Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-05-18


INNesz21n X being organized,
are naturally
| curious about the appearance and mill
tary status Of the "brunettes. They
| were the lions at Chickamauga and
| Tampa.
When began to study the survivors
| OF the Cuban campaign, / looked upon
| the blacks as part of the heroic crowd
not to be neglected or to be run after,
rather to be looked up in the course of
things as l found them fitting in
Furthermore, came to the work with
latent prejudice, dating back to
1864, against colored troops as fighting
men and wished to take observations
| of the new kind at safe range, letting
any prejudice still existing wear off or
be confirmed by slow stages. What
these lines have to say of the black man
of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth
United States regular infantry is drawn
| from the statements of whites who saw
them in all situations during the ex-
| pedition to Santiago
When / investigated the action at
San Juan hill among the infantry and
cavalry soldiers at Camp Wikotf, /
heard from the whites many stories of
what the negroes of the Twentyfourth
had done, but this regiment was then
in quarantine camp, against which l
was barred. Hence it transpired that l
first came to close quarters with the
Twenty fifth, which fought at Ell Caney.
A white colonel Of another brigade told
me that when the Twenty-fifth came
up the road to support the line then en-
gagged, the blacks thought that the troops
in front were Spaniards. These were
the very men Of whom Colonel Burt.
their commander at Chattanooga, pre-
dicted great things Said he: "The
men of the Twenty are the equals
Of any soldiers in the army. They will
follow their officers wherever they lead
and will never retreat so long as their
officers do not If the Twenty-fifth ever
runs from the enemy, you can depend
upon it the officers will lead in the re-
treat. When the regiment left Chat
tanooga for Tampa, crowd Of whites
and blacks saw them off
What are You going to do to the
Spaniards2" shouted voice, address
ing at random the black heads in car
window.
| "Oh. we'll probably run away. That
is the way American soldiers generally
do, isn't it9' came from a black man
at the window. At the same time
dozen others shouted. 1--WE won't do
thing to them" the sequel of this came
| at FL Caney when the Twenty-fifth
first got sight Of the enemy. Had they
been white men terms for describing
their conduct would be to say that their
faces blanched; there was a sudden
Tightening Of the lips and sinking in of
the cheeks. while a pitifully anxious
look came into the eyes. but this was
only for an instant The men got
grip on themselves, so to speak. and
marched forward gailantly to the firing
line.
| The Twenty-fifth was brigaded with
the First and Fourth Regular infantry
white troops The First was detached
from the brigade, and the Twenty fifth
had the right Of the column of attack
at the stone fort, the Fourth on the left.
There was wait Of some hours while
the troops on the opposite side Of the
angle, which the line formed at that
point, were moving up, and Capron's
battery was doing its best to batter
down the walls. Finally, when the order
was given to go ahead, it was found
that the Fourth infantry was in danger
of being annihilated If it advanced near
er to the fort than about 500 yards. At
that distance there was short delay.
and then five companies of negroes.
numbering about 900, formed for
| charge, dashed across the creek, which
was six feet wide and about a foot deep.
This was directly in front of the fort.
and the bank of the creek afforded very
little cover. Beyond the creek the
ground was open. and over that the me-
groes advanced by rushes, that is to say,
they halted when they found cover. as
for instance, slight swells in the ground.
| Up to this time the line was under fire
from the stone fort and the trenches
alongside From the stone fort in front
the bullets came in steady volleys,
while the Spaniards in the blockhouses
off to the left of the line kept up fire
on the flank.
AT the time the negroes charged the
Twelfth infantry, which was storming
the fort on its opposite side, moved up,
and these two commands the blacks
and whites, reached the fort at about