Читать книгу The Black Phalanx - Joseph T. Wilson - Страница 42

"Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the Governor of the State be, and he is hereby authorized to raise, by voluntary enlistment, two regiments of free men of color, for the defence of the State for three years, unless sooner discharged.

"Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That each of the said regiments shall consist of one thousand and eighty able-bodied men; and the said regiments shall be formed into a brigade, or be organized in such manner, and shall be employed in such service, as the Governor of the State of New York shall deem best adapted to defend the said State.

"Sect. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the commissioned officers of the said regiments and brigade shall be white men; and the Governor of the State of New York shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to commission, by brevet, all the officers of the said regiments and brigade, who shall hold their respective commissions until the council of appointment shall have appointed the officers of the said regiments and brigade, in pursuance of the Constitution and laws of the said State.

"Sect. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any able-bodied slave, with the written assent of his master or mistress, to enlist into the said corps; and the master or mistress of such slave shall be entitled to the pay and bounty allowed him for his service: and, further, that the said slave, at the time of receiving his discharge, shall be deemed and adjudged to have been legally manumitted from that time, and his said master or mistress shall not thenceforward be liable for his maintenance.—Laws of the State of New York, passed at the Thirty-eighth Session of the Legislature, chap. xviii."

The organization of negro troops was now fairly begun; at the South enlistment was confined to the free negroes as set forth in Gen. Jackson's Proclamation. In New York, the slaves who should enlist with the consent of their owners were to be free at the expiration of their service, as provided in the Sixth section of the law quoted above.

Animated by that love of liberty and country which has ever prompted them, notwithstanding the disabilities under which they labored, to enter the ranks of their country's defenders whenever that country has been assailed by foes without or traitors within, the negroes responded to the call of General Jackson and to that of New York, with a zeal and energy characteristic only of a brave and patriotic people. Inspired by the hope of impartial liberty, they rallied to the support of that banner which Commodore Barron lowered when he failed to protect them from British aggression, but which Commodore Decatur gallantly and successfully defended.

The forcible capture and imprisonment of Ware, Martin and Strachan, the three negroes taken from the Chesapeake, and who were recognized by the United States authorities as citizens of the republic, was sounded as the key-note and rallying cry of the war; the outrage served greatly to arouse the people. The fact that the government sought to establish the liberty of the free negroes, and the further fact that she regarded them as citizens, heightened their indignation at the outrage committed by the British, and appealed to their keenest patriotic sensibilities. New York was not long in raising her two battalions, and sending it forward to the army, then at Sacket's Harbor.

On the 18th of December, 1814, following the issuing of his Proclamation, Gen. Jackson reviewed the troops under his command at New Orleans, amounting to about six thousand, and of this force about five hundred were negroes, organized into two battalions, commanded by Maj. Lacoste and Maj. Savory. These battalions, at the close of the review, says Parton, in his Life of Jackson, had read to them by Edward Livingston, a member of Jackson's staff, the following address, from the Commander of the American forces:

"To the Embodied Militia.—Fellow Citizens and Soldiers: The General commanding in chief would not do justice to the noble ardor that has animated you in the hour of danger, he would not do justice to his own feeling, if he suffered the example you have shown to pass without public notice.

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"Fellow-citizens, of every description, remember for what and against whom you contend. For all that can render life desirable—for a country blessed with every gift of nature—for property, for life—for those dearer than either, your wives and children—and for liberty, without which, country, life, property, are no longer worth possessing; as even the embraces of wives and children become a reproach to the wretch who could deprive them by his cowardice of those invaluable blessings.

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"To the Men of Color.—Soldiers! From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms,—I invited you to share in the perils and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected much from you; for I was not uninformed of those qualities which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you could endure hunger and thirst, and all the hardships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds.

"Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion; and the voice of the Representatives of the American nation shall applaud your valor, as your General now praises your ardor. The enemy is near. His sails cover the lakes. But the brave are united; and, if he finds us contending among ourselves, it will be for the prize of valor, and fame its noblest reward."—Niles's Register, vol. vii. pp. 345, 346.

Thus in line with the white troops on the soil of Louisiana, amid a large slave population, the negro soldiers were highly praised by the commanding General. The British had already made their appearance on the coast near the mouth of the Mississippi, and at the time of their landing, General Jackson went out to meet them with two thousand one hundred men; the British had two thousand four hundred. This was on the 23rd of December. The two armies met and fought to within a few miles of the city, where the British general, Pakenham, who had arrived with reinforcements, began on the 31st to lay siege. On Jan. 8th the short but terrible struggle took place which not only taxed the energies and displayed the great courage of both forces, but made the engagement one of historic interest. In the short space of twenty-five minutes seven hundred of the British were killed; fourteen hundred were wounded and four hundred were taken prisoners. The American army was so well protected that only four were killed and thirteen wounded. It was in this great battle that two battalions of negroes participated, and helped to save the city, the coveted prize, from the British. The two battalions numbered four hundred and thirty men, and were commanded by Maj. Lacoste and Maj. Savory. Great Britain also had her negro soldiers there,—a regiment imported from the West Indies which headed the attacking column against Jackson's right,—they led her van in the battle; their failure, with that of the Irish regiment which formed also a part of the advance column, lost the British the battle. The conduct of the negro soldiers in Gen. Jackson's army on that occasion has ever been applauded by the American people. Mr. Day, in Nell's "Colored Patriots of the American Revolution," says: