his proper place.

The history made by the American Negro has been so filled with
suffering that we have overlooked the active side. The world has heard
so much of the horrors of the "Middle Passage"; the awful sufferings
of the slave; the barbarous outrages that have been perpetrated upon
ex-slaves; the inhuman and senseless prejudices that meet colored
Americans almost everywhere on their native soil; that it has come to
look upon this recital as the whole of the story. It needs to be told
that these records constitute the dark side of the picture, dark and
horrible enough, to be sure, but this is by no means the whole
picture. If there are scenes whose representations would serve to
ornament the infernal regions, pictures over which fiends might gloat,
there are also others which angels might delight to gaze upon. There
has been much of worthy action among the colored people of this
country, wherever the bonds of oppression have been slackened enough
to allow of free movement. There have been resistance to wrong by way
of remonstrance and petition, sometimes even by force; laudable
efforts toward self-education; benevolent and philanthropic movements;
reform organizations, and commendable business enterprise both in
individuals and associations. These show a toughness of fibre and
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.