The Negro in the American Rebellion: His Heroism and His Fidelity

by William Wells Brown

“Palmer was a noble fellow,—young, handsome, a perfect gentleman, a graceful rider, a gallant soldier. He was the pride of the brigade. Forgetful of the caution given him, with the impetuosity characteristic of youth, he dashed forward at a full gallop, with sabre drawn. He came to the first bend in the road, and (fatal mistake) kept on. He came to the second bend, and, as he turned it, directly across the road was a company of rebel infantry drawn up to receive him. They fired. One ball crashed through that handsome face into his brain, while another tore the arm that bore aloft his trusty blade.

“The shots were heard at the battery; and in a moment Palmer’s riderless horse, bleeding from a wound in its neck, galloped from the woods, followed by the squad of cavalry, who told to the general the untimely fate of his aide.

“‘Boys,’ said the general to the veterans who clustered around to hear the story, ‘Lieut. Palmer’s body lies out in that road.’ Not a word more needed saying. Quickly the men fell in, and a general advance of the line was made to secure it.

“Whilst the cavalrymen were telling the story, a negro-servant of Lieut. Palmer’s was standing by. Unnoticed, he left the group; down that road, the Williamsburg Turnpike, he went. He passed our picket-line, and alone and unattended he walked along that avenue of death to so many, not knowing what moment he would be laid low by a rebel bullet, or be made a prisoner to undergo that still worse death, a life of slavery. Upon the advance of our line, that faithful servant was found by the side of his dead master,—faithful in life, and faithful amid all the horrors of the battle-field, even in the jaws of death.

“None but those who knew the locality—the gallant men that make up Hooker’s division—can appreciate the heroism that possessed that contraband. That road was lined with sharpshooters. A wounded man once lay in it three days, neither party daring to rescue him. The act of that heroic, unknown (I regret that I cannot recall his name) but faithful contraband, was one of the most daring of the war, and prompted by none other than the noblest feelings known to the human breast.”—New-York Independent.

“In Camp, Bermuda Hundred, Va., May 26, 1864.

“The chivalry of Fitzhugh Lee, and his cavalry division, was badly worsted in the contest last Tuesday with negro troops composing the garrison at Wilson’s Landing. Chivalry made a gallant fight, however. The battle began at half-past twelve, p.m., and ended at six o’clock; when chivalry retired, disgusted and defeated. Lee’s men dismounted far in the rear, and fought as infantry. They drove in the pickets and skirmishers to the intrenchments, and several times made valiant charges upon our works. To make an assault, it was necessary to come across an ‘open’ in front of our position, up to the very edge of a deep and impassable ravine. The rebels, with deafening yells, made furious onsets; but the negroes did not flinch, and the mad assailants, discomfited, turned to cover with shrunken ranks. The rebel fighting was very wicked. It showed that Lee’s heart was bent on taking the negroes at any cost. Assaults on the centre having failed, the rebels tried first the left and then the right flank, with no greater success. When the battle was over, our loss footed up one man killed outright, twenty wounded, and two missing. Nineteen rebels were prisoners in our hands. Lee’s losses must have been very heavy. The proof thereof was left on the ground. Twenty-five rebel bodies lay in the woods unburied; and pools of blood unmistakably told of other victims taken away. The estimate, from all the evidence carefully considered, puts the enemy’s casualties at two hundred. Among the corpses Lee left on the field was that of Major Breckinridge, of the Second Virginia Cavalry.

“There is no hesitation here in acknowledging the soldierly qualities which the colored men engaged in this fight have exhibited. Even the officers who have hitherto felt no confidence in them are compelled to express themselves mistaken. Gen. Wild, commanding the post, says that the troops stood up to their work like veterans.”—Correspondence of the New-York Times.

“The conduct of the colored troops, by the way, in the actions of the last few days, is described as superb. An Ohio soldier said to me to-day, ‘I never saw men fight with such desperate gallantry as those negroes did. They advanced as grim and stern as death; and, when within reach of the enemy, struck about them with a pitiless vigor that was almost fearful.’ Another soldier said to me, ‘These negroes never shrink nor hold back, no matter what the order. Through scorching heat and pelting storms, if the order comes, they march with prompt, ready feet.’ Such praise is great praise, and it is deserved. The negroes here who have been slaves are loyal to a man, and, on our occupation of Fredericksburg, pointed out the prominent secessionists, who were at once seized by our cavalry, and put in safe quarters. In a talk with a group of these faithful fellows, I discovered in them all a perfect understanding of the issues of the conflict, and a grand determination to prove themselves worthy of the place and privileges to which they are to be exalted.”—New-York Herald.

“Carrollton, La., June 2,1864.