Chapter 21
BLACKS UNDER FIRE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
Expedition up the St. Mary's River.—The Negroes Long for a Fight.—Their Gallantry in Battle.
The Department of the South, under Major-Gen. Hunter, was the first in which the negro held the musket. By consent of the commanding-general, I give the following interesting report from Col. T. W. Higginson:--
"On Board Steamer 'Rex Deford,' Sunday, Feb. 1, 1863.
"Brig-Gen. Saxton, Military Governor, &c.
"General,—I have the honor to report the safe return of the expedition under my command, consisting of four hundred and sixty-two officers and men of the First Regiment of South-Carolina Volunteers, who left Beaufort on Jan. 23, on board the steamers: John Adams,' 'Planter,' and 'Ben Deford.'
"The expedition has carried the regimental flag and the President's proclamation far into the interior of Georgia and Florida. The men have been repeatedly under fire; have had infantry, cavalry, and even artillery, arrayed against them; and have, in every instance, come off, not only with unblemished honor, but with undisputed triumph. At Township, Fla., a detachment of the expedition fought a cavalry company which met us unexpectedly, on a midnight march through pine woods, and which completely surrounded us. They were beaten off with a loss on our part of one man killed and seven wounded; while the opposing party admits twelve men killed (including Lieut. Jones, in command of the company), besides many wounded. So complete was our victory, that the enemy scattered, hid in the woods all night, not returning to his camp, which was five miles distant, until noon next day; a fact which was unfortunately unknown until too late to follow up our advantage. Had I listened to the urgent appeals of my men, and pressed the flying enemy, we could have destroyed his camp; but, in view of the darkness, his uncertain numbers and swifter motions, with your injunctions of caution, I judged it better to rest satisfied with the victory already gained.
"On another occasion, a detachment of about two hundred and fifty men, on board the 'John Adams,' fought its way forty miles up and down a river, the most dangerous in the department,—the St. Mary's; a river left untraversed by our gunboats for many months, as it required a boat built like the 'John Adams' to ascend it successfully. The stream is narrow, swift, winding, and bordered at many places with high bluffs, which blazed with rifle-shots. With our glasses, as we approached these points, we could see mounted men by the hundreds galloping through the woods, from point to point, to await us; and, though fearful of our shot and shell, they were so daring against musketry, that one rebel actually sprang from the shore upon the large boat which was towed at our stern, where he was shot down by one of my sergeants. We could see our shell scatter the rebels as they fell among them, and some terrible execution must have been done; but not a man of this regiment was killed or wounded, though the steamer is covered with bullet-marks, one of which shows where our brave Capt. Clifton, commander of the vessel, fell dead beside his own pilot-house, shot through the brain by a Minie-ball. Major Strong, who stood beside him, escaped as if by magic, both of them being unnecessarily exposed without my knowledge. The secret of our safety was in keeping the regiment below, except the gunners; but this required the utmost energy of the officers, as the men were wild to come on deck, and even implored to be landed on shore, and charge on the enemy. Nobody knows any thing about these men who has not seen them in battle. I find that I myself knew nothing. There is a fiery energy about them beyond any thing of which I have ever read, unless it be the French Zouaves. It requires the strictest discipline to hold them in hand. During our first attack on the river, before I got them all penned below, they crowded at the open ends of the steamer, loading and firing with inconceivable rapidity, and shouting to each other, 'Never give it up!' When collected into the hold, they actually fought each other for places at the few port-holes from which they could fire on the enemy.
"Meanwhile, the black gunners, admirably trained by Lieuts. Stockdale and O'Neil (both being accomplished artillerists), and Mr. Heron, of the gunboat, did their duty without the slightest protection, and with great coolness, amid a storm of shot.
"No officer in this regiment now doubts that the key to the successful prosecution of this war lies in the unlimited employment of black troops. Their superiority lies simply in the fact that they know the country, which white troops do not; and, moreover, that they have peculiarities of temperament, position, and motive, which belong to them alone. Instead of leaving their homes and families to fight, they are fighting for their homes and families; and they show the resolution and sagacity which a personal purpose gives. It would have been madness to attempt with the bravest white troops what I have successfully accomplished with black ones.
"Every thing, even to the piloting of the vessel, and the selection of the proper points for cannonading, was done by my own soldiers; indeed, the real conductor of the whole expedition at the St. Mary's was Corporal Robert Sutton, of Company G, formerly a slave upon the St. Mary's River; a man of extraordinary qualities, who needs nothing but a knowledge of the alphabet to entitle him to the most signal promotion. In every instance where I followed his advice, the predicted result followed; and I never departed from it, however slightly, without having reason for subsequent regret.
"I have the honor to be, &c.,
"T. W. HIGGINSON,
"Col. Com. First Regiment South-Carolina Vols."
"On Board Steamer 'Rex Deford,' Sunday, Feb. 1, 1863.
"Brig-Gen. Saxton, Military Governor, &c.
"General,—I have the honor to report the safe return of the expedition under my command, consisting of four hundred and sixty-two officers and men of the First Regiment of South-Carolina Volunteers, who left Beaufort on Jan. 23, on board the steamers: John Adams,' 'Planter,' and 'Ben Deford.'
"The expedition has carried the regimental flag and the President's proclamation far into the interior of Georgia and Florida. The men have been repeatedly under fire; have had infantry, cavalry, and even artillery, arrayed against them; and have, in every instance, come off, not only with unblemished honor, but with undisputed triumph. At Township, Fla., a detachment of the expedition fought a cavalry company which met us unexpectedly, on a midnight march through pine woods, and which completely surrounded us. They were beaten off with a loss on our part of one man killed and seven wounded; while the opposing party admits twelve men killed (including Lieut. Jones, in command of the company), besides many wounded. So complete was our victory, that the enemy scattered, hid in the woods all night, not returning to his camp, which was five miles distant, until noon next day; a fact which was unfortunately unknown until too late to follow up our advantage. Had I listened to the urgent appeals of my men, and pressed the flying enemy, we could have destroyed his camp; but, in view of the darkness, his uncertain numbers and swifter motions, with your injunctions of caution, I judged it better to rest satisfied with the victory already gained.
"On another occasion, a detachment of about two hundred and fifty men, on board the 'John Adams,' fought its way forty miles up and down a river, the most dangerous in the department,—the St. Mary's; a river left untraversed by our gunboats for many months, as it required a boat built like the 'John Adams' to ascend it successfully. The stream is narrow, swift, winding, and bordered at many places with high bluffs, which blazed with rifle-shots. With our glasses, as we approached these points, we could see mounted men by the hundreds galloping through the woods, from point to point, to await us; and, though fearful of our shot and shell, they were so daring against musketry, that one rebel actually sprang from the shore upon the large boat which was towed at our stern, where he was shot down by one of my sergeants. We could see our shell scatter the rebels as they fell among them, and some terrible execution must have been done; but not a man of this regiment was killed or wounded, though the steamer is covered with bullet-marks, one of which shows where our brave Capt. Clifton, commander of the vessel, fell dead beside his own pilot-house, shot through the brain by a Minie-ball. Major Strong, who stood beside him, escaped as if by magic, both of them being unnecessarily exposed without my knowledge. The secret of our safety was in keeping the regiment below, except the gunners; but this required the utmost energy of the officers, as the men were wild to come on deck, and even implored to be landed on shore, and charge on the enemy. Nobody knows any thing about these men who has not seen them in battle. I find that I myself knew nothing. There is a fiery energy about them beyond any thing of which I have ever read, unless it be the French Zouaves. It requires the strictest discipline to hold them in hand. During our first attack on the river, before I got them all penned below, they crowded at the open ends of the steamer, loading and firing with inconceivable rapidity, and shouting to each other, 'Never give it up!' When collected into the hold, they actually fought each other for places at the few port-holes from which they could fire on the enemy.
"Meanwhile, the black gunners, admirably trained by Lieuts. Stockdale and O'Neil (both being accomplished artillerists), and Mr. Heron, of the gunboat, did their duty without the slightest protection, and with great coolness, amid a storm of shot.
"No officer in this regiment now doubts that the key to the successful prosecution of this war lies in the unlimited employment of black troops. Their superiority lies simply in the fact that they know the country, which white troops do not; and, moreover, that they have peculiarities of temperament, position, and motive, which belong to them alone. Instead of leaving their homes and families to fight, they are fighting for their homes and families; and they show the resolution and sagacity which a personal purpose gives. It would have been madness to attempt with the bravest white troops what I have successfully accomplished with black ones.
"Every thing, even to the piloting of the vessel, and the selection of the proper points for cannonading, was done by my own soldiers; indeed, the real conductor of the whole expedition at the St. Mary's was Corporal Robert Sutton, of Company G, formerly a slave upon the St. Mary's River; a man of extraordinary qualities, who needs nothing but a knowledge of the alphabet to entitle him to the most signal promotion. In every instance where I followed his advice, the predicted result followed; and I never departed from it, however slightly, without having reason for subsequent regret.
"I have the honor to be, &c.,
"T. W. HIGGINSON,
"Col. Com. First Regiment South-Carolina Vols."
