enial work in the army,
but that fighting was the white man's task. Those who supported the
idea in its incipiency always urged the necessity of employing Negroes
in the army. A native Georgian supported the employment of these
troops in a letter to the Secretary of War, recommending freedom after
the war was over to those who fought, compensation to the owners and
the retention of the institution of slavery by continuing as slaves
"boys and women, and exempted or detailed men." The statement
concludes with "our country requires a quick and stringent remedy.
Don't stop for reforms."[26]

In November, 1864, Jefferson Davis in his message to the Confederate
Congress recognized that the time might come when slaves would be
needed in the Confederate army: "The subject," said he, "is to be
viewed by us, therefore, solely in the light of policy and our social
economy. When so regarded, I must dissent from those who advise a
general levy and arming of slaves for the duty of soldiers. Until our
white population shall prove insufficient for the armies we require
and can afford to keep the field, to employ as a soldier the Negro,
who has merely been trained to labor, and as a laborer under the white
man, accustomed from his youth to the use of firearms, would scarcely
be deemed wise or advantageous by any; and this is the question before
us. But should the alternative ever be presented of subjugation or of
the employment of the slave as a soldier, there seems no reason to
doubt what should be our decision."[27] In the same month, J. A.
Seddon, Secretary of War, refused permission to Major E. B. Briggs of
Columbus, Georgia, to raise a regiment of Negro troops, stating that
it was not probable that any such policy would be adopted by
Congress.[28]

In response to an inquiry from Seddon, the Secretary of War, as to the
advisability of arming slaves, General Howell Cobb presented the point
of view of one group of the Confederates, when he opposed the measure
to arm the Negroes. "I think," said he "that the proposition to make
soldiers of our slaves is the most pernicious idea that has been
suggested since the war began ... you cannot make soldiers of slaves
or slaves of soldiers. The moment you resort to Negro soldiers, your
white soldiers will be lost to you, and one secret of the favor with
which the proposition is received in portions of the army is the hope
when Negroes go into the army, they (the whites) will be permitted to