“On November 11, 1863, General Foster was reassigned to the Department of the Ohio, to be replaced in the Department of North Carolina by Major General Benjamin F. Butler of Louisiana fame. Suddenly, black recruitment efforts were doubled, and within a month, Butler obtained permission from the War Department to organize an African American cavalry regiment. He also ended the static role until now assigned to black units. In early December, wanting to reestablish use of the Dismal Swamp Canal and punish Rebel guerrilla bands, he authorized Wild to undertake a major raid into North Carolina. It was understood that Wild would have a free hand 'to clear the country of slaves and procure recruits for his brigade.”
Monday, December 23, 2013
LIKE MEN OF WAR by Noah A. Trudeau, excerpt...
LIKE MEN OF WAR: BLACK TROOPS IN THE CIVIL WAR 1862-1865, by Noah Andre Trudeau (Little Brown & Co.: 1998), p.112-115
“The Emancipation Proclamation represented a radical shift in thinking that left a great many senior military men uncomfortable and unhappy. One of these was Brigadier General John G. Foster, whose Department of North Carolina all the territory won during Burnside's 1862 expedition. Hundreds of contrabands had fled into his lines, but long after January 1, 1863, had passed, Foster had yet to authorize the raising of any black units under his command. …
“John G. Foster was not the right man for the job; fortunately, [Massachusetts Governor John A.] Andrew had someone else in mind, and he wasted no time in selling his candidate to [War Secretary Edwin] Stanton. On April 13, [1863] the adjutant-general's office issued orders to Colonel Edward A. Wild 'to raise a brigade (of four regiments) of North Carolina volunteer infantry.'...
“His left arm gone, his right hand crippled, Wild at first doubted his ability to command black troops. 'I am not the man I was a year ago,' he confessed to a friend. 'Still I mean to work for my country as long as I can, and...do what is set before me.' This can-do attitude was a strong factor in Andrew's promotion of his candidacy, but even more important was Wild's uncompromising belief in the value of black soldiers, his deep-rooted hatred of the Confederacy, and his relentless drive to persevere in the face of all obstacles...
“Soon after arriving at his new post, Wild began to recognize the immensity of his task. In addition to the challenge of raising black regiments, he was given the responsibility for the contraband camps...
“Fortunately, Wild did not embark upon this crusade without help: among those joining him was a black Massachusetts recruiter named George N. Williams. 'The Freedmen of African descent in this vicinity number about ten thousand,' the latter informed the reader's of Philadelphia's Christian Recorder on May 19...
“Recruiting for the first regiment moved rapidly forward. In a June 6 letter to the Christian Recorder, Williams vowed that a 'terrible blow will be struck for the Union and the rights of man by Wild's Colored Brigade, terrible to the rebels that dare destroy the rights of colored humanity.' Eleven days later, he put the critical question of the day to his readers: 'Is the negro not a man? Is he not capable of bearing arms? Has he not talent? Has he not courage?' Then the day finally arrived, on June 30, when the 1st Regiment North Carolina Colored Volunteers was mustered into U.S. Service, Colonel James C. Beecher commanding... On October 28, the 2nd Regiment North Carolina Colored Volunteers was mustered into U.S. Service...
“On November 11, 1863, General Foster was reassigned to the Department of the Ohio, to be replaced in the Department of North Carolina by Major General Benjamin F. Butler of Louisiana fame. Suddenly, black recruitment efforts were doubled, and within a month, Butler obtained permission from the War Department to organize an African American cavalry regiment. He also ended the static role until now assigned to black units. In early December, wanting to reestablish use of the Dismal Swamp Canal and punish Rebel guerrilla bands, he authorized Wild to undertake a major raid into North Carolina. It was understood that Wild would have a free hand 'to clear the country of slaves and procure recruits for his brigade.”
“On November 11, 1863, General Foster was reassigned to the Department of the Ohio, to be replaced in the Department of North Carolina by Major General Benjamin F. Butler of Louisiana fame. Suddenly, black recruitment efforts were doubled, and within a month, Butler obtained permission from the War Department to organize an African American cavalry regiment. He also ended the static role until now assigned to black units. In early December, wanting to reestablish use of the Dismal Swamp Canal and punish Rebel guerrilla bands, he authorized Wild to undertake a major raid into North Carolina. It was understood that Wild would have a free hand 'to clear the country of slaves and procure recruits for his brigade.”