At the battle of Long Island in 1776, Negroes fought bravely, and many fell. Theodore Parker, once in alluding to the discovery of the remains of these, remarked: “Now after seventy-five years have passed by, the bones of the forgotten victims of the Revolution are shovelled up by Irish laborers, carted off, and shot into the sea, as rubbish of the town. Had they been white men’s relics, how they would have been honored with sumptuous burial anew, and the purchased prayers and preaching of Christian divines! Now they are the rubbish of the street.” In the war of 1812, the Negro performed heroic service on land and on the water. Commodore Perry said that Negroes in the navy seemed to be absolutely insensible to danger. General Jackson gave them great credit for their efficient services. He solicited and welcomed them into the service of their country. In September, 1814, he issued a proclamation, which contained the words: “As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend our most inestimable blessing. As Americans your country looks with confidence to her adopted children for a valorous support.” In the war of the Rebellion the colored man performed a very prominent and heroic part. This furnished on a large scale an opportunity to show his loyalty and courage, and he met the highest expectations which had been cherished by his friends. For two years the war had been carried on by the North on the principle of saving the Union without interfering with slavery, which was really at the bottom of the whole trouble. While that policy was pursued the prospect of success seemed dark. Slaves in several cases ran away and came into the Union forces for protection, but in several instances were sent back. General Butler after awhile declared that kind of property to be contraband of war. After that the rebels did not have many of the “contrabands” forced back by our soldiers. After the proclamation of emancipation was issued, victory seemed to turn on the side of the Union forces, and defeat on the other side. That step for the freedom of 4,000,000 of slaves, was announced as an act of justice and a military necessity. On the side of the North, negroes for a considerable time had not been allowed to use a shovel or shoulder a musket in behalf of the cause of freedom. Some predicted that if so allowed they would not begin to compare in efficiency with the white man. The experiment proved a grand success.