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Title: Sidelights on Negro Soldiers
Author: Charles H. Williams
Contributor: Benjamin Brawley
Release Date: January 3, 2022 [eBook #67093]
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDELIGHTS ON NEGRO
SOLDIERS ***
SIDELIGHTS ON
NEGRO SOLDIERS
BY
CHARLES H. WILLIAMS
Special Investigator of Conditions among Negro
Soldiers in the World War
With an Introduction by
BENJAMIN BRAWLEY
BOSTON
B. J. BRIMMER COMPANY
1923
COPYRIGHT 1923
BY B. J. BRIMMER COMPANY
First Edition, June, 1923
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THE AMBROSE PRESS, INC.
Norwood, Massachusetts
Dedicated to the Memory of My Mother and to My Aunt Mrs. Maria Burnside
PREFACE
It is the purpose of this book to tell something of the achievement
of the Negro soldier in the World War and to describe the conditions
under which he lived as these were seen by the writer, who for eighteen
months investigated conditions in America and France under the auspices
of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and of the
Phelps-Stokes Fund, with the recommendation of the Secretary of War
and the Adjutant General of the United States Army. Most of the
information was secured by visits to the soldiers in the camps, by
interviews with thousands of them, and by personal investigation in the
communities adjacent to the camps, as well as by the study of records
and documents. Camp commanders, officers in charge of Negro troops,
representatives of all the welfare organizations, city officials, and
both Negro and white civilians were consulted in the effort to secure
the facts concerning the fighting record, the work, the conduct, and
the treatment of Negro soldiers in the course of the war.
I am indebted to the Historical Branch of the War Department for
access to its records on the operations of Negro combatant troops, to
the office of the Adjutant General for special information, and to many
friends for suggestions and help in the preparation of the material;
and it is hoped that the book now offered to the public may in some
small way help the American people better to understand not only the
perplexing situation but also the signal achievement of Negro men
working and fighting in behalf of their country and in defence of the
highest ideals of life.
CHARLES H. WILLIAMS.
Hampton Institute,
December 15, 1922.
INTRODUCTION
It gives me great pleasure to write a word of introduction to this
interesting and important book that Mr. Williams has written. The
story of the Negro soldier is one of the romances of American history.
Even in the days of the Revolution and the War of 1812 he played an
honorable part; but it was the Civil War that gave him his first large
opportunity, and at Port Hudson, Fort Wagner, or Fort Pillow he passed
through the baptism of fire, striving that the emancipation of his
people might be guaranteed and the integrity of his country preserved.
We also remember another war, and Santiago and San Juan Hill, and
not only how Negro men went gallantly to the charge but also how the
soldiers in a black regiment faced pestilence and fever that their
white comrades might be saved. Then came Carrizal, strange prelude of
the great conflict to come; and once more, at an unexpected moment, the
soul of the nation was thrilled by the courage of the Tenth Cavalry.
“Theirs not to make reply; theirs but to do and die.” So in the face of
odds they obeyed orders and died beneath the Mexican stars.
The recent World War, however, brought to the Negro people of
the United States an interest and an anxiety surpassed only by the
expectant hope in the days of the Civil War. They had come to the
end of an era, and all the incidents and problems of their life in
America were suddenly brought to the testing. Vast forces beyond their
control were changing the destinies of thousands--in migration, in
economic freedom, and even in spiritual outlook; and unhappy events
at East St. Louis and Houston but made the situation more critical.
They were eager to serve, but at once they came face to face with
questions that concerned the very foundations of their citizenship.
Would the men of the race, or would they not, be permitted to train
and serve as officers? If so, would they be dealt with as a distinct
and separate race, as was the case with no other race in the country,
or simply on the basis of physical and mental fitness? Why, moreover,
on the registration card for the draft should the Negro be singled out
for a special corner? To some people such questions may have seemed
unimportant, but to the Negroes themselves they meant nothing less than
life itself, and they followed the fortunes of their sons and their
husbands accordingly.
In the recent war then, as in no other, the social as well as the
military phases of the life of the soldier assumed a new importance.
Wherever he went, with whomever he came in contact, in America or in
France--in the life of cantonment cities, in his dealing with his
comrades in arms, in his contact with the people of France--the Negro
in uniform met situations that had definite bearing upon his health,
his conduct, and his morale. Frequently these came to the attention
of the War Department, and sometimes also they received prominence in
the public press. Of such sort were the vexatious discussions that
sometimes arose in the Y. M. C. A. and other welfare organizations,
the reports reflecting on the character of Negro men, and the
complaints not only about the actual operation of the draft but also
about the conditions under which the soldiers, especially those in
stevedore units, sometimes lived and worked. Of distinct service to the
country accordingly was the decision of the Federal Council of Churches
of Christ in America, working in co-operation with the Phelps-Stokes
Fund, to appoint two field secretaries, one to study the situation in
so far as it had to do with Negro churches, and the other to study and
report on every phase of the life of the Negro soldier in camps and
cantonment cities, both in the United States and abroad.
For this latter service Mr. Charles H. Williams was chosen. His work
for several years as Physical Director at Hampton Institute had not
only brought him to the very front in his chosen field, but had also
given him special insight into the temperament, the physical prowess,
and the social outlook of Negro men. His special task moreover had not
only the approval but also the co-operation of the Secretary of War
and the Adjutant General of the Army of the United States, and in the
course of his work he spent a total of eighteen months visiting every
place where Negro soldiers were gathered, in both America and France.
His endeavor was as painstaking as his mission was unique.
Something of the result of this first-hand study will be found in
the pages that follow. Mr. Williams, it will be observed, has not
undertaken to write a history of Negro soldiers in the war. Instead
he has given us “Sidelights”; and I think the reader will agree with
me that what is more unpretentious than a history is also of more
interest than many a formal work, and valuable by reason of the
authority with which the author speaks. Before one has finished reading
he will probably be impressed with the fact that the work is indeed not
only a consideration of the Negro soldier but also a vital contribution
to the social history of the Negro people in America. It has been
eagerly awaited by those who knew of the unusual opportunity for study
that Mr. Williams had, and now that it is given to the people of the
country I bespeak for it a generous welcome.
BENJAMIN BRAWLEY.
Cambridge, January 1, 1923.
CONTENTS
I. THE CALL TO THE COLORS 17
II. IN CAMP 24
III. THE NEGRO OFFICER 36
IV. HOPES AND FEARS 68
V. THE LURE OF THE UNIFORM 78
VI. THE “Y” AND OTHER WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS 93
VII. THE STEVEDORE 138
VIII. THE NINETY-SECOND DIVISION 156
IX. THE NINETY-THIRD DIVISION 194
X. HOME-FIRES 241
CREDENTIALS
WAR DEPARTMENT
Washington
February 11th, 1919.
To: Officers Commanding Colored Units from Over Seas Service
From: The Secretary of War.
Subject: Interview.
This will introduce to you Charles H. Williams, who desires to
interview both colored officers and men who have seen over seas
service. I desire that every practical facility be afforded Mr.
Williams in carrying out the work.
Sincerely,
[SIGNED] NEWTON D. BAKER,
Newton D. Baker,
Secretary of War.
WAR DEPARTMENT
THE ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE
Washington
March 7, 1918.
From: The Adjutant General of the Army.
To: The Commanding Generals of all Army Camps and Cantonments.
Subject: Social and Religious Conditions in Communities Adjacent to
Camps and Cantonments.
This will introduce to you Mr. C. H. Williams, representing the
Federal Council of Churches and the Phelps-Stokes Fund.
Mr. Williams has been appointed to observe social and religious
conditions in communities adjacent to camps and cantonments where
colored troops are stationed.
The Secretary of War desires that every practicable facility be
afforded to Mr. Williams in carrying on his work.
[SIGNED] H. P. McCAIN.
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES
PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL’S OFFICE
A. P. O. 706
May 17, 1919.
From: Provost Marshal General, A. E. F.
To: Whom it May Concern.
Subject: Special Travel Permit.
1. Charles H. Williams, Associate Member, ARMY EDUCATIONAL
COMMISSION, Y. M. C. A., holder of Red Worker’s Permit No.
32133, is authorized to travel in:
(a) Any part of France except Alsace-Lorraine.
(b) Any part of the 3rd Army Area.
2. This permit, which is valid until July 17, 1919, will be
returned, upon expiration, to the office of the Provost Marshal
General, A. P. O. 706.
H. H. BANDHOLTZ,
Provost Marshal General.
[SIGNED] JOHN W. NOBLE,
for
By: JAMES T. LOREE,
Executive Officer.
[OFFICIAL SEAL]
CHAPTER I
THE CALL TO THE COLORS
Little did the American Negro think, as he struggled with his own
problems in the early days of the World War, that he would be called
upon to aid his fellowmen three thousand miles away. He looked with
interest upon the conflict in Europe, his adventurous spirit was
quickened by the accounts of heroism and sacrifice, and he could but
marvel at German efficiency as he watched the great war machine crush
its way through Belgium. As the German armies marched across the fields
of France, however, leaving suffering and sorrow in their wake, the
Negro found his sympathy going out to the French people; and when it
became evident that America also would be drawn into the fighting, like
the other citizens of the country he girded himself for the contest.
When war was declared on April 6, 1917, the American army numbered
75,000 officers and men, only a nucleus for the stupendous task now on
hand. As the country marshalled its forces the question arose in some
sections as to the use of a tenth part of its man-power. Some alarmists
feared that if the Negro were trained in the science of modern warfare,
not only would there be industrial and agricultural stagnation,
but, even more important, peaceful relations after the war would be
difficult if not indeed impossible. It was true that black men had gone
to the aid of France and England, not as black men but as Frenchmen and
Englishmen, and their names had been written in gold at the Marne and
at Verdun, in Mesopotamia and in Africa. They too had wielded the cold
steel, faced gas and liquid fire, and passed into the jaws of death.
America, however, it was felt by some, had her own special problems and
difficulties, and it was debatable if she could adopt a similar policy.
On the other hand, throughout the country orators and the press alike
proclaimed the patriotism of the Negro and his willingness to shed his
blood for the Stars and Stripes. The heroism and loyalty of the race
were recounted from the Revolution to Carrizal; whatever else might
be said, the Negro’s hand had never been raised against the flag, nor
had treason been found in his breast; and when the call for American
manhood came, it was for all men from twenty-one to thirty-one years of
age, regardless of color.
During this period there were those among the Negroes themselves who
thought that at last the time had come to demand once for all the full
rights of American citizens. A larger group, however, maintained that
when the country was in danger the first duty of every citizen was to
remove the danger and then to settle domestic problems. A program was
adopted which resulted in the holding of great mass meetings throughout
the country. The young men of the race were urged to enlist in the
army or navy, and this they did with enthusiasm. The rush to the
colors was unprecedented. The American Negro Loyal Legion proposed to
raise 10,000 men in answer to the President’s call for 75,000 men. In
sections where national guard units existed for colored men, these were
the first to raise their units to war strength, as was demonstrated by
the old 15th New York. Often in the registration booths new records of
enlistments were made, so much so that at one time the War Department
issued orders to “take no more colored men.” Boys in their teens and
men beyond the draft age answered the call. Students left school or
college to take up the knapsack and the gun. In the Southern states
there was special eagerness to enlist, and in Florida there were
petitions to the Governor for the privilege of raising “regiments of
colored militia officered by men of the race.”
In some quarters it was said that Negroes would not register and that
arrests would have to be made. Especially in country districts not
reached by publicity campaigns there was not a thorough understanding
of the requirements. This fact resulted in the arrest of a few men as
slackers, but investigation showed that what seemed to be negligence
was due to ignorance rather than to any definite intention to dodge the
draft. Some who were beyond the age limits registered because they did
not know their exact age, and some other older men believed that they
would be sent to jail if they failed to appear.
When soon after registration day reports were sent out from Washington
that Negroes would be sent to the various camps, a vigorous protest
was made in some Southern states against placing them in the local
camps, the strongest objection coming from South Carolina. Elsewhere,
however, the opposition did not appear so violent; thus the _Atlanta
Constitution_ took the position that Negro soldiers should be
trained in Camp Gordon along with other soldiers and felt that this
could be done without friction. In Alabama there was an expressed
feeling against “strange Negroes in large numbers,” and throughout
the South it was believed that separate camps would be preferable.
Objections grew less and less, however, as reports of the Negro’s
enthusiasm for the draft came from all parts of the country.
The Negro went to camp willingly and those who remained gave him up
whole-heartedly, sending him away with feasting and speech-making,
songs and cheers, as well as with prayers and tears. Not only his
kinsmen, but white citizens as well, vied with one another in their
endeavor to do him honor and make him proud that he was going to serve
his country. Sometimes a governor would address the draftees, and, as
was often the case, parades would be led by mayors, chiefs of police,
and city councilmen. Often the stores would close in honor of those
called to the colors, and in one case an entire town turned out to see
its only colored draftee leave for service. At such times the Negro’s
patriotism reached its highest point. Not only those summoned but
every Negro present was filled with intense emotion. Especially was
this demonstrated when the colored contingent from Thomas County,
Ga., assembled prior to movement to Camp Gordon. One farmer who had
not harvested his crop made a final appeal for respite. The exemption
officer called for a volunteer to take his place from the other men who
were certified but not yet called. It is said that there was a stampede
for the place.
The selective draft was fair in its inception, including all citizens
alike, but unfortunately it did not always operate impartially when
Negroes were involved. In Fulton County, Ga., the draft board had to
be ordered dismissed for “unwarranted exemptions and discharges.”
Out of 815 white men called by this board 526 were exempted, 44
per cent on physical grounds. At the same time 202 Negroes were
called and only 6 exempted. The action of this board was by no means
typical, but it illustrates what the Negro draftee sometimes had to
contend with. In the determination of claims there appeared to be no
discrimination, according to the report of the Provost Marshal, yet
those called sometimes told sad stories as they were being led away
to camp. Sometimes it would be the story of a man with a wife and
five children, with ages from seven years to six months, who had been
changed from Class 4 to 1-A. Sometimes Negro men living on their own
farms, with crops growing and livestock to be cared for, were sent
away to camp, while single men working for large planters were put in
Class 4. All told it appears that many Negroes who had sufficient claim
for exemption were drafted and sent away to camp. The figures taken
from General Crowder’s report show that of the 1,078,331 colored men
who registered, 556,917, or 51.65 per cent, were placed in Class 1,
while 521,414 were in the deferred class. Of the 9,562,515 white men
who registered, 3,110,659, or 32.53 per cent, were in Class 1, while
6,451,856 were in deferred classes. The numbers selected for full
military service were 342,247 colored men and 1,916,750 white, or 31.74
per cent and 26.84 per cent respectively. The report further showed
that 74.60 colored and 69.71 white out of every 100 men called were
physically able to serve the country. Such figures were a revelation.
Various explanations were offered to account for this discrepancy.
It was noted that voluntary enlistment was not open in the South to
Negroes as to white men; thus it was estimated that 650,000 white men
enlisted in this section and only 4000 colored men. Moreover pleas
or excuses for deferment were not so readily accepted in the case of
Negroes. Some also were regarded as delinquents and brought to camp
as such when they really did not belong in this class. Migration
complicated the situation and cards notifying Negro draftees of their
call were often delayed and occasionally not even sent to them. The
result was that men who had no intention of wrongdoing were sometimes
arrested and treated as deserters. For each such case the local
officer received fifty dollars. This practice became so profitable
that camp authorities found it necessary to intervene to protect the
well-intentioned draftee whom circumstances had unfortunately placed
in the clutches of the law. If everything is considered, the evidence
is conclusive that the Negro’s response to America’s call in the World
War will remain a lasting tribute to his patriotism. He furnished his
quota cheerfully. “The doubts expressed of his Americanism were ill
considered and the fears concerning his loyalty were groundless.”
Many a Negro, as he left home and loved ones, for the first time
thought of himself as a part of the Government and as sharing equally
with every other citizen in the performance of his duty. Some had heard
wonderful speeches about democracy and the brotherhood of all men,
and each man cherished in his soul the idea of liberty. Each uttered
a silent prayer that if he returned he might share more fully in the
democracy for which he fought. One captain, about to set sail for
France, expressed the hope in the heart of every Negro when he said: “I
am leaving to-day a wife and three children. As great as the sacrifice
is, I shall be satisfied never to see America again, if my wife and
children will share greater opportunities and enjoy more liberty than
I now enjoy”; and not only the men but the women who saw them leave
shared this point of view.
Thus a loyal, kindly, and patient people went forth to do and to die,
answering every call, and thinking first of their country and their
great love for it in the hour of national peril.
CHAPTER II
IN CAMP
The late Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, said that two
hundred thousand men out of the first two million composing the
American army could neither write to their mothers and fathers nor
read the letters written to them. Just how many Negro soldiers were
illiterate will probably never be known, but it is certain that tens of
thousands of them could not read or write. The percentage of illiteracy
was highest in the non-combatant units, where education was not
primarily essential and where the first requirement was that the men be
physically fit to do the heavy work necessary. In such organizations it
was not unusual to find that 75 per cent of the men were illiterate.
At one time when an order was given a company that all men who could
neither read nor write should step forward, practically the whole
company advanced. In a machine-gun group of 167 men there were 127
illiterates; in a class of seventeen of these men four had never heard
of Abraham Lincoln, seven had never heard of Booker T. Washington, and
none had ever heard of Frederick Douglass. Many soldiers had never
heard of Germany, Servia, France, or Russia, or of kaisers and czars.
Hundreds, born and raised in the states from which they were called,
did not know what city was their state capital. Birthdays were given to
many, and sometimes even names were furnished. Thousands were away from
the old plantations for the first time; until called to register, some
did not know that the Great War was raging.
In striking contrast to these men was another group, those whom
education and experience had fitted for the great undertaking. These
were graduates from representative institutions, they were trained in
the various crafts, arts, and professions, and were neat in appearance,
responsive, and fired with enthusiasm. Great numbers of those of whom
we have been speaking, however, had never attended school a day in
their lives. Naturally they had little or no knowledge of the laws of
health. They did not always understand that clothes were to be changed
at bedtime and sometimes punishment had to be meted out for failure to
take the required number of baths per week. Guards frequently were on
duty at night to see that barrack windows were not closed in the effort
to keep out the treacherous night air.
The barracks at the different camps to which these men were sent were
usually comfortably built. This was especially true in the national
army cantonments, where they were satisfactorily heated, lighted, and
ventilated, with spacious mess halls, sanitary latrines, and adequate
bathing facilities. Such provisions was not always found where tents
had to be used, though the situation was improved when the tents were
boxed and floored and had stoves and electric lights. It is regrettable
that in the army, when there was a supply of old tents to be used, the
Negro soldiers were generally the recipients. When camps were crowded
and units had to be moved to less desirable quarters, most frequently
it was the Negro units that were moved. In rainy seasons they suffered
from exposure, and influenza made great inroads among them.
The task of supplying the men with clothes was a stupendous one.
Even honest attempts to get clothing for any group of men did not
always meet with success, and for the Negro soldiers it was at times
exceedingly difficult to secure what was necessary. When there was a
shortage they were the ones to suffer. In Camp McClellan, Anniston,
Ala., late in November they were found wearing little besides a fatigue
suit because winter underwear, “O. D.” suits, overcoats, and shoes had
not yet arrived. When there were second hand, unmatched khaki suits
and second hand hats, these passed to the Negroes. On one occasion at
Camp Sevier, Greenville, S. C., such clothing arrived in boxes marked
for the “current colored draft.” At Camp Hill, Newport News, Va., where
there were several thousand of the suits referred to as the “old Civil
War blue,” it was decided that the Negro soldiers should wear them.
When one of the organizations thus clad marched through the camp it
became the laughing-stock of the rest of the soldiers and the men were
humiliated. In Camp Humphrey, Va., through which 40,000 Negro soldiers
passed, not until after the Armistice and until the white soldiers
were discharged did the Negro men have such conveniences as barracks,
comfortable mess halls, and sanitary facilities; and their “Y” tent
was especially leaky. Such conditions in different places easily gave
the Negro people the impression that their sons were being mistreated
and were suffering in the camps, and this accounted for considerable
unrest. In spite of the occasional lack of clothing, however, and
poorly prepared food, those soldiers who survived the test were
discharged from the army more fit physically than when they entered it,
and thus the manhood of the country was made stronger and better.
The modern American cantonments required the labor of hundreds of
soldiers to keep them up to the requirements set by the inspectors.
Negro soldiers who were stationed in all the camps did their full share
of this work, and their special achievement is described in our chapter
on the Stevedore. The ambition of every man in camp, however, was to be
a real soldier, one who took up his knapsack and marched off to battle.
“I don’t want to stagger under heavy boxes,” said one stevedore, “I
want a gun on my shoulder and the opportunity to go to the front.”
Nearly three-fourths of all the Negro soldiers, however, were in
non-combatant units. In these units very little military training was
given. “Our drilling,” said one soldier, “consisted in marching to and
from work with hoes, shovels, and picks on our shoulders.” In some of
the more liberal camps the men got from thirty minutes to one hour of
drill without guns after the day’s work. Where there was an absence of
genuine military training there was always a lack of soldierly spirit
on the part of both officers and men. Where there was conscientious
effort to train and instruct the men in military science, however,
there was enthusiasm for the work.
The Negro is able to adjust himself to the life of a soldier with
comparative ease. His happy disposition and responsiveness to sincere,
efficient leadership, his regard for discipline and love for his
uniform, his sense of rhythm and his physical courage, are distinct
military assets. The fact that many officers preferred to command Negro
troops was a splendid tribute to their ability. In one camp where there
were eight commands with Negro soldiers, one hundred and fourteen
officers applied for the posts. With the exception of the 92nd and
93rd Divisions, Negro soldiers were almost entirely commanded by white
officers. In combatant units, and even in non-combatant units where
some military training was given, there were few complaints and the
officers were proud of their men.
In non-combatant organizations, on the other hand, some of the
commanding officers were disappointed because they had not been placed
with fighting units. They felt detached and humiliated. While as the
usual thing the corporals were colored, the sergeants were generally
white men. Only in rare cases were the non-commissioned officers all
white or all colored. Several reasons were given for placing white
sergeants in these units. It was said that most of the Negroes forming
such organizations had little or no knowledge of military tactics and
that experienced white men were needed to organize them; moreover,
that white officers could get more work out of labor units than could
Negro “non-coms.” It was felt that these men, having come in contact
with Negroes on plantations, public works, and turpentine farms, would
be especially competent to handle them. Unfortunately these officers
were often ignorant and when provoked would curse the men and call them
abusive names. In rare cases they even went so far as to strike the
men. There were also some examples of colored sergeants who belonged to
the “treat ’em rough” group. On the other hand, there was a class of
white non-commissioned officers from the Western and Northern states
who, claiming no previous acquaintance with the Negro, managed by
considerate handling to have excellent morale in their organizations.
There were various rules in the camps concerning the issuing of passes.
In a few camps Negroes were not required to get passes in order
to leave, provided they returned by a certain hour at night. Most
frequently, however, passes were issued, though with less frequency
than to white soldiers. Sometimes the Negroes were denied the privilege
of visiting the cantonment cities for fear that trouble might arise.
One very effective means of restriction was the establishing of a state
of quarantine.
Much was said during the war about throwing the arm of protection
about the soldier lest evil should befall him. The Government desired
him to return to his home a cleaner and a better man. In states where
there were no prohibition laws the Government prohibited saloons
within a radius of twenty-five miles from a camp. Federal and city
officials worked to carry out the letter of the law, but their task
was exceedingly difficult. While no open saloons existed in cantonment
cities, there was evidence of almost free access to some kind of
intoxicating liquor. Bootleggers sold their wares for from six to
sixteen dollars a quart, and numerous resorts were close at hand.
Fortunately, while there were cases in which individual soldiers were
arrested for drunkenness, the vigilance of the authorities prevented
the problem from becoming serious in cantonment cities.
In the army it was not generally felt that gambling or swearing
affected the fighting ability of the soldier. As a result of this
attitude little was done to influence the men in regard to these
evils. Officers occasionally prohibited gambling in their commands,
but generally it flourished. Y. M. C. A. secretaries sometimes called
the sergeants together and instituted campaigns against gambling, and
these did some good, but as long as camp officials were tolerant,
little could be accomplished. “Shooting craps” was a popular form of
recreation, and some officers encouraged this as long as it was played
in the open. Great crowds of men would gather in camp streets or
barracks and “roll” their last dime away. With other things affecting
the moral welfare of the men we shall deal in a later chapter.
One of the strong objections to placing white and colored soldiers in
the same camps was that there would be race conflicts. This proved not
to be the case, and with few exceptions the relations between the races
in every camp were good. Where the exceptions did occur, they were due
to the policies of officials rather than to the inclinations of the
men themselves. The fact that the war was a common cause made most
soldiers tolerant of the “other fellow,” in spite of their prejudices.
Even in sections where the idea of separation prevailed white and Negro
soldiers often used the same building, played games together, and
attended the same picture shows and entertainments. Occasionally they
played in the same shows and orchestras; they frequently wrote letters
for one another, and had many other points of agreeable contact.
Sometimes, if they were from the same city or town and met in camps
miles away from home, they acted like brothers. One day two such lads
from a town in Louisiana met at Camp Pike, and their joy at meeting was
noticeable to all. Grasping each other’s arm, they walked away from the
crowd and sat down on a nearby hillside, where they spent the happiest
hour they had experienced in camp. This friendly attitude, which made
for harmony, was occasionally looked upon with disfavor by the officers
and even by “Y” secretaries, and measures intended to prevent such
contact sometimes engendered bitterness and frequently caused friction.
Captain C. Rowan, stationed at Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark., received
wide publicity when, on March 25, 1918, he disobeyed the order of his
brigade commander, Col. F. B. Snow, of the 162nd Depot Brigade. This
order called for a review in which Negroes and white soldiers were to
appear in the same formation. Captain Rowan said that the order called
for a formation in which there would be intermingling of the races,
that custom would be violated, and that the discipline and self-respect
of the white soldiers would be affected. He himself, he said, had no
prejudice and was willing to command a Negro organization, but he had
taken his course of action because he felt that it was for the good of
the service. He was dismissed from the service, but during the trial a
delegation from a Southern legislature visited the camp to see if the
races were intermingling, and both white and Negro soldiers, who had
temporarily laid aside race hatred, had it kindled anew within them.
Just as there were camps where military authority was used to carry out
unjust orders, there were also camps where harmony prevailed because
commanding officers believed in fair play. On one occasion a Texas
regiment arrived at Camp Upton, N. Y. On their first night in camp a
group of the soldiers went into a Y. M. C. A. building and saw two
Negro men sitting there writing. Being unaccustomed to such scenes, the
group threw them out of the window. The camp “Y” secretary reported
the matter to the late General Bell, who said he would investigate the
case. There were four thousand Negro soldiers in camp, and as the day
passed there were rumors of an impending clash, and there was some
anxiety on the part of the authorities. Late in the afternoon the
General called all the officers of the Texas regiment to headquarters
and after they had been introduced he said: “Gentlemen, I am the
General of this camp. Something happened here last night that has
never happened before, nor will it ever happen again. If there is any
trouble here you will be held responsible. Your men started the affair.
If there is trouble every one of you will be disgraced and put in the
guard house for the duration of the war. You won’t be tried by a Texas
jury. I shall be both judge and jury. Secretary Baker and the Chief of
Staff, General March, have said that every man in the uniform is the
equal of every other man. They are my superiors and I am yours. I am
soldier enough to obey orders, and you must do likewise.” The Colonel
said, “Yes, sir, I understand,” and the officers left the headquarters
no man uttering a word. After they reached their quarters they called
their regiment together, and peace and order prevailed afterwards in
that camp.
There were many lesser deeds of this kind which gave hope and
encouragement to Negro soldiers as they served the country, and it
was clearly demonstrated that colored and white soldiers could live,
work, drill, and play together without friction or riots, if only
the square deal was meted to all alike. Naturally the opportunity
of serving together in a great cause and of coming to know a little
better Americans of all groups was responsible for a greater spirit of
tolerance on the part of many thousands of men. A young lieutenant,
born and raised in South Carolina and graduated from the University
of Georgia, said that he really hated Negroes before he was assigned
to the branch of Negro artillery located at Camp Jackson. He was
brought up on a plantation and expected to see in his battery much
lying, stealing, and gambling. When he realized that the men who
had been selected for his branch of the service were physically and
educationally fit and that their conduct was excellent, he frankly said
that his ideas had changed.
Of special importance was the Negro’s contribution to the joys of
camp life by his religion and song. His religion gave him courage
that enabled him to go forward when the path was dark, and his song
not only made his own burdens lighter but enabled him to bring cheer
and sunshine to thousands of discouraged soldiers. A Negro who on the
parade ground tried to master a drill or who went through a savage
bayonet exercise, at night frequently forgot completely his daily work
as he sang “Ain’t goin’ to study war no more.” From early morning until
taps sounded at night, moreover, one could hear the strains of music in
the “Y” hut. It might be anything from a “blues” played on the piano
with one finger to some classic theme. Sometimes a soldier would begin
playing a familiar song on the piano and the strain would be taken up
until all who were present were singing. On one Sunday three thousand
Negroes from Florida who had just arrived at Camp Devens, Mass., held a
meeting. A quartet and a soloist rendered several numbers. Then one man
who had a beautiful baritone voice led the three thousand men as they
sang “I need thee every hour.” Most of the men were from farms and
away from their loved ones for the first time in their lives--strangers
in a strange land. As their thoughts were far away the leader began
the refrain of “S’wanee River,” and as they sang of the “old folks at
home” the music rose until the very rafters shook. Tears were in the
eyes of stalwart men that Sunday afternoon, and there was a warmth and
a harmony about it that was unlike anything in the world.
With all the hardships the experience gained in camp more than repaid
the thousands of Negro soldiers, who had come from all classes and
included the country lad, who had been denied educational advantages,
as well as the college youth. The progress of many men from day to day
was an inspiration. Thousands who on entering camp had a shambling gait
soon displayed a firm step and erect carriage. The blank expression
seen on many faces gave way to one of animation and enthusiasm, not
only for the training but also for the victory of the cause in which
they were enlisted. The crudest material, under efficient guidance,
developed into the capable soldier, all because these men, like
thousands of others, in France as well as in America, were giving their
very lives to the country to which all owed so much.
CHAPTER III
THE NEGRO OFFICER
The Plattsburg idea of military training was inaugurated in 1915, when
Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood organized a special training camp for civilians.
The purpose of the camp was to offer four weeks of intensive training
under the direct supervision of officers of the United States Army, and
it was intended that this should be of such thoroughness that the men
receiving it would be able to serve as officers in an emergency, as was
afterwards done by a large number of Plattsburg men who served under
General Pershing in the course of the trouble with Mexico.
Colored men were not given an opportunity to attend the Plattsburg
camps. There was, consequently, no way in which any considerable
number of them could secure the training necessary to enable them, in
an emergency, to serve as officers. In order to meet this exigency,
many Negroes and their friends endeavored to secure the establishment
of a training camp for colored officers, although at first the idea
of a separate camp was not popular. In the winter of 1917, however,
Major General Wood agreed to organize the camp if two hundred
colored men would signify their intention of attending; and in this
period of uncertainty and anxiety, friends of the movement started a
campaign with the hope of creating sufficient interest to warrant the
establishment of the camp.
Dr. Joel E. Spingarn, one of the principal officers of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a true friend of
the Negro, who was the strongest advocate of the training camp, in May,
1917, sent out a circular letter calling for colored men to enter the
volunteer service of the United States Army in order that the number
of men necessary for the establishment of the camp might be secured.
There was strong protest on the part of the Negro press and of many
individuals against a “segregated camp,” the criticisms coming from all
parts of the country. Dr. Spingarn, in reply, gave among other reasons
for the establishment of the camp the following: “The army officials
want the camp to fail. The last thing they want is to help colored
men to become commissioned officers. The camp is intended to fight
segregation, not to encourage it. Colored men in a camp by themselves
would all get a fair chance for promotion. Opposition on the part of
Negroes is helping the South, which does not want the Negroes to have
any kind of military training. If there is a war, there will doubtless
be conscription of all able-bodied men. The choice will be no longer
between volunteering or not volunteering, but between conscription and
rebellion. If conscription comes, will the leaders of the race help
their Southern enemies by preaching treason and rebellion, or will
they face facts right now and prepare themselves to go as leaders
and not as privates?” As the notes passed between the American and
German Governments, people more and more realized that the trend of
events would inevitably lead to war; this realization gave impetus to
the movement, and finally a concerted effort was made to secure the
training camp, even the opponents of the separate camp idea becoming
its supporters.
With the actual declaration of war with Germany came the imperative
need of this opportunity for Negroes to train as officers, as it was
certain that thousands would be called to the colors. Conferences
were held with the War Department officials, and Dr. Spingarn
meanwhile worked untiringly. Dr. Stephen M. Newman, president of
Howard University, Washington, D. C., together with a joint committee
of teachers and students and a citizens’ committee composed of
representative Negroes of Washington, also held conferences with
officials and labored in behalf of the camp.
There was misgiving on the part of many concerning the training of
Negroes as officers. Among the objections made to the establishment of
the camp was that “a separate camp could not be established because all
garrisons and forts were required for white men”; and it was further
said that “Negroes could not make officers, and if trained, Negro
soldiers would not follow them.” Many army men did not believe that the
camp would be a success because they did not feel that the Negro had
the ability to do the required work; and President Newman was even
asked by department officials if he honestly felt that colored people
had the intelligence and the grit to undergo such training as was given
in the preparation camps and come out as capable officers.
When the War Department was finally convinced that colored men should
at least have the opportunity to attend an officers’ training camp, and
all arrangements were made, news of the authorization of the same was
sent broadcast over the country; and few announcements have ever been
made that were received with more enthusiasm than the special dispatch
which was sent out from Washington on May 19, 1917, by Adjutant General
H. P. McCain to the chiefs of staff of the various departments of the
army:
“Training camps for colored citizens will be established at Fort Des
Moines, Iowa, under section 4, National Defense Act, and regulations
prescribed for present training camps, except as modified herein and
after. Total attendance 1250, of whom 250 will be non-commissioned
officers, colored regiments, regular army, to be sent on detached
service status, and 1000 citizens, either enlisted under section
4, National Defense Act, for three months, beginning June 18, with
agreement to accept appointment tendered, or Members of National
Guard, whose status will be as in case of National Guardsmen now
in training camps. Secure ... co-operation of colored citizens of
wide acquaintance and high standing. Training camps will be ready
to receive non-commissioned officers, regular army, June 5, and all
others June 15. Course begins June 18.”
Newspapers throughout the country commented on the fact that at last
Negroes would have a real opportunity to serve not only as privates
but as officers. Southern papers, while opposed on general principles
to military training for Negroes, spoke favorably of the plan, always
making clear, however, that Southern traditions must be upheld; thus
the Charleston _Post_ said, “Officers as high as majors may be
turned out, but will positively be used to command only Negroes.” But
as circumstances each day forced our countrymen to change some sacred,
traditional idea, and as the seemingly impossible came into being, as
it were, overnight, then the white citizens of each Southern state
were proud that it had its quota of Negroes “with a college training
or its equivalent” to send; and many Southern men gladly gave letters
of endorsement to representative Negroes who were setting forth upon
their great mission. Then in each of the six departments into which
the United States is divided by the War Department, Negroes presented
themselves for examination. Many traveled hundreds of miles to be
present on the appointed day. Some men, in their eagerness to serve,
appeared before the recruiting officers possessing the physical and age
qualifications, but lacking other preparation; and sometimes friends,
in their desire to reward loyal service, sent butlers and other helpers
for examination, only to have them disappointed. When it became evident
that Negroes would be called in large numbers, as the training of
officers indicated, many objections were made throughout the country
to having Negro soldiers stationed in certain camps. In an interview
Col. H. T. Ferguson especially assured the anxious citizens of Des
Moines that they would never regret the fact that their city had been
designated for the training of the first contingent of Negro officers
ever commissioned by the United States.
As June 15 approached and officer candidates were notified of their
acceptance, colored America felt as never before that it was entering
upon a new era and into the larger citizenship to which it had always
aspired. Joy reigned among the army sergeants at the thought not only
of trying for commissions themselves, but also of helping others of
their race to do likewise; and the civilians went forth with the
knowledge that all eyes were on them and that the prayers and hopes of
a race went with them. No knight ever started on a nobler quest than
did these Negro men from all walks of life, and the crowds that went to
the stations to bid them good-by and that watched the trains until they
were out of sight went home with a new feeling of confidence and of
hope.
On the arrival of the candidates at Des Moines, civilian customs,
thoughts, and habits soon gave way for the iron discipline involved
in making officers. Men who had thought of the camp as the place for
a summer vacation soon were undeceived. Colonel C. C. Ballou and his
staff of officers put them through a daily program beginning at 5.30
a. m. with reveille and flag-raising and ending with taps at 9.45 p. m.
From 7.30 to 8.30 a. m. there was infantry drill without arms, from
8.30 to 9 manual or physical training, from 9.15 to 10.15 infantry
drill, from 10.45 to 11.45 a practice hike without arms; then dinner;
from 1.30 to 2.30 p. m. musketry arms, from 2.30 to 3 semaphore
signaling, from 3 to 4.30 conferences on care of equipment, and from 7
to 8 evening study on the organization of the regiment. As progress was
made other work was taken up, including bayonet drill, trench-digging,
manoeuvering, map-making and target practice, and lectures were also
given showing the relation of the camp to the great national army.
It was fully realized that success or failure in the crucial test
carried with it far-reaching results. Colonel Ballou, in speaking to
the men on one occasion, said: “This is a momentous hour, and the
establishment of this camp is an epochal and unprecedented event in
the history of the colored race. Your race will be on trial with you
as its representatives, during the existence of this camp, and to
succeed there will be required of you strong bodies, keen intelligence,
absolute obedience to orders, unflagging industry, exemplary conduct,
and character of the highest order.” With such incentive the men worked
away at the most strenuous business in which they were ever engaged.
And yet there were some good times--recreation in the form of baseball
and other athletic contests and the privilege of visiting in the city
of Des Moines on Saturday and Sunday. The Y. M. C. A. furnished motion
pictures and programs on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and through
its efforts some of the leading speakers of the country appeared. Of
special inspiration in this connection was the presence in camp of one
of the secretaries, the “grand old man,” Dr. George W. Cabiniss, who
gave up a lucrative practice in Washington to be with the “boys,” and
who spent himself unstintingly in their behalf.
Soldiers were often invited to the churches as well as the homes in the
city, and here they occasionally rendered musical programs. By this
means the anxiety of the earlier days of the summer gave way to an
interest and friendship between the citizens and the candidates that
will live for decades. The first event which won general esteem for
the officer candidates was an exhibition drill in the Drake University
stadium, which was followed by musical numbers. Here ten thousand
people gathered and marveled at what their eyes beheld. The last big
event was the program given at White Sparrows, where hundreds of people
were turned away. Here the men sang the old plantation melodies with
the sweetness and plaintiveness possible only to the Negro, and arias
and recitatives from the great oratorios as well. The audience stood
in eagerness until the last note was sung; then as a tribute, at the
close of the concert, Rev. Dr. Medbury said of the candidates, “It is
not enough to say that by their demeanor while among us, their conduct
on the streets, in the theatres and business houses, they have brought
honor to their race; they are, rather, an honor to the race of men.”
Thus the spirit of the men themselves was the biggest factor in the
success of Fort Des Moines. They began their training knowing that
there were questions in the minds of many, and they spent hours of
toil in the effort to prove that they could make good. The attitude of
each one was to help somebody else. One man might be seen explaining
to a comrade some problem in mathematics, another helping in the study
of topography, and still another with some squad trying to perfect
it in the handling of arms. A precious jewel is not more carefully
guarded than was the good name of the camp. Like a sentinel on duty
each candidate watched lest some untoward act might work harm. One day
an apple orchard belonging to a neighboring farmer was invaded. The
farmer notified Colonel Ballou that some of the soldiers had stolen
his apples. When the men concerned found that the camp was accused, on
their own initiative they reported to headquarters and offered to pay
all damages. The commanding officer, in commenting on the incident,
said, “Something has happened to-day that has made me feel fine and
that is new in my army experience.”
The candidates were proud of their martial bearing. Their cleanliness
made a favorable impression everywhere they went. Soon after they
went to Des Moines some of the café and restaurant owners thought it
unwise to serve them, and when a number of the men entered a chop suey
“palace,” the Chinese proprietor rushed up to them waving his arms
wildly and shouting, “No servee black men; me lose all bliziness.” When
some other proprietors showed a disposition to act with similar policy,
Colonel George W. Ball of the 1st Iowa Infantry ordered that all men,
regardless of color, must be fed, saying, “This is Government business
and there can be no refusal to serve these men”; and drastic action
was threatened against all restaurant keepers who persisted in drawing
the color line. Naturally Utopian conditions did not always prevail
at the camp and there were many disappointments. Many an ambitious
“rookie” was sent home because of some defect or peculiarity that
prevented his making an officer, and even after some had served the
allotted time it was found that they were not suitable material. In
the process of elimination there were those who thought that they were
unjustly marked, and it is true that at Des Moines only five civilian
captains were made and that there the outcome was just the reverse of
that in the training camps for white men, which was that the men with
the superior training most frequently received the higher commissions.
Because of the policy followed one colonel said that “A great harm was
done not only the colored officer but the colored race as well,” for in
many cases the standard for officers was lowered by the commissioning
as captains of men with a sixth or eighth grade education and as second
lieutenants many college graduates. Through it all, however, there was
hope, because the candidates believed in themselves and others believed
in them, chief among whom was Secretary Baker, who said in one of the
darkest hours, “I am depending on you and the Fort Des Moines colored
officers’ training school. It should not be surpassed by any of the
other camps which are training officers, and the promotions are not to
be limited to lieutenants and captains, but to what you are capable of
making.”
As the end of the training period drew near an extra month was added.
This action raised doubts, not only in the minds of the candidates
but with the colored people throughout the country. It was a trying
season everywhere, for the extension of time came close upon the riots
at Houston. A general from the War Department came to the camp and
spoke in a most discouraging manner of the future of the candidates.
He questioned the advisability of continuing the camp and raised
doubts as to whether the candidates would ever be commissioned. A few
days after his visit it was announced that all who wanted to leave
might do so. Some of the more faint-hearted left, but most of the men
continued their studies and gained further knowledge of the essentials
of warfare. Gradually the clouds cleared away and those who remained
looked forward to the time when they would be real officers in the Army
of the United States.
Then came the day of days, October 15, 1917, when 625 colored men were
commissioned in the United States Army. As they came forward to receive
their commissions they were deeply moved, and even the commanding
officer showed visible signs of emotion as he gave to them words of
farewell and impressed upon them the seriousness of the task before
them. Dr. Emmett J. Scott, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War,
said to them: “I know you will bear in mind that in a very real sense
you and those who serve with you have in your keeping the good name of
a proud, expectant, and confident people”; and each man went away with
the feeling of responsibility that comes when life is dedicated to a
great cause. Thus a new chapter was begun in the history of the Negro
on this continent and the first skirmish to prove that Negro men could
absorb the training required of officers was won with honors.
* * * * *
After a brief vacation of fifteen days, the new officers reported to
the various camps and were assigned to their duties. While they had
successfully completed the course of study at Fort Des Moines, the
real test of making officers was still before them. This task was made
more difficult by the assignments to duty which some of them received.
Some were sent to the artillery and engineering corps and given tasks
for which they had had no preparation. Having already absorbed army
discipline, however, they went about their tasks with the hope of
mastering them, though with opinion against them.
The organization of the 92nd Division, composed entirely of Negroes
drafted into the National Army, made it necessary to train officers and
men in other branches than infantry and cavalry, with which Negroes
had formerly served and for which they had been trained. Therefore
engineer, artillery, and machine-gun regiments were formed along with
the other branches required in the full organization of a division.
While divisions were usually trained in one camp, the regiments of the
92nd were distributed in several groups.
The engineers were trained at Camp Sherman. Draftees with a knowledge
of the building trades were especially desirable for this branch of
service, and volunteers from well known industrial schools entered
this regiment. Colored infantry officers from Des Moines, captains and
lieutenants, who were without training in engineering, were put in
command. After seven months of training prior to their embarkation for
France, the captains were sent to infantry outfits, being relieved by
white engineer officers. This action on the part of the War Department
affected somewhat the morale of the regiment. After nearly three
months in France the colored lieutenants were also transferred. There
remained, however, five colored officers with the outfit--two tram
officers, two physicians, and a dentist. When these also were not
retained they and the soldiers felt that there was discrimination.
It is true that they were not trained as engineers, but the ultimate
trouble would seem rather to lie in withholding engineer training from
them while they were in the officers’ training school in Des Moines.
Negro soldiers had long been distinguished in the infantry and cavalry,
but they had never been placed in the artillery branch of service. It
was said that they could not learn the principles of artillery warfare,
and, as for their being officers, it was doubtful if they could measure
up to the requirements. Nevertheless at Camp Dix the 349th and 350th
artillery regiments were formed with colored men, and officers who had
graduated at Des Moines were put in command. Since it had been said
that Negro men could not be trained as artillerymen, it is interesting
that it should be thought that they could make artillery officers
without any training at all. A week before the recruits appeared
at the camp, some classes in artillery subjects were held for the
officers, and during the training of the regiment the officers were
many times taught subjects just the night before they were to teach
them to the men, school being held from one to two hours. Even under
these conditions a surprisingly efficient organization was developed.
After nearly seven months, however, the colored artillery officers
were declared inefficient. It was then decided that they would have to
go to the artillery school at Fort Sill, Okla. Twenty-four men were
sent, these being largely regular army men. Many of the well educated
infantry officers from other regiments applied for the artillery
work, but it was claimed that they could not be spared from their
organizations, and in some cases officers with low rating were sent to
Fort Sill against their desires. Is it surprising that many of these
failed to pass the entrance examination and that about half of them
asked to be returned to Camp Dix after the first week?
While the artillery school at Fort Sill gave the men every chance,
after the first two weeks the camp began returning the colored officers
to their outfits, until at the end of ten weeks only six remained.
These six were given artillery commissions. During their training
period they had separate barracks and a separate mess, though the camp
commander, Colonel Fleming, demanded that they receive the courtesy due
officers.
Soon after these graduates returned to Camp Dix, all the colored
officers were ordered to Camp Meade to attend an artillery school. On
their arrival at Meade, orders were issued that they put on enlisted
men’s clothes. The impression among the white officers of the 351st
Artillery, said to be due to verbal orders, was that senior colored
officers would first salute junior white officers and that, as far as
white officers were concerned, the colored officers were considered
officer candidates. They could wear their uniforms on Sunday, if passes
were given them to leave the camp. The War Department was notified of
conditions in the school and in four days the men were again returned
to their outfit just before it sailed for France.
White officers in the 349th and 350th who had commanded the colored
officers, formed a board to examine them. All were declared
inefficient, even the six graduates from Fort Sill, and were assigned
to the Depot Brigade. The War Department again intervened, and the
six graduates were ordered with their outfits again, and accompanied
them to France. While the remaining officers did not accompany their
regiments to France, they had done some fine work in teaching the men
the use of horses and in putting snap in the drill and in the handling
of the guns. The record made by these regiments, which continued their
training in France, was more than surprising. Accounts of their work
will be given elsewhere.
The experience of these officers in attempting to do artillery work
without training resulted in many charges and counter-charges with
reference to their fitness for this branch of service. Through the
office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War conferences were held
with department officials in the endeavor to secure for Negro men an
opportunity to train as officers. While there was opposition to the
undertaking, the plan was finally approved and an honest attempt was
made to select Negro men fitted, because of their training, to do work
in artillery schools. Ninety-six were gathered at Camp Meade, some
having been selected from the Signal Corps Engineers and artillery
regiments and some from the camps where infantry regiments of the
92nd Division were stationed. These men remained at Meade for a
month, with two white batteries, after which time they were sent to
Camp Taylor, Ky., where all artillery schools were centralized. The
colored candidates were not expected when they reached the school and
no arrangements had been made for them. The first night they spent
on the outskirts of the camp, and before they finally got settled
they were moved six times, always after spending enough time in one
place to get floors scrubbed, windows washed, and barracks thoroughly
cleaned. The commander of the school spoke to the battery and gave the
impression that it was not wanted. Between the batteries, however, the
relationship was good; the Western men were considerate in sharing
their knowledge with the colored candidates, who made an excellent
impression by their “pep” and snap in drilling and by the aptitude for
artillery work which they showed. Those candidates who remained in
the school until the end were recommended for firing battery, combat
trains, and replacement draft, but at the last the camp commander
decided that only those men recommended for firing batteries should
receive commissions. Thirty-three of the ninety-six men who started out
were graduated. Of the twenty-five hundred graduates of the school, ten
were honor men, and six of these were colored. Eleven more colored men
were graduated in October. The five students in each battery who were
highest at graduation were called out and given diplomas. As the five
Negro men came forward, the white candidates led in the cheering. After
the first graduation, of those men who remained, ten to fifteen were
dropped weekly. The last twelve were transferred to the 814th Pioneer
Infantry as sergeants, and accompanied that organization to England and
France. After much discussion in the War Department, and effort on the
part of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, concessions were
finally made and the thirty-three artillery officers were sent to Camp
Jackson, S. C., where Negro men were being trained as artillerymen.
Here there was great interest in them, especially on the part of the
Negro population of Columbia. These people stood in admiring groups
as the officers passed and sometimes gave vent to their emotions by
clapping or cheering. Trouble arose, however, chiefly over the matter
of salutes from the other soldiers; riots were feared; and after a week
these officers were sent to Newport News, and then on to France.
To the aviation school at Fort Sill four colored officers were
sent. The first to arrive was supposed to be white and was treated
accordingly. In the case of the other three, however, who arrived a
few days later, there could be no mistake as to identity. These men
were given a separate table and placed in a separate class, with
a sergeant instructor who observed no military courtesies. Such
treatment continued until the men asked to be returned to their
outfit. Because he was constantly seen in the company of the other
three men, the officer who was the first to arrive had been asked to
move to their table. After the others left, he continued the course,
remaining in camp until two days before graduation. To Fort Sill were
also sent those officers who were to receive instruction in the use
of the machine-gun. It developed that the man in the class who was
most efficient was a Negro. At the end of the course there was squad
competition in the mechanical manipulation of a machine-gun, and the
best of each squad was chosen. Some men objected to being represented
by a Negro, but a major intervened and said, “I don’t give a ---- if
the man is black; everybody knows he is the best.” All who watched the
competition marveled at the speed with which this man worked.
While these new officers were working at their task of training men
to fight, it became certain that replacements would have to be made
after they were in action at the front. Plans were not made on a scale
comparable with the demand, but there was some effort to meet the need.
A small number of men were selected from the various units of the
92nd Division and sent to the third officers’ training schools held
in such camps as Upton, Meade, Sherman, Dodge, Funston, and Travis.
Among the thousands who were receiving training they were almost lost,
but sometimes they won the highest honors. In all these camps, except
at Funston, they attended the same schools as the other candidates
and received the treatment due them. Some were assigned to the 92nd
Division and sailed to France with it, while others were detained to
assist as instructors in the cantonments.
When the fighting units reached France and were receiving final
training before moving up to the front line trenches, many of the
officers attended various schools. The majority of such men completed
the courses with high standing. One of the schools that proved a
distinct success was a machine-gun school conducted by colored officers
in charge of Lieut. B. A. Mosley, who made out the courses of study.
The object was to make machine-gun officers out of infantry officers,
giving them the principles of machine gunnery. Nearly two hundred
officers and non-commissioned officers were sent from this school,
which was approved by the First Corps and put on the standard of the A.
E. F. schools. Under date August 27, 1918, Major John P. Bubb said of
one of these schools: “In submitting reports of proficiency of captains
of the 92nd Division who have recently been under my instruction, I
request attention to the following facts. Certain captains, namely,
Jones, Saunders, Scott, Stephens, Holland, Hollingsworth, and Granson,
have done very well in their work. They are serious, dignified men of
excellent caliber and are fully able to maintain the positions of trust
and confidence in which they have been placed.... The balance of the
class (all captains) are I believe as good as the average student who
has passed through the school.”
In the fourth officers’ school, opened on May 15, 1918, at Camp Dodge,
there were 280 Negro candidates, which number was soon increased to
more than 300. These candidates were selected principally from the
units of the 92nd Division, though some came from elsewhere. This
school began under the command of Lt. Col. William G. Doane, who
was assisted by ten colored men, with Captain M. T. Dean as senior
instructor. For the first time in America, Negro officers in large
numbers were instructing soldiers in the science of modern warfare,
preparing them directly to take their places as officers in the great
National Army. These men served for fifteen days, when a telegram
was sent from the headquarters of the 92nd calling all the officers
to their regiment. Their work, however, had proved a success. The
candidates were all picked men, the school was well organized, and the
officers showed the greatest confidence and faith in each other.
In the centralization of the officers’ training schools the infantry
candidates were sent to Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark., while the
machine-gun candidates were sent to Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga. Camp
Pike had been spoken of in such a way by many Negro soldiers that
the officer candidates were not enthusiastic about going there, and
certainly this was true of the twenty-four second lieutenants who
were assigned as assistant instructors. Truck drivers sent to meet
them, on finding that they were colored, drove off, claiming that no
provision had been made for Negroes. In the camp they were a source of
wonderment. The instructors were white Southern officers and neither
officers nor men were cordial. As time passed, however, prejudice in
most cases turned to interest.
To Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga., selected for the machine-gun school,
fifty-six Negro men were sent. Forty-three of that number were
graduated as second lieutenants. These men had been selected from
various outfits in the 92nd because of the knowledge of mathematics
and of the mechanical manipulation of the machine-gun which they had
acquired in the various camp schools. The presence of a number of
Negro officers in Augusta created a new situation, but both camp and
city rose to the occasion. The commander decreed that every officer
in the camp must receive the courtesy due him, and the leading paper
of Augusta carried editorials that had a wholesome effect on public
opinion. It happened that the thirteenth and last company in the school
was colored. In the drills and in marching to the range, these men were
last according to their number; but in marching in reverse order, as
they did in returning from the range, they became the leaders. Some
white candidates are said to have lost their commissions rather than
drill behind this company. Most of the men, however, co-operated with
the candidates in every way, and taught them map-reading in exchange
for explanation in the mechanism of the gun. The instructors were for
the most part French or British and apparently had little time for race
feeling.
When the companies were divided into sections for trench-digging,
dug-out practice, construction of shafts, and camouflaged machine-gun
emplacements, the white and the colored men were in the same classes,
and because of this contact both groups learned something of their
comrades and became more liberal in their thoughts. In general the fine
spirit prevailing in the camp was attributed to two things: first, to
the influence of the camp commander, who was himself a Southern man,
and second, to the fact that the new men reached camp just at the
time of the Fourth Liberty Loan drive. The South, as well as the rest
of the country, had really begun to feel the effects of the war, not
only financially but also in the drain on its man-power; and as the
13th company pursued its work with diligence and concentration, always
comparing favorably with others on the drill field, on the range,
and in class work, there was a realization of the fact that, after
all, they were fellow-Americans, slowly making headway; and when at
graduation these Negro men came forward to receive their commissions in
the great Liberty Theatre, where thousands of their comrades were, they
were greeted with deafening applause and every heart and voice and hand
seemed to cheer them on their way.
* * * * *
In the course of the preceding pages we have more than once touched
upon incidents which not only affected the Negro officer personally but
which also involved his real status in the army. It might now be in
place to consider a little more fully some of the points raised.
On the arrival of Negro officers at a camp, several questions
immediately arose, as to their eating, their living, and their general
contact with other officers. Sometimes they were not expected and
found that no preparation had been made for them. Fairly typical of
the Southern camps was Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala., which showed
something of conditions especially at the beginning. Seven officers
were sent here in September, 1918, and placed in command of the
detention camp. In three weeks the detention camp was broken up and
the soldiers transferred to the depot brigade. The colored officers
were then attached to the 437th Reserve Labor Battalion, where they
were required to do very little work and were soon relieved of all
responsibility. Not all of the problems were confined to the South. In
the North, however, big-hearted generals were usually in command and
they decreed that regular army requirements should prevail.
One matter that constantly arose was that of the salute. Because of the
conflicting opinions on this subject, Gen. John B. Castleman, a major
in the Confederate army, was asked for a statement as to his attitude.
In giving his opinion he said: “The discipline of the army must be
maintained, and non-commissioned officers understand little of the
spirit of the army when they refuse to salute a Negro officer. I have
held several commissions in the military service, and I unhesitatingly
say that I would or will, at any time, salute an officer, superior or
inferior, who salutes me, without regard to the color of his skin. The
regulations, the laws, and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline
upon which these regulations are based prescribe this. We are at war,
and soldiers are under the rules of the American army. We are all under
the flag. We salute the rank, not the individual.” This statement
by General Castleman did much to help conditions at Camp Taylor and
elsewhere. In general the military courtesies accorded Negro officers
depended largely on the stand of the generals commanding the camps. If
they demanded that strict military regulations be followed, trouble was
immediately reduced to a minimum. A notable example was the action of
Gen. Thomas H. Barry, of Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill., who on the arrival
of the Negro officers and men gave a “family talk” at headquarters in
which he said: “These men have come here on the same duty, actuated by
the same principles, as ourselves. They are entitled to respect because
they soon will be fighting to defend our homes. Colored officers
must be saluted as punctiliously as the white ones. The salute is of
vital importance to the whole fabric of discipline. It is not only a
courtesy, but a recognition of personal relations in the service.”
From time to time there were unfortunate occurrences which received
much publicity. Such was the case of Lieut. Joseph B. Saunders, who
was publicly assaulted at Vicksburg, Miss., because he wore his
uniform home after his period of training at Des Moines; also that
of Lieut. Charles A. Tribbett, who was arrested and placed in jail
for riding in a pullman car through the state of Oklahoma. There were
also many instances in camp in which the Negro men themselves largely
solved their problem. When colored officers arrived at Camp Funston,
Kan., not over 10 per cent of the white officers and men saluted them.
They had been told that they were going to have a hard time and set
themselves with resolute purpose to the great task before them. In
a month’s time the raw recruits were marching with heads up, eyes
front, shoulders back, and with every arm swinging in line. As they
marched to and from drill, the generals, colonels, and other officers
as well as the men would stand along the “Golden Belt” and watch the
black host as it passed. “This demonstration,” said one Negro captain,
“changed everything. Now all men salute, and officers always try to
salute first.” As Negro officers grew in numbers and were distributed
throughout the camps, and as accounts of heroic deeds were heralded
from the battlefields, and as it became generally known that Negroes
were responding liberally to the various calls at home, the American
public saw the justice of according recognition or merit where it was
due, and the principle of the salute for Negro officers was settled,
although in practice it was not always carried out.
Another matter that occasioned considerable feeling was that of
promotions. Many regular army officers served for several years with
junior rank, but always looked forward to the time when they would be
promoted. Their opportunity came during the war. Many junior officers
in the regular army and even civilian officers were promoted several
times in the course of a year. It was natural that colored officers
should also look forward to promotions, which were regarded as a
recognition of work well done.
According to a memorandum of September 11, 1918, the War Department
established the commands to be occupied by white and colored officers
in the organization of the 92nd Division, and indicated that every
opportunity would be given the Negro men to advance. In practice,
however, there seems to have been some difficulty about carrying out
the ideas therein suggested. The percentage of white officers in the
Division increased from 18 per cent at the beginning, to 42 per cent
on November 30, 1918. Very few recommendations for the promotion of
Negro officers were made and most of these are said to have been
“pigeon-holed” at headquarters. Some recommendations that were filed
in July and August, 1918, were held until after the signing of the
Armistice on November 11, when an A. E. F. order prohibited the
granting of any more commissions. Another factor which prevented
promotions in the 92nd Division was that colored officers from the
369th, 370th, and 372nd, and graduates from officers’ training schools
in France were largely transferred to the 92nd Division. This made
room for the promotion of white officers in the units from which the
Negro officers were transferred, but prevented the promotion of colored
officers in the 92nd.
Thus most of the Negro officers who served in the National Army were
in the 92nd Division. The creation of this Division with Negro line
officers was regarded by practically all regular army officers as one
of the greatest mistakes ever made by the War Department. From their
viewpoint it was wrong in principle, against all tradition, and could
not possibly be a success. Not believing in the matter in principle,
they did not want to deal with Negro men on such a basis; they did
things to discredit them, even to the extent of spreading propaganda as
to their unfitness for the work. Thus unfortunately the Negro officers
returned home feeling that their commanding officers were not their
friends; nor were matters improved by the effort of some incompetent
men “higher up” who tried to cover their own inefficiency by laying the
blame on the Negroes. The prevailing opinion expressed by the white
officers returning from France was that the Negro soldier up to the
rank of sergeant-major was a success, and they lauded the stevedore and
labor organizations as contributing much to the magnificent service
rendered by the Americans in Europe. The “experiment” of the Negro
officer, they felt, was a different matter. A careful review of all
the adverse points made might place them under four heads, as follows:
First, the racial distinctions recognized in civilian life continued to
be recognized in military life and presented a formidable barrier to
the existence of a genuine feeling of comradeship; second, the colored
officers were lacking in initiative and exhibited a characteristic
tendency to neglect the welfare of their men and to perform their
duties in a perfunctory manner, thus entailing on the part of senior
officers frequent attention to petty details; third, many of the Negro
officers went around with “a chip on their shoulders,” looking for
discrimination and trouble; and fourth, most of the colored officers
were willing to discipline their men but were unwilling themselves to
be disciplined, charging any attempt to discipline them to prejudice.
These are serious charges. In reply to them first of all it is to be
noted that on the troop ships, even before they got to France, the
Negro officers were treated not according to their military rank but
as on the basis of color. On the “George Washington,” for instance,
which carried the 368th infantry, the tickets for the colored officers
were marked with an X in the upper left hand corner, which enabled the
purser to place them “conveniently.” The tickets for the white officers
were not marked, and they were given first class passage on Deck A in
respect to both dining and state rooms; but the colored officers, from
the rank of captain down, were given second class passage in respect
to staterooms and dining rooms. In traveling in France also the Negro
officers were many times given third class coaches while the white
officers were given first class. Specific cases are given where the
officers were ordered by their commanders to take such passage. In the
hotels and cafés as well constant effort was made for segregation,
and in some cases instructions were given not to accept officers or
soldiers when applications for rooms were made. At the Grand Hotel
in Mayenne, where the division billeting officer was stationed, the
hotel proprietress informed the colored officers, many of whom had
previously stayed in the hotel, that they would have to go elsewhere
for accommodations. On going to the “town major” to see about the new
condition that had developed, the men were told that instructions had
been given to the effect that no more colored officers were to be
allowed in the hotel. Such incidents could be multiplied a hundred
times. While in themselves they are no positive proof of Negro valor,
they explain a situation which certainly has to be taken into account
in an impartial review.
As to the charges of lack of initiative and the neglect of their
men, the facts gathered from an investigation of conditions among
thousands of soldiers, both in America and France, would rather
indicate that colored officers generally took more interest in their
men than the average white officer, though of course some Negro
officers were inefficient just as were some of other races. The
charges of “neglecting the welfare of their men” were based in most
cases upon the difficulty in securing supplies for colored troops.
This was true not only with colored officers, for it was an accepted
fact that white officers over Negro troops often experienced the
greatest difficulty in getting the necessary supplies for their men.
Negro officers who displayed initiative were frequently reprimanded
for assuming authority, while on the other hand they were condemned
if they waited for instructions; for example, some who completed the
course at the First Corps School in France with credit were censured
for not performing duties that they had been ordered to discontinue
and were told to mind their business when they called attention to
grave military errors, some of which resulted in casualties. Duties
performed satisfactorily as a sergeant for more than ten years could
not be performed by the same man after he became a lieutenant without
the supervision of a battalion commander.
In general the colored officers found complete co-operation with
commanding officers nearly impossible. They were never taken into
the confidence of their military superiors and were rarely ever
questioned about matters affecting the men. One day a colonel met a
colored captain whom he thought he had seen before. “Haven’t I seen you
somewhere?” he asked. “Yes, sir,” replied the man, “I was with you on
the border; Captain French is my name, sir.” “Oh, I do remember,” said
the colonel, “you are Sergeant French.” “No, sir, I am Captain French.”
“Well,” said the colonel as he walked away, “if I forget and call you
Sergeant, don’t mind.”
In spite of all the difficulties and criticisms, however, large numbers
of Negro officers were able to command and lead troops for the first
time. In the pages to come there will be noted many instances not only
of courage but also of efficiency, and it is a significant fact that
the majority of these officers returned to the states in the 92nd
Division. This alone is proof that they were _fairly_ efficient,
especially when it is remembered that on the slightest occasion they
were sent before efficiency boards. More than a thousand of these Negro
line officers “saw it through” in France, rendering heroic service
in the World War; and it is pleasant to record that among those who
served with them there were those who were not afraid to give credit
where credit was due.
* * * * *
One other matter is of importance in this general connection, and
that is the question of the relation of the Negro officer to the
reorganization of the army after the war was over. There are and
probably always will be divers opinions as to the size and training
of the regular army in peace times, as well as to the composition of
the different units. In general, regular army officers felt that the
time had not come in army affairs when it was expedient to include
Negro officers in the plan of reorganization. Such a course was
considered “an injustice to West Point graduates who had served as
second lieutenants and waited their turn for promotion.” The question
was essentially not one of fitness but of tradition, as was shown by
the word of a major who now sleeps in the Argonne and who was asked to
send in the names of the men in his command who should go before an
efficiency board. He commended highly the work of his officers, but
concluded by saying that the whole principle of Negro officers was
wrong and that he recommended that all should be relieved from duty.
Such an attitude took tangible form in the action of members of some
of the examining boards for the regular army. One board discharged more
than half of the officers in the division it was considering. Many who
formerly had good grades were rated below 60, and while the questions
asked were simple enough, all answers were deemed unsatisfactory. In
the medical department similar conditions prevailed. It was natural
that the Negro men should feel that under the circumstances they had
hardly been fairly dealt with; moreover they had to meet the general
prejudice of regular army officers against all civilian officers. One
official said, “The regular army officers looked with disfavor upon
both the National Guard and National Army officers, the National Guard
officers discredited the National Army (90-day) officer, and all three
combined against the Negro officer.” When everything is considered, it
is difficult to reconcile the methods used to eliminate Negro officers
with the spirit of fairness and justice for which the army is renowned,
or with the gentleman’s agreement known to exist among fellow-officers,
and it is to be regretted that some of the adverse opinions expressed
were uttered by men in high positions who will help to determine the
future policy of the War Department.
CHAPTER IV
HOPES AND FEARS
Propaganda was recognized by all the belligerent nations as a mighty
weapon when effectively used. That great things could be accomplished
by its use was demonstrated when a part of the Russian army surrendered
to the enemy without bloodshed, when the Russian people rose up
against their rulers, and when the German sailors turned against their
commanders. In spite of some suggestions made to him, however, the
Negro in the United States chose the better part, pledging his loyalty
and support to the Government as far as necessary.
When the selective draft was voted by Congress, there arose cries
against the sending of Negroes to certain sections, and petitions and
delegations went to Washington to prevail with the officials. It was
feared that race friction would lead to riots, and especially that
there would be difficulty between the Negro soldiers and the civilian
population. The Houston riot, occurring in 1917 just before Negro men
were called to the camps, intensified this feeling and caused many
cantonment cities to raise objections to the placing of Negro soldiers
in the camps near them. In South Carolina especially there was strong
protest on the part of prominent citizens, led by the Governor of the
State; and even one of the Negro churches, on the arrival of Negro
soldiers at Camp Jackson, discontinued evening services for fear of
trouble. Yet, although it was thought that this innovation would
bring disaster to the state, from the beginning there was a feeling
of comradeship between the white and the Negro soldiers. In a speech
before the race conference held in Columbia March 13, 1918, the
Governor, who had opposed the coming of the latter, commended them in
the highest manner; and the police department gave testimony to the
fact that the Negro soldiers had been a credit to themselves and to
the uniform they wore. At Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss., there was
also opposition, but here again the conduct of the soldiers allayed
all fears. At Rockford, Ill., where the police force was enlarged in
anticipation of the coming of the Negro men, and where an addition was
built to the jail to accommodate the expected number of offenders,
the chief of police afterwards said that “The Negro soldiers made a
splendid record--much better than was expected; the enlarged jail was
never needed for them.”
The finest atmosphere surrounding Negro soldiers in America was found
at Camp Upton, N. Y. No protest was made by New York people about
training Negroes at the camp, nor was there any propaganda about race
riots or other disasters; and because of this fact the relationship
between the different groups was exceptionally good. The officers
and also the welfare workers were, with rare exceptions, fair and
considerate in their treatment. This example of real Americanism was
due to the generous spirit of the New York people and to the high
stand and impartial attitude taken by the late Gen. I. Franklin Bell,
commander. In settling all questions of racial relationship he insisted
that all men be given fair and equal treatment. Not only in this
camp, but in every cantonment city, East, West, North, or South, the
officials, including judges and chiefs of police, as well as citizens
from all walks of life, spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of
the Negro soldiers.
In France there arose two forms of subtle and dangerous propaganda with
which the Negro had to contend. One was disseminated by the Germans
and the other by some of his own comrades in arms. Over the lines the
Germans sent their insidious matter, of which the following is a sample:
“To the Colored Soldiers of the U. S. Army,
September, 1918, Vosges Mountains.
“Hello, boys, what are you doing over there? Fighting the Germans?
Why? Have they ever done you any harm? Of course, some white folks
and the lying English-American papers told you that the Germans ought
to be wiped out for the sake of humanity and democracy. What is
democracy? Personal freedom, all citizens enjoying the same rights
socially and before the law. Do you enjoy the same rights as the
white people do in America, the land of freedom and democracy? Or
aren’t you rather rated over there as second class citizens? Can you
go to a restaurant where white people dine, can you get a seat in a
theatre where white people sit, can you get a pullman seat or berth
in a railroad car, or can you ride in the South in the same street
car with white people? And how about the law? Is lynching and the
most horrible cruelties connected therewith a lawful proceeding in a
democratic country?
“Now all of this is entirely different in Germany, where they do like
colored people, where they do treat them as gentlemen and not as
second class citizens. They enjoy exactly the same social privileges
as every white man, and quite a number of colored people have mighty
fine positions in Berlin and other big German cities.
“Why, then, fight the Germans only for the benefit of the Wall Street
robbers to protect the millions they have lent to the English, French,
and Italians? You have been made the tool of the egotistic and
rapacious rich in England and America, and there is nothing in the
whole game for you but broken bones, horrible wounds, broken health
or--death. No satisfaction whatever will you get out of this unjust
war. You have never seen Germany; so you are fools if you allow people
to teach you to hate it. Come over and see for yourself. Let those do
the fighting who make profit out of this war; don’t allow them to use
you as cannon food. To carry the gun in their defense is not an honor
but a shame. Throw it away and come over to the German lines. You will
find friends who will help you along.”
Copies of this document fell among the Negro soldiers in the front line
trenches. Every effort was made to keep the men from reading it, but
many secured copies nevertheless. They said to their officers who went
among them to gather up the copies, “We know what they say is true, but
don’t worry; we’re not going over.”
The other propaganda with which Negro officers and soldiers had to
contend was inaugurated to discredit them in French opinion to the
extent that they would not be accorded social recognition or accepted
as equals. There was organized effort on the part of the American
military authorities to influence French public opinion in this regard.
In its issue for May, 1919, the _Crisis_ published a document
on “Secret information concerning black American troops,” sent out
on August 7, 1918, by the French military mission stationed with the
American Army. The object of this document was to give French officers
commanding black American troops “an exact idea of the position
occupied by Negroes in the United States.” Conclusions were reached as
follows: “We must prevent the rise of any pronounced degree of intimacy
between French officers and black officers”; “We must not commend too
highly the black Americans”; and “Make a point of keeping the native
cantonment population from ‘spoiling’ the Negroes.” This document did
not represent French but American opinion, and when the French ministry
heard of its distribution, copies were collected and burned.
Meanwhile individuals exerted great effort to influence the French
population in the treatment of Negro soldiers. At times when Negro
troops went to a city which had been occupied by white soldiers, the
people stood off and were afraid, partly because they had not seen
so many Negroes before, but also because of the statements that had
been made. At Bourbonne-les-Bains the people were told that they must
remain indoors, carry guns, and not allow Negroes in their homes.
Among the statements that the French people themselves afterwards
informed the Negroes were made were the following: “Negroes cannot be
treated with common civility”; “They are no good”; “They are rapists”;
“Americans lynch and burn Negroes to keep them in their places”;
and “They are uncivilized and have tails like monkeys.” The spirit
which prompted some men to make the statements given here prompted
others to use their authority to carry out their ideas. There were
“campaigns of ruthlessness,” and many unkind deeds occurred in the
effort to perpetuate “American ideals.” Certainly two-thirds of the
difficulties experienced by the colored soldiers in France were due to
American resentment of the attitude of the French people in receiving
them on equal terms, and especially of the kindly disposition of the
French women. Much of the denial of privileges to Negro soldiers to
visit parts of France was due, directly or indirectly, to the effort
to prevent them from associating with the French people. Thousands
of men within a few hours of Paris were not able to get more than a
twelve-hour pass.
Facts gathered from personal investigation and interviews in France
indicate that in spite of propaganda Negro officers and soldiers got
along well with the French people. After they were in town a few days
the people would cease to fear them and would ask why such strange
relationships existed between comrades in arms from the same country.
Both officers and men were invited into the homes of the people.
French children were treated with the greatest deference by the
Negro soldiers, and as a result a real brotherhood was established.
The picture that appeared in _Life_, showing a colored soldier
carrying a bundle for an old French woman met along the way, was
typical and represented what occurred almost daily in France. Many
helped the peasants to harvest their crops or to do any other work
in which they were engaged. They always lent a hand whenever it was
possible.
During 1918 reports were current in France, especially in American
circles, including the army and welfare organizations, that the
committing of the crime of rape was very common and that Negro officers
as well as privates were guilty. On August 21 a memorandum was issued
from the headquarters of the 92nd Division “to prevent the presence of
colored troops from being a menace to women.” This said in part: “On
account of the increasing frequency of the crime of rape, or attempted
rape, in this Division, drastic preventive measures have become
necessary.... Until further notice, there will be a check of all troops
of the 92nd Division every hour daily between reveille and 11.00 p. m.,
with a written record showing how each check was made, by whom, and
the result.... The one-mile limit regulation will be strictly enforced
at all times, and no passes will be issued except to men of known
reliability.” The next day another memorandum was sent out saying that
the commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces “would send
the 92nd Division back to the United States or break it up into labor
battalions as unfit to bear arms in France, if efforts to prevent rape
were not taken more seriously.” The next day the order for the hourly
check of personnel was annulled, but in the meantime much discussion
had been occasioned.
As the rumors continued to spread, Dr. Robert R. Moton was asked by the
President of the United States and the Secretary of War to go to France
and investigate the charges. On reaching France he went immediately to
General Headquarters at Chaumont and from there to the Marbache sector,
where he met General Martin, who was in command of the 92nd Division.
On making inquiry Dr. Moton was informed by the General that twenty-six
cases of the crime had occurred in the Division up to December 16,
1918, and staff officers who were present substantiated by conversation
the general statements. Dr. Moton then asked the General if he would
mind having one of his aides get the records inasmuch as the reputation
of a race was at stake and as general statements were often misleading.
When the records were brought in and examined only seven cases charged
could be found. Of those charged only two men had been found guilty
and convicted, and one of the two convictions had been turned down by
general headquarters. “In other fighting units,” says Dr. Moton, “as
well as in Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, and Brest, where many of the service
of supplies troops were located, and at many other places, I made the
same investigations. I interviewed American and French commanding
officers. I talked as well with scores of American and French officers
of lower rank. When the records were taken, as was the case with the
92nd Division, the number of cases charged were few. The opinion at
general headquarters of the American forces was that the crime to which
I have referred was no more prevalent among Negro soldiers than among
white soldiers or any soldiers.”
The following record of rape in the 92nd Division was given to the
writer by Major A. E. Patterson, judge advocate: “Ten soldiers were
tried for assault with intent to rape. Five of those were _bona
fide_ efforts to accomplish that crime. The other five were simple
assaults with no evidence to support the charge of assault with intent
to commit rape. Three of the cases were actual rape cases, only one of
which was in the 92nd Division. The other two were in units commanded
by white officers. The other two men convicted, one of whom was hanged,
were in labor battalions in the 92nd Division area, neither of the
three cases of rape occurring in units commanded by colored officers.”
The judge advocate in the headquarters of the service of supplies at
Tours said that “since February, 1919, there had been only one assault
with intent to commit rape in sections 4, 6, 7, and 9, where there
were more than 75,000 Negro soldiers. The rape stories seem not to be
substantiated.” In American camps there were two cases of the crime,
one at Camp Dodge and one at Camp Grant.
The rape charges against Negro soldiers appear to have been greatly
magnified. They were simply a part of the general propaganda to
discredit Negro men in arms. It is not our intention to give the
impression that there were not a few individuals who were guilty of
the crime. It is a fact, however, that the wild rumors were simply one
more effort to influence the French people in their dealings with Negro
Americans.
CHAPTER V
THE LURE OF THE UNIFORM
Historians tell us that when, in the fifteenth century, Jeanne d’Arc
led the soldiers of France to victory, no women followed the army. This
was not true of the victorious armies in the World War. Wherever the
soldiers camped, in the North, East, South, or West, in a camp near a
great metropolis or in one far from cities and railroads, in America
or in France, there women were to be found. For the first time also
the War Department made formal provision for the American soldiers to
have the gentle and civilizing influence of women; and barracks and
tented camps were soon followed by hostess houses or other structures,
tastefully furnished and decorated, and presided over by kind-hearted
hostesses.
When this great plan was conceived, little thought was given at first
to the Negro soldier and to the entertainment of his women folk. For
some time, if they visited camp, they found that no provision was made
to receive them. Sometimes it was a mother who had traveled miles just
to see if Uncle Sam was kind to her only son, or a wife from a distant
state, who arrived discouraged and with depleted funds, only to find
that her husband had just embarked for a distant land; or perhaps a
sweetheart hoped to get a last glance and bid a last farewell.
There was still another woman who had no such innocent mission and
whose heart went out to every soldier. It was this one who made a
real problem. Little interest was shown in her by camp authorities.
Sometimes she remained in camp streets until as late as eleven o’clock
at night; or she might be seen under the trees, in the groves, or
waiting along the camp roads. At Camp Dodge women were allowed in camp
from early morning until late in the evening, with no restrictions
whatever. Some were the wives of soldiers, but some others came to the
camp for the purpose of forming acquaintances. Occasionally a girl was
seen giving her address to a crowd of soldiers surrounding her. At
Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga., a quarantine stopped the daily visiting of
women, who were required to register in the “Y” tent, which they soon
practically deserted. In general the commander of a camp made such
regulations as he thought best. On rare occasions women were compelled
to secure passes before entering; but in most cases they could enter
during the day without passes, being governed only by visiting hours,
which were usually from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.
As the war progressed, the tendency throughout the country was to
improve conditions in this connection. Even before the spring and
summer of 1918, when some hostess houses were erected for colored
soldiers, there were bright spots where an effort was made to meet the
problem. One of the best systems regulating the visiting of women
found anywhere was at Camp Funston, where a visitors’ day was held the
first Saturday of each month. This rule was strictly enforced and not
even officers could take women into the camp except on this day. On
this occasion, however, the officers and soldiers became the hosts,
entertaining their friends at dinner, after which there were usually
socials and dances. Large numbers of colored women visited Camp Taylor,
Louisville, Ky., and their conduct is said to have been excellent.
The Y. W. C. A. had the use of a small building, conveniently located
on the car track, and here the women were helped to get in touch with
relatives. Where the number of women who visited a camp was small,
the problem of providing facilities was naturally less difficult.
At Camp Devens, Mass., near which the colored population was small,
women visited the “Y” buildings and also the houses in charge of white
hostesses, if they so desired. The soldiers were permitted to invite
them to dinner in their mess halls. All were expected to leave the camp
by 7.30, and the military police saw that this rule was enforced. In
general where there was a sincere effort on the part of the authorities
and the different agencies to provide for the welfare of colored
women visitors, the problem was reduced to a minimum, and the visits
contributed to the happiness of the soldiers and the morale of the
army, as was the intention from the beginning.
The problem which grew to be vexing in the camps became far more
difficult to control in the cities; and Government officials familiar
with the popularity of the uniform proceeded immediately to clean up
every city adjacent to the cantonments by abolishing all forms of
legalized vice. Cities thus located were able, with Federal aid, to
introduce in one week reforms that had been desired and worked for,
with no results, for decades. The closing of the districts, however,
did not mean the complete elimination of the evils which existed. It
often meant simply a distributing of the problem to various sections of
the city. New restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses were opened, and
there were usually to be found in them attractive girls who served as
waitresses. Although the café sign was sometimes seen on the windows,
“no meals were ever served nor fire ever seen in the kitchen.” It was
through such places as these that well-intentioned women and girls
sometimes found themselves in the clutches of the law.
It was in one of the large cantonment cities that a party of four such
women arrived from the far South to see their husbands before they
entrained for parts unknown. The women were not met at the station by
their husbands, as was planned, because they were several hours late
in arriving. They were directed to a hotel just two blocks from the
station, and here they found the parlor and dining room filled with
soldiers and their friends. Among the men in uniform they felt more
at ease, and they asked several soldiers if they knew their husbands.
Finally a young man said that he was in the same company as one of the
men named, and that he would tell him about his wife as soon as he
reached camp, as it was not possible to reach him that night. Tired
from travel and anxiety, the women retired with pleasant thoughts of
meeting their loved ones in the morning. In the very early morning,
however, while the city still slumbered, a knock on the door awoke
them. One sprang to the door, but instead of finding her husband she
was greeted by an officer, who told all four to dress and follow him.
All their tears and explanations did not suffice to move him. With a
score of other women they were carried away to prison. As the turnkey
closed the great iron door some of the number seemed indifferent, but
the hearts of others were seized with fear lest some awful thing should
happen. The next morning the husbands of the four women were reached
and they were released, made wiser by their bitter experience.
Hotels and boarding houses, however, were only one phase of the
matter. On the city streets, in the dance halls, in the soft drink
parlors, wherever soldiers craved companionship, there the problem of
the girl was to be found. It was most serious in the case of young
girls fourteen to sixteen years of age, who were sometimes seen on the
streets long after midnight, and it is to be remembered that in the
Negro sections of the cities the streets were often dark and conducive
to all forms of evil. Sometimes conditions were winked at by officials
who opposed destroying the old order of things. In one case, after
Government criticism, the local police made indiscriminate arrests in
a pretended effort to clean up. This resulted in lawsuits which halted
the work. Ignorant girls were brought into court, but those in higher
places were seldom arrested. Even when arrests were made, the evidence
revealed often brought a quick release. In one court a woman was
sentenced to a year in prison and fined $1000 for leading girls astray,
but within a few days, through the influence of unseen forces, she was
again enjoying her liberty. A strange leniency also was often found in
Southern courts in the case of colored girls whose conduct had brought
them there; it did not seem to be required or expected that colored
girls should live up to the same standards as white girls. Sometimes
unsympathetic lawyers made sport of them for the amusement of crowded
court rooms. They were not taken behind closed doors for protection,
as were other girls charged with similar offences. Seldom, until near
the end of the war, were there detention homes to which they could
go and find a genuinely helpful guiding hand. Money appropriated by
the Government for the establishment of detention homes in cantonment
cities was seldom used for Negro girls. Instead they were usually
placed in jail, or sent to the prison farm or the “stockade,” the home
of the chain gang. The jails in which they were confined were, with
few exceptions, demoralizing and a disgrace to the cities. The inmates
lived in dirt and disease, sleeping on ragged, greasy mattresses on
concrete floors and eating food prepared in the most unsanitary manner.
In one instance colored girls were placed in a room 20 feet by 10,
with their cots close together. An open toilet was in the back of the
room, which was without windows or any means of ventilation except
an electric fan. In such environment were placed many girls arrested
for the first time. They associated with confirmed criminals and the
living conditions and the treatment which they received made it well
nigh impossible for them to lead a different life after being released.
Sometimes they worked on the city farms, in the jails, or on rock piles
in the jail yards. In one case they were marched through the streets to
and from the work of cleaning the city cemetery.
Who were these girls who, in their early teens, found themselves in
the clutches of the law? For the most part they were ignorant and
were growing up without the influence of interested parents. Some
could not read or write; frequently they were exploited. It is to be
noted also that this concrete problem was often complicated by other
social or economic forces. In practically every cantonment city orders
were issued to prevent white soldiers from entering undesirable Negro
sections. The enforcement of such orders, however, was difficult
because of the frequent leniency of the guardians of the law. In one
city a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce said, “The colored
people will probably never get over the effect of the moral lapse due
to the presence of the camp and the soldiers.” He grew eloquent in
describing the depths to which the city had fallen and the difficulty
of getting servants. Those who had formerly helped in some of the old
families were now leading an easier life and wearing on the streets
clothes of the most expensive style. Such a speaker apparently forgot
that the exodus had made great drafts on labor, that many women were
doing work formerly done by men, and that the increased wages had
enabled many men to keep their wives at home.
Even when the moral situation was dark, however, all was not hopeless.
Sometimes a wise and big-hearted judge gave justice tempered with
mercy. Sometimes women, both colored and white, toiled untiringly in
their effort to save girls from the folly of their ways. The attitude
of the Negro people themselves was most important. Among them there was
often found a strange lack of sympathy and interest. This was sometimes
attributed to the attitude of officials who would not deal with them in
a respectful manner. While this was often the case, there was also a
feeling on the part of many good people that they could not afford to
help such girls. One churchman who was asked for his co-operation said,
“I don’t know whether I can afford to come to the jail,” and another,
“My mind is on heavenly things; I haven’t any time for such work.”
Gradually the situation improved, however, and we shall now consider
some of the forces for moral betterment. One of these, the War Camp
Community Service, will receive extended treatment in our next chapter
in connection with the subject of Welfare Organizations. Just now we
are interested especially in the influences that bore directly upon the
Negro woman or girl who in one way or another was affected by the war.
GIRLS’ PROTECTIVE AGENCY
The Girls’ Protective Agency was active in several cantonment cities
where Negro soldiers were stationed. Comparatively few colored
women represented this organization, but those who did labored most
effectively. The worker at Anniston, Ala., gave her entire time to
colored girls. The Negro women of the city formed a co-operating
committee composed of representatives from every church. The names of
girls who were thought to be careless in their conduct were given to
the one in charge and she visited the girls and their parents. In this
way many were helped. The white workers also sometimes took an active
interest in colored girls, especially those who found their way into
the courts. Where grave problems arose from the intermingling of the
races, every effort was made to relieve the situation for the good of
both.
TRAVELERS’ AID SOCIETY
Representatives of the Travelers’ Aid Society often rendered genuine
service to colored women visiting cantonment cities in search of their
friends in the camps. They usually put them in touch with the local Y.
W. C. A. or with representative women who could tell them of reliable
places where they could stay. While some assistants were indifferent,
most of them were impartial and took the same interest in providing
for the Negro women who came to their cities as for the white women.
This was especially true of a worker in Manhattan, Kansas, who labored
earnestly for the colored girls who visited the railroad stations
in order to meet soldiers. According to reports of reliable colored
citizens, she talked to the girls as she would to her own daughters.
Y. W. C. A.--HOSTESS HOUSES
The Young Women’s Christian Association established constructive work
in cantonment cities by organizing the best girls into clubs and
patriotic leagues for various kinds of war effort. Such endeavor was
in the field of preventive rather than of constructive work. That at
Louisville is fairly representative of what was done in the cantonment
cities. Here an attractive building was secured and placed in charge
of an executive secretary, who was assisted by a girls’ worker. Clubs
were organized among the employed girls and school girls, and Bible,
cooking, and French classes conducted. Five hundred women and girls
were organized into twenty-six circles, with a captain over each
circle; and an information bureau was conducted for the soldiers.
Of the various kinds of service rendered by the Y. W. C. A. the
erection of fifteen hostess houses in the various camps was the
greatest achievement and filled one of the greatest needs of the
Negro soldier and his women folk. It is doubtful if any other welfare
work gave more pleasure. Rightly was the hostess house called “a
bit of home in the camps, a place of rest and refreshment for the
women folks belonging to the soldiers, a sheltering chaperonage for
too-enthusiastic girls, a dainty supplement to the stern fare of the
camp life of the soldiers, a clearing house for the social activities
which included the men in the camps and their women visitors.”
While the need was always great, the development of hostess houses
for Negro soldiers and women was very slow. Camp commanders often
failed to see the need of such an addition, and the uncertainty of
Negro soldiers’ definitely remaining a part of camp organizations was
usually given as the reason for delay. At length, however, through the
untiring efforts of Miss Eva D. Bowles, leader of Y. W. C. A. work for
Negro girls, her co-workers, and the War Work Council of the Y. W.
C. A., these buildings came into being. The work was started at Camp
Upton, N. Y., where barracks were used as temporary quarters. Later
the first hostess house for Negro workers was erected in this camp.
It was well located, attractively finished, and splendidly equipped.
Five efficient secretaries were employed. Every evening the house was
crowded. The soldiers were served at the cafeteria, or they read,
wrote letters, sang, played, or mingled with their comrades. For
some of the men it was the most wholesome environment they had ever
enjoyed. The second hostess house was erected at Camp Dix, N. J. It
was a spacious building, beautifully furnished and arranged, and the
New Jersey Federated Clubs of Colored Women spent $1200 in helping to
furnish the building. The third was at Camp Funston. Late in the spring
of 1918 barracks were used here, but in the course of the summer a
hostess house was completed just outside the camp and three secretaries
were employed. Perhaps the largest and most attractive house was at
Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio. When it was opened the sergeants in the
various companies of Negro soldiers entertained their men in it in
order to make them interested. At the suggestion of the hostesses a
Christmas tree was secured by the Y. M. C. A. secretary and a Negro
officer, and put up for the men by the co-operation of the fire and
electrical departments in the camp. The need was greatest in the
Southern camps because these were visited by hundreds of Negro women
daily. By the fall of 1918 houses were at both Camp Gordon and Camp
Jackson. The building at Gordon was situated just beyond the street
car station outside the camp. The one at Jackson was well located in
relation to the headquarters group of buildings. Both had unusually
large porches. At Camp Jackson the settees used in the yard were built
by soldiers. Two of the last houses opened for Negro men were at Camp
Meade, Md., and Camp Alexander, Newport News, Va. Returning soldiers
held their farewell socials in these buildings.
In every camp the soldiers showed a fine spirit in visiting the
hostess houses, especially in regard to conduct. They looked upon the
secretaries as their friends and ofttimes went to them with their
troubles. In turn those in charge not only served the women visitors,
but brought comfort and cheer to many a heartsick soldier, and they
gave many a commanding officer and welfare worker a new conception of
the ability and worth of Negro womanhood. In one case the executive
secretary was known throughout the camp as “Mother,” because of her
understanding heart and her large appreciation of the problems of the
men.
* * * * *
Negroes were highly commended for their loyalty in aiding the
Government and for their willingness to co-operate with all welfare
agencies during the war. There were, however, some workers who, though
they rendered great service, did not always receive the plaudits of
the crowd because they worked more humbly and did not always have the
backing of a great organization. Among these were those women who went
out into the highways and byways in order to help girls and lead them
into the noblest life. Sometimes their work was difficult, for public
officials did not always welcome them; but initiative and tact told,
and we must speak of three such women who were representative.
The first was Mrs. R. T. Brooks, who when the war began was working for
the associated charities of Columbia, S. C. Her experience in dealing
with poverty and with lives that had been wasted or whose opportunities
had been lost, prepared her to meet the problems following the
establishment of Camp Jackson. Day and night she was seen in all parts
of the city on the watch for those whom she might help, and the little
pay she received was often divided with those who needed aid. She was
respected by judges and policemen in the court room, where she often
went to intercede for some erring girl, and one of the leading lawyers
of Columbia said of her work, “Mrs. Brooks is the most efficient
worker, white or colored, in the city.”
In Little Rock, Ark., a few years before the war, a fourteen-year old
Negro girl was arraigned in court, charged with murder and seven other
offences, any one of which, if proved, would have given her a prison
sentence. The case aroused the colored women of the city, who followed
the trial with interest. The city attorney who was conducting the case
had little belief in Negro womanhood, but before the case was summed
up a number of the women called on him and presented the girl’s side.
The conference bore fruit, for the attorney, who had been violent in
his attack, at the end of his argument asked for mercy, showing how
environment had played a large part in the unfortunate girl’s life.
After this trial the Negro women of Little Rock, with the permission
of the court, appointed and for two years paid the salary of Mrs.
Maggie A. Jeffries, who looked after the interest of Negro girls. When
soldiers came to Little Rock, her experience had prepared her for the
emergency. Her work received the most enthusiastic approval of numbers
of prominent citizens, and through her aid the work was formally taken
over by the city, and all probation workers used the same office. Many
a time this earnest helper pleaded with the judge to turn some erring
girl over to her, and she found honest work for the girl or bought a
ticket and sent her home to her parents.
It was realized and often admitted by policemen and judges that a well
trained Negro woman with police authority could render invaluable
service with the problems of the Negro girl who appeared at court,
but generally such power was denied. Mrs. Mary Colson, of Des Moines,
however, was given such authority, being commissioned by the Governor
as a member of the secret service of the state. She also received a
certificate from the Policemen’s Institute, a course of lectures given
to the Des Moines police. When Mrs. Colson was first appointed many a
policeman treated the appointment as a joke, but before long she was
able to prove her worth, and she became a force that helped hundreds of
women and girls to make a new start. It was not her prime mission to
arrest, and she did so only in extreme cases. Her work was as blessed
as it was far-reaching.
CHAPTER VI
THE “Y” AND OTHER WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS
No organization ever employed a greater number of workers to serve men
without cost than did the Young Men’s Christian Association during the
Great War. Millions of dollars given by the American people were spent
in carrying out its program of service. Wherever there were American
soldiers, in the camps at home, at the base ports, on the battle front,
in leave areas, or behind the lines in France, there they were followed
and served by the Y. M. C. A. Some of the workers even followed the
troops “over the top,” sacrificing life itself in their endeavor to
give comfort and cheer to the men.
Negro soldiers shared in the “Y” service both at home and in France.
At first they were somewhat overlooked, but through the efforts of Dr.
Jesse E. Moorland and his associates provision was made for them. In
the National Army cantonments large “Y” huts with six secretaries were
maintained,--building, business, religious, educational, physical, and
social secretaries,--each of whom developed his particular line of
work. Sometimes a second building or tent was used. The secretaries
met in the general Y. M. C. A. conferences held weekly with the camp
secretary, who usually co-operated in every possible way.
The effectiveness of the work depended largely upon the efficiency
and ability of the building secretary to co-operate with his staff
and the camp officials. Often these secretaries not only effectively
supervised the work in their buildings, but they also watched the
morale of the soldiers and held conferences with commanding officers
for the purpose of improving unsatisfactory conditions. The business
secretary conducted the stamp and money order business. This alone in
some camps amounted to sums ranging from $150 to $200 a day. Lectures
were given to the men on the value of saving and they often bore fruit.
At Camp Dodge $10,000 was sent home by the soldiers in one month. The
educational secretary worked mainly to reach the men who could not read
or write. In Camp Dodge, where perhaps the most successful work was
done, 2300 Negro soldiers learned to read and write and to do simple
work in arithmetic and drawing, using implements of warfare as models.
A business course and instruction in French were offered to those men
who had sufficient education.
Colonel Bush, who was in charge of the educational work at Camp
Dodge, ordered all illiterate men to attend school, and the rule made
by many company commanders that every man must sign his name before
drawing his pay, served as a great incentive to study. This school
for Negro soldiers in the 366th Regiment was well organized, with the
educational secretary, George H. Fortner, as superintendent. Each
company represented a part of the school, with a lieutenant as head,
and non-commissioned officers, who did the teaching, as assistants.
For every fourteen men a teacher was furnished, and there were ample
materials. Educational lectures in the different camps were also
appreciated, as well as the circulation of books. Naturally the success
of all such work as this depended primarily on the initiative of the
secretary and his co-operation with the camp authorities.
The physical secretary’s work was to promote athletics, chiefly games,
boxing and wrestling. In camps where there were combatant units the
athletic officers and the physical secretaries co-operated, and there
the best organizations were found. In non-combatant units effective
athletic work was seldom found, partly because of the nature of their
organization. However, in some of these, teams were organized, and
the secretaries were able at times to get outside agencies to provide
equipment. The women of Cuthbert, Ga., gave basket ball equipment for
two teams and a shooting gallery costing $44. As a result there was
organized a team which played Morehouse College and the Columbus Y. M.
C. A.
The work of the social secretary was of great importance. He it was who
furnished relaxation and entertainment after the arduous tasks of the
day. Moving pictures, given from two to five times a week; programs,
consisting of singing, dancing, stunts, and recitations, by talent in
cantonment cities or by company entertainers; concerts, by bands or
great singers; and addresses by famous speakers, filled the “Y,” even
the windows and rafters, with men at night. Of such service no group
was more appreciative than the Negro soldiers. Members of the race
in cantonment cities co-operated splendidly, and schools sometimes
sent quartets or orchestras. Sometimes there were Christmas trees
hung with presents ranging from tooth brushes to wrist watches, and
with each present was a bag of popcorn and a personal letter. On one
occasion when more than a hundred white soldiers were present at such
a festivity, they also received presents. Many of the entertainers on
the “Y” circuit were also enjoyed by the men, though too often in some
camps their programs happened to be given in every building except the
one attended by the Negro soldiers.
The religious secretaries were usually ministers of considerable
experience. Negro soldiers had high regard for things religious. Bible
classes were conducted every Sunday morning, and were followed by
preaching, sometimes by local ministers. Weekly Bible classes or prayer
meetings were also held, and sometimes “sings” or testimonial meetings.
At these meetings the soldiers often took a stand for Christ, and in
such cases the secretary wrote personal letters to their families,
informing them of the fact and asking them to write letters of
encouragement. The many personal interviews which these secretaries had
with the soldiers gave them some of the best opportunities of rendering
service.
In the smaller camps things were not always as well appointed as in
the larger ones. No big program could be carried out, though religious
and sometimes educational work was conducted. In the South, moreover,
the colored secretaries most frequently did not attend the general “Y”
conferences. In spite of all discouraging circumstances, however, the
development of the work was rapid. What was done at Camp Hill, Newport
News, Va., shows what was possible after an unpromising beginning. In
October, 1917, two Hampton students, W. D. Elam and E. M. Mitchell,
went to serve 4500 men, using an army tent for the work. The tent was
destroyed in a storm and was replaced by a smaller one, 16 by 16, in
which three men lived and where there were, in addition, a stove, a
victrola, and a piano. Stamps and stationery were handled, and small
meetings held. This was the extent of the facilities in one of the
coldest winters Virginians had ever seen. In the early spring, however,
a barrack was secured through the aid of the officers, and in April a
large “Y” building was dedicated with a full staff of secretaries and
all necessary equipment. Here, as elsewhere, the soldiers were served
in numberless ways; and when the time came to go to France, there was
chocolate or lemonade, with sandwiches, and the secretaries accompanied
the men to the port of embarkation, where they separated from each with
a touching farewell and a most fervent “God bless you.”
IN FRANCE
As one traveled among the soldiers in France he saw in almost every
camp the Y. M. C. A. hut or tent. There were 7850 “Y” workers overseas,
1350 of whom were women. Of this large number 87 were Negroes and 19,
women of the race. Only three of these Negro women were in France
during the actual fighting, and not until the spring of 1919 did
others sail. At the head of the colored secretaries was Dr. John Hope,
president of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga., who was stationed at
the “Y” headquarters in Paris, where he helped to solve many problems
regarding the work. Traveling over France, he visited many units of
troops, saw their needs, and tried to meet them. There were hardly
ever more than 75 Negro secretaries in France at one time, and these
were scattered among nearly 200,000 Negro soldiers. They served with
the fighting units, with the troops in the service of supplies, and in
the leave areas. The fighting units of Negro soldiers were the 92nd
and 93rd Divisions, the latter comprising four regiments brigaded with
the French. It was in these units that the secretaries won deserved
praise for their service and courage. Airplane raids, bombardments,
and bursting gas shells did not slacken their ardor to follow the men
wherever they went.
H. E. Caldwell, with the 369th Regiment, was under shell fire longer
than any other Negro secretary. Matthew W. Bullock and Dr. B. N.
Murrell followed the 369th into the thickest of the fight and were with
it when it led the allied armies to the banks of the Rhine, a position
of honor accorded it because of its excellent service in the trenches.
Of Mr. Bullock it was said that when the fight was hardest and the
soldiers were wounded and dying, he was ever with his men encouraging
them to press forward to victory. Of Dr. Murrell we shall speak again.
T. C. Cook, of the 371st Regiment, was cited in orders for his bravery
in rescuing two wounded soldiers exposed in pouring rain and shell
fire. He succeeded in moving them to a narrow dug-out that was soon
afterwards filled with poisonous gas. In attempting to escape, he left
the dug-out only to fall unconscious in the open. On that morning of
the battle officers and men had entrusted to his care $35,000 of their
savings, which he carried on his back as he helped the wounded. When
he regained consciousness in a hospital behind the lines, he found
that the money had disappeared, but his anxiety was relieved when he
was informed that the colored sergeant-major of the regiment, whom he
had requested to guard the money in case of accident to himself, had
forwarded it to the Paris office of the Y. M. C. A. and that every cent
had been safely delivered. Of Secretary James G. Wiley of the 92nd
Division Lt. Col. A. E. Deitsch wrote: “During the occupancy of the
Marbache sector, he established an Association in the town of Atton
which was bombarded daily. Even when the German bombardment tore the
roof from the building and all civilians had left the vicinity, only
the soldiers necessary for the relaying of supplies and ammunition to
the front lines remaining, this man held on and served the soldiers
faithfully.”
Sometimes the Negro secretary served not only the men in one camp
but in several, even covering an area containing as many as 50,000
soldiers. Such a worker was J. E. Saddler, who was engaged in the
Chaumont region. The labor battalions which he served worked on the
roads, at bakeries, rail heads and ammunition dumps, often working
both day and night, one man doing two men’s work. At first Mr. Saddler
went on foot, walking 30 kilometers a day, carrying all the supplies
he could, and distributing them to groups of men doing road work.
Then he secured a motorcycle, and when that was completely used up
he obtained a Ford, with the aid of which he could reach more men.
Sometimes he organized schools, offering prizes to induce the men to
learn to write. Occasionally he conducted spelling bees, taking the
words from the _Stars and Stripes_. He was not a preacher, but
some Sundays he held as many as seven services. Dr. Murrell served in
the Verdun region where thousands of men were engaged in salvaging and
in burying the American dead. He, like Mr. Saddler, traveled about in
a truck with supplies. At Romagne, the site of the Argonne cemetery,
he and his staff did excellent work. Two huts were constructed from
sheet iron taken from German dug-outs. At night these were so crowded
that one could hardly move about in them. The men wrote letters,
played games, or gathered around the piano; they also had daily shows,
athletic contests, and the canteen was excellent. All such service was
of great value in building up the morale of the men and in relieving
them from the depressing effects of the grewsome work they were called
on to perform. At Liffol-le-Grand, M. R. Atwell had a hut which was
attractively whitewashed and painted inside. Pictures of Negro officers
and nurses were on the walls, and generally the work ranked with the
most efficient in France.
After the Armistice a splendid piece of work was done for the soldiers
at Issurtille by W. W. Waitneight, a white secretary, who in the
beginning was opposed to working with colored men. In the early days of
the camp these soldiers were not permitted to visit the “Y” buildings,
and no other place of recreation was provided for them. Finally a
captain, moved by the situation, asked for volunteers to help erect a
building. The “Y” furnished the lumber, some of the engineer regiments
supplied foremen, and the soldiers, including forty mechanics,
undertook to do the work. The site selected was in a bottom where the
entire camp drained, and at times the water was six inches deep on the
floor. In such an environment there was little enthusiasm on the part
of white secretaries to undertake the work; but the one who did found
the greater joy in the hearty appreciation of the men. Two thousand
were in nightly attendance, and from three thousand to thirty-five
hundred were served daily in the “Y” and in the wet canteen. The
work developed until it became the most popular in the camp, and the
secretary who at first doubted, learned to love the men and to work
untiringly for them. At Gierve, a white Baptist minister, Mr. Rankin,
served Negro soldiers in a spacious and well equipped hut, and he also
endeared himself to the men.
At the biggest base ports in France--Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, and
Brest--the Y. M. C. A. did a wonderful work. For months there were
20,000 Negro soldiers at Bordeaux alone, doing stevedore work. Some of
the first colored secretaries sent to France went to this city during
the period of active fighting. They and the army officers did not work
harmoniously together, and after some stormy days they were ordered
to Paris with recommendations to Y. M. C. A. headquarters that they
be sent to America. After investigation, however, they were sent to
other fields of labor, but meanwhile Negro secretaries in New York,
about to sail for France, were detained for months. The situation was
finally adjusted and two other men, B. F. Seldon and A. W. Shockley,
who went to Bordeaux, successfully co-operated with the officers and
worked among the white as well as the colored soldiers. At St. Sulpice
Mr. Seldon had charge of a hut that was well equipped, and Mr. Shockley
conducted a canteen that was said to be one of the cleanest in France.
Thomas Clayton, another secretary in the Bordeaux area, conducted
schools for 600 illiterate men. Twenty-seven men were sent from the
section to the universities in France, and thirty were sent to the
agricultural department at Bonn. At Anconia, also in this area, a big
hut was in charge of J. M. Price, a white secretary who served with
colored troops from the beginning. This hut had an auditorium seating
2000, a spacious sitting-room, a good library, and a large room for
games. Two shows daily were given the 10,000 men. They were encouraged
to save, and in one month $22,000 was sent to the States. Mr. Price
was a Southern man, but he was so much admired by the men and he made
such a favorable impression on the commanding officers that, when the
troops sailed for America, he was, against the rules of the Y. M. C.
A., allowed to sail with the men he had served.
The “Y” at St. Nazaire did one of the biggest pieces of work seen
anywhere in France. There were at times more than 50,000 Negro soldiers
at this base. The first colored secretary sent to France, Franklin
W. Nichols, worked here and had the honor of building the first hut
erected for Negro stevedores. Other pioneers were Rev. Leroy Ferguson,
J. O. Wright, William Stevenson, James H. Robinson, R. E. Williams,
and the three canteen workers who reached France before the Armistice,
Mrs. Helen Curtis, Mrs. Addie W. Hunton, and Miss Kathryn Johnson.
These workers left splendid records of achievement. During the last
months at St. Nazaire, Negro soldiers were served in four Y. M. C. A.
buildings operated by Negro secretaries and also in some conducted by
white secretaries. The huts of the former were located at Camps Dodge,
Guthrie, Montoir, Lusitania, and Camp I. That at Lusitania was the
largest; it had an auditorium seating 1800. The commanding officers
co-operated gladly, and the divisional secretaries in the area,
especially M. B. Wallace, showed fine spirit in helping to make the
work a success.
During the days of fighting and immediately after the Armistice, Negro
soldiers at Brest related stories of discrimination by the “Y” and of
its refusal to serve them. In the spring of 1919, however, the camp
commander and the divisional secretary declared that the men should
have a “fifty-fifty” deal. The organization conducted altogether
fifteen huts in Camp Pontenazen, one in Camp President Lincoln, and a
small room at the sorting yard. “Soldiers’ Rest” at Camp Pontenazen
was especially set aside for the Negro soldiers, though all soldiers
were served there. In March, 1919, B. F. Lee was sent to work in this
hut. He later became general secretary for the building, and four
canteen workers helped in the last days. In all the other huts at
Pontenazen Negro soldiers were also served. While some canteen women
were not enthusiastic about assisting them, the divisional secretary,
a Tennesseean, tried to give all men equal service, and one secretary
who refused to serve the Negroes was sent back to America. At Camp
President Lincoln Secretaries Fritz Cansler and Nelson were stationed
and did some very effective educational work. After prayer meetings
movies were advertised and these always meant a full house. At the
sorting yard, located on the docks at Brest, a group of Negro soldiers
ran a kitchen where embarking soldiers were fed and where stevedores
working on the docks got one meal to prevent the necessity of returning
to camp; they also had a secretary. In the city of Brest Negro soldiers
were served at both the Y. M. C. A. restaurant and the big cafeteria,
and generally the improvement in the conditions at this base accounted
for a more favorable impression than that borne away from some other
places.
There were many other instances of devoted service. “Y” work was
by no means easy. Many army officers looked upon any secretary with
disfavor. On the other hand, the secretaries themselves were not always
infallible, nor were their words and actions unerringly discreet.
Hundreds of entertainers who went overseas visited the soldiers in all
branches of the service. Among these there were no theatrical people of
color, nor any of the leading singers of the race. However, during the
last months there was a religious entertaining unit composed of Rev.
H. H. Proctor, who spoke, J. E. Blanton, song leader, and Miss Helen
Hagan, a noted pianist. These helpers carried cheer wherever they went.
The few Negro women who went to France as canteen workers exerted a
great influence for good. While many officers and secretaries were
opposed to having women serve the men, their presence was like the
calming of a great storm. They built up the morale instantly, as was
noted in every camp to which they were sent. Once or twice, as when
Mrs. Hunton first appeared at St. Nazaire, some of the men cried for
joy. The men loved, protected, and honored these workers for what they
represented, and one of them said that she had to go to France to be
truly proud of the fact that she was a Negro woman.
The work of the canteen women received probably the greatest praise in
the leave areas. This work was conducted in the Department of Savoie,
among beautiful mountains and lakes conducive to rest and relaxation;
and Chambéry, Challes les Eaux, and Aix les Bains were the leading
cities. Aix les Bains is noted for its baths, used by the Romans
and visited by tourists from all over the world. Chambéry, used as
headquarters, is an educational center with colleges and art museums.
On the outskirts of the city overlooking the valley below is the home
of Jean Jacques Rousseau; and from there one might view also the cross
of Nivolet and a chain of snow-capped Alps. Seven miles away is the
famous Pass where Hannibal with his army crossed the Alps. To this day
the road said to have been built by him is in perfect condition. To
such an environment the Negro soldiers came, and they were welcomed by
the citizens as men who had helped to save their country. They stood
in the Pass, viewed Lake Bourget below, and the Italian Alps in the
distance. Here also it was that the secretaries, under the direction of
William Stevenson and Mrs. Curtis, did some of the best work in France.
Other places of interest visited by the soldiers were the St. Bernard’s
Pass, Mt. Revard, and the Church of the Black Madonna. The last place
was the most interesting of all because of its unusual sight. Inside
the church is a small figure of the Madonna with a black child in
her arms. The robes are of gold studded with diamonds, and pictures,
crutches, canes and other tokens of thanks have been left here by
people who have been blessed and healed. Once when the town was
destroyed by a mountain slide, only the church stood, and the presence
of the Madonna was thought by the people to be responsible for the
miraculous escape. Here the Negro soldiers were more than welcome and
the keepers felt honored by their visits.
Altogether more than twenty thousand soldiers visited this leave area,
coming from all parts of France. They were selected from the various
organizations in the A. E. F. and sent for periods of from seven to
fourteen days. Before they arrived some unpleasant propaganda was
spread about them, but they made a highly favorable impression. The “Y”
headquarters was a spacious building, splendidly equipped. There were
band concerts, and on Sunday afternoons there were refreshments in the
beautiful garden, with representative people of the vicinity assisting
in the serving. Because of the good conduct of the men and the success
of the secretaries in establishing such fine relations between citizens
and soldiers, the Governor of Savoie gave a farewell reception,
including a public meeting in a theatre and an entertainment in his own
home afterwards; and letters were written by the mayors of all three
towns and by leading citizens to praise the work and to express regret
at its closing.
While thousands of soldiers visited the leave areas, tens of thousands
went to see Paris the Beautiful. Naturally officers and welfare
workers as well as the men in the ranks desired especially to see this
great city before returning to America. Ordinarily three-day leaves
were granted, and each day in the spring of 1919 brought hundreds
of soldiers to the city. In order that the limited time might mean
as much as possible to the men, the Y. M. C. A. organized wonderful
sight-seeing programs, including all the famous places of historic
interest. With every party there were efficient guides, and the Negro
soldiers, like all the others, appreciated fully and thoroughly enjoyed
the never-to-be-forgotten experience.
* * * * *
CRITICISM OF THE “Y”
The work of the Y. M. C. A. in American camps was so conducted that
it met with comparatively little criticism. Headquarters could be
easily reached for the adjustment of any question arising over the
Negro, and during the war public sentiment was more decidedly against
discrimination than in peace time. Such matters as arose generally
grew out of the attitude or action of individual wearers of the red
triangle. At Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C., for instance, there were
10,000 Negro soldiers. Five “Y” buildings in the camp were located in
areas allotted to these men, but in no case were they allowed to use
the buildings except possibly for stamps and paper. A sign over one
read “This building is for white men only,” and the secretary placed
outside the building a table that colored men might use in writing
letters. In Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va., a prayer meeting was conducted
in an area where Negro soldiers were located, but a soldier with a
rifle on his shoulder was doing guard duty, pacing in a circle around
the group to see that no Negroes attended. The comments made by the
Negro soldiers under the circumstances were interesting. In some camps
the soldiers of both races used the same building, playing games
together, attending the same picture shows, sometimes playing in the
same orchestra, and even writing letters for one another. Such friendly
contact was looked upon with disfavor by some secretaries, and they
introduced discriminatory measures, which naturally led to friction.
It was from overseas, however, that the severest criticism of the
organization came. During the spring of 1919, in every shipment of
soldiers that landed on American shores there were those who denounced
the “Y” for something it had or had not done. The Negro soldiers
did their share of the criticising in spite of the fact that the
organization had done much to help them. Why, then, did they criticise
it?
First of all, the “Y” appeared to have no definite policy regarding
Negro soldiers in France. Endeavor was left mainly in the hands of
divisional or regional directors, and these men inaugurated such
policies as they thought best, and a most careful investigation
indicates that some secretaries resorted to discrimination and
segregation more than the men in any other organization and even more
than the army with its military caste. Sometimes such an attitude was
assumed even by ministers of the gospel. The general situation was
described, very accurately, by one regional secretary as follows:
“About 25 per cent of the white secretaries served the colored soldiers
gladly, about 25 per cent served them half-heartedly, and about 50
per cent either refused to serve them or made them feel they were
not wanted.” When soldiers were building the Pershing Stadium for the
allied games, the “Y” served for months all the men in the order in
which they appeared for service. One day a young Southern woman was
sent out as a canteen worker. The soldiers lined up as formerly. All
went well until a colored soldier in the line was reached. The young
woman asked him to get out of the line. He said he was an American
soldier and would not get out of the line. Thereupon she closed the
canteen. A noted divine from Atlanta, Ga., was for a time in charge
of one of the three-day conferences for new secretaries in France. At
the close of one of the sessions a colored canteen worker told him she
had enjoyed the discussion. “I am glad you enjoyed it,” he said, “but
we don’t mix in the States and you must not expect to here.” All such
incidents could be multiplied hundreds of times, and because of them
there grew up in the hearts of the Negro soldiers a contempt for the
general organization that made such things possible.
An interesting sidelight was afforded by the fate of what was known
as the “Honey Bee Club.” A Negro soldier who was sentenced to death,
just a few days before his execution asked a “Y” secretary at Brest to
come and pray with him. After four days of struggle with the soldier
and himself, the secretary felt that he too was changed and should
work in some large way for the good of the Negro men. He began with
prayer meetings among small groups that had been somewhat neglected,
and at one such meeting he told the story of the Honey Bee that
was busy and successful and another about birds that preyed on the
undesirable things of the world. Using with telling effect the lesson
drawn from the experience of the soldier who paid with his life for
the undesirable, he asked, “How many of you would like to be the
Honey Bee?” All responded with raised hands. Soon afterwards he was
given permission by the Paris office to devote all his time to the
organization of Honey Bee clubs. When it became known, however, that
membership was to be limited to Negro soldiers, opposition developed.
The colored men felt that if the club was capable of doing so much for
them, white soldiers in France should not be denied a share in its
blessings. The original idea was undoubtedly to help the Negro soldier
in France, but the method by which the idea was developed did not meet
with approval, and accordingly, in most cases, it was either opposed or
treated with indifference.
In spite of all the criticism, however, the fact remains that the Young
Men’s Christian Association did more for the recreation, entertainment,
and educational development of Negro soldiers than any other welfare
organization in the course of the war. Through its agency thousands of
men learned to read and write. Moreover, it is to be remembered that
it was the “Y” that sent Negro welfare workers to France, including
nineteen women for canteen work, while other organizations faltered.
Such effort did not materialize without hard work on the part of the
Negro people and their friends. However, it did materialize, and the
Negro workers were a credit both to the organization and to their
race. In a talk to a number of them at a banquet in Paris, E. C.
Carter, head of the Y. M. C. A. overseas, said in summing up their
work: “No group of secretaries has been more successful, nor has any
work been on a higher level. I have been impressed most by your spirit.
Sometimes you have met with difficulties and have been insulted by
workers with the red triangle on their arms, but through it all you
have shown the spirit of true greatness as did the Master.”
* * * * *
During the World War not only the Y. M. C. A. but other leading
religious and social organizations in America aided the War Department
in providing for the welfare of the soldiers, both inside and outside
the camps. We may now consider briefly the Salvation Army, the Knights
of Columbus, the large agencies within the army itself, passing
on to War Camp Community Service, the Red Cross, and also to some
consideration of what was done by the Negro Church and the Federal
Council of Churches.
SALVATION ARMY
The Salvation Army did little or no work for Negro soldiers in American
camps, but when the men returned from France they spoke about the
service the organization had rendered with an appreciation akin to
reverence. This agency did not have great buildings and hundreds of
workers distributed throughout the camps, but it did have here and
there faithful representatives imbued with the spirit of service. One
of its largest huts was at St. Nazaire, and here the relation between
men of different races was of the most cordial sort. The Salvation Army
workers stated that on no occasion had there been any trouble, and
this example well illustrates their spirit and it explains the deep
appreciation that the Negro soldiers had for their organization.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
The Knights of Columbus erected their first building for Negro soldiers
at Camp Funston, Kan. This was opened on December 1, 1917, with
Clarence Guillot as executive secretary and two assistants. Religious
services were conducted every Sunday for the four hundred Catholics in
the camp, with communion every Sunday morning. One of the two chaplains
was always available for consultation, there were excellent library
facilities, and also special effort for recreation. In Camps Taylor,
Dodge, Meade, and Beauregard (at Alexandria, La.) buildings were also
provided. At Camps Dodge and Beauregard white secretaries were in
charge, while at Taylor and Meade Negro secretaries conducted the work.
The building at Dodge was visited by both white and colored soldiers,
and the kindliest feeling was maintained. At Beauregard a mess hall was
renovated and attractively furnished for the large Catholic element
there. The building at Camp Taylor, which was beautifully furnished
and adequately equipped, was first used by white soldiers, but when
they left the camp and Negro soldiers were moved into the area, it
was turned over to them. At Meade there was a small but attractive
portable building. The work was similar to that at Camp Funston. Not
all secretaries were in sympathy with the liberal policy that seemed to
be intended by the organization, but those who were not were sometimes
transferred.
The Knights of Columbus had a small building for Negro soldiers at
Tours, and there was also special provision at Romagne, where the
soldiers were reburying the dead. After a tent was erected and supplied
with tobacco, chocolate, gum, packages of cakes, stationery, and other
such things, the secretary came to the Y. M. C. A. hut and addressed
the soldiers, informing them that the K. C. tent had been erected and
that to it they were very welcome. The next morning a hundred white and
colored soldiers were in line at it receiving supplies. When the camp
commander instituted a policy of segregation, the K. C. was compelled
to adopt it or leave camp. It chose the former course and put up signs
accordingly. When these signs appeared some of the soldiers pulled them
off and pulled down the tent, and there was a riot.
The Knights of Columbus were criticised for the procedure at Romagne,
which was contrary to the general belief as to the policy of the
organization. As has been shown, however, while only a small number of
Negro secretaries were employed and in only a few camps was there any
special effort to serve Negro soldiers, they were generally admitted to
K. C. buildings and in general the organization impressed them by its
catholicity of spirit.
AGENCIES IN THE ARMY
In addition to the work of the welfare organizations in the camps,
the Army also contributed something to the pleasure of the soldiers
by providing for athletics and socials. Holidays were usually given
on Wednesdays, Saturday afternoons, and Sundays, though in the
non-combatant units these were not always observed. In the combatant
units where athletic officers were selected, there was competition in
baseball, basket ball, or football, and occasionally a track meet was
held. For the most part, however, organized effort in athletics was
hardly ever successfully carried out among Negro soldiers, largely
because of the failure of the officers to realize the need. There were,
however, exceptions. An enviable record was made by the stevedore team
at Camp Alexander, Newport News, which defeated all the teams, white
or colored, in the various camps on the lower peninsula of Virginia.
One of the best examples of athletic competition in non-combatant units
was seen in the depot brigades at Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Ga. Three
fields were provided for the men and the teams were well equipped by
their organizations with suits and materials. During the baseball
season two scheduled games were played each week. The two battalions
represented, which formed and marched to the field, always furnished
an enthusiastic crowd. Games were also played with the colleges and
the Federal Prison team in Atlanta, and there was a big field and
track meet. They also had representation in the Camp Gordon meet. In
another camp a regimental cross-country run of two miles was held.
One hundred and thirty-five men entered and one hundred and twenty-six
finished. Boxing was also a source of recreation, and in some camps
men were selected for a special class. These later became instructors.
Boxing contests and exhibitions were held each week, and in some of the
stevedore regiments “battles royal” were conducted. Wrestling was also
introduced, but it was not as popular as boxing and did not receive
much encouragement.
In Western and Southern camps only a small number of Negro soldiers
frequented the Liberty theatres and Y. M. C. A. auditoriums. In the
South they were not always permitted to attend. In some places they
built their own amusement houses and furnished their own entertainment,
as at Camp Travis, Texas. Here there was a minstrel troupe composed of
exceptional talent, most of the men having been stars in the profession
before being drafted into the army. They gave weekly shows in the camp,
and during the warm weather they played in an open air theatre on the
hillside, with thousands of white and Negro soldiers attending. They
also played in the city theatre in San Antonio, as well as elsewhere
in Texas; and they were accompanied by a forty-piece band which was
considered the finest in the camp. One tangible result of the work of
these entertainers was the erection of a beautiful recreation house at
a cost of $6000 with funds raised entirely by their work.
Two other notable examples where provision was made for the recreation
and entertainment of Negro soldiers were found in the 92nd Division.
One was at Camp Funston and the other at Camp Upton. The theatre at
Camp Funston was first planned for the soldiers of the 89th Division,
who already had three theatres and a moving-picture show. General
Ballou accordingly used his influence to have the new one erected for
the use of the headquarters section of the 92nd Division, and the
money for the material was furnished by the Government. The soldiers
furnished the labor, with the exception of a foreman, an expert
carpenter, and some interior finishers. The building was wired by a
master electrician, who was drafted from St. Louis; it seated more than
2500; and it was the most beautiful and conveniently arranged theatre
seen in the camps. The “Buffalo” auditorium at Camp Upton was built by
the soldiers of the 367th Regiment, with the assistance of friends.
It was designed for both instruction and recreation. The total cost
was $40,000. Of this amount the officers and men subscribed more than
$14,000, and they conducted a campaign to raise the balance in New
York City. Within the building there was everything from religious
services and lectures to preliminary instruction in the use of the
bayonet, moving pictures and vaudeville. This auditorium was a great
factor in building up the fine _esprit de corps_ of the “Buffalo”
regiment; and the three outstanding examples which we have recorded are
representative of what was done with the co-operation of officers in
the different camps for the recreation and entertainment of the Negro
soldiers.
NEGRO CHAPLAINS
It mattered not how ignorant a Negro soldier was, or how difficult his
life had been, he believed in God and in the efficacy of prayer. There
was something about his religion that was satisfying and genuine, and
no one could attend his services and hear him sing and pray without
being touched. In writing to his family and friends he usually asked
for their prayers. “Tell them all to pray for me and that I am trusting
in the Lord,” said one in dictating a letter, and another: “Tell them
not to worry about me now. I am happy and contented. I have prayed
constantly and have now no fear of death. Whatever happens will be all
right. Tell them to pray for me.” On one Sunday night at Camp Jackson
several white soldiers came into one of the religious services at the
colored “Y,” and they joined heartily in the singing. After the meeting
they told the secretary that they were leaving for France the next
morning and had come to the meeting in order to get a little nearer to
God.
Such being the general situation, importance attached to the man who
became the religious guide in time of stress. The average minister
was hardly adapted to the work of chaplain, because his experience
had not prepared him to have an understanding and appreciation of the
problems of the men in the new situation. Some who were fitted were
pastors of leading churches and in most cases it was impossible for
them to get a leave of absence. Besides the difficulty of securing
competent men, there was also opposition on the part of many officers
to having Negro chaplains in their organizations. When the efforts
of the Federal Council of Churches resulted in increasing the number,
they found difficulty in serving the Negro men because several of them
were kept in one camp and often in one organization. At Camp Meade,
for instance, at one time there were three Negro chaplains in the 1st
Development Battalion. When this battalion was disbanded in December,
1918, two of the chaplains were assigned to the 4th Battalion, where
there were already one Negro and two white chaplains. At Camp Travis
three Negro chaplains were found serving one organization, and at both
Camps Taylor and Sherman there were several chaplains with a small
number of soldiers. At the same time there were throughout the South
Negro organizations without any chaplain at all, except a machine-gun
group at Camp Hancock and a part of the 157th Development Battalion at
Camp McClellan, which units were served respectively by a white and a
colored chaplain.
The work of the chaplains who remained in the States consisted in
conducting religious services and in educational work, visiting
the sick in the hospitals, aiding the soldiers in securing their
allotments and allowances, and often adjusting difficulties. A number
of white chaplains served Negro soldiers, especially in the labor
organizations and in one instance in a fighting unit, the 371st
Infantry. Many of these men were sincere and conscientious, yet they
were not able to influence the men to any great extent. One said that
he felt the soldiers would rather have one of their own race for
a religious leader. At first the soldiers would not go to him with
their difficulties, but as he worked among them they came to have more
confidence in him, and a few began to seek his aid in the matter of
securing their allotments and allowances. His most effective work,
however, was in conducting schools for the illiterate. In general it
was not impossible for the white chaplain to enter into the life of
the Negro soldier, if he dealt with him as man to man and was a living
example of his teachings.
To be a Negro, however, was by no means the only requisite of a
successful chaplain for Negro troops. Personality and moral force also
counted. Because care was not exercised at first in the selections
for Negro soldiers, a great opportunity was lost to serve them in
their darkest hours, when both physical and moral dangers surrounded
them. Some workers, however, won the hearty commendation of both
officers and men. Whether in America or in France, they gave of
themselves freely for their comrades. Such a man was Allen O. Newman
of the 366th Infantry. Soon after joining his regiment he won his
way to the hearts of the men by his genuine appreciation of their
difficulties. When they were in training at Camp Dodge he became one
of them. He ate with some company daily and afterwards gave a short
talk on patriotism or morality. He was also regimental song leader.
A chorus of two hundred and fifty men that he developed gave several
concerts in the city of Des Moines. Chaplain Newman accompanied his
regiment through France, and in the front line trenches he visited
and comforted them constantly. Chaplain H. M. Collins, who served the
stevedore organizations at Camp Williams, Issurtille, was a genuine
“big brother” to his men. The commander, in speaking of his work, said
that he had been the greatest factor in helping to better conditions in
the camp. He remained until the last Negro soldier started for America.
Altogether the sixty Negro chaplains who served during the war made
a real contribution in building up the morale, the morality, and the
loyalty of the Negro soldier.
BASE HOSPITALS
In the National Army cantonments there were at times from 40,000 to
60,000 men. As a part of the equipment of these camps great base
hospitals were erected and supplied with the most modern improvements.
Negro soldiers shared with others the blessings of wonderful
discoveries in surgery and preventive medicine. Even in camps where
living conditions were unsatisfactory, in the base hospitals they were
well treated. Sometimes, as at Camp McClellan at Anniston, there was
such a marked difference within the hospital from the general situation
in the camp, that the men asked questions in their wonderment. Of
course there were exceptions, but whether in the North, the South, the
East, or the West, there was usually to be found among the doctors and
nurses the spirit of the Great Physician and the desire to heal all
men.
RED CROSS. NEGRO NURSES
When American men were called to service, women throughout the
country enrolled as Red Cross members and worked for the organization
in various ways, rendering every service that would make life more
comfortable for the soldiers. They not only served as nurses but
also as canteen workers; and they knitted, sewed, and made bandages.
Hundreds of qualified and registered Negro nurses gladly offered
themselves for service. The Red Cross appeared to be willing to use
these nurses and at times greatly needed them, but for some reason it
was difficult for them actually to enroll for service. Considerable
correspondence with reference to the matter passed through the office
of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, and at last, after
the Armistice was signed, some Negro nurses served at Camps Grant
and Sherman. The first five called by the Red Cross were on duty in
Washington at the time, but on two hours’ notice they were traveling
to Camp Stuart, Newport News, where they were put on duty in the base
hospital to serve four weeks as a trial. They had every consideration
and courtesy, and the commanding officer said of them that he had never
had more competent nurses and that their conduct was above reproach.
After this trial at Newport News, four more were added and all were
sent to the base hospital at Camp Sherman, where they were provided
with a modern home. They worked in the wards on both day and night duty
with the white nurses and served all the soldiers, and because of their
efficiency they won the respect of all. Colored nurses were assigned
to Camp Grant where they made a similar record.
Important in this general connection is the matter of the general
relation of Negro women throughout the country to Red Cross work. In
the North and West they joined the organization and worked in more
or less complete harmony; but in the South they had difficulty in
becoming members. Yet it was in the South that their services were
most needed. The whole matter is important as a study in effort toward
racial co-operation, and we shall refer to the experience of three
representative cities.
In Atlanta the colored people were willing to work, because there were
thousands of Negro soldiers at Camp Gordon, some of whom were their
sons. Several attempts were made at first to work, but the Atlanta
chapter assumed an attitude of aloofness. When the Red Cross launched
its campaign in October, 1917, the Negro people were not asked to take
part until only two days were left. They objected at first but finally
decided to do what they could in the remaining two days. A committee
of the most influential men was formed and this raised $400. They also
contributed eight dozen sheets and eight dozen pillow cases. The money
was turned over to the Atlanta chapter, with the names of all persons
who contributed a dollar, the understanding being that this would go as
membership fees in the branch which they would be allowed to form. They
elected temporary officers and applied to the president of the Atlanta
chapter for the complete organization of a branch, but were met by a
policy of evasion. Meanwhile the women were eager to do knitting for
the soldiers and they secured some yarn; but the next morning the young
woman who received the yarn was called up over the telephone and asked
to return the wool she had received, as the Red Cross was “not giving
wool to new organizations.” Further effort on the part of the colored
people at length brought forth a formal letter giving them authority to
establish a branch, but because of certain conditions specified in the
letter and the previous attitude of the chapter in Atlanta, the Negro
people in this city did not finally co-operate in any large measure.
The attitude of the Red Cross in Little Rock was in the beginning
similar to that of the Atlanta chapter, but there was a feeling on the
part of some of the white people that they should utilize the efforts
of the Negroes because they represented so large a part of their total
strength. W. H. Holt, a representative citizen, believed that some
satisfactory adjustment could be made and took charge of a campaign to
raise $15,000 among the colored people. Instead of $15,000, $22,000
was raised. This result changed the situation entirely. The Negro
branch was immediately recognized and rooms were opened in the county
courthouse in which various kinds of Red Cross work was done by the
colored women.
Very different was the case in Greenville, S. C., where was found
the most liberal attitude in any Southern city. The Negro women were
organized in a branch and did the same work as that done by the
members of the white branches. They made comfort-kits for every drafted
man sent from Greenville, as well as other articles desired by the Red
Cross, and they gave $100 to the Y. M. C. A. for the South Carolina
boys at Camp Jackson. They were enthusiastic about the work. The fine
spirit of co-operation shown in Greenville was due in large measure to
the attitude of Mrs. W. G. Sirrine, chairman of the local chapter, who
believed heartily in the assistance of the Negro women and finally said
of them, “They have responded to every call.” In general the work at
this place was an example of what was possible in teamwork between the
races when there was hearty good will and when all were striving for a
common cause.
In every cantonment city in the South toward the end of the war there
was some form of co-operation between the Red Cross and the colored
women. The organization often aided the families of Negro soldiers when
they were in need, as was necessary in the case of the soldiers at Camp
Knox near Louisville, Ky. The service records of more than a hundred
men were lost. Although they had been in the army for months, their
families had not received a cent of their allotments or allowances.
The Red Cross representative in Louisville took up the matter with the
commanding officer, and he saw that the claims were paid immediately.
This was only one of thousands of cases of such assistance.
RED CROSS CANTEEN SERVICE
Over 65,000 women enrolled in the seven hundred American Red Cross
canteens. This service consisted of canteen kitchens, medical
supplies, and small transfer hospitals. It was organized to stimulate
the morale of the soldiers and to make them feel that the people of the
country appreciated the loyal manner in which they had responded to
the country’s call. In some of the chapters there were organized Negro
canteen auxiliaries, and these did very effective work in such centers
as Hamlet, N. C., Greenville, S. C., Montgomery, Ala., and New Orleans.
At first there was some objection to the wearing of the uniform by
Negro women, but in the centers mentioned they wore it and did regular
work for the soldiers passing through on the trains. At Montgomery
there was a canteen room at the station for colored soldiers, and in
New Orleans there was a well equipped auxiliary with headquarters
on the ground floor of the Pythian Temple owned by Negroes. In the
beginning it was said in some places that the canteen workers failed
to serve Negro soldiers, and to some extent this was true, but it was
by no means the rule. The policy was to render service to all officers
and enlisted men without distinction. On one occasion six hundred Negro
soldiers stopped at a town in Arkansas. They had come direct from the
farms in Louisiana, and were timid and uncertain when they arrived, but
they felt very different when they left. As the local paper said, “The
interest shown in them here made new and fighting men out of them. It
will be a long time before the American Red Cross will perform a better
service, or one that gives the good women, both white and colored,
more pleasure.” Another time, as a train stopped at the station in
Charlotte, N. C., a canteen worker came to a car window and asked the
Negro soldier in the car to have a cup of coffee and a sandwich. He
refused at first, but she insisted, passing the refreshments to him,
and as the train pulled out she uttered a hearty “Good luck!” and “God
bless you!”
Not only in America but in France also the Red Cross served these men.
At Thiaucourt the canteen was in charge of a young woman who gave away
large quantities of supplies, such as towels, summer underwear, shaving
sticks, razor blades, gum and chocolate. In this instance the Negro
soldiers shared almost entirely in the generosity, but this was only
one of many, many cases of whole-hearted and highly appreciated service.
WAR CAMP COMMUNITY SERVICE
Raymond B. Fosdick, chairman of the Committee on Training Camp
Activities, said in writing about the work of the Commission: “It is
our task, in the first place, to see that the inside of the sixty-odd
army camps furnish real amusement and recreation and social life. In
the second place, we are to see to it that the towns and cities near
by the camps are organized to provide recreation and social life to
the soldiers who flock there when on leave. The Government will give
the men while they train every possible opportunity for education,
amusement, and social life.”
Negro soldiers were a part of the army for whom recreation was an
essential. In most places, however, the pool rooms and the ice cream
and soft drink parlors very frequently were but meeting-places for
the soldiers and girls, and the boarding and rooming houses were
especially questionable. Public dance halls were hardly ever adequately
supervised. In Charlotte, for instance, where two public halls were
conducted, the most popular one was open and crowded every night. A
policeman acted as doorkeeper and received all tickets. Little effort
was made to control the conduct and none to supervise dancing.
The War Camp Community Service came into being to organize the social
and recreational facilities of the communities adjacent to the training
camps and to furnish the best possible places for the soldiers in their
free time. City organizations were impressed with their responsibility
for showing genuine hospitality to the men, and invariably they
co-operated. In the beginning there was very little effort to provide
centers for Negro soldiers. Within the first seven months that Negro
soldiers were in the camps in only one city did the War Camp Community
Service make provision for their entertainment. In May, 1918, however,
eight clubs were opened in different cities, and in all cases these
were the best places that provided wholesome amusement, and usually the
only available places.
While discussion was going on as to whether Negro soldiers would be
permanent and whether it was necessary to establish clubs for them,
R. B. Patin, executive secretary of the War Camp Community Service
at Des Moines, established the first club for Negro soldiers.
The Lincoln School, a large three-story building, was secured by
the Community Service and the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, and
Herbert R. Wright, a lawyer and former consul of the United States in
Honduras and Venezuela, was placed in charge of the club, which had
a spacious reading-room, well supplied with writing materials, and a
music room with piano, victrola, and numerous records. There was also
an up-to-date cafeteria, as well as a bootblack parlor and a well
conducted pool room. Citizens were invited to the band concerts in the
auditorium, as well as to the socials of the various companies in the
366th Infantry.
Two of the largest community centers for Negro soldiers were located
at Washington, D. C., and Baltimore, Md. During the summer of 1918 a
well equipped “Soldiers’ Club” was established in Washington; it was
conducted by J. B. Ramsey and the co-operation of the community was
more effective than in any other center visited by the writer. Some
form of entertainment was given practically every evening by club or
church organizations; on Sundays many wounded soldiers at the Walter
Reed Hospital were taken to church and then to dinner; and on Christmas
Day, 1918, and New Year’s Day, 1919, there was very special hospitality
and entertainment. The center in Baltimore was opened July 20, 1918,
and was in charge of Dr. W. H. Weaver, a Presbyterian minister. The
club was visited by soldiers from Camp Meade, Camp Holabird, Curtis
Bay, the Canton warehouses, and Edgewood, and its chief feature was
its sleeping-quarters accommodating two hundred men. For these the
fee was 25 cents a night and they were the most attractive found in
any center for Negro soldiers. The men at Camp Upton had access to the
recreational facilities of New York, and while a club was established
for them in Harlem, they did not depend upon the community center as in
most other places. At Camp Devens in Massachusetts the soldiers’ clubs
were open to all men in uniform irrespective of race.
So much has been said about racial goodwill in Virginia that it was
surprising that there should be in this state in the beginning an
indifference that was very close to opposition to the establishing of
clubs for Negro soldiers. After the first eight months of war, however,
the need became so urgent that clubs were established at Petersburg
and Richmond for the soldiers at Camp Lee, at Alexandria for those at
Camp Humphrey, and at Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton
for the sailors and soldiers in the various camps and training stations
on the Lower Peninsula. At Petersburg, on account of the opposition of
the local ministers, dancing was not included as a part of the club
entertainment. At Alexandria an Odd Fellows Hall, owned by Negroes, was
donated to the Community Service without rent. The first club erected
at Newport News proving altogether inadequate, eighteen city lots were
purchased and a new building costing $25,000 erected. A staff of six
secretaries was employed. To furnish the building at Hampton, Negro
citizens raised $1,000, an effective program being carried out under
the direction of Miss Elizabeth Martin. The success of the work in
Newport News and Hampton was largely due to the sincere effort of J. L.
Einstein, director of community work on the Lower Peninsula.
In Columbia, S. C., community work was influenced by local sentiment
and it was more than a year before a club was provided for Negro
soldiers. At Spartanburg and Greenville there were small clubs which
were principally bureaus of information, and at Greenville the colored
committee especially opposed dancing. At Charlotte, where a hotel
was renovated and made into an attractive club, the Negro ministers
gave their moral support, and clubs of colored women aided greatly.
In Atlanta it was said that the Negro soldiers were not “stationary
enough” for a club, though thousands of them were constantly at Camp
Gordon during the first year of the war. It was necessary at length for
the War Department to intervene on behalf of the men and a club was
finally established November 15, 1918, after fifteen months of waiting.
When it was established the colored committee objected to dancing,
pool and card playing, thus eliminating the forms of recreation that
the soldiers especially enjoyed. In Augusta, near Camp Hancock, more
than $3,000 was spent in renovating a two-story hall, and the club was
in charge of a liberal Baptist minister, Rev. R. J. McCain. At Macon,
near Camp Wheeler, club rooms were secured in the Pythian Temple. At
Anniston, near Camp McClellan, the man employed as janitor was expected
to do the executive work and very little was done by way of carrying
out a constructive program. At Hattiesburg, Miss., a committee of
Negro men raised $100, rented and furnished a small rest room for the
Negro soldiers when they were first sent to Camp Shelby; later the War
Camp Community Service renovated the Masonic Hall with two floors and
attractively furnished it as a club. At Alexandria, La., near Camp
Beauregard, a club was opened in the Masonic Hall and repaired by the
Community Service at a cost of $1,000. At Little Rock the club was in
the Taborian Hall, a modern, well located building. The Negro citizens
paid the rent of $10 a month, while the Community Service equipped the
room. A soldier from Camp Pike was in charge. Effective work was not
done at this center because of lack of co-operation with the citizens.
The state of Texas was generally behind others in the work. At Camp
Logan, Houston, Camp MacArthur, Waco, and Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, there
were no centers. $5,000 was placed in the budget at Fort Worth for a
club, but it was cut out entirely, and the Negro people felt keenly the
attitude toward Negro soldiers after they had contributed generously
toward the various “drives” for the war. At Camp Travis in San Antonio,
after eight months had passed, the Negro citizens purchased a site and
gave it to the War Department for as long a time as it might be needed.
The War Camp Community Service appropriated $10,000, and a building was
opened at Christmas, 1918. When this was no longer needed for war work,
it was turned over to the colored people and used as a public library.
All told this work gave to many Negro people a new conception of well
organized and supervised recreation for the young people. Scores of
men and women were employed as secretaries and tens of thousands of
dollars spent in promoting the work. Realizing that the development of
recreation centers for Negro girls was a part of the bigger problem
from the standpoint of the soldiers, the War Camp Community Service did
not confine its activities to maintaining clubs for soldiers but also
established centers where there were persons who gave their entire time
to girls. In the cantonment cities the young women were organized into
patriotic leagues and clubs, and these co-operated with the soldiers
in giving entertainments and socials, and in those cities where the
work for girls was most active there it was that Community Service as a
whole was most successful. When the first soldiers’ club was equipped
at Des Moines, one of the chief factors contributing to its success was
the organization also of four girls’ clubs with a total membership of
one hundred and thirty. There was a chaperone for each club; gymnasium
classes met twice a week, and at the close a demonstration in folk
games was given. At Chillicothe the club room was located under an
Episcopal mission and was beautifully furnished. In Baltimore the
whole effort was handled with unusual success, and no young woman was
admitted to the parties without a card from the hostesses. The work
in these three places was typical. Sometimes employment departments
and classes in cooking and sewing were conducted. All such effort
gave the young women better protection and at the same time afforded
them social contact in a wholesome environment. It also gave to the
different communities a deeper sense of responsibility for the welfare
of the Negro girl.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
In the cantonment cities, especially in the South, there were numerous
representative Negro churches. A few of these had adequate facilities
for the entertainment of soldiers, but many were too poorly located or
equipped to conduct social centers. The ministers’ unions or alliances
always endorsed the war work for the soldiers, but rarely was there
organized effort on the part of the churches. On one occasion in
Columbia, S. C., the ministers’ alliance assumed responsibility for the
money contributed by the citizens for a flag presented to the 371st
Infantry. Some important factors contributed to the general situation.
In many cases at the beginning the welfare agencies in the cantonment
cities showed a tendency to ignore the Negro citizens. Another
difficulty was found in the uncertainty as to the soldiers’ presence.
Numerous cases occurred where elaborate arrangements were made for the
men and they did not arrive at all. In such a case of course either
the church or the camp authorities had failed to do what was necessary
for the most complete co-operation. Sometimes when rest rooms were
provided by the churches, the soldiers were not enthusiastic about them
because of the limitations placed upon them. Excellent concerts and
well ordered socials were sometimes given by the churches, however,
and soldiers were frequently invited to dinner at the homes of members
of congregations after the Sunday services.
The best co-operation in any cantonment city between the Negro
churches and the camp authorities was probably that in Atlanta. The
Congregational church here had a spacious basement, a good library and
a well equipped gymnasium, and a trained worker organized and worked
with the girls’ clubs. A special Sunday afternoon service was held and
after this there were refreshments. Other large churches in Atlanta
were also active. San Antonio followed closely in such endeavor;
and in Augusta, Ga., one church sent a wagon load of watermelons to
the soldiers, and another twenty gallons of ice cream. In all the
cantonment cities ministers from the various churches preached in the
camps and they often took with them their church choirs. Some of the
national religious bodies sent camp pastors to the soldiers, and these
men sometimes spent as much as three days a week addressing those in
uniform and visiting the hospitals.
FEDERAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
The General Wartime Commission of the Churches was constituted by the
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America soon after the
nation entered the war. This commission was composed of more than a
hundred men chosen from the different religious bodies which were
dealing with the problems raised by the war, and its activities were
conducted through committees charged with specific phases of war
work. Reports of conditions in the camps led to the Appointment of a
Committee on the Welfare of Negro troops. This consisted of Bishop
Wilbur P. Thirkield, chairman, George Foster Peabody, Dr. R. R. Moton,
Dr. James H. Dillard, J. R. Hawkins, Thomas Jesse Jones, Rev. M. Ashby
Jones, Bishop R. E. Jones, Robert E. Speer, Rev. Henry A. Atkinson,
Rev. W. H. Jernagin, and Rev. Gaylord S. White.
In order that the Committee might have definite information for its
work, two Negro men, Charles H. Williams and Rev. G. Lake Imes, were
appointed as field secretaries. Of their work Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones,
executive secretary of the committee, wrote as follows: “One of
these, financed by the Phelps-Stokes Fund, made careful observations
of conditions in and about the cantonments where colored soldiers
were located. The reports prepared by this worker showed such a
thoroughness in ascertaining the truth and such a constructive point
of view in the recommendations made as to win the cordial approval of
the War Department and all the agencies co-operating in the care of
the soldiers. The second worker devoted his time to the study of the
churches in their relations to colored soldiers. On the basis of these
observations he assisted the churches to plan their activities so as
to be of real help to the soldiers in the community.” The reports of
the field secretaries were sent direct to the War Department and on
the basis of them conferences were held with the Secretary of War and
the various welfare organizations. It was in this connection that the
Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, Dr. Emmett J. Scott, labored
unceasingly to remove discrimination and adjust difficulties. Members
of the committee, though in an unofficial capacity, often assisted
directly. Bishop Thirkield visited various camps and cantonment cities
and conferred with army officers, chambers of commerce, and Rotary
clubs, always with a view to improving conditions. Mr. Peabody on a
number of occasions went to Washington and conferred with the President
and the Secretary of War with reference to the Negro soldiers. In a
most uncompromising manner he always advocated a square deal. Dr.
Moton was frequently called into conference with President Wilson and
Secretary Baker and was also asked to go to France to investigate the
situation when damaging reports had been spread in both America and
France with reference to the conduct of Negro officers and soldiers.
Dr. Jones was also called into conference and toward the close of the
war went to France under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A.
Thus, while there were many difficulties and an enormous amount of
work to be done in the different welfare agencies--whether the Y. M.
C. A., the Red Cross, the Community Service, or some other--there were
loyal souls who were laboring unceasingly for the comfort of the Negro
soldier and also for the final consummation of victory for the great
cause in which all were engaged.
CHAPTER VII
THE STEVEDORE
Very early in the war it was found that there was a serious shortage
of common labor in the American army. France was unable to supply
her own needs, and therefore not at all able to assist her allies.
To supply the American need for common labor Negroes were suggested,
G. K. Little, assistant engineer at Mobile, Ala., writing to the
chief engineer that they were “loyal and willing to obey all orders
irrespective of weather conditions or other hardships” and generally
“peculiarly desirable.” It was the plan of these engineer service
battalions to work wherever they could help and to do whatever was
necessary. Forty-six such battalions were formed. The first four
consisted of white men and the others of Negroes.
The stevedores represent that part of an army about which little is
said because it does the rough, unskilled work; yet no group renders a
more valiant service or contributes more to the success of an army than
do these men.
This was especially true of the 150,000 Negro stevedores in the Great
War, who played an important part both at home and abroad. Included
in the term were the engineer regiments, the depot brigades, and the
service, labor, and development battalions. Some officials have said
that the Negro stevedore rendered the most magnificent service of any
Negro organizations in France. Their work was undoubtedly appreciated
by the War Department and by most citizens; yet honors were not
conferred upon them as upon the fighting men. No brass bands came out
to greet them on their return. Few had opportunities to win the Croix
de Guerre or the Distinguished Service Cross, although they often
performed deeds of bravery while working behind the lines in the range
of the big guns.
Unfortunately the term “stevedores” came to mean to many people those
who were physically or mentally unfit to be fighting men and they were
looked upon as inferior to other soldiers. Sometimes this was true, but
it is also true that there were thousands of stevedores who represented
the best of the young manhood of America. In the beginning of the draft
hundreds of Negro men who met all the physical qualifications could
not meet the educational tests. Such men were usually transferred
to stevedore organizations, and the rate of illiteracy in these ran
from 35 to 75 per cent. Sometimes also those who because of physical
unfitness were only partially able to serve their country when it
needed them, nevertheless rendered some valuable service in American
camps. Such a company was the 402nd Reserve Labor Battalion, stationed
at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga. This was located fifteen miles from the
camp in a wood, where it built roads and also kept in condition the
range for the officers and men being trained for the battle fronts in
France.
The question naturally arises how it happened that some of the best
of the Negro youth were placed in the stevedore regiments. In the
beginning there was great need for men to do the manual work connected
with supplying with food and equipment two million soldiers in France.
The Negro was regarded by many army officials as specially adapted
to this work because of his previous training and his cheerful
disposition; and for one reason or another some other officials
deemed it advisable to withhold from him regular military training.
Accordingly, in the fall of 1917, colored draftees and volunteers were
sent to various assembling camps and formed into stevedore and labor
units. Thousands from the Southern states, many of them students in the
schools and colleges, rushed to the colors with the hope of entering
combatant units, only to find, to their great disappointment, that they
had been assigned to service regiments.
The work in the United States varied with the different camps.
Sometimes it was the handling of supplies or ammunition. Then again
it was grading, ditching, digging stumps, cleaning up new ground for
building purposes, or draining camps. The men did every form of fatigue
work and sometimes built roads along with civilians who received $3.50
or $4.00 a day. Those who remained in the United States did not, as a
rule, experience as hard a life as their comrades in France. Living
conditions in the cantonments were usually very good, even in the tent
camps after the necessary improvements had been made. Sometimes it
happened that the stevedore was neglected in the beginning, especially
if he was placed in a camp apart from the other soldiers. Such was
the case at Camp Hill, Newport News, in the winter of 1917-18. In the
coldest weather experienced in this part of the country in a quarter of
a century, the stevedores lived in tents without floors or stoves. Most
of them could get only one blanket and some could not secure even that.
Twenty to thirty occupied one tent 16 feet square. Often men reaching
the camp in zero weather were compelled to stand around a fire outside
all night or sleep under trees for partial shelter from the wind, rain,
and snow. For four months no bathing facilities or changes of clothing
were provided. Food was served outdoors and often froze before it could
be eaten. After inspectors and other investigators constantly reported
these conditions they were changed. Comfortable barracks and mess halls
were built, a Y. M. C. A. building and a hostess house erected, and
the name of the camp was changed from Hill to Alexander in honor of
one of the three Negro lieutenants who had been graduated from West
Point. Not only in this camp, but in every other where unsatisfactory
conditions prevailed, improvements were gradually made until, at the
end of the war, most of the stevedores in American camps were living in
comfortable surroundings.
The stevedore units were commanded almost entirely by white
commissioned officers, with white sergeants and colored corporals. In
some engineer units all the non-commissioned officers were white,
though in rare cases they were all colored. The work of the Negro
stevedore in the American Expeditionary Force was considered of prime
importance. He was among the first to sail for France, and among the
very first was a group of one hundred men from New Orleans. They and
those who followed them were to be found at the base ports of Brest,
St. Nazaire, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Le Havre, and at such railheads
as Tours, Liffol-le-Grand, Gierve, St. Sulpice, Chaumont, and other
such centers. The largest of these ports was Brest, and here the men
did more work than anywhere else. They handled all kinds of supplies
at the docks, coaled ships, and helped to build piers and docks. They
labored night and day, sometimes continuously for sixteen hours.
Although they worked in the rain and snow, it was only after months
had passed that they were provided with oil-skin suits and gum boots.
One high officer said, “The men who worked on these docks have had the
hardest job of any men in France, but their spirit has been fine.” In
the “Race to Berlin” the Brest port won the championship, a company of
the 310th Service Battalion winning the honor of having done more work
than any similar outfit in France. As a reward it was sent back to the
States earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
The St. Nazaire base was the second largest port. Numerous camps were
located outside the city, extending as far as fifteen kilometers.
Twenty-eight miles of warehouses were constructed at Montois and
filled with supplies of every description, while outside there were
railroad engines, cars, and vast quantities of construction material.
St. Nazaire was also a huge embarkation port. At times more than
50,000 colored soldiers were stationed in this vicinity. The long pier
extending a mile out into the water was built almost exclusively by
the 317th Engineers. The task was very dangerous, as the men had to
work standing on slippery boards, but it was finally completed and
stood as a memorial to the Negro soldiers. Camp Guthrie was built
entirely by Negro men. They composed the personnel and ran the big
troop kitchens, the delousing plants, the officers’ mess halls, and
the infirmaries. Here, as at Brest, the hardest work on the docks
was done exclusively by Negro soldiers. This included coaling ships
and unloading supplies of all kinds, including railroad engines and
tractors. During the “Race to Berlin” new port records for unloading
ships were made weekly. The men sometimes “worked like mad men,”
having received the impression that they were going home as soon as
the armistice was signed. Badges were given to those who got the most
work done, and the base port winning the week’s competition flew a flag
for the next week. In addition to the work on the docks, the soldiers
built and repaired roads, built railroads, warehouses, a round house,
a water-filtering plant, and did general fatigue duty. In referring
to what they accomplished a major said, “It has been no hero service,
but has been hard, long, and faithful, and it is appreciated. These
men have handled 30,000 tons of material in one day.” Another officer
said, “Many colored soldiers are sleeping in the little graveyard on
the hill because they broke their heartstrings in the ‘Race to Berlin.’”
Bordeaux was the third of the large ports. In the camps outside the
city as many as fifty thousand soldiers were stationed at times. At St.
Sulpice in the Bordeaux area the American army built and filled with
provisions and munitions about one hundred warehouses. At two camps on
the outskirts of the city, Anconia and Bassens, twenty thousand Negro
soldiers were stationed for months, handling cargoes day and night.
Many of them worked sixteen hours a day and rarely ever saw the camp in
the daytime, as they went to and from work in the dark.
The work at the other base ports was similar, though on a smaller
scale. Sometimes hundreds of miles of railroad track had to be laid or
great steel warehouses erected. Gierve was outstanding as a center for
such work, as it was the largest supply depot in France. Warehouses
here covered an area seven miles long and three miles wide. There were
always some Negro units stationed at this place, along with white
units which did stevedore work. The two organizations which served at
Gierve for the longest period were the 313th and 328th Negro labor
battalions. At Liffol-le-Grand, near Chaumont, the headquarters of the
commander-in-chief of the American Army, there was another large supply
depot. Here the Negro engineers drained and cleared a swamp, laid miles
of railroad track, and helped to build a large round house and several
warehouses.
The stevedores were the great roadbuilders in France. Thousands
also worked in the great forests, cutting wood, peeling trees, and
laboring in the sawmills. In the Forestry Division at Jironde they
made an average of peeling 35 trees a day per man, while the average
of other engineers were only 15 trees. Nazareth Thaggard of the 323rd
Service Battalion made the highest record of any man in the A. E. F.
by cutting 30 steres of wood in one day. The task for his company was
five steres. For this notable achievement he was given a twenty-day
pass to travel over France and made a corporal in his organization. The
320th Engineers cut and carried wood for a mile and a half on their
backs. The men in the 332nd Labor Battalion, stationed at Brion, cut
six steres of wood as a daily task. They cut 1500 steres at Jerocho
and 5400 at Comercy. The woodcutters lived in floorless tents often
surrounded by mud. Many times the necessary clothing and boots could
not be secured, and sometimes they were obliged to eat in the rain and
snow. Dr. Hope, of whom we have spoken as at the head of Y. M. C. A.
work for Negro soldiers in France, said in speaking of a visit to the
woodcutters: “One night I went in a car fifteen miles out in a wood
with a chaplain who came to a small French town to buy ‘smokes’ for
the men. When we reached the camp it was dark. Lights were seen in
the narrow streets and mud deeper than I had ever seen before. In the
morning the men got up at 4.45. The sound they made walking through
the mud was unlike any noise that I had ever heard. Even at that early
hour some were joking, some singing.” The record of almost every
organization cutting wood shows that the men endured great suffering,
and the Negro’s sense of humor was a great asset to him. Said one
private who served with the 323rd service battalion: “We have come in
wet to the skin, with our boots half full of water. Some would go to a
stove and get warm, some would sing, some play cards. Others would walk
five miles for French bread and butter and eggs that they would cook
in their mess-kits. Some would laugh and be happy, while others beside
them would die.”
After peace was declared and the American army started home, there
remained still much work to be done “over there.” The heroes who fell
at Château-Thierry, Amiens, St. Mihiel, in Belleau Wood and the Argonne
Forest deserved a suitable resting-place. The work of reburying the
dead was done almost exclusively by the Negro stevedores. Daily convoys
of trucks went as far as a hundred kilometers, and men searched the
fields, forests, and shell holes for the dead, who were brought to the
cemeteries and reinterred. This was the most ghastly and gruesome task
in the A. E. F.; yet the way the Negroes worked may be judged from the
fact that at Romagne, where the largest American cemetery is located,
1038 and 1050 soldiers were reburied in two successive days. The nature
of the work required that much of it be done after midnight when most
of the men were asleep. One could hear the sound of the hammer and
the tread of feet, and the lonely minor chord of the Negroes’ song
as they drove nails into the coffins. The electric lights all over
the cemeteries at night showed these men moving about without the
traditional fear attributed to them. Theirs was no enviable task, but
no group of men ever displayed finer spirit in the performance of duty,
and no soldiers more loyally served the republic.
* * * * *
With all of their good service, however, the stevedore organizations
were not popular with the Negro soldiers. One reason for this was the
lack of opportunity in them for promotion. One incident will illustrate
the situation. A colonel who was organizing one of these regiments out
of recently drafted men, in an attempt to stir up enthusiasm, said,
“Men, we are going overseas in two weeks. We are going to see the
country and have some fun. You’ll probably never hear a gun fired.”
There was no applause, and the colonel seemed not to realize that
the lack of it was due to the fact that the men not only wanted to
hear guns fired but wanted to fire some themselves. Continuing, he
said, “This is the first opportunity Negroes ever had to serve as
engineers. It is all an experiment. It’s up to you men to make good.”
After concluding his remarks he asked if there were any questions.
“Sir, Colonel, what about promotions?” asked one man. This turn rather
surprised the officer, but he recovered and said, “The officers will
be white.” A moment later he added, “The non-commissioned officers
will also be white.” Then he paused, and the soldier repeated the
question. The colonel then said, “There will be twenty-five first class
privates, who will carry rifles, and you know they get three dollars
a month more pay. You know cooks are needed. A lot of men will want
that job, but it takes a ---- good man to be a cook.” The silence
which greeted this remark indicated great disappointment on the part
of the men. Seeing this, the colonel tried to hold out some hope by
saying that some non-commissioned officers would be made in France
when new organizations were formed. As a matter of fact, as the war
progressed, many appointments as non-commissioned officers were made,
the commanders of Negro soldiers ultimately realizing that they as well
as other soldiers were prompted to do better work when there were even
remote possibilities of securing promotions.
The kind of treatment accorded the men was due almost entirely to
the attitude of the officers who immediately commanded them. In some
organizations commanding officers were more like foremen and overseers
over railroad gangs and plantation workers than like officers in
command of American soldiers. Very frequently little interest was taken
in the personal appearance of the men, and military law was practically
disregarded in dealing with them. One commander did not hesitate to
say that if the men did not move as he thought they should, he helped
them with his foot, and the soldiers were placed in the guardhouse
on the most trivial pretense. “The spirit of St. Nazaire,” said one
officer, “is the spirit of the South,” and in the early days of this
great camp there were constant clashes caused by racial feeling and by
drinking. There were several colored French women at this base. White
officers and soldiers were frequently seen with them, but if a Negro
was seen with a white French woman a good deal was likely to be said,
and trouble was generally started by the marines. Discriminatory orders
were often issued, and stevedores experienced difficulties in visiting
cafés and other public places. Sometimes they were also forbidden to
enter French homes or to be seen in company with French civilians.
With the military police there was special trouble, as the men
received the impression that they made a special effort to use their
authority to abuse Negro soldiers. Sometimes they conducted an “era of
ruthlessness,” and many of the fights and “near riots” were due to such
efforts. In the railway terminal in one cantonment city, when large
numbers of soldiers were returning to camp, every Negro was required to
show his pass, but the passes of the white men were not required. This
sort of thing made for friction, as did also the manner in which the
soldiers were often approached by the M. P.’s.
On the other hand, the Negro soldiers themselves were not without
faults. Some of their difficulties were due to their own ignorance
and to customs that they brought into the army from civil life. On
plantations and public works some had been used to “ducking the boss”
and slipping away, and attempts to continue this practice in the army
sometimes resulted in their being placed in the guardhouse.
In such a situation it is pleasant to recall that two junior officers
in one organization were always working in the interest of the men
and heartily disapproved of the treatment they received. In their
camp discriminatory orders were not issued. While moreover some of
the roughest treatment given the stevedores was by Southern officers,
it is also true that some of the best and fairest officers commanding
Negro troops were Southern men. Such officers saw that their men
were well equipped, if it was possible to equip them, and provided
for their recreation by organizing athletic teams and by giving full
co-operation to the “Y” in its program. The 313th Labor Battalion was
commanded by such an officer in France and its fine record was largely
due to his impartial attitude. For the 542nd Engineers, one of whose
companies worked on the roads in the Remaucourt region in France, there
was built a little auditorium. This was wired by one of the officers,
and the scenery for the shows was painted by one of the men. There
were pictures every night and people from the village near by were
free to attend. One of the men, Frank Johnson, won the middleweight
championship of the S. O. S. and his only defeat was at the hands of
the French champion. That the stevedores appreciated their commanders
in such organizations was shown by the fact that when they sailed for
America they often presented to them gifts costing hundreds of francs.
The story of one camp will serve to illustrate both types of officers
that commanded Negro troops. Camp Williams, located at Issurtille,
was the second largest supply depot in France. During the last days
of the war 12,000 Negro soldiers, mainly engineers and stevedores,
were stationed there. They built warehouses and railroads and supplied
the combat troops with wood, food, clothing, medicine and shells and
ammunition of all kinds. The camp adjutant said that they did their
work without grumbling. The non-commissioned officers were both
white and colored, mainly white. Very often they were ignorant men.
Illiterate Negro men were often selected in preference to educated men
and sometimes were made to serve as “stool pigeons.” For nine months
at this camp there was in force a special order bearing date July 3,
1918, which said: “All colored enlisted men of this command are hereby
confined to the limits of the Camp and Depot until further advised.”
The enforcing of this order was a great cause of trouble. When white
troops were permitted to visit not only Issurtille but all the
surrounding towns, many of the colored men broke the rules and left the
camp without passes; this brought them into conflict with the M. P.’s,
and ended by their being placed in the guardhouse. On arresting the men
the M. P.’s frequently cursed them and on the slightest provocation
threatened to use revolvers. Conditions finally made necessary a change
in the camp commander. Colonel S. V. Ham, a regular army officer who
had been wounded twice at the front, assumed command. He found a
filthy camp with practically no morale. Segregation was everywhere
and prejudice was intense. At once he issued the following order:
“The restrictions against visiting towns in this district by colored
troops are hereby removed until further notice. It is the desire of
the Commanding Officer to place the colored troops on the same status
as the white troops.” This was dated March 26, 1919. Colonel Ham
also issued an order forbidding the use of the word “nigger” in the
camp. All officers attended officers’ meetings when they were held;
previously colored officers never went, for they did not know when the
meetings were to be held. Lectures were given on the treatment of the
soldiers; military discipline was enforced in the case of both officers
and men; and the Colonel himself pulled down some of the discriminatory
signs. The result was that within three weeks the number of men in the
guardhouse was reduced from three hundred to fifty; sometimes several
days would pass without a man’s being placed there. Complaints were
reduced 60 per cent within the first week. Interesting also is the fact
that the rate of venereal disease in the camp was also lowered. The
general attitude of Colonel Ham changed the spirit of both officers and
men, and before long the feeling of racial antagonism gave way to one
of comradeship.
PIONEER INFANTRY ORGANIZATIONS
There were fourteen other organizations in France, known as Pioneer
Infantry Regiments, which did mainly stevedore work. These were
composed largely of men who were drafted during the summer of 1918 and
who were given from one to three months of intensive military training
in American camps and then sent overseas. The commissioned officers
were white, and the enlisted personnel colored. In France a small
number of colored dental officers, chaplains, and band leaders were
assigned in some of the regiments. It appears that the idea of the
War Department in forming these organizations was to have men trained
to fight, if needed, and also to have sufficient men to do the work
necessary for the maintenance of a big army.
Most of the regiments reached France during the months of September and
October, 1918, and consequently did no actual fighting. They worked in
the S. O. S. and in the advanced section, sometimes in the back area
of shell fire, and in a few instances near the front lines. Their work
consisted of road building, assistance at the base ports, salvaging
the battlefields, demunition and demolition work, and the building
of ammunition dumps with material moved from the battlefields to the
roads and then to central stations. The removing of ammunition after
the Château-Thierry drive was so satisfactorily done that Lt. Col. Ord,
chief ammunition officer of the S. O. S., wrote a letter in which he
said: “These two depots were transformed from a heterogeneous pile to
this remarkable condition in seven days, and I desire to compliment the
officers and twenty-six men who went from these headquarters as well as
the 801st Pioneer Infantry for this remarkable achievement.”
Before the Armistice several regiments worked behind the front lines
in the Argonne Forest and at St. Mihiel, where they built narrow- and
wide-gauge railroads and macadam roads for the movement of light and
heavy artillery and supplies. It was also the task of some to bury the
dead, working under shell fire. Sometimes bombs dropped among them,
killing and wounding them; but because of their late arrival in France
they did not work long in such danger. After the Armistice some did
guard duty, looking after the German prisoners. Companies of the 806th
and 811th Pioneer Infantry regiments did a part of the concrete and
grading work for the Pershing Stadium, the $100,000 structure erected
by the Y. M. C. A. for the inter-allied games held in July, 1919.
While the Pioneer Infantry regiments and the stevedores did the
same kind of work for the most part, the former received the better
treatment, as their officers generally insisted on a square deal for
their men. In one battalion the major, an Alabamian, discouraged
segregation by removing all objectionable signs, and he made no effort
to prevent his men from associating with respectable French people.
The commander of the 815th Pioneer Infantry regiment gave wholesome
lectures to his men as a means of education and encouragement. These
organizations also, with few exceptions, were liberal in granting
leaves and in issuing week-end passes, and some of the men were sent
to the universities in France when the A. E. F. conducted its great
educational program.
Most of the regiments had good bands, minstrel shows, and baseball
teams. The 807th Pioneer Infantry Band of fifty-two pieces was removed
from its organization for several months and stationed with General
Liggett of the First Army Corps, being called the First Army Post
Band. The 806th Pioneer Infantry Band played at the Columbus Stadium
in Paris, giving daily concerts during the A. E. F. try-outs for the
inter-allied meet. The baseball team of the 809th was the most notable
Negro team in France. It won the championship of the St. Nazaire base
and finished third in the A. E. F. league. The umpires in the league
were fair in all the games.
The Pioneer Infantry organizations proved a disappointment to many of
the soldiers in them because, as one officer said, “they did everything
the infantry was too proud to do and the engineers too lazy to do.”
However, they did splendid work and returned to America with a record
of honorable achievement.
CHAPTER VIII
THE NINETY-SECOND DIVISION
The Ninety-second Division gave to the Negroes of the United States
the opportunity which they had long desired, namely, organization into
fighting units commanded largely by Negro men. In its creation Negroes
were drafted from all sections of the country and from all walks of
life. The largest group of Negro officers ever commissioned served with
this division, which was not trained in one camp, as was true with
other divisions in the National Army, but whose various units were
distributed among seven camps, extending from Camp Funston, Kan., to
Camp Upton, N. Y. The units were stationed as follows:
Division Headquarters }
Headquarters Troops } Camp Funston
Divisional Trains }
365th Infantry Camp Grant
366th Infantry Camp Dodge
367th Infantry Camp Upton
368th Infantry Camp Meade
349th Field Artillery } Camp Dix
350th Field Artillery }
351st Field Artillery Camp Meade
349th Machine-Gun Battalion Camp Funston
350th Machine-Gun Battalion Camp Grant
351st Machine-Gun Battalion Camp Upton
317th Engineers Regiment }
317th Engineers Train } Camp Sherman
325th Signal Corps }
317th Trench Mortar Battery Camp Dix
As the headquarters troops, the military police, the 317th ammunition,
sanitary, and supply trains were all organized and trained with
the headquarters of the Division at Camp Funston, there was great
enthusiasm for achievement among these troops, and an earnest effort
was made to have them attain the highest possible efficiency. Being
close to the inspiration and brains of the Division, they set the
standard for the other units. By their wonderful progress moreover
they changed the attitude of the camp in regard to Negro soldiers
and developed in themselves and in their commanding officers greater
confidence in their ability.
The infantry regiments were probably the best known, not only among the
Negro people but in Army circles as well. Negroes had made a glorious
record in this branch of the service and were naturally expected
to defend that record. The thousands of soldiers inducted into the
Division, and especially those drawn into the four infantry regiments,
began their training resolved that they would live up to the traditions
of the past. Every man realized that he was representing a confident
and loyal people who prayed and hoped for the success of the Division,
who followed every step of its progress, and who rejoiced with every
victory and sorrowed at every failure. The men were fully conscious of
their responsibility and began their work with enthusiasm.
From reveille to retreat the recruits were carried through intensive
training, which included physical exercise, a study of the articles
of war, practice marching, use of the bayonet, shooting, the use of
grenades, and signal and semaphore work. Besides their program of
purely military instruction they were given lectures on personal
hygiene and first aid that prepared them to be not only good soldiers
but also better men. From five to seven months of such training showed
wonderful results in every regiment. Undeveloped young men from the
farms and cotton-fields of the South learned to stand erect and to walk
with a firm step, and they were also made to feel that America expected
each of them to do a man’s work.
So well did Negroes absorb this training that they were often
considered the best drilled and best disciplined organizations in the
camps where they were trained. This was said to be true, for instance,
of the 367th Infantry, commonly known as the “Buffaloes,” which was
trained at Camp Upton. It paraded in New York City on Washington’s
Birthday, 1918, when it was presented with colors by the Union League
Club. The 368th was reviewed by President Wilson in Baltimore during
a Liberty Loan drive. At such times the press of the country carried
articles commending the Negro men for their martial appearance and
wonderful marching, and this praise not only developed a greater pride
in themselves but caused other Americans to recognize their real value
as soldiers.
The organization of the 92nd Division made it necessary to train
Negroes in other branches of service than the infantry. The mere
suggestion of Negro artillery regiments brought laughter from some
old Army men, and even officers assigned to train the soldiers in
this branch of the service were dubious as to their success. However,
three artillery regiments were organized and the experiment proved a
success. After seven months of hard work at Camps Dix and Meade these
regiments were ready to sail to France, where they were to receive
additional training before doing combat duty. Specialist details,
composed of “non-coms,” were given intensive training, and before
leaving the States they were able to calculate firing data, to use the
various American optical instruments, to connect up and use the field
telephones, to signal, and to perform efficiently the work connected
with the occupation of a position.
In the three machine-gun battalions--the 349th, 350th, and 351st,
trained at Camps Funston, Grant, and Upton respectively--it was found
that Negroes immediately grasped the intricacies of the machine-gun
and soon excelled in its mechanical manipulation. Ignorant men, those
unable either to read or to write, could take apart and assemble every
part of a gun to the minutest spring. As in other branches, they worked
with a will to succeed, and learned map-reading, trench-digging,
the use of dug-outs, and the construction of shafts and camouflaged
machine-gun emplacements, all of which knowledge was to be essential
when they met the enemy in France. They also mastered the drill and
made a splendid record on the range. In the Division overseas a
machine-gun school was also started, in charge of Lieut. Benjamin
H. Mosby, a Negro officer, one of the main objects being to make
machine-gun officers out of infantry officers. More than two hundred
men attended this course.
The organization of the 325th Signal Corps marked the first time in
the history of the country when Negro men were placed in this branch
of the service. Before the organization of this unit was completed,
a representative of the War Department visited Negro educational
institutions and explained the qualifications for this branch of the
service. As a result, men with superior technical and academic training
were inducted into it. The work was new to most of the men, but their
training enabled them to master it rapidly, so much so that they
surprised the higher officials. The corps was organized and trained at
Camp Sherman, and six officers were raised from the ranks. The unit
boasted of having one of the best health records in France; not one
case of venereal disease was discovered in it. The story is told of one
man who, though he could scarcely write his name when he entered the
service, was able, at the time of the Armistice, to take messages at
the rate of twenty-five words a minute.
The distribution of the troops in the Division handicapped the
administration somewhat. Orders were delayed in transmission, and
it was impossible to correlate the activities of the several arms
of the service; nor could the Division assemble for a review. The
first opportunity the different units had of meeting came when they
were ordered to join the American Army in France and met at Hoboken,
June 10, 1918, just before sailing. After an exciting voyage all
the units arrived safely at Brest; and after a short stay at Camp
Pontenazen, the headquarters troops and infantry regiments went on to
Bourbonne-les-Bains, making the four-day trip in crowded French box
cars.
Bourbonne-les-Bains is a beautiful old city, located in Haute-Marne
at the end of a valley encircled by a picturesque chain of hills. The
people were hospitable and welcomed the soldiers into their homes
and places of amusement. While the atmosphere was restful, however,
the task before the Division was eminently serious. Eight weeks of
intensive training were given in the methods of modern warfare, and
terrain exercises and tactical problems worked out. The men perfected
themselves in shooting, in the use of the bayonet and grenades, and in
signal work and trench-digging.
The three artillery regiments, comprising the 167th Field Artillery
Brigade, on reaching France were stationed at different centers for
six weeks of intensive training--the 349th and 350th at Montmorillion
and the 351st at Lathus. Finally the brigade was mobilized at La
Courtine. Here instruction was given in radio, telephone, and motor
operations, dug-out construction, gun emplacement, and range work.
Even after they reached France, there was still doubt in the minds
of some as to whether the Negro men would make artillerymen. A French
officer, however, came to test the barrage made by the 350th Artillery,
and after it had been put over, he jumped up and clapped his hands,
saying that it was the fastest and the most accurate he had ever seen
put over. In all the training area of the 92nd Division unusually fine
relations existed between the soldiers and the French people.
INFANTRY ENGAGEMENTS
From Bourbonne-les-Bains the infantry regiments and headquarters
troops were moved to Bruyères, and it was here that they heard for
the first time the roar of the big guns. Here also it was that the
Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John
J. Pershing, first visited the division. After spending twelve days in
securing necessary equipment, all moved to St. Die. Here the Americans
were welcomed as deliverers. The Germans had occupied the city for
fourteen days in 1914 and because of their treatment the people had
learned to hate them. The bishop’s house and the church, more than six
hundred years old, were used as headquarters.
Because of the nature of the terrain the St. Die sector was usually
quiet and for this reason it was used for schooling divisions of
recruits, who often got here their baptism of fire before leaving.
There was a little bathing pool in “No Man’s Land,” and it was said
that at certain times, by agreement between the Germans and the French,
each had access to it without being fired upon. The 6th Division of
the American Army, however, which occupied the sector before it was
given over to the 92nd, fired on every German that ventured forth. When
the French said that such action would precipitate offensive tactics,
the Americans insisted that this was their purpose. The 92nd Division
accordingly found the enemy active when it entered the sector. While
there was no major offensive, raiding parties from both sides were
frequent and patrol duty was very necessary.
The St. Die sector will always be remembered by the men of the
92nd Division because it was there that they received their first
casualties. The first man killed was Private Moses Justice, Company H,
365th Infantry. He had worked as a farmer and enlisted from Marietta,
Ohio. While on patrol duty September 2, 1918, Second Lieut. Thomas J.
Bullock, Company D, 367th Infantry, was killed, the first officer in
the division to fall. In this sector the Negro soldiers remained until
September 21, 1918, when they were ordered to the Meuse-Argonne region,
the 81st Division, known as the “Wildcats,” relieving the 92nd when it
entrained.
Between September 21 and 23 the 92nd Division was carried from the St.
Die sector to the Argonne region, and by September 24 various units
had been assigned a place in the big drive scheduled for the 25th.
Headquarters were at Beauchamps Farm and Triacourt, and the division
was attached to the First Army Corps.
On September 23 the 368th Infantry was assigned to the 38th French
Army Corps, commanded by General Durand. It was given a position
on the right bank of the Aisne, north of Vienne-Le-Château and La
Harozee and 500 meters west of Binarville. The Second Battalion of the
regiment, which was in the front line, on September 26 “reconnoitered
the enemy trench position opposite it and progressed at a slow pace,
because of the abundance of wire, until the right half had made an
advance of three kilometers, where it met with strong opposition of
machine-gun nests.” The Third Battalion, according to plan, supported
the advance of the second. On September 27 both were ordered to attack,
the objective being the Trench du Dromadaire. The Second Battalion
progressed two kilometers against machine-gun fire and the third
reached the enemy trench line. On September 28 the objective of the two
battalions remained unchanged.
As these two battalions advanced and were subjected to heavy
machine-gun fire and enemy artillery barrage, the major commanding the
second was relieved of duty because of physical exhaustion. The Third
Battalion was within two hundred meters of its objective when, under
heavy fire, a portion of the line of an advance company broke and
withdrew to the rear. This company was reorganized and the attack was
resumed, but again the line broke. In spite of the action of some of
their comrades, however, Capt. R. A. Williams and First Lieut. T. M.
Dent held their position with the part of the company with them until
the following day, when they were relieved by the 9th Cuirassiers, a
French regiment.
As to the withdrawals, it was stated by company officers that “some
one, identity unknown, ordered a retreat.” Secretary Baker’s report
on this affair said that “there is strongly supported evidence that
orders from some quarters were carried forward by runners directing
the withdrawal, although orders had been given ... that no withdrawal
order, not in writing and signed by the battalion commander, should
be obeyed. The investigation showed that no such written order had
been issued.” The First Battalion, which had been in reserve, was
placed in the front line to renew the attack. It joined the French in
the advance on Binarville and progressed until the leading company
reached and passed by 200 meters the objective that had been given
the regiment. The advance covered four and a half kilometers and 11
prisoners and 5 machine-guns were captured. The total casualties,
including killed, wounded, and gassed, were 9 officers and 269 enlisted
men. The commanding officer’s report of this engagement said that there
was insufficient use of the infantry rifle. Although machine-guns and
Stokes mortars were with each battalion ready and seeking opportunity
for action, the character of the terrain prevented their use. This
sector, which had been held alternately by the French and Germans
during the war, consisted of a rolling country, cut up by ravines and
covered with the debris of the Argonne Forest, blasted by four years of
shell fire; and it was interlaced by solid wire defences of all kinds.
Col. F. R. Brown, who was in command during the engagement, said of
the regiment: “It deserves commendation for successfully performing
its original mission of liaison between the 38th (French) Corps and
the 77th Division (U. S.). It deserves commendation as a whole for
successfully advancing as rapidly as did the French units on our left,
in spite of the many difficulties encountered.”
As a result of the withdrawals of the Third Battalion of the 368th
Infantry during the Argonne engagement, rumors spread in both France
and America that the 92nd Division had been charged with “cowardice
before the enemy.” So great was the confidence of the Negro people in
the bravery of their soldiers, based upon the deeds of a glorious past,
that such rumors seemed almost unbelievable; and when the men in other
regiments of the division heard the reports, many of them begged for an
opportunity to go to the front. The final report of the Secretary of
War, however, somewhat allayed the rumors. He said: “The circumstances
disclosed by a detailed study of the situation do not justify many of
the highly colored accounts which have been given of the behavior of
the troops in this action, and they afford no basis at all for any of
the general assumptions with regard to the action of colored troops
in this battle or elsewhere in France. On the contrary, it is to be
noted that many colored officers, and particularly three in the very
battalion here under discussion, were decorated with Distinguished
Service Crosses for extraordinary heroism under fire.”
The Division remained in the Argonne until October 5, 1918, when it was
ordered to the Marbache sector, where it remained until the signing of
the Armistice. It was in this sector that the best fighting was done.
During the quiet days between October 5 and November 8, considerable
patrol work was carried on. Some of the enemy soldiers were killed and
others captured, and a number of 92nd soldiers met a similar fate.
Active operations began November 8, the 183rd Infantry Brigade holding
the portion of the Allied line east of the Moselle River, extending
from Pont-à-Mousson to Marbache. On the morning of November 10 an
attack was executed on Bois Frehaut by the Second Battalion of the
365th Regiment, commanded by Major Warner A. Ross. A similar attack was
made on Bois Voivrotte by two platoons of the Second Battalion of the
366th Infantry, commanded by Major A. E. Sawkins. Each battalion was
supported by its machine-gun company and had the co-operation of the
divisional artillery. Trench mortars and 37 M. M. guns were to support
the attack, the object being to capture and hold the above named places
and advance the line of observation in the sector. On the afternoon
of November 9 the Second Battalion of the 365th Infantry was placed
in Pont-à-Mousson and the Second Battalion of the 366th in Forêt de
Facq in preparation for the attack which was to be made at 5 a. m. on
November 10. The hour was changed from 5 to 7 in order that the 92nd
Division might co-operate with the Second American Army, which was
to launch its drive at that time. By 8.12 a. m. the Second Battalion
of the 366th had completely occupied Bois Voivrotte and taken three
prisoners, and by 11.45 the Second Battalion of the 365th completely
occupied Bois Frehaut, although it had been heavily shelled with gas
and high explosives. After the first objectives had been successfully
reached, reinforcements were brought forward and a new attack launched
on the strong enemy positions of Champey, Bouxières, La Côte, and Bois
Cheminot at 5 a. m. on November 11. The troops making the attack were
met by the strong artillery, machine-gun and infantry fire of the
enemy. However, by 7.30 they had reached the outskirts of Bouxières and
Bois Cheminot. Then a telephone message from headquarters, ordering all
hostilities to cease, stopped the advance of the 92nd Division, which
was sweeping the enemy before it. The opposing units engaged between
the Moselle and Seille rivers were the 86th and 30th Regiments of
infantry, the 31st Landwehr Brigade, and the 47th Infantry Regiment.
They were supported by one battalion of sharpshooters. East of the
Seille River were the 70th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Grenadiers.
In the report of the commanding general of the 183rd Infantry Brigade
on the offensive operations in this sector in the last engagement
during the Great War, Brig. Gen. Malvern Hill Barnum made the following
summary and conclusion:
“The advance of the brigade in this battle, most of which was made
on the east banks of the Moselle River was 3½ kilometers. It was
against heavy artillery and machine-gun fire and high concentration
of gas. In order to drive the enemy from their strongly fortified
positions all forms of auxiliary arms, such as machine-guns, Stokes
mortars, 37 M. M. guns, and rifle grenades, were effectively used
against them. The divisional artillery supported this attack with
a rolling barrage, which was well laid. It also placed a heavy
concentration fire on German machine-gun nests, completely routing the
enemy.
“A great part of this attack was executed over an open, sloping
terrain, heavily wired, which was completely controlled by German
artillery. The Bois Frehaut and Bois Voivrotte were woods protected
with heavy German wire and were filled with machine-gun nests, trench
mortars, light artillery, and infantry. The enemy was driven from
his strongholds with a loss of six prisoners and approximately the
following material: 1000 grenades, all types; 5000 rounds ammunition;
25 boxes M. G. ammunition, in belts; 50 rifles and bayonets; 10 pairs
field glasses; 4 machine-guns; 6 carrier pigeons; 1 signal lamp and
battery; 2 Very pistols; 3 carbide lamps; 100 helmets. Many overcoats,
boots, canteens, belts, and other articles of equipment were left by
the fleeing enemy.
“In this advance the brigade suffered the following casualties in the
365th and 366th Infantry and the 350th Machine-Gun Battalion: killed,
32; wounded, 119; gassed, 285; missing, 8; total, 444.”
This attack, on the last two days of the war, was made in a sector
that had been organized for four years. It was in front of the great
fortress of Metz and was occupied by young, efficient soldiers of the
most famous military power in the world. Yet against this opposition
the inexperienced Negro troops took complete possession of “No Man’s
Land,” constantly remaining on the offensive until the enemy had been
pushed back three and a half kilometers.
The Congressional Record of February 28, 1919, contains the following
statement concerning the First Battalion of the 367th Infantry of the
92nd Division: “The entire first battalion of the three hundred and
sixty-seventh (Buffaloes) Infantry was cited for bravery, and awarded
the Croix de Guerre, thus entitling every officer and man in the
battalion to wear this distinguished French decoration. This citation
was made by the French Commission because of the splendid service and
bravery shown by this battalion in the last engagement of the war.”
The writer has been unable to find a copy of the citation in the War
Department records; but because it did appear in the Congressional
Record as indicated and also given publicity in the newspapers of the
country, it is included in the story of the 92nd Division.
ARTILLERY
The various other units in the Division contributed their share toward
developing the efficiency which it attained. The 167th Field Artillery
Brigade surprised not only old Army officers but Americans generally by
the ability of the men to absorb training, which was fully demonstrated
when they forced the enemy to retire from strong fortifications held
for four years. It had been thought that it would be difficult, if not
impossible, to find Negro men with adaptability for this work; yet
sometimes it developed that non-commissioned officers were better at
taking messages than their instructors. The most surprising thing about
the Negro gunner was the rapidity with which he was able to fire. One
gun crew in the 349th Artillery fired four rounds in 6⅖ seconds with
the French 75’s, while another crew was making four shots in 7½
seconds. A striking example of the efficiency of the artillery was the
manner in which it laid down a barrage at Pregny for a unit of the 78th
Division and its own division without endangering the lives of the men
in the infantry.
It was during the last days of the war, from November 4 to 11, in the
fighting around Bois Frehaut, Bois de la Voivrotte, Cheminot, Pagny,
and Bois de la Côte, that Negro artillerymen did their most effective
work. At daybreak on November 4 the 349th laid down a rolling barrage
to cover the advance on Cheminot of a patrol of the 365th Infantry.
This was followed by a box barrage continuing nearly an hour, during
which time 1062 shells were fired. On November 6 the regiment was again
called upon for a rolling barrage through Bois Frehaut and a combing
fire in Bois Voivrotte, to be followed by a standing barrage in front
of Champey and Bouxières. Two hundred and fifty rounds were fired
in the combing fire, and 2033 in the rolling and box barrages. The
accuracy of the Negro artillerymen reduced the resistance of the enemy
and enabled the 92nd Division infantry to reach its objectives without
great loss. The action in co-operation with the infantry was carefully
watched by officials, who commended the brigade on “the good execution
of the Rolling and Standing Barrage” and also said that the good
work was being favorably commented on by those “higher up.” Because
of the qualities displayed by both officers and men in this sector,
General John H. Sherburne, who commanded the 167th Field Artillery
Brigade, commended them in orders on November 18, 1918, saying, “You
have been zealous soldiers and skillful artillerymen.... By day and
night, often under the hail of shrapnel, often through clouds of deadly
gas, you have marched and fought, dragged your guns sometimes by hand
into line, kept up your lines of communication and brought up your
supplies, always with a cheerfulness that earned you the admiration
of all.” Colonel Wade H. Carpenter, of the 351st Field Artillery,
was a West Point graduate and a South Carolinian by birth. Although
he too had been doubtful of success at first, in the end he was no
less enthusiastic about the achievements of his regiment. Under date
December 27, 1918, he said to his command: “When you landed in France
you were acclaimed as comrades in arms, brothers in a great cause.
In the days that have passed no man, no little child, has had cause
to regret that first glorious welcome. Surrounded by new and unusual
conditions, beset by subtle temptations, you have kept your hearts high
and, with purpose fixed on the high ideal of service, you have put away
those things that did not contribute strength for the task at hand. You
have been men.... Through rain and in tents or in cold billets you have
cheerfully pushed on to fit yourself for the final test and at length
you came to the front lines. There, under fire, by day and by night
you served the pieces, sending back gas for gas and shell for shell,
two for one. The orders reached the guns because you maintained the
connections; the ammunition was there because neither the elements nor
enemy stopped you. This mission has been accomplished and you have been
what America expects her sons to be--brave soldiers.”
In the proposed drive against Metz, which was to have been the greatest
battle of the entire war, the 167th Field Artillery Brigade had been
selected to support the Second Army, of which the 92nd Division was a
part. Such confidence on the part of the Commander-in-Chief of the A.
E. F. clearly shows that the Negro artilleryman had proved beyond doubt
his ability to become proficient in this branch of service.
This brigade was able to accomplish what it did because the men were
eager to learn and easily disciplined. No task was too dangerous or
too difficult for them. They kept their lines of communication intact
under all conditions. The six colored officers who were graduated at
Fort Sill and who remained with the brigade throughout the campaign
in France, greatly contributed to the morale and did excellent work
in handling and instructing the men. The Negro non-commissioned
officers were also an important factor. They took advantage of their
opportunities and made a record in the school at La Courtine that
was not surpassed in excellence by any group from other artillery
organizations. The officers and enlisted men in this brigade were
pioneers in a field where success was uncertain, but they brought
faithfulness and patriotic fervor to their task, and their record is
one that should encourage and inspire all Negro people.
317TH ENGINEER REGIMENT
The 317th Engineer Regiment was formally organized at Camp Sherman on
November 4, 1917, as the sapper engineer regiment of the 92nd Division.
Two thousand draftees were turned over to this regiment from the
158th Depot Brigade. After careful examination 1490 of these men were
inducted into the regiment. This group included a large number of men
who had knowledge of the building trades and also students from well
known industrial schools.
After it was decided to organize an engineer regiment in the 92nd
Division, considerable discussion arose in the War Department over the
question of officers to command it. Negro officers who had graduated
at the training school for infantry in Des Moines were suggested, but
engineer officials opposed this plan because these men had had no
special training for the work. Letters in the War Department files
pointed out that from 15,000 applicants to serve in this branch of
the service only one Negro, a graduate of Harvard University, had
qualified. Although it had been found expedient to have trained
engineers as officers in engineer labor battalions, thirty Negro
infantry officers with no engineering experience were assigned to the
317th Engineers. White captains were also assigned to the regiment,
but were soon transferred and sent to France. During the winter of
1917-18 a War Department inspector investigated the organization and
reported that the Negro officers did not have sufficient knowledge
and experience to train the regiment, and he recommended that they be
replaced by white officers with engineer training. In March, 1918,
accordingly white captains replaced the Negro captains, but the Negro
lieutenants were retained.
In spite of the unrest caused in the regiment by the change in the
personnel of the officers, the training continued. On June 1 the
regiment left Camp Sherman for Hoboken, whence it sailed on June 8,
reaching Brest on the 19th. Thence it was sent to the Pontenazen
barracks, which consisted of stone buildings erected by Napoleon
Bonaparte on the site of an old Roman camp. Heavy working details,
comprising 85 per cent of the regiment’s strength, loaded baggage and
constructed roads and barracks. On June 25 the regiment left for the
Bourbonne-les-Bains area, arriving on the night of June 27. Here it was
given intensive training for four weeks, and in the area it constructed
mess halls, bath houses, warehouses, stables, and railroad yards.
Additional equipment arrived August 2, ten days before the regiment
moved into a quiet sector in the Vosges Mountains for intensive
training around Ponseux and Archettes, and on August 20 there was
further removal to the St. Die sector previously occupied by the 7th
Engineers of the 5th Division. Just before this division left for
St. Mihiel, it conducted several local attacks down the Fave Valley
and around Frappelle, which were finally captured. When then the
317th Engineers began the work of organizing and consolidating the
positions left by the 5th Division, they found the enemy active. They
constructed dug-outs, repaired trenches, often under shell fire, and
mined bridges if these were in danger of being captured by the enemy.
They also worked at logging and sawmill operations in order to supply
French institutions as well as the fighting regiments at the front with
firewood. Especially courageous was the work of twenty-five enlisted
men engaged in gas-proofing dug-outs. They worked three days and nights
under heavy bombardment where mustard gas and phosgene were used by
the enemy, but they continued their labors until all the dug-outs were
protected.
On September 24, 1918, the regiment moved into the Argonne between Les
Islettes and Clermont, and was assigned to the First Army Corps. The
objective of the First Army was to close the Grand Pré gap and flank
the armies operating against the French and British. The bombardment
for this attack lasted three hours and it was estimated that 100,000
shells were fired. The American artillery averaged a gun every eight
meters. After the bombardment changed to a rolling barrage, the men of
the 77th, 28th, 35th, 79th, 4th, 80th, and 33rd Divisions went over
the top in the greatest attack ever made by United States forces. In
this attack one battalion of the 317th Engineers opened the road from
Neuvilly to Bourielles, cutting it through to “No Man’s Land” on the
night of September 26. The 111th Engineers assisted in this work. The
Second Battalion opened the road from Croix de Pierre and Pierre
Croisée, while the Third opened the valley road from La Claon to La
Harze. In many places these roads had been completely obliterated by
the heavy artillery fire. The engineers had to relocate them, often at
night, and rebuild them through swamps out of logs and planks in order
that the wounded might be carried to the rear and ammunition carts
reach the front. Sometimes they used rocks and timbers taken from mined
enemy trenches and burned buildings. They built light- and heavy-gauge
railroads for hauling shells to new artillery positions on the front,
and heavy-gauge railroads in the back areas, especially in the vicinity
of Grand Pré. Throughout this offensive from September 26 to November
11 the 317th Engineers spent most of the time building roads and
supplying the fighting units at the front with the necessary materials.
The men often worked day and night under shell fire, but they labored
cheerfully and successfully.
Orders, letters, and memoranda bear testimony to their achievement.
The chief engineer of the First Army, Colonel G. R. Spaulding, in
expressing his appreciation of what had been done by the troops aiding
in the construction of railroads in the First Army area, wrote on
November 10, 1918: “Especial credit is given to the 317th Engineers
which were very instrumental in the rehabilitation of the lines in the
Fôret d’Argonne and on the line from St. Juvin to the north.” General
Pershing wrote to Lt. Col. J. Edward Cassidy on April 7, 1919, thanking
him for his services and saying, “With the 317th Engineers on the
front you gave us valuable service.” Lt. Colonel Cassidy himself in
his order to the regiment on February 3, 1919, commended it for being
true in the fullest sense to the trust reposed in it by the American
people and for doing work of a high and efficient order. Said he: “For
more than a hundred years the Corps of Engineers has maintained a proud
record of achievement, whether in peace or war, from the blazing sun
of the tropics to the eternal ice and snow of the Arctic regions, and
it is a pleasure to the commanding officer to be able to say that your
work has been in accordance with the best traditions of the Engineer
Service.”
The 317th Engineers “played the game” without fear and without
grumbling in the St. Die sector and in the Argonne-Meuse offensive.
For nearly three months the regiment did front line work, first as a
part of the 33rd Corps of the 7th French Army in the Vosges Mountains
at Frapelle, Lafontanelle, Lesseux, and other points in the St. Die
sector, and later as a corps regiment of the First American Army, at
Neuvilly, Bourielles, Cheppy, Varennes, Four de Paris, Abri de Crochet,
La Besogne, Lançon, Grand Pré, St. Juvin, Briquenay, St. Georges, and
Le Mort Homme in the Argonne region, and at Buzancy in the Ardennes.
For this work it was generously commended by the officials in the
American Army and it deserved the sincere gratitude of all the American
people.
92ND DIVISIONAL TRAINS
The 317th Motor Supply Train was composed of 18 officers and 475
enlisted men. At first it operated 35 trucks in the divisional area
in France, but the demand soon increased this number to 49. When there
was a scarcity of supplies the soldiers in the outfit were often
required to work both day and night and even then they were not always
able to meet the demands made upon them. In the 317th Military Police
there were 9 officers and 200 enlisted men. This group was trained at
Camp Funston and did police duty both there and in France. The 317th
Ammunition Train consisted of 38 officers and 1175 men. It included the
motor battalion, the horse battalion, ordnance, and medical detachment
headquarters. Both trucks and wagons were used and often the men helped
to move the artillery guns under fire. On one occasion the 367th
Infantry, which was under fire, gave an order for ammunition at 3 a. m.
This was obtained by the 317th Ammunition Train 37 kilometers away and
delivered under fire at 7 a. m. This unit was commanded by Major M. T.
Dean, one of the three Negroes in the 92nd Division who rose to that
rank during the war.
The 317th Sanitary Train included the field hospitals and also the
ambulance companies of the 365th, 366th, 367th, and 368th Infantry
Regiments. These units were formed at Camp Funston on November 9, 1917,
with a personnel of 57 officers and 700 men, which last number was
later increased to 860. All of the men were trained litter-bearers.
There were also in the organization mechanics, cooks, horse-shoers,
and first class privates. During the winter of 1917-18 epidemics of
meningitis, measles, parotitis, and influenza affected the command, but
no deaths occurred at Camp Funston; and meanwhile there were weekly
inspections to safeguard the health of the men. The units entrained for
overseas June 7, 1917, remained eight days at Camp Upton, and reached
Brest on June 25. It was quartered at the Pontenazen barracks until
July 2, when it left for the training area at Bourbonne-les-Bains. On
August 13 the advanced training area was reached, and the unit received
a week of intensive training before it departed for the St. Die sector.
Here field hospitals were established and functioned by the 365th at
Raon l’Étape and by the 366th at St. Die, and the 367th established
dressing stations at Sells, Virge, and Clarice. The organization was
moved from the St. Die sector to Givry, Argonne, on September 25, and
there it was a part of the First Army for five days. Passing through
Passovant, Jailon, and Marbache enroute to Millery, the 366th and
368th established field hospitals, and the ambulance companies of the
365th, 367th, and 368th established dressing stations. From Millery the
Sanitary Train went to Mayenne, where it remained until January 28. Le
Mans was reached on February 4, 1919, and Brest on February 6, from
which port the unit sailed on the “Olympic” on February 18, reaching
New York on the 24th.
That the efficiency of the Sanitary Train of the 92nd was observed
and appreciated may be seen from a communication from Colonel C. R.
Reynolds, of the Medical Corps of the Second Army of the A. E. F.,
to the Division Surgeon under date November 15, 1918. Said he: “I
desire to express my admiration and appreciation of the splendid
hospital organized and administered by the Medical Department of the
92nd Division at Millery. Your department has received most favorable
comments by the Army Commander ... and all medical officers who have
visited the institution. The transportation and hospitalization of the
battle casualties and respiratory diseases have been accomplished in
accordance with the principles of military surgery and preventative
medicine, which reflects the intelligence and training on the part of
the officers, nurses, and enlisted men of the Medical Department of the
92nd Division, in which pride may be justly felt.”
That the work of the 317th Sanitary Train was successful was due in
some measure to the fact that the officers and men were encouraged
and inspired by those with whom they came in contact. There was one
promotion to the rank of major, that of Capt. Joseph H. Ward, and
sixteen lieutenants were promoted to captaincies. Major Ward was
commissioned by cablegram on September 24, 1918. At first he was
assigned to the 325th Signal Corps, but he also served as a surgeon in
Base Hospital 49, where he had been a patient. During his convalescence
he was asked to help dress wounds, and later he was given fifty cases
to attend to in a tent; being finally transferred to a ward as surgeon,
he had here his regular turn on operating day, and he was shown every
courtesy and given every privilege. For their specific duties it is
reasonable to suppose that as a group the medical men were better
prepared than many of the other officers.
* * * * *
The history of the 92nd Division will always be of interest to the
American Negro because it gave him his first opportunity to serve in
a great military organization where Negro officers led Negro troops.
The old idea that Negro soldiers would not respect Negro officers was
proved untrue. When the war suddenly came to an end, however, both
officers and men turned their faces homeward having uppermost in their
minds some of the policies to which they had been subjected at times
in the Army itself and in the welfare organizations. The commanding
officer, Major General Charles C. Ballou, whom the officers and the
Negro people in general had desired for the post after Colonel Charles
Young was declared ineligible, was severely criticised. Undoubtedly he
wanted the Division to succeed, but some of the methods that he used
and that he allowed his staff officers to use had a most demoralizing
effect on both officers and men. Even in the face of all the charges,
however, it must be said to his credit that both officers and men
were subjected to less humiliation and suffering when he was with
the division than they were after he left it, between the signing of
the Armistice and the departure for America. The attitude of some of
the white officers also helped. Brigadier General Malvern H. Barnum,
commanding the 183rd Brigade; General John H. Sherburne, commanding
the 167th Artillery Brigade; Colonel Vernon A. Caldwell, commanding
the 365th Regiment; Colonel James A. Moss, who at one time advised the
officers not to insist upon respect, yet worked for the interest of
the 367th in France; Majors Warner A. Ross and John C. Sheffield of the
365th; Major Appleton of the 367th, and Major Alfred E. Sawkins of the
366th, are especially named as having worked for the success of the
division. Of Major Sawkins it is said that whatever fare his officers
had he shared with them, that he worked for the interest of both
officers and men at all times, and that the spirit of his men when they
went into battle was always high. They suffered the greatest casualties
of any battalion and won nearly half the Distinguished Service medals
which were won in the 92nd Division.
In the last analysis the verdict in regard to the 92nd Division rests
upon its achievement. Said an operation memorandum issued on November
7, 1918, from division headquarters:
1. When the Marbache sector was taken over by the 92nd Division
the Germans owned “No man’s land” and were aggressive. They held:
Belie Air Farm, Bois de Tête d’Or, Bois de Frehaut, Voivrotte Farm,
Voivrotte Woods, Bois de Cheminot, Moulon Brook.
2. The constant aggressive action of our patrols, night and day, has
resulted in many casualties to the enemy, and the capture of many
prisoners.
3. Each of the places named above has been raided, as has Epley also,
and patrols have penetrated north nearly to the east and west line
through Pagny. The enemy has been driven northward beyond Frehaut and
Voivrotte woods, and eastward from Cheninit woods across the Seilée,
destroying the Cheminot bridge, flooding the Seilée, and attempting to
destroy the Seilée bridge--evidence of the fact that he regards the
92d Division as an uncomfortable neighbor, and intends to avoid close
relations in future.
4. West of the river excellent results have followed energetic
offensive action. The enemy has suffered losses in killed, wounded,
and prisoners during the occupancy of this part of the sector.
The memorandum issued November 18, 1918, at the Division Headquarters
by Major General Ballou sums up his own estimate of the work he was
able to accomplish, as follows:
Five months ago to-day the 92d Division landed in France.
After seven weeks of training it took over a sector in the front line,
and since that time some portion of the Division has been practically
continuously under fire.
It participated in the last battle of the war with creditable
success, continually pressing the attack against highly organized
defensive works. It advanced successfully on the first day of the
battle, attaining its objectives and capturing prisoners, this in
face of determined opposition by an alert enemy, and against rifle,
machine-gun, and artillery fire. The issue of the second day’s battle
was rendered indecisive by the order to cease firing at 11 A.
M., when the Armistice became effective.
The Division commander, in taking leave of what he considers himself
justly entitled to regard as _his_ Division, feels that he
has accomplished his mission. His work is done and will endure.
The results have not always been brilliant, and many times were
discouraging, yet a well organized, well disciplined, and well trained
colored division has been created and commanded by him to include the
last shot of the great world war.
May the future conduct of every officer and man be such as to reflect
credit upon the Division and upon the colored race.
Just before the 92nd Division left France it passed in review before
General Pershing at Le Mans and on this occasion he spoke as follows:
“Officers and men of the 92nd Division, I wish to express to you my
appreciation for your co-operation during your stay on the A. E. F.
This Division is one of the best in the A. E. F., and the conduct of
the officers and men has not been surpassed in any other. The officers
are on the average with the officers of the A. E. F. Owing to the late
arrival of the Division in France, it was not able to take as active
part as was contemplated, but it had been planned to have the Division
in the action on the east bank of the Moselle, which would have taken
place two or three days preceding the Armistice, but the Armistice
prevented. I had no fear of the Division not making a showing for I
know what colored troops can do, having served with them in Cuba, the
Philippines, and in Mexico.”
Even in the work that was done, however, there were outstanding
individual heroes. While the 368th Infantry was in the Argonne, it
became necessary to send a runner with a message to the left flank of
the American firing-line. The way was across an open field swept by
heavy machine-gun fire. Volunteers were called for, and Private Edward
Saunders of Company I responded. Before he had gone far a shell cut
him down. As he fell he cried to his comrades, “Some one come and get
this message; I am wounded.” Lieut. Robert L. Campbell of the same
company sprang forward. He dashed across the shell-swept area, picked
up the wounded man, and with the Germans fairly hailing bullets around
him, carried his comrade back to the American lines. For their valor
both men were cited for the Distinguished Service Cross and Lieutenant
Campbell was recommended for a captaincy. On another occasion this
same officer was with a few soldiers who were armed only with their
rifles, trench knives, and hand grenades picked up from small holes
along the way, and who were moving over a road in the Château-Thierry
sector. Suddenly their course was crossed by the firing of a German
machine-gun. They tried to locate it by the direction of the bullets,
but could not. To their right, a little ahead, lay a space covered with
thick underbrush; just back of it was an open field. Lieut. Campbell,
who knew by the direction of the bullets that the Germans had not seen
his party, ordered one of the men, with a rope which they happened
to have, to crawl to the thick underbrush, there to tie the rope to
several stems of the brush; then to withdraw as far as possible and
pull the rope, thus making the brush shake as though men were crawling
through it. The purpose was to draw direct fire from the machine-gun
and thus to locate its position. The ruse worked. Lieutenant Campbell
then ordered three of his men to steal out and flank the machine-gun on
one side, while he and the others moved up and flanked it on the other
side. The brush was shaken more violently by the rope, and the Germans,
with their eyes fixed upon it, poured a hail of bullets into it. Then
at a given signal the flanking party dashed up, and they killed four of
the Germans and captured the remaining three, also the machine-gun.
For such exploits Lieut. Campbell was held up to his organization
by the commanding general as an example of the soldier who combined
courage and initiative.
Lieut. Charles G. Young, of the 368th, while in command of a scout
platoon near Dinarville, September 27-28, 1918, was twice severely
wounded by shell fire, but refused attention and remained with his men,
helping to dress their wounds and to evacuate his own wounded during
the entire night, and holding firmly his exposed position covering
the right flank of his battalion. Private Bernard Lewis, also of the
368th, during an attack on Binarville September 30, volunteered to go
down the road that led to the village to rescue a wounded soldier of
his company. He was compelled to go under heavy machine-gun and shell
fire, but in total disregard of personal danger he brought his comrade
safely back to his lines. Private Robert M. Breckenridge, an automatic
rifleman, of Company B, 365th Infantry, at Ferne de Belwir on October
29, although severely wounded in the leg, continued in action, crawled
forward for a distance of a hundred yards, and assisted in preventing
any enemy party from taking a position on the company’s flank. In
spite of his wound, he continued to use his weapon with great courage
and skill until he was killed by machine-gun fire. Corporal Russell
Pollard, of Company H of the 365th, during the assault on Bois Frehaut
on November 10, skilfully conducted his squad until his rifle was
broken. He then used his wire-cutter with speed and skill under heavy
fire, and although wounded in his right arm, he continued to cut the
wire with his left, assisting his men in getting through, until for
the second time he was ordered to the dressing-station by his company
commander. Lieut. Thomas Edward Jones, of the Medical Corps of the
368th, went into an open area swept by fire to care for a wounded
soldier who was being carried by another officer. While he was dressing
the wounded runner, a bullet passed through his arm and his chest and
a man was killed within a few yards of him. Corporal Van Horton, of
Company E of the 366th, displayed extraordinary heroism near Lesseux on
September 4. “During a hostile attack, preceded by a heavy minenwerfer
barrage, the combat group to which this courageous soldier belonged was
attacked by about twenty of the enemy, using liquid fire. The sergeant
in charge of the group and four other men having been killed, Corporal
Horton fearlessly rushed to receive the attack, and the persistency
with which he fought resulted in stopping the attack and driving back
the enemy.”
These instances are only typical of those who were outstanding for
bravery and who were cited for honors. Thus these stalwart soldiers and
others like them upheld the record that the Negro had previously made
in the wars in which his country had engaged.
SECRETARY BAKER AND GENERAL PERSHING
In all the exploits and achievements of Negro soldiers in the World
War, and the difficulties that they encountered in their display of
loyalty, it is not to be forgotten that there were true friends who
were interested in them and who believed that each one should be
given a man’s chance. One explanation of how it was that they were
able to “carry on” even under the most adverse conditions was that
they believed that the men guiding the destinies of the American arms
were fair, broad-minded men who would not countenance petty things.
Wherever Negro soldiers were visited they always seemed to feel that
Secretary Baker and General Pershing wanted them to have a square deal,
and that if these officials really knew of unsatisfactory conditions
they would endeavor to correct them immediately. Secretary Baker on
numerous occasions showed that he was actuated by a genuine belief in
democracy. This led him to examine into the conditions under which
Negro soldiers worked, trained, and fought, and also to consider their
possibilities of rendering the country the greatest possible service.
When objections were made to sending Negro soldiers to certain camps
for fear of trouble because of the Houston riot which occurred in 1917
just as plans were being formulated to call thousands of Negroes in the
first draft, and when on other occasions pressure was strong, he never
ceased to feel that avenues open to other soldiers should be open in
like manner to Negroes. Against strong and determined opposition he
saw that training as officers was given, and when the future of the
first training camp was uncertain, it was Secretary Baker who assured
the men that he was depending on them and expected them to reach the
standards set by men in other camps. While, as he said, he was not
trying to solve the race problem, he did put forth great effort to
eliminate those things which tended to break down morale; and it is
only necessary to recall such a camp as Hill at Newport News, Virginia,
in the winter of 1917-18 to realize how War Department pressure was
exerted to remedy bad conditions.
Some of the outstanding features of Secretary Baker’s policy with
reference to Negro soldiers may be summarized as follows, and the
statements given below embody his plans as stated before justice was
sometimes thwarted:
1. That Negro soldiers should be organized and trained on the same
basis as all other soldiers.
2. That Negro men should be given the opportunity to train as officers,
and that those who met the qualifications should be appointed for
service just as others who qualified.
3. That a Negro man should be appointed as one of the assistants to the
Secretary.
4. That Negro men should receive every possible aid in making a
thoroughgoing study of conditions in both American and French camps.
5. That wherever injustice came to the attention of the Secretary
immediate attention should be given to the matter and effort made to
correct it.
General Pershing’s service with the Negro units in the regular army
and his recommendation of Major Charles Young of the Tenth Cavalry to
the Adjutant General of the Army from Headquarters Punitive Expedition
U. S. Army, Colonia Dublan, Mexico, August 21, 1916, along with other
officers “who had shown very high efficiency throughout the campaign,”
and his tributes to the soldierly qualities of Negroes on several
occasions, gave Negroes in America the idea that he stood for a square
deal and would give honor to whom honor was due. When agitation arose
over the use of Negro soldiers in the war, General Pershing let it be
known that he desired Negro troops in France. When one of the Allies
made strong objections to the attachment of any battalions of Negro
infantry for training with their forces, and General Pershing was asked
for his views by the War Department, he said: “In event Department
still desires early to despatch 92nd Division, I adhere to former
recommendations that Division be included among those to be employed
temporarily with ----. I have informed ---- ---- that these soldiers
are American citizens and that I can not discriminate against them in
event War Department desires to send them to France.”
When stories were circulated among Negro people to the effect that
Negroes were being wrongly treated, and subjected to most dangerous
positions to save white troops, and shot by Germans when captured
or left to die if wounded, General Pershing saw that these were
repudiated; and he further said that “the only regret expressed by
colored troops is that they are not given more dangerous work to do. I
can not commend too highly the spirit shown among the colored combat
troops who exhibit fine capacity for quick training and eagerness for
the most dangerous work.” When he visited any section of territory
occupied by Americans, he always showed an interest in the Negro
soldiers; they were impressed and encouraged by his inquiry into the
conditions under which they labored; and his understanding of the hard
life of the stevedores, and his appreciation of their efforts, did much
to make their work less burdensome. The men also felt that in the case
of court martials, if verdicts were reviewed by General Pershing, as
was done in some important cases, absolute justice would be meted out.
When in the midst of the charges and counter-charges relative to the
fitness of Negro officers to lead men General Pershing was questioned
about a few Negro officers who were declared inefficient by a board,
he assured his hearers that because a few officers had been declared
unfit, this was by no means to be construed as an indication of lack of
capacity on the part of the race, because at that time more than 6000
white officers had been returned to the states for unfitness to lead
men and certainly no one considered the white race a failure because
of that fact. Finally we have seen how the General reviewed the 92nd
Division just before it departed for America, commending the officers
and men for their splendid record overseas. He assured them of his
confidence by saying that he had planned to place them before the great
fortress of Metz; and his words did much to soften the bitterness of
feeling and let both officers and men return to their homeland feeling
that after all the commander and chief of the American Expeditionary
Forces had appreciated their part in the great struggle. No one can
tell what greater things might not have been accomplished by Negro
soldiers during the war if the spirit of Secretary Baker and General
Pershing had followed them throughout the service.
CHAPTER IX
THE NINETY-THIRD DIVISION
The organization of the 93rd Division was begun at Camp Stuart, Newport
News, Va., in December, 1917, with the few remaining National Guard
units of Negro men that had survived since the Spanish-American War.
These units were battalions from Ohio and Washington, and companies
from Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, and Tennessee which later
composed the 372nd Infantry Regiment. This Division, which was never
assembled or fully organized, consisted on paper of the 369th, 370th,
371st, and 372nd Infantry Regiments. The general who was to command it
was ordered to Camp Stuart in December, 1917, but in the latter part
of this month the 369th landed in France and was brigaded with the
French, while the other three regiments were still training in America.
These three arrived in France in April, 1918, when they too were
brigaded with the French, with whom they served throughout their stay
overseas. After the cessation of hostilities on November 11, 1918, the
four regiments were reassigned to the American Army for return to the
United States and demobilization. Their record is one of the noblest
in all the history of American arms. Each regiment was decorated as a
whole or in part with the French Croix de Guerre with palm. The history
of the 93rd Division accordingly embraces the activities of the four
regiments that composed it, and these will be considered in order.
369TH INFANTRY
The 369th Infantry, or the old 15th New York National Guard Regiment,
was first organized in New York City in 1916 by authority of the New
York State Legislature. It was reorganized by the War Department as
a National Guard regiment of the United States on April 9, 1917, and
placed under the command of Colonel William Hayward. It is proud of
the fact that it was the first National Guard regiment of the United
States to reach war strength of 2001 men and 56 officers, that it was
the first in the field, that it was under fire for 191 days, longer
than any other American regiment, and that after the armistice it led
the French armies to the Rhine, being the first Allied unit to enter
Germany. In all these ways its record was unique.
The morning following its mobilization on the night of July 14, 1917,
it was moved to Camp Whitman, near Poughkeepsie; and when the President
of the United States drafted the National Guard regiments on August 5,
it was immediately placed on active duty without any training whatever.
The First Battalion, commanded by Major Lorillard Spencer, guarded
600 miles of railroad in New York and New Jersey, several uniform and
shoe factories near New York City, and the German ships seized by the
United States Government. The Second Battalion, commanded by Major
Munson Morris, did pioneer and guard duty at Camp Upton when it was a
wilderness. The Third Battalion, commanded by Major Edward Dayton, with
the band did similar work at Camp Dix, transforming it from a cornfield
into a camp. The machine-gun company guarded 2000 German spies interned
at Ellis Island. Meanwhile regimental headquarters remained in New York
City.
On October 5, 1917, regimental headquarters and two battalions went
to Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, S. C., for training with the 27th
Division, but after two weeks’ stay in camp the regiment was ordered to
Hoboken to embark for France. It did not sail on October 27 as planned
because of the lack of equipment, and while this was being secured the
various battalions were billeted in armories in different parts of
New York City. On November 11, 1917, however, fully equipped, it went
aboard the U. S. S. “Pocahontas,” which sailed that night for France in
a convoy. On the second day out engine troubles developed and the ship
was obliged to return to port. The regiment went to Camp Merritt, where
details helped to finish the camp. It again embarked, but this time the
“Pocahontas” caught fire and for ten days was tied up at the docks. On
the night of December 13 she finally sailed, but even then she seemed
destined not to land the regiment in France, for she collided with a
British oil tanker which drove a hole in her bow. This, however, was
repaired and the trip was completed on December 26, when Brest was
safely reached.
The regiment was moved to St. Nazaire by rail on January 1, 1918, and
there for more than two months it did manual labor, building docks,
erecting hospitals, doing fatigue duty, laying railroad tracks, and
doing construction work on the great dam at St. Nazaire. From the
time of their arrival at this port until March 10 the men did not
see their rifles except at night, but on this latter date they were
ordered to join a French combat unit. All entrained on March 13 for
Givry-en-Argonne, reporting on March 15 to General Le Gallais of the
16th Division, 4th French Army. It was at this place that the regiment
learned that its name was changed from 15th New York to 369th Infantry.
The American equipment was turned in and French equipment given, this
including everything needed on the Western front. The organization of
the regiment was also changed so as to make it conform to that of a
French regiment. During this training period of three weeks the men
drilled day and night under French officers. Beginning April 8 the
battalions were successively placed in front line trenches, “doubled”
with French units, their first sector being in Main de Massiges, left
of the Aisne River and northeast of Châlons in the Champagne. After
eight days of this experience the regiment took over 4½ kilometers
of front, with two battalions in the lines and one in support enjoying
a rest period which gave some opportunity for additional training. On
April 29 Colonel Hayward was placed in command of several French units
in addition to his own regiment.
The activity in this sector consisted of nightly patrols and raids
until July 4 and 5, when active preparation was made for the big German
drive long expected by the French high command. The 369th labored
incessantly, helping to build and fortify the intermediate positions,
which were two or three kilometers from the front line. When the
battalions were relieved from front line duty, instead of going into
rest billets they worked on these positions, which were fortified as
a means of strategy by General Gouraud. This procedure enabled the
French to counter-attack and to recapture trenches secretly evacuated.
This method foiled and stopped the German drive on a fifty-mile front
between Rheims and the Argonne. The 369th participated in this attack,
with the third battalion, commanded by Major Spencer, occupying the
front line, where it did its share in stopping the enemy advance.
During the terrific bombardment of the German artillery, which had
as its target not only the front line but also several kilometers of
rear area, the commander of the 369th was ordered to establish liaison
at once, if possible, between his headquarters and the French 27th
Infantry. This meant establishing a line of relay runners over a front
of three kilometers, the entire distance being under heavy shell fire.
This hazardous task was performed by the runners of the 369th in such a
courageous and efficient manner and with so little thought of personal
safety that the regiment received commendation from the division
commander.
From the time of the regiment’s arrival on the front until the second
day of this battle it was a part of the 16th French Division, but on
the night of July 15, while the battle was raging, it received orders
to reinforce the 161st French Division, which was being furiously
attacked. A place was made for the 369th by taking out a French
regiment which had been greatly reduced in both officers and men. In
order to make the change of position, the regiment moved six kilometers
under constant shell fire. On reporting to General LeBouc, commander of
the 161st Division, two battalions were immediately ordered into front-
and second-line positions to relieve a Moroccan regiment. Officers and
men had been without food or water for hours, yet they occupied the
positions and took up the combat, which lasted for three days before
the enemy was definitely checked.
On July 18 the 161st began to push the Germans back and to reoccupy
the abandoned terrain. Two battalions of the 369th shared in this
undertaking and continued in such operations until July 21, when the
regiment took over and established the front line in the Calvaire
sector north of Minaucourt. All three battalions suffered casualties in
this offensive, the third suffering most because it was in the front
line longest.
On July 23 the 369th occupied a sector between Butte de Mesnil and Main
de Massiges under the most trying conditions. The enemy was constantly
being pushed back, but during the process artillery and infantry combat
hardly ceased for several days, and there was a constant rain of gas
and high explosive shells on all sides. The sector held by the 369th
had a front of a thousand meters, and the three battalions supported
one another from the front line to the intermediate positions in the
rear. Several raids were made each night by both sides and casualties
occurred daily and nightly on the patrols and raids that were sent into
“No Man’s Land.”
The regiment was at length relieved in this sector and it started for
Camp St. Quen south of Châlons to get a long promised rest. It had been
under fire continuously for 130 days. At this camp the other three
Negro regiments serving with the French were supposed to be mobilized
for the complete organization of the 93rd Division. Barracks were
cleaned in expectation of these troops, but before they reached the
camp the 369th, which had been resting less than a week, was ordered
back to the front to resume its place in the 161st Division. It was
placed in a sector west of and adjacent to the sector of Calvaire
previously held. On its return to the division it replaced the 115th R.
I., which was broken up and distributed among other French units. The
new sector was the most active and deadly the regiment had held. There
were constant raids and patrols and a continuous combat of artillery.
The Germans here used the device of having several aeroplanes “loop
the loop” over the French lines in the hope that men would come out
and watch them. If they did a projector gas attack would be launched
immediately.
One of the most furious attacks on the 367th was begun in such manner.
The aeroplanes did the “loop the loop,” which was followed by two
gas attacks separated only by seconds. Then a terrific artillery
bombardment started, lasting forty minutes, during which time it was
estimated that 9000 shells fell on the regiment. Twenty minutes after
the lull of the big guns seven German infantry regiments charged over
the top to drive the 369th from its trenches. The First Battalion,
assisted by the machine-gun companies from the other two, met the
assault with a steady, intensive, and continued fire until it broke
down in front of the lines. At no point were the enemy able to enter
the lines or capture any prisoners. Instead, the 369th Regiment
captured prisoners who gave valuable and much needed information,
and it was specially commended for its steadiness under fire in this
engagement. In this sector the regiment lost a large number of officers
and men and experienced its hardest fighting. On September 15 it was
relieved by a French Fourragère regiment and taken to the rear to Somme
Tourbe and Somme Bionne, where for eight days the men rested. Meanwhile
they were taught the principles of open warfare in anticipation of the
attack by the French and American armies which was launched September
25, 1918.
For this attack the infantry battalions in the division were placed
in assault waves and commanded by their regimental officers. The
artillery preparation for the attack lasted six hours and twenty-five
minutes, with French and American guns of all sizes going at full
blast. At the zero hour (5.25 A. M.) the Allied armies went over the
top in one of the biggest offensives of the war. The French and
Moroccan battalions on the left and right of the 369th contracted
their fronts, thus leaving an opening between the French divisions;
and the Third Battalion, commanded by Major Spencer, advanced on the
left and established liaison with the Moroccans. On September 26 the
two units captured the town of Ripont, a large number of prisoners and
machine-guns, and advanced to the Dormois River, a distance of more
than four kilometers. Heavy casualties resulted from this advance;
several officers and men were killed, and Major Spencer himself was
wounded six times. On the afternoon of the 27th Fountaine en Dormoise
was captured and the regimental P. C. was established there. Further
advance was held up for a while by barbed wire entanglements commanded
by machine-gun nests, some of which were in concrete pill boxes.
These, however, were finally captured. During the night the Second
Battalion relieved the third in the front line, and by daylight on
the 28th it was ordered to continue the attack with the two French
battalions on its left and right. The artillery barrage for the third
day’s attack was ineffective, and the assaulting battalion had to cut
its way through wire and overcome machine-gun nests without artillery
assistance. The day’s advance was 1000 meters over hills and ridges
occupied and controlled by the enemy. On this day the battle was
hottest around Bellevue Ridge and Bellevue Signal, with the contending
forces trying to gain possession. After nightfall the French executed
a brilliant flank movement with three battalions, including the second
of the 369th, driving the enemy from all the trenches and terrain
leading to the summit of the ridge. Dawn on the 29th found the enemy
killed, captured, or driven from the ridge and the advance moving down
the slopes toward the plains beyond to the town of Sechault, the next
objective.
The First Battalion, commanded by Major Little, led this advance,
entering the town and engaging in heavy fighting in the streets and
in house to house combat, in an attempt to clear the town of enemy
infantry and machine-gun nests. The battalion advanced through Sechault
to the plains beyond, but withdrew for the night to make way for French
artillery preparation for the continued advance, which began on the
30th through the woods of Petit Rosière and lasted until October 3. The
regiment was again commended by the division general for the way in
which it cleared Sechault of the enemy. The entire division halted to
await the capture of the town because of its importance.
The Second and Third Battalions were sent in to relieve the first on
October 3, but the regiment had suffered so many casualties in both
officers and men that it was relieved with the 161st Division and
carried in troop trains to Vitry-le-François. A little later it was
transferred from Gouraud’s Fourth Army, where it had served during its
offensives, to become a part of the 7th French Army.
The 369th entrained at Vitry-le-François for Belfort on October 12,
reaching its destination on the 14th. Two days later it moved by trucks
and forced marches to Thann in the Vosges Mountains, where the entire
regiment was put in front line trenches in the Thur sector. This was
comparatively quiet, and from October 16 to November 11 only six
casualties occurred, including one officer.
The 369th Regiment played an important part in all the campaigns in
which it participated, its efficiency increasing with every engagement.
During the time that it was brigaded with the French the relations were
most cordial; and during the last days of the September offensive the
commanding general of the 161st Division attached it to his own two
crack regiments because of its fighting qualities under fire. While
there were difficulties of language, these were usually overcome by
the assignment of efficient interpreters and the French officers were
enthusiastic in their praise of the manner in which the regiment fought
in all its battles.
After the Armistice the 161st Division became a part of the Second
French Army of Occupation. The 369th was given the post of honor as
advance guard in the Triumphal March of November 17, 1918, and led
the Army of Occupation out of the mountains to the plains lying on
the west bank of the Rhine River. Reaching Blodelsheim on the Rhine
on the morning of November 18, it was the first unit of all the
Allied armies to reach the goal toward which so many million men had
struggled through four bloody years. The regiment occupied the towns
of Blodelsheim, Fessenheim, and Balgan, which also included a pontoon
bridge head and a ferry head. Meanwhile the municipal affairs of these
towns were administered by the regimental commander and his troops, who
also guarded the surrounding territory.
Of this duty the 369th was relieved on December 4, and it moved to
division headquarters near Ensisheim. On the 13th it took part in the
division review, at which time its colors were decorated with the Croix
de Guerre for gallantry in action in the Champagne offensive. The
recommendation for this citation was made by General LeBouc, with the
approval of General Gouraud, Marshal Petain, and General Pershing. The
translation of the citation reads as follows:
Citation for Croix de Guerre
161st Division of Infantry, 8th Army Corps, Fourth Army (Aux Armées
Françaises)
369th Regiment of Infantry, United States, under command of Colonel
Hayward, who though injured insisted on leading his regiment in
battle, of Lieutenant Colonel Pickering, admirably cool and brave,
of Major Spencer, grievously wounded, of Major Cobb, killed, and of
Major Little, a true leader of his men, fought with great bravery,
stormed powerful enemy positions energetically defended, captured many
machine-guns, large numbers of prisoners and six cannon, and took,
after heavy fighting, the Town of Sechault.
One hundred and sixty-seven officers and men received decorations,
including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service
Cross, the Croix de Guerre, and the Legion of Honor. Where all were
brave it is almost invidious to mention names. Some of the most
noteworthy exploits, however, were those of Henry Johnson, Needham
Roberts, and Sergeant William Butler. The story of the first two
of these men is well known to the American public, as they were the
very first Americans to receive the French Croix de Guerre. Their
achievement in repulsing a German raiding party of more than twenty
men in a hand-to-hand combat served as an incentive to their comrades
and as an example for the whole American Army. Johnson’s feat was
particularly noteworthy. Soon after the beginning of the encounter
Roberts was wounded. Although surrounded by overwhelming numbers,
Johnson continued fighting, first using hand grenades, then his rifle
until that jammed, when he used the butt of it, hitting right and left.
Finally he resorted to his bolo knife as a last means of preventing
the capture of himself and his comrade. Although himself wounded, he
succeeded in killing four of the enemy and in wounding a large number
of the others. In August, while the 369th was in the front lines, and
when raiding parties from both sides went out nightly, on one occasion
the Germans laid down an encaging barrage, after which they enclosed
and captured a raiding party of one officer and four men. Sergeant
William Butler, armed with a Chauchaut rifle, attacked the group with
such effectiveness that he killed four men and wounded the officer, who
was captured and later died, the rest being put to flight. The officer
and four men of the 369th meanwhile made their escape and returned to
their regiment. A captured German report described Sergeant Butler’s
activities as “an enemy group in overwhelming numbers” and stated
that because of the superiority of the rescuing party eight Germans,
including an officer, failed to return. For his heroism on this
occasion Sergeant Butler was decorated by both the French and American
Governments.
On December 18 the 369th bade a last farewell to its French comrades in
arms and started for Belfort, reaching there on the 20th. It had made
an enviable record, serving longer than any other American unit as an
integral part of a foreign army. In his report of the operations of
the regiment on the western front, Colonel Hayward said: “It had less
training than any American unit before action, as follows: 3 weeks at
Camp Whiteman, New York; 10 days at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina;
2 weeks with French Army while changing equipment. It had one of
the lowest, if not the lowest percentages of venereal infections or
drunkenness in the A. E. F. It was 191 days in action in front line
trenches, believed to be the longest of any American regiment. It never
lost a trench or a foot of ground and never had one of its number
captured by the enemy.”
With such a record the 369th turned its steps homeward on January 1,
1919, arriving on the 2nd at Le Mans, where it remained until the 11th.
It then entrained for Brest, reaching there on the 12th. The battalions
sailed on three ships, and the last contingent arrived in New York,
February 12.
It was a happy day for these war-worn heroes when they saw again the
Statue of Liberty and set foot on American shores. As one battalion
steamed into port, the regiment’s famous band, which had toured
France under the direction of Lieut. James Reese Europe and had
the distinction of being considered the best musical organization
in the American Army, played the “Star Spangled Banner” and the
“Marseillaise”; and it was a sight never to be forgotten to see these
hardy warriors stand at attention while the national airs of two
great allies were being played. As they landed they were applauded by
thousands of their kinsmen and countrymen for their glorious deeds; and
the greatest reception ever given returning heroes was held for the
369th by the City of New York on February 17, when the regiment, led by
its band, marched up Fifth Avenue under the Victory Arch and through
Harlem to the plaudits and cheers of tens of thousands who counted it
a privilege to honor those who had so gloriously upheld the traditions
of their country. At the end of this historic day’s activities, the
regiment entrained at night for Camp Upton for demobilization, which
was completed March 1. The twelve hundred original survivors were
discharged at Camp Upton, while the replacements were sent to the camps
nearest their homes.
370TH INFANTRY
The 370th Infantry Regiment, which was otherwise known as “the old
8th” of Chicago, was one of the federalized National Guard units
that entered the World War with a record of achievement and with a
tradition to uphold. The regiment’s beginning dates back to 1892, when
a small group of men in Illinois banded themselves together for the
purpose of organizing a battalion of Negro soldiers. The first company
was formed with B. G. Johnson as captain, John C. Buckner as first
lieutenant, and John R. Marshall as second lieutenant. Three years
later a battalion was formed with John C. Buckner as major, and soon
afterwards this was admitted to the Illinois State militia as the Ninth
Battalion Infantry National Guard. This organization at the time it was
formed gave Negro men their best opportunity in the country to gain a
knowledge of military tactics, which they found useful when Congress
declared war on Spain April 25, 1898.
The allotment for Illinois under President McKinley’s call for 175,000
men was seven regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. When these
eight regiments left for camp and the Ninth Battalion was not called
to the colors, the Negro people felt that they were wilfully being
kept out of the war with Spain. Shortly afterwards, however, John R.
Tanner, who served as governor of the state during the Spanish-American
War, called John R. Marshall to his office and suggested that he
organize a regiment of Negro men, in which case he would be the first
man of his race to bear the military title of Colonel; and the work of
organization accordingly began.
President McKinley’s second call for 75,000 men on May 25, 1898, gave
Governor Tanner an opportunity to carry out his promise to put the
regiment into service. He ordered it to Springfield, where the work of
recruiting continued until it reached war strength with 1195 men and
76 officers, and on July 23 John R. Marshall was sworn in as Colonel.
While every other Illinois regiment had gone to Cuba and soldiers
from all parts of the country were constantly embarking, the 8th
remained at Camp Tanner in Illinois; and just about the time the Negro
soldiers were getting discouraged over their prospects of taking part
in real war, Governor Tanner visited the camp and in a speech said:
“Even from the doors of the White House have I received letters asking
and advising me not to officer this regiment with colored men, but I
promised to do so, and I have done it. I shall never rest until I see
this regiment, my regiment, on the soil of Cuba battling for the right
and its kinsmen.”
It was not Spanish shot and shell that sent many Americans to their
graves, but the hot climate of Cuba and its fevers; in some camps the
sick and dying were found in every tent and the dead march was heard at
every mess call. Yet when the men of the 8th were asked to go to Cuba
to relieve the 1st Illinois whose men were dying daily, they readily
said “Let’s go”; and their volunteering under the circumstances was
especially commended by President McKinley.
On August 14, 1898, the regiment arrived in Cuba and immediately it
attracted attention by its military precision. Some very efficient men
were officers, among them Major Franklin A. Dennison, who served as
judge of claims in Santiago. When the regiment returned on March 17,
1900, and marched down Michigan Avenue, it was given a great ovation
by the citizens of Chicago. Much of its success had been due to the
hard work of Colonel Marshall, who served until January 1, 1914. He was
succeeded by Major Dennison, who took command January 12. During the
next year the state legislature appropriated money for the erection of
a new armory. The corner-stone of this was laid in 1915, and it was the
first building of its kind for Negroes in America. In the course of the
trouble with Mexico the 8th was sent to the border.
When war was declared against Germany, April 6, 1917, the regiment
was sent to Texas for preparation. It was in Houston during the riots
between the citizens and the soldiers of the 25th Infantry, but its
record for discipline was upheld. For a while after the riots it was
not thought safe for it to remain at Camp Logan, but the soldierly
bearing of its officers and men demonstrated that such fears were
unwarranted; and when the regiment left Texas for Newport News the
citizens of Houston turned out to do it honor. Its arrival at Newport
News, with a Negro colonel who placed Negro military police on the
streets, created something of a sensation. On Washington’s Birthday,
1918, three companies, led by Colonel Dennison and the regimental band,
went to Norfolk to take part in a demonstration to stimulate interest
in the sale of war stamps, and for the first time in the history of
the city Negro troops marched at the head of a procession of several
thousand American soldiers, sailors, and marines.
The regiment did intensive training at Newport News until it sailed
for France. It arrived in Brest April 22, 1918, spent two days in
the barracks at Pontenazen, and then journeyed for three days to
Grandvillars, a village near the town of Belfort and within three
miles of the Swiss border. Here it received intensive training under
French officers for six weeks. The regiment made excellent progress and
was complimented on numerous occasions. It was supplied with French
equipment, and during the training period and the time spent in quiet
sectors it was attached to four different French divisions.
At the end of the first training period the regiment marched on June 12
and 13 to Morvillars, where it entrained for Ligny en Barrois (Meuse).
It then moved near the town of Bar-le-Duc in the department of the
Meuse. Here it was declared fit for active service, and on June 21
it was placed on the front line in a quiet sector in the St. Mihiel
district for fourteen days. Leaving for the Argonne on July 19, it was
placed in the Verdun sector on the plateau of Gorgia and at Hermont
and Mont des Allieux. At the last named place, on July 24, the first
casualty in action took place when Private Robert M. Lee of machine-gun
company No. 2 was killed. The only other operation except the usual
routine work was the raid of a Stokes mortar platoon, commanded by Lt.
Robert A. Wood, on August 4. This was in the sub-sector of Vauquois.
Three hundred rounds of ammunition were fired, the object being to fill
up the gaps of the artillery barrage.
On August 15 the 370th was placed at the disposal of General Mangin,
who was commander of the 10th Army and who ordered the regiment in
reserve along the Curcq River. From this position it was taken on
September 15 to the Soissons sector with the 59th Division in the area
of Vauxaillon with the Ailette Canal and Alizy Château as its strong
salients. The Third Battalion, commanded by Colonel Otis B. Duncan,
succeeded in taking the southern boundary of the canal. Four rifle
companies were detached with two French regiments and assisted in
taking Mont des Singes. The fighting was severe. The 370th was usually
in close support, but it also participated in several attacks, in all
of which the objectives were gained.
For the first time, on September 22, the regiment was given a full
sector extending from L’Écluse to a point 300 meters west of the
crossing of the Pinon Braucourt road. The First Battalion went into a
position on the Oise-Aisne Canal and the Farm Guilliminet, the Second
into a support position at Mont des Tombs and Les Tueries and the
slopes west of Antioche Farm, and the third into reserve at Tincelle
Farm. The headquarters company was stationed at Levilly and the supply
company at Monte Couve.
In the midst of the relief of the First and Second Battalions on the
front line during the night of September 27, an attack was ordered at
dawn. By the greatest effort the relief was completed and the Second
Battalion, which was ordered to work, began offensive operations.
These lasted three days. During the night, while the relief was being
conducted, there was considerable mixing of units. It was difficult to
maintain liaison and as a result one company advanced too far and a
number of casualties resulted.
Colonel Duncan, commanding the Third Battalion, was ordered on
September 30 to attack along the canal from Mont des Singes to the
Pinon Braucourt road. The fighting in this section continued until
the evening of October 4 before it was certain that the enemy had
been driven across the canal. During this advance the patrols of
the regiment were out nightly around L’Écluse and along the canal.
The 370th drove the enemy from this triangle several times, but it
was difficult to remain where it was as it was the target of severe
artillery and machine fire from two directions. This attack of the
30th is memorable in the annals of the 370th as it was against the
Hindenburg line and was driving back the famous Prussian Guard, the
flower of Emperor William’s army. On account of the orders’ being
delayed in transmission, the advance started in broad daylight. It was
led by Colonels Roberts and Duncan with other officers close by their
sides. As they passed through a shell-torn ravine, German machine-gun
bullets rained upon them, but they pressed forward, finally engaging
in a hand-to-hand struggle and driving the enemy before them. The fact
that some of the new troops got separated from their units in the
night caused the rumor to be circulated that the regiment as a whole
was demoralized. This was found to be not true, as all the objectives
were gained and the morale of the men in the front line was good at all
times.
The regiment took part in the general advance of the division on
October 12, pushing back the German line 70 kilometers. In this
advance the cities of Laon and Crépy were captured. The First and
Second Battalions were complimented by the commanding general, the
First for its passage of the strong position in Bois de Mortier
and its successful reaching of its objective, and the Second for a
well conducted march in pursuit of the enemy via Anizyle-Château to
Cessières, which was reached late on the night of the 12th. Here the
division stopped for twelve days, ten of which were spent in cleaning
the town and the last two in supplying the men with much needed
clothing. During these days the First and Second Battalions were in the
St. Gobain forest and the Third at Mauneux Farm.
After this brief period of rest from fighting, the division went into
the front line again, the First and Second Battalions going in near
Grandliep, with the Third in reserve near Chambrey. There were no
engagements between October 24 and November 3, but on the latter date
a large shell fell and exploded in the midst of Company A at Chautrud
Farm where the men were gathered around the kitchen. Thirty-four were
killed and fifty-two wounded.
On November 5 the enemy began a general withdrawal with the French
following closely. The three battalions of the 370th continued in
pursuit, alternating in the front line position. Company C of the First
Battalion, Captain James H. Smith commanding, took a German battery
consisting of three field pieces (77 cannon) and two machine-guns, for
which it was proposed for an army citation. The Second Battalion helped
to take Beaume and Aubenton, while the Third had crossed the Belgian
frontier when the Armistice was signed. On November 10 the regiment
celebrated the evacuation of Signy le Petit, a town which had been
occupied for four years by the Germans, who marched out four hours
before the parade through the town with a French soldier carrying the
Stars and Stripes and Color-Sergeant Mark P. Freeman, a Negro, carrying
the Tricolor of France.
After the Armistice the regiment did road work and fatigue duty,
cleaning up the villages and towns where it was stationed. With the
French the relations were always most cordial; all had been comrades,
working and fighting together for a great cause. In spite of the
difficulties of language, which were often serious, the regiment showed
marked improvement as the operations progressed. It played an important
part in the activity of the division, as its numerical strength was
nearly half of that of the infantry of the whole. During most of the
advance to the Ailette and north of the Hindenburg line, the battalion
operated separately, but for three weeks in front of the Ailette the
regiment functioned as an organization, and it did as much work as any
other regiment in the 59th Division. Valuable and necessary service
was also rendered by 125 men of the regiment’s depot company who were
attached to the divisional artillery, and by 75 who were attached to
the engineers.
On the day that the armistice was signed General Vincenden commended
the men of the 59th Division for helping to vanquish “the most powerful
instrument of conquest that a nation could forge.” In referring to the
“Black Devils,” he said: “The 370th R. I. U. S. has contributed largely
to the success of the 59th Division and has taken in bitter strife
both cannon and machine-guns. Its units, fired by a noble ardor, go
at times even beyond the objectives given by the higher command; they
have always wished to be in the front lines, for the place of honor is
in the leading rank. They have shown, in the course of our advance,
that they are worthy of being there.” As the officers and men were
leaving the French command, he further thanked and commended them in
General Order No. 4785, which especially complimented the intrepidity
of Colonel Duncan and said to the men in closing: “The blood of your
comrades who fell on the soil of France, mixed with the blood of our
soldiers, renders indissoluble the bonds of affection that unite us.
We have, besides, the pride of having worked together at a magnificent
task, and the pride of bearing on our foreheads the ray of a common
grandeur.”
Prominent among those to whom these words were addressed and among
those who received citations were Sergeant Charles T. Monroe of the
Headquarters Company of the regiment, Sergeant Mathew Jenkins of
Company F, and First Lieut. William J. Warfield of Company L. Sergeant
Monroe displayed extraordinary heroism in action at Mont-de-Sanges,
September 24, 1918. A private at the time, in the absence of a platoon
commander he took charge of a platoon of Stokes mortars, directing the
work of the men under heavy shell fire. Although the shelling was at
times so intense that the guns were buried, Sergeant Monroe and his
men worked unceasingly in placing them back in action. He himself was
buried by the explosion of a shell, but on being dug out, continued
to direct the work of his men and to inspire them by his fearless
example. Sergeant Jenkins, on September 20, 1918, was in command of a
detachment that was ordered to attack the German line. After rescuing,
under fire, a wounded comrade, he charged with his detachment, took a
fortified tunnel, and, being far in advance of his lines and without
rations and ammunition, held the position for more than thirty-six
hours until relieved, making use of captured guns and ammunition to
repel the attacks made upon him. Lieutenant Warfield’s exploit took
place near Ferme de la Rivière, September 28, 1918. Although separated
with his platoon from the company, he continued to lead a stubborn
resistance against enemy machine-gun nests, successfully capturing a
gun and killing the crew. Although severely wounded, he still continued
to command, refusing relief until his objective was reached. Altogether
the regiment received twenty-one Distinguished Service Crosses,
sixty-eight French Croix de Guerre, and one Distinguished Service Medal.
The 370th was released from the French command and returned to the
American Army December 12, 1918. After the change it encamped at
Soissons until December 23, then at Le Mans until January 8, 1919, and
then at Brest until February 1, when it sailed for America, arriving
at Camp Upton nine days later. As the men of the 370th turned towards
their native land, they did so with pride in the achievements of their
regiment and with the knowledge that it had lived up to its tradition.
It had served on two fronts and had participated in the Oisne-Aisne
offensive, the last great battle of the war. While patrols had gone
forth both day and night, only one man had been taken prisoner. Because
of such a record, all Chicago turned out on February 17 to do honor
to the “Old 8th.” Offices and stores were closed for the day, bells
and whistles welcomed the heroes home, and at the Coliseum, where
the regiment went after leaving the station, thousands gathered that
they might see the war-scarred and medal-bedecked soldiers and hear
something of their experiences. After this great meeting, there was
in the afternoon a regimental parade down Michigan Avenue in full war
equipment, amid the plaudits of all Chicago. At the close of the parade
the regiment entrained for Camp Grant at Rockford for demobilization.
This was completed March 12, and thus the noble record of the 370th
became history.
371ST INFANTRY
The 371st Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel P. L. Miles, was
organized and trained at Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C. It was composed
mainly of North and South Carolina men and was officered largely by
Southerners. The commanding officer was interested in the welfare of
his men, so also were many of the junior officers; and in spite of some
discouraging circumstances the soldiers were faithful in their work.
Especially had there been strong protest against having Negroes trained
in Columbia; but in the end all such fears proved to be unwarranted,
as the conduct of the men was above reproach. At the end of their
training period citizens from all walks of life gave testimony to the
fact that they had been a credit to their race and to the uniform they
wore, and the Columbia _State_ said that South Carolina was proud
of the regiment and that when the men went to France they would carry
with them the best wishes, the prayers, and the blessing of the best
people of the state.
Just before the regiment left for overseas, the colored citizens
of Columbia presented it with a flag (March 27, 1918). As the men
marched through the principal street of Columbia in full uniform, they
presented a wonderful spectacle. The transformation that had been
wrought in many of them was almost unbelievable, and mothers, fathers,
wives, and friends came from far to see their kinsmen on parade. After
receiving the flag the regiment returned to camp, but it was soon
on its way to France. William Slovens McNutt, in writing about its
departure from Camp Jackson, said that while he was with some officers
he heard a great shout outside and the thump, thump, thump of marching
soldiers. On looking out he saw a Negro regiment passing in full array.
The whole camp was quiet, and the only sound was that of the marching
and the cracking of the packs. The black men from the cotton-fields
were on their way to France. A big Mississippian standing near swore
growlingly under his breath, gulped, and said: “I’m done talking about
niggers. These boys have been fine soldiers here, and if they ever get
back from France, I’m big enough to lick any man who don’t give ’em a
square deal.” Then a soft, quavery voice somewhere in the ranks began
the hymn, “Will there be any stars in my crown?” Others took it up,
and soon the whole regiment was singing the old church song as the men
tramped their solemn way out of camp to put their bodies to the chance
of war on a foreign field.
The regiment sailed from Newport News April 9, 1918, arriving at Brest
on the 23rd. For three days the men drilled, worked, and rested before
their next journey to Rembercourt, the training area. One of its first
duties was to clean up Rembercourt, and the soldiers were interested
to find that the French people would not allow them to remove the
cobwebs from the old barns used as billets because of the superstition
that their removal would bring harm to the family. Some companies
were trained at Marats-le-Grand and others at Marats-le-Petit in the
Rembercourt area. Here under French instructors they did intensive
work, learning the French system, and the rapidity with which they
absorbed the new methods gratified both the French and the American
officers. It took the men some time to get used to the French rations,
and Colonel Miles meanwhile forbade the sale of French wines or any
form of intoxicant to the men in his charge.
The 371st was assigned to the 157th French Division. Its training
period lasted until June 6, when it was ordered to the St. Mihiel
sector to join the 38th Division. While it was proceeding to carry out
the orders and the regimental commander was making reconnaissance
of the sector, the order was rescinded and the regiment was directed
to return to the 13th French Army Corps. It then marched to
Sivry-la-Perche, Bois Bourrus, Vigneville, and Bois de Bethlainville,
where it supported the 68th Division from June 13 to June 22.
On the nights of June 22 and 23 the headquarters company of the First
Battalion entered the front line of the Avocourt sub-sector, west of
Hill 304, for its first experience in modern warfare. After July 14
the regiment moved into the Varrieres sub-sector in the same vicinity,
and the Second and Third Battalions were in support. In this sector
the regiment remained until September 14, most of the time with two
battalions in the line and one in support, although for a short time
the entire regiment was in the front line. During these days there was
some nervousness on the part of the troops as they were constantly
expecting an attack; but it did not take them long to become accustomed
to the artillery fire, and their nonchalant attitude won for them the
admiration and the confidence of the French officers.
The supporting battalion did the night work on the defenses destroyed
by the artillery fire, and its nearness to the front line prevented any
training of the regiment in offensive action. Outpost duty was done,
and at one time the 371st covered as much as five kilometers, which
was its own front and half the front of the 333rd French Infantry at
its left. There were occasional raiding parties and nightly patrols,
and daily there was harassing fire in the sector. Some men were killed
or wounded in these raids, but on the other hand some prisoners were
taken, much to the satisfaction of the French command.
The 371st, though inexperienced in war, occupied and defended its
sectors, and provided for all means of liaison and supply just as
a French infantry regiment was expected to do. More and more its
discipline improved. On September 14 it was taken from the Verdun
region by trucks to Helitz-l’Évêque, Champagne, for two weeks of
training in offensive action, but on the first day of training new
orders came and the regiment marched to Somme Bionne, Champagne, in
the area of the great offensive which was to start on September 26. On
the night of the 26th the regiment marched from the old French line
at Boyan to Butte de Mesnil. At 12.30 on the 27th it was ordered to
a position in readiness behind the crest line facing north between
Butte de Mesnil and Maison Champagne Ferme. A position astride the
Ripont-Gratevil road was reached before daylight. There was heavy gun
fire and there were six casualties in the course of the march.
In accordance with operation order No. 20, issued by the 157th
Division, the First Battalion of the 371st Infantry attacked at 6.45
o’clock on September 28 on a front of 500 meters on the axis Ripont,
Bussy Farm, les Petit Rosières, between the 161st French Division on
the right and the 2nd Moroccan Division on the left. Major Joseph B.
Pate, commanding the First Battalion of the 371st, was ordered to fill
an interval that was reported to have occurred between the 161st and
the 2nd Moroccan Division. On receiving information from the commander
on the right that no gap existed, the First Battalion attacked at the
hour set, but machine-guns held up the advance for a while and caused a
large number of casualties. At daylight it was discovered that the gap
did exist, but defective liaison prevented getting the necessary aid or
artillery support. As a result machine-gun nests had to be taken with
rifle and bayonet at a heavy cost.
The French and the 371st, advancing on Hill 188, withdrew and marched
to the right flank around the hill, as it was filled with machine-gun
nests. The hill was finally taken by the First Battalion of the
371st with the assistance of a battalion of the 372nd Infantry. This
encounter will always be remembered by the 371st, as it was here that
the regiment lost the greatest number of men. Machine-gun fire swept
the crest of the hill, but even this did not stop the advance. When
night came a position had been reached 400 meters south of Le Pied.
Personal reconnaissance by the commander of the Second Battalion
determined that Bussy Farm had been evacuated by the enemy. Acting in
accordance with orders from the 157th Division, the Third Battalion of
the 371st occupied this farm at 7 o’clock on the morning of September
29. At 9.15 on the same morning the entire regiment advanced in a
column of battalions on a front of 500 meters’ distance between
the battalions and 500 meters from the 372nd Infantry on the right
and the 333rd French Infantry on the left. The Third Battalion of
the 371st captured the villages of Ardeuil, Montfauxelle, and the
railroad station, yards, and shops just north of Montfauxelle; and
the advance of the regiment halted at these places for the night.
During this advance Company K of the Third Battalion was on the extreme
left near the French unit. Both were subjected to heavy fire from
the hills before them. Captain Chester D. Heywood, who commanded the
company, ordered an attack to clear the hill. This was successful, and
thirty-five prisoners, including three officers, a 77 M. M. cannon
with its ammunition, and a number of machine-guns were captured. On
September 30 the regiment advanced in the same formation as on the
preceding day, with the Third, Second, and First Battalions from front
to rear in the order given. Trières Farm was captured by the Third
Battalion, which was far in advance of the troops on its right and
left. While in this position it was subjected to heavy fire and there
were heavy losses. The Second Battalion was deployed to the right and
met the same opposition.
On October 1 at 5 o’clock the regiment was relieved of front line duty
and carried to the rear to reorganize. There it remained until October
6. Before entering the great Champagne campaign it had had no training
in offensive operations for battalions, and the signal platoon had had
experience only in a defensive sector. Lack of training on the part
of the signal platoon prevented the regiment from obtaining artillery
assistance even sometimes when it was sorely needed in the advance.
In spite of this handicap the regiment carried the attack forward in
advance of adjacent troops. No French troops led the way for the 371st.
It marched into battle and maintained its approach formation under
heavy fire without faltering. Many officers stayed at their posts even
when wounded, continually encouraging their men; and on the other hand
there were numerous acts of heroism and devotion to duty on the part of
the men.
During the regiment’s advance it shot down three German aeroplanes
which were flying low and directing the firing. This was a unique
record. Ninety prisoners were taken, and of a total strength of 2384
the losses of the regiment in the Champagne offensive were as follows:
Officers, killed 4, died of wounds 4, wounded 41, total 49; Enlisted
men, killed 101, died of wounds 6, wounded 866, total 973; Missing 30;
Total 1052.
Such figures are cold. Let us note some of the concrete deeds that were
afterwards cited for honors. Near Champagne, on September 28, Corporal
Sandy E. Jones was engaged as company clerk and was left behind to care
for the company records. “When he learned that all the company officers
had become casualties, he immediately went forward, and, collecting the
scattered elements of the company, reorganized them under most trying
and difficult conditions.” Private Reuben Burrell, “although painfully
wounded in the knee, refused to be evacuated, stating that if he went
to the rear there would not be enough left for his group to function.”
Privates Ellison Moses and Junius Diggs, after their companies had been
forced to withdraw from advanced positions, “went forward and rescued
wounded soldiers, working persistently until all of them had been
carried to shelter.” Four other men, among them Bruce Stoney, Charlie
Butler, and Willie Boston, “crawled 200 yards ahead of our lines under
violent machine-gun fire and rescued an officer who was lying mortally
wounded in a shell hole.” These are only a few of the individual acts
of heroism.
After the Champagne offensive the regiment was withdrawn and sent to
a quiet sector in the Vosges Mountains, the Bonhomme sub-sector in
Alsace. It remained there from October 16 until after the Armistice,
with the assistance of one battalion of Chasseurs holding over eight
kilometers of front. There were no important operations here and for
the first time the reserve battalions were given intensive training.
During the service with the French there were always the most cordial
relations. General Goybet had sincere affection for these Negro troops
and took personal pride in what they did. Other generals and the French
soldiers also learned to respect and admire them for their soldierly
qualities and their bravery; and so did the Moroccan division. General
Garnier Duplessis, commander of the 9th Army Corps of France, after
watching the deeds of the 371st and 372nd in the Champagne offensive,
said, “I salute the brave American regiments who have equalled in
intrepidity their French comrades.” Colonel Quillet, who commanded
the regiment in the decisive battle that brought victory, said: “In
sectors they have shown endurance, a vigilance, a spirit of devotion,
and a remarkable discipline. In battle they have taken by storm with
a magnificent animation very strong positions doggedly defended by
the enemy.” On October 11, when the regiment came out of battle, the
commander of the 157th Division wrote Colonel Miles, saying, “Your
troops have been admirable in their attack”; and when the famous
157th “Red Hand Division” was broken up, General Goybet commended
the American Negro soldiers for the part they had taken in the great
struggle as follows: “During seven months we have lived as brothers
in arms, sharing the same works, the same fatigues, the same dangers;
side by side we have participated in the great Champagne battle, which
was crowned with a prodigious victory. The 157th Division will never
forget the irresistible dash, the heroic push of the colored American
troops.... The most formidable defenses, the best organized machine-gun
nests, the most smashing artillery barrage could not stop them. These
élite regiments crossed all of it with a superb disdain of death and,
thanks to their courageous devotion, the Red Hand Division during nine
days of hard struggle always held the lead in the historic advance of
the Fourth Army.”
For its splendid fighting in the Champagne battles the regiment was
commended by the French high command and the regimental colors were
decorated by Vice-Admiral Moreau in Brest January 27, 1919. The
citation reads as follows:
The 371st R. I. U. S. has shown, during its first engagement, the
very best qualities of bravery and audacity which are characteristic
of shock troops.
Under the command of Colonel Miles, it launched itself with a
superb spirit and admirable disregard of danger at the assault of a
position stubbornly defended by the enemy. It took it by terrible
fighting, under an exceptionally violent machine-gun fire. It then
continued its progression in spite of the fire of enemy artillery
and its cruel losses, making numerous prisoners, securing cannon,
machine-guns and important material.
PETAIN,
Marshal of France.
Thirty-four individual Croix de Guerre for officers and sixty-nine for
enlisted men, one Legion of Honor, and twenty-one Distinguished Service
Crosses were awarded to members of the regiment. The 371st sailed
from Brest February 3, 1919, and arrived at Camp Upton February 11th.
Thence the men were sent to the camps nearest their homes, and most of
them naturally went to Camp Jackson. Amid the plaudits of the city of
Columbia they returned the flag that had been given them, and South
Carolina, that had hesitated to receive and train these black sons of
hers, had the magnanimity to admit that no other organization that
represented the state in the World War had shed as much luster upon it
or brought as much glory to it as the 371st Regiment of Negro soldiers.
372ND INFANTRY
The 372nd Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Stuart, Newport News,
in January, 1918, of infantry troops from the First Separate Battalion
of Washington, D. C., the Ninth Separate Battalion of Ohio, First
Separate Company I of Maryland, First Separate Company K of Tennessee,
First Separate Company M of Connecticut, and Company L of the 6th
Massachusetts Regiment. These organizations had survived since the
Spanish-American War by reason of the enthusiasm of a few commanders
who had held them together from year to year in spite of handicaps,
until the call to arms in 1917.
Every one of these units had made an interesting record. The First
Separate Battalion of Washington was the first unit of district
guardsmen to be mobilized for duty on the Mexican Border in 1916. It
served for four months, spending a part of the time at Naco, Ariz.,
where it guarded waterworks. On March 29, 1917, just before the United
States entered the war, it was mustered into the Federal service and
called to guard the White House, the Capitol, and other Government
buildings and railroad properties around Washington. The Ninth Ohio
Battalion was composed of companies from Springfield, Cleveland, and
Columbus. It was called to the mobilization center in 1916, but was
not ordered to the border. In July, 1917, when the regiment was called
to service, efforts were made to raise it to war strength, which was
finally reached at Camp Stuart. The First Separate Company of Maryland
was organized in the 80’s by Capt. William R. Spencer, who commanded it
for nearly thirty years. In 1917 it first went to Pittsburgh for guard
duty, but later was sent to Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala., where it
served at the remount station until it was ordered to France. While at
Camp McClellan it participated in a review of thirty-five thousand men
and was conceded by the reviewers to be the best drilled company in the
line of march. Company K of Tennessee, commanded by Captain Hadley, was
the only National Guard company of Negro men in the South. It trained
at Camp Sevier, Greenville, S. C., before joining the 372nd at Newport
News. Company M of Connecticut was one of the two National Guard
companies in New England composed of Negro men. During the years of its
existence it trained in camp with the Connecticut National Guard, which
as early as 1904 it accompanied to Manassas, Va., for the Bull Run sham
battle. During the maneuvers an unfortunate incident occurred, two
troopers in the unit opposing this company being injured, and it was
withdrawn from further participation in the event. Company L, of the
Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, was the only Negro company attached to a
white regiment in the United States; and William J. Williams, the first
captain, was the first Negro to receive that commission in the United
States Volunteer Army. This company served in the Spanish-American
War, and it was mustered into the Federal service on the day that the
United States declared war on Germany. It was first sent to Fort Smith,
N. H., where it remained until July. Thence it was moved successively
to Framingham, Ayer, the Watertown Arsenal, where it was raised to war
strength, then to Westfield, and thence to Camp Greene, Charlotte, N.
C. In January, 1918, it was ordered to Camp Stuart to join the other
National Guard units preparatory to the formation of the 372nd Regiment
under the command of Colonel Glendie B. Young. While organization was
being completed, the men were given three months of intensive training
in all forms of offensive and defensive tactics.
On March 30 the regiment sailed for France, arriving at St. Nazaire
on April 13. It was stationed in one of the rest camps outside the
city, details doing stevedore work at Montoir until the 21st, when
the regiment was ordered to the Givry-en-Argonne training area,
where it was billeted at Condé-en-Barrois. Under French officers
intensive instruction was given in the use of hand and rifle grenades,
machine-guns and automatic rifles, trench construction and battle
formations; and during this period the regiment was reorganized in
accordance with the French table of organization and became an integral
part of the 63rd Division of the French Army.
Leaving Condé-en-Barrois on May 27, the 372nd proceeded to towns in
the Meuse and Vosges Departments, there to await operation orders.
These were received on June 6, the different battalions being assigned
to the sub-sector Argonne (Meuse), which was placed under the command
of Colonel Young. The First Battalion was located at La Noue and Les
Islettes as reserve to the 63rd Division, the Second at Camp Kapp and
Basse Chevrie, and the Third at Courtes Chousses. There were no large
offensive operations in this sector, but patrols from both sides gave
the regiment its first real opportunity to see modern warfare.
On June 21 the 372nd was transferred from the 63rd to the 35th
French Division, the latter having relieved the 63rd. On June 27 the
commanding officer of the 35th Division ordered the 372nd to relieve
the 123rd French R. I. in the Vauquois Sector (Meuse). This relief,
which was made by the battalions going into the line separately,
continued until July 3, when it was completed. On July 2 the regiment
was again transferred, this time to the 157th “Red Hand” Division.
It was immediately ordered to occupy new positions in support, and
from July 11 to 14 it relieved the 49th French R. I. in sub-sector
Courcelles. The First Battalion on the night of the 11th moved to Bois
de Fenchères, the Second and supply company on the following night to
Camp Demougin at Brabant, and the Third and headquarters company to
Lochères. On July 4, 1918, Colonel Herschel Tupes relieved Colonel
Young in the command of the regiment.
The 372nd moved into second-line positions on July 18. The First
Battalion was stationed at sub-sector West, the Second at Vigneville,
and the Third at Bois de Bethelainsville. On the 26th the regiment
moved into a sub-sector of Hill 304 in the Verdun region, where it
relieved the 333rd French Regiment. This relief was completed on the
28th, with the First Battalion in the front line left of sub-sector
304, the Second on the right of 304, and the Third in reserve at Camp
Dormandie. The regiment remained in the Verdun region throughout the
month of August. Here it took part in no offensive operations except
active patrol duty; yet the men were under constant bombardment, which
made the line of communication difficult to hold in order. Detachments
took part in two attacks, which were accompanied by artillery operation
put over by the 333rd French Regiment. On both occasions the men of the
372nd were praised for their conduct under fire. Sub-sector 304 was
organized and consolidated for the first time by this regiment.
While in this sector the Negro officers, many of whom had been with
their units for years, were removed. It was natural that the removal
of those who had helped to organize and promote their organizations
should affect the morale of the regiment for a time, but the men
finally adjusted themselves to the changes and the work of the regiment
proceeded.
On September 8 the 129th U. S. Infantry relieved the 372nd. The
battalions marched to Bois de Brocourt and Bois de Fouchères, where
they remained until September 12, when orders arrived to leave for
the training area in Brienne le Château. Four days later they were
ordered by train to Vitry-le-François in Haute-Marne, and thence they
proceeded by night marches through Jussacourt, Contault-le-Maupas,
Dommartin-sur-Yevre, and Mes Maigneaux to Hans, ten kilometers west of
Ste. Menehould, where they arrived on September 25.
In the big offensive the attack which had been scheduled for the Fourth
Army began at 5.25 on the morning of September 26. The mission of the
157th French Division was “to exploit the successes after the initial
breaking through attack had attained the assigned objectives.” The
372nd was ordered to advance at 3 in the afternoon. The headquarters
and headquarters company occupied the north bank of Marson Brook, and
the three battalions were on the south of the brook. On the 27th the
First and Third Battalions marched north to new positions in Ravin
d’Hébaterne, while the Second Battalion was held in reserve for the
157th Division. On the 28th the Second Battalion advanced to Ripont
by Corduroy road. The Third was ordered to attack north of Ripont
Rouvroy road, which it did at 11.30. Stubborn resistance was offered
by the enemy from their entrenchments on Crete-des-Observatoires, but
after hard fighting, which lasted the entire afternoon, this position
was rushed and cleared. The Third Battalion captured in this advance
60 prisoners, one 105-calibre field-gun, two 77-calibre field-guns,
2 anti-tank rifles, and large quantities of material and small arm
ammunition. The Third Battalion continued its advance until night,
reaching the woods south of Bussy Farm, three and a half kilometers
north of Ripont. Its ranks had been greatly depleted in the day’s
operations.
On September 29 the First Battalion was ordered to attack towards
Moulin, L’Avébrune, and then towards Challerange, but after starting
the attack it was obliged to leave its direction of attack and advance
toward Sechault because of the strong resistance from that direction.
The town was finally captured, the First Battalion of the 372nd
assisting. Because of the casualties suffered by the First and Third
Battalions, they were ordered at nightfall to the woods south of Bussy
Farm, where they were reorganized into one provisional battalion.
On September 30 the Second Battalion advanced to a plateau 250 meters
south of Bussy Farm and on October 1 to Trières Farm, where it relieved
a battalion of the 371st Infantry. The provisional battalion, commanded
by Major Johnson, advanced three kilometers north of Sechault on the
Sechault-Monthoise road, capturing the town of Ardeuil. On October
3 the advance was held up, pending the capture of Croix de Langley,
west of Monthoise, by the 120th French Division, which was stopped
in its advance. The enemy took advantage of a heavy fog on the 4th
and launched a strong counter-attack, assisted by heavy artillery
preparation. This attack, which developed into a hand-to-hand combat,
was completely repulsed by two battalions of the 333rd French Regiment,
and the Second Battalion of the 372nd, the enemy leaving behind 55
prisoners and 6 machine-guns.
The 372nd was relieved on October 6 by a French regiment and moved
southward to the north banks of Marson Brook for the 7th, and on to
Somme Bionne, 12 kilometers west of Ste. Menehould, on the 8th. Its
fighting qualities were put to severe test in the Champagne offensive
from September 26 to October 7. The nature of the attack may be judged
by the losses sustained. Seven officers and 74 enlisted men were killed
and 32 officers and 435 men were wounded. Three of the wounded officers
afterwards died.
The regiment entrained at Valmy in Champagne on the 11th for Alsace,
arriving at Corcieux in the Department of Vosges the following day.
Here it detrained and marched to St. Leonard, preparatory to entering
the front lines to relieve the 70th French Infantry at Ban-de-Laveline
in sub-sector B on the 15th. It remained in this sector until after
the armistice. On the night of November 7 patrols were sent out from
each battalion to gain contact with the enemy, who were believed to
be retreating. A patrol from the Second Battalion, consisting of an
officer and twenty-three men, advanced two kilometers into territory
occupied by the Germans, who surrounded them. The officer and one
man were killed. All the rest, a number of whom were wounded, were
captured, with the exception of one man, who made his escape and
returned to the battalion. On the last morning of the war another
patrol went 1200 meters into the enemy’s line and captured a soldier
of the 2nd Ersatz Bavarian Regiment. There were no heavy offensives
in sub-sector B, but there was aggressive patrolling, which secured
valuable information from the enemy. On November 17 the regiment was
ordered to Granges, Ammontzev, and Jussarupt in the Vosges, where it
remained until January 1. At Ammontzev, on December 17, 1918, General
Goybet, commander of the 157th French Division, awarded the Croix de
Guerre to those officers and men who had won the coveted prize, and
Colonel Tupes presented to eight men the Distinguished Service Cross.
The 157th, the “Red Hand Division,” was ordered dissolved on December
20. At the same time the 372nd was returned to the American Army. The
regiment had served with the French since April, 1918. During that
time the relations had been most friendly, the men of the two nations
working together in perfect harmony. The 372nd played an important
part in the operations of its division. Its occupation of sub-sector
Argonne Quest, considered a phase of training, was satisfactorily
conducted. In the Vauquois sub-sector its mission was difficult and
important, namely, the defense of Côtes-de-Foriment, the key to the
Aire Valley, which was threatened by a German offensive. Its fighting
in the Champagne and its capture of Crete-des-Observatoires, the key to
Challerange and Monthois, caused the French Higher Command to say that
its achievements were equal to those of any French unit in its division.
The regiment entrained for Le Mans on January 1, arriving two days
afterwards. There it remained until the 11th, when it was ordered to
Brest, where it arrived on the 14th. At Brest, on January 24, 1919, the
regimental colors were decorated with the Croix de Guerre with palm by
Vice-Admiral Moreau of the French Navy. The citation said:
The 372nd Infantry
Gave proof during its first engagement of the finest qualities
of bravery and daring exploits, which are the virtues of assaulting
troops.
Under the orders of Colonel Tupes, dashed with superb gallantry
and admirable scorn of danger, the assault of a position continuously
defended by the enemy, taking it by storm under exceptionally violent
machine-gun fire, continued the progress in spite of the enemy’s
artillery fire and severe fire. Made numerous prisoners, captured
cannons, many machine-guns and important war material.
(Signed) QUILLET,
Colonel, Commanding 157th L. D.
Of individual heroes in the regiment thus cited for gallantry there
were many. Two of the most outstanding were Corporal Clarence R.
Van Alen, of Boston, and Sergeant Clifton Merrimon, of Cambridge,
both of whom were members of the “Old 6th Massachusetts” and both of
whom received the extraordinary triple decoration of the Croix de
Guerre with palm, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medaille
Militaire. On the morning of September 28, 1918, when his company was
under a gruelling fire from hidden German machine-gun nests, Corporal
Van Alen, having determined the location of one of these, rushed it
single-handed. He killed four of the operators and brought the other
three as prisoners into the American lines, himself escaping with a
few scratches. Later on the same day, and during the same engagement,
he rushed and captured single-handed a trench mortar battery that was
inflicting severe losses upon the French lines. Corporal (afterwards
Sergeant) Merrimon, near Bussy Farm on September 27, made an attack
with hand grenades on an enemy machine-gun which was causing heavy
losses to his platoon, and succeeded in killing the gunner and putting
the gun out of commission. He then reorganized the remainder of the
platoon, leading his men to their position south of Bussy Farm.
Although gassed himself, he silenced the machine-gun single-handed.
Colonel Tupes himself was decorated with the Croix de Guerre, and
altogether four members of the regiment received the Medaille Militaire
and fifty-two the Croix de Guerre.
The 372nd sailed for America on February 3, 1919, landing at Hoboken on
Lincoln’s Birthday. Demobilization was completed on March 6.
* * * * *
Of such nature was the work and the fighting of the 93rd Division of
the American Army in France, which was composed of Negro soldiers and
whose different regiments were so largely decorated with the Croix de
Guerre with palm.
CHAPTER X
HOME-FIRES
“Keep the home-fires burning,
While your hearts are yearning;
Though your lads are far away
They dream of home;
There’s a silver lining
Through the dark cloud shining;
Turn the dark cloud inside out
Till the boys come home.”
To the American returning from France in 1919, the whole country that
had been the scene of the war came back like a panorama or a dream.
The moans of the dying and the devastation of homes and villages
mingled with the treasures of art and the shrines of devotion. Perhaps
he recalled the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the Palace of Kings
at Fontainebleau, the tombs of Voltaire and Rousseau and Hugo, the
Luxembourg, or the never-to-be-forgotten Promenade at Nice. Roman ruins
and amphitheatres, the parade on Bastille Day, fireworks on the Seine,
nights at the opera, the games at the Pershing Stadium, the endless
coming and going at Brest, even memories of Héloïse and Abelard, all
crowded upon the mind to awaken wonder. But above all, far above all,
came back the France of the Great Soul, of Liberty and Fraternity and
Courage, of the “Marseillaise,”--of Verdun and the deathless word, “Ils
ne passeront pas.”
It is a country to love, a country worth dying for. Yet few Americans
would prefer even France to their own wonderful land. Memories of those
at home rushed back even on the field of battle; and though he lived in
Mississippi or Montana, to the returning soldier even the harbor of New
York spoke of home. After all there is nothing like the land of one’s
birth and loved ones. “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
To the Negro soldier who went to France the experience was, as for
every soldier, one ever to be remembered. Some men who in Alabama or
Louisiana had in all their lives hardly been twenty-five miles from
home were suddenly taken thousands of miles away, across the Atlantic,
to decide the fate of empires. Altogether four hundred thousand Negro
men answered their country’s call. Of these a little more than half saw
service abroad, and many never came back.
Of those who remained at home importance attached to an organization of
which little has been said in these pages, that of the Students’ Army
Training Corps. Units of this were established in twenty representative
educational institutions, and with inspiring ceremony on October 1,
1918, the flower of the young men of the nation, in these and other
colleges, took the oath of loyalty to the flag. Meanwhile black
fathers and mothers invested millions of dollars in Liberty Bonds and
War Savings Stamps and contributed generously to all the numerous
“drives”; and history has not yet told of how much the Negro woman,
working hard in the fields of the South, did to feed her country and
the world while the war was on.
To the Negro soldier no thought was dearer or more inspiring than
that of these women at home, so largely defenceless; and no hope was
stronger than that the future might be better for them and their
children. Only such feeling explains the tenderness, even the tears,
with which the men in uniform greeted the women of their race who in
one way or another strove to help them. At Camp McClellan one man was
daily growing weaker from pneumonia. One morning a Negro woman who was
a member of the Red Cross brought some flowers to be given to him. A
beautiful rose was selected by the Chaplain who, when giving it to
the soldier, said, “This is the flower that the lady brought you this
morning.” “For me?” asked the man; then, looking at the gift with all
its beautiful suggestion, he said, “Chaplain, I am twenty-three years
old. Do you know that this is the first time anyone ever gave me a
flower?” Overseas it was the same. To one talented young woman who went
to France to try to bring good cheer, and who inspired the men by her
beautiful playing on the piano, a soldier wrote appreciatively: “I just
want to thank you for the way you entertained us soldiers last evening
and say that you really did bring sunshine to us all. To-day it seems
that a burden has been lifted off us, and we wish you could stay in
our camp forever. I feel better than I have felt in the whole eleven
months that I have been overseas. All the soldiers are talking of you
to-day; it has been a year since some of them saw a colored woman. A
friend of mine is from Cincinnati and he joins me in wishing you Good
Luck and Godspeed.”
Not only through the personal presence of such a worker as this but
in far-reaching and unseen ways the influences of home were brought
to bear upon the men at the front. Sometimes in the darkest night the
great good cheer and the big heart of the Negro shone forth. More than
one man “higher up,” while on patrol in No Man’s Land, was buoyed up
by the simple faith of an untutored Negro lad. “Officer,” said one, in
such a situation, “it is hard, but I’m with you to the end.” On another
night, before they went over the top, six boys were in a dug-out. After
talking things over, one suggested that they say the Lord’s Prayer.
Only one knew it; but while a game of dice was going on in another
corner, the little group knelt and repeated the words, gathering
strength for the attack that was to come before the new day. Hearing
a slight noise toward the close, they turned and saw that a major had
come into the dug-out. “Let’s say it again, boys,” he said, “it gives
me more courage too.” Then they knelt again and the officer joined with
them in the prayer.
In many ways the war meant the awakening of new impulses. As one
traveled through the South, again and again he noticed a service
flag at the window, sometimes in a cabin forlorn and dilapidated,
sometimes in one neat and in a cluster of trees or surrounded by
cotton. Sometimes there was only one star, but often there were two;
and whenever those stars appeared they meant that the deeper springs
of life were being stirred, and that a people whose horizon had been
limited was beginning to think in terms of the world. If such was
the influence at home, even stronger was that with the men who went
to France. They were thrilled with a new hope. One and all they were
willing to give their very lives if things might be better for those
in the little home in South Carolina or Georgia. They had seen their
glorious Stars and Stripes and they knew that they had not fully
realized its benefits; but now as never before that banner unfurled
meant democracy, and as a beacon light it pointed the way for all
lovers of liberty. Negro men went to war believing that a new day was
dawning for them, and that loyalty to their country’s cause in her hour
of need would be the means of their enjoying in fuller measure the
blessings for which they were fighting. In that faith they were willing
to face shells and gas at Verdun, in Champagne, and in the Argonne, or
wherever duty might lead them.
When the war closed then, it is unfortunate that the experiences of
thousands of these men had embittered them instead of bringing them
into the freedom for which they had longed. Let us pass over smaller
matters and consider only two of the larger reasons that accounted
for their feeling. It is possible that no group similarly situated
did more to make Armistice Day possible than did the American Negro
soldiers; and we have seen that the record of the 369th Infantry
was such that it was given the honor of leading French troops to the
Rhine. When, however, in Paris, on July 14, 1919--on Bastille Day,
the day of freedom--the Allied generals and their armies participated
in the greatest military demonstration in the history of the world,
the American Negro was not there. Other nations had all the races
that fought under their flags in line. Belgium had her black colonial
troops; England had Indians and Africans with her own sons and her
soldiers from the colonies; and France had her Senegalese, Moroccans,
Algerians, Soudanese, and Madagascans: every race that came to her
defence was in her victorious army on that memorable day. Only America
left her Negro troops behind. The last soldiers in the Victory Parade
passed down the Champs Elysees, and still the hero of the 369th or the
371st had not appeared. He alone in the day of glory was the Disowned,
the Disinherited.
Then there was “Le Panthéon de la Guerre,” a great painting by “Pierre
Carrier-Belleuse, Auguste François Gorguet, and their associates, who
on the morrow of the victory of the Marne undertook a work for the
glorification of France.” Standing before the painting one beheld
thousands of French heroes, officers of all ranks, and soldiers,
gunners, horsemen, sailors, and aviators--every group that represented
France. Along the right of this great circular painting were seen
the Allied nations, represented by their sovereigns, statesmen, and
military leaders, with representatives of the groups that assisted in
the great struggle. Colonial as well as European soldiers were there.
In the American group President Wilson stood in the center with one of
his peace documents, and on either side were members of the cabinet,
statesmen, military and naval leaders. Every group of Americans was
supposed to be represented, and all were there--soldiers, sailors,
business men, farmers, cowboys, Indians,--all except the Negro, the
Negro soldier, and the stevedore who bore the heavy load. It was not
sufficient to say to the Negro that this was an accidental omission; he
knew better.
This, then, is the question for Americans. Either these things are true
or they are not. Either they are just or they are not. That they are
true everybody knows. That they are just we leave to the conscience of
our readers.
Meanwhile let us remember that now as ever the Negro has faith in his
country and in the principles for which it stands. In every crisis he
has been loyal and true. In the World War, in spite of propaganda,
he answered promptly every call. For him, as for others, the draft
was a great Americanizer. It did within a year what decades of quiet
existence would not have done. It carried him far from his home and
showed him other peoples and other customs; and as never before he
realized that he was to do a man’s part for his own country’s welfare.
As a result of the war also there was co-operation between the races
in communities where previously little or none had existed. The
inter-racial committees that have been organized throughout the South
are the direct outgrowth of efforts to work together in the course of
the war. The welfare organizations moreover introduced for Negro young
men and women such wholesome recreation as had not been enjoyed by them
in large numbers before. Through this work standards developed and a
new appreciation of the place that such recreation should have in the
lives of the youth of the race.
And in the years to come who will read of the work of the Negro
stevedores without feeling that America owes a great debt to these
men? They had a heavy and sometimes an unpleasant task, but the zeal
with which they worked hastened the peace and saved the lives of
thousands of men. In the 92nd Division also more than 20,000 Negro men
were moulded into a great fighting organization, officered largely by
Negroes for the first time in the history of America; while the record
of the 93rd Division is one to make not only every Negro but also every
American proud.
Such memories linger in the mind of every man who played his part on
the field of battle, and also of that one who offered himself for
his country but happened not to be called to the front. Forgetting
themselves, but uplifted with hope, they went forth in the spirit of
the Master. Risking life itself, they were willing to die, if need be,
that others might live. They had only sublime faith in their country,
and over all was the divine purpose, “For God and Home and Native Land.”
Transcriber’s Notes
- Where hyphenation was inconsistent, this has been standardized using
the one more common in this text. Where that was not possible to
discern, the most common hyphenation in use at the time of publication
has been used.
- Several unconventional spellings for French locations have been left
as per the original, except where otherwise noted.
- Page 28: “The fact than many” changed to “The fact that many”
- Page 36: “The Plattsburgh idea of military training was” changed to
“The Plattsburg idea of military training was”
- Page 42: “manual of physical” changed to “manual or physical”
- Page 46: “words of farewell and mpressed” changed to “words of
farewell and impressed”
- Page 46: “a surprisingly efficient organzation” changed to “a
surprisingly efficient organization”
- Page 60: “not always carried out.”” changed to “not always carried
out.”
- Page 70: “his own comrades in arms” changed to “his own comrades in
arms.”
- Page 80: “the first Satuday of each month” changed to “the first
Saturday of each month”
- Page 89: “was at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, O.” changed to “was at
Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.”
- Page 103: “erected for Negro stevedores” changed to “erected for
Negro stevedores.”
- Page 114: “The next moring a hundred white and colored soldiers”
changed to “The next morning a hundred white and colored soldiers”
- Page 116: “Here there was a minstrel troup” changed to “Here there
was a minstrel troupe”
- Page 124: “the young woman who recieved the yarn” changed to “the
young woman who received the yarn”
- Page 143: “317th Engineers, The task” changed to “317th Engineers.
The task”
- Page 168: “positions of Champey, Bouières, La Côte,” changed to
“positions of Champey, Bouxières, La Côte,”
- Page 179: “measles, parolitis” changed to “measles, parotitis”
- Page 188: “by a heavy minewerfer” changed to “by a heavy minenwerfer”
- Page 197: “northeast of Châlons in the Campagne” changed to
“northeast of Châlons in the Champagne”
- Page 212: “Vauxaillon with the Arlette Canal” changed to “Vauxaillon
with the Ailette Canal”
- Page 227: “General Garnier Duplossis” changed to “General Garnier
Duplessis”
- Page 236: “capturing the town of Ardueil.” changed to “capturing the
town of Ardeuil.”
- Page 248: “not only ever Negro but also every American proud” changed
to “not only every Negro but also every American proud”
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