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The work is a meticulously compiled historical account of African‑American soldiers who fought in the Cuban campaign of the Spanish‑American War, written by chaplain T. G. Steward of the 25th Infantry. In its opening pages Steward explains that he has drawn on official reports, personal correspondence and firsthand interviews, aided by the War Department and the President, to present a “truthful” narrative of the colored regulars’ service. The text begins with a formal letter from General Miles, followed by a detailed description of the army’s rapid mobilization, the hardships of the Santiago expedition, and the specific contributions of the black regiment that fought, nursed yellow‑fever patients and buried the dead. Steward’s preface frames the volume as both a tribute to the soldiers’ bravery and an effort to record the broader evolution of the African‑American people in the United States.
Written in a solemn, nineteenth‑century prose style, the book combines official military language with reflective, almost poetic commentary on race, nationhood and progress. Its voice is that of a devoted chronicler who sees history as a moral lesson, and the narrative is interspersed with formal orders, letters and philosophical musings. Readers interested in military history, Reconstruction‑era social studies, or the early historiography of African‑American experience will find the volume rewarding, while those who prefer brisk, plot‑driven storytelling may find its measured, documentary tone demanding.
The opening · free to read
PREFACE.
The material out of which the story of the COLORED REGULARS has been constructed has been collected with great pains, and upon it has been expended a serious amount of labor and care. All the movements of the Cuban campaign, and particularly of the battles, have been carefully studied by the aid of official reports, and conversations and correspondence with those who participated in them. The work has been performed with an earnest desire to obtain and present the truth, hoping that the reader will be inspired by it to a more profound respect for the brave and skilled black men who passed through that severe baptism of fire and suffering, contributing their full share to their country's honor.
It is also becoming in this place to mention with gratitude the encouragement given by the War Department both in granting me the time in which to do the work, and also in supplying me with documents and furnishing other facilities. By this enlightened course on the part of the Department great aid has been given to historical science, and, incidentally, very important service rendered to the cause of freedom and humanity. A struggling people has been helped and further glory reflected upon the Government. The President, himself, has manifested a kindly interest in the work, and has wished that the story of the black soldiers should be told to the world. The interest of the Commanding General of the Army is shown in his letter.
Thus encouraged from official sources and receiving the most hearty words of cheer from friends, of whom none has been more potent or more earnest than Bishop B.W. Arnett, D.D., of the African M.E. Church, I have, after five months of severe labor, about completed my task, so far as I find it in my power to complete it; and trusting that the majesty and interest of the story itself will atone for any defects in the style of the narration, the volume is now offered to a sympathetic public, affectionately dedicated to the men whose heroic services have furnished the theme for my pen.
T.G. STEWARD. Wilberforce, Ohio, September, 1899.
LETTER FROM GENERAL MILES.
Headquarters of the Army, Washington, August 5, 1899.
Rev. T.G. Steward, Chaplain 25th Infantry, Wilberforce, Ohio.
Dear Sir:--Your letter of the 20th ultimo was duly received, but my time has been so much engrossed with official duties, requiring my presence part of the time out of the city, that it has not been practicable to comply with your request earlier; and even now I can only reply very briefly.
You will remember that my acquaintance with negro character commenced during the Civil War. The colored race then presented itself to me in the character of numerous contrabands of war, and as a people who, individually, yearned for the light and life of liberty. Ages of slavery had reduced them to the lowest ebb of manhood. From that degree of degradation I have been an interested spectator of the marvelously rapid evolution of the down-trodden race. From the commencement of this evolution to the present time I have been more or less in a position to closely observe their progress. At the close of the war I was in command of one of the very important military districts of the South, and my concern for the welfare of all the people of that district, not excluding the people of color, you will find evidenced in the measures taken by me, more especially in regard to educational matters, at that time. The first regiment which I commanded on entering the Regular Army of the United States at the close of the war was made up of colored troops. That regiment--the 40th Infantry--achieved a reputation for military conduct which forms a record that may be favorably compared with the best regiments in the service. Then, again, refer to my General Order No. 1, issued after the fall of Santiago, and you will see that recognition is not grudgingly given to the troops who heroically fought there, whether of American, of African, or of Latin descent. If so early in the second generation of the existence of the race in the glorious light of liberty it produces such orators as Douglas, such educators as Booker T. Washington, such divines as the Afro-American Bishops, what may we not expect of the race when it shall have experienced as many generations of growth and development as the Anglo-Saxons who now dominate the thought, the inventive genius, the military prowess, and the commercial enterprise of the world! Very truly yours,
NELSON A. MILES.
Headquarters of the Army, Siboney, Cuba, July 16, 1898.
General Field Orders No. 1.
The gratifying success of the American arms at Santiago de Cuba and some features of a professional character both important and instructive, are hereby announced to the army.
The declaration of war found our country with a small army scattered over a vast territory. The troops composing this army were speedily mobilized at Tampa, Fla. Before it was possible to properly equip a volunteer force, strong appeals for aid came from the navy, which had inclosed in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba an important part of the Spanish fleet. At that time the only efficient fighting force available was the United States Army, and in order to organize a command of sufficient strength, the cavalry had to be sent dismounted to Santiago de Cuba with the infantry and artillery.
The expedition thus formed was placed under command of Major-General Shafter. Notwithstanding the limited time to equip and organize an expedition of this character, there was never displayed a nobler spirit of patriotism and fortitude on the part of officers and men going forth to mantain the honor of their country. After encountering the vicissitudes of an ocean voyage, they were obliged to disembark on a foreign shore and immediately engage in an aggressive campaign. Under drenching storms, intense and prostrating heat, within a fever-afflicted district, with little comfort or rest, either by day or night, they pursued their purpose of finding and conquering the enemy. Many of them, trained in the severe experience of the great war, and in frequent campaigns on the Western plains, officers and men alike exhibited a great skill, fortitude, and tenacity, with results which have added a new chapter of glory to their country's history. Even when their own generals in several cases were temporarily disabled, the troops fought on with the same heroic spirit until success was finally achieved. In many instances the officers placed themselves in front of their commands, and under their direct and skillful leadership the trained troops of a brave army were driven from the thickets and jungles of an almost inaccessible country. In the open field the troops stormed intrenched infantry, and carried and captured fortified works with an unsurpassed daring and disregard of death. By gaining commanding ground they made the harbor of Santiago untenable for the Spanish fleet, and practically drove it out to a speedy destruction by the American Navy.
While enduring the hardships and privations of such campaign, the troops generously shared their scanty food with the 5,000 Cuban patriots in arms, and the suffering people who had fled from the besieged city. With the twenty-four regiments and four batteries, the flower of the United States Army, were also three volunteer regiments. These though unskilled in warfare, yet, inspired with the same spirit, contributed to the victory, suffered hardships, and made sacrifices with the rest. Where all did so well, it is impossible, by special mention, to do justice to those who bore conspicuous part. But of certain unusual features mention cannot be omitted, namely, the cavalry dismounted, fighting and storming works as infantry, and a regiment of colored troops, who, having shared equally in the heroism as well as the sacrifices, is now voluntarily engaged in nursing yellow-fever patients and burying the dead. The gallantry, patriotism and sacrifices of the American Army, as illustrated in this brief campaign, will be fully appreciated by a grateful country, and the heroic deeds of those who have fought and fallen in the cause of freedom will ever be cherished in sacred memory and be an inspiration to the living.
To write the history of the Negro race within that part of the western world known as the United States of America would be a task to which one might devote a life time and still fail in its satisfactory accomplishment. The difficulties lying in the way of collecting and unifying the material are very great; and that of detecting the inner life of the people much greater. Facts and dates are to history what color and proportion are to the painting. Employed by genius, color and form combine in a language that speaks to the soul, giving pleasure and instruction to the beholder; so the facts and dates occurring along the pathway of a people, when gathered and arranged by labor and care, assume a voice and a power which they have not otherwise. As these facts express the thoughts and feelings, and the growth, of a people, they become the language in which that people writes its history, and the work of the historian is to read and interpret this history for the benefit of his fellow men.
Borrowing a second illustration from the work of the artist, it may be said, that as nature reveals her secrets only to him whose soul is in deepest sympathy with her moods and movements, so a people's history can be discovered only by one whose heart throbs in unison with those who have made the history. To write the history of any people successfully one must read it by the heart; and the best part of history, like the best part of the picture, must ever remain unexpressed. The artist sees more, and feels more than he is able to transfer to his canvas, however entrancing his presentation; and the historian sees and feels more than his brightest pages convey to his readers. Nothing less than a profound respect and love for humankind and a special attraction toward a particular people and age, can fit one to engage in so sublime a task as that of translating the history of a people into the language of common men.
The history of the American Negro differs very widely from that of any people whose life-story has been told; and when it shall come to be known and studied will open an entirely new view of experience. In it we shall be able to see what has never before been discovered in history; to wit: the absolute beginning of a people. Brought to these shores by the ship-load as freight, and sold as merchandise; entirely broken away from the tribes, races, or nations of their native land; recognized only, as African slaves, and forbidden all movement looking toward organic life; deprived of even the right of family or of marriage, and corrupted in the most shameless manner by their powerful and licentious oppressors--it is from this heterogeneous protoplasm that the American Negro has been developed. The foundation from which he sprang had been laid by piecemeal as the slave ships made their annual deposits of cargoes brought from different points on the West Coast, and basely corrupted as is only too well known; yet out of it has grown, within less than three hundred years, an organic people. Grandfathers, and great-grandfathers are among them; and personal acquaintance is exceedingly wide. In the face of slavery and against its teaching and its power, overcoming the seduction of the master class, and the coarse and brutal corruptions of the baser overseer class, the African slave persistently strove to clothe himself with the habiliments of civilization, and so prepared himself for social organization that as soon as the hindrances were removed, this vast people almost immediately set themselves in families; and for over thirty years they have been busily engaged hunting up the lost roots of their family trees. We know the pit whence the Afro-American race was dug, the rock whence he was hewn; he was born here on this soil, from a people who in the classic language of the Hebrew prophet, could be described as, No People.
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