Emma Holmes left a remarkable diary of her experiences during the Civil War. A member of a prominent Charleston family, Holmes was in her twenties during the war.
Black soldiers were first used in the East in operations along the Carolina Coast. Holmes wrote on July 19, 1863 of a recent encounter between Confederates and Black soldiers on James Island near the mouth of Charleston Harbor:
“Our troops on James I[sland] made a reconnaissance and found negro troops to oppose them, scarcely a white officer among them. At the first discharge, they fled pursued by our men who mowed them down & would have cut them to pieces, but one of our officers put a stop to it, saying he wished some captured to be hung as an example & 16 were taken. Most of the gentlemen think it decidedly a wrong step…If we hang them, will not the Yankees retaliate upon our men? They are fiendish enough to delight in the idea. Yet, it is revolting to our feelings to have them treated as prisoners of war as well as injurious to our negroes. However, they were brought to the city barefoot, hatless & coatless & tied in a gang like common runaways.” [The Diary of Miss Emma Holmes ed by John Marszalek p. 281-282]
According to historian John Marszalek, the Black soldiers were from the 54th Massachusetts. This skirmish took place on July 16, 1863. Called the Battle of Grimball’s Landing, the expedition was a diversionary action designed to take Confederate troops away from Battery Wagner.
First Sergeant Robert John Simmons of the 54th Massachusetts provided an eye-witness account of the fight in a letter.
July 18, 1863;
We are on the march to Fort Wagner, to storm it. We have just completed our successful retreat from James Island; we fought a desperate battle there Thursday morning. Three companies of us, B, H, and K, were out on picket about a good mile in advance of the regiment. We were attacked early in the morning. Our company was in the reserve when the outposts were attacked by rebel infantry and cavalry. I was sent out by our Captain in command of a squad of men to support the left flank. The bullets fairly rained around us; when I got there the poor fellows were falling down around me, with pitiful groans. Our pickets only numbered about 250 men, attacked by about 900. It is supposed by the line of battle in the distance, that they were supported by the reserve of 3,000 men. We had to fire and retreat toward our own encampment. One poor Sergeant of ours was shot down alongside of me; several others were wounded near me.
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This is the same regiment as the movie “Glory”, correct?
Yes.
BTW, not to denigrate the toughness and spunk of the 54th Mass., but the First Kansas Colored regiment was the first black regiment in battle with CSA forces. The 54th’s actions came about two weeks later.
I understand that there were Black regiments prior to the organization of the 54th.
“Yet, it is revolting to our feelings to have them treated as prisoners of war as well as injurious to our negroes.”
But if “[their] negroes” had been Black Confederate soldiers and not enslaved people, it would not have been so difficult to see Black men in blue uniforms. Once again, it’s not that hard to understand the truth.
You can find it in the everyday comments of people living in the South during the war.
The first Union troops to enter and occupy Charleston… “Ordered to Hilton Head, S.C., April, 1864, arriving April 27 and served duty there until June. Moved to Morris Island, S.C., and duty there operating against Charleston, S.C., until November. Expedition to Boyd’s Neck November 28-30. Battle of Honey Hill November 30. Demonstration on Charleston & Savannah Railroad December 6-9. Devaux’s Neck December 6. James Island February 14, 1865. Occupation of Charleston February 18. Potter’s Expedition April 5-25. Dingle’s Mills April 9. Statesboro April 15. Occupation of Camden April 17. Boydkin’s Mills April 18. Beach Creek near Statesburg and Denken’s Mills April 19. Garrison duty at Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head, S.C., until August.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/32nd_United_States_Colored_Infantry_Regiment