CHAPTER II. NEGRO TROOPS IN THE WAR OF 1812. EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF 1812. THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZES THE ENLISTMENT OF A REGIMENT OF COLORED SOLDIERS. GEN. ANDREW JACK SON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE FREE COLORED INHABITANTS OF LOUISIANA CALLING THEM TO ARMS.- STIRRING ADDRESS TO THE COLORED TROOPS THE SUNDAY BEFORE THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. GEN. JACKSON ANTICIPATES THE Valor of his COLORED SOLDIERS. - Terms OF PEACE AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR BY THE COMMISSIONERS AT GHENT. NEGROES PLACED AS CHATTEL PROPERTY. THEIR VALOR IN WAR SECURES THEM NO IMMUNITY IN PEACE. W HEN the war-clouds gathered in 1812, there was no time wasted in discussing whether it would be prudent to arm the Negro, nor was there a doubt expressed as to his valor. His brilliant achievements in the war of the Revolution, his power of endurance, and martial enthusiasm, were the golden threads of glory that bound his memory to the victorious cause of the American Republic. A lack of troops and an imperiled cause led to the admission of Negroes into the American army during the war of the Revolution. But it was the Negro's eminent fitness for military service that made him a place under the United States flag during the war in Louisiana. The entire country had confidence in the Negro's patriotism and effectiveness as a soldier. White men were willing to see Negroes go into the army because it reduced their chances of being sent forth to the tented field and dangerous bivouac. New York did not hesitate to offer a practical endorsement of the prevalent opinion that Negroes were both competent and worthy to fight the battles of the Nation. Accordingly, the following Act was passed authorizing the organization of two regiments of Negroes. "AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE RAISING OF TWO REGIMENTS OF MEN OF COLOR; PASSED OCT. 24, 1814. "SECT. I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the Governor of the State be, and he is hereby, authorized to raise, by voluntary enlistment, two regiments of free men of color, for the defence of the State for three years, unless sooner discharged. "SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That each of the said regiments shall consist of one thousand and eighty able-bodied men ; and the said regiments shall be formed into a brigade, or be organized in such manner, and shall be employed in such service, as the Governor of the State of New York shall deem best adapted to defend the said State. "SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the commissioned officers of the said regiments and brigade shall be white men; and the Governor of the State of New York shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to commission, by brevet, all the officers of the said regiments and brigade, who shall hold their respective commissions until the council of appointment shall have appointed the officers of the said regiments and brigade, in pursuance of the Constitution and laws of the said State. 'SECT. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioned officers of the said regiments and brigade shall receive the same pay, rations, forage, and allowances, as officers of the same grade in the army of the United States; and the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the said regiments shall receive the same pay, rations, clothing, and allowances, as the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the army of the United States; and the sum of twenty-five dollars shall be paid to each of the said non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, at the time of enlistment, in lieu of all other bounty. "SECT. 5. And be it further enacted, That the troops to be raised as aforesaid may be transferred into the service of the United States, if the Government of the United States shall agree to pay and subsist them, and to refund to this State the moneys expended by this State in clothing and arming them; and, until such transfer shall be made, may be ordered into the service of the United States in lieu of an equal number of militia, whenever the militia of the State of New York shall be ordered into the service of the United States. "SECT. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any able-bodied slave, with the written assent of his master or mistress, to enlist into the said corps; and the master or mistress of such slave shall be entitled to the pay and bounty allowed him for his service; and, further, that the said slave, at the time of receiving his discharge, shall be deemed and adjudged to have been legally manumitted from that time, and his said master or mistress shall not thenceforward be liable for his maintenance. "SECT. 7. And be it further enacted, That every such enrolled person, who shall have become free by manumission or otherwise, if he shall thereafter become indigent, shall be deemed to be settled in the town in which the person who manumitted him was settled at the time of such manumission, or in such other town where he shall have gained a settlement subsequent to his discharge from the said service; and the former owner or owners of such manumitted person, and his legal representatives, shall be exonerated from his maintenance, any law to the contrary hereof notwithstanding. "SECT. 8. And be it further enacted, That, when the troops to be raised as aforesaid shall be in the service of the United States, they shall be subject to the rules and articles which have been or may be hereafter established by the By-laws of the United States for the government of the army of the United States; that, when the said troops shall be in the service of the State of New York, they shall be subject to the same rules and regulations; and the Governor of the said State shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to exercise all the power and authority which, by the said rules and articles, are required to be exercised by the President of the United States."' Gen. Andrew Jackson believed in the fighting capacity of the Negro, as evidenced by the subjoined proclamation : "HEADQUARTERS OF 7TH MILITARY DISTRICT, 66 "Through a mistaken policy you have heretofore been deprived of a participation in the glorious struggle for national rights in which our country is engaged. This no longer shall exist. "As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend our most inestimable blessing. As Americans, your country looks with confidence to her adopted children for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable government. As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are summoned to rally around the standard of the eagle, to defend all which is dear in existence. "Your country, although calling for your exertions, does not wish. you to engage in her cause without amply remunerating you for the services rendered. Your intelligent minds are not to be led away by false representations. Your love of honor would cause you to despise the man who should attempt to deceive you. In the sincerity of a soldier and the language of truth I address you. "To every noble-hearted, generous freeman of color, volunteering to serve during the present contest with Great Britain, and no longer, there 'Laws of the State of New York, passed at the Thirty-eighth Session of the Legislature, chap. xviii. will be paid the same bounty in money and lands, now received by the white soldiers of the United States, viz.: one hundred and twenty-four dollars in money, and one hundred and sixty acres of land. The noncommissioned officers and privates will also be entitled to the same monthly pay and daily rations, and clothes, furnished to any American soldier. "On enrolling yourselves in companies, the major-general commanding will select officers for your government from your white fellow-citizens. Your non-commissioned officers will be appointed from among yourselves. "Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen and soldiers. You will not, by being associated with white men in the same corps, be exposed to improper comparisons or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct, independent battalion or regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, undivided, receive the applause and gratitude of your countrymen. "To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions, and my anxiety to engage your invaluable services to our country, I have communicated my wishes to the Governor of Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the manner of enrollment, and will give you every necessary information on the subject of this address. "ANDREW JACKSON, Major-General Commanding."1 Just before the battle of New Orleans, General Jackson reviewed his troops, white and black, on Sunday, December 18, 1814. At the close of the review his Adjutant-General, Edward Livingston, rode to the head of the column, and read in rich and sonorous tones the following address: "TO THE MEN OF COLOR.-Soldiers! From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms; I invited you to share in the perils and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected much from you, for I was not uninformed of those qualities which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you could endure hunger and thirst and all the hardships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds. "Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion; and the voice of the representatives of the American nation shall applaud your valor, as your general now praises your ardor. The enemy is near. His sails cover the lakes. 'Niles's Register, vol. vii. p. 205. But the brave are united; and if he finds us contending among ourselves, it will be for the prize of valor, and fame, its noblest reward."' But in this war, as in the Revolutionary struggle, the commissioners who concluded the terms of peace, armed with ample and authentic evidence of the Negro's valorous services, placed him among chattel property. And in no State in the South were the laws more rigidly enforced against Negroes, both free and slave, than in Louisiana. The efficient service of the Louisiana Negro troops in the war of 1812 was applauded on two continents at the time, but the noise of the slave marts soon silenced the praise of the "Black heroes of the battle of New Orleans." 'Niles's Register, vol. vii. pp. 345, 346. |