Says Mr. Nell, "The celebrated Charles Pinkney, of South Carolina, in
his speech on the Missouri question, in defence of the Slave
representation of the South, made the following admission:--They (the
colored people) were in numerous instances the pioneers, and in all the
labors of our army. To their hands we are owing the greatest part of the
fortifications raised for the protection of the country. Fort Moultrie
gave, at an early period of inexperience and untried valor of our
citizens, immortality to the American arms." And were there no other
proof on record, the testimony given to the brave followers of the
renowned hero of Chalmet Plains, would of itself be sufficient to
establish the right of the colored man to eligibility in his native
country. "In 1814," continues Mr. Nell, "when New Orleans was in danger,
and the proud criminal distinctions of caste were again demolished by
one of those emergencies in which nature puts to silence for the moment
the base partialities of art, the free colored people were called into
the field in common with the whites; and the importance of their
services was thus acknowledged by General Jackson:--
"HEAD-QUARTERS SEVENTH MILITARY
DISTRICT, MOBILE, SEPTEMBER 21, 1814.
Pages:
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92