The aggressive
work of the Tenth Cavalry, therefore, appears to have been done by
Troops B and I, a detachment of the former troop serving the Hotchkiss
gun battery. Troop I was commanded by Lieutenant Fleming and by him
conducted to the front, although he admits that in their advance up
the slope of the hill he could see but very few of the men at a time,
and declares that their advance was certainly steady, because all
arrived at the crest of the hill simultaneously or nearly so.
Lieutenant Fleming does not show that his troop of excellent men were
in any sense _peculiarly_ dependent upon their white officers as some
have asserted. They advanced steadily, just as the regulars always do,
advanced noiselessly and without any reckless firing, and reached the
crest of the hill in order, although he could not see them as they
were making their advance. They kept their line despite all the
obstructions. Lieutenant Fleming also says that in moving to his
position he passed Troop B, which then "inclined to the right, and
during the remainder of the action was on my right." Troop B,
therefore, went through about the same experience as Troop I, and
being on the extreme right of the line may have been more directly in
front of that foe which Fleming says was in his front and to the
right.
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