Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-01-10
The First Colored Soldiers.

Im0 FIRST CO1OFcO SO401CTns
THE severest trial in our regiment"
said the Doctor, 'came when the gov
eminent decided to enlist and organize
negroes into regiments People Of this
day have violent racial prejudices, but
they cannot understand the unreason-
ing prejudice Of the soldiers against
arming the blacks Our colonel was
hard-headed pro-slavery man, and at a
poker game he made the remark that
if Lincoln accepted negro regiments, he
would march his regiment out of camp,
stack arms, and order the men to go
home Many of the boys believed he
would do just as he said, and they dis
cussed the matter in way to make the
Presidents ears burn.
'There were all sorts of reports in
camp. One was that one colored reg1-
ment was to be attached to each bri-
gade to do the ditching and trenching
and to load and unload wagons, and to
build roads and bridges This report
was received seriously and when a
thousand colored men camped a few
miles from us without arms, the boys
thought Old Abe's head was level after
all. 1t was all right for the darkies
to relieve the fighters Of the army Of
hard work, but the boys objected to
men enlisted to work wearing the uni
form. But on certain day it was re-
ported that guns and equipments had
been issued to the colored regiment,
and our own men looked to the colonel
to be as good as his word
"a few days later the colonel sent a
company Of our regiment over to the
negro camp to show the darkles how to
drill. The men came back disinclined
pany was sent, and on their return the
men were less inclined to talk than
those Of the first company. 1t was ad-
mitted however, that the darkies
would make good soldiers. BY gumn
said Happy Jack, who was q little Civ
en- to dandyism in his clothes, those
coons treat their blouses and trousers
as though they were made Of fine silk.
They won't even sit down on the
ground for fear they may soil the army
blue. I actually saw one fellow put a
handkerchief down on a log before he
sat down.
But the coons, Jack declared, could
stand in line as straight and could
take the position of the soldier as well
as anybody. After they saw the COM
pany of white men go through the
manual Of arms, they took their own
rifles and went through the movements
very much as did the whites. They
were in command of an old volunteer
officer, to whom they were greatly at
tached, and the boys wondered what
they would do if Morgan or Forrest
should make a dash on their camp some
time when the darkies were asleep
"Not many weeks after that, and be-
fore our own men were called upon for
any formal expression Of opinion, the
negro regiment was in an engagement
The men went in steadily, with their
eyes on the colonel, and, although they
met a furious fire, they followed their
colonel into the midst Of one Of the Sc
verest engagements Of the war. Not
a man faltered, and when the regiment
came out it left a good many dead on
the field. That night the question Of
negro troops was discussed in a new
light, and the boys who were going to
desert changed their mind. Some one
reproached the colonel for what he had
said about enlisting colored men, and
asked him what he was going to do
about it, He said shortly: I will
obey ORDERS just as you will And in
the end there was no trouble about
arming the blacks