AEMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



27 



Banks, commanding the Department of the 

 Gulf, was so well satisfied with the black troops, 

 which he found in the service on his arrival in 

 New Orleans, and was so confident in the abil- 

 ity and disposition of the negroes to become 

 good soldiers, that he ordered a whole army 

 corps to be raised, consisting of 18 regiments, 

 of 500 men each, to be called the "Corps 

 d'Afrique." His general order on the subject 

 was in the following terms : 



Corps D^Afrique. 



HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OP THE GPLF, ) 



NINETEENTH ARMY CORPS, OPELOUSAS, > 



May 1st, 1863. } 



General Orders, No. 40. The Major-General com- 

 manding the Department proposes the organization of 

 a Corps d'Armee of colored troops, to be designated as 

 the " Corps d'Afrique." It will consist ultimately of 

 eighteen regiments, representing all arms infantry, 

 artillery, cavalry making nine brigades of two regi- 

 ments each, and three divisions of three brigades each, 

 with appropriate corps of engineers, and flying hospi- 

 tals for each division. Appropriate uniforms, and the 

 gradation of pay to correspond with the value of the 

 services, will oe hereafter awarded. 



In the field the efficiency of every corps depends 

 upon the influence of its officers upon the troops en- 

 gaged, and the practical limits of one direct command 

 is generally estimated at 1,000 men. The most emi- 

 nent military historians and commanders, among others 

 Thiers and Chambray, express the opinion upon a 

 full review of the elements of military power, that the 

 valor of the soldier is rather acquired than natural. 

 Nations, whose individual heroism is undisputed, have 

 failed as soldiers in the field. The European and Amer- 

 ican continents exhibit instances of this character, and 

 the military prowess of every nation may be estimated 

 by the centuries it has devoted to military contest, or 

 the traditional passion of its pe6ple for military glory. 

 With a race unaccustomed to military service, much 

 more depends on the immediate influence of officers 

 upon individual members, than with those that have 

 acquired more or less of warlike habits and spirit by 

 centuries of contest. It is deemed best, therefore, in the 

 organization of the Corps d'Afrique, to limit the regi- 

 ments to the smallest number of men consistent with 

 efficient service in the field, in order to secure the most 

 thorough instruction and discipline, and the largest in- 

 fluence of the officers over the troops. At first they 

 will be limited to five hundred men. The average 

 of American regiments is less than that number. 



The Commanding General desires to detail for tem- 

 porary or permanent duty the best officers of the army 

 for the organization, instruction, and discipline of this 

 corps. With their aid he is confident that the corps will 

 render important service to the Government. It is not 

 established upon any dogma of equality or other theo- 

 ry, but as a practical and sensible matter of business. 

 The Government makes use of mules, horses, unedu- 

 cated and educated white men in the defence of its in- 

 stitutions. Why should not the negro contribute what- 

 ever is in his power for the cause in which he is as 

 deeply interested as other men? We may properly 

 demand from him whatever service he can render. 

 The chief defect in organizations of this character has 

 arisen from incorrect ideas of the officers in command. 

 Their discipline has been lax, and in some cases the 

 conduct of their regiments unsatisfactory and discredit- 

 able. Controversies unnecessary and injurious to the 

 service have arisen between them and other troops. 

 The organization proposed will reconcile and avoid 

 many of these troubles. 



Officers and soldiers will consider the exigencies of 

 the service in this Department, and the absolute neces- 

 sity of appropriating every element of power to the sup- 

 port of the Government. The prejudices or opinions of 

 men are in nowise involved. The cooperation and ac- 

 tive support of all officers and men, and the nomina- 



tion of men from the ranks, and from the list of non- 

 commissioned and commissioned officers, are respect- 

 fully solicited from the Generals commanding the re- 

 spective divisions. 



By command of Maj.-Gen. BANKS. 



RICHARD B. IRWIN, A. A. -General. 



With a view of systematizing the enlistment 

 of colored troops, the following order, furnish- 

 ing rules and regulations on the subject, was 

 issued by the "War Department after the return 

 of Gen. Thomas to Washington : 



General Orders, No. 143. 



WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, } 

 WASHINGTON, MayMd, 1863. } 



1. A bureau is established in the Adjutant-General's 

 office for the record of all matters relating to the or- 

 ganization of colored troops. An officer will be as- 

 signed to the charge of the bureau, with such number 

 of clerks as may be designated by the Adjutant-Gen- 

 eral. 



2. Three or more field officers will be detailed as in- 

 spectors, to supervise the organization of colored 

 troops, at such points as may be indicated by the War 

 Department, in the Northern and Western States. 



3. Boards will be convened at such posts as may be 

 decided upon by the War Department, to examine ap- 

 plicants for commissions to command colored troops, 

 who, on application to the Adjutant-General, may re- 

 ceive authority to present themselves to the board of 

 examination. 



4. No person shall be allowed to recruit for colored 

 troops except specially authorized by the War Depart- 

 ment, 'and no such authority will be given to persons 

 who have not been examined and passed by a board ; 

 nor will such authority be given to any one person to 

 raise more than one regiment. 



. 5. The reports of the boards will specify the grade 

 of commission for which each candidate is fit, and au- 

 thority to recruit will be given in accordance. Commis- 

 sions will be issued from the Adjutant-General's office 

 when the prescribed number of men is ready for mus- 

 ter into the service. 



6. Colored troops may be accepted by companies, to 

 be afterward consolidated in battalions and regiments 

 by the Adjutant-General. Regiments will be numbered 

 seriatim, in the order in which they are raised, the 

 numbers to be determined by the Adjutant-General. 

 They will be designated " Regiment of U. S. Col- 

 ored Troops." 



7. Recruiting stations and depots will be established 

 by the Adjutant-General, as circumstances shall re- 

 quire, and officers will be detailed to muster in and in- 

 spect troops. 



8. Non-commissioned officers of colored troops may 

 be selected and appointed from the best men of their 

 number, in the usual mode of appointing non-commis- 

 sioned officers. Meritorious commissioned officers will 

 be entitled to promotion to higher ranks, if they prove 

 themselves equal to it. 



9. All personal applications for appointments in the 

 colored regiments, or for information concerning them, 

 must be made to the Chief of the Bureau. All written 

 communications should be addressed to the Chief of 

 the Bureau, to the care of the Adjutant-General. 



By order of the Secretary of War. 



E. D. TOWNSEND, A. A.-General. 



Early in August, Gen. Thomas again left 

 Washington for the Southwest, under instruc- 

 tions from the War Department to continue, 

 within the region previously visited by him, 

 the " organization into the military service of 

 the United States of all able-bodied male per- 

 sons of African descent, who may come within 

 our lines, or who may be brought in by our 

 troops, or who may have already placed them- 

 selves under the protection of the Federal Gov- 



