Feature Article on black soldiers.
Topic: BLACK HISTORY & CIVIL WAR
Written by Rich Wallace in
February, 1996
BLACK SOLDIERS DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES DURING CIVIL WAR...Pg 2 |
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| The men were officially enlisted on May 13, 1863 in Boston. Their
understandable fears about a hostile reception must have been quickly dissipated. Captain
Luis Emilio, who wrote a history of the 54th after the war, recalled the scene: "All
along the route the sidewalks, windows and balconies were thronged with spectators and the
appearance of the regiment caused repeated cheers and the waving of flags. Only hearty
greetings were encountered; not an insulting word was heard or an unkind remark
made." The parade ended in front of a reviewing stand containing Frederick Douglass, the fiery orator and champion of antislavery views. His views on the use of Negroes in the war effort were also well known. "Who would be free themselves must strike the blow," he thundered. "I urge you to fly to arms and smite to death the power that would bury the government and your liberty in the same hopeless grave." He is credited with personally persuading Lincoln to support a new militia law allowing the enlistment of "persons of African descent" as needed "for the suppression of the Rebellion." The courage of black soldiers in battle had been established during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. America, however, had a short memory. Now, Elias Artis and the others would be asked to prove their mettle again. All of the officers of the 54th were white, as required by the Militia Act. Governor Andrews appointed dashing, young Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to command the troops. When the 54th left Boston aboard the steamer Demolay, Frederick Douglass was at the pier waving until the ship slipped from sight. Although they would soon fight along side white soldiers, their pay would not be the same. Artis, Stewart and the others were paid $10 per month less the cost of clothing, and white soldiers received $13 plus clothing costs. Col. Shaw said his men would refuse pay until they were treated equally. One soldier said it more succinctly: "Do we not take up the same length of ground in the grave yard?" Elsewhere, the pay dispute caused black sergeant William Walker to order his men to stack their arms because they would "not do duty any longer." Walker was executed for mutiny. |
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