Freedom by the Sword - US Army Center Of Military History

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Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862–1867
self while the regiment was still attempting to obey his first order. “All semblance
of organization was lost in a few moments,” Hawley wrote, “save with about one
company, which faced the enemy and opened fire. The remainder constantly drifted
back, suffering from the fire which a few moments’ decision and energy would have
checked, if not suppressed. Most of the officers went back with their men, trying to
rally them.” Of the first brigade in the line of march, only the 8th USCI remained in
position with full cartridge boxes. 18
“An aide came dashing through the woods to us and the order was—‘double
quick, march!’” 1st Lt. Oliver W. Norton told his sister after the battle. “We . . . ran
in the direction of the firing for half a mile. . . . Military men say that it takes veteran
troops to maneuver under fire, but our regiment with knapsacks on and unloaded
pieces . . . formed a line under the most destructive fire I ever knew.” Before being appointed
to the 8th USCI, Norton had taken part as an enlisted man in every campaign
of the Army of the Potomac, from the spring of 1862 through the summer of 1863. 19
“You must not be surprised if I am not very clear in regard to what happened for
the next two or three hours,” 2d Lt. Andrew F. Ely, another Army of the Potomac veteran
in the 8th USCI, wrote in a letter home. “I can now tell but little more than what
transpired in my own Company for my own 1st Lieut was killed within five minutes
. . . and I had so much to attend to that I did not have time to look around much. We
were the second company from the colors,” which stood in the center of the regimental
line, “and so fearful was the decimation that in a short time I dressed the left of
my company up to the colors.” The company on Ely’s left had disintegrated, and he
moved to close the gap. His own company went into action with sixty-two men in
the ranks, he wrote, and ended with ten present for duty. “Four times our colors went
down but they were raised again for brave men were guarding them although their
skins were black.” 20
The 8th USCI had received its colors only the previous November and had
come south two months later. The men had not fired their weapons often, although
Colonel Fribley had asked repeatedly that more time be devoted to training.
While the regiment was organizing near Philadelphia, Fribley ordered that
members of the guard going off duty discharge their weapons at targets, with a
two-day pass awarded to the best shot; but an occasional display of individual
marksmanship was no substitute for drill in the volley fire that was basic to Civil
War tactics. Like many other Civil War soldiers, the men of the 8th USCI entered
battle with little practical training. At the time of the battle, the Union garrison of
St. Augustine included fifty recruits (nearly 20 percent of the entire force) “who
[had] never been initiated into the mysteries of handling a musket.” 21
The men of the 8th USCI “were stunned, bewildered, and . . . seemed terribly
scared, but gradually they recovered their senses and commenced firing,”
Lieutenant Norton wrote. They had little room to maneuver. The road behind
18 OR, ser. 1, vol. 35, pt. 1, pp. 304 (quotation), 308, 339, 343–44; William H. Nulty, Confederate
Florida: The Road to Olustee (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990), pp. 137–39.
19 Oliver W. Norton, Army Letters, 1861–1865 (Chicago: privately printed, 1903), p. 198.
20 A. F. Ely to Hon A. K. Peckham, 27 Feb 64, A. K. Peckham Papers, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, N.J.
21 OR, ser. 1, vol. 35, pt. 1, p. 489 (quotation); Camp William Penn, Special Orders 16, 16 Nov
1863, and General Orders 13, 8 Nov 1863, both in 8th United States Colored Infantry (USCI),