"'The right to be killed I'll divide with the nayger,
And give him the largest half.'
"With the strong conviction that the negro was a man worthy of freedom, and possessed of all the essential qualities of a good soldier, I early advocated the organization of colored regiments,—not for fatigue or garrison duty, but for field service.
"In October, 1863, having applied for a position as an officer in the colored service, I was ordered before the Board of Examiners at Nashville, Tennessee, where I spent five rather anxious hours. When I entered the army I knew absolutely nothing of the details of army life; had never even drilled with a fire company. During the first three months I gathered little except a somewhat rough miscellaneous experience. As a lieutenant and staff officer I learned something, but as I had never had at any time systematic instruction from any one, I appeared before the Board with little else than vigorous health, a college education, a little experience as a soldier, a good reputation as an officer, a fair amount of common sense and a good supply of zeal. The Board averaged me, and recommended me for a Major.
"A few days after the examination, I received an order to report to Major George L. Stearns, who had charge of the organization of colored troops in that Department. He assigned me to duty temporarily in a camp in Nashville. Major Stearns was a merchant in Boston, who had been for years an ardent abolitionist, and who, among other good deeds, had befriended John Brown. He was a large-hearted, broad-minded genial gentleman. When the policy of organizing colored troops was adopted, he offered his services to the Government, received an appointment as Assistant Adjutant General, and was ordered to Nashville to organize colored regiments. He acted directly under the Secretary of War, and independently of the Department Commander. To his zeal, good judgment and efficient labor, was due, very largely, the success of the work in the West.
"November 1st, 1863, by order of Major Stearns, I went to Gallatin, Tennessee, to organize the 14th United States Colored Infantry. General E. A. Paine was then in command of the post at Gallatin, having under him a small detachment of white troops. There were at that time several hundred negro men in camp, in charge of, I think, a lieutenant. They were a motley crowd,—old, young, middle aged. Some wore the United States uniform, but most of them had on the clothes in which they had left the plantations, or had worn during periods of hard service as laborers in the army. Gallatin at that time was threatened with an attack by the guerilla bands then prowling over that part of the State. General Paine had issued a hundred old muskets and rifles to the negroes in camp. They had not passed a medical examination, had no company organization and had had no drill. Almost immediately upon my arrival, as an attack was imminent, I was ordered to distribute another hundred muskets, and to 'prepare every available man for fight.' I did the best I could under the circumstances, but am free to say that I regard it as a fortunate circumstance that we had no fighting to do at that time. But the men raw, and, untutored as they were, did guard and picket duty, went foraging, guarded wagon trains, scouted after guerillas, and so learned to soldier—by soldiering.
"As soon and as fast as practicable, I set about organizing the regiment. I was a complete novice in that kind of work, and all the young officers who reported to me for duty, had been promoted from the ranks and were without experience, except as soldiers. The colored men knew nothing of the duties of a soldier, except a little they had picked up as camp-followers.
"Fortunately there was one man, Mr. A. H. Dunlap, who had had some clerical experience with Col. Birney, in Baltimore, in organizing the 3rd U.S. Colored Infantry. He was an intelligent, methodical gentleman, and rendered me invaluable service. I had no Quartermaster; no Surgeon; no Adjutant. We had no tents, and the men were sheltered in an old filthy tobacco warehouse, where they fiddled, danced, sang, swore or prayed, according to their mood.
"How to meet the daily demands made upon us for military duty, and at the same time to evoke order out of this chaos, was no easy problem. The first thing to be done was to examine the men. A room was prepared, and I and my clerk took our stations at a table. One by one the recruits came before us a la Eden, sans the fig leaves, and were subjected to a careful medical examination, those who were in any way physically disqualified being rejected. Many bore the wounds and bruises of the slave-driver's lash, and many were unfit for duty by reason of some form of disease to which human flesh is heir. In the course of a few weeks, however, we had a thousand able-bodied, stalwart men.
"I was quite as solicitous about their mental condition as about their physical status, so I plied them with questions as to their history, their experience with the army, their motives for becoming soldiers, their ideas of army life, their hopes for the future, &c., &c. I found that a considerable number of them had been teamsters, cooks, officers' servants, &c., and had thus seen a good deal of hard service in both armies, in camp, on the march and in battle, and so knew pretty well what to expect. In this respect they had the advantage of most raw recruits from the North, who were wholly 'unused to wars' alarms.' Some of them had very noble ideas of manliness. I remember picturing to one bright-eyed fellow some of the hardships of camp life and campaigning, and receiving from him the cheerful reply, 'I know all about that.' I then said, 'you may be killed in battle.' He instantly answered, 'many a better man than me has been killed in this war.' When I told another one who wanted to 'fight for freedom,' that he might lose his life, he replied, 'but my people will be free.'
"The result of this careful examination convinced me that these men, though black in skin, had men's hearts, and only needed right handling to develope into magnificent soldiers. Among them were the same varieties of physique, temperament, mental and moral endowments and experiences, as would be found among the same number of white men. Some of them were finely formed and powerful; some were almost white; a large number had in their veins white blood of the F. F. V. quality; some were men of intelligence, and many of them deeply religious.