TitleLetter, 1863 September 11, Captain Joseph Walker (New York) to Major T.B. Brooks (Morris Island), colored troops for work, page 1
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Transcription[Letter] Morris Island S.C.; September 11th 1863; Major, In answer to your several queries as per circular of Sept. [September] 10th 1863 requesting my opinion as to the relative merits of white and black troops, for work in the trenches. I have the honor to make the following replies. 1. Their courage as indicated by their behavior under fire? I will say, in my opinion their courage is rather of the passive than the active kind. They will stay, endure, resist and follow, but they have not the restless aggressive spirit. I do not believe they will desert their officers in trying moments in so great numbers as the whites. They have not the will, audacity, or fertility of excuse of the struggling white, and at the same time, they have not the heroic nervous energy, or vivid perception of the white who stands firm or presses forward. I do not remember a single instance in my labors in the trenches where the black man has skulked away from his duty, and I know that instances of that kind have occurred amongst the
LocationsMorris Island, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States(32.71573,-79.89037)
