8 " 210 "
" loss 13 " 422 "
Wounded, officers, 6; men, 102. Captured, officer, 1; missing, none.
"It will be necessary to remark here that fully one hundred per cent of
our desertions occurred while at New Haven, and during the organization
of the regiment very few desertions occurred after we left the State.
Our total of killed and wounded was--enlisted men, 123; officers, 6. The
officer who was captured eventually re-joined us. The officers lost by
promotion into other organizations were--Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Ward,
promoted to be colonel of the 31st United States Colored Troops; Major
F. E. Camp, promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the 29th United States
Colored Troops; Captain E. W. Bacon, promoted to be major of the 117th
United States Colored Troops; Assistant Surgeon Crandall, promoted to be
surgeon of the 33d United States Colored Troops; 1st Lieutenant H. H.
Brown, promoted to be captain of the 1st United States Colored Troops;
2d Lieutenant Edward Coe, promoted to be 1st lieutenant and adjutant of
the 27th United States Colored Troops.
"Thus have I attempted to trace the history of this regiment. I have
done this with some degree of minuteness, owing to the fact that, as we
were considered a United States organization less can be learned
concerning us from the reports of the adjutant-general of the State than
concerning any other Connecticut organization. And as the employment of
colored troops was at first tried as a grand experiment, the people of
Connecticut may be desirous to know how far, in the case of their
colored regiment, that experiment has been successful. Justice, too,
demands that those who are the most competent judges--those who have
been with the colored troops on the march and in the battle--should give
their testimony to the loyalty and valor of this despised race. They
went forth to fight the battles of the Union when there was every thing
to discourage even the bravest. Both officers and men knew, that should
they escape death on the battle-field a fate awaited them, if captured,
from which death on the battle-field would have been a glorious relief.
The poor rights of a soldier were denied to them. Their actions were
narrowly watched, and the slightest faults severely commented upon. In
spite of all this the negro soldier fought willingly and bravely, and
with his rifle alone he has vindicated his manhood, and stands confes
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