steadiness of purpose sufficient to make the backbone of a real
history.

The present work deals with these elements of character as they are
exhibited in the garb of the soldier. When men are willing to fight
and die for what they hold dear, they have become a moving force,
capable of disturbing the currents of history and of making a channel
for the stream of their own actions. The American Negro has evolved an
active, aggressive element in the scientific fighting men he has
produced. 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