ry sound, observed every moving thing,
and was quick to shoot, and of steady aim. He was possessed of
exceptionally good teeth, and, therefore, could bite his cartridge and
hard tack. He had been trained to long periods of labor, poor food,
and miserable quarters, and therefore, could endure extreme fatigue
and great exposure.

His docility of nature, patient endurance, and hopeful disposition
enabled him to endure long marches, severe hardships, and painful
wounds. His joyous, boisterous songs on the march and in the camp; his
victorious shout in battle, and his merry laughter in camp proclaimed
him the insoluble enigma of military life. He never was discouraged;
_melancholia_ had no abiding place in his nature.

But how did the Negro meet his master in battle? How did he stand
fire? On the 31st of July, 1863, the "New York Times," editorially
answered these questions as follows:

"Negro soldiers have now been in battle at Port Hudson and at
Milliken's Bend in Louisiana; at Helena in Arkansas, at Morris
Island in South Carolina, and at or near Fort Gibson in the
Indian Territory. In two of these instances they assaulted
fortified positions and led the assault; in two they fought on
the defensive, and in one they attacked rebel infantry. In all of
them they acted in conjunction with white troops and under
command of white officers. In some instances they acted with
distinguished bravery, and in all they acted as well as could be
expected of raw troops.

"Some of these negroes were from the cotton States, others from
New England States, and others from the slave States of the
Northwest. Those who fought at Port Hudson were from New Orleans;
those who fought at Battery Wagner were from Boston; those who
fought at Helena and Young's Point were from the river counties
of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Those who fought in the
Indian Territory were from Missouri."

This is warm praise from a journal of the high, though conservative,
character of the "Times." Warmer praise and more unqualified praise of
the Negro soldier's fighting qualities could not be given. And it was
made after a careful weighing of all the facts and evidence supplied
from careful and reliable correspondents. But more specific evidence
was being furnished on every hand. The 1st South Carolina
Volunteers--the first regiment of Negroes existed during the
war,-