[371] principal objects were robbery and plunder. There was no civil government with strength enough to arrest them, and they overawed and held in terror the more quiet citizens who were disposed to treat the freedmen with fairness and humanity. But for the presence of Bureau officers, sustained by a military force, there would have been no one to whom these victims of cruelty and wrong could have appealed for defense. And the evils remedied have probably been far less than the evils prevented. No one can tell what scenes of violence and strife and insurrection the whole South might have presented without the presence of this agency of the Government to preserve order and to enforce justice. Several officers and agents have been severely wounded, and some have lost their lives in this service. Fallen in the faithful discharge of duty, in brave defense of right, in heroic protection of the weak and poor, their names deserve a place on their country's “Roll of fame.” Notice the appropriations by Congress:
For the year ending July 1, 1867 | $6,940,450.00 |
For the year ending July 1, 1868 | 3,836,300.00 |
For relief of destitute citizens in the District of Columbia | 40,000.00 |
For relief of destitute freedmen in the same | 15,000.00 |
For expenses of paying bounties in 1869 | 214,000.00 |
For expenses for famine in Southern States and transportation | 1,865,645.40 |
For the support of hospitals | 50,000.00 |
Making a total, received from all sources, of | $12,961,395.40 |