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POLICY OF EMPLOYING NEGRO TROOPS! 
 
 SPEECH OF HON. II. C. CHAMBERS, OF MISSISSIPPI, 
 
 In the House of Representatives of the Co?igress of the Confederate States, 
 Thursday, November 10, 1S64, on the special order for that day, being the 
 resolution offered by him on the first day of the session, in the following 
 words : 
 
 Resolved, That the valour, constancy and endurance of our citizen-soldier?, with the steady co-operation of all 
 classes of population not in the field, will continue a sufficient guaranty of the Rights of the States and tbe Inde- 
 pendence of the Confederate States. 
 
 Mr. CHAMBERS said : , to be fixed for its consideration, an avowal was 
 
 Mr. Speaker : This resolution which I haJ the thus explicitly made by me that, in my opinion, 
 honor to offer the lir*t day of the session, a little ; those questions should be discussed now and here, 
 in advance of the reception of the President's ; From over caution, from an excessive desire 
 message, expresses an abiding faith in the con- j not to disturb the people with agitating questions, 
 tinued ability of the citizen-soldiers of the coun- ) pending the war, Congress has, perhaps, too long 
 try to defend the Rights of the States and the \ forborne to consider, in public debate, the many 
 Independence of the Confederate States, without i profoundly interesting topics which have arisen 
 further assistance or guaranty than may be de- j out of the present struggle. The Representatives 
 rived from the steady co-operation of all classes of the people have been silent or reserved until 
 of pt-pulatiun not liable to military duty; — with- ■ their constituencies are beginning to make them- 
 out the aid of negro troops; without the aid of a Selves heard on delicate issues. We, who sit here, 
 convention to which we have been conditionally i and who might have more fully advised them of 
 invited by a political party in the United States, J the relations of all important questions to events 
 on their own terms — that is to say, on a basis as they arose, and so have assisted in forming 
 which excludes the idea of the permanent exist- ; and preserving a healthy tone of public senti- 
 ence of this Government; and without the al- ! ment, have, perhaps, too often sealed our lips or 
 ternative of accepting such guaranties as that closed our doors— until the people, ceasing to 
 party, if it accede to power, may offer to se- ; look to us for instruction or sympathy, at last 
 cure our return to the old Union— guaranties i manifest no doubtful indications of finding con- 
 which, if faithfully adhered to by that party dur- j elusions without our assistance, 
 ing their four or eight years ' possession of power, ; No man of observation can be unaware of the 
 would certainly be repudiated by the party next \ present anxious and unsettled conditien of public 
 succeeding— succeeding, as in all probability they | sentiment. The popular mind is groping in a 
 would, on the special ground of their hostility to i labyrinth of perplexity, seeking solutions for 
 the bargain made with us. Thus, after a short i great questions, to some of which allusion has 
 interval of repose, our country would again have j been made. How to increase our armies, how to 
 
 to choose between war and submission, and, 
 choosing war, enter upon a new conflict, not less 
 bloody, but, perchance, less hopeful than the con- 
 test in which we are now engaged. 
 
 On the introduction of this resolution, candour 
 compelled me to advise the House that it had 
 been drawn in such terms as would suggest im- 
 portant public questions; and requesting this day 
 
 bring about peace and independence, and in some 
 quarters, let it be confessed, whether it might not 
 be prudent to entertain even the project of re- 
 construction, these; Sir, are some of the enquiries 
 that are arresting the attention of the country. 
 It cannot be denied that at least one proposition 
 of a startling character is forced upon our con- 
 sideration. I allude to the employment of negro 
 
 ' These remarks were made before the result of the latj Presidential election In the north was ksown at Richmond, 
 1 
 
troops. Undoubtedly, as I think, if this question 
 was not raised with evil design, it must have orig- 
 inated with timid or despairing patriots, who, 
 ignorant of the relative numbers of the contend- 
 ing armies and the statistics of their loss and in- 
 crease, imagine the worst. But, however or by 
 whomsoever brought forward, it presents itself 
 
 selves, of striking for liberation from the tyranny 
 to which they have been subjected. Nearly the 
 whole of Northern and Western Mississippi, of 
 Northern Alabama, and of Western Tennessee are 
 again in our possession, and all attempts to pene- 
 trate from the coast line into the interior of the 
 Atlantic and Gulf States have been baffled. On 
 
 T 
 
 1 t 
 
 now with imposing sponsors, and must be met. i the entire Ocean and Gulf coast of the Confed- 
 The President in his message has not disdained to ) eracy, the whole successes of the enemy, with the 
 notice it, and distinguished gentlemen on this t enormous resources at his command, have been 
 floor have pronounced it worthy of grave consider- ) limited to the capture of the outer defences of 
 ation. I shall barely allude to distinguished and ( Mobile bay. In Southwestern Virginia, succes- 
 influential personages currently reported as ad-5sive armies, which threatened the capture of 
 vocates of the measure, fearful, if I were to name > Lynchburg and Saltvllle, have been routed and 
 them, of doing injustice to their views, or of ',■ driven out of the country, and a portion of East- 
 
 smothering myself at once under the weight of< 
 their authority. 
 
 The proposition to employ negro troops pro- < 
 ceeds upon the assumption that our armies, and ! 
 
 ern Tennessee reconquered by our troops. In 
 Northern Virginia, extensive districts formerly 
 occupied by the enemy are now free from their 
 presence. The main army, after a series of de- 
 
 the usual source from which they have been re- 1 feats, in which its losses have been enormous, is, 
 cruited, are approximating exhaustion. It is re- /with the aid of reinforcements, but with, it is 
 markable, however, that this question comes J hoped, waning prospect of further progress in the 
 upon us near the close of the most successful cam- £ design, still engaged in an effort, commenced 
 paign vouchsafed to Confederate arms since the '/ more than four months ago, to capture the town 
 first year of the war — a campaign in which the i of Petersburg. The army of Gen. Sherman, al- 
 efforts of the enemy have been unprecedentedly \ though succeeding at the end of summer in ob- 
 great, and his losses compared to ours unprece- staining possession of Atlanta, has been unable to 
 dentedly large; in which, if his reinforcements \ secure any ultimate advantage from his success — 
 have been greater than ours, his original ranks ? compelled to withdraw on the line of his advance, 
 have steadily diminished in a corresponding ratio: ', without obtaining control of a single mile of ter- 
 and the belligerents now find themselves ap-?ritory beyond the narrow track of his march." 
 proaching the fourth winter of hostilities with I Such is the account of last year's operations, 
 armies of nearly the same numerical relation as t Strange, indeed, is it that under such encourag- 
 existed between them at the beginning. It may f f ing results as these, a proposition should be made 
 be safely asserted that, embracing the Trans- Mo employ negro troops; nor is it easy to avoid the 
 Mississippi Department in the account, the con- f , suspicion that it must have originated in some 
 tending forces are as nearly equal now as they t oblique and unavowed design, 
 were a year ago. i At the same time it must be admitted that our 
 
 And with reference to the territory lost and re-v armies are not as large as they should be — not 
 covered, what has been the result of the cam- ', nearly so large as they might be with greater 
 
 paign ? Let the President tell the story. He 
 says : "At the beginning of the year the State of 
 Texas was partially in possession of the enemy, 
 
 ; efficiency in the execution of the laws designed 
 
 '< to increase them. 
 
 ; In 1862 there were 700,000 men between the 
 
 and large portions of Louisiana and Arkansas lay ) ages of 18 and 45, in the cotton States, and over 
 apparently defenceless. Of the Federals who 
 
 half a million more in Virginia, North Carolina 
 a 
 
 inyaded Texas, none are known to remain except 5 and Tennessee. With a large allowance for 
 as prisoners of war. In Northwestern Louisiana, j physical disability, exemptions and details, here 
 a large and well appointed army, aided by a pow- 
 erful fleet, was repeatedly defeated, and deemed 
 
 were about one million of men liable to field 
 service under the acts of conscription, exclusive 
 
 itself fortunate in finally escaping with a loss of \ of all recruits from Kentucky and Missouri. Al- 
 one-third of its numbers, a large part of its mili- '< lowing one-fifth of the whole to be now within 
 tary trains, and many transports and gunboats, j the enemy's lines, there would still remain 800,- 
 The enemy's occupation of the State is reduced \ 000 men; and if one half of this number have 
 to the narrow district commanded by the guns of been lost or disabled in service, (which is impossi- 
 his fleet. Arkansas has been recovered, with the \ble), there would still remain 400,000, a force 
 
 exception of a few fortified posts, while our 
 forces have penetrated into central Missouri, af- 
 fording to our oppressed brethren in that State an 
 opportunity, of which many have availed them* 
 
 more than sufficient to end this war soon and suc- 
 cessfully, to say nothing of the Confederate Re- 
 serves and the Militia in the several States. 
 Sir, it it true th? men are not all present with 
 
T 
 
 the army, but they exist and will continue with and with the former, those who do not labor can 
 more or less rapidity to supply recruits. The hardly be called consumers. In the beginning 
 President has told us (as I understand) in a recent the whole South had 4,000,000 slaves, divisible 
 speech, that one-third of the number liable to into 800,000 families of five, and including 3,400,- 
 service in the field were absent, yet our armies 000 labourers. The North, on the other hand, 
 have been able and are now able to cope with the. ' had about 20,000,000 whites, of which 12,000,000 
 enemy and even win territory from his grasp, j would afford only 2,400,000 labourers, and the 
 Does this look like exhaustion ? If it be, then \ remaining 8,000,000 of her population were pre- 
 the same exhaustion afflicts the foe; for after all j ciscly the number of the white population of the 
 his immense drafts or attempts at drafting, with ; South. 
 
 huge bounties offered to recruits-with continual j T shaU nQt hftre gtop tQ comment on the ?reatcr 
 relays of foreign paupers to fill up his waning efficicncy of sIave , abour over free - Q producing 
 lines-still he finds his numerical relation to us subsislence for armies . nor upon our more fertile 
 little changed: still he finds himself unable to ad- > soi , and more propitious skics . Enough ha3 bren 
 vance - id to show that the disparity between the 
 
 The history of nations often exhibits the fact, sections was originally much less than was gener- 
 that there is a point of drain to the field beyond ally supposed, and it may be safely asserted that 
 which no population can be forced to go and su«- : the South, as a slave country, has the greater 
 tain itself in protracted war. There is besides a capacity to endure long war. True, a slave 
 conservative instinct in every people, which country, though not easily exhausted, is easily in - 
 teaches them when this point has hecn reached, vaded. The slave produces abundantly the sup- 
 and neither blandishment nor coercion wrll easily ' plies for war; but cannot be employed in local 
 prevail with them to go beyond it. It is said that /defence. He cannot be made a minute man; and 
 not more than four per cent, of the whole popu- ■', those who would employ slave troops in our large 
 lation, or the male adult head of every fifth ; armies have not yet had the hardihood to propose 
 family, can be spared to war. When he is taken j a slave militia. Yet, if they ran be relied on to 
 from the number of producers and converted into , fight for the country on the frontier, assuredly 
 a soldier, his family of four consumers remain to > they could be relied on to fight for their immedi- 
 be supported by the producers of the four nearest ; ate homes. This bare suggestion, however, gives 
 families — a burden of one additional consumer to an air of absurdity to the whole scheme. ' 
 each' male adult at home, which, added to the. Fortunately, we arc not yet reduced to ex- 
 othcr exactions of war, has been ascertained to ', tremity. Although our territory is more limited, 
 be as heavy as any nation can long sustain. , ; supplies of food are more abundant than ever; 
 
 Now, sir, the North, with its population of our so ] diers suffcr from disease much less than 
 some twenty millions at the beginning of the ; former iy ; acting chiefly on the defensive and be- 
 war. divided into four million families, might j hind work8| lhey must suffer mU ch smaller losses 
 have spared nearly a million to the field; and it; in , )aU , e than the cnemjj and being , n mit 0W11 
 is believed that in the course of this unusually } country and climate> must suffer also much ]ess 
 bloody and protracted struggle nearly that num- , from disease . and this day> j repcat> lhe goulh ^ 
 ber of the enemy has been destroyed or disabled; displaying more of original vigor than the North, 
 even Foreign immigration does not enable him ! lf exhaustion approaches, its advance is too slow 
 greatly to increase his aggregate force in the to be a i arming: the perio d of its arrival cannot 
 field, and all appearances, and all information be caIculatcd . while in the North> po tentous signs 
 received, indicate that the conservative instincts ; indicate no distant catastrophe. At least, we 
 of the Northern people, admonishing them of ap- are stm strong enough to afford lo watch and 
 proximate exhaustion of resources, rebel against wait> without hazarding experiments on our 
 the continuance of the war. But sooner or later, military> socia i and political systems, that may- 
 it is argued, the South must be exhausted. I prec ipitate present disaster and entail future woe. 
 might reply, sufficient for the day is the evil StiU our army must bc increased. It has al- 
 thereof. I choose, however, not so to evade the ready been sa id that fully one-third of those bow 
 P 010 *-- i liable to military service are absent from the field. 
 
 The limit at which the war drain on population This source of supply must be made to yield its 
 must be stopped, has been referred to. That rule proper fruits. Though there have been many, too 
 applies only to free population — not to slaves, many, desertions, and this evil will continue more 
 The number of laborers or producers among or less to exist, yet it has not been so great in our 
 slaves is three times as great as among free army as in that of the enemy. The majority of 
 people. With the former there are three in each the number improperly out of service have never 
 family who labour a-field, with the latter only one; ( been brought into it. Congress must assist in ap- ; 
 
plying a remedy. New sanctions must be added j In what form of organization is it proposed to use 
 to old laws, and new laws must be passed, for fill- j them ? It can hardly be designed to intermingle 
 ing up the ranks. Above all, let appeals be made them in the same companies with our citizen sol- 
 to the patriotism of the country — let a corrective j diers; no one has yet had the audacity to propose 
 be attempted from these halls, of that spirit of j that. Would it be safe to confide to negro troops 
 contempt for law — that lax obedience to author- j so much of the line of battle as would be occu- 
 ity — that slow and reluctant compliance with the < pied by a regiment or a brigade— much less a di- 
 behests of the legislative power, where those be- < vision or a corps? And an entire line so com- 
 hests do not comport with individual ease or opin- posed might by sudden flight or wholesale sur- 
 ion—which,runningdown the whole official gamut, j render involve the whole army in confusion 
 civil and military, from capital to camp, (with nu- j and disaster. To surrender to them the duty 
 merous exceptions, ofcourse) accumulating abuses | of defending forts or outposts would be to 
 as it descends, paralyzes the fighting power of the j pi ac e the keys of the situation in their hands, 
 country, and renders the Jaw of the land too often ■■ Then, but one alternative remains; it is to form 
 a dead letter. Let every man, here or else- / them into companies and place these in alterna- 
 where, feel under obligation to point the finger of ; ti on with white companies in the same regiments, 
 scorn at every one who shirks or skulks from his j The electric current of mutual confidence and 
 duty, at home or in the field; and especially at \ devotion— the triumphant glance, the answering 
 that officer, whoever he may be, who extends j smile, the sympathetic cheer— no longer passes 
 an unnecessary furlough to relative or favor- > t from company to company. The silence of distrust 
 ite, or permits him to lie around his headquar- \ n0 w broods along the line, which hesitates, halts, 
 ters, or otherwise by his indulgence avoid the ) wavers, breaks, and the black troops fly— perhaps 
 fight. As said in the beginning, much good may / to the embraces of the enemy. Even' victory it- 
 be done by free discussion here. Let us throw off;' ge'lf wou ld be robbed of its "glory if shared with 
 the shackles of an over-caution as to criticism of J slaves . God grant that our noble army of mar _ 
 meu and measures; and freely confessing abuses, j tyrs may never haye to drink of this cup , 
 charge home the responibility for their existence , j 
 
 and invite both Government and people to hear. \ That our ara, y WW be recruited so as to main- 
 It is a great mistake to suppose our people cannot ', tain at least its present strength— and probably 
 bear the whole truth on every and any question, \ wilh aJa rge increase of its present numbers— can- 
 sodial, political, military, and even diplomatic: > not be doubted - But even without another ro- 
 und from our enemies there is no longer anything \ cruit > at the Present slow rate of decrease of its 
 to be concealed. The strength of our armies, J veteran force, it would long maintain a defence 
 the number at home still liable to service, the ex- \ of the country; long enough to wear out the re- 
 tent of all our resources, the depth of every har- 'i sources of the enemy. Do gentlemen see no signs 
 bor, the navigable length of every river, the ^ of exhaustion at the North? Do they derive no 
 height of every mountain, the width of every J ho P e from the consideration of financial disasters 
 plain, and almost the producing capacity of every > impending there? How long they can carry on 
 acre, are already known to them; and it is to be \ an aggressive war under a debt whose annual in- 
 hoped that none of these things are better known ^ terest alre ady equals that of the debt of Great 
 to them than to us. The particular measures pf \ Britain » accumulated during centuries marked by 
 legislation which should be adopted to assist in ^expensive wars— a debt still accumulating at the 
 the great work of bringing men to the field and \ rate of over two millions a day-cannot be pre- 
 keeping them there, it would be out of place now > cisel y calculated ; but the end is certain and near, 
 to discuss. Already other members have sug-* The intelli S ent Northern mind is already grasp- 
 gested, by bill or resolution, more than one salu-> ins lhe grcat fact that the entire P ro P ert y of the 
 tarv exactment ' South, less the slaves, if confiscated and sold to- 
 
 morrow, would not pay their present debt. The 
 But, sir, if all these calculations fail — if, as our \ property of Hi< thirteen Confederate States, ex- 
 despairing friends declare, we have approximated ( elusive of slaves, was, in 18G0, estimated at about 
 to final exhaustion, and must find some extraor- / 4,000 millions of dollars, and the Northern debt, 
 dinary source of re-inforcements — will negro /already audited, is about 2,500 millions. Allow* 
 troops answer the purpose — will the African save j ing for the depreciation of values in the South, 
 us? There is no moral, no pecuniary objection \ which would ensue on abolition and subjugation, 
 to'employing them, if they can be made to serve 'it is obvious that our whole property would not 
 the occasion. The question is not whether they discharge it. How long they may be able to put 
 have not been known to fight, but whether they < off the day of bankruptcy, when every hour but 
 can be relied on to fight successfully for us now ^adds to the amount of Government obligations, 
 in the present death grapple with our enemies. I whieh, with every hour, grow more worthless.and 
 
which soon must be valueless to hire even foreign 
 mercenaries, cannot with certainty be foretold; 
 but at least this can be said, and in the name of 
 our brave army of citizen-soldiers I say it, that 
 under such circumstances we can defend as long 
 as they, can strike. 
 
 This argument proceeds upon the presumption 
 that the negro, whether slave or free, cannot be 
 made a good soldier. The law of his race forbids 
 it. Of all others the best adapted to slavery, he 
 is therefore of all others, the least adapted for 
 military service. Of great simplicity of disposi- 
 tion, tractable, prone to obedience, and highly im- 
 itative, he is easily drilled; but timid, averse to 
 effort, without ambition, he has none of the higher 
 qualities of the soldier. It is difficult to conceive a 
 being less fit for plucking honor from the cannon's \ 
 mouth. At the beginning of this war, he fled to 
 the enemy to avoid work; his local attachment 
 was not sufficient to retain him; now he remains 
 to avoid military service in the Yankee army — his 
 aversion to work being greater than his aver- 
 sion to slavery, and only less than his aversion 
 to war. Such is his character as it appears in 
 history. It is not denied that, under the influence 
 of revenge, of a desire for plunder, or other mad- 
 dening or special excitement, he has been known 
 to surrender himself to slaughter and to wade 
 deep in blood; so in his native Africa, he surren- 
 ders himself a sacrifice to his gods; but history 
 will be searched in vain to prove him a good sol- 
 dier. In the revolution of 1776, Lord Dunmorc 
 proclaimed all the negroes of Virginia free, and 
 invited them to join his standard; but less than 
 three hundred accepted the invitation. They 
 preferred slavery to military service. And in the 
 battle he fought near Norfolk against the Virginia 
 militia, we are informed by the historian (Botta) 
 that his negro troops " behaved very shabbily 
 and saved themselves by flight." In St. Do- 
 mingo, the English, in 1793, with less than 1,000 
 men, captured several fortified places from the 
 French authorities, who had over 20,000 troops, 
 chiefly negroes and mulattoes; and finally, with 
 les3 than 2,000 men, captured Port au Prince, 
 the capital of the island. The French, in ex- 
 tremity, ottered freedom to the slaves, more than 
 400,000 in number, on condition of military ser- 
 vice; but only 6,000 accepted the boon. Yet the 
 hands of these slaves were still bloody with the 
 massacres perpetrated in the memorable insur- 
 rection of 1790. Sir, on what motive is he to 
 fight our battles? He is after all a human being, 
 and acts upon motives. Will you offer him his 
 freedom? The enemy will offer him his freedom, 
 and also as a deserter, immunity from military ser- 
 vice. Will you offer him the privilege of return 
 home to bis family, a freeman, after the war? 
 
 That you dare not do, remembering it was the 
 free negroes of St. Domingo, who had been 
 trained to arms, that excited the insurrection of 
 the slaves. And the enemy would meet even that 
 offer with tho promise of a return free to his 
 Southern home and the right of property in it. 
 The amount of it all is, that in despair of achiev- 
 ing our independence with oufown right arms, 
 we turn for succor to the slave and implore him 
 to establish our freedom and fix slavery upon 
 himself, or at least upon his family and his race, 
 forever. He, at least, after the expiration of his 
 term of service, is to be banished to Liberia or 
 other inhospitable shore, for the States could 
 never permit an army of negroes to be returned 
 home, either free or slave. 
 
 Sir, if the employment of negro troops should 
 be attempted successfully, our army would soon 
 contain only slaves. There are not less than 
 400,000 adult male slaves still in the Confederacy, 
 physically capable of performing military ser- 
 vice, and far less than this number of good troops 
 would ensure our independence. If they will 
 answer, the end is certain: they alone will be 
 employed during the war, and as a standing army 
 after peace Promised their freedom for a certain 
 term of service, as proposed by the President, 
 they return free to their homes, or are deported; 
 a new purchase or draft takes place to fill up the 
 vacancies so occasioned; a continual drain is set 
 up on the slave population at home to supply the 
 army, the able-bodied are taken; the women and 
 children, and the feeble, whose productive force 
 is diminished one-third by the absence of the usual 
 proportion of the able, are left an expense on the 
 owner's hands; and ultimately the institution 
 fails! Sir, this war i3 to be fought solely by 
 white soldiers and black laborers, or white labo- 
 rers and black soldiers: try to intermingle the 
 two when you may, the attempt will fail; the 
 strands will seperate; when the negro enters the 
 army the white soldier will leave it. He becomes 
 the laborer — not reposing as a veteran upon his 
 laurels — enjoying the repose of home after his 
 long services; but the natural laborer of the 
 country being absent in the military service, he 
 supplies the place left void in the field; his labor 
 must support himself, his family and the negro 
 soldier. Sir, this scheme, if attempted, will end 
 in rapid emancipation and colonization — coloni- 
 zation in the North by bringing up the slaves by 
 regiments and brigades to the opportunity of es- 
 cape to the enemy; emancipation and coloniza^ 
 tion abroad to those who render service to us for 
 a specified period. 1 argue on the presumption 
 that nothing of the kind will be attempted with- 
 out the consent of the States, whether as to em* 
 ploying them on the promise of freedom, or as to 
 
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