Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-04-17

Eight Now Hold Army ConnisSions-
Two Came From the Ranks.
Uncle Sam has on his long payroll
eight negro commissioned officers of
the army, three of these being line
officers, while the others are chap
lains and a paymaster.
BY the army organization act Of
July %, 1866, there were designated
four regiments Of negroes. These or
ganizations are now the Ninth and
Tenth regiments of cavalry and the
Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth reg
iments of infantry. and since their
formation these negro regiments
have had assigned to them negro
chaplains.
Probably the best known of all
the negro chaplains is Allen Aliens
worth, now on leave Of absence at
Los Angeles, Cal, awaiting retire.
ment Chaplain Allensworth has
seen much active duty, and his SER
vices with the Fighting Twenty
fourth" which did good work in Gu
ba, has been continuous since his en-
try into the army on April 1, 1886.
Next to him as to age and service
Is Theophilus G. Steward, who was
appointed on July 20, 1891, from the
District of Columbia and assigned to
the other fighting infantry regiment
the Brunette Twenty fifth" His
service has also been continuous with
the regiment to which he was first
assigned.
The present chaplain of the Ninth
Cavalry is George Washington Prio-
leau, a native of South Carolina but
appointed from Ohio. All of his ser
airy. now stationed at Jefferson Bar
racks, Missouri. He has fourteen
years of service before him.
The last Of these chaplains is Will
liam T. Anderson, now with his reg
iment, the Tenth Cavalry, which has
also seen service in Cuba and the
Philippines.
The last of the negro staff officers
of the army is John r. Lynch Of the
pay department, who entered the SER
vice in June, 1898. as an additional
paymaster Of the volunteers, with the
rank of major, which position he
held for three years, until honorably
discharged in May, 1901, when he
was appointed to the permanent es-
tablishment as paymaster with the
rank of captain.
The only negro officer Of the army
who is a West Pointer Is Charles
attache at Port au Prince, Hayti.
Captain Young entered the military
academy In 1884, and was not grad
uated until 1889, when he was COM
tenant and assigned to the Tenth
Cavalry, where he remained only
about one month, when he was trans
ferred to the Twenty-fifth Infantry
as a second lieutenant. In this reg
iment he remained only twenty-sev-
en- days, when he was again trans
ferred to the Ninth Cavalry, where he
remained until promoted to first lieu
tenant, on December 22, 1896, when
he was assigned to the Seventh Cav
airy, a white regiment. He remained
with this regiment about ten months,
until he made a transfer back to his
old love, the Ninth Cavalry. He was
promoted a captain In February,
1901, and eighty-eight captains will
have to move out Of the way before
he becomes a field officer with the
rank of major.
There are two negro officers who
have won their spurs by coming up
from the line by competitive exarni
nation. They are Lieut.. Benjamin o.
Davis Of the Tenth Cavalry. now on
duty as military instructor at Wilber-
force University. at Wilberforce, O.,
and Lieut. John E. Green, Twenty
fifth Infantry. now serving with COM
pany H at Fort Bliss Texas.