The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-04-20
COLORED HEROES
RECORD FOR FIGHTING MADE BY
THE NINTH CAVALRY.
Nearly Every Trooper i'm it IL as Black
~ Ebony, and 1T Has Been q Terror
to Indians and Bandits ON the
Plains for Thirty Years-Instance
of Its Fighting Qualities.

airy in the army, and in the thirty years
of its history has made a record for its
fighting qualities which few other regi-
ments can equal. 1t has fought all the way
from the Mexican border TO the Canadian
line; the graves of it's members are scat
tered Throughout the West. and the 600 Off
GERS and men who comDose 1t have reached
high standard of efficiency. With equal
fortitude they have borne the two extremes
of climate presented by he torriG region
Of the Mexican trail and the last refuge
Of Sitting Bull on the confines of Canada.
peculiar feature of the composition OF
| the Ninth Cavalry is the fact that is was
originally recruited of ex-slaves of almost
pure African blood, and today nearly every
trooper is as black ebony. This charac-
teristics does not seem to have followed the
other negro regiments in the service recruit
ed at about the same time. for they contain
many muiattOes. Another feature which
gives the Ninth distinction is that it was
the first Of the colored organizations to re-
ceve its baptism of fire.. 1t has been pre-
dicted that the negro would not stand in
battle like his white brother. The behavior
! of the Ninth dispelled this idea and gave
Of the colored soldier the standing he de-
serves. A veteran army officer at head
quarters said few days ago as he noticed
the preparation being made by Gen. Cop
pingers staff to get the Ninth ready to
travel:
1T is wonderful how public opinion mas
changed concerning the fighting qualities
of these black boys. Thirty years ago when
the black men were enlisting at New Or
leans under the act of congress of 1866, they
were jeered at and the people laughingly re-
marked that they would run at the first
fire. The Ninth was one Of the OrganiZa-
lions enlisted then. Since then 1T has been
terror to wild Indians and wilder bandits
who have come in contact with it. From
the first its men have never f1inched and
they have done more desperate work in
their time than any other organization in
the service. Western people appreciate this,
II the Fasteners do not. Why, the Ninth
is no parade command. A proof of this
Is the fact that it has never had any but
fighting assignment 1t has never been
assigned, even for a season, to any of the
desirable Eastern posts. This has not been
because the men are negroes but because
they first-class fighters and the war
department wants them to keep their hands
in.
Il remember very well when the negro
troops were mustered in. The recruiting
office was opened at New Orleans in the
fall of 1866. Trey came from Louisiana
Mississippi, and kentucky-great big fell
lows, as black rs a block of ebony and as
fine specimens of physical manhood as ever
donned uniform. From this number were
formed two cavalry regiments, the Twenty
fourth and the Twenty-Gfth. People were
doubtful of the experiment. The Ninth
was at once sent to open up communica-
ton in Texas. From the beginning of the
war the trail haG been closed by the Indinas
and outlaws between Fort Sam Houston
and Ell Paso. Between these posts thou
sands of the fercest and best fighting In
dams in the country roamed. The trail
was dotted with small posts, mere bar
racks. which had been deserted for six
years. Six months after the Ninths en-
listment it fought it's first battle That was
In the spring of 1867, at Fort Lancaster, a
small post out on the Texas plains. The
thousands Of Indinas who surrounded the
fort made sport of the black troops. The
day they met them in battle their opinion
changed. The negroes fought like demons
They obeyed their white officers perfectly
and were more ready to fight than to eat
The result was a revelation to those who
had rdiculed the negro as soldier
From that day II has been one long
J fight with the Ninth Its deeds of daring
would fill volumes, and though it's ranks
! have almost wholly changed since the first
! enlistment, the command has always man.
| aged to get the best fighters. The Ninth
| remained on the Mexican border until 1875
seeing all the horrors of Indian wars.
Then it was moved into New Mexico with
| headquarters at Santa Fe Here it contin-
| ued to see hot service until 1881, when it
| went further North. with headquarters at
| Fort Riley, Kan. Col. Edward Hatch was
| the original commander of the Ninth He
| never altered his opinion of his black sol
| dlers, and was with them in all their hot
test work. From Fort Riley the Ninth
| continued North, being transferred to Fort
| Mckinney, Wyo in 1885. The l. 400 miles of
| the journey the Ninth travelled overland.
| just TO snow what it could do. And it was
wonderful what time these men could
make They We're here one day and a
| hundred miles away tomorrow,
| Il could recall a hundred desperate en-
| gagements of these troops showing their
| wonderful GOODNESS and daring but their
| latest work in the Sioux campaign Of 1S9Oo1
| marked the Ninth a fighting command
OF "onder1ul energy. They were in the Bad
| Lands hunting Indians, 141 miles from Pine
| Ridge, on Dec. &c. 1890. That was the da,,
| or the battle of Wounded Knee where Gus
ter's old command. the Seventh met and
| wiped out old Two Strikes band of Sioux
braves. Inc troops lost nearly two score
men there, SO It was hot work on both
| sides. That day the Ninth was instructed to
get back to the agency as quickly as nos
! slole Gily V. Henry was then ma jor OF the
| Ninth He is now colonel of the Tenth. The
| troopers kept their horses on the run for
| twenty-five hours, and reached the agency
distance of 100 miles, in that time With
out getting out of their saddles or stopn,ne
Tor food they rushed for fourteen miles
to the rescue Of the Seventh Cavalry.
which was threatened with total extinction
at the battle of the Mission. If the Fight
| Ing Ninth had been an hour later Clusters
! old regiment might have suffered the same
fate as he and his men did at the Little
! Big Horn. The Ninth unimbered for action
| on the run, and faced the Indians after all
| that 'errlble ride without slackening sliced
| Tor moment. The Indians recognized the
| regiment as 1t came over the hill of the
| Mission buildings, and scampered off in a
hurry.
That shows the mettle Of the regiment
| Still, the popular idea that the regiment
| goes South because the negro can stand
| heat better than the white man is a great
| mistake. The regiment has fought as we'll
| In the North as In the South The mem
| bers have stood the cold better than tho
| white troopers and SO have they stood the
heat To the minds of veterans who have
| observed the colOred troops, this feature
! has impressed itself among them-that the
| negro can stand any climate better than
| the white man. 1t is probably due to the
difference in nervous temperament of the two
races. The negro is not so susceptible to
either great heat or severe cold as is the
| White man. This is why the government is
now ordering the colored troopers South for
service against Spain They ought to be a
revelation to the world if they are called
into action. for few people outside of the
West know what fighting these men have
done against the Indians. When thew ride
| like centaurs, and can shoot with one re-
volver in each hand and their bride in their
teeth with their horse running ten miles
an hour. All these men are dead shots
Then, too, their warfare with the Indians
has trained them to fighting modern guns
particularly.
1T is conceded that there cannot be
such thing as a charge of cavalry on
maSSe as in the Olden times now +bot ~