280 



CONGRESS, U. S. 



als themselves, and that they have no author- 

 ity to issue them from the President. I am 

 satisfied that that is true. While the President 

 does not remove and cashier them, as I would 

 do, yet I do not believe he has given them any 

 authority whatever, directly or indirectly, to 

 proceed in this inhuman and shameful man- 

 ner ; for it is the concurrent testimony of every 

 general in the field and it is in accordance 

 with my own observation while in the western 

 department that these slaves never play the 

 game of spy; and that they are truly loyal 

 and faithful. I remember very well that Gen. 

 McDowell, before that fatal battle, was careful 

 to inquire of every fugitive whom he met in 

 relation to the position and movements of the 

 enemy, and the topography of the country. I 

 am satisfied that they are the most reliable 

 scouts we have ; that they give us the best in- 

 formation we have ; and I do think it is most 

 shameful, and mean, and contemptible for a 

 major-general of the United States to slander a 

 race already degraded, poor, and despised. It 

 is an utter shame." 



Mr. Blair, of Missouri, replied : " I desire 

 to state to the House, in justification of Gen. 

 Halleck, what occurred between us when I 

 called on him the day after that order was is- 

 sued. I know I may speak of it, because he 

 does not care to conceal his sentiments. I told 

 him I believed his order would be misunder- 

 stood and misconstrued, as it has been here to- 

 day. He told me then that he had no idea of 

 contravening the law of Congress, or the policy 

 of the Administration on this subject ; that his 

 simple object was to exclude from his camp 

 not his lines persons who could convey infor- 

 mation to the enemy. As an instance of what 

 he intended to guard against, I will say that at 

 Cairo it was the habit of slaves to come into 

 camp from Kentucky and southeastern Missou- 

 ri for the purpose of selling provisions, and then 

 going back into Missouri and Kentucky, where 

 they fell into the hands of the enemy, who ex- 

 acted information from them. He desired to 

 put a stop to this thing, and that was the mov- 

 ing cause of his having published this order. I 

 believe that what he stated in reference to this 

 matter can be corroborated by gentlemen who 

 were at Cairo at the time ; and he said, more- 

 over, that he not only intended to exclude from 

 his camp these fugitive slaves who came there, 

 and then went back to the enemy's camp, but 

 that he meant to exclude everybody, white and 

 black ; that he meant to make no distinction in 

 the matter, but that it was a mere military or- 

 der, to preserve the discipline of his camp, and 

 prevent the enemy from getting information." 



Mr. Fouke, of Illinois, made the following 

 statement : " Inasmuuch as Cairo has been al- 

 luded to, I will state the fact that the officers 

 and soldiers there regard this order of Gen. 

 Halleck as a most wise and salutary one. I care 

 not what motives prompted him to make it, it 

 was one which was much needed. The state- 

 ment of my colleague in regard to the fidelity 



of these slaves is, in the main, untrue. "We 

 were misled on the 7th of November last by 

 one of them, and my own regiment was led 

 into ambush, and suffered the consequences. 

 You cannot, therefore, rely upon the fidelity 

 and loyalty of the slaves of Missouri, or any other 

 State. I merely state facts which are known to 

 our whole army there ; and let my colleague's 

 views prevail, and there is an end of recruiting 

 for the volunteer service in my section of the 

 State. These negroes come into our camps to 

 sell their produce, and then communicate to 

 the enemy information regarding the situation 

 of our army. These are facts ; and I know that 

 every man bearing arms there will substantiate 

 what I say." 



Mr. Lovejoy, of Illinois, replied : " The con- 

 current testimony of all these generals with 

 whom I conversed was in contravention of the 

 statement of my colleague as to the general 

 principle, not in reference to that particular 

 case. I would ask my colleague what became 

 of the negro who betrayed his regiment ? "Will 

 my colleague be kind enough to answer ? " 



Mr. Fouke answered thus : " I do not hap- 

 pen to know what became of him afterward. 

 We fell into the engagement at half past ten 

 o'clock in the morning and remained under 

 fire until five o'clock in the evening, and I 

 had no time to look after the negro, about 

 whom my colleague seems to be more con- 

 cerned than the wounded and slain upon the 

 battle-field ; and I think if he would pay less 

 attention to the negro and more to the interests 

 of his country, we would get along much better 

 with this war." 



Mr. Blair, of Missouri, added : " Gen. Hal- 

 leck stated, in addition to what I have already 

 said, that he intended to use those slaves who 

 ran away from their masters if he could use 

 them with advantage to the Government ; that 

 he intended, if he found that it would weaken 

 the enemy, to take their slaves from them 

 wherever he found them ; but he did not intend 

 that that class of persons, or any other unau- 

 thorized persons, should come into his camp." 



Mr. Julian, of Indiana, followed, saying: 

 " This resolution relates to the policy adopted 

 by Gen. Halleck in his division of the army. 

 I think that the policy of the Administration 

 itself is in favor of delivering up to their mas- 

 ters such slaves as come into the camps. I 

 state this from the fact that within the past few 

 days a slave girl, claimed by a Mr. Jessup, of 

 Cockeysville, Maryland, found her way into the 

 camp of Col. Brown, of the Twentieth Indi- 

 ana regiment, and accompanied the regiment to 

 Fortress Monroe. The master, learning her 

 whereabouts, demanded his slave. Col. Brown 

 refused to deliver her up. Application was 

 then made to Secretary Cameron, who ordered 

 Gen. Wool to have her delivered up to her 

 claimant, which I understand, in pursuance of 

 the order, he did. I infer, therefore, that the 

 general policy of the Administration sanctions 

 the conduct of Gen. Halleck in reference to 



