The Colored Regulars in the United States Army

by T. G. Steward

Thus these four colored regiments took their place on the march, in camp, in assault and in siege with the flower of the American Army, the choice and pick of the American nation, and came off acknowledged as having shared equally in heroism and sacrifices with the other regular regiments so engaged, and deserving of special mention for the exhibition of regard for the welfare of their fellow man. The query is now pertinent as to the return which has been made to these brave men. The question of Ahasuerus when told of the valuable services of the Jew, Mordecai, is the question which the better nature of the whole American people should ask on hearing the general report of the valuable services of the Negro Regular in the Spanish War. When Ahasuerus asked: "What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?" his servants that ministered unto him were compelled to answer: "There is nothing done for him." Looking over these four regiments at the time of this writing an answer somewhat similar in force must be returned. That the colored soldier is entitled to honor and dignity must be admitted by all who admire brave deeds, or regard the welfare of the state. The colored soldier, however, was compelled to stand by and see a hundred lieutenancies filled in the Regular Army, many in his own regiments, only to find himself overlooked and to be forced to feel that his services however valuable, could not outweigh the demerit of his complexion.

The sum total of permanent advantage secured to the colored regular as such, in that bloody ordeal where brave men gave up their lives for their country's honor, consists of a few certificates of merit entitling the holders to two dollars per month additional pay as long as they remain in the service. Nor is this all, or even the worst of the matter. Men who served in the war as First Sergeants, and who distinguished themselves in that capacity, have been allowed to go back to their old companies to serve in inferior positions. Notably is this the case with Sergeant William H. Givens, whose history has been detailed as commanding Troop D, T enth Cavalry, after Captain Bigelow fell, and who heroically led the troop up the hill. He is now serving in his old troop as Corporal, his distinction having actually worked his reduction rather than substantial promotion.

It must not be inferred from the foregoing, however, that nothing whatever was done in recognition of the gallantry of the colored regulars. Something was done. Cases of individual heroism were so marked, and so numerous, that they could not be ignored. The men who had so distinguished themselves could not be disposed of by special mention and compliments in orders. Something more substantial was required. Fortunately for such purpose four regiments of colored United States Volunteer Infantry were then in course of organization, in which the policy had been established that colored men should be accepted as officers below the grade of captain. Into these regiments the colored men who had won distinction at Santiago were placed, many as Second Lieutenants, although some were given First Lieutenancies. This action of the Government was hailed with great delight on the part of the colored Americans generally, and the honors were accepted very gratefully by the soldiers who had won them on the field. Fortunately as this opening seemed, it turned out very disappointing. It soon became evident that these regiments would be mustered out of the service, as they had proven themselves no more immune, so far as it could be determined from the facts, than other troops. The Lieutenants who had been most fortunate in getting their commissions early got about six or seven months' service, and then the dream of their glory departed and they fell back to the ranks to stand "attention" to any white man who could muster political influence sufficient to secure a commission. Their day was short, and when they were discharged from the volunteer service, there appeared no future for them as commissioned officers. Their occupation was indeed gone. It was for them a most disappointing and exasperating promotion, resulting in some cases in loss of standing and in financial injury. Their honors were too short-lived, and too circumscribed, to be much more than a lively tantalization, to be remembered with disgust by those who had worn them. Cruel, indeed, was the prejudice that could dictate such a policy to the brave black men of San Juan. The black heroes, however, were not without sympathy in their misfortune. The good people of the country had still a warm place in their hearts for the colored soldier, despite the sayings of his maligners.

The people of Washington, D.C., had an opportunity to testify their appreciation of the Tenth Cavalry as that regiment passed through their city on its way to its station in Alabama, and later a portion of it was called to Philadelphia to take part in the Peace Jubilee, and no troops received more generous attention. To express in some lasting form their regard for the regiment and its officers, some patriotic citizens of Philadelphia presented a handsome saber to Captain Charles G. Ayres, who had charge of the detachment which took part in the Peace Jubilee, "as a token of their appreciation of the splendid conduct of the regiment in the campaign of Santiago, and of its superb soldierly appearance and good conduct during its attendance at the Jubilee Parade in Philadelphia."

Likewise when the Twenty-fifth Infantry arrived at its station at Fort Logan, Colorado, the people of Denver gave to both officers and men a most cordial reception, and invited them at once to take part in their fall carnival. All over the country there was at that time an unusual degree of good feeling toward the colored soldier who had fought so well, and no one seemed to begrudge him the rest which came to him or the honors bestowed upon him.

This state of feeling did not last. Before the year closed assiduous efforts were made to poison the public mind toward the black soldier, and history can but record that these efforts were too successful. The three hundred colored officers became an object at which both prejudice and jealousy could strike; but to reach them the reputation of the entire colored contingent must be assailed. This was done with such vehemence and persistency that by the opening of 1899 the good name of the black regular was hidden under the rubbish of reports of misconduct. So much had been said and done, even in Denver, which had poured out its welcome words to the heroes of El Caney, that the Ministerial Alliance of that city, on February 6, 1899, found it necessary to take up the subject, and that body expressed itself in the unanimous adoption of the following resolutions:

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE OF DENVER, FEBRUARY 6, 1899.

Resolved, By the Ministerial Alliance of the City of Denver, that the attempt made in certain quarters to have the Twenty-fifth Regiment, United States Infantry, removed from Fort Logan, appears to this body to rest on no just grounds, to be animated on the contrary by motives unworthy and discreditable to Denver and the State, and that especially in view of the heroic record of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, its presence here is an honor to Denver and Colorado, which this Alliance would regret to have withdrawn.[24]

The mustering out of the volunteers about the time this opposition was approaching what appeared to be a climax, causing the removal from the service of the colored officers, appeased the wrath of the demon, and the waves of the storm gradually sank to a peace, gratifying, indeed, to those who shuddered to see a black man with shoulder-straps. As the last Negro officer descended from the platform and honorably laid aside his sword to take his place as a citizen of the Republic, or a private in her armies, that class of our citizenship breathed a sigh of relief. What mattered it to them whether justice were done; whether the army were weakened; whether individuals were wronged; they were relieved from seeing Negroes in officers' uniforms, and that to them is a most gracious portion. The discharge of the volunteers was to them the triumph of their prejudices, and in it they took great comfort, although as a matter of fact it was a plain national movement coming about as a logical sequence, entirely independent of their whims or wishes. The injustice to the Negro officer does not lie in his being mustered out of the volunteer service, but in the failure to provide for a recogniti on of his valor in the nation's permanent military establishment.

The departure of the colored man from the volunteer service was the consequent disappearance of the colored military officer, with the single exception of Lieutenant Charles Young of the Regular Cavalry, had a very depressing effect upon the colored people at large, and called forth from their press and their associations most earnest protests. With a few exceptions, these protests were encouched in respectful language toward the President and his advisers, but the grounds upon which they were based were so fair and just, that right-thinking men could not avoid their force. The following resolution, passed by the National Afro-American Council, may be taken as representative of the best form of such remonstrance: