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Jeff Charlie Harvey, South Carolina, (The Slave Narratives)


Black Confederate Soldiers? (Part 4) by Bill Vallante

Although many blacks saw service in Confederate armies, including combat in some cases, there weren’t many who were officially mustered in as soldiers. Further, while it was not unheard of for black men in Confederate armies to pick up guns and fight, it was usually not considered their duty to do so. It is unclear as to whether Jeff Harvey’s father qualified as a “soldier” in the sense of being “mustered in” or not, though it is quite clear that he saw and participated in combat.

There is also a brief mention of two uncles, who served with Stonewall Jackson. As in the case of Mr. Harvey’s father, the exact status of the two uncles is unclear, and it is also not clear as to whether or not they saw combat. It is clear however, that all three men served honorably in Confederate forces- and it is crystal clear to the reader where the loyalties of all three men lay. So much for liberal historians who claim that all blacks in Confederate armies were forced to serve or were secretly rooting for the Union. The following excerpts are from the Jeff Harvey “interview” -

Jeff Charlie Harvey, South Carolina, (The Slave Narratives)

"When I was twelve, my father went to the Confederate War. He joined the Holcombe Legion of Union County and they went immediately to Charleston. They drilled near the village of Santuc in what was then called Mulligan's Old Field, now owned by Rion Jeter. This was the only mustering ground in our part of the county. The soldiers drilled once a week, and for the 'general muster, all of the companies from Sedalia and Cross Keys come there once a month. During the summer time they had what they called general drill for a week or ten days. Of course on this occasion the soldiers camped over the field in covered wagons. Some came in buggies. Slaves, called 'wait-men' cared for the stock and did the cooking and other menial duties for their masters……

…"My own father was shot down for the first time at the Second Battle of Manassas. Here he got a lick over his left eye that was about the size of a bullet; but he said that he thought the lick came from a bit of shell. They carried him to a temporary make-shift hospital that had been improvised behind the breastworks. A soldier who was recovering from a wound nursed him as best he could…..

…"The second time my father was wounded was in Kingston, N.C. He shot a Yankee from behind a tree and he saw the blood spurt from him as he fell. Just about that time he saw another Yankee behind a tree leveling a gun at him. Father threw up his gun but too late, the Yankee shot and tore his arm all to pieces. The bullet went through his arm and struck the corner of his mouth knocking out part of his jaw bone. Then it went under the neck vein and finally it came out on his back knocking a hole in one of his shoulder blades large enough to lay your two thumbs in. His gun stock was also cut into. He lay on the battlefield for a whole day and night; then he was carried to a house where some kind ladies acting as nurses cared for him for over four months. He was sent home and dismissed from the army just a mile below Maybinton, S.C. in dewberry County. Father was unable to do any kind of work for over two years. The war closed a year after he got home. From that time on I cared for my mother and father…..

…"I think Abe Lincoln would have done the South some good if they had let him live. He had a kind heart and knew what suffering was. Lee would have won the war if the mighty Stonewall Jackson had lived. Stonewall was ahead of them all. I had two uncles. Jipp and Charlie Clark in Stonewall's company. They would never talk much about him after his death. It hurts them too much, for Stonewall's men loved him so much. Jeff Davis was a great man, too.

On The Web: http://www.georgiaheritagecoalition.org/site2/commentary/vallante-black-history-month4.phtml