"Such, we think, is the universal opinion of our citizens. We conversed with many yesterday, and, without exception, they expressed approval of the invitation which had been extended to the colored veterans to take part in the ceremonies of the day, and gratification at seeing them in a conspicuous place in the procession.
"The respectability of their appearance, and the modesty of their demeanor, made an impression on every observer, and elicited unqualified approbation. Indeed, though in saying so we do not mean disrespect to any one else, we think that they constituted decidedly the most interesting portion of the pageant, as they certainly attracted the most attention."
It was during the rebellion of 1861-65 that the author saw one of the colored drummer boys of that column beating his drum at the head of a negro United States regiment marching through the streets of New Orleans in 1862.
The New York battalion was organized and marched to the reinforcement of the American army at Sacket's Harbor, then threatened by the enemy. This battalion was said to be a fine looking body of men, well drilled and disciplined. In Congress Mr. Martindale, of New York, said, in a speech delivered on the 22nd January 1828, before that body:
"Slaves or negroes who had been slaves were enlisted as soldiers in the war of the Revolution: and I myself saw a battalion of them,—as fine martial looking men as I ever saw attached to the Northern army in the last war (1812),—on its march from Plattsburg to Sacket's Harbor, where they did service for the country with credit to New York and honor to themselves."
As in the dark days of the Revolution, so now in another period of national danger, the negroes proved their courage and patriotism by service in the field. However, the lamentable treatment of Major Jeffrey[10] is evidence that these services were not regarded as a protection against outrage.
In the two wars in which the history of the negroes has been traced in these pages, there is nothing that mitigates against his manhood, though his condition, either bond or free, was lowly. But on the contrary the honor of the race has been maintained under every circumstance in which it has been placed.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] So indiscriminate were English officers in these outrages, that it sometimes happened that black men were seized as English seamen. At that time the public opinion of the world was such, that few statesmen troubled themselves much about the rights of negroes. But in another generation, when it proved convenient in the United States to argue that free negroes had never been citizens, it was remembered that the cabinets of Jefferson and Madison, in their diplomatic discussions with Great Britain, had been willing to argue that the impressment of a free negro was the seizure of an American citizen.—Bryant's History of the United States.
[9] "Hammond Golar, a colored man who lived in Lynn for many years, died a few years since at the age of 80 years. He was born a slave, was a privateer "powder boy" in the war of 1812, and was taken to Halifax as a prisoner. The English Government did not exchange colored prisoners because they would then be returned to slavery, and Golar remained a prisoner until the close of the war."