m date of enlistment, made by
direct authority of the War Department to the colored soldiers of South
Carolina, on the faith of which pledges they enlisted.

"THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON, Late Colonel 1st S. C. Vols. (now 33d U. S.
C. Vols.)

"NEWPORT, R. L, December 9, 1864."

Appendix E Farewell Address of Lt. Col. Trowbridge

HEADQUARTERS 33d UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS, LATE 1ST SOUTH CAROLINA
VOLUNTEERS,

MORRIS ISLAND, S. C.,

February 9, 1866. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 1.

COMRADES,--The hour is at hand when we must separate forever, and
nothing can ever take from us the pride we feel, when we look back upon
the history of the First South Carolina Volunteers,--the first black
regiment that ever bore arms in defence of freedom on the continent of
America.

On the ninth day of May, 1862, at which time there were nearly four
millions of your race in a bondage sanctioned by the laws of the land,
and protected by our flag,--on that day, in the face of floods of
prejudice, that wellnigh deluged every avenue to manhood and true
liberty, you came forth to do battle for your country and your kindred.
For long and weary months without pay, or even the privilege of being
recognized as soldiers, you labored on, only to be disbanded and sent
to your homes, without even a hope of reward. And when our country,
necessitated by the deadly struggle with armed traitors, finally granted
you the opportunity _again_ to come forth in defence of the nation's
life, the alacrity with which you responded to the call gave abundant
evidence of your readiness to strike a manly blow for the liberty of
your race. And from that little band of hopeful, trusting, and brave
men, who gathered at Camp Saxton, on Port Royal Island, in the fall of
1862, amidst the terrible prejudices that then surrounded us, has grown
an army of a hundred and forty thousand black soldiers, whose valor
and heroism has won for your race a name which will live as long as the
undying pages of history shall endure; and by whose efforts, united with
those of the white man, armed rebellion has been conquered, the millions
of bondmen have been emancipated, and the fundamental law of the land
has been so altered as to remove forever the possibility of human
slavery being re-established within the borders of redeemed America. The
flag of our fathers, restored to its rightful significance, now floats
over every foot of our territory, from Maine to California, and beho