nth the next day and told the men of
his threat to shoot some of their members and, as he expressed it, he
had seen his mistake and found them to be far different men from what
he supposed. I thought he was sufficiently conscious of his error not
to make a so ungrateful statement about us at a time when the Nation
is about to forget our past service.

Had the Colonel desired to note the fact, he would have seen that when
orders came the next day to relieve the detachment of the Tenth from
that part of the field, he commanded just as many colored men at that
time as he commanded at any other time during the twenty-four hours
we were under his command, although colored as well as white soldiers
were going and coming all day, and they knew perfectly well where the
Tenth Cavalry was posted, and that it was on a line about four hundred
yards further from the enemy than Colonel Roosevelt's line. Still when
they obtained permission to go to the rear, they almost invariably
came back to the same position. Two men of my troop were wounded while
at the rear for water and taken to the hospital and, of course, could
not come back.

Our men always made it a rule to join the nearest command when
separated from our own, and those who had been so unfortunate as to
lose their way altogether were, both colored and white, straggling
up from the time the line was established until far into the night,
showing their determination to reach the front.

In explaining the desire of our men in going back to look for their
comrades, it should be stated that, from the contour of the ground,
the Rough Riders were so much in advance of the Tenth Cavalry that,
to reach the latter regiment from the former, one had really to go
straight to the rear and then turn sharply to the right; and further,
it is a well known fact, that in this country most persons of color
feel out of place when they are by force compelled to mingle with
white persons, especially strangers, and although we knew we were
doing our duty, and would be treated well as long as we stood to the
front and fought, unfortunately some of our men (and these were all
recruits with less than six months' service) felt so much out of place
that when the firing lulled, often showed their desire to be with
their commands. None of our older men did this. We knew perfectly well
that we could give as much assistance there as anywhere else, and that
it was our duty to remain until relieved. And we d