Individual pugilists of that race have entered all classes,
from featherweight to heavyweight, and have remained there; receiving
blows and dealing blows; showing a sturdy, positive force; mastering
and employing all the methods of attack and defence allowed in such
encounters, and supporting themselves with that fortitude and courage
so necessary to the ring. Such combats are not to be commended, as
they are usually mere tests of skill and endurance, entered into on
the principles of the gambler, and they are introduced here for the
sole purpose of showing the colored man as a positive force, yielding
only to a superior degree of force of the same kind. The soldier
stands for something far higher than the pugilist represents, although
he has need of the same qualities of physical hardihood--contempt for
suffering and coolness in the presence of danger, united with skill in
the use of his weapons. The pugilist is his own general and never
learns the high lessons of obedience; the soldier learns to
subordinate himself to his commander, and to fight bravely and
effectively under the direction of another.
The evolution of the Afro-American soldier was the work of a short
period and suffered many interruptions. When the War of the Revolution
broke out the colored man was a slave, knowing nothing of the spirit
or the training of the soldier; before it closed several thousand
colored men had entered the army and some had won distinction for
gallantry.
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