In other words, the
chaplain, whose religious enthusiasm no one doubts, was engaged in
heaving rocks with his own hands to show these colored soldiers how
they ought to make good road, and he was doing "good works."
It is but a just tribute to Chaplains Springer and Swift, of the
Regulars, to say that they were conspicuous in the hour of danger at
the point of greatest peril. In the fearless discharge of their holy
office, they faced all the dangers of battle; nor did they neglect the
care of the body while ministering to the spiritual needs of the
soldiers. Springer, for example, collected wood and made coffee for
all on the firing-line, within 400 yards of the block-house at El
Caney; and Swift was equally conspicuous in relieving suffering,
binding up wounds, and caring for the sick. There were probably others
equally as daring; but the author knows of the deeds of these men, and
desires to pay a tribute of respect to them. Chaplains of this stamp
are always listened to with respectful attention when they express
their views of the true course of life to obtain a blessed hereafter.
They were in very sharp contrast to the long-visaged clerical
gentlemen who were so much in evidence at Tampa, and who never got
within 500 miles of danger.
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