Nobody grudges a word of praise for the negro troops which they honestly deserve. Whenever they do better in battle than is expected of them, it is but fair that they should receive credit in reports of commanding Generals, provided always that the valor of the white soldier is not unjustly slighted by omissions, of by invidious comparisons. But fulsome laudation of the negro at the expense of the white soldier is quite another matter. It is nauseous and intolerable; and, if indulged into any extent by radical war correspondents and newspapers, must produce an intensity of dislike, on the part of white towards black soldiers, which will have a bad effect in all army operations where the latter are engaged.
Some remarkable specimens of this exaggerated hero-making of the colored soldier, and studied depreciation of the white one, came all the way from Cincinnati by telegraph, on Friday, for the “Associated Press,” accompanying the details of Gen. Sturgis’s defeat. The Negro troops are glorified throughout, but there is not a word of extenuation for the poor whites. “The colored troop were the las to give way.” “The negro troops gathered ammunition from the cost away [sic] accoutrements of the white troops, and thus were enabled to keep up the fight until they reached Memphis.” “One body of 1,600 (white) infantry which were cut off and supposed no have been captured, were defended by 200 negro troops from the repeated assaults of the rebel cavalry.” “Another body of negro troops came in, (to Memphis) having escaped by various roads. All brought their arms and accoutrements with them.”
The inference which the reader is expected to draw from these statements is, that the white troops were a mob of cowardly wretches, and the negroes a phalanx heroes. Every man an Ajax, gallantly taking eight craven whites (in the ratio of 200 to 1,600) under his powerful protection. It is not worth while seriously to refute such a string of preposterous absurdities. A man might as gravely undertake to point out the probable exaggerations in the travels of Lemuel Gulliver of Baron Munchausen. Every intelligent person knows, without waiting for truthful and impartial report to come along, that, however, the black troops might have conducted themselves, there can be no reason for this continuous insulting disparagement of the whites.
The radicals, who originate these stories for well known political objects, will fund that they are handling a weapon that cuts both ways; for nothing would be so likely to bring about a tremendous reaction against negro troops and their injudicious eulogizers as this class of outrageous libels upon the white soldiers of the Republic.
