tremble at the idea of the military force being eliminated, for, whatever may be their hatred of the United States soldier, in him they find their safety.
It has not been my lot to command to any great extent colored troops. I have had ample opportunity, however, of observing them in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, and, comparing them with white troops, I unhesitatingly say that they make as good soldiers. The two colored regiments under my command in Mobile were noted for their discipline and perfection of drill, and between those troops and the citizens of Mobile no trouble arose until after the proclamation of the provisional governor, when it became necessary to arm them going to and from their fatigue duty, because they were hustled from the sidewalk by infuriated citizens, who, carrying out the principles enunciated by Mayor Hough and the common council and the newspapers heretofore alluded to, sought to incite mob. I have said that a great deal of the trouble alluded to in the government of the State has arisen since the appointment and proclamation of the provisional governor. The people of Alabama then believed they were relieved from coercion of the United States and restored to State government, and that having rid themselves of the bayonets, they might assume the reins, which they attempted to do in the manner above described. When I speak of the people I mean the masses, those that we call the populace. There are thinking, intelligent men in Alabama, as elsewhere, who understand and appreciate the true condition of affairs. But these men, for the most part, are timid and retiring, unwilling to take the lead, and even when subjected to outrage, robbery, and pillage by their fellow-citizens, refrain from testifying, and prefer to put up with the indignity rather than incur an unpopularity that may cost their lives. Hence there is danger of the mob spirit running riot and rampant through the land, only kept under by our forces.
That there are organized bands throughout the country who, as guerillas or banditti, now still keep up their organization, with a view to further troubles in a larger arena, I have no doubt, though, of course, I have no positive testimony. But this I know, that agents in Mobile have been employed to transmit ammunition in large packages to the interior. One man by the name of Dieterich is now incarcerated in the military prison at Mobile charged with this offence. A detective was sent to purchase powder of him, who represented himself to be a guerilla, and that he proposed to take it out to his band. He bought $25 worth the first, and $25 worth the second day, and made a contract for larger quantities. Deputations of citizens waited upon me from time to time to advise me that these bands were in being, and that they were in imminent peril upon their avowing their intentions to take the oath of allegiance, or evincing in any other way their loyalty to the government; and yet these men, while they claimed the protection of the military, were unwilling to reveal the names of the conspirators. I have seen General Wood's statement, which is true in all particulars so far as my own observation goes, and I have had even far better opportunities than General Wood of knowing the character of the people he now protects, and while protecting, is ignored socially and damned politically; for it is a noticeable fact that, after a sojourn in Mobile of upwards of six weeks in command of the State, during part of which time he was ill and suffering, he received but one call socially out of a community heretofore considered one of the most opulent, refined, and hospitable of all the maritime cities of the South, the favorite home of the officers of the army and the navy in by-gone days; and that one call from General Longstreet, who was simply in transitu.
| THOMAS KILBY SMITH, | |
| Brigadier General United States Volunteers. |
No. 10.
Jackson, Mississippi, August 27, 1865.
General: The northern district of Mississippi embraces that portion of the State north of southern boundary lines of Clark, Jasper, Smith, Simpson, and Hinds counties, except the six counties (Warren, Yazoo, Issaquena, Washington, Sunflower, and Bolivar) constituting the western district.
The entire railroad system of the State is within my district, and although these lines of communication were seriously injured during the war, steps are being taken everywhere to repair them as fast as means can be procured. The break of thirty-five miles on the Southern (Vicksburg Mendrain) railroad, between Big Black and Jackson, is, by authority of the department commander, being repaired by my troops, and will be ready for operation in a few days.
The thirty-six counties under my military control constitute the richest portion of the State, the soil being the most available for agricultural purposes, cotton (Upland) being the great staple, while in the eastern counties, in the valley of the upper Tombigbee, corn was grown very extensively, the largest proportion of the usual demand in the State for this cereal being supplied from that section.
