re in or out of this country, and when
vacancies occurred we expected and looked for promotion as was the
policy of the Governor of Virginia toward other Virginia Regiments."
He was told that if the men had any grievance they could present it
through military channels and it would be looked into. They never
accepted Maj. Johnson's advice--returned to their company streets and
were allowed to keep their guns. The Ordnance Officer was ordered to
take all ammunition to the camp of the Thirty-first Michigan and place
it in the guard-house.

The men had the freedom and pass privilege to and from the city.

[Illustration: MAJOR J.B. JOHNSON, OF THE SIXTH VIRGINIA COLORED
VOLUNTEERS.]

November 19th the command was ordered to Macon, Ga., arriving at Camp
Haskell next day, with 820 men and 27 officers.

Near the camp of the Sixth Virginia was that of the Tenth Immune
Regiment, in which were many Virginia boys, some of whom had been
members of some of the companies of the Sixth.

Some irresponsible persons cut down a tree upon which several men had
been lynched. The blame naturally fell upon the Sixth Virginia. The
regiment was placed under arrest and remained so for nineteen days.
The first day the Third Engineers guarded the camp, but General
Wilson, the Corps commander, removed them and put colored soldiers to
guard them. On the night of November 20th, at a late hour, the camp
was surrounded by all the troops available while the men were asleep
and the regiment was disarmed.

While all this was going on the Thirty-first Michigan Regiment had
been deployed into line behind a hill on the north and the Fourth
Tennessee had been drawn up in line on the east side of the camp ready
to fire should any resistance be offered.

The men quietly submitted to this strange procedure, and did not know
that Gatling guns had been conveniently placed at hand to mow them
down had they shown any resistance. The Southern papers called them
the mutinous Sixth, and said and did every thing to place discredit
upon them.

They were reviewed by General Breckinridge, General Alger, Secretary
of War, and President McKinley, who applauded them for their fine and
soldierly appearance.

COMMENTS ON THE THIRD NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT.

Of all the volunteer regiments the Third North Carolina seemed to be
picked out as the target for attack by the Georgia newspapers. The
Atlanta Journal, under large headlines, "A Happy Riddance," has the