Salesmen's Instructions
HOW TO SELL
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE
GREAT WORLD WAR
HIS SPLENDID RECORDS IN THE BATTLE
ZONES OF EUROPE
—By W. Allison Sweeney.
THIS SAMPLE CANVASSING BOOK is prepared for the purpose of giving
you and your customers a perfect understanding of the contents and binding
of this wonderful work. Read the title page, extract from the foreword, the
table of contents, all of the chapter headings and specimen pages of text. Study
all of the pictures and read every line of description under them. You will
then understand what the book contains and with the additional following in¬
formation, you will be equipped to go out and take orders fast.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 12,000,000 NEGROES IN THE UNITED
STATES. This is the book, THE SWEENEY BOOK, that the millions are wait¬
ing for. IT IS A THOROUGH RACE BOOK. EVERY PAGE GIVEN OVER
TO THIS SUBJECT. It is not padded up with old matter not pertaining to the
race. It is your guide and authority on matters pertaining to your welfare. It
points out that when citizens of the United States, from 18 to 45 years of age,
were drafted and examined that the official records of the draft board accord the
Negro race with from 5 to 7 per cent the better showing. This record entitles
you to life insurance; and many other things equally important to your welfare
are pointed out clearly and accurately. It is backed by the best race newspapers
in America. It brings out the facts that the race has not had a previous oppor¬
tunity to see in print and to possess in permanent book form.
Authorship: Our author, W. ALLISON SWEENEY, contributing editor
of the Chicago Defender, eloquent orator, brilliant writer, and most able and
fearless race champion, is known and beloved by the Negro race. Millions
have read his truthful and inspiring articles and have been helped and uplifted
thereby. He has put his heart and soul in this wonderful book and now pro¬
nounces it the best book that has been published or will be, for years to come.
Mr. Sweeney was a warm personal friend and associate of the late Booker T.
Washington, who highly endorsed Mr. Sweeney's brilliant and truthful literary
master pieces.
Mr. Sweeney is the only author of a Negro War Book in America today
who dares to tell his people the truth, since he is independent of any special
interests and is guided only by facts.
On page three of this sample, is a list of those distinguished men whose
spoken words or specially written articles also appear in the book.
With the publication of this grand book, a new era of LIBERTY, PROG¬
RESS and OPPORTUNITY dawns for every Negro in AMERICA.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME that a book of such literary excellence and high
character has been produced for the race. IT IS THE FIRST TIME in the history
of Negro publications that the text of a book has been printed from clear new
type with the illustrations all printed on 1st grade enameled, ivory finished
paper.
The cover stamp and color effects thereon, have been designed and exe¬
cuted by an artist that has no peer in the UNITED STATES. IT IS THE FIRST
BOOK that contains 8 beautiful plates tinted in many colors. These colored
illustrations have not been printed on the back so if desired, can readily be
removed for framing. If sold separately they would easily bring 50c each or
$4.00 for the set.
The halftone illustrations show every phase of war activities, on 64 full-
pages and present over 100 different subjects.
THE STORY IS TOLD OF THE UNYIELDING DEFENSE of the Negro
soldiers against the finest German shock troops ever put into action and the
unwavering advance against the most murderous rifle and machine gun fire,
poison gas and artillery concentration ever devised. A narrative of entire regi¬
ments and battalions cited for bravery, gallantry and meritorious conduct. The
tale of individual exploits and lists of those receiving coveted decorations—the
names of hundreds who won the Distinguished Service Cross, the Croix de
Guerre, the Medal Militaire or the Cross of the Legion of Honor. No prouder
record has yet come to light.
IT TELLS ABOUT THE QUIET HEROES OF THE BRAWNY ARM of
the service. The Negro Stevedore, Pioneer and Labor Units, who swung the axe
and turned the wheel—they were indispensable. They were active everywhere
in France. They acquired a splendid reputation and won many contests and
awards, and took great pride in their service.
THAT THE NEGRO WAS A GALLANT AND MERITORIOUS SOLDIER
CANNOT BE DENIED. That his conduct in battle and his deeds of heroism
reflected imperishable fame upon his race and contributed in marked degree
to the successful military achievements of his country, is well established from
authentic sources, and is recounted in inspiring detail in the book. The story
of those Negro patriots, men and women who assisted in Red Cross and Y. M.
C. A. work; who toiled tirelessly and contributed to Liberty Loan and Thrift
Stamp Campaigns and who gave nobly of their time, services and money in War
Camp .Community and Welfare Work.
CLOTH BINDING STYLE No. 1. POINT OUT THE MILITANT NEGRO
SOLDIER, stamped in gold on the cover of this sample book standing between
the Distinguished Service Cross of the United States to the left, and the Croix
de Guerre of France on the right, decorations for distinguished service of
which the brave Negro soldiers won great numbers.
The title stamped on the back cover of this sample shows the thickness
of the complete book. This stamping appears on the back bone of the com¬
plete volume.
LIBRARY BINDING STYLE No. 2. NEXT TO THE LAST PAGE IN
YOUR SAMPLE is shown a photograph of the best binding, this photograph is
reduced one third, but the complete volume is 9 inches high, the same as your
sample book. The library style is bound in full seal grained keratol leather,
a special material that will last for generations to come. The massive and
beautiful side stamp and back title are embossed in gold—it costs only $1.00
more than the cloth binding.
Having followed these instructions you now are equipped to go out and
take orders and we suggest that you call on members of the race first. Ask
your minister to kindly endorse the book. You may prefer to supply him a
copy at cost to you.
He will make an announcement from the pulpit telling his audience that
you have this wonderful book for distribution, as he will realize that, next to
the Bible, this volume is the most helpful and inspiring—religion and the eleva¬
tion of mankind go hand in hand.
Write us frequently, making reports on your work. We wish you abund¬
ant Success.
THE PUBLISHERS.
HISTORY
OF THE
American Negro
Great World War
BATTLE ZONES OF EUROPE
INCLUDING A RESUME
OF HIS PAST SERVICES TO
HIS COUNTRY IN THE WARS OF
THE REVOLUTION. OF 1812,
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
THE INDIAN WARS ON THE FRONTIER.
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
AND THE LATE IMBROGLIO WITH MEXICO.
WT ALLISON SWEENEY
CONTRIDUT1NG EDITOR OF THE CHICAGO DEFENDER.
PROFUSELY AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED
IN THE
HIS SPLENDID RECORD
IN THE
BY
COPYRIGHT 1919,
G. G. SAPP
THIS
HISTORY
OF THE
AMERICAN NEGRO
IN THE
GREAT WORLD WAR
IS REINFORCED BY
THE OFFICIAL RECORDS
OFTftE
WAR DEPARTMENT
INCLUDING TRIBUTES
FROM
FRENCH AND AMERICAN COMMANDERS
SPOKEN AND WRITTEN WORDS
BY
J. E. MORELAND
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY Y. M. C. A.
ROBERT SENGSTACKE ABBOTT
EDITOR CHICAGO DEFENDER
RALPH TYLER
EX-THIRD AUDITOR THE NAVY
JULIUS ROSENWALD
PHILANTHROPIST
COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG
UNITED STATES ARMY
WILLIS O. TYLER
MEMBER LOS ANGELES BAR
CAPT. R. P. ROOTS
VETERAN SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
WITH A COMPLETE SUMMARY
OF THE
ACTIVITIES OF THE 370TH "OLD EIGHTH"
IN THE WORLD WAR
FROM THE COUNTRY'S CALL
TO THE DAY OF ITS MUSTERING OUT
BY
CAPT. JOHN H. PATTON, ADJUTANT
W. ALLISON SWEENEY, SAYS:—
(Publisher's Note—When the last installment of the manuscript of
this work, "History of the American Negro in the Great Wprld War" was
returned to us by Mr. Sweeney, he was asked if he had not an opinion to
express—a word to say directly of the finished work. Following are excerpts
from his great message):
HAVE I—
A word to say? And of this fine book?
THE BEST HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
NEGRO IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR, THAT
AS YET HAS BEEN WRITTEN OR WILL BE
FOR YEARS TO COME?
THERE ARE—
Books and books; histories and histories; treatise after
treatise; covering every realm of speculative investigation;
every field of fact and fancy; of inspiration and deed, past
and present, that in this 20th century of haste and bustle, of
miraculous mechanical equipment are born daily and die as
quickly. But there are also books, that like some men marked
before their birth for a place amongst the " Seats of the
MIGHTY"; an association with the IMMORTALS, that
'4Were not born to die."
This book seems of that glorious company.
Beyond the written word of the text, the reader is gripped
with a certain FELT but unprinted power of suggestion; a
sense of the nation's crime against him, the Negro, stretch¬
ing back through the centuries; the shame and humiliation
that is at last overtaking it, that has not been born of the
"Print Shops" since the sainted LINCOLN went his way,
leaving behind him a trail of glory, shining like the sun;
' the rnth of which, freed through the mandate of his great
soul MABCHED FOUR MILLION NEGROES, their story,
the saddest epic of the ages, of whom and in behalf of whom
their children the generation now and those to come, this
History was collated and arranged. It is an EVANGEL
proclaiming to the world, their unsullied patriotism; their
r
rapid fire loyalty that through all the years of the nation's
life, has never flickered—
"Has burned and burned
Forever the same".
AS INTERPOLATED—
By the writers of its text; read between the lines of
their written words, it is a History; not alone of the American
Negro on the "tented field"; the bloody trenches of France
and Belgium, it is also a History and an arraignment, a
warning and a prophecy, looking backwards and forward, the
Negro being the objective focus; of many things.
LOOKING BACKWARDS—
The spell of the book strong upon you, you see in your
mind's eye, thousands of plantations covering a fourth of a
continent of a new and virgin land. The toilers '1 Black Foik'';
men, women and children—SLAVES!
YOU HEAR—
The crack of the "driver's" lash; the sullen bay of pur¬
suing hounds.
JUST OYER YONDER—
Is the "Auction Block". You hear the moans and
screams of mothers torn from their offspring. You see them
driven away, herded like cattle, chained like convicts, sold
to "master's" in the "low lands", to toil—
"Midst the cotton and the cane!"
YOU LISTEN—
Sounding far off, faint at first, growing louder each
second, you hear the beat of drums; the bugle's blast, sound¬
ing to arms! You see great armies, moving hitherward and
thitherward. Over one flies the Stars and Stripes, over the
other the Stars and Bars; a nation in arms! Brother against
brother!
YOU LOOK—
And lo, swinging past are many Black men; garbed in
"Blue", keeping step to the music of the Union. You see
them fall and die, at Fort Pillow, Fort Wagner, Petersburg,
the Wilderness, Honey Hill—SLAUGHTERED! Above the
din; the boom of cannon, the rattle of small arms, the groans
of the wounded and dying, you hear the shout of one, as
shattered and maimed he is being borne from the field;
"BOYS, THE OLD FLAG NEVER TOUCHED THE
GROUND!"
THE SCENE SHIFTS—
Fifty years have passed. You hear the clamor, the mur¬
mur and shouts of gathering mobs. You see Black men and
women hanging by their necks to lamp posts; from the limbs
of trees; in lonely spots—DEAD! You see smoke curling
upwards from BURNING HOMES! There are piles of
cinders and—DEAD MENS BONES!
A sign, couched in flaming characters for all men to see,
appealing to the spiritualized divination of the age, pro¬
claiming that God is NOT DEAD! That a NEW day is
dawning; HAS dawned for the Negro in America. A NEW
liberty; broader and BETTER. A NEW Justice, unshaded
by the spectre of: "Previous condition!" That the unpaid
toll of thirty decades of African slavery in America is at
last to be liquidated. That the dead of our people, upon
behalf of this land that it might have a BIRTH, and having
it might not PERISH FROM THE EARTH, did not die in
vain. That, in their passage from earth, heroes—MARTYRS
—in a superlative sense they were seen and marked of the
Father; were accorded a place of record in the pages of the
great WHITE BOOK with golden seals, in the up worlds;
above the stars and beyond the flaming suns.
IT IS A HISTORY—
That will be read with instruction and benefit by thou¬
sands ot whites, but, and mark well this suggestion, it is one
that should be OWNED AND READ BY EVERY NEGRO
IN THE LAND.
HISTORY
OF THE
American Negro
IN THE
Great World War
CONTENTS
page
Chapter I. Spiritual Emancipation of Nations.
The March of Civilization—World Shocks to Stir the World
Heart—False Doctrines of the Hun—The Iron Hand Con¬
cealed— The World Begins to Awaken — German Designs
Revealed—Rumblings in Advance of the Storm—Tragedy That
Hastened the Day—Tolstoy's Prophecy—Vindication of Negro
Faith in Promises of the Lord—Dawn of Freedom for all
Races 21
Chapter II. Handwriting On The Wall.
Likened to Belshazzer—The Kaiser's Feasts—In His Heart Bar¬
baric Pride of the Potentates of Old—German Madness for
War—Insolent Demands—Forty-eight Hours to Prevent a
World War—Comment of Statesmen and Leaders—The War
Starts—Italy Breaks her Alliance—Germanic Powers Weighed
and Found Wanting—Spirit Wins Over Materialism—Civiliza¬
tion's Lamp Dimmed but not Darkened 30
Chapter III. Militarism and Autocracy Doomed.
Germany's Machine—Her Scientific Endeavor to Mold Soldiers
—Influence on Thought and Lives of the People—Militarism
in the Home—The Status of Woman—False Theories and False
Gods—The System Ordained to Perish—War's Shocks—America
Inclines to Neutrality—German and French Treatment of
Neutrals Contrasted—Experiences of Americans Abroad and
Enroute Home—Statue of Liberty Takes on New Beauty—Blood
of Negro and White to Flow 38
vii
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter IV. Awakening of America. page
President Clings to Neutrality—Monroe Doctrine and Wash¬
ington's Warning—German Crimes and German Victories—Car¬
dinal Mercier's Letter—Military Operations—First Submarine
Activities—The Lusitania Outrage—Exchange of Notes—United
States Aroused—Role of Passive Onlooker Becomes Irksome-
First Modification of Principles of Washington and Monroe—
Our Destiny Looms 47
Chapter V. Huns Sweeping Westward.
Toward Shores of Atlantic—Spread Ruin and Devastation—
Capitals of Civilization Alarmed—Activities of Spies—Apologies
and Lies—German Arms Winning—Gain Time to Forge New
Weapons—Few Victories tor Allies—Roumania Crushed—Inci¬
dent of U-53 57
Chapter VI. The Hour anp The Man.
A Beacon Among the Years—Trying Period for President Wil¬
son—Germany Continues Dilatory Tactics—Peace Efforts Fail
—All Honorable Means Exhausted—Patience Ceases to be a
Virtue—Enemy Abandons All Subterfuges—Unrestricted Sub¬
marine Warfare—German Intrigues with Mexico—The. Zim¬
merman Note—America Siezes the Sword—War is Declared—
Pershing Goes Abroad—First Troops Sail—War Measures—War
Operations 64
Chapter VII. Negroes Respond to the Call.
Swift and Unhalting Array—Few Permitted to Volunteer—
Only National Guard Accepted—No New Units Formed—Selec¬
tive Draft Their Opportunity—Partial Division of Guardsmen
—Complete Division of Selectives—Many in Training—Enter
Many Branches of Service—Negro Nurses Authorized—Negro
Y. M. C. A. Workers—Negro War Correspondent—Negro Assist¬
ant to Secretary of War—Training Camp for Negro Officers
First Time in Artillery—Complete Racial Segregation 73
Chapter VIII. Recrudescence op South's Intolerance.
Confronted by Racial Prejudice—Splendid Attitude of Negro
Shamed It—Kept out of Navy—Only One Percent of Navy Per¬
sonnel Negroes—Modified Marines Contemplated—Few Have
Petty Officers' Grades—Separate Ships Proposed—Negro Effi¬
ciency in Navy—Material for "Black Ships"—Navy Opens Door
to Negro Mechanics 81
Chapter IX. Previous Wars in Which Negro Figured.
Shot Heard Around the World—Crispus Attucks—Slave Leads
Sons of Freedom—The Boston Massacre—Anniversary Kept for
Years—William Nell, Historian—3,000 Negroes in Washington's
Forces—A Stirring History—Negro Woman Soldier—Border
Indian Wars—Negro Heroes 86
table of contents
ix
Chapter X. From Lexington to Carrizal. page
Negro in War of 1812—Incident of the Chesapeake—Battle of
Lake Erie—Perry's Fighters 10 Percent Negroes—Incident of
the "Governor Tompkins"—Colonists Form Negro Regiments—
Defenders of New Orleans—Andrew Jackson's Tribute—Negroes
in Mexican and Civil Wars—In the Spanish-American War—
Negroes in the Philippines—Heroes of Carrizal—General But¬
ler's Tribute to Negroes—Wendell Phillips on Toussaint
L'Ouverture 93
Chapter XI. Hour of His Nation's Peril.
Negro's Patriotic Attitude—Selective Draft in Effect—Fea¬
tures and Results—Bold Reliance on Faith in People—no Color
Line Drav/n—Distribution of Registrants by States—Negro and
White Registrations Compared—Negro Percentages Higher—
Claimed Fewer Exemptions—Inductions by States—Better Physi¬
cally than Whites—Tables, Facts and Figures 104
Chapter XII. Negro Slackers and Pacifists Unknown.
Such Words not in his Vocabulary—Desertions Explained—
General Crowder Exonerates Negro—no Willful Delinquency
—Strenuous Efforts to Meet Regulations—no "Conscientious
Objectors"—no Draft Evaders or Resisters—Negro's Devotion
Sublime—Justifies His Freedom—Forgets His Sorrows—Rises
Above His Wrongs—Testimony of Local Boards—German Propa¬
ganda Wasted—A New Americanism Ill
Chapter XIII. Koster of Negro Officers.
Commissioned at Fort Des Moines—Only Exclusive Negro Train¬
ing Camp—Mostly from Civilian Life—Names, Rank and
Residence 119
Chapter XIV. Across Dividing Seas.
Black Thousands Assemble—Soldiers of Liberty—Severing Home
Ties—Man's Work Must be Done—First Negroes in France—
Meeting with French Colonials—Early History of 15th New
York—They Sail Away—Become French Fighting Men—Hold
20 Percent of American Lines—Terror to Germans—Only Barrier
Between Boche and Paris—Imperishable Record of New Yorkers
—Turning Point of War 131
Chapter XV. Over There.
Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts—The Tiger's Cubs—Negro
First to Get Palm—Johnson's Graphic Story—Smashes the Ger¬
mans—Irvin Cobb's Tribute—Christian and Mohammedan Negroes
Pals—Valor of 93rd Division—Laughter in Face of Death
Negro and Poilu Happy Together—Butte de Mesnil—Valiant
and Humorous Elmer McCowin—Winning War Crosses—Verdict
of the French—The Negro's Faith 146
X
TABLE OP CONTENTS
Chapter XVI. Through Hell and Suffering. page
Colored Officers Make Good—Wonderful Record of the 8th
Illinois—"Black Devtls" Win Decorations Galore—Tribute of
French Commander—His Farewell to Prairie Fighters—They
Fought After War Was Over—Hard to Stop Them—Individual
Deeds of Heroism—Their Dead, Their Wounded and Suffering—
A Poem 153
Chapter XVII. Narrative of An Officer.
Special Article by Captain John H. Patton, Adjutant of 8th
Illinois—Summarizes Operations of the Regiment—From First
Call to Mustering Out—An Eye-Witness Account—In Training
Camps, at Sea, in France—Service in Argonne Forest—Many
Other Engagements—A Thrilling Record—Battalion Operations
in Detail—Special Mention of Companies and Individuals 164
Chapter XVIII. Blood of Black and White in One
Rivulet.
Lincoln's Prophetic Words—Negroes Alongside Best Soldiers
in the World—Hold Their Own—The 372nd Regiment—Brigaded
With Veterans of the Marne—Famous "Red Hand" Division—
Occupy Hill 304 at Verdun—Nine Days Battle in "Bloody
Argonne"—Admiration of the French—Conspicuous Components
of 372nd—Chronology of Service 180
Chapter XIX. Comrades on the March—Brothers in
the Sleep of Death.
Policy of Substituting White Officers—Injustice to Capable
Negroes—Disappointment but no Open Rbseintment—Showed
Themselves Soldiers—Intenser Fighting Spirit Aroused—Race
Forgotten in Perils of War—Both Whites and Blacks Generous
—Affection Between Officers and Men—Negroes Preferred
Death to Captivity—Outstanding Heroes of 371st and 372nd—
Winners of Crosses 188
Chapter XX. Mid Shot and Shell.
In Trench and Valley—The Open Plain—On Mountain Top—In
No Man's Land—Two Classes of Negro Soldiers Considered—
Trained Guardsmen and Selectives—Gallant 92nd Division—
Race can be Proud of It—Had Six Hundred Negro Officers—
Sets at rest all Doubts—Operations of the Division—At Pont a
Mousson—Great Battle of Metz—Some Reflections—Casualties
Considered 197
Chapter XXI. The Lon,g, Long Trail.
Operations of 368th Infantry—Negroes from Pennsylvania,
Maryland and South—In Argonne Hell—Defeat Iron Cross
Veterans—Valiant Personal Exploits—Lieutenant Robert Camp¬
bell—Private John Baker—Operations of 367th Infantry—
"Moss's Buffaloes"—365th and 366th Regiments—The Great
Divide—Their Souls are Marching on—Praised by Pershing—
Some Citations 206
TABLE OP CONTENTS
xi
Chapter XXII. Glory That Wont Comb Off. page
167th First Negro Artillery Brigade—"Like Veterans" said
Pershing—First Artillery to be Motorized—Record by Dates
—Selected for Lorraine Campaign—Best Educated Negroes in
American Forces—Always Stood by Their Guns—Chaplain's Esti¬
mate—Left Splendid Impression—Testimony of French Mayors
—Christian Behavior—Soldierly Qualities 215
Chapter XXIII. Nor Storied Urn, Nor Mounting Shaft.
Glory not all Spectacular—Brave Forces Behind the Lines—
325th Field Signal Battalion—Composed of Young Negroes—
See Real Fighting—Suffer Casualties—An Exciting Incident—
Colored Signal Battalion a Success—Ralph Tyler's Stories—
Burial of Negro Soldier at Sea—More Incidents of Negro
Valor—A Word from Charles M. Schwab 222
Chapter XXIV. Those Who Never Will Return.
A Study of War—Its Compensations and Benefits—Its Ravages
and Debasements—Burdens Fall upon the Weak—Toll of Disease
—Negroes Singularly Healthy—Negroes Killed in Battle—
Deaths from Wounds and Other Causes—Remarkable Physical
Stamina of Race—Housekeeping in Khaki—Healthiest War in
History—Increased Regard for Mothers—An Ideal for Child
Minds—Morale and Propaganda 232
Chapter XXY. Quiet Heroes of the Brawny Arm.
Negro Stevedore, Pioneer and Labor Units—Swung the Axe and
Turned the Wheel—They were Indispensable—Everywhere in
France—Hewers of Wood, Drawers of Water—Numbers and
Designations of Units—Acquired Splendid Reputation—Contests
and Awards—Pride in their Service—Measured up to Military
Standards—Lester Waltons Appreciation—Ella Wheeler Wil¬
cox's Poetic Tribute 239
Chapter XXVI. Unselfish Workers in the Vineyard.
Mitigated the Horrors of War—At the Front, Behind the Lines,
at Home—Circle for Negro War Relief—Addressed and Praised
by Roosevelt—A Notable Gathering—Colored Y. M. C. A. Work
—Unsullied Record of Achievement—How the "Y" Conducted
Business—Secretaries all Specialists—Negro Women in "Y"
Work—Valor of a Non-combatant 246
Chapter XXVII. Negro in Army Personnel.
His Mechanical Ability Required—Skilled at Special Trades
—Victory Depends upon Technical Workers—Vast Range of
Occupation—Negro Makes Good Showing—Percentages of White
and Colored—Figures for General Service 254
Chapter XXVIII. The Knockout Blow.
Woodrow Wilson, an Estimate—His Place in History—Last of
Great Trio—Washington, Lincoln, Wilson—Upholds Decency,
Humanity, Liberty—Recapitulation of Year 1918—Closing Inci¬
dents of War 257
xil
TABLE OP CONTENTS
Chapteb XXIX. Homecoming Heroes,
page
New York Greets Her Own—Ecstatic Day for Old 15th—Whites
and Blacks do Honors—A Monster Demonstration—Many Digni¬
taries Review Troops—Parade of Martial Pomp—Cheers, Music,
Flowers and Feasting—"Hayward's Scrapping Babies"—Officers
Share Glory—Then Came Henry Johnson—Similar Scenes Else¬
where 267
Chapter XXX. Reconstruction and the Negro.
By Julius Rosenwald, President Sears, Roebuck & Co. and
Trustee of Tuskegee Institute—A Plea for Industrial Oppor¬
tunity for the Negro—Tribute to Negro as Soldier and Civilian
—Duty of Whites Pointed Out—Business Leader and Philan¬
thropist Sounds Keynote 275
Chapter XXXI. The Other Fellow's Burden.
An Emancipation Day Appeal for Justice—By W. Allison
Sweeney 281
Chapter XXXII. An Interpolation.
Held—
By Distinguished Thinkers and Writers, That the Negro-
Soldier Should be Given a Chance for Promotion as Well
as a Chance to Die.
Chapter XXXIII. The New Negro and the New
America.
The Old Order
Changeth, yielding place to new.
Through the
Arbitrament of war, behold a new and better America !
A new and girded negro!
"The Watches
Of the night have PASSED!
"The Watches
Of the day BEGIN!" 301
Why—
White Officers ovet. Negro Soldiers?
288
HISTORY
OF THE
AMERICAN NEGRO
IN THE
GREAT WORLD WAR
CHAPTER I.
SPIRITUAL EMANCIPATION OF NATIONS.
The March of Civilization—World Shocks to Stir the
World Heart—False Doctrines op the Hun—The Iron
Hanp Concealed—The World Begins to Awaken—
German Designs Revealed—Rumblings in Advance of
the Storm—Tragedy that Hastened the Day—Tol¬
stoy's Prophecy—Vindication of Negro Faith in Prom¬
ises of the Lord—Dawn of Freedom for all Races.
>X*HE march of civilization is attended by strange influences.
-*• Providence which directs the advancement of man¬
kind, moves in such mysterious ways that none can sense
its design or reason out its import. Frequently the forces of
evil are turned to account in defeating their own objects.
Great tragedies, cruel wars, cataclysms of woe, have acted
as enlightening and refining agents. Out of the famines of
the past came experiences which inculcated the thrift and
fore-handedness of today.
Out of man's sufferings have come knowledge and forti¬
tude. Out of pain and tribulation, the attribute of sympathy
—the first spiritual manifestation instrumental in elevating
the human above the beast. Things worth while are never
obtained without payment of some kind.
Individual shocks stir the individual heart and con¬
science. Great world shocks are necessary to stir the world
conscience and heart; to start those movements to right the
wrongs in the world. So long as peace reiarned commerce
was uninterrupted, and the acquisition of wealth was not
obstructed, men cared little for the intrigues and ambitions of
21
26 AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
minded Russian czar in an attempt to win his country from
its alliance with England and France. There were no open
rumblings of war, but the air was charged with electricity
like that preceeding a storm.
An unaccountable business depression affected pretty
much the entire world. Money, that most sensitive of all
things, began to show nervousness and a tendency to go into
hiding. The bulk of the world was still asleep to the real
meaning of events, but it had begun to stir in its dreams, as
if some prescience, some premonition had begun to reach it
even in its slumbers.
Finally the first big event occurred—the tragedy that
was not intended to accomplish as much, but which hastened
the dawn of the day in which began the Spiritual Emancipa¬
tion of the governments of earth. The Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, nephew of the emperor of Austria, heir to the
throne of Austria-Hungary and commander in chief of its
army, and his wife the duchess of Hohenburg, were assas¬
sinated June 28, 1914, by a Serbian student, Gavrio Prinzip.
The assassination occurred at Sarajevo in Bosnia, a depen¬
dency, or rather, a Slavic state that had been seized by
Austria. It was the lightning flash that preceeded the
thunder's mighty crash.
Much has been written of the causes which led to the
tragedy. Prinzip may have been a fanatic, but he was un¬
doubtedly aided in his act by a number of others. The natural
inference immediately formed was that the murder was the
outcome of years of ill feeling between Serbia and Austria-
Hungary, due to the belief of the people in the smaller state,
that their aspirations as a nation were hampered and blocked
by the German element in the Austrian empire. The countries
had been on the verge of war several years before over the
seizure of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria, and later over
the disposition of Scutari and certain Albanian territory con¬
quered in the Balkan-Turkish struggle.
Events are coming to light which may place a new con¬
struction on the causes leading to the assassination at Sara-
CHAPTER II
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
Likened to Belshazzab—The Kaiser's Feasts—In His Heart
Barbaric Pride op the Potentates op Old—German Mad¬
ness for War—Insolent Demands—Forty-eight Hours
to Prevent a World War—Comment op Statesmen and
Leaders—The War Starts—Italy Breaks Her Alliance
—Germanic Powers Weighed and Found Wanting—
Spirit Wins Over Materialism—Civilization's Lamp
Dimmed but not Darkened.
"DELSHAZZAR of Babylon sat at a feast. Very much after
the fashion of modern kings they were good at feasting in
those olden days. The farthest limits of the kingdom had
been searched for every delight and delicacy. Honeyed wines,
flamingo's tongues, game from the hills, fruits from vine and
tree, spices from grove and forest, vegetables from field and
garden, fish from stream and sea; every resource of Mother
Earth that could contribute to appetite or sensual pleasure
was brought to the king's table. Singers, minstrels, dancers,
magicians, entertainers of every description were summoned
to the palace that they might contribute to the vanity of the
monarch, and impress the onlooking nations about him.
He desired to be known and feared as the greatest mon¬
arch on earth; ruling as he did over the world's greatest city.
His triumphs had been many. He had come to believe that
his power proceeded directly from the god Bel, and that he
was the chosen and anointed of that deity.
This was the period of his prime; of Babylon's greatest
glory; his kingdom seemed so firmly established he had no
thought it could be shaken. But misleading are the dreams
of kings; his kingdom was suddenly menaced from without,
by Cyrus of Persia, another great monarch. There were also
dangers from within, but courtiers and flatterers kept this
30
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
HOMECOMING HEROES OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY). FAMOUS NEGRO FIGHTERS MARCHING IN MICHIGAN
BOULEVARD. CHICAGO.
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL.
31
knowledge from him. Priests of rival gods had set them¬
selves up within the empire; spies from without and con¬
spirators within were secretly undermining the power of the
intrenched despot.
Such was Belshazzar in his pride; such his kingdom and
empire. And, so it was, this was to be an orgy that would
set a record for all time to come.
Artists and artisans of the highest skill had been sum¬
moned to the work of beautifying the enormous palace; its
gardens and grounds, innumerable slaves furnishing the
labor. The gold and silver of the nation was gathered and
beaten into ornaments and woven into beautiful designs to
grace the occasion. There was a profusion of the most gor¬
geous plumage and richest fabrics, while over all were
sprinkled in unheard of prodigality, the rarest gems and
jewels. It was indeed to be a fitting celebration of the glory
of Bel, and the power and magnificence of his earthly repre¬
sentative; heathen opulence, heathen pride and sensuality
were to outdo themselves.
The revel started at a tremendous pace. No such wines
and viands ever before had been served. No such music ever
had been heard and no such dancers and entertainers ever
before had appeared, but, fool that he was, he had reckoned
without his host; had made a covenant with Death and Hell
and had known it not, and the hour of atonement was upon
him; the handwriting on the wall of the true and outraged
God, conveyed the information; short and crisp, that he had
been weighed; he and his kingdom in the balance and found
wanting; the hour—his hour, had struck; the time of restitu¬
tion and atonement long on the way, had come; Babylon was
to fall—FELL!—and for twenty-five centuries its glory and
its power has been a story that is told; its magnificence but
heaps of sand in the desert where night birds shriek and wild
beasts find their lair.
In the Kaiser's heart was the same barbaric pride, the
same ambition, the same worship of a false god and the same
belief that he was the especial agent of that deity.
CHAPTER III.
MILITARISM AND AUTOCRACY DOOMED.
Germany's Machine—Her Scientific Endeavor to Mold
Soldiers—Influence on Thought and Lives of the
People—Militarism in the Home—The Status of
Woman—False Theories and False Gods—The System
Ordained to Perish—War's Shocks—America Inclines
to Neutrality—German, and French Treatment of
Neutrals Contrasted — Experiences of ' Americans
Abroad and Enroute Home—Statue of Liberty Takes
on New Beauty—Blood of Negro and White to Flow.
rT\HOSE who had followed the Kaiser's attitudes and their
reflections preceeding the war in the German military
party, were struck by a strange blending of martial glory and
Christian compunction. No one prays more loudly than the
hypocrite and none so smug as the devil when a saint he
would be.
During long years the military machine had been under
construction. Human ingenuity had been reduced to a remark¬
able state of organization and efficiency. One of the prin¬
cipal phases of Kultur was the inauguration of a sort of scien¬
tific discipline which made the German people not only sol¬
diers in the field, but soldiers in the workshop, in the labora¬
tory and at the desk. The system extended to the schools
and universities and permeated the thought of the nation.
It particularly was reflected in the home; the domestic ar¬
rangements and customs of the people. The German husband
was the commander-in-chief of his household. It was not
that benevolent lordship which the man of the house assumes
toward his wife and family in other nations. The stern note
of command was always evident; that attitude of "attention!"
"eyes front!" and unquestioning obedience.
38
CHAPTER IV
AWAKENING OF AMERICA
President Clings to Neutrality—Monroe Doctrine an<d
Washington's Warning—German Crimes and German
Victories—Cardinal Mercier's Letter—Military Opera¬
tions—First Submarine Activities — The Lusitania
Outrage—Exchange of Notes—United States Aroused
—Role op Passive Onlooker Becomes Irksome—First
Modification of Principles of Washington and Monroe
—Our Destiny Looms.
A UGUST 4,1914, President Wilson proclaimed the neutral-
ity of tlie United States. A more consistent attempt to
maintain that attitude was never made by a nation. In an
appeal addressed to the American people on August 18th, the
president implored the citizens to refrain from "taking
sides.'' Part of his utterance on that occasion was:
"We must be impartial in thought as well as in action, must put a
curb upon our sentiments as well as upon every transaction that might be
construed as a preference of one party to the struggle before another.
"My thought is of America. I am speaking, I feel sure, the earnest
wish and purpose of every thoughtful American that this great country of
ours, which is, of course, the first in our thoughts and in our hearts,
should show herself in this time of peculiar trial a nation fit beyond others
to exhibit the fine poise of undisturbed judgment, the dignity of self-control,
the efficiency of dispassionate action; a nation that neither sits in judgment
upon others, nor is disturbed in her own counsels, and which keeps herself
fit and free to do what is honest and disinterested and truly serviceable
for the peace of the world."
American poise had been somewhat disturbed over the
treatment of American tourists caught in Germany at the out¬
break of the war. American sentiment was openly agitated
by the invasion of Belgium and the insolent repudiation by
Germany of her treaty obligations. The German chancellor
had referred to the treaty with Belgium as "a scrap of paper."
These things had created a suspicion in American minds, hav¬
ing to do with what seemed Germany's real and ulterior
47
CHAPTER V
HUNS SWEEPING WESTWARD
Toward Shores of Atlantic—Spread Ruin and Devastation
—Capitals of Civilization Alarmed — Activities of
Spies—Apologies and Lies—German Arms Winning—
Gain Time to Forge New Weapons—Few Victories for
Allies—Roumania Crushed—Incident of U-53.
/T\HE powerful thrusts of the German armies toward the
1 English channel and the Atlantic ocean, the pitiless sub¬
marine policy, and the fact that Germany and Austria had
allied with them Bulgaria and Turkey, began to spread alarm
in the non-belligerent nations of the world.
That Germany was playing a Machiavellian policy against
the United States soon became evident. After each submarine
outrage would come an apology, frequently a promise of
reparation and an agreement not to repeat the offense, with
no intention, however, of keeping faith in any respect. As
a mask for their duplicity, the Germans even sent a message
of sympathy for the loss of American lives through the sink¬
ing of the Lusitania; which but intensified the state of mind
in this country.
Less than three weeks after the Lusitania outrage the
American steamship Nebraskan was attacked (May 25) by
a submarine. The American steamship Leelanaw was sunk
by submarines July 25. The White Star liner Arabic was
sunk by a submarine August 19; sixteen victims, two
American.
Our government received August 24 a note from the Ger¬
man ambassador regarding the sinking of the Arabic. It
stated that the loss of American lives was contrary to the
intention of the German government and was deeply regret¬
ted. On September 1 Ambassador von Bernstorff supple-
57
CHAPTER VI
THE HOUR AND THE MAN
A Beacon Among the Yeaes—Trying Period for President
Wilson—Germany Continues Dilatory Tactics—Peace
Efforts Fail—All Honorable Means Exhausted—
Patience Ceases to Be a Virtue—Enemy Abandons All
Subterfuge—Unrestricted Submarine Warfare—Ger¬
man Intrigues With Mexico—The Zimmerman,n Note—
America Seizes the Sword—War is Declared—Pershing
Goes Abroad—First Troops Sail—War Measures—War
Operations
A N enormous beacon light in history will attach to the year
1917. The outstanding feature of course was the entry
of the United States into the great war—the deciding factor
in the struggle. It marked the departure of America from the
traditional policy of political isolation from Europe. History
will record that it was not a voluntary, but a forced, depar,
ture, due to the utter disregard by Germany of our rights on
the seas, at home and elsewhere.
The first thirty days of the year found the man at the
head of our government still hoping against hope, still strug¬
gling with all the odds against him, still courageously engaged
in efforts for peace. It was a particularly trying time for
President Wilson, as a large portion of his own party and
most of the nation was arrayed against him. The people in
general felt that the time for writing notes, for parleying had
passed.
On December 12, 1916, Germany, in a formal note, had
offered to enter into peace negotiations, but did not specify
any terms. The note referred in boastful language to the vic¬
torious German armies. It was rejected by the Allies as
empty and insincere. The president on December 18, 1916,
had addressed all the beligerents asking them to indicate pre-
64
CHAPTER VII.
NEGROES RESPOND TO THE CALL.
Swift and Unhalting Array—Few Permitted to Volunteer
—Only National Guard Accepted—No New Units
Formed—Selective Draft Their Opportunity—Partial
Division of Guardsmen—Complete Division of Selec-
tives—Many in Training—Enter Many Branches of
Service—Negro Nurses Authorized—Negro Y. M. C. A.
Workers—Negro War Correspondent—Negro Assistant
to Secretary of War—Training Camp for Negro Offi¬
cers—First time in Artillery—Complete Racial Segre¬
gation.
TT7HEN the call to war was sounded by President Wilson, no
* » response was more swift and unhalting than that of the
Negro in America. Before our country was embroiled the
black men of Africa had already contributed their share in
pushing back the Hun. When civilization was tottering and
all but overthrown, France and England were glad to avail
themselves of the aid of their Senegalese, Algerian, Soudanese
and other troops from the tribes of Africa. The story of their
valor is written on the battlefields of France in imperishable
glory.
Considering the splendid service of the—in many cases—
half wild blacks from the region of the equator, it seems
strange that our government did not hasten sooner and with¬
out demur to enlist the loyal Blacks of this country with their
glowing record in former wars, their unquestioned mental
attainments, their industry, stamina and self reliance. Yet at
the beginning of America's participation in the war, it was
plain that the old feeling of intolerance; the disposition to
treat the Negro unfairly, was yet abroad in the land.
He was willing; anxious to volunteer and offered himself
73
NEGROES RESPOND TO THE CALL
75
and over which the personal ambitions of members of the
race; smarting for honorable renown and promotion; predi¬
cated on service and achievement, they were not permitted to
go. A virtual '* Dead Line"; its parent and wet nurse being
that strange thing known as American Prejudice, unknown of
anywhere else on earth, which was at once a crime against its
marked and selected victims, and a burden of shame which
still clings to it; upon the otherwise great nation, that it has
condoned and still remains silent in its presence.
Negro National Guard organizations had grown since
the Spanish-American war, but they still were far from being
numerous in 1917. The ones accepted by the war department
were the Eighth Illinois Infantry, a regiment manned and
officered entirely by Negroes, the 15th New York Infantry all
Negroes with five Negro officers, all the senior officers being
white; the Ninth Ohio, a battalion manned and officered by
Negroes; the 1st Separate Battalion of the District of Colum¬
bia, an infantry organization manned and officered by
Negroes; and Negro companies from the states of Connecticut,
Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Massachusetts also
had a company known as the 101st Headquarters company
and Military Police. The Eighth Illinois became the 370th
Infantry in the United States army; the 15th New York be¬
came the 369th Infantry; the Ninth Ohio battalion and the
companies from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and
Tennessee, as well as the District of Columbia battalion, were
all consolidated into the 372nd Infantry.
When the above organizations had been recruited up to
war strength there were between 12,000 and 14,000 colored
men representing the National Guard of the country. With
a population of 12,000,000 Negroes to draw from; the majority
of those suitable for military service anxious to enlist, it
readily can be seen what a force could have been added to
this branch of the service had there been any encouragement
of it. There was not lacking a great number of the race,
many of them college graduates, competent to act as
officers of National Guard units. Many of those commissioned
NEGROES RESPOND TO THE CALL 79
There was a deep resentment in many quarters that he was
not permitted to volunteer, as white men by the thousands
were permitted to do in connection with National Guard units
and other branches of military service which were closed to
colored men. One of the brightest chapters in the whole his¬
tory of the war is the Negro's eager acceptance of the draft
and his splendid willingness to fight. His only resentment
was due to the limited extent to which he was allowed to join
and participate in combatant or 'fighting' units. The num¬
ber of colored draftees accepted for military duty, and the
comparatively small number of them claiming exemptions, as
compared with the total number of white and colored men
called and drafted, presents an interesting study and reflects
much credit upon this racial group.''
Over 1,200 Negro officers, many of them college gradu¬
ates, were commissioned during the war. The only training
camp exclusively for Negro officers was at Fort Des Moines,
Iowa. This camp ran from June 15,1917, to October 15,1917.
A total of 638 officers was graduated and commissioned from
the camp. Negro Regulars and Negro National Army men
who had passed the tests for admission to officers training
camps were sent mainly to the training schools for machine
gun officers at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia; the infantry
officers training school at Camp Pike, Little Rock, Arkansas,
and the artillery officers training school at Camp Taylor,
Louisville, Kentucky. They were trained along with the white
officers. The graduates from these camps along with a few
National Guardsmen who had taken the officers' examinations,
and others trained in France, made up the balance of the 1,200
commissioned.
In connection with the artillery training an interesting
fact developed. It had been charged that Negroes could not
develop into artilleryman. A strong prejudice against induct¬
ing them into that branch of the service had always existed in
the army. It was especially affirmed that the Negro did not
possess the mathematical ability necessary to qualify as an
expert artillery officer. Nevertheless, out of a number of
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
TROOPERS OF 10TH CAVALRY GOING INTO MEXICO. THESE HEROIC
NEGRO SOLDIERS WERE AMBUSHED NEAR CARRIZAL AND SUFFERED A LOSS
OF HALF THEIR NUMBER IN ONE OF THE BRAVEST FIGHTS ON RECORD.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
TENTH CAVALRY SURVIVORS OF CARRIZAL. DESPOILED OF THEIR UNI.
FORMS BY THE MEXICANS THEY ARRIVE AT EL PASO IN OVERALLS. LEM
SPILLSBURY. WHITE SCOUT IN CENTER. EACH SOLDIER HAS A BOUQUET OF
FLOWERS.
DR. J. E. MOORLAND, SENIOR SECRETARY OF COLORED MENS DEPT..
INTERNATIONAL Y. M. C. A. THE MAN LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCCESS
OF HIS RACE IN "Y" WORK.
A TYPICAL GROUP OF "Y" WORKERS, SECRETARY SNYDER AND STAFF
Y. M. C. A. NO. 7, CAMP GRANT, ILLINOIS.
© SUN PRINTING 8. PUBLISHING ASSN. FROM UNDERWOOD 81 UNDERWOOD.
AMERICA'S WAR TIME PRESIDENT. THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF WOODROW
WILSON WAS ESPECIALLY POSED DURING THE WAR, IN HIS STUDY AT THE
WHITE HOUSE.
© UNDERWOOD A UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON (AT HEAD OF TABLE) AND HIS WAR CABINET. LEFT W. G, McADOO, SECRETARY
OF THE TREASURY; THOMAS W. GREGORY, ATTY. GENL.; JOSEPHUS DANIELS, SEC. OF NAVY; D. F. HOUSTON, SEC. OF
AGRICULTURE; WILLIAM B. WILSON, SEC. OF LABOR. RIGHT ROBERT LANSING, SEC. OF STATE; NEWTON D. BAKER.
SEC. OF WAR; A. S. BURLESON, POSTMASTER-GENERAL; FRANKLIN K. LANE, SEC. OF INTERIOR; WILLIAM C. REDFIELD,
SEC. OF COMMERCE.
NEGRO SOLDIERS ON THE RIFLE RANGE AT CAMP GRANT, ILLINOIS. BEING TAUGHT MARKSMANSHIP. AN IDEAL
LOCATION RESEMBLING BATTLE AREAS IN FRANCE.
MEDICAL DETACHMENT 365TH INFANTRY. A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP OF MEDICAL OFFICERS AND THEIR FIELD
ASSISTANTS. THIS BRANCH OF THE 92ND DIVISION RENDERED MOST VALOROUS SERVICE.
BAYONET EXERCISES IN THE TRAINING CAMP.
£"in iah a/ the. Tire^ Mi/c M/au /face.
SPORTS AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN THE TRAINING CAMP.
^ UKULioiuuu IK unULKWOUO, N. Y.
NEGRO TROOPS DRILLING. SCENE AT CAMP MEADE, MD.. WHERE A
PORTION OF THE 93RD DIVISION AND OTHER EFFICIENT UNITS WERE TRAINED.
(£1 G. V. BUCK, FROM U. 8c U.
AN EQUINE BARBER SHOP NEAR THE CAMP. ONE OF THE DUTIES INCI¬
DENT TO THE TRAINING CAMP.
tc) UNDERWOOD ft UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
NEGRO NURSES CARRYING BANNER OF FAMOUS NEGRO REGIMENT, MARCHING DOWN FIFTH AVENUE. NEW YORK.
UP LENOX AVENUE. NEW YORK CITY.
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
JAZZ AND SOUTHERN MELODIES HASTEN CURE. NEGRO SAILOR ENTERTAINING DISABLED NAVY MEN IN HOSPI¬
TAL FOR CONVALESCENTS.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION.
LIEUT. ROBERT L. CAMPBELL, NEGRO OFFICER OF THE 368TH INFANTRY
WHO WON FAME AND THE D. S. C. IN ARGONNE FOREST. HE DEVISED A
CLEVER PIECE OF STRATEGY AND DISPLAYED GREAT HEROISM IN THE EXECU¬
TION OF IT.
© G. V. BUCK, FROM u. a u.
EMMETT J. SCOTT. APPOINTED BY SECRETARY BAKER, AS SPECIAL
ASSISTANT DURING THE WORLD WAR. HE WAS FORMERLY CONFIDENTIAL
SECRETARY TO THE LATE BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
(TOP) GENERAL DIAZ, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF ITALIAN ARMIES. MARSHAL
FOCH, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF ALLIED FORCES.
(CENTER) GENERAL PERSHING, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AMERICAN ARMIES.
ADMIRAL SIMS, IN CHARGE OF AMERICAN NAVAL OPERATIONS OVERSEAS.
(BOTTOM) KING ALBERT, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF BELGIAN ARMY, FIELD
MARSHAL HAIG. HEAD OF BRITISH ARMIES.
OFFICIAL RED CROSS PHOTOGRAPHS
NEGRO SOLDIERS AND RED CROSS WORKERS IN FRONT OF CANTEEN,
HAMLET, N. C.
PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD ft UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
COLORED RED CROSS WORKERS FROM THE CANTEEN AT ATLANTA, GA„
FEEDING SOLDIERS AT RAILWAY STATION.
OFFICIAL RED CROSS PHOTOGRAPHS
COLORED WOMEN IN HOSPITAL GARMENTS CLASS OF BRANCH NO. 6.
NEW ORLEANS CHAPTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS. LOUISE J. ROSS, DIRECTOR.
PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD ft UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
RED CROSS WORKERS. PROMINENT COLORED WOMEN OF ATLANTA GA
WHO ORGANIZED CANTEEN FOR RELIEF OF NEGRO SOLDIERS GOING To' AND
RETURNING FROM WAR.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE © WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
ENJOYING A BIT OF CAKE BAKED AT THE AMERICAN CORPORAL FRED. MclNTYRE OF 369TH INFANTRY, WITH
RED CROSS CANTEEN AT IS-SUR-TILLE. FRANCE. PICTURE OF THE KAISER WHICH HE CAPTURED FROM A
GERMAN OFFICER.
CHAPTER VIII
RECRUDESCENCE OF SOUTH'S INTOLERANCE
Confronted By Racial Prejudice—Splendid Attitude of
Negro Shamed It—Kept Out of Navy—Only One Per
Cent of Navy Personnel Negroes—Modified Marines
Contemplated—Few Have Petty Officers ' Grades—
Separate Ships Proposed—Negro Efficiency in Navy—
Material for "Black Ships"—Navy Opens Door to
Negro Mechanics.
/^\LD feelings of race prejudice and intolerance, appearing
^mainly in the South, confronted the Negro at the begin¬
ning of the war. The splendid attitude of the Negro shamed
and overcame this feeling in other sections of the country,
and was beginning to have its effect even in the South.
It is true that men of the race were not accepted for voluntary
enlistment in numbers of consequence in any section, but had
the voluntary system continued in vogue, the willingness and
desire of the race to serve, coupled with the very necessities
of the case, would have altered the condition.
No new Negro volunteer units were authorized, but the
demand for men would soon have made it imperative. It
would have been combatted by a certain element in the South,
but the friends of the few volunteer units which did exist in
that section were firm in their championship and were winning
adherents to their view that the number should be increased.
The selective draft with its firm dictum that all men within
certain ages should be called and the fit ones chosen, put an
end to all contention. The act was not passed without bitter
opposition which developed in its greatest intensity among
the Southern senators and representatives; feelings that were
inspired entirely by opposition to the Negro.
tl TTTAnl/1 l^OTTA n vvr* /■■! 4-v» -pAT* -fTi A AAiTn4l»TT onrl \iTAT1
CHAPTER IX.
PREVIOUS WARS IN WHICH THE NEGRO FIGURED.
Shot Heard Abound the World—Crispus Atttjcks—Slave
Leads Sons of Freedom—The Boston Massacre—Anni¬
versary Kept for Years—William Nell, Historian,—
3,000 Negroes in Washington's Forces—A Stirring
History—Negro Woman Soldier—Border Indian Wars
—Negro Heroes.
/^\UR American school histories teach us that the *1 shot
" which was heard around the world",—the opening gun
of the Revolutionary war, was fired at Lexington in 1775.
The phrase embodies a precious sentiment; time has molded
it into a noble figure of speech. It has been the theme of
many leaders, the inspiration for almost a century and a
half of the patriotic youth of our land. This is as it should
be. All honor and all praise to the deathless heroes of that
time and occasion.
But why has not history been more just; at least, more
explicit? Why not say that the shot which started the Revo¬
lution—that first great movement for human liberty and the
emancipation of nations—was fired five years earlier; was
fired not by, but at, a Negro, Crispus Attacks? The leader
of the citizens in that event of March 5, 1770, known as the
Boston Massacre, he was the first man upon whom the British
soldiers fired and the first to fall; the pioneer martyr for
American independence.
It is perhaps fitting; a manifestation of the inscrutable
ways of Providence, that the first life given in behalf of a
nation about to throw off a yoke of bondage, was that of a
representative of a race; despised, oppressed and enslaved.
86
CHAPTER X.
FROM LEXINGTON TO CARRIZAL.
Negro ln; War of 1812—Incident of the Chesapeake—Battle
of Lake Erie—Perry's Fighters 10 percent Negroes—
Incident of the "Governor Tompkins"—Colonists form
Negro Regiments—Defense of New Orleans—Andrew
Jackson's Tribute—Negroes in, Mexican and Civil Wars
—In the Spanish-American War—Negroes in the Phil¬
ippines—Heroes of Carrizal—General Butler's Tribute
to Negroes—Wendell Phillips on, Toussaint L'Ouver-
ture.
T)RIOR to the actual war of 1812 and one of the most con-
spicuous causes leading to it, was the attack on the Chesa¬
peake, an American war vessel. Here the Negro in the Navy
figured in a most remarkable degree. The vessel was hailed,
fired upon and forced to strike her colors by the British. She
was boarded, searched and four persons taken from the crew
charged with desertion from the English navy. Three of these
were Negroes and one white. The charge against the Negroes
could not have been very strong, for they were dismissed,
while the white man was hanged.
The naval history of our second war with Great Britain
is replete with incidents concerning the participation of the
Negro. Mackenzie's history of the life of Commodore Perry
states that at the famed battle of Lake Erie, fully ten percent
of the American crews were blacks. Perry spoke highly of
their bravery and good conduct. He said they seemed to be
absolutely insensible to danger. His fighters were a motley
collection of blacks, soldiers and boys. Nearly all had been
afflicted with sickness. Mackenzie says that when the defeated
British commander was brought aboard the "Niagara" and
beheld the sickly and parti-colored beings around him, an
expression of chagrin escaped him at having been conquered
by such men.
FROM LEXINGTON TO CARRIZAL
95
Many incidents are on record of the gallantry of Negro
soldiers and servants also serving as soldiers, in the war with
Mexico. Colonel Clay, a son of Henry Clay, was accompanied
into the thick of the battle of Buena Vista, by his Negro
servant. He remained by his side in the fatal charge and
saw Clay stricken from his horse. Although surrounded by
the murderous Mexicans he succeeded in carrying the mangled
body of his master from the field.
It has been stated and the evidence seems strong, that
a Negro saved the life of General Zachary Taylor at the battle
of Monterey. The story is that a Mexican was aiming a
deadly blow at the General, when the Negro sprang between
them, slew the Mexican and received a deep wound from a
lance. The Negro was a slave at the time, but was afterwards
emancipated by President Taylor.
Upwards of 200,000 colored soldiers were regularly en¬
listed in the Federal army and navy during the Civil war.
President Lincoln commissioned eight Negro surgeons for
field and hospital duty. Losses sustained by the Negro troops
amounting to upwards of 37,000 men, are shown to have been
as heavy in proportion to the numbers engaged, as those of
the white forces.
The record of the Negro troops in the Civil war is one
of uniform excellence. Numerous official documents attest
this fact, aside from the spoken and written commendations
of many high officers. Their bravery was everywhere recog¬
nized ; many distinguished themselves and several attained to
the rank of regularly commissioned officers. Conspicuous in
Negro annals of that time is the case of Charles E. Nash,
afterwards a member of congress. He received a primary
education in the schools of New Orleans, but had educated
himself largely by his own efforts. In 1863 he enlisted in the
83rd regiment, United States Chasseurs d'Afrique and be¬
came acting sergeant-major of that command. At the storm¬
ing of Fort Blakely he lost a leg and was honorably dis¬
charged.
CHAPTER XI.
HOUR OF HIS NATION'S PERIL.
Negro's Patriotic Attitude—Selective Draft in Effect—
Features and Results—Bold Reliance on Faith in a
People—No Color Line Drawn,—Distribution of Regis¬
trants by States—Negro and White Registrations Com¬
pared—Negro Percentages Higher—Claimed Fewer
Exemptions—Inductions by States—Better Physically
than Whites—Tables, Facts and Figures.
AS stated in a previous chapter, the Negro's real oppor-
tunity to show his patriotic attitude did not come until
the passage of the compulsory service law; selective draft,
was the name attached to it later and by which it was gen¬
erally known.
On May 18, 1917, the day the law was enacted by con¬
gress, no advocate of preparedness could with confidence
have forecasted the success of it. There were many who
feared the total failure of it. The history of the United
States disclosed a popular adherence to the principle of
voluntary enlistment, if not a repudiation of the principle of
selection or compulsory military service.
It was to be expected that many people would look upon
the law as highly experimental; as an act that, if it did not
produce grave disorders in the country, would fall short of
the results for which it was intended. It was fortunate for
the country at this time, that the military establishment pos¬
sessed in the person of General Crowder, one who had made
a special study of selective drafts and other forms of com¬
pulsory service, not alone in this country, but throughout the
nations of the world and back to the beginning of recorded
history. He had become as familiar with all phases of it as
though it had been a personal hobby and lifetime pursuit.
104
CHAPTER XII.
NEGRO SLACKERS AND PACIFISTS UNKNOWN
Such Words Not in His Vocabulary—Desertions Explained
—General Crowder Exonerates Negro—No Willful
Delinquency—Strenuous Efforts to Meet Regulations
—No "Conscientious Objectors"—No Draft Evaders
or Resisters—Negro's Devotion Sublime—Justifies His
Freedom—Forgets his Sorrows—Rises Above his
Wrongs—Testimony of Local Boards—German Propa¬
ganda Wasted—A New Americanism.
HTHE only phase of the selective draft in which the Negro
seemed to be discredited in comparison with his white
brother, was in the matter of desertions. At first glance and
without proper analysis, the record appeared to be against
the Negro. Upon detailed study, however, the case takes on
a different aspect. The records of. the Provost Marshall
General show that out of 474,861 reported deserters, 369,030
were white registrants, and 105,831 colored, the ratio of white
reported deserters to white registrants being 3.86, and the
ratio of colored reported deserters to colored registrants
being 9.81. Everyone knows now that many, yes, the bulk of
the reported desertions among both whites and blacks,
were not desertions at all. Circumstances simply prevented
the men from keeping in touch with their local boards or
from reporting when called.
Desertions among white registrants might have shown
a greater percentage had they not availed themselves of the
exemption feature of the law. Negroes did not understand
this clause in the act so well. Besides, as previously stated,
many Negroes were placed in Class 1, even where they had
dependants, because their rate of pay in the army would
enable them to contribute as much to the support of their
dependants as would their earnings outside of army service.
in
CHAPTER XIII.
ROSTER OF NEGRO OFFICERS.
Commissioned at Fort Des Moines—Only Exclusive Negro
Training Camp—Mostly From Civilian Life—Names,
Rank and Residence.
"C^ORT Des Moines, Iowa, was the only training camp estab-
-*• lished in the United States exclusively for Negro
officers. A few were trained and commissioned at Camps
Hancock, Pike and Taylor, and a few received commissions
at officers' training camps in France, but the War Depart¬
ment records do not specify which were white and which
Negro. The Fort Des Moines camp lasted from June until
October 1917. Following is the roster of Negro officers com¬
missioned. With the exception of those specified as from the
United States Army or the National Guard, all came from
civilian life:
Cleve L. Abbott, first lieutenant, Watertown, S. D.
Joseph L. Abernethy, first lieutenant, Prairie View, Tex.
Ewart G. Abner, second lieutenant, Conroe, Tex.
Charles J. Adams, first lieutenant, Selma, Ala.
Aurelious P. Alberga, first lieutenant, San Francisco, Calif.
Ira L. Aldridge, second lieutenant, New York, N. Y.
Edward I. Alexander, first lieutenant, Jacksonville, Fla.
Fritz W. Alexander, second lieutenant, Donaldsville, Ga.
Lucien V. Alexis, first lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
John H. Allen, captain, U. S. Army.
Levi Alexander, Jr., first lieutenant, Ocala, Fla.
Clarence W. Allen, second lieutenant, Mobile, Ala.
Richard S. Allen, 'second lieutenant, Atlantic City, N. J.
James W. Alston, first lieutenant, Raleigh, N. C.
Benjamin E. Ammons, first lieutenant, Kansas City, Mo.
Leon M. Anderson, first lieutenant, Washington, D. C.
Levi Anderson, first lieutenant, Washington, D. C.
Robert Anderson, first lieutenant, U. S. Army.
David W. Anthony, Jr., first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
James C. Arnold, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Russell C. Atkins, second lieutenant, Winston-Salem, N. C.
Henry O. Atwood, captain, Washington, D. C.
Charles H. Austin, second lieutenant, U. S. Army.
119
CHAPTER XIV.
ACROSS DIVIDING SEAS.
Black Thousands Assemble—Soldiers op Liberty—Severing
Home Ties—Man's Work Must be Done—First Negroes
in France—Meeting with French Colonials—Early
History of 15th New York—They Sail Away—Become
French Fighting Men—Hold 20% of American, Lines
—Terror to Germans—Only Barrier Between Boche
and Paris—Imperishable Record of New Yorkers—
Turning Point of War.
"Doan you see the black clouds ris'n ober yondah
Like as tho we's gwan ter hab a storm?
No, you's mistaken, dem's "Loyal BLACK FOLKS
Sailing off ter fight fer Uncle Sam."
T^ROM the plantations of the South, from the mines, the
workshops and factories; from the levees of the Missis¬
sippi, the cities, villages, farms of the North, the East, the
South, the West; from the store, the counting house, the
office and the institution of learning they came—the black
thousands to strike for their altars and their homes; to fight
for Uncle Sam. How splendid was the spectacle of their
response! ''Their's not to ask the WHY; their's but to do
and die."
Bearing the burden placed upon them by white men as
they have for centuries, nevertheless, in this supreme moment
of their country's life; "a day that shall live in story"; many
of them did not know what it all was about; where Germany
was located, nor the significance attaching to the word Hun.
In a vague way they understood that across the sea an armed
and powerful nation was threatening the happiness of man¬
kind ; the freedom of the world.
In the presence of this contemplated crime, they were
131
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
HEROES OF THE BRAWNY ARM WHOSE SERVICE WAS NO LESS EFFECT¬
IVE THAN THAT OF THE COMBATANTS. A DETAIL OF NEGRO RAILWAY
BUILDERS ENGAGED ON THE LINE FROM BREST TO TOURS.
(£) COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM U. Bt U.
NEGRO ENGINEERS BUILDING ROADS IN FRANCE. AN INDISPENSABLE
FEATURE OF THE SERVICE OF SUPPLY.
INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
NEGRO TROOPS IN FRANCE ENJOY AN OLD-FASHIONED MEAL.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
NEGRO MACHINE GUNNERS ON THE ROAD NEAR MAFFRECOURT, FRANCE.
PART OF 369TH INFANTRY.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
CAPTAIN HINTON AND OFFICERS OF 1ST BATTALION, 369TH NEGRO
INFANTRY ON ROAD NEAR MAFFRECOURT. FRANCE.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM UNDERWOOD ft UNDERWOOD.
AUTO HORN WARNS AMERICANS OF COMING GAS ATTACK. SOLDIERS DON MASKS AND SOUND THE ALARM.
INSET, LEFT CORNER. MACHINE GUNNERS.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
NEGRO TROOPS NEWLY ARRIVED IN FRANCE. LINED UP FOR INSPECTION.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
NEGRO TROOPS ON A PRACTICE RUN NEAR THEIR CAMP IN FRANCE.
"1
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
PRESENTATION OF BANNER TO NEGRO STEVEDORES FOR WINNING FIRST
WEEK'S "RACE TO BERLIN-', MARSEILLES, FRANCE.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
NEGRO WINNERS IN STEVEDORE CONTEST BEING ENTERTAINED BY 134TH
INFANTRY QUARTET AND BAND AT MARSEILLES. FRANCE.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
GOING TO FIGHT FOR UNCLE SAM. TYPICAL GROUP OF NEGRO SELECT¬
IVE SERVICE MEN LEAVING FOR THE TRAINING CAMP.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
NEGRO TROOPS ARRIVING IN FRANCE. A COMPARISON WITH THE UPPER
PICTURE SHOWS THE RAPID TRANSFORMATION FROM CIVILIANS TO FIGHTING
MEN.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
"MOSS'S BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY). SERENADING FAMOUS MILITARY CHIEFTAINS IN FRANCE. IN WINDOW
AT LEFT STANDS GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING. COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES; AT RIGHT
GENERAL GOURAUD. COMMANDER OF THE FOURTH FRENCH ARMY.
© UNDERWOOD » UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
INFANTRY AND GUNNERS AT CLOSE GRIPS. DRAWING REPRESENTS A
BRILLIANT COUNTER-ATTACK IN A SHELL-TORN WOOD IN FRANCE.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
A TYPICAL TRENCH SCENE. NEGROES OF THE 93RD DIVISION SERVING
WITH FRENCH IN THE CHAMPAGNE.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
SECRET ORGANIZATIONS PRESENT AT THE BREAKING OF THE GROUND
FOR MCDONOUGH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. W. 133RD STREET, NEW YORK. NAMED
IN HONOR OF MR. DAVID KEARNEY McDONOUGH, PIONEER NEGRO PHYSICIAN
OF THAT CITY, TO BE USED AS A BASE UNIT FOR COLORED SOLDIERS.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
LIEUT. JOHN APPLEBEE OF THE RED CROSS HOME SERVICE. COMFORTING
AND REASSURING SOLDIERS ANXIOUS ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THEIR FAM¬
ILIES. CAMP NO. 43, GIEVRES, FRANCE.
© WtSTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
CROWN PRINCE AND KAISER BILL, TWO GERMAN DOGS AND THEIR CAP¬
TORS. THE SOLDIERS ARE PRIVATES ROBINSON CLEVE, 539TH ENGINEERS AND
DANIEL NELSON. 372ND INFANTRY.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM U. a U.
TYPES OF NEGRO ENGINEERS WHO WERE SUCH IMPORTANT FACTORS
IN OUR OVERSEAS FORCES.
PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
FOUR CAVERNS. STUDDED WITH IVORY, FURNISH HARMONY IN THE
TRAINING CAMP.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
ARTILLERY AT WORK IN A FRENCH FOREST. THIS WAS A PHASE OF OPERATION IN WHICH THE NEGRO UNITS
OF THE 167TH BRIGADE DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES IN THE CLOSING DAYS OF THE WAR.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM U. ft U.
SENTRY BOX OUTSIDE OF REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS WITH WARNING
HORN FOR GAS ATTACKS. CAMOUFLAGED GATE ON THE LEFT.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM U. a U.
ONE OF THE HUGE GUNS. 16-INCH CALIBER OF THE AMERICAN RAILWAY
ARTILLERY, WHICH DID SUCH FRIGHTFUL EXECUTION" NEAR THE CLOSE OF THE
WAR. CAMOUFLAGED THROUGHOUT.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
A RAILROAD IN FRANCE. THIS ONE WAS USED BY A PORTION OF THE
93RD DIVISION IN THE CHAMPAGNE TO TRANSPORT TROOPS AND SUPPLIES TO
THE FRONT.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS. U. S. ARMY
PASSENGER CARS USED BY FAMOUS 93RD, NEGRO DIVISION IN CHAM¬
PAGNE. FRANCE.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
SENDING MESSAGE BY CARRIER PIGEON. OFFICER AND SOLDIERS OF
369TH INFANTRY OUTSIDE OF DUGOUT IN FRANCE.
OFFICIAL. PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
KITCHEN AND DINING QUARTERS AT THE FRONT. SOLDIERS BELONG TO
FAMOUS 93RD DIVISION AMERICAN NEGRO SOLDIERS BRIGADED WITH THE
FRENCH.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
SOME WAR CROSS WINNERS OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY). FRONT ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: CAPT. G. M.
ALLEN. LIEUT. O. A. BROWNING, CAPT. D. J. WARNER, LIEUT. ROY B. TISDELL; STANDING LEFT TO RIGHT: LIEUT. ROBT
F» HURD LIEUT.-COL. OTIS B. DUNCAN, MAJOR J. R. WHITE. CAPT. W. B. CRAWFORD, LIEUT. WM. WARFI ELD. CAPT
132 AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
wide-eyed, open-souled, awake! Their sires had known
bondage, and they, their children, had felt and knew the
effects of it. America which for centuries had oppressed
their forefathers had finally through the arbitrament of war,
freed them. White men and black men, in the dark days of
'61-'65, numbering many thousands, had lain down their lives
to save the Union, and in doing so had brought them freedom.
They had been told that America was threatened; that
was enough. It was to them a summons; sharp, quick, incisive
to duty. It was, although one hundred and forty years after,
the voice of Washington at Valley Forge; the call of Perry
to their fathers, needing soldiers at the battle of Lake Erie;
of Jackson at New Orleans. It was to their listening ears the
echo of Bull Run, of Santiago, of Manila, and later of Car-
rizal; Uncle Sam needed them! That was enough; what more
was to be said?
Denied the opportunity to enlist, the Negro's patriotic,
patient soul asserted itself; if he must go as a drafted soldier,
it would be in the same fine spirit that would have inspired
him as a loyal enlisted man.
Life, as to all men, was sweet to them. They had mothers,
fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and sweethearts; the ties
of association; of home, from all of which they would be
separated and for all of which they cherished that love, which
alone of human fires: "Burns and burns, forever the same,
for nature feeds the pyre."
Above and over all these things, tending to augment the
seriousness of the sacrifice he was to be called upon to make,
was the spirit, the optimism, the jo} of life that attends
vigorous youth and young manhood.
Nature in all of its enticing charm and beauty, was
smiling in the home places these men were leaving; flowers
bloomed; birds sang; insects buzzed cheerily. There were
green fields and babbling brooks; the stately beauty of trees,
and the delights of lake, river and vale. The cities from which
they came, were many of them, splendid monuments of the
work of man. The sun clothed in glory the days, moon and
CHAPTER XV.
OYER THERE.
Hendry Johnson and Needham Roberts—The Tiger's Cubs—
Negro First to Get Palm—Johnson's Graphic Story—
Smashes the Germans—Irvin Cobb's Tribute—Chris¬
tian and Mohammedan Negroes Pals—Valor of 93rd
Division,—Laughter in Face op Death—Negro and Poilu
Happy Together—Butte de Mesnil—Valiant and
Humorous Elmer McCowin—Winning War Crosses—
Verdict of the French—The Negro's Faith.
A MOST conspicuous Negro hero of the war, and for that
matter of any race serving with the American army, was
Sergeant Henry Johnson of Albany, N. Y. His exploit was
shared by a company mate, Needham Roberts. For pure bull
dog grit and tigerish fighting, the exploit has seldom, if ever,
been equalled in the annals of any war. It resulted in the
War Crosses for each with a special citation, and the whole
French force in that section of the Champagne lined up to
see them get the decorations. Across the red and green rib¬
bon of Johnson's decoration was a golden palm, signifying
extraordinary valor. Johnson was the first private of any
race in the American army to get the palm with his Croix de
Guerre. Here is the story as told in Johnson's own words
after his arrival back in New York:
"There isn't so much to tell", said Johnson with characteristic modesty.
"There wasn't anything so fine about it. Just fought for my life. A rabbit
would have done that.
"Well, anyway, me and Needham Roberts were on patrol duty on May
15. The corporal wanted to send out two new drafted men on the sentry
post for the midnight-to-four job. I told him he was crazy to send untrained
men out there and risk the rest of us. I said I'd tackle the job, though
I needed sleep.
"German snipers had been shooting our way that night and I told the
corporal he wanted men on the job who knew their rifles. He said it was
imagination, but anyway he took those green men off and left Needham and
146
152
AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
"We had taken a hill Sept. 26 in the Argonne. We came to the edge
of a swamp when the enemy machine guns opened fire. It was so bad that
of the 58 of us who went into a particular strip, only 8 came out without
being killed or wounded. I made a number of trips out there and brought
back about a dozen wounded men."
The proudest recollection which Negro officers and pri¬
vates will carry through life is that of the whole-hearted
recognition given them in the matter of decorations by the
French army authorities. Four colored regiments of the 93rd
division attained the highest record in these awards. These
regiments being brigaded with the French, their conduct in
action was tltus under their observation. Not only was each
of these regiments cited as a unit for the Croix de Guerre, but
365 individual soldiers received the coveted decoration. A
large number of Distinguished Service Crosses were also dis¬
tributed to the 93rd division by General Pershing.
The verdict pronounced by critical French commanders
may be considered as an unquestionable confirmation that the
Negro troops were under all conditions brave fighters. This
fact and the improved status of the Negro as a result of it
was pointed to by the New York Tribune, in a leading editorial
in its issue of February 14, 1919. It said:
"The bas-relief of the Shaw Memorial became a living thing as the
dusky heroes of the 15th cheered the Liberty statue and happily swarmed
down the gangplank. Appropriately the arrival was on the birthday of the
"revered Lincoln," and never was the young and martyred idealist of
Massachusetts filled with greater pride than swelled in Colonel Hayward
as he talked of his men the best regiment, he said, with pardonable
emphasis, 'of all engaged in the great war.'
"These were men of the Champagne and the Argonne whose step was
always forward; who held a trench ninety days without relief, with every
night a raid night; who won 171 medals for conspicuous bravery; who saw
the war expire under their pressure in a discouraged German cannonade.
First class fighting men! Hats off to them! The tribunal of grace does
not regard skin color when assessing souls.
"The boys cheered the Bartholdi statue. It makes some whites uncom¬
fortable. It converts into strange reading glib eulogies of democratic
principles.
"A large faith possesses the Negro. He has such confidence in
justice,—the flow—of which he believes will yet soften hard hearts. We have
a wonderful example of a patience that defies discouragement; the "Souls
of Black Folk"! When values are truly measured, some things will be
different in this country."
CHAPTER XVI.
THROUGH HELL AND SUFFERING.
Negro Officers Make Good—Wonderful Record of the 8th
Illinois—"Black Devils" Win Decorations Galore—
Tribute of French Commander—His Farewell to Prai¬
rie Fighters—They Fought After War Was Over—
Hard to Stop Them—Individual Deeds of Heroism—
Their Dead, Their Wounded and Suffering—A Poem.
TN the past when the subject of the Negro's fighting
ability was under discussion, there were always found
those whose grudging assent to his merits as a soldier was
modified by the assertion that he had to be properly com¬
manded; in other words must have white officers Never
having been given a conspicuous opportunity to demonstrate
his capacity for leadership in battle, until the formation of
the 8th Illinois infantry in the Spanish-American war, the
Negro was forced to rest under the imputation that as a fol¬
lower he did fairly well, but as a leader he was a failure.
Let anyone who still holds that view study the record of
the 8th Illinois, or the 370th, as it was rechristened when
entering the service of the general government in the recent
war. Seventy-one War Crosses with special citations for
valor and merit, and twenty-one Distinguished Service Crosses
were awarded officers and men of the regiment. Many men
in the 370th were veterans of the Spanish-American war as
well as the campaign of 1916 on the Mexican border, which,
while not an actual war, was for some months a locality of
service and hard service at that; the regiment passing through
it with great credit.
It was organized as a single battalion in 1891, increased
to a regiment and sent to Cuba in 1898, every officer and man
in the regiment being a Negro. Upon its return, over half of
153
THROUGH HELL AND SUFFERING 157
To the 370th belongs the honor of the absolutely last
engagement of the war. An objective had been set for the
regiment on the morning of November 11th. General Vin-
cendon heard of the hour at which hostilities were to end and
sent an order to the regiment to shorten its objective. The
order failed to arrive in time and ten minutes after the fight¬
ing was over Lieut. Colonel Duncan led the third battalion
over the German line and captured a train of fifty wagons.
General Vincendon said:
"Colonel Duncan is the hardest man to stop fighting I
ever saw. He doesn't know when to quit.,,
One of the most daring exploits by a member of the regi¬
ment was that performed by Sergeant Matthew Jenkins, a
Chicago boy and member of Company F. On September 20,
at Mont des Singes, he went ahead of his comrades and cap¬
tured from the Boche a fortified tunnel which by aid of his
platoon was held for thirty-six hours without food or ammu¬
nition, making use of the enemy machine gun and munitions
until relieved. This gained for Sergeant Jenkins the Croix
de Guerre with Palm and the Distinguished Service Cross.
A deed of remarkable bravery accompanied by clever
strategy was performed by Captain Chester Sanders and
twenty men mostly of Company F. It won decorations for
three and the unbounded admiration of the French. Captain
Sanders and his men offered themselves as sacrifices in an
effort to draw the fire of about a dozen German machine guns
which had been working havoc among the Americans and
French. The Illinois men ran into the middle of a road know¬
ing they were under Gernan observation. Instantly the Ger¬
mans, suspecting a raid on their lines, opened fire on the
underbrush by the roadside, figuring the Americans would
take refuge there. Instead they kept right in the center of the
road and few were wounded. The ruse had revealed the
whereabouts of the German guns, and a short time later they
were wiped out by French artillery.
Another hero of Company F was Lieutenant Harvey J.
Taylor, who found himself in a nest of machine guns on July
CHAPTER XVII
NARRATIVE OF AN OFFICER
Special, Article by Captain John H. Patton,, Adjutant of
8th Illinois—Summarizes Operations op the Regiment
—From First Call to Mustering Out—An Eye Witness
Account—In Training Camps, at Sea, in France—Serv¬
ice in Argonne Forest—Many Other Engagements—A
Thrilling Record—Battalion Operation^ in Detail—
Special Mention of Companies and Individuals.
/"^APTAIN JOHN H. PATTON, regimental adjutant of the
^ 370th, who commanded the second battalion through most
of its service, presents a summary of the operations of the
regiment from the first call to the mustering out. Being in
charge of the organization's records, his account is detailed,
authentic and highly valuable as supplementing the data of
the previous chapter; gleaned from departmental records and
other sources. It carries additional interest as being the testi¬
mony of an eye-witness, one who participated in the stirring
events in a marked and valorous degree. The recital in Cap¬
tain Patton's own words, the phrase of a highly trained and
efficient military man, follows:
Pursuant to the call of the President, under date of
July 3, 1917, the 8th Illinois Infantry reported at the various
rendezvous on July 25, 1917, as follows: At Chicago, Illinois
regimental headquarters; Headquarters company, Machine
Gun company, Supply company, Detachment Medical Depart¬
ment, and Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H; at Spring¬
field, Illinois, Company I; at Peoria, Illinois, Company K; at
Danville, Illinois, Company L; at Metropolis, Illinois, Com¬
pany M.
164
NARRATIVE OF AN OFFICER
167
issued with the exception of the wine component, for which
an extra allowance of sugar was substituted.
The Division sent officers to take charge of the instruc¬
tion of the regiment in every phase of the work to be later
undertaken and another period of intensive training was
begun. Even French cooks were present to instruct our cooks
in the preparation and conservation of the French rations.
After six weeks training at this place, the regiment
entrained enroute to the front, arrived at Ligny-en-Barrios
(Meuse) on June 13,1918, and moved up toward the lines by
easy stages.
On June 21, 1918, the regiment began occupying posi¬
tions in the Saint Mihiel Sector, completing the occupation
on June 24, 1918. This being the first time the regiment had
been actually in the lines, the division commander deemed it
advisable to intermingle our troops with French troops in
order that officers and men might observe and profit by close
association with the veteran French troops. Thus the units
of the 1st and 2nd battalions, which had been assigned to the
front lines were intermingled with platoons and companies
of the 325th regiment of infantry.
Many valuable lessons were learned while in this sector,
which was exceptionally quiet at the time. Except for occa¬
sional shelling and some scattered machine gun and rifle fire,
nothing of interest occurred while in the sector, and there
were no casualties.
On the night of June 30-July 1, 1918, the regiment, hav¬
ing been relieved in the sector, began withdrawing, and on
July 3, 1918, the withdrawal had been completed without any
losses.
After resting a few days in the region of Lignieres
(Meuse), the regiment entrained en route to the Argonne
Forest, arriving behind the lines on July 6, 1918, the 1st
Battalion, under command of Major Stokes, moving up
immediately into the reserve positions at Brabant (S. Groupe-
ment Courcelles) and later into the front lines in the Center
of Resistance de la Foret, Sub-Sector Hermont.
178
AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
ROLL OF HONOR
Hekoes or Old 8th Illinois
Negro National Guardsmen known in France as the 370th
Infantry, who were decorated with the Croix de Guerre. The
exploits of some of these men and also of some of those in
the appended list decorated with the Distinguished Service
Cross, are mentioned in the chapters devoted to the regiment.
Col. T. A. Roberts (white)
Lieut. Col. Otis B. Duncan
Major James R. White
Capt. John H. Patton
Capt. Chester Sanders
Capt. John T. Prout
Capt. Samuel R. Gwynne
Capt. Devere J. Warner
Capt. Wm. B. Crawford
Capt. George M. Allen
Capt. James C. Hall
Capt. Stuart Alexander
Capt. Mathew Jackson
Capt. James H. Smith
Lieut. Park Tancil
Lieut. Osceola A. Browning
Lieut. George C. Lacey
Lieut. Frank Robinson
Lieut. Claudius Ballard
Lieut. Charles C. Jackson
Lieut. William J. Warfield
Lieut. Samuel S. Gordon
Lieut. Robert P. Hurd
Lieut. Henry N. Shelton
Lieut. Henry P. Cheatham
Lieut. Stanley B. Norvell
Lieut. Roy B. Tisdell
Lieut. Thomas A. Painter
Lieut. Lawson Price
Lieut. Lincoln D. Reid
Lieut. Elmer J. Myers
Sergt. Norman Henry
Sergt. Clarence T. Gibson
Sergt. Matthew Jenkins
Sergt. Cecil Nelson
Sergt. Howard Templeton
Sergt. Chas. T. Monroe
Sergt. Derry Brown
Corp. James R. Brown
Corp. Lewis Warner
Corp. Joseph Henderson
Corp. Maceo A. Tervalon
NEGRO WARRIORS ADMINISTERING COLD STEEL. GERMANS UNABLE TO STAND THE ATTACK SURRENDTPiMr
IN THE ARGONNE FOREST, FRANCE. ' OUKKtNDERING.
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
"MOSS'S BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY), REVIEWED BY GOVERNOR
WHITMAN AFTER FLAG PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF UNION LEAGUE CLUB.
NEW YORK.
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
THE "BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY), RETURNING TO NEW YORK AFTER
VALIANT SERVICE IN FRANCE, THEIR COLORS STILL FLYING.
'&> INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
SOLDIERS WHO DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES AT THE FORTRESS OF
METZ. GROUP BELONGING TO 365TH INFANTRY ARRIVING AT CHICAGO
STATION.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
HOMEWARD BOUND IN A PULLMAN CAR. NO "JIM CROWING THERE "
THE NEGRO BEARS ON HIS SHOULDER THE CITATION CORD AND EMBLEM
DENOTING VALOROUS SERVICE.
© UNDERWOOD ft UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
DR. JOSEPH H. WARD ON TRANSPORT FRANCE. THE
ONLY NEGRO ATTAINING THE RANK OF MAJOR IN THE
MEDICAL CORPS OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY
FORCES.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
CAPTAIN NAPOLEON B. MARSHALL, FAMOUS HARVARD
ATHLETE, WHO HELPED ORGANIZE 15TH NEW YORK AND WAS
ONE OF ITS ORIGINAL NEGRO OFFICERS. HE WAS SERIOUSLY
WOUNDED AT METZ.
PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD Si UNDERWOOD, N. Y. -
BRAVE NEGROES HOMEWARD BOUND FROM WAR. FIRST CALL FOR DINNER.
CAPTAIN JOHN H. PATTON, REGIMENTAL ADJUTANT, 8TH ILLINOIS
INFANTRY, FROM JUNE 26, 1916, TO SEPTEMBER 11, 1918. COMMANDING
2ND BATTALION, 370TH INFANTRY, FROM SEPTEMBER 11, 1918, TO DECEMBER
25, 1918. SAINT MIHIEL SECTOR FROM JUNE 21, 1918. TO JULY 3, 1918.
ARGONNE FOREST FROM JULY 6, 1918, TO AUGUST 15, 1918. BATTLES FOR
MONT DES SIGNES, FROM SEPTEMBER 16 TO 30, 1918. OISE-AISNE OFFENSIVE,
FROM SEPTEMBER 30, 1918, TO NOVEMBER 11, 1918. AWARDED THE FRENCH
CROIX DE GUERRE FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE COVERING PERIOD FROM
SEPTEMBER 11 TO NOVEMBER 11, 1918.
EMIL LAURENT, NEGRO CORPORAL OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH IN¬
FANTRY), A CROIX DE__GUERRE. WINNER, ENGAGED IN FIELD TELE-
kfcl UNUtRWOOD & UNDLRWOOD, N. Y.
GROUP OF "HELL FIGHTERS" (369TH INFANTRY) WITH THEIR JEWELRY (CROIX DE GUERRE) . FRONT ROW. LEFT TO
RIGHT. "EAGLE EYE" EDWARD WILLIAMS, "LAMP LIGHT" HERB TAYLOR. LEON TRAI NOR, "KID HAWK" RALPH HAW¬
KINS. BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT. SERGT. H. D. PRIMUS, SERGT. DANIEL STORMS. "KID WONEY" JOE WILLIAMS, "KID
BUCK" ALFRED HANLY AND CORP. T. W. TAYLOR.
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
OFFICERS OF THE 15TH NEW YORK (369TH INFANTRY), MARCHING IN
PARADE PRIOR TO THE WAR. LEFT TO RIGHT COL. WM. HAYWARD, BERT
WILLIAMS, FAMOUS COMEDIAN AND DR. G. McSWEENEY.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
AFTER THE WAR. ONE OF THE NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES BEARING
WOUNDED OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE 15TH NEW YORK (369TH INFAN-
(WITH HELMET) AND MAJOR LORRILARD
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP OF NEGRO OFFICERS OF "MOSS'S BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY). THE LITTLE
LADY WITH THE BOUQUET IS ONE OF THEIR FRENCH ACQUAINTANCES.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
FORMER OFFICERS OF 370TH INFANTRY (OLD 8TH) . LEFT, COLONEL FRANKLIN A. DENISON, COMMANDER UNTIL
JULY, 1918: CENTER, COLONEL T. A. ROBERTS (WHITE). SUCCEEDING COMMANDER; RIGHT, LI EUT.-COLON EL OTIS B.
DUNCAN, APPOINTED COLONEL TO SUCCEED COLONEL T. A. ROBERTS.
COLONEL FRANKLIN A. O EN I SON, FORMER COMMANDER OF 8TH ILLINOIS
(37OTH INFANTRY). INVALIDED HOME FROM FRANCE JULY 12. 1918.
FIRST COMMANDER OF THE 8TH ILLINOIS INFANTRY, COLONEL
JOHN R MARSHALL, WHO INCREASED THE ORGANIZATION FROM A
BATTALION TO A REGIMENT, EVERY OFFICER AND MAN A NEGRO.
UNDER COL. MARSHALL THE REGIMENT SAW DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
IN THE SPAN ISH-AMERICAN WAR.
© international film service
RETURNING FROM THE WAR. MUSICIANS OF 36STH INFANTRY LEADING
PARADE OF THE REGIMENT IN MICHIGAN BOULEVARD, CHICAGO.
© international film service
SOLDIERS OF 365TH INFANTRY MARCHING DOWN MICHIGAN BOULEVARD.
CHICAGO. THIS REGIMENT WAS PART OF THE CELEBRATED 92ND DIVISION
OF SELECTIVE DRAFT MEN.
(£) WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
© UNDERWOOD a UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
THE SEVEN AGES OF MEN. CURBSTONE GROUPS IN NEW YORK LINED
UP TO GIVE THE HEROES WELCOME. THE SCENES WERE TYPICAL OF MANY
IN CITIES AND TOWNS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
© UNDERWOOD 81 UNDERWOOD. N. Y.
BACK WITH THE HEROIC 15TH (369TH INFANTRY). LIEUT. JAMES REESE EUROPE'S FAMOUS BAND PARADING UP
LENOX AVENUE. HARLEM. NEW YORK CITY. LIEUT. EUROPE SPECIALLY ENLARGED IN LEFT FOREGROUND.
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y.
SERGEANT HENRY JOHNSON (STANDING WITH FLOWERS), NEGRO HERO OF 369TH INFANTRY, IN NEW YORK
PARADE. HE WAS THE FIRST SOLDIER OF ANY RACE IN THE AMERICAN ARMY TO RECEIVE THE CROIX DE GUERRE WITH
PALM. NEEDHAM ROBERTS, HIS FIGHTING COMPANION, IN INSET.
NARRATIVE OF AN OFFICER
179
Corp. William Stevenson
Corp. Emil Laurent
Corp. Charles T. Brock
Pvt. Nathaniel C. White (deceased)
Pvt. Robert Pride
Pvt. George B. White
Pvt. Howard Sheffield
Pvt. Cornelius Robinson
Pvt. Ulysses Sayles
Pvt. William Cuff (deceased)
Pvt. Hugh Givens
Pvt. Arthur Johnson
Pvt. Rufus Pitts
Pvt. Olbert Dorsey
Pvt. William Hurdle
Pvt. Bee McKissic
Pvt. Jonas Paxton
Pvt. Harry Pearson
Pvt. Paul Turlington
Pvt. Reed J. Brown
Pvt. Paul Johnson
Pvt. Reedy Jones
Pvt. Alonzo Keller
Pvt. Leroy Lindsay
Pvt. Lavern Massey
Pvt. Josiah Nevees
Pvt. Ira Taylor
Pvt. Jesse Ferguson
Pvt. William M. Robinson
Awarded Distinguished Service Crosses by Genera]
Pershing:
Capt. William B. Crawford
Lieut. William J. Warfield
Sergt. Norman Henry
Sergt. Ralph Gibson
Sergt. Robert Barnes
Sergt. Charles T. Monroe
Sergt. Emmett Thompson
Sergt. Lester Fossie
Sergt. Matthew Jenkins
Pvt. Tom Powell (deceased)
Pvt. Andrew McCall
Pvt. Wm. Cuff (deceased)
Pvt. Spirley Irby
Pvt. Alfred Williamson
Pvt. William G. Hurdle
Pvt. Harry Pearson
Pvt. Alonzo Walton
Pvt. Leroy Davis
Pvt. James Fuquay
Pvt. Nathaniel C. White (deceased)
Pvt. Arthur Johnson
CHAPTER XVIII.
BLOOD OF THE BLACK AND WHITE IN ONE
RIVULET OF DEPARTING LIFE
Lincoln's Prophetic Words—Negkoes Alongside Best Sol¬
diers in the World—Hold Their Own—The 372nd Regi¬
ment—Brigaded With Veterans of the Marne—Famous
"Red Hand" Division—Occupy Hill 304 at Verdun—
Nine Days Battle in "Bloody Argonne"—Admiration
of the French—Conspicuous Components of 372nd—
Chronology of Service.
They will probably help in some trying time
to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom.
—Abraham Lincoln.
Prophetic words uttered by the Great Emancipator con¬
cerning the Negroes of America. The Negroes helped. They
would have helped in much greater measure had they been
given the opportunity.
Fighting for the first time on the soil of the world's most
famous battleground—Europe—and for the first time brought
into direct comparison with the best soldiers of the world,
they proved themselves able to hold their own where tests of
courage, endurance and aggressiveness were most severe.
They fought valiantly in the vicinity of Chateau Thierry,
on the Vesle, on the Aillette, in the Argonne, and various
other sectors; and in the final drive at Metz. They vanquished
the Germans who opposed them; the heaviest fire of the
enemy failing to stop their advance.
No part of the 93rd Division made a more gallant record
than the 372nd regiment. Throughout its service in France
it was a part of the famous French 157th Division known as
the "Red Hand" division, under the command of General
Goybet. It was this division which first opposed the Huns at
180
BLOOD OF BLACK AND WHITE IN ONE RIVULET 181
the Marne in 1914. To brigade the Negro soldiers with such
famous veterans was a rare mark of distinction and placed
the black men on their mettle at all times.
The 372nd arrived in France on April 14 and went into
training with the French eleven days later. On May 29 the
regiment took over a sector in the Argonne and on June 20
was sent to the trenches just west of Verdun, occupying the
famous battle-swept Hill 304, and sections at Four de Paris
and Vauquois. On Hill 304 thousands of French and Ger¬
mans had fallen as the battle line swung back and forward.
That this hill was given to the Negroes to hold demonstrated
that as soldiers they had already won the confidence of the
French.
The regiment's first engagement was in the Champagne
sector with Monthois as an objective. Here came the real test.
The Negroes were eager to get into the fight. They cheered
and sang when the announcement came that their opportunity
had arrived—but the question was; back of their enthusiasm
had they the staying qualities drilled into European troops
through centuries of training in the science of warfare.
The answer was that some of the heaviest and most effec¬
tive fighting of the day was done by the Negro regiment. From
June 6th to September 10th, the 372nd was stationed in the
bloody Argonne forest or in the vicinity of Verdun. On the
night of September 25th they were summoned to take part
in the Argonne offensive and were in that terrific drive, one
of the decisive engagements of the war, from September 28th
to October 7th.
In the nine days' battle the Negroes not only proved
their fighting qualities in an ordeal such as men rarely have
been called upon to face, but these qualities in deadly strik¬
ing power and stubborn resistance in crises, stood out with
such distinction that the coveted Croix de Guerre was bestowed
upon the regiment.
The casualty list of the 372nd in this and previous fight¬
ing carried 500 names of men killed, wounded and gassed.
For their achievements they were at once cited for bravery
182
AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
and efficiency in General Orders from the corps commander
transmitted through their French divisional chief. It was
dated October 8th and read as follows:
In transmitting you with legitimate pride the thanks and congratu¬
lations of General Gamier Duplessis, allow me, my dear friends of all
ranks, American and French, to address you from the bottom of the heart
of a chief and soldier, the expression of gratitude for the glory you hate
lent to our good 157th Division. During these nine days of hard fighting
you have progressed eight kilometers (4.8 miles) through powerfully
organized defenses, taken 600 prisoners, captured 15 heavy guns, 20 minen-
werfers and nearly 150 machine guns, secured an enormous amount of
engineering material and important supplies of artillery ammunition, and
brought down by your fire three enemy aeroplanes., The "Red Hand" sign
of the flivision, has, thanks to you, become a bloody hand which took the
Boche by the throat and made him cry for mercy. You have well avenged
our glorious dead. Goybet.
In a communication delivered to the colonel of the regi¬
ment on October 1st, General Goybet said:
Your troops have been admirable in their attack. You must be proud
of the courage of your officers and men, and I consider it an honor to have
them under my command. The bravery and dash of your regiment won the
admiration of the Moroccan Division, who are themselves versed in war¬
fare. Thanks to you, during these hard days, the division was at all times
in advance of all other divisions of the Army Corps. I am sending you all
my thanks and beg you to transmit them to your subordinates. I call on
your wounded. Their morale is higher than any praise.
The high honor of having its flag decorated with the Croix
de Guerre was bestowed upon the regiment in the city of
Brest just a few days before it embarked for the return to
America. Vice Admiral Moreau, the French commander of
the port of Brest, officially represented his government in,
the ceremony. It was intended as France's appreciation of
the services of these Negro fighters.
The decoration took place at one of the most prominent
points in the city and was witnessed by thousands of French
soldiers and civilians, as well as by sailors and soldiers of
several nations.
One of the conspicuous components of the 372nd was the
battalion, formed from what formerly was known as the 1st
Separate Battalion of the District of Columbia National
Guard. This famous old Washington organization has a long,
CHAPTER XIX
COMRADES ON THE MARCH.
BROTHERS IN THE SLEEP OF DEATH.
Policy of Substituting White Officers—Injustice to
Capable Negeoes—Disappointment but n,o Open Resent¬
ment—Showed Themselves Soldiers—Intenser Fight¬
ing Spirit Aroused—Race Forgotten in Perils of War
—Both Whites and Blacks Generous—Affection Be¬
tween Officers and Men—Negroes Preferred Death to
Captivity—Outstanding Heroes of 371st and 372nd—
Winners of Crosses.
/^HANGING from Negro to white officers was in accord-
ance with the military policy of the American Govern¬
ment ; the generic inspiration and root being found in national
prejudice, incident to the institution of slavery and the spirit
of racial caste and narrowness, that still disgraces it. Doubt
was pretended to be entertained of the ability of the colored
man to command, and although there were not lacking cham¬
pions for the policy of placing capable Negroes in command
of Negro units, the weight of opinion; superinduced and
fostered by racial prejudice, inclined to the opposite course.
In the light of the fine record made by such Negro officers
as were given responsible commands, let us hope for the
future honor of the nation; preening herself as being in the
vanguard of the progressive commonwealths of the age, that
a policy so unjust, narrow and unworthy will; as quickly as
feasible be abandoned. In favor of Negro commanders is the
additional testimony of high French generals, who knew no
color distinction and could see no reason why a Negro should
not command his own race troops if he had intelligence,
courage and military skill. Indeed there are not wanting in
the annals of French warfare brilliant examples where men
of African blood commanded not only mulattoes and blacks,
188
COMRADES ON THE MARCH
195
facilities at that particular time, for the safe keeping of money
and valuables, he carried on his person more than 150,000
francs (in normal times $30,000) which boys in the regi¬
ment had given him to keep when they went over the top.
After being gassed he was walked over for an hour before
being discovered. The money was found and sent by Ser¬
geant Major White also colored, to general headquarters at
Chaumont. "When Prof. Cook was discharged from the hos¬
pital and made inquiry about the money, it was returned to
him. Not a cent was missing. Colonel Miles recommended
that General Pershing award Prof. Cook a Distinguished Ser¬
vice Cross.
The men of the. 93rd Division and other Negro divisions
and organizations will never forget their French comrades
and friends. It was a lad of the 371st regiment who wrote
the following to his mother. The censor allowed the original
to proceed but copied the extract as a document of human
interest; in that it was a boyish and unconscious arraignment
of his own country—for which he with many thousands of
others, were risking their lives.
"Mammy, these French people don't bother with no color line business.
They treat us so good that the only time I ever know I'm colored is when I
look in the glass."
The 371st regiment had 123 men killed in action and
about 600 wounded or gassed. The casualties of the 372nd
consisted of 91 killed in action and between 600 and 700
wounded or gassed. Like the other Negro regiments of the
93rd Division, there was comparatively little sickness among
the men, outside of that induced by hard service conditions.
HEROES OF THE 371ST AND 372ND.
The names listed below are cross and medal winners.
The exploits of some are told in detail in the chapters devoted
to their regiments. There are many known to have received
decorations whose names are not yet on the records.
CHAPTER XX
MID SHOT AND SHELL
In Trench and Valley—The Open Plain—On Mountain
Top—In No Man's Land—Two Classes of Negro Sol¬
diers Considered—Trained Guardsmen, and Selectives—
Gallant 92nd Division—Race Can Be Proud op It—Had
Six Hundred Negro Officers—Sets at Rest Alt, Doubts
—Operations of the Division—At Pont a Mousson—
Great Battle of Metz—Some Reflection^—Casualties
Considered.
TTISTORY, as made in France by the Negro soldier, falls
* naturally into two divisions; that which was made by the
bodies of troops which had an organization prior to the war,
and whether trained or not, could lay claim to an understand¬
ing of the first principles of military science; and that made
by the raw selectives—the draft soldiers—to whom the art
of war was a closed book, something never considered as likely
to affect their scheme of life and never given more than a
passing thought.
We have followed the first phase of it in the wonderful
combat-records of the colored National Guard, its volunteers
and recruits. We have seen them like a stone wall bearing
the brunt of attack from the finest shock troops of the
Kaiser's Army. We have seen them undaunted by shot and
shell, advancing through the most terrific artillery fire up to
that time ever concentrated; rout those same troops, hold
their ground and even advance under the most powerful
counter attack which the enemy could deliver. We have fol¬
lowed them from trench to plain, to valley and into the
mountains and read the story of their battles under all those
varying conditions. We have pitied them in their trials,
sympathized with their wounded and ill, been saddened by
197
MID SHOT AND SHELL
201
the Germans losing heavily in killed, wounded and prisoners.
In nearly every instance the raids were conducted by Negro
line officers.
Up to this time the division as a whole, had never been
in a major battle. The only regiment in it that had seen a
big engagement was the 368th infantry, which took part in
the action in the Argonne Forest in September.
The division's chance came in the great drive on Metz,
just before the end of the war. They were notified at 4 o 'clock
Sunday morning, November 10th. The motto "See it
through" of the 367th infantry, known as the "Buffaloes,"
echoed through the whole division.
They began their advance at 7 o'clock from Pont a Mous-
son. Before them was a valley commanded by the heavy
guns of Metz and by innumerable nests of German machine
guns. The Negroes seemed to realize that here for the first
time was the opportunity to show their mettle—that for the
first time they were going to battle as a division. A sense
of race pride seemed to stir and actuate every man. Here
was a chance to show what this great body, composed of cot¬
ton-field Negroes, of stevedores, mechanics, general laborers,
trades, professional men and those from all walks of civilian
life who but recently had taken up the profession of arms,
could do. An opportunity to enact a mighty role was upon
them, and they played it well.
Not only were the black infantry and machine gun units
up at the front; in the thickest of it, but the artillery—the
167th Brigade—was on the line behaving like veterans. They
laid down a barrage for the infantry that was wonderfully
effective. They established a reputation which has been made
by but few, among French, British or Americans, of laying
down a barrage that did not entrap; and fatally so, their own
comrades.
It was a glorious day for the division. The casualty roll
was heavy for the sector was strongly fortified and the enemy
made a most determined resistance. Metz is considered by
experts to be the strongest fortified inland city in the world.
NEGRO TROOPS OF U. S. ARMY RECEIVING HOLY
RIFLE RANGE. CAMP GORDON. GA.
BAPTISM WHILE IN TRAINING FOR OVERSEAS DUTY AT NORCROSS
CHAPTER XXI
THE LONG, LONG TRAIL
Operations of 368th Infantry—Negroes from Pennsylvania,
Maryland and South—In Argonn^ Hell—Defeat Iron
Cross Veterans—Valiant Personal Exploits—Lieu¬
tenant Robert Campbell—Private John Baker—
Operations of 367th Infantry—*iMoss's Buffaloes''—
365th and 366th Regiments—The Great Divide—Their
Souls Are Marching On—Praised by Pershing—Some
Citations.
TT7HEN the history of the 92nd Division is written in
* » detail, much prominence will necessarily be given to the
operations of the 368th Infantry. This unit was composed of
Negroes mostly from Pennsylvania, Maryland and the South¬
ern states. They went abroad happy, light-hearted boys to
whom any enterprise outside of their regular routine was an
adventure. They received adventure a plenty; enough to last
most of them for their natural lives. They returned matured,
grim-visaged men who had formed a companionship and a
comradeship with death. For months they were accustomed
to look daily down the long, long trail leading to the Great
Divide. They left behind many who traveled the trail and
went over the Divide. Peril was their constant attendant,
danger so familiar that they greeted it with a smile.
It has been noted that this unit of the division saw real
service prior to the campaign leading from Pont Mousson to
Metz. Their first action was in August in the V6sges sector.
This was largely day and night raiding from front line
trenches. A month later they were in that bit of hell known
as the Argonne Forest, where on September 26th, they cov¬
ered themselves with glory.
206
CHAPTER XXII
GLORY THAT WONT COME OFF
167th First Negro Artillery Brigade—4'Like Veterans"
Said Pershing—First Artillery to Be Motorized—
Record by Dates—Selected for Lorraine Campaign—
Best Educated Negroes in American Forces—Always
Stood by Their Guns—Chaplain's Estimate—Left
Splendid Impression—Testimony of French Mayors—
Christian Behavior—Soldierly Qualities.
npO the 92nd Division belonged the distinction of having the
I first artillery brigade composed entirely of Negroes, with
the exception of a few commissioned officers, ever organized
in this country. In fact, the regiments composing the brigade,
the 349th, the 350th and 351st were the first complete artil¬
lery regiments of Negroes and the only important Negro
organizations in the artillery branch of the service, ever
formed in this country.
Their record was remarkable considering the brief time
in which they had to distinguish themselves, and had the war
continued, they would surely have gained added glory; Gen¬
eral Pershing in the review at Le Mans complimenting them
particularly, stating that when the armistice came he was
planning important work for them. Following are the gen¬
eral's words which brought much pride to the organization:
"Permit me to extend to the officers and men of the 167th Field Artil¬
lery Brigade, especially the 351st regiment, my congratulations for the excel¬
lent manner in which they conducted themselves during the twelve days they
were on the front. The work of the unit was so meritorious that after the
accomplishments of the brigade were brought to my attention I was pre¬
paring to assign the unit to very important work in the second offensive,
You men acted like veterans, never failing to reach your objective, once
orders had been given you. I wish to thank you for your work."
215
CHAPTER XXin
NOR STORIED URN, NOR MOUNTING SHAFT
Globy Not All Spectaculab—Brave Forces Behind the
Lines—325th Field Signal Battalion—Composed of
Youn/3 Negroes—See Real Fighting—Suffer Casual¬
ties—An Exciting Incident—Colored Signal Battalion
a Success—Ralph Tyler's Stories—Burial of Negro
Soldier at Sea—More Incidents of Negro Valor—
A Word from Charles M. Schwab.
/~\UT of the glamor and spectacular settings of combat
^comes most of the glory of war. The raids, the forays,
the charges; the pitting of cold steel against cold steel, the
hand to hand encounters in trenches, the steadfast manning
of machine guns and field pieces against deadly assault, these
and kindred phases of battle are what find themselves into
print. Because they lend themselves so readily to the word
painter or to the artist's brush, these lurid features are played
to the almost complete exclusion of others, only slightly less
important.
There are brave forces behind the lines, sometimes in
front of the lines, about which little is written or pictured.
Of these the most efficient and indispensable is the Signal
Corps. While this branch of the service was not obliged to
occupy front line trenches; make raids for prisoners, or
march in battle formation into big engagements, it must not
be supposed that it did not have a very dangerous duty to
perform.
One of the colored units that made good most decisively
was the 325th Field Signal Battalion of the 92nd Division.
The men of this battalion had to string the wires for tele¬
graphic and telephonic connections at times when the enemy
guns were trained upon them. Therefore, in many respects,
222
CHAPTER XXIV
THOSE WHO NEVER WILL RETURN
A Study of Wab—Its Compensation,s and Benefits—Its
Ravages and Debasements—Burdens Fall Upon the
Weak—Toll of Disease—Negroes Singularly Healthy
—Negroes Killed in Battle—Deaths From Wounds
and Other Causes—Remarkable Physical Stamina of
Race—Housekeeping in. Khaki—Healthiest War in
History—Increased Regard for Mothers—An Ideal for
Child Minds—Morale and Propaganda.
TT has been said that war has its compensations no less than
-*■ peace. This saying must have had reference largely to
the material benefits accruing to the victors—the wealth
gained from sacked cities, the territorial acquisitions and the
increased prestige and prosperity of the winners. There is
also an indirect compensation which can hardly be measured,
but which is known to exist, in the increased courage incul¬
cated, the banishment of fear, the strengthened sense of devo¬
tion, heroism and self-sacrifice, and all those principles of
manliness and unselfishness which are inspired through war
and react so beneficially on the morals of a race. There are
some, however, who contend that these compensations do not
overbalance the pain, the heart-rending, the horrors, brutal¬
ities and debasements which come from war. Viewed in the
most favorable light, with all its glories, benefits and com¬
pensations, war is still far removed from an agreeable enter¬
prise.
Like so many of the other material compensations of life,
its benefits accrue to the strong while its burdens fall upon
the weak. A contemplation of the maimed, the crippled and
those stricken with disease, fails to engender anything but
somber reflections.
232
CHAPTER XXV.
$UIET HEROES OP THE BRAWNY ARM
Negro Stevedore, Pioneer and Labor Units—Swung the Axe
and Turned the Wheel—They Were Indispensable—
Everywhere in France—Hewers of Wood, Drawers of
Water—Numbers and Designations of Units—Acquired
Splendid Reputation—Contest an,d Awards—Pride in
Their Service—Measured Up to Military Standards—
Lester Walton's Appreciation—Ella Wheeler Wil¬
cox in Poetic Tribute.
OOME went forth to fight, to win deathless fame or the
^ heroes' crown of death in battle. There were some who
remained to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. Which
performed the greater service?
For the direct uplift and advancement of his race; for
the improved standing gained for it in the eyes of other
races, the heroism, and steadfastness and the splendid sol¬
dierly qualities exhibited by the Negro fighting man, were of
immeasurable benefit. Those were the things which the world
heard about, the exemplifications of the great modern forces
and factors of publicity and advertising. In the doing of
their "bit" so faithfully and capably, the Negro combatant
forces won just title to all the praise and renown which they
have received. Their contribution to the cause of liberty and
democracy, cannot be discounted; will shine through the ages,
and through the ages grow brighter.
But their contribution as fighting men to the cause of
Justice and Humanity was no greater, in a sense than that
of their brethren: "Unwept, unhonored and unsung," who
toiled back of the lines that those at the front might have
subsistence and the sinews of conflict.
239
240 AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
The most indispensable cog in the great machine which
existed behind the lines, was the stevedore regiments, the
butcher companies, the engineer, labor and Pioneer battalions,
nearly all incorporated in that department of the army tech¬
nically designated as the S. 0. S. (Service of Supply). In
the main these were blacks. Every Negro who served in the
combatant forces could have been dispensed with. They
would have been missed, truly; but there were enough white
men to take their places if necessary. But how seriously
handicapped would the Expeditionary forces have been with¬
out the great army of Negroes, numbering over 100,000 in
France, with thousands more in this country designed for
the same service; who unloaded the ships, felled the trees,
built the railroad grades and laid the tracks; erected the
warehouses, fed the fires which turned the wheels; cared for
the horses and mules and did the million and one things,
which Negro brawn and Negro willingness does so acceptably.
Theirs not to seek "the bubble reputation at the can¬
non's mouth," that great composed, uncomplaining body of
men; content simply to wear the uniform and to know that
their toil was contributing to a result just as important as
the work of anyone in the army. Did they wish to fight?
They did; just as ardently as any man who carried a rifle,
served a machine gun or a field piece. But some must cut
wood and eat of humble bread, and there came in those great
qualities of patience and resignation which makes of the
Negro so dependable an asset in all such emergencies.
How shall we describe their chronology or write their
log? They were everywhere in France where they were
needed. As one officer expressed it, at one time it looked as
though they would chop down all the trees in that country.
Their units and designations were changed. They were
shifted from place to place so often and given such a variety
of duties it would take a most active historian to follow them.
Tn the maze of data in the War Department at Washington,
it would take months to separate and give an adequate account
of their operations.
CHAPTER XXVI.
UNSELFISH WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD
Mitigated the Horroes of War—At the Front, Behind the
Lines, at Home—Circle for Negro War Relief—Ad¬
dressed and Praised by Roosevelt—A Notable Gather¬
ing—Negro Y. M. C. A. Work—Unsullied Record of
Achievement—How the "Y" Conducted Business—
Secretaries All Specialists—Negro Women in "Y"
Work—Valor of a Non-combatant.
"VTEGROES in America are justly proud of their contribu-
^ tions to war relief agencies and to the financial and moral
side of the war. The millions of dollars worth of Liberty-
Bonds and War Savings stamps which they purchased were
not only a great aid to the government in prosecuting the war,
but have been of distinct benefit to the race in the establishing
of savings funds among many who never were thrifty before.
Thousands have been started on the road to prosperity by the
business ideas inculcated in that manner. Their donations to
the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A. and kindred groups were excep¬
tionally generous.
An organization which did an immense amount of good
and which was conducted almost entirely by Negro patriots,
although they had a number of white people as officers and
advisers, was the *'Circle for Negro War Relief," which had
its headquarters in New York City.
At a great meeting at Carnegie Hall, November 2, 1918,
the Circle was addressed by the late Theodore Roosevelt. On
the platform also as speakers were Emmett J. Scott, Irvin
Cobb, Marcel Knecht, French High Commissioner to the
United States; Dr. George E. Haynes, Director of Negro Eco¬
nomics, Department of Labor; Mrs. Adah B. Thorns, Superin¬
tendent of Nurses at Lincoln hospital, and Dr. W. E. B.
Du Bois, who presided.
246
UNSELFISH WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD 249
The best writers of tlie race will find in it a theme well worthy
of their finest talents. The subject can be touched upon only
briefly here.
To the untiring efforts and great ability of Dr. J. E.
Moorland, senior secretary of the Negro Men's Department
of the International Committee, with his corps of capable
assistants at Washington, belongs the great credit of having
organized and directed the work throughout the war.
Not a serious complaint has come from any quarter about
the work of the Y. M. C. A. workers; not a penny of
money was wrongfully diverted and literally not a thing has
occurred to mar the record of the organization. Nothing but
praise has come to it for the noble spirit of duty, good will and
aid which at all times characterized its operations. The work¬
ers sacrificed their pursuits and pleasures, their personal
affairs and frequently their remuneration; times innumerable
they risked their lives to minister to the comfort and well
being of the soldiers. Some deeds of heroism stand forth that
rank along with those of the combatants.
The splendid record achieved is all the more remarkable
and gratifying when the extensive and varied personnel of
the service is taken into consideration. No less than fifty-five
Y. M. C. A. centers were conducted in cantonments in America,
presided over by 300 Negro secretaries. Fourteen additional
secretaries served with Student Army Training Corps units
in our colleges. Sixty secretaries served overseas, making a
grand total of 374 Y. M. C. A. secretaries doing war work.
Excellent buildings were erected in the cantonments
here and the camps overseas, which served as centers for
uplifting influences, meeting the deepest needs of the soldier's
life. In the battle zones were the temporary huts where the
workers resided, placed as near the front lines as the military
authorities could permit. Many times the workers went into
the most advanced trenches with the soldiers, serving them
tobacco, coffee, chocolate, etc., and doing their utmost to keep
up spirits and fighting morale. Much of the uniform good
(£) WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
GROUP ON EDGE OF PIER WAITING TO ENTRAIN FOR DEMOBILIZATION CAMP. PART OF 351ST ARTILLERY UNIT
SPECIALLY MENTIONED BY GENERAL PERSHING.
^ WlSTERN newspaper union
SALVATION ARMY LASSIES HANDING OUT CHOCOLATE TO TWO SOLDIERS
OF 3 51 ST ARTILLERY.
^ .. - , Uj-iION
HEROES OF 3 51 ST ARTILLERY GREETING FRIENDS AFTER DEBARKING
FROM THE TRANSPORT LOUISVILLE.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
KITCHEN POLICE ON BOARD THE CELTIC. THERE IS ALWAYS SOME DUTY
FOR UNCLE SAM'S MEN ON LAND OR SEA.
IV WfcSTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
MINSTRELS ON BOARD THE "SAXONIA." TYPICAL GROUP ORGANIZED
ON THE TRANSPORTS TO ENTERTAIN WOUNDED BOYS RETURNING FROM
FRANJfF
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
MEN WHO HANDLED THE CANNONS. PART OF SQUADRON A, 351ST
FIELD ARTILLERY, ON TRANSPORT LOUISVILLE.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
LIEUT. MAXOM AND HIS BAND. WHO SAW DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN
FRANCE.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
ARTHUR JOHNSON, A DOUGHBOY OF THE 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFAN¬
TRY), WINNER OF CROIX DE GUERRE AND THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS.
(£) unulRwood a undlrwood, n. y.
GAME PROBABLY IS STRIP POKER AS TWO MEN HAVE ALREADY DIS¬
CARDED THEIR SHIRTS. ONE HAS A LARGE SAFETY PIN FOR INSTANT USE.
BUT THEN, NOTE THE HORSESHOE ON HIS SHOE.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
U. S. FLAG AND 369TH REGIMENT FLAG, DECORATED WITH CROIX DE
GUERRE AT UNGERSHE1M, ALSACE, FRANCE.
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, U. S. ARMY
THE 369TH INFANTRY IN REST BILLETS AT MAFFRECOURT, FRANCE.
HENRY JOHNSON, ONE OF FOREMOST HEROES OF THE WAR, WITH HIS FAMOUS
SMILE, IN RIGHT FOREGROUND.
© COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION FROM U. 6. U.
THE JOKE SEEMS TO BE ON THE LAD AT THE LEFT.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
A FEW OF THE MANY GUNS CAPTURED FROM THE GERMANS.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
REUNITED AND HAPPY. LIEUT. COLONEL OTIS B. DUNCAN OF 8TH
ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY), WHO CAME OUT OF THE WAR THE RANKING
NEGRO IN THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES: HIS FATHER AND MOTHER.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
MISS VIVIAN HARSH, MEMBER CHICAGO CHAPTER OF CANTEEN
WORKERS, PASSING OUT SMOKES TO RETURNED SOLDIERS OF 8TH
ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY).
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
OFFICERS OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY), DECORATED BY FRENCH FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION. LEFT TO
RIGHT, LIEUT. THOMAS A. PAINTER, CAPT. STEWART ALEXANDER, LIEUT. FRANK ROBINSON.
COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG, RANKING NEGRO OFFICER OF THE REGULAR
ARMY. ONE OF THREE WHO HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED FROM THE UNITED
STATES MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT. A VETERAN OFFICER OF THE
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND WESTERN CAMPAIGNS. DETAILED TO ACTIVE
SERVICE, CAMP GRANT, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, DURING THE WORLD WAR.
TWO NOTED PARTISANS OF THE ALLIES IN THE GREAT WORLD
WAR: MRS. J. H. H. SENGSTACKE, AND HER FAMOUS SON, ROBERT
SENGSTACKE ABBOTT, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER OF THE CHICAGO DE¬
FENDER. IT WAS MRS. SENGSTACKE WHO, WHEN THE DEFENDER HAD
REACHED THE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MARK OF ITS CIRCULATION,
STARTED THE PRESS THAT RAN OFF THE EDITION, FLAMING WITH
CHEER AN INSPIRATION FOR "OUR BOYS" IN THE TRENCH ES "nurs
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE
DISTINGUISHED OFFICERS OF THE 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY). FIRST ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, CAPT. D. J.
WARNER, A. H. JONES, LIEUT. E. G. WHITE. LIEUT J. D. RAINEY. LIEUT. BERNARD McGWIN. SECOND ROW LIEUT.
LUTHER J. HARRIS, LIEUT. ALVIN M. JORDAN, LIEUT. E. L. GOODLETT, LIEUT. J. T. BAKER. THIRD ROW. LIEUT. F. J.
JOHNSON. LIEUT. JEROME L. HUBERT.
© INTERNATIONAL FILM SERVICE.
DISTINGUISHED OFFICERS OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY). LEFT TO RIGHT, LIEUT. LAWSON PRICE LIEUT
O. A. BROWNING. LIEUT. W. STEARLES. CAPT. LEWIS E. JOHNSON, LIEUT. EDMOND G. WHITE. LIEUT. F W BATES LIEUT
E. F. E. WILLIAMS. LIEUT. B1NGA D1SMOND.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
WOUNDED NEGRO SOLDIERS CONVALESCING IN BASE HOSPITAL. IN THE
PICTURE ARE TWO COLORED WOMEN AMBULANCE DRIVERS.
1 - f
AMERICAN
EXPEDITIONARY FORCES
Corps Expeditionnaires Amcricains
IDENTITY CARD
_.^Cartc d'Identite
aino
Nom \ 7 - *•
lank S^Z/a •.V^^
Uignatmv
of Holder
Signature
ilu Titu)airc
SAMPLE OF IDENTITY CARD CARRIED BY SOLDIERS OF THE AMERICAN
EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. EACH IDENTIFICATION WAS PRINTED IN ENGLISH
AND FRENCH AND INCLUDED A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE OWNER. THE NUMBER
ON THE CARD CORRESPONDING WITH A METAL TAG ON THE MAN'S ARM.
© WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
NEGRO OFFICERS OF 366TH INFANTRY WHO ACHIEVED DISTINCTION IN FRANCE. LEFT TO RIGHT. LIEUT C.
L. ABBOTT. CAPT. JOS. L. LOWE. LIEUT. A. R. FISHER. CAPT. E. WHITE.
CHAPTER XXVII.
NEGRO IN ARMY PERSONNEL
His Mechanical Ability Required—Skilled at Special;
Trades—Victory Depends Upon Technical Workers—
Vast Range of Occupation^—Negro Makes Good Show¬
ing—Percentages of White and Black—Figures for
General Service.
TN 1917 and 1918 our cause demanded speed. Every day that
could be saved from the period of training meant a day
gained in putting troops at the front.
Half of the men in the Army must be skilled at special
trades in order to perform their miltary duties. To form the
units quickly and at the same time supply them with the
technical ability required, the Army had to avail itself of the
trade knowledge and experience which the recruit brought
with him from civil life. To discover this talent and assign
it to those organizations where it was needed was the task of
the Army Personnel organization.
The army could hardly have turned the tide of victory if
it had been forced to train from the beginning any large pro¬
portion of the technical workers it needed. Every combat
division required 64 mechanical draughtsmen, 63 electricians,
142 linemen, 10 cable splicers, 156 radio operators, 29 switch¬
board operators, 167 telegraphers, 360 telephone repairmen,
52 leather and canvas workers, 78 surveyors, 40 transitmen, 62
topographers, 132 auto mechanics, 128 machinists, 167 utility
mechanics, 67 blacksmiths, 151 carpenters, 691 chauffeurs
(auto and truck), 128 tractor operators and 122 truckmasters.
Besides these specialists each division required among its
enlisted men those familiar with 68 other trades. Among
254
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE KNOCKOUT BLOW
Woodrow Wilson, an. Estimate—His Place in History—
Last of Great Trio—Washington, Lincoln, Wilson—
Upholds Decency, Humanity, Liberty—Recapitulation
of Year 1918—Closing Incidents of War.
WHEN sufficient years have elapsed for the forming of a
correct perspective, when the dissolving elements of time
have swept away misunderstandings and the influences en¬
gendered by party belief and politically former opinions,
Woodrow Wilson is destined to occupy a place in the Temple
of Fame that all Americans may well be proud of. Let us
analyze this and let us be fair about it, whatever may be our
beliefs or affiliations.
Washington gave us our freedom as a nation and started
the first great wave of democracy. Probably, had some of us
lived in Washington's time, we would have been opposed to
him politically. Today he is our national hero and is rever¬
enced by all free people of the earth, even by the nation which
he defeated at arms. Lincoln preserved and cemented, albeit
he was compelled to do it in blood, the democracy which
Washington founded. He did infinitely more; he struck the
shackles from four million human beings and gave the Negro
of America his first opportunity to take a legitimate place in
the world. Lincoln's service in abolishing slavery was not
alone to the Negro. He elevated the souls of all men, for he
ended the most degrading institution that Satan ever devised
—more degrading to the master who followed it, than to the
poor subject he practiced it upon. Unitedly, we revere Lin¬
coln, yet there were those who were opposed to him and in
every way hampered and sneered at his sublime consecration
to the service of his country. It takes time to obtain the
proper estimate of men.
257
CHAPTER XXIX
HOMECOMING HEROES
New Yobk Greets Her Own—Ecstatic Day fqjei Old 15th—
Whites and Blacks do Honors—A Monster Demonstra¬
tion—Many Dignitaries Review Troops—Parade op
Martial Pomp—Cheers, Music, Flowers and Feasting—
"Hayward's Scrapping Babies"—Officers Share Glory
—Then Came Henry Johnson—Similar Scenes Else¬
where.
XTO band of heroes returning from war ever were accorded
^ such a welcome as that tendered to the homecoming 369th
by the residents of New York, Manhattan Island and vicinity,
irrespective of race. Being one of the picturesque incidents
of the war, the like of which probably will not be repeated for
many generations, if ever, it well deserves commemoration
within the pages of this book.
Inasmuch as no more graphic, detailed and colorful
account of the day's doings has been printed anywhere, we
cannot do better than quote in its entirety the story which
appeared in the great newspaper, The World, of New York,
on February 18, 1919. The parade and reception, during
which the Negro troops practically owned the city, occurred
the preceeding day. The World account follows:
"The town that's always ready to take off its hat and give a whoop
for a man who's done something—'no matter who or what he was before,' as
the old Tommy Atkins song has it—turned itself loose yesterday in wel¬
coming home a regiment of its own fighting sons that not only did some¬
thing, but did a whole lot in winning democracy's war.
"In official records, and in the histories that youngsters will study
In generations to come, this regiment will probably always be known as
the 369th Infantry, U. S. A.
"But In the hearts of a quarter million or more who lined the streets
yesterday to greet it, it was no such thing. It was the old 15th New York.
And so it will be in this city's memory, archives and in the folk lore of the
descendants of the men who made up its straight, smartly stepping ranks.
CHAPTER XXX
RECONSTRUCTION AND THE NEGRO
By Julius Rosen wald, President Sears, Roebuck & Co. and
Trustee of Tuskegee Institute—A Plea for Industrial
Opportunity for the Negro—Tribute to Negro as Sol¬
dier and Civilian—Duty of Whites Pointed Out—Busi¬
ness Leader and Philanthropist Sounds Keynote.
A LTHOUGH American sacrifices in the European War
have been great, we find compensation for them in many
directions. Not the least of these is the vastly increased
number of opportunities the reconstruction period will offer
to many of our citizens.
Today the United States is the leading nation of the
world in virtually every line of activity. We have been
thrust into a new world leadership by the war. It behooves
us to make the most of our new opportunities. To equip
ourselves creditably we must utilize the best there is in the
manhood and womanhood of our nation, drawing upon the
intellect and ability of every person who has either to give.
Approximately ten percent of our present population is
colored. Every man, woman and child of this ten percent
should be given the opportunity to utilize whatever ability he
has in the struggle for the maintenance of world leadership
which we now face. Just insofar as we refuse to give this
part of our population an opportunity to lend its strength to
helping us set a pace for the rest of the world, as best it can,
so do we weaken the total strength of our nation. In other
words, we can either give our colored population the right
and the opportunity to do the best work of which it is capable
and increase our efficiency, or we can deny them their rights
and opportunities, as we have done in many instances, and
decrease our efficiency proportionately.
275
CHAPTER XXXI
THE OTHER FELLOW'S BURDEN
An Emancipation Day Appeal for Justice
By W. Allison Sweeney.
Publisher's Note: At our request, Mr. Sweeney consented to the
reproduction of this poem, which with the accompanying letter from
the late Dr. Booker T. Washington, and the comment by the Chicago
Daily News, appeared in that newspaper just prior to New Years Day,
1914. We regard it as a powerful argument, affecting the Negro's past
condition and his interests.
"President Lincoln signed the emancipation proclama¬
tion Sept. 22, 1862. It went into effect at the beginning of
January, 1863. New Year's day has thus become 'Emanci¬
pation day' to the colored people of the United States and to
all members of the white race who realize the great signifi¬
cance of Lincoln's act of striking off the shackles of an
enslaved race. Services on that day combine honor to Lin¬
coln with appeals to the people of Lincoln's nation to grant
justice to the Negro. A remarkable appeal of this sort is
embodied in the poem here presented.
"W. Allison Sweeney, author of "The Other Fellow's
Burden" is well known among his people as writer, editor
and lecturer. His poem, which sketches with powerful
strokes the lamentable history of the colored race in America
and tells of their worthy achievements in the face of discour¬
agements, deserves a thoughtful reading by all persons. Of
this poem and its author Dr. Booker T. Washington writes
as follows:
281
CHAPTER XXXII
AN INTERPOLATION
Held By Distinguished Thinkers and Writers, That the
Negro Soldier Should Be Given a Chance for Promo¬
tion as Well as a Chance to Die—Why White Officers
Over Negro Soldiers?
PVER since the conclusion of the conflict of '61- '65, in which
Negro troops numbered by thousands, took an active
part upon behalf of the Union, there has been a growing and
insistent wonder in the minds of many, why, given a chance
to die in the military service of the nation, they should not
also at the same time be given a chance for promotion.
Subsequent affairs engaged in by the government requir¬
ing the intervention of its military arm, the Spanish-Ameri¬
can war, the Philippines investiture incident thereto, the
Mexican disagreement, the whole crowned by the stupendous
World War; its frightful devastation and din yet fresh to our
sight, still filling our ears, as it will for years; in all of which
they have contributed their share of loyalty and blood—of
LIVES! — have but added to, strengthened the wonder
mentioned.
Up to the beginning of the European muddle it was dis¬
cussed if at all, not so much as a condition demanding
uncensored condemnation, as one to continue to be patient
with, trusting to time and an awakened sense of fair play
upon the part of the nation at large to note the custom com¬
plained of, and banish the irritation by abolishing the cause.
However, there has not been lacking those who have
spoken out, who have raised their voices in protest against
what they deemed an injustice to the loyal "fighting men" of
their race, and so feeling, have not hesitated to make their
plea to those above empowered to listen, regardless of the
mood in which they did so.
288
294
AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR
must be permitted them. Much accepted, as a matter of
course, without pursuing curiosity to the limit.
"There may be ideas conveyed by Captain Roots to
the president, through his communications to Secretaries
Garrison and Tumulty that some people may not agree
with, but there can be no disagreement over the proposi¬
tion that the lot of colored soldiers in the armies of the
United States—in the past, and at the present, is much
different than that accorded to white soldiers; very little
to really be proud of; very, very much to be ashamed of
—much that is humiliating and depressing.
"Because the present administration may be power¬
less in the matter, afraid to touch it, fearing a live wire
or something of that kind, should OUR duty in the prem¬
ises, TOWARD OUR OWN, be influenced thereby?
"I wonder—is the time not NOW—right now, to
commence an attack upon this intrenched scandal—this
dirty, HUMILIATING AMERICANISM?
"No other nation on earth, christian or pagan, treats
its defenders, its soldiery, so meanly, so shabbily, as does
this, her black defenders; but whether the nation is more
to blame, than we, who so long have submitted without a
murmur, is a question. ' The trouble' shouted Cassius to
Brutus, 'is not in our stars, that we are Underlings, BUT
IN OURSELVES.'
*1 Shall we, responding to the initiative furnished by
CAPTAIN ROOTS, commence an organized assault upon
this national vice against the soldiers of our race? Is
this the time, readers of The Defender? Is this the time,
brothers and editors of the contemporary press?
R. S. ABBOTT."
Following in the footsteps of Captain Roots; apparently
obsessed by the same vision and spirit, Mr. Willis 0. Tyler,
eminent Los Angeles race representative, attorney and Har¬
vard graduate, also makes a plea for justice for Negro troops
in the regular army, also for Negro officers, and proposes
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE NEW NEGRO AND THE NEW AMERICA
"THE OLD ORDER
Changeth, yielding place to new."
THROUGH THE . ,
Arbitrament of war, behold a new and better America,
a new and girded Negro!
"The watches
Of the night have PASSED!
"The watches
Of the day BEGIN!"
OUT of war's crucible new nations emerge. New ideas
seize mankind and if the conflict has been a just one,
waged for exalted ideals and imperishable principles and not
alone for mere national security and integrity, a n§w charac¬
ter, a broader national vision is formed.
Such was the result of the early wars for democracy.
The seeds of universal freedom once sown, finally ripened
not alone to the unshackling of a race, but to the fecundity
and birth of a spirit that moved all nations and peoples to
seek an enlarged liberty. The finger of disintegration and
change is never still; is always on the move; always the old
order is passing; always the new, although unseen of man, is
coming on. And so it is, that nations are still in the throes
of reconstruction after the great war. That it was the great¬
est and most terrible of all wars, increases the difficulties
incident to the establishment of the new order, precedent to
a restoration of tranquil conditions.
So radical were some of the results of the conflict, such
as the overthrow of despotism in Russia, and a swinging
completely to the other extreme of the pendulum; similar
happenings in Germany and Austria transpiring, that sub¬
ject peoples in general, finding themselves in possession of a
liberty which they did not expect and were not prepared for,
are in a sense bewildered; put to it, as to just what steps to
take; the wisest course to pursue.
301
NOTE—UP TO THIS POINT THE TEXT PAGES ONLY HAVE BEEN NUMBERED. THE M FULL p
OP HALF-TONE PHOTOGRAPHS (OVER lOO SEPARATE PICTURES) AND THE 8 PLATES TINT
MANY COLORS (NOT PRINTED ON BACK) BRING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES TO Au._ E°
«w OVER FOUR
HUNDRED. K
LIBRARY EDITION: This is an actual photograph of the BEST BINDING
—reduced one-third. (The complete volume as delivered measures 9 inches
high and 6% inches wide.) The entire book is bound in full seal grain
keratol leather, edges marbled with attractive and harmonious colors. A most
durable binding, stronger than ordinary leather; it will last for generations
to come. The massive front cover design and back title are richly embossed
in gold. The best is always the cheapest—we strongly recommend this
binding which costs but $1.00 more than the cloth edition. Price only. .$3.75
FOR LIBERTY, PROGRESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS! A VERITABLE TREASURE FOR THE HOME. OUR NEW BOOK.
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR
HIS SPLENDID RECORD IN THE BATTLE ZONES OF EUROPE.
with a summary of his services to his country in America's former wars.
By W. ALLISON SWEENEY
Contributing editor of the Chicago Defender; eloquent orator; brilliant, powerful and accurate writer; recognized and
acclaimed as the most fearless champion of his race in America today
The Thrilling and Inspiring Story of a Peerless Record of Achievement
This book presents a summary of the past services of the Negro in all former wars from the Revolution to the victorious
ending of the Great World War for Liberty. It tells the story in language that thrills—reflections that scintillate and convict
—as the Black man's contribution through suffering; past the "Gates of Hell" in "No Man's Land," for freedom for all mankind.
Largest and Most High Grade, Authentic Book for the Race Ever Sold for the Money
It contains 33 chapters—about 15,000 lines of text—every line replete with FACTS. Printed from new clear type on
number 1 book paper.
Over 100 Beautiful Half Tone Illustrations from Official Sources
covering every phase of war activity and a gallery of eight magnificent full page plates, tinted in many colors. All illustra¬
tions printed on highly polished ivory finished paper. The complete book measures 9 inches high by 6% inches wide.
A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE OWNED AND, NEXT TO THE BIBLE, READ BY EVERY NEGRO IN THE LAND
The book is sold at the following low prices.
STYLE No. 1—CLOTH EDITION bound in rich silk finished red cloth with militant Negro soldier stamped in
" gold on cover, with further decorations of gold and three stampings in
colors, as shown on the front cover of this Prospectus. This is the popular edition, the price ■xf "je
being within the reach of all PRICE, ONLY $Za75
STYLE No. 2—LIBRARY EDITION bound in rich seal grain keratol leather. A special material that will
last for generations to come. Cover design and back stamp artistically
embossed in gold. Edges marbled with attractive and harmonious colors. This is the best binding, and the best is always
the cheapest in the long run. v __
(See photograph on opposite page) _ PRICE, ONLY
AGREEMENT—We, the subscribers on the following pages to the above-named book, hereby agree to take the number
of copies set opposite e.ur respective names and promptly pay the specified prices on the delivery of same, jf equal (5
sample. Delay in delivery shall not invalidate this agreement. v
V> NA \A
w -Jn, k
u \ 2s- Zs
2 *4 oi
n A
A J® \is V V$
V\f
V
Si \.
X
\L
>rs
~ r— x»- ^v
Y< ^ •V' -V ^ ^
BINDING PRICE