The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-09
THE oo1oRED SOLDIERS.
Their Record i'm the Regular Arm

Because Mississippi would not allow her colored citizens to enlist, the state, in order to fill her quota, was obliged to send recruiting officers to Chicago to raise men. The Chicago Times-Trib- une says concerning this and the record of the colored soldiers in the war, as follows: Regular army officers, when they heard of Mississippi's action, be- lieved at first that the negroes had de- | manded officers of their own color, and that to this the governor would not submit When 1t became known that the colored men were willing to serve under white officers, but that no white Mississippians could be found who would accept such commands, army officers were nothing short of amazed No southern born officer of regulars, West Pointer or otherwise, objects to being assigned to a colored regiment. as matter of fact, fully one-third of the officers of the army prefer the ser- vice with the negroes to that with the whites. Two southern born officers. w. F. Shipp and W. H. Smith, of the West Point class of 1885, were killed while | leading their colored troopers at Ell Clancy. While Mississippi is as yet un- WllllllS tO dullllL Ildl llle ueSIV ildheS l a good man in the ranks, there is at least one northern state which has ad- mitted the right and wisdom of allow ing it's negro command to be led by | negro officers The result will be watched not anxiously but hopefully. Until Colonel Marshall of the Eighth Illinois took the oath of allegianc and was commissioned there had been but three colored officers of the United States army-Lieutenant Flipper, AL eXander and Young, all graduates of West Point. Lieutenant Flipper was discharged from the army by verdict of a court-martial. Alexander was a credit to his race and to his cavalry command. He died suddenly of heart disease. Lieutenant Young is still in | the service on detached duty at an educational institution for colored young men. There never yet has been an opportunity for colored troops to show what they would do on the field of battle when led by colored commits | stoned officers. It is known that the negro will fight magnificently when led 1 by white officers. That has been shown almost within the month. Will he do as well when the white officer has been replaced by a negro? It is not bit hard to answer yes, and to give clinch- | ing proof that the answer Is right As has been said, negro troops have never been led to battle by commissioned l officers of their own race, but they have been led by colored men acting as officers and with no white officer with in sight or hearing The leaders were colored and commissioned or non- commissioned, wherein lies the differ ence?
 Thomas Shaw, colored sergeant | Ninth United States cavalry, was in command of a detachment of his troop near Carizo Canon, New Mexico, Aug
 ust 12, 1881. The little band ran onto signs which showed unmistakably that a large force of hostile Apaches was in the immediate neighborhood, Shaw turned to his dusky following: You are under my command" he said do as well by me as you would by the 1 lieutenant" The Apaches attacked. Tn numbers they were five to one. Under their sergeant's leadership the men stood like rocks. Though their position was extremely exposed they beat off their assailants gallantly. The savages tried to surrounds the black troopers. By an exhibition of tactical and strat- 1 egio knowledge creditable to any com missioned officer Shaw prevented this ] movement of the Apaches time after time. Relief came after hours of fight ing and ceaseless watching. Congress gave Shaw meda, which he wears as proudly as he would a knot on either shoulder. tt
 Sergeant Madison Ingoman, colored, Ninth United States cavalry, was plac
 ed in command of a detachment and ordered to escort a wagon train to Ojo Caliente, N. M. The train was attack ed by band of Indians whose num- bers were by actual count just four times those of the cavalrymen. The Reds came down like the hot wind from one of their own deserts. Ingoman formed his men and led them at keen run straight at the heart of the savage line The boldness and suddenness of the attack unnerved the Apaches; the inc wavered, parted and broke, the fragments flying like chaff. Two days later the Indians attacked again, this time in the canon of the Canada AL amost. Again they were met by the in- trepid sergeant and his courageous fol- lowing. The wagon train was again saved, and Sergeant 1ngoman. who had shown himself worthy to command men. received a certificate of merit signed by the president of the United | States.
 The guard which accompanied Pay master Wham when he was attacked by bandits in 1889 was composed ex- | clusively of colored men of the cavalry and infantry. There have been few ex- amples of greater devotion to duty than was shown on that occasion. The sol diers were nearly all shot down, but they fought the robbers off from their knees One private, Benjamin Berge of the Twenty fourth infantry, had his hand shattered by ball. He used his forearm as a rest and continued the fight. A bullet tore through his hip and hurled him to the ground. There he fought on. Thornton Hams, Tenth
 cavalry. another privates was shot twice. He was subjected to cross fire while lying wounded, but nothing could stay his hand. With his carbine
 he helped those of his comrades that
 the bullets had left whole, until the
 bandit gang had fled.
 There are scores of like instances in which it is shown that confidence in the
 colored soldiers coolness and bravery
 Af.. I N NzfNt