During the sojourn at Chatham, the commissions to the men were discussed, &c. It has been a matter of inquiry, even among friends, why colored men were not commissioned by John Brown to act as captains, lieutenants, &c. I reply, with the knowledge that men in the movement now living will confirm it, that John Brown did offer the captaincy, and other military positions, to colored men equally with others, but a want of acquaintance with military tactics was the invariable excuse. Holding a civil position, as we termed it, I declined a captain’s commission tendered by the brave old man, as better suited to those more experienced; and as I was willing to give my life to the cause, trusting to experience and fidelity to make me more worthy, my excuse was accepted. The same must be said of other colored men to be spoken of hereafter, and who proved their worthiness by their able defence of freedom at the Ferry. JOHN H. KAGI. Of the constellation of noble men who came to Chatham with Capt. Brown, no one was greater in the essentials of true nobility of character and executive skill than John H. Kagi, the confidential friend and adviser of the old man, and second in position in the expedition; no one was held in more deserved respect. Kagi was, singularly enough, a Virginian by birth, and had relatives in the region of the Ferry. He left home when a youth, an enemy to slavery, and brought as his gift offering to freedom three slaves, whom he piloted to the North. His innate hatred of the institution made him a willing exile from the State of his birth, and his great abilities, natural and acquired, entitled him to the position he held in Capt. Brown’s confidence. Kagi was indifferent to personal appearance; he often went about with slouched hat, one leg of his pantaloons properly adjusted, and the other partly tucked into his high boot-top; unbrushed, unshaven, and in utter disregard of “the latest style”; but to his companions and acquaintances, a verification of Burns’ man in the clothes; for John Henry Kagi had improved his time; he discoursed elegantly and fluently, wrote ably, and could occupy the platform with greater ability than many a man known to the American people as famous in these respects. John Brown appreciated him, and to his men, his estimate of John Henry was a familiar theme. Kagi’s bravery, his devotion to the cause, his deference to the commands of his leader, were most nobly illustrated in his conduct at Harper’s Ferry. * * * * *