silver instruments. We were also fully
equipped; the men were armed with rifled muskets, and well
clothed. They were well drilled in the manual of arms, and
took great pride in appearing on parade with arms burnished,
belts polished, shoes blacked, clothes brushed, in full
regulation uniform, including white gloves. On every
pleasant day our parades were witnessed by officers,
soldiers and citizens from the North, and it was not
uncommon to have two thousand spectators. Some came to make
sport, some from curiosity, some because it was the fashion,
and others from a genuine desire to see for themselves what
sort of looking soldiers negroes would make.

"At the time that the work of organizing colored troops
began in the West, there was a great deal of bitter
prejudice against the movement, and white troops threatened
to desert, if the plan should be really carried out. Those
who entered the service were stigmatized as 'nigger
officers,' and negro soldiers were hooted at and mal-treated
by white ones.

"Apropos of the prejudice against so called nigger officers,
I may mention the following incident: While an officer in
the 70th Indiana, I had met, and formed a passing
acquaintance with Lieut.-Colonel ----, of the ---- Ohio
Regiment. On New Years Day, 1864, I chanced to meet him at a
social gathering at General Ward's headquarters in
Nashville. I spoke to him as usual, at the same time
offering my hand, which apparently he did not see. Receiving
only a cool bow from him, I at once turned away. As I did so
he remarked to those standing near him that he 'did not
recognize these nigger officers.' In some way, I do not know
how, a report of the occurrence came to the ears of Lorenzo
Thomas, the Adjutant-General of the Army, then in Nashville,
who investigated the case, and promptly dismissed Colonel
---- from the United States service.

"Very few West Point officers had any faith in the success
of the enterprise, and most Northern people perhaps,
regarded it as at best a dubious experiment. A college
classmate of mine, a young man of intelligence and earnestly
loyal, although a Kentuckian, and a slave-holder, plead with
me to abandon my plan of entering this service, saying, 'I
shudder to think of the remorse you may suffer,