Ten regiments of immunes had been
organized in the volunteer service partly in anticipation of such a
situation. Four of these regiments were composed of colored enlisted
men. The regiments were classed as United States Volunteer Infantry,
and were numbered from one to ten, the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and
Tenth being colored.
Of these four colored regiments the officers above first lieutenants
were white men, except the chaplains, and in some cases the surgeons.
Very little care had been taken in enlisting the men, as it was
important to get the regiments in the field as soon as possible; yet
of them as a whole General Breckinridge, Inspector-General, speaks as
follows: "The colored regiments of immunes, so called, raised for this
war, have turned out, so far as can be judged from their camp life (as
none of them have been in any actual campaign), very satisfactory. The
regular colored regiments won golden opinions in battle. The
experiment of having so many colored officers has not yet shown its
full results. Certainly we should have the best obtainable officers
for our volunteers, and therefore some such men as Colonel Young, who
is a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, whether white or
black, must be sought for."
Besides these four colored regiments of immunes, so-called, there were
other State organizations composed entirely of colored men, mustered
into the United States service, as for example the Ninth Battalion of
the Ohio National Guard.
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