The Black Phalanx / African American soldiers in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the Civil War

by Joseph T. Wilson

THE ARMY OF THE FRONTIER.

At the Far West the fires of liberty and union burned no less brightly upon the altar of the negro's devotion than at the North, East and South. The blacks of Iowa responded with alacrity to the call of the governor to strengthen the Army of the Ohio. Though the negro population was sparse—numbering in 1860, only 1069—and thinly scattered over the territory, and were enjoying all the rights and privileges of American citizenship, nevertheless they gave up the luxuries of happy homes, threw down their implements of peaceful industry, broke from the loving embrace of wives and children, and with the generous patriotism which has always characterized the conduct of the race, they rushed to the aid of their yet oppressed countrymen, and the defense of the Union.

The Gibralters of the Mississippi, Vicksburg and Port Hudson, had fallen by the might of the Union armies; the Mississippi was open to the Gulf. The shattered ranks of the victorious troops, and the depleted ranks of the Phalanx, rent and torn by the enemy during the long siege of Port Hudson, lent an inspiring zeal to the negroes of the country, which manifested itself in the rapidity of the enlistment of volunteers to fill up the gaps.

A PHALANX REGIMENT RECEIVING A GIFT OF COLORS.

In August, 1863, the authorities of the State of Iowa began the enlistment of negroes as a part of her quota. Keokuk was selected as the place of rendezvous. On the 11th of the following October nine full companies under the command of Colonel John G. Hudson, took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and became a part of the active military force of the National Government. The regiment was designated the 1st A. D. (African Descent) Regiment Iowa Volunteers, and was mustered for three years, or during the war. Leaving Keokuk Barracks, the regiment proceeded to St. Louis, Mo., and was quartered in Benton Barracks, as a part of the forces under command of Major-General J. M. Schofield. Here company G. joined the regiment, making ten full companies. A memorable and patriotic incident occurred here: Mrs. I. N. Triplet, in behalf of the ladies of the State of Iowa, and of the city of Muscatine, presented the regiment with a beautiful silk national flag, which was carried through the storms of battle, and returned at the close of the war to the State.

On the first day of January, 1864, the regiment was ordered to report to General Beaufort at Helena, Ark., becoming a part of the garrison of that place until the following March.

One Sergeant Phillips, with some others, agitated the propriety of refusing to accept the seven dollars per month offered them by the Government, and of refusing to do duty on account of it. Sergeant Barton, however, held it was better to serve without pay than to refuse duty, as the enforcement of the President's Emancipation Proclamation was essential to the freedom of the negro race. To this latter the regiment agreed, and passed concurrent resolutions, which quelled a discussion which otherwise might have led to mutiny.

While the regiment was at Helena it took part in several skirmishes and captured a number of prisoners. In July, Colonel W. S. Brooks, in command of the 56th, 60th, and a detachment of the 3rd Artillery Phalanx Regiment, with two field guns, sallied out of Helena and proceeded down the Mississippi River, to the mouth of White River, on a transport. Here the troops disembarked. The next morning, after marching all night, Brooks halted his command for breakfast; arms were stacked and the men became scattered over the fields. Suddenly, General Dobbins, at the head of a superior confederate force, made an attack upon them; the confederates at first formed no regular line of battle, but rushed pell-mell on the scattered federals, intending, doubtless, to annihilate them at once. The Union men soon recovered their arms, but before they got into line, their commander, Colonel Brooks, had been killed, and Captain Ransey of Co. C, 60th Regiment, assumed command. The men of the Phalanx, though they had had but a short time to rest from a long march, rallied with the ardor of veterans, and fought with that desperation that men display when they realize that the struggle is either victory or death. It was not a question of numbers with them; it was one of existence, and the Phalanx resolved itself into a seeming column of iron to meet the foe as it rushed over the bodies of their dead and wounded with the rage of madmen.