As it happened, they had never seen him, nor was my regiment ever placed within immediate reach of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts.

This I always regretted, feeling very desirous to compare the military qualities of the Northern and Southern blacks.

As it was, the Southern regiments with which the Massachusetts troops were brigaded were hardly a fair specimen of their kind, having been raised chiefly by drafting, and, for this and other causes, being afflicted with perpetual discontent and desertion.
We had, of course, looked forward with great interest to the arrival of these new colored regiments, and I had ridden in from the picket-station to see the Fifty-Fourth.

Apart from the peculiarity of its material, it was fresh from my own State, and I had relatives and acquaintances among its officers.

Governor Andrew, who had formed it, was an old friend, and had begged me, on departure from Massachusetts, to keep him informed as to our experiment I had good reason to believe that my reports had helped to prepare the way for this new battalion, and I had sent him, at his request, some hints as to its formation.* *COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Executive Department, Boston, February 5, 1863.
To COL.