LATE OF THE 2nd. REG'T. LA. NATIVE GUARD VOLS. 54th MASS. VOLS.
AIDE-DE-CAMP TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF G. A. B.
"EMANCIPATION," "VOICE OF A NEW RACE," "TWENTY-TWO YEARS OF FREEDOM,"Etc., Etc.
DA CAPO PRESS NEW YORK
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wilson, Joseph T. (Joseph Thomas), 1836-1891.
The Black phalanx: African American soldiers in the War of Independence,the War of 1812, and the Civil War / by Joseph T. Wilson; foreword byDudley Taylor Cornish.—1st Da Capo Press ed.
p. cm.
Previously published: Hartford, Conn.: American Pub. Co., 1890.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-306-80550-2
1. Afro-American soldiers—History. 2. United States—History—CivilWar, 1861-1865—Participation, Afro-American. 3.United States—History—Revolution, 1775-1783—Participation,Afro-American. 4. United States—History—War of 1812—Participation,Afro-American. I. Cornish, Dudley Taylor. II. Title.E185.63.W632 1994 93-40117973.7-dc20 CIP
First Da Capo Press edition 1994
This Da Capo Press paperback edition of The Black Phalanx is anunabridged republication of the edition published in Hartford,Connecticut, in 1887. It is here supplemented with a new foreword byDudley Taylor Cornish.
Foreword © 1994 by Dudley Taylor Cornish
Published by Da Capo Press, Inc.
A Subsidiary of Plenum Publishing Corporation
233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
By way of introduction to the American public, of the author and editorof this book, we beg to say that Mr. Wilson is not altogether unknown tothe literary world, having already published several works relative tothe Negro race.
His services during the war of the Rebellion secured for him aflattering recognition. He served in the 2nd Regiment Louisiana NativeGuard Volunteers, also the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers,—the mostfamous of the Union negro regiments that engaged in the struggle,receiving several wounds. He was the first negro member of the NationalCouncil of Administration of the Grand Army of the Republic, and adelegate to the National Encampment, and was appointed Colonel—A. D. C.to the Commander-in-Chief G. A. R. He was chosen by his comrades to bethe historian of the negro soldiers, and has overcome many almostinsurmountable difficulties in gathering the scattered facts,particularly those of the early wars of the United States, that werenecessary to complete this work.
THE PUBLISHERS.
SOLDIERS:—As a mark of esteem and respect for your patriotic devotionto the cause of human freedom, I desire to dedicate to you this recordof the services of the negro soldiers, whom you led so often andsuccessfully in the struggle for liberty and union during the great warof 1861-'65.
Your coming from the highest ranks of social life, undeterred by theprevailing spirit of caste prejudice, to take commands in the largestnegro army ever enrolled beneath the flag of any civilized country, wasin itself a brave act. The organization and disciplining of over twohundred thousand men, of a race that for more than two