The Colored Regulars in the United States Army Part 16

At the camp were three colored chaplains and one colored surgeon, serving with the Regular Army, and their presence was of great value in the way of accustoming the people at large to beholding colored men as commissioned officers. To none were more attention shown than to these colored men, and there was apparently no desire to infringe upon their rights. Occasionally a very petty social movement might be made by an insignificant, with a view of humiliating a Negro chaplain, but such efforts usually died without harm to those aimed at and apparently without special comfort to those who engineered them.

The following paragraphs, written while in camp at the time indicated in them, may serve a good purpose by their insertion here, showing as they do the reflections of the writer as well as in outlining the more important facts a.s.sociated with that remarkable encampment:

CAMP WIKOFF AND ITS LESSONS.

Now that the days of this camp are drawing to a close it is profitable to recall its unique history and gather up some of the lessons it has taught us. Despite all the sensationalism, investigations, testings, experimentation, and general condemnation, the camp at Montauk accomplished what was intended, and was itself a humane and patriotic establishment. It is not for me to say whether a better site might not have been selected, or whether the camp might not have been better managed. I will take it for granted that improvement might have been made in both respects, but our concern is rather with what was, than with what "might have been."

To appreciate Camp Wikoff we must consider two things specially; first, its purpose, and secondly, the short time allowed to prepare it; and then go over the whole subject and properly estimate its extent and the amount of labor involved.

The intention of the camp was to afford a place where our troops, returning from Cuba, prostrated with climatic fever, and probably infected with yellow fever, might receive proper medical treatment and care, until the diseases were subdued. The site was selected with this in view, and the conditions were admirably suited to such a purpose.

Completely isolated, on dry soil, with dry pure air, cool climate, away from mosquitoes, the camp seemed all that was desired for a great field hospital.

Here the sick could come and receive the best that nature had to bestow in the way of respite from the heat, and pure ocean breezes, and, taken altogether, the experiences of August and a good part of September, have justified the selection of Montauk. While prostrations were occurring elsewhere, the camp was cool and delightful most of the time.

As to the preparations, it must be remembered that the recall of the whole Army of Invasion from Cuba was made in response to a popular demand, and as a measure of humanity. Bring the army home! was the call, and, Bring it at once!

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Such urgency naturally leaps ahead of minor preparations. The soldiers wanted to come; the people wanted them to come; hence the crowding of transports and the lack of comforts on the voyages; hence the lack of hospital accommodations when the troops began to arrive. Haste almost always brings about such things; but sometimes haste is imperative.

This was the case in getting the army out of Cuba and into Camp at Montauk in August, '98. Haste was pushed to that point when omissions had to occur, and inconvenience and suffering resulted.

We must also remember the condition of the men who came to Montauk.

About 4,000 were reported as sick before they left Cuba; but, roughly speaking, there were 10,000 sick men landing in Montauk. Those who were cla.s.sed as well were, with rare exceptions, both mentally and physically incapable of high effort. It was an invalid army, with nearly one-half of its number seriously sick and suffering.

Ten thousand sick soldiers were never on our hands before, and the mighty problem was not realized until the transports began to emit their streams of weakness and walking death at Montauk. The preparation was altogether inadequate for such a ma.s.s of misery, and for a time all appeared confusion.

Then came severe, cruel, merciless criticisms; deserved in some cases no doubt, but certainly not everywhere. The faults, gaps, failures, were everywhere to be seen, and it was easy to see and to say what ought to have been done. But the situation at Camp Wikoff from August 15th to Sep. 15th needed more than censure; it needed help. The men who were working for the Government in both the medical and commissary departments needed a.s.sistance; the former in the way of nurses, and the latter in the way of appropriate food. The censure and exposure indulged in by the press may have contributed to direct the attention of the benevolently disposed to the conditions in the camp.

Then came the era of ample help; from Ma.s.sachusetts; from New York, in a word, from all over the country. The Merchants' Relief a.s.sociation poured in its thousands of dollars worth of supplies, bringing them to the camp and distributing them generously and wisely. The Women's Patriotic Relief, the Women's War Relief, the International Brotherhood League, and the powerful Red Cross Society, all poured in food and comforts for the sick thousands. Besides these great organizations there were also the spontaneous offerings of the people, many of them generously distributed by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's active representatives. The tent of that journal was an excellent way-mark and a veritable house of the good shepherd for many a lost wanderer, as well as a place of comfort, cheer and rest. The work done was very valuable and highly appreciated.

To the medical department came the trained hand of the female nurse.

No one who saw these calm-faced, white-hooded sisters, or the cheery cheeked, white capped nurses from the schools, could fail to see that they were in the right place. The sick soldier's lot was brightened greatly when the gentle female nurse came to his cot. Woman can never be robbed of her right to nurse. This is one of the lessons taught by the Hispano-American War.

This vast army has been handled. No yellow fever has been spread. The general health has been restored. The disabled are mostly housed in hospitals, and many of them are on the road to recovery. Some have died; some are on furlough, and many have gone to their homes.

The regulars are repairing to their stations quite invigorated, and greatly helped in many ways by the kind treatment they have received.

Camp Wikoff was not a failure; but a great and successful object lesson, as well as a great summer school in nationalism. Here black, white and Indian soldiers fraternized; here Northerners and Southerners served under the same orders. Ten thousand soldiers and as many civilians daily attended the best school of its kind ever held in this country, striving to take home to their hearts the lessons that G.o.d is teaching the nations.

The Rev. Sylvester Malone thus sums up the message of the war to us in his letter to the committee to welcome Brooklyn's soldiers:

"This short war has done so much for America at home and abroad that we must take every soldier to our warmest affection and send him back to peaceful pursuits on the conviction that there is nothing higher in our American life than to have the privilege to cheer and gladden the marine and the soldier that have left to America her brightest and best page of a great history. This past war must kindle in our souls a love of all the brethren, black as well as white, Catholic as well as Protestant, having but one language, one nationality, and it is to be hoped, yet one religion."

These are true words, as full of patriotism as they are of fraternity, and these are the two special lessons taught at Montauk--a broad, earnest, practical fraternity, and a love of country before which the petty prejudices of race and section were compelled to yield ground.

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN a.s.sOCIATION IN CAMP WIKOFF.

The Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation has done an excellent work in Camp Wikoff. Their tents have afforded facilities for profitable amus.e.m.e.nts, in the way of quiet games, thus bringing out the use of these games distinct from their abuse--gambling.

Their reading tables have also been well supplied with papers and magazines, religious and secular, generally very acceptable to the soldiers, as attested by the numbers that read them. But perhaps best of all, has been the provision made for the soldiers to write. Tables, pens, ink, paper and envelopes have been supplied in abundance. These were of great advantage to soldiers living in tents, and the work of the a.s.sociation in this respect cannot be too highly commended.

The specially religious work of the a.s.sociation as I have seen it, consists of three divisions: First, the meetings in their tents, held nightly and on Sundays. These have been vigorously carried on and well attended, the chaplains of the camp often rendering a.s.sistance.

Secondly, I have noticed the Y.M.C.A. men visiting the sick in the hospitals and camps, giving the word of exhortation and help to the sick. Perhaps, however, in their work of private conversation with the well men, they have done as much real service for G.o.d as in either of the other two fields. They have made the acquaintance of many men and have won the respect of the camp. This I have numbered as the third division of their work--personal contact with the soldiers of the camp, at the same time keeping themselves "unspotted from the world."

B.

The 24th Infantry was ordered down to Siboney to do guard duty. When the regiment reached the yellow-fever hospital it was found to be in a deplorable condition. Men were dying there every hour for the lack of proper nursing. Major Markley, who had commanded the regiment since July 1st, when Colonel Lisc.u.m was wounded, drew his regiment up in line, and Dr. La Garde, in charge of the hospital, explained the needs of the suffering, at the same time clearly setting forth the danger to men who were not immune, of nursing and attending yellow-fever patients. Major Markley then said that any man who wished to volunteer to nurse in the yellow-fever hospital could step forward. The whole regiment stepped forward. Sixty men were selected from the volunteers to nurse, and within forty-eight hours forty-two of these brave fellows were down seriously ill with yellow or pernicious malarial fever. Again the regiment was drawn up in line, and again Major Markley said that nurses were needed, and that any man who wished to do so could volunteer. After the object lesson which the men had received in the last few days of the danger from contagion to which they would be exposed, it was now unnecessary for Dr. La Garde to again warn the brave blacks of the terrible contagion. When the request for volunteers to replace those who had already fallen in the performance of their dangerous and perfectly optional duty was made again, the regiment stepped forward as one man. When sent down from the trenches the regiment consisted of eight companies, averaging about forty men each. Of the officers and men who remained on duty the forty days spent in Siboney, only twenty-four escaped without serious illness, and of this handful not a few succ.u.mbed to fevers on the voyage home and after their arrival at Montauk.

As a result, thirty-six died and about forty were discharged from the regiment owing to disabilities resulting from sickness which began in the yellow-fever hospital.--Bonsal's Fight for Santiago.

FOOTNOTES:

[20] "After the surrender, dear Chaplain, the real trouble and difficulties began. Such a period, from July 14, 1898 to August 14, 1898, was never before known to human beings, I hope. The starving time was nothing to the fever time, where scores died per day. We were not permitted to starve; but had fever, and had it bad; semi-decayed beef, both from refrigerators and from cans. We had plenty of fever, but no clothing until very late; no medicine save a little quinine which was forced into you all the time, intermittent only with bad meat."--Extract from a soldier's letter.

[21] While the Twenty-fifth Infantry was in camp at Chickamauga Park I was ordered to Xenia, Ohio, on recruiting duty, and on July 5. on seeing the reports of the wounded I asked officially to be ordered to my regiment. An order to that effect came about a month later, directing me to join my regiment by way of Tampa, Florida. Arriving in Tampa, my destination was changed by telegraph to Montauk Point, N.Y., whither I arrived a few days before the regiment did.

CHAPTER X.

REVIEW AND REFLECTIONS.

Gallantry of the Black Regulars--Diary of Sergeant-Major E.L. Baker, Tenth Cavalry.

It is time now to sum up the work of the four regiments whose careers we have thus far followed, and to examine the grounds upon which the golden opinions they won in battle and siege are based. We have seen that in the first fight, that of Las Guasimas, on June 24th, the Tenth Cavalry, especially Troops I and B, both with their small arms and with the machine guns belonging to Troop B, did most effective work against the Spanish right, joining with the First Cavalry in overcoming that force which was rapidly destroying Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Nor should it be forgotten that in this first fight, Troop B, which did its full share, was commanded on the firing line by Sergeants John Buck and James Thompson. In the squad commanded by Sergeant Thompson several men of the First Regular Cavalry fought and it is claimed were highly pleased with him as squad commander.

While this was the first fight of the men of the Tenth Cavalry with the Spaniards, it was by no means their first experience under fire.

From the time of the organization of the regiment in 1866 up to within a year of the war, the men had been engaged frequently in conflicts with Indians and marauders, often having men killed and wounded in their ranks. The fights were partic.i.p.ated in by small numbers, and the casualties were not numerous, but there were opportunities for the acquirement of skill and the display of gallantry. Altogether the men of the regiment during their experience on the plains engaged in sixty-two battles and skirmishes. This training had transformed the older men of the regiment into veterans and enabled them to be cool and efficient in their first fight in Cuba.

Sergeant Buck, upon whom the command of Troop B chiefly fell after becoming separated from his Lieutenant in the battle at Guasimas, joined the regiment in 1880, and had already pa.s.sed through eighteen years of the kind of service above described. He was at the time of the Cuban War in the prime of life, a magnificent horseman, an experienced scout, and a skilled packer. In 1880, when he joined the regiment, the troops were almost constantly in motion, marching that one year nearly seventy-seven thousand miles, his own troop covering twelve hundred and forty-two miles in one month. This troop with four others made a ride of sixty-five miles in less than twenty-one hours, arriving at their destination without the loss of a single horse. In 1893 he was mentioned by the commanding officer of Fort Missoula, Montana, for highly meritorious service, skill and energy displayed while in charge of pack train of an expedition across the Bitter Root Mountains, Idaho, during the most inclement weather, in quest of a party of gentlemen lost. (Letter of commanding officer, Fort Missoula, Montana, February 12, 1894.) Sergeant Buck has also won the silver medal for revolver shooting.

Sergeant James Thompson joined the regiment in 1888, and has pa.s.sed the ten years in the one troop, and proved himself at Las Guasimas a soldier worthy his regiment.

The first battle gave the Tenth a reputation in a new field, corresponding to that which it had gained in the West, and this was not allowed to fade during its stay in Cuba. The fame of this first action spread rapidly through the army and inspired the other regiments of colored men with a desire to distinguish themselves on this new field of honor, and their readiness to be to the front and to take prominent part in all service was so marked that opportunity could not be withheld from them. As the army advanced toward Santiago these regiments became more and more the mark of observation by foreign military men who were present, and by the great throng of correspondents who were the eyes for the people of the civilized world. And hence, when the lines of a.s.sault were finally determined and the infantry and cavalry of our army deployed for its perilous attack upon the Spanish fortifications the black regiments were in their places, conspicuous by their vigor and enthusiasm. In them were enlisted men whose time of service had expired a few days before, but who had promptly re-enlisted. In at least two cases were men who served their full thirty years and could have retired with honor at the breaking out of the war. They preferred to share the fortunes of their comrades in arms, and it is a comfort to be able to record that the two spoken of came home from the fight without a wound and with health unimpaired. How many others there were in the same case in the army is not reported, but the supposition is that there were several such in both the white and colored regiments.

Recalling the scenes of that memorable first of July, 1898, we can see the Twenty-fifth Infantry advancing steadily on the stone fort at El Caney at one time entirely alone, meeting the fire of the fort even up to their last rush forward. Captain Loughborough, who commanded Company B, of that regiment, and although his company was in the reserve, was nevertheless under fire, says: "The hardest fighting of the Twenty-fifth was between two and four o'clock," at which time all the other troops of the attacking force, except Bates' brigade, were under cover and remaining stationary, the Twenty-fifth being the only organization that was advancing. The official reports give the positions of General Chaffee's brigade during the two hours between two o'clock and four of that afternoon as follows:

The Seventh was under partial cover and remained in its position "until about 4.30 p.m." The Seventeenth remained with its left joined to the right of the Seventh "until the battle was over." The Twelfth Infantry was in its shelter within 350 yards of the fort "until about 4 p.m." Ludlow's brigade was engaged with the town, hence only Miles'

brigade, consisting of the Fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, was advancing upon the fort. The Fourth Infantry was soon checked in its advance, as General Daggett especially notes in his report, and the Twenty-fifth was thus thrust forward alone, excepting Bates' brigade, which was making its way up the right.

This conspicuous advance of the Twenty-fifth brought that regiment into the view of the world, and established for it a brilliant reputation for skill and courage. Arriving in the very jaws of the fort the sharpshooters and marksmen of that regiment poured such a deadly fire into the loopholes of the fort that they actually silenced it with their rifles. These men with the sternness of iron and the skill acquired by long and careful training, impressed their characteristics on the minds of all their beholders. Of the four hundred men who went on the field that morning very few were recruits, and many had pa.s.sed over ten years in the service. When they "took the battle formation and advanced to the stone fort more like veterans than troops who had never been under fire," as their commander reports, they gave to the world a striking exhibition of the effect of military training. In each breast a spirit of bravery had been developed and their skill in the use of their arms did not for a moment forsake them. They advanced against volleys from the fort and rifle pits in front, and a galling fire from blockhouses, the church tower and the village on their left. Before a less severe fire than this, on that very day, a regiment of white volunteers had succ.u.mbed and was lying utterly demoralized by the roadside; before this same fire the Second Ma.s.sachusetts Volunteers were forced to retire--in the face of it the Twenty-fifth advanced steadily to its goal.

Lieutenant Moss, who commanded Company H on the firing line on that day, has published an account in which he says: "The town was protected on the north by three blockhouses and the church; on the west by three blockhouses (and partially by the church); on the east by the stone fort, one blockhouse, the church, and three rifle pits; on the south and southeast by the stone fort, three blockhouses, one loop-holed house, the church and eight rifle pits. However, the Second Brigade was sent forward against the southeast of the town, thus being exposed to fire from fourteen sources, nearly all of which were in different planes, forming so many tiers of fire. The cover on the south and southeast of the town was no better than, if as good, as that on the other sides."