Читать книгу The Black Phalanx - Joseph T. Wilson - Страница 6

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It was a dark, stormy night in the winter of 1882, when less than a hundred men, all of whom had served their country in crushing the great Rebellion of 1861-'65, gathered around a camp-fire. The white and the colored American were there; so were the German, Frenchman, and Irishman,—all American citizens,—all veterans of the last war. The empty sleeve, the absent leg, the sabred face, the bullet-scarred body of the many, told the story of the service they had seen. It was the annual Encampment of the Department of Virginia, Grand Army of the Republic, and the comrades of Farragut Post had tastefully arranged their quarters for the occasion.

At midnight a sumptuous soldiers fare—baked beans, hot coffee and hard tack—was spread before the veterans, who ate and drank heartily as in the days when resting from the pursuit of the enemy. In the morning hour, when weary from the joy of song and toast, it was proposed that the history of the American negro soldier should be written, that posterity might have a fuller and more complete record of the deeds of the negro soldiers than had been given in the numerous already published histories of the conflicts in which they played so important a part.

The task of preparing the history fell to my lot, and it is in obedience to the duty laid upon me by my former comrades, with whom I shared the toils and joys of camp, march, battle and siege, that this volume, the result of my efforts, is launched upon the sea of war literature.

Whether or not there is any merit in the work, the reader must judge. His charity is asked, however, toward such defects as may be apparent, and which, perhaps, might be expected in the literary work of one whose life has been largely spent amid the darkness of the South American countries and the isolation of the South Sea Islands. It was not until May, 1862, while domiciled at the capitol of Chili, that I first learned of the war in the United States, when, hastening to this country, I fell into the ranks with the first negro soldiers that left the Touro Building at New Orleans, in November, 1862, and marched out on the Opelousas road, to serve in defence of the Union.

With whatever forebodings of failure I entered upon the work of collecting the literature of the war, from which to cull and arrange much of the matter contained herein,—which has required years of incessant search and appeal,—I can but feel that it has been thoroughly done. The public libraries of the cities of Boston, Cincinnati, New Bedford, New York, the War Department at Washington, and the private libraries of several eminent citizens, have alike been made use of by me.

It seemed proper, also, that the memory of our forefathers should not be allowed to remain in longer obscurity; that it was fitting to recall their deeds of heroism, that all might know the sacrifices they made for the freedom their descendants were so long denied from enjoying. In gathering together the scattered facts relating to the negroe's participation in the wars of 1775 and 1812, difficulties well-nigh insurmountable have been overcome, and it has been only through patient and persistent effort that I have been able to prepare the chapters devoted to the early wars of the United States.

Descriptions of a number of the battles in which negro troops took part in the late war of the Rebellion, are given to call attention to the unsurpassed carnage which occurred, and to give them proper place in the war's history rather than to present a critical account of the battles. My aim has been to write in the spirit which impelled the soldiers to go forth to battle, and to reverse the accounts given in the popular histories which ascribe to the generals and colonels who commanded, instead of the soldiers who did the fighting, victory or defeat. "The troops who do what can neither be expected nor required, are the ones which are victorious. The men, who, tired and worn and hungry and exhausted, yet push into battle, are those who win. They who persist against odds, against obstacles, against hope, who proceed or hold out reasonably, are the conquerors," says Gen. Grant's historian. With no desire of detracting from the commanders—if I were able—the honor due them, my aim is to credit the soldiers with whatever heroism they may have displayed.

I acknowledge it has been a labor of love to fight many of the battles of the war of the rebellion over again, not because of a relish for blood and the destruction of human life, but for the memories of the past; of the bondage of a race and its struggle for freedom, awakening as they do the intense love of country and liberty, such as one who has been without either feels, when both have been secured by heroic effort.

To those who have responded to my appeal for information regarding the negro soldier, I have aimed to give full credit; if any are omitted it is not intentionally done. To no one am I more indebted for assisting in collecting data, than to Lt. J. M. Trotter, of the 55th Mass. Reg't. nor am I unmindful of the kindness of Hon. Robert Lincoln, late Secretary of War, nor that of Col. James D. Brady, member of Congress from Virginia, for copies of public records; to Col. H. C. Corbin, for the record of the 14th Reg't.; and to Col. D. Torrance for that of the 29th Reg't. Conn. I am also indebted to Maj. Gen. Wm. Mahone for a map of the defences of Petersburg, showing the crater; to the librarian of the Young Men's Mercantile Library, of Cincinnati, for the use of Col. Albert's carved map of Fort Wagner, and to Col. G. M. Arnold and Hon. Joseph Jergenson for copies of historical papers; also to Hon. Libbey.

J. T. W.