[CHAPTER IX.]
The Colored Men of Iowa—Hard Fight Near White River—The Men of Kansas—Enthusiasm for the War—Fight at Butler—Battle of Cabin Creek—Battle of Honey Springs—The Battle of Poison Springs—Battle at the Sabine River—Battle of Boykin's Mill with Poem—Incidents of the War.
I have said nothing yet about the far western frontier, and the enlistments that took place far away between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains. There were not many colored people in those States and territories at that time, but the few who were there acted with the greatest enthusiasm, and came joyously up to the rescue of the Union and liberty. Although all colored men were free in those parts, they most willingly laid down the plough and other implements of husbandry, left their sweethearts, their wives and families, and all that they held dearest, with wonderful zeal and alacrity, and marched to the field even with the utmost joy, "to help of the Lord against the mighty." Of course the Western frontier was not the only part of the Union where such devotion for the Union and liberty was shown. It was the very same everywhere. Even in the old slave States, when the recruiting sergeants came along, and asked the slaves if they would like to go to the war and fight for Uncle Sam, to a man they answered yes. Thus the recruiting went rapidly on wherever colored volunteers could be found. Poor Uncle Sam was in great need of men, and these brave recruits were gathered together at places appointed for drill, in all the various branches of the art of war, and they learned with great willingness and with great rapidity also. With so much enthusiasm and fire, is it any wonder that colored troops did so well in the war, and with their strong, brawny, willing arms so mightily helped to knock down the South? It is no wonder at all!
Yes, poor Uncle Sam was in great need of assistance about the time of Lincoln's proclamation of freedom, for these terrible and clever rebels had not only destroyed our white troops by tens of thousands, but they had at the same time thinned out some thousands of the black soldiers also. Lincoln kept calling for more troops, for a very great many more, indeed, and black and white men came up to the national call like heroes.
It was not until August, 1863, when the men of Iowa arose, hurried through their drill, and marched to the front. They gathered at first at St. Louis, where Mrs. I. N. Triplet presented one of the regiments with a beautiful silk national flag, on behalf of the ladies of Iowa, and of the city of Muscatine. That beautiful flag was carried all through the war, and was brought home again to Iowa, in the midst of great congratulations.
In January, 1864, this regiment was ordered to report to Helena, Arkansas, and lent a hand in a number of small engagements, where they took numbers of prisoners. But the most serious fight in which they were engaged took place in the following July, near the White river, where they attacked a force of the rebels twice as numerous as themselves. This fight was most desperate, though the rebels lost three men to our one. Most of our own officers were killed or wounded; night was coming on apace, and still we held out—yea! fought like lions hour after hour. At last a body of white Union soldiers coming to our aid, burst through the rebel ranks with loud cheering, and our poor fellows, who were so hard pressed, cheered loudly in return. Still the arrival of these re-enforcements did not turn the battle into a Union victory, but they enabled us to retreat from the field in good order. Later on in the day, more colored re-enforcements from Helena arrived, but too late to make any changes in the situation. It was well for us, however, to save all the men we could, because the rebel soldiers and the rebel population on these western States and territories seldom missed an opportunity to murder every colored soldier who fell alive into their hands. Still we cared nothing for their "black flag," but fought ten times harder than before, and thus we helped on the downfall of slavery!
The State of Kansas was the very first State in the entire Union to make a commencement in recruiting and drilling regiments of colored men to put down the great rebellion. Kansas was only admitted into the Union as a free State on the 29th of January, 1861. It was her admission as such that transferred the slave-holder's rebellion from Kansas to South Carolina, and the other seceding States. In other words, the rebellion began in Kansas, and the scene was simply shifted upon Lincoln's election. But the Republican men of Kansas arose with unbounded alacrity and enthusiasm, and in a short time had 20,000 men in the field, some of whom were regiments of colored men, who did yeoman's service in the West. And not only in Kansas, but in every other section of the Union, colored men showed a great deal of principle in the way in which they came up to the rescue of the nation; came up with horse, foot and artillery! As Deborah says in her song of victory (Judges, 5 chapter, verse 18): "Zabulun and Naphtali were a people that jeopardized their lives unto the death in the high place of the field." The first fight in which the colored troops of Kansas were engaged took place near Butler. There were about two hundred and twenty-five men in all, and they were attacked by about five hundred Confederates. This is supposed to have been the very first engagement in the war between colored soldiers and the rebels, and the rebels were defeated with considerable loss. The date of the engagement was the 28th of October, 1862. The next morning a few recruits came up and joined their comrades in the pursuit of the secessionists, but failed to overtake them. The work of recruiting, drilling and disciplining the regiments still went on, till at last they were so efficient in the various arms of the service that they were second to none. Soon after this a foraging party of forty-five of our men were attacked by three hundred Confederates, and half of them killed or captured in a short time.
This regiment, which was lead by the gallant Colonel Williams, remained in camp at Baxter Springs till the 27th of June, 1863, when it marched for Fort Gibson, in connection with a large supply train from Fort Scott en route to the former place. The Colonel was led to believe that they would be attacked in the neighborhood of Cabin Creek. He made haste, and gathered all his men together, about eight hundred in all. Upon arriving at Cabin Creek the rebels in great force under General Cooper met him there, but our men were unable to cross the stream on account of a shower of rain, which had swollen its waters too high for infantry to get over. When the morning came, by the aid of those who had come up in the night, the whole effective force was now raised to 1,200 men, which embraced some cavalry, a few Indians, and four pieces of artillery. Being well lead on by their officers, these 1,200 men made a most heroic attack on the vastly-superior rebel force, and after two hours' hard fighting, vanquished them completely, killing and wounding one hundred men, and taking eight prisoners. We had eight killed and twenty-five wounded on our side. The road was now open, and our men proceeded with the train to Fort Gibson, where they arrived on the 5th of July, 1863.
It was on the morning of the 17th of July when our small force under command of General Blunt, left Fort Gibson, and moved upon the enemy, 6,000 strong, who were commanded by General Cooper. We found the latter encamped at Honey Springs, twenty miles south of Fort Gibson. After a desperate combat of two hours, the rebels were totally defeated with a loss of four hundred men killed and wounded, and one hundred prisoners. After this the Kansas City troops returned to Fort Gibson, where they remained till September, when they moved out again against General Cooper and his forces, who fled at their approach. We followed them for one hundred miles, but as they still continued to keep ahead of us, we returned and encamped at Fort Davis, a former Confederate fort on the Arkansas River.