758 



SLAVES. 



SMITH, CHARLES F. 



tially been able to see chiefly their heads over ram- 

 parts, or, rifle in hand, dodging behind trees in the 

 extreme distance. In the absence of any " fugitive 

 master law," the deserted slaves would be wholly with- 

 out remedy,, had not the crime of treason given them 

 the right to pursue, capture, and bring back those per- 

 sons of whose protection they have been thus suddenly 

 bereft. 



To the third interrogatory it is my painful duty to 

 reply that I never have received any specific authority 

 for issues of clothing, uniforms, arms, equipments, and 

 so forth to the troops in question my general instruc- 

 tions from Mr. Cameron to employ them in any man- 

 ner I might find necessary, and the military exigencies 

 of the department and the country being my only, but, 

 in my judgment, sufficient justification. Neither have 

 I had any specific authority for supplying these per- 

 sons with shovels, spades, and pickaxes when employ- 

 ing them as laborers, nor with boats and oars when 

 using them as lightermen ; but these are not points in- 

 cluded in Mr. Wickliffe's resolutions. To me it seemed 

 that liberty to employ men in any particular capacity 

 implied with it liberty also to supply them with the 

 necessary tools ; and acting upon this faith I have 

 clothed, equipped, and armed the only loyal regiment 

 yet raised in South Carolina. 



I must say, in vindication of my own conduct, that 

 had it not been for the many other diversified and im- 

 perative claims on my time a much more satisfactory 

 result might have been hoped for ; and that in place 

 of only one, as at present, at least five or six well- 

 drilled, brave, and thoroughly acclimated regiments 

 should by this time have been added to the loyal forces 

 of the Union. 



The experiment of arming the blacks, so far as I 

 have made it, has been a complete and even marvellous 

 success. They are sober, docile, attentive, and enthu- 

 siastic, displaying great natural capacities for acquir- 

 ing the duties of the soldier. They are eager beyond 

 all things to take the field and be led into action;' and 

 it is the unanimous opinion of the officers who have 

 had charge of them, that in the peculiarities of this 

 climate and country they will prove invaluable aux- 

 iliaries, fully equal to the similar regiments so long 

 and successfully used by the British authorities in the 

 West India Islands. 



In conclusion, I would say it is my hope there ap- 

 pearing no possibility of other reinforcements owing 

 to the exigencies of the campaign in the Peninsula to 

 have organized by the end of next fall,, and to be able 

 to present to the Government, from forty-eight to fifty 

 thousand of these hardy and devoted soldiers. 



Trusting that this letter may form part of your an- 

 swer to Mr. Wickliflfe's resolutions, I have the honor 

 to be, most respectfully, your very obedient servant, 



D.' HUNTER, 

 m Major-General Commanding. 



On the 18th of October Gen. Saxton, in com- 

 mand of the Department, issued an order to 

 organize the First Regiment of South Carolina 

 Volunteers as soon as possible. The enlisting 

 of the negroes had proceeded very slowly. 

 Thirteen dollars a month, with army rations 

 and clothing, was to be the pay of the soldier. 

 By the close of the year the regiment was com- 

 pleted. 



The attempt was made in Kansas by Gen. 

 Lane to enlist negroes, but it failed of success. 

 His order for their enlistment was as follows : 



RECRUITING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF KANSAS, ) 

 LEAVENWOKTH CITY, August 6, 1862. f 



General Orders No. 3. 1. That persons of African 

 descent who may desire to enter the service of the 

 United States in this Department, shall fully under- 

 stand the terms and conditions upon which they will 

 be received into such service, recruiting officers who 

 are authorized, under instructions from this office, to 



receive such persons, shall, before receiving them, read 

 to them and in their presence, the following sections 

 of an act entitled " An act to amend the act call- 

 ing for the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 

 suppress and repel invasion," approved February 28, 

 17'Jo, and the acts amendatory thereof and for other 

 purposes, approved Julv 17, 1862, as follows : 



Section 12. And be it further enacted, That the 

 President be, and he is hereby authorized to receive 

 into the service of the United States, for the purpose 

 of constructing intrenchments or camp service, or any 

 other labor, or any military or naval service for which 

 they may be found competent, persons of African de- 

 scent, and such persons shall be enrolled and organ- 

 ized under such regulations, not inconsistent with" the 

 constitution and laws, as the President may prescribe. 



Section 13. And be it further enacted, That when 

 any man or boy of African descent, who, by the laws 

 of any State, shall owe service or labor to any person 

 who, during the present rebellion, has levied war or 

 has borne arms against the United States, or adhered 

 to their enemies by giving them aid and comfort, shall 

 render any such service as is provided for in this act, 

 he, his mother, and bis wife and children, shall forever 

 thereafter be free, any law, usage or custom whatso- 

 ever to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided, That 

 the mother, wife, and children of such man or boy of 

 African descent shall not be made free by the opera- 

 tion of this act, except where such mother, wile, or 

 children owe service or labor to some person who, dur- 

 ing the present rebellion, has borne arms against the 

 United States, or adhered to their enemies by giving 

 them aid and comfort. 



By order of JAS. H. LANE, 



Commissioner of Recruiting. 



T. J. WEED, Major and A. A. A. G. 



An attempt was made by Gen. Sprague, of 

 Rhode Island, to raise a regiment of free ne- 

 groes, but it met with no success. An attempt 

 was also made at New Orleans to organize 

 negro troops, but at the close of the year it 

 was still an experiment. 



Another measure proposed relative to the 

 slaves was their colonization in Chiriqui in 

 Central America. For this purpose Senator 

 Pomroy, of Kansas, who had been very suc- 

 cessful in organizing "Emigrant Aid Expedi- 

 tions " from Massachusetts at the time of the 

 Kansas disturbances, received a kind of general 

 permission from the President to settle at any 

 suitable point within the tropics, being charged 

 " to maintain the honor of the republic abroad." 

 Some progress was made in organizing this en- 

 terprise, but it was abandoned. 



Another measure proposed relative to the 

 slaves was the removal of a portion of those at 

 Fortress Monroe to Massachusetts and other 

 Northern States, both for "humane and mili- 

 tary reasons." (See MASSACHUSETTS.) 



Notwithstanding all the measures proposed, 

 the Southern slaves still remain a great burden 

 on the hands of the Government, excepting 

 those who have pressed forward to the free 

 States, already well supplied with white labor. 



SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON, a major-general 

 of volunteers in the United States service, born 

 in Pennsylvania about 1806, died at Savannah, 

 Tennessee, April 25, 1862. He was a son of 

 the late Dr. Samuel B. Smith, U. S. A., gradu- 

 ated with honor at West Point in 1825, and 

 was made second lieutenant of artillery on the 

 1st of July in the same year. In 1829 he was 



