Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-08
RecoiIections Of the Late Gen.
4p44S
John Eaton.
HIS RELATIONS WITH GRANT
Placed by the Latter in Charge of
"Contrabands.
HIS LABoRs WITH FREEDMEN
of Silent, Commander
"reminiscences of Lincoln and His
Interest in the Negroes. .
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS,

By WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
Written for The star and' tse Chicago Record
Herald.
The late Gen. John Eaton left the manu-
script of a book entitled Lincoln. Grant
and the Negro 1t Is primarily a. history
of the early work of the freedmeIi's bu-
reau. with which Gen. Eaton was closely
identified, and an account OF his personal
relations with Gen. Grant and President
Lincoln, with interesting anecdotes OF both.
1t is purely personal, but. at the same time,
Is an important contribution to the history
of the civil war and the days of reconstruct
ton, when the author was in the very
midst of things, and had am opportunity to
see and know what was going on more
closely than the ordinary historian. Evil
IDENTIFY motives of delicacy prevented Gen.
Eaton from publishing these "reminiscences.
during his lifetime.
AS sort of introduction he gives an
autobiograp hical sketch. He tells us of his
home life on New Hampshire farm. where
he was born in fs29 the Oldest of nine chill
dreu: how he worked for an education and
finally got through Dartmouth College in
1854 and went to Cleveland, Ohio, to teach
a school in which William Rockefeller, the
great Standard Oil plutoerat, was one of
his pupils. In 1856 he was appointed super
intendent of public schools in Toledo. While
there he decided that he had call to the
ministry, and took a course at sAndover
Theological Seminary. where he graduated,
and was ordained IN the summerssof 1851
But he never took charge or parish. He
enlisted at once in the army was appointed
chaplain of the 9th Ohio Volunteers, a To-
Iedo regiment, and was sent to Fremonts
command in Missouri He was twice taken
prtsoner-once by Prices Blackberry Cav
airy" when ne was returning from st.
Louis where he had conducted a party of
sick and wounded soldiers; and again while
he was nursing Col J. w. Fuller OF the
9th Ohie who was lying Ill with typhoid
fever at a Missouri farm house. Both Gen.
Price and Gen. McCulloch, who captured
him the second time, ordered his release
without condition as soon as they discov-
cred that he was a chaplain.
Entrusted With the Contrabands.
The next year his regiment was trans
ferred to Tennessee, where, in November,
1s62. Gen Grant issued Special Order No.
49," which read:
Chaplain Eaton of the 9th Ohio Volun-
teers is hereby appointed to take charge Of
the contrabands that come into camp. or
ganizing them into suitable companies for
working seeing that they are properly
cared for, and setting them to work pick
ing, ginning and balfng all cotton now out
ana ungathered in the fields
This was the origin OF the freedmens bu-
reau. the first official recognition by the
government of the United States of its re-
sponsibihty for the welfare Of the escaped
slaves and the negroes who had deserted
their plantations or had been abandoned
by their owners UPON the approach OF the
Union forces These hordes were hungry,
SICK naked, helpless and bewildered. Iney
had no homes, were destitute of every
thing, and were possessed OF the widest
notiens of freedom and liberty. They were
called "contrabands" because Gen. Butter
at Fortress Monroe had declared that slaves
We're property like mules and horses, and
when their owners were disIoyal to the
Union like other property, they were con
traband of war. The idea took instantly,
and thereafter every escaped slave became
known as ''contraba first joke
and then seriously, and Gen. Grant official
Iy recognized the term when he made Chap
lain Eaton general superintendent of con-
trabands." Why Grant selected Eaton for
this work has never been explained The
| latter was modest young man of thirty,
who had been performing his duties as
| chaplain with devotion and had served for
| a time as brigade sanitary inspector, but
| had never met his commander and never
| knew how his commander happened to hear
| OF him. Gen. Eaton never asked, and Gen.
| Grant never explained, but the young chap
| lain in that way was intrusted with the
enormous responsibility Of saving thou
| sands of human beings from starvation ana
| destruction and leading them into eondi-
| tons that were new and unfamiliar.
The late Gen. Samuel Thomas, the rail-
| way magnate of New York. who died re-
Gently leaving a fortune OF $2U.OOO. 600 was
| selected Gen. Eatons assistant. Thomas
was then lieutenant OF Company r. 9th
Ohio, Gen. Eaton's regiment, having en-
| listed in Lima. Ohio, and the young man S
ability, energy and devotion 20 duty had
attracted Eaton's attention.
The contrabands were divided into COM
panies and the territory into districts, TN
| I'll the work extended all over tie south as
fast as the army advanced and the Union
authorities recovered control. abandoned
plantations were leased ito persons of
proper character and qualifications" who
paid rental of So for every bale of cotton
and cents for every bushel of corn they
raised, the money being collected by treas
ury agents. The coutrabands were pro-
vided with employment upon these FARMS
with wages of 81 q month for men SIS a
month for women and So month for chill
dren under eighteen. During the first year
1859 negroes, former slaves were cared
tor-I2500 on plantations and Al. 80 as la
borers, teamsters, cooks, wood cutters
iaundresses. nurses and in other employ
ments about the military camps
Experience With the Freed People.
Gen. Eaton relates many interesting
anecdotes of his experience in taking care
of these people and trying to organize them
and enforce morality.
Families were established by themselves
and every man took care Of his wife and
children" he says. Zone of the most
touching features OF our work was the
eagerness with which colored men and
women awaited themselves of the opportu-
mites offered them to legalize unions al
ready formed, some of which had been In
existence a long time. Chaplain FTske on
one occasion. married In about one hour
1l9 couples at one service. chiefly those who
had lived long together Later on a great
proportion OF the maria NO f.<nr-