other State organizations composed entirely of colored men, mustered
into the United States service, as for example the Ninth Battalion of
the Ohio National Guard. This organization was composed of four
companies, with colored captains and lieutenants, the staff officers
also being colored, the commanding officer of the battalion being
Major Young, who was a first lieutenant in the Regular Army, a
graduate from the Military Academy, and an officer of experience. He
is the person referred to as _Colonel_ Young by General Breckinridge,
cited just above. This battalion, although not permitted to do any
active campaigning, maintained itself well in that most trying of all
duties for raw troops--camp duty--winning a good record in the South
as well as in the North, having been stationed in Virginia,
Pennsylvania and lastly in South Carolina; from which latter place it
was mustered out, and the men proceeded to their homes in an orderly
manner, reflecting credit upon themselves and the officers under whom
they had served. This organization is mentioned first, because it was
the only one of its kind commanded by a Regular Army officer, and a
man who had received scientific military training.[25]

Two of these volunteer regiments, the Eighth Illinois and the
Twenty-third Kansas, reached Cuba and made history there, in garrison
service, coming in direct contact with the Ninth Immunes, and in no
sense suffering in comparison thereto. The Eighth Illinois being the
first to go to the front, in a sense deserves to be noticed here
first. This remarkable regiment was developed out of the Ninth
Battalion, Illinois National Guard, and owes its origin to the
persistent efforts of Messrs. John R. Marshall, Robert R. Jackson,
Franklin Dennison, E.H. Wright, Rev. R.C. Ransom, Rev. J.W. Thomas,
S.B. Turner and doubtless many others whose names do not appear. These
gentlemen named called upon the Governor of their State the next day
after the President had issued his call for 175,000 volunteers, and
received from that official the assurance that if another call should
be made they should have the opportunity to recruit their battalion to
a regiment, and that he would "call that regiment first into the
service," and "that every officer in that regiment will be a colored
man."

After receiving this encouragement, the leaders began at once the work
of organizing and recruiting, and when the second call came, May 25th,
the regiment was well u