hbl.stx E 185.97.D33 1868a 
 
 Life and public services of Martin 
 
 E 
 
 185 
 .97 
 
 D33 
 1868a 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/lifepublicservicOOroll 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 MARTIN R. DELANY 
 
r 
 
LIFE 
 
 AND 
 
 PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 or 
 
 MARTIN R. DELANY, 
 
 SUB-ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BUREAU RELIEF OF REFUGEES, 
 
 FREEDMEN, AND OF ABANDONED LANDS, AND LATE 
 
 MAJOR 104TH U. S. COLORED TROOPS. 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK A.ROLLIN. 
 
 "et niger arma Memnonis." 
 
 BOSTON: 
 lee a. n r> shef-a.rd. 
 
 1868. 
 
 KRAUS REPRINT CO. 
 
 New York 
 1969 
 
its 
 
 •17 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 
 
 FRANK A. ROLLIN, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 LC 7-21560 
 
 KRAUS REPRINT CO. 
 
 A U.S. Division of Kraus-Thomson Organization Limited 
 
 Printed in U.S.A. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 Introduction, ....... 7 
 
 I. Genealogy, 13 
 
 II. Early Education, .30 
 
 III. Studying North, 38 
 
 IV. Moral Efforts, 43 
 
 V. Editorial Career, 48 
 
 VI. Practising Medicine, 68 
 
 VII. Fugitive Slave Act, 73 
 
 VIII. A Hiatus, 77 
 
 IX. Canada. — Captain John Brown, ... 83 
 
 X. Canada Convention. — Harper's Eerry, . . 91 
 
 XI. In Europe, 96 
 
 XII. The International Statistical Congress and Lord 
 
 Brougham, 99 
 
 XIII. Return to America, 134 
 
 XIV. Corps d'Afrique, 141 
 
 XV. A Step towards the Service, .... 145 
 
 XVI. Recruiting as it was, 151 
 
 XVII. Changing Position, 155 
 
 XVIII. Private Council at Washington, .... 162 
 
 XIX. The Council-Chamber. — President Lincoln, . 166 
 
 XX. The Gold Leaf, 176 
 
 (5) 
 
6 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Contents. 
 
 181 
 
 XXII. 
 
 At Charleston and Fort Sumter, 
 
 . 189 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Armee d'Afrique, 
 
 200 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 The National Calamity, .... 
 
 . 203 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Camp of Instruction, 
 
 209 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Extraordinary Messages, .... 
 
 . 214 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 News from Richmond, 
 
 222 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 
 . 227 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 General Sickles, 
 
 245 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Restoring Domestic Relations, 
 
 . 254 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 General Robert K. Scott, . . . . 
 
 259 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 The Planters and the Freedmen's Bureau, 
 
 . 269 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Domestic Economy, . 
 
 272 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Civil Affairs. — President Johnson,. 
 
 . 277 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Educational Interests, 
 
 285 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Political Writings, 303 
 
 African Explorations, . 306 
 
 Reflections on the War, 309 
 
 The International Policy of the World towards the Afri- 
 can Race, 313 
 
 Political Destiny of the Colored Race on the American 
 
 Continent, 327 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 At the close of every revolution in a country, there 
 is observed an effort for the gradual and general ex- 
 pulsion of all that is effete, or tends to retard progress; 
 and as the nation comes forth from its purification with 
 its existence renewed and invigorated, a better and 
 higher civilization is promised. 
 
 Before entering upon such an effort, it is usual to 
 compute the aid rendered in the past struggle for 
 national existence, and the present status of the auxil- 
 iaries in connection with it. In this manner, as the 
 sullen roar of battle ceases, as the war cloud fades 
 out from our sky, we are enabled to look more soberly 
 upon the stupendous revolution, its causes and teach- 
 ings, and to consider the men and new measures de- 
 veloped through its agency, the material with which 
 the country is to be reconstructed. 
 
 In reviewing the history of the late civil war, it 
 will be found, as in former revolutions, that those who 
 were able to master its magnitude were men who, 
 
 (?) 
 
8 Introduction. 
 
 prior to the occasion, were almost wholly unknown, or 
 claimed but a local reputation. Measures which before 
 were deemed impracticable and inexpedient, in the 
 progress of the war, were considered best adapted to 
 meet the exigencies of the time. A race before per- 
 secuted, slandered, and brutalized, ostracized, socially 
 and politically, have scattered the false theories of their 
 enemies, and proved in every way their claim and 
 identity to American citizenship in its every particular. 
 While the war between sections has erased slavery 
 from the statutes of the country, it has in no wise oblit- 
 erated the inconsistent prejudice against color. Among 
 the white Americans, since the rebellion, from the 
 highest officer to the lowest subaltern, there is a re- 
 cognized precedence for them, in view of their patri- 
 otism and valor in the hour of peril and treachery. 
 They recognized their duty w T hen Southerners had 
 ignored it : for this we honor them ; and none would 
 gainsay an atom of the praise bestowed : the country 
 had always honored and protected them at home and 
 abroad, and in enhancing her prestige, they have added 
 to their own as American citizens. But in the same 
 dark hour of strife and treachery, there went forth 
 from the despised and dusky sons of the republic a 
 host, who, though faring differently, contributed no 
 meagre offering to the cause of the Union. In the fore- 
 most rank of battle they stood, stimulated alone by 
 
Introduction. 9 
 
 their sublime faith in the future of their country, in- 
 stead of being deterred by the disheartening experi- 
 ences of the past. From their first hour in the rebellion 
 to the last, theirs was a fierce, unequal contest ; they 
 were found enlisting, fighting, and even dying under 
 circumstances from which the bravest Saxon would 
 have been justified in shrinking. For them there was 
 " death in the front and destruction in the rear " — 
 torture and death as prisoners in the rebel lines, and 
 the perils of the mob in many of the loyal cities await- 
 ing them when seen in the United States uniform. 
 Despite all opposition, they have traced their history 
 in characters as indestructible as they are brilliant, to 
 the confusion of their enemies. On every field, negro 
 heroism and valor have been proved by them in a 
 manner which has established for their race a grandeur 
 of character in American annals, that, when read by the 
 unprejudiced eyes of futurity, will gleam with increased 
 splendor amid their unfavorable surroundings ; while 
 in song and story their deeds of prowess will live for- 
 ever, reflecting the glories of Port Hudson, the crim- 
 son field of Olustee, and the holy memories which 
 cluster about Fort Wagner. 
 
 Of an army of more than a quarter of a million 
 men, less than a decade received promotion for their 
 services. Lieutenant Stephen A. Swails, of Elmira, 
 New York, a member of the Fifty-fourth Massachu- 
 
10 Introduction. 
 
 setts Volunteers, had the honor of being first, for 
 having signally distinguished himself both at Wagner 
 and Olustee. Later followed the promotion of Lieu- 
 tenants Dufree, Shorter, James T. Trotter, and Charles 
 Mitchell, from the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
 Lieutenants Peter Voglesang (Quartermaster), and 
 Frank Welch, from the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Vol- 
 unteers. Dr. Alexander Augusta, of Canada, had been 
 previously appointed surgeon, with the rank of major. 
 Besides these, several complimentary promotions were 
 given prior to the muster out of these two regiments. 
 None of the officers above named have been retained 
 in the service ; one alone remains, who, during the re- 
 bellion, had attained the highest commission bestowed 
 on any of the race by the government — that of Major 
 of Infantry. Him whom the government had chosen 
 for this position we have made the subject of this 
 work. His great grasp of mind and fine executive 
 ability eminently befitted him for the sphere, and the 
 success which attends his measures renders him a dis- 
 tinct and conspicuous character at his post. His career 
 throughout life has been very remarkable. Prior to 
 his present appointment his name was familiar with 
 every advance movement relative to the colored peo- 
 ple : once it fell upon the ear of the terror-stricken 
 Virginians, in connection with John Brown, of Osso- 
 watomie; and scarcely had it been forgotten when it 
 
Introduction. 11 
 
 was borne back to us from the Statistical Congress at 
 London, encircled with the genius of Lord Brougham. 
 To no more advantageous surroundings than were en- 
 joyed by the masses he owes his successes ; hence his 
 achievements may be safely argued as indicative of the 
 capability and progress of the race whose proud repre- 
 sentative he is. The isolated and degraded position 
 assigned the colored people precluding the possibility 
 of gaining distinction, whenever one of their num- 
 ber lifts himself by the strength of his own character 
 beyond the prescribed limits, ethnologists apologize for 
 this violation of their established rules, charging it to 
 some few drops of Saxon blood commingling with the 
 African. But in the case of the individual of whom 
 we write, he stands proudly before the country the 
 blackest of the black, presenting in himself a giant's 
 powers warped in chains, and evidencing in his splendid 
 career the fallacy of the old partisan theory of negro 
 inferiority and degradation. 
 
 In this history will be noticed certain strong char- 
 acteristics peculiarly his own, which are traceable more 
 to the circumstances of his birth than his race. Aim- 
 ing to render a faithful biography of this remarkable 
 man, we narrate minutely his singularly active and 
 eventful life, which, in view of the narrow limits appor- 
 tioned to him, will bear favorable comparison with the 
 
 great Americans of our time. 
 Charleston, S. C, October 19th, 1868. 
 
LIFE OF MAJOR M. R. DELANY, 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 GENEALOGY. 
 
 T has always been admitted that the early slaves 
 of America were the vanquished of the wars waged 
 among rival tribes of Africa. Among these were 
 kings, chiefs, and their families, accustomed to state 
 and circumstance, consigned to slavery in accordance 
 with the laws of their warfare. From these early slaves 
 the colored people of the United States are descended ; 
 and some of these captive kings and princes, it natu- 
 rally follows, were the progenitors of some of the col- 
 ored people of this continent. Yet, in consequence of 
 the condition assigned them by an unholy prejudice, 
 the mere mention of a claim to a family lineage, by one 
 of that race, is treated with derision. Despite the op- 
 position, however, there are Americans who not only 
 claim a regal African ancestry, but cling to it with a 
 pride worthy of a citizen of Rome in her palmiest clays. 
 Regardless of the gloom of barbarism which encircled 
 their ancestry, knowing that the race which now stands 
 at the zenith of its power suffered like disadvantages, 
 
 (13) 
 
14 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the colored people cherish this proud descent with all 
 the strong feeling so characteristic of them. Prom- 
 inent among them in this pride of race stands the sub- 
 ject of this work. 
 
 At a recent session of Congress an interrogatory was 
 raised by a member of that honorable body, while the 
 suffrage question was being agitated : " What negro, 
 either ancient or modern, has risen up and shown his 
 claims to a family lineage, or a kingdom, as have 
 done other men through all times ? Or where is the 
 negro, who, by the force of his intellect, and might of 
 his will and power, has attempted to bring together the 
 scattered petty chiefdoms south of the Sahara into 
 one grand consolidated kingdom ? Show me one who 
 has attempted any of these, and with all of my preju- 
 dices, to such will I accord honor." This will tem- 
 per the criticism to which we render ourselves liable 
 under a state of society where every man is supposed 
 to stand upon the strength of his own merit, or fall for 
 want of it, and where family titles are ignored, by be- 
 ginning the biography of a colored man with his 
 ancestry, instead of treating directly with himself. 
 Since this reference to ancestry is not without pre- 
 cedent, as the histories of distinguished Americans 
 show, there can be no violation of established rules for 
 us to avail ourselves of the privilege, not in imitation 
 of others, but rather with a view of presenting a faith- 
 ful portrait of one representative of the race, known to 
 two continents, but remarkable in the history of our 
 times as the first black major in the United States 
 service. 
 
 Martin Robison Del any, the son of Samuel and 
 
Genealogy. 15 
 
 Pati Delany, was born at Charlestown, Virginia, May 
 6, 1812. He was named for his godfather, a colored 
 Baptist clergyman, who, it appeared, gave nothing be- 
 yond his name to his godson. 
 
 With the name Delany, a peculiarity illustrative 
 of the man himself is manifested. Regarding it as not 
 legally belonging to his family by consanguinity, and 
 suspicious of its having been borrowed from the whites, 
 as was the custom of those days, he expresses himself 
 always as though it was distasteful to him, recalling 
 associations of the servitude of his family. With these 
 associations clinging to it, his pride revolts at retaining 
 that which he believes originated with the oppressors 
 of his ancestors; and though he has made it honorable 
 in other lands besides our own, encircled it with the 
 glory of a steadfast adherence to freedom's cause in 
 the nation's darkest hours, and uncompromising fidelity 
 to his race, thus constituting him one of the brightest 
 beacons for the rising generation, he eagerly awaits the 
 opportunity for its erasure. 
 
 His pride of birth is traceable to his maternal as well 
 as to his paternal grandfather, native Africans — on the 
 father's side, pure Golah; on the mother's, Mandingo. 
 
 His father's father was a chieftain, captured with his 
 family in war, sold to the slavers, and brought to Amer- 
 ica. He fled at one time from Virginia, where he was 
 enslaved, taking with him his wife and two sons, born 
 to him on this continent, and, after various wanderings, 
 reached Little York — as Toronto, Canada, was then 
 called — unmolested. But even there he was pursued, 
 and "by some fiction of law, international policy, old 
 musty treaty, cozenly understoo-d," says Major Delany, 
 he was brought back to the United States. 
 
16 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 The fallen old chief afterwards is said to have lost 
 his life in an encounter with some slaveholder, who 
 attempted to chastise him into submission. 
 
 On his mother's side the claim receives additional 
 strength. The story runs that her father was an Afri- 
 can prince, from the Niger valley regions of Central 
 Africa ; was captured when young, during hostilities 
 between the Mandingoes, Fellahtas, and Houssa, sold, 
 and brought to America at the same time with his be- 
 trothed Graci. 
 
 His name was Shan go, surnamed Peace, from that 
 of a great African deity of protection, which is repre- 
 sented in their worship as a ram's head with the attri- 
 bute of fire. 
 
 The form and attributes of this deity are so described 
 as to render it probable that the idol Shango, of mod- 
 ern Africa, is the same to which ancient Egypt paid 
 divine homage under the name of Jupiter Ammon. 
 This still remaining the popular deity of all the region 
 of Central Africa, is an evidence sufficient in itself to 
 prove not only nativity, but descent. For in accord- 
 ance with the laws of the people of that region, none 
 took, save by inheritance, so sacred a name as Shango, 
 and the one thus named was entitled to the chief power. 
 From this source this American family claim their an- 
 cestry. 
 
 Shango, at an early period of his servitude in Amer- 
 ica, regained his liberty, and returned to Africa. 
 
 Whether owing to the fact that the slave system 
 was not so thoroughly established then, — that is, had 
 no legal existence, — or the early slaveholders had not 
 then lost their claims to civilization, it was recog- 
 
Genealogy. 17 
 
 nizcd among themselves that no African of noble birth 
 should be continued enslaved, proofs of his claims 
 being adduced. Thus, by virtue of his birth, Shango 
 was enabled to return to his home. His wife, Graci, 
 was afterwards restored to freedom by the same means. 
 She remained in America, and died at the age of one 
 hundred and seven, in the family of her only daughter, 
 Pati, the mother of Major Delany. 
 
 These facts were more fully authenticated by Major 
 Delany while on his famous exploring tour, of which we 
 will speak hereafter. While he travelled from Golah 
 to Central Africa, through the Niger valley regions, 
 he recognized his opportunity, and consulted, among 
 others, as he travelled, that learned native author, Agi, 
 known to fame as - the Rev. Samuel Crowther, D. D., 
 created by the Church of England Bishop of Niger, the 
 degree of Doctor of Divinity having been conferred by 
 the University of Oxford. From all information ob- 
 tained, it is satisfactorily proved, that, his grandmother 
 having died about forty-three years ago, at the advanced 
 age of one hundred and seven years, as before stated, 
 then his grandfather's age, being the same as hers, 
 would correspond with that period, which is about one 
 hundred and fifty years, since the custom of an heir to 
 royalty taking the name of a native deity was recog- 
 nized; and, further, that his grandfather was heir to 
 the kingdom which was then the most powerful of 
 Central Africa, but lost his royal inheritance by the 
 still prevailing custom of slavery and expatriation as 
 a result of subjugation. 
 
 Some day, then, perhaps before the "star of empire 
 westward takes its way," " the petty chiefdoms and 
 2 
 
18 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 principalities south of the Sahara" may yet be "gath- 
 ered into one grand consolidated kingdom" by some 
 negro's intellect and might. 
 
 To possess himself of the early origin of his family 
 was in keeping with a mind so richly endowed, and 
 soaring always far beyond the confines which the preju- 
 dices of this country apportion him. Not that he ex- 
 pected it to elevate him in America, knowing that cus- 
 tom and education are alike averse to this — scarcely 
 allowing him to declare with freedom from derision 
 the immortal sentence, "I am a man" and claiming 
 rights legitimately belonging to its estate. For by 
 observing his history, it may yet prove that the sequel 
 is but the goal of his earliest determination, and not 
 of recent conception, but nursed from his high-minded 
 Mandingo-Golah mother, and heard in the chants of a 
 Mandingo grandmother, depicted with all the gorgeous 
 imagery of the tropics, as the story of their lost and 
 regal inheritance. Thus becoming imbued with its 
 spirit, it shaped itself in the dreams of his childhood, it 
 entwined about the studies and pursuits of his youth, 
 and, through that remarkable perseverance which char- 
 acterizes him, it was realized in the full vigor of man- 
 hood to trace satisfactorily his ancestors' history on the 
 soil of its origin. 
 
 Thus Africa and her past and future glory became 
 entwined around every fibre of his being ; and to the 
 work of replacing her among the powers of the earth, 
 and exalting her scattered descendants on this conti- 
 nent, he has devoted himself wholly, with an earnest- 
 ness to which the personal sacrifices made by him 
 through life bear witness. 
 
Genealogy. 19 . 
 
 Said he on one occasion, " While in America I would 
 be a republican, strictly democratic, conforming to the 
 letter of the law in every requirement of a republican 
 government, in a monarchy I would as strictly conform 
 to its requirements, having no scruples at titles, or ob- 
 jections to royalty, believing only in impartial and equi- 
 table laws, let that form of government be what it 
 might; believing that only preferable under just laws 
 which is best adapted to the genius of the people. 
 
 "I would not advocate monarchy in the United 
 States, or republicanism in Europe ; yet I would be 
 either king or president consistently with the form of 
 government in which I was called to act. But I would 
 be neither president nor king except to promote the 
 happiness, advance and secure the rights and liberty, 
 of the people on the bases of justice, equality, and im- 
 partiality before the law." 
 
 Such are the principles to which he adheres. Un- 
 popular as they are, they have not unfitted him for the 
 duties of a republican citizen, owing to his ready adap- 
 tation to the circumstances in which he has happened 
 to be placed for promoting the interests of his race. 
 
 For, next to his pride of birth, and almost insepara- 
 ble from it, is his pride of race, which even distin- 
 guishes him from the noted colored men of the present 
 time. This finds an apt illustration in a remark made 
 once by the distinguished Douglass. Said he, " I 
 thank God for making me a man simply ; but Delany 
 always thanks him for making him a black man? 
 
 Doubt of his claims and criticism of his actions may 
 be freely indulged, for even under the more favorable 
 
20 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 circumstances in a democracy like ours, they would 
 be meted out to him; but it must be admitted it is not 
 an ordinary occurrence, in a country like ours, with all 
 the disadvantageous surroundings of the colored people, 
 to find an individual lifting himself above the masses 
 by the levers considered the most unwieldy — his faith 
 in his race, and his deep identity with them. So com- 
 pletely has slavery accomplished its mission, depriving 
 the colored people of every opportunity of profit, and 
 every hope of emolument, confining them to the most 
 menial occupations, engendering a timidity to advance- 
 ment into the higher pursuits, unless supported by some 
 recognized popular element, as to cause them to be at 
 all times painfully alive to their humiliating condition, 
 and to act as though ready to bow apologies to the 
 public for their color. While this can hardly be charged 
 as a fault to them, it is at best lamentable, and at the 
 same time it is equally true, that Major Delany, in the 
 sincerity of his belief, even unconscious of its effect, 
 tends to .the other extreme — that white men are often 
 piqued when in contact with him, and are likely at first 
 to be prejudiced against him. 
 
 A true radical of the old school, once in conversa- 
 tion with another gentleman, when the black officer's 
 opinion on the subject on which they were conversing 
 was quoted, rejected it, and vehemently exclaimed, 
 " Sir, I do not believe Delany considers any white man 
 as good as himself." 
 
 He rejects always, with the deepest scorn, the asser- 
 tion of inferiority, claiming always for his race the 
 highest susceptibility in all things, which belief he 
 
Genealogy. 21 
 
 asserts with additional force since his intercourse with 
 native Africans of the Niger valley regions, whose meta- 
 physical reasonings and statuary designs, all circum- 
 stances considered, challenged his highest admiration, 
 and claiming for himself, as before mentioned, a high 
 descent. 
 
 On going to London, he made known his efforts to 
 obtain, while in Africa, a correct knowledge of his an- 
 cestry to the distinguished Henry Ven, D. D., late tutor 
 of mathematics and Latin and Greek in Cambridge 
 College, now secretary of the Church Missionary Soci- 
 ety, Salsbery Square, when the generous philanthropist 
 at once stated that he had but one copy of Koehler's 
 Polyglotta Africana, a work gotten up at great ex- 
 pense and labor expressly for the church publication, 
 the price being four or five pounds sterling ; but that 
 Dr. Delany, of all living men, had a legitimate right to 
 it, and therefore should have it ; and he at once pre- 
 sented it to him, this being probably the only one in 
 America. In this the high status claimed for his 
 ancestry received additional proofs. 
 
 John Randolph of Roanoke referring always, in his 
 pride, to his blood inherited from his Indian ancestry, 
 as the strength upon whic'h his great character was 
 formed, and Martin Delany glorying in the blood 
 transmitted to him from the dusky chiefs of Africa, 
 cannot be considered a weakness in this country, 
 where the Indian and the negro are entitled to the 
 strongest consideration of the nation. For upon his 
 parentage and race rests whatever of success and promi- 
 nence our subject has achieved ; they have entered so 
 
22 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 strongly into all his pursuits, and blended themselves 
 into a most ennobling influence, that they reflect them- 
 selves in every act, and each act, marked by this strong 
 personality, leads to the individual himself. 
 
 In personal appearance he is remarkable ; seen once, 
 he is to be remembered-. He is of medium height, 
 compactly and strongly built, with broad shoulders, 
 upon which rests a head seemingly inviting, by its 
 bareness, attention to the well-developed organs, with 
 eyes sharp and piercing, seeming to take in everything 
 at a glance at the same time, while will, energy, and 
 fire are alive in every feature ; the whole surmounted 
 on a groundwork of most defiant blackness. It is fre- 
 quently said by those best acquainted with his charac- 
 ter, that in order to excite envy in him would be for 
 an individual to possess less adulterated blackness, as 
 his great boast is, that there lives none blacker than 
 himself. His carriage, erect and independent, as if 
 indicative of the man, calls attention to his figure. 
 His wonderful powers of mental and physical endur- 
 ance and great constitutional vigor, resulting in a phy- 
 sique of striking elasticity, lead us to institute com- 
 parisons with the great Lord Brougham. 
 
 If there is one faculty for the cultivation of which 
 he is more remarkable than another, it is his power of 
 memory, almost as universal as it is tenacious, never 
 seeming wholly to forget persons, names, places, or 
 events; especially those of interest he relates with 
 accuracy. His ready memory, always suggestive, ren- 
 ders him in oratory exhaustless and lengthy, but at all 
 times interesting; especially to a promiscuous audience 
 
Genealogy. 23 
 
 he is instructive. His gestures in speaking are nervous 
 and rapid at first, then easy and graceful ; his delivery- 
 forcible and impressive ; while his voice, deep-toned 
 and full, attracts his auditors, and influences them. 
 At all times logical, appealing more to the reason than 
 to the feelings, endeavoring at all times to infuse his 
 own enthusiasm for the glorious future of his race into 
 them, he appeals less to their passions than their pride. 
 
 In speaking, he is most effective when in his loftiest 
 flights. Losing sight of his audience, and wrapped up 
 in his theme, his features beaming with the beauty of 
 inspiration, he seems to address himself directly to the 
 great injustice which towers above him, no longer him- 
 self, but the spirit of some martyr-hero of his race in 
 the cause of right, bursting the cerements of the grave 
 to renew the combat on earth. To all conscious of 
 his life-long earnestness, and how closely the orator 
 and the man are allied, his efforts are not without 
 their effect. 
 
 He conformed to no conservatism for interest's sake, 
 nor compromise for the sake of party or expediency, 
 demanding only the rights meted out to others. His 
 sentiments partaking of the most uncompromising radi- 
 calism, years before the public were willing to listen to 
 such doctrine, caused his speeches and writings to be 
 considered impracticable and impolitic. While they 
 were never characterized by violent or incendiary ex- 
 pressions, they consequently rendered him less popular 
 than many others of inferior ability. He was consid- 
 ered impolitic for what men talked with abated breath ; 
 when slavery had her myrmidons in church and state, 
 he held up, in all of its deformities, and denounced with- 
 
24 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 out fear or palliation, depending more upon the cause 
 than the time to justify him. " Setting his foot always 
 in advance of fate," his views were deemed impracti- 
 cable ; but, proud in the strength of his opinions, and 
 wrapped in the consciousness of their ultimate adoption, 
 he bided his hour. 
 
 As an advocate of moral reforms his influence finds 
 abundant scope. His habits being as simple as they 
 are temperate, adhering rigidly to physiological rules, 
 they render him successful in presenting such meas- 
 ures. In early youth he espoused total abstinence; 
 conforming first from principle, it afterwards became 
 an established habit to eschew the use of liquors, or 
 even tobacco, in any form, and from these early princi- 
 ples he has never been known to swerve. While his 
 labors and sympathies are more strongly put forth in 
 behalf of his own race, as more needful of them, yet no 
 one exhibits a more catholic spirit, even to the enemies 
 of his race, than Martin Delany. In his present sphere, 
 his untiring efforts to ameliorate the condition of every 
 class, irrespective of former condition and politics, and 
 to advance the prosperity of an impoverished and pros- 
 trate section of our country, will render his name ac- 
 ceptable, not only as the able and incorruptible executive 
 officer of the government, but as a humanitarian in its 
 widest acceptation. To sum up his character, there 
 will be found a strong individuality permeating it, as 
 though aiming always to be himself in all things ; pos- 
 sessing all the pride, fire, and generous characteristics 
 of the true negro, without the timidity or weakness 
 usually ascribed, as resulting from their condition in 
 America. 
 
Genealogy. 25 
 
 There is every evidence that he possesses in an emi- 
 nent degree the elements of the true soldier, and under 
 more favorable auspices would have made a reputation 
 worthy of record beside the great names which the late 
 rebellion has produced. Fearless without being rash, at 
 all times self-possessed and fully equal to emergencies, 
 a lover of discipline ; an iron will and great strength of 
 endurance and perseverance bestowed by Nature, while 
 she circumscribed his limits for exercising them ; hence 
 the record of his services in the late rebellion will be 
 more of his achievements as an organizer of movements 
 tending to advance the progress of freedom in recon- 
 struction than of his martial accomplishments. 
 
 While the true place of the distinguished colored 
 man is among the "self-made men" of our country, 
 still it must be admitted that their surroundings being 
 less favorable to insure success than white men of the 
 same class, in proportion, their achievements are as 
 great. And while many of this class were fostered by 
 the Anti-slavery Society, — its patronage being always 
 extended to the talented and meritorious of the race, 
 — still its immediate support was never held out to 
 him. Solely upon his own will, perseverance, and 
 merits can be based the secret of his success wherein 
 others have failed. 
 
 His mother was considered a most exemplary Chris- 
 tian, active and energetic, with quick perceptions and 
 fine natural talents, inheriting all the finer traits of 
 character of her Mandingo origin. The Mandingoes, 
 from their love of traffic, are nicknamed the " Jews of 
 Africa." An incident which is related of her shows 
 the force of character which she transmitted to her son. 
 
26 Life op Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 An attempt was made to enslave herself and children, 
 five in all, in Virginia, where they resided. Being in- 
 formed of it, she at once determined to test or avert 
 it. Taking the two youngest, she set out on foot, 
 with one lashed across her back, and the other in her 
 arms ; she walked the distance from Charlestown to 
 Winchester in time to meet the court, consulted her 
 lawyer, entered suit, and when all difficulties were sat- 
 isfactorily adjusted, she returned to her children trium- 
 phant. "Some Roman lingered there," that neither the 
 miasma of slavery, with which the atmosphere about 
 was impregnated, nor the uncertain future of her chil- 
 dren, could crush out; but a slow and steady fire 
 burnt forever in her soul, and gleamed along the path- 
 way of her youngest born to guide him to duty in the 
 unequal strife of his race. She lived long enough to 
 witness the overthrow of the oligarchy against which 
 she had contended in Virginia. She died at Pitts- 
 burg, in the family of her son, Samuel Delany, in 
 1864, at the age of ninety-six. 
 
 This family attained great longevity, as is again shoAvn 
 in the father of Major Delany, who gave every indica- 
 tion of a hale old age, when he was carried off by the 
 cholera which swept over Pittsburg at one time, when 
 he had reached his eighty-fourth year. In life he was 
 known as a man of great integrity of character, of ac- 
 knowledged courage, and was remarkable for his great 
 physical strength. He was well known in Martin sburg, 
 where, for a stipulated sum, he obtained his freedom, 
 thence went to Chambersburg, whither his family had 
 preceded him. He bore a scar on his face, the result 
 of a wound, which adds another testimony to the "bar- 
 
Genealogy. 27 
 
 barism of slavery." It was inflicted by the sheriff of 
 the county, who, with eight men, went to arrest him 
 one morning, because he had nine times torn the clothes 
 from off the person of one Violet, as he was endeavor- 
 ing to inflict bodily punishment on him. Each time, 
 as he dashed the man Violet from him, he assured him 
 he had no wish to injure him. 
 
 The sheriff and his men, approaching, were warned by 
 him to keep off. He then fortified himself behind a 
 wagon in a lane, and, being armed with its swingle-tree, 
 bade defiance to the authority attempting to surround 
 him. The better to effect a retreat, if necessary, by 
 climbing backwards he raised himself to the top of 
 the fence, his face to his persecutors. At the moment 
 the top was gained, he was brought to the ground, sense- 
 less and bleeding, by a skilfully-directed stone. He 
 was then secured and taken to prison at Charlestown. 
 
 The sheriff was desirous of shooting him ; but Violet, 
 with a view to his market value rather than apprecia- 
 tion of his determined courage, objected most decided- 
 ly to this, adding that he was " too good a man to be 
 killed." The stone was thus substituted for the bullet. 
 With this mark of brutality daily before the eyes of 
 his children, and in its train all the humiliations and 
 bestial associations to which their hapless race was 
 subjected, it is no matter of wonderment that Martin 
 Delany should watch every enactment concerning his 
 race with exactness, and his bitterness against their op- 
 pressors and abettors would sometimes outrun his sense 
 of the politic, or that all his efforts should, through 
 life, converge to the same end to contribute his aid to 
 root out every fibre of slavery and its concomitants. 
 
28 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1843, he was married to 
 Kate A., youngest daughter of Charles Richards, of 
 Pittsburg, the grandfather and father of whom had 
 been men of influence and wealth of their time. This 
 daughter was one of the heirs to their estate, which 
 had increased in value, as it embraced some of the best 
 property in the city of Pittsburg, estimated at nearly 
 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This was 
 finally lost to them in 1847, simply by a turn of law, 
 in consequence of the unwillingness of attorneys to 
 litigate so large a claim in favor of a colored against 
 white families. 
 
 Mrs. Delany is a fine-looking, intelligent, and appre- 
 ciative lady, possessed of fine womanly sympathies, and, 
 always entering fully into his pursuits, has contributed 
 no little aid to his success. 
 
 With a companion whose views are so thoroughly in 
 unison with his own, his domestic relations are pros- 
 perous and happy. Equally as zealous for the in- 
 terest of her race, and self-sacrificing as himself, she 
 encouraged and urged him on in his most doubtful 
 moments, — for many they were while the political hori- 
 zon was darkened by the thick clouds of slavery. 
 
 While they were never possessed of means, through 
 her management many poor fugitives and indigent per- 
 sons were succored by them. She has cheerfully borne 
 poverty when it could have been otherwise, and would 
 forego personal comforts rather than he should fall 
 back from the position he had taken, for pecuniary 
 benefits for herself and children. 
 
 From this marriage eleven children were born, seven 
 of whom are living. In the selection of the names of 
 
Genealogy. 29 
 
 these children, the speciality is again evident. If the 
 names given to children generally are intended as in- 
 centives to the formation of character, then, when they 
 are sufficiently marked by selections from prominent 
 characters, it may at least be indicative of the senti- 
 ments of the parents. If this is admitted, then the 
 choice of names of these children gives unmistakable 
 evidences of the determination of their parents that 
 these brilliant characters should not be lost si<rht of, 
 but emulated by them. While they are strictly in 
 keeping with the father's characteristic, they being all 
 of African affinity or consanguinity, they are neverthe- 
 less remarkable amidst such surroundings as American 
 contingencies constantly present. The eldest is Tous- 
 saint L'Ouverture, after the first military hero and 
 statesman of San Domingo ; the second, Charles Len- 
 nox Remond, from the eloquent living declaimer ; the 
 third, Alexander Dumas, from that brilliant author of 
 romance ; the fourth, Saint Cyprian, from one of the 
 greatest of the primitive bishops of the Christian 
 Church ; the fifth, Faustin Soulouque, after the late Em- 
 peror of Hayti ; the sixth, Rameses Placido, from the 
 good King of Egypt, " the ever-living Rameses II," and 
 the poet and martyr of freedom to his race on the 
 Island of Cuba; the seventh, the daughter Ethiopia 
 Halle Amelia, the country of his race, to which is given 
 the unequalled promise that " she should soon stretch 
 forth her hands unto God.'' 
 
30 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 EAKLY EDUCATION. 
 
 IN the recent struggle through which the nation has 
 passed, like convulsions, sometimes, of certain por- 
 tions of the physical world, old features and landmarks 
 are swept away, and new features are apparent, devel- 
 oping on the surface, the existence of which very lit- 
 tle, if anything, was heretofore known. 
 
 A class has been invoked into action, to whose" sub- 
 lime patience and enduring heroism the genius of 
 poetry will turn for inspiration, while future historians, 
 recognizing evidences of the true statesmanship which 
 they have exhibited through the dark night of slavery, 
 will place them amid the brightest constellations of our 
 time. This class exhibited the same anomaly in the 
 midst of slavery, that the slaves in a government whose 
 doctrines taught liberty and equality to all men, and 
 under whose banner the exile and fugitive found 
 refuge, presented to the civilization of this century. 
 They were an intermediate class in all the slave 
 states, standing between the whites and the bondmen, 
 known as the free colored ; debarred from enjoying 
 the privileges of the one, but superior in condition to 
 the other, more, however, by sufferance than by actual 
 law. While they were the stay of the one, they were 
 
Early Education. 31 
 
 the object of distrust to the other, and at the same time 
 subject to the machinations and jealousies of the non- 
 slaveholders, whom they rival in mechanical skill and 
 trade. Prior to the rebellion these represented a fair 
 proportion of wealth and culture, both attributable to 
 their own thrift and energy. Unlike the same class 
 at the North, they had but little, if any, foreign com- 
 petition in the various departments of labor or trade 
 against which to contend. Immigration not being 
 encouraged at the South, as at the North, could not 
 affect their progress, thus leaving all avenues open to 
 the free colored, while they were excluded from the 
 more liberal and learned professions. But if their 
 faculties for accumulation were preferable to the same 
 class North, there were influences always at work to 
 deprive them of the fruits of their labor, either openly 
 or covertly. On the one side were exorbitant taxes 
 for various public charities, from the benefits of which 
 the indigent of their race were deprived, and for public 
 schools, to which their children were denied admittance. 
 Business men found it in many instances impolitic to 
 refuse requests for loans coming from influential white 
 men, under whose protection they exercised their 
 meagre privileges, and the payment of which it was 
 equally impolitic to press, nor were they allowed to 
 sue for debts. 
 
 Thus their position in the midst of a slave commu- 
 nity was altogether precarious, as they were looked 
 upon as a dangerous element by the slaveholders. 
 Their lives and material prosperity standing in direct 
 contrast to the repeated assertions of the advocates and 
 apologists of slavery, that they would, if free, relapse 
 
32 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 into barbarism, or would burden the states in which 
 they were found, for support. So marked and wide- 
 spread had this class become in the Southern States, 
 that it was a subject of general comment, but a few 
 years before the rebellion, the almost simultaneous pe- 
 titions to the various legislative bodies, to drive them 
 from their homes, and in some of the states these were 
 only baffled by the bribes resorted to by their victims. 
 These continued aggressions succeeded, however, in 
 driving large numbers to settle in the free states and 
 the Canadas, notwithstanding the unmigratory ten- 
 dency of southern races. There they remained until 
 their listening ears caught the first note of the rebel- 
 lion, as borne from Sumter's walls, and with all the 
 holy tenderness which clusters around the national col- 
 ors in the hearts of these men, they went forward to 
 swell the Union ranks. For to them the cause was as 
 sacred as that which inspired the crusaders of old. 
 
 There were others whose far-seeing visions, peering 
 into futurity, beheld the balance of power held out to 
 them, and remained awaiting the march of events not 
 far removed, and at this time are recognized as the 
 accepted leaders of the rising race. 
 
 Under this state of society was engendered a habitual 
 watchfulness of public measures, making them tena- 
 cious of their rights and immunities in every commu- 
 nity where they are found, and peculiarly sensitive to 
 the slightest indication of encroachments, which has re- 
 sulted in developing in them a foresight and sagacity 
 not surpassed in others, whose individual status is less 
 closely allied with political measures. 
 
 From this class sprang the honored and scholarly 
 
Early Educations 33 
 
 Daniel E. Paine, Bishop of the African Methodist 
 Church, — that great religious body, the power of which 
 is destined to be felt in America, and the influence of 
 which to be circumscribed only by the ocean. The noble 
 Vesey, of South Carolina, who sealed his devotion to 
 the cause of freedom with his life, was of this class. 
 Before the walls of Petersburg, these were among the 
 gallant soldiers who gave battle to the trained veterans 
 of Lee, and at the ramparts of Wagner they waded to 
 victory in blood. 
 
 Amid these uncertain surroundings was the boyhood 
 of Martin Delany passed. In childhood the playmate 
 of John Avis, at Charlestown, in manhood, the asso- 
 ciate of the immortal Brown of Ossawatomie, in a 
 measure which ultimately resulted in rendering the 
 name of the kind-hearted Virginian historic in connec- 
 tion with his illustrious captive. 
 
 With all the schools closed against them in Virginia, 
 it was not until about 1818 that his brothers and sisters 
 ever attempted to receive instruction. 
 
 With the vast domain of Virginia at this date, 
 teeming with school-houses, attended by thousands of 
 colored children, and instructed by white northern 
 teachers, as well as those of their own race, the tuition 
 of the Delany children forms a singular contrast. 
 
 The famous New York Primer and Spelling Book 
 was brought to them about that time by itinerant 
 Yankee pedlers, trading in rags and old pewter, and 
 giving in exchange for these new tin ware, school- 
 books, and stationery. These pedlers always found it 
 convenient and profitable, likewise, to leave their pecu- 
 liar looking box wagon, to whisper into the ear of a 
 3 
 
34 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 black, "You're as much right to learn to read as these 
 whites ; " and looking at their watches, had a " snigger 
 of time left yet to stay a little and give a lesson or 
 so." These "didn't charge, only gim me what ye 
 mine to." It was under such covert tuition, and with 
 such instructors, in the humble home of Pati Delany, 
 that the young Martin, together with his brothers and 
 sisters, were taught to read and write. 
 
 This stealthy manner of learning, while they were 
 unconscious of the cause, had the tendency of making 
 them more attentive and eager, perhaps, than other- 
 wise, for their tuition was not of long duration before 
 the elder boys were able to read intelligently, and in- 
 struct the younger children, we are told. And after a 
 time almost improbable had elapsed, so well arranged 
 were the plans for imparting instruction, that the 
 authorities, who are always so vigilant in inspecting or 
 prying into the movements of the free blacks, " that 
 dangerous element " of the South, were so completely 
 baffled, that not only the smaller children were reading 
 and spelling, but the larger boys were actually writing 
 " passes " for the slaves of their neighborhood. 
 
 As their minds developed, all restraint was thrown 
 aside, and the lessons given and recited heretofore in 
 whispers, were now being recited to each other aloud. 
 Leaving the little room in which they were accustomed 
 to assemble, with throbbing hearts and eyes beaming 
 with joyous anticipations to receive those early lessons, 
 unconscious of the hair-suspended sword of southern 
 justice above their innocent heads, they dared to "play 
 school" like other children, under the shaded arbor of 
 their mother's garden. This soon attracted the atten- 
 
Early Education. 35 
 
 tion of their neighbors. Surrounded as they were by- 
 whites, it was a hazardous and " overt act." Major 
 Delany describes the " situation " thus : " In the 
 rear, adjoining, on the opposite street, was Downey's; 
 on the left, adjoining, Offit's; on the right, immediately 
 across the street from Hogan's, was the Long O'nary, 
 where Bun's great school was kept, the largest school 
 in the town except Heckman's Seminary." Thus the 
 progress of Pati Delany's children was soon made the 
 gossip of the day, and attracted thither continually 
 curious inquirers, eager to see and hear negro children 
 spell and read. 
 
 It chanced one day, in the midst of their recitations, 
 their mother being absent, they were interrupted by a 
 man inquiring the name of their parents, then of each 
 child, taking it down in the mean time in his book. 
 Being satisfied, he rode away. These children, uncon- 
 scious of the purport of the visit, joyfully related it to 
 their mother on her return. Great was their astonish- 
 ment to see the expression of deep dejection that over- 
 shadowed the features that but a few moments before 
 had shone with happiness as she greeted them. Her 
 only response to their information was a long-drawn 
 sigh, for too well she knew that visit foreboded trouble. 
 In a few days her fears were realized. A man called 
 at the house, and delivered a summons to her, to the 
 effect that it was understood that she was having her 
 children taught to read, in direct violation of law, for 
 which she should answer before a court of justice. 
 The devoted mother's consternation can be well pic- 
 tured, when we recall the justice extended to the noble 
 Prudence Crandell, in Connecticut, for teaching negro 
 
36 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 children to read. It followed, in her fears, that she 
 resorted to the concealment of the books from her 
 children ; but the sole cause of offence to the majesty 
 of Virginia's laws, the knowledge, and the insatiable 
 thirst for further acquirement, could neither be hidden 
 nor taken from them. 
 
 This violation of law, and the inevitable conse- 
 quences, were soon bruited around the country. Nei- 
 ther sympathy or advice was extended to the courageous 
 woman, whose only crime was wearing a dusky skin ; 
 but instead, the jeers and scowls which the vilest cul- 
 prit receives met her on every side. Mingled with 
 their imprecations could be remembered the significant 
 expressions, " A wholesome lesson ! " " It will do that 
 proud, defiant woman good ! " " She always made pre- 
 tensions above a negro." Suits were constantly entered, 
 and failed. She was persecuted by all, with one noble 
 exception — that of Randall Brown, a banker, who often 
 advised hef to leave the place. Finally, in September, 
 1822, under the pretext of moving to Martinsburg, 
 she left Charlestown for Chambersburg, Pa., where re- 
 siding for fifteen years, her children were enabled to 
 continue their studies, with " none to molest or make 
 them afraid." There, for several years, they attended 
 school, securing such advantages as the country schools 
 of those days afforded. 
 
 After sometime had elapsed, Delany's parents' means 
 being limited, he was compelled to leave school. He then 
 went to Cumberland County, about two years after he 
 had left school, to work ; but, becoming dissatisfied 
 with his prospects, he returned to Chambersburg, to 
 obtain the consent of his parents to go to Pittsburg, 
 
Early Education. 37 
 
 where facilities for obtaining an education were supe- 
 rior to those of his home. On the morning of the 
 29th of July, 1831, we date the first bold and deter- 
 mined move on his part to fit himself for the herculean 
 task which he had marked out for himself. Alone, and 
 on foot, the young hero set out for Pittsburg, with little 
 or no money, and consequently few friends. Crossing 
 the three grand ridges of the Alleghany, he soon 
 reached Bedford. Here, employment being offered 
 to him, he remained for one month. Never losing 
 sight of his resolves, he now turned his face towards 
 Pittsburg, in which city the foundation of his fame 
 afterwards rested. 
 
38 Life of Major M. R. Delant. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 STUDYING NORTH. 
 
 N directing his footsteps to Pittsburg, Fortune fa- 
 vored the student in a degree wonderful for that 
 time, while she chilled the energies of the man in later 
 years. There he was compelled to labor faithfully, at 
 whatever work his hands found to do, in order to con- 
 tinue his studies. 
 
 Fortunately for him, a way was opened from sources 
 least expected at that time. Great efforts were being 
 made by the colored people themselves, at Pittsburg, 
 to advance their educational interests, together with 
 other measures for the recognition of their political 
 rights. A church was purchased from the white Meth- 
 odists for a school-house, — an educational society 
 having been previously organized, -— and Rev. Louis 
 Woodson, a colored gentleman, of fine talents, was 
 placed at the head of it. Under the supervision of 
 this gentleman, during the winter of 1831, his progress 
 in the common branches were such as to warrant his 
 promotion to the more advanced studies. It was com- 
 monly said by his friends at school, that his retentiveness 
 of history — his favorite study — was so remarkable 
 that he seemed to have recited from the palm of his 
 hand. 
 
Studying North. 39 
 
 A young student of Jefferson, seventeen miles dis- 
 tant, who frequently spent his vacation at Pittsburg, 
 assisted him in his difficult studies, as they occupied the 
 same room. While studying together, they conceived 
 the plan for benefiting other young men of like tastes 
 by forming an association for their intellectual and 
 moral improvement. It soon became popular, and the 
 Theban Literary Society was afterwards formed. Judg- 
 ing from the names adopted by their officers, pedantic 
 as they are, they evince an acquaintance with the rudi- 
 ments of a polite education not expected from that 
 class under their disadvantages, the names, relative 
 to their offices, being taken from the Greek. This was 
 but the small beginning for wider labors. Since then 
 they have associated with other bodies, more important 
 in their character, yet bearing a like relation to human- 
 ity. But it was, perhaps, to the literary society of 
 Pittsburg, resembling that formed by Franklin and his 
 young associates, that the germ of their usefulness first 
 came forth. 
 
 It was also about the winter of 1831-2 that the 
 little ripple, destined to be the great anti-slavery wave, 
 against which the ship of state would madly contend, 
 was noticed ; for, almost simultaneously with the out- 
 break for freedom at Southampton, Va., known as Nat 
 Turner's Insurrection, appeared " Garrison's Thoughts 
 on American Colonization." 
 
 Then, to the casual observer, the action of the one was 
 a ridiculous folly ; that of the other, the wild fancies of 
 a fanatic's brain. Now, there is a dark significance in 
 that solitary figure, looming up in the dark back- 
 ground of slavery as an offering on the altar of freedom, 
 
40 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 in the home of Washington, preceded by that attempted 
 at Charleston with Denmark Vesey at its head, fol- 
 lowed by the closing scene at Harper's Ferry. In each 
 of these there was a warning and a lesson as direct as 
 those which the Hebrew lawgiver received amidst the 
 thunders of Sinai, but by which a slavery-blinded 
 nation failed to profit, until the last great martyr of 
 Ossowattomie was offered up. 
 
 " When that great heart broke, 'twas a world that shook; 
 From their slavish sleep a million awoke ; " 
 
 when Virginia, the cradle of slavery, became its burial- 
 place, the Smithfield of freedom's martyrs, and the 
 battle-ground of a slave-founded Confederacy; while 
 on the other side the "fanatic" stands a witness of 
 the workings of the stupendous powers invoked. 
 
 The writings of Mr. Garrison, and the Southampton 
 insurrection, awakened much interest in many minds, 
 which before that time were either absorbed in selfish 
 speculations, and indifferent to the interest of the 
 nation, or despondent of ameliorating the condition 
 of the black race in this country. 
 
 The young Delany, not forgetting his mother's per- 
 secutions, his father's humiliations in Virginia, and the 
 wrongs of his race generally, caught the spirit of 
 truth, and was fired with a high and holy purpose. 
 With the scene of Nat Turner's defeat and execution 
 before him, he consecrated himself to freedom ; and, 
 like another Hannibal, registered his vow against 
 the enemies of his race. To prepare for everything 
 that promised success, to undergo every privation 
 and suffering, if necessary to accomplish this object, 
 was now the resolve of the young neophyte. He 
 
Studying North. 41 
 
 began, in the right direction, to prepare himself for 
 whatever position he should be called upon to fill, by a 
 renewed earnestness in his studies. 
 
 To ethics and metaphysics he devoted his attention ; 
 and, while a student, so proficient was he in the essen- 
 tial principles of natural philosophy, as to compete suc- 
 cessfully with a teacher in a college of respectability. 
 His progress and attainments, under circumstances to 
 which no people save his own race have ever been sub- 
 jected, are evidences of the ambition and workings of 
 a mind untamed by impediments which opposed it. 
 
 Then, no college or academy of note in the United 
 States received within its walls a black student, no 
 matter how deserving, save under obligations hereafter 
 to be mentioned, not excepting Dartmouth, ostensibly 
 established for Indians, nor the great, independent 
 Harvard, of ancient pride. " At this time," said Martin' 
 Delany, "or shortly after, the novi learned J. W. C. 
 Pennington, D. D., who received the degree of Doctor 
 of Divinity at the University of Heidelberg, under 
 Prince Leopold, president, was standing either behind 
 the door of Yale College, or perhaps on its threshold, 
 listening to instructions given in the various branches 
 by the professors, and considering it a privilege, as it 
 was the closest proximity allowed him towards enter- 
 ing its sacred precincts as a student." 
 
 Such was the limited opportunity for a thorough edu- 
 cation among the colored people, and so great was the 
 prejudice against them while Martin Delany was en- 
 deavoring to acquire his, that it is safe to infer that no 
 colored person, recognized as colored, previous to the 
 establishment of institutions of learning under the 
 
42 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 anti-slavery agitation, ever completed a collegiate course. 
 True it is, that a few were educated under the auspices 
 of colonization societies, with no design of benefiting 
 the colored people in this country, but on the condition 
 of their leaving it for Africa. 
 
 While pursuing his studies at Pittsburg, his name 
 was solicited and obtained by the zealous Mr. Dawes, 
 agent of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, at the begin- 
 ning of that now famous institute. He afterwards de- 
 clined going, it being then but a preparatory school, and 
 his studies being fully equal to those prosecuted there. 
 He, like Byron, could not understand that knowledge 
 was less valuable, or less true as knowledge, without 
 having the parchment to confirm it; while the oppor- 
 tunity of the great poet and that of the get-by-chance 
 student differs ; one having no formidable barriers to 
 overcome, the other having first to struggle against 
 oppositions, in order to create a healthy public senti- 
 ment, that others after him might gain it without the 
 giant's task. 
 
Moral Efforts. 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MORAL EFFORTS. 
 
 IN 1834 Major Delany was actively engaged in the or- 
 ganzation of several associations for the relief of the 
 poor of the city, and for the moral elevation of his people. 
 Among them was the first total abstinence society ever 
 formed among the colored people ; and another known 
 as the Philanthropic Society, wjiich, while formed osten- 
 sibly for benevolent purposes, relative to the indigent 
 of the city, was really the foundation of one of the great 
 links connecting the slaves with their immediate friends 
 in the North, — known as the "Underground Railroad," 
 — which, for long years, had baffled the slaveholders. 
 Of its executive board he was for many years secretary. 
 
 The work contributed by this association constituted 
 it the invaluable aid of the anti-slavery cause. Its effi- 
 ciency may be judged from the fact that, while in its 
 infancy, it is recorded that, within one year, not less 
 than two hundred and sixty-nine persons were aided in 
 escaping to Canada and elsewhere. 
 
 His sphere in life gave character to him, identifying 
 him with a people and a time at once wonderful 
 and perilous ; wonderful that amid all the indignities 
 and outrages heaped upon them, unrebuked by church 
 or state, they did not degenerate into infidels and 
 
44 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 law-breakers, instead of being the Christian and truly 
 law-abiding element of the republic — perilous, for the 
 emissaries of the South instituted the fiendish spirit 
 of mobbism, selecting either the dwellings or the busi- 
 ness-places of the prominent colored men of the city. 
 On one occasion, while this spirit was rife, they made 
 an attack on the house of Mr. John B. Vashon. Major 
 Delany, then quite a young man, but true to his princi- 
 ples of justice and humanity, and in view of future 
 outrages, together with men of more mature age, 
 called on Judge Pentland and other prominent citi- 
 zens, to notify them that, though they were a law- 
 abiding people, they did not intend to remain and be 
 murdered in their houses without a most determined 
 resistance to their assailants, as there was little or no 
 assistance or protection rendered by the authorities. 
 
 This resulted in his being chosen one of the special 
 police from among the blacks and whites appointed in 
 conjunction with the military called out by the intrepid 
 mayor of Pittsburg, Dr. Jonas R. McClintock. Many 
 were the occasions on which he stood among the fore- 
 most defenders against those mobs which at that time 
 were more frequent than desirable. 
 
 The general grievances of the colored people of the 
 North, occasioned solely on account of caste, were a 
 disgrace to the civilization of the age, and incompatible 
 with the elements of our professed republicanism, 
 which induced them to call an assemblage year after 
 year, delegating their best talent to these, for the pur- 
 pose of placing before the people the true condition of 
 the colored people of the North, and also to devise 
 methods of assisting the slaves of the South. 
 
Moral Efforts. 45 
 
 These conventions were held at an early date. As 
 far back as 1829 we find a National Convention Meet- 
 ing in Philadelphia, and where for many subsequent 
 years they assembled ; and enrolled on their list of 
 members we find the honored names of Robert Douo-- 
 
 o 
 
 lass (the father of the artist), Hinton, Grice, Bowers, 
 Burr, and Forten, together with Peck, Vashon, Shadd, 
 and others whose names would give dignity and char- 
 acter to any convention. 
 
 Through a series of years these continued lifting up 
 their voices against the existing political outrages to 
 which they were subjected. To the last of these (about 
 1836) Major Delany, together with the Rev. Lewis 
 Woodson, his former preceptor, who, being senior col- 
 league, was chosen to represent the status of the com- 
 munity at large. On arriving at Philadelphia they 
 found the Convention had been transferred to New 
 York; and on their arrival at that point they were noti- 
 fied that it had been indefinitely postponed, chilling 
 the hopes, doubtless, of our young delegate with his 
 maiden speech trembling on his lips, the " tremendous 
 applause" ringing in his ears, and other fancies legiti- 
 mately belonging to the role of a young man for the 
 first time taking his place as a representative among 
 the elders. 
 
 About three years after, he attended the Anti-sla- 
 very Convention at Pittsburg. At this Convention 
 were many learned divines and a president of one of 
 the universities of Western Pennsylvania. Here he 
 brought upon himself the censure of some of his 
 friends for saying in the course of his argument (con- 
 cerning Jewish slavery as compared with that which 
 
46 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 existed in America), that " Onesimus teas a blood-kin 
 brother to Philemon? This extraordinary and then 
 entirely new ground was so unexpected and original, 
 that while many approached, congratulating him on his 
 able arguments, they expressed their regrets that he 
 ventured to use such weapons, as he rendered himself 
 liable to severe criticism from the whites. Pie replied 
 that, in the course of events soon to greet them, this 
 would become an established fact. He was not in- 
 correct, only " imprudent," as the time had not ar- 
 rived to proclaim such bold opinions. His fault, in 
 most cases, is in expressing the thoughts that shape them- 
 selves in his healthy, active brain far in advance of the 
 time allotted by a conservative element for receiving it. 
 He plans long before the workmen are ready or will- 
 ing to execute. Says that friend of humanity, Wen- 
 dell Phillips, " What world-wide benefactors these 
 'imprudent' men are — the Lovejoys, the Browns the 
 Garrisons, the saints, the martyrs! How 'prudent- 
 ly ' most men creep into nameless graves, while 
 now and then one or two forget themselves into im- 
 mortality." 
 
 A few years before this Delany began the study of med- 
 icine, under the late Dr. Andrew N. McDowell, but for 
 some cause did not continue to completion, as he entered 
 practically upon dentistry. The knowledge acquired 
 in surgery he made use of whenever immediate neces- 
 sity required it. On one occasion, in 1839, he went 
 down the Mississippi to New Orleans, thence to Texas. 
 While at Alexandria he met with the chief of adven- 
 turers, General Felix Houston, whose attention was 
 attracted by witnessing him dressing the wound of a 
 
Moral Efforts. 47 
 
 man stabbed by an intoxicated comrade. General 
 Houston offered him a good position and protection if 
 he would join him. He declined the offer, and contin- 
 ued his tour, spending several months among the 
 slaveholding Indians of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkan- 
 sas, and Texas, viewing the "peculiar institution" as 
 it existed in all its varied phases, — its pride and 
 gloom, — not loving freedom less, but hating slavery 
 more, if possible. 
 
 He watched closely the scenes through which he had 
 passed, and the experience gained among the slaves of 
 the south-west was carefully garnered up for future use- 
 fulness. His present post of duty on the Sea Island 
 of South Carolina, where he executes the duties of his 
 office with zeal and ability, while his busy brain con- 
 stantly devises some new measure for the advancement 
 and elevation of the newly-recognized people, attests 
 this fact. 
 
48 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EDITOKIAL CAREER. 
 
 HE returned to Pittsburg in the midst of the 
 presidential campaign resulting in the election 
 of General Harrison. Finding political feeling high, as 
 it is always on such occasions, he speedily received the 
 infection, and threw himself forward in the political 
 arena. Early in 1843 he became too well aware, by 
 sad experience, of the inability of the colored people 
 to bring their inflicted wrongs and injustices before the 
 public, in consequence of not having a press willing at 
 all times to espouse their cause. In many instances a 
 paper which would publish an article derogatory to 
 their interest on one day, if applied to on the next to 
 publish for some colored person an answer or correc- 
 tion, the applicant would either be told certain expres- 
 sions must be modified, the article is not respectful to 
 the parties, or refuse entirely on the plea that " it would 
 not be politic." 
 
 With these impediments he knew their progress 
 would be retarded, and to this end he began unassisted 
 a weekly sheet under the title of the Mystery, de- 
 voted to the interest and elevation of his race. Suc- 
 cess followed the movement ; the first issue in all taken 
 was one thousand in the city ; its circulation rapidly 
 
Editorial Career. 49 
 
 increased. For more than one year he conducted it as 
 editor. After sustaining it solely for nine months, he 
 transferred the proprietorship to a committee of six 
 gentlemen, he, meanwhile, continuing as editor for 
 nearly four years. 
 
 It was well conducted, and held no mean position in 
 the community, especially where it originated. 
 
 The learned and lamented Dr. James McCune Smith, 
 of New York, said " it was one of the best papers ever 
 published among the colored people of the United 
 States." 
 
 The editorials of his journal elicited praises even 
 from its enemies, and were frequently transferred to 
 their columns. His description of the great fire of 
 1844, in Pittsburg, which laid a great portion of that 
 manufacturing city in ruins, was extensively quoted by 
 papers throughout the country. The original matter, 
 so frequently copied, was sufficient to determine the 
 status of his paper. 
 
 During the Mexican war he bore his part in the 
 field against the knights of the quill, for his stand 
 against the Polk administration was so decided that on 
 more than one occasion the subject- was strongly 
 combated. 
 
 Much good was done through the influence of that 
 little sheet, and it is indisputable that to its influence 
 originated the Avery Fund. Once, on the subject of 
 female education, through the columns of his paper, he 
 argued that " men were never raised in social position 
 above the level of women ; therefore men could not be 
 elevated without woman's elevation ; further, that 
 among the nations of the world where women were 
 4 
 
50 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 kept in ignorance, great philosophers or statesmen 
 failed to be produced, as a general rule. And under 
 the then existing state of female education among 
 the Americans of African descent, the hope of seeing 
 them equal with the more favored class of citizens 
 would be without proper basis. 
 
 After reading his editorial on the social requirements 
 of the colored people, it is said that the Rev. Charles 
 Avery determined to do something tangible for them. 
 The reverend gentleman, after consulting some of the 
 most prominent colored men, among whom was the 
 Rev. John Peck, established a school for males and 
 females. This was the first step towards that which is 
 now known as Avery's College, at the head of which 
 was placed, as senior professor, Martin A. Freeman, 
 M. A. (now professor of mathematics in the University 
 of Liberia). He was succeeded by George B. Vashon, 
 M. A., a most accomplished scholar. The Rev. Mr. 
 Avery did not stop in the work so well begun. He 
 died in 1858, bequeathing in his will " one hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars for the education and elevation 
 of the free colored people of the United States and Can- 
 ada, one hundred and fifty thousand for the enlighten- 
 ment and civilization of the African race on the conti- 
 nent of Africa," all in trust to the American Missionary 
 Association of New York city; making in all a grand 
 bequest of three hundred thousand dollars, exclusive of 
 the college. We do not claim more than is evident — 
 that the Mystery deserves the credit of having brought 
 these wants before the public, and one humanitarian 
 responded to the call most liberally. 
 
 "While he was editor, on the Centennial Anniversary 
 
Editorial Career. 51 
 
 of Benjamin Franklin's birthday, he received from the 
 committee an invitation, among the editorial corps, to 
 attend an entertainment given by the Pittsburg Typo- 
 graphical Society at the Exchange Hotel. At the 
 head of this, as president of the occasion, was an hon- 
 orable ex-commissioner to Europe under President 
 Tyler, and the position of vice-president was filled by 
 a judge of the County Court. This mark of courtesy 
 to him, in the days when Slavery held her carnival over 
 the land, will serve to indicate the standing of his 
 paper and the triumph of genius over brutal prejudice. 
 
 While editor of the Mystery, he was involved in 
 a suit, the occasion of which will serve the double pur- 
 pose of showing the estimate placed upon the merit of 
 his paper, and the respect in which the ability and 
 character of the man were held in Pittsburg. 
 
 It happened, in the warmth of his zeal for the free- 
 dom of the enslaved, that he, through the columns of his 
 paper, charged a certain colored man with treachery to 
 his race by assisting the slave-catchers, who, at that 
 time, frequented Pennsylvania and other free states. 
 
 The accused entered a suit for libel, through advice, 
 probably, of some of his accomplices, who were whites, 
 as it is evident his calling would preclude the possi- 
 bility of the individual to think himself aggrieved. 
 
 The presiding judge, before whom the case was 
 tried, having no sympathy with abolitionists, and less 
 with that class of negroes represented by Martin Dela- 
 ny, took great pains to impress upon the minds of the 
 jury, in his charge to them, the extent of the offence of 
 libel. After their verdict of guilty was rendered, a fine 
 of two hundred dollars, together with the cost of prose- 
 
52 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 cution, which amounted to about two hundred and 
 fifty dollars, was imposed. In view of a fine so unusu- 
 ally high for that which was considered a just expo- 
 sure of an evil which then existed to the detriment of 
 one class of the inhabitants, an appeal was immediately 
 made, by the press of Pittsburg, for a public subscrip- 
 tion, in order that it might be borne in common, instead 
 of allowing it to rest solely upon this faithful sentinel. 
 
 A subscription list was opened at the office of the 
 Pittsburg Daily Despatch, which led off first in the 
 appeal. 
 
 The chivalric governor, Joseph Ritner, was in office 
 then — him for whom freedom's sweetest bard invoked 
 his muse to link his name with immortality. About 
 one week after the suit, and before the sum could be 
 raised, the governor remitted the fine. This was occa- 
 sioned through a petition originating with his able 
 counsel, the late William E. Austin, which was signed 
 not only by all of the lawyers of the court, but it is 
 said by the bench of judges ; thus leaving the costs only 
 to be paid by him. 
 
 The success of this suit, however, served to embolden 
 the slave-hunters ; and again did this faithful sentinel 
 give the alarm ; but this time his language, while it un- 
 mistakably pointed to the guilty party, was carefully 
 chosen, in order to avoid litigation. These, determined 
 to drive him from his post, so formidable to them, still 
 so valiantly held by him, again entered suit against 
 him. Their former success established no precedent 
 for the second. 
 
 In the prosecution of this case, another jurist sat in 
 judgment, the term of the pro-slavery judge having 
 
Editorial Career, 53 
 
 expired. In his charge to the jury, the eminent judge. 
 William B. McClure, made special reference to the po- 
 sition of the defendant, to his efforts in behalf of his 
 race, and his usefulness in the community. Then, ad- 
 dressing himself more pointedly to the jury, he added, 
 " I am well acquainted with Dr. Delany, and have a 
 very high respect for him. I regard him as a gentle- 
 man and a very useful citizen. !No Pittsburger, at 
 least, will believe him capable of willingly doing injus- 
 tice to any one, especially his own race. I cannot, 
 myself, after a careful examination, see in this case any- 
 thing to justify a verdict against the defendant." This 
 resulted in a verdict of acquittal without the jury 
 leaving the box. 
 
 On another occasion, he was the recipient of forensic 
 compliment, facetiously given, because also of the 
 source whence it emanated, and because he was not 
 present at the court to suggest the remarks of the 
 attorney in the midst of the pleading. 
 
 A highly respected colored man was under trial, 
 charged with a serious offence. His counsel, an influ- 
 ential lawyer, Cornelius Danagh, Esq., afterwards at- 
 torney general of the state, under Governor William 
 T. Johnson, of Pennsylvania, declared the prosecution 
 as arising from prejudice of color against his client. 
 The prosecution was conducted by the late Colonel 
 Samuel W. Black, who served under General McClel- 
 lan, and fell in the seven days' fight before Richmond. 
 " They tell yon," said he, in his peculiarly forcible 
 style, "that we have brought on this prosecution 
 through prejudice to color. I deny it : neither does 
 the learned counsel believe it. Look at Martin Delany, 
 
54 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 of this city, whom everybody knows, and the gentle- 
 man knows only to respect him. Would any person in 
 this community make such a charge against him ? 
 Could such a prosecution be gotten up against him ? 
 No, it could not, and the learned counsel knows it 
 could not, and Delany is blacker than a whole genera- 
 tion of the color of the defendant, boiled down to a 
 quart? 
 
 It is probable that no portion of this reference to 
 him pleased him better than that which alluded to his 
 blackness. 
 
 While conducting the paper, another production of 
 his elicited much discussion, and to which he still 
 holds — that of the population of the world. He claims 
 that two thirds are colored, and the remainder white ; 
 that there are but three original races — Mongolian, 
 Ethiopian or African, and Caucasian or European, as 
 yellow, black, and white, naming them in the order as 
 given in the genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, all 
 others being but the offspring, either pure or mixed, 
 of the other three, as the Indian or American race of 
 geography, being pure Mongolian, and the Malay 
 being a mixture of the three, Mongolian, African, 
 and Caucasian, the people of the last varying in com- 
 plexion and other characteristics from pure African, 
 through Mongolian, to pure Caucasian. 
 
 On the appearance of this article, containing the 
 above novel declaration of the preponderance of num- 
 bers of the colored races in the world, a learned officer 
 of the university was waited upon in the city, on one 
 occasion, and earnestly inquired of concerning the cor- 
 rectness of the statement, desiring, if it were incorrect, 
 to contradict it at once. It was never contradicted. 
 
Editorial Career. 55 
 
 After the return of Mr. Frederick Douglass from 
 England, in the summer of 1846, he visited Pittsburg, 
 where he concluded to form a copartnership in a print- 
 ing establishment with him. Disposing of his interest 
 in the Mystery, we next find him aiding, by means of 
 his talents and energy, the sustaining of a paper issuing 
 from Rochester, New York, known as the North Star, 
 the early name of the subsequent Frederick Douglass 
 paper. To advance the interest of this, he travelled, 
 holding meetings, and lecturing, so as to obtain sub- 
 scribers, and endeavored to effect a permanent estab- 
 lishment of a newspaper, as a general organ of the 
 colored people, on a secure basis, by raising an en- 
 dowment for it, being convinced that this alone would 
 insure its successful continuance. 
 
 The winter of 1848-9 found him in the eastern part 
 of Pennsylvania, taking part in anti-slavery meet- 
 ings and conventions, ably seconded by the eloquent 
 Charles L. Remond, to whom, he says, the anti-slavery 
 cause of New England is much indebted for the break- 
 ing down of the stupid prejudice, which once existed 
 on the land and water transportations, against colored 
 persons. 
 
 One of the means resorted to — so zealous were the 
 colored people to sustain the rising North Star — was 
 the holding of fairs in Philadelphia, supported by a 
 number of the most influential colored ladies of that 
 city. At the first of these, December, 1848, it was, that 
 William and Ellen Craft, now in England, the first vic- 
 tims selected under the atrocious Fugitive Slave Law 
 (enacted later), made their appearance, and under cir- 
 cumstances so peculiar as to become historic on both 
 
56 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 sides of the Atlantic. They were introduced by him 
 to the visitors at the fair in an appropriate address, and 
 in such a way that their mode of escape was carefully 
 concealed, but which was afterwards communicated to 
 the Liberator by an anti-slavery man. Through this 
 their whereabouts became known to Dr. Collins, of 
 Macon, Georgia, and as soon as the enactment was 
 completed, a few years after, he immediately, through 
 his agents sent north, placed all Boston under obliga- 
 gation to arrest them. 
 
 Hundreds of special or assistant marshals were ap- 
 pointed in the midst of a government which thundered 
 her volleys of welcome to the Hungarian governor, a 
 fugitive from Austrian tyranny ! And now, in all our 
 broad free America, there was no place of security from 
 southern slavery for these. 
 
 For four long days these obsequious marshals, whom 
 the slave power doubtless rewarded in after years with 
 starvation and death in their loathsome prisons, prowled 
 around the dwelling in which the brave Craft resided, 
 till at length that lion-hearted reformer and ever-de- 
 voted friend of the negro, Wendell Phillips, persuaded 
 the daring fugitive, all things being prepared, to take 
 passage on a vessel, his wife being already on board ; 
 and thus they escaped to England, where they were 
 received under the auspices of the Baroness Went- 
 worth, and are now enjoying a fair share of prosperity 
 and all the advantages of British citizenship. 
 
 During his tour in behalf of the North Star, in July, 
 1848, when America's sympathy yearned towards the 
 people of Europe, in the name of whose freedom the 
 thrones were trembling, a mob demanded his life in a 
 village of Northern Ohio. 
 
Editorial Caeeer. 57 
 
 They first demanded of him a speech, in a derisive 
 manner, which he refused. In revenge they circulated 
 a report that he was an abolitionist and amalgama- 
 tionist. This had the desired effect, and soon a mob, 
 consisting of nearly every male in the village, and 
 neighboring farmers, attracted by a blazing fire which 
 they had kindled of store boxes and tar, in the middle 
 of the street, gathered, shouting, swearing, and de- 
 manding him of the proprietor of the hotel, who had 
 closed his doors on the appearance of the rabble. 
 
 A barrel of tar was contributed by some person, and 
 it was decided to saturate his clothes, set him on fire, 
 and let him run ! Interference in his behalf was for- 
 bidden, and threats were made against the hotel 
 keeper, who refused to eject him. The movement to 
 break the doors in being threatened and attempted, the 
 landlord addressed them from the window to the effect 
 that it was his own property, and that he would not 
 turn any well-behaved person from his house into the 
 street, and if his property was injured, as was threat- 
 ened, he would have redress by law. As the yells and 
 threats became more deafening, he saw no retreat, and 
 determined to yield his life as dearly as possible. 
 Against the entreaties and advice of the proprietor 
 and family, he found his way into the kitchen : seizing 
 there a butcher's knife and a hatchet, he returned, 
 and placed himself at the head of the stairs: hav- 
 ing within his reach some chairs, he stood awaiting 
 the issue with all the fire of his nature aroused. 
 
 A gentleman friend travelling with him, by blood 
 and complexion a quadroon, was advised by Dr. Delany 
 to leave him by making his exit through the back door, 
 
58 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 as he would be mistaken for a white. His friend re- 
 fused to abandon him. The night was far spent; but, 
 the clamor still continuing, the mob might have execut- 
 ed their fiendish purpose, had it not been for the timely 
 arrival of one of their number, a veteran soldier, whom 
 they called Bill. " Stop ! " he exclaimed, as he came 
 up to the spot in time to hear the final vote, " to break 
 into the hotel, bring the nigger out, and burn him ! " 
 " Do you see this arm ? " said he, pointing to the re- 
 maining stump of a lost arm. " I have fought in Mex- 
 ico, and I am no coward ; but I had rather face an army 
 in the field than enter the room of that negro after the 
 threats you have made in his hearing, knowing the 
 fate that awaits him. Didn't you hear how that black 
 fellow talked? These are educated negroes, and have 
 travelled, and know as much as white men ; and any 
 man who knows as much as they do won't let any one 
 force himself into their room in the night and leave 
 it alive ! You may take my word for that ! Now, 
 gentlemen, I have told you ; you may do as you please, 
 but I shan't stay to see it." During this time they stood 
 patiently listening to Bill ; and as he concluded, they 
 shouted, " We'll take Bill's advice, and adjourn till 
 morning." They gradually dispersed, after leaving a 
 committee to watch and report when the niggers 
 would attempt to leave. At the dawn, however, the 
 landlord had a buggy at the door for his guests, and the 
 few young men on the spot confined their vengeance 
 to abusive epithets and threats if they should ever 
 attempt to enter the town again. The mob in New 
 York, during the war, showed the evil against which the 
 colored people were long accustomed to contend. 
 
Editorial Career. 59 
 
 One thing worthy of more than a passing notice oc- 
 curred during this editorial existence, which we will 
 relate here. 
 
 It happened that, while travelling in behalf of the 
 paper, he stopped at Detroit, Michigan, and attended a 
 trial in the Supreme Court, Justice John McLean 
 presiding, before whom Dr. Comstock, a gentleman of 
 respectability and wealth, and others of that state, 
 were arraigned on charge of aiding and abetting the 
 escape of a family of blacks from Kentucky, known as 
 the Crosswaits. In the case it had been proven satis- 
 factorily that Dr. Comstock had nothing to do with 
 their escape. Having heard of the affair (being two 
 or three miles distant), he came to the scene of con- 
 fusion just in time to hear the threats and regrets of 
 the defeated slave-hunter, Crossman. The doctor 
 stood there enjoying the discomfiture, and expressed 
 himself to a friend that he hoped "they would not be 
 overtaken." For this Judge McLean ruled him guilty 
 as an accomplice in the escape, stating that it was " the 
 duty of all good citizens to do all they could to prevent 
 it ; that whether housing or feeding, supplying means 
 or conveyances, throwing himself or other obstructions 
 in the way, or standing quietly by with his hands in 
 his breeches pockets, smiling consent, it was equally 
 aiding and abetting, hindering and obstructing, in the 
 escape of the slaves, and therefore such person was 
 reprehensible before the law as a particeps criminis, 
 and must be held to answer." This novel decision of 
 the judge of the Supreme Court was so startling to 
 him at that time — for, alas ! decisions more wound- 
 ing to the honor of the nation have since emanated 
 
60 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 from the Supreme Court — that he hastened to re- 
 port to the North Star the proceedings of the trial, 
 which he had taken down while sitting in the court- 
 room. This publication, like a wronged and angry- 
 Nemesis, seemed to reach various points in time to be 
 made available, especially by those attending the great 
 Free Soil Convention at Buffalo. Everywhere was the 
 infamous decision discussed with more or less warmth, 
 according to the political creed of the debaters : then 
 the reliability of the writer received some attention. 
 The North Star may have been sufficient authority, had 
 that correspondent who reported the McLean decis- 
 ion been Mr. Frederick Douglass, who had both "credit 
 and renown." While the initials of the undersigned 
 could be known from the title page of the paper (as 
 the full names of each appealed as editors and proprie- 
 tors), "Who is he?" became the subject of inquiry 
 among the throng of delegates, who could not be cen- 
 sured for not knowing but one black man of ability 
 and character in the United States, and supposing it 
 to be impossible that there should be more than one. 
 
 The Mass Convention assembled outside, supposed 
 to be forty thousand, filling the public square, hotels, 
 and many of the streets, about six thousand of whom, 
 occupying the great Oberlin tent, which had been ob- 
 tained for the purpose, and constituting the acting body 
 of the Mass Convention, while four hundred and fifty 
 of the credited delegates were detailed as the execu- 
 tive of the great body, and assembled in a church 
 near by, before whom all business was brought and 
 prepared before presenting it to the body for action. 
 
 The Hon. Charles Francis Adams, late minister to 
 
Editorial Career. 61 
 
 the court of St. James, was president of Mass Con- 
 vention. The Hon. Salmon P. Chase, now chief jus- 
 tice of the United States, chairman or president of the 
 executive body. Strange to say, in an assemblage like 
 this, so vast and renowned, the report from the col- 
 umns of the North Star found its way, and, as sub- 
 sequently appeared, was the subject of weighty dis- 
 cussion. We give the marked circumstance. He says 
 that " while quietly seated in the midst of the great as- 
 sembly, a tall gentleman in the habiliments of a clergy- 
 man, and of a most attractive, Christian-like counte- 
 nance, was for a long time observed edging his way, 
 as well as he could, between the packed seats, now and 
 again stooping and whispering, as if inquiring. Pres- 
 ently he was lost sight of for a moment: soon a gentle- 
 man behind him touched him on the shoulder, called 
 his attention, when the gentleman in question walked 
 towards him, stooping with the paper in his hand, point- 
 ed to the article concerning Justice McLean's decision, 
 and inquired, " Are you Dr. M. R. Delany ? " 
 " I am, sir," replied he. 
 
 " Are you one of the editors of the North Star, sir ? " 
 "Yes, sir, I am," he answered, feeling, very likely, 
 most uncomfortable by this attention. 
 
 " Are these your initials, and did you write this arti- 
 cle concerning Justice McLean of the Supreme Court, 
 in the case of Dr. Comstock and others, and the Cross- 
 wait family?" continued his interlocutor. 
 
 " That is my article, and these are my initials, sir." 
 
 "I've but one question more to ask yon. Did you 
 
 hear Judge McLean deliver this decision, or did you 
 
 receive the information from a third party?" demanded 
 
 the questioner. 
 
62 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 "I sat in the court-room each clay during the entire 
 trial, and reported only what I heard, having written 
 down everything as it occurred," returned Dr. Delany. 
 
 " That is all, sir ; I am satisfied," concluded the 
 stranger, departing from the great pavilion, and going 
 directly across the street to the church, wherein sat the 
 executive or business part of the convention, leaving 
 the corresponding editor of the North Star in a most 
 aggravated state of conjectures. 
 
 The all-important business at the church, then under 
 consideration before them, was the nomination of a 
 candidate for the presidency. The session was long 
 and important. No report of the proceedings or their 
 progress had been received during the day. Near sun- 
 set a representative of the council entered the pavilion, 
 and announced from the stage that they would soon be 
 ready to give the convention the result of their delib- 
 erations. Soon after there was a great move forward, 
 and, amidst deafening applause, the Hon. Salmon P. 
 Chase ascended the platform, and announced that, for 
 reasons sufficiently satisfactory to the executive council, 
 the name of Judge John McLean, of Ohio, had been 
 dropped as a candidate for the presidency of the 
 United States, and that of Martin Van Buren sub- 
 stituted ; and he had been selected by the council to 
 make this statement, from considerations of the rela- 
 tionship which he bore to the rejected nominee; so 
 that his friends in the convention might understand 
 that it was no act of political injustice by which the 
 change was made. 
 
 Probably, apart from the executive body, none knew 
 at the time the cause of the withdrawal of the name 
 
Editorial Career. 63 
 
 of the judge. Whether or not his statement, made 
 doubly eloquent by this infamous decision, added its 
 weight to stay the march to the presidential goal of an 
 ambitious, soulless man, we know that he was rejected, 
 and Martin Van Buren received the preferment. And, 
 as Martin Delany never claimed of him a reward for 
 the service unconsciously rendered, in the event of his 
 election, as is customary, it is likely he was forgotten, 
 to be remembered, however, in the better days of the 
 nation, and by its noblest president. 
 
 From the Free Soil Convention he and a number 
 of the colored delegates went directly to Cleveland, 
 to attend a. national convention of colored men. They 
 assembled in the court-room, granted to them by the 
 proper authority, the court and bar having gener- 
 ously adjourned for the purpose — a mark of courtesy 
 not often, if ever, recorded at the conventions of this 
 color. And, what was equally as remarkable, the citi- 
 zens, represented by gentlemen of position, on the last 
 day of the convention, took a vote in the house ex- 
 pressive of their satisfaction with the entire proceed- 
 ings of the delegates. 
 
 While travelling to advance the interests of his 
 journal, a remarkable political foresight on his part 
 was manifested by the publication of a letter in its 
 columns. It established for him, ever after, a char- 
 acter for observation of national and international 
 polity, in which he delights to search out and com- 
 pare, not at that time accorded to one of his race. 
 This attracted the attention of many of the leading 
 men, and their inquiries led him to a conclusion which 
 was soon verified by action, as the following editorial 
 
64 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 letter to the North Star of February 10 1848, will 
 show : — 
 
 Letter to the North Star. 
 
 "The recent republication of the letter of the Duke 
 of Wellington to Sir John J. Burgoyne, a major gen- 
 eral in the British army, respecting the dangerous 
 exposure of the English coast to French invasion, has 
 created quite an alarm, as well as thrown into specula- 
 tion the political world. Neither is it hard for any 
 who at all understand political economy, especially the 
 present history of the political world, to determine the 
 cause, at such a time as this, when 'England is at peace 
 with all nations,' and especially in friendly relations 
 with France, of the issue of such a document by the 
 duke. 
 
 " Louis Philippe, King of France, is certainly, in my 
 estimation, a great politician, having a great portion of 
 the shrewdness, with all the intrigue, of Talleyrand, and 
 inheriting a greater share of duplicity than most men 
 living. And, what no monarch of France, from Louis I. 
 to the Emperor Napoleon, was ever able to effect by 
 political intrigue, power, and the sword, Louis Philippe 
 is about to accomplish by duplicity, yet carried out in 
 a manner the least to be suspected. 
 
 "It is known that France has ever desired a univer- 
 sal mastery, as shown by the Wellington letter, having 
 at different periods occupied every capital in Europe, 
 save that of England. The extension of a royal family 
 over different kingdoms has, in Europe, ever been re- 
 garded as a most dangerous precedent, and more 
 dreaded by rival powers than fleets and armies. For 
 
Editorial Career. 65 
 
 the consummation of a project of such mighty magni- 
 tude, the court at Versailles has resorted to means 
 unparalleled, at least in modern ages. This subtle 
 monarch, who has neither the propensity nor talents 
 for military achievements, commenced his rapid strides 
 to power, first by the crusade of his eldest son, the 
 Duke of Orleans, in 1833, upon the northern nations 
 of Africa, whom, with little or no resistance, he ex- 
 pected to subdue; and, this once being effected, would 
 give a pretext for a powerful fleet to cruise in the 
 Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and continually 
 act as a check upon the formidable naval force of 
 Great Britain. But, contrary to his expectations, the 
 resistance met with from Abd-el Kader foiled and baffled 
 that great project. In the mean time, the duke was 
 killed, being thrown from his carriage. 
 
 " The next effort was in 1835, a demonstration upon 
 the republic of Hayti, for which purpose an expedi- 
 tion was fitted out, of which his second son, Prince de 
 Joinville, was the chief, aided by Baron Las Casses, with 
 whom it was left optional whether that demonstration 
 should be made by treaty or bombardment. But the 
 prince and baron, having before their minds' eye the 
 fate of General Le Clerc, the greatest captain and mili- 
 tary tactician under Napoleon, considered it no disgrace 
 to enter into friendly negotiations with the warlike 
 republic. Leaving Hayti, without an opportunity of 
 testing the military skill of the prince, the next attack 
 was in 1836, upon Vera Cruz, by storming the Castle 
 of San Juan de Ulloa. In this the squadron was quite 
 successful, the Mexicans, under Santa Anna, being re- 
 pulsed, with the loss of a leg or a foot by that chieftain. 
 5 
 
66 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 " The prince having proved his military ability, 
 the old king, as the first link in the great chain by 
 which the fidelity of foreign powers was to be secured 
 to France, manages to consummate a marriage be- 
 tween his son, the Prince de Joinville, and Clementina, 
 daughter of the Emperor of Brazil. This great link 
 being welded in order to dupe England into an indif- 
 ferent observation of his rapid strides, the masterly 
 step was to effect the union of Prince Augustus Coburg, 
 brother to Prince Albert, husband to the Queen of 
 England, with his second daughter. Another link 
 being completed, he leagues in the ties of matrimony the 
 Duke de Montpensier, his third son, to Isabella, Queen 
 of Spain. No sooner is this effected — the last link of 
 the great cable being complete — than the health of 
 the Infanta Isabella becomes impaired, or she, at all 
 events, grows weary of public life ; and a proposition 
 is at once made to abdicate the throne in favor of her 
 spouse, Duke de Montpensier. Of course, this at once 
 gives Spain to the crown of France, which will thereby 
 not only hold the key of Europe, but places Cuba, the 
 key of the western hemisphere, also in her hands. 
 
 "The last stroke of the hammer being struck, all 
 France being upon her feet, each officer at his station, 
 and each man at his post, Louis Philippe, looking upon 
 his success as sure, as the crowning scene in the drama, 
 effects the appointment of Prince de Joinville to the 
 Lord Admiralty of the navy of France — an office of 
 the same import and rank, but called by another name. 
 All this is but a prelude to the design of France upon 
 Europe. Of course England would be the first point 
 of attack ; awd there is no man living more capable, 
 
Editorial Career. 67 
 
 and none who would so quickly discover and effectually 
 foil the designs of the crafty old monarch as the invin- 
 cible conqueror of Napoleon. 
 
 " But are we not interested deeply in these move- 
 ments ? Most certainly we are. England, at present, 
 is the masterpiece of the world. Her every example is 
 to promote the cause of freedom ; and, had she pos- 
 sessed the same principles during the revolutionary 
 period, in every place that she occupied, slavery would 
 have been abolished. Hence slavery in this country 
 could not have stood ; for, the slave once tasting free- 
 dom, all the powers of earth and hell could not have 
 reduced him again to servitude. 
 
 " But how with France ? She is a slaveholding 
 power, deeply engaged in human traffic, favoring and 
 fostering the institution of slavery wherever she holds 
 the power or influence ; and, with the able politician 
 and learned statesman Gu'izot at the helm of affairs, 
 the cause and progress of liberty would be retarded 
 for years. 
 
 " Yours, in behalf of our oppressed and down-trodden 
 countrymen, 
 
 «M. R. D." 
 
68 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 £KACTISING MEDICINE. 
 
 AFTER a brilliant and useful editorial career, De- 
 lany dissolved his connection with the North Star 
 on the 1st of June, 1849. An incident in connection 
 with this is related, which seems appropriate here, as 
 illustrating his earnestness in behalf of the paper, 
 though personally disinterested. 
 
 On his leaving the North Star, he was solicited, 
 through correspondence from Ohio, to take charge of 
 a paper in the interest of the colored people of that 
 state. This he declined; and, after setting forth his rea- 
 sons why but one newspaper as an organ of the colored 
 people could be sustained at that time, he said. "Let 
 that one be the North Star, with Frederick Douglass 
 at the head." 
 
 We next find him returning to his home at Pitts- 
 burg, not for the purpose of resting upon the laurels 
 so fairly won, but rather for recuperating his forces for 
 the field of toil again. Here he resumed his favorite 
 study of medicine, and, upon the strength of the pre- 
 ceptorship of his former instructors, Drs. Joseph P. 
 Gazzan and Francis J. Lemoyne, he was received into 
 the medical dep'artment of Harvard College, having 
 been previously refused admission, on application, to 
 
Practising Medicine. 69 
 
 the Pennsylvania University, Jefferson College, and 
 the medical colleges of Albany and Geneva, N. Y. 
 
 After leaving Harvard, he travelled westward, and 
 lectured on physiological subjects — the comparative 
 anatomical and physical conformation of the cranium 
 of the Caucasian and negro races, — besides giving 
 class lectures. These he rendered successful. While 
 his arguments on these subjects were in strict conform- 
 ity to acknowledged scientific principles, they are also 
 marked by his peculiar and original theories. For 
 instance, he argues on this subject that the pigment 
 which makes the complexion of the African black is 
 essentially the same in properties as that which makes 
 the ruddy complexion of the European, the African's 
 being concentrated rouge, which is black. This he 
 urges by illustrations considered scientifically true. He 
 maintains that these truths will yet be acknowledged 
 by writers on physiology. 
 
 On his return to Pittsburg, after the completion of 
 his lecturing tour, he entered upon the duties of a 
 physician, for which his native benevolence and scien- 
 tific ardor eminently qualified him. Here he was 
 known as a successful practitioner. His skilful treat- 
 ment of the cholera, which prevailed to some extent 
 in Pittsburg in 1854, is still remembered. 
 
 It is worthy of interest, in view of the pro-slavery 
 spirit which brooded over every locality, to record that 
 while there, on the occasion of the establishment of 
 a municipal and private charity, he was selected, with 
 other physicians, as one of the sub-committee of ad- 
 visers and referees to whom applications were made 
 by white and colored persons to enjoy its provisions. 
 
70 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 This demonstration of courtesy on the part of the 
 municipal authorities of Pittsburg towards one of its 
 citizens belonging to an unpopular race was certainly 
 an evidence of liberality hardly to be expected at that 
 time. 
 
 He still took part in all movements relative to the 
 advancement of his people. He held in most of these 
 a prominent position; his long experience and life devo- 
 tion to the cause of progress insured him this always. 
 
 He published a call for a national emigration con- 
 vention, and, it finding favor, there assembled at Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, August, 1854, many of the eminent colored 
 men of the northern and western states, to discuss the 
 question of emigration. At best, emigration found but 
 little encouragement among the people of the free 
 states, and could hardly be called popular at the South. 
 
 Knowing the aversion held by the colored people of 
 the country to colonization in any form, it was a matter 
 of surprise to note the course taken by this convention. 
 An importance was attached to this movement, so un- 
 precedented as to constitute it a remarkable feature in 
 their political history. 
 
 At this convention he was made president pro tern., 
 to organize, and afterwards chairman of the business 
 committee. Before this body he read an address, enti- 
 tled " The Destiny of the Colored Race in America." 
 This production won for its author praise for its literary 
 merit as well as for its concise and able views on the 
 principles of government.* 
 
 Of the national board of commissioners he was made 
 president, and the Rev. James Theodore Holley, an 
 
 * This paper will be found on p. 327. 
 
Practising Medicine. 71 
 
 Episcopal clergyman of New Haven, was sent to Hayti 
 on a mission, which was satisfactorily effected. 
 
 While he presided, a correspondence was opened 
 with many foreign countries, including the West India 
 Islands, proposing an intercontinental and provincial 
 convention. Among those whose advice was solicited 
 in this new movement was Sir Edward Jordon, of 
 Jamaica, who, while commending the propositions and 
 measures very highly, as a stride of statesmanship, dis- 
 couraged it as a policy, lest it should give alarm to her 
 majesty's government, and, consequently, offence. Ma- 
 jor Delany, in speaking of Sir Edward Jordon's objec- 
 tion, says, "The force and cause of this objection could 
 not then be understood ; but since the terrible ordeal 
 through which the poor people of Jamaica have recently 
 passed, under the infamous Governor Eyre, resulting 
 in the disfranchisement of the blacks, the course of Sir 
 Edward Jordon can now be easily comprehended. Sir 
 Edward Jordon, premier of Jamaica for so many years, 
 it would now appear, could not have been premier under 
 Governor Eyre, with the power of creating measures, or 
 enforcing policies of government, but only as a passive 
 minister of state, with title and position, but neither 
 authority nor power, apparently but the recipient and 
 echo of those under whom he was called to act. Mr. 
 JCdward Jordon, the representative and champion of the 
 rights of his race, as a prisoner in Jamaica, thirty-three 
 years ago, thundering his defiance at his opponents 
 through his prison bars, it is much to be feared has for- 
 gotten his race as Sir Edward Jordon, Commander of 
 the Bath, and prime minister of the colony." 
 
 Such is the interpretation he placed upon the disap- 
 
72 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 proval of Sir Edward Jordon. Happily, a change has 
 been brought about, tending to the political advance- 
 ment of the colored people, which has counteracted 
 the necessity of such movements as were proper in the 
 past struggle, while a portion remained enslaved. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Holley later established a colony in 
 Hayti, carrying thither the wealth of his splendid tal- 
 ents and high moral worth to add to the building up 
 of the fortunes of his race on that island, made holy by 
 the blood of her dusky martyred heroes. 
 
Fugitive Slave Act. 73 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT. 
 
 A REMARKABLE effort of this still more remark- 
 able man is remembered, from which unmistaka- 
 ble evidences of the character of the individual, and 
 that of his future line of conduct, are drawn. 
 
 It was on the occasion of the passage of that crown- 
 ing triumph of the slave power, conceded by the obse- 
 quious North to them, remembered as the atrocious 
 Fugitive Slave Act. 
 
 While this bill was under consideration, as in other 
 dishonorable political enactments affecting the interests 
 of the colored people, there were many persons, who, 
 either from a desire to have peace between the two 
 sections at any sacrifice of national honor, or from a 
 superabundance of faith in the decisions of our law- 
 makers, were advising the blacks to remain passive; en- 
 deavoring to impress the belief upon them that the act 
 could never pass, as it was too atrocious and unjust in 
 its provisions, and that the American people would not 
 tolerate the men who would dare vote to sanction so 
 great an outrage on any portion of the people as that 
 contemplated. The colored people, who never failed 
 to enter their protest against these unjust enactments, 
 called for public meetings. 
 
74 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Martin Delany, painfully alive to the magnitude of 
 the occasion, rose in proportion to it, and, while he was 
 not able to turn the course of the event in his favor, 
 entered a protest which gave sublimity to his defeat. 
 At the first appearance of the bill, with his usual fore- 
 sight he' saw further humiliation in store for his race, — 
 the trampling out of the sacred rights of manhood and 
 womanhood, the total annihilation of domestic tran- 
 quillity, and the inevitable desecration of all that was 
 sacred to them, accompanying it in its stride. This 
 was verified by the Dred Scot decision, which followed 
 in its wake but a few short years after. He said that 
 the South demanded it, and would get it, as she had 
 never as yet, in the history of the country, failed to 
 secure by legislation that which she demanded at the 
 hands of the North. He held that the scheme was 
 nothing less than a virtual rendition to slavery of every 
 free black person in the country ; or, in fact, a rendi- 
 tion of the free states into slavery, with the difference 
 that while the blacks could be enslaved in the free 
 states, they must be taken away to be held. He was 
 instrumental in calling public meetings, and endeavored 
 to urge, with all the strength of his fiery eloquence, the 
 devising of some means to avert the impending danger. 
 Forcible and truthful as his arguments were, many 
 derided him, accusing him of being frightened ; this, 
 too, from men of experience and wisdom, whose confi- 
 dence in the honor of the administration exceeded his 
 own. 
 
 At these meetings w r hite speakers often addressed 
 them, some of w T hom advised them against being mis- 
 led by rash, inconsiderate persons, who were alarmed 
 
Fugitive Slave Act. 75 
 
 before being hurt, being frightened by their own shad- 
 ows. But as this was a shadow of such magnitude, 
 the steady advance of which threatened to darken 
 their political pathway, more than the shadow of an 
 excuse must be allowed for their fright. 
 
 The bill was passed* followed by an excitement 
 throughout the North only equalled since by that 
 evinced at the firing on Fort Sumter. Never in the 
 history of civilization was humanity more outraged 
 than in that act; the Dred Scot decision was but a 
 fitting sequel to it; one would have been incomplete 
 without the other. " For every drop of blood drawn 
 by the lash, the sword has avenged," said Abraham 
 Lincoln; and for every attempt to ignore the rights 
 of humanity there is a retributive demand awaiting 
 individuals and nations. 
 
 There were mass meetings held throughout the 
 North. At the first great meeting, held on the public 
 square of Pittsburg, among the speakers loudly called 
 for was Martin Delany. His predictions being too 
 bitterly realized, he designedly evaded their cries, de- 
 siring some of the leading white men present first to 
 commit themselves. This being Saturday evening, 
 they adjourned to meet the following Monday at Alle- 
 ghany City, Pa. At this meeting the mayor presided, 
 supported by many distinguished citizens, among them 
 the Hon. William Robinson, Jr., an ex-foreign commis- 
 sioner, and the Rev. Charles Avery, the eminent phi- 
 lanthropist. Among the speakers who addressed them 
 on that memorable occasion were the Hon. T. H. Howe, 
 the recent member of Congress from Alleghany, and 
 Hon. Charles A. Naylor, member of Congress from 
 
76 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Pennsylvania. Here again he was called for, and this 
 time he responded. 
 
 It was generally conceded that his was one of the 
 most powerful and impressive speeches of that memo- 
 rable occasion. We extract the following from it. Said 
 he, " Honorable mayor, whatever ideas of liberty I may 
 have, have been received from reading the lives of 
 your revolutionary fathers. I have therein learned 
 that a man has a right to defend his castle with his 
 life, even unto the taking of life. Sir, my house is my 
 castle; in that castle are none but my wife and my 
 children, as free as the angels of heaven, and whose 
 liberty is as sacred as the pillars of God. If any man 
 approaches that house in search of a slave, — I care not 
 who he may be, whether constable or sheriff, magis- 
 trate or even judge of the Supreme Court — nay, let it 
 be he who sanctioned this act to become a law, sur- 
 rounded by his cabinet as his body-guard, with the 
 Declaration of Independence waving above his head as 
 his banner, and the constitution of his country upon 
 his breast as his shield, — if he crosses the threshold 
 of my door, and I do not lay him a lifeless corpse at 
 my feet, I hope the grave may refuse my body a resting- 
 place, and righteous Heaven my sj}irit a home. O, no ! 
 he cannot enter that house and we both live." 
 
 Such is a portion of the speech, remembered for its 
 singular pathos and boldness, wrung from the lips of 
 one whose soul was kindled with the sense of the out- 
 rages heaped upon his helpless race by a people mad- 
 dened by success. 
 
A Hiatus. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A HIATUS. 
 
 HIS career thus far in life, while generally success- 
 ful, had also its portion of failures as well as tri- 
 umphs. Two, of a marked character, occurred about 
 the winter of 1851-2. Their ill success seemed rather 
 to belong to the method pursued in presenting them, 
 than to the capability of the man to make them mer- 
 itorious. 
 
 He had left Pittsburg for New York to make cer- 
 tain arrangements necessary for obtaining a caveat, 
 preparatory to an application to the department at 
 Washington for a patent for an invention, originally 
 his own, for the ascending and descending of a loco- 
 motive on an inclined plane, without the aid of a 
 stationary engine. Had he succeeded in his first plan, 
 the second would have been satisfactory. In this piece 
 of mechanism, he was wholly absorbed, and brought it 
 to completion. At length he made it known to his 
 friend, Dr. James McLune Smith, of New York. The 
 doctor, being possessed of talents of high order, and 
 devoted to scientific pursuits, looked favorably upon 
 the plan, and at once proposed to take him to an ex- 
 tensive machine establishment in the city for consulta- 
 tion* on the subject. 
 
78 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 At this establishment much curiosity, if not real in- 
 terest, was manifested concerning it. But the reticence 
 which characterizes him in matters in which conceal- 
 ment is necessary in no wise deserting him, and as he 
 revealed but little to the proprietor, himself an invent- 
 or, the visit and interview were of no avail. 
 
 Not disheartened by this, he applied to a distin- 
 guished patent attorney, who, on application for a caveat 
 after all the arrangements necessary, abandoned the 
 effort as being unsatisfactory, leaving the inference to 
 be deduced by Major Delany and his friend Dr. Smith 
 that the only cause of neglect or refusal to entertain 
 the proposition at Washington was, that the applicant 
 must be a citizen of the United States. His own opin- 
 ion was contrary to the statement of the attorney, — he 
 believing the right to obtain copyrights or patents as 
 not being restricted to the citizens alone, but in the 
 reach of any person, whether American or foreign. 
 He made a subsequent attempt to have it patented, 
 but finally abandoned it. 
 
 His attention and interest were drawn in another di- 
 rection ; for at this time adventure was at its height, 
 and every vessel leaving the port of New York bore 
 evidence of it. Many colored men, dissatisfied with 
 their unrecognized condition, caught this spirit, and 
 some embarked either for Greytown or San Juan del 
 Norte, — this being the chief point of attraction, which 
 was like a free city, or independent principality of 
 Germany, but neither held obligations to the one, nor 
 owed allegiance to the other. George Frederick, 
 king of the Mosquitos, becoming dissatisfied with the 
 intrusions and impositions practised by the former 
 
A Hiatus. 79 
 
 emigrants, Colonel Kearny, of Philadelphia, already on 
 his way, if not at the point, said to Major Delany, 
 " Every one seemed to breathe Central America." 
 
 While witnessing these preparations for departure 
 to their El Dorado, he met a young friend of his, a 
 physician of great promise, Dr. David J. Peck, en route 
 for California, whom he advised to abandon the inten- 
 tion of going to that place, where his success would be 
 less certain among the hundreds of white physicians 
 from all parts, who could scarcely realize a support 
 from their practice ; but to go to Central America, 
 where his color would be in his favor, and his advan- 
 tages superior to those of the physicians there, who are 
 mostly natives, would be preferable. 
 
 Dr. Peck heeded his counsels, and became a promi- 
 nent practitioner there. From the first he was nomi- 
 nated for port physician, 1n preference to an English 
 physician of eleven years' standing. 
 
 The black adventurers soon affiliated with the na- 
 tives, and were made eligible to every civil right 
 among them. 
 
 A committee of natives was appointed to draught res- 
 olutions for a municipal council, at the head of which 
 was Dr. Peck as chairman. Through their influence 
 crowds of adherents were attracted to the new policy, 
 and a future government was decided upon as certain 
 to organize speedily. 
 
 It was understood that the mayor should be the 
 highest civil municipal authority, the governor the 
 highest civil state authority, the civil and military 
 to be united in one person, and the governor must be 
 commander-in-chief of the military forces. 
 
80 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 A convention was held, and a candidate nominated. 
 An election took place (in what way it was never pub- 
 licly known), and a steamer brought the intelligence, 
 officially transmitted, that "Dr. Martin R. Delany was 
 duly chosen and elected mayor of Greytown, civil 
 governor of the Mosquito reservation, and command- 
 er-in-chief of the military forces of the province ! " 
 This was delivered to him by a bearer of despatches 
 sent specially for that purpose. 
 
 An important instruction to the governor elect was, 
 that he should bring with him his own council of state 
 as the native material, although of a country abound- 
 ing in mahogany and rosewood, was not suitable for 
 " cabinet-work? This, said he, was the worst feature 
 of their choice, because such material" as would be de- 
 sirable was not easily obtained : they would not consent 
 to go, being averse to emigration. 
 
 He held the belief that nothing was well tested 
 without first giving fair trial to it; and for himself, 
 determined to do so. To this end he travelled, for 
 nearly eight months, in many states, until worn out, 
 without finding the desirable material, and was com- 
 pelled to abandon his designs. 
 
 By the order of Dr. Holland, the American charge, 
 the town was bombarded by Commodore Ingraham, of 
 the United States squadron, and the embryo govern- 
 ment disappeared from the stage forever. 
 
 While travelling on this quest he wrote and pub- 
 lished a small work (originally designed for pamphlet 
 form) on the condition of the colored race in America. 
 This being published without proper revision, he hav- 
 ing left it to another's superintendence, — for at this time 
 
A Hiatus. 81 
 
 he was prosecuting his invention of the inclined plane, 
 and also the Central American project, — on its appear- 
 ance it was nearly dashed to pieces in the storm it encoun- 
 tered. None criticised it so severely as himself; while 
 some of his friends were disposed to look favorably 
 upon it, as the errors it contained could not be dis- 
 guised, and the author was known to be aware of them. 
 One severe criticism, more of himself, it appeared, than 
 the book, he seemed to have regarded as " the unkindest 
 cut of all" — that of Mr. Oliver Johnson, then editor 
 of the Pennsylvania Freeman. To add to the list of 
 disasters, some person sent a copy to England to Mr. 
 Armisted, author of the "Negro's Friend." 
 
 He says, in speaking of Mr. Johnson's criticism of 
 himself, " I was poor when I wrote, weary and hungry. 
 This my friend Johnson did not know, else he would 
 not so severely have criticised me. He thought I wrote 
 as an author, to be seen and known of men. I wrote 
 not as an author, but as I travelled about from place to 
 place. 
 
 Sometimes I sat, sometimes I stood, 
 
 Writing when and where I could, 
 
 A little here, a little there ; 
 
 'Twas here, and there, and everywhere. 
 
 I wrote to obtain subsistence. I had travelled and 
 speculated until I found myself out of means." 
 
 The book was stopped by him in the midst of the 
 first edition of one thousand. 
 
 He always likened himself, concerning that literary 
 undertaking, to Gumpton Cute, a character in the play 
 of Uncle Tom's Cabin, who, " being on a filibustering ex- 
 pedition, got a little short of change." Thus failing in 
 6 
 
82 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 all that he had designed, with the most laudable motives 
 in view, and succeeding in that with which he neither 
 desired nor could be satisfied — making a poor book. 
 While he good-humoredly admits the fallacy of his 
 moves, yet his friends, mindful of the long, wearisome 
 months of toil and anxiety, and of high hopes wrecked, 
 regret them, as making a void useless and unnatural in 
 his life's history, and consider it an episode illegitimate 
 in his role. 
 
Canada. — Captain John Brown. 83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CANADA. — CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN. 
 
 IN February, 1856, he removed to Chatham, Kent 
 County, Canada, where he continued the practice 
 of medicine. While his " visiting list " gave evidence of 
 a respectable practice, his fees were not in propor- 
 tion to it. His practice embraced a great portion of 
 those who were refugees from American slavery ; hence 
 his income here did not exceed that acquired at Pitts- 
 burg. 
 
 Here his activity found wider scope, and new fields 
 of labor were opened to him. It was not likely that 
 one of such marked character would remain unrecog- 
 nized. He was ever suggesting measures tending to 
 ameliorate the condition of one class or another, which 
 resulted in gaining for him an influence only surpassed 
 by that wielded by him at his post of duty at the 
 South. 
 
 Once, while in Canada, an important suggestion of 
 his being adopted, it resulted in driving both candi- 
 dates — conservative and reformer -— together, com- 
 pelling them to offer terms for the support of the black 
 constituency. 
 
 He took part freely in all political movements in his 
 adopted home. For several years he was one of the 
 
84 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 principal canvassers in the hustings in the ridings of 
 Kent for the election, and was one of the executive 
 committee, and belonged to the private caucus of A. 
 McKellers, Esq., member of the Provincial Parliament 
 from Kent County. 
 
 These facts will render it conclusive that his activity 
 was none the less in a country where the progress of 
 his race met no resistance, but only varied in its method. 
 Whatever prominence here, as elsewhere, was attained 
 by him, was cast in the balance as an offering to his 
 people. 
 
 Here were matured his plans for an organization for 
 scientific purposes, which afterwards gave him fame in 
 other lands. Here also was he connected with the be- 
 ginning of a movement in behalf of human liberty, the 
 most sublime in conception, and mysterious in its 
 accomjDlishment, written of in modern times. The 
 first was in 1858, when had been completed a long con- 
 templated design of his — that of inaugurating a party 
 of scientific men of color, to make explorations in cer- 
 tain portions of Africa. 
 
 In the early part of May, 1859, there sailed from 
 New York, in the bark Mendi, owned by three col- 
 ored African merchants, the first colored explorers 
 from the United States, known as the Niger Valley 
 Exploring Party, at the head of which was its pro- 
 jector, Dr. Delany. His observations he published on 
 his return to this country, so that they need no repe- 
 tition foere, though an important treaty formed with 
 the king and principal chiefs of Abeokuta we have 
 noticed in another portion of this work. It was 
 the importance attached to this mission, and the sue- 
 
Canada. — Captain John Brown. 85 
 
 cessful accomplishment of it, that gave him prestige, 
 rendering him eligible to membership of the renowned 
 International Statistical Congress of July, 1860, at 
 London. He travelled extensively in Africa for one 
 year. 
 
 In April, prior to his departure for Africa, while mak- 
 ing final completions for his tour, on returning home 
 from a professional visit in the country, Mrs. Delany 
 informed him that an old gentleman had called to see 
 him during his absence. She described him as having 
 a long, white beard, very gray hair, a sad but placid 
 countenance ; in speech he was peculiarly solemn ; she 
 added, " He looked like one of the old prophets. He 
 would neither come in nor leave his name, but prom- 
 ised to be back in two weeks' time." Unable to obtain 
 any information concerning his mysterious visitor, the 
 circumstance would have probably been forgotten, had 
 not the visitor returned at the appointed time ; and not 
 finding him at home a second time, he left a message 
 to the effect that he would call again " in four days, 
 and must see him then? This time the interest in the 
 visitor was heightened, and his call was eagerly awaited. 
 At the expiration of that time, while on the street, he 
 recognized his visitor, by his wife's description, ap- 
 proaching him, accompanied by another gentleman ; 
 on the latter introducing him to the former, he ex- 
 claimed, " Not Captain John Brown, of Ossawatomie ! " 
 not thinking of the grand old hero as being east of 
 Kansas, especially in Canada, as the papers had been 
 giving such contradictory accounts of him during the 
 winter and spring. 
 
 "I am, sir," was the reply; "and I have come to 
 
86 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Chatham expressly to see you, this being my third 
 visit on the errand. I must see you at once, sir," he 
 continued, with emphasis, " and that, too, in private, as 
 I have much to do and but little time before me. If I am 
 to do nothing here, I want to know it at once." " Going 
 directly to the private parlor of a hotel near by," says 
 Major Delany, "he at once revealed to me that he de- 
 sired to carry out a great project in his scheme of Kan- 
 sas emigration, which, to be successful, must be aided 
 and countenanced by the influence of a general con- 
 vention or council. That he was unable to effect in 
 the United States, but had been advised by distin- 
 guished friends of his and mine, that, if he could but 
 see me, his object could be attained at once. On 
 my expressing astonishment at the conclusion to which 
 my friends and himself had arrived, with a nervous 
 impatience, he exclaimed, ' Why should you be sur- 
 prised ? Sir, the people of the Northern States are 
 cowards ; slavery has made cowards of them all. The 
 whites are afraid of each other, and the blacks are 
 afraid of the whites. You can effect nothing among 
 such people,' he added, with decided emphasis. On 
 assuring him if a council were all that was desired, he 
 could readily obtain it, he replied, 4 That is all ; but 
 that is a great deal to me. It is men I want, and not 
 money ; money I can get plentiful enough, but no 
 men. Money can come without being seen, but men 
 are afraid of identification with me, though they favor 
 my measures. They are cowards, sir ! Cowards ! ' he 
 reiterated. He then fully revealed his designs. With 
 these I found no fault, but fully favored and aided in 
 getting up the convention. 
 
Canada. — Captain John Brown. 87 
 
 " The convention, when assembled, consisted of Cap- 
 tain John Brown, his son Owen, eleven or twelve of 
 his Kansas followers, all young white men, enthusiastic 
 and able, and probably sixty or seventy colored men, 
 whom I brought together. 
 
 " His plans were made known to them as soon as he 
 was satisfied that the assemblage could be confided in, 
 which conclusion he was not long in finding, for with 
 few exceptions the whole of these were fugitive slaves, 
 refugees in her Britannic majesty's dominion. His 
 scheme was nothing more than this : To make Kansas, 
 instead of Canada, the terminus of the Underground 
 Railroad ; instead of passing off the slave to Canada, 
 to send him to Kansas, and there test, on the soil of the 
 United States territory, whether or not the right to 
 freedom would be maintained where no municipal 
 power had authorized. 
 
 " He stated that he had originated a fortification so 
 simple, that twenty men, without the aid of teams or 
 ordnance, could build one in a day that would defy all 
 the artillery that could be brought to bear against it. 
 How it was constructed he would not reveal, and none 
 knew it except his great confidential officer, Kagi (the 
 secretary of war in his contemplated provisional gov- 
 ernment), a young lawyer of marked talents and sin- 
 gular demeanor." 
 
 Major Delany stated that he had proposed, as a 
 cover to the change in the scheme, as Canada had 
 always been known as the terminus of the Under- 
 ground Railroad, and pursuit of the fugitive was 
 made in that direction, to call it the Subterranean Pass 
 Way, where the initials would stand S. P. W., to note 
 
88 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the direction in which he had gone when not sent to 
 Canada. He further stated that the idea of Harper's 
 Ferry was never mentioned, or even hinted in that 
 convention. 
 
 Had such been intimated, it is doubtful of its being 
 favorably regarded. Kansas, where he had battled so 
 valiantly for freedom, seemed the proper place for his 
 vantage-ground, and the kind and condition of men 
 for whom he had fought, the men with whom to fight. 
 Hence the favor which the scheme met of making 
 Kansas the terminus of the Subterranean Pass Way, 
 and there fortifying with these fugitives against the Bor- 
 der slaveholders, for personal liberty, with which they 
 had no right to interfere. Thus it is clearly explained 
 that it was no design against the Union,, as the slave- 
 holders and their satraps interpreted the movement, 
 and by this means would anticipate their designs. 
 
 This also explains the existence of the constitution 
 for a civil government found in the carpet-bag among 
 the effects of Captain Brown, after his capture in Vir- 
 ginia, so inexplicable to the slaveholders, and which 
 proved such a nightmare to Governor Wise, and caused 
 him, as well as many wiser than himself to construe it 
 as a contemplated overthrow of the Union. The con- 
 stitution for a provisional government owes its origin 
 to these facts. 
 
 Major Delany says, "The whole matter had been 
 well considered, and at first a state government had 
 been proposed, and in accordance a constitution pre- 
 pared. This was presented to the convention ; and 
 here a difficulty presented itself to the minds of some 
 present, that according to American jurisprudence, 
 
Canada. — Captain John Brown. 89 
 
 negroes, having no rights respected by white men, con- 
 sequently could have no right to petition, and none to 
 sovereignty. 
 
 " Therefore it would be mere mockery to set up a 
 claim as a fundamental right, which in itself was null 
 and void. 
 
 " To obviate this, and avoid the charge against them 
 as lawless and unorganized, existing without govern- 
 ment, it was proposed that an independent community 
 be established within and under the government of 
 the United States, but without the state sovereignty 
 of the compact, similar to the Cherokee nation of In- 
 dians, or the Mormons. To these last named, refer- 
 ences were made, as parallel cases, at the time. The 
 necessary changes and modification were made in the 
 constitution, and with such it was printed. 
 
 " Captain Brown returned after a week's absence, with 
 a printed copy of the corrected instrument, which, per- 
 haps, was the copy found by Governor Wise." 
 
 During the time this grand old reformer of our time 
 was preparing his plans, he often sought Major Delany, 
 desirous of his personal cooperation in carrying forward 
 his work. This was not possible for him to do, as his 
 attention and time were directed entirely to the Afri- 
 can Exploration movement, which was planned prior 
 to his meeting Captain Brown, as before stated. But 
 as Captain Brown desired that he should give encour- 
 agement to the plan, he consented, and became presi- 
 dent of the permanent organization of the Subterra- 
 nean Pass Way, with Mr. Isaac D. Shadd, editor of the 
 Provincial Freeman, as secretary. 
 
 This organization was an extensive body, holding 
 
90 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the same relation to his movements as a state or na- 
 tional executive committee hold to its party principles, 
 directing their adherence to fundamental principles. 
 
 This, he says, was the plan and purpose of the Can- 
 ada Convention. Whatever changed them to Harper's 
 Ferry was known only to Captain Brown, and perhaps to 
 Kagi, who had the honor of being deeper in his confi- 
 dence than any one else. Mr, Osborn Anderson, one 
 of the survivors of that immortal band, and whose 
 statement as one of the principal actors in that histori- 
 cal drama cannot be ignored, states that none of the 
 men knew that Harper's Ferry was the point of attack 
 until the order was given to march. It was Mr. Ander- 
 son whom Captain Brown delegated to receive the 
 sword* from Colonel Washington, on that night when 
 the Rubicon of slavery was crossed by that band of hero 
 pioneers who confronted the slave power in its strong- 
 hold. The first sound of John Brown's rifle, reverber- 
 ating along the Shenandoah, proclaimed the birth of 
 Freedom. Already he saw the mighty host he invoked 
 in Freedom's name. He heard their coming footfalls 
 echoing over Virginia's hills and plains, and upon every 
 breeze that swept her valleys was borne to him his 
 name entwined in battle anthem. He saw in the 
 gathering strife that either Freedom or her priest must 
 perish, and with a giant's strength he went forward 
 to his high and holy martyrdom, thereby inaugurating 
 victory. 
 
 * This sword was a relic of the revolutionary war, presented 
 by Frederick the Gretvt to General Washington, and was kept in 
 the Washington family until that time. 
 
Canada Convention. 91 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 CANADA CONVENTION. — HARPER'S FERRY. 
 
 IT seems remarkable that the man whom Providence 
 had chosen to warn a guilty nation of its danger, 
 and through whom the African race in America re- 
 ceived the boon of freedom, which is but a prelude to 
 the entire abolition of slavery on the western conti- 
 nent, should be sent first to Major Delany in Canada, 
 through whom alone he considered himself able to 
 perfect the plans necessary to begin the great work! 
 Certainly the ways of Providence are beyond mortal 
 comprehension. The extraordinary kindness of the 
 jailer to the old hero prophet in the midst of hostile 
 men in Virginia elicited surprise in the North, and 
 was the subject of remark by many. To a playfellow 
 of Martin Delany in childhood it was no matter of 
 wonderment that he should sympathize with his help- 
 less, way-worn prisoner, if the heart of the man were 
 at all akin to the heart of the child. The open admira- 
 tion demonstrated by the Virginia jailer for the charac- 
 ter of his captive was a picture striking and pleasing 
 in the midst of all the dark surroundings of that time. 
 The man who, in the midst of hostile faces lowering 
 with hate and fear towards him who sat beside him on 
 his w T ay to death, could say, " Captain Brown, you are a 
 
92 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 game man," proved himself, after his prisoner, the brav- 
 est man in Virginia that day. 
 
 In regard to the relation sustained by the brave Avis 
 to Major Delany in childhood, it may be of interest to 
 know that the acquaintance was renewed in after years, 
 during the Mexican war, by the major's frequently 
 sending him copies of the paper of which he was then 
 editor in Pittsburg. These were duly acknowledged 
 by Captain Avis, who recognized his name, and adverted 
 to some of the scenes of their childhood, but cautioned 
 him against sending them regularly, lest it should at- 
 tract attention at the post-office, the paper being thor- 
 oughly anti-slavery, and taking grounds against the 
 war, as being waged for the propagation of slavery. 
 Hence anti-slavery sentiments were not unfamiliar to 
 Avis. And we know not but that at some time, in that 
 lonely prison cell, the name of Martin Delany, whom the 
 testimony of Mr. Richard Realf before the Senate com- 
 mittee had made to play such a conspicuous part in 
 the singularly significant councils at Chatham, was men- 
 tioned; and who can say it may not have been a link 
 that had first knit the captor to the captive ? 
 
 The testimony of Mr. Realf before the Senate com- 
 mittee appointed to investigate the Harper's -Ferry 
 affair resulted in placing Major Delany in a most cow- 
 ardly light. The charges were to the effect that he, 
 " Di\ Delany, had repeatedly urged the black men in 
 the convention, and that all his acts and advices tended 
 to encourage them to go with Captain Brown, to aid in 
 an overthrow of the government, as a measure that 
 would succeed." This is without foundation. Major 
 Delany is remembered, by those who attended the 
 
Canada Convention. 93 
 
 councils at Chatham, as having objected to many prop- 
 ositions favored by Captain Brown, as not having the 
 least chance of giving trouble to the slaveholders, ex- 
 cept the fortification at Kansas. At one time, having 
 objected repeatedly to certain proposed measures, the 
 old captain sprang suddenly to his feet, and exclaimed 
 severely, " Gentlemen, if Dr. Delany is afraid, don't let 
 him make you all cowards ! " 
 
 Dr. Delany replied immediately to this, courteously, 
 yet decidedly. Said he, " Captain Brown does not 
 know the man of whom he speaks : there exists no one 
 in whose veins the blood of cowardice courses less 
 freely ; and it must not be said, even by John Brown, 
 of Ossawatomie. >s As he concluded, the old man 
 bowed approvingly to him, then arose, and made ex- 
 planations. 
 
 He accounted for Mr. Realf 's discrepancies from the 
 fact that the young man was a stranger to the country, 
 and understood but little of its policy, and his former 
 position in life never brought him in contact with men 
 of such character as Mason, of Trent notoriety, and 
 the rest of the pro-slavery committee, upon whose tor- 
 turing rack he was stretched, upon the charge of at- 
 tempting to overthrow the government ! 
 
 But a few years after beheld the chairman of that 
 committee a fugitive, a prisoner, and an exile, and Virgin- 
 ia the battle-ground of contending armies, one inspired 
 by an anthem commemorating the name of him whom 
 Virginia in her madness sacrificed to her destruction, 
 the other endeavoring to destroy the Union in accord- 
 ance with the teachings of the judges of Captain 
 Brown and his followers. 
 
94 Life of Majou M. R. Delany. 
 
 While this stern judge of the Senate Chamber was 
 hiding his blighted name in exile, the name of Richard 
 Realf shone among the brightest at Lookout Mountain, 
 as he rushed forward, amid a shower of bullets, to re- 
 place the national standard after its bearer had fallen. 
 
 These misrepresentations of Major Delany's connec- 
 tion with the Harper's Ferry insurrection embarrassed 
 him greatly, at one time, while abroad, which we give, 
 and will also show the importance attached to the Har- 
 per's Ferry invasion abroad. 
 
 While reporting on his explorations during his visit 
 to Scotland, a letter (anonymous) was sent to Sir 
 Culling Eardley Eardley, implicating the Major (Dr. 
 Delany) with the " insurgents under John Brown." 
 
 Such was the effect of this insidious missive, that a 
 whole day (Sabbath) was spent by gentlemen of the 
 highest social and public position in discussing the 
 matter, and considering the propriety of dropping and 
 denouncing him. 
 
 But wisdom prevailed, and they determined to dis- 
 regard the anonymous informant's advice. With this 
 a learned ex-official of her majesty's government called 
 upon him at his residence in Glasgow, and reported the 
 proceedings to him. He was met with an argument 
 from Major Delany, to which he assented, and replied 
 that it was the same in substance as used by himself 
 and the great-hearted Sir Culling Eardley Eardley. 
 After passing through the scrutiny of these British 
 statesmen, he received no further annoyance concern- 
 ing this while in Europe. 
 
 Of the movement at Harper's Ferry, followed by the 
 almost immediate execution of Captain Brown and 
 
Canada Convention. 95 
 
 his devoted followers, he was ignorant, until in Abeo- 
 kuta he received a copy of the New York Tribune 
 sent from England for him. 
 
 It was after the Canada Convention, in accordance 
 with designs as before stated, he embarked for Africa, 
 accompanied by Robert Douglass, Esq., of Philadel- 
 phia, the genius whom prejudice denied the right to 
 study peacefully his glorious art in the academy of his 
 native city, but whom the Royal Academy of England 
 received within its portals, and Professor Robert 
 Campbell, of the Philadelphia Institute for colored 
 youth. 
 
96 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 IN EUROPE. 
 
 AFTER his expedition into Central Africa, gratified 
 at the success of his discoveries, as well as the 
 knowledge acquired concerning the people, among 
 whom he found evidences of a higher civilization than 
 that w r hich travellers accredit them, he departed for 
 Europe, and arrived at Liverpool May 12, 1860, where 
 remaining for three days, he entered London on the 
 evening of May 15. 
 
 Here he received marked attentions from gentlemen 
 of the highest social and public position. Three days 
 after his arrival he was invited to meet a council of 
 gentlemen in the parlors of Dr. Hodgkin, F. R. G. S. 
 the Right Honorable Lord Calthorpe, M. H. M. P. C, 
 presiding, with Lord Alfred Churchill, chairman. These 
 councils, continuing from time to time, terminated in 
 the great soiree at Whitehall, July 27, at w r hich were 
 invited six hundred members of Parliament, ending in 
 the formation of the African Aid Society, numbering 
 among its members the following personages : Rt. Hon. 
 Lord Calthorpe, the Lord Alfred Churchill, Hon. Mr. 
 Ashby, Thomas Bagnall, Esq., J. P., Rev. J. Baldwin 
 Brown, B. A., Edward Bullock, Esq., George Thomp- 
 son, late M. P., Sir Culling Eardley Eardley, Bart., Sir 
 
In Europe. 97 
 
 J. H. Leake, Rear Admiral, Wm. Mc Arthur, Esq., Rev. 
 Samuel Morton, M. A., Jonathan Richardson, Esq., 
 M. P., Dr. Norton Shaw, Secretary Royal Society, Rev. 
 Thomas Mesac, M. A., Rev. Mr. Cardell, M. A., Henry 
 Dunlop, Esq., Ex-Lord Provost of Glasgow. 
 
 He was also honored with the privilege of being 
 present at some of the most important councils in be- 
 half of the cause of King Victor Emmanuel, at which 
 letters from the distinguished Garibaldi and the prime 
 minister, Count Cavour, were read. 
 
 Besides these he was everywhere the recipient of 
 numerous invitations, both for public and private re- 
 ceptions, where the most distinguished courtesy was 
 extended to him. While in London he attended a 
 grand drjeune at the Crystal Palace, together with 
 three hundred and fifty other guests, representing the 
 elite of the world : at this presided the late Rt. Hon. 
 Earl Stanhope, Dr. Delany being assigned a seat at the 
 table with the foreign ambassadors and delegates. 
 
 At two brilliant gatherings at the Gallery of Art and 
 Queen's Rooms he participated. In his hours of relax- 
 ation from business engagements connected with his 
 explorations, he often found it convenient and profit- 
 able to make social visits. To these he refers often as 
 fraught with interesting memories, but to none with 
 more pleasurable recollection than a visit made to the 
 venerable and learned astronomer, John Lee, Esq., 
 D. C. L., where he attended the annual festival of 
 Reform held by him in the great park of his residence 
 at Hartwell Palace, of Elizabethan memory, and as- 
 signed by the British government to Louis XVIII. 
 while in exile. 
 7 
 
98 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 At these festivals the tenants and working-class 
 gather, and partake of the advantages of traffic there 
 offered in wares and stores, in edibles and fancy goods, 
 as the good Dr. Lee and lady apportion for their bene- 
 fit, together with the sale of these articles. They were 
 entertained with addresses on moral and scientific sub- 
 jects by distinguished speakers invited for the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 This continues generally for three days, concluding 
 with various gymnastic and muscular exercises; in 
 some the women take part, when prizes are distrib- 
 uted by the doctor and his lady. On the first day 
 of the festival a ceremony is observed, which enhances 
 the interest of the occasion, and in this connection will 
 serve to illustrate the elegant hospitalities extended to 
 the African explorer. A committee, selected by their 
 host's approval, usually meet and choose as president 
 of the occasion some distinguished person present. A 
 stranger or foreigner, if present, is invariably honored 
 with the position, and is assigned, in this event, the 
 historic chambers once occupied by the exiled monarch 
 of France and his queen, furnished with the ancient 
 garniture as when occupied by them. 
 
 When the committee returned, they announced, as 
 their choice for president, Dr. M. R. Delany, the Afri- 
 can explorer. This was unexpected by him, but was 
 "heartily received by the guests present, some sixty- 
 three in number, who doubtless understood it among 
 themselves prior to its public announcement. 
 
International Congress. 99 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL CONGRESS 
 AND LORD BROUGHAM. 
 
 HILE in London transacting business connected 
 with the exploration, it was Delany's privilege 
 to attain a distinction never before reached by a colored 
 American under like auspices. 
 
 At this time he appeared more prominently before 
 the American public, owing to his presence in that 
 august assembly known as the International Statistical 
 Congress, presided over by His Royal Highness Albert, 
 Prince Consort of England. 
 
 At this Congress had convened the most intellectual 
 and distinguished representatives of all the nations of 
 the civilized world.* To this, by virtue of his position 
 
 * Extract from the report of the proceedings of the fourth ses- 
 sion of the International Statistical Congress, held in London, 
 July 16, 1860, and the five following days : — 
 
 " Opening Meeting of the Congress. 
 " At four o'clock His Royal Highness, the Prince Consort, 
 arrived at Somerset House, attended by the Earl Spencer, the 
 Lord Waterpark, Major General Hon. C. Grey, Colonel F. Sey- 
 mour, C. P>., and Lieutenant Colonel Ponsonby. His Royal High- 
 ness was received in the outer hall of King's College by the Right 
 Hon. the President of the Board of Trade and the Right Hon. 
 
100 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 and acknowledged scientific acquirements, he received 
 a royal commission, and sat, during its session, an hon- 
 
 W. Cowper, M. P., Vice-President of the Congress, the Earl of 
 Shaftesbury, the Earl Stanhope, Sir James Clark, Bart., Rev. 
 Dr. Jeff, Principal of King's College, and Dr. Guy, and the 
 Secretaries, Dr. Farr, Mr. Valpy, and Mr. Hammack. A guard 
 of honor of the Queen's (Westminster) Rifle Volunteers, with 
 the band of the corps, was in attendance to receive his Royal 
 Highness. 
 
 " Amongst the noblemen and gentlemen present were the 
 Honorary Vice-President, including the official delegates, His 
 Excellency the Count de Persigny, Ambassador of France ; His 
 Excellency Monsieur Musurus, Ambassador Extraordinary and 
 Plenipotentiary of Turkey ; Monsieur Sylvain Van de Weyer, 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Penipotentiary of Belgium ; 
 the Baron de Cetto, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary of Bavaria ; the Count de Bernstorff, Envoy Extraor- 
 dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Prussia; the Commander 
 de Carvalho Moreira, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary of Brazil ; George MifHin Dallas, Esq., Envoy Ex- 
 traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of 
 America; the Count Apponyi, Envoy Extraordinary and Minis- 
 ter Plenipotentiary of Austria; the Count de Vitzthum, Envoy 
 Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Saxony ; Mon- 
 sieur de La Rive, Envoy Extraordinary of Switzerland; Lord 
 Brougham, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Earl Stanhope, Lord John 
 Russell, M. P., Viscount Ebrington, Lord Monteagle, Lord 
 Wriothesley, Lord Harry Vane, M. P., the Lord Mayor, Mr. 
 Bouverie, M. P., Mr. Slaney, M. P., Sir John Bowring, Major 
 General Sir C. Paisley, Rear Admiral Fitz Roy, Colonel Sykes, 
 M. P., Right Hon. Joseph Napier, Right Hon. W. Hutt, M. P., 
 Mr. Monckton Milnes, M. P., Sir Roderick I. Murchison, Mr. 
 Nassau, Senior, Mr. Pollard Urquhart, M. P., Sir F. H. Goldsmid, 
 Bart., M. P., the Registrar General of England, the Registrar 
 General of Ireland, Sir R. M. Bromley, K. C. B., Mr. Caird, 
 M. P., Mr. Fonblanque, Mr. Crawfurd, Mr. Newmarch, Mr. 
 
International Congress. 101 
 
 ored member. His remarkable presence would, of it- 
 self, have attracted the attention of the Continental 
 members ; but a movement was destined to render him 
 more conspicuous. 
 
 The value of his position in that learned gathering 
 was doubly enhanced and appreciated by him. It was 
 a triumphant recognition of the progress of his race, as 
 well as of the ability of the representative. His admis- 
 sion into that Congress was not based upon national 
 credentials, — for they would have been refused to him, 
 
 Edwin Chadwick, Mr. L. J. Leslie, Mr. S. Gaskell, Mr. J. Hey- 
 wood, Mr. Babbage, Alderman Salomans, M. P., Mr. Mowbray 
 Morris, Mr. T. Chambers, Mr. Lumley, Colonel Dawson, Dr. 
 Babington, Mr. J. Glaisher, Dr. Balfour, Dr. Sutherland, Mr. 
 Hodge, Mr. Edgar, Mr. Hastings, Mr. T. Webster, Mr. S. 
 Redgrave, Mr. A. Redgrave, Professor Leone Levi, Dr. R. D. 
 Thomson, Mr. H. G. Bohn, Mr. Hendricks, Sir Ranald Martin, 
 C. B., Dr. Letheby, Dr. MeWilliam, C. B., Mr. Simon, Mr. 
 Horace Mann, Mr. Hill Williams, Mr. Panizzi, Mr. Tidd Pratt, 
 Dr. Varrentrapp of Erankfort, Dr. Neumann of Berlin, Dr. 
 Muhry of Hanover, Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy, Mr. F. Purdy, 
 Dr. Norton Shaw, Mr. A. Bonham Carter, Mr. R. Hunt, Mr. W. 
 Clode, Chevalier Hebeler, M. Koulomzine and M. Yon Bou- 
 chen of Russia, M. Chatelain of Paris-, M. Carr van der Maeren, 
 Le Chevalier Debrang, Mr. Peter Hardy, Captain Sierakowski 
 and Professor Kapoustine of Russia, Dr. Otto Hilbner, M. 
 Coquerel, Professor Chicherin of Moscow, Dr. Bialloblotzki, 
 Mr. J. G. Cogswell, Mr. D. V. McLean, Dr. Schwabe of Ber- 
 lin, M. Villemsens of Paris, Dr. Delany of Canada, Mr. H. 
 Ayres, Mr. T. Michell, M. Grigorieff of St. Petersburg, the 
 President of the College of Physicians, the President of the 
 College of Surgeons, Dr. Bryson, Mr. S. Brown, Mr. Jellicoe, 
 Mr. Yates, Mr. Holland, Dr. Greenhill, Captain D. Gal ton, Mr. 
 Thwaites, and a large body of gentlemen who had been specially 
 invited to take part in the proceedings of the Congress." 
 
102 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 — but was supported by his individual claims as the 
 proud representative of his ancestral land. 
 
 His sterling ability won for him the friendly interest 
 of the great Lord Brougham, who, at the first meeting, 
 called the attention of the American minister to him, 
 which remark, being construed offensively, resulted in 
 the withdrawal of the American delegates, at the head 
 of which was Judge Longstreet of Georgia. Through 
 them and their pro-slavery partisans north and south, 
 Major Delany acquired a popularity distasteful with 
 the American public, to whom the circumstance was 
 known imperfectly, and then only in a prejudicial man- 
 ner. So many comments were made by the press, all 
 tending to produce the utmost unpleasantness between 
 the two countries, that it seemed likely to have resulted 
 in a more disagreeable misunderstanding, but was 
 checked by the inevitable ridicule which attached 
 to it. 
 
 When the news of the withdrawal of the American 
 delegates first reached the public, it was through an 
 official source — a letter from Judge Longstreet, the 
 American representative to the Congress. It was 
 given to the public through Hon. Howell Cobb, of 
 Georgia, secretary of the treasury under the Buchanan 
 administration. And as it was only through this me- 
 dium, we propose to furnish the statement of the prin- 
 cipal personage in the affair, decisive and trustworthy, 
 and also to reproduce the letter of Judge Longstreet, 
 which, in view of the position occupied by them both 
 at this time, will be of additional interest. 
 
 Delany says, — 
 
 "This is a subject upon which I never desire to en- 
 
International Congress. 103 
 
 ter. Very seldom — I think not more than two or 
 three times, and then only to my most intimate friends 
 — have I ever related the circumstance, and always 
 approached it with sensitive delicacy ; because to at- 
 tempt to speak about it without relating the whole, is 
 to make it ridiculous, and leave on the mind of the 
 auditor the impression that there must have been on 
 the part of the distinguished lord a most absurd and 
 abrupt intrusion upon the transactions and doings of 
 that dignified body. 
 
 "And since Judge Longstreet withdrew from that 
 body immediately after the organization, and before do- 
 ing anything, going home, and having nothing to report 
 but the cause of his delinquency or remissness, his official 
 report to the secretary of the treasury necessarily be- 
 ing concerning me, therefore I am compelled to give 
 the facts as to how it really transpired. And certainly 
 no one of the most sensitive delicacy about matters of 
 this kind will accuse me of dragging in extraneous mat- 
 ter. Indeed, it ceases to be a question of propriety, 
 and turns entirely upon a question of right, as to 
 whether or not I have the right of self-defence against 
 an attack by a high official of the government? Or 
 is it not the government which attacks me through its 
 foreign representative and cabinet minister? The en- 
 tire affair was contrary to my desire, and by no means 
 flattering to me, as Judge Longstreet reported as offi- 
 cially follows." 
 
 We give the following from the report of the sec- 
 retary of the treasury for the year ending June 30, 
 I860: — 
 
104 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Letter from A. B. Longstreet to Howell Cobb. 
 
 London, July 21, 1860. 
 
 Sir : My mission to the International Congress terminated ab- 
 ruptly, even before the first regular meeting for the transaction 
 of business. 
 
 At the appointed time (16th instant) a preliminary meeting was 
 called, to appoint officers and arrange the order of business for 
 the regular meetings. All the foreign delegates were declared to 
 be vice-presidents, and, by invitation of the chairman, took their 
 seats as such upon the stand. Lord Brougham was, I think, the 
 last member of the Congress who entered the hall, and was ap- 
 plauded from the first glimpse of him until he took his seat ; it 
 was near and to the left of the chair. Mr. Dallas, appearing as 
 a complimentary visitor,* was seated to the right, in a rather 
 conspicuous position. Things thus arranged, the assembly 
 waited the presence of his royal highness, the prince consort, 
 who was to preside and open the meeting with an address. He 
 soon appeared, delivered his address, and took his seat. As soon 
 as he concluded, and the long-continued plaudits ceased, Lord 
 Brougham rose, complimented the speech very highly and de- 
 servedly, and requested all who approved of it to hold up their 
 hands. We did so, of course. This done, he turned to Mr. 
 Dallas, and addressing him across the prince's table, said, u I 
 
 * Here, as elsewhere mentioned, Judge Longstreet is again in 
 error, he not having remained long enough to make himself 
 acquainted with the Congress. Mr. Dallas was not a " compli- 
 mentary visitor," abstractly considered, as the judge's reference 
 would infer, but, by general rule, an ex-officio member of the Con- 
 gress, — a vice president, — as was every envoy extraordinary, 
 or minister plenipotentiary to her majesty's court, and conse- 
 quently had taken his seat as one of the high officials of an In- 
 ternational (the World's) Congress, and not Great Britain's, much 
 less England's Congress. The Congress belonged as much to 
 Mr. Dallas as to his lordship, and, may it be permitted, even his 
 royal highness. The great assembly simply sat by turn of 
 appointment in Great Britain, and doubtless in time will come to 
 the United States, especially now that they have reached the 
 point of consummate of national justice. 
 
International Congress. 105 
 
 call the attention of Mr. Dallas to the fact that there is a negro 
 present (or among the delegates), and I hope he will have no 
 scruples on that account." This appeal was received by the 
 delegates with general and enthusiastic applause. Silence being 
 restored, the negro, who goes by the name of Delany, rose and 
 said, " I thank your royal highness and Lord Brougham, and 
 have only to say that I am a man." This, too, was applauded 
 warmly by the delegates. I regarded this an ill-timed assault 
 upon our country, a wanton indignity offered to our minister, 
 and a pointed insult offered to me. I immediately withdrew 
 from the body. The propriety of my course is respectfully sub- 
 mitted to my government. 
 
 What England can promise herself from exciting the ire of the 
 United States, I cannot divine. Surely there is nothing in the 
 past history of the two countries which offers to her the least 
 encouragement to seek contests with the great republic, either 
 national or individual. Will not her championship of the slave 
 against his master be in full time when the slave shall complain 
 of his lot and solicit her interference. 
 
 My reasons, more at large, for the course that I have pur- 
 sued, will be found in the London Morning Chronicle, herewith 
 transmitted, which, in its slightly-modified form, I pray you to 
 regard as a part of my report. 
 
 I am, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 A. B. LONGSTREET. 
 
 Hon. Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 I 
 
 The American Delegate and Lord Brougham. 
 
 To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle. 
 
 Sir : After what occurred at the first meeting of the Statisti- 
 cal Congress, I withdrew immediately from that body, intending 
 to offer no reasons for my course, because, from what I saw, I 
 judged that they would not be worth the paper on which they 
 might be written. I reserved them, therefore, for my own gov- 
 ernment. After waiting a while to see what comments the 
 papers would make upon the opening scenes of the Congress, I 
 
106 Life of Major M. R. Del ant. 
 
 commenced my despatch to my government; but a friend, in 
 whose opinions I have great confidence, said he thought I ought 
 to address the people here in vindication of myself. Upon this 
 intimation (for it was rather an intimation than counsel) I sat 
 down, and, amidst a thousand doubts and interruptions, wrote 
 the subjoined communication. I was just bringing it to a close 
 for the press yesterday (Thursday), when I received information 
 that, at the opening of the meeting on the day previous, Lord 
 Brougham had explained his remarks at the first meeting, as I 
 would see in a paper referred to, and the information came with 
 a request that I would return to the Congress. I read the ex- 
 planation in that paper and two others. They only dhTer in 
 their reports of it, but they all concur in making his lordship 
 disavow any intention to show any disrespect to the American 
 minister or the United States ; and they make him say that he 
 merely meant to call to notice an interesting or a statistical fact, 
 viz. : that there was a negro in the assembly. Now, I found 
 myself in a very ticklish predicament. It was not his lordship's 
 remarks so much as the reception they met with, by all my asso- 
 ciates of the Congress, that determined me to leave it. The 
 signs were infallible that in that body I could not be received as 
 an equal, either in country or in character, while the negro was 
 received with open arms. They understood his lordship as I 
 did. All the papers understood him in the same way, and some 
 of them glory in the exposure of the American minister, and 
 promise themselves a rich treat when the president shall dis- 
 cover in what contempt his minister is held here. All this re- 
 mains precisely as it did before his lordship's explanation. Of 
 course, therefore, I cannot return to them. They would receive 
 me courteously, no doubt, — possibly, now, with plaudits, — but 
 why? Not from personal respect to me or my country, but to 
 avoid schism in the society — to preserve its popularity. I am 
 only three years removed from an Englishman (I date from the 
 birth of my government), and I have too much English spirit in 
 me to thrust myself into any company upon charity. Had the 
 delegates received his lordship's remarks with a silent smile (ill- 
 timed as they were), and Dr. Delany's response in the same 
 way, I never should have left the Congress. But the plaudits 
 
International Congress. 107 
 
 came like a tempest of hail upon my half-English spirit. Noth- 
 ing, then, in the piece needs qualification, but what refers to his 
 lordship's intentions. Learning these from his own lips, I sat 
 down to correct it in all that imputed to him, directly or im- 
 pliedly, wrong intentions and wrong feelings ; but I found that 
 they were so often referred to in a vast variety of ways, so often 
 intermingled with sentiments void against the principal, but 
 good against the indorsers, and in all respects good against the 
 leading spirits of Europe and the Congress, and so essential to 
 the harmony and grammatical construction, that if I undertook 
 to correct generally, I should hardly leave it printable or read- 
 able. And yet the piece must now appear ; for if not, it will go 
 forth to all Europe that the United States delegate took offence, 
 pro-slavery like, at an old man's playful remark, left the Con- 
 gress at the beginning, and that neither explanations nor en- 
 treaties could bring him back. I have neither time nor patience 
 to remodel it, much less to rewrite it. I am called away to-day ; 
 I should have been off from London before. In my dilemma I 
 have concluded to publish the piece just as I wrote it; not 
 now as fairly representing his lordship, but as exactly represent- 
 ing my understanding of him when I left the Congress, and the 
 reasons. I am at the bar now, and I am to be judged of by the" 
 reasonableness of my interpretations and of my conduct founded 
 on them. I beg his lordship, in consideration of my situation, 
 to indulge me in this. In return, I beg the reader to treat as re- 
 voked, and utterly null and void, every reference to his lordship 
 that is in the slightest degree inconsistent with his explanation. 
 I am not very far behind him in years ; I have long been his 
 debtor, and I esteem him almost reverentially ; and if he is not 
 debtor for his judicial reform bill to my native state, there is the 
 most remarkable coincidence between the two systems that ever 
 occurred since the world began. If he is, he ought to esteem 
 me for my state's sake. Be this as it may, we are too old to 
 quarrel. 
 
 A. B. LONGSTREET. 
 
108 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 To the Public. 
 
 Before I terminate my first and last visit to Europe, I deem it 
 due to my country and myself to leave behind me a word of 
 comment upon a most remarkable incident of that visit. It may 
 be of some service to the people on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 England owes to my country much respect — to my native 
 state a little. I came hither as a delegate (and by accident the 
 only delegate) from the United States to the International Con- 
 gress, now in session at this place. The appointment was made 
 by request of the authorities of this country. I am a native of 
 the State of Georgia, the birthplace of the two gallant Tattnalls, 
 the one well known to me, the other well known to England. He 
 was that humane and chivalrous commodore, who, at the peril 
 of his commission and his life, rescued the captain and the crew 
 of Hope's sinking ship from a watery grave at Peiho. He has 
 received much praise for the deed, but not quite all that is due 
 to him, for in yielding to his generous impulses, he forgot that 
 his no less gallant brother was borne from the battle-field at 
 Point Peter, severely wounded by British muskets. What is 
 done in war should be, but is not, always forgotten in peace. 
 The commodore's conduct was approved by his government — 
 that government which Mr. Dallas represents at the court of St. 
 James. 
 
 The Statistical Congress convened, a preliminary meeting was 
 held to appoint officers and arrange the order of business. All 
 the foreign delegates were declared to be vice-presidents, and 
 they took their seats on the platform with the presiding officer. 
 Mr. Dallas, a complimentary visitor, took his seat to the right 
 of the chair, Lord Brougham to the left. All things being now 
 in readiness for the opening of the regular meeting, his royal 
 highness, Prince Albert, appeared, took the chair, and opened 
 the meeting with that admirable address which has been pub- 
 lished, and which carries its highest commendation on its face. 
 As soon as he had concluded, and the long-resounding plaudits 
 ceased, Lord Brougham rose, and after a few remarks strongly 
 and deservedly complimentary of the address, and after calling 
 
International Congress. 109 
 
 upon all present to testify their approval of it by holding up 
 their hands, ( !) he turned to the American minister, and ad- 
 dressing- him across the table of his royal highness, said, "I 
 call the attention of Mr. Dallas to the fact that there is a negro 
 present, and I hope he will feel no scruples on that account." 
 This appeal to the American minister was received with general 
 applause by the house. The colored gentleman arose, and said, 
 "I thank his royal highness and your lordship, and have only 
 to say that I am a man." And this was received with loud 
 applause. 
 
 Now, if the noble lord's address to the American minister was 
 meant for pleasantry, I must be permitted to say that the time, 
 the subject, and the place were exceedingly unpropitious to such 
 sallies. If it was meant for sarcasm, it was equally unfortunate 
 in conception and delivery. If it was meant for insult, it was 
 mercilessly cruel to his lordship's heart, refinement, dignity, and 
 moral sense. I could readily have found an apology for it in his 
 lordship's locks and wrinkles, if it had not been so triumphantly 
 applauded. The European delegates understood it ; the colored 
 gentleman understood it ; and from the response of the latter we 
 can collect unerringly its import. It was meant as a boastful 
 comparison of his lordship's country with the minister's. It was 
 meant as a cutting reflection upon that country where negroes 
 are not admitted to the councils of white men. This is the very 
 least and best that can be made of it, and the dignity of the 
 American minister's character and office, his entire disconnec- 
 tion with slavery personally, and his peculiar position in the 
 assembly, were no protection to his country from this humiliat- 
 ing assault; nay, he is selected as the vehicle of it before the 
 assembled wisdom of Europe, who signify openly their approba- 
 tion of it. All the city papers that I have seen differ from each 
 other in their report of this matter, but they all soften its rugged 
 features somewhat. The Times is the most correct, but at fault 
 in making Lord Brougham preface his remarks to Mr. Dallas 
 with, "I hope my friend, Mr. Dallas, will forgive me for re- 
 minding him," &c, and in making Dr. Delany (the colored gen- 
 tleman) say to Lord Brougham, " who is always a most unflinch- 
 ing friend of the negro." If one or the other of these remarks 
 
110 Life of Ma joe M. R. Del any. 
 
 were made, I did not hear it ; the doctor would hardly have used 
 the last. 
 
 Now, I take leave to say that a Briton was the last "man on 
 earth who should cast contemptuous reflections upon the United 
 States, and the delegates the last men on earth who should have 
 countenanced them. Not one of them, not a man on all the 
 broad surface of Europe, can assail that country without assail- 
 ing some near home-horn friend of his own language and blood, 
 or some kinsman by short lineage from a common ancestry. 
 She spreads herself out 'from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from 
 the Gulf to the Lakes, and through all her length and breadth she 
 is one vast asylum for the poor, the oppressed, the down- 
 trodden, the persecuted of the world. Her sons are a multitu- 
 dinous brotherhood of all climes, religions, and tongues, living to- 
 gether in harmony, peace, and equality, so far as these can possibly 
 prevail within her borders. Say what you may, think as you may, 
 sneer as you may, at her "peculiar institutions;" she is, after 
 all, the good Samaritan of nations. Do a people cry and waste 
 from famine? She loads her ships with supplies, and lays them 
 at the sufferer's doors without money and without price. Do an 
 oppressed people strike for liberty? You will find some of her 
 sons under their flag. Does a wife's cry come across the water 
 for help to find a noble, long-missing husband? She fits out her 
 ships ; her volunteers man them ; they search nearly to the pole ; 
 learn the husband's fate ; disburden the wife's heart from sus- 
 pense, and then lie down and die from the exposure and toils of 
 the search. Does she find a nation's sloop of war afloat, still 
 sound but unmanned? She puts her in decent trim, and sends 
 her to her owner in charge of her own men and at her own ex- 
 pense. " Bear with me." If " I am become a fool in glorying, 
 ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended to 
 you." 
 
 Such a nation is not to be taunted, certainly not by Great 
 Britain. Her slavery is a heritage, not a creature of her own 
 begetting. It was forced on her against her wishes, her prayers, 
 and her protestations ; screwed down upon her, pressed into her, 
 until it has become so completely incorporated with her very 
 being, that it is now impossible to eradicate it. The terra 
 
International Congress. Ill 
 
 " slave property," is borrowed; it is not of her coinage. In all 
 her slave states there are not ten men living (until very recently 
 not one) who ever made a slave of a free man, counting the 
 Hottentot a freeman. Their sin, then, is not in making slaves, 
 but in not restoring them to liberty, in courtesy to the sensibili- 
 ties of those who made them for us. Before they make this 
 exaction of us, they surely ought to have the magnanimity of 
 Judas, and lay the price at our feet. But let us look into this 
 matter a little. 
 
 There are about 4,000,000 of slaves in the United States. 
 They are worth, at a very moderate calculation, $240,000,000 ; 
 but as we wish to keep within the realm of morality, we cast 
 that little item aside. There they are, from a day old to one 
 hundred years old — ignorant, helpless, thriftless, penniless. 
 What would become of them if set free? They would suffer, 
 languish, die. Does charity, does religion, demand of us to 
 put them in that condition? How are they to live? "Support 
 them yourselves," said a man to me once, of more negrophilism 
 than brains. What would we have to support them on, and 
 what obligation is there upon one class of freemen to support 
 another? The very act of emancipation would consign nine- 
 teen twentieths of the masters to abject penury and want. There 
 would be no more conscience, mercy, or remorse in the scramble 
 between the races for the provision on hand at the date of the 
 act, than there is for the means of safety among the crew of a 
 sinking ship. The last year's crop of cotton was, in round 
 numbers, 4,500,000 bales. Three fourths of this amount goes 
 abroad, and most of it to England. Will the reader take the 
 trouble to compute the amount of shipping it takes to transport 
 that quantity of cotton from America to Europe, the number of 
 hands employed in the transportation, and the number em- 
 ployed in working up the raw material? Shipping, seamen, 
 manufacturers, under-workmen, must all go by the board the 
 first year of emancipation. Now, add to the exports 80,000 
 tierces of rice and 128,000 hogsheads of tobacco in the same 
 category (nearly), and tell me if it is possible to conceive of a 
 greater calamity that could befall the world than the immediate 
 emancipation of the slaves of the United States. Nine millions, 
 
112 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 at least, would certainly be ruined by it (the slaves and their 
 masters), as the first fruits of the measure; and hundreds of 
 thousands, if not millions more, in the free states and king- 
 doms, i. e., all who are dependent upon cotton, rice, and tobacco 
 in any way for a living, — as its ultimate fruits. Will it be said 
 that the negroes will still produce these articles for their own 
 benefit? How could they, unless the masters would give them 
 the land to cultivate, implements to till it, and food and clothing 
 for one year? To do this would cost the masters at least two 
 hundred million dollars more ; and what would become of the 
 whites and their dependants in the mean time? But if the 
 negroes had the outfit, they would not make the fifth part of these 
 articles the first year. Look at your freedmen in the West 
 Indies. We regard them as a warning, not as an encourage- 
 ment. In the face of the thunderbolt, I would assert that our 
 slaves are infinitely healthier, holier, and happier, than your 
 freedmen. Will it be said that white labor would supply their 
 places? How could we hire white labor? And if it performed 
 the work, where would the slaves be? But what of foreigners 
 dependent upon those articles? Will it be said the shipping and 
 labor would be turned into other channels? What other? The 
 world does not produce the article, nor the wants of the world a 
 demand for them, if it did. This thing of diverting large 
 amounts of labor and capital from one channel into another, is a 
 work of time ; it cannot be accomplished in a day. They who 
 have seen the effects of a change of fashion, simply upon many 
 laborers, may form some distant idea of the consequences of 
 turning millions of property and labor into new channels. 
 Time may turn the sailor into a farmer, but death would over- 
 take him before employment, where there were practised farmers 
 enough to supply the demand. 
 
 Now, I could say much more to show the utter impractica- 
 bility of emancipation in the United States, even upon the score 
 of humanity ; but enough is said until what is said be fairly an- 
 swered. Until it is fairly answered, until some practicable means 
 is pointed out of ridding ourselves of slavery, I enter my most 
 solemn protest against all denunciation of our country on account 
 of it. It is like denouncing a man because he carries an incurable 
 
International Congress. 113 
 
 disease; and coming from British lips, it is like stabbing a man, 
 and, while catching his blood to work into puddings, abusing him 
 for bleeding, and crying out all the time, " Cure yourself ! cure 
 yourself ! or keep out of decent company ! " But if abuse, vilifi- 
 cation, sarcasm, and contempt, are to be the lot of slaveholders, 
 let it be the lot of slaveholders alone, and of those alone who 
 thrust themselves unbidden into the society of their betters. 
 
 Whatever his lordship did not intend by the remark, ■ — and I 
 am ready to believe that he did not intend to wound, — he cer- 
 tainly did intend to bring to the minister's notice that England 
 made no distinction between men on account of their color ; and 
 herein his lordship was lamentably unfortunate, for the whole 
 scene showed that not only he, but all his applauders, make a 
 marked distinction between colors. Would not his lordship 
 have had more respect for the feelings of any white man than to 
 have made him the object of special notice — and such a notice ! 
 — to men gathered from all quarters of the world? Would his 
 lordship's discourtesy to a white man have been applauded, as it 
 was, by gentlemen of refinement and delicacy ? True, it hit 
 Dr. Dclany's sensibilities exactly in the right, place, for he re- 
 turned thanks for it; but the chances were a thousand to one 
 that it would have enkindled his indignation. " What ! " he was 
 likely to have said, " is it a boast of the nobility of England that 
 I am admitted to a seat among white men ? " His thanksgiving, 
 too, was applauded — a thing not exactly in keeping with our 
 ordinary dealings with white men. And when he proclaimed 
 the indubitable fact, "that he was a man," again he was ap- 
 plauded. If any other man had arisen in the assembly, and said 
 the selfsame thing, he would have been laughed at, not ap- 
 plauded. Again : his lordship pointed him out as a " negro," — 
 that was the word, — not, as some of the gazettes have it, a " col- 
 ored person," or " colored gentleman ; " the Times has it right. 
 Now, if he had felt a due regard for the doctor's rank, would he 
 not have softened his designation, as the papers have kindly 
 done for him ? I am told that the doctor is a member of the 
 Geographical Society, and a delegate from Canada. If so, I 
 demand, by all the canons of courtesy, why he was not called 
 to the stand as one of the vice-presidents, and placed right 
 
 8 
 
114 Life of Major M. R. Delaxy. 
 
 between Mr. Dallas and myself ? Here would have been a scenic 
 representation of thrilling moral effect — more eloquent of Old 
 England's love of freedom and contempt of mastery than all 
 lip-compliments of all her nobles put together. Or, if that seat 
 was too low for the doctor, why was he not placed between Lord 
 Brougham and the chair ? Had I seen him there, verily my own 
 heart would have swelled with a compliment to noble Old Eng- 
 land which no lips could have fitly uttered. Where was the 
 doctor at the prince's reception? I did not see him there. To 
 what section does he belong? I do not find him allotted to 
 either. To how many of the entertainments .has he been in- 
 vited? Now, in all this, I detect a lurking feeling, ever and 
 anon peeping out, which convinces me that the colored man is 
 yet far, very far, below the white man in public estimation, even 
 in Europe ; and, until this is conquered, let not the European 
 assume to lecture the American upon his duty to the slave, or 
 upon the equality of the races. Why, if the thing is fated to us, 
 like death, can any man of common humanity and generosity 
 take pleasure in throwing it in our teeth? Slavery is either a 
 blessing or a curse. If a blessing, why disturb us in the enjoy- 
 ment of it? You Englishmen ought to plume yourselves upon 
 it, for it is your benefaction. If a curse, you should not embitter 
 it. We regard it as a blessing; why disenchant us of the delu- 
 sion? You say it is a great sin. I doubt it, as I find it; 
 and shall ever doubt, while Paul's Epistle to Philemon is univer- 
 sally acknowledged an inspired epistle. (See note on page 115.) 
 But suppose it a sin ; has God commissioned you to reform it? 
 and do you think you ever will reform it by eternally sprinkling 
 vitriol upon the master? As for your contempt, we would rather 
 not have it, to be sure ; but if you will be content with that, we 
 will live in peace forever, for it is an article in equal store on 
 both sides. If you cannot condescend to our company, we will 
 not complain at giving a place to Dr. Delany, and we can beatify 
 you with four millions precisely such. But in your intercourse 
 with us, do not, for your own sakes, forget all the rules of deli- 
 cacy, benevolence, and humanity, for every adult of us can 
 stand up and say, "I am a man!" Earewell to thee, London, 
 for a short time ; one more brief look at thy wonders, and then 
 
International Congress. 115 
 
 farewell forever ! Another visit to Liverpool ; I like her better 
 than London, because she likes my people better. "Interest! " 
 " Cotton ! " It may be so, but I am grateful for love of any kind 
 in England. Never, in all my long, long life, did my heart- 
 strings knit around a fair one so quickly and so closely, as they 
 did around a lady in London, who approached me, and said, 
 " Mr. Longstreet, I must get acquainted with you. I love 
 your country; I have several kinsmen there." That's natural; 
 that's woman-like. It is for man to draw favors from a country 
 and curse her. God bless her ! And God bless the family in 
 which she said it. As Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, slaveholders, 
 are in heaven, I hope to get there, too. May I meet them all 
 there ! But whither am I wandering ? Liverpool — another 
 look at Liverpool, another benefice to the English Cunard line, 
 and then farewell to Europe forever and forever ! 
 
 A. B. Longstreet. 
 
 P. S. I forgot to mention many kind invitations that I have 
 received from distinguished personages. I declined them all, 
 not indifferently nor disrespectfully, but because they were obvi- 
 ously given to me as a member of the Congress, which I was 
 not when they reached me, and never shall be. 
 
 Note. The Epistle to Philemon has been an enigma to com- 
 mentators for seventeen hundred years. That it is the fruit of 
 divine inspiration has never been questioned by Christians ; and 
 it is but a letter from Paul to a brother, pleading for a runaway 
 slave whom he sent home to his master. Read it, and see the 
 Christians who joined in it. In Paul's day they did not steal 
 negroes and murder their masters. There were no Browns and 
 Hugos in those days. Philemon was beloved of Paul, was 
 doubtless a preacher, and had a church in his house. Is not the 
 enigma now solved ? Can we not now see why the epistle was 
 inspired? "What would become of us if we were bound to 
 emancipate under all circumstances, or forfeit heaven? I have 
 only hinted at the horrors of the thing. 
 
 "It was made the subject of inquiry by some as to 
 the means by which I entered that scientific asseni- 
 
116 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 blage. m It was through the same doorway which ad- 
 mitted every other member, not a delegated represen- 
 tative, that is, a royal commission. 
 
 "By the established usages of this annual assembly, 
 any persons of known scientific attainments, great 
 authorship, mechanical inventions of mathematical 
 complication, researches and discoveries in topograph- 
 ical, geological, or geographical explorations, are re- 
 garded as legitimately entitled to the consideration of 
 the royal commissioners, three of whom are always 
 appointed by the sovereign or ruler of that country to 
 which the succeeding Congress is assigned to meet. 
 These commissioners have all the arrangement of the 
 coming Congress in their hands, and issue all the com- 
 missions of special membership to those not accredited 
 as national representative delegates. 
 
 " By courtesy, the diplomatic representatives of every 
 nation present are ex-officio vice-presidents, with two 
 specially selected vice-presidents. 
 
 " When the time drew near for the arrival of his 
 royal highness, the Congress was organized, the mem- 
 bers taking their seats, and the official dignitaries seated 
 on the platform. 
 
 " The royal crimson chair, and one on either side 
 reserved for the prince and his associates, vice-presi- 
 dents, were vacant. Great demonstrations were made, 
 which gave evidence that some important personage 
 approached, when it was soon observed that it was the 
 arrival of the ex-lord hisrh chancellor of England. 
 He was escorted to his seat on the platform. 
 
 " Soon after, music was heard, succeeded by the entry 
 of pages, unrolling the crimson carpet, which preceded 
 
International Congress. 117 
 
 the entry of the prince president. At this the whole 
 Congress arose to their feet, with rousing claps of 
 applause. Ascending the platform, his royal high- 
 ness stood before the chair of state, bowed, and took 
 his seat, when immediately the Hon. George M. Dallas, 
 the American minister, and the Right Hon. Lord 
 Brougham, were conducted by the royal commis- 
 sioners to the vacant seats on the right and left of his 
 royal highness. 
 
 " The prince, with his usual dignity, now arose, 
 bowed, and commenced reading one of the most pro- 
 found and philosophically simple and comprehensive 
 addresses delivered during the present century. 
 
 "In the course of his remarks, he alluded to his 
 former preceptor, Count Vishers, paying great compli- 
 ments to him. He concluded amidst suppressed ap- 
 plause, suggestive of a feeling which hesitated to show 
 itself, for fear of committing an impropriety before the 
 royal author. That great and generous-hearted gen- 
 tleman, Lord Brougham, instantly arose, and addressing 
 the Congress, said, ' I rise not to address myself to his 
 royal highness, but to you, my lords and gentlemen 
 of the Congress, not to permit the presence of his 
 royal highness to restrain you from giving vent and 
 full scope to that outburst of applause, which you are 
 desirous of giving in approbation of that great good 
 sense, philosophical and most extraordinary discourse, 
 to which we have had the honor and pleasure, as well 
 as profit, of listening.' 
 
 "Immediately taking his seat, the assemblage gave 
 vent to rapturous applause. As it concluded, he again 
 rose to his feet, remarking in general terms that it was 
 
118 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 a most extraordinary assemblage of the world's wis- 
 dom, and that those who were there were fortunate in 
 being members of such a body, presided over by that 
 great personage, the prince consort of England. 
 
 " He also made allusions to the presence of the 
 imperial director of public works from France, the rep- 
 resentatives from Brazil, Spain, and some other coun- 
 tries, as an evidence of the progress of the age ; then 
 taking his seat, and instantly arising in such a hasty 
 manner, as though something important had been 
 omitted, that he attracted the attention of the entire 
 assembly; when, extending his hands almost across 
 his Royal Highness, he remarked, 'I would remind 
 my friend, Mr. Dallas, that there is a negro member 
 of this Congress' (directing his hand towards me): 
 smiling, he resumed his seat. Mr. Dallas, seeming to 
 receive this kindly, bowed and smiled. 
 
 " Count Vishers now rose to reply to the compli- 
 ments made to him by the prince ; then followed the 
 director of the public works from France, followed 
 by the Brazilian representative, and concluding with 
 the Spanish diplomatist. 
 
 "While I fully comprehended his lordship's interest, 
 meaning, and its extent, the thought flashed instantly 
 across my mind, How will this assembly take it? May 
 it not be mistaken by some, at least, as a want of genu- 
 ine respect for my presence, by the manner in which 
 the remarks were made? And again, would not my 
 silence be regarded as inability to comprehend a want 
 of deference on the part of his lordship? Or should I 
 not be accused of regarding as a compliment a dis- 
 paraging allusion towards me ? These thoughts passed 
 
International Congress. 119 
 
 through my mind so soon as his lordship concluded 
 his remarks, and as soon as the minister from Spain 
 was seated, I rose in my place, and said, — 
 
 " 'I rise, your Royal Highness, to thank his lordship, 
 the unflinching friend of the negro, for the remarks he 
 has made in reference to myself, and to assure your 
 royal highness and his lordship that I am a man? I 
 then resumed my seat. The clapping of hands com- 
 menced on the stage, followed by what the London 
 Times was pleased to call * the wildest shouts ever 
 manifested in so grave an assemblage.' 
 
 " So soon as the applause had subsided, the prince 
 arose and announced the Congress adjourned, to meet 
 at two o'clock the next day; the sections to meet in 
 their several departments at ten, to meet the general 
 Congress at two. 
 
 " These were my words verbatim. Why Judge 
 Longstreet's sarcastic interpolations, I do not know, 
 nor am I able to account for such manifestations. 
 
 "They were not simply British, as the learned judge 
 complained in his singular report to the secretary of 
 the treasury, 'because the loudest and wildest shouts' 
 came from the Continental members. These man- 
 ifestations I can only attribute to a spontaneous 
 outburst of gratification to them at a scene so unex- 
 pected in all its relations, without any reference what- 
 ever to the United States. And Judge Longstreet 
 entirely misinterpreted the interest and meaning of the 
 manifestation. 
 
 " I take pleasure in making the correction now, as 
 far as the generous great are concerned, that it 
 mny be favorably recorded in the history of our time, 
 
120 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 because they would not beg an interpretation at the 
 hands of those who wilfully persist in an historic mis- 
 representation of that which in all diplomatic and 
 national civility — to say nothing of generosity — 
 should have been understood and accepted by all 
 present. 
 
 " The next day, when the general Congress convened, 
 on calling for the reports from the several sections, 
 which presented the papers for ratification before that 
 body, alphabetically arranged, and by courtesy com- 
 mencing with America, it was discovered that the 
 entire American representation, except Dr. Jarvis, from 
 Boston, Mass., had withdrawn, — the fact being stated 
 by the doctor, who presented the paper placed in his 
 hands by Judge Longstreet, whose office it was to 
 present it as head of the representation, and only di- 
 rect national delegate (Dr. Jarvis being only a state 
 delegate). Lord Brougham, the first vice-president, 
 who, in the absence of the royal president, filled the 
 chair, arose, remarking, ' This reminds me of a state- 
 ment made in the papers this morning, that I had de- 
 signedly wounded the feelings of the American min- 
 ister at this court, which I deny as farthest from my 
 intention, as all who know me (and I appeal to the 
 American minister himself, Mr. Dallas being a friend 
 of mine), whether I have not uniformly stood forth as 
 the friend of that government and people ? Now, what 
 is this " offence " complained of? Why, on the opening 
 of this august assemblage (possibly the largest in num- 
 ber, and the most learned, that the world ever saw to- 
 gether from different nations, to be among whom any 
 man might feel proud, as an evidence of his advance, 
 
International Congress. 121 
 
 civilization, and attainments), what is the fact ? Why, 
 here we see, even in this unequalled council, a son of 
 Africa, one of that race whom we have been taught to 
 look upon as inferior. I only alluded to this as one of 
 the most gratifying as well as extraordinary facts of 
 the age." 
 
 "The noble and philanthropic lord then took his 
 seat amidst another cause of offence? 
 
 These are the facts of that historical incident quoted 
 from his own writings on the subject. Whatever may 
 have been the motive underlying the action of the 
 southern judge besides the reasons given to the public 
 by him, it is not our province to interfere with ; but 
 if it were his intention to bring the high-toned negro 
 delegate, receiving the same honors accorded to the 
 other members of the Congress, into derision, in his 
 undignified haste his failure was most signal in Europe, 
 as well as with most thinking persons, not governed by 
 their prejudices, in America.* 
 
 * As to the insulting allusion on page 114, presented for the con- 
 sideration of the British puhlic, that the American slaveholders 
 could " beatify them with precisely four millions such as my- 
 self," alluding to their degraded, uneducated slaves, I am ad- 
 monished against retaliating in a manner which would otherwise 
 be justifiable in view of the great changes brought about by the 
 mistaken cherished ideas of such gentlemen as Judge Longstreet, 
 and the consequent effects everywhere throughout the South, 
 imploringly staring us in the face. 
 
 And in reply to the inquiry, page 114, " To what section does 
 he belong? I do not find him allotted to either," a reply will be 
 found in the Transactions of the International Statistical Con- 
 gress, London, 18C0; and had he remained to " belong to a sec- 
 tion " at all, he would have been clear of the historical blunder 
 which he is found to have made. 
 
 And finally, regarding the singular inquiry, page 114, " To 
 
122 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 The following comment, written at the time, is from 
 the papers of his friend, Mr. Frederick Douglas, who, 
 towering in colossal grandeur beside the self-made he- 
 roes of our country, his eagle glance noting every pulse- 
 throb of the great American body politic, seems a proper 
 exponent of these indisputable facts. 
 
 " Dallas and Delany. 
 
 " Some of our American journals, to whom black in 
 anything else than in the human heart is a standing 
 offence, are just now ' taking on ' very ruefully about 
 what they are pleased to call a flagrant insult offered 
 to the American minister, Mr. G. M. Dallas, by Lord 
 Brougham, at a meeting of the International Statisti- 
 cal Congress, held in London. Small pots boil quick, 
 and soon dry up, but they do boil terribly while they 
 are at it. 
 
 "It would hardly be safe to say whereunto our pres- 
 ent wrath would carry us, were we not somewhat re- 
 strained and held down by the onerous burdens of 
 electing our president for the next four years. As an 
 American, and being of the unpopular complexion, we 
 are rather glad to see this sensitiveness. The most 
 digusting symptoms sometimes raise hopes for the re- 
 
 how many of the entertainments has he been invited ? " were I 
 capable of either weakness or vanity in that direction, I might 
 allude to them, as does the learned judge, page 115, but would 
 rather refer him to those to whom he appeals, as having been 
 complimented by, and simply conclude by the allusion that had 
 he himself been at all the entertainments, he could not have 
 failed to see Dr. Delany at many. The uncalled-for allusion to 
 the reception given by his royal highness has been previously 
 replied to. 
 
International Congress. 123 
 
 covery of the patient, and it may be so in this case. The 
 standing offence of the venerable and learned Lord 
 Brougham was, that he ventured to call the attention 
 of Mr. Dallas, the American minister plenipotentiary, 
 to the fact that a ' negro ' was an acting member of the 
 meeting of the International Statistical Congress. 
 This was the offence. It struck home at once. Mr. 
 Dallas felt it. It choked him speechless. He could 
 say nothing. The hit was palpable. It was like calling 
 the attention of a man vain of his personal beauty to 
 his ugly nose, or to any other deformity. Delany, de- 
 termined that the nail should hold fast, rose with all 
 his blackness, right up, as quick and as graceful as an 
 African lion, and received the curious gaze of the sci- 
 entific world. The picture was complete. Sermons 
 in stones are nothing to this. 
 
 " Never was there a more telling rebuke administered 
 to the pride, prejudice, and hypocrisy of a nation. It 
 was saying, 'Mr. Dallas, we make members of the In- 
 ternational Statistical Congress out of the sort of men 
 you make merchandise of in America. Delany in 
 Washington is a thing ; Delany in London is a man. 
 You despise and degrade him as a beast ; we esteem 
 and honor him as a gentleman. Truth is of no color, 
 Mr. Dallas, and to the eye of science, a man is not a 
 man because of his color, but because he is a man, and 
 nothing else.' To our thinking, there was no truth 
 more important and significant brought before the Sta- 
 tistical Congress. Delany's presence in that meeting 
 was, however, more than a rebuke to American preju- 
 dice. It was an answer to a thousand humiliating 
 inquiries respecting the character and qualifications of 
 
124 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the colored race. Lord Brougham, in calling attention 
 to him, performed a most noble act, worthy of his life- 
 long advocacy of the claims of our hated and slandered 
 people. There was, doubtless, something of his sarcas- 
 tic temper &hown in the manner of his announcement 
 of Delany ; but we doubt not there was the same gen- 
 uine philanthropic motive at tho bottom of his action, 
 which has distinguished him through life. A man cov- 
 ered with honor, associated with the history of his 
 country for more than a half century, conspicuous in 
 many of the mightiest transactions of the greatest na- 
 tion of modern times, between eighty and ninety years 
 old, is not the man to indulge a low propensity to in- 
 sult. He had a better motive than the humiliation of 
 Dallas. The cause of an outraged and much despised 
 race came up before him, and he was not deterred from 
 serving it, though it should give offence. 
 
 " But Avhy should Americans regard the calling atten- 
 tion to their characteristic prejudice against the colored 
 race as an insult ? Why do they go into a rage when 
 the subject is brought up in England ? The black man 
 is no blacker in England than in America. They are 
 not strangers to the negro here ; why should they make 
 strange of him there? They meet him on every corner 
 here; he is in their cornfields, on their plantations, in 
 their houses ; he waits on their tables, rides in their 
 carriages, and accompanies them in a thousand other 
 relations, some of them very intimate. To point out a 
 negro here is no offence to anybody. Indeed, we often 
 offer large rewards to any who will point them out. 
 We are so in love with them that we will hunt them ; 
 and of all men, our southern brethren are most 
 
International Congress. 125 
 
 miserable when deprived of their negro associates. 
 Why, then, should we be offended by being asked to 
 look at a negro in London ? We look at him in New 
 York, and Mr. Dallas has often been called to look at 
 the negro in Philadelphia. 
 
 "The answer to these questions may be this: In 
 America the white man sees the negro in that condi- 
 tion to which the white man's prejudice and injustice 
 assign him. He sees him a proscribed man, the vic- 
 tim of insult and social degradation. In that condi- 
 tion he has nothing against him. It is only when the 
 negro is seen without these limitations that his pres- 
 ence raises the wrath of your genuine American Chris- 
 tian. When poor, ignorant, hopeless, and thoughtless, 
 he is rather an amusement to his white fellow-citizens ; 
 but when he bears himself like a man, conscious of the 
 godlike characteristics of manhood, determined to 
 maintain in himself the dignity of his species, he be- 
 comes an insufferable offence. This explains Mr. Dal- 
 las, and explains the American people. It explains also 
 the negroes themselves. It is often asked why the ne- 
 groes do not rise above the generally low vocations in 
 which they are found ? Why do they consent to spend 
 their lives in menial occupations ? The answer is, that 
 it is only here that they are not opposed by the fierce 
 and bitter prejudice which pierces them to the quick, 
 the moment they attempt anything higher than is conr 
 sidered their place in American society. Americans 
 thus degrade us, and are only pleased with us when so 
 degraded. They tempt us on every side to live in ig- 
 norance, stupidity, and social worthlessness, by the neg- 
 ative advantage of their smiles ; and they drive us 
 
126 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 from all honorable exertion by meeting ns with hatred 
 and scorn the instant we attempt anything else. 
 
 "Had Mr. Delany been a mean, poor, dirty, ignorant 
 negro, incapable of taking an honorable place among 
 gentlemen and scholars, Mr. Dallas would have turned 
 the specimen to the account of his country. But the 
 article before him was a direct contradiction to his 
 country's estimate ofTVMftbjrianhood. He had no use 
 for him, <and was ofFended when iris attention was 
 called to Kiflv. 
 
 " There was still another V»tter ingredient in the cup 
 of the American minister. Men can indulge in very 
 mean things when among mean men, and do so with- 
 out a blush. They can even boast of their meanness, 
 glory in their shame, when among their own class, but 
 who, when among better men, will hang their heads 
 like sheep-stealing dogs* the moment their true charac- 
 ter is made known. To hate a negro in America is an 
 American boast, and is a part of American religion. 
 Men glory in it. But to turn up your nose against the 
 negro in Europe is not quite so easy as in America, es- 
 pecially in the case of a negro morally and intellectu- 
 ally the equa.1 of the American minister." 
 
 Before leaving London, Delany read, by special re- 
 quest, a paper on his researches in Africa, before the 
 Royal Geographical Society, and as a traveller and ex- 
 plorer, received the privileges extended by that body, 
 and as such was received with due courtesy in many of 
 the noted places dedicated to art and science, both in 
 England and Scotland ; among them, the Royal College 
 of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Hospitals, Geolo- 
 
International Congress. 127 
 
 gical and Anatomical University, Museums, and Li- 
 braries. 
 
 From a general invitation extended to the members 
 of the Congress, and a special one to himself, by the 
 Right Hon. Lord Brougham and Vaux, ex-lord high 
 chancellor of England, he received his membership, 
 and attended the Congress of the National Association 
 for the Promotion of Social Science at Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, the September following. Here a distinguished 
 recognition of his worth awaited him. While at this 
 Congress he elicited expressions of a most compliment- 
 ary character from Lord Brougham, who presided here 
 with the usual dignity ascribed to him at the Interna- 
 tional Congress in the absence of his royal highness. 
 
 The following is extracted from the Report of the 
 First Section on Judicial Statistics, by the president 
 (Lord Brougham) and Dr. Asher: — 
 
 "I think I am authorized, not only on the part of the 
 council of the society, but on the part of the authori- 
 ties in Scotland, strongly to recommend and to invite 
 all persons to attend that Congress. The authorities 
 take the greatest interest in it, both at Edinburgh and 
 at Glasgow. The magistrates of both countries, and 
 the judges, take the greatest interest in the Congress; 
 and I hope they will not be disappointed in having the 
 attendance of many foreign gentlemen from different 
 parts of the continent ; and I also hope that our friend 
 Dr. Delany will attend upon that occasion, for he will 
 then be in the country which first laid down the maxim 
 and the principle of law : That the moment a slave 
 (which Dr. Delany is not, but which his ancestors 
 were) touches British ground, his fetters fall off. That 
 
128 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 was said when that decision, which does immortal hon- 
 or to the Scottish courts, was pronounced. It was a 
 remark made in one of the arguments — ' Quamvis ille 
 niger, quamvis ne candidus esses.'' That remark was 
 made by a very celebrated judge, the son of a very 
 great mathematician, one of the greatest mathematicians 
 that ever appeared in this country, the son of the cele- 
 brated McLaurin. I hope Dr. Delany is here. In the 
 sanitary section, as my noble friend Lord Shaftesbury 
 informed me before he left the room, he was of very 
 great use, indeed, in the information which he conveyed 
 to them, and that he made a most able speech, as Sir 
 Roderick Murchison informs me, at the Royal Geo- 
 graphical Society, which he lately attended. I hope 
 therefore, that we shall have the advantage of his at- 
 tendance upon that occasion." 
 
 After the close of the Congress, he was invited to 
 lecture on the subject of his explorations, in many parts 
 of England and Scotland, meeting everywhere with 
 marked success, for nearly seven months. At these 
 lectures an appreciative, audience greeted him : among 
 them many of the elite of the kingdom convened, as 
 was manifested at his reception lecture at Brighton, on 
 the seaside, during the watering season, given in the 
 pavilion of the Marine Palace of William IV. 
 
 At the conclusion of these, he prepared to return to 
 Africa, having entered into obligations in England and 
 Scotland, especially the latter place, — which in good 
 faith are yet to be fulfilled, — when the secession of 
 South Carolina reached Great Britain. 
 
 With almost prophetic vision he saw the great work 
 apportioned for his race in the impending struggle. 
 
International Congress. 129 
 
 Therefore he turned his thoughts homeward to prepare 
 himself for his portion of it. 
 
 Hastening home from a land where he was every- 
 where the recipient of distinguished courtesy, in order to 
 cast his lot with his people for good or evil fortune, he 
 reached Canada forty-five days before the attack on 
 Fort Sumter. 
 
 There he remained watching the progress of the re- 
 bellion, which, from the first, he foresaw, and thus ex- 
 pressed himself, that it would be long and desperate in 
 its course. 
 
 The following is the speech of Dr. Delany, at the 
 close of the International Congress: — 
 
 "I should be insensible, indeed, if I should permit 
 this Congress to adjourn without expressing my grati- 
 tude for the cordial manner in which I have been re- 
 ceived, from the time when I landed in this kingdom 
 to the present moment, and in particular to the Earl 
 of Shaftesbury, the president of the section to which I 
 belong, as well as to every individual gentleman of that 
 section, it matters not from what [tart of the world he 
 came. I say, my lord, if I did permit this Congress to 
 adjourn without expressing my gratitude, I should be 
 an ingrate indeed. I am not foolish enough to suppose 
 that it was from any individual merit of mine, but it 
 was that outburst of expression of sympathy for my 
 race (African), whom I represent, and who have gone 
 the road of that singular providence of degeneration, 
 that all other races in some time of the world's history 
 have gone, but from which, thank God, they are now 
 fast being regenerated. I again tender my most sin- 
 cere thanks and heartfelt gratitude to those distin- 
 9 
 
130 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 guished gentlemen with whom I have been privileged 
 to associate, and by whom I have been received on 
 terms of the most perfect equality." (Great applause.) 
 
 We subjoin to this an extract from the Globe, pub- 
 lished in Toronto, Canada, by which the attention of 
 the House of Lords was called to him : — 
 
 " In the course of his remarks in asking a question in 
 the House of Lords for the production of certain pa- 
 pers relating to the suppression of the slave trade, Lord 
 Brougham said that his noble friend near him (Lord 
 Shaftesbury) could bear testimony to the useful assist- 
 ance given to the department of the Statistical Con- 
 gress, over which he presided, by Dr. Delany, the negro 
 member of the Congress. (Lord Shaftesbury, ' Certain- 
 ly.') He had shown great talent in his addresses to the 
 section. He had also appeared at the general meeting 
 over which he (Lord Brougham), in the prince con- 
 sort's absence, presided." 
 
 The following extract is from page 39 of the Trans- 
 actions National Asso. Prom. S. Science : — 
 
 "At our first meeting in 1857, the subject of Judicial 
 Statistics was brought under consideration, in one of 
 the able and useful papers read by Mr. L. Levi, and 
 in consequence of the discussion which took place, 
 very considerable improvements were introduced into 
 that department of the treasury, so that, at our last 
 Congress, hopes were entertained of such complete and 
 regular information being afforded, as the Annual Re- 
 port of the Minister of Justice presents in France. A 
 most important step has since been made in that di- 
 rection. The meeting of the International Statistical 
 Congress has been held under the presidency of the 
 
International Congress. 131 
 
 prince consort, whose opening address, marked by the 
 sound sense, the accurate information, and the general 
 ability which distinguish all his royal highness's exer- 
 tions, is in the hands of all our members. Having been 
 requested to superintend the judicial department, and 
 having afterwards, in his royal highness's absence, pre- 
 sided at the general meeting, it was a great satisfaction 
 to find the unanimous adoption of the plan which it 
 became my duty to report, embodying the resolutions 
 in full detail upon the whole subject; and there was a 
 strong recommendation unanimously passed, urging the 
 government to appoint a permanent statistical commis- 
 sion. The report has been presented to the House 
 of Lords (where, indeed, I had several years before 
 brought forward the resolutions which formed its 
 groundwork this year), and is now among the printed 
 papers of the session. There were naturally present at 
 this International Congress eminent men from various 
 parts of the Continent ; and in announcing the assem- 
 bly of the present meeting, I took the liberty of invit- 
 ing those distinguished foreigners, with whose presence 
 I trust we are now honored. Among others was a 
 negro gentleman of great respectability and talents, Dr. 
 Delany, who had attended different departments, and 
 in his able addresses has communicated useful informa- 
 tion and suggestions. When inviting him to this 
 Congress, I informed him that he would have the sat- 
 isfaction of visiting the country which first declared a 
 slave free the instant he touches British ground. Dr. 
 Delany's forefathers were African slaves ; he is himself 
 a native of Canada.* It is truly painful to reflect that, 
 
 * His lordship is in error in regard to the birthplace, as else- 
 where shown. 
 
132 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 although his family have been free for generations, his 
 origin being traced to one whom the crimes of white 
 men and Christians had enslaved, he would be, in the 
 land of trans- Atlantic liberty, incapable of enjoying any 
 civil rights whatever, and would be treated in all re- 
 spects as an alien, the iniquity of the fathers being inex- 
 orably visited, not upon their children, but upon the 
 children of their victims, to all generations, — children 
 whose only offence is the sufferings of their parents, 
 whose wrongs they inherit with their hue." 
 
 "Note. — It was stated to Dr. Delany that he 
 would be in the country which first pronounced the 
 great decree of a slave's fetters falling off the moment 
 he touched British ground. This was first decided by 
 the courts of Scotland, in the case of Knight, a negro, 
 1778. In Somerset's case, 1772, the courts of England 
 had not laid down the rule generally, but only that a 
 negro could not be carried out of the country by his 
 master. In the Scotch case, the printed argument was 
 prepared by Mr. McLaurin (afterwards Lord Cleghorn, 
 son of the celebrated mathematician), and the appro 
 priate motto which he prefixed to his paper was : — 
 
 " ' QtJAMVIS ILLE NIGER, QUAMVIS TU CANDIDUS ES- 
 SES.' " Ibid. p. 53. 
 
 A most remarkable feature noticed in the position of 
 the learned lord, in relation to Major Delany, was the 
 occasion which he took to proclaim to him — a black 
 man, and for the first time before such a distinguished 
 audience — that important historic fact in legal juris- 
 prudence, as found in note above, that it was in 
 Scotland in 1722, the great declaration was made by 
 
INTERNATIONAL CONGEESS. 133 
 
 Lord Cleghorn, that the moment a slave touched British 
 soil, he stood a freeman " by the irresistible genius of 
 universal emancipation." 
 
 It is also worthy of record that so many long years 
 should elapse, and he be made the first to receive the 
 great decision from history correctly given by no less 
 personage than the ex-high lord chancellor of Eng- 
 land. 
 
134 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RETURN TO AMERICA. 
 
 S Delany was desirous of contributing his aid to 
 the suppression of the rebellion, in various ways he 
 offered to make his services acceptable, which being of 
 no avail, as northern ingenuity had not yet discovered 
 the latent powers of black muscles, he was forced to 
 remain an unwilling looker-on while others bore the 
 part he believed assigned to his race. 
 
 While thus unemployed, he accepted the advice of 
 gentlemen of influence and standing, among whom were 
 the Hon. F. S. Gregory and the Rev. Dr. Riddell, of 
 Jersey City, Joseph B. Collins and Isaac Smith, Esqs., 
 of New York, to make a tour through the country, 
 and lecture on Africa and his researches there. 
 
 These lectures, beginning after the publication of his 
 report, were exceedingly popular. They were free 
 courses, held generally in the most prominent churches 
 of various denominations, under the auspices of their 
 respective pastors ; his book being sold to the audience 
 at the conclusion. These being attended by the most 
 refined and influential of society, he took, occasion always 
 to bring forward the claims of his race to the war, en- 
 deavoring to create a popular feeling in favor of arm- 
 ing the blacks. For as the huge monster of rebellion 
 
Return to America. 135 
 
 began assuming its gigantic proportions with all its 
 hideous deformities, all were admitting the absurdity 
 of its being "put down in a few months." While many 
 then recognized that the blast from Sumter's embat- 
 tlement was but a reverberation of that which rung out 
 so clearly upon the midnight air, a few short years back, 
 at Harper's Ferry, they scarcely saw the blacks' identi- 
 ty with the issue. 
 
 To these lectures there was no impediment offered 
 by his political enemies, on the score of color, to pre- 
 vent his being heard, but on one occasion ; and the 
 cause assigned being so novel and ill-arranged we can- 
 not help referring to the circumstance. 
 
 Being in Detroit, he was solicited by that distin- 
 guished and venerable divine, Dr. Duffield, author of 
 " The Christian Regeneration," who offered him his 
 church, on the following Sabbath, to deliver a lecture on 
 any moral subject he should choose, before his congrega- 
 tion. The doctor accepted the invitation ; but at the pre- 
 cise moment of leaving for the church, a gentleman called 
 upon him, abruptly remarking, " It was not known 
 until this moment that you are the person who im- 
 proved the opportunity to insult the American minister 
 at the Court of St. James. You need not come ; we 
 will not hear you ! " This was of course instantly de- 
 nied, with an attempted explanation ; but his accuser, for 
 some reason, persisting in the charge, and indignantly 
 refusing to hear an explanation, abruptly withdrew. 
 Soon after a committee of gentlemen called, stating that 
 the church was crowded, determined to hear him and 
 give him an opportunity to explain the impolitic charge 
 against him. Thanking them, he peremptorily de- 
 
136 Life of Major M. R. Delasty. 
 
 clined, lest he should compromise the excellent pastor 
 by the accusation most certain to be made, that " the 
 abolitionists of the church had forced a negro into it, 
 though protested against by the other portion of the 
 congregation." Again, that Sabbath being the first 
 after the attack on Fort Sumter, he insisted to his 
 friends, knowing the great issue at stake, that it was no 
 time to divide the feelings of the people. The point 
 was conceded by his friends, and they yielded, when 
 one of them, a wealthy manufacturer, rented the "Mur- 
 rill Hall " at his own expense, where, on the first even- 
 ing, he made a satisfactory explanation of the alleged 
 offence, and lectured for four consecutive evenings. 
 
 A few days after this, while seated in the cars, dashing 
 along the Great Western Railway in Canada, listening 
 to a discussion on the probabilities of the war and its 
 result, a gentleman stepped up, addressing him by 
 name, stated that lie resided at Detroit, and was there 
 at the time the objection was raised against having him 
 lecture at the church, and, " although a Democrat, he 
 did not sympathize with the issue made against him, 
 and that it was simple justice due to him to state that 
 
 the author of the charge was Colonel , recent charge 
 
 d'affaires at the Court of R , who made the state- 
 ment as being true, he having been present at the In- 
 ternational Congress at the time, and knew the attack 
 on the American minister to have been of the grossest 
 character and altogether unnecessary." This, the 
 major says, was the first and only information he ever 
 had of the conversion of that incident into an attack 
 by him upon the Ameican minister. 
 
 He continued his course of lectures, and heard no 
 
Return to America. 137 
 
 more such absurd charges, persons being perhaps too 
 absorbed in the fearful struggle, when a nation should 
 be born anew, and old prejudices and hatred forever 
 buried, to repeat the slander. 
 
 At this time, too, there were endless speculations 
 concerning the course and determined policy of Mr. 
 Lincoln, who, with few exceptions, was being regarded 
 with suspicion by the friends of the blacks as well as 
 by the blacks themselves, based upon his inaugural ad- 
 dress (to the first we allude, for the second lives for- 
 ever), together with the Central American Emigra- 
 tion scheme, which w e now recognize as a most suc- 
 cessful coup d'etat of the president. It set the 
 opinion at rest forever that the colored people could be 
 induced to emigrate from their home, and this their 
 country, en masse. 
 
 Speculations were endless as to the tendency of the 
 president's course. As it is not considered an assump- 
 tion for a man of limited means to have an opinion of 
 his own, Dr. Delany had and claimed the right, af- 
 ter much deliberation, to express his views concerning 
 the policy of the president. Many of his friends differed 
 widely from him ; he held his own convictions with his 
 usual tenacity, and endeavored to convince them. lie 
 thought he could discern, in the course then beino; 
 pursued by Mr. Lincoln, a logical conclusion, and which, 
 if not at first intended, would ultimately result in ac- 
 complishing the desires of the friends of freedom — ■ 
 emancipation to the slaves of the South, and the frced- 
 men's rights as an inevitable consequence. 
 
 Said he on one occasion, " I thought I could see 
 differently from my friends, those truly talented men, 
 
138 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 and unswerving friends of their race. Not that I 
 know more than they, for I may not know as much. 
 But we, like white men, have our faculties and propen- 
 sities, and are likely to develop them in the prosecu- 
 tion of our course. In this I think it may not be re- 
 garded as an unwarranted assumption or egotism to 
 say that in national affairs and in fundamental princi- 
 ciples of government, I claim to be at least not far 
 rearward of my friends whose counsels I sought. To 
 inquire into the origin of races and governments, and 
 the rise and fall of nations, is with me a propensity I 
 cannot resist. This is not said for invidious comparison 
 with my friends, because as an orator (which I am not), 
 anti-slavery historian, and portrayer of black men's 
 wrongs, I would sink into insignificance in comparison 
 with Frederick Douglass, and would render myself 
 ridiculous were I capable of assuming to be equally 
 learned with Dr. James McCune Smith. While I con- 
 sidered him at the time of his death the most scientific 
 and learned colored man, as a scholar, on the Ameri- 
 can continent, yet neither scholarship and splendid 
 talents among black men ceased to exist w T ith Dr. 
 McCune Smith, nor will end with the name of the re- 
 nowned Douglass. They are more numerous, com- 
 paratively, than their opportunities warrant." He 
 sought his friends, to devise with them the means best 
 adapted to meet the demands of the hour. The sub- 
 ject present in his mind w r as that of the army. He 
 argued strongly, always in favor of separate organiza- 
 tion, as the only means to give character to the colored 
 people, and promote their pride of race, thus crediting 
 them in history with deeds of their own. In this 
 
Return to America. 139 
 
 he was afterwards supported by the late Dr. McCune 
 Smith, and the lamented Thomas Hamilton of the 
 Anglo- African. 
 
 On one occasion he sought Mr. Frederick Douglass 
 at his home at Rochester, who was then restlessly im- 
 patient, as were a host of others, at the slow, undefined 
 steps of the president. It is not for us to question 
 whether or not those sad, patient eyes, from the begin- 
 ning of the struggle, discerned, amid the mists and 
 shadows of the future, the symbol of Union synony- 
 mous with emancipation, and, rejoicing, quietly awaited 
 the development of events, or if it was indeed a " mili- 
 tary necessity" which occasioned its promulgation. 
 Since the many disclosures of party treachery and cor- 
 ruption in high places, the pureness of action which 
 marked his career forms a striking contrast, on which 
 the loyal heart contemplates with a pride mingled 
 with tenderness. That a signal providence directed 
 his course, beset as he was by false counsellors and 
 foes, who hesitated at no measures which subserved 
 their purposes, it is evident. The fiery trials and per- 
 plexities through which he passed but purified him for 
 the halo of martyrdom which ultimately encircled his 
 furrowed brow, enshrining him forever in the nation's 
 innermost heart. 
 
 Before his departure from Rochester he had the sat- 
 isfaction of hearing Mr. Douglass express himself more 
 favorably editorially in his able journal, and this before 
 it went to press. Said he, " It was to this change of 
 opinion in my great-hearted friend that we date the 
 correspondence with the Hon. Montgomery Blair, ask- 
 ing the aid of his great influence in behalf of the pres- 
 
140 Life of Major M. R. Dela^y. 
 
 ident in putting down the rebellion, and which result- 
 ed in a special official request for Mr. Douglass to visit 
 Washington, and his subsequent conference with the 
 president and cabinet, including the able secretary 
 of war." 
 
 An incident is related in connection with his many 
 arguments in behalf of the government, believing its 
 policy ultimately tended to emancipation. In conver- 
 sation once on this subject with some of his friends, 
 there was present an accomplished European lady, 
 who professed no respect for the Americanism of that 
 date, and was by no means favorably impressed with 
 President Lincoln's course. He sought to disarm her 
 of her prejudices against the administration, as his faith 
 was in the power behind the throne, which was greater 
 than the throne itself. She suddenly turned from his 
 theories, telling him he did not comprehend the great 
 questions involved in the issue of the war. Before he 
 could recover from this abrupt stroke, Mr. Douglass 
 came to his aid, which timely relief saved him from a 
 most terrible rout. Said Mr. Douglass, " Madam, you 
 do not know the gentleman with whom you are con- 
 versing ; if there be one- man among us to whose opin- 
 ion I would yield on the subject of government gen- 
 erally, that man is the gentleman now before you." 
 
Coups d'Afrique. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CORPS D'AFRIQUE. 
 
 AS early as October, 1861, Dr. Delany, when en 
 route to Chicago, stopped at Adrian, Michigan, 
 for the purpose of seeing ^President Mahan, of the 
 Michigan College. The subject of the war, which was 
 then being earnestly waged, instantly became the theme 
 of conversation, and the role of the colored American 
 as an actor on its board was the principal feature 
 therein. How and what to do to obtain admission to 
 the service, was the question to which Dr. Delany 
 demanded a solution. He stated that it had become 
 inseparable with his daily existence, almost absorbing 
 everything else, and nothing would content him but 
 entering the service ; he cared not how, provided his 
 admission recognized the rights of his race to do so. 
 
 To this President Mahan assented, and expressed 
 himself as willing to sacrifice his high social position 
 and literary worth for the cause of his country and hu- 
 manity. He further expressed himself as being willing 
 and ready to enter the service on conditions that should 
 be specified, he having received a military education in 
 his youth. 
 
 He proposed to apply to President Lincoln for a major 
 general's commission, with authority to raise a division 
 
142 Life of Majok M. R. Delany. 
 
 of blacks. Dr. Delany at once proposed that the ap- 
 plication be made specially for a corps d'Afrique for 
 signal service from the white division of the army. 
 This was prior to the application of Dr. Gloucester to 
 Mr. Lincoln for such an organization for Major General 
 Fremont, or the order to General N. P. Banks. 
 
 His main reason in urging the corps d'Afrique was, 
 he claimed, with his usual pride of race, that the origin 
 and dress of the Zouaves d'Afrique were strictly 
 African. 
 
 To President Mahan, on that occasion, he gave the 
 following history of their formation : — 
 
 "That it was during the Algerine war waged by the 
 Due d'Orleans, eldest son of Louis Philippe, against 
 Abdel-Kader, the Arab, the Zouave obtained that fame 
 which recommended it to civilized nations. 
 
 " The French had their three grand armies of ten 
 thousand ; the struggle had been long, desperate, and 
 costly to the French, both in men and materials of 
 war, and the campaign began to wane, till 
 
 ' A Moorish king went up and down, 
 Through Granada's royal town,' 
 
 and the services of the African warriors were tendered 
 to the Due d'Orleans by an African prince. 
 
 "When, in a terrible charge, the duke, receiving a 
 shot through the thigh, was unhorsed, and fell bleeding 
 to the ground, the desperate Arabs, amid the wild 
 shouts of their leaders, charged On their steeds with 
 open mouths and distended nostrils, their javelins 
 drawn for the fatal thrust, those faithful black Zouaves, 
 eighteen hundred, mounted upon jet stallions, rushed 
 
Corps d'Afrique. 143 
 
 to the conflict, in turn charging, and turned the front of 
 their antagonists with double-edged sabres, cut through 
 the ranks of the shrieking enemy, covered the duke 
 with their shields, and bore him away in triumph from 
 the field. 
 
 "It was for services such as these in a long and 
 bloody struggle, that could not have been brought to a 
 close without such aid, that the African Zouaves, who 
 served in the Algerine war, were taken as veteran 
 troops with the French to Europe, and their dress and 
 tactics introduced as a part of the military service of 
 the French. 
 
 "It was observed years ago by persons visiting Hayti, 
 without their comprehending it closely, perhaps, that 
 the soldiers of that island had peculiar tactics, — 'throw- 
 ing themselves upon the earth,' and, as one writer 
 observed, turning upon their backs, then upon their 
 sides, so swiftly that it was hard to determine what 
 they were, all the time keeping up a continual < load 
 and fire.' This was, doubtless, nothing but the orig- 
 inal Zouave tactics introduced long years ago by native 
 Africans among these people." 
 
 Before leaving, President Mahan proposed to make 
 the application, as previously agreed upon between 
 them, and, if successful, to give Dr. Delany an appoint- 
 ment compatible with his desires. The latter proposed 
 to avoid encroaching on army regulations as then be- 
 ing the policy ; that he should receive the position of 
 private medical adviser and confidential bearer of de- 
 spatches, which would not interfere with any official 
 position of army officers, and at the same time giving 
 him the opportunity of being near the general's person, 
 
144 Life of Major M. R. Del ant. 
 
 to obtain the military experience he desired, which he 
 knew would render him of service in the event of the 
 government accepting the aid of the colored troops, by- 
 admitting those fitted to proper positions. 
 
 With this understanding he left President Mahan, 
 confident, if it was possible for his desires to be accom- 
 plished, that all endeavors would be used. Instead of 
 hearing of the success of his plans, he soon saw them 
 fade before him, like a dream before awakened realities, 
 by seeing the order published giving authority to Major 
 General N". P. Banks to raise a corps d'Afrique imme- 
 diately for the service. 
 
 But this did not prevent him from looking to a 
 brighter prospect for his race. 
 
 " As this placed us fairly in the war," he said, " thank- 
 ing God, I became satisfied, and took courage." 
 
 Thus, while it proved an individual failure for his 
 plans, as it was a gain to his race, it was as to him- 
 self, and his unselfish nature received fresh stimulant 
 to labor to promote further recognition for them. 
 
A Step Towards the Service. 145 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A STEP TOWARDS THE SERVICE. 
 
 WHILE completing his last lectures of the course 
 in Chicago, the order was granted by the depart- 
 ment to raise the famous Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Vol-: 
 unteers, whose fame is enhanced by the gorious burial of 
 its brave young commander with his dusky guards, and 
 the memories of Forts Wagner and Olustee. 
 
 For this regiment he received the appointment of 
 acting assistant agent, under Charles L. Remond and 
 Charles H. Langston, Esq., for recruiting, and acting 
 examining surgeon for the post of Chicago, from 
 Major George L. Stearns, chairman of the military 
 committee, being authorized by Governor John A. An- 
 drew, of Massachusetts. 
 
 His eldest son, then but eighteen years of age, at 
 school in Canada, wrote to him for permission to join 
 that regiment. In granting the request, it drew from 
 him a reply worthy of his heart and head. 
 
 After the regiment was tilled, he applied by letter to 
 the war department at Washington for the appoint- 
 ment as surgeon to the blacks in the army. He re- 
 ceived the usual polite reply, that "the letter was 
 received and on file under consideration." Hearing 
 nothing of his application, after a considerable time had 
 10 
 
146 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 elapsed, he was advised by his friends to write again 
 by way of a reminder, and was on the point of doing 
 so, when the news flashed over the wires that Dr. 
 Augusta of Canada had been appointed as surgeon in 
 the army, with the rank of major. Neither did this 
 second defeat dishearten him, for it was a realization 
 partly of his plans of seeing a black of representative 
 rank in the army. He then concluded to abandon the 
 sending of a second application to the department, 
 fearing to embarrass the government in such appoint- 
 ment, and by this retard the progress of the cause he 
 was endeavoring to advance. 
 
 Meanwhile Rhode Island had been ordered to raise 
 the heavy artillery; and eighteen hundred black men, 
 afterwards increased to twenty-five hundred, were re- 
 quired for this service. Some of his friends had pushed 
 forward his claims in this direction to the authorities. 
 He was visited at his home in Canada concerning the 
 recruiting, and made agent under a commissioned cap- 
 tain in the service to superintend the recruiting of this 
 arm of the service. 
 
 Establishing himself at Detroit, Michigan, removing 
 thence to Chicago, he soon found himself borne smooth- 
 ly along on the wave of success. His efforts were 
 seconded by the most influential colored people of the 
 place : among them we find the name of Mr. John 
 Jones, the wealthiest colored resident of the state, who 
 entered intimately into his confidence, bringing all his 
 influence to bear in assisting the government to put 
 down the rebellion. 
 
 So satisfactory was his course in -the West to the 
 authorities of Rhode Island, that the captain under 
 
A Step Towards the Service. 147 
 
 whom he served was relieved, and he then placed in 
 entire charge, and its accompanying responsibilities, 
 without the military commission, however, or even 
 rank given by courtesy, as the country was not up to 
 that at the time. 
 
 Orders at this time were sent to him concerning a 
 change about to be made in relation to the pay and 
 recruiting of the men, which, while it would have re- 
 sulted in increasing his own pay, would greatly have re- 
 duced the bounty — twenty-two dollars a man. To this 
 proposed injustice he instantly refused to lend his in- 
 fluence. And he soon received a telegram to the effect 
 that he was relieved. He then demanded a settlement 
 for his past services. Not being answered, he sent a 
 messenger to Governor Smith, who at once summoned 
 him to Rhode Island. At Providence he met his ex- 
 cellency and Major Sanford, U. S. mustering officer, 
 who, together with the governor, the past difficulty 
 being satisfactorily settled, united in recommending his 
 appointment to the military authorities of Connecticut, 
 that state having at the time a quota to fill of five 
 thousand. An official of that state was telegraphed, 
 who contracted with him to superintend the recruiting. 
 He retained his former quarters at Chicago, but was 
 afterwards compelled to remove to Cleveland, Ohio, in 
 consequence of an abrupt interruption on the part of 
 the authorities of that city and the State of Illinois. 
 He complained of affairs being badly conducted, and 
 after a most unsatisfactory official visit to New Haven, 
 occasioned by the absence of Governor Buckingham, he 
 resigned, with a loss of about three thousand dollars to 
 himself. 
 
148 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 He immediately went west, and opened an indepen- 
 dent recruiting station, witnessing, he says, "with unut- 
 terable disgust, the hateful mercenary recruiting trade 
 of selling men in the highest market, and denounced 
 them, whether black or white. 
 
 The legitimate quotas in a few country districts of 
 Western Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, he aided 
 in filling, " persistently refusing," he says, " the offers 
 made for men, by a class who prowled the country un- 
 der various names and pretended military titles, with 
 a shudder and a scout, despising the man who would 
 sell his brethren for a price." So great were his fears 
 lest imposition or intrigue be practised on the men, 
 and his promise be made void, that he invariably ac- 
 companied them to their destination. 
 
 The most interesting epoch in his recruiting career 
 was when he was called upon, by the military committee 
 of one of the districts of Western Ohio, to contract to 
 fill their quota of two thousand five hundred men, un- 
 der the new act of Congress. The office of the com- 
 mittee was at Cleveland, Ohio. He consented to 
 negotiate for them, provided that he teas commissioned 
 a state officer under the new act regulating the ap- 
 pointment of state officers in recruiting. The commit- 
 tee suggested first to make sure of the choice and con- 
 tract ; then they would have whereon to base an ap- 
 plication to the governor. This course was complied 
 with, and the application then made to the governor, 
 who expressed himself to the effect that he regarded 
 the proposal too novel to find favor at Washington, as 
 a blade man could never have been designed or intend- 
 ed in the new recruiting order. He further intimated 
 
A Step Towards the Service. 149 
 
 that the authorities at Washington would be consulted 
 as to whether or not such an appointment would be 
 acceptable to them. "Governor Brough," said he, 
 "that arm which shall be the most successful inputting 
 down this wicked rebellion, is the arm which will be 
 at present most acceptable to the people of the United 
 States and the authorities at Washington, be that a 
 white or black arm." The governor, smiling, he con- 
 tinues, replied that he did not dispute it, adding that 
 he thought I might leave for my destination, and re- 
 gard the commission as certain to be forwarded with 
 documents for other state officers. 
 
 After a short visit to his home, he engaged his exam- 
 ining surgeon, an accomplished colored gentleman, who 
 had been with him in the Rhode Island and Connecti- 
 cut recruiting service, returned, and arrived at Nash- 
 ville, where in two days, he received his commission 
 from the governor. 
 
 At Nashville the famous letter (famous at least to 
 those whom it concerned) of Major General Sherman, 
 then at Atlanta, Georgia, to Lieutenant Colonel John A. 
 Spooner, provost marshal general and commissioner 
 from Massachusetts for Tennessee, Mississippi, and 
 Georgia, was under consideration and discussion. He 
 writes of it, "Great was the consternation produced 
 among 'government agents' there; and such were the 
 offers made to me by parties for ' partnership, division 
 of profits, and the like,' that I was constrained to have 
 on hand but the one answer for all. Gentlemen, I have an 
 honorable appointment. I cannot and will not sell my 
 brethren for a price, nor my birthright for a mess of 
 pottage." Worn out by these actions, and disgusted, 
 
150 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 he left the place, going directly to Ohio, where after a 
 few weeks spent in Galliopolis and Portsmouth, " I be- 
 came convinced," he said, "that the business of recruit- 
 ing had reached such a state of demoralization that no 
 honorable man, except a U. S. commissioned officer, 
 could continue it successfully without jeopardizing his 
 own reputation." He returned home, gaining nothing 
 but experience by his commission. 
 
Recruiting as it Was. 151 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 RECRUITING AS IT WAS. 
 
 \J^T^ take the following, on the subject of recruit- 
 Y y ing, with its light and shadows as viewed by 
 him. Whatever of good or evil was entailed in his 
 regulations, with him the responsibility rested. He 
 says, " On entering this service, there was no guide, no 
 precedent ; but every one, however ignorant, assumed 
 and pursued a course, in many instances, unjust to the 
 recruit, and detrimental to the service, and at once dis- 
 honorable, but subservient to his own selfish ends. 
 This was apparent, and at once made the object of 
 attention. For instance, the Fifty-fourth Massachu- 
 setts Volunteers were raised by special provision by the 
 citizens or private contributions, as was understood, 
 allowing each enlisted man fifty dollars bounty, which 
 at that time was twenty-five dollars more than was 
 being given by most of the states, perhaps by any other 
 state. It was then understood the bounties of the 
 Fifty-fourth were not appropriated by the state funds. 
 The states which afterwards raised colored troops did 
 so from state appropriations. Rhode Island, being the 
 next to Massachusetts in this movement, appropriated 
 three hundred dollars bounty to the men." It was in 
 the service of the latter state he acknowledged receiv- 
 
152 Life of Major M. R. Delaxy. 
 
 ing the experience necessary to comprehend the entire 
 system of recruiting. " For," said he, " in the service 
 of Massachusetts, I was employed under my distin- 
 guished friends, Charles L. Remond and C. H. Lang- 
 ston, Esqs. My duty was to receive and execute orders 
 and instructions, not to give them. In the Rhode 
 Island service, being engaged to manage, my position 
 and duties were quite different. 
 
 " The states which gave colored troops to the service 
 made special arrangements for recruiting them, for the 
 simple reason that necessarily a great part of them had 
 to come from other places than the state which organ- 
 ized them. The provisions made for recruiting white 
 soldiers could not be successfully applied in the case 
 of the colored. 
 
 "These were points of importance, — of great impor- 
 tance, — because they involve principles of justice to all 
 concerned. 
 
 " Rhode Island, for instance, paid two hundred and 
 fifty dollars bounty to the men in raising the heavy 
 artillery, leaving a residue of fifty dollars for all ex- 
 penses incurred — salaries of officers, agents, sub- 
 agents, subsistence of recruits till mustered in, trans- 
 portation — a heavy item of expense, when it is remem- 
 bered that the greater portion of these men were from 
 the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, where 
 the agents had actually to go to get them, and when 
 obtained in Kentucky and Missouri, for the most part, 
 it cost from ten to twenty-five dollars each to get 
 across the river to the Indiana or Illinois side. It 
 will be readily understood, by an experienced business 
 man or financier, that these immense expenses could 
 not be kept up and the recruits be justly dealt with. 
 
Recruiting as it was. 153 
 
 " Again, Connecticut appropriated three hundred 
 dollars bounty to the men, and I was probably the first 
 who received a/i appointment, by contract, to manage 
 her recruiting in the Western States. The first propo- 
 sition in meeting the military authorities was to fix the 
 bounties, impressing upon the gentlemen the fact that 
 bounties, being merely awards, were large or small, 
 according to circumstances; that all freedmen who 
 voluntarily presented themselves for enlistment, it fol- 
 lows, should and would receive the three hundred dol- 
 lars, because no extra or special expenses were in- 
 curred. All who had to be subsisted, and sent from 
 the West in Indiana and Illinois, should receive two 
 hundred and fifty dollars, and in all cases where slaves 
 would have to be obtained in the slave states, with all 
 the risks and expenses, one hundred dollars was ample 
 pay. When such men as the brave Voglesang, the in- 
 trepid Lennox, and the sons of Frederick Douglass, and 
 my own son, received but fifty dollars, regarding it as 
 ample, their patriotism inducing them to join without 
 bounty. Besides this, those recruited from the slave 
 states received their liberty cle facto, which they never 
 w T ould have attempted without our agency. 
 
 " This I considered justice, and so established it as 
 a system of recruiting. If there had not been a dol- 
 lar, instead of being a hundred, to give as a bounty to 
 a single slave, or to the sons of the distinguished Doug- 
 lass, and my own, I should have acted as I did — put 
 my own son in the army, endeavor to get the bond- 
 man in, for the purpose of overthrowing the infamous 
 system of slavery and the rebellion. 
 
 "On returning from Connecticut, I consulted my 
 
154 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 distinguished friend, the Rev. Mr. Garnet, in regard 
 to the system I had adopted, of which he highly 
 approved, as l coming from ourselves, concerning 
 ourselves? 
 
 " All this, however, neither covers, defends, nor toler- 
 ates in any degree the reprehensible and most shameful 
 impositions continually practised, by various methods 
 of deceptions under the pretext of recruiting. What 
 I defend is a legitimate system laid down, to be strictly 
 conformed to the letter. Whatever was promised to 
 the recruit he should have received, and this should 
 have been fixed and enforced by the proper authorities, 
 and not left optional with a stolid set of human 
 brokers." 
 
Changing Position. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CHANGING POSITION. 
 
 THE appointment of the black major of infantry, at 
 the time of its public announcement, created con- 
 siderable discussion. As the causes leading to it have 
 never yet been publicly known, to gratify a legiti- 
 mate curiosity, we will give it, beginning with the 
 materials with which he wrought out the claims of his 
 people to the national consideration. Like every in- 
 telligent observer of events, he had noted that while 
 the rebellion had progressed considerably, the status 
 of the colored people had shown no decided change. 
 The policy of the array relative to the slaves was 
 vague and undefined, and, in many instances, brutal, 
 while the fidelity and devotion of these blacks to the 
 Union army find no parallel in modern times away 
 from the pages of romance. No overdrawn picture, but 
 abounding with truthful figures, while from its back- 
 ground arise countless suggestions to the nation, was 
 that gracefully presented by Major Nichols in his 
 " Story of the Great March," when he said, " The ne- 
 groes all tell the general that the falsehoods of the 
 rebel papers never deceived them, and that they be- 
 lieved his 'retreats' sure victories; that they would 
 serve the Union cause in any way, and in all ways, that 
 
156 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 they could — as soldiers, as drivers, or pioneers. In- 
 deed, the faith, earnestness, and heroism of the black 
 men are among the grandest developments of this war. 
 When I think of the universal testimony of our escaped 
 soldiers, who enter our lines every day, that, in the 
 hundreds of miles which they traverse on their way, 
 they never ask the poor slave in vain for help ; that 
 the poorest negro hides and shelters them, and shares 
 the last crumb with them, — all this impresses me with 
 a weight of obligation and a love for them that stir the 
 very depths of my soul." 
 
 Yet these services were not sufficient to save the 
 bondman from being returned to his abject condition. 
 This is familiar to all, especially in the early record of 
 the army of the Potomac ; and for a long time during 
 the war these humiliating scenes were being enacted, 
 either openly or under some constitutional disguise. 
 
 The word " contraband " had been spoken into his- 
 tory by the great radical convert; but neither that, nor 
 the reticence of the president concerning the status of 
 the blacks seeking the Union lines, gave light to the 
 dark, deplorable situation. 
 
 The president was cognizant of these acts, as he at 
 one time stated ; but apportioning to himself but lim- 
 ited powers under the constitution, he hesitated to 
 proceed beyond these limits, unless he had the support 
 of the people. Silently he awaited the time when the 
 country, aroused to its honor and best interest, would 
 cast out from it this ghoul that had sustained itself on 
 the life-blood of the nation. He at last issued his 
 Emancipation Proclamation ; yet this could not accom- 
 plish everything. After the capture of Chattanooga, a 
 
Changing Position. 157 
 
 valiant commander wrote to Major-General Palmer in 
 Kentucky, " Send the rebel sympathizers and their ne- 
 groes down the river, out of the country, and let them 
 seek a clime more congenial for themselves and their 
 peculiar institution." Thus, whether displayed in mili- 
 tary parade around Washington, or in cautious recon- 
 noitrings on the banks of the Mississippi, or in the 
 brilliant engagement of Chickamauga, to the terrible 
 three days' struggle but glorious harvest of Gettys- 
 burg, the policy of the mighty armies of the Union 
 converged to the same object — to ignore the negro's 
 claims, and send the slave back to his master. 
 
 Delany viewed the moral bearing of this tendency 
 upon the future of his people ; he felt that in these re- 
 peated acts of injustice the energies of the blacks were 
 fast being chilled. 
 
 On this subject he frequently expressed himself, and 
 persistently urged measures then untouched as the 
 only means which would insure success. He said 
 when he made known his plans to his always noble- 
 hearted friend, Frederick Douglass, he gave him en- 
 couragement, adding that he was no soldier himself, 
 but had given two sons to the war. 
 
 There were others to whom he made these measures 
 known, though not the plans by which he intended 
 placing them before the president, among them we find 
 the names of John Jones, Esq., of Detroit, his colleague 
 " in office," Dr. Amos Aray, once associated with him, 
 Mr. George Vosburg, a man of sterling worth among his 
 people, Dr. Willis Revels, of Indianapolis, and others 
 not unknown to fame. 
 
 In his zeal he endeavored to induce the leading 
 
158 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 politicians among the colored people to unite upon 
 some settled policy by which they should be governed, 
 and to this end he addressed a letter through a paper 
 supported by them in New York, invoking a national 
 convention of the representative men, for the purpose 
 of defining their position in relation to the war; but it 
 failed to meet the general approbation. 
 
 He saw the progress of the war producing contingen- 
 cies, challenging policies, demanding of all some definite, 
 immediate action. And the action of the president, 
 apart from positive constitutional obligations, was 
 based upon these. Under such circumstances, what 
 need was most demanded was reliable, adequate 
 means. These were best adapted to the desired end, 
 and suggested by such as applied in person to the 
 president. 
 
 He said, that "to wait upon the president at such a 
 time to obtain anything from him could only be real- 
 ized by having something, or plan, to offer the govern- 
 ment, or it would be demonstrating an expression of 
 Mr. Lincoln, with cap in hand, and ask, 'Mr. President, 
 what have you to give me ? ' when the reply invari- 
 ably was, ' Sir, what have you to offer me?'" 
 
 He saw at one time one of the possible contingencies 
 of the war was an indication of foreign intervention. 
 The government had its own methods and measures 
 of meeting this event; but, aside from this, any aid 
 would be acceptable. Where could this be found ? 
 Could it be made available? and who will offer it? 
 were questions of importance with the government. 
 
 In view of the menacing attitude presented by two 
 of the greatest powers of the world, with a probability 
 
Changing Position. 159 
 
 of others following them, he addressed a letter on the 
 subject to the Anglo-African, setting forth what he 
 considered the best measure to be adopted by the col- 
 ored people to the interest of the country in the event 
 of foreign intervention. Another and most momen- 
 tous contingency he viewed from his stand-point was, 
 the probability of the south calling the blacks to arms, 
 xhis event, to every intelligent observer of the times, 
 was from the first of as much importance to the govern- 
 ment as that of foreign intervention. It was not least 
 among the complicated problems awaiting the solution 
 of the nation ; for while all others might be met by the 
 general usages and laws of war, diplomacy, and force 
 of arms, the last could only be met by measures at 
 once unprecedented, and jjeculiar to the method of 
 meeting belligerents. 
 
 To present the means of meeting these ends was cer- 
 tainly of vast importance to the government. 
 
 Thus, in view of the threat of Jefferson Davis to arm 
 the blacks, as slaves to fight for the establishment of 
 a slave confederacy, he argued that some means should 
 be devised in order to frustrate this design. 
 
 To many of the leading colored men of the North, 
 and the old abolitionists, this was comparatively an 
 easy task, — having originated that great scheme 
 known as the Underground Railroad, which, for nearly 
 forty years had bafned the comprehension of their foes 
 — a scheme so well devised and skilfully conducted, 
 that from one to forty were continually being passed 
 out of every part of the far South to Texas, Massachu- 
 setts, and Canada. 
 
 These men had the same means of reaching the 
 
160 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 slaves, and through this medium could reach them, in 
 order to prevent their joining their oppressors. 
 
 None expected at the beginning of the rebellion that, 
 in its extreme weakness, the tottering Confederacy 
 would call for aid from those its very first utterance had 
 sought to consign to perpetual degradation. And we 
 knew not what temptation would be held out the next 
 hour, in order to secure the aim of the South. There- 
 fore, can the means be made available immediately, 
 was a matter of painful anxiety. 
 
 At length he determined on the execution of his long- 
 designed plans. An event renewed his zeal. In Jan- 
 uary, 1865, he received a despatch from a friend to go 
 to Indianapolis, as Governor Morton had proposed to 
 raise two additional black regiments for the service. 
 And this friend, to whose telegram he responded, had 
 presented his claims to the consideration of the friends 
 of the movement, hearing that they were determined, 
 if possible, to secure the appointment of a black officer 
 for the state, as acting superintendent, commissioned 
 with the rank of captain. 
 
 But intelligence being soon after received from the 
 secretary of war disapproving of the measure, he im- 
 mediately returned to Wilberforce College, where, more 
 fully to identify himself with the interests of the coun- 
 try, as well as to secure educational advantages for his 
 children, he had previously removed his family from 
 Canada. Thence he set out for Washington. During 
 the time he was engaged in recruiting for the service, 
 he had been a keen observer of measures developed in 
 the progress of the rebellion. He had been in corre- 
 spondence with many of the leading men of both races 
 
Changing Position. 1G1 
 
 in the country, and in his own mind had been dedu- 
 cing measures applicable to the events transpiring rel- 
 ative to the colored people. Hence his presence in 
 Washington, to see the chief magistrate, though well 
 aware of the failure of others of his race who had pre- 
 ceded him there, to accomplish a satisfactory result. 
 This consideration would have deterred many men, for 
 among those who had sought the president were men 
 noted for their high attainments and general popularity. 
 Casting from him all suggestions of the impossibility 
 of success by the strength of his character, without aid 
 or adventitious surroundings, he struck out into a path 
 before untrodden by others of his race. 
 
 How it was accomplished we propose to relate, as a 
 part of the history of the great revolution, and as the 
 crowning act of the noble president's life and his great 
 secretary of war. 
 
 Said Dr. James McCune Smith of this movement, 
 "Delany is a success among the colored men;" and 
 subsequent events proved the correctness of the asser- 
 tion. 
 
 11 
 
162 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PRIVATE COUNCIL AT WASHINGTON". 
 
 THE 6th of February, 1865, found him in Wash- 
 ington, for the purpose of having an interview, if 
 possible, with President Lincoln and the secretary of 
 war. To his friend, the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, 
 whose guest he was, he made known the principles on 
 which he based his intended interview. 
 
 Mr. Garnet, living in Washington, and cognizant of 
 every measure inaugurated among the colored people 
 relative to the war, and remembering their ill success 
 with the executive, at first attempted to discourage 
 him. Mr. Garnet said to him, "Don't aim to say too 
 much in that direction. While your position is a good 
 one, yet I am afraid you will not see the president. So 
 many of our men have called upon him of late, all ex- 
 pecting something, and coming away dissatisfied, some 
 of them openly complaining, that I am fearful he has 
 come to the conclusion to receive no more black visit- 
 ors." T-o this he replied, "Mr. Garnet, I see you are 
 mistaken in regard to my course. I am here to ask 
 nothing of the president, but to offer him something 
 for the government. If it suits him, and he accepts, I 
 will take anything he may offer me in return." 
 
 His friend, still persisting, responded to him : said he, 
 
Private Council at Washington. 163 
 
 "Doctor, I see you are on the 'right track,' but I am 
 fearful, after all, that you will not get to see him." On 
 Major Delany proposing the secretary of war as a 
 medium through which to reach the president, Mr. 
 Garnet exclaimed, " My dear sir, you have made mat- 
 ters worse. I have been abroad ; I have been near the 
 persons of nobility and royalty ; but I never saw per- 
 sonages so hard to reach as the heads of government 
 in Washington." This information by no means de- 
 terred him. It was impossible for a host to turn Mar- 
 tin Delany from his task, determined as he was to 
 continue it to the end. 
 
 He remarked to the reverend gentleman that "the 
 mansion of every government has outer and inner 
 doors, the outer defended by guards ; the security of 
 the inner is usually a secret, except to the inmates of 
 the council-chamber. Across this inner lies a ponderous 
 beam, of the finest quality, highly polished, designed 
 only for the finest cabinet-work; it can neither be 
 stepped over nor passed around, and none can enter 
 except this is moved away ; and he that enters is the 
 only one to remove it at the time, which is the required 
 passport for his admission. I can pass the outer door, 
 through the guards, and I am persuaded that I can 
 move this polished beam of cabinet-work, and I will 
 do it." 
 
 Mr. Garnet, becoming convinced by his persistency, 
 that if that strength of will and perseverance of a 
 most untiring character, which had contributed so much 
 to his successes on other occasions, could avail, then his 
 friend's success in this case was certain. Turning to 
 his lady, who was present, he said, " I believe he will 
 
164 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 do it. Go, my brother," added he, " and may God speed 
 you to a full accomplishment of your desires." The 
 lady's response, " Of course he will," was not without 
 effect, coming when most needed, and ratifying a faith 
 in perseverance. 
 
 He set himself to work to devise some means by 
 which to gain the desired interview, and succeeded so 
 far, that on Monday, 8th of February, he sent his card 
 up to the president, and on the same afternoon, about 
 three o'clock, while visiting the patent office, a message 
 was received by him, that an audience was granted for 
 the next morning at eight o'clock. 
 
 The auspicious morning dawned upon him, and the 
 appointed hour found him advanced within the " outer 
 gate." The president was absent, at the war depart- 
 ment. But not unmindful of his engagement, he left 
 a messenger to be sent after him. 
 
 In the appointment of Martin Delany, it was for no 
 holiday service, or for conciliatory measures towards 
 the colored people and their friends, for that could 
 have been more easily and consistently effected by 
 promoting some from among the gallant soldiers 
 already in the service. Their heroism and endurance 
 in the field, their discipline and manly bearing in the 
 camp, are the nation's household stories. Familiar to 
 all is the splendid martial fame acquired by the colored 
 regiments of Massachusetts, while their repeated re- 
 fusal, to a manj/br nearly one year, to receive from the 
 government less than the fulfilment of its pledges, 
 under which they enrolled as soldiers of Massachu- 
 setts, has passed into the history of our country, fur- 
 nishing an attitude of the moral sublime unparalleled 
 amid the many glorious achievements of our war. 
 
Private Council at Washington. 165 
 
 But the new appointment was made to carry out 
 certain policies of the administration, which remain un- 
 developed in consequence of the termination of the 
 rebellion. 
 
 If the rebellion had continued, these measures would 
 have been developed of necessity, and like all other 
 good measures of the war, would have been approved 
 by a generous public sentiment. But the war having 
 ceased, they remain on record, to the honor of the two 
 great heads and hearts that conceived them and antici- 
 pated their adoption. 
 
 In speaking of Mr. Stanton, he says, " The secretary 
 of war ever stood side by side with the great and good 
 President Lincoln, in every advanced measure. He 
 stood foremost in the cabinet in the interest of the col- 
 ored people. Now that the president has passed away, 
 I trust that the noble war minister will receive the re- 
 ward due to him by a grateful people." 
 
166 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE COUNCIL-CHAMBER. —PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 WE give in Major Delany's own language his in- 
 terview with President Lincoln. 
 
 He tells us, " On entering the executive chamber, 
 and being introduced to his excellency, a generous 
 grasp and shake of the hand brought me to a seat 
 in front of him. No one could mistake the fact that 
 an able and master spirit was before me. Serious 
 without sadness, and pleasant withal, he was soon 
 seated, placing himself at ease, the better to give 
 me a patient audience. He opened the conversation 
 first. 
 
 " ' What can I do for you, sir?' he inquired. 
 
 " * Nothing, Mr. President,' I replied ; ' but I've come 
 to propose something to you, which I think will be 
 beneficial to the nation in this critical hour of her 
 peril.' I shall never forget the expression of his 
 countenance and the inquiring look which he gave 
 me when I answered him. 
 
 " ' Go on, sir,' he said, as I paused through deference 
 to him. I continued the conversation by reminding 
 him of the full realization of arming the blacks of the 
 South, and the ability of the blacks of the North to 
 defeat it by complicity with those at the South, through 
 
President Lincoln. 167 
 
 the medium of the Underground Railroad — a measure 
 known only to themselves. 
 
 "I next called his attention to the fact of the heart- 
 less and almost relentless prejudice exhibited towards 
 the blacks by the Union army, and that something 
 ought to be done to check this growing feeling against 
 the slave, else nothing that we could do would avail. 
 And if such were not expedited, all might be lost. 
 That the blacks, in every capacity in which they had 
 been called to act, had done their part faithfully and 
 well. To this Mr. Lincoln readily assented. I con- 
 tinued : ' I would call your attention to another fact 
 of great consideration ; that is, the position of confi- 
 dence in which they have been placed, when your offi- 
 cers have been under obligations to them, and in many 
 instances even the army in their power. As pickets, 
 scouts, and guides, you have trusted them, and found 
 them faithful to the duties assigned ; and it follows that 
 if you can find them of higher qualifications, they may, 
 with equal credit, fill higher and more important trusts.' 
 
 " ' Certainly] replied the president, in his most em- 
 phatic manner. 'And what do you propose to do V he 
 inquired. 
 
 "I responded, 'I propose this, sir; but first permit 
 me to say that, whatever I may desire for black men in 
 the army, I know that there exists too much prejudice 
 among the whites for the soldiers to serve under a 
 black commander, or the officers to be willing to asso- 
 ciate with him. These are facts which must be ad- 
 mitted, and, under the circumstances, must be regarded, 
 as they cannot be ignored. And I propose, as a most 
 effective remedy to prevent enrolment of the blacks 
 
168 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 in the rebel service, and induce them to run to, instead 
 of from, the Union forces — the commissioning and 
 promotion of black men now in the army, according to 
 merit.' 
 
 " Looking at me for a moment, earnestly yet anxious- 
 ly, he demanded, 'How will you remedy the great 
 difficulty you have just now sO justly described, about 
 the objections of white soldiers to colored commanders, 
 and officers to colored associates ? ' 
 
 " 1 replied, ' I have the remedy, Mr. President, 
 which has not yet been stated ; and it is the most im- 
 portant suggestion of my visit to you. And I think it 
 is just what is required to complete the prestige of the 
 Union army. I propose, sir, an army of blacks, com- 
 manded entirely by black officers, except such whites 
 as may volunteer to serve ; this army to penetrate 
 through the heart of the South, and make conquests, 
 with the banner of Emancipation unfurled, proclaiming 
 freedom as they go, sustaining and protecting it by 
 arming the emancipated, taking them as fresh troops, 
 and leaving a few veterans among the new freedmen, 
 when occasion requires, keeping this banner unfurled 
 until every slave is free, according to the letter of your 
 proclamation. I would also take from those already in 
 the service all that are competent for commission offi- 
 cers, and establish at once in the South a camp of in- 
 structions. By this we could have in about three 
 months an army of forty thousand blacks in* motion, 
 the presence of which anywhere would itself be a 
 power irresistible. You should have an army of 
 blacks, President Lincoln, commanded entirely by 
 blacks, the sight of which is required to give confi- 
 
President Lincoln. 169 
 
 dence to the slaves, and retain them to the Union, stop 
 foreign intervention, and speedily bring the war to a 
 close.' 
 
 "' This,' replied the president, 'is the very thing I 
 have been looking and hoping for ; but nobody offered 
 it. I have thought it over and over again. I have 
 talked about it; I hoped and prayed for it; but till 
 now it never has been proposed. White men couldn't 
 do this, because they are doing all in that direction 
 now that they can ; but we find, for various reasons, it 
 does not meet the case under consideration. The 
 blacks should go to the interior, and the whites be kept 
 on the frontiers.' 
 
 " ' Yes, sir,' I interposed ; ' they would require but 
 little, as they could subsist on the country as they 
 went along.' 
 
 " ' Certainly,' continued he ; ' a few light artillery, 
 with the cavalry, would comprise your principal ad- 
 vance, because all the siege work would be on the 
 frontiers and waters, done by the white division of the 
 army. Won't this be a grand thing ? ' he exclaimed, 
 joyfully. He continued, ' When I issued my Emanci- 
 pation Proclamation, I had this thing in contempla- 
 tion. I then gave them a chance by prohibiting any 
 interference on the part of the army; but they did not 
 embrace it,' said he, rather sadly, accompanying the 
 word with an emphatic gesture. 
 
 " ' But, Mr. President,' said I, ' these poor people 
 could not read your proclamation, nor could they 
 know anything about it, only, when they did hear, to 
 know that they were free.' 
 
 " ' But you of the North I expected to take advan- 
 tage of it,' he replied. 
 
170 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 " ' Our policy, sir,' I answered, ' was directly opposite, 
 supposing that it met your approbation. To this end I 
 published a letter against embarrassing or compromis- 
 ing the government in any manner whatever ; for us to 
 remain passive, except in case of foreign intervention, 
 then immediately to raise the slaves to insurrection.' 
 
 " ' Ah, I remember the letter,' he said, ' and thought at 
 the time that you mistook my designs. But the effect 
 will be better as it is, by giving character to the blacks, 
 both North and South, as a peaceable, inoffensive 
 people.' Suddenly turning, he said, 'Will you take 
 command ? ' 
 
 " ' If there be none better qualified than I am, sir, by 
 that time I will. While it is my desire to serve, as 
 black men we shall have to prepare ourselves, as we 
 have had no opportunities of experience and practice 
 in the service as officers.' 
 
 "'That matters but little, comparatively,' he replied ; 
 * as some of the finest officers we have never studied 
 the tactics till they entered the army as subordinates. 
 And again,' said he, 'the tactics are easily learned, 
 especially among your people. It is the head that 
 we now require most — men of plans and executive 
 ability.' 
 
 '"I thank you, Mr. President,' said I, 'for the — ' 
 
 "'No — not at all,' he interrupted. 
 
 "'I will show you some letters of introduction, sir,' 
 said I, putting my hand in my pocket to get them. 
 
 "'Not now,' he interposed; 'I know all about you. 
 I see nothing now to be done but to give you a line 
 of introduction to the secretary of war.' 
 
 " Just as he began writing, the cannon commenced 
 booming. 
 
President Lincoln. 171 
 
 " ' Stanton is firing ! listen ! he is in his glory ! noble 
 man ! ' he exclaimed. 
 
 " ' What is it, Mr. President ? ' I asked. 
 
 "'The firing!' 
 
 " ' What is it about, sir,' I reiterated, ignorant of the 
 cause. 
 
 a t Why, don't you know ? Haven't you heard the 
 news ? Chaileston is ours ! ' he answered, straighten- 
 ing up from the table on which he was writing for an 
 instant, and then resuming it. He soon handed me a 
 card, on which was written, — 
 
 'February 8, 1865. 
 
 ' Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
 
 ' Do not fail to have an interview with this most extraordinary 
 
 and intelligent black man. 
 
 ' A. Lincoln.' 
 
 " This card showed he perfectly understood my views 
 and feelings ; hence he was not content that my color 
 should make its own impression, but he expressed it 
 with emphasis, as though a point was gained. The 
 thing desired presented itself; not simply a man that 
 was black, because these had previously presented 
 themselves, in many delegations and committees, — 
 men of the highest intelligence, — for various objects; 
 but that which he had wished and hoped for, their 
 own proposed measures matured in the council-chamber 
 had never been fully presented to them in the person of 
 a black man." 
 
 This, then, was what was desired to complete the 
 plans of the president and his splendid minister, the 
 secretary of war. The " ponderous beam," being re- 
 moved, to use his figurative expression, his passport was 
 
172 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 clear to every part of the mansion. He entered the war 
 department for the purpose of seeing the minister. As 
 he entered, a glance revealed to him the presiding genius 
 of the situation, surrounded by his assistants. In the 
 room was a pressing crowd of both sexes, representing 
 nearly every condition of life, each in turn endeavoring 
 to reach the centre of the room, where, at an elevated 
 desk, stood one of the greatest men of the times, and 
 the able director of the war department. 
 
 After he had sent forward his card, he was requested 
 by the secretary in person, to whom he was not pre- 
 viously unknown, to call at the department again. 
 
 He had gained the interview with the president that 
 he wished, and the indications were brighter than his 
 most sanguine expectations had promised. The war 
 minister's influence alone could effect the balance. 
 
 He sought Dr. William Elder, the distinguished biog- 
 rapher of Dr. Kane, of Arctic memory, who was then 
 chief of the bureau of statistics, and gave him an 
 account of his mission to the president. 
 
 After explaining everything to the doctor, his face 
 assuming an expression peculiar to himself, of a whole- 
 souled satisfaction, he exclaimed, " I'll be hanged if I 
 haven't got the thing ! just the thing ! Will you give 
 me that in writing ? " he asked ; " I mean the points 
 touched upon, that may be written in a letter to me." 
 
 On receiving it, in the afternoon of the same day, 
 after he had read it, he turned to the future major, and 
 said, " You shall have what you want," in like manner 
 as he replied to a speech of Louis Kossuth, when he 
 told him if he went to war with Austria, he shouldn't 
 die. 
 
Secretary Stanton. 173 
 
 When Delany left Dr. Elder, he was thoroughly con- 
 vinced, that if the secretary of war could be influenced 
 by any man, in regard to his mission, in none abler 
 could he depend than upon this true and earnest advo- 
 cate of his race. 
 
 The next call at the war department was made the 
 following Monday, the 12th inst. His reception there, 
 being equally as cordial as the first, seemed already to 
 indicate success to his measures. 
 
 "What do you propose to do, doctor?" asked the 
 secretary, as Dr. Delany began to explain to him as he 
 did to the president. " I understand the whole thing, 
 and fully comprehend your design ; I have frequently 
 gone over the whole ground, in council with the presi- 
 dent. What do you wish ? What position ? " He re- 
 plied, — 
 
 " In any position or place whatever, in which I may 
 be instrumental in promoting the measures proposed, 
 and be of service to the country, so that I am not sub- 
 ject and subordinate to every man who holds a commis- 
 sion, and, with such, chooses to assume authority." 
 
 " Will you take the field ? " asked the secretary. 
 
 " I should like to do so as soon as possible, but not 
 until I have had sufficient discipline and practice in a 
 camp of instruction, and a sufficient number of black 
 officers to command each regiment," was the answer 
 given. 
 
 " Of course," said the secretary, " you must establish 
 your camp of instruction ; and as you have a general 
 knowledge of the qualified colored men of the country 
 I propose to commission you at once, and send you 
 South to commence raising troops, to be commanded by 
 
174 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 black officers, on the principles you proposed, of which 
 I most highly approve, to prevent all clashing or 
 jealousy, — because of no contact to arouse prejudices. 
 It is none of white men's business what rank a black 
 man holds over his own people. I shall assign you to 
 Charleston, with advices and instructions to Major 
 General Saxton. Do you know him?" he asked. 
 Being answered, he continued, " He is an unflinching 
 friend of your race. You will impart to him, in detail, 
 that which will not be written. The letter giving 
 special instructions will be given to you — all further 
 instructions to be obtained at the department." 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers Colonel 
 C. W. Foster, at this juncture having been sent for, 
 was instructed by the secretary of war to take him to 
 his department, an$ make the necessary examination ; 
 there being no rejection, to prepare and fill out a parch- 
 ment, with commission of Major of Infantry, the regi- 
 ment to be left blank, to be filled by order of Major 
 General Saxton, according to instructions to be given, 
 and to report the next morning at eleven o'clock. 
 
 After the examination by the adjutant general, he 
 remarked, " This is certainly an important and interest- 
 ing feature of the war. And the secretary must expect 
 much to be done by you, for he certainly holds you in 
 high esteem." 
 
 "I hope, colonel," he replied, "that neither the hon- 
 orable secretary of war nor the government will expect 
 too much from an individual like myself. My only 
 hope is, that I may be able to do my duty well and 
 satisfactorily." 
 
 " I have no fears for your success," returned the col- 
 
Secretary Stanton. 175 
 
 onel ; " you have qualifications and ability, and must 
 succeed, when your chances are such as they will now 
 be. This is a great thing for you," he continued, " and 
 you have now an opportunity of making yourself any- 
 thing that you please, and doing for your race all that 
 may be required at the hands of the government." He, 
 attempting to thank the colonel for the encouraging as 
 well as complimentary remarks, was stopped by him, 
 saying, " I speak as I think and feel about it. The sec- 
 retary has great confidence in you, and I simply wish 
 to indorse it for your encouragement. There is noth- 
 ing now to be done," he continued, " but to call to- 
 morrow, and go with me to the war department to 
 report finally to the secretary of war, and receive your 
 commission from his hands." All arrangements being 
 completed in the adjutant's department, he withdrew. 
 
176 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE GOLD LEAF. 
 
 NO Sabbath in war times, we are told, and there was 
 no exception in this case. The following morning 
 (Sabbath), in accordance with the appointment, Delany 
 reported himself at the office of the adjutant general, 
 who accompanied him to the war department. Here 
 the secretary, making the necessary inquiries of the 
 adjutant, received the parchment from him. History 
 repeated itself — the Hebrew in the palaces, the Hun 
 in high places. At that moment the great war 
 minister of our revolution, affixing his official signature, 
 made an epoch in the history of a hitherto unrecognized 
 race, and a pledge in the name of the nation to them 
 irrevocable through all time. It seemed remarkable 
 that in two hemispheres this man should be selected 
 from among so many others to represent marked events 
 in the history of his race ! Says Lamartine, " We 
 should not despise any, for the finger of destiny marks 
 in the soul, and not upon the brow." 
 
 So long had Delany fought against error and injustice 
 towards his race, that it seemed almost hopeless to wit- 
 ness, in his day, the faintest semblance of recognition 
 of their right in this land, and for him to be the first 
 to receive that appointment seemed indeed to promise 
 an age " of better metal," 
 
The Gold Leaf. 177 
 
 While the interesting ceremony was being performed, 
 a major general entered the apartment, followed soon 
 after by Senator Ben Wade, of Ohio, now president of 
 the Senate, before whom the new officer was addressed 
 for the first time with a military title. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said the secretary, " I am jnst now cre- 
 ating a black field officer for the United States service." 
 Then, addressing himself directly to the new officer, he 
 said, " Major Delany, I take great pleasure in handing 
 you this commission of Major in the United States ar- 
 my. You are the first of your race who has been thus 
 honored by the government ; therefore much depends 
 and will be expected of you. But I feel assured it is 
 safe in your hands." 
 
 " Honorable Secretary," replied the major, as the 
 secretary concluded his remarks, " I can assure you, 
 whatever be my failure to meet the expectations con- 
 cerning me, on one thing you may depend, — that 
 this parchment will never be dishonored in my hands." 
 
 "Of this I am satisfied. God bless you! Good by." 
 With a hearty shake of the hand, the secretary con- 
 cluded, when the first black major in the history of the 
 republic left the department. 
 
 If the war had not ended so soon after the major re- 
 ceived his commission, there exists no doubt but that 
 his merits would have received further recognition. 
 It is unlikely that the government would have given 
 an unmeaning promotion, and thus debar him from 
 rising to the higher ranks of the army through the 
 same medium as other officers. On returning to the 
 office of the adjutant general, the adjutant remarked, 
 "Major Delany, you have now a great charge intrusted 
 12 
 
178 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 to you,. — a great responsibility, certainly, and much 
 will be expected of you, both by your friends and oth- 
 ers. You have now an opportunity, if the war contin- 
 ues, of rising in your position to the highest field rank 
 — that of a major general." 
 
 His reply was, that he hoped to be able to perform 
 his duty, so as to merit the approval of his government 
 and his superior officers, and, as a matter of course, 
 intimated courteously that further promotion would 
 not be unacceptable to him. 
 
 The following commission is in the usual form ; but, 
 being the first on the records of our country credited 
 to a colored American, we reproduce it here. 
 
 Tlie Secretary of War of the United States of America. 
 
 To ALL WHO SHALL SEE THESE PRESENTS, GREETING : 
 
 Know ye, that, reposing special trust and confidence in the pa- 
 triotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of Martin R. Delany, the 
 President does hereby appoint him Major, in the One Hundred 
 and Fourth Regiment of United States Colored Troops, in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, to rank as such from the day of his 
 muster into service, by the duly appointed commissary of mus- 
 ters, for the command to which said regiment belongs. 
 
 He is therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty 
 of Major, by doing and performing all manner of things there- 
 unto belonging. And I do strictly charge, and require, all 
 officers and soldiers under his command to be obedient to his 
 orders as Major. And he is to observe and follow such orders 
 and directions, from time to time, as he shall receive from me or 
 the future Secretary of War, or other superior officers set over 
 him, according to the rules and discipline of war. This appoint- 
 ment to continue in force during the pleasure of the President 
 for the time being. 
 
 Given under my hand at the War Department, in the City of 
 
The Gold Leaf. 179 
 
 Washington, D. C, this twenty-sixth day of February, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. 
 By the Secretary of War. 
 
 Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
 C. W. Foster, Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 
 {Indorsement.') 
 Mustered into the United States Service, February 27, 1865. 
 Henry Ketellas, Captain 15th Infantry, 
 
 Cliief Muster and District Officer. 
 
 Adjutant General's Office, > 
 Washington, Feb. 27, 1865. > 
 Sir : I forward herewith your appointment of Major in the 
 U. S. Colored Troops ; your receipt and acceptance of which 
 you will please acknowledge without delay, reporting at the 
 same time your age and residence, when appointed, the state 
 where born, and your full name correctly written. Fill up, 
 subscribe, and return as soon as possible, the accompanying oath, 
 duly and carefully executed. 
 
 You will report in person to Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 Beaufort, South Carolina. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. W. Foster, 
 Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 Major Martin R. Delany, U. S. Colored Troops. 
 
 War Department, A. G. Office, 7 
 Washington, D. C, Feb. 27, 1865. > 
 Captain Henry Ketellas, 15th U. S. Infantry, 
 Commissary of Musters : 
 I am directed by the Secretary of War to instruct you to mus- 
 ter Major Martin R. Delany, U. S. Colored Troops, regi- 
 ment into the service of the United States, for the period of 
 three years, or during the war, as of this date. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) C. W. Foster, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 
180 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Official copy, respectfully furnished for the information of 
 Major Martin R. Delany, U. S. Colored Troops. 
 
 C. W. Foster, 
 Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 
 War Department, A. G. Office, ) 
 Washington, Feb. 27, 1865. ] 
 
 Brevet Major General E. Saxton, Supt. Recruitment and 
 Organization of Colored Troops, Dept. of the 
 South, Hilton Head, S. 0. 
 General : I am directed by the Secretary of War to inform 
 you that the bearer, Major M. R. Delany, U. S. Colored Troops, 
 has been appointed for the purpose of aiding and assisting you 
 in recruiting and organizing colored troops, and to carry out this 
 object you will assign him to duty in the city of Charleston, S. C. 
 You will observe that the regiment to which Major Delany is 
 appointed is not designated, although he has been mustered into 
 service. You will cause Major Delany to be assigned to, and 
 his name placed upon the rolls of, the first regiment of colored 
 troops you may organize, with his proper rank, not, however, 
 with a view to his duty in such regiment. 
 
 I am also directed to say, that Major Delany has the entire 
 confidence of the Department. 
 
 I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) C. W. Foster, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 Official. C. W. Foster, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General Volunteers. 
 
In the Field. 181 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 IN THE FIELD. 
 
 THE appointment of the black officer was received, 
 as such advanced measures are generally, with 
 comments of all shades. By the friends of progress it 
 was hailed with general satisfaction. 
 
 True there was, prior to his appointment, one of like 
 rank, but differing in position — that of Dr. Augusta, 
 of Canada, who was accepted after a most rigid exam- 
 ination, as is customary in such cases. 
 
 But in the appointment of this field officer there ex- 
 isted an indisputable recognition of the claims of his 
 race to the country. With this interpretation those 
 who formerly hesitated in accepting the policy of the 
 administration now upheld it with confidence. And 
 from the golden leaf of promise, borne upon the shoul- 
 ders of the first black officer, a light clear and steady 
 seemed to shine forth, illumining with a strange, wild 
 splendor the hitherto dark pages of his people's his- 
 tory, heralding the glory of the future to them. 
 
 Before he left Washington, he communicated with 
 colored men, as far as was prudent, to make the neces- 
 sary preparation in the event of a black army being 
 organized, to be commanded by black officers. For in 
 the Union army there were many men, from the North 
 
182 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 especially, of fine talent and scholastic attainments, 
 who, from their experience and knowledge gained in 
 the military campaigns, could at once be made avail- 
 able. 
 
 Certain leading spirits of the "Underground Rail- 
 road'''' were invoked. Scouts incog, were already "on 
 to Richmond," and the services of the famous Harriet 
 Tubman, having been secured to serve in the South, 
 had received her transportation for Charleston, S. C. 
 
 These arrangements being effected, he went to Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, to meet a council of his co-laborers, in order 
 to enforce suitable measures by which the slave enlist- 
 ment might be prevented, and to demoralize those 
 already enrolled, as rumors had reached the North of 
 such enlistment having been started at Richmond. 
 
 With his friend George Vosburg, Esq., in the lead, 
 whom he likens always to " a flame alive, but unseen," 
 the most active measures were instituted at this coun- 
 cil, as their proceedings show. 
 
 These gave evidence that the appointment of one of 
 their number was recognized by them as an appeal, 
 though the day was far spent of the country's need for 
 the aid of the colored men of the North, and at the first 
 certain sound they hastened with their offerings. 
 
 A few days were spent at his home, preparing for his 
 departure ; and being delayed on the way by a freshet, 
 he did not reach New York until the second day after 
 the departure of the steamer for Charleston. While it 
 delayed the principal measures, it gave him a week in 
 New York, in which to perfect preliminary arrange.- 
 ments. Here business of importance was entered 
 upon, and the eloquent William Howard Day, M. A., 
 
In the Field. 183 
 
 was chosen to arrange the military 'policy of the under- 
 ground railroad relative to the slave enlistment. 
 
 Mr. Day, in obedience to instructions of the plans laid 
 down, and in anticipation of some appointment, such 
 as his splendid talents entitled him to, performed the 
 task with ability and earnestness. There were others 
 among the leading colored men who showed their ap- 
 preciation of this movement; among them the learned 
 llev. J. W. C. Pennington, D. D., as the following 
 extract from his letter, dated March 29, 1863, will 
 show : — 
 
 "Major: Finding that our views so nearly harmo- 
 nize in reference to arming the slaves, I will give you 
 one of the illustrations I use in my lecture on the 
 duty of interposing our efforts to prevent the rebels 
 from consummating the act : ' We have noticed by 
 their ovm papers that the rebel authorities have many 
 of their great meetings in the African church in Rich- 
 mond. It was there that Benjamin, the rebel secretary 
 of state, first publicly announced the plan of arming 
 the slaves. Did the pastor of that colored church and 
 his congregation have the privilege of taking part in 
 that meeting? Not a bit of it. Did they have the 
 privilege of holding a meeting on the subject them- 
 selves in their own place of worship ? No. 
 
 " i What was the object of the rebels in holding their 
 great meetings in the African church ? Was it because 
 it is one of the largest buildings in the city? No, they 
 had another object. That was, to suppress any Union 
 feelings that exist among the hundreds of slaves and 
 free people of color who compose that congregation^ 
 and to palm off the lie to the world that they are 
 
184 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 friendly to the colored people, and that those people are 
 acting freely with them. 
 
 " ' Look at the devilish impudence of this scheme of 
 holding meetings in the African church ! It is to drag 
 the slaves and colored Christians with them into all 
 the wickedness of the rebellion. Now, it is asked, Why 
 we do not hear a voice from the pastor of that church 
 and his people ? The answer is obvious. They are 
 prevented by the force of circumstances from speak- 
 ing a word. 
 
 "'If the Son of God should enter that house, as he 
 did the temple at Jerusalem (Mark xi. 15, 16), and 
 thus give that congregation the right of free speech, 
 you would soon hear a voice going out from that church, 
 that would reach every slave in the South, telling them 
 which way to fight. And that church will speak as 
 soon as Grant takes Richmond ! And who does not 
 long for the day when that, the largest colored church 
 in the United States shall be free? Who would not 
 aid in that great forward movement of the Army of 
 the Potomac, that will result in clearing Richmond ? 
 But in this state of facts as to that church, we have pre- 
 cisely the position of the 200,000 slaves whom the 
 rebels are about to arm against us ! 
 
 "'Let us not forget what slavery is. It is based 
 upon the assumption, first, that the slave has no will 
 of his own ; second, that his sole business is to obey 
 orders. Hence they will be put into the rebel army as 
 slaves, to all intents and purposes, and substantially un- 
 der slave discipline ; they will be surrounded by cir- 
 cumstances which will make it far more difficult for 
 them to escape than many think; and of course, for 
 
In the Field. 185 
 
 the time being, they would be compelled to do us 
 untold injury. What, then, is our duty? Our duty is 
 to anticipate the action of the rebels — organize, plan, 
 and go forward, and settle the case for our brethren. 
 We have no right to stand still, and presume that they 
 will, when armed, turn at once on our side. And it is 
 cruel to prejudge them in the matter. Our duty is to 
 carry out the letter and spirit of the Proclamation of 
 Freedom. It would be an awful state of things to 
 see the 200,000 Union colored soldiers confronted by 
 200,000 of our own race, under the rebel banner ! . . . 
 No, this must not be. It shall not be. It cannot be 
 if we do our duty. That is, to go to our brethren, and 
 tell them what to do.' " 
 
 A romantic incident is related in connection with the 
 the Cleveland council. As Delany concluded, a moment 
 of intense interest and silence followed, and suddenly an 
 interesting girl of some fourteen years sprang to her 
 feet, and rushed up to the platform where he stood, 
 gently resting her hand upon his arm, and anxiously 
 looking up into his face, exclaimed, " O, Major Delany, 
 I ask one favor of you : will you spare my grandfather 
 when you reach Charleston ? " Giving the name of her 
 grandfather in the same excited breath, she continued. 
 " Spare him and grandma ! There sits my ma : for her 
 sake, if not mine, spare my dear grandpa's family." 
 
 He strove to calm her anxiety, assuring her of the 
 security of her grandfather's family, even if the genuine 
 Schemmelfening had not already had the city. His 
 mission was not with lire and sword for indiscriminate 
 slaughter, but rather to guide his brethren to liberty. 
 
 On his arrival in Charleston, the honored grand- 
 
186 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 parents, unconscious of this incident, were among the 
 earliest callers to give him welcome, and to offer him 
 the generous civilities of their family ; and these 
 were ever after numbered among his mo$t esteemed 
 friends. 
 
 In expectation of a continuance of the war, he writes, 
 " I was anxious to reach my destination, organize the 
 black army, and see that elegant mulatto gentleman as 
 field officer, hear his rich, deep-toned voice as he rode 
 along the lines, giving command, or shouting in the 
 deadly conflict, rallying the troops on to victory. Such 
 a sight I desired to see in the cause of liberty and the 
 Union. For William Howard Day, unobstrusive as 
 he appears, is a brave, determined man : once aroused, 
 he is as a panther, that kuows no fear. But now that 
 the war is ended, his aid in the battle-field will not be 
 required. And the Union will be safe if reestablished 
 on the basis of righteousness, truth, and justice." 
 
 Leaving New York, and having secured the ablest 
 workers with whom to begin the great mission intrust- 
 ed to him, he arrived at Hilton Head, and in the same 
 afternoon at Beaufort. 
 
 This beautiful little town, facing a bay of equal 
 beauty, but of tortuous winding, never gave promise 
 of rivalling or imitating the cities of Charleston and 
 Savannah on either side in commercial greatness. In 
 fact, its population was limited almost exclusively to the 
 planters of the adjoining islands and their slaves, a few 
 free colored families, and a less number of poor whites. 
 The salubrity of the climate enhanced its attractions, 
 and made it desirable as the summer residence of many 
 of the wealthy magnates. The town was abandoned 
 
In the Field. 187 
 
 by the entire white population at the approach of the 
 naval force. Here were the headquarters of Brevet 
 Major General Saxton, at which Major Delany reported 
 himself for duty, immediately on his arrival. Some 
 time afterwards, speaking of the noble general who 
 led, by sealed orders, the first campaign sent forth to 
 proclaim emancipation, he said that in his frequent 
 intercourse with him there, he was soon convinced that 
 the friends of his race were not confined to the execu- 
 tive department at Washington. This may be con- 
 sidered as the general opinion uttered by him; for 
 among the colored people and poor whites of South 
 Carolina, General Rufus Saxton stood as the beloved 
 friend and benefactor, and esteemed among his brother 
 officers generally as a gentleman and soldier. 
 
 At the post, while every officer rode with a black 
 orderly, General Saxton's orderly was white! 
 
 The post was in active preparation for the flag rais- 
 ing at Sumter. And on the Saturday previous to the 
 memorable 19th of April, the general and staff, Major 
 Delany accompanying the party, sailed for Charleston. 
 
 Prior to leaving Beaufort he received the following 
 order : — 
 
 Head Qrs. Supt. Recruitment and Organization-) 
 
 Colored Troops, Department of the South, > 
 
 Beaufort, S. C, April 5, 1865. ) 
 
 Special Orders. No. 7. 
 
 I. Major M. R. Delany, United States Colored Troops, in ac- 
 cordance with orders received from the War Department, will 
 proceed without delay to Charleston, S. C, reporting in person to 
 Lieutenant Colonel R* P. Hutchins, 94th Ohio Volunteer Infan- 
 
188 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 try, Recruiting Officer at that post, for the purpose of aiding in 
 the recruitment of troops. 
 
 II. Major Delany will visit the freedmen of Charleston and vi- 
 cinity, and urge them to enlist in the military service of the 
 United States, reporting hy letter from time to time to these, 
 headquarters the result of his labors. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 
 Gen. Supt. Red. $ 0. G. P. D. S. 
 Stuart M. Taylor, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Major M. R. Delany, U. S. C. T. 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 AT CHARLESTON AND FORT SUMTER. 
 
 nnHE excitement attending the scenes of the evacu- 
 I ation of the city and its occupation by the Union 
 forces was scarcely lulled, when it rose again on the ar- 
 rival of the " black major," to whom the rumor pre- 
 ceding his advent had given the rank of Major 
 General. 
 
 Arriving in the city on the Sabbath, when most of 
 the people were gathered at the various places of wor- 
 ship, the news soon became noised about. And from 
 the early forenoon until long after nightfall, a continu- 
 ous stream of visitors poured in upon him, eager to pay 
 their respects to him. These composed the colored 
 residents of both sexes, representing every age and con- 
 dition ; nor did this cease when their curiosity became 
 satisfied, but grew with their acquaintance and increased 
 with time. At the time of his arrival the population of 
 the once proud, city was limited, consisting only of a few 
 regiments of Union soldiers on duty, the former free peo- 
 ple, the newfreedmen, — a greater portion of the latter 
 being driven from the plantations around the city, and 
 from the upper portions of the state, — and a few white 
 families representing the old element. An air of 
 mournful desolation seemed to brood over the conquered 
 
190 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 city. There existed no signs of traffic, except in the 
 sutlers' stores of the regiments. 
 
 Confederate bonds and scrip were most plenteous, 
 and but a small amount of currency was in circulation 
 with which to purchase the common necessaries of life. 
 For this cause thousands were thrown upon the charity 
 of the government for daily subsistence. Nor was it con- 
 fined to the colored people ; it was no uncommon sight 
 to meet daily in the streets many of the former enemies 
 of the government, loaded with its injustice (!) to them 
 in the form of a huge basket of subsistence received 
 from the quartermaster's department, and in many in- 
 stances assisted by some former chattel, who in several 
 known cases, afterwards, with true negro generosity, 
 divided their own portion with them. Such was their 
 position after the evacuation of the city. Never be- 
 fore in the history of Anglo-Saxon civilization were 
 there such manifestations of genuine charity and for- 
 bearance towards an unscrupulous and implacable foe, 
 as indicated by the actions of government. "I was 
 hungry and ye gave me meat, naked and ye clothed 
 me," were literally proven by these recipients of its 
 immense charities. This gave promise of more con- 
 verts than the sword. While the great concourse of 
 people, gathered for rations at different places, attracted 
 thither the curious visitor, he would turn from this to 
 the many evidences of the unerring precision of £he bat- 
 teries of Morris Island, which met his gaze on every 
 hand, suggestive of the tales of horror, and in many 
 instances of retributive justice, through which they 
 had so recently passed. Much property was destroyed 
 and but few lives during the siege. 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 191 
 
 There were incidents related of marvellous escapes 
 from the reach of these shells, and also deaths of a most 
 appalling character on being overtaken by them, — the 
 greater portion of the latter being colored persons, 
 the innocent sharing a worse fate than the guilty. 
 
 One case of sad interest happened at midnight, while 
 the siege was at its height, occurring in a family repre- 
 senting the wealth, culture, and refinement of the re- 
 spectable colored citizens of the city. The father of 
 this family, a man of great mechanical genius, accumu- 
 lated considerable property and established for him- 
 self a well-earned reputation as a skilful machinist 
 throughout the state. They were aroused one night 
 by the noise which usually precedes the near approach 
 of a shell, which was seen by a member of the family 
 to fall within a few feet of the house, who, occupying 
 the third story of the building, attempted to escape 
 below with his wife ; but before either could escape from 
 the room, a second report was heard, followed almost im- 
 mediately by the appearance of a shell entering the roof 
 above them, crashing through the ceilings, which, in 
 covering the latter with its debris, preserved her life, the 
 fragments scattering, one of the pieces falling into the 
 front room beneath, only disfiguring a bedstead, but not 
 injuringits occupants, while another piece, more remorse- 
 less, taking another direction, entered the back room, 
 burying itself in the side of an interesting boy of twelve 
 years, the little grandson of the old gentleman. The 
 child, startled from its sleep by the double shock of the 
 explosion and terrible wound, rushed from the room, 
 exclaiming, in his agony, "Mother! mother! I am 
 killed ! " It was eleven days of the most excruciating 
 
192 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 agony before the angel of death relieved little Weston 
 McKenlay. Never did Christianity and true woman- 
 hood beam more beauteously than at the moment when 
 the mother of that child, relating the wild confusion 
 of that night, laying aside her own personal sorrow, 
 said, " It was God's will that the deliverance of the 
 South should cost us all something." Major Delany, 
 in speaking of this class of Charlestonians, as well as 
 the colored people generally, says, " Their courtesy and 
 natural kindness I have never seen equalled, while in- 
 stances of their humanity to the Union prisoners at the 
 risk of their own lives, speak in trumpet tones to their 
 credit, of which the country is already cognizant." On 
 Tuesday after his arrival, an immense gathering greeted 
 him atZion's Church, the largest in the city, indescriba- 
 ble in enthusiasm and numbers. In the church were 
 supposed to be upwards of three thousand, while the 
 yard and street leading to the church were densely 
 packed. 
 
 The resolutions passed on this memorable occasion 
 by them we present here, embodying a testimony of 
 their gratitude for their signal deliverance from a con- 
 flagration which threatened to involve them in a gen- 
 eral desolation, and of their patriotism, setting aside 
 forever the error that the sympathies of the free col- 
 ored citizens were enlisted on the side of their ene- 
 mies, and not that of the Union, for many they were who 
 participated in this meeting. We reproduce it also as 
 expressive of the sentiments gushing from the hearts 
 of a people for the first time in their history holding a 
 political meeting on the soil of Carolina, with open 
 doors, with none to condemn it as " an unlawful as- 
 semblage," amenable to law for the act. 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 193 
 
 Brevet Major General Saxton, and other distinguished 
 officers were present, and freely took part in the 
 proceedings. Here Major Delany, for the first time, 
 introduced the subject foremost in his mind, that of 
 raising an armee d'Afrique, which subject met the en- 
 thusiastic approval of his auditors, and the movement 
 for its organization soon became popular. 
 
 The eventful 14th of April, which was so eagerly 
 awaited, came, and the earliest beams of the morning 
 found the " City of the Sea" alive with preparations for 
 the brilliant scene at Sumter, unconscious of its fearful 
 tragic close at Washington. The city was almost de- 
 serted during the ceremony in the harbor, for all were 
 anxious to witness the flag in its accustomed place, 
 with its higher, truer symbol, placed there by the same 
 hands which were once compelled to lower it to a ju- 
 bilant but now conquered foe, maddened prior to their 
 destruction. As the old silken bunting winged itself to 
 its long-deserted staff, thousands of shouts, and prayers 
 fervent and deep, accompanying, greeted its reappear- 
 ance. 
 
 Major Delany embarked to witness the ceremony 
 on the historical steamer Planter, with its gallant com- 
 mander, Robert Small, whose deeds will live in song 
 and story, whose unparalleled feat and heroic courage 
 in the harbor of Charleston, under the bristling guns 
 of rebel batteries, bearing comparison with the proud- 
 est record of our war, will remain, commemorative of 
 negro strategy and valor. 
 
 On the quarter-deck of the steamer the major re- 
 mained an interested witness. Beside him stood one, 
 whose father, believing and loving the doctrine that all 
 13 
 
194 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 men were born free and equal, and within sight of the 
 emblem of freedom as it floated from the battlements of 
 Sumter, dared to aim a blow by which to free his race. 
 Betrayed before his plans were matured, the scaffold 
 gave to Denmark Vesey and his twenty-two slave-hero 
 compatriots in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1822, the 
 like answer which Charlestown, Virginia, gave John 
 Brown in 1859. 
 
 Virginia was free, and black soldiers were now quar- 
 tered in the citadel of Charleston, and garrisoned Fort 
 Sumter. The martyred reformers had not died in vain. 
 
 The excitement attending the scene continued dur- 
 ing the week, occasioned by the presence of the distin- 
 guished company who came to participate in the res- 
 toration of the flag at Fort Sumter. There were seen 
 the veterans of the anti-slavery cause, the inspired and 
 dauntless apostle of liberty, William Lloyd Garrison, 
 the time-honored Joshua Leavitt, the eloquent George 
 Thompson of England ; then the glorious young ed- 
 itor of the Independent, the able and accomplished 
 orator of the day, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Judge 
 Kellogg, and others, all anxious to tell the truths of free- 
 dom to these hungry souls. The colored schools paraded 
 the streets to honor these visitors, flanked by thousands 
 of adults, marshalled by their superintendent and assist- 
 ants, and led by stirring bands discoursing martial 
 music, the citadel square densely crowded, and the 
 great Zion's Church packed to overflowing. There were 
 speakers on the stands erected on the square — speakers 
 at the church. There were shouts for liberty and for 
 the Union, shouts for their great liberator, shouts for 
 the army, rousing cheers for the speakers, for their 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 195 
 
 loved General Saxton, and for the " black major ; " the 
 people swayed to and fro like a rolling sea. 
 
 On Saturday morning, when the visitors left, an im- 
 mense concourse followed to the wharf; the steamer 
 seemed loaded with floral gifts, the graceful ovation of 
 the colored people to their friends. Cheer after cheer 
 resounded for a parting word from them. They were 
 answered by Messrs. Thompson and Tilton ; at last 
 came forth the immortal Garrison in answer to an irre- 
 sistible call. 
 
 Major Delany, describing this parting scene at the 
 dock, says, "The mind was forcibly carried back to 
 the days of the young and ardent advocate of emanci- 
 pation, incarcerated in a Baltimore prison, peering 
 through the gates and bars, hurling defiance at his cow- 
 ardly opponents, exclaiming, ' No difficulty, no dangers, 
 shall deter me : at the East or at the West, at the 
 North or at the South, wherever Providence may call 
 me, my voice shall be heard in behalf of the perishing 
 slave, and against the claims of his oppressors.' Again 
 did the mind revert to him in after years, as a man of 
 high integrity in the city of Boston, led as a beast to 
 the slaughter, with the lyncher's rope around his neck, 
 only escaping death by imprisonment. When exhaust- 
 ed, he fell to the floor, exclaiming, c Never was man 
 so glad to get into prison before ! ' And in this his 
 last speech he was more sublime than ever. There 
 he stood in the harbor of Charleston, surrounded by 
 the emancipated slave, giving his last anti-slavery 
 advice : — 
 
 " 'And now, my friends, I bid you farewell. I have 
 always advocated non-resistance ; but this much I say 
 
196 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 to you, Come what will never do you submit again to 
 slavery! Do anything; die first ! But don't sub- 
 mit again to them — never again be slaves. Farewell. 
 
 " When the steamer gracefully glided from the pier, 
 the music struck up in stirring strains, shouts rent the 
 air, and the masses, after gazing with tearful eyes, com- 
 menced slowly retracing their steps homeward. Never 
 can I forget the scenes transpiring in this eventful 
 week of my arrival at Charleston, nor on different sim- 
 ilar occasions during my official station there." 
 
 At a meeting of the colored citizens of Charleston, 
 South Carolina, held at Zion Presbyterian Church, 
 March 29, 1865, the following preamble and resolutions 
 were unanimously adopted: — 
 
 Whereas it is fitting that an expression should be given to the 
 sentiments of deep-seated gratitude that pervade our breasts, 
 be it 
 
 Resolved, 1. That by the timely arrival of the army of the 
 United States in the city of Charleston, on the 18th of February, 
 1865, our city was saved from a vast conflagration, our houses 
 from devastation, and our persons from those indignities that 
 they would have been subjected to. 
 
 Resolved, 2. That our thanks are due, and are hereby freely 
 tendered, to the district commander, Brigadier General Hatch, 
 and through him to the officers and soldiers under his command, 
 for the protection that they have so readily and so impartially 
 bestowed since their occupation of this city. 
 
 Resolved, 3. That to Admiral Dahlgren, United States Navy, 
 we do hereby return our most sincere thanks for the noble man- 
 ner in which he cared for and administered to the wants of our 
 people at Georgetown, South Carolina; and be he assured that 
 the same shall ever be held in grateful remembrance by us. 
 
 Resolved, 4. That to his Excellency, the President of the 
 United States, Abraham Lincoln, we return our most sincere 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 197 
 
 thanks and never-dying gratitude for the noble and patriotic 
 manner in which he promulgated the doctrines of republicanism, 
 and for his consistency in not only promising, but invariably 
 conforming his actions thereto ; and we shall ever be pleased to 
 acknowledge and hail him as the champion of the rights of free- 
 men. 
 
 Resolved, 5. That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted 
 to Brigadier General Hatch, Admiral Dahlgren, and his Excel- 
 lency, the President of the United States, and that they be pub- 
 lished in the Charleston Courier. 
 
 Moses B. Camplin, Chairman. 
 
 Bobert C. De Large, Secretary. 
 
 The following we quote from him as descriptive of 
 his impressions on his arrival at Charleston : — 
 
 "I entered the city, which, from earliest childhood 
 and through life, I had learned to contemplate with 
 feelings of the utmost abhorrence — a place of the 
 most insufferable assumption and cruelty to the blacks ; 
 where the sound of the lash at the whipping-post, 
 and the hammer of the auctioneer, were coordinate 
 sounds in thrilling harmony ; that place which had ever 
 been closed against liberty by an arrogantly assumjT- 
 tuous despotism, such as well might have vied with the 
 infamous King of Dahomey; the place from which 
 had been expelled the envoy of Massachusetts, for dar- 
 ing to present the claims of the commonwealth in 
 behalf of her free citizens, and into which, but a few 
 days before, had proudly entered in triumph the gallant 
 Schemmelfening, leading with wild shouts the Massa- 
 chusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment, composed of some of 
 the best blood and finest youths of the colored citizens 
 of the Union. For a moment I paused — then, im- 
 pelled by the impnlse of my mission, I found myself 
 
198 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 dashing on in unmeasured strides through the city, as 
 if under a forced march to attack the already crushed 
 and fallen enemy. Again I halted to look upon the 
 shattered walls of the once stately but now deserted 
 edifices of the proud and supercilious occupants. A 
 doomed city it appeared to be, with few, or none but 
 soldiers and the colored inhabitants. The haughty 
 Carolinians, who believed their state an empire, this 
 city incomparable, and themselves invincible, had fled 
 in dismay and consternation at the approach of their 
 conquerors, leaving the metropolis to its fate. And but 
 for the vigilance and fidelity of the colored firemen, 
 and other colored inhabitants, there would have been 
 nothing left but a smouldering plain of ruins in the 
 place where Charleston once stood, from the firebrands 
 in the hands of the flying whites. Reaching the upper 
 district, in the neighborhood of the citadel, I remained 
 at the private residence of one of the most respectable 
 colored citizens (free before the war), until quarters 
 suitable could be secured. Whatever impressions may 
 have previously been entertained concerning the free 
 colored people of Charleston, their manifestation from 
 my advent till my departure, gave evidence of their pride 
 in identity and appreciation of race that equal in 
 extent the proudest Caucasian." 
 
 Many were the scenes of interest there related, on 
 the entry of the troops into Charleston, some of a most 
 thrilling character. It was a memorable day to the 
 enslaved. An incident is related — that a soldier, 
 mounted on a mule, dashed up Meeting Street, at the 
 head of the advancing column, bearing in his hand, as 
 
At Charleston and Fort Sumter. 199 
 
 he rode, a white flag, upon which was inscribed, in large 
 black letters, LIBERTY ! and loudly proclaiming it as 
 he went. An old woman, who the night before had 
 lain down a slave, and even on that morning was un- 
 certain of her master's movements, whether or not she 
 should be carried into the interior of the state, as had 
 been proposed with the evacuation, now heard the 
 shouts of people and the cry of liberty reechoed by 
 hundreds of voices. In the deep gratitude of her heart 
 to God, she was seen to rush with outstretched arms, as 
 if to clasp this herald of freedom. The soldier being 
 in the saddle, and consequently beyond her reach, un- 
 consciously she hugged the mule around the neck, 
 shouting, "Thank God ! thank God ! " So fraught with 
 deep emotion were the bystanders at this scene, that it 
 drew tears from the eyes of many, instead of creating 
 merriment, as it would have done under different cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 A lady, in rehearsing to another this scene and others 
 of that day, said, " O, had you been here, you would 
 have felt like embracing something yourself, had it 
 been but to grasp a flag-staff, or touch the drapery of 
 the floating colors." 
 
200 Life of Majoe M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AKMEE D'AFRIQUE. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the restoration of the flag, 
 active duty was resumed by the military at Charles- 
 ton, and none more heartily rejoiced at the prospect 
 of beginning his work than did Major Delany. With- 
 out loss of time, independent quarters were assigned 
 him, equal to those of other officers, this being by spe- 
 cial orders from the war department; it was also 
 ordered that he should report directly to Brevet Major 
 General Saxton, and detailed subordinates were placed 
 at his command. 
 
 The residence assigned him was elegant and com- 
 modious ; but being an intolerable sight to the owner, a 
 plea of loyalty was soon raised, which induced its re- 
 linquishment, and quarters equally as comfortable were 
 secured at the south-east corner of Calhoun and St. 
 Philip Streets. Here were to be seen daily, in beauti- 
 ful contrast to bayonets and the circumstance of war, 
 and in graceful profusion, at Major Delany's office, the 
 choicest bouquets and other personal compliments of 
 like delicacy indicative of the high respect in which 
 he was held. 
 
 Before his arrival, the 102d United States Colored 
 Troops had been completed, and the 103d had just been 
 
Armee d'Afrique. 201 
 
 commenced, of which regiment, according to the spirit 
 of the order of the war department, he was entitled 
 to the major's command ; but by request of his gen- 
 eral he waived his right to an officer to whom the 
 position had been promised previous to his arrival, 
 though he had aided in its organization, and soon be- 
 gan to recruit his own. 
 
 As a field officer at the head of such a service, it is 
 evident that as many of lower grade as the duties of 
 his command required and needed, could be secured, 
 agreeable to regulations. In order to avoid innova- 
 tions and clashings, he chose instead a few non-com- 
 missioned officers from the 54th and 55th Massachusetts 
 Volunteers, for whom he made requisition. Sergeant 
 Frederick Johnson, of the 54th, an excellent penman 
 and clerk, was placed in charge of the books, while 
 Sergeant Major Abraham Shadd, from the 55th Massa- 
 chusetts Volunteers, a gentleman of fine attainments, 
 besides excellent military capability, was appointed 
 acting captain to command recruits, and his own son, 
 private Toussaint L. Delany, of the 54th Massachusetts 
 Volunteers, as acting lieutenant, to act in conjunction 
 with acting Captain Shadd. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel R. P. Hutchins, of the 94th Ohio 
 Volunteers, had been detailed as assistant superintend- 
 ent of the recruiting and organizing of colored troops 
 to General Saxton. Of him Major Delany says, " I 
 found Lieutenant Colonel Hutchins an accomplished 
 young gentleman, well adapted to his position, with a 
 staff of fine young officers, among whom was Captain 
 Spencer, of Sherman's army. The 104th was now rap- 
 idly increasing, and would soon require its complement 
 
202 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 of officers. The following order was then necessary 
 to its accomplishment : — 
 
 Headquarters, Superintendent Recruitment^ 
 
 and Organization Colored Troops, I 
 
 Department of the South, j 
 
 Beaufort, S. C, April 11, 1865. J 
 
 Special Orders. No. 13. 
 
 II. In accordance with instructions received from the war 
 department, the following appointment is made in the 104th 
 United States Colored Troops ; Major M. R. Delany, United 
 States Colored Troops, to be major, and to report to Colonel 
 Douglas Frazar, commanding regiment. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 
 Gen. Supt. Rec. $ 0. 0. T., D. S. 
 
 Stuart M. Taylor, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 Major M. R. Delany, U. S. 0. T. 
 
The National Calamity. 203 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE NATIONAL CALAMITY. 
 
 NONE in all the land can forget when the tele- 
 graph flashed the fearful news upon us. But if 
 there was sorrow felt by one class more than another, 
 we must look to the freedmen of the South, to whom 
 the name of Lincoln and the government meant one 
 and the same — all justice and goodness. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of April (communica- 
 tions being so irregular then), the beauty of the morn- 
 ing and the surroundings seeming to charm the senses, 
 happiness came upon many a hitherto scowling face, 
 while a sense of returning forgiveness seemed to hover 
 above the rebellious city, and the once unfrequented 
 streets began to give evidence of returning life. The 
 major and a friend were in King Street, when they were 
 met by a captain, who, stepping from his buggy to the 
 sidewalk, entered into a conversation : in the midst of 
 it they were interrupted by a soldier, breathlessly run- 
 ning towards them, holding in his hand a paper, ex- 
 claiming, " My God ! President Lincoln is assas- 
 sinated ! " 
 
 " No ! no ! it can't be so ! " replied the captain. 
 
 " Some hoax," interposed the major, on seeing the 
 heading of the New York Herald ; but the trembling 
 
204 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 hand of the rough soldier pointed out the telegram, 
 while tears coursed down his cheeks : before the dark 
 message they stood for a time, gazing one upon the 
 other in mute agony, without power to express the 
 thoughts uppermost in their mind, while vengeance 
 seemed written in the quivering of every feature. 
 
 Any description, however graphic, would fail to con- 
 vey an idea of the feelings produced, as the fatal tid- 
 ings circulated. If every man of secession proclivities 
 had been put to the sword, every house belonging to such 
 burnt to the ground, the Unionists would hardly have 
 interfered, and would not have been surprised. The only 
 cause for wonderment was, that there was not a scene 
 of fire and slaughter. At the major's quarters, where, 
 in his unfeigned sorrow he had sought retirement, he was 
 forced to show himself to the excited people ; for while 
 the Unionists generally were aroused to a point of 
 doubtful forbearance, the intense grief, excitement, and 
 anxiety of the new freedmen knew no bounds. The 
 white men of undefined politics, and known secession- 
 ists, wisely avoided the blacks, or kept within doors. 
 The avenging torch at one period seemed imminent, but 
 the outstretched hands of reason spared the city once 
 more. There was to the casual observer nothing 
 extraordinary in the outward demonstration, perhaps, 
 but a strong under-current was madly coursing along, 
 threatening destruction to every opposing barrier. 
 Doubtless but for the presence of the black major, 
 whom they sought instantly, and whose influence over 
 them was powerful, there would have been a most 
 lamentable state of confusion, so determined were they 
 to avenge the death of their friend. Some of these 
 
The National Calamity. 205 
 
 were even actuated by fears of being returned to 
 slavery in consequence of his death. 
 
 An order was issued by the military for public 
 mourning. The famous Zion's Church was the most 
 tastefully draped, remaining thus for one year, the 
 military using whatever they could command in the 
 tradeless city, the secessionist such as was required by 
 law, while the mourning of the new freedmen pre- 
 sented an incongruity in many instances extremely 
 touching. Flags made of black cloth were nailed 
 against the dwelling-houses, or floated from their 
 roofs. Their black flags were intended as mourning, 
 not as defiance. 
 
 Major Delany, in these sad days, was not unem- 
 ployed. Already had he devised some tangible and 
 practical evidence by which the colored people could 
 demonstrate their appreciation and reverence for the 
 memory of the martyred president. The following is 
 an extract from a letter to the Anglo-African of April 
 20. We doubt whether any plan for a monument was 
 originated previous to this. 
 
 "A calamity such as the world never before wit- 
 nessed — a calamity the most heart-rending, caused by 
 the perpetration of a deed by the hands of a wretch 
 the most infamous and atrocious — a calamity as humili- 
 ating to America as it is infamous and atrocious — has 
 suddenly brought our country to mourning by the un- 
 timely death of the humane, the benevolent, the phil- 
 anthropic, the generous, the beloved, the able, the wise, 
 great, and good man, the President of the United 
 States, Abraham Lincoln the Just. In his fall a 
 mighty chieftain and statesman has passed away. 
 
206 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 God, in his inscrutable providence, has suffered this, 
 and we bow with meek and humble resignation to his 
 divine will, because he doeth all things well. God's 
 will be done ! 
 
 "I suggest that, as a just and appropriate tribute of 
 respect and lasting gratitude from the colored people 
 of the United States to the memory of President Lin- 
 coln, the Father of American Liberty, every individual 
 of our race contribute one cent, as this will enable each 
 member of every family to contribute, parents paying 
 for every child, allowing all who are able to subscribe 
 any sum they please above this, to such national mon- 
 ument as may hereafter be decided upon by the Amer- 
 ican people. I hope it may be in Illinois, near his own 
 family residence. 
 
 " This penny or one cent contribution would amount 
 to the handsome sum of forty thousand ($40,000) dol- 
 lars, as a tribute from the black race (I use the generic 
 term), and would not be at all felt; and I am sure that 
 so far as the South is concerned, the millions of freed- 
 men will hasten on their contributions." 
 
 The following design for the monument he proposed 
 was communicated to the same journal a month later. 
 He, also, through the same medium, suggested that a 
 gold medal be given to Mrs. Lincoln, as a tribute from 
 the colored people to the memory of her noble hus- 
 band. He still hopes that the suggestion concerning 
 the medal may find favor among the colored people, 
 and it would be more appropriate if it could be exe- 
 cuted by a colored artist. 
 
The National Calamity. 207 
 
 MONUMENT TO PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 I propose for the National Monument, to which all the colored 
 people of the United States are to contribute each one cent, a 
 design, as the historic representation of the humble offering of 
 our people. On one side of the base of the monument (the south 
 side for many reasons would be the most appropriate, it being 
 the south from which the great Queen of Ethiopia came with 
 great offerings to the Temple at Jerusalem, the south from which 
 the Ethiopian Ambassador came to worship at Jerusalem, as well 
 as the south from which the greatest part of our offerings come 
 to contribute to this testimonial) shall be an urn, at the side of 
 which shall be a female figure, kneeling on the right knee, the 
 left thigh projecting horizontally, the leg perpendicular to the 
 ground, the leg and thigh forming the angle of a square, the 
 body erect, but little inclined over the urn, the face with eyes 
 upturned to heaven, with distinct tear-drops passing down the 
 face, falling into the urn, which is represented as being full ; dis- 
 tinct tear-drops shall be so arranged as to represent the figures 
 4,000,000 (four million), which shall be emblematical not only of 
 the number of contributors to the monument, but the number 
 of those who shed tears of sorrow for the great and good deliv- 
 erer of their race from bondage in the United States ; the arms 
 and hands extended — the whole figure to represent "Ethiopia 
 stretching forth her hands unto God." A drapery is to cover the 
 whole figure, thrown back, leaving the entire arms and shoulders 
 bare, but drawn up under the arms, covering the breast just to 
 the verge of the swell below the neck, falling down full in 
 front, but leaving the front of the knee, leg, and foot fully ex- 
 posed. The lower part of the drapery should be so arranged 
 behind as just to expose the sole of the right foot in its projection. 
 The urn should be directly in front of the female figure, so as to 
 give the best possible effect to, or view of, it. This figure is 
 neither to be Grecian, Caucasian, nor Anglo-Saxon, Mongolian 
 nor Indian, but African — very African — an ideal representative 
 genius of the race, as Europa, Britannia, America, or the God- 
 dess of Liberty, is to the European race. 
 
208 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Will not our clever mutual friend, Patrick Reason, of New 
 York, sketch the outlines of a good representation of this 
 design? This is to be prominently carved or moulded in what- 
 ever material the monument is erected of. Let the one-cent 
 contribution at once commence everywhere throughout the 
 United States. I hope the Independent, and all other papers 
 friendly, especially the religious and weeklies, will copy my 
 article published in the Anglo-African of the 13th of May; also 
 this article on the design. 
 
 In behalf of this great nation, 
 
 M. R. Delany, 
 
 Major With U. S. C. T. 
 
Camp of Instruction. 209 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 CAMP OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 THE 105th Regiment United States Colored Troops 
 was now ordered to be raised, and Lieutenant 
 Colonel Hutchins to take command. This was de- 
 signed to form the basis of the camp of instruction, 
 with the colonel as commander. This, at the time, 
 was of vast importance in character, interest, and pur- 
 pose, as well as great in the object of its establishment. 
 The importance of this will not seem to be overesti- 
 mated, because it must be borne in mind that no au- 
 thentic action of the military had yet been ordered for 
 the avowed object of emancipation. 
 
 The following order was the first move towards the 
 accomplishment of that end, worded in that peculiar 
 style of caution which distinguished all of Major Gen- 
 eral Saxton's orders, when not definitely directed by 
 the war department: — ■ 
 
 f Recruitment ^ 
 •red Troops, I 
 he South, f 
 
 )., May 3, 1865. ) 
 
 Headquarters Superintendent op Recruitment 
 and Organization Colore] 
 Department of the 
 Beaufort, S. C. 
 Special Order. No. 19. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel R. P. Hutchins, 94th Ohio Volunteers, 
 assistant superintendent of recruiting, Charleston, S. C, will at 
 once commence the organization of the regiment, of which he will 
 14 
 
210 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 be appointed colonel, and to be known as the 105th United States 
 Colored Troops. 
 
 The men will be recruited as rapidly as possible at Charleston, 
 S. C, and the camp established at or near that city. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Hutchins will communicate to these head- 
 quarters the names of such officers and men as he may think 
 competent to be appointed to lieutenancies in his regiment, and 
 the necessary orders will be issued, if the nominations meet with 
 the approval of the general superintendent. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 
 General Superintendent of Recruiting. 
 
 Stuart M. Taylor, Asst. Adjutant General. 
 
 The order for the camp having been received, the 
 selection of ground was now the object of attention, 
 resulting in the choice of the extensive race-course, 
 where once the elite of the city were wont to gather to 
 Witness the races under the auspices of the South Caro- 
 lina Jockey Club, and where the blood of some of her 
 best have been shed in accordance with the " code of 
 honor." But now this has been made sacred by the 
 sufferings, death, and burial-place of the Union prison- 
 ers, and was as familiar to the recruit as his own home ; 
 for had he not been there braving detection and death 
 in many forms to bear some little comfort, time and 
 again to the helpless prisoners ? Had they not entered 
 even the frowning, dingy jail while the shelling of the 
 city was most furious, under the plea of selling provis- 
 ion to the imprisoned Union officers, and carried rough 
 plans and information which were turned to account 
 by those officers ? Therefore, their camp, beside the 
 graves of the Union martyrs, was but a fitting spot. 
 To hasten the accomplishment of this, handbills, the 
 
Camp of Instruction. 211 
 
 first to call authentically for recruits, were now issued, 
 carefully constructed, and silent regarding all but two 
 classes of officers ; the lieutenants being either of the 
 recruits, or those already officers, the non-commissioned 
 being designated from the recruits. This, Delany says, 
 was " like beginning in the right direction, and contem- 
 plating what has been set forth : " — 
 
 ATTENTION, CHARLESTONIANS ! 
 
 EALLY ROUND THE FLAG! 
 
 Charleston, S. C, April 28, 1865. 
 To the Free Colored Men of Charleston : 
 
 The free colored men in this city, between the ages of eighteen 
 and forty-five, are hereby earnestly called upon to come forward 
 to join the 
 
 CHARLESTON REGIMENT, 
 
 now to be organized. It is the duty of every colored man to 
 vindicate his manhood by becoming a soldier, and with his own 
 stout arm to battle for the emancipation of his race. I urge 
 you by every hope that is dear to humanity, by every free inspi- 
 ration which a sense of liberty has kindled in your hearts, to be 
 soldiers, until the freedom of your race is secured. The pros- 
 pect of your future destiny should be enough to call every man 
 to the ranks. But in addition, you are to have the 
 
 PAY, RATIONS, AND CLOTHING, 
 
 our other soldiers receive. 
 
 Let a full Regiment of the Colored Freedmenof Charleston be 
 under arms, to protect the heritage which has been promised to 
 your race in this department. 
 
22 
 
 264 
 
 22 
 
 264 
 
 24 
 
 288 
 
 20 
 
 240 
 
 18 
 
 216 
 
 16 
 
 192 
 
 16 
 
 192 
 
 22 
 
 264 
 
 212 Life of Major M. R. Delatsty. 
 
 Pay of Artillery, Infantry, and Cavalry Soldiers. 
 
 Grade. Fay per month. Pay per year. 
 
 Sergeant Major of Cavalry, Artillery, and 
 
 Infantry, . . . . ' . $26 $312 
 
 Quartermaster Sergeant, Cavalry, Artil- 
 lery, and Infantry, .... 
 
 Commissary Sergeant, . 
 
 Orderly Sergeant, 
 
 Sergeants, 
 
 Corporals, 
 
 Privates, ...... 
 
 Musicians, ...... 
 
 Principal musicians, .... 
 
 In addition to the pay as above stated, one ration per day and 
 an abundant supply of good clothing are allowed to each sol- 
 dier. Quarters, fuel, and medical attendance are always pro- 
 vided by the government, without deduction from the soldier's 
 pay. If a soldier should become disabled in the line of his 
 duties, the laws provide for him a pension ; or he may, if he pre- 
 fer it, obtain admission into the " Soldier's Home," which will 
 afford him a comfortable home so long as he may wish to re- 
 ceive its benefits. It is the intention to make this an excelsior 
 regiment. All desired information given at Recruiting Office, No. 
 64 St. Philip Street, corner Calhoun. 
 
 M. R. Delant, 
 Major lOkth United States Colored Troops. 
 
 R. P. Hutchins, Colonel, 
 
 Office No. 123 Calhoun Street. 
 
 Colonel Hutchins had now ceased to be assistant 
 to the general, and was hastening preparations for the 
 camp of instruction. Recruits were fast coming in, 
 companies were forming with alacrity. Some of the 
 best young men in Charleston had their names enrolled 
 with high expectations, looking forward to the camp. 
 Besides this, independent regiments were fast being 
 
Camp of Instruction. 213 
 
 formed, and three battalions were already in motion in 
 anticipation of entering the service to share the glory 
 of the unknown movement. 
 
 At this time many of the fugitive citizens were re- 
 turning to the city, among them some of the best 
 officers of the rebel army, and the city was gradually 
 awakening into life. 
 
 The headquarters of the major presenting a scene 
 always of active life, its attraction was still more en- 
 hanced, as the fine brass band of Wilson, drum-major 
 in the service, was in full attendance, discoursing music 
 from the corridors, and enlivening the entire neighbor- 
 hood, and parading the streets with martial pomp. 
 
 The major, taking an honest pride in his battalion, 
 writes, " This splendid new battalion now performed its 
 duties when parading the streets. They were com- 
 manded by acting Captain Shadd, who was well quali- 
 fied for an officer, besides being a young gentleman of 
 fine literary attainments. Conscious of his abilities, he 
 took pride in his duties, and discharged them satis- 
 factorily. Nobly assisted as he was by his acting as- 
 sistant First Lieutenant Toussaint L'Ouverture Delany, 
 and a newly recruited non-commissioned officer, the 
 almost entire duties of the command devolved upon 
 him on parade. Had the condition of the country re- 
 quired a continuance of this movement to completion, 
 this noble young man, so assiduous and diligent, would 
 have had a position worthy of him." 
 
214 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 EXTRAOEDINAKY MESSAGES. 
 
 THE headquarters of Major Delany were most 
 desirable and attractive ; but it was, at the same 
 time, easy of access to any one contemplating mischief. 
 The parlor, library, museum, and private study, con- 
 tinuously arranged on the first floor from the basement, 
 with glass doors, with outer Venetian blinds, extending 
 from the ceiling to the floor, all opened upon a piazza, 
 supported by massive columns; the parlor being the 
 office of the major, the library and museum the office 
 of the under clerks, the study at the extreme end of 
 the piazza, the office of the* chief clerk and assistant 
 Captain A. W. Shadd. 
 
 The orderlies, seven in number, slept in the middle 
 office, in blankets, while the ground floor beneath was 
 occupied by the housekeeper and attendants. 
 
 Early one morning, before he had left his room, a 
 colored gentleman came hurriedly up the front entrance, 
 passing the first sentinel at the outer gate, bearing a 
 dish, which, being partially exposed, showed the fruit 
 it contained. So sudden was his approach upon the 
 faithful orderly, Isaac Weston, who slept in the hall 
 leading to the upper chamber, where slept his com- 
 mander, that springing to his feet half awakened, he 
 
Extraordinary Messages. 215 
 
 challenged the intruder. " A friend of the major," was 
 the hasty reply of the man, astonished to find himself 
 hemmed in so suddenly by the guards, to whom, in- 
 stantly, his movements were thought suspicious. " He 
 is not up yet," replied the orderly, "but his son is 
 there," pointing to the parlor, wherein was the young 
 Delany, wrapped in dreams, no doubt, and unconscious 
 of the anxiety without for his father's safety. 
 
 " I wish to see the major himself," persisted the man. 
 " I've this dish for him." 
 
 " I'll take it," replied the orderly. 
 
 To this proposition he demurred, saying, "I've a 
 message of importance for him, and must deliver it 
 myself." 
 
 The guards allowed him to remain, to await the 
 major. At intervals he would be seen to approach the 
 window opening on St. Philip Street, in a most cautious 
 manner. This restlessness was attributed by the guards 
 to guilt and anxiety : so fraught with malice and re- 
 venge seemed the time and place, that suspicious of 
 the motive of the man, they determined not to permit 
 him to escape. 
 
 Shortly after this the major appeared, and found his 
 son in conversation with the supposed culprit, who in- 
 stantly arose at his entrance, requesting a private inter- 
 view. This was granted ; but the orderly, whose faith 
 was not quite established in the integrity of the visitor, 
 persistently kept within call. 
 
 As soon as they were alone, the visitor made known 
 his business to him. Said he, " I've come this morn- 
 ing, Major Delany, to impart to you something of great 
 importance. Last night," continued he, "a plot was 
 
216 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 overheard to be on foot, which astonished us so much, 
 that we could not sleep, and I have come here early 
 this morning to tell you of it, and brought these figs 
 as an excuse, fearing it might create suspicion, should 
 I be seen coming here so early." 
 
 "What is the plot?" inquired the major, eagerly. 
 "Don't hesitate to disclose its nature." 
 
 " No, sir," replied the visitor ; " it is this : they have 
 conspired to assassinate all the Union officers of rank 
 and command in the city," he whispered. 
 
 "You need not fear that," replied the major; "they 
 are not so mad as to attempt such an act, while the 
 brain of every lover of the Union is still fevered with 
 the recent crime at Washington." 
 
 "Let me tell you, major," said he, "I believe it. I 
 know the character of the men concerned in it : they 
 are capable of anything against the government. They 
 are the same who encouraged the cruelties of Ander- 
 sonville — the exposure and starvation at the race- 
 course — the butchery of the colored prisoners by un- 
 necessary amputations at the hospital." 
 
 " How do they propose to accomplish the business ? " 
 asked the major. 
 
 " They propose," returned he, " to kill General Sax- 
 ton, on his next arrival here, as soon as he lands; then 
 the black major, next Colonel Beecher, General Hatch ? 
 and Colonel Gurney." 
 
 " Do you think I regard this more than some angry 
 rebel venting his feelings in words?" asked the major. 
 
 "They were really in earnest, and intend all they 
 said," answered the visitor, disconcerted at not being 
 able to arouse the " black major" to the extent of the 
 danger. 
 
Extraordinary Messages. 217 
 
 " What do you suppose the other officers would be 
 doing, after more than, one had been killed ? " asked the 
 major. 
 
 " It was all to be done at one time ; the killing of 
 General Saxton, which would soon be known, to be the 
 signal, then the others would follow." 
 
 " Then," replied the major, " you are authorized to 
 impart to them that we are ahead of them, and that 
 the assassination of General Saxton, or any other Union 
 officer in Charleston, will be the signal for putting to 
 the sword the enemies of the Union, and laying the 
 city in a heap of smouldering ruins. I give you this 
 in advance of any advice or instructions from my 
 superior officer, and shall not wait for orders in this 
 case, when they are to be the victims, but shall take 
 all the responsibility following it. I believe in the 
 Napoleonic idea — ball-cartridges firsthand admonitions 
 after." 
 
 The gentleman left soon after, satisfied that he had 
 discharged his duty. 
 
 Strange to say, eleven persons came that day, each 
 in confidence, with the same information. So attached 
 were the people to him, that it is known that a party 
 of ladies actually waited on him, endeavoring to per- 
 suade him not to leave his quarters. For their interest 
 in him he expressed his obligations, and reminded 
 them that it was the duty of an officer to go at all 
 times where his services w T ere needed, and added that 
 those who were plotting had more at stake than they 
 against whom the plot was formed, and in the event 
 of attempting it, nothing could save the city» 
 
 Not giving full credence to this report, it was re- 
 
218 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 ceived with a degree of deference and careful observa- 
 tion by the major, and may have been entirely forgotten, 
 or treated as the offspring of a sensitive imagination, 
 unguardedly imparted, and resulting in creating alarm 
 among the easily frightened and credulous. 
 
 If the major had been awake at a late hour a few 
 nights after these admonitions were given to him, he 
 would, perhaps, have had cause to treat this report with 
 more attention than he gave it ; but the affair being 
 told to him, it had not the same effect as it would have 
 had if he had witnessed it. 
 
 In front of the piazza of his residence was a space 
 of shrubbery and flower garden, a high fence dividing 
 the place from a Hebrew Synagogue : for concealment 
 it was admirably adapted. It happened about mid- 
 night a rustling was heard in the shrubbery ; then steps 
 were heard stealthily approaching the piazza, when 
 simultaneously, as it were, faces were seen reconnoi- 
 tring through the glass door of each apartment, the 
 heads being distinctly seen. Their appearance was as 
 suddenly followed by a rush towards the piazza by the 
 vigilant sentinels. The intruders leaped from the 
 porch, and in an instant the fence being scaled, eluded 
 pursuit. Search was made on the premises, but no 
 traces remained to give a single clew to their designs. 
 
 There was no sleep to the inmates of the quarters 
 for the remainder of the night, though the major was 
 not informed of this singular affair until the following 
 morning. 
 
 A battalion of four hundred and fifty strong, being 
 under command of acting Captain Shadd, — and no vet- 
 eran troops could have been better disciplined to meet 
 
EXTRAORDINARY MESSAGES. 219 
 
 such an emergency than they, was on duty, and subse- 
 quently every entrance to the premises was guarded 
 by his truly devoted sentinels. Thus it may have re- 
 sulted unfortunately for even some feline pet of some 
 of the neighbors, if it had wandered into that shrubbery, 
 producing such a rustling as on the previous evening. 
 
 There appeared, shortly after, as though there was 
 some motive attached to the visit at the major's 
 quarters. The fires of resentment were still smoulder- 
 ing in their hearts ; the Washington tragedy was not 
 sufficient to extinguish it. For it is well known in 
 Charleston that but a few evenings after the occurrence 
 at the major's quarters, Colonel Gurney's became the 
 object of a more bold and impudent intrusion. 
 
 It was related by an interested party, as well as pub- 
 lished in one of the journals of the city, on the next 
 day, that while Colonel Gurney was seated in conversa- 
 tion with his lady, about eleven P.M., a party of five men, 
 dressed in the naval uniform of United States officers, 
 entered the apartment. The spokesman of the party 
 entered abruptly, and, on inquiring for the colonel, was 
 answered by him, who in turn demanded of the in- 
 truders their errand. 
 
 " We have come with a message for you to report to 
 the admiral, in person, at Hilton Head," said one. 
 
 "Report to the admiral, in person, at Hilton Head !" 
 exclaimed the astonished colonel. "What means all 
 this ? Why these officers ? I am then to consider my- 
 self under arrest, I suppose." 
 
 " You are, sir," was the reply. 
 
 " You will allow me time to prepare a valise," said 
 the colonel. His lady here interposed, expressing a 
 
220 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 desire to accompany him; he refused; she persisted, and 
 with true womanly instinct called an orderly to go for 
 Judge Cooley. The leader of the party then stated 
 that they had similar orders to attend, but would re- 
 turn for him to go with the others, and immediately 
 left, thus finding themselves outflanked by a woman, 
 they were never seen or heard from again. 
 
 At the publication of this, the major's being at the 
 same time everywhere the subject of grave comment, 
 an intense excitement was created through the colored 
 community especially. This was as the breeze upon the 
 surface of our sea, so recently disturbed and still un- 
 settled ; the swells could be observed with threatening 
 approaches to the shore. 
 
 Fortunately these were stayed. So pressing were 
 the inquirers, in crowds, as it were, at the quarters of 
 the major, seeking' advice for action, that positive 
 orders were given by him decidedly against any overt 
 act by the freed men. 
 
 If these suspicious visits were carried further, the 
 military headquarters in the city were peculiarly situ- 
 ated to meet such emergencies. While they were 
 separately commanded and under different influences, 
 they were at the same time equidistant from each other 
 and admirably adapted to meet any emergency. 
 
 For instance, the city was divided into two military 
 districts, running north and south, with Calhoun Street 
 centrally, at right angles ; Colonel Gurney, command- 
 ing the 127th New York Volunteers, at corner of Meet- 
 ing and George Streets, west side; Colonel Beecher, 
 commanding the 35th United States Colored Troops, 
 corner of Charlotte and Meeting Streets, east side ; Ma- 
 
EXTRAORDINARY MESSAGES. 221 
 
 jor Delany, commanding new recruits, at corner of St. 
 Philip and Calhoun Streets ; Colonel Hutchins, being 
 on Calhoun, nearly midway between St. Philip and 
 Meeting Streets, and Brevet Major General John P. 
 Hatch, commanding the district, with quarters at the 
 end of King Street. 
 
 The first three commands formed the extreme angle 
 of an equilateral triangle, with Colonel Hutchins in 
 the centre ; Major General Hatch occupied a portion 
 of a medial line, intersecting the east side of the 
 triangle equidistant between Colonel Gurney and Major 
 Delany. 
 
 The interests of the commands seemed equally for- 
 tunate and providential, adventitious for the welfare of 
 the people and protection of the city, with Colonel 
 Gurney commanding white northern troops, Colonel 
 Beecher black southern troops, Major Delany's troops 
 incomplete, Colonel Hutchins waiting for a command 
 with Major General John P. Hatch over all. 
 
222 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 NEWS FROM EICHMOND. 
 
 THE interest in recruiting had in no wise abated, 
 and the major's headquarters gave evidences 
 daily of this fact. At every public gathering the 
 movement concerning the new troops was discussed. 
 
 But in the midst of the most active preparations and 
 hopeful anticipations news reached Charleston, simul- 
 taneously with that of the national calamity, that Lee 
 had surrendered. At this moment, when the recollec- 
 tion of that important epoch of the war returns to the 
 mind, it is difficult to determine which regretted it the 
 most — the southern blacks or whites, but from alto- 
 gether different motives. In the new battalion the 
 feeling was anything but joyful, as they were just pre- 
 paring for the contest. The major, on receiving the news, 
 announced to them, "Gentlemen, Lee has surrendered! 
 Thank God, the war is over!" without meeting a 
 response of approbation from the men or officers. It 
 was difficult to convince these soldiers that the sur- 
 render of General Lee's army was the surrender of the 
 South to the conquering North, and they still looked 
 forward hopefully for orders approving the continu- 
 ance of the camp. They were not kept in this state 
 of doubt as to the intention of the department, for 
 
News from Richmond. 223 
 
 soon the order came from Washington discontinuing 
 the raising of troops, succeeded by the special order 
 which follows below : — 
 
 Headquarters of Superintendent Recruiting and 
 Organization Colored Troops, 
 
 Department of the South, 
 Beaufort, S. C, June 7, 1865. 
 Special Orders. No. 36. 
 
 I. Major M. R. Delany, 104th United States Colored Troops, 
 is hereby relieved from further duty at Charleston, S. C, and 
 will report without delay to these headquarters, prior to assign- 
 ment to duty with his regiment. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 
 Gen. Supt. Meet. § Org. Col. Troops, D. S. 
 
 Stuart M. Taylor, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 Major M. R. Delany, lOith U. S. C. T. 
 
 On the reception of this order a general depression 
 was felt by the colored people, the freedmen, especial- 
 ly regarding it. in the light of a preparatory abandon- 
 ment of the service : naturally they felt this order 
 sorely ; their best friend and faithful counsellor leav- 
 ing them without an apparent cause, was by no 
 means comprehensible to them. And soon after its 
 promulgation, the major's quarters were beset by an 
 eager crowd anxious for explanations from his own 
 lips, but as the most satisfactory answer or explanation 
 would only elicit from them a sorrowful shake of the 
 head, it was evident nothing would content them ex- 
 cept the order being recalled for the major's departure. 
 Having many imperative duties connected with the en- 
 listment of the troops unfinished, he immediately wrote 
 to the general for an extension of time, and while 
 
224 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 awaiting the required authority, the time solicited ex- 
 pired. He left Charleston June 26, reporting the fore- 
 noon of the next day at Hilton Head, and received 
 the following special order : — 
 
 Headquarters Superintendent of Recruiting' 
 
 and Organizing Colored Troops, . 
 
 Department of the South, J 
 
 Beaufort, S. C, June 29, 1865. v 
 
 Special Orders. No. 47. 
 
 III. Major M. R. Delany, 104th United States Colored 
 Troops, having reported at these headquarters in obedience 
 to Special Order No. 36, Par. I, current series, from these 
 headquarters, will remain in Beaufort until instructions in re- 
 gard to the duties to be assigned to him are received from the 
 war department. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton. 
 
 Stuart M. Taylor, 
 
 Brevet Major and Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Major M. R. Delany, IQith U. S. C. T. 
 
 Major Delany met the general on Tuesday morn- 
 ing at Hilton Head, while en route for New York. 
 The 104th — the major's regiment — was then at 
 Camp Duane, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Wil- 
 son. Colonel Douglass Frazer being in command at 
 Hilton Head, in expectation of seeing him, but adher- 
 ing strictly to his instructions received from the de- 
 partment at Washington, the basis of his own cherished 
 principles, did not join his regiment, awaiting further 
 orders from the department. 
 
 While awaiting instructions, he was necessarily un- 
 employed, and there being many duties connected with 
 
News from Richmond. 225 
 
 the welfare of the freedmen, he was compelled daily to 
 witness their imperfect performance. Just across the 
 river from him rumors would reach him of the dissatis- 
 fied state of the people ; and as he was anxious 
 to aid in restoring the industry and labor of the 
 South, he went to St. Helena Island to use his in- 
 fluence with them, and instruct them as to their duty 
 on the subject. 
 
 The next clay, to his surprise, he was informed that 
 his mission to St. Helena's was for the purpose of urg- 
 ing the freedmen to insurrection, and it was thus re- 
 ported at the general's and post headquarters; but the 
 malice of his enemies, blinded by prejudice, was of no 
 avail with his official superiors, with the exception of 
 its being somewhat annoying to him, as a rumor aug- 
 menting as it extended : it passed off without an official 
 notice. 
 
 While this incendiary character was falsely assigned 
 to him, the following order from Washington was re- 
 ceived, and the current of speculation as to the black 
 major's role was turned in another direction: — 
 
 War Department, Adjutant General's Office, > 
 Washington, D. C, July 15, 18G5. > 
 
 Special Orders, No. 372. 
 
 Extract. 
 
 46. The following named officers of the 104th United States 
 Colored Troops are hereby relieved from duty with that regi- 
 ment, and assigned to duty in the bureau of refugees, freedmen, 
 and abandoned lands. 
 
 They will report in person without delay, to Brevet Major 
 
 15 
 
226 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 General R. Saxton, assistant commissioner for the States of South 
 
 Carolina and Georgia. 
 
 Major Martin R. Delany. 
 
 By order of the Secretary of War, 
 
 E. D. Townsend, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Official. E. D. Townsend, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Headquarters Asst. Comr. Bureau Refugees, 
 Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 
 Beaufort, 
 
 Official. Stuart M. Taylor, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Comr. Bureau Refugees, } 
 .nds, S. C, Geo., and Fl., >- 
 :, S. C, July 26, 1865. > 
 
A New Field. 227 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A NEW FIELD. 
 
 PRIOR to the reception of that order, Major De- 
 lany was in that state of painful inactivity, to 
 which an officer is said to be a prey while awaiting in- 
 structions, in consequence of the absence of General 
 Saxton. On the return of the general, in August, he 
 was informed, to his astonishment, of the ridiculous 
 part which some mischievous persons had taken in the 
 St. Helena rumor, which surprised him more than the 
 story itself, he said. 
 
 On Monday, the 7th of August, he received the 
 desired instructions, which, for the time, definitely set- 
 tled the position and duties assigned, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a copy : — 
 
 ; } 
 
 Headquarters Asst. Comr. Bureau Kefugees, 
 Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, S. C, Geo., andFl. 
 Beaufort, S. C, August 7, 1865. 
 
 Special Order. No. 3. 
 
 I. Major M. R. Delany, 104th United States Colored Troops, 
 
 is hereby detailed for duty in connection with the affairs of 
 
 freedmen, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and will 
 
 proceed thither at once. 
 
228 Life of Majok M. R. Delany. 
 
 The quartermaster's department will furnish the necessary 
 transportation* and Major Delany will make a request upon the 
 post quartermaster at Hilton Head, South Carolina, for quarters. 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. Saxton, 
 
 Assistant Commissioner. 
 Stuart M. Taylor, Asst. Adft. Gen. 
 
 Major M. R. Delany, With U. S. C. T. 
 
 Major Delany, armed with this authority, immedi- 
 ately set out for Hilton Head : there he found Josiah W. 
 Pillsbury, Esq., the brother of the honored Parker Pills- 
 bury, of the Anti-Slavery Society, on duty as superin- 
 tendent of freed men's affairs, under the old society's 
 auspices, occupying a small, uncomfortable room, en- 
 tirely unsuited to the office held by him, the people 
 being compelled to wait without for want of space 
 within, and attended from the only window in front. 
 The government in this, he said, " was probably doing 
 as much as could be expected for anything outside of 
 its immediate control." 
 
 His usual way to prepare or perfect himself in any 
 new undertaking, is to study attentively everything 
 relating to his subject ; for this reason, while waiting 
 for quarters suitable for the bureau's purpose, he at- 
 tended daily the office of the freedmen. 
 
 Before assuming the duties of his office, he immedi- 
 ately went about correcting many errors, suggesting and 
 advising, as well as directing other and better measures. 
 For a class so recently emancipated, the greater por- 
 tion had many things to learn, as well as their oppress- 
 ors; and in many respects, like them, there was a 
 great deal to unlearn. Major Delany says, " The great 
 
A New Field. 229 
 
 social system was to them a novelty, and without 
 proper guidance would have been a curse instead of a 
 blessing. Unaccustomed to self-reliance by the bar- 
 barism of the system under which they had lived, lib- 
 erty was destined to lead them into errors. To prevent 
 this the bureau was established." 
 
 He made the genius, habits, and peculiarities of the 
 people he was over his constant study, which, together 
 with his unbounded popularity with them, eminently 
 fitted him for the position. Having a head and heart 
 well adapted to mete out guidance for the unlearned, 
 and protection and sympathy for the poor, the work 
 under his management prospered to the great gratifica- 
 tion of its friends. He says in regard to this, — 
 
 " If a surgeon be called to attend the maimed or 
 crippled, his object first should be, if possible, to cure : 
 when all remedies fail, as the last resort, amputa- 
 tion as a treatment may then be resorted to. A phy- 
 sician, who would act otherwise than that, would be 
 called by the profession a 'quack,' or 'botch.' As in 
 the medical, so should it be in military, legal, or civil 
 jurisprudence. The object of appointment by govern- 
 ment is to have its ends subserved and objects accom- 
 plished. Thus was the bureau established for protec- 
 tional purposes." 
 
 In trade and all kinds of dealings among the freed- 
 men, the weakest points were sought out and advan- 
 tages taken by that means. He then sought to defend 
 them against these frauds and other impositions prac- 
 tised upon them by persons using the magic word to 
 them of " Yankee ; " or else, " friend of your people," 
 and, "I know no difference between black and white," 
 
230 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 &c. From these men his course received much disap- 
 probation, if not actual opposition. As this impeded 
 the progress of the work, he determined to accomplish 
 by strategy that which could not be done by direct attack. 
 Through the generous courtesy of the editor of the 
 New South, the " official organ " at Hilton Head, he 
 succeeded. He communicated a series of articles, seven 
 in number, on domestic and political economy, condu- 
 cive to the industry and labor of the South. Some of 
 them are here reproduced, to show his earnest endeav- 
 ors to facilitate the work of reorganization in the de- 
 partment assigned him, as well as the fitness of the officer 
 for the appointment. 
 
 I. 
 
 PROSPECTS OF THE FREEDMEN OF HILTON HEAD. 
 
 Every true friend of the Union, residing on the island, must 
 feel an interest in the above subject, regardless of any other 
 consideration than that of national polity. Have the blacks be- 
 come self-sustaining? and will they ever, in a state of freedom, 
 resupphy the products which comprised the staples formerly of 
 the old planters? These are questions of importance, and not 
 unworthy of the consideration of grave political economists. 
 
 That the blacks of the island have not been self-sustaining 
 will not be pretended, neither can it be denied that they have 
 been generally industrious and inclined to work. But industry 
 alone is not sufficient, nor work available, except these command 
 adequate compensation. 
 
 Have the blacks innately the elements of industry and enter- 
 prise? Compare them with any other people, and note their 
 adaptation. Do they not make good "day laborers"? Are 
 they not good field hands ? Do they not make good domestics ? 
 Are they not good house servants? Do they not readily "turn 
 their hands" to anything or kind of work they may find to do? 
 
A New Field. 231 
 
 Trained, they make good body servants, house servants, or 
 laundresses, waiters, chamber and dining-room servants, cooks, 
 nurses, drivers, horse " tenders," and, indeed, fill as well, and 
 better, many of the domestic occupations than any other race. 
 And with unrestricted facilities for learning, will it be denied 
 that they are as susceptible of the mechanical occupations or 
 trades as they are of the domestic ? Will it be denied that a 
 people easily domesticated are susceptible of the higher attain- 
 ments? The slaveholder, long since, cautioned against "giving 
 a nigger an inch, lest he should take an ell." 
 
 If permitted, I will continue this subject in a series of equally 
 short articles, so as not to intrude on your columns. 
 
 II. 
 
 This subject must now be examined in the light of political 
 economy, and, for reasons stated in a previous article, treated 
 tersely in every sentence, and, therefore, will not be condemned 
 by the absence of elaboration and extensive proof. 
 
 America was discovered in 1492 — then peopled only by the 
 original inhabitants, or Indians, as afterwards called. No part 
 of the country was found in a state of cultivation, and no indus- 
 trial enterprise was carried on, either foreign or domestic. Not 
 even in the West Indies — prolific with spices, gums, dye-woods, 
 and fruits — was there any trade carried on among or by the 
 natives. These people were put to labor by the foreigners ; but, 
 owing to their former habits of hunting, fishing, and want of 
 physical exercise, they sank beneath the weight of toil, fast dying 
 off, till their mortality, in time, from this cause alone, reached 
 the frightful figure of two and a half millions. (See Ramsay's 
 History.) 
 
 The whites were put to labor, and their fate was no better — 
 which requires no figures, as all are familiar with the history 
 and career of Thomas Gates and associates at one time ; John 
 Smith and associates, as colonists in the South, at another ; how, 
 not farther than Virginia, — at most, North Carolina, — they 
 " died like sheep," to the destruction of the settlements, in at- 
 tempting to do the work required to improve for civilized life. 
 
232 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Neither whites, as foreigners, nor Indians, as natives, were ade- 
 quate to the task of performing the labor necessary to their 
 advent in the New World. 
 
 So early as 1502 — but ten years after Columbus landed — 
 " the Spaniards commenced bringing a few negroes from Africa 
 to work the soil." (See Ramsay's History.) In 1515, but thir- 
 teen years afterwards, and twenty-three from the discovery of 
 America, Carolus V., King of Spain, granted letters patent to 
 import annually into the colonies of Cuba, Ispaniola (Hayti), 
 Jamaica, and Porto Rico, four thousand Africans as slaves — 
 people contracted with to " emigrate" to these new colonies, as 
 the French, under Louis Napoleon, attempted, in 1858, to decoy 
 native Africans, under the pretext of emigrating to the colonies, 
 into French slavery, then reject international interference, on 
 the ground that they obtained them by " voluntary emigration." 
 
 Such was the success of this new industrial element, that not 
 only did Spaniards and Portuguese employ them in all their 
 American colonies, but so great was the demand for these 
 laborers, that Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England, became 
 a partner in the slave trade with the infamous Captain Hawkins; 
 and, in 1618, her successor to the throne, and royal relative, 
 James I., King of England, negotiated for and obtained the 
 entire carrying trade, thus securing, by international patent, the 
 exclusive right for British vessels alone to " traffic in blood and 
 souls of men," to reap the profits arising from their importation. 
 
 Was it the policy of political economists, such as were then 
 the rulers and statesmen of Europe, to employ a people in 
 preference to all others for the development of wealth, if such 
 people were not adapted to the labor designed for them? Would 
 the civilized and highly polished, such as were then the Spanish, 
 French, and Portuguese nations, together with the English, still 
 have continued the use of these people as laborers and domes- 
 tics in every social relation among them, if they had not found 
 them a most desirable domestic element? Would, after the 
 lapse of one hundred and sixteen years' rigid trial and experi- 
 ence from their first importation, the King of England have been 
 able — whatever his avarice as an individual — to have effected 
 so. great a diplomatic treaty, as the consent from all the civilized 
 
A New Field. 233 
 
 nations having interests here to people their colonies with a race 
 if that race had been worthless as laborers, and deficient as an 
 industrial element? Would, in the year of the grace of Jesus 
 Christ, and the light of the highest civilization, after the lapse 
 of two hundred and twenty years from James's treaty, the most 
 powerful and enlightened monarchy have come near the crisis of 
 its political' career in its determination to continue the system, 
 and for two hundred and forty-seven years the most powerful 
 and enlightened republic that ever the world saw have distracted 
 the harmony of the nations of the earth, and driven itself 
 to the verge of destruction by the mad determination of one 
 half of the people and leading states, to perpetuate the service 
 of this race as essential to the development of the agricultural 
 wealth of the land ? After these centuries of trial and experi- 
 ence, would these people have been continually sought after, had 
 they not proven to be superior to all others as laborers in the 
 kind of work assigned them ? Let political economists answer. 
 
 V. 
 
 As shown in my last article, these people are the lineal de- 
 scendants of an industi'ious, hardy race of men — those whom 
 the most powerful and accomplished statesmen and political 
 economists of the great states of Europe, after years of trial and 
 rigid experience, decided upon and selected as the element best 
 adapted to develop in a strange and foreign clime — a new world 
 of unbroken soil and dense, impenetrable forests — the industry 
 and labor necessary to the new life. This cannot and will not be 
 attempted to be denied without ignoring all historical authority, 
 though presented in a different light — and may I not say mo- 
 tive ? — from that in which history has ever given it. 
 
 These people are of those to retain whom in her power the 
 great British nation Was agitated to the point, at as late a peri- 
 od as 1837-8, of shattering the basis of its political foundation; 
 and, within the last four years, the genius of the American gov- 
 ernment was spurned, assaulted, and trampled upon, and had 
 come well nigh its final dissolution by full one half of the states, 
 people, and statesmen inaugurating a civil war, the most stupen- 
 dous on record, for no other purpose than retaining them as la- 
 borers. Does any intelligent person doubt the utility of such a 
 
234 Life of Major M. R, Delany. 
 
 people? Can such a people now be worthless in the country? 
 Does any enlightened, reflecting person believe it? I think not. 
 
 But this is an experiment. Have we no precedent, no exam- 
 ple ? What of the British colonies of the West Indies and South 
 America? Let impartial history and dispassionate, intelligent in- 
 vestigation answer. The land in the colonies was owned by 
 wealthy capitalists and gentlemen who resided in Europe. The 
 " proprietors," or planters, were occupants of the land, who 
 owned the slaves that worked it, having borrowed the capital 
 with which to purchase them at the Cuba markets or barracoons 
 and supply the plantations. In security for this, mortgages were 
 held by those in Europe on " all estate, real and personal," be- 
 longing to the planters, who paid a liberal interest on the loans. 
 
 When the opposition in the British Parliament, led by Tories, 
 who were the representatives of the capitalists, yielded to the 
 Emancipation Bill, it was only on condition of an appropriation 
 of twenty millions of pounds sterling, or one hundred millions 
 of dollars, as remuneration to the planters for their slaves set 
 free. This proposition was so moderate as to surprise and as- 
 tonish the intelligent in state affairs on both sides of the ocean, 
 as the sum proposed only amounted to the penurious price of 
 about one hundred and twenty dollars apiece, when men and 
 women were then bringing at the barracoons in Cuba from five 
 to six hundred dollars apiece in cash ; and the average of men, 
 women, and children, according to their estimate of black man- 
 kind, were " worth" four hundred and fifty dollars. Of course 
 the tutored colonial laborer would be worth still more. 
 
 After the passage of the Act of Emancipation by the Imperial 
 Parliament, the complaint was wafted back by the breeze of 
 every passing wind, that the planters in the colonies were im- 
 poverished by emancipation, and dishonest politicians and de- 
 feated, morose statesmen seized the opportunity to display their 
 duplicity. " What will become of the fair colonial possessions? 
 The lands will go back into a wilderness waste. The negroes 
 are idle, lazy, and will not work. They are unfit for freedom, 
 and ought to have masters. Where they do work, not half the 
 crop is produced on the same quantity of land. What will the 
 whites do if they don't get servants to work for them ? They and 
 
A New Field. 235 
 
 their posterity must starve. The lands are lying waste for the 
 want of occupants, and the negroes are idling their time away, 
 and will not have them when offered to them. The social sys- 
 tem in the West Indies has been ruined by the emancipation of 
 the negroes." These, and a thousand such complaints, tingled 
 upon the sensitive ear in every word that came from the Brit- 
 ish colonies, as the key-note of the pro-slavery British party, 
 till caught up and reechoed from the swift current of the south- 
 ern extremity of Brazil to the banks of the Potomac, the north- 
 ern extremity of the slave territory of the United States. But 
 alive to passing events, and true to their great trust, the philan- 
 thropists and people soon discovered, through their eminent rep- 
 resentatives and statesmen in Parliament, that the whites in the 
 colonies had never owned the lands nor the blacks which they 
 lost by the Act of Emancipation. And when the appropriation 
 was made by Parliament, the money remained in the vaults of 
 the banks in Europe, being precisely the amount required to 
 liquidate the claims of the capitalists, and to satisfy the mort- 
 gages held by those gentlemen against " all estates " of the bor- 
 rowers in the colonies, both " real and personal." 
 
 The cause of the cry and clamor must be seen at a glance. 
 The money supposed to be intended for the colonists, small as it 
 was, instead of being appropriated to them, simply went to satis- 
 fy the claims of the capitalists who resided in Great Britain, not 
 one out of a hundred of whom had ever seen the colonies. And 
 the lands being owned in Europe, and the laborers free, what 
 was to save the white colonists from poverty? All this was well 
 known to leading pEo-slavery politicians and statesmen in Europe 
 as well as America ; but a determination to perpetuate the bond- 
 age of a people as laborers — a people so valuable as to cause 
 them, rather than loose their grasp upon them, to boldly hazard 
 their national integrity, and set at defiance the morality of the 
 civilized world in holding them — caused this reprehensible im- 
 position and moral outrage in misleading to distraction their 
 common constituency. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Mr. Editor : This is my sixth article on the subject of the 
 " Prospects of the Ereedmen of Hilton Head " Island, which 
 
236 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 you have so generously admitted into the columns of The New 
 South, and for which liberality towards a recently liberated peo- 
 ple, I most heartily thank you. The time may come when they, 
 for themselves, may be able to thank you. I hope to conclude 
 with my next. 
 
 After what has been adduced in proof of their susceptibility, 
 adaptation, and propensity for the vocations of the domestic 
 and social relations of our civilization, what are their prospects f 
 for that now must be the leading question, and give more con- 
 cern to the philanthropist, true statesman, and Christian, than 
 anything relating to their fitness or innate adaptation, since that I 
 hold to be admitted, and no longer a question — at least with the 
 intelligent inquirer. 
 
 What should be the prospects ? Will not the same labor that 
 was performed by a slave be in requisition still ? Cannot he do 
 the same work as a freedman that he once did as a slave? Are 
 the products of slave labor preferable to free ? or are the prod- 
 ucts of free labor less valuable than slave? Will not rice and 
 cotton be in as great demand after emancipation as before it? or 
 will these commodities cease to be used, because they cease to 
 be produced by the labor of slaves ? All these are questions 
 pertinent, if not potent, to the important inquiry under consider- 
 ation — the prospects of the freedmen of Hilton Head. 
 
 Certainly these things will be required, in demand, and labor 
 quite as plentiful ; but not one half of the negroes can be induced 
 to work, as was proven in the West Indies, and is apparent from 
 the comparative number who now seek their old vocations to 
 those who formerly did the same work. 
 
 Grant this, — which is true, — and is it an objectionable feature, 
 or does it impair the prospects of the freedman? By no means; 
 but, on the contrary, it enhances his prospects and elevates his 
 manhood. Here, as in the case of West India emancipation, be- 
 fore emancipation took place every available pers'on — male 
 and female — from seven years of age to decrepit old age (as- 
 field hands) was put into the field to labor. 
 
 For example, take one case to illustrate the whole. Before 
 liberated, Juba had a wife and eight children, from seven to 
 thirty years of age, every one of whom was at labor in the field 
 
A New Field. 237 
 
 as a slave. When set free, the mother and all of the younger 
 children (consisting of five) quit the field, leaving the father and 
 three older sons, from twenty-five to thirty years of age, who 
 preferred field labor; the five children being sent to school. 
 The mother, now the pride of the recently-elevated freedman, 
 stays in her own house, to take charge, as a housewife, in her 
 new domestic relations — thus permanently withdrawing from 
 the field six tenths of the service of this family ; while the hus- 
 band and three sons (but four tenths) are all who remain to do 
 the work formerly performed by ten tenths, or the whole. Here 
 are more than one half who will not work in the field. Will any- 
 one say they should ? And this one example may suffice for the 
 most querulous on this subject. Human nature is all the same 
 under like circumstances. The immutable, unalterable laws 
 which governed or controlled the instincts or impulses of a Han- 
 nibal, Alexander, or Napoleon, are the same implanted in the 
 brain and breast of page or footman, be he black or white, cir- 
 cumstances alone making the difference in development accord- 
 ing to the individual propensity. 
 
 As slaves, people have no choice of pursuit or vocation, but 
 must follow that which is chosen by the master. Slaves, like 
 freemen, have different tastes and desires — many doing that 
 which is repugnant to their choice. As slaves, they were com- 
 pelled to subserve the interests of the master regardless of them- 
 selves ; as freemen, as should be expected and be understood, 
 many changes would take place in the labor and pursuits of the 
 people. Some who were field hands, among the young men and 
 women of mature age, seek employment at other pursuits, and 
 choose for themselves various trades — vocations adapted to their 
 tastes. 
 
 Will this be charged to the worthlessness of the negro, and 
 made an argument against his elevation ? Truth stands defiant 
 in the pathway of error. 
 
 VII. 
 
 I propose to conclude the subject of " The Prospects of the 
 Freedaien or Hilton Head " with this article, and believe that 
 
238 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 the prospects of the one are the prospects of the whole popula- 
 tion of freedmen throughout the South. 
 
 Political economy must stand most prominent as the leading 
 feature of this great question of the elevation of the negro — and 
 it is a great question — in this country, because, however humane 
 and philanthropic, however Christian and philanthropic we may 
 be, except we can be made to see that there is a prospective en- 
 hancement of the general wealth of the country, — a pecuniary 
 benefit to accrue by it to society, — the best of us, whatever our 
 pretensions, could scarcely be willing to see him elevated in the 
 United States. 
 
 Equality of political rights being the genius of the American 
 government, I shall not spend time with this, as great principles 
 will take care of themselves, and must eventually prevail. 
 
 Will the negroes be able to obtain land by which to earn a 
 livelihood? Why should they not? It is a well-known fact to 
 the statisticians of the South that two thirds of the lands have 
 never been cultivated. These lands being mainly owned by but 
 three hundred and twelve thousand persons (according to Help- 
 er) — one third of which was worked by four millions of slaves, 
 who are now freemen — what better can be done with these 
 lands to make them available and unburdensome to the proprie- 
 tors, than let them out in small tracts to the freedmen, as well 
 as to employ a portion of the same people, who prefer it, to cul- 
 tivate lands for themselves ? 
 
 It is a fact — probably not so well known as it should be — in 
 political economy, that a given amount of means divided among 
 a greater number of persons, makes a wealthier community than 
 the same amount held or possessed by a few. 
 
 For example, there is a community of a small country village 
 of twenty families, the (cash) wealth of the community being 
 fifty thousand dollars, and but one family the possessor of it; 
 certainly the community would not be regarded as in good cir- 
 cumstances, much less having available means. But let this 
 amount be possessed by ten families in sums of five thousand 
 dollars each, would not this enhance the wealth of the communi- 
 ty? And again, let the whole twenty families be in possession 
 of two thousand five hundred dollars each of the fifty thousand, 
 
A New Field. 239 
 
 would not this be still a wealthier community, by placing each 
 family in easier circumstances, and making these means much 
 more available ? Certainly it would. And as to a community 
 or village, so to a state ; and as to a state, so to a nation. 
 
 This is the solution to the great problem of the difference be- 
 tween the strength of the North and the South in the late rebel- 
 lion — the North possessing the means within itself without re- 
 quiring outside help, almost every man being able to aid the na- 
 tional treasury; everybody commanding means, whether earned 
 by a white-wash brush in black hands, or wooden nutmegs in 
 white : all had something to sustain the integrity of the Union. 
 It must be seen by this that the strength of a country — inter- 
 nationally considered — depends greatly upon its wealth ; the 
 wealth consisting not in the greatest amount possessed, but the 
 greatest available amount. 
 
 Let, then, such lands as belong to the government, by sale 
 from direct taxation, be let or sold to these freedmen, and other 
 poor loyal men of the South, in small tracts of from twenty to 
 forty acres to each head of a family, and large landholders do 
 the same, — the rental and sales of which amply rewarding them, 
 — and there will be no difficulty in the solution of the problem 
 of the future, or prospects of the freedmen, not only of Hilton 
 Head, but of the whole United States. 
 
 This increase of the wealth of the country by the greater 
 division of its means is not new to New England, nor to the 
 economists of the North generally. As in Pennsylvania, many 
 years ago, the old farmers commenced dividing their one hun- 
 dred and one hundred and fifty acre tracts of lands into twenty- 
 five acres each among their sons and daughters, who. are known 
 to have realized more available means always among them — 
 though by far greater in numbers — than their parents did, who 
 were comparatively few. And it is now patent as an historic 
 fact, that, leaving behind them the extensive evergreen, fertile 
 plains, and savannas of the South, the rebel armies and raiders 
 continually sought the limited farms of the North to replenish 
 their worn-out cavalry stock and exhausted commissary depart- 
 ment — impoverished in cattle for food, and forage for horses. 
 
 In the Path Valley of Pennsylvania, on a single march of a 
 
240 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 radius of thirty-five miles of Chambersburg, Lee's army, besides 
 all the breadstuff's that his three thousand five hundred wagons 
 (as they went empty for the purpose) were able to carry, cap- 
 tured and carried off more than six thousand head of stock, four 
 thousand of which were horses. The wealth of that valley 
 alone, they reported, was more than India fiction, and equal to 
 all of the South put together. And whence this mighty available 
 wealth of Pennsylvania? Simply by its division and possession 
 among the many. 
 
 The Rothschilds are said to have once controlled the exchequer 
 of England, compelling (by implication) the premier to comply 
 with their requisition at a time of great peril to the nation, simply 
 because it depended upon them for means ; and the same func- 
 tionaries are reported, during our recent struggle, to have greatly 
 annoyed the Bank of England, by a menace of some kind, which 
 immediately brought the institution to their terms. Whether 
 true or false, the points are sufficiently acute to serve for illus- 
 tration. 
 
 In the apportionment of small farms to the freedmen, an im- 
 mense amount of means is placed at their command, and thereby 
 a great market opened, a new source of consumption of every 
 commodity in demand in free civilized communities. The blacks 
 are great consumers, and four millions of a population, before 
 barefooted, would here make a demand for the single article of 
 shoes. The money heretofore spent in Europe by the old slave- 
 holders would be all disbursed by these new people in their own 
 country. Where but one cotton gin and a limited number of 
 farming utensils were formerly required to the plantation of a 
 thousand acres, every small farm will want a gin and farming 
 implements, the actual valuation of which on the same tract of 
 land would be several fold greater than the other. Huts would 
 give place to beautiful, comfortable cottages, with all their ap- 
 purtenances, fixtures, and furniture ; osnaburgs and rags would 
 give place to genteel apparel becoming a free and industrious 
 people ; and even the luxuries, as well as the general comforts, 
 of the table would take the place of black-eye peas and fresh 
 fish, hominy and salt pork, all of which have been mainly the 
 products of their own labor when slaves. They would quickly 
 
A New Field. 241 
 
 prove that arduous and faithfully fawning, miserable volunteer 
 advocate of the rebellion and slaveholder's rule in the United 
 States, — the London Times, — an arrant falsifier, when it gra- 
 tuitously and unbidden came to the aid of its kith and kin, de- 
 claring that the great and good President Lincoln's Emancipation 
 Proclamation would not be accepted by the negroes; "that all 
 CufFee wanted and cared for to make him happy was his hog and 
 his hominy;" but they will neither get land, nor will the old 
 slaveholders give them employment. Don't fear any such ab- 
 surdity. There are too many political economists among the 
 old leading slaveholders to fear the adoption of any such policy. 
 Neither will the leading statesmen of the country, of any part, 
 North or South, favor any such policy. 
 
 We have on record but one instance of such a course in the 
 history of modern states. The silly-brained, foolhardy king of 
 France, Louis V., taking umbrage at the political course of the 
 artisans and laborers against him, by royal decree expelled them 
 from the country, when they flocked into England, which readily 
 opened her doors to them, transplanting from France to England 
 their arts and industry; ever since which, England, for fabrics, 
 has become the " workshop of the world," to the poverty of 
 France, the government of which is sustained by borrowed 
 capital. 
 
 No fears of our country driving into neighboring countries 
 such immense resources as emanate from the peculiar labor of 
 these people ; but when worst comes to worst, they have among 
 them educated freemen of their own color North, fully compe- 
 tent to lead the way, by making negotiations with foreign states 
 on this continent, which would only be too ready to receive them 
 and theirs. 
 
 Place no impediment in the way of the freedman ; let his right 
 be equally protected and his chances be equally regarded, and 
 with the facts presented to you in this series of seven articles as 
 the basis, he will stand and thrive, as firmly rooted, not only on 
 the soil of Hilton Head, but in all the South, — though a black, — 
 as any white, or " Live Oak," as ever was grown in South Caro- 
 lina, or transplanted to Columbia. 
 
 16 
 
242 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 These articles were published from September to 
 December consecutively, with two weekly exceptions, 
 until the command of the department was assumed 
 by Major General Daniel E. Sickles. They were form- 
 erly published anonymously : until then the major was 
 not at liberty to exercise the full functions of his office 
 as a representative of the bureau, as more would be 
 accomplished by concealing the author's name. Feel- 
 ing free from a restraint which, while it may have been 
 enjoyed by others, was distasteful to him, at last he 
 ventured for the first time to give official publicity 
 to these articles, as will be seen by the following let- 
 ter: — 
 
 Triple Alliance. — The Restoration of the South. — 
 Salvation of its Political Economy. 
 
 The restoration of the industrial prosperity of the South is 
 certain, if fixed upon the basis of a domestic triple alliance, 
 which the new order of things requires, invites, and demands. 
 
 Capital, land, and labor require a copartnership. The capital 
 can be obtained in the North : the land is in the South, owned 
 by the old planters ; and the blacks have the labor. Let, then, 
 the North supply the capital (which no doubt it will do on de- 
 mand, when known to be desired on this basis), the South the 
 land (which is ready and waiting), and the blacks will readily 
 bring the labor, if only being assured that their services are 
 wanted in so desirable an association of business relations, the 
 net profits being equally shared between the three, — capital, 
 land, and labor, — each receiving one third, of course. The net 
 has reference to the expenses incurred after gathering the crop, 
 such as transportation, storage, and commission on sales. 
 
 Upon this basis I propose to act, and make contracts between 
 the capitalist, landholder, and laborer, and earnestly invite, and 
 call upon all colored people, — the recent freedmen, — also cap- 
 italists and landholders within the limits of my district, to enter 
 
A New Field. 243 
 
 at once into a measure the most reasonable and just to all par- 
 ties concerned, and the very best that can be adopted to meet 
 the demands of the new order and state of society, as nothing 
 can pay better where the blacks cannot get land for themselves. 
 I am at liberty to name Rev. Dr. Stoney (Episcopal clergy- 
 man), Joseph J. Stoney, Esq., Dr. Crowell, Colonel Colcock 
 (late of the Southern army) — all the first gentlemen formerly 
 of wealth and affluence in the State ; and Major Roy, of the 
 United States Regular Army, Inspector General of the depart- 
 ment ; Colonel Green, commanding district, and Lieutenant Col- 
 onel Clitz, commanding post, also of the regular army, each 
 having friends interested in planting, who readily indorse this 
 new partnership arrangement. Of course it receives the ap- 
 proval of Major General Saxton. 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 M. R. Delany, 
 Major $ A. S. A. Commissioner Bureau R. F. A. L. 
 Hilton Head, December 7, 1865. 
 
 The planters of the islands and upland districts, 
 recognizing the advantages of the bureau in their 
 midst, when conducted by an efficient officer, consulted 
 him when occasion required. 
 
 Among them was Colonel Colcock, with whom he 
 had, on one occasion, an extended interview, previous 
 to the publication of the foregoing article, in which in- 
 terview the following resulted : — 
 
 Hilton Head, December 8, 1865. 
 Major M. R. Delany, A. S. A. C. Bureau R. F. A. L. 
 
 Major: I wish to employ sixty laborers on my homestead 
 place on Colleton River, and two hundred on Spring Island, and 
 will thank you to engage them for me, on the basis of the con- 
 tract which I showed you on Friday. In engaging labor, you 
 will please give the preference to the freedmen who formerly re- 
 
244 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 sided on these islands, provided there is nothing objectionable in 
 their character. 
 
 Try to arrange it so that each family will average three field 
 hands, as I have house-room to accommodate them on that basis. 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 C. J. Colcock. 
 
 Headquarters Bureau K. F. A. L., > 
 Hilton Head, S. C, December 11, 1865. > 
 
 Colonel C. J. Colcock, late of the Southern Army. 
 
 Colonel : I received your communication on Saturday last, 
 desiring to know whether or not two hundred and sixty laborers, 
 or cultivators, can be obtained on the basis of copartnership of 
 capital, land, and labor, or what I term the domestic triple 
 alliance, embracing a series of articles drawn up by yourself, as 
 the conditions of your contract. 
 
 I reply most positively, that you may confidently rely upon 
 such aid in your business arrangements, as the people are wait- 
 ing, ready and willing, to consummate such contracts as this 
 plan proposes, alike advantageous to all the parties interested. 
 
 I may here be permitted to suggest in this connection, that 
 there are generosity and liberality of feeling in the North to- 
 wards the South, in its present position, scarcely believed by 
 southern people ; and all the North asks is, that their neighbors 
 be disposed to do right, and they may obtain anything in reason, 
 financially, that is desirable. 
 
 I have taken the liberty to suggest several modifications in the 
 articles of agreement which you present, to prevent miscon- 
 struction or ambiguity, and added one more article, which I con- 
 sider important (Art. 14). I name this, that it may not be 
 thought that you have assumed to prescribe what should suit the 
 people, but that the injunction of frugality and economy may 
 come from themselves, through their own representative. 
 I am, colonel, very respectfully, yours, 
 
 M. R. Delany, 
 Major and A. S. A. V. 
 
General Sickles. 245 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 GENERAL SICKLES. 
 
 MAJOR DELANY was opposed openly in every 
 advanced step he made, as stated before ; hence, 
 to accomplish any new measure of his relative to his 
 office, he was compelled to resort to strategy. Before, 
 oppositions of various characters were placed in his 
 way, but he never permitted himself to be disturbed 
 by them. He was actually forbidden to address the 
 freedmen on public occasions concerning their rights; 
 he spoke through the voice of the press, to the public 
 at large, of their wrongs, and it found an echo in every 
 loyal and generous heart. His color made him objec- 
 tionable to many at that post as an officer, and his 
 scathing denunciations of injustice rendered to the 
 helpless and uneducated people who constantly chal- 
 lenged their consideration, showing him to be no mean 
 opponent, rendered him still more objectionable. 
 
 Now he was at liberty to act freely; having an 
 acceptable basis on which to begin his work, though 
 late in the season, his prospect of usefulness appeared 
 in its most promising light. 
 
 It was not long after the appearance of his " Triple 
 Alliance Contract" that the following telegram was 
 sent by order of the distinguished commander of the 
 
246 Life of Major M. Ii. Del any. 
 
 Department of South Carolina, since of the Second 
 Military District. 
 
 Charleston, December 18, 1865. 
 To Major Delany, 104th U. S. C. T. 
 General Sickles desires to see you at Charleston as soon as 
 
 possible. 
 
 W. L. M. Burger, A. A. G. 
 
 The brilliant record written in unmistakable char- 
 acters by this great neophyte to Liberty, as military 
 lawgiver of the Carolinas, vies with the glory which 
 encircled him at Gettysburg. 
 
 When the history of these eventful times shall have 
 been compiled, the most pleasing development of the 
 late revolution will be noted in the invaluable service 
 given to the cause of human rights by those who pre- 
 viously opposed it. The ardor of these converts gave 
 renewed zeal to the faithful ; conspicuous among these, 
 in letters as imperishable as their deeds, will be found 
 the name of this gallant commander. 
 
 A few days after the reception of the telegram 
 found Major Delany reporting his presence at the 
 quarters of Major General Sickles. Of him he wrote 
 afterwards, "I consider the gallant general who con- 
 tributed so much to the victory at Gettysburg, a 
 most liberal-minded statesman. His massive intellect 
 at once grasped with vivid comprehension the entire 
 range of political economy, domestic and social rela- 
 tions. In this interview he reviewed the situation 
 thoroughly, giving me the details of instructions 
 which were embodied in an order? This recogni- 
 tion, after previous discouragements, of his earnest 
 
General Sickles. 247 
 
 efforts, from sources least expected, was certainly grati- 
 fying. 
 
 The general, in giving the instructions to him, said, 
 *' I cannot go myself," pointing to the remnant of the 
 limb which he contributed to the nation's life at Get- 
 tysburg; "it requires an active person, and one in 
 whom I can place reliance. You will be my repre- 
 sentative. And I shall crush whatever dares to oppose 
 you in your duties," he added, rising and straightening 
 himself upon his crutches, as is characteristic of him, 
 and suiting a gesture to the word. 
 
 Immediately after the interview with the command- 
 ing general, Major Delany returned to his post at 
 Hilton Head, to make arrangements for starting 
 on his tour of inspection. In this capacity he was 
 de facto the military representative from the head- 
 quarters. 
 
 The discerning general had his attention drawn on 
 several occasions to the many abuses, both by the civil 
 and military, of the person and property of blacks and 
 whites. He could not fail to notice, when he assumed 
 command of the department, that the bureau was un- 
 popular with a large class, comprising Northerners 
 and Southerners — its friends and officers hated ; and 
 with the exception of orders which came directly 
 from the assistant commissioner, discouragements were 
 placed in the way, of such nature, that the entire social 
 arrangement was threatened with neglect. It will be 
 remembered that at this time the status of the bureau 
 was not definitely settled, and its authority could be, 
 and was, disputed by any ordinary military official. 
 
248 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Thus, in order to check the growing evil, it was neces- 
 sary that a proper inspection should be made by one 
 familiar with the system of the bureau, and yet, 
 in order to be respected, with a military authority; 
 hence the appointment of Major Delany by General 
 Sickles. 
 
 The following order was furnished him : the instruc- 
 tions therein given, being strictly adhered to, resulted 
 satisfactorily, as will be shown. 
 
 Headquarters Department of South Carolina, ) 
 Charleston, S. C, December 21, 1865. $ 
 
 Special Orders. No. 148. 
 
 IV. Major M. R. Delany, 104th United States Colored In- 
 fantry, will proceed at once to the Military District of Port 
 Royal, and the Sea Islands in the Military District of Charleston, 
 South Carolina, and inspect, and report upon the condition of 
 the population therein, according to the instructions received 
 from the major general commanding. Commanding officers will 
 afford Major Delany all necessary facilities. 
 
 The quartermaster's department will furnish the necessary 
 transportation. 
 
 By command of Major General D. E. Sickles. 
 
 W. L. M. Burger, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 While on the eve of setting out on his tour of in- 
 spection, a report had reached Hilton Head that the 
 negroes of Port Royal Island had matured an insur- 
 rection, to take place on Christmas night, their head- 
 quarters being Beaufort. At first no person paid suffi- 
 cient attention to a rumor so silly ; but finally it magni- 
 fied into an alarm, which caused the major to be sought 
 out by many of the white citizens and some of the 
 military, and requested to take a detachment of troops, 
 
General Sickles. 249 
 
 and make Beaufort his first point of inspection. This 
 was Christmas Eve. 
 
 Believing that " the better part of valor is discretion," 
 and to make assurance doubly sure, he at once made a 
 requisition for a detachment of the 21st United States 
 Colored Troops, then "doing duty at the post. A part 
 of Company E was detailed, under command of a ser- 
 geant, with other assistant non-commissioned officers. 
 On Christmas night the transport steamer Sampson, 
 Dennett, master, was ordered, which carried him to 
 Beaufort, though, in consequence of a fog, he did not 
 reach that point till five o'clock the next morning; 
 not in time to quell an insurrection of the evening be- 
 fore, but in good season to learn from the " rising in- 
 habitants" that among the most quiet and pleasant 
 evenings of the year was that which had just given 
 place to the morning; and the insurrection-haunted 
 whites of the island could again repose in peace, until 
 the next report would awake them. 
 
 Completing his official duties at Beaufort, the next 
 point of importance was Edisto, where he went by 
 advice of Major General Sickles. Here he met, at the 
 headquarters of Captain Batchelor, commanding a de- 
 tachment of United States forces, a delegation of the 
 old planters, at the head of which was Jacob Jenkins 
 Mikell, Esq., formerly one of the largest cotton-growers 
 of Sea Island. 
 
 The 1st of January found him here, and he attended 
 an immense gathering of the freedmen at their eman- 
 cipation celebration. He addressed them, and in the 
 course of his advice endeavored to disabuse their 
 minds of the expectation of obtaining land, which he 
 
250 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 foresaw, and believed from the course of events then 
 transpiring, would not be realized. On account of this 
 advice he was misrepresented by ignorant, though well- 
 meaning, as well as mischievous and designing persons, 
 the latter induced, doubtless, by their mercenary pro- 
 clivities. The people were led to believe that he was 
 opposed to their interest, and in that of the planters. 
 But the greater portion of these freedmen have since 
 learned whether or not his advice on that occasion was 
 in their favor or that of others. 
 
 By the force of his genius and acquirements, as well 
 as position, he had compelled the old planters of Caro- 
 lina to extend a recognition to him such as no black 
 had ever before received ; so that, while visiting many 
 of the plantations of Edisto, so thoroughly had slavery 
 done its work, that his advice to them only served to 
 arouse their suspicions. John's, James's, and Wad- 
 malaw Islands were barely touched upon ; but the 
 advice given was strictly guarded, in order to be 
 effective. 
 
 He turned towards Charleston soon after, and re- 
 ported his observation to the major general command- 
 ing, and paid his respects to the commissioner of the 
 Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 
 
 The detachment of troops which had accompanied 
 him had acted only thus far as a guard of honor, he 
 having had no occasion, happily, for their service. 
 
 While he was reporting in Charleston, the order was 
 received relieving Major General Saxton of his com- 
 mand. The people, not having a knowledge of his 
 noble successor, Major General Robert K. Scott, were 
 anxiously excited. 
 
General Sickles. 251 
 
 The following Sabbath, three days after the news of 
 his removal was received, a large meeting of the col- 
 ored people, indiscriminately, was called at Zion's 
 Church, for the purpose of expressing their gratitude to 
 the general for his steadfast adherence to their interest, 
 and their unfeigned regret at his removal. 
 
 At this meeting the general, his family, and a part of 
 his staff, with other military officers, including the black 
 major, were present. The speeches and resolutions on 
 this occasion gave evidence of their appreciation of the 
 character of that distinguished military philanthropist ; 
 and at a subsequent meeting some testimonials were pre- 
 sented by the people, and the scholars of the Saxton 
 and Morris Street Schools, in simple acknowledg- 
 ment of his official services, and of their personal 
 attachment to him. 
 
 Knowing the suspicion and dissatisfaction with which 
 the freedmen and colored people generally in South 
 Carolina look upon such changes respecting those 
 whose friendship they have enjoyed, or those upon 
 whose impartial sense of justice they are willing to 
 abide, the days of General Saxton's removal, in re- 
 membrance of their unbounded attachment and de- 
 votion, and the scenes attending it, remain in the 
 mind as one of the most touching reminiscences of 
 our war. 
 
 After the great Saxton meeting, the major prepared 
 for setting out for his post at Hilton Head. On arriv- 
 ing on Monday morning at the wharf, he was met by 
 Brigadier General Bennett, with two companies of 
 colored troops, just boarding the transport steamer 
 Canonicus, en route for Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's 
 
252 Life op Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 Island, for four companies more, on an expedition on 
 the Ashley River, to o plantation about ten miles dis- 
 tant, to quell an "insurrection of the negroes." This 
 offspring of a haunted southern mind having in hot 
 haste reached the headquarters, the major general 
 commanding deemed it advisable to take measures 
 to quiet all apprehension by the presence of forces on 
 the spot, and with his characteristic deliberation, in 
 order to remove all unfavorable impressions as to the 
 intentions of the military towards the freedmen, he re- 
 quested that Major Del any should accompany the 
 expedition, so that whatever action might have been 
 necessary, his presence among them would indicate 
 that it was executed under the most favorable circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Sending back his baggage in charge of his orderly, 
 he embarked with the brigadier general. On reaching 
 the plantation, they found the only evidence of an in- 
 surrection, was an attempt that had been made by 
 some persons to effect an unjust contract, which the 
 freedmen refused to receive, and declared their inten- 
 tion to abandon the place before they would submit. 
 The military applauded their action, as there was no 
 violence accompanying it, and their verdict, " You did 
 right," settled everything further on the part of the 
 aggressors. The major introduced to their considera- 
 tion, and finally placed them fairly on, his system of 
 land, labor, and capital, or triple alliance system. 
 There being no further need of military intervention, 
 they returned to Charleston, happy at the result of 
 their passive victory. We would have cause for gratu- 
 lations if future military expeditions into other places 
 
General Sickles. 253 
 
 on similar bases of equality and right and claims set- 
 tled between oppression and oppressed, rich and poor, 
 had terminated as happily as did that. 
 
 The major, having accomplished his mission, set out 
 that afternoon for Hilton Head, to resume his func- 
 tions. 
 
254 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 RESTORING DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 
 
 ON Delany's return to his post, encouraged by the 
 approval of the commanding- general, he again 
 turned his attention to resuscitating the lulled industrial 
 powers of the people, by vigorously urging and aiding, 
 in his official capacity, the reproduction of the staples 
 which were once the traffic of the South. 
 
 The triple alliance system had now become popular, 
 and his office was always thronged by those seeking ad- 
 vice, of all classes, blacks and whites, ex-slaves and ex- 
 slaveholders. 
 
 This will be more readily comprehended when it is 
 remembered that the freedmen had shown a determi- 
 nation that they would never again work for these ex- 
 slaveholders. 
 
 In his interviews with either party, he never omitted 
 to remind them that there existed no longer either 
 slaves or slaveholders, — their relation to each other 
 being essentially changed ; that all were American 
 citizens, and equal before the law ; that the war having 
 reduced many to poverty, unless some exertion should 
 be made, starvation would soon ensue ; and this while 
 they had the support and self-sustenance within their 
 own reach, by a mere alliance of their efforts. It had 
 
General Sickles. 255 
 
 been done before ; it could be repeated in their case. 
 Under the old regime, the master supported the slave 
 by the slave's own production, which also supported 
 the owner ; hence the support was reciprocal by mutu- 
 al dependence. The condition of each being changed, 
 a union of interests was now required to bring prosperi- 
 ty to the country. The freedman was now to be a part- 
 ner, having an equal share, and controlling his own affairs. 
 This would induce him to be more self-reliant. His 
 observation of the labor systems of other countries had 
 given him experience. He explained in the clearest 
 terms to them, that, throughout the world, the only es- 
 tablished order of wealth and prosperity to a people 
 was through the proper union of land, labor, and 
 capital. 
 
 He frequently urged upon them that the blacks and 
 whites were the social and political element of the 
 South, and must continue the basis of her wealth by a 
 union of their efforts and strength ; that the displace- 
 ment of the white southern planters for northern capi- 
 talists, would not be found desirable, as it would result 
 in substituting for the black laborers, the poor whites 
 from the North, relatives of the rich capitalists, or immi- 
 grants, while it was desirable that northern capitalists 
 should unite with southern proprietors, and northern 
 mechanical skill and intelligence be incorporated among 
 the southerners, rich and poor. By this means the South 
 would obtain her true civilization. 
 
 On this subject the editors of the New South, recog- 
 nizing the success of the endeavors of this indefatigable 
 work, and justly popular officer, pay the following de- 
 served tribute to him in the issue of January 27, which 
 
256 Life of Major M. R. Delajsty. 
 
 was but the public sentiment concerning his adminis- 
 tration : — 
 
 " The Labor Question. — We are happy to report a con- 
 tinued improvement in this neighborhood. The freed-people — 
 men, women, and children — are beginning to display, not only 
 a willingness, but an anxiety, to get to work at once, as the time 
 for cotton-planting will soon be over. While we are writing, 
 several hundred are congregated around Major Delany's quar- 
 ters, who acts as medium between the employers and employees, 
 and carefully adjusts all points of difference." 
 
 An incident relative to his simple and decisive mode 
 of disposing of cases is related. 
 
 The case was brought up a few weeks after his ap- 
 pointment in the Bureau, by a former slave-owner 
 against her ex-slave. In deciding cases in which the 
 freedmen are the aggressors, whatever may be his opin- 
 ion in regard to their claims to the consideration of the 
 planters, he ignores both color and condition, aim- 
 ing solely to render unto Caesar the things that are 
 Caesar's. 
 
 An intelligent-looking middle-aged woman, accom- 
 panied by her husband and two male friends, entered 
 his office, apparently laboring under great excitement, 
 followed by an intelligent-looking black youth. The 
 lady being politely handed a seat, the major inquired 
 her business, judging her, from her manner of acting, to 
 be the complainant in the case. About this time horses 
 were being sold in that section at very high prices, the 
 most ordinary commanding from one hundred to a 
 hundred and seventy-five dollars. The complainant 
 had just left the Provost Court, where a horse, her fa- 
 vorite, and only remaining property left from the late 
 
Restoring Domestic Relations. 257 
 
 war, having been seized upon by the young lad, — a 
 former "chattel," "Jim," — had been restored to her 
 in conformity with a current order of the government. 
 But Jim persistently refused to return the property, 
 declaring in the hearing of the judge, as he left the 
 court, he would kill the horse the moment they 
 should attempt to take him away. 
 
 They had been advised for protection to repair to 
 the quarters of Major Delany. 
 
 The major gave his attention to both sides, and sat- 
 isfying himself as to the proceeding, he decided that 
 the case was regular and valid, and that, the de- 
 cision of the Provost Court being just, the parties 
 should comply with its demands ordering the young 
 man to give it up. The horse, meanwhile, stood tied 
 to the fence, directly opposite the window where sat 
 the major at his desk. The lady hesitated to leave 
 the office. 
 
 " Go and take your horse, madam," said he. 
 
 " Where is the guard ? " inquired the lady. 
 
 " What guard, madam ? " 
 
 " The guard to protect me and my property," she 
 answered. 
 
 " You need no protection ; you, being just from the 
 interior, forget that hostilities have ended," said the 
 major. 
 
 "Yes, but he'll kill the horse — he swore that he 
 would, and I know that he'll do it." 
 
 "Take your horse, madam," said he, becoming impa- 
 tient at her hesitancy, "and don't be alarmed at the 
 idle talk of a disappointed boy." 
 
 " Major," said she, " I will not go without protection. 
 17 
 
258 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 I know Jim well, and if you knew him as well as I do, 
 you wouldn't talk that way ; I must have a guard, or 
 my horse will be lost, and all my trouble and expense 
 in coming down here, and my only dependence, gone." 
 
 Turning to the woman and young man at the same 
 time, with that stern expression that his brow some- 
 times assumes, said he, "Madam, do you really sup- 
 pose that the power which put down the masters, com- 
 pelling them to submit at discretion, is not sufficient to 
 control one of their former slaves — an idle, babbling 
 black boy?" 
 
 The young man, giving vent to laughter, which he 
 evidently did to disguise his chagrin, replied, " Major, 
 I ain't going to trouble the horse ; she kin have um." 
 The parties, being assured of this, left the office with 
 better feelings towards each other, we trust, than when 
 they entered. 
 
General Robert K. Scott. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 GENERAL ROBERT K. SCOTT. 
 
 THE affairs of the Bureau promised a change in the 
 advent of its new chief, in the person of Brevet 
 Major General Scott. He entered upon the duties of 
 his office in a most spirited and independent manner. 
 
 In many respects, it was thought, his administration 
 was better adapted to the times than was the fqrmer 
 general's. The rebels, encouraged by the smiles of 
 their friends in high places, were fast resuming their 
 old practices, and the status of the Bureau was scarcely 
 recognized. General Scott having had some insight 
 into the southern character while a prisoner in Charles- 
 ton, during the war, his administration was looked upon 
 with terror by the unrepentant chivalry of South Caro- 
 lina; and it was not long before the difference was 
 felt by them between the mild administration of West 
 Point's accomplished soldier and that of the bluff 
 western general. 
 
 On assuming the duties of his office, the general, ac- 
 companied by a portion of his staff, made a tour of 
 inspection through his department, visiting every officer 
 on duty, previous to reappointing him. 
 
 On this occasion the major's post received attention, 
 and the satisfactory expressions of the general gave a 
 
260 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 new impetus, if possible, to both officers and laborers 
 in their respective spheres. The plans by which he 
 had accomplished so much in the department were 
 submitted to his inspection, and received his indorse- 
 ment. 
 
 We present here the contract written expressly for 
 his district, and rigidly enforced by him, though in 
 many cases all the articles signed by the contracting 
 parties would be simply an acknowledgment of his 
 triple alliance contract : — 
 
 Article I. This contract between Justice Goodman and the 
 freednien, whose names are hereunto affixed, is on the basis of 
 an equal partnership between Capital, Land, and Labor — each 
 receiving one third of the proceeds of the productions of the cul- 
 tivated plantation of Homestead Farm, Beaufort District, South 
 Carolina, and to continue till January 1, 1867. 
 
 Article II. Each laborer is to receive (besides the privilege 
 of firewood, with team and vehicle to haul it, and one acre of 
 land to each family) one third of all that he or she is able to 
 produce by cultivation, clear of all expenses except those in- 
 curred in the transportation and sale of the staple, as freight 
 and commission on storage and sales, they supporting themselves 
 and families ; the proprietor making all advances of provisions 
 or rations on credit (if required), finding all dwellings for the 
 contractors, supplying all farming utensils, vehicles, machinery, 
 sufficient working stock; and no labor is to be performed by 
 hand or by a person that can better be done by animal labor 
 or machinery. 
 
 Article III. All restrictions and obligations legally binding con- 
 tracting parties in the fulfilment of their articles of agreement 
 are implied in this article, and all damage for injury or loss of 
 property by carelessness is to be paid by fair and legal assessment. 
 
 Article IV. Negligence of duty in cultivation, so as to become 
 injurious to the proprietor or other contracting parties, either 
 by loss in the production of staple, or example in conduct or 
 
General Robert K. Scott. 261 
 
 precedent, may, by investigation, cause a forfeiture of the inter- 
 est of such person in their share of the crop. Any contractor 
 taking the place of one dismissed shall succeed to all of their 
 rights and claims on the part of the crop left by them ; otherwise 
 it shall be equally divided between those who work it. 
 
 Article V. All Thanksgiving Days, Fast Days, "holidays," 
 and national celebration days are to be enjoyed in all cases by 
 contractors, without being regarded as a neglect of duty or vio- 
 lation of contract. 
 
 Article VI. Good conduct and good behavior of the freedmen 
 towards the proprietor, good treatment of animals, and good 
 care of tools, utensils, &c, and good and kind treatment by the 
 proprietor to the freedmen, will be strictly required by the au- 
 thorities ; and all dwellings and immediate premises of freedmen 
 must be kept neat and clean, subject to inspection and fine for 
 neglect by such sanitary arrangements as the government may 
 make. 
 
 Article VII. No sutler stores will be permitted on the place, 
 and nothing sold on account except the necessaries of life, that 
 such as good, substantial food and working clothes, conducive to 
 health and comfort, at cost, that no inducements may be given 
 for spending earnings improperly. Spirituous liquors will not 
 be permitted. 
 
 Article VIII. All accounts must be entered in a pass-book, to 
 be kept by each family or individual for the purpose, that no ad- 
 vantage be taken by incorrect charges ; and no account against 
 them will be recognized except such entry be made. No tobacco 
 charges above fifty cents a month will be recognized by the Bu- 
 reau. In all cases of the loss of their account-books, then the 
 account in the proprietor's books must be taken to date of loss, 
 when another pass-book must be obtained, and entries of accounts 
 made as before. 
 
 Article IX. In all cases where an accusation is made against 
 a person, the proprietor or his agent, one of the contractors or 
 freedmen selected by themselves, and a third person chosen by 
 the two, — provided neither of these three is biassed or prejudiced 
 against the accused, — shall be a competent council to investigate 
 and acquit the accused ; but in all cases where a decision is to 
 
262 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 be made to dismiss or forfeit a share of the crop, the officer of 
 the Bureau, or some other competent officer of the government, 
 must preside in the council of trial, and make the decision in the 
 case. When the proprietor is biassed or prejudiced against an 
 accused person, he must name a person to take his place in the 
 council who shall neither be biassed nor prejudiced against the 
 accused. 
 
 Witness our hands and signs this 17th day of February, 1866. 
 
 He still indicated, by his unflagging energy and in- 
 dustry, as well as equitable measures, his consciousness 
 of the immense responsibilities resting upon him. 
 
 This only served to redouble his zeal and activity, as 
 this trait is in consonance with his character generally. 
 In more than one instance in other days, while the 
 political horizon seemed to increase in gloom, the man 
 seems to have loomed up more conspicuously in propor- 
 tion to the exigency of the situation. Always actuated 
 by his insatiable though laudable ambition, Major 
 Delany leads an age in advance where others of his 
 own people, possessed of abilities and acknowledged 
 courage, would even hesitate to follow. 
 
 In his official duties so conscientiously did he perform 
 his part, and so firm was he in his high-toned native 
 pride, and honesty against bribery and partiality, that 
 he received aid from many of those whose duties were 
 not altogether in the same channel. Among them he 
 mentions particularly his indebtedness to Major J. P. 
 Roy, 6th United States Infantry, inspector general of 
 the Department South, Colonel J. D. Green, 6th United 
 States Infantry, commanding district, and Colonel, now 
 General H. B. Clitz, 6th United States Infantry, then 
 commanding the post at Hilton Head, now Charles- 
 
General Robert K. Scott. 263 
 
 ton. They facilitated and aided him in his official 
 duties, as well as ameliorated the condition of the freed- 
 men and suffering whites, refugees, and ex-slaveholders : 
 all of these came under his department, and were con- 
 stantly referred to him when not voluntarily applying. 
 The editors of the New South, who took note of his 
 movements, again make mention of him, in their issue 
 of the 3d of February : — 
 
 "Major M. R. Delany, the ' black major' of the Freedmen's 
 Bureau, is now on the right track. Comprehending the situa- 
 tion of affairs, he has seized at once upon its difficulties, and is 
 doing a noble work for his race. His sympathies are, of course, 
 with those of his own color ; but, being a man of large experi- 
 ence, highly educated, and eminently conscientious, he does not 
 allow prejudice to sway him one way or the other, and, conse- 
 quently, he has a wonderful influence for good over the freed- 
 men. He tells them to go to work at once ; that labor surely 
 brings its own reward ; and that after one more good crop is 
 gathered, they will find their condition much better than at pres- 
 ent. And he tells the planters they must be kind and just to 
 their laborers, if they would quickly bring order out of chaos, 
 and establish a prosperity far beyond what they ever dreamed 
 of in the dark and dreadful era of slavery. 
 
 " Our whole community here is taking heart. One obstacle 
 after another, to thorough regeneration, is being removed. As 
 the planters succeed in procuring laborers, their credit is im- 
 proved, and the merchants of this place come forward to assist 
 the onward movement. Agricultural implements, seed, sub- 
 sistence, and the various wants of a plantation, are being much 
 more liberally supplied than they were a month ago. We all 
 look forward to a large measure of success the present sea- 
 son." 
 
 Meanwhile, the " muster out " of the major was being 
 talked of, which was occasioned by the disbanding of 
 
264 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 his organization. But the following telegram from 
 the headquarters of the department quieted the rumor 
 for at least a time. 
 
 Headquarters Department of South Carolina, ) 
 Charleston, February 3, 1866. $ 
 
 To the Commanding Officer, District of Port Royal. 
 
 The major general commanding directs that Major M. R. De- 
 lany, 104th United States Colored Troops, remain, until further 
 orders, in the performance of the duties in which he is now em- 
 ployed, by special orders from these headquarters. He will not 
 for the present rejoin his regiment. 
 
 W. L. M. Burger, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Indorsement on above Telegram. 
 
 Headquarters, District of Port Royal, \ 
 
 Second Separate Brigade, > 
 
 Hilton Head, S. C, February 3, 1866. J 
 
 Respectfully referred to Major Delany, 104th TJ. S. C. T., B. 
 R. F. & A. L., for his information and guidance. 
 
 By order of A. G. Bennett, 
 
 Lt. Col. 21st U. S. C. T., Commanding District. 
 
 Charles F. Richards, 1st Lt. $ A. D. C. 
 
 The interest created in his department was an 
 acknowledged success. He had attempted and suc- 
 ceeded in organizing a system of labor in a place 
 where it was previously almost wholly unknown — 
 leaving the employee to the tender mercy of his 
 employer, but upon equal terms. He could see order 
 and harmony arising out of chaos and discord. He 
 was partially satisfied, for one of his- favorite meas- 
 ures was popular, originating from a black, for the 
 
General Robert K. Scott. 265 
 
 good of the inhabitants of his district, blacks as well 
 as whites. 
 
 His methods, and the successes attending, attracted 
 the attention, as well as challenged the admiration, of 
 the people in and around his post. A brother officer, 
 bearing witness to his indefatigable labor, called at- 
 tention to it, in his report to the commanding general 
 of the Carolinas, which report induced the general to 
 request the department at Washington to continue him 
 in the service after his regiment should be mustered 
 out. 
 
 By such recognition of his services and ability, ema- 
 nating as it did from that distinguished commander, 
 the black major received another offering at the shrine 
 of his boundless ambition, which none knows better 
 than himself how to value. Just in connection with 
 this, we are reminded of an expression of a distin- 
 guished divine in regard to him. "Well for this 
 country," said he, " that Martin Delany is not a white 
 man, for he has the ambition of a devil." But when we 
 reflect that the motive power of that conspicuous trait 
 of his character is solely for the sake of his race, and 
 utterly devoid of personal selfishness, one sees the 
 beauty of the halo encircling his dusky brow, instead 
 of the deformity of the cloven foot. 
 
 The following is the letter to which reference is 
 made : — 
 
 Headquarters Department South Carolina, ) 
 Charleston, S. C, January 30, 18GG. $ 
 
 General : I have the honor to invite your attention to the fol- 
 lowing extract from a recent report of Major J. P. Roy, 6th 
 United States Infantry, and Acting Inspector General of this 
 
266 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 department, regarding the services of Major M. R. Delany, 
 104th United States Colored Troops : — 
 
 " Before closing this report, I desire to bear testimony to the 
 efficient and able manner in which Major Delany, 104th United 
 States Colored Troops, and agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, is 
 performing his duties. I took occasion several times during my 
 stay to go to his office, and hear him talk and explain matters to 
 the freedmen. Being of their own color, they naturally reposed 
 confidence in him. Upon the labor question he entirely re- 
 flected the views of the major general commanding, and seemed 
 in all things to give them good and sensible advice. He is doing 
 much good, and in the event of his regiment being mustered out, 
 I hope he may be retained as an agent of the Freedmen's 
 Bureau." 
 
 I have also received the same satisfactory reports from other 
 sources, and concurring in the foregoing suggestions of Major 
 J. P. Boy, I must respectfully recommend that Major M. R. De- 
 lany be, for the present, retained in the service of the United 
 States. I have ordered his muster out to be postponed until a 
 reply is received to this communication. 
 I have the honor to remain, general, 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) D. E. Sickles, 
 
 Major General Commanding. 
 
 To Brig. Gen. E. D. Townsend, 
 
 A. A. G., War Dept. 
 
 Headquarters. Department of South Carolina, > 
 Charleston, S. C, January 31, 1866. ) 
 
 Official. W. L. M. Burger, 
 
 Brevet Lt. Col $ A. A. G. 
 
 Copy furnished Major M. R. Delany for his information. 
 
 This was soon after followed by one demonstrative 
 of the liberality of the major general commanding, 
 showing the great distance he had cast from him 
 
General Robert K. Scott. 267 
 
 his early Tammany Hall political education, recog- 
 nizing only the true and broad republican principles of 
 our better civilization. It redounds to his credit, and 
 is another evidence of the impartial justice of the great 
 secretary of war in affairs of the government, and 
 appreciation of merit in its officers, regardless of for- 
 mer notions which seemed to underlie the basis of its 
 principles. This order is fully explanatory of the re- 
 tention of the black major in the service so long. 
 
 A report had been freely circulated by some persons 
 that the old planters had petitioned the general to re- 
 tain him, as he was " high in their favor T The latter 
 clause is admissible, as even among that peculiar class 
 there are men who are liberal enough, by virtue of their 
 acquirements, to respect and appreciate the digpified 
 manhood and high moral character of the negro officer. 
 The planters can offer no allurement sufficient to 
 tempt him to their special interest. They cannot 
 promise power to him, as they are devoid of it, and his 
 own incorruptible integrity to the government is known 
 to have caused him to peremptorily refuse all offers, on 
 the most advantageous terms, to even enter into any 
 speculations of cotton, or any other staple. The fol- 
 lowing order is sufficient to prove the falsity of the 
 report. 
 
 War Department, Adjutant General's Office, > 
 Washington, February 8, 18G6. j> 
 
 Major General D. E. Sickles, Comm'g Dept. of South 
 Carolina, Headquarters, Charleston, S. C. 
 
 General : I have respectfully to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of the 30th ultimo, recommending that Major M. R. 
 Delany, 104th Regiment United States Colored Troops, be 
 
268 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 retained in service, and in reply thereto, I am directed by the 
 Secretary of War, to say that this is authority for the retention 
 of that officer in service, until further orders from the War 
 Department. 
 
 I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) C. W. Foster, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. Vols. 
 
 Headquarters, Department South Carolina, 
 Charleston, S. C, February 12, 1866. 
 
 Official copy. W. L. M. Burger, 
 
 Asst. Adit. Gen, 
 
The Planters and the Bukeau. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE PLANTERS AND THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU. 
 
 AS the season for contracting with the freed men 
 of the islands approached, the old planters from 
 the main land and sea islands could be seen hastening 
 to the quarters of the "black major" for consultation 
 with him. 
 
 The picture of the statesman warrior of St. Do- 
 mingo, surrounded by the conquered and impover- 
 ished planters of the island, dictating terms to them, 
 was again reproduced in our time, with the black offi- 
 cer in the foreground as the chief figure, giving law to 
 the planters of South Carolina. 
 
 Without the assistance of the Bureau, the planters 
 would have been unable to proceed at any time after 
 the war, and that section of the country would have 
 presented a most deplorable aspect. For the freed- 
 men, in view of their past condition, were naturally 
 suspicious of their offers, and, partly resting on the 
 promises held out of lands being given to them, were 
 with difficulty persuaded to accept employment from 
 them. And the often repeated tales of cruelty, with 
 the many evidences of glaring fraud, practised upon 
 those who had been employed immediately after the 
 war, helped to give an odium to the planters which 
 threatened to interfere greatly with the reproduction 
 
270 Life of Major M. R. Delaky. 
 
 of their cotton and rice. After the establishment of 
 the Freedmen's Bureau by Congress, the presence of a 
 competent sub-commissioner, whom neither threats nor 
 bribes could move, supported by the strong arm of the 
 Bureau, could check these malpractices and adjust all 
 difficulties between them. And in this mediatorial 
 character he was placed, without the slightest devia- 
 tion from his principles, or assuming more to himself 
 than was guaranteed by his position : respected by the 
 planters, trusted and regarded by the freedmen with a 
 sentiment of pride mingled with reverence, he has, by 
 this means, wrought out incalculable advantages to the 
 cause of reconstruction, and given to these islands the 
 germs of a civilization previously unknown, while in 
 his own administration he has given to the country 
 abundant demonstration of the negro capability for 
 government. 
 
 The planters at first disliked the presence of the 
 Bureau in their midst ; but powerless to retard its oper- 
 ations, and witnessing its impartial administration, and 
 the growing prosperity of their district, as the result, 
 have reconciled themselves, and some have even ac- 
 knowledged it as a success. Thus we find the quarters 
 of the major visited for consultation by the representa* 
 tives of a class, prior to the war, the most bitter oppo- 
 nents of black men's rights, and many who were con- 
 spicuous in the late rebellion, in the interest of the 
 confederacy. There might have been seen Colonel 
 Charles J, Colcock, who commanded the Confederate 
 cavalry at Honey Hill against General Hatch ; Colonel 
 Jos. Stoney, Rev. James Stoney, Colonel E. M. Sea- 
 brook, who commanded at the fortification before the 
 
The Planters and the Bureau. 271 
 
 capture of Hilton Head ; Mr. Hay ward, J. W. Pope, 
 upon whose lands the batteries were found erected at 
 the capture of Hilton Head ; Major Manning Kirk, 
 Drs. Seabrook, Kirk, and Pritchard, Ellis, and Crowell, 
 besides many of the younger planters of the families 
 of the Barnwells, Rhetts, Fripps, Elliots, and Fullers, 
 including the young General Stephen Elliot, who com- 
 manded at Fort Sumter, and Jacob Jenkins Mikell, the 
 famous Edisto planter of the long staple cotton. While 
 the affairs of the Bureau were thus being conducted by 
 him, General Scott divided the state into sub-districts, 
 assigning an officer to each. Hilton Head had now 
 been visited three times by the general, and on each 
 occasion the quarters of the major were officially 
 visited, previous to the following order being re- 
 ceived, which is another indication of the satisfaction 
 of his immediate commander in regard to his official 
 conduct : — 
 
 Headquarters, State of South Carolina, > 
 Charleston, S. C, June 11, 1866. ) 
 
 General Orders. No. 5. 
 
 Extract. 
 
 III. The Military Reservation of Hilton Head and its De- 
 pendencies, known as the Islands of Hilton Head, together with 
 Dawfuskie, Bull, and Pinckney Islands, are hereby announced 
 as the territorial limits of, and will constitute the Bureau Dis- 
 trict of Hilton Head, with Major M. R. Delany, U. S. C. T., 
 as Sub-Assistant Commissioner, in charge, with headquarters 
 at Hilton Head. 
 
 By command of Brevet Major General R. K. Scott. 
 
 H. W. Smith, Brevet Lt. Col. Ass't. Adj, Gen. 
 
 Official. H. W. Smith, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General. 
 
272 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
 
 AROUND Major Delany's district, there being evi- 
 dence of an abundant harvest, the movements of 
 persons designing to reap large profits, to the detriment 
 of the freedmen, were apparent. With a view of frus- 
 trating their designs, he suggested proper measures to 
 obviate the difficulty, which we find in his general re- 
 port made to headquarters, dated March 1, 1867, for 
 the year 1866. Therein he gave his views, showing 
 the necessity of important changes in the industrial 
 pursuits of the freedmen ; also the measures put for- 
 ward by him for their financial protection. 
 
 " It was apparent from observation and experience 
 that the custom of renting the lands to speculators, who 
 sub-let them to freedmen, or employed them to work at 
 disadvantageous rates — that these poor people, at the 
 end of the planting year, habitually came out with 
 nothing — nay, worse than nothing, as those working 
 them in shares having provision supplied from the 
 stores of the speculators, or renting the lands, and 
 obtaining them on credit from such stores. When the 
 crops were realized, they paid them all away to these 
 stores for the scanty mouthfuls they received on credit 
 during cultivation — finding themselves with nothing 
 
Domestic Economy. 273 
 
 — in rags, and debt for " balance due " on the books of 
 these first-hand lessees and supply speculators. And 
 those who had a little chance of raising crops for them- 
 selves to advantage, were equally the victims of the 
 petty brokers and cotton traders (resulting from their 
 superior business knowledge and intelligence, and the 
 almost entire absence of such qualifications on the part 
 of the freedmen), their cotton being sacrificed in the 
 market. It was evident from these facts that there 
 could be but little or no chances for the freedmen or 
 refugees to compete with bidders or lessees of the land, 
 let at the highest cash price (frequently above their 
 value in this district), except by an adoption of some 
 measure for their protection, whereby a portion of their 
 scanty earnings could be saved, and the lands let to 
 them at prices suited to their means, in preference to 
 speculators and capitalists. 
 
 "To this end I recommend the establishment of a 
 freedmen's cotton agency, to be attended by a compe- 
 tent agent, where all could have their cotton deposit- 
 ed on consignment, culled (assorted), ginned, packed 
 (bagged), and sold at the highest cash market value, in 
 Charleston ; they realizing the profits themselves, in- 
 stead of the speculators. 
 
 "To make such an establishment profitable to them, 
 the expenses should be as moderate as possible, and 
 less than the usual rates of charges in commission 
 houses. Hence, to accomplish this, a suitable building 
 was obtained from the quartermaster's department (free 
 of rent, of course), and those freedmen possessing foot- 
 gins requested to put them up in the establishment, 
 where they might be used in ginning the cotton 
 18 
 
274 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 brought, charging twenty per cent, or one fifth less 
 than the market price for ginning, and receiving, when 
 not worked by themselves, one fourth of the proceeds 
 of the gin, the freedman who worked receiving the 
 other three fourths as his compensation, thus making 
 them self-sustaining as well as self-reliant. 
 
 "The agent supplied the bagging, and received, as 
 compensation for" the advances thus made, the pay for 
 the weight of the bag, deducted from the price of the 
 bag of cotton. This will be understood in mercantile 
 circles, as bagging is always worth the price of an 
 equal weight of cotton. 
 
 " The next effort, officially, was to secure to them 
 the advantages of the lands at a 'first-hand' low rate, 
 as they were now able to raise the money among them- 
 selves, by which to secure leases. To accomplish this, 
 interviews and correspondence were had with the 
 United States Direct Tax Commissioners, who, being 
 without instructions, were awaiting the action of Con- 
 gress and government in relation to the division 
 and assignment of land on the tenure of Lieutenant 
 General Sherman's field order, No. 15. After mature 
 consideration, as the season for planting was rapidly 
 approaching, and the people clamorous and anxious to 
 go to work, preparing for cultivation, I concluded to 
 divide responsibilities with the commissioner, and let 
 the lands to the freedmen at one dollar an acre, for the 
 year 1867. 
 
 " They had been advised to prepare for leasing them 
 at two dollars an acre, the leases to be made to one 
 man on each plantation, who would receive and pay 
 over their money, and see to a proper apportioning of 
 
Domestic Economy. 275 
 
 the land. In less than three weeks from the time that 
 notice to this effect was given, upwards of three thou- 
 sand dollars in cash and cotton vouchers were deposited 
 with the bureau to secure leases, and fourteen planta- 
 tions taken with the extreme satisfaction of paying 
 back to each individual one half of his money. This 
 last act of the commissioners crowns their official 
 doings with discretion and liberality, which should en- 
 title them to at least the thanks of the friends of 
 humanity, if not respectful consideration of Congress." 
 The action of the major in this direction was ap- 
 proved and commended by his superior officers, and 
 resulted in proving so far successful. His duties gave 
 indications of further extension at this time, by the 
 following document, issued from the war department, 
 and reissued from the headquarters of the assistant 
 commissioner subsequently : — 
 
 i 
 
 Headquarters Assistant Commissioner, 
 Bureau R. F. & A. L., South Carolina, 
 
 Charleston, S. C, Feb. 19, 1867. 
 The following circular letter is republished for the information 
 of officers and agents of the Bureau R. F. and A. L., in this 
 state : — 
 
 Circular Letter. 
 
 War Department, Bureau R. F. & A. L., > 
 Washington, February 12, 1867. > 
 To Brevet Major General R. K. Scott, 
 
 Assistant Commissioner, Charleston, S. C. 
 It has become apparent that the designation of the several offi- 
 cers of this Bureau should indicate the nature of the duty which 
 each is to perform, and that such designation should be uniform 
 throughout the jurisdiction of this Bureau. 
 
 Each state will be divided into sub-districts, of the proper 
 number of counties, in the discretion of the assistant commis- 
 sioner. The officers in charge of each will be empowered to 
 
276 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 exercise and perform within their respective sub-districts all the 
 powers and duties of assistant commissioners, except such as by 
 regulations devolve upon assistant commissioners themselves, 
 and these officers will be designated sub-assistant commissioners. 
 Any officer or agent serving under the direction of the sub- 
 assistant shall be denominated an agent, except those serving in 
 staff department and as clerks. 
 
 All officers authorized to disburse the funds of this Bureau 
 shall be designated disbursing officers. 
 
 Major General O. O. Howard, 
 
 Commissioner. 
 Brevet Major General R. K. Scott, 
 
 Assistant Commissioner. 
 
 Official. Edward L. Deane, 
 
 Brevet Major § A. A. A. Gen. 
 
 Soon after the publication of the " circular letter," 
 the State of South Carolina, by order of the major gen- 
 eral commanding, was divided into twenty-four sub- 
 districts. Major Delany's administration of affairs in 
 the spheres previously assigned him, receiving the con- 
 fidence of the assistant commissioner, his province was 
 extended, as the following order will show : — 
 
 Headquarters, Assistant Commissioner, -\ 
 
 Bureau R. F. & A. L., South Carolina, >• 
 
 Charleston, S. C, February 20, 1867. ) 
 
 General Orders. No. 3. 
 
 Extract. 
 XI. The Sub-District of Hilton Head will comprise the Islands 
 of Hilton Head, Pinckney, Savage, Bull, Dawfuskie, and Long 
 Pine : headquarters at Hilton Head; Major M. R. Delany, United 
 States Colored Troops, sub-assistant commissioner. 
 
 By order of Brevet Major General R. K. Scott, 
 
 Assistant Commissioner. 
 Official. Edward L. Deane, 
 
 Brevet Major § A. A. A. Gen. 
 
Civil Affairs. — President Johnson. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 CIVIL AFFAIRS. — PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 
 
 MAJOR DELANY was fully cognizant of the ex- 
 ceeding delicacy of his position, filling, as he 
 was, a position of trust and honor such as no man of 
 his race had ever yet obtained under the general gov- 
 ernment ; and how easily it could be compromised in 
 his case / yet his old ardor in contributing his efforts in 
 building up any measure, or uprooting whatever oppo- 
 sition presented itself in the onward march of his race, 
 remained unabated. 
 
 Notwithstanding his position in the army, yet to 
 every one aware of his life-long consecration to the 
 interests of his race, there would be no hesitancy on 
 their part to decide on which side he would be found 
 in any matter in which he should choose between them 
 and his position. While he studiously avoided the 
 general discussion of politics, he was by no means in- 
 different to the political aspect of the times, and aided, 
 in his position as the military official, as he had for- 
 merly done in deeds as the civilian. Thus, while in 
 Beaufort awaiting orders, the subject of reconstruction 
 being under popular discussion, he perceived that the 
 claims of the colored people were evaded ; and that 
 the sacrifice of lives made in countless battle-fields by 
 
278 Life of Major M. It. De-lany. 
 
 dusky warriors, that the country might be saved, was 
 valueless and unappreciated. His moral courage urged 
 him to remonstrate, even though his position should be 
 compromised. To this end he addressed the following 
 to President Johnson, which afterwards found its way 
 into print : — 
 
 To His Excellency President Johnson : 
 
 Sir: I propose, simply as a black man, — one of the race 
 most directly interested in the question of enfranchisement and 
 the exercise of suffrage, — a cursory view of the basis of security 
 for perpetuating the Union. 
 
 When the compact was formed, the British — a foreign nation 
 — threatened the integrity and destruction of the American col- 
 onies. This outside pressure drove them together as independ- 
 ent states, and so long as they desired a Union, — appreciating 
 the power of the enemy, and comprehending their own national 
 strength, — it was sufficient security against any attempt at a 
 dissolution or foreign subjugation. 
 
 So soon, however, as, mistaking their own strength, or design- 
 ing an alliance with some other power, a portion of those states 
 became dissatisfied with the Union, and recklessly sought its 
 dissolution by a resort to the sword, so nearly equally di- 
 vided were the two sections, that foreign intervention or an 
 exhausting continuance of the struggle would most certainly 
 have effected a dissolution of the Union. 
 
 But an element, heretofore latent and unthought of, — a power 
 passive and unrecognized, — suddenly presented itself to the 
 American mind, and its arm to the nation. This power was de- 
 veloped in the blacks, heretofore discarded as a national nonen- 
 tity — a dreg or excrescence on the body politic. Free, without 
 rights, or slaves, mainly, — therefore things constructively, — 
 when called to the country's aid they developed a force which 
 proved the balance precisely called for, and essentially neces- 
 sary as an elementary part of the national strength. Without 
 this force, or its equivalent, the rebellion could not have been 
 
Civil Affairs. — President Johnson. 279 
 
 subdued, and without it as an inseparable national element, the 
 Union is insecure. 
 
 What becomes necessary, then, to secure and perpetuate the 
 integrity of the Union, is simply the enfranchisement and recog- 
 nition of the political equality of the power that saved the nation 
 from destruction in a time of imminent peril — a recognition of 
 the political equality of the blacks with the whites in all of their 
 relations as American citizens. Therefore, with the elective 
 franchise, and the exercise of suffrage in all of the Southern 
 States recently holding slaves, there is no earthly power able 
 to cope with the United States as a military power ; consequent- 
 ly nothing to endanger the national integrity. Nor can there 
 ever arise from this element the same contingency to threaten 
 and disturb the quietude of the country as that which has just 
 been so happily disposed of. Because, believing themselves 
 sufficiently able, either with or without foreign aid, the rebels 
 drew the sword against their country, which developed a power 
 in national means — military, financial, and statesmanship — 
 that astonished the world, and brought them to submission. 
 Hence, whatever their disposition or dissatisfaction, the blacks, 
 nor any other fractional part of the country, with the historic 
 knowledge before them of its prowess, will ever be foolhardy 
 enough to attempt rebellion or secession. And their own politi- 
 cal interest will ever keep them true and faithful to the Union, 
 thereby securing their own liberty, and proving a lasting safe- 
 guard as a balance in the political scale of the country. 
 
 As the fear of the British, as an outside pressure, drove, and 
 for a time kept and held the Union together, so will the fear of 
 the loss of liberty and their political status, as an element in this 
 great nation, serve as the outside pressure necessary to secure the 
 fidelity of the blacks to the Union. And this fidelity, unlike that 
 of the rebels, need never be mistrusted; because, unlike them, 
 the blacks have before them the proofs of the power and ability 
 of the Union to maintain unsullied the prestige of the national 
 integrity, even were they, like them, traitorously disposed to 
 destroy their country, or see it usurped by foreign nations. 
 
 This, sir, seems to me conclusive, and is the main point upon 
 
280 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 which I base my argument against the contingency of a future 
 dissolution of the American Union, and in favor of its security. 
 I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 M. R. Delany, 
 Major lOith U. S. 0. T. 
 Port Royal Island, S. C, July 25, 1866. 
 
 On another occasion from his island post he stood an 
 interested listener to the sounds which the breeze bore 
 up to him, telling of the plans of reconstruction towards 
 the Southern States. Impatient, he watched for the 
 action of the leaders of colored people themselves on 
 this momentous question, but as yet saw no evidence 
 of it. 
 
 In his position as an officer in the service of the gov- 
 ernment, and a civil magistrate, as all officers of the 
 Bureau necessarily are, he was contributing a giant's 
 help to the cause, which, in view of the limited sphere 
 apportioned his race, rendered him an invaluable aux- 
 iliary. 
 
 The political horizon had suddenly become overcast ; 
 the role of the executive was changed to that of Pharaoh 
 instead of "Moses," and he beheld with joy the general 
 uprising of the colored people in their strength to avert 
 the threatening ruin. 
 
 It was an occasion long to be remembered, and sug- 
 gestive of a moral which should not be lost sight of by 
 the American people. They sent from every section 
 of the Union delegated representatives of their own 
 race to the national capital, near the government, to 
 " lobby " for their claims in the great American body 
 politic, as at this time these claims were fast being 
 evaded, if not actually ignored. 
 
Civil Affairs. — President Johnson. 281 
 
 It is not yet forgotten the visit of the delegates to 
 the president; his remarks on the occasion, with the 
 advice to place their cause before the people / or the 
 able manner in which the noble Douglass replied to 
 him, and the subsequent ringing appeal which he made 
 resound through the land to reach the people. 
 
 Major Delany, anxious to identify himself with the 
 movement, though absent from the immediate scene, 
 showed his entire cooperation with them in the follow- 
 ing letter, which he addressed to them : — 
 
 Bureau R. F. A. L., } 
 
 Port Royal, Hilton Head Island, S. C, > 
 
 February, 22, 1866. ) 
 
 To Messrs. G. T. Downing, William Whipper, Frederick 
 Douglass, John Jones, L. H. Douglass, and others, Colored 
 Delegation representing the Political Interests of the Colored 
 People of the United States, now near the Capital and Govern- 
 ment, Washington, D. C. 
 
 My dear Brothers : I have been watching with deep interest 
 your movements at Washington, near the government of your 
 country. I need not repeat to you that which you all know, and 
 that which we have oft repeated to each other privately, in coun- 
 cil, and through the public journals, — we are one in interest and 
 destiny in America. I am with you; yea, if your intentions, 
 designs, purposes, matter, and manner continue the same as 
 those presented to the chief magistrate of the nation, then I am 
 with you always, even to the end. Be mild, as is the nature of 
 your race ; be respectful and deferential, as you will be ; and 
 dignified as you have been ; but be determined and persevering. 
 Your position before the saged president, and reply after you 
 left him, challenges the admiration of the world. At least it 
 challenges mine, and as a brother you have it. 
 
 Do not misjudge the president, but believe, as I do, that he 
 means to do right ; that his intentions are good ; that he is inter- 
 
282 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 ested, among those of others of his fellow-citizens, in the welfare 
 of the black man. That he loves Caesar none the less, but Home 
 more. Do not expect too much of him — as black men, I mean. 
 Do not forget that you are black and he is white. Make large 
 allowances for this, and take this as the stand-point. Whatever 
 we may think of ourselves, do not forget that we are far in ad- 
 vance of our white American fellow-citizens in that direction. 
 Remember that men are very differently constituted, and what 
 one will dread and shun another will boldly dare and venture ; 
 where one would succeed another might fail. Not far from 
 where I am at present posted on the coast of South Carolina, 
 there are several inlets, of which I will name two — Edisto and 
 St. Helena. Of these, one pilot will shun one, and another the 
 other, each taking his vessel easily through that which he en- 
 ters ; while another will not venture into either, but prefers — 
 especially during a storm — to go outside to sea for the safety of 
 the vessel; -all reaching, timely, their destination, Hilton Head, 
 in safety. 
 
 Here, what one shuns as a danger another regards as a point 
 of safety; and that which one dreads another dares. What 
 General Sherman succeeded in, General Meade might have 
 failed in ; while General Grant may have prosecuted either with 
 success. Men must be measured and adjudged according to 
 their temperaments and peculiar constitutional faculties. 
 
 Do not grow weary nor discouraged, neither disheartened nor 
 impatient. Do not forget God. Think, O think how wonder- 
 fully he made himself manifest during the war. Only think how 
 he confounded, not only the wisdom of the mighty of this land, 
 but of the world, making them confess that he is the Lord, high 
 over all, and most mighty. He still lives. Put your trust in 
 him. As my soul liveth, you will reap if you faint not. Wait! 
 " The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but he 
 that endureth to the end." Bide your time. 
 
 Since we last met in council great changes have taken place, 
 and much has been gained. The batttle-cry has been heard in 
 our midst, a terrible contest of civil war has raged, and a death- 
 struggle for national life summoned every lover of the Union to 
 the combat. We among our fellow-citizens received the ines- 
 
Civil Affairs. — President Johnson". 283 
 
 sage, and eagerly obeyed the call. Our black right arras were 
 stripped, our bosoms bared,, and we stood in the front rank of 
 battle. Slavery yielded, the yoke was broken, the manacles 
 shattered, the shackles fell, and we stood forth a race redeemed ! 
 Instead of despair, " Glory to God ! " rather let us cry. In the 
 cause of our country you and I have done, and still are doing, 
 our part, and a great and just nation will not be unmindful of it. 
 God is just. Stand still and see his salvation. 
 
 "'Be patient in your misery; 
 Be meek in your despair ; 
 Be patient, O be patient ! 
 Suffer on, suffer on ! " 
 
 Your brother in the cause of our common country, 
 
 M. R. Delany. 
 
 Before the immediate reapers themseves could dis- 
 cern the whitening harvest, he had within sight other 
 fields in which to lead them. 
 
 For their protection, and at the same time to facilitate 
 the duties of the Bureau, he established a police sys- 
 tem, each plantation or settlement having its distinct 
 body of policemen, not exceeding five. This included 
 the chief, or, as called by the freeclmen, "headman," 
 who made choice of his assistants, who reported, and 
 were responsible to him for their action; the chief, in 
 turn, monthly reporting to Major Delany. And all 
 such cases as could not be settled by the chief of po- 
 lice were immediately reported to him at headquarters. 
 As it was mutually beneficial, causing each to respect 
 the right of the other, this arrangement found favor 
 with both planters and freedmen. It was practically 
 demonstrating the reality of the new social relation. 
 It was designed by him to prove the fitness of the ex- 
 slave to perform his part in the duties of the civil, with 
 
284 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 equal ability to that displayed in the military service 
 of the government, while it would seem to make him 
 more self-reliant, and desirous of controlling his own 
 affairs as a free man. It proved a success. 
 
 After its adoption, Brigadier General Nye, command- 
 ing the district at that time, witnessing its utility, at 
 once approved of it. And it continued uninterrupted 
 through all the succeeding commands. 
 
 Their vigilance in detecting fraud and other unlaw- 
 ful practices, it was acknowledged, far exceeded the 
 military police. Nothing seemed to escape them. In- 
 deed, it was often said their adroitness in detection was 
 such as might be coveted by a New York detective. 
 
 They were frequently called upon by the military 
 authorities to accomplish work which strictly belonged 
 to the soldier police, but in which they had failed. 
 
 It was a matter of general regret that there was no 
 remuneration provided for these men, who had so 
 cheerfully and faithfully served the country, aiding in 
 establishing order where otherwise anarchy might have 
 ensued. 
 
Educational Interests. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS. 
 
 OF the military gentlemen stationed at the post of 
 Hilton Head, the major writes thus : "In addition 
 to these high-toned military gentlemen, already named 
 as aiding me, and making easy as well as pleasant the 
 duties of my office in the bureau, I with pleasure ac- 
 knowledge my indebtedness to Lieutenant Colonel 
 Thompson, Assistant Provost Marshal General, Lieu- 
 tenant Colonel Bennett, 21st United States Colored 
 Troops, and Lieutenant Colonel O. Moore, who ex- 
 pelled John Morgan from Ohio, Colonel Douglass 
 Frazer, of the 104th United States Colored Troops, 
 and Brevet Brigadier General Nye, of the 29th Maine 
 Volunteers, all commanding at the post. Captain Hen- 
 ry Sharpe, of the 21st United States Colored Troops, 
 Lieutenant Hermon, Lieutenant Tracy, 29th Maine 
 Volunteers, and Provost Major H. E. Whitfield, 128th 
 United States Colored Troops, Assistant Provost Judg- 
 es, and Lieutenant C. F. Richards, 21st United States 
 Colored Troops, Assistant Adjutant General Lieutenant 
 Jones, and Lieutenant Blanchard, 21st United States 
 Colored Troops, and that excellent gentleman, now 
 President of Florida Land and Lumber Company, Dr. 
 J. M. Hawkes, Surgeon 21st United States Colored 
 
286 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Troops. It is due, as a military courtesy, that I should 
 make this record of the names of gentlemen who 
 came forward at a time when most required, and aided 
 in measures so important to the new life upon which a 
 large portion of the political and social element of the 
 nation was just entering. 
 
 As bearing a close relation to his official duties, we 
 give in this connection the subjoined correspondence, 
 being a letter of thanks from that distinguished philan- 
 thropist, the Rev. George Whipple, formerly professor 
 of mathematics in Oberlin College, in behalf of the 
 American Missionary Association. This, coming from 
 such an Association, is deemed of sufficient importance 
 to show the general character of the major in whatev- 
 er position he is placed, — ever untiring in his efforts 
 to aid the cause of humanity, and unselfish in his aim. 
 
 New York, July 5, 1867. 
 Major M. R. Delany, Bureau of R. F. $ A. L., Hilton Head, 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Dear Major : Several of our teachers have reported your at- 
 tention to their interests, and many acts of kindness in minister- 
 ing to their comfort. 
 
 In their behalf and at their request, and in the behalf and at 
 the request of my associates in these rooms, I beg of you to ac- 
 cept our and their thanks for your oft-repeated kindnesses to 
 them, and your continued interest in our great work. As you 
 have given them more — "a cup of cold water " in the name of 
 a disciple, may you receive a disciple's reward. 
 
 Permit me to add the assurance that I take great pleasure in 
 being the agent of our friends in this matter. My cordial thanks 
 accompany theirs. 
 
 Yours in behalf of the poor and needy, 
 
 George Whipple, 
 
 Corresponding Secretary. 
 
Educational Interests. 287 
 
 The graceful reply to the letter of the Association is 
 worthy of admiration, replete with loyalty and grati- 
 tude to the noble band, who for long years have la- 
 bored without faltering for the well being of his race. 
 
 Headquarters Prov. Dist., Hilton Head, > 
 Port Royal, S. C, July 18, 1867. > 
 
 Professor George Whipple, Cor. Sec. A. M. A., 53 John St., 
 New York. 
 
 My dear Sir : Your very kind letter in behalf of the teachers 
 and your Christian associates in the rooms of your great insti- 
 tution was received by the last mail here. 
 
 Permit me to state that I have done nothing more, in my atten- 
 tions to the excellent self-sacrificing and intelligent ladies and gen- 
 tlemen continually sent to this district, to labor for the moral ele- 
 vation of my once oppressed and degraded, but now, thank God, 
 disinthralled brethren, in the new social relations which this 
 wonderful dispensation of divine Providence has brought about 
 in fulfilment of his promise, and the promotion of his own glory, 
 than my simple duty. If I have done that, I shall feel satis- 
 fied and thankful. 
 
 If my acts have been worthy of their and your acceptance, I 
 feel that I may have done something feebly in return towards 
 repaying the long years of untiring labor, anxiety, hazard, and 
 pecuniary loss of the Phillipses, Garrisons, Whipples, Browns, 
 Motts, McKims, Burleighs, Wrights, Pillsburys, Fosters, Leav- 
 itts, Wilsons, Sumners, Stevenses, Hales, Wades, Giddingses, 
 Whittiers, Parkers, Lovejoys, the Chases, Pinneys, Collinses, 
 Cheevers, Bellows, Beechers, Stowes, Elders Mahans, Phinneys 
 and Tappans, Bankins, Joselyns, Smiths, Goodells, and Adamses, 
 and others of your race, for the outraged and down-trodden of 
 mine. For this I deserve no thanks. But in my heart of hearts 
 I not only thank you for tender, Christian-like expressions in 
 conveying to me their sentiments, but in return for the patient 
 endurance of yourself and such as those named, for your inces- 
 sant labors for the overthrow of American slavery, the super- 
 stition and heathen regeneration and civilization of foreign lands, 
 
288 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 all of which are peopled by the colored races, your continued 
 efforts in their behalf, and the elevation of man. 
 
 Please convey to the teachers and your Association my heart- 
 felt gratitude for their expressions of kindness towards me, and 
 accept for yourself, dear Professor, my highest personal regards 
 and esteem, 
 
 M. R. Delany. 
 
 In his report to the Assistant Commissioner of the 
 Bureau concerning the school system, the reform 
 which he advocated was not without deliberation, as 
 demonstrated by a circumstance in his own experience. 
 After his failures in authorship, the Central American 
 expedition project, and railroad improvement, in con- 
 sequence of all being attempted at the same time, as if 
 to redeem that unsuccessful period of his singularly 
 active life of its appearance of uselessness, a position 
 entirely new in his role presented itself. 
 
 The principalship of a colored school was offered to 
 him by a committee of the seventh ward. At first he 
 declined, as he contemplated resuming the practice of 
 medicine, his legitimate and choice profession. But 
 the board insisting, as the school by law was compelled 
 to open within a week, and no teacher had been se- 
 cured, he accepted on conditions that he should be re- 
 lieved in one month, or so soon as a teacher could be 
 obtained. 
 
 He took charge at once, and organized what was 
 then one of the most unmanageable schools, a great 
 portion of the pupils being large boys and girls. The 
 rules laid down by the board allowed whipping, while 
 they forbade suspension or dismissal of the pupils from 
 school. To flog a pupil, he alleged, was an evidence of 
 
Educational Interests. 289 
 
 the incapacity for governing on the part of the teacher, 
 and that when it was evident a pupil could not be re- 
 strained without resorting to such measures, he was 
 unfit to be among the others. 
 
 He notified the directors of his objections to their 
 rule. He regarded it as barbarous, rendering the 
 school-house repulsive and objectionable, instead of 
 being associated with pleasant and profitable memo- 
 ries. Therefore, if they desired him to take the school, 
 he would conduct it in his own way. 
 
 They yielded to him in the manner of government. 
 This resulted in binding the pupils to him by ties of 
 sincere devotion, and he remained for thirteen months 
 instead of the one month agreed upon at first. When 
 he resigned, it was a source of regret among^ both 
 pupils and directors. Teaching, though lie loved 
 it as a continual medium of imparting knowledge to 
 the young, yet it was confining him to a sphere too 
 limited for the grasp of his desires. In this capacity 
 he will be remembered by some of the now adult in- 
 habitants of Pittsburg, and his excellent assistant, now 
 the wife of one of the professors of the College of 
 Liberia. 
 
 We here insert a portion of his report bearing upon 
 his observation of the schools of his district, and an ex- 
 tract from his last annual report, made to headquarters 
 of the assistant commissioner, for the year 1867, ending 
 the last of August, the close of the planting season. The 
 report is replete with suggestions, and equal to the de- 
 mands of the time. If the suggestions made be car- 
 ried out, there would accrue a vast amount of good, 
 rendering the laborer less dependent on others, and 
 19 
 
290 Life of Majok M. It. Delany. 
 
 more frugal, whereas, in pursuing his former line of 
 labor, he was kept at disadvantage on account of 
 the expenses to be kept up before the sale of cotton, 
 the staple, in the cultivation of which the freedmen use 
 all their time, money, and labor. 
 
 Even to make this an effective and self-sustaining measure, 
 the local habits of the occupants must be essentially changed. 
 Instead of the former old plantation people remaining on the'places 
 as a local preference, which generally allows but an average of 
 five (5) acres to the family, the lands must be let in portions of not 
 less- than twenty (20) acres to each family before they can be 
 made available to their support. This would necessitate a gener- 
 al scattering, or greater division of the people, causing at first 
 quite a change of places with many. To do justice to the peo- 
 ple as an available, sociable, or domestic element, no one hun- 
 dred acres of farming land should be occupied by more than five 
 (5) families, thus allowing twenty (20)acres to the family, which, 
 in the light of domestic or political economy, is little enough. 
 Less than this is to place them in a position of hazardous un- 
 certainty and anxiety, and encourage idleness and improvi- 
 dence, by inducing the thriftless to settle under circumstances 
 which must make them burdensome to the thrifty and provident. 
 By this course the aged and otherwise needy and deserving help- 
 less could be easily aided by their neighbors, without, as now, 
 being over-burdensome. 
 
 It is very evident that the entire system of cultivation will 
 have to be changed, both in the method of doing it, and more 
 especially the produce raised, to suit and meet the change in the 
 social system and the demands and status of these new possess- 
 ors and permanent residents of small farms or gardens. Every 
 month in the year but one (December) may be made productive 
 of some vegetable for provision, or family use, whereby the peo- 
 ple may be independent in subsistence. It is a settled matter 
 that in this country cotton can only be profitably produced by 
 extensive cultivation and large capital, under favorable circum- 
 
Educational Interests. 291 
 
 stances ; consequently it is a loss of time and labor for the freed- 
 men to plant cotton with their limited means of land and mate- 
 rials, as the ground to them can be put to a much more useful 
 and profitable purpose. 
 
 I am preparing the people in this sub-district to this end, and 
 believe that against the approaching leasing year they will be 
 quite willing and ready to enter into the new system of habita- 
 tion and occupancy. 
 
 During the current year there have been no rations issued in 
 this sUb-district, except two hundred (200) bushels of corn from 
 the Southern Relief Association, and five hundred (500) bush- 
 els of corn, and one thousand (1000) pounds of bacon, of the 
 Congressional appropriation, assigned through the Commissary 
 of Subsistence Bureau, Charleston. 
 
 The example and precepts of the teachers have been such as 
 to merit my most hearty approval. But there is one custom as 
 yet common to schools, and almost regarded as an essential 
 part of training, and which I most heartily desire should be 
 done away with. I refer to whipping children as a correction 
 in school. It is simply a relic of ignorance, and should not be 
 tolerated by intelligence. And while this is tolerated, teachers 
 will resort to it as the easiest and to them least troublesome 
 mode of correction. 
 
 A teacher either is, or is not, adapted to teaching. If proper- 
 ly adapted, she could and should teach without whipping. If 
 she cannot correct and control her pupils without whipping, 
 then it only proves that she is not adapted to teaching, and 
 all such should seek other employment. This is not a reflec- 
 tion on any particular teacher or teachers, but a condemnation 
 of the general customs of schools. A school-house should be 
 made a place of the most pleasurable resort and agreeable asso- 
 ciations to children, but certain it is that in no wise can this be 
 the case where the great hickory, thong, leather strap, or bridle- 
 rein meets, as it enters the school-house, the child's eye as it does 
 the eye of the visitor, reminding one, as it must the other, of 
 entering the presence of the old plantation overseer in waiting 
 for his victim. 
 
292 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 CPIAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 THE order for mustering out the remaining volun- 
 teer officers was long anticipated, and anxiously 
 looked for by these officers, and by none more than 
 by Major Delany, who, as sub-assistant commissioner 
 of the Bureau district of Hilton Head would be af- 
 fected by this. At last it was received, as will be seen 
 by the following document. While upon this subject, 
 a humorous anecdote, bearing on this subject, may be 
 related. 
 
 While awaiting the order, about the middle of De- 
 cember, he visited the headquarters of the assistant 
 commissioner at Charleston. 
 
 On entering the department of the adjutant general, 
 a group of officers surrounded the desk of the acting 
 adjutant, who, at the time, was reading out the names 
 of the officers mustered out by special orders, which 
 had just been received from the war department -that 
 morning, erasing them from the roster suspended on 
 the wall before him, among which was his own name. 
 
 "How is this, major?" asked the chief clerk; "I do 
 not see your name among them. Do you report regu- 
 larly?" 
 
 " I do ; my report for this month was sent on now 
 more than ten days," he replied. 
 
Conclusion. 293 
 
 " How is it that you are not among these named in 
 the special order just received?" inquired the acting 
 assistant adjutant general, with much interest. 
 
 "I suppose," said the major, very quaintly, "that I 
 am in the position of the old black man, a devoted Sec- 
 ond Adventer, during the Millerite excitement, who, dis- 
 posing of his earthly effects, betook himself to a cellar, 
 with simply food and fuel sufficient to sustain him 
 comfortably, the season being winter. While waiting, a 
 snow storm came on, the drift completely embanking 
 that side of the street, burying everything beneath it. 
 
 " Thus isolated, and enveloped in darkness for sev- 
 eral days, except the light of his little fire, without the 
 sound Of a footstep or voice above, the old man be- 
 lieved that the final consummation of all things had 
 taken place, and he was actually left in his tomb. 
 
 "Presently the scavengers reached his cellar door, 
 when, first hearing footsteps, succeeded by scraping and 
 prying, then light ushering in through the cracks as 
 the snow was removed. Suddenly bursting up the cel- 
 lar door, the old man exclaimed, l Is de end come ? ' 
 Being answered in the negative , ' O ! ' said he, ' I 
 thought de end was come, an' all you white folks was 
 gone up, an' forgot dis old black saint.' Now," con- 
 cluded the major, turning to the assistant adjutant gen- 
 eral, " I suppose de end is come, an' all you white folks 
 is gone up, an' forgot dis black saint," amidst a roar of 
 laughter among the officers. 
 
 A few days after this an order came from Washing- 
 ton, retaining Brevet Major General Scott in the ser- 
 vice, as assistant commissioner, on the staff of Major 
 General Canby, commanding the Second Military Dis- 
 
294 Life of Majok M. R. Delany. 
 
 trict, by whose advice and generous indorsement the 
 retention of Major Delany was recommended to Gen- 
 eral Canby, and by which he has been retained in the 
 service. 
 
 Thus, in addition to the established duties of his 
 office, he is now the disbursing officer of soldiers' 
 claims for the sub-district of Hilton Head. 
 
 This is another testimony, as exhibited by different 
 commanders, of the ability and usefulness of this offi- 
 cer in retaining him. But while fully appreciating 
 these repeated recognitions of his service to the govern- 
 ment by these high officials, giving it the full value of its 
 civil and political worth, construing it to a desire of 
 recognizing the true status of the colored race as Amer- 
 ican citizens by the continuance of their only repre- 
 sentative, as an incumbent and military officer in this 
 prominent and honorable position of the government, 
 Major Delany says, "By this change or modification in 
 its jurisdiction the Bureau loses nothing, but otherwise 
 its status and prestige is thereby enhanced. 
 
 " Previous to this an important difficulty presented 
 itself. A large force of volunteer officers must be kept 
 up in a time of peace, — which is contrary to the juris- 
 prudence of all highly civilized nations, — or the vol- 
 unteer officers must be mustered out, and thus leave an 
 important arm of the war department without the 
 necessary administrative government. 
 
 " To impose the duties of the Bureau on the officers 
 of the regular army, w T ould be to entail duties which 
 they could not care to have upon them, and, there- 
 fore, for the most part, neglect. To employ civilians, 
 would bring them directly under the military men, 
 
Conclusion. 295 
 
 wholly ignorant of the details, import, and meaning of 
 military orders and duties. To employ those who have 
 been commissioned officers in the service, competent 
 for the duties, would involve an expense equal, at least, 
 to that already incurred by the volunteer officers now 
 on duty. 
 
 " The only course left the government in carrying out 
 the well-regulated custom of reducing the army to a 
 true peace basis, by doing away with an independent 
 volunteer force in time of peace, was to place the 
 bureau under the regular army. 
 
 " This virtually places Major General O. O. Howard 
 on the staff of General Grant ; Brevet Major General 
 R. K. Scott, and all other assistant commissioners, de 
 facto, on the staffs of the major generals commanding 
 the military districts ; brings the entire volunteer offi- 
 cers, retained in the service, under and subject to, with- 
 out being in, the regular army ; and cements a perfect 
 harmony between these two branches of the govern- 
 ment which nothing can detract. 
 
 " In this stride of statesmanship, will it be presumed 
 that the American army, or the military branch of the 
 government, has no statesmen as competent counsel- 
 lors of the executive ? " 
 
 Headquarters Second Military District, 
 Charleston, S. C, December 4, 1867. 
 
 General Orders. No. 140. 
 
 The following general orders, from the headquarters of the 
 army, are republished for the information and guidance of all 
 concerned. 
 
296 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Headquarters or the Army, Adjt. Gen. Office, > 
 Washington, November 26, 1867. ) 
 
 General Orders. No. 101. 
 
 The following orders have been received from the War Depart- 
 ment, and will be duly executed : — 
 
 Extract. 
 
 Par. III. All volunteer officers now retained in service will 
 be mustered out, to take effect January 1, 1868, except the com- 
 missioner and the disbursing officers of the Bureau of Kefu- 
 gees, Ereedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 
 
 By command of General Grant. 
 
 E. D. Townsend, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 By command of 
 
 Brevet Major General Ed. E. S. Canbt. 
 
 Official. Louis V. Caziarc, 
 
 Aid-de-Camp, Acfg Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Headquarters Second Military District, > 
 Charleston, S. C, December 6, 1867. ) 
 
 General Orders. No. 145. 
 
 The following arrangement of the troops in this district will 
 be carried into effect with as little delay as possible. 
 
 Extract. 
 
 In addition to duties with which they are charged by existing 
 orders, commanding officers of posts are designated as sub- 
 assistant commissioners of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
 and Abandoned Lands, for the districts embraced within the terri- 
 torial limits of their commands, and will exercise all the func- 
 tions of officers of that bureau, except so far as relates to the 
 administration and control of the funds or property of the bureau. 
 
Conclusion. 297 
 
 Extract. 
 
 All officers and agents of the bureau, who may be on duty 
 within the territorial limits of any post, will report to its com- 
 mander, and will be governed by his instructions in all that re- 
 lates to the protection of persons and property, under the laws 
 of the United States, the regulations of the bureau, and the 
 orders of the district commander. In all that relates to the 
 details of administration, they will report as heretofore to the 
 assistant commissioner for the state in which they are stationed. 
 The assistant commissioners for the States of North and South 
 Carolina, respectively, will furnish the commanders of posts 
 with the names and stations of the officers and agents of the 
 bureau on duty within the limits of their respective commands, 
 and with a statement of any special duties they may have been 
 charged with in relation to the protection of person and prop- 
 erty. They will also, by conference or correspondence with the 
 post commander, determine what officers or agents of the bureau 
 can be relieved or discharged, and report the same to district 
 headquarters. 
 
 By command of 
 
 Brevet Major General Ed. R. S. Canby. 
 
 Official. Louis V. Caziarc, 
 
 Aid-de-Camp, Actg Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Headquarters Asst. Comr. Bureau Refugees, \ 
 
 Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, District of S. C, > 
 
 Charleston, S. C, December 19, 1867. * 
 
 Major M. R. Delany, Asst. Sub-Asst. Comr. 
 
 Major : In accordance with the provisions of general orders 
 No. 145, C. S., Second Military District, I am directed by the 
 assistant commissioner to inform you that your designation and 
 limits of your district are as follows : — 
 
 You will hereafter be designated as Assistant Sub-Assistant 
 Commissioner for Hilton Head, Savage, Bull, Dawfuskie, Pinek- 
 ney, and Long Pine Islands, and will report to Brevet Brigadier 
 
298 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 General H. B. Clitz, port of Charleston, and sub-assistant com- 
 missioner, subject to existing orders and instructions. 
 I am, major, very respectfully, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Edward L. Deane, 
 Brevet Major, A. D. C, $ A. A. A. Gen. 
 
 Headquarters Asst. Comr. Bureau Refugees, -* 
 
 Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Dist. of S. C, >• 
 
 Charleston, S. C, February 8, 1868. ) 
 
 Major M. R. Delany, Acting Sub-Assistant 
 Commissioner, Hilton Head, S. C. 
 Major: The following copy of indorsement from War De- 
 partment, Adjutant General's Office, dated January 28, 1868, is 
 respectfully furnished for your information. 
 
 Respectfully returned to Major General 0. O. Howard, Com- 
 missioner. Major M. R. Delany, 104th United States Colored 
 Troops, having been reported in your letter of November 30, 
 1867, as on duty in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and 
 Abandoned Lands, as a disbursing officer, was retained in service 
 under the provisions of General Orders 101, November 26, 1867, 
 from this office. 
 
 (Signed) Thomas M. Vincent, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 H. Neide, 
 Brevet Major, 1st Lieut. kith Infantry, 
 Acfg Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
 
 With this last order we will bring this volume to a 
 close. We have endeavored to narrate the career of 
 an individual of our time, living and still working in 
 our midst, the extent of whose labors, and the great 
 ability demonstrated in their execution, cannot be thor- 
 oughly understood or felt, without first having known 
 
Conclusion. 299 
 
 the great struggle and anxiety entailed in its accom- 
 plishment. This we have attempted to give, but found 
 it no easy task ; therefore we have simply narrated the 
 events of his singularly active life, allowing the reader 
 to deduce his own comments. 
 
 At this writing, Major Delany is still in the service 
 of the government, as sub-assistant commissioner of 
 the Freedmen's Bureau, while many of the volunteer 
 officers have been mustered out, under order of the de- 
 partment at Washington. 
 
 In his retention, is shown the recognition and 
 the thorough appreciation of the indefatigable zeal and 
 great ability displayed by the black officer, especially as 
 in conjunction with his former duties others, in which 
 greater responsibilities are entailed, are assigned to 
 him. His efficient labors in the department render him 
 a distinct character from his surroundings, while his 
 administrative qualities attract the attention of friends 
 and foes alike, as unprecedented in the history of his 
 race in this country. While comments may vary, they 
 unite in saying, " There is still a latent amount of 
 greatness within the man, which has not yet been called 
 forth." 
 
 To his lofty aspirations, and great originality of 
 thoughts, together with his real earnestness in every- 
 thing he undertakes, and his iron will to pursue to 
 completion, we trace the secret of his success in this 
 field. 
 
 Illustrating in his career entire personal sacrifice for 
 the accomplishment of a grand purpose, no character 
 has been produced by our civilization in comparison 
 with which this remarkable man would be deemed 
 
300 Life or Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 inferior. Men have died for the freedom and eleva- 
 tion of the race, and thereby have contributed more to 
 advance the cause than would their living efforts, while 
 others have lived for it, and under circumstances where 
 death would have been easier. Such describes Martin 
 Delany. Nature marked him for combat and victory, 
 and not for martyrdom. His life-long service, from 
 which neither poverty nor dangers could deter him, his 
 great vitality and energy under all and every circum- 
 stance, which have never abated, proclaim this truth. 
 His life furnishes a rare enthusiasm for race not ex- 
 pected in the present state of American society, 
 occasioned by his constant researches into anything 
 relative to their history. No living man is better able 
 to write the history of the race, to whom it has been a 
 constant study, than he ; as it is considered by the most 
 earnest laborers in the same sphere that few, if any, 
 among them, have so entirely consecrated themselves 
 to the idea of race as his career shows. His religion, 
 his writings, every step in life, is based upon this idea. 
 His creed begins and ends with it — that the colored 
 race can only obtain their true status as men, by rely- 
 ing on their own identity ; that they must prove, by 
 merit, all that white men claim ; then color would cease 
 to be an objection to their progress — that the blacks 
 must take pride in being black, and show their claims 
 to superior qualities, before the whites would be willing 
 to concede them equality. This he claims as the foun- 
 dation of his manhood. Upon this point Mr. Fred- 
 erick Douglass once w r ittily remarked, " Delany stands 
 so straight that he leans a little backward." 
 
 Such is the personal history of an individual of the 
 
Conclusion. 301 
 
 race, whose great strength of character, amid the mul- 
 titudinous agencies adverse to his progress, has tri- 
 umphantly demonstrated negro capability for greatness 
 in every sphere wherein he has acted. 
 
 The late revolution has resulted in bringing the race 
 to which he belongs into prominence. They have 
 begun their onward march towards that higher civiliza- 
 tion promised at the close of the war. Let no unhal- 
 lowed voice be lifted to stay their progress ; then, with 
 all barriers removed, the glorious destiny promised to 
 them can be achieved. And then our country, continu- 
 ing to recognize merit alone in her children, as shown 
 in the appointment of the black major of Carolina, 
 will add renewed strength to her greatness. Begirt 
 with loyal hearts and strong arms, the mission of 
 our revolution shall embrace centuries in its march, se- 
 curing the future stability of our country, and proclaim- 
 ing with truthfulness the grandeur of republican insti- 
 tutions to the civilization of Christendom. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 POLITICAL WHITINGS. 
 
 HAVING given thus far, in a most impartial man- 
 ner, the services of Major Delany ; endeavor- 
 ing to concede all that rightfully belongs to him, 
 without debarring others of their dues ; claiming, as we 
 have in this work, for Mm always an advanced posi- 
 tion ; to bear out this statement more fully, we add 
 some selections from his published political works, which 
 will show that his administration in a military capacity 
 but reflected the brilliancy kindled about the civilian. 
 
 The most remarkable feature of the greater portion 
 of the writings is, that they constitute the present es- 
 sential principles which form the basis of the recon- 
 struction of the South, and ultimately for the nation at 
 large. These are definitely and significantly expressed 
 in paragraphs 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 18th, and 22d 
 of the Platform or Declaration of Sentiments, and also 
 in his paper on the Political Destiny of the Colored 
 Races, &c. 
 
 These are the writings to which reference has been 
 previously made, and were presented before, and adopt- 
 ed by the Cleveland Convention of 1854, without mod- 
 ification of any kind. 
 
 (303) 
 
304 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 On the appearance of these, numerous comments 
 were drawn from the leading daily journals of the coun- 
 try. From the Pittsburg Daily Post, of October 18, 
 1854 (a pro-slavery paper), we quote the following: — 
 
 "Dr. M. R. Delany, of Pittsburg, was the chairman 
 of the committee that made this report to the conven- 
 tion. It was, of course, adopted. If Dr. D. drafted 
 this report, it certainly does him much credit for learn- 
 ing and ability, and cannot fail to establish for him a 
 reputation for vigor and brilliancy of imagination never 
 yet surpassed." Not being able to continue long in 
 this vein, it concludes : " It is a vast conception, of 
 impossible birth. The committee seem entirely to have 
 overlooked the strength of the ' powers on the earth ' 
 that would oppose the Africanization of more than 
 half the western hemisphere." 
 
 In their singular adaptability to the extraordinary 
 events now challenging the highest intelligence of the 
 land for their permanent adjustment, they will be regard- 
 ed as reflecting no ordinary credit on the colored race 
 for one of their number to adduce such thoughts as are 
 contained in these on National Polity and Individual 
 Rights, published as they were some thirteen years ago, 
 hence prior to the present discussions upon the new is- 
 sues. While the position he claimed and sentiments 
 expressed are most thoroughly anti-slavery, they are 
 unlike in their issues, and manner of presenting such, 
 as well as far in advance of the then most radical, with 
 few noble exceptions, and now in harmony with the 
 requirements of the times. Then they were looked 
 upon as extremely impracticable measures and senti- 
 ments. Now they will testify to the fitness of the col- 
 
Political Writings. 305 
 
 ored people for the present right they claim; as these 
 issues, instead of finding them unprepared, as their po- 
 litical enemies proclaim, it has found theories promul- 
 gated by a black representative, standing in the midst 
 of this mighty political combat, side by side with the 
 most advanced of his white brothers on either con- 
 tinent. 
 
 Whatever the seeming tenor of the advice and feel- 
 ings which thrill through these productions, it should 
 be remembered they were written at a time when the 
 present state of the country was scarcely expected to 
 be realized, in our age, even by the radicals ; penned 
 within sight of slave renditions into bondage, when his 
 manhood was humiliated by the legal ordeal under 
 which the colored people of the United States were 
 placed by that most infamous of enactments, the Fugi- 
 tive Slave Law. 
 
 After the publication of his paper on the Destiny of 
 the Colored Race in America,* a committee, selected for 
 the purpose, sent a copy to each member of the Congress, 
 of which Mr. Frank Blair was a member, he having 
 acknowledged its receipt by letter to Mr. J. M. Whit- 
 field, one of the committee, and in which he broached 
 the subject he afterwards made the theme of his lec- 
 ture which surprised the country from the boldness of 
 the position taken. By comparing the scheme put 
 forth during the year 1844-5, in favor of Central and 
 South American emigration, and the brilliant effort of 
 Mr. Frank P. Blair in its behalf, including his great lec- 
 ture before the Boston Lyceum, we venture to assume 
 that it was suggested by the paper herein presented. 
 
 * See page 327. 
 20 
 
306 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 In the recent report of his African explorations, the 
 following curious document we quote, as among his po- 
 litical works. To the discerning historical reader it 
 will be read with interest, while its significance will 
 become in time more appreciable. 
 
 African Commission. 
 
 The president and officers of the General Board of Commis- 
 sioners, viz., W. H Day, A. M., President, Matisen F. Bailey, 
 Vice-President, George W. Brodie, Secretary, James Madison 
 Bell, Treasurer, Alfred Whipple, Auditor, Dr. Martin R. Delany, 
 Special Foreign Secretary, Abram D. Shadd, James Henry 
 Harris, and Isaac D. Shadd, the executive council in behalf of 
 the organization for the promotion of the political and other in- 
 terests of the colored inhabitants of North America, particularly 
 the United States and Canada. 
 
 To all unto whom these letters may come, greeting: The 
 said General Board of Commissioners, in executive council as- 
 sembled, have this day chosen, and by these presents do hereby 
 appoint and authorize Dr. Martin Robison Delany, of Chatham 
 County of Kent, Province of Canada, Chief Commissioner, and 
 Robert Douglass, Esq., Artist, and Professor Robert Campbell, 
 Naturalist, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the United 
 States of America, to be Assistant Commissioners ; Amos Aray, 
 Surgeon, and James W. Prinnel, Secretary and Commercial Re- 
 porter, both of Kent County, Canada West, of a scientific corps, 
 to be known by the name of 
 
 The Niger Valley Exploring Party. 
 
 The object of this expedition is to make a topographical, geo- 
 logical, and geographical examination of the Valley of the River 
 Niger, in Africa, and an inquiry into the state and condition of 
 the people of that valley, and other parts of Africa, together 
 with such other scientific inquiries as may by them be deemed 
 expedient, for the purposes of science, and for general informa- 
 tion ; and without any reference to, and with the board being 
 
African Explorations. 307 
 
 entirely opposed to, any emigration there as such. Provided, 
 however, that nothing in this instrument be so construed as to 
 interfere with the right of the commissioners to negotiate, in 
 their own behalf, or that of any other parties or organization, for 
 territory. 
 
 The Chief Commissioner is hereby authorized to add one or 
 more competent commissioners to their number, it being agreed 
 and understood that this organization is, and is to be, exempted 
 from the pecuniary responsibility of sending out this expedition. 
 
 Dated at the office of the Executive Council, Chatham, Coun- 
 ty of Kent, Province of Canada, this thirtieth day of August, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight. 
 
 By the President, 
 
 William Howard Day. 
 
 Isaac D. Shadd, Vice-President.* 
 
 George W. Brodie, Secretary. 
 
 While the Commission is worthy of a place among 
 his political writings, the next in order, and of equal 
 importance, furnishing another evidence of his adapta- 
 bility to circumstances, the essential characteristic to 
 his success, as well as that which has always been the 
 secret of the success of all men in public life, is his 
 treaty made with the king and chiefs of Abbeokuta, in 
 view of advancing the future prosperity of his father- 
 land. We give the treaty, extracted from page 35th 
 of his " Official Report." 
 
 The Treaty. 
 
 This treaty, made between His Majesty Okukenu, Alake, 
 
 Somoye, Ibashorum, Sokenu, Ogubonna, and Atambola, Chiefs, 
 
 and Balaguns of Abbeokuta, on the first part, and Martin 
 
 Robison Delany, and Robert Campbell, of the Niger Valley Ex- 
 
 * Mr. Shadd was elected Vice-President in the place of Mr. 
 Bailey, who left the Province for New Caledonia. 
 
308 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 ploring Party, commissioners from the African race of the Uni- 
 ted States and the Canadas, in America, on the second part, cov- 
 enants : 
 
 Art. 1. That the king and chiefs, on their part, agree to 
 grant and assign unto the said commissioners, on behalf of the 
 African race in America, the right and privilege of settling, in 
 common with the Egda people, on any part of the territory be- 
 longing to Abbeokuta not otherwise occupied. 
 
 Art. 2. That all matters requiring legal investigation among 
 settlers be left to themselves, to be disposed of according to 
 their own custom. 
 
 Art. 3. That the commissioners, on their part, also agree 
 that the settlers shall bring with them, as an equivalent for the 
 privileges above accorded, intelligence, education, a knowledge 
 of the arts and sciences, agriculture, and other mechanical and 
 industrial occupations, which they shall put into immediate oper- 
 ation, by improving the lands, and in other usefulavocations. 
 
 Art. 4. That the laws of the Egba people shall be strictly 
 respected by the settlers ; and, in all matters in which both par- 
 ties are concerned, an equal number of commissioners, mutually 
 agreed upon, shall be appointed, who shall have power to settle 
 such matters. 
 
 As a pledge of our faith, and sincerity of our hearts, we 
 each of us hereunto affix our hand and seal, this twenty-seventh 
 day of December, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and 
 
 fifty-nine. 
 
 His Mark, X Okukenu, Alake, 
 
 His Mark, X Somoye, Ibashorum, 
 
 His Mark, X Sokenu, Balagun, 
 
 His Mark, X Ogubonna, Balagun, 
 
 His Mark, X Atambala, Balagun, 
 
 His Mark, X Ogitseye, Ariaba, 
 
 His Mark, X Agtabo, Balagun, 0. S. 0. 
 
 His Mark, X Ogudemu, Ageoki, 
 
 M. E. Delany, 
 
 Bobert Campbell. 
 
 Witness, Samuel Crowther, Jun. 
 
 Attest, Samuel Crowther, Sen. 
 
Reflections on the War. 309 
 
 Says the report on the Niger Valley Exploration, 
 " On the next evening, the 28th, the king, with the 
 executive council of chiefs and elders, met at the 
 palace in Aka, when the treaty was ratified by a unani- 
 mous approval. Such general satisfaction ran through 
 the council, that the great chief, his highness Ogubonna, 
 mounting his horse, then at midnight, hastened to the 
 residence of the surgeon Crowther, aroused the father, 
 the missionary, and author, and hastily informed him of 
 the action of the council. 
 
 An event of revenge, from prejudice to his race, was 
 of great personal loss to himself, occasioned by the burn- 
 ing of Wilberforce College, the first and only thoroughly 
 literary institution of that capacity owned and con- 
 trolled solely by the colored people of this country. This 
 happened on the memorable night of the 14th of April, 
 1866 ; he having had in the third story of the right 
 wing of the edifice a room as a depository of valu- 
 ables, among which were his entire collection of Afri- 
 can curiosities, collected during his tour, together with 
 his entire European and African correspondence, and 
 that with distinguished Americans after his return home. 
 In this conflagration it was a loss entailed to him, 
 never to be remedied, as these were the collections of 
 twenty years. Besides correspondence, there were 
 manuscripts, by which we are deprived of some of his 
 finest productions. 
 
 The following papers are of a recent date : — 
 
 Reflections on the War. 
 
 One important fact developed during this gigantic civil war, 
 and which could not have escaped the general and mature intel- 
 ligent observer as a result of the struggle, and so contrary to 
 
310 Ltfe op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 concessions under the old relations of the Union, is, that no 
 great statesmen were produced on the part of the South ; 
 although at the commencement, at the Montgomery Convention, 
 or Provisional Congress, August, 1861, their independence was 
 declared, and consequently must have been fully matured, not 
 a measure was put forth of national import to sustain their 
 cause, except the issue of the cotton bonds thrown upon the for- 
 eign market — a cheat so consistent with the Mississippi bond 
 repudiation of Mr. Jefferson Davis, that it is not difficult to de- 
 termine the source of that financial scheme, which, of itself, was 
 an ordinary commercial measure, of every-day transaction, en- 
 larged to meet the occasion of a " national want." 
 
 Previous to the war, it was generally conceded that by far the 
 ablest statesmen in the service of the nation came from the 
 South. And doubtless this may have been so, for a long period 
 of the government, after the close of the revolutionary struggle ; 
 because, the people of the North, caring for little else than busi- 
 ness, of personal interests, and local legislation, few men could 
 be found among them willing to devote more than one term in 
 Congress, or the executive departments of the government ; while 
 the policy of the South was to continue the same men as long as 
 possible in the councils, in consequence of their domestic rela- 
 tions affording them ample time and leisure in their absence 
 from home to mature, their plans of ascendency. 
 
 During the revolutionary period, which may be reckoned from 
 the Albany Continental Congress, in 1754, to the Peace Con- 
 gress at Ghent, 1814, both grand political divisions, north and 
 south of Mason and Dixon's line, show with equal brilliancy in 
 the national forum. 
 
 After the treaty of peace with Great Britain, gradually the 
 leading spirits passed away, either by death or withdrawal from 
 public life, till Clay, Calhoun, Adams, and Benton appeared for 
 many years as the only dependence of the country in questions 
 and measures of great national import. 
 
 These master spirits continued their career till they, in turn, 
 one by one, left the stage of action, the last terminating in 1852, 
 by the death of Mr. Webster. 
 
 Of this galaxy, the Hons. John Quincy Adams, of the House 
 
Reflections on the War. 311 
 
 of Representatives, and Henry Clay, of the Senate, were the 
 leaders of international measures ; Senators Daniel Webster and 
 Thomas II. Benton, those of national import; while Senator 
 John C. Calhoun was especially confined to that of state rights 
 sovereignty. During the existence of these, there were other 
 men of note and distinction, all of whom have left the stage of 
 action. Of the great personages above named, all, excepting 
 Senator Benton, have held the portfolio of first minister of state ; 
 and it is notorious, that although Senator Calhoun's was under 
 President James K. Polk, 1844, a period most auspicious for the 
 display of statesmanship, as great and vital questions of national 
 and international polity were prominent before the country and 
 the world, — such as the extension of territory, and the annexa- 
 tion of Texas, — not a measure was put forth by Mr. Calhoun to 
 meet the exigencies of the occasion and the times. Indeed, that 
 senator, outside of " state sovereignty " and South Carolina, as 
 history bears witness, as a statesman, was a failure. 
 
 The social polity of the North being based upon labor, and 
 that of the South on leisure, depending on slave labor for 
 maintenance, as an almost natural consequence, the North 
 neglected as much as possible places of honor in the nation, — the 
 army, and navy, — conceding these, as a matter of course, in all 
 good faith, to its brethren of the South. In good faith the con- 
 cession was certainly made, because the North then as heartily 
 approved of slavery as the South. 
 
 Foreign intervention being permanently settled, and no longer 
 any dread of a common enemy, the South accepted the indifference 
 of the North, and commenced preparations for her own indepen- 
 dence. This was probably maturing shortly after the battle of 
 New Orleans (1815), till the election of James Buchanan, 185G; 
 or, more historically, from the treaty of Ghent, 1814, to the 
 Ostend Congress, in 1854. 
 
 When the civil war commenced, it was alarmingly apparent 
 that the South had by far the best' officers, the North having few 
 trustworthy, or those of military experience. And while the 
 army was routed, and the enemy gaining strength at home and 
 abroad, the masterly ability of statesmanship of the North not 
 only challenged the respect and admiration of the world by the 
 
312 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 wisdom of the great executive head of the government, but in- 
 tricate questions of the greatest international policy were raised, 
 met, sustained, and established ; military and financial measures 
 created by the ministers of state, war, and the treasury, never 
 yet equalled by any nation. 
 
 During the time immediately succeeding the revolutionary 
 period, — from 1815 to 1851, — with the exception of representa- 
 tives from Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, in the 
 persons of Hons. Thomas H. Benton, Henry Clay, Reverdy 
 Johnson, and John M. Clayton, every great measure of national 
 interest was represented by gentlemen of the North. So com- 
 pletely had the state rights question engrossed the attention of 
 the South, that nothing could be elicited in the halls of Congress 
 from that side of the house, of whatever import the question, 
 but " Old Dominion" and " first families," " South Carolina and 
 state rights," " Georgia and negro slaves," " Alabama and cot- 
 ton," '" Louisiana, slaves, and sugar," "Mississippi negro trad- 
 ers," "Arkansas and amen with abolition," "Texas and bowie 
 knives." These appeared to be the only rejoinders given, and 
 arguments made for many years past, in the councils of the 
 nation, by representatives from the South. 
 
 Absorbed entirely in the one erroneous idea of state sover- 
 eignty, thinking of nothing besides this, neither fearing nor 
 caring for anything else, then is a degeneracy in statesmanship 
 much to be wondered at on the part of the South? Certainly not. 
 It is but charity to the South to admit of finding a solution of 
 their deficiencies in the statement of these grave and important 
 truths. 
 
 Was there any one man or measure, either in or out of the 
 whole Southern establishment, civil or military, approaching 
 those of the North? Not one. I am fully aware that " compari- 
 sons are odious ; " that these features of observations are " in bad 
 taste," and that it will be adjudged ungenerous to make such 
 allusions to our fallen and subjugated fellow-countrymen. I fully 
 appreciate the extent of the objection ; but when it is remem- 
 bered that many of this very class of Southerners, — the old 
 leading politicians are straining their intellects to prove the in- 
 feriority and incapacity of my race to high social and intellectual 
 
Policy of the World to the African. 313 
 
 attainments, — the objector will, at least, find an explanation, if 
 not justification, in the strictures. 
 
 I admit there are many excellent gentlemen in the South, and 
 many have, through the press of the country, acknowledged 
 their approval of the great principles of equality before the law, 
 liberty and justice, and the natural inalienable rights of all 
 men by birth ; but I must be permitted to place my record, if 
 not measure my steel, against those who tauntingly dare chal- 
 lenge me. It was the Hon. Daniel Webster, who, long years 
 ago, on the floor of the United States Senate, on the very 
 subject of disparagement, told Senator Hayne, of South Caro- 
 lina, in reply to his assertion, " The gentleman from Massachu- 
 setts has found more than his match" in debate with Senator 
 Benton, — " Sir, where there are blows to be received, there must 
 be blows given in return." 
 
 The International Policy of the World towards the 
 African Race. 
 
 One of the highest pretensions set up in favor of the enslave- 
 ment of the African race is its inferiority. If the Britons, Cale- 
 donians, Hibernians, and others of the Celtic as well as Teuton 
 and pure Caucasian races had never been enslaved ; if Carac- 
 tacus, the king and proudest prince the British ever had up to 
 that period, had not been led in chains, and sold by order of 
 Julius Caesar, with many other British slaves, in the public 
 market of Rome ; if the British nobles, long years ago, had not 
 written of their own peasantry, that they were incapable of ele- 
 vation ; if they had not recorded and passed enactments against 
 the Scotch and Irish, that they were innately inferior, and totally 
 insusceptible of instruction and civilization, calling them "hea- 
 then dogs, only fit for slaves of the lowest order ; " if a general 
 system of serfdom, known as the Feudal System, had not existed 
 generally among the white races for ages through all Europe, 
 before a black slave was ever known among the whites ; if the 
 whites had not been held in slavery many centuries longer than 
 were the blacks ; and finally, if Russia had not, just within the 
 last three years (1864), emancipated her forty-two millions of 
 
314 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 slaves, — ten times more than the African slaves in the United 
 States, allowing four millions to the South, — then there would 
 he some semblance of honesty and sincerity in the continued 
 plea of justice for ages of wrong and crime against an unoffend- 
 ing, helpless people. 
 
 Through all times white slavery had existed among the nations 
 of Europe, and as civilization advanced, and the lower classes 
 became more elevated, the difficulty became more apparent in 
 perpetuating the system. What to do, and how to remedy the 
 evil, was a question of paramount importance. To suppress the 
 approach of civilization, and keep down the rising aspirations of 
 the common people, could not be well determined. The genius 
 of social and political economy were put to the test to divine the 
 desired end to be attained. Legislative and royal decrees could 
 not reach it; the march of man and the light of intellect kept in 
 advance of legal injunctions. 
 
 In 624 — twelve hundred and forty-three years ago, and twelve 
 hundred and thirty-nine before the Emancipation Proclamation 
 of President Lincoln — the Saracens or Arabs gained access to 
 Africa, controlling the commerce for seven hundred and fifty- 
 eight years, being the only foreigners accessible to, and holding 
 a friendly intercourse with, the people. 
 
 In the year 1487, Bartholomew Diaz, of Portugal, discovered 
 the Cape of Good Hope, calling it Cabo del Tormentoso — " the 
 Cape of Storms." On reporting to his sovereign the discovery, 
 with all of its prospects, the king cried out, " No, let us not call 
 it ' Cabo del Tormentoso,' but rather let us call it Cabo del Buen 
 Speremza ! — the Cape of Good Hope ! " And it was a good hope 
 to Portugal, because it must be remembered that access to Africa, 
 by communication with the western coast, was then to Euro- 
 peans unknown; the only intercourse being from the north by 
 the Barbary States, and through the interior by caravans, all of 
 which purported to reach the eastern part of the continent by 
 that way. 
 
 The year 1482 was an eventful period to the African race, 
 and I here record, for the first time probably in which it has ever 
 been given to the world (except the authority herein quoted), the 
 startling facts that the enslavement of the African race was the 
 
Policy of tiie World to the African. 315 
 
 result of a determination on the part of at least four, and proba- 
 bly more, of the strongest, the most enlightened and polished 
 nations at the time, to make the African race supplant, by sub- 
 stituting it for European slavery. These nations were, Spain, 
 England, France, and Portugal. 
 
 And I should not feel, whatever I may have effectually done, 
 that my work had been more than half completed, did I not, as a 
 wronged and outraged son of Africa, give to the world this 
 crowning act of infamy against a people, the facts of which have 
 ever been closely concealed, and even denied, while thousands 
 of the world's good people have no knowledge that such facts 
 ever transpired. 
 
 The demands for ameliorating the condition of the whites 
 pressed heavily in all parts of Europe, as the elevated wealthy 
 noble could not longer bear to see the ignorant poor of his kins- 
 men degraded. To longer deny them the right of elevation, was 
 to disparage the genius, and degrade the whole Caucasian race. 
 To remedy this, a race must be chosen foreign to their own, and 
 as different as possible in external characteristics. Eor this 
 dreadful purpose the African was selected as the victim of an 
 international conspiracy. A political conspiracy of malice afore- 
 thought, prompted by avarice and the love of lucre. During the 
 memorable events that thrilled with emotion the communities of 
 every country in 1862, in the midst of our national struggle, the 
 Rev. Felix, Archbishop of Orleans, France, in a pastoral, sent 
 forth to -exhort the people of France and the French Catholics 
 of the United States to support the position taken by President 
 Lincoln, in pronouncing his malediction against the cause of the 
 South, said, " It is the teaching of experience that the slavery 
 of the day — the slavery of the blacks — has an origin and a 
 consequence equally detestable. Its origin was the Treaty, 
 the ignoble and cruel bargain, condemned by Pius II. in 1482, 
 by Paul III. in 1557, by Urba VIII. in 1539, by Benedict XIV. 
 in 1741, by Gregory XVI. in 1839." His revelation should startle 
 Christendom, and none would question the historical accuracy 
 of the facts in the case, when coming from such a trustworthy 
 source as the reverend and honored Archbishop of Orleans. 
 
 Objections were many and serious on the part of the common 
 
316 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 classes to the introduction of this new people as a domestic ele- 
 ment into European countries. But notwithstanding this, there 
 would, doubtless, have been many sent, if a timely relief had 
 not been afforded by the discovery of America in 1492. So 
 lucrative became this traffic in a foreign people, running through 
 many years, and engrossed by the most elevated, as elsewhere 
 referred to, that in 1518, James I. made it the basis of the rev- 
 enue, if not the wealth of England. The people of the New 
 World — Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, and Dutch — 
 made this race their " hope and expectation." 
 
 Whole fleets of merchantmen, from every nation in Europe, 
 environed Africa, to subjugate her people. Powerful naval forces 
 were also brought against her, and national representatives, in 
 the persons of their emissaries, prowled along and about her 
 entire coast, sowing the seeds of discord, and a baser corruption 
 among those of the already corrupted natives, inciting them to 
 war, and the devastation of their homes. 
 
 Every vestige of civilization was driven from the coast, the 
 interior placed under fearful apprehensions, the entire social 
 system deranged, the progress of improvement suspended, and 
 permanent establishments abandoned. With the entire white 
 world against her, is it not clear why Africa, in the last twelve 
 centuries, has not kept pace with the civilization of the age? 
 Certainly it is. But there are those who still affect to doubt the 
 former civilization of Africa, and dispute that race as the authors 
 of her ancient arts and sciences. Why dispute it? If the Afri- 
 can race were not the authors, what race were? Why are not 
 the same arts and seiences found in some other portion of the 
 globe than Africa? Why confined to this quarter of the world? 
 The identity of one people with another has its strongest evi- 
 dence in the characteristics, habits, manners, customs, especially 
 in moral and religious sentiments, peculiar to themselves, even 
 after all traces by language are lost. 
 
 It is simply ridiculous for ethnologists to claim the few Bebers 
 who are found in and about Egypt, as the remnants of the ancient 
 Africans, and erectors of the mighty pyramids, and authors of 
 the hieroglyphics. The present Bebers of Egypt are none other 
 than mixed bloods of the ancient Egyptians who once inhabited 
 
Policy of the World to the African. 317 
 
 it, — who were pure blacks, — and Saracens who had conquered 
 the country by conquest B. C. 146, and without any prestige, ex- 
 cept that inherited from the Ishmaelitish or Arab side of their 
 ancestry — avarice and treachery. I mean not to be unkind in 
 stating this, but simply to paint facts in a strong light. 
 
 Certainly the general character of this (the Arabian) race of 
 men has been known through all times. And although they had 
 given the world* in literature the nine numerals in arithmetic, 
 a chirography, and a religion which necessarily has some beauti- 
 ful philosophy, yet there is little comparison in any of these to 
 the literature of ancient Africa. I believe it is not pretended 
 that the Arabians have any peculiar order of architecture ; and I 
 hope not to be regarded uncharitable if I suspect the cunning 
 Arab, instead of originating, as having stolen the nine numerals 
 of our common arithmetic from the Alexandrian Museum, de- 
 stroyed by them in the memorable conflagration. It was clever 
 in them to do so, and keep it to themselves ; and I shall not 
 raise the voice of envy against them. 
 
 The most striking character of the ancient Africans was their 
 purity of morals and religion. Their high conception and rever- 
 ence of Deity was manifested and acknowledged in everything 
 they did. They are known in history as having been the most 
 scrupulous of all races, and conscientious in their dealings. In 
 this I have reference to the Ethiopians, of whom the inhabitants 
 of Egypt were lineal descendants by colonization or emigration 
 down the valley of the Nile, and settlement in the territory at its 
 mouths; being identical in all their characteristics of a "black 
 skin and woolly hair," even as described as late as the time of 
 Herodotus, " the father of history," the learned Grecian philoso- 
 pher who travelled and resided among them during twenty-five 
 years. 
 
 A people or race possessing in a high degree the great prin- 
 ciples of pure ethics and true religion, a just conception of 
 God, necessarily inherit the essential principles of the highest 
 civilization. And is it not a known and conceded fact by all 
 who are at all conversant with the true character of the African, 
 that he excels all other races in religious sentiments, and adap- 
 tation to domestic usages, wherever found? In this I will not 
 
318 Life of Major M. R. Del any. 
 
 even except the Caucasian race, because those characteristics 
 in the African are in such striking contrast to the same in the 
 Caucasian, that they are regarded by him as exaggerations and 
 extravagances. Indeed such is the susceptibility and adapta- 
 tion of the African to the civilization of the times and places in 
 which he may be found, that the Caucasian, instead of looking 
 upon it in approved comparison with that which he admires in 
 his own race, has, by usage of a policy, become accustomed to 
 undervalue it as a mere "imitation." Can imitation give intel- 
 lectual ability for acquirements? If it enables a parrot or split- 
 tongued crow to gabble words by imitation of sound without any 
 conception of meaning ; if it enables a monkey or an ourang- ou- 
 tang to " come down from a tree and tie gloves on others' hands," 
 to go back leaving it unable either to loosen the strings, or climb 
 the tree to escape the artful huntsman, in imitation of what he did 
 to insnare it; or " thrusting a hand into a jug of figs, grabbing 
 it full," and thus holding on to the figs, screams, endeavoring to 
 take the hand out full, until caught, not having intellect to let 
 go the figs ; does it make him capable of high intellectual attain- 
 ment, such as languages, chirography, arithmetic, philosophy, 
 mathematics, the sciences of war, music, painting, sculpture, 
 political science, and polite literature? 
 
 Let the traducers of the African race, those who affect to be- 
 lieve that his faculties consist in mere "imitation," answer this 
 inquiry. Even in the Southern States, terribly crushed and 
 shattered as has been for centuries the true African character, 
 these lurking faculties for the higher attainments rising superior 
 to the fetters which bound the body of the possessor, would 
 occasionally burst forth like the sudden illumination of a bril- 
 liant meteor, startling the midnight gazer while all was en- 
 shrined in darkness around. Whether in the person of the dis- 
 tinguished orator and advocate of his race, Frederick Douglass 
 of Maryland, or an Ellis, the negro blacksmith linguist, or 
 George Madison Washington of Virginia, or Blind Tom of 
 Alabama, the musician and pianist, now suprising the world, 
 Elizabeth Greenfield of Mississippi, the celebrated " Black 
 Susan," — all slaves when developed, — these great truths of 
 African susceptibility are incontrovertible. With one more 
 
Policy of the World to the African. 319 
 
 point this treatise shnll have ended. But subsequent to its com- 
 pletion, and very recently, a high functionary, at the head of one 
 the greatest nations of modern times, in an elaborate argument 
 on the subject, having seen fit to make it history, by recording, 
 as part of an official document, the following declaration, I 
 deem it as treacherous to the African race, to which I wholly be- 
 long, if I did not place as permanently on record an equally bold 
 and defiant declaration — a proof to the contrary. Says this 
 sage and statesman, — 
 
 " The peculiar qualities which should characterize any people 
 who are fit to decide upon the management of public affairs for 
 a great state have seldom been combined. It is the glory of 
 white men to know that they have had these qualities in sufficient 
 measure to build upon this continent a great political fabric, and 
 to preserve its stability for more than ninety years, while in 
 every other part of the world all similar experiments have 
 failed. But if anything can be proved by known facts, if all 
 reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned, it must be acknowl- 
 edged that, in the progress of nations, negroes have shown less 
 capacity for government than any other race of people. No in- 
 dependent government of any form has ever been successful in 
 their hands. On the contrary, whenever they have been left to 
 their own devices, they have shown a constant tendency to re- 
 lapse into barbarism." Instead of the assertion, that in the 
 progress of the nations the negro has shown less capacity for 
 government than any other race of people, that no independent 
 government of any form has ever been successful in their hands, 
 I shall commend a reply to this predicate, by the proposition 
 that the negroes were foremost in the progress of time ; first 
 who developed the highest type of civilization. National civil 
 government and the philosophy of religion were borrowed by 
 the white races from the negro. And if the learned jurist will 
 go back to school-boy days, he will remember what time has 
 evidently caused him to forget. 
 
 In the days of Egyptian greatness one dynasty existed, evi- 
 dently, for more than one thousand years. This is known to 
 Holy Writ as the government of the Pharaohs. During the reign 
 
320 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 of these princes, the sovereigns repeatedly were chosen from 
 Egyptian and Ethiopian families. By Ethiopian families, is 
 meant the going out of the kingdom of Ethiopia to select from a 
 royal family the ruler, just as Great Britain goes into Germany 
 to select from a family a sovereign for the throne. 
 
 Among these mighty princes were Menes, or Misraim, Sesos- 
 tris, Osiris, and the Rameses, the last of which was the dynas- 
 ty name numerically recorded I., II., III., and so on. Rameses 
 I., the greatest of the princes, was the god.-man, and none other 
 than Jupiter-Ammon. In him was the beautiful and symbolic 
 idea of the attributes of Deity, — the Christian's God, — first de- 
 veloped. The person of the Deity, Rameses I., was represented 
 as a human being of robust proportions, having a "bushy, woolly 
 head, with ram's horns." His position, seated on a throne of gold 
 and ivory, ivory base and golden floor ; in his left hand a sceptre, 
 the right grasping a thunderbolt. At his side was the Phoenix, 
 in its well-known attitude. This last symbolic attribute is some- 
 times, indeed generally, spoken of by writers as an " eagle with 
 extended wings," which is evidently an error, from all the facts 
 connected with the god Jupiter, and Rameses II., his successor ; 
 besides, the. eagle was not an ideal, symbolic bird of religion in 
 Africa. It is suggestive of combat and carnality instead of 
 purity, the successor being styled by the ever-devoted Africans, 
 " Rameses the Ever-living, Always-living Rameses " — his name 
 occurring twice in the saluation. 
 
 Here, in this ideal symbol of a God, was also the identity of 
 man ; ivory representing durability, gold, purity, the sceptre, au- 
 thority, and the thunderbolt, power; the ram's head, innocence, 
 decision, and caution against too near approach. In a word, 
 none must presume to attempt to speak face to face with the Deity, 
 as death would be the result; as it is a well-known characteristic 
 of a ram, while innocent as a sheep, he will instantly attack any 
 head, man's or beast's, that approaches his. 
 
 Another beautiful symbolic attribute of Jupiter-Ammon, — 
 Rameses I., — which afterwards personified Rameses II., was the 
 Phoenix. This bird, like many ancient images, was allegorical 
 or ideal. It was described as similar to an eagle, larger, and 
 
Policy of the World to the African. 321 
 
 beautiful; with breast, wings, and tail of a brilliant gold tint; a 
 crown of solid gold crest capped its head, the rest of the body- 
 covered with green. It never flew, but always walked with 
 stately step and dignity. There was but one known to have an 
 existence, and the beginning was never known. It produced no 
 young, but was itself from the beginning a full-grown bird. It 
 lived, and lived, and lived on, from generation to generation, 
 through ages and periods, and periods and ages, till, seeming 
 weary of life, it built a nest of fagots and brush picked up, 
 which was long constructing; sat upon it when finished, laid a 
 golden egg in time ; the egg ignited the nest into a burning mass ; 
 the bird continuing to sit, threw up its wings and head in great 
 excitement, and was consumed in the flames ; when in the ashes 
 was left a ball, out of the ball came forth a worm, from this 
 worm instantly sprang another Phoenix, which lived on like the 
 first, to transfigurate or reproduce itself again in time. 
 
 There were still other symbolic representatives of Deity among 
 them, Rameses II. being also called Apis, and represented as an 
 ox or a bull; while Ramesis III. was called Osiris, and repre- 
 sented as a dog — the ox or bull, as the attribute of patience, en- 
 durance, and strength ; the dog, as faithfulness and watchfulness. 
 
 Is it not clear that much of the philosophy of our theology 
 was borrowed from their mythology? Whence the " great white 
 throne" upon which God sits; the "golden pavement," the 
 "thunders" of his wrath, "Behold the Lamb of God," " Our 
 God is a consuming fire," " No man can look upon God and live," 
 "A self-creating God," with numerous kindred quotations which 
 might be made from the Scriptures? 
 
 The Africans, as is well known, were great herdsmen ; a great 
 part of their wealth and available currency consisting in their live 
 stock; every family, however limited their circumstances, having 
 a flock of sheep or goats, and both more or less ; this running 
 through to the present day, where, in recent travels on that con- 
 tinent, the writer met, in the first large city, a dairyman, who, 
 every morning, milked eighty cows, and farther in the interior, 
 towards Soudan, the dairy which supplied him every morning 
 milked two hundred cows. And among the higher families, 
 as nobles, chiefs, and princes, from five to ten thousand 
 21 
 
322 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 head, the property of one person or family, is commonly met 
 with. Dr. Livingstone speaks of meeting with kings, even 
 in that least civilized interior region of his explorations, who 
 possessed as many as forty thousand cattle. These herds are 
 watched by faithful attendants, — men when large, or women 
 when small, with the indispensable shepherd dog, which is gen- 
 erally black. In speaking of the riches of Job, the man of Uz, 
 the Scriptures tell us that his cattle were ona" thousand hills." 
 
 Can it not be conceived that the God who was thus bountiful 
 in bestowing such wealth might be symbolized by the property 
 itself and the means of its protection? Hence Jupiter Ammon 
 or Rameses I., as a ram or sheep; Sesostris, or Rameses II., 
 as a bull or ox — Apis ; Osiris or Rameses III. as dog or 
 jackal. 
 
 There was also another beautiful symbolic personification in 
 this — three persons in one. For it is a striking and remarkable 
 fact, as must be noticed by all antiquarians, that these three per- 
 sons inseparably appear, both by inscription and in statuary — 
 Rameses, Sesostris, Osiris — sheep, ox, dog. Here are inno- 
 cence, patience, faith, and charity or love, as none so loving as a 
 dog. And how typical of the true African character ! 
 
 It was shown that the authors of this beautiful and pure re- 
 ligious doctrine were black. This will not be disputed, when it 
 is remembered that Moses took one of the daughters of Jethro, 
 prince and priest of Midian, to wife, and the Scriptures inform 
 us that she was an "Ethiopian woman;" Aaron and Miriam, 
 the brother and sister of Moses, entering into strife with him 
 about it. Not, as it is concluded by modern civilization, because 
 she was black, but because she was identical with 'their oppress- 
 ors and recent masters the objection was made. 
 
 It is very evident that the highest conception of the Jewish 
 religion is that which was borrowed from Africa during the 
 Israelitish bondage in Egypt, transmitted through them to the 
 present, and devoloped in the metaphysical theology of the age. 
 
 And it will not do to call this " mummery," since later, in 
 June, 1867, the President of the United States took part in the 
 consecration of a hall, erected in part to the perpetuation of this 
 African symbolic philosophy and religion. 
 
Policy of the Would to the Afiucan. 323 
 
 The capital city of this great people in Africa was Thebais, 
 commonly called Thebes, supposed to contain two millions of 
 inhabitants, surrounded by a wall with one hundred gates, 
 twenty-five at each point of the compass. On the occasion of 
 his Asiatic conquest, Sesostris, or Rameses II., went out of the 
 city with ten thousand infantry and two hundred chariots, with 
 charioteers armed for war, from each gate at one time, having an 
 aggregate of one million two hundred thousand warriors. The 
 conquest of this proud and mighty prince was carried to the 
 banks of the .River Indus, conquering every nation as he passed; 
 where he set his memorable pillars, with the peculiar inscription, 
 " Sesostris, the king of kings, has conquered the world to the 
 banks of the Indus ; " when he evacuated the country, and re- 
 turned to his own, having vindicated the prestige and dignity of 
 his name. 
 
 Who were the builders of the everlasting pyramids, cata- 
 combs, and sculptors of the sphinxes ? Were they Europeans 
 or Caucasians, Asiatics or Mongolians ? Will it be at once con- 
 ceded that the authors of the symbolic mythology and hiero- 
 glyphic science are identical? Upon this point there is but one 
 opinion. The inventors or authors of the one were the builders 
 or architects of the other. 
 
 Among what race of men, and what country of the globe, do 
 we find traces of these singular productions, but the African and 
 Africa? None whatever. It is in Africa the pyramids, sphinxes, 
 and catacombs are found ; here the hieroglyphics still remain. 
 Among the living Africans traces of their beautiful philosophy 
 and symbolic mythology still exist. In the interior their archi- 
 tecture and hieroglyphics are still the subjects of their art. ' 
 Through all time the arts of a people have been among the 
 clearest evidences of identity. 
 
 Asia has her several peculiar orders of architecture, the Chi- 
 nese and Japan being identical; that among the Hindoos the 
 type of the others. Europe has her Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corin- 
 thian, and Composite, with Gothic, and other modifications of 
 modern orders. 
 
 If the originators and builders of the pyramids and sphinxes 
 had been Asiatics, is it not certain that the same architecture 
 
324 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 would have been found in Asia? of Europeans, in Europe? 
 There is nothing more certain than it would ; and the entire 
 absence of all traces of the purely African architecture, arts, 
 and symbolic religion and mythology among other races and in 
 other countries than the Africans and Africa, makes it simply 
 preposterous for the white race to claim these as productions of 
 their own. 
 
 Would the Asiatic or the European, who had erected the archi- 
 tectural monuments in Africa, have lost their arts ? Would 
 they not have originated another as they returned to their original 
 homes ? Do the fixed, especially original, arts of a people leave 
 them simply by a change of countries ? Certainly not ; as among 
 the greatest advantages to be gained by emigration is the arts 
 that are taken by the people to a country. And had the archi- 
 tectures of Africa been an importation, originated by or among 
 any other people than themselves, is it not one of the most 
 striking known to history by ages of experience, that it would 
 have been found in some other country among the descendants 
 of the originators and authors, and not been found in Africa 
 alone, and peculiar to the African race? Were they Persians 
 who had succeeded by conquest in Africa? Were they Greeks 
 under Alexander? Were they Greeks and Romans who made 
 their advent into Egypt with Antony ? or those who fled in dis- 
 may under Pompey, after the famous defeat of Pharsalia? or 
 Jews under tetrarch governments ? Certainly not ; as all of 
 them, from the Persian to the Jewish advent, found these arts 
 and sciences there. And is it not known to history that Egypt 
 was the " cradle of the earliest civilization," propagating the 
 arts and sciences, when the Grecians were an uncivilized peo- 
 ple, covering their persons with skins and clothing, anterior to 
 the existence of the she-wolf with Romulus the founder of 
 Rome? 
 
 On the invasion of the Saracens, A. C. 146 years, the African 
 library, known as the "Alexandrian Museum," was known to 
 contain in manuscript seven hundred thousand volumes. The 
 secretiveness of the Africans was a matter of history for ages 
 known to the world, their arts and sciences being held as sacred, 
 and propagated with the greatest caution. The kings and priests 
 
Policy of the World to the African. 825 
 
 were the first recipients ; the nobles and gentlemen the other. 
 All Egypt and Ethiopia regarded this library as the " hope and 
 expectation " of their countries. 
 
 The value of the collection will be estimated by remem- 
 brance of its age and manner of obtaining, printing then being 
 unknown to the world. The age of the library, from its first 
 collections, was coequal with the first dawn of science among 
 them. 
 
 And had this immense fountain of knowledge been transmitted 
 to posterity, the African would have had a history and a name. 
 And I repeat, with emphasis, that the loss of the African library 
 was a catastrophe unequalled in the age of the world, as bearing 
 on the destiny of a people and a race. 
 
 But the "Museum" was made the centre of attraction; the 
 Saracen invaders surrounded the stupendous edifice ; orders were 
 given that not a relic be preserved ; the flambeau was the weapon 
 of attack ; assault and fire was the command, — when the accumu- 
 lated literature, art and science, of four thousand years' collec- 
 tion, sent fire and smoke towards the heavens, more destructive 
 in its consequences than the world had ever before witnessed ! 
 The African library, the depository of the earliest germs of 
 social, civil, political, and national progress, the concentrated 
 wisdom of ages, stood in flames ! Fourteen days burning, the 
 building in ruins, and the light of science and civilization, for 
 generations, was extinguished, and Africa became a prey to 
 avarice, imposture, and oppression ! 
 
 So enlightened, polished, and humane were this race, that 
 after the birth of Jesus, subsequent to the downfall of Egypt by 
 the Saracens, the "warning of the Lord to Joseph" was to 
 take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be 
 thou there until they are all dead who seek the child's life. Nor 
 can it be denied that the African race were that which the 
 " Spirit of the Lord" meant, because, notwithstanding Saracen 
 subjugation in Egypt, the African polity, civilization, and human- 
 ity still prevailed. Besides, it is a historically known fact that 
 Greeks and Jews were with the Romans in government and sen- 
 timents against this Messiah, the promised king of the Jews ; all 
 conspiring for his deposition in the event of his coming. It will 
 
326 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 also be remembered that after the crucifixion and ascension, that 
 Africa was the only country which held prestige enough to send 
 a national representative to "Jerusalem to worship " under the 
 Christian doctrine, as propagated by the scattered and terror- 
 stricken apostles ; the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of great au- 
 thority, and chief lord of her majesty, Queen Candace's, royal 
 treasury. 
 
 One word more, and I close a review already too elaborate ; 
 but driven by necessity to the defence of my raee, duty compelled 
 me to the point where I cease. Would any other race than the 
 African, in the symbolical statues of the sphinxes, have placed 
 the great head of a negro woman on the majestic body of a lion, 
 as an ideal representation of their genius ? 
 
 If it be the " glory of the white race to know that they have 
 had these qualifications in sufficient measure to build upon this 
 continent a great political fabric," it is also the glory of the 
 black race to know that they have had these qualities in sufficient 
 measure to build a great political fabric long before the whites, 
 imparting to them the first germs of civilization, and enlighten- 
 ing the world by their wisdom. And the most momentous, ex- 
 traordinary international conspiracy against the African race, 
 which this memento commenced to expose, has never been by 
 convention annulled nor abrogated, and, therefore, still stands 
 optional with either party to continue or withdraw ; it is fondly 
 and confidently hoped will not be encouraged nor induced to 
 continue by an equally extraordinary, if not momentous, official 
 denunciation against that race, from the executive of one of the 
 most powerful nations existing on this globe. 
 
 And in behalf of my race, once proud, polished, and elevated, 
 — at the feet of whose philosophers the learned and eminent of 
 the world sought wisdom, as did "Herodotus, the father of his- 
 tory," and others, — may I fbndly hope that another generation 
 will not pass away till Africa, in and by her own legitimate chil- 
 dren, gives evidence of a national regeneration, breathing forth 
 with fervid and holy aspirations in the religious sentiments of 
 her native heart and beautiful words of one of her own native 
 languages: Bi-Olorum Pellu — "the Lord has been merciful 
 to us." 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 327 
 
 And in behalf of my emancipated brethren in America, may 
 the blessings of that God, whose signal promise must and will 
 be fulfilled, despite political official anathema, rest upon the 
 devoted head and in the holy heart of the most eminent prelate, 
 Father Felix, Archbishop of Orleans in France. 
 
 Political Destiny of the Colored Race on the 
 American Continent. 
 
 To the Colored Inhabitants of the United States : — 
 
 Fellow-Countrymen : The duty assigned us is an important 
 one, comprehending all that pertains to our destiny and that of 
 our posterity, present and prospectively. And while it must be 
 admitted that the subject is one of the greatest magnitude, re- 
 quiring all that talents, prudence, and wisdom might adduce, and 
 while it would be folly to pretend to give you the combined result 
 of these three agencies, we shall satisfy ourselves with doing our 
 duty to the best of our ability, and that in the plainest, most 
 simple, and comprehensive manner. 
 
 Our object, then, shall be to place before you our true position 
 in this country (the United States), the improbability of realizing 
 our desires, and the sure, practicable, and infallible remedy for 
 the evils we now endure. 
 
 We have not addressed you as citizens, — a term desired and 
 ever cherished by us, — because such you have never been. We 
 have not addressed you as freemen, because such privileges have 
 never been enjoyed by any colored man in the United States, 
 Why, then, should we flatter your credulity, by inducing you to 
 believe that which neither has now, nor never before had, an ex- 
 istence ? Our oppressors are ever gratified at our manifest satis- 
 faction, especially when that satisfaction is founded upon false 
 premises ; an assumption on our part of the enjoyment of rights 
 and privileges which never have been conceded, and which, ac- 
 cording to the present system of the United States policy, we 
 never can enjoy. 
 
 The political policy of this country was solely borrowed from, 
 and shaped and modelled after, that of Rome. This was strikingly 
 
328 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the case in the establishment of immunities, and the application 
 of terms in their civil and legal regulations. 
 
 The term citizen, politically considered, is derived from the 
 Roman definition, which was never applied in any other sense — 
 cives ingenui ; which meant, one exempt from restraint of any 
 kind. {Cives, a citizen; one who might enjoy the highest hon- 
 ors in his own free town, — the town in which he lived, — and in 
 the country or commonwealth ; and ingenui, freeborn — of good 
 extraction.) All who were deprived of citizenship — that is, 
 the right of enjoying positions of honor and trust — were termed 
 hostes and peregrini ; which are public and private enemies, and 
 foreigners, or aliens to the country. (Hostis, a public, and 
 sometimes private, enemy; and peregrinus, an alien, stranger, 
 or foreigner.) 
 
 The Romans, from a national pride, to distinguish their in- 
 habitants from those of other countries, termed them all " citi- 
 zens," but, consequently, were under the necessity of specifying 
 four classes of citizens : none but the cives ingenui being unre- 
 stricted in their privileges. There was one class, called the jus 
 quiritium, or the wailing or supplicating citizen ; that is, one 
 who was continually moaning, complaining, or crying for aid 
 or succor. This class might also include within themselves the 
 jus suffragii, who had the privilege of voting, but no other 
 privilege. They could vote for one of their superiors — the cives 
 ingenui — but not for themselves. 
 
 Such, then, is the condition, precisely, of the black and colored 
 inhabitants of the United States; in some of the states they an- 
 swering to the latter class, having the privilege of voting, to ele- 
 vate their superiors to positions to which they need never dare 
 aspire or even hope to attain. 
 
 There has, of late years, been a false impression obtained, that 
 the privilege of voting constitutes, or necessarily embodies, the 
 rights of citizenship. A more radical error never obtained favor 
 among an oppressed people. Suffrage is an ambiguous term, 
 which admits of several definitions. But according to strict 
 political construction, means simply " a vote, voice, approba- 
 tion." Here, then, you have the whole import of the term suf- 
 frage. To have the "right of suffrage," as we rather proudly 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 329 
 
 term it, is simply to have the privilege — there is no right about 
 it — of giving our appfobation to that which our rulers may do, 
 without the privilege, on our part, of doing the same thing. 
 Where such privileges are granted — privileges which are now 
 exercised in but few of the states by colored men — we have but 
 the privilege granted of saying, in common with others, who 
 shall, for the time being, exercise rights, which, in him, are con- 
 ceded to be inherent and inviolate : like the indented apprentice, 
 who is summoned to give his approbation to an act which would 
 be fully binding without his concurrence. Where there is no ac- 
 knowledged sovereignty, there can be no binding power ; hence, 
 the suffrage of the black man, independently of the white, would 
 be in this country unavailable. 
 
 Much might be adduced on this point to prove the insignificance 
 of the black man, politically considered, in this country, but we 
 deem it wholly unnecessary at present, and consequently pro- 
 ceed at once to consider another feature of this important 
 subject. 
 
 Let it then be understood, as a great principle of political 
 economy, that no people can be free who themselves do not 
 constitute an essential part of the riding element of the country 
 in which they live. Whether this element be founded upon a 
 true or false, a just or an unjust basis, this position in commu- 
 nity is necessary to personal safety. The liberty of no man is 
 secure who controls not his own political destiny. What is true 
 of an individual is true of a family, and that which is true of a 
 family is also true concerning a whole people. To suppose 
 otherwise, is that delusion which at once induces its victim, 
 through a period of long suffering, patiently to submit to every 
 species of wrong ; trusting against probability, and hoping against 
 all reasonable grounds of expectation, for the granting of privi- 
 leges and enjoyment of rights which never will be attained. 
 This delusion reveals the true secret of the power which holds 
 in peaceable subjection all the oppressed in every part of the 
 world. 
 
 A people, to be free, must necessarily be their own riders ; 
 that is, each individual must, in himself, embody the essential 
 ingredient — so to speak — of the sovereign principle which com- 
 
380 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 poses the true basis of his liberty. This principle, when not ex- 
 ercised by himself, may, at his pleasure, be delegated to another 
 — hia true representative. 
 
 Said a great French writer, " A free agent, in a free govern- 
 ment, should be his own governor ; " that is, he must possess 
 within himself the acknowledged right to govern : this constitutes 
 him a governor, though he may delegate to another the power to 
 govern himself. 
 
 No one, then, can delegate to another a power he never pos- 
 sessed ; that is, he cannot give an agency in that which he never 
 had a right. Consequently, the colored man in the United States, 
 being deprived of the right of inherent sovereignty, cannot confer 
 a franchise, because he possesses none to confer. Therefore, 
 where there is no franchise, there can neither be freedom nor 
 safety for the disfranchised. And it is a futile hope to suppose 
 that the agent of another's concerns will take a proper interest 
 in the affairs of those to whom he is under no obligations. Having 
 no favors to ask or expect, he therefore has hone to lose. 
 
 In other periods and parts of the world, as in Europe and 
 Asia, the people being of one common, direct origin of race, 
 though established on the presumption of difference by birth, or 
 what was termed blood, yet the distinction between the superior 
 classes and common people could only be- marked by the differ- 
 ence in the dress and education of the two. classes. To effect 
 this, the interposition of government was necessary ; consequent- 
 ly the costume and education of the people became a subject of 
 legal restriction, guarding carefully against the privileges of the 
 common people. 
 
 In Rome the patrician and plebeian were orders in the ranks 
 of her people — all of whom were termed citizens (cives) — rec- 
 ognized by the laws of the country ; their dress and education 
 being determined by law, the better to fix the distinction. In 
 different parts of Europe, at the present day, if not the same, 
 the distinction among the people is similar, only on a modified, 
 and in some kingdoms, probably more tolerant or deceptive 
 policy. 
 
 In the United States our degradation being once — as it has in 
 a hundred instances been done — legally determined, our color 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 331 
 
 is sufficient, independently of costume, education, or other dis- 
 tinguishing marks, to keep up that distinction. 
 
 In Europe when an inferior is elevated to the rank of equality 
 with the superior class, the law first comes to his aid, which, in 
 its decrees, entirely destroys his identity as an inferior, leaving 
 no trace of his former condition visihle. 
 
 In the United States, among the whites, their color is made, hy 
 law and custom, the mark of distinction and superiority ; while 
 the color of the blacks is a badge of degradation, acknowledged 
 by statute, organic law, and the common consent of the people. 
 
 With this view of the case, — which we hold to be correct, — 
 to elevate to equality the degraded subject of law and custom, it 
 can only be done, as in Europe, by an entire destruction of the 
 identity of the former condition of the applicant. Even were 
 this desirable, which we by no means admit, with the deep-seat- 
 ed prejudices engendered by oppression, with which we have to 
 contend, ages incalculable might reasonably be expected to roll 
 around before this could honorably be accomplished ; otherwise, 
 we should encourage, and at once commence, an indiscriminate 
 concubinage and immoral commerce of our mothers, sisters, 
 wives, and daughters, revolting to think of, and a physical curse 
 to humanity. 
 
 If this state of things be to succeed, then, as in Egypt, under 
 the dread of the inscrutable approach of the destroying angel, to 
 appease the hatred of our oppressors, as a license to the passions 
 of every white, let the lintel of each door of every black man be 
 stained with the blood of virgin purity and unsullied matron 
 fidelity. Let it be written along the cornice in capitals, " The 
 will of the white man is the rule of my household." Remove 
 the protection to our chambers and nurseries, that the places 
 once sacred may henceforth become the unrestrained resort of 
 the vagrant and rabble, always provided that the licensed com- 
 missioner of lust shall wear the indisputable impress of a white 
 skin. 
 
 But we have fully discovered and comprehended the great 
 political disease with which we are affected, the cause of its ori- 
 gin and continuance ; and what is now left for us to do is to dis- 
 cover and apply a sovereign remedy, a healing balm to a sorely 
 
332 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 diseased body — a -wrecked but not entirely shattered system. 
 We propose for this disease a remedy. That remedy is emigra- 
 tion. This emigration should be well advised, and like remedies 
 applied to remove the disease from the physical system of man, 
 skilfully and carefully applied, within the proper time, directed 
 to operate on that part of the system whose greatest tendency 
 shall be to benefit the whole. 
 
 Several geographical localities have been named, among which 
 rank the Canadas. These we do not object to as places of tem- 
 porary relief, especially to the fleeing fugitive, — which, like a 
 palliative, soothes, for the time being, the misery, — but cannot 
 commend them as permanent places upon which to fix our des- 
 tiny, and that of our children, who shall come after us. But in 
 this connection we would most earnestly recommend to the col- 
 ored people of the United States generally, to secure, by purchase, 
 all of the land they possibly can while selling at low rates, un- 
 der the British people and government; as that time may come, 
 when, like the lands in the United States territories generally, 
 if not as in Oregon and some other territories and states, they 
 may be prevented entirely from settling or purchasing them, — 
 the preference being given to the white applicant. 
 
 And here we would not deceive you by disguising the facts 
 that, according to political tendency, the Canadas, as all British 
 America, at no very distant day, are destined to come into the 
 United States. 
 
 And were this not the case, the odds are against us, because 
 the ruling element there, as in the United States, is, and ever 
 must be, white ; the population now standing, in all British 
 America, two and a half millions of whites to but forty thousand 
 of the black race, or sixty-one and a fraction whites to one 
 black ! — the difference being eleven times greater than in the 
 United States, — so that colored people might never hope for 
 anything more than to exist politically by mere sufferance ; occu- 
 pying a secondary position to the whites of the Canadas. The 
 Yankees from this side of the lakes are fast settling in the Can- 
 adas, infusing, with industrious success, all the malignity and 
 negro-hate inseparable from their very being, as Christian dem- 
 ocrats and American advocates of equality. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 333 
 
 Then, to be successful, our attention must be turned in a 
 direction towards those places where the black and colored man 
 comprise, by population, and constitute by necessity of numbers, 
 the riding element of the body politic ; and where, when, occa- 
 sion shall require it, the issue can be made and maintained on 
 this basis ; where our political enclosure and national edifice 
 can be reared, established, walled, and proudly defended on this 
 great elementary principle of original identity. Upon this solid 
 foundation rests the fabric of every substantial political structure 
 in the world, which cannot exist without it; and so soon as a 
 people or nation lose their original identity, just so soon must 
 that nation or people become extinct. Powerful though they 
 may have been, they must fall. Because the nucleus which 
 heretofore held them together, becoming extinct, there being no 
 longer a centre of attraction, or basis for a union of the parts, a 
 dissolution must as naturally ensue as the result of the neutrality 
 of the basis of adhesion among the particles of matter. 
 
 This is the secret of the eventful downfall of Egypt, Carthage, 
 Rome, and the former Grecian states, once so powerful — a loss 
 of original identity ; and with it, a loss of interest in maintaining 
 their fundamental principles of nationality. 
 
 This, also, is the great secret of the present strength of Great 
 Britain, Russia, the United States, and Turkey; and the endur- 
 ance of the French nation, whatever its strength and power, is 
 attributable only to their identity as Frenchmen. 
 
 And doubtless the downfall of Hungary, brave and noble as 
 may be her people, is mainly to be attributed to the want of iden- 
 tity of origin, and, consequently, a union of interests and pur- 
 pose. This fact it might not have been expected would be ad* 
 mitted by the great Sclave in his thrilling pleas for the restoration 
 of Hungary, when asking aid, both national and individual, to en- 
 able him to throw off the ponderous weight placed upon their 
 shoulders by the House of Hapsburg. 
 
 Hungary consisted of three distinct " races " — as they called 
 themselves — of people, all priding in, and claiming rights based 
 on, their originality, — the Magyars, Celts, and Sclaves. On 
 the encroachment of Austria, each one of these races, declaring 
 for nationality, rose up against the House of Hapsburg, claiming 
 
334 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the right of self-government, premised on their origin. Between 
 the three a compromise was effected; the Magyars, being the 
 majority, claimed the precedence. They made an effort, but for 
 the want of a unity of interests — an identity of origin — the 
 noble Hungarians failed. All know the result. 
 
 Nor is this the only important consideration. Were we con- 
 tent to remain as we are, sparsely interspersed among our white 
 fellow-countrymen, we never might be expected to equal them 
 in any honorable or respectable competition for a livelihood. 
 For the reason that, according to the customs and policy of the 
 country, we for ages would be kept in a secondary position, 
 every situation of respectability, honor, profit, or trust, either as 
 mechanics, clerks, teachers, jurors, councilmen, or legislators, 
 being filled by white men, consequently our energies must be- 
 come paralyzed or enervated for the want of proper encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 This example upon our children, and the colored people gen- 
 erally, is pernicious and degrading in the extreme. And how 
 could it otherwise be, when they see every place of respectability 
 filled and occupied by the whites, they pandering to their vanity, 
 and existing among them merely as a thing of conveniency? 
 
 Our friends in this and other countries, anxious for our eleva- 
 tion, have for years been erroneously urging us to lose our iden- 
 tity as a distinct race, declaring that we were the same as other 
 people ; while at the very same time their own representative 
 was traversing the world, and propagating the doctrine in favor 
 of a universal Anglo-Saxon ■predominance. The "universal 
 brotherhood," so ably and eloquently advocated by that Polyglot 
 Christian Apostle * of this doctrine, had established as its basis 
 a universal acknowledgment of the Anglo-Saxon rule. 
 
 The truth is, we are not identical with the Anglo-Saxon, or any 
 other race of the Caucasian or pure white type of the human 
 family, and the sooner we know and acknowledge this truth the 
 better for ourselves and posterity. 
 
 The English, French, Irish, German, Italian, Turk, Persian, 
 Greek, Jew, and all other races, have their native or inherent 
 
 * Elihu Burritt. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 335 
 
 peculiarities, and why not our race? We are not willing, there- 
 fore, at all times and under all circumstances to be moulded into 
 various shapes of eccentricity, to suit the caprices and conven- 
 iences of every kind of people. We are not more suitable to 
 everybody than everybody is suitable to us ; therefore, no more 
 like other people than others are like us. 
 
 We have, then, inherent traits, attributes, so to speak, and 
 native characteristics, peculiar to our race, whether pure or 
 mixed blood ; and all that is required of us is to cultivate these, 
 and develop them in their purity, to make them desirable and 
 emulated by the rest of the world. 
 
 That the colored races have the highest traits of civilization, 
 will not be disputed. They are civil, peaceable, and religious to 
 a fault. In mathematics, sculpture and architecture, as arts 
 and sciences, commerce and internal improvements as enter- 
 prises, the white race may probably excel; but in languages, 
 oratory, poetry, music, and painting, as arts and sciences, and in 
 ethics, metaphysics, theology, and legal jurisprudence, — in plain 
 language, in the true principles of morals, correctness of thought, 
 religion, and law or civil government, there is no doubt but the 
 black race will yet instruct the world. 
 
 It would be duplicity longer to disguise the fact that the great 
 issue, sooner or later, upon which must be disputed the world's 
 destiny, will be a question of black and white, and every indi- 
 vidual will be called upon for his identity with one or the other. 
 The blacks and colored races are four sixths of all the popula- 
 tion of the world ; and these people are fast tending to a com- 
 mon cause with each other. The white races are but one third 
 of the population of the globe, — or one of them to two of us, — 
 and it cannot much longer continue that two thirds will passive- 
 ly submit to the universal domination of this one third. And it 
 is notorious that the only progress made in territorial domain, in 
 the last three centuries, by the whites, has been a usurpation 
 and encroachment on the rights and native soil of some of the 
 colored races. 
 
 The East Indies, Java, Sumatra, the Azores, Madeira, Ca- 
 nary, and Cape Verde Islands ; Socotra, Guardifui, and the Isle 
 of France; Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Barca, and Egypt in the 
 
336 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 North, Sierra Leone in the West, and Cape Colony in the South 
 of Africa; besides many other islands and possessions not herein 
 named; Australia, the Ladrone Islands, together with many 
 others of Oceanica ; the seizure and appropriation of a great por- 
 tion of the Western Continent, with all its islands, were so many 
 encroachments of the whites upon the rights of the colored races. 
 Nor are they yet content, but, intoxicated with the success of 
 their career, the Sandwich Islands are now marked out as the 
 next booty to be seized in the ravages of their exterminating 
 crusade. 
 
 We regret the necessity of stating the fact, but duty compels 
 us to the task, that, for more than two thousand years, the deter- 
 mined aim of the whites has been to crush the colored races 
 wherever found. With a determined will they have sought and 
 pursued them in every quarter of the globe. The Anglo-Saxon 
 has taken the lead in this work of universal subjugation. But 
 the Anglo-American stands preeminent for deeds of injustice 
 and acts of oppression, unparalleled, perhaps, in the annals of 
 modern history. 
 
 We admit the existence of great and good people in America, 
 England, France, and the rest of Europe, who desire a unity 
 of interests among the whole human family, of whatever origin 
 or race. 
 
 But it is neither the moralist, Christian, nor philanthropist 
 whom we now have to meet and combat, but the politician, the 
 civil engineer, and skilful economist, who direct and control the 
 machinery which moves forward, with mighty impulse, the na- 
 tions and powers of the earth. We must, therefore, if possible, 
 meet them on vantage ground, or, at least, with adequate means 
 for the conflict. 
 
 Should we encounter an enemy with artillery, a prayer will 
 not stay the cannon shot, neither will the kind words nor smiles 
 of philanthropy shield his spear from piercing us through the 
 heart. We must meet mankind, then, as they meet us — pre- 
 pared for the worst, though we may hope for the best. Our sub- 
 mission does not gain for us an increase of friends nor respecta- 
 bility, as the white race will only respect those who oppose their 
 usurpation, and acknowledge as equals those who will not 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 337 
 
 submit to their oppression. This may be no new discovery in 
 political economy, but it certainly is a subject worthy the con- 
 sideration of the black race. 
 
 After a due consideration of these facts, as herein recounted, 
 shall we stand still and continue inactive — the passive observers 
 of the great events of the times and age in which we live ; sub- 
 mitting indifferently to the usurpation by the white race of every 
 right belonging to the blacks? Shall the last vestige of an 
 opportunity, outside of the continent of Africa, for the national 
 development of our race, be permitted, in consequence of our 
 slothfulness, to elude our grasp, and fall into the possession of 
 the whites ? This, may Heaven forbid. May the sturdy, intelli- 
 gent Africo-American sons of the Western Continent forbid. 
 
 Longer to remain inactive, it should be borne in mind, may be 
 to give an opportunity to despoil us of every right and posses- 
 sion sacred to our existence, with which God has endowed us as 
 a heritage on the earth. For let it not be forgotten that the 
 white race — who numbers but one of them to two of us — origi- 
 nally located in Europe, besides possessing all of that continent, 
 have now got hold of a large portion of Asia, Africa, all North 
 America, a portion of South America, and all of the great islands 
 of both hemispheres, except Paupau, or New Guinea, inhabited 
 by negroes and Malays, in Oceanica; the Japanese Islands, peo- 
 pled and ruled by the Japanese ; Madagascar, peopled by negroes, 
 near the coast of Africa ; and the Island of Hayti, in the West 
 Indies, peopled by as brave and noble descendants of Africa as 
 they who laid the foundation of Thebias, or constructed the 
 everlasting pyramids and catacombs of Egypt, — a people who 
 have freed themselves by the might of their own will, the force 
 of their own power, the unfailing strength of their own right 
 arms, and their unflinching determination to be free. 
 
 Let us, then, not survive the disgrace and ordeal of Almighty 
 displeasure, of two to one, witnessing the universal possession 
 and control by the whites of every habitable portion of the earth. 
 For such must inevitably be the case, and that, too, at no dis- 
 tant day, if black men do not take advantage of the opportunity, 
 by grasping hold of those places where chance is in their favor, 
 and establishing the rights and power of the colored race. 
 22 
 
338 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 We must make an issue, create an event, and establish for 
 ourselves a position. This is essentially necessary for our 
 effective elevation as a people, in shaping our national develop- 
 ment, directing our destiny, and redeeming ourselves as a race. 
 
 If we but determine it shall be so, it will be so ; and there is 
 nothing under the sun can prevent it. We shall then be but in 
 pursuit of our legitimate claims to inherent rights, bequeathed to 
 us by the will of Heaven — the endowment of God, our common 
 Parent. A distinguished economist has truly said, "God has 
 implanted in man an infinite progression in the career of im- 
 provement. A soul capacitated for improvement ought not to be 
 bounded by a tyrant's landmarks." This sentiment is just and 
 true, the application of which to our case is adapted with singu- 
 lar fitness. 
 
 Having glanced hastily at our present political position in the 
 world generally, and the United States in particular, — the fun- 
 damental disadvantages under which we exist, and the improba- 
 bility of ever attaining citizenship and equality of rights in this 
 country, — we call your attention next to the places of destina- 
 tion to which we shall direct emigration. 
 
 The West Indies, Central and South America, are the coun- 
 tries of our choice, the advantages of which shall be made ap- 
 parent to your entire satisfaction. Though we have designated 
 them as countries, they are, in fact, but one country, relatively 
 considered, apart of this, the Western Continent. As now politi- 
 cally divided, they consist of the following classification, each 
 group or division placed under its proper national head : — 
 
 The French Islands. 
 
 Square miles. Population in 1840. 
 
 124,000 
 . 119,000 
 
 6,000 
 . 11,500 
 
 1,500 
 
 Guadeloupe, 
 
 . 675 
 
 Martinico, 
 
 260 
 
 St. Martin, N. part, 
 
 . 15 
 
 Mariegalente, 
 
 90 
 
 Deseada, . » 
 
 . 25 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 
 
 339 
 
 
 Danish Islands. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Square miles. 
 
 Population in 1840, 
 
 Santa Cruz, . 
 
 . 
 
 . 80 
 
 . . 
 
 34,000 
 
 St. Thomas, 
 
 . 
 
 50 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 15,000 
 
 St. John, 
 
 • 
 
 . 70 
 Swedish. 
 
 • • 
 
 3,000 
 
 St. Bartholomew, 
 
 . 25 . 
 
 • 
 
 . 8,000 
 
 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 
 
 St. Eustatia, . 
 
 . 
 
 . 10 
 
 , 
 
 20,000 
 
 Curaeoa, 
 
 . 
 
 375 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 12,000 
 
 St. Martin, S. 
 
 part, 
 
 . 10 
 
 • • 
 
 5,000 
 
 Saha, . 
 
 * 
 
 20 . 
 Venezuela. 
 
 • 
 
 . 9,000 
 
 Margarita, 
 
 • 
 
 00 
 Spanish. 
 
 • 
 
 16,000 
 
 Cuba, 
 
 . 
 
 43,500 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 725,000 
 
 Porto Kico, 
 
 • 
 
 . 4,000 
 British. 
 
 • • 
 
 325,000 
 
 Jamaica, 
 
 . 
 
 5,520 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 375,000 
 
 Barbadoes, 
 
 . 
 
 164 
 
 . 
 
 102,000 
 
 Trinidad, 
 
 . 
 
 1,970 . 
 
 • 
 
 . 45,000 
 
 Antigua, 
 
 . 
 
 108 
 
 . . . 
 
 36,000 
 
 Grenada and the 
 
 
 
 
 Granadines, 
 
 . 
 
 . 120 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 29,000 
 
 St. Vincent, 
 
 . 
 
 121 
 
 . . 
 
 36,000 
 
 St. Kitts, 
 
 . 
 
 . 68 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 24,000 
 
 Dominica, 
 
 . 
 
 275 
 
 . 
 
 20,000 
 
 St. Lucia, 
 
 . 
 
 . 275 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 18,000 
 
 Tobago, . 
 
 . 
 
 120 
 
 . 
 
 14,000 
 
 Nevis, . 
 
 . 
 
 . 20 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 12,000 
 
 Montserrat, 
 
 . 
 
 47 
 
 • • 
 
 8,000 
 
 Tortola, 
 
 . 
 
 . 20 . 
 
 . 
 
 . 7,000 
 
340 
 
 Life op Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 British. (Continued.) 
 
 Square miles. Population in 1840. 
 
 Barbuda, . 
 
 72 
 
 0,000 
 
 Anguilla, 
 
 . 90 . 
 
 . 3,000 
 
 Bahamas, . 
 
 . 4,440 
 
 18,000 
 
 Bermudas, 
 
 . 20 . 
 Haytien Nation. 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 Hayti, 
 
 000 
 
 . 800,000 
 
 In addition to these there are a number of smaller islands, be- 
 longing to the Little Antilles, the area and population of which 
 are not known, many of them being unpopulated. 
 
 These islands, in the aggregate, form an area — allowing 
 40,000 square miles to Hayti and her adjunct islands, and some- 
 thing for those the statistics of which are unknown — of about 
 103,000, or equal in extent to Rhode Island, New York, New 
 Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and little less than the United King- 
 dom of England, Scotland, Ireland, and the principality of 
 Wales. 
 
 The population being, on the above date, 1840, 3,115,000 
 (three millions one hundred and fifteen thousand), and allowing 
 an increase of ten per cent, in ten years, on the entire population, 
 there are now 3,250,000 (three millions two hundred and fifty 
 thousand) inhabitants, who comprise the people of these islands. 
 
 Central America. 
 
 Guatemala, 
 San Salvador, 
 Honduras, 
 Costa Rica, 
 Nicaragua, 
 
 Population in 1840. 
 . 800,000 
 
 350,000 
 . 250,000 
 
 150,000 
 . 250,000 
 
 These consist of five states, as shown in the above statistics, the 
 united population of which, in 1840, amounted to 1,800,000 (one 
 million eight hundred thousand) inhabitants. The number at 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 
 
 341 
 
 present being estimated at 2,500,000 (two and a half millions), 
 shows in thirteen years, 700,000 (seven hundred thousand), be- 
 ing one third and one eighteenth of an increase in population. 
 
 South America. 
 
 
 Square miles. 
 
 Population in 1840 
 
 New Grenada, 
 
 . 450,000 
 
 . 1,687,000 
 
 Venezuela, . 
 
 420,000 . 
 
 900,000 
 
 Ecuador, 
 
 . 280,000 
 
 . 600,000 
 
 Guiana, 
 
 160,000 . 
 
 182,000 
 
 Brazil, 
 
 3,390,000 
 
 . 5,000,000 
 
 North Peru, 
 
 300,000 . 
 
 700,000 
 
 South Peru, . 
 
 . 130,000 
 
 . 800,000 
 
 Bolivia, 
 
 450,000 . 
 
 1,716,000 
 
 Buenos Ayres, 
 
 . 750,000 
 
 . 700,000 
 
 Paraguay, . 
 
 88,000 . 
 
 150,000 
 
 Uruguay, 
 
 . 92,000 
 
 75,000 
 
 Chili, . 
 
 170,000 . 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 Patagonia, 
 
 . 370,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 The total area of these states is 7,050,000 (seven millions and 
 fifty thousand) square miles ; but comparatively little (450,000 
 square miles) less than the whole area of North America, in 
 which we live. 
 
 But one state in South America, Brazil, is an abject slave- 
 holding state ; and even here all free men are socially and politi- 
 cally equal, negroes and colored men partly of African descent 
 holding offices of honor, trust, and rank, without restriction. In 
 the other states slavery is not known, all the inhabitants enjoying 
 political equality, restrictions on account of color being entirely 
 unknown, unless, indeed, necessity induces it, when, in all such 
 cases, the preference is given to the colored man, to put a check 
 to European assumption and insufferable Yankee intrusion and 
 impudence. 
 
 The aggregate population was 14,040,000 (fourteen millions 
 and forty thousand) in 1840. Allowing for thirteen years the 
 same ratio of increase as that of the Central American states, — 
 being one third (4,680,000), — and this gives at present a popu- 
 lation of 18,720,000 in South America. 
 
342 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Add to this the population of the Antilles and Guatemala, and 
 this gives a population in the West Indies, Central and South 
 America, of 24,470,000 (twenty-four millions four hundred and 
 seventy thousand) inhabitants. 
 
 But one seventh of this population, 3,495,714 (three millions 
 four hundred and ninety-five thousand seven hundred and four- 
 teen) being white, or of pure European extraction, there is a 
 population throughout this vast area of 20,974,286 (twenty mil- 
 lions nine hundred and seventy-four thousand two hundred and 
 eighty-six) colored persons, who constitute, from the immense 
 preponderance of their numbers, the riding element, as they ever 
 must be, of those countries. 
 
 There are no influences that could be brought to bear to change 
 this most fortunate and Heaven-designed state and condition of 
 things. Nature here has done her own work, which the art of 
 knaves nor the schemes of deep-designing political impostors 
 can ever reach. This is a fixed fact in the zodiac of the politi- 
 cal heavens, that the blacks and colored people are the stars 
 which must ever most conspicuously twinkle in the firmament 
 of this division of the Western Hemisphere. 
 
 We next invite your attention to a few facts, upon which we 
 predicate the claims of the black race, not only to the tropical 
 regions and south temperate zone of this hemisphere, but to the 
 whole continent, North as well as South. And here we desire it 
 distinctly to be understood, that, in the selection of our places 
 of destination, we do not advocate the southern scheme as 
 a concession, nor yet at the will nor desire of our North 
 American oppressors ; but as a policy by which we must be 
 the greatest political gainers, without the risk or possibility of 
 loss to ourselves. A gain by which the lever of political eleva- 
 tion and machinery of national progress must ever be held and 
 directed by our own hands and heads, to our own will and pur- 
 poses, in defiance of the obstructions which might be attempted 
 on the part of a dangerous and deep-designing oppressor. 
 
 From the year 1492, the discovery of Hispaniola, — the first 
 land discovered by Columbus in the New World, — to 1502, the 
 short space of ten years, such was the mortality among the na- 
 tives, that the Spaniards, then holding rule there, " began to 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 343 
 
 Qniploy a few " Africans in the mines of the island. The experi- 
 ment was effective — a successful one. The Indian and the 
 African were enslaved together, when the Indian sunk, and the 
 African stood. 
 
 It was not until June the 24th, of the year 1498, that the 
 continent was discovered by John Cabot, a Venetian, who sailed 
 in August of the previous year, 1497, from Bristol, under the 
 patronage of Henry VII., King of England. 
 
 In 1517, the short space of but fifteen years from the date of 
 their introduction, Carolus V., King of Spain, by right of a 
 patent, granted permission to a number of persons annually to 
 supply the islands of Hispatniola (St. Domingo), Cuba, Jamaica, 
 and Porto Rico with natives of Africa, to the number of four 
 thousand annually. John Hawkins, a mercenary Englishman, 
 was the first person known to engage in this general system of 
 debasing our race, and his royal mistress, Queen Elizabeth, 
 was engaged with him in interest, and shared the general 
 profits. 
 
 The Africans, on their advent into a foreign country, soon ex- 
 perienced the want of their accustomed food, and habits, and 
 manner of living. 
 
 The aborigines subsisted mainly by game and fish, with a few 
 patches of maize, or Indian corn, near their wigwams, which 
 were generally attended by the women, while the men were ab- 
 sent engaged in the chase, or at war with a hostile tribe. The 
 vegetables, grains, and fruits, such as in their native country 
 they had been accustomed to, were not to be obtained among the 
 aborigines, which first induced the African laborer to cultivate 
 "patches " of ground in the neighborhood of the mining opera- 
 tions, for the purpose of raising food for his own sustenance. 
 
 This trait in their character was observed and regarded with 
 considerable interest ; after which the Spaniards and other col- 
 onists, on contracting with the English slave dealers — Captain 
 Hawkins and others — for new supplies of slaves, were careful 
 to request that an adequate quantity of seeds and plants of vari- 
 ous kinds, indigenous to the continent of Africa, especially those 
 composing the staple products of the natives, be selected and 
 brought out with the slaves to the New World. Many of these 
 
344 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 were cultivated to a considerable extent, while those indigenous 
 to America were cultivated with great success. 
 
 Shortly after the commencement of the slave trade under 
 Elizabeth and Hawkins, the queen granted a license to Sir Walter 
 Raleigh to search for uninhabited lands, and seize upon all un- 
 occupied by Christians. Sir Walter discovered the coast of 
 North Carolina and Virginia, assigning the name " Virginia " to 
 the whole coast now comprising the old Thirteen States. 
 
 A feeble colony was here settled, which did not avail much, 
 and it was not until the month of April, 1607, that the first per- 
 manent settlement was made in Virginia, under the patronage 
 of letters patent from James I., King of England, to Thomas 
 Gates and associates. This was the first settlement of North 
 America, and thirteen years anterior to the landing of the Pil- 
 grims on Plymouth Rock. 
 
 And we shall now introduce to you, from acknowledged au- 
 thority, a number of historical extracts, to prove that previous 
 to the introduction of the black race upon this continent but 
 little enterprise of any kind was successfully carried on. The 
 African or negro was the first available contributor to the coun- 
 try, and consequently is by priority of right, and politically 
 should be, entitled to the highest claims of an eligible citizen. 
 
 " No permanent settlement was effected in what is now called 
 the United States, till the reign of James the Eirst." — Ramsay's 
 Hist. U. S., vol. i. p. 38. 
 
 "The month of April, 1607, is the epoch of the first perma- 
 nent settlement on the coast of Virginia, the name then given 
 to all that extent of country which forms thirteen states." — lb. 
 p. 39. 
 
 The whole coast of the country was at this time explored, 
 not for the purpose of trade and agriculture, — because there 
 were then no such enterprises in the country, the natives not 
 producing sufficient of the necessaries of life to supply present 
 wants, there being consequently nothing to trade for, — but, like 
 their Spanish and Portuguese predecessors, who occupied the 
 islands and different parts of South America, in search of gold 
 and other precious metals. 
 
 Trade and the cultivation of the soil, on coming to the New 
 World, were foreign to their intention or designs, consequently, 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 345 
 
 when failing of success in that enterprise, they were sadly dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 "At a time when the precious metals were conceived to be the 
 peculiar and only valuable productions of the New World, when 
 every mountain was supposed to contain a treasure and every 
 rivulet was searched for its golden sands, this appearance was 
 fondly considered as an infallible indication of the mine. Every 
 hand was eager to dig. . . . 
 
 "There was now," says Smith, "no talk, no hope, no work; 
 but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold. With this imaginary 
 wealth the first vessel returning to England was loaded, while 
 the culture of the land and every useful occupation was totally 
 neglected. 
 
 " The colonists thus left were in miserable circumstances for 
 want of provisions. The remainder of what they had brought 
 with them was so small in quantity as to be soon expended, and 
 so damaged in course of a long voyage as to be a source of 
 disease. 
 
 "... In their expectation of getting gold, the people were 
 disappointed, the glittering substance they had sent to England 
 proving to be a valueless mineral. Smith, on his return to 
 Jamestown, found the colony reduced to thirty-eight persons, 
 who, in despair, were preparing to abandon the country. He 
 employed caresses, threats, and even violence in order to pre- 
 vent them from executing this fatal resolution." — Ramsay's 
 Hist. U. S., pp. 45, 46. 
 
 The Pilgrims or Puritans, in November, 1620, after having 
 organized with solemn vows to the defence of each other, and 
 the maintenance of their civil liberty, made the harbor of Cape 
 Cod, landing safely on "Plymouth Eock" December 20th, 
 about one month subsequently. They were one hundred and 
 one in number, and from the toils and hardships consequent to 
 a severe season, in a strange country, in less than six months 
 after their arrival, " forty persons, nearly one half of their original 
 number," had died. 
 
 " In 1618, in the reign of James I., the British government 
 established a regular trade on the coast of Africa, In the year 
 1620 negro slaves began to be imported into Virginia, a Dutch 
 ship bringing twenty of them for sale." — Sampson's Historical 
 Dictionary, p. 348. 
 
 It will be seen by these historical reminiscences, that the 
 Dutch ship landed her cargo at New Bedford, Massachusetts, — - 
 
346 Life of Major M. R, Delany. 
 
 the whole coast, now comprising the old original states, then 
 went by the name of Virginia, being so named by Sir Walter 
 Ealeigh, in honor of his royal mistress and patron, Elizabeth, 
 the Virgin Queen of England, under whom he received the 
 patent of his royal commission, to seize all the lands unoccupied 
 by Christians. 
 
 Beginning their preparations in the slave trade in 1618, just 
 two years previous, — allowing time against the landing of the 
 first emigrants for successfully carrying out the project, — the 
 African captives and Puritan emigrants, singularly enough, 
 landed upon the same section of the continent at the same time 
 (1620), the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and the captive slaves at New 
 Bedford, but a few miles, comparatively, south. 
 
 " The country at this period was one vast wilderness. The 
 continent of North America was then one continued forest. . . . 
 There were no horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, or tame beasts of any 
 kind. . . . There were no domestic poultry. . . . There were 
 no gardens, orchards, public roads, meadows, or cultivated 
 fields. . . . They often burned the woods that they could ad- 
 vantageously plant their corn. . . . They had neither spice, 
 salt, bread, butter, cheese, nor milk. They had no set meals, 
 but eat when they were hungry, or could find anything to satisfy 
 the cravings of nature. Very little of their food was derived 
 from the earth, except what it spontaneously produced. . . . 
 The ground was both their seat and table. . . . Their best bed 
 was a skin. . . . They had neither iron, steel, nor any metallic 
 instruments." — Ramsay's Hist., pp. 39, 40. 
 
 We adduce not these extracts to disparage or detract from the 
 real worth of our brother Indian, — for we are identical as the 
 subjects of American wrongs, outrages, and oppression, and 
 therefore one in interest, — far be it from our designs. What- 
 ever opinion he may entertain of our race, — in accordance with 
 the impressions made by the contumely heaped upon us by our 
 mutual oppressor, the American nation, — we admire his, for 
 the many deeds of heroic and noble daring with which the brief 
 history of his liberty-loving people is replete. We sympathize 
 witli him, because our brethren are the successors of his in the 
 degradation of American bondage ; and we adduce them in evi- 
 dence against the many aspersions heaped upon the African 
 race, avowing that their inferiority to the other races, and unfit- 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 347 
 
 ness for a high civil and social position, caused them to be re- 
 duced to servitude. 
 
 For the purpose of proving their availability and eminent fit- 
 ness alone — not to say superiority, and not inferiority — first 
 suggested to Europeans the substitution of African for that of 
 Indian labor in the mines ; that their superior adaptation to the 
 difficulties consequent to a new country and different climate 
 made them preferable to Europeans themselves ; and their supe- 
 rior skill, industry, and general thriftiness in all that they did, 
 first suggested to the colonists the propriety of turning their at- 
 tention to agricultural and other industrial pursuits than those 
 of mining operations. 
 
 It is evident, from what has herein been adduced, — the settle- 
 ment of Captain John Smith being in the course of a few months 
 reduced to thirty-eight, and that of the Pilgrims at Plymouth 
 from one hundred and one to fifty-seven in six months, — that 
 the whites nor aborigines were equal to the hard, and to them 
 insurmountable, difficulties which then stood wide-spread before 
 them. 
 
 An endless forest, the impenetrable earth, — the one to be re- 
 moved, and the other to be excavated ; towns and cities to be 
 built, and farms to be cultivated, — all presented difficulties too 
 arduous for the European then here, and entirely unknown to 
 the native of the continent. 
 
 At a period such as this, when the natives themselves had 
 fallen victims to the tasks imposed upon them by the usurpers, 
 and the Europeans also were fast sinking beneath the influence 
 and weight of climate and hardships ; when food could not be 
 obtained, nor the common conveniences of life procured ; when 
 arduous duties of life were to be performed, and none capable 
 of doing them, save those who had previously, by their labors, 
 not only in their own country, but in the new, so proven them- 
 selves capable, it is very evident, as the most natural conse- 
 quence, the Africans were resorted to for the performance of 
 every duty common to domestic life. 
 
 There were no laborers known to the colonists, from Cape Cod 
 to Cape Lookout, than those of the African race. They entered 
 at once into the mines, extracting therefrom the rich treasures 
 
348 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 which for a thousand ages lay hidden in the earth ; when, plun- 
 ging into the depths of the rivers, they culled from their sandy 
 bottoms, to the astonishment of the natives and surprise of the 
 Europeans, minerals and precious stones, which added to the 
 pride and aggrandizement of every throne in Europe. 
 
 And from their knowledge of cultivation, — an art acquired in 
 their native Africa, — the farming interests in the North and 
 planting in the South were commenced with a prospect never 
 dreamed of before the introduction on the continent of this most 
 interesting, unexampled, hardy race of men. A race capable of 
 the endurance of more toil, fatigue, and hunger than any other 
 branch of the human family. 
 
 Though pagans for the most part in their own country, they 
 required not to be taught to work, and how to do it; but it was 
 only necessary to bid them work, and they at once knew what to 
 do, and how it should be done. 
 
 Even up to the present day, it is notorious that in the planting 
 states the blacks themselves are the only skilful cultivators of 
 the soil, the proprietors or planters, as they are termed, know- 
 ing little or nothing of the art, save that which they learn from 
 the African husbandman; while the ignorant white overseer, 
 whose duty is to see that the work is attended to, knows still 
 less. 
 
 Hemp, cotton, tobacco, corn, rice, sugar, and many other im- 
 portant staple products, are all the result of African skill and 
 labor in the southern states of this country. The greater num- 
 ber of the mechanics of the South are also black men. 
 
 Nor was their skill as herdsmen inferior to their other pro- 
 ficiencies, they being among the most accomplished trainers of 
 horses in the world. 
 
 Indeed, to this class of men may be indebted the entire coun- 
 try for the improvement South in the breed of horses. And 
 those who have travelled in the southern states could not have 
 failed to observe that the principal trainers, jockeys, riders, and 
 judges of horses were men of African descent. 
 
 These facts alone are sufficient to establish our claim to this 
 country, as legitimate as that of those who fill the highest sta- 
 tions by the suffrage of the people. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 349 
 
 In no period since the existence of the ancient enlightened na- 
 tions of Africa have the prospects of the black race been brighter 
 than now ; and at no time during the Christian era have there 
 been greater advantages presented for the advancement of any 
 people than at present those which offer to the black race, both 
 in the eastern and western hemispheres ; our election being in 
 the western. 
 
 Despite the efforts to the contrary, in the strenuous endeavors 
 for a supremacy of race, the sympathies of the world, in their up- 
 ward tendency, are in favor of the African and black races of the 
 earth. To be available, we must take advantage of these favor- 
 able feelings, and strike out for ourselves a bold and manly 
 course of independent action and position ; otherwise, this pure 
 and uncorrupted sympathy will be reduced to pity and contempt. 
 
 Of the countries of our choice, we have stated that one prov- 
 ince and two islands were slaveholding places. These, as before 
 named, are Brazil in South America, and Cuba and Porto Eico 
 in the West Indies. There are a few other little islands of 
 minor consideration : the Danish three, Swedish one, and Dutch 
 four. 
 
 But in the eight last referred to, slavery is of such a mild type, 
 that, however objectionable as such, it is merely nominal. 
 
 In South America and the Antilles, in its worst form, slavery 
 is a blessing almost, compared with the miserable degradation 
 of the slaves under our upstart, assumed superiors, the slave- 
 holders of the United States. 
 
 In Brazil color is no badge of condition, and every freeman, 
 whatever his color, is socially and politically equal, there being 
 black gentlemen, of pure African descent, filling the highest posi- 
 tions in state under the emperor. There is, also, an estab- 
 lished law by the Congress of Brazil, making the crime punishable 
 with death for the commander of any vessel to bring into the 
 country any human being as a slave. 
 
 The following law has passed one branch of the General Legis- 
 lative Assembly of Brazil, but little doubt being entertained that 
 it will find a like favor in the other branch of that august general 
 legislative body : — 
 
 " 1. All children born after the date of this law shall be free. 
 
350 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 " 2. All those shall be considered free who are born in other 
 countries, and come to Brazil after this date. 
 
 " 3. Every one who serves from birth to seven years of age, 
 any of those included in article one, or who has to serve so many 
 years, at the end of fourteen years shall be emancipated, and live 
 as he chooses. 
 
 " 4. Every slave paying for his liberty a sum equal to what he 
 cost his master, or who shall gain it by honorable gratuitous title, 
 the master shall be obliged to give him a free paper, under the 
 penalty of article one hundred and seventy-nine of the criminal 
 code. 
 
 " 5. Where there is no stipulated price or fixed value of the 
 slave, it shall be determined by arbitrators, one of which shall 
 be the public promoter of the town. 
 
 "6. The government is authorized to give precise regulations 
 for the execution of this law, and also to form establishments 
 necessary for taking care of those who, born after this date, may 
 be abandoned by the owners of slaves. 
 
 "7. Opposing laws and regulations are repealed." 
 
 Concerning Cuba, there is an old established law, giving any 
 slave the right of a certain legal tender, which, if refused by the 
 slaveholder, he, by going to the residence of any parish priest, 
 and making known the facts, shall immediately be declared a 
 freeman, the priest or bishop of the parish or diocese giving him 
 his " freedom papers." The legal tender, or sum fixed by law, 
 we think does not exceed two hundred and fifty Spanish dollars. 
 It may be more. 
 
 Until the Americans intruded themselves into Cuba, contami- 
 nating society wherever they located, black and colored gentle- 
 men and ladies of rank mingled indiscriminately in society. 
 But since the advent of these negro-haters, the colored people 
 of Cuba have been reduced nearly, if not quite, to the level of 
 the miserable, degraded position of the colored people of the 
 United States, who almost consider it a compliment and favor to 
 receive the notice or smiles of a white. 
 
 Can we be satisfied, in this enlightened age of the world, 
 amid the advantages which now present themselves to us, with 
 the degradation and servility inherited from our fathers in this 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 851 
 
 country ? God forbid. And we think the universal reply will 
 be, We will not ! 
 
 Half a century brings about a mighty change in the reality of 
 existing things and events of the world's history. Fifty years 
 ago our fathers lived. For the most part they were sorely op- 
 pressed, debased, ignorant, and incapable of comprehending the 
 political relations of mankind — the great machinery and motive- 
 power by which the enlightened nations of the earth were im- 
 pelled forward. They knew but little, and ventured to do noth- 
 ing to enhance their own interests beyond that which their 
 oppressors taught them. They lived amidst a continual cloud 
 of moral obscurity; a fog of bewilderment and delusion, by 
 which they were of necessity compelled to confine themselves to 
 a limited space — a known locality — lest by one step beyond 
 this they might have stumbled over a precipice, ruining them- 
 selves beyond recovery in the fall. 
 
 We are their sons, but not the same individuals ; neither do 
 we live in the same period with them. That which suited them, 
 does not suit us ; and that with which they may have been con- 
 tented, will not satisfy us. 
 
 Without education, they were ignorant of the world, and fear- 
 ful of adventure-. With education, we are conversant with its 
 geography, history, and nations, and delight in its enterprises 
 and responsibilities. They once were held as slaves ; to such a 
 condition we never could be reduced. They were content with 
 privileges; we will be satisfied with nothing less than rights. 
 They felt themselves happy to be permitted to beg for rights ; 
 we demand them as an innate inheritance. They considered 
 themselves favored to live by sufferance ; we reject it as a de- 
 gradation. A subordinate position was all they asked for ; we 
 claim entire equality or nothing. The relation of master and 
 slave was innocently acknowledged by them ; we deny the right 
 as such, and pronounce the relation as the basest injustice that 
 ever scourged the earth and cursed the human family. They 
 admitted themselves to be inferiors ; we barely acknowledge the 
 whites as equals, perhaps not in every particular. They la- 
 mented their irrecoverable fate, and incapacity to redeem them- 
 selves and their race. We rejoice that, as their sons, it is our 
 
352 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 happy lot and high mission to accomplish that which they de- 
 sired, and would have done, but failed for the want of ability 
 to do. 
 
 Let no intelligent man or woman, then, among us be found at 
 the present day, exulting in the degradation that our enslaved 
 parents would gladly have rid themselves had they had the 
 intelligence and qualifications to accomplish their designs. Let 
 none be found to shield themselves behind the plea of our brother 
 bondmen in ignorance, that we know not what to do, nor where 
 to go. We are no longer slaves, as were our fathers, but free- 
 men ; fully qualified to meet our oppressors in every relation 
 which belongs to the elevation of man, the establishment, sus- 
 tenance, and perpetuity of a nation. And such a position, by the 
 help of God our common Father, we are determined to take and 
 maintain. 
 
 There is- but one question presents itself for our serious con- 
 sideration, upon which we must give a decisive reply : Will we 
 transmit, as an inheritance to our children, the blessings of unre- 
 stricted civil liberty, or shall we entail upon them, as our only 
 political legacy, the degradation and oppression left us by our 
 fathers ? 
 
 Shall we be persuaded that we can live and prosper nowhere 
 but under the authority and power of our North American white 
 oppressors ? that this (the United States) is the country most, if 
 not the only one, favorable to our improvement and progress ? 
 Are we willing to admit that we are incapable of self-govern- 
 ment, establishing for ourselves such political privileges, and 
 making such internal improvements as we delight to enjoy, after 
 American white men have made them for themselves? 
 
 No ! Neither is it true that the United States is the country 
 best adapted to our improvement. But that country is the best 
 in which our manhood — morally, mentally, and physically — 
 can be best developed • in which we have an untrammelled right 
 to the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty ; and the West 
 Indies, Central and South America, present now such advantages, 
 superiorly preferable to all other countries. 
 
 That the continent qf America was designed by Providence as 
 a reserved asylum for the various oppressed people of the earth, 
 of all races, to us seems very apparent. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 353 
 
 From the earliest period after the discovery, various nations 
 sent a representative here, either as adventurers and speculators, 
 or employed laborers, seamen, or soldiers, hired to work for 
 their employers. And among the earliest and most numerous 
 class who found their way to the New World were those of the 
 African race. And it has been ascertained to our minds, be- 
 yond a doubt, that Avhen the continent was discovered, there 
 were found in the West Indies and Central America tribes of 
 the black race, fine looking people, having the usual characteris- 
 tics of color and hair, identifying them as being originally of 
 the African race; no doubt, being a remnant of the Africans 
 who, with the Carthaginian expedition, were adventitiously cast 
 upon this continent, in their memorable adventure to the " Great 
 Island," after sailing many miles distant to the west of the 
 " Pillars of Hercules," — the present Straits of Gibraltar. 
 
 We would not be thought to be superstitious, when we say, 
 that in all this we can " see the finger of God." Is it not worthy 
 of a notice here, that while the ingress of foreign whites to this 
 continent has been voluntary and constant, and that of the blacks 
 involuntary and but occasional, yet the whites in the southern 
 part have decreased in numbers, degenerated in character, and 
 become mentally and physically enervated and imbecile ; while 
 the blacks and colored people have studiously increased in num- 
 bers, regenerated in character, and have grown mentally and 
 physically vigorous and active, developing every function of their 
 manhood, and are now, in their elementary character, decidedly 
 superior to the white race? So, then, the white race could never 
 successfully occupy the southern portion of the continent ; they 
 must, of necessity, every generation, be repedpled from another 
 quarter of the globe. The fatal error committed by the Span- 
 iards, under Pizarro, was the attempt to exterminate the Incas 
 and Peruvians, and fill their places by European whites. The 
 Peruvian Indians, a hale, hardy, vigorous, intellectual race of 
 people, were succeeded by those.who soon became idle, vicious, 
 degenerated, and imbecile. But Peru, like all the other South 
 American states, is regaining her former potency, just in pro-? 
 portion as the European race decreases among them. All the 
 labor of the country is performed by the aboriginal natives and 
 23 
 
354 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 the blacks, the few Europeans there being the merest excres- 
 cences on the body politic — consuming drones in the social hive. 
 
 Had we no other claims than those set forth in a foregoing 
 part of this address, they are sufficient to induce every black and 
 colored person to remain on this continent, unshaken and un- 
 moved. 
 
 But the West Indians, Central and South Americans, are a 
 noble race of people; generous, sociable, and tractable — just 
 the people with whom we desire to unite ; who are susceptible of 
 progress, improvement, and reform of every kind. They now 
 desire all the improvements of North America, but being justly 
 jealous of their rights, they have no confidence in the whites of 
 the United States, and consequently peremptorily refuse to per- 
 mit an indiscriminate settlement among them of this class of 
 people ; but placing every confidence in the black and colored 
 people of North America. 
 
 The example of the unjust invasion and forcible seizure of a 
 large portion of the territory of Mexico is still fresh in their 
 memory ; and the oppressive disfranchisement of a large num- 
 ber of native Mexicans, by the Americans, — because of the colqr 
 and race of the natives, — will continue to rankle in the bosom 
 of the people of those countries, and prove a sufficient barrier 
 henceforth against the inroads of North American whites among 
 them. 
 
 Upon the American continent, then, we are determined to re- 
 main, despite every opposition that may be urged against us. 
 
 You will doubtless be asked, — and that, too, with an air of 
 seriousness, — why, if desirable to remain on this continent, not 
 be content to remain in the United States. The objections to 
 this — and potent reasons, too, in our estimation — have already 
 been clearly shown. 
 
 But notwithstanding all this, were there still any rational, nay, 
 even the most futile grounds for hope, we still might be stupid 
 enough to be content to remain, and yet through another period 
 of unexampled patience and suffering, continue meekly to drag 
 the galling yoke and clank the chain of servility and degrada- 
 tion. But whether or not in this God is to be thanked and 
 Heaven blessed, we are not permitted, despite our willingness 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 355 
 
 and stupidity, to indulge even the most distant glimmer of a hope 
 of attaining to the level of a well-protected slave. 
 
 For years we have been studiously and jealously observing the 
 course of political events and policy on the part of this country, 
 both in a national and individual state capacity, as pursued to- 
 wards the colored people. And he who, in the midst of them, 
 can live without observation, is either excusably ignorant, or 
 reprehensibly deceptious and untrustworthy. 
 
 We deem it entirely unnecessary to tax you with anything like 
 the history of even one chapter of the unequalled infamies per- 
 petrated on the part of the various states, and national decrees, 
 by legislation, against us. But we shall call your particular 
 attention to the more recent acts of the United States ; because, 
 whatever privileges we may enjoy in any individual state, will 
 avail nothing when not recognized as such by the United States. 
 
 When the condition of the inhabitants of any country is fixed 
 by legal grades of distinction, this condition can never be 
 changed except by express legislation. And it is the height of 
 folly to expect such express legislation, except by the inevitable 
 force of some irresistible internal political pressure. The force 
 necessary to this imperative demand on our part we never can 
 obtain, because of our numerical feebleness. 
 
 Were the interests of the common people identical with ours, 
 we, in this, might succeed, because we, as a class, would then be 
 numerically the superior. But this is not a question of the rich 
 against the poor, nor the common people against the higher 
 classes, but a question of white against black — every white 
 person, by legal right, being held superior to a black or colored 
 person. 
 
 In Eussia, the common people might obtain an equality with 
 the aristocracy, because, of the sixty-five millions of her popu- 
 lation, forty-five millions are serfs or peasants; leaving but 
 twenty millions of the higher classes — royalty, nobility, and all 
 included. 
 
 The rights of no oppressed people have ever yet been obtained 
 by a voluntary act of justice on the part of the oppressors. 
 Christians, philanthropists, and moralists may preach, argue, 
 and philosophize as they may to the contrary : facts are against 
 
356 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 them. Voluntary acts, it is true, which are in themselves just, 
 may sometimes take place on the part of the oppressor; but 
 these are always actuated by the force of some outward circum- 
 stances of self-interest equal to a compulsion. 
 
 The boasted liberties of the American people were established 
 by a constitution, borrowed from and modelled after the British 
 'magna charta. And this great charter of British liberty, so 
 much boasted of and vaunted as a model bill, of rights, was 
 obtained only by force and compulsion. 
 
 The barons, an order of noblemen, under the reign of King 
 John, becoming dissatisfied at the terms submitted to by their 
 sovereign, which necessarily brought degradation upon them- 
 selves, — terms prescribed by the insolent Pope Innocent III., 
 the haughty sovereign Pontiff of Rome, — summoned his majesty 
 to meet them on the plains of the memorable meadow of Runny- 
 mede, where, presenting to him their own Bill of Rights — a 
 bill dictated by themselves, and drawn up by their own hands — 
 at the unsheathed points of a thousand glittering swords, they 
 commanded him, against his will, to sign the extraordinary docu- 
 ment. There was no alternative : he must either do or die. 
 "With a puerile timidity, he leaned forward his rather command- 
 ing but imbecile person, and with a trembling hand and single 
 dash of the pen, the name KING JOHN stood forth in bold re- 
 lief, sending more terror throughout the world than the mystic 
 handwriting of Heaven throughout the dominions of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, blazing on the walls of Babylon. A consternation, not 
 because of the name of the king, but because of the rights of 
 others, which that name acknowledged. 
 
 The king, however, soon became dissatisfied, and determining 
 on a revocation of the act, — an act done entirely contrary to his 
 will, — at the head of a formidable army spread fire and sword 
 throughout the kingdom. 
 
 But the barons, though compelled to leave their castles, their 
 houses and homes, and fly for their lives, could not be induced 
 to undo that which they had so nobly done — the achievement of 
 their rights and privileges. Hence the act has stood throughout 
 all succeeding time, because never annulled by those who 
 willed it. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 357 
 
 It will be seen that the first great modern Bill of Rights was 
 obtained only by a force of arms : a resistance of the people 
 against the injustice and intolerance of their rulers. We say 
 the" people — because that which the barons demanded for them- 
 selves, was afterwards extended to the common people. Their 
 only hope was based on their superiority of numbers. 
 
 But can we, in this country, hope for as much? Certainly 
 not. Our case is a hopeless one. There was but one John, 
 with his few sprigs of adhering royalty ; and but one heart, at 
 which the threatening points of their swords were directed by a 
 thousand barons ; while in our case, there is but a handful of 
 the oppressed, without a sword to point, and twenty millions of 
 Johns or Jonathans — as you please — with as many hearts, ten- 
 fold more relentless than that of Prince John Lackland, and as 
 deceptious and hypocritical as the Italian heart of Innocent III. 
 
 Where, then, is our hope of success in this country? Upon 
 what is it based? Upon what principle of political policy and 
 sagacious discernment do our political leaders and acknowl- 
 edged great men — colored men we mean — justify themselves 
 by telling us, and insisting that we shall believe them, and sub- 
 mit to what they say — to be patient, remain where we are ; that 
 there is a " bright prospect and glorious future" before us in this 
 country! May Heaven open Our eyes from their Bartimean 
 obscurity. 
 
 But we call your attention to another point of our political 
 degradation — the acts of state and general governments. 
 
 In a few of the states, as in New York, the colored inhabitants 
 have a partial privilege of voting a white man into office. This 
 privilege is based on a property qualification of two hundred and 
 fifty dollars worth of real estate. In others, as in Ohio, in the 
 absence of organic provision, the privilege is granted by judicial 
 decision, based on a ratio of blood, of an admixture of more 
 than one half white ; while in many of the states there is no 
 privilege allowed, either partial or unrestricted. 
 
 The policy of the above-named states will be seen and de- 
 tected at a glance, which, while seeming to extend immunities, 
 is intended especially for the object of degradation. 
 
 In the State of New York, for instance, there is a constitu- 
 
358 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 tional distinction created among colored men, — almost neces- 
 sarily compelling one part to feel superior to the other, — while 
 among the whites no such distinctions dare be known. Also, in 
 Ohio, there is a legal distinction set up by an upstart judiciary, 
 creating among the colored people a privileged class by birth ! 
 All this must necessarily sever the cords of union among us, 
 creating almost insurmountable prejudices of the most stupid 
 and fatal kind, paralyzing the last bracing nerve which prom- 
 ised to give us strength. 
 
 It is upon this same principle, and for the self-same object, 
 that the general government has long been endeavoring, and is 
 at present knowingly designing to effect a recognition of the in- 
 dependence of the Dominican Republic, while disparagingly re- 
 fusing to recognize the independence of the Haytien nation — a 
 people four fold greater in numbers, wealth, and power. The 
 Haytiens, it is pretended, are refused because they are negroes ; 
 while the Dominicans, as is well known to all who are familiar 
 with the geography, history, and political relations of that peo- 
 ple, are identical — except in language, they speaking the Span- 
 ish tongue — with those of the Haytiens ; being composed of 
 negroes and a mixed race. The government may shield itself 
 by the plea that it is not familiar with the origin of those people. 
 To this we have but to reply, that if the government is thus 
 ignorant of the relations of its near neighbors, it is the height 
 of presumption, and no small degree of assurance, for it to set 
 up itself as capable of prescribing terms to the one, or condi- 
 tions to the other. 
 
 Should they accomplish their object, they then will have suc- 
 ceeded in forever establishing a barrier of impassable separation, 
 by the creation of a political distinction between those peoples, 
 of superiority and inferiority of origin or national existence. 
 Here, then, is another stratagem of this most determined and 
 untiring enemy of our race — the government of the United 
 States. 
 
 We come now to the crowning act of infamy on the part of 
 the general government towards the colored inhabitants of the 
 United States — an act so vile in its nature, that rebellion against 
 its demands should be promptly made in every attempt to en- 
 force its infernal provisions. 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 359 
 
 In the history of national existence, there is not to he found a 
 parallel to the tantalizing insult and aggravating despotism of the 
 provisions of Millard Fillmore's Fugitive Slave Bill, passed by 
 the Thirty-third Congress of the United States, with the appro- 
 bation of a majority of the American people, in the year of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ eighteen hundred and fifty. 
 
 This bill had but one object in its provisions, which was fully 
 accomplished in its passage, that is, the reduction of every col- 
 ored person in the United States — save those who carry free 
 papers of emancipation, or bills of sale from former claimants 
 or owners — to a state of relative slavery ; placing each and 
 every one of us at the disposal of any and every white who 
 might choose to claim us, and the caprice of any and every up- 
 start knave bearing the title of " commissioner." 
 
 Bid any of you, fellow-countrymen, reside in a country, the 
 provisions of whose laws were such that any person of a certain 
 class, who, whenever he, she, or they pleased, might come for- 
 ward, lay a claim to, make oath before (it might be) some stupid 
 and heartless person, authorized to decide in such cases, and 
 take, at their option, your horse, cow, sheep, house and lot, or 
 any other property, bought and paid for by your own earnings, — 
 the result of your personal toil and labor, — would you-be willing, 
 or could you be induced by any reasoning, however great the 
 source from which it came, to remain in that country? We 
 pause, fellow-countrymen, for a reply. 
 
 If there be not one yea, of how much more importance, then, 
 is your own 'personal safety than that of property? Of how 
 much more concern is the safety of a wife or husband, than that 
 of a cow or horse ; a child, than a sheep ; the destiny of your 
 family, to that of a house and lot? 
 
 And yet this is precisely our condition. Any one of us, at 
 any moment, is liable to be claimed, seized, and taken into cus- 
 tody by any white, as his or her property — to be enslaved for 
 life — and there is no remedy, because it is the law of the land ! 
 And we dare predict, and take this favorable opportunity to fore- 
 warn you, fellow-countrymen, that the time is not far distant, 
 when there will be carried on by the white men of this nation 
 an extensive commerce in the persons of what now compose the 
 
360 Life of Major M. R. Delatsty. 
 
 free colored people of the North. We forewarn you, that the 
 general enslavement of the whole of this class of people is now 
 being contemplated by the whites. 
 
 At present, we are liable to enslavement at any moment, pro- 
 vided we are taken away from our homes. But we dare ven- 
 ture further to forewarn you, that the scheme is in mature con- 
 templation, and has even been mooted in high places, of har- 
 monizing the two discordant political divisions in the country by 
 again reducing the free to slave states. 
 
 The completion of this atrocious scheme only becomes neces- 
 sary for each and every one of us to find an owner and master 
 at our own doors. Let the general government but pass such a 
 law, and the states will comply as an act of harmony. Let the 
 South but demand it, and the North will comply as a duty of 
 compromise. 
 
 If Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts can be found 
 arming their sons as watch-dogs for Southern slave hunters ; if 
 the United States may, with impunity, garrison with troops .the 
 court-house of the freest city in America ; blockade the streets ; 
 station armed ruffians of dragoons, and spiked artillery in hostile 
 awe of the people ; if free, white, high-born and bred gentlemen 
 of Boston and New York are smitten down to the earth,* re- 
 fused an entrance on professional business into the court-houses, 
 until inspected by a slave hunter and his counsel, all to put 
 down the liberty of the black man, then, indeed, is there no 
 hope for us in this country ! 
 
 * John Jay, Esq., of New York, son of the late distinguished 
 jurist, Hon. William Jay, was, in 1852, as the counsel of a fugi- 
 tive slave, brutally assaulted and struck in the face by the slave- 
 catching agent and counsel, Busteed. 
 
 Also, Mr. Dana, an honorable gentleman, counsel for the fugi- 
 tive Burns, one of the first literary men of Boston, was arrested 
 on his entrance into the court-house, and not permitted to pass 
 the guard of slave-catchers, till the slave agent and counsel, 
 Loring, together with the overseer, Suttle, inspected him, and 
 ordered that he might be allowed to pass in ! After which, in 
 passing along the street, Mr. Dana was ruffianly assaulted and 
 murderously felled to the earth by the minions of the dastardly 
 Southern overseer. 
 
Destiny of tue Colored Race. 361 
 
 It is, fellow-countrymen, a fixed fact, as indelible as the 
 covenant of God in the heavens, that the colored people of these 
 United States are the slaves of any white person who may 
 choose to claim them ! 
 
 What safety or guarantee have we for ourselves or families ? 
 Let us, for a moment, examine this point. 
 
 Supposing some hired spy of the slave power residing in Illi- 
 nois, whom, for illustration, we shall call Stephen A., Counsellor 
 B., a mercenary hireling of New York, and Commissioner C, a 
 slave catcher of Pennsylvania, should take umbrage at the acts 
 or doings of any colored person or persons in a free state ; they 
 may, with impunity, send or go on their knight errantry to the 
 South (as did a hireling of the slave power in New York — a 
 lawyer by profession), give a description of such person or per- 
 sons, and an agent with warrants may be immediately despatched 
 to sWear them into slavery forever. 
 
 We tell you, fellow-countrymen, any one of you here assem- 
 bled — your humble committee who report to you this paper — 
 may, by the laws of this land, be seized, whatever the circum- 
 stances of his birth, whether he descends from free or slave 
 parents — whether born north or south of Mason and Dixon's 
 line — and ere the setting of another sun, be speeding his way 
 to that living sepulchre and death-chamber of our race — the 
 curse and scourge of this country — the southern part of the 
 United States. This is not idle speculation, but living, naked, 
 undisguised truth. 
 
 A member of your committee has received a letter from a 
 gentleman of respectability and standing in the South, who 
 writes to the following effect. We copy^his own words : — 
 
 " There are, at this moment, as I was to-day informed by Col- 
 onel W., one of our first magistrates in this city, a gang of from 
 twenty-five to thirty vagabonds of poor white men, who, for 
 twenty-five dollars a head, clear of all expenses, are ready and 
 willing to go to the North, make acquaintance with the blacks in 
 various places, send their descriptions to unprincipled slave- 
 holders here, — for there are many of this kind to be found 
 among the poorer class of masters, — and swear them into 
 bondage. So the free blacks, as well as fugitive slaves, will 
 have to keep a sharp watch over themselves to get clear of, this 
 scheme to enslave them." 
 
362 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 Here, then, you have but a paragraph in the great volume of 
 this political crusade and legislative pirating by the American 
 people over the rights and privileges of the colored inhabitants 
 of the country. If this be but a paragraph, — for such it is in 
 truth, — what must be the contents when the whole history is 
 divulged ! Never will the contents of this dreadful record of 
 crime, corruption, and oppression be fully revealed, until the 
 trump of God shall proclaim the universal summons to judg- 
 ment. Then, and then alone, shall the whole truth be acknowl- 
 edged, when the doom of the criminal shall be forever sealed. 
 
 We desire not to be sentimental, but rather would be political ; 
 and therefore call your attention to another point — a point 
 already referred to. 
 
 In giving the statistics of various countries, and preferences to 
 many places herein mentioned, as points of destination in emi- 
 gration, we have said little or nothing concerning the present 
 governments, the various state departments, nor the condition 
 of society among the people. 
 
 This is not the province of your committee, but the legitimate 
 office of a Board of Foreign Commissioners, whom there is no 
 doubt will be created by the convention, with provisions and in- 
 structions to report thereon, in due season, of their mission. 
 
 With a few additional remarks on the subject of the British 
 Provinces of North America, we shall have done our duty, and 
 completed, for the time being, the arduous, important, and mo- 
 mentous task assigned to us. 
 
 The British Provinces of North America, especially Canada 
 West, — formerly called Upper Canada, — in climate, soil, pro- 
 ductions, and the usual prospects for internal improvements, are 
 equal, if not superior, to any northern part of the continent. 
 And for these very reasons, aside from their contiguity to the 
 northern part of the United States, — and consequent facility for 
 the escape of the slaves from the South, — we certainly should 
 prefer them as a place of destination. We love the Canadas, 
 and admire their laws, because, as British Provinces, there is no 
 difference known among the people — no distinction of race. 
 And we deem it a duty to recommend, that for the present, as a 
 temporary asylum, it is certainly advisable for every colored 
 
.Destiny of the Colored Race. 363 
 
 person, who, desiring to emigrate, and is not prepared for any 
 other destination, to locate in Canada West. 
 
 Every advantage on our part should he now taken of the 
 opportunity of obtaining LANDS, while they are to he had 
 cheap, and on the most easy conditions, from the government. 
 
 Even those who never contemplate a removal from this coun- 
 try of chains, it will be their best interest and greatest advantage 
 to procure lands in the Canadian Provinces. It will be an easy, 
 profitable, and safe investment, even should they never occupy 
 nor yet see them. We shall then be but doing what the whites 
 in the United States have for years been engaged in — securing 
 unsettled lands in the territories, previous to their enhancement 
 in value, by the force of settlement and progressive neighboring 
 improvements. There are also at present great openings for 
 colored people to enter into the various industrial departments 
 of business operations : laborers, mechanics, teachers, mer- 
 chants, and shop-keepers, and professional men of every kind. 
 These places are now open, as much to the colored as the white 
 man, in Canada, with little or no opposition to his progress ; at 
 least in the character of prejudicial, preferences on account of 
 race. And all of these, without any hesitancy, do we most cheer- 
 fully recommend to the colored inhabitants of the United States. 
 
 But. our preference to other places over the Canadas has 
 been cursorily stated in the foregoing part of this paper ; and 
 since the writing of that part, it would seem that the predictions 
 or apprehensions concerning the Provinces are about to be veri- 
 fied by the British Parliament and Home Government them- 
 selves. They have virtually conceded, and openly expressed it 
 — Lord Brougham in the lead — that the British Provinces of 
 North America must, ere long, cease to be a part of the British 
 domain, and become annexed to the United States. 
 
 It is needless — however much we may regret the necessity of 
 its acknowledgment — for us to stop our ears, shut our eyes, 
 and stultify our senses against the truth in this matter ; since, by 
 so doing, it does not alter the case. Every political movement, 
 both in England and the United States, favors such an issue, and 
 the sooner we acknowledge it, the better it will be for our cause, 
 ourselves individually, and the destiny of our people in this 
 country. 
 
364 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 These Provinces have long been burdensome to the British 
 nation, and her statesmen have long since discovered and de- 
 cided as an indisputable predicate in political economy, that any 
 province as an independent state, is more profitable in a commer- 
 cial consideration to a country than when depending as one of its 
 colonies. As a child to the parent, or an apprentice to his mas- 
 ter, so is a colony to a state. And as the man who enters into 
 business is to the manufacturer and importer, so is the colony 
 which becomes an independent state to the country from which 
 it recedes. 
 
 Great Britain is decidedly a commercial and money-making 
 nation, and counts closely on her commercial relations with any 
 country. That nation or people which puts the largest amount 
 of money into her coffers, are the people who may expect to 
 obtain her greatest favors. This the Americans do ; consequently 
 — and we candidly ask you to mark the prediction — the British 
 will interpose little or no obstructions to the Canadas, Cuba, or 
 any other province or colony contiguous to this country, falling 
 into the American Union ; except only in such cases where there 
 would be a compromise of her honor. And in the event of a 
 seizure of any of these, there would be no necessity for such a 
 sacrifice ; it could readily be avoided by diplomacy. 
 
 Then there is little hope for us on this continent, short of 
 those places where, by reason of their numbers, there is the 
 greatest combination of strength and interests on the part of 
 the colored race. 
 
 "We have ventured to predict a reduction of the now nominally 
 free into slave states. Already has this " reign of terror " and 
 dreadful work of destruction commenced. We give you the 
 quotation from a Mississippi paper, which will readily be ad- 
 mitted as authority in this case : — 
 
 "Two years ago a law was passed by the California legisla- 
 ture, granting one year to the owners of slaves carried into the 
 territory previous to the adoption of the constitution, to remove 
 them beyond the limits of the state. Last year the provision 
 of this law was extended twelve months longer. We learn by the 
 late California papers that a bill has just passed the Assembly, 
 by a vote of 33 to 21, continuing the same law in force until 
 1855. The provisions of this bill embraces slaves who have been 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 365 
 
 carried to California since the adoption of her constitution, as 
 well as those who were there previously. The large majority 
 by which it passed, and the opinions advanced during the discus- 
 sion, indicates a more favorable state of sentiment in regard to 
 the rights of slaveholders in California than we supposed ex- 
 isted" — Mississippian. 
 
 No one who is a general and intelligent observer of the poli- 
 tics of this country, will after reading this, doubt for a moment 
 the final result. 
 
 At present there is a proposition under consideration in Cali- 
 fornia to authorize the holding of a convention to amend the 
 constitution of that state, which doubtless will be carried into 
 effect ; when there is no doubt that a clause will be inserted, 
 granting the right to hold slaves at discretion in the state. This 
 being done, it will meet with general favor throughout the coun- 
 try by the American people, and the policy be adopted on the 
 state's rights principle. This alone is necessary, in addition to 
 the insufferable Fugitive Slave Law, and the recent nefarious 
 Nebraska Bill, — which is based upon this very boasted Ameri- 
 can policy of the state's rights principle, — to reduce the free to 
 slave states, without a murmur from the people. And did not 
 the Nebraska Bill disrespect the feelings and infringe upon the 
 political rights of Northern white people, it's adoption would be 
 hailed with loud shouts of approbation, from Portland, Maine, 
 to San Francisco. 
 
 That, then, which is left for us to do, is to secure our liberty; 
 a position which shall fully warrant us against the liability of 
 such monstrous political crusades and riotous invasions of our 
 rights. Nothing less than a national indemnity, indelibly fixed by 
 virtue of our own sovereign potency, will satisfy us as a redress 
 of grievances for the unparalleled wrongs, undisguised imposi- 
 tions, and unmitigated oppression which we have suffered at the 
 hands of this American people. 
 
 And what wise politician would otherwise conclude and deter- 
 mine ? None, we dare say. And a people who are incapable of 
 this discernment and precaution are incapable of self-govern- 
 ment, and incompetent to direct their own political destiny. 
 For our own part, we spurn to treat for liberty on any other 
 terms or conditions. 
 
366 Life of Major M. R. Delany. 
 
 It may not be inapplicable, in this particular place, to quote, 
 from high authority, language which has fallen under our notice 
 since this report has been under our consideration. The quota- 
 tion is worth nothing, except to show that the position assumed 
 by us is a natural one, which constitutes the essential basis of 
 self-protection. 
 
 Said Earl Aberdeen recently, in the British House of Lords, 
 when referring to the great question which is now agitating 
 Europe, " One thing alone is certain, that the only way to ob- 
 tain a sure and honorable peace, is to acquire a position which 
 may command it ; and to gain such a position, every nerve and 
 sinew of the empire should be strained. The pickpocket who 
 robs us is not to be let off because he offers to restore our 
 purse ; " and his lordship might have justly added, " should never 
 thereafter be intrusted or confided in." 
 
 The plea, doubtless, will be, as it already frequently has been 
 raised, that to remove from the United States, our slave breth- 
 ren would be left without a hope. They already find their way 
 in large companies to the Canadas, and they have only to be 
 made sensible that there. is as much freedom for them South as 
 there is North ; as much protection in Mexico as in Canada ; and 
 the fugitive slave will find it a much pleasanter journey and 
 more easy of access, to wend his way from Louisiana and Ar- 
 kansas to Mexico, than thousands of miles through the slave- 
 holders of the South and slave-catchers of the North to Canada. 
 Once into Mexico, and his farther exit to Central and South 
 America and the West Indies would be certain; There would 
 be no obstructions whatever. No miserable, half-starved, ser- 
 vile Northern slave-catchers by the way, waiting, cap in hand, 
 ready and willing to do the bidding of their contemptible South- 
 ern masters. 
 
 No prisons nor court-houses, as slave-pens and garrisons, to 
 secure the fugitive and rendezvous the mercenary gangs, who 
 are bought as military on such occasions. No perjured mar- 
 shals, bribed commissioners, nor hireling counsel, who, spaniel- 
 like, crouch at the feet of Southern slaveholders, and cringingly 
 tremble at the crack of their whip. No, not as may be encoun- 
 tered throughout his northern flight, there are none of these to 
 
Destiny of the Colored Race. 367 
 
 be found or met with in his travels from the Bravo del Norte to 
 the dashing Orinoco — from the borders of Texas to the boun- 
 daries of Peru. 
 
 Should anything occur to prevent a successful emigration to 
 the south — Central, South America, and the West Indies — we 
 have no hesitancy, rather than remain in the United States, the 
 merest subordinates and serviles of the whites, should the Cana- 
 das still continue' separate in their political relations from this 
 country, to recommend to the great body of our people to re- 
 move to Canada West, where, being politically equal to the 
 whites, physically united with each other by a concentration of 
 strength ; when worse comes to worse, we may be found, not as 
 a scattered, weak, and impotent people, as we now are separated 
 from each other throughout the Union, but a united and power- 
 ful body of freemen, mighty in politics, and terrible in any con- 
 flict which might ensue, in the event of an attempt at the disturb- 
 ance of our political relations, domestic repose, and peaceful 
 firesides. 
 
 Now, fellow-countrymen, we have done. Into your ears have 
 we recounted your own sorrows ; before your own eyes have we 
 exhibited your wrongs ; into your own hands have we committed 
 your own cause. If these should prove inadequate to remedy 
 this dreadful evil, to assuage this terrible curse which has come 
 upon us, the fault will be yours and not ours ; since we have 
 offered you a healing balm for every sorely aggravated wound. 
 
 Martin R. Delany, Pa. 
 William Webb, Pa. 
 Augustus R. Green, Ohio. 
 Edward Butler, Mo. 
 H. S. Douglas, La. 
 A. Dudley, Wis. 
 Conaway Barbour, Ky. 
 ¥m. J. Puller, R. I. 
 Wm. Lambert, Mich. 
 J. Theodore Holly, N. Y. 
 T. A. White, Ind. 
 John A. Warren, Canada. 
 
*1 
 
 
University of 
 Connecticut 
 
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