The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-07

was too, much good-natured laughing and
harmless joking among other classes. Be
fore long however, the prevailing under
tone OF thought became thoroughly respect
tul and kind, while the pecuniary aid given
was limited only by the amount asked Tor:
OE colonel Shaw and his methods ana OF
the colored soldier in camp, the following
statements are made:
Col Robert Gould Shaw was not a SEN
timentalist. He imposed the strict dlscl-
pine of the Second Regiment, from which
ne came upon the Fffty-fourth. The men
of a slave regiment required, and in the
case of the First South Carolina received,
treatment very different from that required
by mixed regiments like the Flfty-tourto
and Fifty-fifth. In a slave regiment the
haTsher forms of punishment were, or ought
to have been, unknown. so that every
suggestion of slavery might be avoided.
This was Col. r. w. Higginsons cnltSht-
ened method-the method of kindneSs-and
il was successful Colonel ShaWs method
successful. The unruly members or the
Fifty-fourth and Fiftyrfifth were stood on
barrels, bucked. gagged, and, II need De,
shot-in fact, treated as white soldiers We're
in all wel-disciplined regiments. The
squads of recruits which arrived at Read
willie for the Fifty-ffth could hardly at nrst
sight have been called picked men. Ihey
were poor and ragged. Upon arrival tney
were marched to the neighboring pond,
disrobed, washed and uniformed.
EFFECT OF CLOTHES.
Their old clothes were burned. The trans
formation was quite wonderful. The recruit
was NeIy IuuCn pledSeu Will TIE uilllOIl liz
Strengthened uD, grew inches taller lifted,
not shuffled, his feet, began at once to try,
and to try hard. to take the position of the
soldier, the facings and other preliminary
drill so that his ambition to carry "one of
those muskets' might be gratified. When.
finally he was intrusted with the response
BILE duties of a guard there was nothing
quite so magnificent, and. let me add quite
so reliable. as the coored volunteer. The
effect of camp discipline on his character
was very marked. His officers were gentle
men who understood the correct ortho-
graphy and pronunciation of the word ne
gro For the first time in his life he found
himself respected and intruSted with du-
ties, for the proper performance of which
he would be held to a strict accountability.
Crossing the camp lines by connivance OF
the guard was almost unknown Running.
guard was an experiment too, dangerous to
try The niceties of guard mounting and
guard duty, the absolute steadineSs essen
ua1 TO successful dress parade, were ali
appreciated and faithfully observed. The
cleanliness of the barracks and camp
grounds at Readvile was delight. Not
scrap of loose floating paper or stuff of any
accoutrements, were kept clean and pol
ished. Everyone was intrusted, everyone
did his best. The Sunday-morning inspec-
tiOnS discovered a degree of perfection that
received much praise from several regular
as well as veteran volunteer officers. 1t is
not extravaganza to say that thousands of
stantly converted by what they saw. The
aptitude of the colored volunteer to learn
the manual of arms, to execute readily the
orders for company and regimental move
ments, and his apparent inability to march
out of time at once arrested the attention
of every officer. His power of imitation
was great, his memory for such movements
was good. and his ear for time or cadence
perfect. You may call the initiative power
a sign of inferiority, or what you will. We
have now to do with the negro as soldier,
and as such 1t may be accurately said that
the average colored soldier adapts himself
more readily to the discipline OF a camp,
and acquires what is called the drill, in
much less time than the average white sol
der. These characteristics stand out clear
and undsputed by those who have had ex-
perience in both kinds of regiments. Treated
kindly and respectfully the average col
ored citizen is the most inoffensive of per
sons He prefers to get out of rather than
in your way. Innately he is a gentleman.
Instinctively he touches his hat when pass
ing. The requirements of military disci-
pline were very favorable for the full deVel-
opment of these traits, so much so that in
the matter of etiquette and polite manners
one felt that he was in command of regt-
ment of a thousand men, each man a posi-
BILE Lord Chesterfield.
AT FORT WAGNER.
An account is given of the siege of Fort
Wagner, with all the familiar details re-
garding the famous assault by the colored
troops and the death and burial of Colonel
Shaw. This is followed by q resume of the
battles in which colored troops were en-
gagged, and a consideration of the qualities
that they displayed and the following APP
peal and summing up are then made:
Let us never forget the debt we owe to
the colored soldiers Let US always be will
ing to give them whatever credit is their
due. We called upon them in the day of
our trial, when volunteering had 4. ceased;
when the draft was partial failure and
the bounty system a senseless eXtrava-
gance. They were ineligible for promotion,
they were not to be treated as prisoners OF
war Nothing was definite except they could
he shot and hanged like soldiers. ~Fortu-
nate, indeed, it is for US, as well as for
them that they were equal to the crisis;
that the grand historic moment which
comes to a race only once in many CEN
nized it.. They saw that the day OF their
redemption had arrived. They escaped
through the rebel lines of the South; they
came from all over the North, and when
the war closed the names of 5000 men of
African descent were on the rolls
OF the young hero-martyr who fell while
leading on the regiment of these negro
troops that he commanded Colonel Halo
Colonel Shaw was in the twenty-sixth
year of his age-how young it seems now
and had seen two years of hard service in
the Army of the Potomac. His, clean-cut
face quick, decided step and singular
charm of manner, full of grace and virtue,
bespoke the hero. The immortal charge
of his black regiment reads like page of
always thought that in the great war with
the slave power the figure that stands out
in boldest relief is that of Colonel Shaw
There were many others as brave and de-
voted as he - the humblest private who
sleeps in yOnder cemetery or fills an I'M
known grave in the South is as much ent-
tied to our gratitude-but to no others was
given an equal opportunity. BY the ear
nestness of his convictions, the unselfsh
ness of his character, his championship of
an enslaved race and the manner of his
death-all the conditions are given to make
underlying cause, the real meaning of the
war He was the fair type of all that was
brave, generous, beautiful, and of all that
was best worth fighting for in the war of
the Shareholders rebellion"
ADJUSTMENTS.