Nor should it be forgotten that in this first fight, Troop B,
which did its full share, was commanded on the firing line by
Sergeants John Buck and James Thompson. In the squad commanded by
Sergeant Thompson several men of the First Regular Cavalry fought and
it is claimed were highly pleased with him as squad commander.
While this was the first fight of the men of the Tenth Cavalry with
the Spaniards, it was by no means their first experience under fire.
From the time of the organization of the regiment in 1866 up to within
a year of the war, the men had been engaged frequently in conflicts
with Indians and marauders, often having men killed and wounded in
their ranks. The fights were participated in by small numbers, and the
casualties were not numerous, but there were opportunities for the
acquirement of skill and the display of gallantry. Altogether the men
of the regiment during their experience on the plains engaged in
sixty-two battles and skirmishes. This training had transformed the
older men of the regiment into veterans and enabled them to be cool
and efficient in their first fight in Cuba.
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.
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