Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[495] write, the Ninth (colored) Cavalry, for good conduct in the field against the Indians, and for high soldierly bearing, are at Fort Myers near Washington, by the order of the War Department, exhibited to all comers as instances of the best qualities of the American cavalry troops.

After I left New Orleans, General Banks enlisted many more of them, but was weak enough to take away from them the great object of their ambition, under the, spur of which they were ready to fight to the death, namely, equality with the white soldiers. He was also unmanly enough to add injustice to that folly by taking the commissions from their line officers, which I had given them, and to brand their organizations with the stigma of a designation as a “Corps d'afrique.” Yet, in spite of his unwisdom, they did equal service and laid down their lives at Port Hudson in equal numbers comparatively with their white brothers in arms. Of the folly, injustice, and stupidity of this class of prejudice I may speak in describing the events of the campaign of 1864.

I can now give a curious instance of the exhibition of this prejudice by one of the ablest men and best loved members of my staff, a life-long friend of whom I have heretofore spoken and shall hereafter speak in terms of affection, friendship, and admiring regard, Gen. Godfrey Weitzel. For his capacity, conduct, and skill, I had recommended Weitzel for promotion from first lieutenant of engineers to brigadier-general for the purpose of putting him in command of an expedition of the most important character. His great success in that, and his career afterwards during the whole war, fully justified the appointment.

On the 25th of October, I organized an expedition by a brigade composed of five regiments of infantry, two batteries of artillery, and four companies of cavalry. This force was to move up the western bank of the Mississippi and through West Louisiana, for the purpose of capturing and occupying that territory and dispersing the forces assembled there under Gen. Richard Taylor, and then to send a detachment to occupy Galveston. The plan was for Weitzel to go up the river as far as Donaldsonville, capture and fortify that point, move west of Berwick Bay, and, with the aid of the light draught steamers which I had bought or captured, seize all the waters of Southern Louisiana west of New Orleans.