At no time during the first two years of the war was the President or the Congress willing to entertain the idea of employing Negroes as soldiers. It has been shown that the admission of loyal Negroes into the Union lines, and into the service of the Engineer's and Quartermaster's Department, had been resisted with great stubbornness by the men in the "chief places." There were, however, a few men, both in and out of the army, who secretly believed that the Negro was needed in the army, and that he possessed all the elements necessary to make an excellent soldier. Public sentiment was so strong against the employment of Negroes in the armed service that few men had the courage of conviction; few had the temerity to express their views publicly. In the summer of 1860,--before the election of Abraham Lincoln,--General J. Watts De Peyster, of New York, wrote an article for a Hudson paper, in which he advocated the arming of Negroes as soldiers, should the Southern States declare war against the Government of the United States. The article was reproduced in many other papers, pronounced a fire-brand, and General De Peyster severely denounced for his advice. But he stood his ground, and when the war did come he gave to his country's service three gallant sons; and from the first to the last was an efficient and enthusiastic supporter of the war for the Union. The rebels took the first step in the direction of the military employment of Negroes as soldiers. Two weeks after the firing upon Sumter took place, the following note appeared in the "Charleston Mercury": Several companies of the Third and Fourth Regiments of Georgia passed through Augusta for the expected scene of warfare--Virginia. Sixteen well-drilled companies of volunteers and one negro company, from Nashville, Tennessee, offered their services to the Confederate States."[91] In the "Memphis Avalanche" and "Memphis Appeal" of the 9th, 10th, and 11th of May, 1861, appeared the following notice: "ATTENTION, VOLUNTEERS: Resolved by the Committee of Safety, that C. Deloach, D. R. Cook, and William B. Greenlaw be authorized to organize a volunteer company composed of our patriotic free men of color, of the city of Memphis, for the service of our common defence. All who have not enrolled their names will call at the office of W. B. Greenlaw & Co. "F. TITUS, _President_. "F. W. FORSYTHE, _Secretary_." On the 9th of February, 1862, the rebel troops had a grand review, and the "Picayune," of New Orleans, contained the following paragraph: