[326] he is yellow-oh no l not even if he should happen to be black. He hears the command: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” I do not learn in any of the Commandments or in the Gospel of Christ, that black men are excepted; and I have always taken it for granted from my childhood till the present time that the Commandments and Gospel apply alike to black and white. . . . One of our generals in this city told me the other day that many years ago in Florida he had been outside of many of the cabins of the negroes and heard them night after night sending up petitions to God for their freedom. He said he believed then that those prayers were registered in heaven, and that sooner or later these people would be free. Now, certainly, taking into consideration what I have seen and what I have heard, I believe there will be a great body of negroes in heaven; and in spite of it, I want to go there, and if we can carry out the principle of love to one another, we may all go there. If we cannot carry it out, those men whose bosoms are not big enough, or broad enough, to take in that principle will never be likely to go there I We can rest on fundamental truths; they apply alike to statesmen and President; they apply to me; they apply to you. You have a great work to do-an immense work. I am not one of those who cry, “ The negro will not work.” I know you will, but I want you to work with unusual zeal. I want the brightest and smartest among you to put forth every energy. (We will.) We have fought and fought together; and whenever I feel a returning throb from an old wound, I thank God I lost what I did lose in the procurement of practical liberty. I thank God it was done in opening up a chance for the colored people to go ahead in
This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
Chapter
47
: freedmen's aid societies and an act of congress creating a Bureau of refugees, freedmen and abandoned lands
Chapter
55
:
first
appropriation by congress for the bureau; the reconstruction Act,
March
2
,
1867
; increase of educational work
Chapter
60
: opposition to Bureau and reconstruction work became personal; the
Congregational Church of
Washington
Chapter
62
: life in
Washington, D. C.
,
1866
to
1874
; assigned to duty in regular army as commander,
Department of the Columbia
Chapter
63
: in the
Northwest
, among the
Indians
; trip to
Alaska
; life in
Portland, Ore.
;
1874
to
1881
Chapter
64
: superintendent of the
United States military Academy
; commanding
Department of the Platte
,
Omaha, Neb.
Chapter
68
:
French
army maneuvers,
1884
; promotion to
Major General
,
United States army
,
San Francisco
1886
-
88
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