olored troops did as well
as any soldiers could possibly do," meaning the colored men of the
Ninth and Tenth Cavalry. To their officers he bestows a meed of praise
well deserved, but not on the peculiar ground which he brings forward.
He would have the reader believe that it has required special ability
and effort to bring these colored men up to the condition of good
soldiers and to induce them to do so well in battle; while the
testimony of the officers themselves and the experience of more than a
quarter of a century with colored professional troops give no
countenance to any such theory. The voice of experience is that the
colored man is specially apt as a soldier, and General Merritt
declares him always brave in battle. The officers commanding colored
troops at Santiago honored themselves in their reports of the battles
by giving full credit to the men in the ranks, who by their resolute
advance and their cool and accurate firing dislodged an intrenched foe
and planted the flag of our Union where had floated the ensign of
Spain.

That rushing line of dismounted cavalry, so ably directed by Sumner,
did not get to its goal without loss. As it swept across the open to
reach the heights, it faced a well-directed fire from the Spanish
works, and men dropped from the ranks, wounded and dying. Of the
officers directing that advance 35 fell either killed or wounded and
328 men. These numbers appear small when hastily scanned or when
brought into comparison with the losses in battle during the Civil
War, but if we take time to imagine 35 officers lying on the ground
either killed or wounded and 328 men in the same condition, the
carnage will not appear insignificant. Woe enough followed even that
one short conflict. It must be observed also that the whole strength
of this division was less than 3000 men, so that about one out of
every eight had been struck by shot or shell.

Several enlisted men among the colored cavalry displayed high
soldierly qualities in this assault, evidencing a willingness to
assume the responsibility of command and the ability to lead.
Color-Sergeant George Berry became conspicuous at once by his
brilliant achievement of carrying the colors of two regiments, those
of his own and of the Third Cavalry. The Color-Sergeant of the latter
regiment had fallen and Berry seized the colors and bore them up the
hill with his own. The illustrated press gave some attention to this
exploit at the time, but no