from deeds
done by barbarians under your command.'

"General George H. Thomas, though a Southerner, and a West
Point graduate, was a singularly fair-minded, candid man. He
asked me one day soon after my regiment was organized, if I
thought my men would fight. I replied that they would. He
said he thought 'they might behind breastworks.' I said they
would fight in the open field. He thought not. 'Give me a
chance General,' I replied, 'and I will prove it.'

"Our evening parades converted thousands to a belief in
colored troops. It was almost a daily experience to hear the
remark from visitors, 'Men who can handle their arms as
these do, will fight.' General Thomas paid the regiment the
compliment of saying that he 'never saw a regiment go
through the manual as well as this one.' We remained in
'Camp Whipple' from February, 1864, till August, 1865, a
period of eighteen months, and during a large part of that
time the regiment was an object lesson to the army, and
helped to revolutionize public opinion on the subject of
colored soldiers.

"My Lieutenant-Colonel and I rode over one evening to call
on General Joe Hooker, commanding the 20th Army Corps. He
occupied a small log hut in the Wauhatchie Valley, near
Lookout Mountain and not far from the Tennessee river. He
received us with great courtesy, and when he learned that we
were officers in a colored regiment, congratulated us on our
good fortune, saying that he 'believed they would make the
best troops in the world.' He predicted that after the
rebellion was subdued, it would be necessary for the United
States to send an army into Mexico. This army would be
composed largely of colored men, and those of us now holding
high command, would have a chance to win great renown. He
lamented that he had made a great mistake in not accepting a
military command, and going to Nicaragua with General
Walker. 'Why,' said he, 'young gentlemen, I might have
founded an empire.'

"While at Chattanooga, I organized two other regiments, the
42nd and the 44th United States Colored Infantry. In
addition to the ordinary instruction in the duties required
of the soldier, we established in every company a regular
school, teaching men to read and write, and taking great
pains to cultivat