The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-26

Between 5000 RnL 10000 VIII Soon
BE Mustered In An Experiment..

patxveeu 5000 anJ 10000 VIII Soon
BE Mustered In An Experiment..
NEW YORK, June ga special to the
Times from Washington says: When the
mastering in of new organizations under the
second call is completed the volunteer army
will include between 5000 and 10000 negro
soldiers and more negro officers than ever
before were in the service of the United
States. Under the first volunteer call few
colored troops were offered by the States,
the restriction of the call to the National
Guard having a tendency to shut out the
colored men, When the second call was is
sued the President let it be known that
he would like to have an opportunity given
to negro volunteers to enlist when new or
Plantations were to be taken in. In response
TO this suggestion seven companies of col
oped troops are to be mustered in in North
Carolina which, added to the three colored
companies already In service from that
State, will make ten-company regiment
of something more than / 900 men. In Ala
bana a battalion of negro troops was taxi
en- in under the first call Two battalions
will be accepted under the second levy, so
rs to make full colored regiment from
the State Two battalions of negro troops
will be accepted from Virginia under the
second call. There is at Camp Alger col
ored battalion from Ohio and one of the
Massachusetts regiments includes some
negro privates. In addition to these volun-
teers raised under the regular levies, four
of the so-called immune regiments-the Sew
enth, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth--wfll be COM
posed of negroes
In furnishing officers for these colored
commands the War Department has had
serious problem to deal with 1t is the Pres
dents desire to give the negroes repre-
sentation as officers. In the last war, when
there were 9l,ls9 negro troopS--three-year
men-in the federal army, the officers were
white men. When the proposition was made
to place negro officers over some of the
colored commands now being raised, the
question how the officers mess would be
arranged when there were white and coll
ored officers in the same regiment came up.
That question remains to be settled.
The experiment of negro regiment
wholly Differed by negroes is to be tried
IN the case of the North Carolina regiment,
whose colonel will be a colored man, and
the only one of that rank in the army. In
the Alabama regiment the officers will be
white men. In the immune negro regiments
there VIII be mixture, the colonies and
other field officers and the captains being
white and the lieutenants and other lesser
officers black. 1t Is in this combination of
white and colored officers that the color line
Is expected TO cause trouble.
A regular army lieutenant who is engaged
In mastering in negro companies for one
OF the Immune regiments said that the men
promised to make good soldiers. '"They are
all right physically" he said. "Of course
most of them are illiterate and they know
nothing about military tactics but with
good officers and careful training they ought
TO fight WE'LL Army experts regard the
ofiicering of negro regiments with negroes
as an experiment which may or may not
turn out well. The negro needs to be led
well, they say to makea good fighter and
VIII follow one of their own race as we'll
as they would white officer.