tion of these troops from official records, Troop A connected
the Rough Riders with the First Cavalry, and Troops I and B were on
the right of the First Cavalry. Troop A did not fire a shot; the
fighting, therefore, was done by Troops I and B on the extreme right
of the line, and it was on their front that "undoubtedly the strongest
point in the Spanish position" lay--nor should the reader forget that
at this very important moment Troop B was commanded by its First
Sergeant, Buck, Lieutenant Williard having by his own report been
"unfortunate enough to lose the troop." This is said with no
disparagement to Lieutenant Williard. It was merely one of the
accidents of battle.

Says Mr. Bonsal: "The moment the advance was ordered the black
troopers of the Tenth Cavalry forged ahead. They were no braver
certainly than any other men in the line, but their better training
enabled them to render more valuable services than the other troops
engaged. They had with them and ready for action their machine guns,
and shoved them right up to the front on the firing line, from where
they poured very effective fire into the Spanish trenches, which not
only did considerable execution, but was particularly effective in
keeping down the return fire of the Spaniards. The machine guns of the
Rough Riders were mislaid, or the mules upon which they had been
loaded could not be found at this juncture. It was said they had
bolted. It is certain, however, that the guns were not brought into
action, and consequently the Spaniards suffered less, and the Rough
Riders more, in the gallant charge they made up the hill in front of
them, after the Tenth Cavalry had advanced and driven the Spaniards
from their position on the right."

Corporal W.F. Johnson, B Troop, was the non-commissioned officer in
charge of the machine guns during the brief fight at Las Guasimas, and
his action was such as to call forth from the troop commander special
mention "for his efficiency and perfect coolness under fire." Here I
may be pardoned for calling attention to a notion too prevalent
concerning the Negro soldier in time of battle. He is too often
represented as going into action singing like a zany or yelling like a
demon, rather than as a man calculating the chances for life and
victory. The official reports from the Black Regulars in Cuba ought to
correct this notion. Every troop and company commander, who has
reported upon colored soldiers in that war, speaks of t