  The laurels won by the Phalanx in the Southern States, notwithstanding the "no quarter" policy, was proof of its devotion to the cause of liberty and the old flag, which latter, until within a short period had been but a symbol of oppression to the black man; Cailloux had reddened it with his life's blood, and Carney, in a seething fire had planted it on the ramparts of Wagner. The audacious bravery of the Phalanx had wrung from Generals Banks and Gillmore congratulatory orders, while the loyal people of the nation poured out unstinted praises. Not a breach of discipline marred the negro soldier's record; not one cowardly act tarnished their fame. Grant pronounced them gallant and reliable, and Weitzel was willing to command them. In New York City, where negroes had been hung to lamp posts, and where a colored orphan asylum had been sacked and burned, crowds gathered in Broadway and cheered Phalanx regiments on their way to the front. General Logan, author of the Illinois Black Code, greeted them as comrades, and Jefferson Davis finally accorded to them the rights due captured soldiers as prisoners of war. Congress at last took up the question of pay, and placed the black on an equal footing with the white soldiers. Their valor, excelled by no troops in the field, had finally won full recognition from every quarter, and henceforth they were to share the full glory as well as the toils of their white comrades-in-arms. Not until those just The 19th Army Corps sent one brigade. General Gillmore brought a brigade from the Tenth Army Corps. At least ten thousand of them were veterans, and had driven many confederates out of their breastworks. The world never saw such a spectacle as America presented in the winter and early spring of 1864. The attempt to capture Richmond and Petersburg had failed. The Army of the Potomac lay like a weary lion under cover, watching its opponent. Bruised, but spirited and defiant, it had driven, and in turn had been driven time and again, by its equally valient foe. It had advanced and retreated until the soldiers were foot-sore from marching and counter-marching, crossing and re-crossing the now historic streams of the Old Dominion. Of all this, the loyal people were tired and demanded of the Administration a change. The causes of the failures to take the confederate capitol were not so much the fault of the commanders of the brave army as that of the authorities at Washington, whose indecision and interference had entailed almost a disgrace upon McClellan, Hooker, Burnside and Meade. But finally the people saw the greatest of the difficulties, and demanded its removal, which the Administration signified its willingness to do. Then began an activity at the North, East and West, such as was never before witnessed. The loyal heart was again aroused by the President's call for troops, and all realized the necessity of a more sagacious policy, and the importance of bringing the war to a close. The lion of the South must be bearded in his lair, and forced to surrender Richmond, the Confederate Capitol, that had already cost the Government millions of dollars, and the North thousands of lives. The cockade city,—Petersburg,—like the Gibralter of the Mississippi, should haul down the confederate banner from her breastworks; in fact, Lee must be vanquished. That was the demand of the loyal nation, and right well did they enter into preparations to consummate it; placing brave and skillful officers in command. PARADE OF THE 20th REGT. U. S. C. T. IN NEW YORK. PARADE OF THE 20th REGT. U. S. C. T. IN NEW YORK. The whole North became a recruiting station. Sumner, Wilson, Stevens and Sherman, in Congress, and Greeley, Beecher, Philips and Curtis, with the press, had succeeded in placing the fight upon the highest plane of civilization, and linked freedom to the cause of the Union thus making the success of one the success of the other,—"Liberty and Union, one and inseparable." What patriotism should fail in accomplishing, bounties—National, State, county, city and township—were to induce and effect. The depleted ranks of the army were filled to its maximum, and with a hitherto victorious and gallant leader would be hurled against the fortifications of the Confederacy with new energy and determination. Early in January, General Burnside was ordered again to take command of the Ninth Army Corps, and to recruit its strength to fifty thousand effective men, which he immediately began to do. General Butler, then in command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, began the organization of the Army of the James, collecting at Norfolk, Portsmouth and on the Peninsula, the forces scattered throughout his Department, and to recruit Phalanx regiments. In March, General Grant was called to Washington, and received the appointment of Lieutenant General, and placed in command of the armies As has before been stated, the negro had, up to this time, taken no very active part in the battles fought in Virginia. The seed of prejudice sown by Generals McDowell and McClellan at the beginning of hostilities, had ripened into productive fruit. The Army of the Potomac being early engaged in apprehending and returning runaway slaves to their presumed owners, had imbibed a bitter, unrelenting hatred for the poor, but ever loyal, negro. To this bitterness the Emancipation Proclamation gave a zest, through the pro-slavery press at the North, which taunted the soldiers with "fighting to free the negroes." This feeling had served to practically keep the negro, as a soldier, out of the Army of the Potomac. General Burnside, upon assuming his command, asked for and obtained permission from the War Department to raise and unite a division of Negro troops to the 9th Army Corps. Annapolis, Md., was selected as the "depot and rendezvous," and very soon Camp Stanton had received its allowance of Phalanx regiments for the Corps. Early in April, the camp was broken, and the line of march taken for Washington. It was rumored throughout the city that the 9th Corps would pass through there, and that about 6,000 Phalanx men would be among the troops. The citizens were on the qui vive; members of Congress and the President were eager to witness the passage of the Corps. At nine o'clock on the morning of the 25th of April, the head of the column entered the city, and at eleven the troops were marching down New York Avenue. Halting a short distance from the corner of 14th street, the column closed up, and prepared to pay the President a marching salute, who, with General Burnside and a few friends, was awaiting their coming. Mr. Lincoln and his party occupied a balcony over the entrance of Willard's Hotel. The scene was one of great beauty and animation. Their banners were silent, effective witnesses of their valor and their sacrifices; Bull's Run, Ball's Bluff, Roanoke, Newburn, Gaines' Mills, Mechanicsville, Seven Pines, Savage Station, Glendale, Malvern, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, South Mountain, Knoxville, Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Gettysburg, were emblazoned in letters of gold. The firm and soldierly bearing of the veterans, the eager and expectant countenances of the men and officers of the new regiments, the gay trappings of the cavalry, the thorough equipment and fine condition of the artillery, the clattering of hoofs, the clanking of sabres, the drum-beat, the bugle call, and the music of the bands were all subjects of interest. The President beheld the scene. Pavement, sidewalks, windows and roofs were crowded with people. A division of veterans passed, saluting the President and their commander with cheers. And then, with full ranks—platoons extending from sidewalk to sidewalk—brigades which had never been in battle, for the first time shouldered arms for their country; they who even then were disfranchised and were not American citizens, yet they were going out to The Phalanx regiments composing the 4th division were the 19th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 39th and 43rd, commanded by General E. Ferrero. The Army of the James, under General Butler, which was to act in conjunction with the Army of the Potomac, under Meade, was composed of the 10th and 18th Corps. The 10th Corps had two brigades of the Phalanx, consisting of the 7th, 9th, 29th, 16th, 8th, 41st, 45th and 127th Regiments, commanded by Colonels James Shaw, Jr., and Ulysses Doubleday, and constituted the 3rd division of that Corps commanded by Brigadier-General Wm. Birney. The 3rd division of the 18th Corps, commanded by Brigadier-General Charles G. Paine, was composed of the 1st, 22nd, 37th, 5th, 36th, 38th, 4th, 6th, 10th, 107th, 117th, 118th and 2nd Cavalry, with Colonels Elias Wright, Alonzo G. Draper, John W. Ames and E. Martindale as brigade commanders of the four brigades. A cavalry On the 28th of April, Butler received his final orders, and on the night of the 4th of May embarked his troops on transports, descended the York river, passed Fortress Monroe and ascended the James River. Convoyed by a fleet of armored war vessels and gunboats, his transports reached Bermuda Hundreds on the afternoon of the 5th. General Wilde, with a brigade of the Phalanx, occupied Fort Powhatan, on the south bank of the river, and Wilson's Wharf, about five miles below on the north side of the James, with the remainder of his division of 5,000 of the Phalanx. General Hinks landed at City Point, at the mouth of the Appomattox. The next morning the troops advanced to Trent's, with their left resting on the Appomattox, near Walthall, and the right on the James, and intrenched. In the meantime, Butler telegraphed Grant: "Off City Point, Va., May 5th. "Lieut. Gen. Grant, Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D. C.: "We have seized Wilson's Wharf Landing; a brigade of Wilde's colored troops are there; at Fort Powhatan landing two regiments of the same brigade have landed. At City Point, Hinks' division, with the remaining troops and battery, have landed. The remainder of both the 18th and 10th Army Corps are being landed at Bermuda Hundreds, above Appomattox. No opposition experienced thus far, the movement was comparatively a complete surprise. Both army corps left Yorktown during last night. The monitors are all over the bar at Harrison's landing and above City Point. The operations of the fleet have been conducted to-day with energy and success. Gens. Smith and Gillmore are pushing the landing of the men. Gen. Graham with the army gunboats, lead the advance during the night, capturing the signal station of the rebels. Colonel West, with 1800 cavalry, made several demonstrations from Williamsburg yesterday morning. Gen. Rantz left "BENJ. F. BUTLER, "A. F. Puffer, Capt. and A. D. C. Maj.-Gen. Commanding." About two miles in front of their line ran the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad, near which the enemy was encountered. Butler's movements being in concert with that of the Army of the Potomac and the 9th Corps,—the latter as yet an independent organization. General Meade, with the Army of the Potomac, numbering 120,000 effective men, crossed the Rapidan en route for the Wilderness, each soldier carrying fifty rounds of ammunition and three days rations. The supply trains were loaded with ten days forage and subsistence. The advance was in two columns, General Warren being on the right and General Hancock on the left. Sedgwick followed closely upon Warren and crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford. The Ninth Corps received its orders on the 4th, whereupon General Burnside immediately put the Corps in motion toward the front. Bivouacking at midnight, the line of march was again taken up at daylight, and at night the Rapidan was crossed at Germania Ford. The corps marched on a road parallel to that of its old antagonist, General Longstreet's army, which was hastening to assist Lee, who had met the Army of the Potomac in the entanglements of the wilderness, where a stubborn and sanguinary fight raged for two days. General Ferrero's division, composed of the Phalanx regiments, reached Germania Ford on the morning of the 6th, with the cavalry, and reported to General Sedgwick, of the 6th Corps, who had the care of the trains. The enemy was projecting an attack upon the rear of the advancing columns. Gen. Ferrero was ordered to guard with his Phalanx division, the bridges, roads and trains near and at the Rapidan river. That night the confederates attacked Sedgwick in force; wisely the immense supply trains had been committed to the care of Butler and his Phalanx troops, as we have seen, was within six miles of Petersburg, and on the 7th, Generals Smith and Gillmore reached the railroad near Port Walthall Junction, and commenced destroying it; the confederates attacked them, but were repulsed. Col. West, on the north side of the James River, forded the Chickahominy with the Phalanx cavalry, and arrived opposite City Point, having destroyed the railroad for some distance on that side. Leaving General Hinks with his Phalanx division to hold City Point, on the 9th Butler again moved forward to break up the railroad which the forces under Smith and Gillmore succeeded in doing, thus separating Beaureguard's force from Lee's. He announced the result of his operation's in the following message to Washington: "May 9th, 1864. "Our operations may be summed up in a few words. With one thousand and seven hundred cavalry we have advanced up the Peninsula, forced the Chickahominy and have safely brought them to our present position. These were colored cavalry, and are now holding our advanced pickets toward Richmond. General Kautz, with three thousand cavalry from Suffolk, on the same day with our movement up James river, forced the Blackwater, burned the railroad bridge at Stony Creek, below Petersburg, cutting in two Beauregard's force at that point. We have landed here, intrenched ourselves, destroyed many miles of railroad, and got possession, which, with proper supplies, we can hold out against the whole of Lee's army. I have ordered up the supplies. Beauregard, with a large portion of his force, was left south, by the cutting of the railroad by Kautz. That portion which reached Petersburg under Hill, I have whipped to-day, killing and wounding many, and taking many prisoners, after a well contested fight. General Grant will not be troubled with any further re-inforcements to Lee from Beaureguard's force. "BENJ. F. BUTLER, Major-General." But for having been misinformed as to Lee's retreating on Richmond,—which led him to draw his forces back into his intrenchments,—Butler would have undoubtedly marched triumphantly into Petersburg. The mistake gave the enemy holding the approaches to that city time to be re-enforced, and Petersburg soon became well fortified and garrisoned. Beaureguard succeeded in a few days time in concentrating in front of Butler 25,000 troops, thus checking the latter's advance toward Richmond and Petersburg, on the south side of the James, though skirmishing went on at various points. General Grant intended to have Butler advance and capture Petersburg, while General Meade, with the Army of the Potomac, advanced upon Richmond from the north bank of the James river. Gen. Butler failed to accomplish more than his dispatches related, though his forces entered the city of Petersburg, captured Chester Station, and destroyed the railroad connection between Petersburg and Richmond. Failure to support his troops and to intrench lost him all he had gained, and he returned to his intrenchments at Bermuda Hundreds. The Phalanx (Hinks division) held City Point and other stations on the river, occasionally skirmishing with the enemy, who, ever mindful of the fact that City Point was the base of supplies for the Army of the James, sought every opportunity to raid it, but they always found the Phalanx ready and on the alert. After the battle of Drewry's Bluff, May 16th, Butler thought to remain quiet in his intrenchments, but Grant, on the 22nd, ordered him to send all his troops, save enough to hold City Point, to join the Army of the Potomac; whereupon General W. F. Smith, with 16,000 men, embarked for the White House, on the Pamunky river, Butler retaining the Phalanx division and the Cavalry. Thus ended the operations of the Army of the James, until Grant crossed the river with the army of the Potomac. SCENE IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. Negro baggage train drivers watering their mules. SCENE IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. Negro baggage train drivers watering their mules. On the 13th of May, Grant determined upon a flank movement toward Bowling Green, with a view of making Port Royal, instead of Fredericksburg, his depot for supplies. Sending his reserve artillery to Belle Plain, he prepared to advance. It was in this manoeuvre that Lee, for the last time, attacked the Federal forces, outside of cover, in any important movement. The attempt to change the base of supply was indeed a hazardous move for Grant; it necessitated the moving of his immense train, numbering four thousand wagons, used in carrying rations, ammunition and supplies for his army, and transportation of the badly wounded to the rear, where they could be cared for. Up to this time the Wilderness campaign had been a continuous fight and march. The anxiety which Grant felt for his train, is perhaps best told by himself: "My movements are terribly embarrassed by our immense wagon train. It could not be avoided, however." It was the only means by which the army could obtain needful supplies, and was consequently indispensable. It was the near approach to the train that made the confederates often fight so desperately, for they knew if they could succeed in capturing a wagon they would probably get something to eat. Soon after the advance began, it was reported to Grant, that the confederate cavalry was in the rear, in search of the trains. On the 14th he ordered General Ferrero to "keep a sharp lookout for this cavalry, and if you can attack it with your (Phalanx) infantry and (white) cavalry, do so." On the 19th Ferrero, with his Phalanx division, (4th division, 9th Corps) was on the road to Fredericksburg, in rear of and to the right of General Tyler's forces, in the confederates' front. The road formed Grant's direct communication with his base, and here the confederates, under Ewell attacked the Federal troops. Grant sent this dispatch to Ferrero: "The enemy have crossed the Ny on the right of our lines, in considerable force, and may possibly detach a force to move on Fredericksburg. Keep your cavalry pickets well out on the plank road, and all other roads leading west and south of you. If you find the enemy moving infantry and artillery to you, report it promptly. In that case take up strong positions and detain him all you can, turning all your trains The confederates made a dash for the train and captured twenty-seven wagons, but before they had time to feast off of their booty the Phalanx was upon them. The enemy fought with uncommon spirit; it was the first time "F. F. V's," the chivalry of the South,—composing the Army of Northern Virginia,—had met the negro soldiers, and true to their instinctive hatred of their black brothers, they gave them the best they had; lead poured like rain for a while, and then came a lull. Ferrero knew what it meant, and prepared for their coming. A moment more and the accustomed yell rang out above the roar of the artillery. The confederates charged down upon the Phalanx, but to no purpose, save to make the black line more stable. They retaliated, and the confederates were driven as the gale drives chaff, the Phalanx recapturing the wagons and saving Grant's line of communication. General Badeau, speaking of their action, in his military history of Grant, says: "It was the first time at the East when colored troops had been engaged in any important battle, and the display of soldierly qualities won a frank acknowledgment from both troops and commanders, not all of whom had before been willing to look upon negroes as comrades. But after that time, white soldiers in the army of the Potomac were not displeased to receive the support of black ones; they had found the support worth having." Ferrero had the confidence of his men, who were ever ready to follow where Grant ordered them to be led. But this was not the last important battle the Phalanx took part in. Butler, after sending the larger portion of his forces to join the Army of the Potomac, was not permitted to remain quiet in his intrenchments. The confederates felt divined to destroy, if not capture, his base, and therefore were continually striving to break through the lines. On the 24th of May, General Fitzhugh Lee made a dash with his cavalry upon Wilson's Wharf, Butler's most northern outpost, held by two Phalanx Regiments of General Wilde's brigade. Lee's men had been led to believe that it was only necessary to yell at "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; the chivalry made a gallant fight, however. The battle began at half-past twelve p. m., and ended at six o'clock, when the 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 made several valiant charges upon our works. To make an assault, it was necessary to come across an opening 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, discomforted, returned to cover with shrunken ranks. The rebels' fighting was very wicked; it showed that Lee's heart was bent on taking the negroes at any cost. Assaults on the center 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 Breckenridge, of the 2nd Virginia Cavalry. There is no hesitation here in acknowledging the soldierly qualities which the colored men engaged in the fight have exhibited. Even the officers who have hitherto felt no confidence in them are compelled to express themselves mistaken. General Wilde, commanding the Post, says that the troops stood up to their work like veterans." Newspaper correspondents were not apt to overstate the facts, nor to give too much favorable coloring to the Phalanx in those days. Very much of the sentiment in the army—East and West—was manufactured by them. The Democratic partizan press at the North, especially in New York and Ohio, still engaged in throwing paper bullets at the negro soldiers, who were shooting lead bullets at the country's foes. The gallantry and heroic courage of the Phalanx in the Departments of the Gulf and South, and their bloody sacrifices, had not been sufficient to stop the violent Many papers favorable to the Emancipation; opposed putting negro troops in battle in Virginia. But to all these bomb-proof opinions Grant turned a deaf ear, and when and where necessity required it, he hurled his Phalanx brigades against the enemy as readily as he did the white troops. The conduct of the former was, nevertheless, watched eagerly by the correspondents of the press who were with the army, and when they began to chronicle the achievements of the Phalanx, the prejudice began to give way, and praises were substituted in the place of their well-worn denunciations. A correspondent of the New York Herald thus wrote in May: "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 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." The ice was thus broken, and then each war correspondent found it his duty to write in deservedly glowing terms of the Phalanx. The newspaper reports of the engagements stirred the blood of the Englishman, and he eschewed his professed love for the freedom of mankind, and particularly that of the American negro. The London Times, in the following article, lashed the North for arming the negroes to shoot the confederates, forgetting, perhaps, that England employed negroes against the colonist in 1775, and at New Orleans, in 1814, had her black regiments to shoot down "THE NEGRO UNION SOLDIERS."Six months have now passed from the time Mr. Lincoln issued his proclamation abolishing slavery in the States of the Southern Confederacy. To many it may seem that this measure has failed of the intended effect and this is doubtless in some respects the case. It was intended to frighten the Southern whites into submission, and it has only made them more fierce and resolute than ever. It was intended to raise a servile war, or produce such signs of it as should compel the Confederates to lay down their arms through fear for their wives and families; and it has only caused desertion from some of the border plantations and some disorders along the coast. But in other respects the consequences of this measure are becoming important enough. The negro race has been too much attached to the whites, or too ignorant or too sluggish to show any signs of revolt in places remote from the presence of the federal armies: but on some points where the federals have been able to maintain themselves in force in the midst of a large negro population, the process of enrolling and arming black regiments has been carried on in a manner which must give a new character to the war. It is in the State of Louisiana, and under the command of General Banks, that this use of negro soldiers has been most extensive. The great city of New Orleans having fallen into the possession of the federals more than a year ago, and the neighboring country being to a certain degree abandoned by the white population, a vast number of negroes have been thrown on the hands of the General in command to support and, if he can, make use of. The arming of these was begun by General Butler, and it has been continued by his successor. Though the number actually under arms is no doubt exaggerated by Northern writers, yet enough have been brought into service to produce a powerful effect on the imaginations of the combatants, and, as we can now clearly see, to add almost grievously to the fury of the struggle. "Of all wars, those between races which had been accustomed to stand to each other in the relation of master and slave have been so much the most horrible that by general consent the exciting of a servile insurrection has been considered as beyond the pale of legitimate warfare. This had been held even in the case of European serfdom, although there the rulers and the ruled are of the same blood, religion and language. But the conflict between the white men and the negro, and particularly the American white man and the American negro, is likely to be more ruthless than any which the ancient world, fruitful in such histories, or the modern records of Algeria can furnish. There was reason to hope that the deeds of 1857 in India would not be paralleled in our time or in any after age. The Asiatic savagery rose upon a dominant race scattered throughout the land, and wreaked its vengeance upon it by atrocities which it would be a relief to forget. But it has " * * * It is pitiable to find these unhappy Africans, whose clumsy frames are no match for the sinewy and agile white American, thus led on to be destroyed by a merciless enemy. Should the war proceed in this manner, it is possible that the massacre of Africans may not be confined to actual conflict in the field. Hitherto the whites have been sufficiently confident in the negroes to leave them unmolested, even when the enemy was near; but with two or three black regiments in each federal corps, and such events as the Port Hudson massacre occuring to infuriate the minds on either side, who can foresee what three months more of war may bring forth? "All that we can say with certainty is that the unhappy negro will be the chief sufferer in this unequal conflict. An even greater calamity, however, is the brutalization of two antagonistic peoples by the introduction into the war of these servile allies of the federals. Already there are military murders and executions on both sides. The horrors which Europe has foreseen for a year past are now upon us. Reprisal will provoke reprisal, until all men's natures are hardened, and the land flows with blood." The article is truly instructive to the present generation; its malignity and misrepresentation of the Administration's intentions in regard to the arming of negroes, serves to illustrate the deep-seated animosity which then existed in England toward the union of the States. Nor will the American negro ever forget England's advice to the confederates, whose massacre of negro soldiers fighting for freedom she endorsed and applauded. The descendants of those black soldiers, who were engaged in the prolonged struggle for freedom, can rejoice in the fact "No servile insurrections had taken place in the South." But it is gratifying to know that all Englishmen did not agree with the writer of the Times. A London letter in the New York Evening Post, said: "Mr. Spurgeon makes most effective and touching prayers, remembering, at least once on a Sunday, the United States. 'Grant, O God,' he said recently, 'that the right may conquer, and that if the fearful canker of slavery must be cut out by the sword, it be wholly eradicated from the body politic of which it is the curse.' He is seldom, however, as pointed as this; and, like other clergymen of England, prays for the return of peace. Indeed, it must be acknowledged that if the English press and government have done what they could to continue this war, the dissenting clergy of England have nobly shown their good will and hearty sympathy with the Americans, and their sincere desire for the settlement of our difficulties. 'If praying would do you Americans any good,' said an irreverent acquaintance last Sunday, 'you will be gratified to learn that a force of a thousand-clergymen-power is constantly at work for you over here.'" After the heroic and bloody effort at Cold Harbor to reach Richmond, or to cross the James above the confederate capitol, and thus cut off the enemy's supplies,—after Grant had flanked, until to flank again would be to leave Richmond in his rear,—when Lee had withdrawn to his fortifications, refusing to accept Grant's challenge to come out and fight a decisive battle,—when all hope of accomplishing either of these objects had vanished, Grant determined to return to his original plan of attack from the coast, and turned his face toward the James river. On the 12th of June the Army of the Potomac began to move, and by the 16th it was, with all its trains across, and on the south side of the James. Petersburg Grant regarded as the citadel of Richmond, and to capture it was the first thing on his list to be accomplished. General Butler was made acquainted "The long, dusky line, arm to arm, knee to knee." PHALANX SOLDIERS AT WORK ON RIVER OBSTRUCTIONS. PHALANX SOLDIERS AT WORK ON RIVER OBSTRUCTIONS. Then shells came crashing through the line, dealing death and shattering the ranks; but on they went, with a wild cheer, running up the slope; again a storm of cannister met them; a shower of musketry came down upon the advancing column, whose bristling bayonets were to make the way clear for their white comrades awaiting on the roadside. A hundred black men went down under the fire; the ranks were quickly closed however, and with another wild cheer the living hundreds went over the works with the impetuosity of a cyclone; they seized the cannon and turned them upon the fleeing foe, who, in consternation, stampeded toward Petersburg, to their main line of intrenchments on the east. Thus the work of the 5th and 22nd Phalanx regiments was completed and the road made clear for the 18th Corps. Brooks now moved up simultaneously with Martindale, on the river road. By noon the whole corps was in front of the enemy's main line of works, Martindale on the right, Brooks in the center, the Phalanx and cavalry on the left, sweeping down to the Jerusalem Plank Road on the southeast. Hinks, with the Phalanx, in order to gain the position assigned him, had necessarily to pass over an open space exposed to a direct and cross-fire. Nevertheless, he prepared to occupy his post, and forming a line of battle, he began the march. The division numbered about 3,000, a portion of it being still at Wilson's Landing, Fort Powhatan, City Point and Bermuda Hundreds. This was a march that veterans might falter in, without criticism or censure. The steady black line advanced a few rods at a time, when coming within range of the confederate guns they were obliged to lie down and wait for another opportunity. Now a lull,—they would rise, go forward, and again lie down. Thus they continued their march, under a most galling, concentrated artillery fire until they reached their position, from which they were to join in a general assault; and here they lay, from one till five o'clock,—four long hours,—exposed to ceaseless shelling by the enemy. Badeau says, in speaking of the Phalanx in this ordeal: "No worse strain on the nerves of troops is possible, for it is harder to remain quiet under cannon fire, even though comparatively harmless, than to advance against a storm of musketry." General W. F. Smith, though brave, was too cautious and particular in detail, and he spent those four hours in careful reconnoissance, while the troops lay exposed to the enemy's concentric fire. The main road leading east from Petersburg ascends a hill two or more miles out, upon the top of which stood what was then known as Mr. Dunn's house. In front of it was a fort, and another south, and a third north, with other works; heavy embankments and deep ravines and ditches, trunks of hewn trees blackened by camp fires, formed an abatis on the even ground. Here the sharpshooters and riflemen had a fair view of the entire field. The distance from these works to the woods was about three hundred and sixty paces, in the edge of which lay the black Phalanx division, ready, like so many tigers, waiting for the command, "forward." The forts near Dunn's house had direct front fire, and those on the north an enfilading fire on the line of advance. Smith got his troops in line for battle by one o'clock, but there they lay. Hinks impatiently awaited orders; oh! what a suspense—each hour seemed a day,—what endurance—what valor. Shells from the batteries ploughed into the earth where they stood, and began making trouble for the troops. Hinks gave the order, "lie down;" they obeyed, and were somewhat sheltered. Five o'clock—yet no orders. At length the command was given, "forward." The skirmishers started at quick time; the enemy opened upon them vigorously from their batteries and breastworks, upon which they rested their muskets, in order to fire with accuracy. A torrent of bullets was poured upon the advancing line, and the men fell fast as autumn leaves in a gale of wind. Then the whole line advanced, the Phalanx going at double-quick; their well aligned ranks, with bayonets glittering obliquely in the receding sunlight, presented a spectacle both magnificent and grand. A GALLANT CHARGE. The 22nd Negro Regiment, Duncan's Brigade, carrying the first line of Confederate works before Petersburg, Va. A GALLANT CHARGE. The 22nd Negro Regiment, Duncan's Brigade, carrying the first line of Confederate works before Petersburg, Va. Duncan rushed his skirmishers and reached the ditches in front of the breastworks, which, without waiting for the main body, they entered and clambered up the steep embankments. A sheet of flame from above was rained down, causing many a brave man to stagger and fall back into the ditch, never to rise again. The troops following, inspired by the daring of the skirmishers, pressed forward on the run up to the forts, swept round the curtains, scaled the breastworks and dashed with patriotic rage at the confederate gunners, who deserted their pieces and ran for their lives. Brooks and Martindale advanced simultaneously upon the works at Osborn's house and up the railroad, sweeping everything before them. The Phalanx seized upon the guns and turned them instantly upon the fleeing foe, and then with spades and shovels reversed the fortifications and prepared to hold them. Fifteen pieces of artillery and three hundred confederates were captured. "The Phalanx," says the official report, took two-thirds of the prisoners and nine pieces of artillery. General Smith, finding that General Birney, with the 2nd Corps, had not arrived, instead of marching the troops into Petersburg, waited for re-inforcements unnecessarily, and thereby lost his chance of taking the city, which was soon garrisoned with troops enough to defy the whole army. Thus Grant was necessitated afterward to lay siege to the place. The confederates never forgot nor forgave this daring of the "niggers," who drove them, at the point of the bayonet, out of their breastworks, killing and capturing their comrades and their guns. They were chided by their brother confederates for allowing negroes to take their works from them. The maidens of the Cockade City were told that they could not trust themselves to men who surrendered their guns to "niggers." The soldiers of the Phalanx were delirious with joy. They had caught "ole massa," and he was theirs. General Hinks had their confidence, and they were ready to follow wherever he led. The chaplin of the 9th Corps, in his history, says: "In this movement a division of colored troops, under Brigadier-General Hinks, seems to have won the brightest laurels. They first attacked and carried the enemy's outpost at Bailey's farm, capturing This, indeed, was a victory, yet shorn of its full fruits; but that Petersburg was not captured was no fault of the Phalanx. They had carried and occupied the most formidable obstacles. Badeau, in chronicling these achievements, says: "General Smith assaulted the works on the City Point and Prince George Court House roads. The rebels resisted with a sharp infantry fire, but the center and left dashed into the works, consisting of five redan's on the crest of a deep and difficult ravine. Kiddoo's (22d) black regiment was one of the first to gain the hill. In support of this movement, the second line was swung around and moved against the front of the remaining works. The rebels, assaulted thus in front and flank, gave way, four of the guns already captured were turned upon them by the negro conquerors, enfilading the line, and before dark, Smith was in possession of the whole of the outer works, two and a half miles long, with fifteen pieces of artillery and three hundred prisoners. Petersburg was at his mercy." This failure made a siege necessary, and General Grant began by regular approaches to invest the place, after making the three desperate assaults on the 16th, 17th and 18th. It had been indeed a bloody June; the soil of the Old Dominion, which for two centuries the negro had tilled and made to yield the choicest products, under a system of cruel and inhuman bondage he now reddened with his blood in defense of his liberty, proving by his patriotism, not only his love of liberty, but his courage and capacity to defend it. The negro troops had marched and fought with the white regiments with equal intrepidity and courage; they were no longer despised by their comrades; they now had recognition as soldiers, and went into the trenches before Petersburg as a part of as grand an army as ever laid siege to a stronghold or stormed a fortification. On the 18th of June, General Ferrero reported to General Meade, with his division of the Phalanx, (4th The historian of the corps says: "The division on the 21st of May was covering Fredericksburg, and the roads leading hence to Bowling Green. On the 22nd it marched toward Bowling Green, and on the 23rd it moved to Milford Station. From that date to the 27th it protected the trains of the army in the rear of the positions on the North Anna. On the 27th, the division moved to Newtown; on the 28th, to Dunkirk, crossing the Maltapony; on the 29th, to the Pamunkey, near Hanovertown. On the 1st of June the troops crossed the Pamunkey, and from the 2nd to the 6th, covered the right of the army; from the 6th to the 12th they covered the approaches from New Castle Ferry, Hanovertown, Hawe's shop, and Bethusda Church. From the 12th to the 18th they moved by easy stages, by way of Tunstall's New Kent Court House, Cole's Ferry, and the pontoon bridge across the James, to the line of the army near Petersburg. The dismounted cavalry were left to guard the trains, and the 4th Division prepared to participate in the more active work of soldiers. Through the remainder of the month of June, and the most of July, the troops were occupied in the second line of trenches, and in active movements towards the left, under Generals Hancock and Warren. While they were engaged in the trenches they were also drilled in the movements necessary for an attack and occupation of the enemy's How natural was this feeling. As we have seen, their life for more than a month had been one of marching and counter-marching, though hazardous and patriotic. When on the 18th, they entered upon the more active duty of soldiers, they found the 3rd Division of the 18th Corps, composed of the Phalanx of the Army of the James, covered with glory, and the welkin ringing with praises of their recent achievements. The men of the 4th Division chafed with eager ambition to rival their brothers of the 18th Corps, in driving the enemy from the Cockade City. General Burnside was equally as anxious to give his black boys a chance to try the steel of the chivalry in deadly conflict, and this gave them consolation, with the assurance that their day would ere long dawn, so they toiled and drilled carefully for their prospective glory. But the situation of the Phalanx before Petersburg was far from being enviable. Smarting under the thrashing they had received from Hinks' division, the confederates were ever ready now to slaughter the "niggers" when advantage offered them the opportunity. A steady, incessant fire was kept up against the positions the Phalanx occupied, and their movements were watched with great vigilance. Although they did not raise the black flag, yet manifestly no quarter to negro troops, or to white troops that fought with them, was the confederates' determination. "Judging from their actions, the presence of the negro soldiers, both in the Eighteenth and Ninth Corps," says Woodbury, "seemed to have the effect of rendering the enemy more spiteful than ever before the Fourth Division came. The closeness of the lines on the front of the corps rendered constant watchfulness imperative, and no day passed without some skirmishing between the opposing pickets. When the colored soldiers appeared, this practice seemed to increase, while in front of the Fifth Corps, upon the left of our line, there was little or no picket firing, and the outposts of both armies were even disposed to be friendly. On the front of the Ninth, the firing was incessant, and in many cases fatal." IN THE TRENCHES "General Potter, in his report, mentions that, when his division occupied the front, his loss averaged some fourteen or fifteen officers killed and wounded per diem. The sharpshooters on either side were vigilant, and an exposure of any part of the person was the signal for the exchange of shots. The men, worn by hard marching, hard fighting and hard digging, took every precaution to shield themselves, and sought cover at every opportunity. They made fire proofs of logs and earth, and with tortuous covered ways and traverse, endeavoring to secure themselves from the enemy's fire. The artillery and mortars on both sides were kept almost constantly at work. These were all precursors of the coming, sanguinary struggle for the possession of Cemetery Hill. Immediately in front of the salient occupied by the Ninth Corps, the rebels had constructed a very strong redoubt, a short distance below Cemetery Hill. In the rear of the redoubt ran a ridge nearly at right angles with the rebels' lines, to the hill. It appeared that if this redoubt was captured, the enemy's line would be seriously threatened, if not entirely broken up. A feasible plan for the destruction of the redoubt, was seriously discussed among the soldiers of the corps; finally Colonel Pleasants, of the 48th Pennsylvania Regiment, devised a plan to run a mine under the intervening space between the line of the corps and the redoubt, with the design of exploding it, directly under the redoubt. To this plan General Burnside lent his aid, and preparations were made for an assault upon Cemetery Hill, at the time of its explosion. The work of digging and preparing the mine was prosecuted under the most disadvantageous circumstances. General Meade reluctantly gave official sanction, and the work of excavation proceeded with, despite the fact that General Burnside's requisitions for supplies were not responded to. Nevertheless, in less than a month the mine was ready, and after considerable discussion, and not without some bickering, the plan of attack was arranged, which, in brief, was to form two columns, and to charge with them through the breach caused by the explosion of the mine. Then to sweep along the enemy's line, right and left, clearing away the artillery and infantry, by attacking in the flank and rear. Other columns were to make for the crest, the whole to co-operate. General Ferrero, in command of the Phalanx division was informed, that in accordance with the plan of attack, he was to lead in the assault, when the attack was made, after the mine had been fired. He was ordered to drill his troops accordingly. After a careful examination of the ground, Ferrero decided upon his methods of advance,—not to go directly in the crater formed by the explosion, but rather upon one side of it, and then to take the enemy in flank and reverse. When he informed his officers and men that they would be called upon to lead in the assault, they received the information with delight. His men, desirous of emulating their comrades of the Third Division of the Eighteenth Corps, felt that their cherished hope,—the opportunity for which they had prayed,—was near at hand; the hour in which they would show themselves worthy of the honor of being associated His white troops, moreover, had been greatly exposed throughout the whole campaign, had suffered severely, and had been so much under the fire of the sharpshooters that it had become a second nature with them to dodge bullets. The negro troops had not been so much exposed, and had already shown their steadiness under fire in one or two pretty severe skirmishes in which they had previously been engaged. The white officers and men of the corps were elated with the selection made by General Burnside, and they, too, manifested an uncommon interest in their dark-hued comrades. The demeanor of the former toward the latter was very different from that of the other corps, of which that particular army was composed. The 9th Corps had seen more service than any other corps in the Army of the Potomac. Its operations in six States had given to the men an experience calculated to destroy, very greatly, their race prejudice; besides a very large portion of the regiments in the corps came from the New England States, especially Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island, where race prejudice was not so strong; consequently the treatment of the men in the 4th Division was tempered by humanity, and pregnant with a fraternal feeling of comradeship. And then there was a corps pride very naturally existing among the white troops, which prompted a desire for the achievement of some great and brilliant feat by their black comrades. This feeling was expressed in more than one way by the entire corps, and greatly enhanced the ambition of the Phalanx to rout the enemy and drive him out of his fortifications before Petersburg, if not to capture the city. These high hopes were soon dissipated, however. General General Ledlie's division of white troops was to lead the assault, after the explosion of the mine on the morning of the 30th. It was on the night of the 29th, when General Burnside issued his battle order, in accordance with General Meade's plan and instructions, and at the appointed hour all the troops were in readiness for the conflict. The mine, with its several tons of powder, was ready at a quarter past three o'clock on the eventful morning of the 30th of July. The fuses were fired, and "all eyes were turned to the confederate fort opposite," which was discernible but three hundred feet distant. The garrison was sleeping in fancied security; the sentinels slowly paced their rounds, without a suspicion of the crust which lay between them and the awful chasm below. Our own troops, lying upon their arms in unbroken silence, or with an occasional murmur, stilled at once by General Badeau, in describing the spectacle, says: "The mine exploded with a shock like that of an earthquake, tearing up the rebels' work above them, and vomiting men, guns and caissons The explosion was the signal for the federal batteries to open fire, and immediately one hundred and ten guns and fifty mortars opened along the Union front, lending to the sublime horror of the upheaved and quaking earth, the terror of destruction. A confederate soldier thus describes the explosion, in the Philadelphia Times, January, 1883: "About fifteen feet of dirt intervened between the sleeping soldiers and all this powder. In a moment the superincumbent earth, for a space forty by eighty feet, was hurled upward, carrying with it the artillery-men, with their four guns, and three companies of soldiers. As the huge mass fell backwards it buried the startled men under immense clods—tons of dirt. Some of the artillery was thrown forty yards towards the enemy's line. The clay subsoil was broken and piled in large pieces, often several yards in diameter, which afterwards protected scores of Federals when surrounded in the crater. The early hour, the unexpected explosion, the concentrated fire of the enemy's batteries, startled and wrought confusion among brave men accustomed to battle." Says a Union account: "Now was the time for action, forward went General Ledlie's column, with Colonel Marshall's brigade in advance. The parapets were surmounted, the abatis was quickly removed, and the division prepared to pass over the intervening ground, and charge through the still smoking ruins to gain the crest beyond. But here the leading brigade made a temporary halt; it was said at the time our men suspected a counter mine, and were themselves shocked by the terrible scene they had witnessed. It was, however, but momentary; in less than a quarter of an hour, the entire division was out of its entrenchments, and was advancing gallantly towards the enemy's line. The ground was somewhat difficult to cross over, but the troops pushed steadily on with soldiery bearing, overcoming all the obstacles before them. They reached the edge of the crater, passed down into the chasm and attempted to make their way through the yielding sand, the broken "'The colored troops charged forward, cheering with enthusiasm and gallantry. Colonel J. K. Sigfried, commanding the first brigade, led the attacking column. The command moved out in rear of Colonel Humphrey's brigade of the Third Division. Colonel Sigfried, passing Colonel Humphrey by the flank, crossed the field immediately in front, went down the crater, and attempted to go through. The passage was exceedingly difficult, but after great exertions the brigade made its way through the crowded masses in a somewhat broken and disorganized condition, and advanced towards the crest. The 43rd U. S. Colored troops moved over the lip of the crater toward the right, made an attack upon the enemy's line of intrenchments, and won the chief success of the day, capturing a number of prisoners and rebel colors, and re-capturing a stand of national colors. The other regiments of the brigade were unable to get up, on account of white troops in advance of them crowding the line. The second brigade, under command of Colonel H. G. Thomas, followed the first with equal enthusiasm. The "'These troops' made a spirited attack, but lost heavily in officers and became somewhat disheartened. Lieutenant-Colonel Bross, of the 29th, with the colors in his hands, led the charge; was the first man to leap upon the enemy's works, and was instantly killed. Lieutenant Pennell seized the colors, but was shot down, riddled through and through. Major Theodore H. Rockwood, of the 19th, sprang upon the parapet, and fell while cheering on his regiment to the attack. The conduct of these officers and their associates was indeed magnificent. No troops were ever better lead to an assault; had they been allowed the advance at the outset, before the enemy had recovered from his first surprise, their charge would have been successful. But it was made too late. The fire to which they were exposed was very hot and destructive; it came from front and flank, it poured into the faces of the men. It enfiladed their lines. The enemy's rage against the colored troops had its bloody opportunity." And they made use of it. Captain W. L. Fagan, of the 8th Alabama Regiment, thus gives an account of the fight, from the confederate side: "The crater combat, unlike other battles in Virginia, was a series of deeds of daring, of bloody hand-to-hand fighting, where the survivor could count with a certainty the men he had slain. A few days ago a soldier said to me: 'I killed two at the crater; they were not three feet from me when they fell. I had followed the fortunes of the Confederacy from Williamsburg to Appomattox Court House, and had, to the morning of July 30, only seen two bayonet wounds;—one received at Frazier's Farm, the other at Turkey Ridge, June 3, 1864.' Men stood face to face at the crater. Often a bayonet thrust was given before the Minie ball went crashing through the body. Every man took care of himself, intent on selling his life as dearly as possible. The negroes did not all stampede. They mingled with the white troops. The troops of Mahone, Wilcox and Wright were greeted with defiant yells, while their ranks were mowed down by withering fires. Many officers commanding negro troops held their commissions for bravery. Encouraged, threatened, emulating the white troops, the black men fought with desperation. Some Confederate soldiers recognized their slaves at the crater. Captain J——, of the Forty-first Virginia, gave the military salute to 'Ben' and 'Bob,' whom he had left hoeing corn down in But let the writer of the following tell what the brave black men met after having advanced beyond the crater, where they grappled with the sullen foe filled with the recollection of the capture, in June, of their works, guns and comrades by the "niggers" of the 18th Corps. It was not lex talionis that they observed, but a repetition of the Fort Pillow Massacre. Under the head of "The Confederate Charge," the particulars are given: "The Federals now held the crater and the inner line. Generals Lee and Mahone arrived on the field about 7:30 a. m. A ravine, which deepened on our right, ran parallel with this inner line and was used by Mahone in which to form his brigade when preparing to attack. At 8 a. m. Mahone's Brigade, commanded by Colonel D. A. Weisiger, brought from the right of Hoke's Division, was formed in this ravine and advanced to the assault. The Federals, concentrating a terrific fire of musketry and artillery, ploughed out great gaps in these fearless Virginians. Nothing daunted, they pressed forward and recaptured the inner line. The loss of this brigade was heavy, both in men and officers, more than two hundred Virginians falling between the ravine and the captured works. The Federal troops, white and colored, fought with a desperation never witnessed on former battle-fields. The negroes, it is said, cried 'No quarter.' Mahone and Wright's Brigades took only twenty-nine of them prisoners. The Federals still held the crater and part of the line. Another charge was necessary and Wright's Georgia Brigade was ordered up from Anderson's Division. Wright's Brigade, forming in the ravine, moved forward to drive the Federals from the line they still held. The enemy, expecting their attack, poured a volley into the Georgians that decimated their ranks, killing and wounding nearly every field officer in the brigade. The men rushing forward, breasting a storm of lead and iron, failed to oblique far enough to the right to recapture the whole line, but gained the line occupied by and contiguous to the line already captured by Weisiger, commanding Mahone's Brigade. Mahone's Brigade and Wright's Brigade had captured forty-two officers, three hundred and ninety men and twenty-nine negroes. "It was now about 10 a. m. General Grant made no effort to reinforce his line or to dislodge Wright and Mahone from the positions they held. A courier dashed up to General J. C. C. Sanders, commanding Wilcox's Brigade, informing him that his brigade was wanted. The men were expecting this courier, as they were next in line, and they distinctly heard the shouts of Mahone's and Wright's men, followed by the heavy artillery firing, while the word had passed down the line that the "At 1:30 p. m. the firing had almost ceased and the Federals, overcome with heat, did not expect an attack. Saunders formed his brigade and moved quietly up the side of the ravine. Hardly a word was spoken, for the Alabamians expected to die or retake that salient. The eye of General Lee was fixed on them. When they caught sight of the works their old feelings came back to them and yell they must. With the fury of a whirlwind they rushed upon the line they had been ordered to take. The movement was so unexpected and so quickly executed that only one shell was thrown into the brigade. The works gained, they found the enemy on the other side. It was stated that Lee, speaking to Beauregard, said: 'Splendid!' Beauregard spoke with enthusiasm of the brilliant charge. "In an instant the Federal army was aroused, and batteries opened along the whole line, while the infantry fire was a continuous roar. Only a breastwork divided Wilcox's Brigade from the Federals. A moment was required for Saunders to reform, and his brigade mounted the inner line and forced the enemy backwards to the outer line and the crater. The crater was full of white and negro soldiers. The Confederates, surrounding it on every side, poured volley after volley into this heaped-up mass of terrified negroes and their brave officers. The negroes ran in every direction and were shot down without a thought. Bayonets, swords and the butts of muskets were used. The deafening roar of artillery and musketry, the yells and imprecations of the combatants, drowned the commands of officers. A negro in the crater attempted to raise a white flag, and it was instantly pulled down by a Federal officer. The Federal colors were planted on a huge lump of dirt, and waved until Sergeant Wallace, of the Eleventh Alabama, followed by others, seized them and tore them from the staff. Instantly a white flag was raised, and the living, who were not many, surrendered. The crater was won." With the exception of General Burnside, no commander of the Army of the Potomac was in favor of the Phalanx participating in a battle. What, then, had the Phalanx to expect of those to whom they had borne the relation of slave? The confederates had a right to expect hard fighting when they met the Phalanx, and the Phalanx knew they had to fight hard when they met the confederates. It was the previous associations and habits of the negro that kept him from retaliating for the several massacres that had been perpetrated upon his brother-soldiers. It was not for a want of courage to do it: it was only necessary for those who commanded them to have ordered it, and they would never have taken a confederate prisoner. Many of those who commanded them needed but public opinion to sustain them, to give such an order as would have made every battle between the Phalanx and the confederates bloody and inhuman. It was but the enlightened sentiment of the North, the religious teaching of the brotherhood of man, the high character and moral training of the statesmen on the side of the Union, that restrained the Phalanx from retaliation, else they possessed none of the characteristics of a courageous, sensitive and high tempered people. The negro is not naturally docile; his surroundings, rather than his nature, have given him the trait; it is not naturally his, but something which his trainers have given him; and it is not a difficult task to untrain him and advance him beyond his apparent unconsciousness of self-duty and self-preservation. Let him feel that he is to be supported in any transaction uncommon to him, and he can act as aggressively as any race of men who are naturally quicker in temperament. It is this characteristic that made the negro what General Grant said he was: in discipline a better soldier than the white man. It was said that he would not fight: there is no man in the South who met him on the battle-field that will say so now. These are a few of the thoughts that came to me as I listened for an hour, one evening in June, 1883, to the "It was now 8 o'clock in the morning. The rest of Potter's (Federal) division moved out slowly, when Ferrero's negro division, the men, beyond question, inflamed with drink, (there are many officers and men, myself among the number, who will testify to this), burst from the advanced lines, cheering vehemently, passed at a double quick over a crest under a heavy fire, and rushed with scarcely a check over the heads of the white troops in the crater, spread to their right, and captured more than two hundred prisoners and one stand of colors. At the same time Turner, of the Tenth corps, pushed forward a brigade over the Ninth Corps' parapet, seized the Confederate line still further to the north, and quickly dispersed the remaining brigades of his division to confirm his successes." The truth is over-reached in the statement of this orator if he intended to convey the idea that the men of the Phalanx division were drunk from strong drink; but it may be looked upon as an excuse offered for the treatment "When nearly opposite the portions of our works held by the Federal troops, we met several soldiers who were in the works at the time of the explosion. Our men began ridiculing them for going to the rear, when one of them remarked, 'Ah, boys, you have got hot work ahead,—they are negroes, and show no quarter.' This was the first intimation we had that we were to fight negro troops, and it seemed to infuse the little band with impetuous daring, as they pressed toward the fray. I never felt more like fighting in my life. Our comrades had been slaughtered in a most inhuman and brutal manner, and slaves were trampling over their mangled and bleeding corpses. Revenge must have fired every heart, and strung every arm with nerves of steel, for the herculean task of blood." On the Monday morning after the assault of Saturday, the Richmond Enquirer said: "Grant's war cry of 'no quarter' shouted by his negro soldiers, was returned with interest, we regret to hear, not so heavily as ought to have been, since some negroes were captured instead of being shot. Let every salient we are called upon to defend, be a Fort Pillow, and butcher every negro that Grant hurls against our brave troops, and permit them not to soil their hands, with the capture of one negro." There is no truth in the statement. No such cry was ever made by negro soldiers; and when it is remembered that the confederate congress, in four short months after this declaration, began arming slaves for the defense of Richmond, it is readily seen how deep and with what sincerity such declarations were made. The Southern historian Pollard thus describes the situation after the assault and the ground had again come into the possession of the confederates: BEFORE PETERSBURG. Phalanx soldiers, under a flag of truce, burying their dead after one of the terrible battles before Petersburg. BEFORE PETERSBURG. Phalanx soldiers, under a flag of truce, burying their dead after one of the terrible battles before Petersburg. "The ground all around was dotted with the fallen, while the sides and bottom of the crater were literally lined with dead, the bodies lying in every conceivable position. Some had evidently been killed with the butts of muskets, as their crushed skulls and badly smashed faces too plainly indicated.' Within this crater—this hole of forty by eighty feet—were lying one hundred and thirty-six dead soldiers, besides the wounded. The soil was literally saturated with blood. General Bartlett was here, with his steel leg broken. He did not look as though he had been at a 'diamond wedding,' but was present at a 'dance of death.' A covered way for artillery was so full of dead that details were made to throw them out, that artillery might be brought in. The dead bodies formed a heap on each side. The Alabamians captured thirty-four officers, five hundred and thirty-six white and one hundred and thirty-nine colored soldiers. The three brigades had seventeen stands of colors, held by seventeen as brave, sweaty, dirty, powder-stained fellows as ever wore the gray, who knew that, when presenting their colors to division headquarters, to each a furlough of thirty days would be granted. "The crater was filled with wounded, to whom our men gave water. Adjutant Morgan Cleveland, of the 8th Alabama Regiment, assisted a federal captain who was mortally wounded and suffering intensely. Near him lay a burly, wounded negro. The officer said he would die. The negro, raising himself on his elbow, cried out: 'Thank God. You killed my brother when we charged, because he was afraid and ran. Now the rebels have killed you.' Death soon ended the suffering of one and the hatred of the other. A darkness came down on the battle-field and the victors began to repair the salient. The crater was cleared of the dead and wounded. Men were found buried ten feet under the dirt. Twenty-two of the artillery company were missing. Four hundred and ninety-eight dead and wounded confederates were buried or sent to the hospitals. Between the lines lay hundreds of wounded federals, who vainly called for water. These men had been without water since early morning. Some calling louder than others, their voices were recognized, and as their cries grew fainter, we knew their lives were ebbing away. Our men, risking their lives, carried water to some. "I find in my diary these lines: 'Sunday, July 31, 1864. Everything comparatively quiet along the lines. Hundreds of federal soldiers are lying in front of the crater exposed to a scorching sun; some are crying for water. The enemy's fire is too heavy for a soldier to expose himself.' Late on Sunday evening a flag of truce was sent in and forwarded to General Lee. General Grant had asked permission to bury his dead and remove his wounded. The truce was granted, to begin on Monday at 5 a. m. and conclude at 9 a. m. Punctual to the hour the federal details came on the field and by 9 a. m. had buried about three hundred. The work was hardly begun and the truce was extended. Hour after hour was granted until it was evening before the field was cleared." With these selections from the mass of confederate testimony before us, of their "daring, bloody work," given by participants, it is well to read some of the statements of those who battled for the Union on that occasion. Many of the correspondents at the seat of war, ignorant of the real facts regarding the assault, attributed the failure, not to General Meade's interference with General Burnside's plan, but to the Phalanx division, the men who bore the brunt of the battle and gained for themselves a fame for desperate fighting. But some of those who were acquainted with the facts have left records that tell the true story and give honor to whom honor is due. Gen. Grant is among the number; he perfectly understood the whole matter, knew that General Burnside, not being allowed to carry out his own plans, but at the last moment compelled to act contrary to his judgment, could not fight with that enthusiasm and confidence that he would have done had he been allowed to carry out his own ideas. In his "Memoirs," General Grant gives an account of the explosion of the mine and the assault after placing the blame for the "stupendous failure" where it belongs. I quote a few preliminary words which not only intimate where the trouble lies, but gives the key to the whole matter. Speaking of General Burnside's command, he says: "The four divisions of his corps were commanded by Generals Potter, Wilcox, Ledlie and Ferrero. The last was a colored division; and Burnside selected it to make the assault. Meade interfered with this. Burnside then took Ledlie's division—a worse selection than the first could have been. * * * * Ledlie, besides being otherwise inefficient, proved also to possess disqualifications less common among soldiers." A correspondent of the New York Evening Post says: "We have been continually notified for the last fortnight, that our sappers were mining the enemy's position. As soon as ready, our division was to storm the works on its explosion. This rumor had spread so wide we had no faith in it. On the night of the 29th, we were in a position on the extreme left. We were drawn in about nine p. m., and marched to General Burnside's headquarters, and closed in mass by division, left in front. We there received official notice that the long-looked-for mine was ready charged, and would be fired at daylight next morning. The plan of storming was as follows: One division of white troops was to charge the works immediately after the explosion, and carry the first and second lines of rebel intrenchments. Our division was to follow immediately, and push right into Petersburg, take the city, and be supported by the remainder of the Ninth and Twenty-eighth "We were held in rear until the development of the movement of the white troops; but, on seeing the disaster which was about to occur, we pushed in by the flank (for we could go in in no other way to allow us to get in position); so you see on this failure we had nothing to do but gain by the flank. A charge in that manner has never proved successful, to my knowledge; when it does, it is a surprise. "Our men went forward with enthusiasm equal to anything under different circumstances; but, in going through the fort that had been blown up, the passage was almost impeded by obstacles thrown up by the explosion. At the same time, we were receiving a most deadly cross-fire from both flanks. At this time, our lieutenant-colonel (E. W. Ross) fell, shot through the left leg, bravely leading the men. I immediately assumed command, but only to hold it a few minutes, when I fell, struck by a piece of shell in the side. Capt. Robinson, from Connecticut, then took command; and, from all we can learn, he was killed. At this time, our first charge was somewhat checked, and the men sought cover in the works. Again our charge was made, but, like the former, unsuccessful. This was followed by the enemy making a charge. Seeing the unorganized condition and the great loss of officers, the men fell back to our own works. Yet a large number still held the fort until two p. m., when the enemy charged again, and carried it. That ended the great attempt to take Petersburg. "It will be thus seen that the colored troops did not compose the first assaulting, but the supporting column; and they were not ordered forward until white troops in greater numbers had made a desperate effort to carry the rebel works, and had failed. Then the colored troops were sent in; moved over the broken ground, and up the slope, and within a short distance of the parapet, in order, and with steady courage; but finally broke and retreated under the same fire which just before had sent a whole division of white regiments to the right-about. If there be any disgrace in that, it does not belong exclusively nor mainly to the negroes. A second attack is far more perilous and unlikely to succeed than a first; the enemy having been encouraged by the failure of the first, and had time to concentrate his forces. And, in this case, there seems to have been a fatal delay in ordering both the first and second assault." An officer in the same engagement says: "In regard to the bravery of the colored troops, although I have been in upwards of twenty battles, I never saw so many cases of gallantry. The 'crater,' where we were halted, was a perfect slaughter-pen. Had not 'some one blundered,' but moved us up at daylight, instead of eight o'clock, we should have been crowned with success, instead of being cut to pieces by a terrific enfilading fire, and finally forced from the field in a panic. We had no trouble in rallying the troops and moving them into the rifle-pits; and, in one hour after the rout I had nearly as many men together as were left unhurt. "I was never under such a terrific fire, and can hardly realize how any escaped alive. Our loss was heavy. In the Twenty-eighth (colored) for instance, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Russell (a Bostonian), he lost seven officers out of eleven, and ninety-one men out of two hundred and twenty-four; and the colonel himself was knocked over senseless, for a few minutes, by a slight wound in the head; both his color-sergeants and all his color-guard were killed. Col. Bross, of the Twenty-ninth, was killed outright, and nearly every one of his officers hit. This was nearly equal to Bunker Hill. Col. Ross, of the Thirty-first, lost his leg. The Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth (colored), all charged over the works; climbing up an earthwork six feet high, then down into a ditch, and up on the other side, all the time under the severest fire in front and flank. Not being supported, of course the storming party fell back. I have seen white troops run faster than these blacks did, when in not half so tight a place. Our brigade lost thirty-six prisoners, all cut off after leaving the 'crater.' My faith in colored troops is not abated one jot.'" The Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War investigated the affair, before which General Grant testified. He was severe upon General Ledlie, whom he regarded as an inefficient officer; he blamed himself for allowing that officer to lead the assault. General Grant also testified: "General Burnside wanted to put his colored division in front; I believe if he had done so it would have been a success." On the morning of the 13th of August, 1864, a brigade of the Phalanx, consisting of the 7th, 8th, 9th and 29th Regiments, crossed from Bermuda Hundreds to the north side of the James river, on pontoons, near Jones' landing, and bivouacked for the night. General Grant was led to believe that General Lee had sent a portion of his troops, at least three divisions of infantry, and one of cavalry, from the front of Petersburg, to re-enforce Gen. Early, then operating in the valley. Consequently he "During the forenoon of the 14th the (7th) Regiment acted as reserve, moving forward occasionally as the line advanced. Most of the work of the day was done to the right, little being done in the immediate front except skirmishing. About 5 p. m. a portion of the Seventh and Ninth, forming line in the edge of some timber, moved across an open field and charged upon reaching the farther side and captured the enemy's line of rifle-pits. The companies of the Seventh pushed on some distance further toward their second line, but were met with so severe a fire that they fell back to the captured line; which was held. This charge, known as the action of Kingsland Road, was made in fine style. The battalion of the Seventh was commanded by Capt. Weiss—Col. Shaw having been detailed as Corps Officer of the day, and Lieut.-Col. Haskell being temporarily in command of the brigade. Our losses were two men killed, and one officer (Lieut. Eler) and thirty-two men wounded. "About 10 o'clock p. m., the troops moved down the road to the right, and at 1 o'clock Col. Shaw withdrew the pickets of the corps, re-crossed the pontoons, where we had crossed in the morning, and moved down the neck. Then followed four hours of the most wearisome night-marching—moving a few rods at a time and then halting for troops ahead to get out of the way; losing sight of them and hurrying forward to catch up; straggling out into the darkness, stumbling and groping along the rough road, and all the time the rain coming down in a most provoking, exasperating drizzle. About daylight crossed back to the north side and halted for coffee, and then moved forward some four miles and rejoined the corps, taking position behind the crest of a hill. The Eighth and Twenty-ninth were left in a work on the hill. "About 3:30 p. m. orders came to pile knapsacks and be ready to march immediately. A little after 4 o'clock the brigade moved to the "Early on the morning of the 16th, the regiment marched back to its knapsacks and halted for breakfast. About 10 o'clock it was ordered out to support two batteries, and remained on this duty until 3 p. m., changing position frequently, in the meantime Gen. Terry, with the First Division of the Tenth Corps, had charged the rebel line, near Fuzzel's mills, and captured it, together with three colors and some three hundred prisoners. But the enemy rallied, and with reinforcements, soon compelled Gen. Terry to relinquish the captured line. About dark Gen. Wm. Birney came up, and taking the left wing of the Seventh—the right wing, under Col. Shaw, was in support of a battery—and two companies of the Ninth, placed them under command of Lieut.-Col. Haskell, and ordered him with this handful of men to take an earthwork in his front which a division a short time before had failed to carry. The timely arrival of Gen. Terry put an end to this mad scheme. The regiment lost during the day eight or ten men wounded. "The general results of the day's fighting had been unsatisfactory, for not only had Terry's attack failed in its object, but the advance on the right, along the Charles City road, by the troops of the Second Corps and Gregg's cavalry division, had been equally unsuccessful. The rebel General Chambliss was among the killed. "About 2:30 a. m. of the 17th, the left wing of the regiment was sent back to a line of rifle-pits that had been thrown up some two hundred yards to the rear, where it was joined by the right wing in the morning "Early in the morning the Eighth and the Twenty-ninth Connecticut rejoined the regiment, and after the regiment was relieved from picket, it, with the Twenty-ninth, fell back a quarter of a mile, leaving the Eighth and Ninth on the line. Rations having been drawn, the men got supper and prepared for a good night's sleep. Suddenly a heavy musketry fire broke out toward the left which rapidly extended to the right and the entire line was soon under fire. The regiment moved forward at double-quick, but by the time it reached the front and formed line, darkness set in and the enemy fell back. About 11 p. m. our forces were withdrawn, and, after several hours spent in marching and halting, the regiment went into camp two miles from the pontoons. Here it lay all day of the 19th. The following congratulatory order was received from corps headquarters, in which the brigade was spoken of in very flattering terms by Maj.-Gen. D. B. Birney, commanding: "'Headquarters Tenth Army Corps, Fuzzel's Mills, Va., August 19, 1864. "'General Orders.—The Major-General commanding congratulates the Tenth Army Corps upon its success. It has, on each occasion, when ordered, broken the enemy's strong lines. It has captured during this short campaign four siege guns protected by formidable works, six colors and many prisoners. It has proved itself worthy of its old Wagner and Fort Sumter renown. "'Much fatigue, patience and heroism, may still be demanded of it, but the Major-General commanding is confident of the response. To the colored troops, recently added to us, and fighting with us, the Major-General tenders his thanks for their uniform good conduct and soldierly bearing. They have set a good example to our veterans, by the entire absence of straggling from their ranks on the march. "'By order of Maj.-Gen. D. B. Birney. "'E.W. SMITH, Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.' "The special correspondent of the New York Tribune said: "'Gen. Butler, in a dispatch to the Tenth Corps, on receiving official report of its work, said: 'All honor to the brave Tenth Corps; you have done more than was expected of you by the Lieutenant-General.' "'The loss in the four colored regiments is about three hundred. The Seventh U. S. C. T. on the first day, carried, with fixed bayonets, a line of rifle-pits, and carried it without a shot, but with a loss of 35. It was one of the most stirring and gallant affairs I have ever known'. "It began to rain in the afternoon and continued during the night and until nearly noon of the following day, 20th. During the afternoon of the 20th, orders were received to send all sick to the rear and be ready to withdraw quietly at dark. The movement began at 7 p. m., both the Second and Tenth Corps participating—the Second Corps and the cavalry returning to the Petersburg line, and the Tenth to the Bermuda Hundred front. The night was dark and the roads muddy, and after various delays the pontoons were crossed; and at 2 a. m., the regiment went into camp near the spot it occupied the first night after its arrival in Virginia. "An amusing incident occurred when we halted, after crossing the river. When the fires were lighted our line presented the appearance of a checker-board—alternate black and white men. The latter belonged to the Second Corps, and having straggled from their commands, and belonging to regiments with the same numbers, had fallen into our solid ranks by mistake. Their astonishment and our amusement were about equal. Capt. Walker, having been asked if his men were all present, replied: 'Yes, and about twenty recruits.' "Thus ended a very hard week's work, during which the regiment was almost constantly under fire; marching, counter-marching, supporting a battery here or strengthening the line there—duties which required almost constant wakefulness and watchfulness. The losses of the brigade footed up some two hundred and fifty. "This movement, which had begun on the 12th by the withdrawal of the Second Corps, Gen. Hancock, and Gregg's cavalry division, from the Petersburg front to the north bank of the James, to act in conjunction with the Tenth Corps in an attempt to turn the left of the rebel line, proved as abortive as the similar attempt made by the same corps in the latter part of June; Gen. Lee, in both instances, seeming to have received timely information of our plans to enable him to transfer re-enforcements from the Petersburg to the Richmond front. The Union losses during the movement have been estimated at five thousand. "Sunday, the 21st, was a day of rest. The men put up shelter tents and made themselves as comfortable as circumstances would allow. Gen. Birney resumed command of the brigade and Col. Shaw returned to the regiment. About 6 p. m. orders came to be ready to move during the night with one day's rations. Moved out of camp at 2 a. m., 22nd, and reported at Maj.-Gen. Birney's headquarters, where, after remaining a short time, the regiment returned to camp. About 8 p. m. orders were received to pack everything, and at 5 the regiment marched to the front and went into the trenches near Battery Walker, (No. 7), relieving a regiment of hundred-days' men, whose time had expired. "The 23d passed quietly. Tents were pitched, and in the evening a dress-parade was held. Lieut. Mack returned to duty from absent sick. "Line was formed at dawn on the 24th, and again about noon—rapid picket-firing in each instance rendering an attack probable. "About daybreak on the 25th, the enemy attacked toward the left, drove in our pickets—Capts. Weld and Thayer in command—but were checked before reaching the main line. The regiment was placed in support of Battery England (No. 5). Two men were wounded. "Some changes in the division here took place—the Twenty-ninth Connecticut was transferred to another brigade, and the Tenth U. S. C. T. to ours, and Col. Duncan was placed in command. "About noon (25th) packed up everything, crossed the Appomattox, and after a fatiguing march through the heat and dust, reached the Petersburg front a little before sunset and halted for orders. Soon after dark moved to the left in a heavy rain squall, and lay down on a hillside as reserve to the troops in the trenches. At 11 p. m. ordered to report to Gen. Terry. Marched back a mile and reported. Another mile's march in another direction brought the regiment, about 1 a. m., to its position, where it lay down in the woods, again as a reserve. A rattling fire of musketry was kept up all night. "On the 26th, a camp was selected and had been partially cleared up, when orders were received for the regiment to go into the trenches. Reported at brigade headquarters at sunset, and soon afterward, through the mud and darkness, the men silently felt their way into the trenches, which the rain had reduced to the condition of a quagmire. It was a slow process, and 10 o'clock came before all were in their places. "During the following day (27th,) the parapet was raised and paths made through the muddier portions of the trenches. Soon after dark a furious cannonade began which lasted for several hours, and afforded to the spectators on both sides a brilliant pyrotechnic display. "Just after daybreak on the 28th, the enemy opened a heavy musketry fire which lasted until after sunrise. He did not leave his works, however, and our men remained stationary. A man of Company B, while watching for a shot through a section of stove-pipe, which he had improvised into a port-hole, was struck and killed by a sharpshooter's bullet. "Soon after midnight on the 28th-29th, the regiment moved out of the trenches, and after daylight marched a quarter of a mile to the right and rear and went into camp in a cornfield. The men were at once put to work constructing bomb-proofs, as the position was within sight and range of the enemy's line. This occupied the entire day. "Brig.-Gen. Birney's arrangement of the brigade did not seem to have given satisfaction to higher authority, and it was broken up, and the old brigade—Seventh, Eighth, Ninth U. S. C. T., and Twenty-ninth Connecticut—were again united, with Col. Shaw in command. "From this time until the 24th of September, the Seventh and Eighth alternated with the Ninth and Twenty-ninth for duty in the trenches—two days in and two out; and on the 'off' days furnishing details of officers and men for fatigue purposes, in constructing new works and strengthening old ones. The main lines at this point were scarcely over a hundred yards apart, while from the advanced posts a "During the evening of the 4th of September, there was a grand salute along the whole line, in honor of the fall of Atlanta. At every battery the men stood at the guns, and when the monster mortar—"The Petersburg Express"—gave the expected signal, every lanyard was pulled. The effect was exceedingly grand. "At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 5th, the regiment met with an irreparable loss in the death of Capt. A. R. Walker. Capt. Walker, who was at the time in the trenches, had raised his head above the parapet to observe the enemy's movements, when he was struck in the head by a bullet, and fell without speaking against the parapet. He was carried back and laid upon the ground in rear of the trench, but all efforts failed to elicit any token of recognition. He breathed for a few moments and life was extinct. His body was sent to the rear the same afternoon under charge of Lieut. Teeple, upon whom the command of his company devolved, who made the necessary arrangements for having it embalmed and forwarded to his friends at Caledonia, New York. * * * * "On the 14th Col. Howell, who was commanding the division in the absence of Gen. Birney, who was absent sick, died of injuries received from a fall from his horse, and the command of the division devolved upon Col. Pond. Col. Howell was highly esteemed, and was a thorough gentleman and a good officer. "On the 17th, Sergt. Wilson, Company F, color-sergeant, was reduced to the ranks for cowardice, and Sergt. Griffin, Company B, appointed in his place. "On the 21st, Capt. Thayer resigned. "On the 22d, Gen. Birney returned and resumed command of the brigade; the division having been temporarily broken up by the withdrawal of troops, and Col. Shaw returned to the regiment. "On the 23d, companies B and C were detailed to garrison Fort Steadman. "On the evening of the 24th, the regiment was relieved from duty in the trenches by the Sixty-ninth New York, and moving about two miles to the rear, went into camp with the remainder of the brigade—some four miles from City Point. Here regular drills and parades were resumed. "At 3 p. m. on the 28th, camp was broken, and an hour later the brigade followed the two divisions of the corps on the road toward Bermuda Hundred. A tedious night-march followed, during which the north side of the James was reached by way of Broadway and Jones' landings. After an hour or two of rest on the morning of the 29th, the brigade moved forward as a support to the First Division (Paine's), the First Brigade of which, under Col. Duncan, charged and carried the enemy's works on Signal-Hill, on the New Market road, beyond the line of works taken by the Seventh and Ninth on the 14th of August. "'Both forts were most advantageously situated for defense, at the extremity of a plain, variously estimated at from 500 to 700 yards wide, whose dead level surface afforded at no point shelter from view or shot to an assailing party. The forts were connected by a curtain of rifle-pits containing a re-entrant angle, thus providing for a reciprocal enfilading fire in case either was attacked. "'The nature of the ground and the small altitude of the ordnance above the level of the plain also made the fire in the nature of a ricochet. "'As the party advanced the enemy's shell and schrapnel were exchanged for grape and cannister, followed soon by a lively rattle of musketry. When within range of the latter, and after having traversed about three-fourths of the distance, the order to charge was given and obeyed with an alacrity that seemed to make the execution almost precede the order. For a moment, judging from the slacking of their fire, the enemy seemed to be affected by a panicky astonishment, but soon recovering, they opened again with cannister and musketry, which, at the shorter range, tore through the ranks with deadlier effect. Capt. "'In a few minutes the ditch of the fort was reached. It was some six or seven feet deep and ten or twelve wide, the excavated material sufficing for the embankments of the fort. Some 120 men and officers precipitated themselves into it, many losing their lives at its very edge. After a short breathing spell men were helped up the exterior of the parapet on the shoulders of others; fifty or sixty being thus disposed an attempt was made to storm the fort. At the signal nearly all rose, but the enemy, lying securely sheltered behind the interior slope, the muzzles of their guns almost touching the storming party, received the latter with a crushing fire, sending many into the ditch below shot through the brain or breast. Several other attempts were made with like result, till at last forty or fifty of the assailants were writhing in the ditch or resting forever. "'The defense having been obviously re-enforced meanwhile from other points not so directly attacked, and having armed the gunners with muskets, it was considered impolitic to attempt another storm with the now greatly reduced force on hand, especially as the cessation of the artillery fire of the fort was considered a sufficient hint to the commander of the Union forces that the attacking party had come to close quarters and were proper subjects for re-enforcements. No signs, however, of the latter appearing, it was decided to surrender, especially as the rebels had now commenced to roll lighted shells among the stormers, against which there was no defense, thus inviting demoralization. Seven officers, Capts. Weiss and McCarty, Lieuts. Sherman, Mack, Spinney, Ferguson and Eler, and from seventy to eighty enlisted-men, delivered up their arms to an enemy gallant enough to have fought for a better cause. "'Many, in mounting the parapet, could not help taking a last mournful look on their dead comrades in the ditch, whose soldierly qualities had endeared them to their best affections; and many, without for a moment selfishly looking at their own dark future, were oppressed with inexpressible sadness when reflecting on the immensity of the sacrifice and the deplorableness of the result. It was a time for manly tears.' "Lieut. Spinney gives the following account of the charge against Fort Gilmer: "'The charge was made in quick time, in open order of about three paces, until we could plainly see the enemy; then the order was given by Capt. Weiss to 'double-quick,' which was promptly obeyed, the line preserving its order as upon drill. Upon arriving at the ditch there was no wavering, but every man jumped into the trap from which but one man returned that day (George W. Washington, Company D.) "'Upon looking about us after getting into the ditch we found there was but one face where the enemy could not touch us, so all the survivors rallied at that face. Then commenced a scene which will always be very fresh in my memory. "'Capt. Weiss gave orders to raise men upon the parapet, which was done by two men assisting one to climb. Capt. Weiss, having from thirty to forty men up, attempted to gain the inside of the fort, but he with all of his storming party were knocked back, either killed or wounded, into the ditch. A second attempt was made with the same result, Lieut. Ferguson being wounded by a bullet across the top of his head. A third attempt was made with no better success. "'The enemy during this time had been rolling shell upon us, and calling upon us to surrender, which was answered by some of the men "'Upon a consultation of the officers who were in the ditch, it was decided to surrender what was left of the command. I was still upon the face of the parapet, when Lieut. Sherman passed me a handkerchief which I raised upon the point of my sword. But the rebels, fearing it was only done to gain a foothold, would not take notice of it, but called upon me to come in, which I did, and met with a warm reception at their hands, being plucked of all they could lay hands upon. An adjutant of an Alabama regiment coming up, ordered his men to return to me what they had taken, but this was not done, however. I stated that our men had disarmed themselves and were ready to give up the hopeless struggle. Still they would not believe me, but made me mount the parapet first, when they had the courage to do so themselves, when the remnant of the four companies marched into the fort. "'The march to Richmond was one continued insult from the troops that were hurrying to the front; one man being determined to kill Capt. Weiss, whom he thought was not humble enough. The female portion of the inhabitants were also very insolent. "'Upon arriving at Libby Prison the officer in charge asked the commander of our guard if the 'niggers' would fight. His answer was, 'by G—d! if you had been there you would have thought so. They marched up just as if they were on drill, not firing a shot.' "'After being lodged in Libby, Salisbury and Danville prisons, we were returned to Richmond about February 17th, paroled on the 21st, and reached our lines on the 22d.' "An article in the New York Herald of November 4th, 1864, copied from a rebel newspaper, arguing for the arming of slaves, has in it the following passage: "'But A. B. says that negroes will not fight. We have before us a letter from a distinguished general (we wish we were at liberty to use his name and influence) who says 'Fort Gilmer proved the other day that they would fight. They raised each other on the parapet to be shot as they appeared above.' "The officer referred to was understood to be Gen. Lee. "After the four companies had disappeared in the ditch of the fort, Capt. Pratt, with Company F, was ordered to move forward as near the work as he could get and keep down its fire and cover their retreat. Capt. Smith and Lieut. Prime came back, both severely wounded. Later in the day companies A, B, E and I, under Capt. Spaulding, moved to the left and relieved the four companies of the Eighth, who were out of ammunition. Co. F lost two men killed and twenty-three wounded, and the four companies under Capt. Spaulding had eleven men killed and wounded. Lieut. Teeple, commanding Company I, was wounded in the arm, but remained in command of his company during the day. "Four companies annihilated, 70 killed, 110 wounded and 129 missing tells the story of Fort Gilmer. "The regiment, or what was left of it, remained at the front until 9 o'clock p. m., when the wounded were gathered together and it moved half a mile to the rear and slept on its arms. "This day proved the most unfortunate one in the history of the regiment. The storming of a strong field-work, whose garrison was on the alert, with a thin skirmish line without supports, resulted as could easily have been foreseen. First, the Ninth was sent unsupported to charge a work to the left of Fort Gilmer, across an open field where its line was enfiladed by the enemy's fire, and was repulsed; then four companies of the Eighth, as skirmishers, were sent against the same work, with no better success, and after this bitter experience, four companies of the Seventh were sent to their destruction on an errand equally hopeless. Had the brigade been sent together, instead of its three regiments in detail, the rebel line would have been carried and the road to Richmond opened to us. This is no conjecture. The testimony of a rebel staff-officer on duty at Fort Gilmer, and that of our own officers who were captured, fully substantiate the statement. "About noon on the following day, the 30th, the regiment moved a mile to the left and went into the rifle-pits to the left of Fort Harrison. Soon after, the rebel Maj.-Gen. Field, who had commanded the Ft. Gilmer line the day previous, made a determined assault on Fort Harrison from one side, while Hoke's division attacked on the other; but the attack was not made simultaneously and was repulsed with heavy loss. While this charge was being made, Col. Shaw was struck on the head by a rifle bullet, but was uninjured. The next morning the rebels opened their batteries on our line. During the cannonade, Lieut. Bjornmark was wounded in the foot by the fragment of a shell. "The following is the report of Capt. Weiss to the commanding officer of the regiment, announcing his arrival in Richmond: "'Libby Prison, Richmond, Va., September 30, 1864. "'Sir:—I respectfully inform you that the following officers of the Seventh U. S. C. T. are here, prisoners: Capts. Weiss and McCarty, Lieuts. Mack, Sherman, Eler, Ferguson and Spinney. Lieut. Ferguson and myself are wounded in the head, but doing well. "'Please inform our friends of the above, and oblige, "'Yours, on the part of my associates, "'JULIUS A. WEISS, "'Capt. Seventh U. S. C. T." "On the 5th of October, the regiment was relieved from duty in the trenches by the Eight, and moving a short distance to the rear, went into camp near division headquarters. "On the 6th, Gen. Birney divided the regiments of his command into two brigades. The First Brigade, composed of the Seventh, Ninth and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh, was placed under command of Col. Voris, of the Sixty-seventh Ohio, although each regiment had a colonel serving with it; and the Second, composed of the Eighth, Twenty-ninth and Forty-fifth, under Lieut.-Col. Armstrong, of the Ninth. Capt. Rice returned from sick-leave the same day and was assigned to the command of Company A, his own company (K) having disappeared in the melee of the 29th of September. "During the forenoon of the 7th, the enemy attacked in force on the right, driving in Kautz's cavalry and capturing Elder's battery of the First United States Artillery, but was checked and driven back by the First Division of the Tenth Corps. The regiment was moved to the right, and after changing positions several times, went into the trenches near the New Market road. "On the afternoon of the 12th, orders came for the regiment to be ready to move in light marching order, and later it moved out about half of a mile to the front and right, and deployed two companies as skirmishers. Shortly after dark it was withdrawn to the position it held earlier in the day. A cold rain was falling, and as the men were without overcoats, they suffered considerably. "About 3 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, our own division (Third), together with the First, moved out of camp and marched to the right until it reached the Darbytown road. Here it formed line, and advancing through the thick undergrowth finally lay down in front of the enemy's works to await developments. At 10 o'clock the First Division, which, with the cavalry, had gone to the right, charged the enemy's line, but failed to break it and had to withdraw with considerable loss. About noon the regiment relieved the Eighth on the skirmish line. Capt. Dickey, of the Eighth, was killed during the movement. Here it remained until about 4 o'clock, when, the remainder of the division having been withdrawn, it fell back covering the movement of the corps and returned to its old camp on the New Market road. * * * "The regiment remained in camp until the 26th, furnishing in the meantime a large picket detail, together with details for fatigue, employed in the construction of earthworks, abattis, etc. On this date Col. Voris was relieved from command of the brigade by Col. Shaw, Lieut.-Col. Haskell taking command of the regiment. "On the evening of this day orders were received for the regiment to be ready to move on the following morning, with three days' cooked rations, and in light marching order. At 5 a. m. we moved out of camp and took the road toward the right. The Eighteenth, as well as our own corps, was in motion. The orders were for the Tenth Corps to threaten the enemy's line near the Darbytown road, while the Eighteenth moving by the rear to the right, was to strike their left flank. If they weakened their line in its front, the Tenth Corps was to advance. The whole movement being made to cover the advance of the Army of the Potomoc against the rebel lines covering Hatcher's run and the Boydtown plank-road. "Marching about two miles to the right we struck the Darbytown road, when line of battle was formed to the left, and moved forward through the woods, and, in places, almost impassable undergrowth—the Seventh having the left of the division as well of the line. Our ears were soon greeted with the scattering fire of our skirmish line, interspersed by the crashing of an occasional shell through the tree-tops. After an advance of half a mile the division halted to await the result "At 3 o'clock the following morning we were ordered in to relieve the Twenty-ninth on the picket-line. The clouds had cleared away and the air was keen and cold. We felt our way through the dense, dripping undergrowth to the musical accompaniment of rebel bullets singing above our heads. By daybreak we were in position along the edge of a belt of woods, something less than a quarter of a mile from the rebel works. Their skirmishers kept up a lively fire all through the forenoon, and as a consequence we lost some thirty odd men, killed and wounded, from their fire. About 3 p. m. orders were given to fall back, but through some misunderstanding, the two companies holding the extreme left of the line failed to receive the order, and held their ground until their retreat was nearly cut off by the rebel advance, when they fell back without orders, meeting on their way the remainder of the brigade coming to their rescue. The same evening the troops returned to their camps. "Here ended our fighting for the fall. * * * "On the 28th, Gen. Birney returned and relieved Gen. Hawley in command of the division, which he had held during the absence of the former in Philadelphia, where he had gone about the 21st to attend the funeral of his brother, Maj.-Gen. D. B. Birney. Col. Shaw was placed permanently in command of the First Brigade, and Col. Wright, Tenth U. S. C. T., of the Second. "About the 30th, a general order was received from Gen. Butler thanking Capt. Weiss and the officers under him for their gallant conduct on the 29th, and saying that their absence in prison alone prevented their promotion. "On the 1st of November, the division was reviewed by Gen. Birney, and the proclamation of the Governor of Maryland, announcing the adoption of the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in that State, was read to the command. This paper, which conveyed to the men the knowledge that their wives and children were no longer slaves, produced an effect more easily imagined than described. **** "On the 5th, Capt. Cheney and Lieut. Teeple, with companies H and I, were detached from the regiment to garrison Fort 'No. 3,' at Spring Hill—a work on the right flank of the Army of the James—where they remained until the 6th of December. "On the 1st of December, the reorganization of the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps was determined upon. The white troops of the two corps "On the 4th, a general re-assignment of positions was made. The Seventh moved from the New Market road to Fort Burnham (Harrison), which was garrisoned by the First Brigade. The Second Brigade, under Doubleday, was on our right, and the Third on our left. The Second Brigade joined the Twenty-fourth Corps, near the New Market road, and Paine's division was on our left and extended to the river. The other division was in reserve to the rear. The Seventh was under command of Lieut.-Col. Pratt, and so remained during the remainder of our stay in Virginia." The prolonged but decisive struggle began to draw near. General Grant had pushed the troops nearer and closer, at every opportunity, to the beleaguered cities, until they were well-nigh completely invested. General Sherman's splendid victories influenced the veteran corps lying before these places, and filled them with the spirit of sure success. The intrepid commander, having reached North Carolina, visited Grant at the latter's headquarters at City Point, where he also found President Lincoln, and received their congratulations for his successful march to the sea, which achievement had not been surpassed by any of the undertakings of either Hannibal or Bonaparte in point of daring and strategy. An important conference then took place, and on the 28th of March Sherman returned to his command. Grant throughout the winter had been preparing for the spring campaign. The Phalanx regiments heretofore in the 9th, 10th and 18th Corps had been consolidated, and formed the 25th Corps, under the command of Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, who at New Orleans refused to command negro troops. The Corps was divided into three divisions, with Brigadier-Generals Wilde, Birney and Paine as commanders. Major-General Ord had succeeded to the command of the Army of the James, then numbering about 28,000 effective men, and was to take part with three divisions of his command in the onward movement to commence on the 29th of March, while Weitzel was to command the remainder of the troops north of the James and at Bermuda Hundreds. Lee, as though he had knowledge of Grant's intention and meant to frustrate his plans by taking the initiative, attacked the 9th Corps at Fort Steadman on the 25th, with signal success. He was finally repulsed, however, and Grant began moving the Union troops. On the morning of the 29th, General Birney with the 2nd Division of the 25th Corps was near Hatcher's Run, with General Ord's command. The division consisted of three brigades of Phalanx Infantry, commanded by Colonels James Shaw, Jr., Ulysses Doubleday and William W. Woodward. A brigade of artillery commanded by Captain Louis L. Langdon was attached to the Corps; but, owing to the country being wooded, it was of little use, and most of it was left on the north side with General Weitzel. On the same day Sheridan reached Dinwiddie, and the next morning he encountered the confederates near the Court House. Here were W. H. F. Lee's Cavalry, Picket's and Bushrod Johnson's divisions of Infantry, and Wise's brigade. Sheridan made the attack. His men, on account of the marshy ground, had to dismount. The confederates fought desperately, but Sheridan's men contested every inch of ground, and at night fell back to Dinwiddie Court House and bivouacked. The 5th Corps came up during the night to attack the confederates in the rear; but at daylight it was found that they had fallen back to Five Forks. Here was found the cavalry of W. H. F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee, with Ross', Picket's, Wise's and Johnson's divisions of infantry. On the morning of the 1st of April, Sheridan advanced the 5th Corps toward Five Forks. That afternoon it fell upon Picket's rear, and now began the decisive battle. The roar was deafening. Night was coming on, and Sheridan was anxious to carry out Grant's order and "end the matter if possible to do so." He gave the order, "Charge bayonets!" In five minutes Picket's outer line was in possession of the federals. Crawford's division struck them in the flank, and, with McKenzie's brigade, routed and sent the confederates flying. The 5th Corps rallied and captured the enemy's entire force in their front. General Sheridan says in report: "YOU MUST THROW AWAY THAT CIGAR, SIR!" A Phalanx guard refusing to allow General U. S. Grant to pass by the commissary store-house till he had thrown away his cigar. "YOU MUST THROW AWAY THAT CIGAR, SIR!" A Phalanx guard refusing to allow General U. S. Grant to pass by the commissary store-house till he had thrown away his cigar. "The enemy were driven from their strong line of works, completely routed, the Fifth Corps doubling up their left flank in confusion, and the cavalry of General Merritt dashing on to the White Oak Road, capturing their artillery, turning it upon them, and riding into their broken ranks, so demoralized them that they made no serious stand after their line was carried, but took flight in disorder." The writer well remembers the eagerness of the Phalanx brigade of Colonel Shaw, composed of the 109th, 116th and 7th Regiments, as they waited orders near Hatcher's Run. The sound of distant guns fell upon their ears; Colonel Shaw was impatient; all seemed to feel the end was near, and wanted to lend a hand in the consummation. Oh, what suspense! The brigade lay upon their arms in a state of great agitation, all that night, waiting for orders to advance upon the foe. Who can tell the thoughts of those brave black soldiers as thus they lay upon the rumbling earth. Fathers, mothers, sisters, wives and children, yet slaves, behind the enemy's guns: precious property they are, and guarded like dearest treasure and even life itself, by an army of slave-holders—Lee's men, who, with the desperation of demons, vainly attempted to check the advance of the men of the North, who, with their lives, defended the Union. The black brigade wanted to strike one more blow for freedom—for the freedom of their wives and children—to make one more charge, and the confederate banner should go down; one more charge, and the light of Liberty's stars should blazon over the ramparts of the confederate forts. At length, with the dawning of day, came the order; then the black The confederate lines were broken, and Sheridan's troopers, McKenzie and Merritt, with their cavalry, although it was night, had followed up the fleeing foe, capturing them by thousands. The brigade pushed on along the captured works. The federal batteries, from every mound and hill, were showering shot and shell into the enemy's inner works; while the gleaming bayonets of the thousands of infantry could be seen as far as the eye could reach, their proud banners kissing the stifling air, and the bugles sounding the "forward march," leaving in their rear smoking camps and blazing dwellings. What a Sunday morning was that, with its thunders of terrific war, instead of the mellow chimes of church bells and the repose of peace. It was late in the afternoon, and huge, black clouds of smoke rolled up out of the city of Petersburg, and then a loud report, told that the confederates had evacuated it. Away to the left, the huzzas of Colonel Doubleday's Phalanx brigade (2nd) were heard. Now came a race to reach the city, between the 7th and 8th Phalanx regiments. No matter which was first, they were among the troops which took possession of the city, and gladdened the hearts of the negro population, as they marched through the streets singing their battle song: "We will hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple-tree as we go marching on." It was a glorious victory, bringing freedom to thousands of slaves, though it cost as many lives and millions of treasure. It was the beginning of the end. The confederates deserted their army by thousands. The South Side Railroad was in the hands of the federals, and starvation threatened the enemy. Lee, says a historian, was no longer himself: he rode wildly through his camps hither, and thither, trying to save his shattered and routed soldiers from annihilation. The defeat at Five Forks settled the fate of the Army of North Virginia. Grant had almost the entire federal General Weitzel, with Kautz's division of the 24th Corps and Thomas' and Ashborne's division of the 25th Corps, on the north side of the James river, lay quietly upon their arms during the fight on the south side. Grant kept Weitzel informed as to the results of the attack, and warned him to be on the alert and take every advantage offered, to press the confederates. General Longstreet's forces had been in Weitzel's front, but were partly withdrawn to defend Petersburg; therefore the latter kept unceasing vigil upon the fortifications before him. Sunday evening the bands were ordered out to play, and it was late into the night when their melodious strains ceased to float through the air. It was a night long to be remembered, the hearts of the black soldiers of the 25th Corps, gladdened by the reports of the victories of the troops before Petersburg, were jubilant, and with vigilant watch each looked for morning. They were impatient for the light, and ere it dawned they were ready for the onset which they believed must come with it. The enemy whom they supposed were preparing to give them battle, was silently stealing away to the enchanting strains of the Federal musicians. It was near the morning hours when a sudden report startled the sleeping soldiers; an explosion, another, and yet another followed in rapid succession. General Weitzel soon became satisfied that the enemy was moving, the continuous sound of distant cannonading away to the south, told that the combat still raged. The ground in front was thickly set with torpedoes, and the troops dared not move. Day came and Colonel Draper's black brigade of the 25th Corps went forward. The road was lumbered with all manner and sort of military gear and munitions of war. Keeping clear of the red flags which marked the torpedoes, the troops pushed on; they soon reached the defences of the city to find them untenanted; the negro had told the truth and the Phalanx brigade entered the city welcomed by thousands of happy kinsfolks. Badeau says: "The sun was an hour up, when suddenly there rose in the streets the cry of 'Yankees! Yankees!' and the mass of plunderers and rioters, cursing, screaming, trampling on each other, alarmed by an enemy not yet in sight, madly strove to extricate themselves and make an opening for the troops. Soon about forty men of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry rode into the crowd, and, trotting straight to the public square, planted their guidons on the Capitol. Lieutenant De Peyster, of Weitzel's staff, a New Yorker eighteen years of age, was the first to raise the national colors, and then, in the morning light of the 3d of April, the flag of the United States once more floated over Richmond. "The command of Weitzel followed—a long blue line—with gun-barrels gleaming, and bands playing 'Hail Columbia' and 'John Brown's Soul Goes Marching On.' One regiment was black. RECEIVING THE PRESIDENT. Abraham Lincoln riding through Richmond, April 4th, 1865, after the evacuation of the city by the Confederates. RECEIVING THE PRESIDENT. Abraham Lincoln riding through Richmond, April 4th, 1865, after the evacuation of the city by the Confederates. Lee and his famishing host were fleeing towards Danville, hotly pursued by the Federal Army. Resting there until the 5th they resumed the march, fighting and running, until, at Appomattox they gave up and surrendered. Major Alexandria S. Johnson of the 116th Phalanx Regiment thus relates the story in part which the Phalanx brigade took in the memorable movement of the two armies to Appomattox. He says: "As a participant in these events I will speak merely of what came under my own observation. The One Hundred and Sixteenth (colored) Infantry, in which I commanded a company, belonged to the Third Brigade, Second Division of the Twenty-fifth Army Corps, and during the winter of 1864-65 held the lines on Chapin's farm, the left resting on Fort Burnham. The division was commanded by Major-General Birney. The winter was passed in endeavoring to get the troops in as high a state of discipline as possible by constant drill and watchful training. When the spring opened we had the satisfaction of feeling that they were the equal, as soldiers, of most of the white troops. They were a contented body, being well fed and clothed, and they took delight in their various duties. The news of the capture of Savannah by Sherman and the defeat of Hood at Nashville had a cheering effect upon the whole command, and we looked forward with confidence that the end was drawing near. "On the night of the 26th of March our division silently left the lines on Chapin's farm, and marching to the rear some three miles went into bivouac. On the night of the 27th we crossed the James on muffled pontoons, and after a weary march arrived at Hatcher's Run at daybreak of the 28th. Crossing the original lines of breastworks we built new breastworks some two hundred yards in advance and bivouacked in the pine woods awaiting events. Sheridan at this time was operating on the Confederate right flank. The news of his decisive victory at Five Forks and of the complete turning of the enemy's flank was the immediate cause of a verbal order, given to company commanders by our colonel on the afternoon of April 1st, to advance on the lines in our front at dawn on the following day. That night the Union artillery opened along the whole line. Hissing and bursting shells from Appomattox river to Hatcher's Run filled in a scene never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. It was as if demons incarnate were holding a jubilee. As far as the eye could reach there was one blaze of fiery shot. The world has seldom seen its like. Where our brigade was to operate was a dense wilderness of pines with matted underbrush, but in the morning it looked as though a sirocco had kissed it. "With the dawn of day the brigade was in line of battle. Not a breath of air was stirring. A misty vapor shed its gloom and hung like a pall among the tree-tops. The silk covers were taken from our flags, but their folds hung lazily along the staff when the command, 'Forward! guide centre! march!' was given. At first slashed timber and brush "It was the intention of General Birney to carry by assault the main fort which commanded the city, and he deployed the division in line of battle for that purpose, but General Ord, coming up in time, ordered him to retire his division out of range and await further orders. We went into bivouac for the night, and at early dawn of the 3d we entered the city, the Confederates having evacuated the forts during the night. The field music played "John Brown's Body," and a tiny Union flag in the hands of a girl of ten years waved us a welcome. Resting an hour in the city the division started in pursuit of the Confederates. For a mile or two outside of the city the road was strewn with plug tobacco. Blood could be seen also at intervals in patches along the road. We bivouacked some fifteen miles from the city. A few of our officers took supper in a house close to our camping ground. Our fare was "corn pone," scraps of bacon, sorghum molasses, and a solution of something called coffee, for which we each gave our host, a middle-aged Virginian, one dollar. The colored troops being encamped on his farm his indignation was stirred and he exclaimed, while the tears trickled down his cheeks, 'Poor old Virginia! poor old Virginia! that I should have lived to see this day!' "At dawn of the 4th the column resumed the pursuit. It is needless for me to tell in detail how our cavalry destroyed and burned over five hundred Confederate wagons on the 5th and 6th, and how Ewell's command was defeated and captured at Sailor's creek on the 6th. Our brigade having arrived at Farmville on the afternoon of the 6th and "Our brigade, after resting some thirty minutes, resumed the march. It soon filed to the right. In a few minutes the command was given—'Right shoulder, shift arms! double quick, march!' Onward we went, the objective point being the Lynchburg pike. Dismounted cavalry retreating from the front broke through the column, saying as they passed us, 'Give it to them, boys! they are too many for us!' In a few minutes the head of the column reached the pike, when it halted and faced to the front. The command—'Unsling knapsacks!'—was given, and then we knew we were stripping for a fight. Skirmishers were deployed on our front, and as we advanced the Confederate skirmishers retired before us. After advancing some eight hundred yards the brigade was ordered to halt and form in line of battle. It formed into column of companies. Some eight hundred yards away was the Army of Northern Virginia, with its three lines of battle awaiting us. "We had not been at a halt more than twenty minutes when the news of Lee's surrender reached us. Our brigade celebrated the event by firing volleys of musketry in the air. Officers hugged each other with joy. About four hundred yards to the rear was a portion of the Twenty-fourth Corps, which had been marching to our support. The men in that long line threw their caps upwards until they looked like a flock of crows. From wood and dale came the sound of cheers from thousands of throats. Appomattox will never hear the like again. The brigade moved forward a short distance and went into camp some three hundred yards from the Confederate camp. In the afternoon I strolled over the ground we had traversed in the morning. I came across the body of a dead Confederate soldier, covered with a blanket. Some one had taken the shoes from his feet. Uncovering him I found that a shot had pierced his right breast. His white cotton shirt was matted with blood. A It was Palm Sunday, celebrated by many of the followers of Christ as the day of his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, a day of great rejoicing among Christians, known in our annual calendar as the 9th day of April, 1865. The morning broke clear and bright in the neighborhood of Appomattox Court House, and there was every evidence of spring. The birds chirped in the trees half clad with the early foliage, which trembled in the soft breeze. Along the roadside yet untrod by the hostile feet of man or steed, the tiny floweret buds had begun to open to the warmth of genial nature, and the larger roses, red and white, cast their fragrance to the lingering winds. Here the half clad, sore footed soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, were trembling with dread impatience for the onset,—the inevitable—which would decide their fate and their prospect of reaching the mountains just beyond. In front of them the federal cavalry awaited their coming. It was yet grey in the morning when General Lee sent word to his Lieutenant Gordon to cut his "way through at all hazards." With the impetuosity of a cyclone, his shattered corps rushed upon the dismounted cavalry in their front, the Federal line quivered, and bent to the gale. On and on they came, pressing closer and closer upon the cavalry. The struggle was becoming desperate, it was the last hope of the confederates they must go through the lines, or perish in the attempt. Again the confederate yell rose above the din of the battle's roar, and soon the cavalry fell back. Where was their leader Sheridan? He came, galloping at break-neck speed, his men cheering him as he rode to the front. He had been to the rear some five miles away. He saw at a glance the daring object of the foe, and ordered his men to fall back slowly. The confederates followed up the wavering line with brightened "That night once more the rebels evacuated their works, this time in front of Meade, and when morning dawned were far on their way, as they fondly thought, to Lynchburg, and Lee defiantly informed his pursuer that the emergency for the surrender had not yet arrived. But he reckoned without his host. He was stretching, with the terrific haste that precedes despair, to Appomattox for supplies. He need hardly have hastened to that spot, destined to be so fatal to himself and his cause. Grant's legions were making more haste than he. The marvelous marching, not only of Sheridan, but of the men of the Fifth and Twenty-Fourth Corps, was doing as much as a battle to bring the rebellion to a close. Twenty-eight, thirty-two, thirty-five miles a day in succession these infantry soldiers marched, all day and all night. From daylight until daylight again, after more than a week of labor and fatigue almost unexampled, they pushed on to intercept their ancient adversary, while the remainder of the Army of the Potomac was at his heels. "Finally Lee, still defiant, and refusing to treat with any view of surrender, came up to his goal, but found the national cavalry had reached the point before him, and that the supplies were gone. Still he determined to push his way through, and with no suspicion that men on foot could have marched from Rice's Station to his front in thirty hours, he made his last charge, and discovered a force of infantry greater than his own before him, besides cavalry, while two corps of the Army of the Potomac were close in his rear. He had run straight into the national lines. He was enclosed, walled in, on every side, with imminent instant destruction impending over him. He instantly offered to submit to Grant, and in the agony of alarm, lest the blow should fall, he applied to Meade and Sheridan also for a cessation of hostilities. Thus in three directions at once he was appealing to be allowed to yield. At the same moment he had messengers out to Sheridan, Meade, and Grant. The emergency, whose existence he had denied, had arrived. From the date of Lee's surrender, the confederates, from Virginia to the Mississippi, began to lay down their arms. Howell Cobb surrendered at Macon, Ga., on the 21st; Johnston surrendered to General Sherman on the 26th, in North Carolina; Dick Taylor, east of the Mississippi, on the 4th of May, and on the 26th Kirby Smith surrendered his forces west of the Mississippi. Jeff. Davis had been captured, disguised as a woman, and thus the cause, which originated in treason, based on the enslavement of a race, and which derived its only chance of success from men who were false to their oaths, collapsed. The mightiest blow given the confederacy was struck by the immortal Proclamation of Emancipation, giving freedom to four millions of slaves; more than two hundred thousand of whom, with dash and gallantry excelled by no other race, tore down the traitor's banner from their deemed impregnable breastworks and planted in its stead the national flag. That emblem, whose crimson folds, re-baptised in the blood of liberty's martyrs, invited all men, of all races, who would be free, to gather beneath the effulgent glare of its heaven-lighted stars, regardless of color, creed or condition. The Phalanx nobly bore their part all through the long night of war, and at last they occupied Charleston,—the traitors' nest,—Petersburg,—their eastern Gibraltar,—and Richmond—their Capitol. They marched proudly through the streets of these once impregnable fortresses, in all of which many of the soldiers of the Phalanx had been slaves. Oh! what a realization of the power of right over might. What a picture for the historian's immortal pen to paint of the freemen of America, whose sufferings were long, whose struggle was gigantic, and whose achievement was a glorious personal and political freedom! At the close of the war, the government, anticipating trouble in Texas, ordered General Steele to the command of the Rio Grande, under these instructions: "Washington, May 21st, 1865. "Maj. Gen. F. Steele, Commanding Rio Grande Expedition. "By assignment of the President, Gen. Sheridan takes general command west of the Arkansas. It is the intention to prosecute a vigorous campaign in that country, until the whole of Texas is re-occupied by people acknowledging allegiance to the Government of the United States. Sheridan will probably act offensively from the Red river. But it is highly important that we should have a strong foothold upon the Rio Grande. You have been selected to take that part of the command. In addition to the force you take from Mobile Bay, you will have the 25th Corps and the few troops already in Southern Texas. "Any directions you may receive from Gen. Sheridan, you will obey. But in the absence of instructions from him you will proceed without delay to the mouth of the Rio Grande and occupy as high up that river as your force and means of supplying will admit of. "Your landing will probably have to be made at Brazos, but you will learn more fully upon that matter on your arrival. We will have to observe a strict neutrality towards Mexico, in the French and English sense of the word. Your own good sense and knowledge of international law, and experience of policy pursued towards us in this war teaches you what will be proper. "Signed, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. "Official: Signed, Geo. K. Leet, A. A. G." In the meantime General Grant sent the following dispatches to Generals Halleck and Weitzel: "Washington, May 18th, 1865, 12.40 p. m., "Major-General H. W. Halleck, Richmond Va. "Please direct Major-General Weitzel commanding 25th Army Corps to get his corps in readiness for embarkation at City Point immediately upon the arrival of ocean transportation. He will take with him forty (40) days rations for twenty thousand men, one-half of his land transportation and one-fourth of his mules with the requisite amount of forage for his animals. All surplus transportation and other public property he may have he will turn over to the depots at City Point. "By command of Lieutenant-General Grant. "Signed, JOHN A. RAWLINS, "Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff. "Official. Signed, George K. Leet, A. A. G." * * * * "Washington, May 21st, 1865. "Major-General G. Weitzel, Commanding 25th A. C. "As soon as your corps is embarked you will proceed with it to Mobile Bay, Ala., and report to Major-General Steele for further orders. "In addition to rations, ammunition, and other articles which you have received directions to take with you, you should take a fair quantity of intrenching tools. "Signed, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. "Official, Signed, George K. Leet, A. A. G." On the 24th of May the 25th Corps began embarking for Texas by way of Mobile Bay. The troops, however, occupied Texas but a short time, the confederate forces there surrendering upon the same terms as those of General Lee. All fears having been dissipated, the troops were slowly mustered out of the United States service. The men returned to their wonted fields of labor to provide for their long-neglected families, upon a new career of peace and happiness, rising, Phoenix like, from the ashes of slavery to join the Phalanx of industry in upbuilding the greatness of their country, which they had aided in saving from desolation and ruin. Such is the history of the negro in the wars of the United States. Coming to its shores in the condition of slavery, it required more than two centuries for the entire race to reach the estate of freedom. But the imperishable records of their deeds show that however humble and despised they have been in all political and social relations they have never been wanting in patriotism at periods of public peril. Their devotion has been not only unappreciated, but it has failed to receive a fitting commemoration in pages of national history. It has been the purpose of the writer of this volume to relate herein the patriotic career of the negro race in this country in an authentic and connected form. In the time to come the race will take care of itself. Slavery is ended, and now they are striking off link by link the chains of ignorance which the servitude of some and the humility of all imposed upon them. If the past is the story of an oppressed race, the future will reveal that of one uprisen to great opportunities, which they will improve from generation to generation, and guard with the same vigilance that they will the liberties and boundaries of the land. FOOTNOTES:"On the 29th of September, 1864, Gen. Grant ordered Gen. Butler to cross the James River, at Two Points, and attack the enemy's line of work, in the centre of which was Fort Harrison; on the left, at New Market Heights, was a very strong work, the key of the enemy's flank on the north side of the river. It was a redoubt built on the top of a hill of some considerable elevation, then running down into a marsh. In that marsh was a brook—then rising again to a plain, which gently rolled toward the river. On that plain, when the flash of dawn was breaking, Butler placed a column of the black Phalanx," [which consisted of the 5th, 36th, 38th and 2nd Cavalry Regts.], "numbering three thousand, in close column, by division, right in front with guns at 'right shoulder shift.' The center of the line was given to the eighteenth corps composed of white troops, under Gen. Ord, and they drove the enemy from a very strong work, capturing several pieces of cannon. "Gen. Butler had been severely criticised by officers of the regular army for organizing twenty-five regiments of negroes. 'Why.' said they, 'they will not fight' In contradiction of this assertion Butler made up his mind to prove the worth and value of the black Phalanx. Notwithstanding their gallantry at Petersburg and on the Fredericksburg road, the metal of the 25th corps of the Army of the James was to be tried; so Butler took command of the Phalanx himself with a determination to set at rest forever the question of the fighting capacity of a portion of his command. Addressing the Phalanx, he said, pointing to the works on the enemy's flank, 'those works must be taken by the weight of your column; not a shot must be fired. In order to prevent them from firing he had the caps taken from the nipples of their guns. 'When you charge.' he said, 'your cry will be 'Remember Fort Pillow.' "'Twas in the early grey of the morning, ere the sun had risen. The order 'forward' set the column in motion, and it went forward as if on parade—down the hill, across the marsh, and as the column got into the brook they came within range of the enemy's fire, which was vigorously opened upon them. The column broke a little, as it forded the brook, it wavered! What a moment of intense anxiety? But they formed again, as they reached the firm ground, marching on steadily with close ranks under the enemy's fire until the head of the column reached the first line of abatis, some one hundred and fifty yards from the enemy's work. Then the axemen ran to the front to cut away the heavy obstacles of defense while one thousand men of the enemy with their artillery concentrated poured from the redoubt a heavy fire upon the head of the column of fours. The axemen went down under that murderous fire; other strong black hands grasped the axes in their stead and the abatis was cut away. Again, at double-quick, the column went forward to within fifty yards of the fort, to meet there another line of abatis. The column halted and there a very fire of hell was poured upon them. The abatis resisted and held the head of the column which literally melted away under the rain of shot and shell; the flags of the leading regiments went down, but a brave black hand seized the colors. They were soon up again and waved their starry light over the storm of battle. Again the axemen fell, but strong hands and willing hearts seized the heavy sharpened trees and dragged them away, and the column rushed forward and with a shout that rang out above the roar of artillery went over the redoubt like a flash, and the enemy did not stop running within four miles, leaving the Phalanx in possession of their deemed impregnable work, cannons and small arms. The autocrats of the regular army could croak no longer about the negro soldiers not fighting. "This gallantry of the Phalanx won for them and the negro race the admiration of the man who supported Jeff Davis and the slave power in the Charleston convention in 1860. Ten years after this splendid victory of the Phalanx, in support of their civil rights, General Butler then a member of congress, made an eloquent appeal in behalf of the equal civil rights of the negro race. In it he referred to the gallant charge of the Phalanx. He said: "It became my painful duty to follow in the track of that charging column, and there, in a space not wider than the clerk's desk and three hundred yards long, lay the dead bodies of five hundred and forty-three of my colored comrades, fallen in defense of their country, who had offered up their lives to uphold its flag and its honor, as a willing sacrifice: and as I rode along among them, guiding my horse this way and that way, lest he should profane with his hoofs what seemed to me the sacred dead, and as I looked on their bronzed faces upturned in the shining sun, as if in mute appeal against the wrongs of the country for which they had given their lives, whose flag had only been to them a flag of stripes, on which no star of glory had ever shone for them—feeling I had wronged them in the past and believing what was the future of my country to them—among my dead comrades there, I swore to myself a solemn oath—'May my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof my mouth, if I ever fail to defend the rights of those men who have given their blood for me and my country that day and for their race forever, and God helping me, I will keep that oath." * * * * "NEW MARKET HEIGHTS. "'Freedom their battle cry, freedom or leave to die.'—Boker. At New Market Heights, there Afric's lineage stood, And poured out copiously its best blood; Of them I would sing, my lyre's restrung, And allures not diffidently to the song, Paternal muse with thy patriot valor reign Supreme, and the brightness of ages regain, In the deep recess of the past Lower me, to where the battle's blast Has been given to oblivion, the sigh Of dying patriots let greet me nigh. And my thoughts waft on memory's wing, To where their charging shouts yet ring. If mine the task indulgent muse vouchsafed, Whilst I commune 'mongst bones that paved, And flesh that bridged the chasm o'er, Where Butler numbered five hundred and more of Afric's sons, who for liberty fell. In the corridors of a stockaded hell. I'll essay their deeds of valor done, By which the nation its victory won. 'Twas early in the grey September morn, Ere the suns fulgent light had shown, Whilst departed patriots looked out from above, Emitting their twinkling silvery light of love, Upon the silent bivouac of freedom's sons, Weary and resting upon their bayonetless guns; Quite near the bank of the James, Just above where their own fathers' names, Were first enrolled as ignoble slaves. The Second Brigade, valiant men and braves, Saw a meteor like rocket burst high, High up in the dewey morning sky. Then came the summons prepare to away, Butler leads to New Market heights at day. Beat the long roll, sound the alarm, Break the monotone and the dead calm, And the bugle's clarion notes aroused, awoke, The host that waited ere day broke; Infantry, cavalry prepared to make away, Butler leads to New Market heights at day. From rank to rank the summons ran, Bayonets rattle and clank of sabres began. With whetted steel the sturdy axe-men, Capless riflemen, horseless cavalry men. Formed on that plain in battle array, Butler leads to New Market heights at day. When the flash of dawn was breaking, Their leader rode in front, and speaking, Gave the charging shout 'Remember Fort Pillow,' And their banners brightened in the mellow Light of heaven; 'Forward,' they marched away, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Went down the hill across the marsh,— Into the brook—there halted—ah! how harsh The rebels' fire opened upon them, artillery Hail swept the run, and the infantry Broke, the column wavered tho' not in dismay, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Again the shattered columns form and again advance To firmer ground, tho' the redoubt hurl'd like an avalanche In quick succession, bursting bombs and canister shot, But with closed ranks the column, fearing not Unheedful of the iron hail bent its way, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Now the head of the column of fours go down Under the murderous fire and the hissing song Of the enemy's shells, now the axe men spring To the abatis high and long, now their axes ring Out on the morning air, they were swept away. Following Butler to New Market heights that day. The flags are where, do they kiss the morning light, Do they wave in the battle's gale, are their stars bright, Illumining the path of the brave? riddled and torn, With the dead they lay. Soon again they shone, In the first gleam of the rising-sun's ray, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Upon the brigade each felt that all was placed, Their race and country's future honored or disgraced, Hence with Spartan courage they the charge renewed, And in hot haste the Nation's enemy pursued, And sweat and blood from pore and wound inveigh, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. 'Forward, forward!' rung the command, the flags are up again, The axe-men grin, and with a shout go over the slain, To a second line of abatis. The welkin's aglow. The advancing brigade shouts, 'Remember Fort Pillow!' And with a will and spirit they clear the way, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Down the dismounted cavalrymen fall by ranks, The Infantry an adamantine wall on the flanks, Close up briskly on right and left receive The enflading fire from the brazen crest, breathe They not a word in complaint, freedom's impulse obey, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Mow the black axe-men tear from the sod the huge logs Which science and treason placed deep in the bogs, Skill gave way to freedom's might in the dastardly fight, And the black brigade, with capless rifles and starry light, Go through the gap to the Rebel's hell in gallant array, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Volley after volley poured, cannon after cannon roared, Like reapers in a field a thousand artillerists mowed In the gap, the brigade's advancing files of four, Yet on through the flood of death still the brigade pour. Their battle cry, Remember Fort Pillow, the enemy dismay, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. Hark! above the raging carnage swells the shout, 'No quarter to Niggers,' with hope of a rout, But the brigade was not deterred, they retaliate The defiant yells, Remember Fort Pillow, the fate Of its garrison how it fell, on through the fray, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. On for the redoubt over the rampart they go, Not a rifle was fired, not a shot at the foe, By the weight of the column the redoubt is theirs, And the enemy routed, the chivalry scattered everywhere Victorious shouts the empyrean ring in repay, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. In the track of the brigade lay the loyal dead, Afric's hecatomb, her lineage's pyre to liberty wed, Their upturned countenances to the burning sun, Were appeals to Mars for their race's freedom won, Five hundred lives on the patriotic alter lay, Following Butler to New Market heights that day. No marble shaft or granate pile mark the spot Where they fell—their bones lay harvested from sun-rot, In the Nation's cities of the dead. Hannibal led No braver than they through Alpine snow, nor wed To freedom were Greece's phalanx more, who o'er gory clay Followed Butler to New Market heights that day. |
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