Historical Romance of the American Negro

by Charles Henry Fowler

"The chairman arose again and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, we have all listened with extreme pleasure to the two duets played by these two children. We will now call upon Mrs. Thos. Lincoln to address the house. She did splendid service during the Abolition Campaign that led on to the election of Abraham Lincoln; and thousands, who are now free, have already risen up and called her blessed. But we will now have the pleasure of hearing the lady herself.'

"Mrs. Lincoln on coming forward was met with a splendid reception from the audience, who even rose to their feet and cheered loudly. It was a glorious sight to see the meeting at this time, the handsome lady waiting on the stage, and soldiers and citizens like to go frantic with joy, as well indeed they might. When order had been evolved out of chaos, Mrs. Lincoln proceeded as follows:

"'Gallant General, Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems to me that this must be the happiest day of my life, thus to stand before an audience in the famous Crescent City in company with my dear husband and daughters. Most assuredly this is the red letter day of my life, if I ever had one, to address both soldiers and citizens at New Orleans.

"'And yet I am quite overwhelmed when I contrast the little I was permitted to do in the Abolition Campaign before the war with what many a brave man,—yes, hundreds of thousands of men have done since, and are doing now, both by day and by night. I feel quite overcome when I think even of these brave men all around me here, and remember the easy times by comparison, that we Abolitionists had as we travelled the Northern States, and were not always well received. Yes, small and puny was our work compared with that of the black and white heroes who have often met a most determined and even desperate foe, on many a hard fought field. The hearts of us poor women in the North have often bled as we all these years at home lay secure and safe, whilst our loved ones were fighting like giants against the enemies of human liberty, and mankind also. The bravest of the brave were in the field. White and black all fought alike well. They were the flower of all the men of the north. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.

"'The war, no doubt, is now drawing to a close. The host of slavery is in their last ditch, even at Richmond in Virginia, where blacks and whites will have to finish them between them. And when this cruel war is all over, and those who remain alive return home again, then the country will begin to teem with chronicles and histories of the great rebellion. But will one hundredth part of the truth ever be told? I don't think it ever will; because it will never be known, and who can write the history of that which we don't know? Such and such things could be related, but there is no one to record them.

"'It is very true that we may catch a glimpse of things here and there, but for one item that is recorded, there will be a thousand lost. There are the marches, and the counter-marches, the snow, the rain, and the hail of winter; the heats and droughts of summer; weakness and sickness arising from the want of all things, hunger and fatigue. O, there is none but the Lord from heaven Himself who can ever know all that our brave fellows have endured before they breathed their precious lives away in the service of their country. Just consider for a moment how their decaying bodies have been found weeks and months afterwards in the deep ravines, at the bottom of swamps and rivers, in the wild tangled thickets of the forest, upon every highway, and under every green tree. Here a poor wounded fellow wandering away by himself and perishing all alone in a strange land far from home and his native state, who knows all about the end of that man; and who shall write his heroism and the suffering he endured before the Lord put an end to his pains, and took him home to heaven to Himself? Alas, alas! There is no one to tell us how he suffered, fought and died. We only know that he marched forth to the field, in health and strength and vigorous life, and did his part in pulling down this terrible rebellion, a wicked rebellion indeed, built upon the broken laws of human nature, an outrage upon humanity, and a sin against God. But those gallant heroes who have fallen in the war often said, that it was simply their part to do their duty, and, if they fell, their wives and children would at least be free, and not forgotten by a grateful and Christian government. (They shall not be forgotten). When I look around me, and see the great advance along the whole line already in the way of human liberty, the results are perfectly grand and most inspiring. With the exception of a small section of the Confederacy, it may be truthfully stated that the armies of the Union have already freed all the slaves. From the Potomac to the Rio Grande one grand song of liberty has been sung by the emancipated race. Was there ever such a shout of joy heard since the Israelites escaped from Egyptian slavery, when Pharaoh and all his host perished in the Red Sea? Who would ever have imagined that in our own day history would thus have repeated itself? But it has done so all the same; and for the self-same reason our own poor, oppressed people have raised one universal shout to Heaven, and sung all along the whole line, 'I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.' O, my brother! ye brave soldiers of the army of the Union, ye have deserved well of your God and of your country, and your honors will never fade while sun and moon endure. White and black soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, have marched to the field; they have overthrown their terrible foe, and they have cleared the way for the education, the Christianization, and grand enlightenment and intelligence of an emancipated race. Our sufferings have been great. The whole nation has suffered, but the sacrifice has not been made in vain, for generations unborn shall arise and call you blessed. Your labors, toils and sufferings will neither be lost nor forgotten. The entire emancipated race will bless you while life and time shall last; your names shall be inscribed upon the roll of fame, and all generations shall conspire to call you blessed. 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.' 'Enter ye into the joy of your Lord.'

"'Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much indeed for your kind attention to my few remarks.'

"When Mrs. Lincoln had thus spoken, she resumed her seat amidst a loud and long-continued storm of applause. The gallant chairman then called for 'three cheers and a tiger,' for the Lincoln family, which were given with a terrible vim, when the meeting broke up, and we all scattered for our separate homes. But a grander demonstration was never gotten up in the city of New Orleans."

The last grand struggle of war was in Virginia, where General Grant gathered together many of the veterans who had fought in the South and Southwest, including 20,000 colored troops, one-half, at least, of whom were veterans, and there were also many powerful, enthusiastic recruits who desired nothing better than an opportunity to assist in knocking down the Confederacy! A goodly number of those brave young fellows had been enlisted in Maryland. It is quite amusing to recall the letters and chronicles of the times when the recruiting officers landed from their vessels on the shores of the Chesapeake, marched up to the slave-holder's estates, called for all the male slaves to be brought before them, when they picked out the strongest and the best, asked them if they were willing to fight for freedom and the Union, and always receiving the joyful answer, "Yes, master, I am willing," laid down their tools there and then, and marched on board the Union vessels with great delight. It was in vain that their rebel masters and mistresses pointed out their need of their slaves, to gather in their harvest, which was then about ripe (1863), or that the officers took their able-bodied "servants," who left their teams right there on the highways, the heads of the horses being turned round in the direction of the plantation. The rebel masters and mistresses were simply referred to Washington for redress—if any could be got there! "You must apply to the Secretary of War; we are merely acting under orders from the head of the department." In the meantime the delighted slaves marched on board, and were taken to the camp appointed for drilling, and thus many a splendid soldier was recruited who mightily helped to pull down the "Confederate States."