[340] education for all the children of the State. The latter came to visit me at Washington, and together we succeeded in obtaining the use of the great Marine Hospital for the colored children. We together visited that building afterwards and found it filled with pupils called “colored,” but actually presenting the spectacle of all shades as to the hair, the eyes, and the skin. It was, indeed, an admixture of races. The whites proper were, of course, not there. For these the worthy doctor himself founded an institution of a high order which will endure.
For Georgia, General Tillson, after his faithful work, the middle of January of this year (1867) was replaced by Colonel C. C. Sibley of the regular army. Tillson in his conciliatory policy had appointed as subagents many resident civilians, allowing them remuneration by the collection of fees upon labor contracts of freedmen. Upon Sibley's report that many of the resident agents had shamefully abused their trust, inflicted cruel and unusual punishments on the blacks, and were unfit from their education and belief in slavery to promote the interests of free labor, I directed him to discontinue the fee system altogether and employ salaried men only. Of course, it took time to complete such a reorganization and some bitterness and fault-finding came from every district which was touched by the change.
Mississippi always afforded a peculiar study of human nature. General T. J. Wood, who went there after General Thomas's transfer to Washington, was himself relieved by General A. C. Gillem, an army officer who had long been a special friend of President Johnson. He entered upon his duties the last part of January, 1867. Gillem, whom I had known as a fellow
