Douglass ardently wanted to see black Union soldiers. There were -no- blacks in the ranks of the rebel armies. Even Dr. Steiner's text doesn't say that there were.
I think Douglass a very great man, and I use his quotes often.
Frederick Douglass on Lincoln:
"Recognizing me, even before I reached him, he exclaimed, so that all around could hear him, "Here comes my friend Douglass." Taking me by the hand, he said, "I am glad to see you. I saw you in the crowd to-day, listening to my inaugural address; how did you like it?" I said, "Mr. Lincoln, I must not detain you with my poor opinion, when there are thousands waiting to shake hands with you." "No, no," he said, "you must stop a little, Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours. I want to know what you think of it?" I replied, "Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort."
"I am glad you liked it!" he said; and I passed on, feeling that any man, however distinguished, might well regard himself honored by such expressions, from such a man."
More Douglass:
"Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical and determined."
Walt
ROFLMAO! Douglass and Steiner both said that there were! You can make vaccuous proclamations, Walt, but that doesn't make them true. Since you obviously missed what they said, I'll post it for you again:
"There are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down loyal troops, and do all that soldiers may to destroy the Federal Government and build up that of the traitors and rebels. There were such soldiers at Manassas, and they are probably there still...Rising above vulgar prejudice, the slaveholding rebel accepts the aid of the black man as readily as that of any other." - Frederick Douglass in 1861.
And you say he didn't say there were black Confederates. You are wrong, again, as usual.
As for Dr. Steiner,
"Over 3,000 Negroes must be included in this number. These were clad in all kinds of uniforms , not only in cast-off or captured United States uniforms, but in coats with Southern buttons, State buttons, etc. These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier than those worn by white men in the rebel ranks. Most of the Negroes had arms, rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives, dirks, etc. They were supplied in many instances, with knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, etc., and were manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederate Army. They were seen riding on horses and mules, driving wagons, riding on caissons, in ambulances, with the staff of Generals, and promiscuously mixed up with all the rebel horde. The fact was patent, and rather interesting when considered in connection with the horror rebels express at the suggestion of black soldiers being employed for the national defense."
Dr. Steiner said they were wearing uniforms and were armed and were "manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederate Army". And you say he didn't say there were black Confederates. As usual, you are wrong.
Frederick Douglass on Lincoln:
LOL - He also said this about Lincoln:
"It must be admitted, truth compels me to admit, even here in the presence of the monument we have erected to his memory, Abraham Lincoln was not, in the fullest sense of the word, either our man or our model. In his interests, in his associations, in his habits of thought, and in his prejudices, he was a white man. He was preeminently the white man's president, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men."
"I have said that President Lincoln was a white man and shared the prejudices common to his countrymen towards the colored race."
"Though Mr. Lincoln shared the prejudices of his white fellow countrymen against the Negro, it is hardly necessary to say that in his heart of hearts he loathed and hated slavery."
You see, Walt, history is not just the bits and pieces we want, or that fit some revisionist pipedream. Douglass did say some nice things about Lincoln, but that doesn't mean he thought Lincoln wasn't prejudiced, which is an idea you have tried to put forth in the past. The record is the record, and Douglass did think Lincoln was prejudiced, but applauded his contribution to the end of slavery at the same time. That is the record, and it is true history. The "history" put forth by revisionists is threatened by that, but only because their "history" is vulnerable to truth. Just like these quotes of Frederick Douglass, the existence of black Confederates threatens revisionist fabrications about "history". Too bad, because History is, Walt. It is not just the parts we want or desire, it just is.