Note 18 — Chapter II

I attempted to pass Jackson Square in New Orleans one day in my uniform, when I was met by two white soldiers of the 24th Conn. They halted me and then ordered me to undress. I refused, when they seized me and began to tear my coat off. I resisted, but to no good purpose; a half a dozen others came up and began to assist. I recognized a sergeant in the crowd, an old shipmate on board of a New Bedford, Mass., Whaler; he came to my rescue, my clothing was restored and I was let go. It was nothing strange to see a black soldier a la Adam come into the barracks out of the streets. This conduct led to the killing of a portion of a boat's crew of the U. S. Gunboat Jackson, at Ship Island, Miss., by members of a Phalanx regiment stationed there.