ized an
indignation meeting, and appointed a committee to draft resolutions
indicative of the sense of the meeting. I had been lightning on
resolutions before I enlisted, having attended several county
conventions, and I was appointed to draft the resolutions. As near as I
can remember the following were the words:

"_Whereas_, The undersigned, members of the army of the
union, in the course of our duty as soldiers, have been
ordered to proceed to our several regiments down the
Mississippi river, on board of the 'City of Memphis,' and,

"_Whereas_, We have been treated by the officers of the
aforesaid boat more like animals than human beings, in being
deprived of luxuries to which we have been accustomed, have
been driven from the public dining-table, driven from our
beds at the dead hour of night, that shoulder-strapped
officers might be made comfortable, and kicked down stairs,
therefore, be it

"_Resolved_, That we demand of the captain of the steamer
'City of Memphis,' that we be allowed the same privileges on
this boat that others enjoy. 'We hold these truths to be
self-evident,' that one man is just as good as another, no
matter what his rank. We demand that we be allowed to eat at
the table in the cabin, to sleep in the state-rooms, to
drink at the bar if we so elect, and to go to any place on
the boat that other passengers are allowed, and that we be
treated like white men, which we, have not up to the adoption
of these resolutions.

"_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be presented
to the captain of the boat, that a copy be sent to the
secretary of war, and that the resolutions be published in
the newspapers."

When I read the resolutions to the boys they were passed unanimously,
after a few amendments had been voted down. One of the boys wanted a
resolution passed demanding that the mate be discharged, and one moved
the captain be requested to apologize. I argued that if the captain
received the resolutions in the proper spirit, and acceded to our
demand, that would be an apology in itself, and in that case the mate
would probably resign. I was appointed one of a committee of three to
wait on the captain, and read the resolutions to him, after the boys had
all signed them. I had rather some one else had been appointed, as I had
been kicked once already, but the boys sai