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 Learning React Native
Building Mobile Applications with Javascript

Bonnie Eisenman

Boston
{{ title }}
by Author Name
Copyright © 2015
This is a legal notice of some kind. You can add notes about the kind of license you are using for your
book (e.g., Creative Commons), or anything else you feel you need to specify.
If your book has an ISBN or a book ID number, add it here as well.
 Table of Contents

Preface Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
How Does React Native Work? 10
The Virtual DOM in React 10
Extending the Virtual DOM 11
The Implications of “Native” 12
Why Use React Native? 13
Learn once, write anywhere 13
Leveraging the native platform 14
Developer tools 14
Using existing platform knowledge 16
Risks and Drawbacks 16
Summary 17
Native VS React for Web 17
The React Native Lifecycle 17
Working with Views in React Native 18
Styling Native Views 20
JSX and React Native 21
Thinking about host platform APIs 21
Summary 22

2. Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Setting Up Your Environment 23
Installing React Native 24
Creating a New Application 24
Running a React Native Application 25
Uploading to Your Device 27

iii
 Summary 30
Exploring the Sample Code 30
Attaching a component to the view 31
Imports in React Native 31
The FirstProject Component 32
Summary 32
Introduction to the Tools 32
Using the Chrome Debugger 33
Targeting Different Devices 33
Type-Checking with Flow 34
Testing with Jest 34
Summary 35
Building a Weather App 36
Handling User Input 38
Displaying Data 39
Adding a Background Image 40
Fetching Data from the Web 42
Putting it Together 43
Summary 46

3. Components for Mobile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Analogies between HTML Elements and iOS Native Components 49
Text for the Web versus React Native 50
The Image Component 52
Working with Touch and Gestures 54
Using TouchableHighlight 54
The Gesture Responder System 57
PanResponder 59
Working with Organizational Components 66
Using the ListView 66
Using Navigators 78
TabBarIOS 82
Summary 84

4. Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Declaring and Manipulating Styles 85
Inline Styles 86
Styling with Objects 86
Using Stylesheet.Create 87
Style Concatenation 87
Organization and Inheritance 89
Exporting Style Objects 89

iv | Table of Contents
 Passing Styles as Props 90
Reusing and Sharing Styles 91
Positioning and Designing Layouts 91
Layouts with Flexbox 91
Using Absolute Positioning 97
Putting it Together 98
Summary 102

Table of Contents | v
 Preface Title

This Is an A-Head
Congratulations on starting your new project! We’ve added some skeleton files for
you, to help you get started, but you can delete any or all of them, as you like. In the
file called chapter.html, we’ve added some placeholder content showing you how to
markup and use some basic book elements, like notes, sidebars, and figures.

vii
 CHAPTER 1
Introduction

React is a Javascript library for building user interfaces. Open-sourced by Facebook in

2013, it has been met with excitement from a wide community of developers. Corpo‐
rate adopters have included the likes of Netflix, Yahoo!, Github, and Codecademy.
Users praise React for its performance and flexibility, as well as its declarative,
component-based approach to building user interfaces. As one might expect, React
was designed for the needs of Facebook’s development team, and is therefore suited
particularly well to complex web applications that deal heavily with user interaction
and changing data.
In January of 2015, the React team announced a new project: React Native. React
Native uses React to target platforms other than the browser, such as iOS and
Android, by implementing a so-called “bridge” between Javascript and the host plat‐
form. It promises web developers the ability to write real, natively rendering mobile
applications, all from the comfort of a Javascript library that they already know and
love.
How is this possible? And perhaps more importantly — how can you take advantage
of it? In this book, we will start by covering the basics of React Native and how it
works. Then, we will explore how to use your existing knowledge of React to build
complex mobile applications with React Native, taking advantage of host platform
APIs such as geolocation, the camera, and more. By the end, you will be equipped
with all the necessary knowledge to deploy your iOS applications to the App Store.
Though we will be focusing on iOS-based examples, the principles we will cover
apply equally well to React Native for Android and other platforms.
Are you ready to write your own mobile applications using React? Great — let’s get
started!

9
How Does React Native Work?
The idea of writing mobile applications in Javascript feels a little odd. How is it possi‐
ble to use React in a mobile environment? In this section, we will explore the techni‐
cal underpinnings that enable React Native. We will first need to recall one of React’s
features, the Virtual DOM, and understand how it relates to React Native for mobile.

The Virtual DOM in React

In React, the Virtual DOM acts as a layer between the developer’s description of how
things ought to look, and the work done to actually render them onto the page. To
render interactive user interfaces in a browser, developers must edit the browser’s
DOM, or Document Object Model. This is an expensive step, and excessive writes to
the DOM have a significant impact on performance. Rather than directly render
changes on the page, React computes the necessary changes by using an in-memory
version of the DOM. It then re-renders the minimal amount of your application nec‐
essary.

Figure 1-1. Rendering with the VirtualDOM

In the context of React on the web, most developers think of the Virtual DOM pri‐
marily as a performance optimization. Indeed, the Virtual DOM was one of React’s
early claims to fame, and most articles discussing React’s benefits mention perfor‐
mance and the Virtual DOM in the same breath. This focus makes a lot of sense,
given the context. At the time of React’s release, the Virtual DOM approach to ren‐
dering gave it a large performance advantage over existing Javascript frameworks,
especially when dealing with changing data or otherwise render-intensive applica‐
tions. (Since then, React’s model for DOM updates has started to be adopted by other

10 | Chapter 1: Introduction
frameworks, such as Ember.js’s new Glitter engine, though React maintains a strong
lead when it comes to performance.)

Extending the Virtual DOM

The Virtual DOM certainly has performance benefits, but its real potential lies in the
power of its abstraction. Placing a clean abstraction layer between the developer’s
code and the actual rendering opens up a lot of interesting possibilities. What if React
could render to a target other than the browser DOM? Why should React be limited
to the browser? After all, React already “understands” what your application is sup‐
posed to look like. Surely the conversion of that ideal to actual HTML elements on the
page could be replaced by some other step.
During the first two years of React’s public existence, some onlookers noticed this
intriguing possibility. Netflix, for instance, modified React so that they could render
to a huge variety of platforms including televisions and DVD players. Flipboard
demonstrated how to render React to the HTML <canvas> element. Then, at React
Conf in January 2015, Facebook announced a new library, React Native, that does the
same for iOS and Android, allowing React to render natively to mobile platforms.
There’s that word again: native. What does it mean to render natively? For React on
the web, this means that it renders to the browser DOM. With React Native, native
rendering means that React renders using native APIs for creating views.

Figure 1-2. React can render to different targets.

How Does React Native Work? | 11

This is all possible because of the “bridge,” which provides React with an interface
into the host platform’s native UI elements. React components return markup from
their render function, which instructs React how to render them. With React for the
web, this translates directly to the browser’s DOM. For React Native, this markup is
translated to suit the host platform, so a <View/> might become an iOS-specific
UIView.
While the projects from Flipboard and Netflix are not affiliated with React Native, the
basic idea is the same. Flipboard has essentially built a bridge from React to the
HTML5 <canvas/> element, while Netflix has built many bridges from React to hun‐
dreds of smart TVs, DVD players, and so on. The Virtual DOM gives React the flexi‐
bility to swap different rendering logic in and out, so as long as a bridge can be
constructed, React can render to virtually any platform. Version 0.14 of React split the
library into two separate packages, react and react-dom, further emphasizing that
the core of React is not dependent on any platform-specific rendering logic. (You can
read more about this in the relevant blog post.)

The Implications of “Native”

The fact that React Native actually renders using its host platform’s standard render‐
ing APIs enables it to stand out from most existing methods of cross-platform appli‐
cation development. Existing frameworks that enable you to write mobile
applications using combinations of Javascript, HTML, and CSS typically render using
webviews. While this approach can work, it also comes with drawbacks, especially
around performance. Additionally, they do not usually have access to the host plat‐
form’s set of native UI elements. When these frameworks do try to mimic native UI
elements, the results usually “feel” just a little off; reverse-engineering all the fine
details of things like animations takes an enormous amount of effort.
By contrast, React Native actually translates your markup to real, native UI elements,
leveraging existing means of rendering views on whatever platform you are working
with. There is no need to reverse-engineer animations or the finer details of a design,
because React is consuming the existing platform API. Additionally, React works sep‐
arately from the main UI thread, so your application can maintain high performance
without sacrificing capability. The update cycle in React Native is the same as in
React: when props or state change, React Native re-renders the views. The major
difference between React Native and React in the browser is that React Native does
this by leveraging the UI libraries of its host platform, rather than using HTML and
CSS markup.
The net result of the “native” approach is that you can create applications using React
and Javascript, without the usual accompanying trade-offs. React Native for iOS was
open-sourced in March 2015, with Android support expected to be released by the
end of the year. Any team willing to put in the work to write a “bridge” between React

12 | Chapter 1: Introduction
and any given host platform can add support for other platforms as well, so it will be
interesting to see where Native expands to next.
For developers accustomed to working on the web with React, this means that you
can write mobile apps with the performance and look-and-feel of a native application,
while using the tools that you know and love. This in turn has huge implications for
how we think about cross-platform application development, prototyping, and code
reuse.

Why Use React Native?

One of the first things people ask after learning about React Native is how it relates to
standard, native platform development. How should you make the decision about
whether or not to work in React Native, as opposed to traditional, platform-specific
development?
Whether or not React Native is a good fit for your needs depends heavily on your
individual circumstances and background knowledge. For developers who are com‐
fortable working with Javascript for the web, and React specifically, React Native is
obviously exciting — it can leverage your existing skillset to turn you into a mobile
developer overnight, without requiring a significant investment in platform-specific
languages and development paradigms. On the other hand, if you are already accus‐
tomed to traditional mobile development, then React Native’s advantages are less
immediately apparent. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and considerations
that come with using React Native.

Learn once, write anywhere

The React team has been very clear that they are not chasing the “write once, run
anywhere” dream of cross-platform application development. This makes sense: an
interaction that feels magical on one platform will be completely unsuited to others.
Rather than focusing on total code reuse, React Native prioritizes knowledge reuse: it
allows you to carry your knowledge and skillset across platforms. The React team
dubs this “learn once, write anywhere.”
“Learn once, write anywhere” means that you can create interesting projects on new
platforms, without investing time and energy in learning an entirely new stack.
Knowledge of React is enough to be able to work effectively across multiple plat‐
forms. This has implications not just for individual programmers, but also for your
development teams. For instance, on a small team of engineers, committing to hiring
a full-time mobile developer may be difficult. However, if all members of your team
can cross-train between web and mobile, the barrier to releasing a mobile application
can be drastically lowered. Knowledge transfer empowers your team to be more flexi‐
ble about your projects.

Why Use React Native? | 13

Other documents randomly have
different content
 On the 14th we abandoned the breastworks, General Birney
leading the Third Division, Tenth Army Corps, numbering 75,000
colored troops. We were not formed into a fighting position at this
time, perhaps for the reason that the enemy were too strong for us.
So we were brought to the rear of the breastworks. For a long while
the rain had been pouring in torrents and there was not a dry place
to be found nor a dry thread on our bodies, we were covered with dirt
and mud from head to foot, and not only felt to be in a terrible plight,
but must have looked worse. The troops were ordered to prepare
two days’ rations and to get ready for light marching. I had
opportunity now to be in the company of commissioned officers for a
few hours at a time, when we halted for rest. We would spread our
meals on the wet ground, not a very inviting table, but the best that
we could find. I somehow had the feeling that something was going
on, or was going to happen, that would require one to be wise and
cunning. The officers had a queer expression on their faces, and in
fact all the field officers seemed to be uneasy. Three o’clock one
morning, my surmises were justified, for the long roll was sounded
and soon we were in line for work. We engaged in a bloody struggle.
We moved to the right and some one began to sing,
“Sure, I must fight if I would win,
Increase my courage Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.”
We thus cheered ourselves by the singing of songs while we
fought and while we marched through the Virginia mud, such songs
as “Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching,” “Beneath the Starry
Flag.” The rebel lines were fortified, but under our noble leaders, we
marched on to certain victory and the old Twenty-ninth was ready for
any fray. The rising sun would seem to say to us, after he had
broken through the darkness and the clouds, “Cheer up boys, don’t
be despondent, but vigilant, strong, courageous, protecting the flag,
the country, women and children, rights and liberty, and all things will
come out right.” Thus it will be seen, how often God speaks to us
through nature, how often we are cheered and helped by a bright
day. How dependent we are upon our surroundings, for support. I do
not say that this should be so, for a soldier should be strong,
regardless of such things, but nevertheless they have their effect.
We were on the extreme right of the front and within three miles of
Richmond, where our white troops were repulsed. The colored
troops were commanded to halt and line up for action in front of the
woods. Again the thought came to me, although this is called the
white man’s country, they need us in war as in peace, to make and to
keep the country. And why is not this fact fully realized by the white
people? We are more than ten million strong and are ready at any
time to lay down our lives for the nation and to give our lives in
service, in times of peace, in all lines of activity. This we are doing.
The progress which the Negro race has made since the war is an
enviable one. No people or race would be ashamed of it. We have
made this progress as honest, industrious citizens. We have shown
our manhood in both times of war and peace, and our record has
been written. Then why are we not accorded the place that we have
rightly merited? In the sentiment of the white people there lurks a
deep-rooted prejudice against us, and in their course of action
discrimination is made against the Negro. We do not understand why
this should be, unless there is a feeling on the part of the white
people, that there is danger that we should become too prosperous
and too many—the feeling which the ancient Egyptians had against
the Hebrews—hence, they took steps to check the Hebrews. These
may be the steps taken by the white man to check our progress. But
the same God who overruled the destinies of the Hebrew slaves and
brought them to their Promised Land, will take care of us and, we
too, one day, shall enter our Promised Land, of equal rights and
liberty.
On the 29th, there as a fierce encounter. The battle was indeed a
slaughter pen. The enemy fought like tigers. The battle became
general along the entire line. Adjutant Spaulding was wounded.
Corporal George Burr, Company L; Corporal Sidney, of Company E,
and many others were killed. Private George E. Peters, Sergeant
George Halstead, James Evans and many others were wounded. I,
myself, feared, shook, and thought that my time had come. I was full
of thoughts of my loved ones at home. I knew that they were praying
that I should be delivered from the jaws of death. This thought
cheered and comforted me; and yet I saw friends falling around me,
whose loved ones and friends, were also praying for their protection.
Their prayers were not being answered and why? Why should I think
that the prayers offered for me were more availing than those offered
for them? Why should I have any special reason for
encouragement? These thoughts come to one when he is in the
midst of circumstances which seems to upset many of our principles
of religious faith. They come to us not only in war but in work. They
must be reckoned with. The only answer that I could find as to why
the prayers offered for me were availing up to this time, was that my
time had not come, and that it had not come because God had not
ordered it, and God had not ordered it because He had something
for me to do. Of course, He had heard the prayers which had been
offered for me and they entered into His decree regarding my life.
The only answer we can find to many perplexing questions which
come in life is, “It is God’s way, His will.”
I was very busy in supplying the regiment with food, vinegar and
water, and such edibles as I could get together. The doctors were
busy sawing off legs and arms, and binding up wounds, and giving
medicines to the wounded and sick. The women were busy in
preparing bandages, lint, and doing what they could in the alleviation
of human suffering. God bless the dear women who had the faith
and the courage to breast the trials and hardships of soldier life.
These scenes would have made your heart sore. Dear reader, the
wounded and dying scattered over the battlefield thick, the hurrying
to and fro of the physicians and the nurses; the prayers and groans
and cries of the wounded, the explosion of bombs, the whizzing of
bullets, the cracking of rifles; you would have thought that the very
forces of hell had been let loose. And, indeed, it was a hell, the
horrors of which no one could ever forget.
We finally retreated under the cover of the cavalry. The colored
troops were the first to enter the field and the last to fall back. We
thereby demonstrated to our President, Abraham Lincoln, and our
General, U. S. Grant, that we were among their best supporters. The
white man had no record to make. He was known as a fighter for
centuries, our record was to be made and we were making it. The
flag of our regiment could be seen floating among the pines. We
were glad that Old Glory was above us with her folds pierced with
many bullet holes. We returned to camp and took our former position
in front of Richmond, where we remained for awhile.
We were again in battle array, having been marched up to the rifle
pits. Our field officers being absent, we were under the command of
Captain Camp, of Company D, our own colonel, W. B. Wooster, was
at home on sick furlough. Lieutenant Colonel W. L. Ward, who had
been promoted to the rank of colonel, was in charge of the Forty-first
United States Cavalry Troop. The lieutenant colonel said to us,
“Boys, we must fight to-day, let me have your best. Duty demands it.
I will stand by you until the last. Watch, keep in line, and obey
orders.” He brought us up double-quick to the rifle pits and the bugle
sounded charge. We charged, firing, yelling, using our bayonets and
our arms in the most cruel manner, but still in accordance with the
tactics of warfare. We were there to kill in every manner possible.
We held the pits for twenty-four hours, brought the rebels to their
knees, brought down their flag and unfurled the Stars and Stripes to
the breezes.
This was a disastrous battle, probably the most disastrous I had
ever witnessed. I should probably make exception of the Fort Pillow
Massacre, in which my brother, Steven Newton, was killed. He was a
member of the Fourteenth, Rhode Island Battery. Charles Beeman,
Rev. Amos G. Beeman and Corporal W. W. Wilkins were with him to
the end and were able to make the report of his death to me. We lost
in this battle over one hundred, i. e., I am counting only the loss of
the Twenty-ninth Regiment. This regiment fought most bravely,
gaining great praise, and receiving many compliments from the
officers high up in rank. When the battle was over, we fell back and
camped in front of Richmond. While there we attended the funeral of
Private Charles Bently, who was killed early in the engagement. He
died a champion for liberty and an earnest Christian. Jones Spriggs
and thirteen others were buried at this time.
Many of the veterans went out on foraging expeditions. While
resting we would engage in religious and patriotic songs. One of our
favorites was, “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground.” About this time,
the Third Division, Tenth Army Corps, Twenty-ninth Regiment, and
General Birney, were surprised with the presentation of the United
States national colors, which greatly pleased the boys. The flag was
presented by the Forty-fifth United States Cavalry Troop to our
lieutenant colonel, in a most pleasing manner. He spoke of the great
bravery of the soldiers in battle. Colonel Ward replied that he had
672 guns which would speak whenever occasion demanded it. He
also said that his boys were filled with as noble sentiments as any
that had ever filled the breasts of boys before the guns.
While on dress parade we received the sad announcement from
our lieutenant colonel that he would leave the regiment, as he had
been promoted to the rank of colonel. This was indeed sad news to
us. He had been with us in many hard-fought battles. We had
learned to love him and had great confidence in his ability. He knew
what course to pursue in order to avert many of the tricks of the
Johnnies, not only being well up in military science, but well
acquainted with many little games that are often played in war.
We remained in front of Richmond five days. While there we were
quiet and enjoyed the much needed sleep that we had. We were
greatly annoyed here as well as in other places with what the
soldiers called greybacks, not the rebels, however; they were
genuine creepers. They molested us no little. Whenever I could get
off I would go to the creek and disrobe myself and pick them out of
my clothes, then wash my clothes and hang them on the bushes to
dry. Then I would dress myself and feel like a king, because once a
again I was clean and free from these unearthly vermin.
From the first to the eighth of November, 1864, we were at
Malvern Hill. I was Commissary Sargeant and was careful to keep as
near the regiment as possible with my department. Sargeant
Quartermaster D. L. Lathrop had charge of the ammunition,
knapsacks, etc., under the command of our regimental
quartermaster, there was always detailed a guard to protect us. We
always followed the army with our train. I remember once that I got
into the line of the Johnnies and I ran as if the hounds of hell were
after me. I heard the whizzing of a bullet over my head, but it missed
me. So I said, well they did not get me that time and Libby Prison
has been robbed of an expected treasure.
While here the Twenty-ninth Regiment had charge of the fort until
the third of December.
It was whispered about that Generals Lee, Johnson and others
were in a position to watch our movements and that we might expect
an attack at any time. But we were not worried over this report with
such Generals as U. S. Grant, Sherman, Howard, Weitzel and
others. We knew that they would be able to flank any movement that
they might make.
On Monday the fifth, we took up our line of march to a destination
unknown to us, there were all kinds of rumors as to where we would
stop, but at last we found ourselves to the left of Fort Harrison on the
left of the line. Here we camped under orders. We engaged in the
usual preparations for a stay, putting up our tents, building huts and
making things convenient for all concerned. But the next day the
Colored troops were ordered to prepare two days’ rations and to
advance. Then our countenances changed. We did not know but that
another fierce battle was in store for us; and we had had quite
enough fighting to satisfy us for a long while. On Wednesday, we
were in front of the Johnnies, with our breastworks thrown up ready
for fight.
The Colored regiments were consolidated in the Second Division,
Third Brigade, Twenty Fifth Army Corps. A number of detached men
were taken from the regiments. Orderly I. J. Hill was Brigade
Postmaster. I was with the commissary department. All things were
quiet along the lines excepting the laughing and yelling of the
Johnnies. Once in a while they would throw a shell into our camp. At
this time we would hear their cheers and laughter.
On January the first, we were in front of Richmond, Va. Here we
engaged in battle with the Rebels, which was terrific. The anxiety,
suffering, slashing, shooting, were beyond description. Many lay
dead on the battlefield, baking in the sun. There were dead animals
which had been exposed for two weeks, the stench was unbearable.
These are some of the indescribable tortures of war.
 The rebels soon retired from their position, for they would not have
been able to withstand the Union Army. They were in constant
expectation of the coming of Sherman who at that time was in the
vicinity of Atlanta, Ga. We were under marching orders until the
thirteenth. Colonel Wooster received orders to place his
headquarters near our own regiment. I was determined that I would
keep up my enthusiasm and do all in my power to supply the boys
with something to eat.
On the twenty-third the rebel fleet moved down the James River
towards the Dutch Gap Canal and opened fire on Fort Bradley
keeping it up all night. The following morning the whole line was
drawn up for action, at long range with reinforcements in the rear.
The shelling was terrific all day. I was in the basement of a house,
when a shell came through the window, burst and tore its way
through the building. This house was used for headquarters.
Fortunately none of us were hurt. Only the everlasting arm of God
protected us, for all our friends who witnessed the shell and its
devastations, supposed that we were all killed. The Quartermaster
having received a wound in his knee, the Quartermaster Sargeant
and I had to do all the work. At this time Orderly I. J. Hill and others
were let off on parole and went home for twenty days. The
Confederates made another dash to retake their lost territory and to
make sure of the permanent establishment of the Slave Traffic which
has been the curse of every nation or people who has adopted it.
Their plan was to out-flank us and to effect a great slaughter and
capture many of our men and guns and ammunition. And it seemed
to us that they were after the Colored troops. But our leaders were
too shrewd for them and they were repulsed and their depot,
magazines and machine shops at Beaufort, N. C., were blown up
and also at Newberne. A great battle was fought about Fort Fisher
and the Rebels were overcome. Hundreds were killed and wounded
in this battle.
The Colored troops in front of Richmond were moved from the
breastworks on the left at Fort Harrison, to the hill in the center,
where we built up a fine elevation overlooking the Rebel works in
Richmond. Here we remained several days under heavy
cannonading. We held the enemy so that they were unable to make
any gains on us for four weeks. They made several attempts to
storm and to cut off our supply, but they signally failed. But our men
understood how to construct railroads and we would frequently hear
the whistle of a locomotive in some direction bringing in our supplies.
Our forces were well guarded on every hand by squads which were
experts in caring for the welfare and needs of an army. We could
hear the result of our bombarding in such cities as Petersburg, etc.,
and knew that our forces were gradually gaining and that the Rebels
were gradually losing in their strongest holds.
On the twenty-seventh of March we struck our tents and moved on
to Richmond. We were soon formed in line of battle in front of this
city. The Rebels blew up three gunboats and evacuated their works
immediately in front of us. There was heavy cannonading from the
gunboats in the James River, the Monitor and other boats.
At this time there were many refugees coming to us by the
hundreds. This was in part the result of Sherman’s march to the sea.
He left in his wake many monuments of this famous march. There
were deserted villages, chimneys standing without the houses about
them, and troops of stragglers following the army.
Colonel Wooster ordered the 29th Regiment to advance and to do
some daring work in the digging up of buried torpedoes which had
been planted to impede the march of the Union Army. We were
however equal to the task. We captured five hundred pieces of
artillery, six thousand small arms, and the prisoners I did not count,
but when we looked on them in the prison pen, the number seemed
to be enormous.
We were present in Richmond when President Lincoln made his
triumphal entry into the city. It was a sight never to be forgotten. He
passed through the main street. There were multitudes of Colored
people to greet him on every hand. They received him with many
demonstrations that came from the heart, thanking God that they
had seen the day of their salvation, that freedom was theirs, that now
they could live in this country, like men and women, and go on their
way rejoicing. Orderly I. J. Hill said that he saw a colored woman
trying to get a look at the president, at last he came along and
Orderly Hill said to her: “Madame, there is the man that made you
free.” She shouted, “Is that President Lincoln? Glory to God, give
Him praise for His goodness.” The President, with his son, and
Admiral Porter, together with others walked over a mile to the
headquarters of General Weitzel, at the mansion of Jeff Davis. A
colored man acted as the guide. There were six Union soldiers as
advance guard, then came President Lincoln, his son, and Admiral
Porter, while on his right and his left were other officers. He was
followed by six sailors with their carbines. This march created the
wildest enthusiasm of the Colored people. They had lived to see the
day of their liberty dawning. I was reminded of what had been done
for the ancient Hebrews by Moses when he led them out of the land
of their bondage, into the land of their promised liberty. Lincoln was
indeed our Moses. He led us forth. He gave us our freedom. I
noticed one white lady in a window, who turned away from the whole
scene as if in utter disgust. There were still two sides to the question,
then and there are two sides to it today. How long will these two
sides remain, is the question. As the President looked out upon the
poor Colored people and remembered how many lives had been lost
in working out their salvation, he was not able to keep the tears from
his eyes. They were tears of gladness and sorrow, of regret and
delight; but the tears of my own people were the tears of the greatest
joy.
The President went to the state capitol where he made a short
address in which he said: “Now you Colored people are free, as free
as I am. God has made you free and if those who are your superiors
are not able to recognize that you are free, we will have to take the
sword and musket and again teach them that you are free. You are
as free as I am, having the same rights of liberty, life and the pursuit
of happiness.”
While at Richmond, we engaged in many foraging expeditions. We
found such things as eggs, chickens, butter, bread, fruit, tobacco.
There were bales of tobacco in the streets free for every one who
enjoyed the weed. And I must say that many were delighted with
their free smokes. There was plenty of Confederate money too,
which was often blown about by the wind as so much worthless
waste paper. Well it was waste paper. With the passing of the
Confederacy, the money value passed away on all such currency.
On April 16th, 1865, we were painfully shocked to hear of the
death of President Lincoln, at the hands of an assassin. No one can
measure the consternation which struck our hearts. This great and
wonderful man who had guided the Ship of State through four years
of such perilous waves and winds, that he should thus pass away
and in such an infamous manner, was more than we could stand.
But it was so. Our faith was almost staggered, that faith which had
sustained us in so many battles, was now staggering under a blow
which was severer than any battles, the death of our Immortal
leader. Thus in four years from the first shot fired on Fort Sumter,
four years from the very day of the first shot, the shot was fired from
the hand of Booth, that removed one of the greatest men the world
ever knew, from the scenes of human action. He was removed too at
a time when he was most needed. Yes, he was more needed, than
when the nation was in the midst of a bloody conflict. He was now
needed to set up the battlements of peace, which is a more difficult
work than the forts of warfare.
On the twenty-fourth, we moved from the camp near Petersburg,
to Camp Lincoln where we enjoyed our camp life for awhile. We had
lost many of our numbers through death on the battlefield and
disease in the camp, but losses were now being recruited by
volunteers coming to us. I was kept busy filling our regimental
papers, ordering and issuing rations. Some of our men had become
so rum thirsty that they would offer me ten dollars for a canteen full
of whisky. But I was not allowed to sell it, and to give it out only on
the orders of the Quartermaster.
We were not here long. We embarked on the Demolay for Norfolk,
Va. General Russel and staff came on board to tell us goodbye. I
had two barrels of supposed corn beef, the boys called it salt-horse,
which I suppose was nearer the truth. I had also a barrel of sugar.
These I could not ship, so I left them on the ground, for some poor
fellows that could use them. Colonel Wooster came also and saw us
off. We left many friends, some of them with tears in their eyes. They
had become very dear to us. We had shared together the hardships
of camp-life and of the battlefield. Human suffering makes men very
near akin. As we glided swiftly down the James River, for a while we
could hear their cheers and when sound was out of touch, we could
see their salutes of hats and handkerchiefs. We enjoyed the day as
soldiers on board the vessel. I was astonished at the behavior of the
soldiers. They gave themselves over to all kinds of sports and
jestings, which disgusted me most thoroughly. Many were unruly,
even threatening the lives of those who favored going to Texas
whither we had been ordered for garrison duty. Some of the gang
were arrested for their insubordination. My heart was made to
shudder at the degrading and shameful life which was manifested on
board the ship. Their swearing, drinking, gambling, dancing, etc.,
was heartsickening. It was indeed a revelation and shows what men
will do when not under the eye of authority. Human nature is indeed
most sinful, and were it not for the restrictions which are thrown
about us, none of us know what might come to pass. We arrived at
Norfolk and anchored for the night. With having witnessed the
debauchery on board the vessel and at the same time wrought with
anxiety for my wife and two babies, my father and mother at home, I
confess I was in a most depressed condition of mind and heart. “Be
strong and of good courage,” came to me like a flash and I was
strong and buoyant in a little while. How grand is the truth of God,
when we find it such a rock of refuge in times of trouble; I was thus
greatly consoled and went to bed looking up at the shining stars, as
if they were so many angels, sent by God, to guard me.
There was quite an excitement on board when it was whispered
about that the officers had covenanted together to take the soldiers
on board, to Cuba, and sell them as slaves. There was quite an
indignation against I. J. Hill, for it was thought that he was in some
manner party to this arrangement. The men were suspicious also of
Sam Brown, a clerk. I, together with others, had the good fortune to
escape any insults or indignities. While at Norfolk, we went to church
and saw quite a number of well-to-do Colored people. Rev. J. M.
Brown, of the A. M. E. Church, I think was pastor. He treated us very
cordially indeed. We were introduced to many of the congregation.
This church had a Sunday School of six or seven hundred members.
It was an inspiring sight to see them nicely dressed and to hear them
sing so sweetly, many beautiful Sunday school songs. But the time
had come when we had to leave the many dead of our comrades.
We had done all that we could for them in the last sad rites of death
and now their bodies were resting under the cold sods of the South,
awaiting the Resurrection Day, when we will all meet again and hear
our record of the deeds done in the body and the judgment based on
these deeds. The memories of war are one of the saddest features
thereof. These memories can never be blotted out; for as we grow
older they seem to become more vivid.
 BETHEL A. M. E. CHURCH
Woodbury, N. J.
Built by Rev. A. H. Newton, D.D.
We took shipping on the transport, Blackstone, for Texas. We were
about fifteen days on the waters, the ocean was calm. There were
six or seven hundred on board. It was no little job to take care of the
hungry stomachs of these men. But we had a most pleasant trip and
enjoyed the ocean waves and breezes. The officers spent most of
their time in fishing. Once in awhile a fish six or seven feet long
would be hauled in. For two days we were out of sight of land and
only one small schooner passed us. There was much complaint on
board on account of the army food which I was compelled to give
them salt-pork or hard tack and bad coffee. They thought that being
on board of ship warranted better food, but I told them that I had to
give them what I had. And so we fought the battle of the stomach.
There were many however who were afflicted with sea-sickness and
had no concern for something to eat. We had a burial at sea. The
poor soldier was sewed up in a blanket and consigned to a grave in
the bottom of the deep. The funeral service was very impressive to
many of us, for it was the first burial at sea we had witnessed. I must
confess that there was a grandeur about it that inspired one—as the
boundless ocean received the body of our comrade, eternity had
received his soul. I thought of his loved ones and that in all
probability they would never hear of him. Then I wondered if that
grand song could not be an interpretation of this burial,
“Rocked in the cradle of the deep,
I lay me down in peace to sleep,
In ocean cave still safe with Thee,
The germ of Immortality.”
At this time I was not a member of the church. But my father had
taught me to pray. And as I have frequently related, I often prayed in
battle when I thought that my time had come. I had a sense of the
guilt of sin and of the need of confession of my sins. So I had also,
the sense of peace which comes from a man’s justification through
Jesus Christ. My case I am sure is but an illustration of the cases of
many men and women who have not connected themselves with the
church. They are real Christians as I was, having all the ordinary
experience of the Christian, but not having made any outward
profession. We are therefore unable to know who are the children of
God, for certainly there are believers outside of the church. Our
judgment therefore must always be a charitable one. Yet I do not
want the impression to be made that I, in any sense, approve of
believers remaining outside of the church. An outward profession of
faith in our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, is an open badge of our
religion which men can see. We should not hide our light under a
bushel, but put it on a candle stick that all about us may see what we
are by what we live. When we rounded the Florida reefs, the boys’
hearts were gladdened, because they had seen the land once again
and their thought was that they were nearing the end of the voyage.
We had some sickness on board, such diseases as yellow jaundice,
malaria, chills and fever. We were huddled together like a lot of wild
ducks and the sanitary conditions were against our health. When
about seven days on our trip, our drinking water failed us. We were
on the water, yet we had no water to drink; but we did the best we
could under the circumstances.
We were glad when we came into the harbor at Mobile, Ala. Here
we found many transports lying in the harbor. Fort Gaines was to our
right and Fort Morgan to our left. The boys were all delighted,
because they were wild to get to land again, and especially to get a
drink of good water. How dependent we are on mother earth after all
for our lives. After passing the forts a short distance the anchor was
dropped. The surroundings were grand. There were gunboats lying
in the stream, with their artillery of death-dealing cannon looking
forth from the decks and thoroughly manned with the smaller-
implements of naval warfare. But our hopes were not fulfilled, for a
command came that we were to sail immediately to New Orleans.
The men were bitter in their disappointment, but such is the
experience of war. Men are not free, they are the parts of the
gigantic machine of death, so many cogs in the wheels, or so many
wheels in the machine, or so many parts of the machine. They soon
became reconciled however. We had plenty of hard tack and salt
horse left us, and with this we could not starve to the death. Our
voyage was an uneventful one, save for the good weather and fine
ocean. We were soon in the channel for New Orleans. When we
reached the forts Jackson and Phillips, a signal stopped us for
inspection. We were told that we could not go to New Orleans, that
none of the men or officers could go any further without an order
from General Grant. The officers telegraphed to Washington to
General Grant. We were in rather a dilapidated condition, about out
of coal and in need of better fuel for the stomach, with the men
completely worn out with the voyage.
We were however permitted to go on land at Fort Jackson. This
was a magnificent fort with its seventy guns overlooking the water
inlet. There were many alligators in this place and we amused
ourselves by killing them, which of course was a greatly desired
thing. I had plenty of hard tack and this seemed to attract the
reptiles. I remember one fellow over seven feet long I killed.
At this place the Colored troops had been shamefully and
barbarously treated. As I thought of the outrages which they had
suffered only about one month before our arrival, I felt that if I could,
I would like a little revenge on their account. But there was no
opportunity for such outlet of wicked feeling. At last we received an
order from General Grant to take the transport to New Orleans, to
get a supply of coal and oil, and to have the transport repaired. But
to our dismay, only the officers were permitted to go. We were left at
Fort Phillips.
I managed however, to get to New Orleans, in that I had charge of
the commissary department. We were already beginning to forget
the hardships of the battlefield. Our minds were turning to the
ordinary life which we live, and looking forward to the pleasures
connected with home and with business. And I assure you, my dear
readers, that it was a happy release. We had the constant joy in our
hearts that our beloved people had their freedom, bought with the
blood of those who now slept the last sleep on many battlefields; but
we did not believe that the price paid for this boon of liberty was too
dear. The price of human liberty can never be estimated. This is
especially true of those who knew what slavery meant. And the
Colored Race has an endless debt to pay their White friends who
bought their liberty with their own blood. While it is true that the
White people brought our forefathers here and sold them into
slavery, which of course they had no right to do, this does not
diminish the price which this same race had to pay in order to buy us
out of the slavery into which they had sold us. And it does not in the
least diminish the debt of gratitude which we shall owe them as long
as time exists.
 I had a short but very pleasant stay in New Orleans. On Sunday
we went to the A. M. E. Church, of which the Rev. William A. Dove
was pastor. This was the St. James A. M. E. Church. We were most
cordially received by the pastor and members. They were kind
enough to take care of us while in the city. We learned from the
members that while we were on the battlefield, they were at home
fasting and praying that our grand cause might be victorious. “Fight
and pray” is sure to win the day for any just cause. The services
were very pleasing and profitable. The pastor preached in the
morning and our orderly I. J. Hill, at night. I and others, were much
lifted up and realized anew what it was to draw water from the wells
of salvation. We spent much of our time in seeing the sights of the
unique city of the South. Our friends were more than kind to us
during our stay. We lacked nothing for good beds and good food and
good society; and we were in good shape to appreciate these things,
because of the privations, losses, suffering, and fears through which
we had passed.
Our transport having been repaired and furnished with needed
coal and oil and food, we were soon on our way back to the fort. We
had not gone far on our course until there was an alarm of fire. This
created quite a panic, but the blaze was soon put out and we were
enjoying our trip down the “Father of Waters.”
We arrived at Fort Phillips with more soldiers for the Twenty-ninth
Regiment, they having been brought in from other quarters.
We were soon off for Texas. With the transport loaded with human
freight, we started for Brazos De Santiago, Texas. We found the gulf
quite rough on our entering it. This produced sea sickness with a
great many. I remember one fellow who was very sea sick. I was
unable to do anything with him. He was continually calling out “New
York, New York.” “There goes my liver,” he cried, having spit up
some blood. Our great trouble on this voyage was the lack of water.
They had a condenser on board which reduced the amount of salt a
few degrees, but we could easily taste the saline property of the
water. We found Brazos a most undesirable place, there were plenty
of fleas and mosquitoes and sand burrs. We had our headquarters at
this place which was knee deep in water. Our Colored troops were
nearly perishing for water. The suffering was most intense. It was
heart-rending. I cried out to God to send us some help. We had but
little water and that was quite brackish. Our means of condensing
the water gave us only about five thousand gallons when we were in
need of not less than ten thousand gallons. We paid ten cents a
canteen for water and would have been willing to have paid fifty
cents, or any price.
After a while we met some Mexicans who had brought water from
the Rio Grande and sold it for ten cents a canteen. Colonel Sadrick
was very indignant over this hardship. When he saw our scars and
realized how much these good soldiers had suffered and the
privations through which they had already passed, he saw General
Wietzel and requested that the troops should be taken from Brazos.
He met with success and we took our line of march for White Ranch
on the Rio Grande River about ten miles south of Brazos. The march
was one of great trial. We were in mud knee deep and in some
places the water was waist deep. When we reached the Ranch, the
soldiers were well nigh famished. They made a mad rush for the
river and while many of them were on the bank, it gave way, and
several of them were drowned. We were all greatly saddened over
this misfortune. It seemed enough that men should have given up
their lives on the battlefield, this was matter of course; but when men
who had stemmed the tide of death which swept the battlefield were
drowned, it seemed more than we could stand to see them cut off
from their loved ones by a mere accident. But it was the Lord’s way
to take some more of them home.
It was not a hard matter for us to sleep the first night. We spread
our rubber blankets on the bare ground and enjoyed our rest as
much as if our beds had been made of feathers. The next morning
we saw the body of a man floating down the muddy river. He too had
evidently met with some accident, or had been killed and thrown into
the river. It was not our duty to make any investigation.
I prepared the best breakfast possible for the boys. Our fuel was
gathered from the woods and rail fences. I said woods, but
unfortunately there was not a tree in the whole country, so we had to
do the best we could. But we had coffee, rice, sweet potatoes and
our regular rations. We put up our tents here and soon had the camp
under military discipline. Then we left for Brownsville, Texas, a
distance of twenty miles. The march was a trying one on account of
the bad roads. We were not able to keep our stores with us on this
account and left a detail of soldiers to guard them. Many a solder
sickened and had to be taken to White Ranch to be cared for by
Orderly Hill. Some of the men died on the way and were buried
under the Texas sod with no stone to identify them. One boat was on
its way to Brownsville with rations. I remember my homesickness at
this time. After the battles had been fought, I was anxious to return to
my loved ones. I felt that my duty had been done towards my country
and that now I must take up my duty to my dear ones. We were soon
joined by Orderly Hill. He said that he had gotten tired waiting for the
boat and had come on to be with us. He threw a few chunks together
and started a fire and lighted his pipe. After a few moments
reflection, he said: “These light afflictions are but for a moment, for
they work for us a far more and exceeding weight of glory.” We met a
drove of hungry wolves which made two or three attempts to come to
us, but about fifteen shots from our guns were enough to satisfy
them they had no more need of us than we had of them. In time we
reached Brownsville. We saw strange things there. The houses were
little huts; the people dressed in their shirts and drawers; the women
dressed in a long shirt with their breast exposed, seemingly caring
nothing for decency or modesty. It did not look to me that the people
here had ever known what it was to know or to serve the true and
living God. They were certainly far from any such practical
knowledge, judging from their daily lives. I thought “If the righteous
scarcely be saved where then shall the sinner and the ungodly
appear?” The next morning I was not feeling well. I went to one of
the streams and bathed. There were plenty of lizards, frogs and
horned toads about. The horns of the toad reminded one of the
horns of a goat. It was a place of trials. Some of the men swore and
cursed, others were kept too busy scratching, while others were
praying. It was a time of sore trials. One of our officers, Captain
Clark ought to have been with the Greys instead of the Blues, he had
so little use for the Colored troops. So he marched them almost to
death on this march. Colonel Wooster, a man of tender feeling and of
a proper sense of right and justice and without prejudice against the
Colored people, saw the outrage perpetrated against us and put
Clark under arrest. He was kept there until Colonel Wooster
resigned. After he left, we were again under the command of Captain
Clark. Orderly Hill was very sick and was ordered to the General
Hospital. As I looked upon him I said to myself, Hill you are a very
sick man and your warfare is about ended. There were about seven
hundred in the hospital sick. They were treated as if they had been
brutes, doctors and nurses being without any feeling. They were
dying at the rate of ten a day. The stewards would search the dead,
take their valuables, then report them dead. What a contrast
between our camp on the banks of the James River and the camp in
this far off, God-for-saken town of Brownsville, Texas.
And now after all our hard fought battles, our fears and foreboding,
our privations and losses, we received the news from the War
Department that the Twenty-ninth Regiment was ordered home. It is
needless to say, that the home-fever spread more rapidly than any
fever that had ever prevailed in our ranks. We looked for and
patiently awaited the day when we would be ordered out. On the
fourteenth day of October, 1865, at nine o’clock a. m., the recruiting
officer was on the ground, at which time Company K. was mustered
out. We were escorted through Brownsville by the Ninth U. S. C. T.,
Colonel Bailey being in command. We marched to an open field
where the two regiments bid each other goodbye. It was an
impressive scene, for these regiments had shared each others
fortunes and misfortunes through the war. They had become
inseparable, but now the best of friends must part. How happy we
were that we should be permitted to breathe the fresh air again and
to tramp through the country as free men. Yet I had the feeling that
the Civil War was the mighty struggle of the White Race and that the
struggle of the Colored Race was yet in the future. There is such a
thing as a man having to work out of his own salvation, and this is
also true of a race. Our salvation had been bought for us by the
nation, but it is ours now to work out this salvation. As we marched
out through the grand country and these thoughts came to me, I
cried out to God, “Can these dry bones live? Will this country give
the Colored man an equal chance in the marts of trade, in industrial
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