in which you say: "His contemptuous treatment of Robert Small, the gallant colored pilot who brought the steamer Planter out of the harbor of Charleston, and who is one of the heroes of our war, has already been recorded in this paper." Through all courtesy to your paper and justice where justice is due, I must say that from the first day of my arrival within the Union lines, General Seymour has always shown me the greatest regard, whenever in public or private, inquiring how I was or if I was in need. Shortly after turning the Planter over to the United States Government, General Seymour sent for me, and after several interrogations, ordered me to have my name entered in Colonel Elwell's Pilot list, a position for which I am much indebted to him, and which I occupied until taking command of this steamer. Never was there a time, when with General Seymour, or any of his aids, that I was treated contemptuously or unkindly. Trusting you will correct this error, which I fear some reporter has unintentionally made, I am, yours most respectfully, Captain ROBERT SMALL. With this evidence of my treatment of such colored troops as have been placed under me, even you cannot find great fault. Respectfully, your obedient servant, HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-FIRST U. S. C. T., JACKSONVILLE, FLA., March 29, 1864. Lieutenant R. M. Hall, A. A. A. G. : SIR: It having come to the knowledge of the undersigned that certain imputations are afloat concerning General Seymour's treatment of colFinally, as a soldier of the Republic, I claim ored troops, we deem it but justice to that dis- some trifling respect from you, and some fairtinguished officer, in view of his departure from ness. Therefore I call upon you to give to this this post, to state that, so far as our own observ-letter, entire, the same publicity with which you ation has extended, his conduct toward that class have heretofore assailed me. of troops has been all that the sincerest friends of the colored race could desire; and it affords us great pleasure to testify to the uniform kindness, courtesy, and liberality with which he has treated the officers and men of this command. We have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servants, A. G. BENNETT, Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Regiment. R. H. WILLOUGHBY, Captain Commanding Company B. E. R. FOWLER, But fourth. As you may possibly consider the case of Robert Small, a brave fellow, whose con duct deserves more consideration than it has yet received as an exception-I submit his statement, to which you will probably attach more credit than to any assertion of mine: UNITED STATES STEAMER PLANTER, LAND'S END, SOUTH-CAROLINA, April 4, 1864. To the Editors of the Evening Post: Please allow me, through your columns, to correct an error which I find by perusing your paper of the ultimo, under the heading of "General Seymour and the Battle of Olustee," T. SEYMOUR, Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers. ACTION OF THE COLORED TROOPS. ON PICKET, SIX MILES WEST OF JACKSONVILLE, SIR: I deem it but proper that you and the balance of the Supervisory Committee should know all about the operations of the regiment brought into existence under your supervision, and will therefore give you a short history of the part the Eighth regiment had in the slaughter at Olustee, Florida, on the twentieth instant, and will then allow you and the committee to judge whether colored men are the poltroons which their enemies tried to make us believe them to be. The expedition with which we were identified had all the prospects in the world to prove suc cessful, and would have been, if we had come we gave them time to prepare for us when we prepared to advance immediately; but as it was, did advance. We left Baldwin, at the junction of the Jacksonville and Tallahassee, and Fernandina and Cedar Keys railroads, about twenty miles west of Jacksonville, on Friday, the twentieth; marched westward eleven miles, and bivouacked for the night at Barber's Ford, on the St. Mary's River. The bugle sounded the reveillé before daylight, and, after taking breakfast, we took up the line of march westward. Our march for ten miles to Sanderson Station was uninterrupted, but about four miles further west our advance drove in the enemy's pickets, keeping up a continuous skirmish with them for about four miles, when the Seventh Connecticut, who were in the advance, deployed as skirmishers, fell in with the enemy's force in a swamp, strengthened still further with rifle-pits. Here they were met with cannon and musketry. The Seventh were armed with Spencer rifles, which fire eight times without loading, with which they played dreadful havoc with the enemy. They were then ordered to take one of four pieces of artillery the enemy had, but were unsuccessful. They held their ground nobly, as long as their sixty rounds of ammunition lasted, which was perhaps three quarters of an hour, but were retiring just as the main body of our army came up. The Eighth colored marched on the railroad, came up first, and filed to the right, when they were soon met with a most terrific shower of musketry and shell. General T. Seymour now came up, and pointing in front toward the railroad, said to Colonel Fribley, commander of the Eighth, “Take your regiment in there"— a place which was sufficiently hot to make veterans tremble, and yet we were to enter it with men who had never heard the sound of a cannon. Colonel Fribley ordered the regiment, by company, into line, double-quick march; but, before it was fairly in line, the men commenced dropping like leaves in autumn. Still, on they went, without faltering or murmuring, until they came within two hundred yards of the enemy, when the struggle for life and death commenced. Here they stood for two hours and a half, under one of the most terrible fires I ever witnessed; and here, on the field of Olustee, was decided whether the colored man had the courage to stand without shelter, and risk the dangers of the battle-field; and when I tell you that they stood with a fire in front, on their flank, and in their rear, for two hours and a half, without flinching, and when I tell you the number of dead and wounded, I have no doubt as to the verdict of every man who has gratitude for the defenders of his country, white or black. Colonel Fribley, seeing that it was impossible to hold the position, passed along the lines to tell the officers to fire and fall back gradually, and was shot before he reached the end. He was shot in the chest, told the men to carry him to the rear, and expired in a very few minutes. Major Burritt took command, but was also wounded in a short time. At this time Captain Hamilton's battery became endangered, and he cried out to our men for God's sake to save his battery. Our United States flag, after three sergeants had forfeited their lives by bearing it | during the fight, was planted on the battery by Lieutenant Elijah Lewis, and the men rallied around it, but the guns had been jammed up so indiscriminately, and so close to the enemy's lines, that the gunners were shot down as fast as they made their appearance; and the horses, whilst they were wheeling the pieces into position, shared the same fate. They were compelled to leave the battery, and failed to bring the flag away. The battery fell into the enemy's hands. During the excitement Captain Bailey took command, and brought out the regiment in good order. Sergeant Taylor, company D, who carried the battle-flag, had his right hand nearly shot off, but grasped the colors with the left hand, and brought it out. I took my position along the railroad, and had the wounded brought there, and while busily engaged a volley was poured into us. About a dozen of cavalry were preparing to make a charge on us, but disappeared as the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts advanced out of the woods. They knew the men were wounded, and that it was an hospital, but disregarded it; and had it not been for the Fifty-fourth, which advanced in splendid order, they would undoubtedly have taken us all prisoners. The Seventh New-Hampshire was posted on both sides of the wagon road, and broke, but rallied in a short time, and did splendid execution. The line was probably one mile long, and all along the fighting was terrific. Our artillery, where it could be worked, made dreadful havoc on the enemy, whilst the enemy did us but very little injury with his, with the exception of one gun, a sixty-four pound swivel, fixed on a truck-car on the railroad, which fired grape and canister. On the whole, their artillery was very harmless, but their musketry fearful. We were informed in the morning that they had some ten thousand men, and four guns, while we had less than six thousand, but eighteen guns. The troops all fought bravely; the First NorthCarolina (colored) did nobly. I saw at an early stage of the fight that we would be whipped, and went round among our wounded and told them, as many as could get away, to start for Barber, and then started the ambulance crowded full. The day and the field being lost to us, we started on the retreat, and reached our old quarters yesterday. We were compelled to leave a few of our men behind, and they fell into the hands of the enemy. It could not be helped; I had but one ambulance to a regiment, and the railroad was useless, because we had no locomotive. However, we got some horse-cars to within eighteen miles of the field, which aided us greatly. How the rebels have disposed of the colored men who fell into their hands we have not heard yet; but we hope that the fear of retaliation, if not the dictates of humanity, will cause them to reconsider their threat of outlawry. If not, we must act accordingly. Our men are neither discouraged nor dismayed, but ready for another fight. We would like to have our regiment recruited. We should have at least two hundred men immediately. Will the committee not make an effort to send them to us? I have no doubt but the War Department would allow it. Please do your best for us. If it could be done, we would like two flanking companies of one hundred men each, armed with Spencer rifles. I think they are just the thing for bushwhacking. You can tell the committee that we look to them as our guardians, and therefore hope they will do all corded of our operations in this vicinity, was that for us they can, and do it quickly. Your friend, A. P. AEICHHOLD, To Mr. E. M. DAVIS, Philadelphia. sent out on the first of last month, commanded by Colonel James H. Coates, of the Eleventh Surgeon Eighth Ú. S. C. T. Illinois infantry. The force consisted of the Eleventh Illinois infantry, Eighth Louisiana infantry, and First Mississippi cavalry-the two latter being colored troops. REBEL ACCOUNTS. GOVERNOR MILTON'S DESPATCH. To the President: TALLAHASSEE, FLA., February 11. Lieutenant H. H. Dean, Adjutant of the Eleventh Illinois, kindly furnished me with the following particulars of the campaign: On the I have just received the following despatch thirty-first ultimo, the expedition left Haines's from General Finnigan, dated yesterday: "I Bluff, and ascended Yazoo River on transports, met the enemy in full force to-day, under Gen- convoyed by three gunboats, and on the fourth eral Seymour, and defeated him with great loss. arrived at Liverpool Heights, within eighteen I captured five pieces of artillery, hold possession miles of Yazoo City. At this point they found of the battle-field, and the killed and wounded of the enemy posted in a strong position on a the enemy. My cavalry are in pursuit. I don't high bluff, and he immediately opened fire on know precisely the number of prisoners, as they the gunboats, which were in advance, striking are being brought in constantly. My whole them several times, and putting two shots loss will not, I think, exceed two hundred and through one of them. ORDER OF GENERAL FINNIGAN. Governor. fifty killed and wounded. Among them I mourn The Eleventh Illinois disembarked immediatethe loss of many brave officers and men." I un-ly, and attempted to storm the position of the derstand that General Finnigan also captured enemy, but were repulsed with a loss of five many small-arms. JOHN MILTON, men killed and twenty-eight wounded. The gunboats opened an effective fire upon the eneran the blockade in the night, with a loss of six my while the infantry reembarked, and the fleet men wounded. From this time there was continued skirmishing along the river till the ninth, when our forces reached Yazoo City, where a detachment surprised and captured five rebel pickets. The Floridian and Journal published the following order issued by General Finnigan to the citizens of Florida: "The enemy, by a sudden landing at Jacksonville, in some force, and a bold effort to penetrate into the interior, succeeded in getting as far as within a few miles of Lake City. The timely concentration of our forces has enabled us to check his progress, and induce him to retire toward Baldwin. The reënforcements now received and expected will enable us to drive him back to his ships. The people of the State can contribute much to the early accomplishment of these results, by combining themselves in efficient military organizations of mounted troops, if they have horses, and of infantry if they have not, and reporting to me for temporary military service, with such arms and accoutrements as they may have, or by reporting singly to me, when they will be assigned to some militia organization for temporary service. You may also render valuable service by furnishing your teams, for the necessary transportation of troops, and supplies for their subsistence. For these the government will pay liberal prices. "Let the people all come forward and exhibit the patriotism and bravery which are their characteristic traits; and, with their aid, our gallant troops will soon drive the enemy from the country. Let all unite in this honorable and manly purpose, and lose no time in commencing the most vigorous and determined action." Doc. 88. FIGHT AT LIVERPOOL HEIGHTS, On the eleventh, Colonel Coates reëmbarked, and proceeded up the river to Greenwood, and found Fort Pemberton evacuated by the enemy. The First Missouri cavalry, Colonel Osband commanding, went out from this point, had a fight, lost five men, and went to within five miles of Grenada; and ascertaining that Forrest was at that place in force, retraced his steps and joined the main command. Several days were spent in loading cotton, which was found along the river-shore, and after having secured one thousand six hundred bales, the expedition returned to Yazoo City on the twenty-eighth. Immediately upon arriving there, Major Cook went out with a small cavalry force, and encountered a brigade of Texas cavalry, numbering one thousand five hundred, commanded by Brigadier-General L. S. Ross. A sharp fight enand Colonel Jones, of the Texas cavalry, was killed. sued, in which Major Cook lost nineteen prisoners, On the next morning, while out on a reconnoissance, a party of our troops found eight of the bodies of colored soldiers taken prisoners the day before. The clothing was stripped from their bodies, and all were shot through the head. Colonel Coates established his headquarters in the town, and eight companies of his regiment, commanded by Major McKee, took possession of the earthwork, on a commanding point, a half-mile distant from the city. Thus matters stood till the fourth instant, when General Ross sent in a communication, asking what would be the treatment of prisoners if taken by ONE of the most successful expeditions ever re- negro soldiers. Colonel Coates replied that they VOL. VIII-Doc. 27 ON THE YAZOO RIVER. VICKSBURGH, Miss., Sunday, March 13, 1864. would be treated with the respect due prisoners of war. On the night of the fourth, Ross was reenforced by a brigade of Tennessee troops, numbering eight hundred men, commanded by Brigadier-General R. V. Richardson; and at seven o'clock on the morning of the fifth, an attack was made upon Major McKee, who held the redoubt, while a portion of the enemy went to the left, flanking his position, and entered the town, and came within twenty feet of Colonel Coates's headquarters before they received a check from our men, who were pouring a deadly fire upon them from the windows. Here was almost a hand-to-hand conflict, which lasted four hours, when finally our sharp-shooters had picked off all their gunners, and completely silenced the guns which had riddled Colonel Coates's headquarters with shot and shell at a range of only a few paces, and the rebels began to fall back. A light field-piece had been sent from the gunboat Matamora to the town, when the fight began; but the squad sent with it ran at about the first fire, and permitted it to fall into the hands of the enemy, who only had it a moment, till some of the Eleventh boys retook it, and manned it through the fight. While the fight was progressing in the town, the rebels had Major McKee completely surrounded, and were throwing shot and shell into his works with terrible precision. After they had, as they supposed, obtained every advantage, Richardson sent a message to Major McKee, saying they had taken all the rest prisoners, and demanded his surrender. The Major replied to him that he had "no idea of doing any such thing, but that if he wanted them, to come and get them." They renewed the attack, and several times came up within a few paces of the earthwork, and were as often repulsed with heavy loss. A second message came from General Richardson, demanding an immediate surrender, saying that "for God's and humanity's sake, he ought to surrender-that he would not be answerable for the actions of his men if they had to take the place by assault, and that he would storm it and take it in ten minutes." The Major replied to him: "That he had better come and take them; that they never would surrender-that he might storm and be." He further told him that he was sorry his demand was coupled with such a threat; that if the fight went on with that understanding, he should kill every man he captured. At this juncture, our forces in the city had it all their own way, and were driving the enemy rapidly before them, and a general rout of the enemy ensued, and the fight ended at five o'clock in the afternoon. hundred and fifty feet square, and during the fight, over fifty shells exploded inside the works. Colonel Coates's fighting force was seven hundred men; that of the enemy, according to their own admission, two thousand three hundred. Major Thiemer, of the Tennessee troops, was killed within twenty feet of Colonel Coates's door. The loss of the enemy is not known, but it was far greater than ours. All speak in terms of the highest praise of the gallantry of Major McKee, of the Eleventh Illinois, and Major Cook, of the First Missouri. All did their duty nobly; but I have not space to relate individual acts of heroism. LieutenantColonel Peebles, of the Eighth Louisiana infantry, led his troops in the most gallant manner, and the colored soldiers fought like devils. There seemed to be a mutual understanding between them and the enemy that they should take no prisoners. This is considered here by military men, as it certainly was, one of the most gallant and successful struggles of the war on our part, and, therefore, I have given greater space to it than I should otherwise have done. The enemy had eight field-pieces in the fight-our troops one small one! Doc. 89. RETALIATION IN NORTH-CAROLINA. THE following correspondence passed between Generals Peck and Pickett: HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, AND DISTRICT OF NORTH-CAROLINA, NEWBERN, NORTHCAROLINA, Feb. 11, 1864. Major-General Pickett, Department of Virginia and North-Carolina, Confederate Army, Petersburgh: GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose a slip cut from the Richmond Examiner, February eighth, 1864. It is styled "The Advance on Newbern," and appears to have been extracted from the Petersburgh Register, a paper published in the city where your headquarters are located. Your attention is particularly invited to that paragraph which states "that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by a negro soldier from the other side of the river, which he was spanning with a pontoon-bridge, and that the negro was watched and followed, taken, and hanged after the action at Thomasville." "THE ADVANCE ON NEWBERN.-The Petersburgh Register gives the following additional facts of the advance on Newbern: Our army, according to the report of passengers arriving from Weldon, has fallen back to a point sixteen miles west Our loss was one lieutenant and seven men of Newbern. The reason assigned for this retrokilled, twenty-four wounded, and thirteen pris-grade movement was that Newbern could not be oners in the Eleventh Illinois; and the colored taken by us without a loss on our part which troops lost two commissioned officers killed, would find no equivalent in its capture, as the four wounded, ten enlisted men killed, sixty-place was stronger than we had anticipated. Yet, one wounded, and six missing. in spite of this, we are sure that the expedition The redoubt held by Major McKee was one will result in good to our cause. Our forces are in a situation to get large supplies from a country still abundant, to prevent raids on points westward, and keep tories in check, and hang them when caught. "From a private, who was one of the guard that brought the batch of prisoners through, we learn that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by a negro soldier from the other side of the river, which he was spanning with a pontoon-bridge. The negro was watched, followed, taken, and hanged after the action at Thomasville. It is stated that, when our troops entered Thomasville, a number of the enemy took shelter in the houses and fired upon them. The Yankees were ordered to surrender, but refused, whereupon our men set fire to the houses, and their occupants got bodily, a taste in this world of the flames eternal." The Government of the United States has wisely seen fit to enlist many thousand colored citizens to aid in putting down the rebellion, and has placed them on the same footing in all respects, as her white troops. The orders of the President are so just, full, and clear, that I inclose a copy for your consideration: WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., July 31, 1863. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 252. The following order from the President is published for the information and government of all concerned: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 16, 1864. Major-General John J. Peck, U. S. A., Commanding at Newbern: GENERAL: Your communication of the eleventh of February is received. I have the honor to state in reply, that the paragraph from a newspaper inclosed therein, is not only without foundation in fact, but so ridiculous that I should scarcely have supposed it worthy of consideration; but I would respectfully inform you that had I caught any negro, who had killed either officer, soldier, or citizen of the confederate States, Icaused him to be immediately executed. should have Be To your threat expressed in the following extract from your communication, namely, lieving that this atrocity has been perpetrated without your knowledge, and that you will take prompt steps to disavow this violation of the usages of war, and to bring the offender to justice, I shall refrain from executing a rebel soldier until I hear of your action in the premises," I have merely to say that I have in my hands and subject to my orders, captured in the recent operations in this department, some four hundred and fifty officers and men of the United States army, and for every man you hang I will hang ten of the United States army. I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient J. E. PICKETT, servant, Major-General Commanding. It is the duty of every government to give protection to its citizens of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially to those organized as soldiers in the public service. The law of nations, and the usages and customs of war, as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To sell or enslave any captured person on account of his color, and for no offence against the laws of war, is a relapse into barbarism, and a crime against the civiliza-DESTRUCTION OF REBEL SALT-WORKS. tion of the age. Doc. 90. REPORT OF ADMIRAL BAILEY. UNITED STATES FLAG-SHIP DALE, KEY-WEST, FLA., March 6, 1864. The Government of the United States will give the same protection to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or enslave any one because of his color, the offence shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our posses-peditions have recently been fitted out from the sion. It is therefore ordered that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works, and continue on such labor until the other shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of war. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By order of the Secretary of War. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. Believing that this atrocity has been perpetrated without your knowledge, and that you will take prompt steps to disavow this violation of the usages of war, and to bring the offenders Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy: United States steamer Tahoma, for the destruction of extensive salt-works, the property of the rebel government, in the neighborhood of St. Mark's, Florida. The first expedition left the ship on the morning of the seventeenth of February, in two detachments, one under command of Acting Master E. C. Weeks, and the other in charge of Acting Ensign J. G. Koehler. The salt-works being some seven miles in extent, the first detachment commenced at one end of the line, the other at the other. A day and a night of unremitting labor was spent in the work of destruction, when the expedition returned safely to the vessel, having marched through swamps and dense woods a distance of forty miles, and successfully accomplished the object of the undertaking. |