever been, and, while subject to the restraint
of military discipline, enjoyed more real
freedom than they had ever before known.
AS Christmas drew nigh the cOlored troops
showed anxiety to celebrate 1t appropriate
w. On all we'll conducted plantations In
the south before the war the holiday season
was always a time for enjoyment and feast
ing with the blacks as we'll as the whites.
The bonds of slavery were temporarily re-
Taxed, and all went in for good time.
The white troops were receiving from their
friends at home reminders that they were
not forgotten in the shape of packages by
mail and boxes by train laden with food,
drink and clothing Of a kind not provided
by Uncle Sam s. commissary or quarter
master. But our colored soldiers had n,
friends at home to send them these tokens
OF love and remembrance. Their friends
when not still in bondage, were poor, anC
homes were yet thing Of the future. Blu
the men had their pay, and suffers were az
numerous as their prices were high. Tn,
officers of the regiment, both field and line
helped out the festivities of the black mel
in blue both by contributions and by teach
ing them how and what to buy. The re
suit was that so far as creature comfort
were concerned the men of the Forty
fourth, colored, Jared remarkably well OF
their first Christmas of freedom and as sol
diers.
The negro, like the Chinese and Japa
nese, is imitative but, unlike them, he 1
musical AS a race the negro possesses
positive genius for music both vocal an,
instrumental. The men of the Forty
fourth Colored were not at all behind il
this regard. We had number of strinl
bands among the men. In fact, ever
company had one or more. They hal
some very good performers among them
some Of those on the fiddle and banjo be
course, by ear, knowing nothing of writ
ten music There was one negro VIII
played the accordion with marvellous skill
He was from Mississippi and had acquire
this accomplishment at New Orleans
where his old master spent his winters
this man having accompanied the plante
as his body servant. The man had brough
with him the instrument his master ha
bought him. Under his manipulation tn
peculiar whining tone OF the accordion
as ordinarily played was lost.
Then, there were any number Of goo
singers. One big fellow, the BLACKLIST man
think, 1 ever saw, had tenor voice tina
would have made the fame and fortune O
white man. 1t was clear and powerful
and as sweet as chime Of silver bells
in ordinary conversation be spoke in dia
iect, yet In singing his pronunciation wa
correct while his enuDoiation was perfect
ly distinct. He sang all the old favorit
ballads Of antebellum days and the wa
songs Of the time. His f0yorite song
though, was one OF his own composition
,rao al .IoDf .,.nrl.fpt, l.frvls and mo