through the fortunes of the war in the official records by their regimental numbers.  During their stay in Chickamauga, and at Key West and Tampa, the Southern newspapers indulged in considerable malicious abuse of colored soldiers, and some people of this section made complaints of their conduct, but the previous good character of the regiments and the violent tone of the accusations, taken together with the well-known prejudices of the Southern people, prevented their complaints from having very great weight.  The black soldiers held their place in the army chosen for the invasion of Cuba, and for that purpose were soon ordered to assemble in Tampa.

From the 10th of April, when the war movement began with the march of the Twenty-fifth Infantry out of its Montana stations, until June 14th, when the Army of Invasion cleared Tampa for Cuba—­not quite two months—­the whole energy of the War Department had been employed in preparing the army for the work before it.  The beginning of the war is officially given as April 21st, from which time onward it was declared a state of war existed between Spain and the United States, but warlike movements on our side were begun fully ten days earlier, and begun with a grim definiteness that presaged much more than a practice march or spring manoeuver.

After arriving at Chickamauga all heavy baggage was shipped away for storage, and all officers and men were required to reduce their field equipage to the minimum; the object being to have the least possible amount of luggage, in order that the greatest possible amount of fighting material might be carried.  Even with all this preparation going on some officers were indulging the hope that the troops might remain in camps, perfecting themselves in drill, until September, or October, before they should be called upon to embark for Cuba.  This, however, was not to be, and it is perhaps well that it was not, as the suffering and mortality in the home camps were almost equal to that endured by the troops in Cuba.  The suffering at home, also, seemed more disheartening, because it appeared to be useless, and could not be charged to any important changes in conditions or climate.  It was perhaps in the interest of humanity that this war, waged for humanity’s sake, should have been pushed forward from its first step to its last, with the greatest possible dispatch, and that just enough men on our side were sent to the front, and no more.  It is still a good saying that all is well that ends well.

The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the place where our troops assembled on their march to Cuba, beautiful by nature, especially in the full season of spring when the black soldiers arrived there, and adorned also by art, has, next to Gettysburg, the most prominent place among the historic battle-fields of the Civil War.  As a park it was established by an act of Congress approved August 19, 1890, and contains seven thousand acres of rolling