Answer:
Even though people of color fought alongside the troops they were still given equipment last, judging from the photograph. It also seems living quarters were too fancy as they seem to have built leaf roofs over the tent as the tents could not stand up to rain. I also see a few of the men possess a sword, which suggests a frequent need for close-quarter combat. Tl;DR living conditions were poor, and even poorer for people of color. Close combat was a normalcy or else they would not have carried around swords.
Explanation:
