Later on, however, when the war opened in earnest, and the question of the freedom and slavery of the negro entered into the struggle; when extra care was taken to guide him to the rear at night; when after a few thousand Yankee prisoners, taken in battle, had sought and obtained an opportunity of whispering to him the real cause of the war, and the surety of the negroes' freedom if the North was victorious, the slave negro went to the breastworks with no less agility, but with prayers for the success of the Union troops, and a determination to go to the Yankees at the first opportunity; though he risked life in the undertaking. When the breastworks had been built and the heavy guns mounted, when a cordon of earthworks encircled the cities throughout the South, and after a few thousand negroes had made good their escape into the Union lines, then those who had labored upon the fortifications of the South were sent back to the cotton-fields and the plantations to till the soil to supply the needs of the confederate soldiers who were fighting to keep them in bondage. But when the policy of the North was changed and union and liberty were made the issues of the struggle, as against slavery and disunion, and the Union forces began to slay their enemies, the Confederate Government realized the necessity of calling the negroes from the hoe to the musket,—from the plantations to the battle-fields.
In the incipiency of the struggle, many of the States made provision for placing the negro at the disposal of the Confederate Government; but elated at their early victories, the leaders deemed the enforcement of the laws unnecessary, negro troops not being needed. As the change came, however, and defeats, with great losses in various ways depleted the armies, the necessity of the aid of the negroes became apparent. Stronghold after stronghold, city after city, States in part, fell before the march of the Union troops. The negro had become a soldier in the Union army, and was helping to crush the rebellion. President Lincoln had declared all slaves in rebeldom free, and thousands of black soldiers were marching and carrying the news to the slaves.
This state of affairs lead President Davis and his cabinet to resign to the inevitable, as had the North, and to inaugurate the policy of emancipating and arming the slaves, knowing full well that it was sheer folly to expect to recruit their shattered armies from the negro population without giving them their freedom.
It was therefore in the last days of the confederate authorities, and it was their last hope and effort for success. Despair had seized upon them. The army was daily thinned more by desertion than by the bullets of the Union soldiers, while Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea had awakened the widest alarm. In the winter of 1864 and 1865 the question of arming the slaves was presented as a means of recruiting the depleted and disordered ranks of the army, and it soon assumed an importance that made it an absorbing topic throughout the Confederacy. There was no other source to recruit from. The appeal to foreigners was fruitless. "The blacks had been useful soldiers for the northern army, why should they not be made to fight for their masters?" it was asked. Of course there was the immediate query whether they would fight to keep themselves in slavery. This opened up a subject into which those who discussed it were afraid to look; nevertheless it seemed unavoidable that a black conscription should be attempted, and with that in view, every precaution was taken by those who supported the scheme to avoid heightening the dissensions already too prevalent for good. The newspapers were advised of the intended change of policy, to which not a few of them acquiesced. General Lee was consulted, as the following letter, afterward printed in the Philadelphia Times, shows:
"Headquarters Army Northern Virginia,
"January 11th, 1865.
"Hon. Andrew Hunter: I have received your letter of the 7th instant, and, without confining myself to the order of your interrogatories, will endeavor to answer them by a statement of my views on the subject.
"I shall be most happy if I can contribute to the solution of a question in which I feel an interest commensurate with my desire for the welfare and happiness of our people.
"Considering the relation of master and slave controlled by human laws, and influenced by Christianity and an enlightened public sentiment, as the best that can exist between the white and black races, while intermingled as at present in this country, I would deprecate any sudden disturbance of that relation, unless it be necessary to avert a greater calamity to both. I should, therefore, prefer to rely on our white population to preserve the ratio between our forces and that of the enemy, which experience has shown to be safe. But in view of the preparations of our enemies it is our duty to prepare for continued war and not for a battle or a campaign, and I own I fear we can not accomplish this without overtaxing the capacity of our white population.
"Should the war continue under existing circumstances the enemy may in course of time penetrate our country, and get access to a large part of our slave population. It is his avowed policy to convert the able-bodied men among them into soldiers, and emancipate all. The success of the federal arms in the south was followed by a proclamation from President Lincoln for two hundred and eighty thousand men, the effect of which will be to stimulate the northern states to procure as substitutes for their own people the negroes thus brought within their reach. Many have already been obtained in Virginia, and should the fortunes of war expose more of her territory the enemy will gain a large accession of strength. His progress will thus add to his numbers, and at the same time destroy slavery in a manner most pernicious to the welfare of our people. Their negroes will be used to hold them in subjection, leaving the remaining force of the enemy free to extend his conquest.