the idea, believing that the fruit would be very beneficial.  The good people of Bridgeton took hold of the matter heartily, and in a short time forwarded to the regiment more than four hundred of Jersey’s finest watermelons, fresh from the vines.  These were distributed judiciously and the health of the men began to improve forthwith.  Soon five hundred more arrived, sent by a patriotic citizen of Philadelphia.  These were also distributed.  Ladies of Brooklyn forwarded peaches and vegetables, and supplies of all sorts now were coming in abundance.  Our men improved so rapidly as to be the occasion of remark by correspondents of the press.  They were spoken of as being apparently in good condition.  While engaged in the work of supplying their physical wants the chaplain was taken to task by a correspondent of Leslie’s for being too much concerned in getting a carload of watermelons for his regiment, to go over to a graveyard and pray over the dead.  The next day the chaplain made haste to go over to that particular graveyard to relieve the country from the crying shame that the correspondent had pointed out, only to find two men already there armed with prayer-books and one of them especially so fearful that he would not get a chance to read a prayer over a dead soldier, that the chaplain found it necessary to assure him that the opportunity to pray should not be taken from him; and thus another popular horror was found to be without reality.

The colored ladies of Brooklyn organized a Soldiers’ Aid Society, and besides contributing in a general way, as already mentioned, also made and presented to the soldiers about four hundred home-made pies, which were most highly appreciated.  They also prepared a tasty souvenir commemorative of the heroic work performed by the troops in Cuba, and expressive of high appreciation of the gallantry of the colored regiments.  A beautiful stand of colors was also procured for the Twenty-fourth Infantry, which were subsequently presented to the regiment with appropriate ceremonies.

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 associated with that remarkable encampment: 

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