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| 235 a most popular officer. He commended the aide the Fifth had furnished him, J. Markham Marshall, in the highest terms. Another officer who became a favorite with the men was the regimental chaplain, the Rev. John Woods Elliott. He was a good comrade, devoted to his duties, and never failed to use the influence he had with the men to their advantage. On Monday, May 30, an orderly arrived from General Wade, and delivered to Colonel Coale an order for the regiment to proceed to Tampa as soon as they could get ready. The order came from the War Department. It was not expected by the Fifth, but it was understood to be the first order for the invasion of Cuba. Neither the officers nor the men had expected to leave Chickamauga until the last of August, and this unexpected order created some excitement and much enthusiasm, as it was considered an especial honor to the Fifth. Seven other regiments, however, received the same orders, namely, the First Ohio, Fifteenth Indiana, Third Pennsylvania and First Illinois, under Brigadier-General Simon Sny-der; the Fifth Maryland, Second and Sixty-ninth New York and First District Columbia, under General Lewis H. Carpenter; six thousand men in all. The next day the Fifth received 950 new Springfield rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition for each man. The rifles were of 45 caliber and of the 1884 model. On the eve of departure from Chickamauga, Elbert L. Thomson, of Company L, son of Captain Elbert Thomson, of Company C, was accidently drowned while bathing in Chickamauga Creek. Young Thomson was about nineteen years old and had enlisted while the regiment was at Pimlico, so as to go to the front with his father. In moving to Tampa the Fifth passed from under the command of General Grant to that of General Carpenter, and Adjutant J. Markham Marshall was transferred from the staff of the former to that of the latter. On Thursday, June 2, the troops marched from Camp Thomas to Rossville, and there embarked on the cars for Tampa. They left the camp at an early hour in the |