James M Williams, commanding officer of the regiment, was "determined to celebrate the advent of the era of emancipation by a barbecue and speeches in the old fashioned Southern style..." Captain William D. Matthews, one of two black officers in the regiment and commanding officer of Co. D of the regiment, was placed in charge of preparations.
The day after the celebration, Captain Richard J Hinton, Regimental Adjutant (and regimental publicist), wrote a lengthy article that appeared in the January 31, 1863 edition of the Anglo-African newspaper, in New York, that detailed the events of the day as well as a thorough summary of the history and tribulations of the regiment up to that date.
Hinton's article provides fantastic insight into the regiment, as well as the thinking of the officers and men of the regiment. In my research, I have found no other account of a black regiment marking the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation on that historic day in 1863. Less than two weeks later, on January 13, 1863, the first 4 companies of the regiment were mustered into federal service at Fort Scott.
Here is a full transcription of this amazing article...
EMANCIPATION JUBILEE OF THE KANSAS COLORED REGIMENT
BARBECUE, SONGS, SENTIMENTS, SPEECHES
Camp Henning, Fort Scott, Kansas
January 2nd, 1863
To the Editor of the National Anti-Slavery
Standard,
Yesterday was a
gala day in the history of the “First Regiment Kansas Colored Volunteers.” On
that day they first stood up with the direct sanetion of the Union upon their
efforts, as expressed by the famous and glorious 22d of September proclamation
of President Lincoln. They were cheered by the telegraphic reports of his
steadfast adherence to its terms. To the officers and men of the regiment, who
for five months have prepared and waited amidst herculean opposition, it seemed
as if an angel had passed, crying, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto
all the inhabitants thereof.”
Our commanding
officer, Col. J.M. Williams, determined to celebrate the advent of the era of
emancipation by a barbecue and speeches in the old fashioned Southern style,
minus, of course, the strong drink, for which this camp contains no use. The
preparations were put in charge of our colored Captain, William D. Matthews,
commanding Co. D, whose experience enabled him to best attend to the festival. The preparations were somewhat extensive, some 500 men having to be provided
for, and the expectations of the soldiers considerably excited. Hunting-parties
were sent out, and the game of the district brought in in large quantities. An
ox and several hogs were roasted whole, and several hundred rabbits, quails,
turkeys and prairie chickens cooked in addition. A bountiful supply of bread,
coffee, cakes, etc., garnished the tables which, in the form of a
parallelogram, were set in front of Headquarters. The day was somewhat cloudy,
but not disagreeable. Three flags floated over the scene, each of which had
been presented to companies by the colored women of the town in which the men
had enlisted. At half past one, dress parade came off, and the battalion was then
marched to the various company streets, where arms were stacked, and at a
signal from the field music, each company marched under direction of its
orderly sergeant to the table set apart for it; the line officers dining with
the field officers and invited guests at a separate table. Capt Ethan Earle,
Co. F, officiated as President, Capt. Matthews as Marshal, and Lieut. A.T.
Sholes, Co. G, as Toastmaster. The proceedings opened with the singing of the
Star Spangled Banner, in the chorus of which, the regiment joined with fine
effect. After dinner the companies marched to positions in front of the
President and officers.
“Mr. President, Officers and Soldiers: If I ever entertained prejudice against men on account of their color, that prejudice has long ago been entirely eradicated from my mind. My education has led me to believe that all mankind are benefitted the more by the universal system of allowing all men the privilege of liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the manner best suited to themselves. And to-day, I have no hesitation in uttering my conviction, that it is the duty of the government to avail itself of every possible means within its reach to assist in putting down this rebellion. The time has gone by for squeamishness and bigotry of those who are only half loyal to sway the action of those disposed to reach out a helping hand to the save the republic. The most fastidious criticism against the employment of colored men as soldiers comes from those doing nothing themselves toward aiding the government in putting down the rebellion, and having never contributed one cent, either directly or indirectly, in support of the cause of the Right. Those men who are continually upholding slavery, at this late day, while that same system is endeavoring to uproot the best government the world ever saw, are behind the spirit of the age, and unless their obsolete ideas are put aside, they will be crushed. Free soil is better for the white man than slavery, and freedom better for all classes of men than involuntary servitude.I think it better of the President for adhering to his Proclamation of Emancipation. Having satisfied himself long ago that slavery was the original cause of this war, and that it was a very powerful element used against the Union, he has not swerved from the position and the indications are that he has no intention of doing so.Slavery to-day receives its death-blow, and therefore must necessarily go to the wall. You nor I, nor any other man, could do nothing to save it, even if we were ever so much disposed to do so. We see by the papers received with the last mail, that it is the intention of the government to organize more colored regiments for the purpose of manning the forts throughout the South. This is a strong move int eh right direction and before many months roll over our heads, the official reports of some of our Generals down South will electrify the land with the details of the battles wherein colored men will be mentioned favorably as having fought and bled for their country.”
A hymn, prepared for this occasion by Capt. Mathews,
was then sung by Capts. Martin, Mathews, Lieut. Sholes and Sergeant Major
Smith.
HALLELUJAH TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The voice of the North cries – Arise for your freedom;
From Africa’s sad race God has removed all thralldom;
For bondage and chains and every oppression,
Has flow’d so freely for the slave’s salvation.
Hallelujah to Abraham Lincoln, our
great Freedom-giver,
We will praise him again on the
banks of Red River.
Now Glory to God in the Highest be given;
Now Glory to God be reechoed in Heaven;
Around the whole Union we’ll tell the glad story,
And sing of our freedom, salvation and glory.
Chorus – Halleljuah, etc.
O President, ride on – they cause is glorious;
While our Colonel o’er rebels shall lead us victorious,
They name shall be praised by a disenthralled nation,
And slaves shall ascribe unto thee their salvation.
Chorus – Halleljuah, etc.
When Southward we stand, having gained the Gulf shore,
Our Liberty with blood we’ll seal evermore;
We will range by the banks of each sunny river.
And sing of the freedom forever and ever.
Hallelujah to Abraham Lincoln,
our great Freedom-giver,
We will praise him again on the
banks of Red River.
“Mr. President, Fellow Soldiers, Officers and Men: This is a glorious day, and the sentiment fitting the occasion: The day we celebrate – the beginning of War and the dawn of Victory. Aye, true, every syllable. What is the meaning of war? It means destruction and death to our enemies. For nearly two years we have been fighting this unholy rebellion, or pretending to do so, without any attempt to injure or destroy our enemies. The war so far has been unsuccessful, simply because it was not war. Now, we seem to have awakened to our situation, and to-day our noble President issues his first edict of war, aimed directly at the very foundation of the support of our enemies.
The system of labor in any country underlies its internal and essential greatness. Destroy this, and that nation is so disorganized and weakened that it lies at the mercy of any organized people, practically conquered. At the beginning of this war Missouri was as radically rebellious as any Southern State. By the movements of certain military leaders, operating within her borders, her laborers have been rendered so insecure as to drive them form her fields, and to-day this proud State lies at the feed of the nation a conquered people. Where are the hosts that but last year marshalled under the rebel leader Price? Deprived of their sustenance by the operations of actual war, they have, like Senacherib’s host, ‘withered and gone.’ To-day, out of 75,000 Missourians that once marshalled under this leader, a few, and a few only, are now with him in Mississippi. A few more have returned to their homes, supplicating for the very means of existence, the balance are ‘withered and gone’ – destroyed.This edict of war is the more potent because it is just. While it strikes a withering blow at our enemies, it carries with it freedom, liberty and justice to four million of the industrial classes of our enemies’ country. Being deprived of these attributes of a free government by our enemies, they will naturally be friends to the government that does them justice. Aye, not only, friends, but active sympathizing, working co-laborers, in the attempt to crush out the unholy rebellion. Their efforts will be no mere struggle for conquest, but a struggle for their own freedom; a determined, and, as I believe, irresistible struggle for the disenthralment of a people who have long suffered oppression and wrong at the hand of our enemies. To them, the noble words of Albion’s hard to the enslaved Greeks has a peculiar and appropriate meaning:Hereditary bondsmen! Know ye not,Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow?I propose at some future time to remind this regiment of the duties devolving upon it, in its peculiar capacity as one that comprise the loyal people of the South.
A song for our banner, the watchword recall,
Witch gave the republic her
station,
United we stand, divided we fall!
It made and preserved us a nation.
The next sentiment
read was: “The Northern Loyalists: - Our gallant volunteers who hold no
sacrifice too dear, no peril too great to make or meet, when their country
calls.”
Capt. Martin then sung the following marching song, (written by the Adjutant):
Ho, boys chains are breaking!
Bondsmen fast awaking!
Tyrants hearts are quaking!
Southward we are making!
Huzza! Huzza!
Our song shall be,
Huzza! Huzza!
THAT WE ARE FREE!
For Liberty we fight,
Our own, our brother’s right,
We’ll face oppression’s blight,
In Freedom’s earnest might.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
For now as men we stand,
Defending Fatherland,
With willing heart and hand,
In this great cause we band.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
No more the driver’s horn
Awakes us in the morn,
But the battle’s music borne,
Our manhood shall adorn.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
No more for trader’s gold
Shall those we love be sold,
Nor crushed be manhood bold,
In slavery’s dreaded fold.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
But each and all be free,
As singing bird in tree,
Or winds that whistling flee,
O’er mountain, vale and sea.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
Our flag’s Red, White and Blue,
We’ll bear it marching thro’,
With rifles swift and true,
And bayonets gleaming too.
Huzza! Huzza!
etc.
Now for the Union cheers,
Huzza! Huzza!
Huzza!
For home and loved ones tears,
For rebel foes no fears.
Huzza! Huzza!
Huzza!
And joy that conflict hears.
Huzza! Huzza!
Our song shall be,
Huzza! Huzza!
THAT WE ARE FREE!
“That the proceedings so far had been incomplete by an omission which it was his duty to supply, the reading of the text upon which this jubilee festival had been predicated. So, in accordance to Captain Earle’s announcement, he would request ‘attention to orders,’ and proceed to read the second paragraph of the Presidential proclamation of September 22nd.
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people of whereof shall be in rebellion against the united States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they make for their actual freedom.”
“Now boys,” said Mr. Hinton, “do you understand that? It means that you may ‘hunt, shoot, and destroy’ every rebel slaveholder in the land, and that flag (pointing to the Stars and Stripes) and all under it shall not hinder but aid you in such a righteous retribution.” (Tumultuous cheering).
“Mr. President and Fellow Soldiers: I cannot make a speech, but that you’ll find out. I was not privileged enough to have been raised in a State where I could obtain an education. I am a Southern man with Northern principles, am therefore entitled, both from that fact and my color, to represent Southern loyalists, a few of whom are around us to-day, and many more waiting or coming. I was born in Maryland, a so-called free man, but I have never known what the word meant till of late. When there, I went to railroad or stage office, paid my money as any other man did, I was asked where the white man was who was to go [give] my bond. That’s Maryland freedom. I am two thousand miles from home and all my relations, and there’s a good many of them – eleven brothers and ten sisters. I am the one that’s left home. I always believed in freedom and determined to find a place freer than that State. The first time I know of any difference on account of color was when, a little chap, I thrashed a white boy for breaking my wagon. His father came to mine and wanted to cowhide me. Now, I always thought my father the greatest man in the world, and able to whip any one, for he could whip me, and he had told me always to behave myself, but not be imposed upon. But he told me I mustn’t strike a white boy, for, being black, the law would punish me. That was my first experience.
To-day is a day for great rejoicing with us. The President has proclaimed freedom. The Southern loyalists hear and intend to take it. I am not surprised while I rejoice. As a thinking man I never doubted this day would come, for I believed in God. It was a crime to hold and a sin to be a slave. If the Bible be true, we know that there can be no nation unpunished in which such are permitted. For my part, I believe myself responsible to God for my acts and not to man. I therefore claim to be entitled to as much of His freedom as any other man, and if His act debarred me therefrom, then He would nto be a just God.
Our condition at this time reminds me of when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and Moses, having gone up Mount Sinai, they fell to worshipping graven images. When Moses returned, he found they had forgotten the mercy of God, and were reviling Him. He then called upon all the sons of Levi, who stood for the Lord, to gird on their swords, and come out from the host. And all the true sons of Levi girded on their swords and come out. Moses told them to pass through the congregation, and slay every one who was not for the Lord, even though it were his own brother, and they slew all who were not for the Lord. The rebels, like the Israelites, have forgotten God’s mercy in bringing them through the War of Independence, and now seek to destroy the Union. Some, even, who pretend to be on our side, have made a graven image, and worship the curse they fought to destroy – Human Bondage. Abraham at last has called upon true sons of the Union, as Moses did on the sons of Levi, to come out of the South, gird on their swords, and go forth slaying every man who is not with them, even though it be their own brother. Our Southern Levites have many a brother in the rebel army.Again, I am reminded of another scene in the Bible. The Jews were once captured and carried prisoners to Babylon. They were held captives for many years. During this time the Temple fell into ruins. At last God put it into the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia, to rebuild Jerusalem. He issued a proclamation to all the kingdoms under his rule – Who among ye will come up to build the house of God? And the Jews came up from Babylon. When they came to Jerusalem, the king asked what part of the work they wished to perform and what pay they wanted. They replied that they came to rebuild the house of God, and would work if need be, without price. Tools were put into their hands and it was they who sound the ark of the covenant and the keystone of the arch, without which the Grand Architect declared the Temple could not be rebuilt. Abraham Lincoln calls upon the captives to rebuild the Temple of the Union. They will come four million strong, and when tools are put in their hands, find the ark of Justice and keystone of the arch – Freedom. So that the temple shall be rebuilt and treason destroyed.Let me speak a word to my people. Now is our time to strike. Our own exertions and our own muscle must make us men. If we fight we shall be respected. I see that a well-licked man respects the one who thrashes him.
A new version of Dixie was sung by the Regiment, and
the following offered: “The Union to be – a land without a slave, and a government
without a traitor.”
Surgeon Macy briefly responded to this sentiment: Mr. President and Friends: In the Prussian
King’s palace in Potsdam, upon the walls of one its rooms, hangs a picture of
artistic merit, representing the sale of a slave family upon the auction-block
in a Southern city. Underneath it is
written in German – ‘Liberty in America.’
After this day that picture shall be taken down, and one put up in its
place representing the white man, the red man, and the black man, all standing
side by side, swearing, by their united efforts, that that old flag, the Stars
and Stripes, the proud emblem of Liberty, shall never wave over another slave,
and that he who undertakes to assail or destroy that flag, and the human
liberty of which it is the emblem, shall by this united brotherhood die! The union to-be means this: the brotherhood
of man; no geographical lines in freedom, no color in rights. Hail to its advent! We welcome its dawn to-day!
The following sentiment was responded to by the Adjutant,
Lieut. R.J. Hinton: “Liberty’s martyrs – the dead who die for man.”
Mr. President, Friends and Comrades: It is fitting indeed that we should recall, ere we close our festive jubilee, the sacred memories of liberty’s martyrs; those who have died the holiest death that man can die – death in behalf of the lowly, the oppressed, and in defence of the august principles of democracy.It is more than appropriate to-day. We stand, O my comrades, in a day and hour whose every second is fraught with magnificent results to the oppressed millions. WE are standing in the misedst of one of those momentous periods in history when humanity, striding forward, wears with glorious majesty the robes of a renewed manhood. A great poet has said, “To-day is a king in disguise.” This is true of ordinary hours but this New Year’s day wears in imperial glory its royalist and most resplendent robes. To-day, democracy rules triumphant! To-day, universal freedom gains its farthest-reaching victory! To-day, the bond millions of the South arise as men, and prepare for the conflict which shall seal their rights for evermore, with humanity’s sacramental and sacrificial wine – the blood of the battle-field! To-day, fellow-soldiers, you ware free! Yonder radiant banner will never again float over a slave! The uniforms you now wear will never again cover a slave-hunter! The arms you carry will be used only to maintain that freedom which Abraham Lincoln – God bless him! – to-day proclaims to be yours; to vindicate that American nationality of which you, henceforward and forever, shall form a constituent part; and to defend that government which, securing justices to all men arises ‘disenthralled, regenerated, redeemed’; truly realizing that ‘Liberty and Union’ shall be one and inseparable now and forever.Is it not, O friends, fitting that we honor by remembrance those who have died that this day might be! Do we realize that our liberty’s martyrs – the soldiers of all ages and nations whose blood has crimsoned revolutionary battle-fields; the heroic patriots and statesmen whose souls from scaffold and block passed home to god; the martyrs whose spirits have risen triumphant from ashes at the stake; that all who in all ages have lived and died for man – so lived and died that this day might be; that we might here in Kansas proclaim a jubilee, and offer thanksgiving to Him who rules on high for the freedom that ennobles us? All that has gone before was that this day might dawn. This conflict, in which it is our good fortune to be humble actors, is but the drift of the ages – the hour which form time Past to time Present has been drifting down the centuries. Eternity Past was for this day, Eternity To-Be shall reecho with the exceeding glory of its achievements. We will then honor the thousands whose names gem history as with diamonds, and the unknown countless hosts that, like the unnamed stars in the heavens above, fill our blue sky with their golden light; those who have lived, fought and died that ye might be free, and on this New Year’s day give praise to Abraham Lincoln. Yes, brother soldiers, lowly and despise as you have been, form the Son of Man, whose sacrifice redeems the world, through all generations they came – liberty’s martyrs – the dead who died for man, that this new year might dawn upo your freedom; for –
Freedom’s battle once begun,Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son,Though battled oft, is ever won.Remember we honor not only those who have died in ages gone, but the thousands now falling about us. We give our sympathy for the desolated hearths, the bereaved homes, the heart-broken ones throughout this broad land, who, sending forth their beloved to battle, have seen them returned on their shields. We have the more right to sympathize with them, when we remember, as we must, that whatever the motives with which the loyal men of the free States went forth to battle, not one of their twelve hundred thousand volunteers have marched beneath yonder flag, but that every step so taken has mad your enslavers tremble, and that at every blow they struck your chains have been weakened. It is therefore our peculiar duty on this, joyful occasion, when we, too, assume the solemn responsibilities of freemen armed for liberty’s defence, that our sympathies and gratitude should go out to the bereaved, our hearts be stirred, and our memories garner up the fame of all who have fallen. The die not unknown, our unforgotten dead! Their country shall cherish their names as precious gifts. Whether they sleep beneath the June-green fields of Bull Run, or upon the frozen hill-side of Fredericksburg, she folds them forever in her heart, with all a mother’s immortality of love.We too, have had our dead. We remember those who were with us – with you and me – on the hard-fought field of Island Mound, and who, to-day sleep in the honored graves of the soldier, beneath the soil of Missouri. As we revere their names, we hail with gladness and joy the hop that dawns so brightly upon us; that not long shall the soil their bodies have made sacred be desecrated with the footstep of the slave. As we march South, we shall bear, I trust, the consciousness that Missouri wheels into line with the free States, and forever thereafter keeps step with the jubilant music of a Union wherein justice and fraternity shall rule and guide. We will bear their memories and emulate their deeds, as we move towards the tropic sun. When we once more shall celebrate this day, whether many or few now here shall then be present, let us again remember our liberty martyrs; and as we read the roll of those who shall have passed from us, rejoice with exceeding great joy, that they, too, have died the death of the righteous, and that four million of freed slaves have risen up, an imperishable trophy built To-day in their honor.Let us, then, go on, emulating their deeds, living their lives, and dying their death, if need be, that we, too, may be ranked among those ‘who died for man.’ Examples crowd upon us. Have you not a right to fight for the Union? Let the blood of Crispus Attucks answer, Let the valiant soldiers of Col. Greene at Red Bank reply, with the commingling voices which, from every battle-field our war of Independence, attest the valor and patriotism of black soldiers. Let New Orleans and Bladensburg tell how slaves met and fought the invaders of the Union. Have we not more to fight for now? Not for country alone, or national independence, but for personal liberty, for wife and child, parents and home. These nerve you as you go forth.We should not close these festivities without paying our tribute of affection to the memory of the immortal hero whose grave is cradled among the Adirondack mountains. Three years ago he fell in Virginia in a mighty attempt to save his country from her slaves. We will wear the name of John Brown in our hearts, teach it to our children, and I our Southward march proclaim:‘That his soul is marching on.’Nor will we forget that band of young heroic hearts who with him flung themselves against slavery and died that America might be. It comes! It comes! Above the din of war, the smoke of battle, the jargon of parties and partisans, and through the sad and solemn responsibilities of the times, it comes – America, the home of universal freedom!
The John Brown song, with its stirring, “Hallelujah
Chorus,” was then sung by the entire regiment with thrilling effect, and the
festivities terminated with nine cheers for “A free Union and its President,
Abraham Lincoln,” which were given with a will and vim that mad the welkin
ring. So celebrated the Freedmen of
Missouri – now soldiers of the union – the never-to-be-forgotten New-Year’s Day
– 1863.
A few facts in relation to our organization may not be
out of place in closing this report. The
regiment commenced its recruiting on the 4th of August last, and has
been nearly five months in camp. One
battalion was raised in the northern and the other in the southern part of the
State. About 650 men were raised by the
former and nearly 400 by the latter.
They were raised under the authority of Gen. Lane, Recruiting
commissioner for the (then) Department of Kansas, have been clothed, fed and
armed, but are not yet mustered or paid.
The Federal officers have no difficulty in asking our services, but
there seems to be considerable [difficulty] in recognizing them in a proper
manner. We have marched into Missouri,
fought a severe battle there with a force of at least two to our one, while
those actually engaged of the regiment, the enemy outnumbered four to one. We were victors at Island Mound, holding the
field, killing 18 of the guerillas, and wounding 25; having seven colored
soldiers killed, one Captain (white) and nine men wounded, and one Lieutenant
(white), all of them severely. These
latter all recovered. Through the
opposition we have had to encounter, and the quasi-recognition with which we
have been only so far favored, we have lost 200 men by desertion. The want of pay has compelled officers to
allow about 200 more furloughs, in order that their families might not
starve. Tow companies are doing duty at
for Lincoln, guarding rebel prisoners, etc.
The remaining companies have been stationed at this point for six weeks,
expecting the arrival of their pay rolls, which were forwarded to headquarters,
St. Louis, pursuant to orders, a month since.
We expect to march South with a very short time, pay or no pay, and
joining Gen. Blunt in Arkansas, aid the organization of the auxiliary armies
which now will arise to welcome the Federal troops as they march. The time occupied in camp has not been lost,
but is seen in the presentation of the best drilled, discipline and orderly 500
soldiers ever seen in the Far West. We
have tested thoroughly the capability of the negro as soldier. In general health, physique, soldierly
appearance, and, above all in devotion an subordination, there are no men now
in the war that can surpass, and few equal them. They have an intelligent appreciation of the
par they are to play in the drama. All
we need is a proper outfit and some pay.
Our officers are in almost the same fix as the men. Two of them are detailed from other
regiments, but the remainder are only mustered as Recruiting Officers, with the
rank of Second Lieutenants, and can obtain no pay until formally mustered.
The want of this is a great drawback. Our medical department suffers most, yet
during the five months we have been organized, we have lost only eight men by
disease. Our deaths in battle were eight
and one man shot by camp guard in a drunken row. We have had fifteen cases of small pox, most
of them severe, but lost only one man.
The general police and sanitary condition of our camp and men have been
excellent thanks to the care of the officers under the direction of surgeons
Macy and Harrington.
We shall move from this point and will be heard of
again, practically carrying forward the jubilee to the slave, and bearing
onward the President’s proclamantion.
R.J.H. [Richard J Hinton, Adjutant, 1st KCV]
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