Sergeant Buck, upon whom the command of Troop B chiefly fell after becoming separated from his Lieutenant in the battle at Guasimas, joined the regiment in 1880, and had already passed through eighteen years of the kind of service above described. He was at the time of the Cuban War in the prime of life, a magnificent horseman, an experienced scout, and a skilled packer. In 1880, when he joined the regiment, the troops were almost constantly in motion, marching that one year nearly seventy-seven thousand miles, his own troop covering twelve hundred and forty-two miles in one month. This troop with four others made a ride of sixty-five miles in less than twenty-one hours, arriving at their destination without the loss of a single horse. In 1893 he was mentioned by the commanding officer of Fort Missoula, Montana, for highly meritorious service, skill and energy displayed while in charge of pack train of an expedition across the Bitter Root Mountains, Idaho, during the most inclement weather, in quest of a party of gentlemen lost. (Letter of commanding officer, Fort Missoula, Montana, February 12, 1894.) Sergeant Buck has also won the silver medal for revolver shooting. Sergeant James Thompson joined the regiment in 1888, and has passed the ten years in the one troop, and proved himself at Las Guasimas a soldier worthy his regiment. The first battle gave the Tenth a reputation in a new field, corresponding to that which it had gained in the West, and this was not allowed to fade during its stay in Cuba. The fame of this first action spread rapidly through the army and inspired the other regiments of colored men with a desire to distinguish themselves on this new field of honor, and their readiness to be to the front and to take prominent part in all service was so marked that opportunity could not be withheld from them. As the army advanced toward Santiago these regiments became more and more the mark of observation by foreign military men who were present, and by the great throng of correspondents who were the eyes for the people of the civilized world. And hence, when the lines of assault were finally determined and the infantry and cavalry of our army deployed for its perilous attack upon the Spanish fortifications the black regiments were in their places, conspicuous by their vigor and enthusiasm. In them were enlisted men whose time of service had expired a few days before, but who had promptly re-enlisted. In at least two cases were men who served their full thirty years and could have retired with honor at the breaking out of the war. They preferred to share the fortunes of their comrades in arms, and it is a comfort to be able to record that the two spoken of came home from the fight without a wound and with health unimpaired. How many others there were in the same case in the army is not reported, but the supposition is that there were several such in both the white and colored regiments.