Lusty cheers greeted the men of a native Porto Rican battalion as they marched along with swinging gait in the parade that supplied the most picturesque feature of the second inauguration of President McKinley. Americans greeted as fellow Americans these men who, three years ago, were subjects of the King of Spain, but now belong to Uncle Sam. Certainly the Porto Ricans have well deserved the reputation of being ardent believers in American imperialism. After the fall of Spanish power in Porto Rico, General Miles reported that on his march to San Juan the people had literally overwhelmed him with their offers of service under the American flag. Had he possessed the arms, and had there been the necessity, General Miles is reported to have said he could have secured fifty thousand natives as volunteers against the Spaniards.
The first colonial troops sworn into the service of the United States were natives of Porto Rico. They took the military oath of allegiance March 29th, 1899. It was the late General Guy V. Henry, then in command in Porto Rico, who suggested the enrollment of native troops. One battalion was formed, and then a second. Today the native levy of troops in our far possession in the West Indies is known as ” the Porto Rico Regiment.” As a matter of fact it is only two thirds of a regiment, consisting of but two battalions, Lieutenant-Colonel James A. Buchanan is in command. Each Company consists of 112 men, and there are eight companies in all. One, the infantry battalion, is stationed at San Juan. The other battalion, mounted, is assigned to the coffee district in the mountains around Cayey. Major William A. Almy commands the foot, while Major Eben Swift leads the four companies that live in saddle.
They were the infantrymen who came to Washington by order of the government. Each company was representer by sixty men, the other fifty-two men in each company being left behind for duty at the home station. With the visitors came the band, an organization of thirty skilled performers. Their view of Washington was the first glimpse of a large American city that these men had had. On the day after inauguration the battalion was brought over to New York, the whole journey being made in daylight that they might see all of the country lying between the nation’s capital and its metropolis. New York proved a wonderland to them. They got their first sight of sky-scraping buildings. They obtained some idea of the magnitude of greater New York. In the twenty four hours or so that they were here our colonial soldiers saw as much as could be crowded into the leisure part of that time. Wherever they went they were treated with the same enthusiasm that had greeted them in Washington.
Our Porto Rican soldiers, in physique, compare favorably with our own regulars. Very short men among them are the decided exception. Undoubtedly the average Porto Rican soldier will stand eight inches over five feet. They are well-built, splendid, strapping fellows. While the majority are dark, there are many who are as light as our own Saxon type of men. Each one bas acquired the best kind of a military carriage and walk. Without exception they are proud of their uniform, quick to learn, and docile. Their officers declare that the men will fight in the last ditch or enter into an even hopeless charge at the word of command. Within the last year they have advanced sixty per cent. in efficiency at firing on the range.
Under the last army legislation the men, who were formerly in the volunteer class, will enter our service as a full-fledged part of the regular army. Their uniform, equipment, and arms have been all along of the kind furnished to our regulars. While here the battalion wore the ordinary uniforms of heavy blue cloth. At home they appear in blue blouses and khaki trousers and leggings. No soldiers in the world are more careful of their appearance, whether on duty or on leave. In their evolutions and in all the daily routine of the soldier they show the most painstaking attention to duty. On drill they are taught the English words of command, and understand them perfectly. There is a school for non-commissioned officers in San Juan, where the latter are taught English, and most of the sergeants and corporals are able to converse with a fair degree of fluency in our tongue. As soon as it can be done the privates will be given thorough instruction in English.
Major Almy’s battalion is officered, with one exception, by Americans, all men of military experience. Lieutenant Blas Nadal is the one Porto Rican who holds a commission. Though a young man of position and family, be was one of the first privates recruited in the San Juan battalion, By merit he rose to a first lieutenancy, and the way is open for other native islanders to follow in his footsteps as rapidly as they can. Lieutenant W. W. Ballard is adjutant of the Fan Juan battalion, while the company officers are : A—Captain T. F. Maginnis and Lieutenants Cooper and Hay; B—Captain Osman Latrobe and Lieutenants Bessell and Kerney: C—Captain Allen D. Raymond and Lieutenants Wyke and Martin; D—Captain James T. Ord and Lieutenants Nadal and Oakes.
When the transport Sedgwick pulled out from the army pier in Brooklyn, bearing the men of the Man Juan battalion on their way homeward on March 6th, despite the biting cold that was so new to them, our Porto Rican soldiers lined the shoreward rails, responding to the farewells of spectators on the pier with the true American cheer. They have returned to their home station with more exact ideas of America’s greatness, and with more fixed loyalty to our flag, if that were possible.
Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, New York, NY, March 21, 1901