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COMPLETE HISTORY
of the
COLORED SOLDIERS


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COMPLETE HISTORY
OF THE

COLORED SOLDIERS
IN THE WORLD WAR
AUTHENTIC STORY OF THE GREATEST WAR
• OF CIVILIZED TIMES AND WHAT THE
COLORED MAN DID TO UPHOLD
DEMOCRACY AND LIBERTY
PUBLISHED BY
BENNETT & CHURCHILL
I Io-1 16 NASSAU STREET
NEW YORK CITY
a -a o 44, 5 '5
COPYRIGHT, 1919
BY
BENNETT & CHURCHILL
NEW YORK
The text and illustrations in this history are fully pro-
tected by the copyright laws, and all persons are cau-
tioned against reproduction in whole or part with-
out written permission from the publishers
THE WILLIAM G. HEWITT PRESS
61-67 NAVY STREET
BROOKLYN, N. Y.
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FOREWORD
We, the undersigned, “Colored Boys” who
have been over seas with both the Ninety-
Second, and Ninety-Third Division, and
have seen and were in some of the fiercest
battles that were fought in France, made up
our minds while in the thick of battle that
out people throughout the country should
have a true history of what our boys have
done right from we men who went through
every part of the war. A great many of
the histories today contain only official re-
ports. Of course in a book of that kind you
do not learn of the hardships, and privations,
nor how the men fought individualy, that
Prussianism and uncivilized tactics might be
wiped out forever.
In this history you will find our individual
stories, regimental histories, and pictures
taken right on the field of battle. In short,
this book tells you only about the colored
people’s part in the world war.
The contents of this book are absolutely
true.
• SERGT. J. A. JAMIESON
SERGT. G. I. WILLIAMS
CORPL. H. WHITE
PRIv. JACK ALLEN
PRIv. JoHN GRAHAM
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
War declared. Emmett J. Scott's talk. How colored
forces were organized. How colored boys were trained.
Rattlesnakes. Colored boys never retire. Johnson and
Roberts. Colonel Hayward’s letter of praise to Johnson's
wife. Complete history of the 15th Regiment. 15th Regi-
ment's honor roll. Reproduction of Croix de Guerre. Only
one company left out of a whole battalion.
CHAPTER II
Heroes who lie buried on French soil. Brooklyn boy
who helped down the “Hun.” Jersey boy who helped
make history. California hero. Private James Turpin's
tragic death. Graves of the old 15th Regiment heroes.
Captain Marshall's gallant fight. How Butler out-guessed
the Boche. Sergeant Jamieson's story. New York State
Buffaloes. 92nd Division heroes. West 99th Street does
itself proud.
CHAPTER III
Influential friends of the colored people: Theodore
Roosevelt, General Pershing, ex-Governor Whitman. 15th
Regiment's State regimental flag. Commissioned colored
officers. Poem. How the colored race backed the boys
buying Liberty Bonds. Col. Hayward's letter to his former
law partner. Our colored chaplains. Our colored nurses.
Strength of army corps. Colored women's part in
World War.
CHAPTER IV e er & $ $ e o º 72
Southern States: Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Ten-
nessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, North and South Carolina,
Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Washing-
ton, D. C., and Pennsylvania. Southern editorials.
Southern heroes. Southern officers. Southern canton-
ment named after negro. “The old 8th” Illinois. Robert's
and Duncan's story of the 8th Illinois in France. Editorial
comment on return of 8th Illinois. Honor roll of 8th
Illinois. 8th Illinois' citations. Battle-scarred hero's
story, Western colored boy's story.
CHAPTER v & © tº e . . . . 106
Colored boy of Gerald, Kas., wins service cross. How
E. E. Nelson met his death. King George's greeting. 8th
Illinois mustered out. Jack Johnson wanted to fight.
Washington, D. C., New Haven, Conn., Boston, Mass.,
and 9th Ohio troops. Butler's gallant fight. Cleveland's
welcome to the old 9th. Cleveland boy honorably men-
tioned. Red Hand heroes. 371st Infantry. 365th Infantry.
Trials and tribulations of the 365th Infantry
CHAPTER VI e e e e e © © e 114
Colored Canadian honored by King George. Somolis
and South African negroes good soldiers. Unflinching
bravery of Moroccans. How boys from British West
Indies fought. Colored seaman hero in U-boat raid.
Lieutenant James Reese Europe. Corporal White's story.
Jack Allen's story. Graham's experiences. Battle-scarred
Brooklyn hero tells of his experiences in France.
CHAPTER VII º º e º º º e e e 144
What the colored boys did during spare moments in
camp. A negro woman to her adopted soldier boy. French-
men from Africa do their bit nobly. Race superiority. More
Brooklyn Heroes. A funny story. How negro officer felt
about fighting. Self-segregation not patriotic.
8
CHAPTER I
WAR DECLAREID
War declared. Emmett J. Scott's talk. How colored forces were
organized. How colored boys were trained. Rattlesnakes. Colored
boys never retire. Johnson and Roberts. Colonel Hayward's letter
of praise to Johnson's' wife. Complete history of the 15th Regiment.
15th Regiment's honor roll. Reproduction of Croix de Guerre, Only
one company left out of a whole battalion.
After calling Congress into session, President Wilson addressed
a joint session of both houses in which he asked for a declaration
that a state of war existed with Germany on account of the lawless
and unrestricted submarine warfare. He recommended the utmost
co-operation with our Allies in every way and asked for an immediate
army of 500,000 men to take up arms. This number to be increased
at a later date by an additional army of equal size. Our President
made it clear that in declaring war against the German Government,
the United States had no controversy with the German people because
they were victims of the lawless acts of their Imperial Government.
The United States desired only to uphold Democracy and Liberty.
After due debate, a resolution adopted by the Senate and House of
Representatives declared war with Germany. This act was signed
by the President, April 6th, 1917.
Just as soon as this declaration was made, the Federal authori-
ties seized all German vessels which had been interned in our ports.
There were approximately 100 of the enemy's ships in our waters,
with an approximate value of $100,000,000. The German crews on
these vessels, anticipating a state of war between the United States
and Germany, tampered to a considerable cxtent with the mechanism
on these vessels, and it was necesary in a great many instances to
place the boats in drydock for repairs. Eventually, the majority of
these ships were used to transport troops, munitions and supplies to
Europe.
Our entrance into the war was hailed by the various Allied
Governments with tremendous enthusiasm. They realized that in the
American forces, they had men who would never stop until they had
gained their goal, and well they might feel this way as later events
proved.
Our First Steps Toward Raising a Large Army
Of course, it is well known that previous to the declaration of
9
War, Our fighting organizations were at peace strength and our Govern-
ment realized that it was necessary to increase our forces by millions
just as quickly as possible. Things move very rapidly in the United
States when we once make up our minds to do a thing. Improve-
ments are rapid. Our Allies, after years of fighting, were pretty well
posted on the various methods of warfare, which it was necessary to
pursue in combating the barbarous methods of the Central Powers.
But we in the United States were new to the game, and ordinarily one
would think it would take a considerable length of time to become
acclimated to conditions. This was not so however. Every loyal
American was on his tiptoe, anxious to see the war through to a
finish at the earliest possible moment.
Conscription was decided upon, and every town and hamlet
throughout the country, contributed its quota of men toward mak-
ing a gigantic army. Our standing army was increased by voluntary
e1.listment, likewise, our National Guard units. Men flocked to the
Navy. In order that we might take our soldiers across the sea in
comparative safety, it was necessary that our sea forces convoy the
troop ships, and we are proud to say, that considering the vast num-
bers of men who were carried back and forth, very few lost their lives
while on the high seas. Our armies did wonderful work in every
Section of Europe to which they were sent, and the Navy did won-
derful work in, seeing these men cross with few losses, and in driving
the Hun undersea pirates (submarines) from the sea. Our battle
ships also acted in concert with our Allies' ships in bottling up the
German high sea fleet so that they were unable to fight.
EMMETT J. SCOTT
Wonderful Talk on the “Negro in the World War”
Dr. Scott in speaking at the Dixwell Avenue Church, New
Haven, Conn., said it was in New Haven, Conn.—this city of culture
and refinement, that the late Dr. Booker T. Washington delivered
his last great public address, at a meeting held in the interest of the
American Missionary Association, October 25, 1915. * * * You
can imagine then some of the feelings of emotion that well-up in
my heart as I come here to New Haven in response to the invita-
tion of the Men's Club of the Dixwell Avenue church, and how
proud I am to be annong those who honored that great leader, whom
it was my privilege for so many years to serve. You have asked
me to come to New Haven, I presume, to give an acount of my
stewardships (if I may put it that way) because, during the past 18
I 0
months I have been serving in the war department, as special assist-
ant to the secretary of war, and have been endeavoring to look after
and safeguard the interests of colored soldiers and colored Americans
generally. * * *
“When war was declared April 6, 1917, colored Americans
quickly recognized the fact that it was not to be a white man's war
nor a black man's war, but a war of all the people living under the
Stars and Stripes for the preservation of human liberty throughout
the World. * * *
Colored Regiment Nearest Rhine
Dr. Scott called attention to the fact that it was a colored regi-
ment (the 369th Infantry of New York) that was nearest the Rhine,
of all American troops, when the armistice was signed, and that they
were the first of all the allied troops to reach the Rhine.
He also said that this regiment, composed of colored soldiers,
mostly from New York City and State “never surrendered a prisoner
of war nor a foot of ground nor a trench to the enemy. One hun-
dred and seventy-one officers and men of this unit received individual
citations for bravery, aside from the decoration conferred upon the
entire regiment.” He also stated that “four regiments, composed of
colored soldiers from the United States, received the Croix de Guerre
(the Cross of War). Dr. Scott paid glowing tribute to the men of
the 372d Infantry Regiment (a colored military unit) who came to
be known among the French as “Red Devils;” this regiment, of
which the colored company of Connecticut was a part, was in the
thickest of some of the heaviest fighting of the war and were espe-
cially cited by the French general under whom they served for their
dare-devil courage and bravery in the face of fire.” He also spoke
in detail of the 92d Division, composed of colored draftees, the line
officers of which were colored men, and who served as such until
the end of the war.
Further referring to the Negro's part in the Great World War
he said: “In the matter of the relative number of men of both races
who were drafted into the American army, it is highly significant
that although Negro men represented only 8 per cent of the total
registration, 15 per cent of the total number of men who were called
to the colors under the first draft were members of the negro racial
group. * * * During the recent war, the American negro was
represented in practically every branch of military service, including
infantry, cavalry, engineer corps, signal corps, medical corps, hospital
and ambulance corps, stevedore regiments, labor battalions, depot
brigades and other essential branches of the United States Army.
II
“The wonderful adaptability of our race to our nation's needs
in the critical time of war, as artisans, as mechanics, as patriotic
civilian workers and as soldiers and military officers, will furnish
the historian of the future, a fertile subject for treatment. Whether
brigaded with French troops or fighting as an American division (the
92nd and 93rd Divisions, for instance), our men met the tests of
bravery, fortitude, loyalty, intelligence, and endured hardships and
privations with good nature and even good humor. Truly the black
troops fought nobly, and truly Abraham Lincoln's prophetic words have
been realized, for the negro has helped to save to the casket of
freedom the precious jewel of liberty!
“During the great World War, as in many other crises of our
nation's history, the negro race in this country laid upon the altar
of their country's need, their strength, their skill, their influence, the
limit of their means, the uninterrupted loyalty and, in many cases,
even their lives—in order to bring victory to the Stars and Stripes,
the only flag they have ever claimed, or will ever claim as their own.
The determination of the war department to give colored officers a
chance in the army has been more than justified, and the experiment
has not been a failure, for these colored officers have stood up bravely
under their baptism of fire and many of them, together with a num-
ber of colored privates, have won the Croix de Guerre and many
citations for gallantry in action. The splendid record of these colored
officers, many of whom remained in active command during the war,
effectually refutes the fallacy that colored men will not follow and
obey military leaders of their own race. * * *
“The four colored regiments awarded the Croix de Guerre as
units were the 369th, 370th, 371st and 372nd Infantry Regiments.
Approximately 400,000 colored American soldiers participated in the
Great World War, about 1,200 of whom were commissioned as officers
in the United States Army, as first and second lieutenants, captains,
including one major, Milton T. Dean, who was promoted from the
ranks overseas, and who is now the highest ranking colored officer
in the 92nd Division.
These facts and figures not only show the negro's eagerness to
serve his country as a soldier, but dissipates the ancient yarn about
the black race being a deteriorating or decadent people, for the draft
law called for men who were physically fit.”
“He laid stress upon the necessity of providing for the negro
people of this country better schools, better opportunities for securing
homes and employment, better wages, improved working conditions
and the full protection of the law.” + “ * In concluding, he said:
“The negro American (soldier and civilian alike) looks forward
12
to the future, confident that the same principles of civilization and
humanity which are to be applied to weaker nations and weaker peo-
ple throughout the world are also to be justly applied to him, for
he feels that he is entitled (like others) to the full product of his
patriotism l”
HOW THE COLORED FORCES WERE RECRUITED
When war was declared we had in the United States about
ten millions of colored people. The race contributed to the Army
and Navy approximately 400,000 boys. Had the war kept up any
longer than it did, it is more than probable that we would have
had over 1,000,000 colored boys in the United States service.
When war was declared we had as standing organizations in the
United States the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th
Infantry. These organizations were doing general detail work
throughout the United States and some of our foreign possessions.
We also had as National Guard outfits the 8th Illinois and the 15th
New York. A separate battalion from Washington, a battalion
from Ohio, the 9th from Ohio, and a company from Connecticut
and Massachusetts. These organizations were State units, doing
no service other than going to camp for two weeks in the summer.
The regulars, of course, remained intact, but even before the
ink had dried on the Declaration of War, the State organizations
had set about to bring their units up to war strength. The enthu-
siasm and response was instantaneous. Colored boys came from
every quarter to enlist. It was the first real opportunity they had
had to show and prove their loyalty since the days of the Civil
War, and while speaking of the Civil War, it is well to mention
the address which Gen. B. F. Butler made at the time he was about
to retire from the command of the departments of Virginia and
North Carolina. Gen. Butler recruited and commanded thous-
ands of colored soldiers during the Civil War.
January 8th, 1865.
Headquarters Department,
Virginia and North Carolina, Army of the James.
To the colored troops of the Army of the James:
In this army you have been treated not as laborers, but as
soldiers. You have shown yourself worthy of the uniform you
wear. Your bravery has won the admiration even of those who
would be your masters.
13
Your patriotism, fidelity and courage have illustrated the best
qualities of manhood. With the bayonet you have unlocked the
iron-barred gates of prejudice, opening new fields of freedom,
liberty and equality of right to yourself and your race forever.
Comrades of the Army of the James, I bid you Farewell.
BEN. F. BUTLER,
Major General Commanding.
What Gen. Butler said more than a half a century ago has
been true in the struggle through which we have, just passed. Our
colored citizens have sustained America's honor, no less loyally
and efficiently than their white comrades. This is the unanimous
opinion of not only our American officers, but also the Allied
commanders.
Then, in addition to the Regulars and National Guard units,
we had thousands and thousands of drafted boys from all over the
country.
The North, East, South and West contributed its quota from
every town. The drafted boys, you will remember, had never had
any military training whatsoever, and it was, of course, a little
harder for these men to become acclimated than their more
fortunate brothers who were members of military organizations.
Nevertheless, when it came time for them to fight, they were
no less efficient nor brave than any of the other men in the service,
They never feared the Hun and were always ready to carry out
any command, no matter how great the danger.
HOW THE COLORED BOYS WERE TRAINED AT HOME
In March, 1918, we decided to visit Camp Funston where a great
many of our colored boys were in training. Our purpose was to
learn all about the methods of training, discipline, and the general
treatment of the lads who were about to make history. The majority
of boys at this camp, were drafted men from various parts of the coun-
try, brought together as a unit under the heading of the 92nd Division.
The regular colored National Guard outfits were trained at dif-
ferent camps, but much under the same conditions, except that they
had had previous training which made their period of preparation
much shorter than the untrained men.
We were met at the train by Lieut. J. T. Whittaker, who will be
remembered by our many readers in Kansas and Oklahoma as one
14
of the most prominent surgeons in this section and who incidentally
holds the important position of “mess” officer of the medical corps.
He guided us through the long unending rows of barracks, stretching
one after the other like great two-story wooden tenement houses,
plain and unpainted and so much alike that only the numbers can
distinguish one from the other, to the west end of the cantonment,
where “our boys” were domiciled. The immensity of Camp Funston
is staggering. It is a veritable city, the largest cantonment in the
country, covering several square miles and housing at present about
40,000 soldiers, 3,500 of whom are colored and members of the 92nd
Division, commanded by Maj.-Gen. Charles C. Ballou, famous as the
head of the Des Moines Officers’ Training Camp, from which were
commissioned some 600 officers. Four thousand more men were
expected in a few days, when the next call is made; in fact, there is
a persistent rumor afloat to the effect that the entire Colored Division
will be assembled at Funston in order to better facilitate divisional
unity and movement.
The Ninety-second Division
The Nine-second Division is composed exclusively of race troops
and various units of its total strength of approximately 30,000 men
are scattered throughout other camps. The units here are known as
Headquarters’ Trains and comprise the Headquarters' Troop, Military
Police, 317th Ammunition Train, 349th Machine Gun Battalion and
317th Sanitary Train.
Men Learn Quickly
The outstanding feature of the work at Camp Funston is the
marvelous progress which is being made in whipping raw material
in the shape of men who a few weeks before had never seen a gun
or realized in any way what military discipline meant, into a fighting
machine, the superior of which we venture to predict will not be
found in the United States Army. Everywhere are men in olive-
drab or overalls, the latter uniform being the result of the much dis-
cussed failure of the War Department to get supplies to the camp.
You can fairly see the change which has been wrought from the slow
ungainly farmer, the Swaggering callow dude, or the ordinary chap
whom we all knew into the soldier, erect, shoulders thrown back, an
air of purpose on his face and who obeys his officers' command with
snap and precision.
Officers Use Psychology
The men are being molded into soldiers through a definite
I5
psychological process. These are not ordinary soldiers, who have
gone into the army because they did not fit anywhere else; they are,
for the most part, men who were not concerned with war and who
were playing their parts in the life of a nation at peace. To keep
them contented and optimistic, to keep their morale up to the highest
notch is a task which requires insight into their minds and character.
Each company is like a great family, with the captain in the role of
father. The men are encouraged to be loyal to their company and
officers, to take a pride in the organization and its achievements.
They are taught discipline and order. Their quarters, beds and be-
longings, must be kept just so. Their clothes must be kept clean,
their hats on straight, and those who may have been inclined to be
lazy or slovenly are learning naturally to be neat and tidy. They have
work to do. Their drills are most exacting; there is the digging of
ditches, washing of pots and pans, scrubbing of floors, cleaning up
generally, and they are required to do it well. It cultivates thorough-
ness and they learn the satisfaction which comes from a task well
done and in knowing that it benefits others as well as themselves.
After all, it’s the way a man thinks that counts, and when he has
the interest of his company and his fellows at heart, he has gone the
first step toward that larger service for his country.
Pleasures of Camp Life
All is not work for the drafted man. In the evening and on
Sundays he is at liberty to spend most of his time as he chooses.
The Y. M. C. A. offers a congenial quiet atmosphere, where a man
may write a letter, read the numerous books, magazines and news-
papers, attend religious services or mingle with his fellows generally.
The secretaries in charge, under the leadership of Arthur W. Hardy,
make the organization fill quite a niche in the lives of the men and
do everything possible to make them feel at home and that “somebody
cares.” In the evening, twice a week, moving pictures of the best
variety are shown, and some rattling good boxing matches pulled off.
Another interesting organization is the Knights of Columbus, who
maintain a building in the 92nd Division. This is the only building
furnished by them exclusively for colored soldiers, and it is dedicated
to much the same sort of service which the Y. M. C. A. offers. Pro-
fessor Guillot, of Howard University, where he has been head of
the French department, is the secretary, and has thrown himself into
the work with an enthusiasm which is certain to provide many
pleasant hours for the men.
I6
Relations Between the Races
Be it understood that two divisions occupy Camp Funston, the
89th Division (white) with about 35,000 sharing the camp with the
92nd. The relations between the races at this camp are all that could
be expected, in fact there is little chance for friction, separated as
they are by an imaginary line, yet a thoroughly distinct one. So much
so in fact that non-coms and privates, save when on some mission,
are not seen in the white portion of the camp and vice versa. There
is an amusement zone in the white section of the camp to which the
men of the 92nd never have the slightest inclination to enter, in fact
they are barred and this has been largely responsible for the recent
appointment of a Director of Camp Activities whose constant serv-
ice is being utilized in looking after the recreational side of the men
of the 92nd Division.
Camp Activities
Football and basketball teams, singing and boxing classes have
been organized. The Camp Funston basketball team which is being
coached by Lieut. B. G. Mosely, assistant to the Director of Camp
Activities, and a former teacher in Sumner High School, in St. Louis,
is arranging a schedule which will take them to St. Louis, Chicago,
Indianapolis, and other cities, where it is proposed to play the leading
teams and perhaps the teams from other camps. Bob McAlester, a
well known white boxer from the Pacific coast connected with the
89th Division comes over to give the boys boxing lessons, and has
found many embryo champions. A singing class has been organized
under an expert teacher and in the brief space of ten days is show-
ing a mastery of melody and harmony which is most pleasing to
the ear. {
The Singing Ninety-second
Singing is encouraged in every company, both in barracks and
when on the hike. Indeed the government has instituted singing as
a part of the training in the National Army, giving the leaders special
positions in the line of march known as file closers and the order
“sound off” now receives the same amount of immediate attention
as “squads right” or any other command which may be given. It
goes without saying that the 92nd will surely shine in this particular.
Officers Prove Worth
The race can in particular take great pride in our officers com-
missioned last October at the Des Moines O. T. C. Their bearing,
17
their efficiency, their perfect poise, the respect which they command
from their men and yet the helpful friendly spirit in which they
guide them merits only the highest praise. The record which these
men are making will surely bury forever the bugaboo about their
officers not being able to lead their own. However, it should occasion
no particular surprise that these keen, capable young men should have
made good in the signal manner which they have.
Maj. Gen. Ballou Speaks
Maj. Gen. Ballou, who was away on an inspection tour of the
other units of the division while we were in Camp Funston, spoke
before a colored mass meeting in Kansas City a few weeks ago
which our correspondents attended. He made a splendid impression
not only because of his soldierly bearing and democratic simplicity,
but also by reason of his clean cut straightforward speech in which
he said that this chance to demonstrate their right to leadership, which
our young officers had, meant the opening of another door of oppor-
tunity for the race. He admitted that his own rapid rise in a few
months from colonel to major general, was caused largely by his
success with the camp at Des Moines, which many enemies and even
friends of the race predicted would be a dire failure. In fact he said
that he was selected as the goat and this particular can tied onto him
at the same time putting the colored people in a position of having
been given a chance to make good or fail, with the belief that the
latter would be the result.
Camp Could Not Fail
It is hard, however, for race men to see how the camp could
have been a failure. With 250 of the finest non-commissioned officers
of the Regular Army and 900 more of the cream of our youth of
this country we venture the assertion without fear of successful con-
tradiction that Gen. Ballou had the best material to work with of
any similar camp in the country, no matter from what angle it is
viewed. The splendid record made at Des Moines bears out this
thought and we look to our young colored officers to demonstrate it
still further.
Daily Routine
Of course the training differs somewhat each day, but the day's
training as mentioned below will give you some idea of how the boys
are conditioned:
5:00 A. M. Reveille.
18
5:15 “ “ Gymnastics.
5:20 “ “ Washing.
5:30 “ “ Breakfast.
5:45 “ “ Inspection.
6:15 “ “ Cleaning Rifles.
6:30 “ “ Hospital Call.
6:35 “ “ Morning reports signed.
6:50 “ “ First call for drill.
6:55 “ “ Assembly.
7:10 “ “ Reports of day, pasted on board.
7:15 “ “ Drill, one quarter mile run.
8:30 “ “ Games.
8:50 “ “ Manual of Arms,
9:20 “ “ Classes for instruction of rifles, rights, trench
\ rights.
10:30 “ “ First call for retreat.
10:40 “ “ to 11:30 Parading in companies.
12:00 M. Lunch hour, rest hour to 1:00 P. M.
1:30 P.M. Bayonet drilling, lunging the bayonet to the mark.
2:10 “ “ Lecture on the physical building up of the body.
The lectures generally last one hour or longer,
after which the boys then would drill again.
4:30 “ “ Assembly would blow and they would line up for
the final review of the evening.
6:10 “ “ Chow or supper call sounded.
7:30 “ “ to 8:00 P. M. School for non-commissioned
officers.
8:00 “ “ to 8:30 Lectures.
8:30 “ “ to 9:00 P. M. Recreation period.
9:00 “ “ Tattoo.
9:15 “ “ Call to quarters.
9:30 “ “ Taps, or lights out and all to bed.
RATTLESNAKES
In bringing the National Guard outfits to war strength it was
predicted by certain prejudiced people in New York State that a
colored regiment of three thousand intelligent men could not be
raised, but thanks to the love of the negro for his country, this
prediction failed to come true.
Take for instance the old 15th of New York. This guard’s
outfit had twelve hundred members when war was declared, but
through the untiring efforts of Capt. Filmore, known as the father
19
of the regiment, their war strength was increased in short order
to three thousand and five men. While the majority of these men
came from New York and Brooklyn, there were also troops from
Jersey with the organization.
The fighting that these boys did in Europe will go down in
history as one grand achievement of their loyalty and love for
their country and flag.
After these men had had considerable training in various camps
in the United States they sailed for Europe, but it was necessary
to make three attempts before they finally cleared American waters.
A great many of the boys thought that the regiment was hoodooed
before they finally got away.
Their first start was made November 10th, but when two days
at sea the transport's engine broke down and they were ordered
to return to port. Another start was made December 3rd, but a
mysterious fire sent the vessel back once more. On December 12th
they made another start and the transport met with a collision, but
rather than turn back, Col. Hayward and his black dough boys
repaired the damage themselves and proceeded. They arrived in
Brest on December 27th, 1917.
It is well to remember that in the days of fighting the old 15th
was known officially as the 369th Infantry, part of the 93rd Division,
and when the consolidation in Europe was made, they formed part
of the 16th Division, 8th Corps of the 4th French Army. Every
man in this unit had occasion to be proud individually and collec-
tively of the record they made. New York State may well turn
her attention to the deeds of these brave men. Approximately one-
third of the men of this body of fighters wear decorations for .
bravery given by the French Government, and the regiment as a
whole received many citations.
You have no doubt noticed the various insignias which the
overseas men wear on the upper part of their left arm. The 15th’s
insignia is a rattlesnake, curled and about ready to strike. This name
was given the men by the French, the title arising from the fact that the
15th took a certain piece of ground from the Germans known as
Rattlesnake Hill. Possession of this territory had passed back and
forth several times, and it seemed that the French were unable to
hold the hill. However, when the colored boys heard about this,
they made up their minds that it was not the likes of any German
who could hold a piece of ground against their wishes, and they
proceeded to capture Rattlesnake Hill. They not only captured the
hill, but they kept it. This is how the French came to give them
their title.
20
At Main-de-Massiges, Champagne, the entire 15th Regiment
was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French authorities for
operations in the offensive of September and October, 1918, and the
regiment was the first unit of all the Allied armies to reach the
Rhine River.
On Sunday, November 17th, 1918, the 15th left its trenches at
Thann and marched as an advance guard of the 161st Division, 2nd
French Army, reaching Blodelsheim, on the left bank of the Rhine,
Monday, November 18th, 1918.
It is believed that they were under fire the greatest number of
days of any American unit, 191 days in the front line trenches and
in battle. The combats in which the regiment suffered losses were
the battles of Main-de-Massiges, Butte de Mesil the Dormois,
Sechault, Argonne Forest, Ripont, Kupplinase, Vosges mountains,
the Aisne, the Tourbe, Maison-en-Champaign, Fontaine, Bellevue
Ridge. *
After capturing a great number of prisoners, cannons and
machine guns and pentrating 14 kilometers (9 miles) into the
enemy's positions, the regiment never lost a prisoner, a trench or
a foot of ground. This is a remarkable record in itself.
Col. Hayward was in command of the 15th boys, and the
praise which has been given these men by this noted leader could
not be greater. The colored troops in general were given the name
of Hell Fighters by the Germans.
The other units which made up the balance of the 93rd Division
were the 370th Infantry, or “Old 8th Illinois,” who were given the
name of “Tin Helmets” by the French. The 371st Infantry con-
sisting of drafted or replacement troops from the South, and the
372nd, made up of men from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Wash-
ington, D. C., and the 9th Ohio. These men were given the name
of the Red Hands. The name arising from the fact that the boys
captured a valuable piece of ground called Red Hill. There were
also several machine gun companies. The French supplying the heavy
artillery.
COLORED BOYS NEVER RETIRE
As an example of the spirit shown by the men of this regiment,
they were called upon to throw back a terrific counter attack with
Col. Hayward leading them, through a heavy barrage. A French
general, waving his arms, shouted, “Retire Retire l’ “My men
never retire,” Col. Hayward said, “they go forward or die, and we
21
go through here or hell,” and the regiment, with a yell, went
forward, and the Germans went back.
JOHNSON AND ROBERTS
The first men to be decorated in the regiment were Sergt.
Johnson and Sergt. Roberts. On a very dark night in May, John-
son and Roberts were holding adjourning posts in Mount Plaiser,
out in front. A German sniper took a shot or two at the two
sentries and they reported that the Huns were busy somewhere in
No Man's Land. Fortunately nothing happened of this incident,
but shortly after the sentry heard a German patrol cutting the
American wires. Johnson put his hand grenades, about a score of
them, where he could dispatch them without delay. When the
patrol came through the wire Johnson let go his grenades and
Roberts emptied his rifle into the party of Huns. Roberts was
wounded a moment later and fell into a shell hole, but Johnson,
still on his feet, was fighting like a whole platoon. He was hit
several times but kept on fighting, swinging his rifle and laying
the Germans out with the butt end of it until it splintered. Then
he took his bolo knife and kept on fighting until help came. His
comrades found him on the ground but still full of fight, with four
dead Germans and thirty-two wounded men lying about. The
ground was completely littered with equipment thrown away by
the Huns in their haste to retire.
COL. HAYWARD’S LETTER OF PRAISE TO JOHNSON'S
- WIFE
“Your husband, Pvt. Henry Johnson, is in my regiment, 369th
United States Infantry, formerly the 15th New York Infantry. He
has been at all times a good soldier and a good boy of fine morale
and upright character. To these admirable traits he has lately added
the most convincing numbers of fine courage and fighting ability.
I regret to say at the moment that he is in the hospital, seriously,
but not dangerously wounded, the wounds having been received
under such circumstances that every one of us in the regiment
would be pleased and proud to trade places with him. It was as
follows: He and Pvt. Needham Roberts were on guard together
at a small outpost on the front line trench near the German lines
22
and during the night a strong raiding party of Germans, numbering
from twelve to twenty, judging by the weapons, clothing and para-
phernalia they left behind and by their footprints, stole across No
Man's Land and made a surprise attack in the dead of the night
on our two brave soldiers.
“We had learned some time ago from captured German
prisoners that the Germans had heard of the regiment of Black
Americans in this sector, and the German officers had told their
men how easy to combat and capture them it would be. So this
raiding party came over, and on the contrary Henry Johnson and
Needham Roberts were very strictly to the duties. At the beginning
of the attack the Germans fired a volley of bullets and grenades
and both of the boys were wounded, your husband three times and
Roberts twice, then the Germans rushed the post, expecting to
make an easy capture. In spite of their wounds, the two boys
waited coolly and courageously and when the Germans were within
striking distance, opened fire, your husband with his rifle and Pvt.
Roberts from his helpless position on the ground with hand
grenades. But the German raiding party came on in spite of their
wounded and in a few seconds our boys were at grips with the
terrible foe in a desperate hand to hand encounter in which the
enemy outnumbered them ten to one.
“The boys inflicted great loss on the enemy, but Roberts was
overpowered and about to be carried away when your husband, who
had used up all of the cartridges in the magazine of his rifle and
had knocked one German down with the butt end of it, drew his
bolo from his belt. A bolo is a short heavy weapon carried by the
American soldier, with the edge of a razor, the weight of a cleaver
and the point of a butcher knife. He rushed to the rescue of his
former comrade, and fighting desperately, opened with his bolo
the head of the German who was throttling Roberts, and turned
to the boche who had Roberts by the feet, plunging the bolo into
the German's bowels. This one was the leader of the German
party, and on receiving what must have been his mortal wound,
exclaimed in American English, without a trace of accent, ‘Oh, the
son of a got me,’ thus proving that he was undoubtedly one
of the so-called German-Americans who came to our country, not
to become a good citizen, but to partake of its plenty and bounty
and then return to fight for the Kaiser and help enslave the world.
He was doubtless selected as a leader of the party to speak English
and perhaps to fool my soldiers, calling to them in English not to
fire, that it was a friend.
“Henry laid about him right and left with his heavy knife, and
28
Roberts, released from the grasp of the scoundrels, began again to
throw hand grenades and exploded them in their midst, and the
Germans, doubtless thinking it was a host instead of two brave
colored boys fighting like tigers at bay, picked up their dead and
wounded and slunk away, leaving many weapons and part of their
shot-riddled clothing, and leaving a trail of blood, which we
followed at dawn near to their lines. We feel certain that one of
the enemy was killed by riflle fire, two by your husband's bolo, one
by grenades thrown by Pvt. Roberts and several other grievously
wounded. So it was in this way the Germans found the Black
Americans. Both boys have received a citation of the French
general commanding the splendid French division in which my
regiment is now serving, and will receive the Croix de Guerre
(cross of war). The citation translated, is as follows:
“First—Johnson, Henry (13349), private in Co. C, being on
double sentry duty during the night and having been assaulted
by a group composed of at least one dozen Germans, shot and
disabled one of them and grievously wounded two others with
his bolo, in spite of three wounds with pistol bullets and grenades
at the beginning of the fight; this man ran to the assistance of
his wounded comrade who was about to be carried away prisoner
by the enemy, and continued to fight up to the retreat of the
Germans. He has given a beautiful example of courage and
activity.
“Second—Roberts, Needham (13369), private in Co. C, being
on double sentry duty during the night was assaulted and
grieviously wounded in his leg by a group of Germans continuing
fighting by throwing grenades, although he was prone on the
ground, up to the retreat of the enemy. Good and brave soldier.
The general requested that the citation of the division commander
to the soldier Johnson be changed to the citation of the orders
of the army.
“Some time ago the great Gen. Gourand placed in my hands
the sum of 100 francs to be sent to the family of the first one of my
soldiers wounded in a fight with the enemy under heroic circum-
stances. Inasmuch as these boys were wounded simultaneously,
and both displayed great heroism, I think it but fair to send to each
one-half of this sum. Accordingly I am enclosing New York
exchange for the equivalent of fifty francs. I am sure that you have
made a splendid contribution to the cause of liberty by giving your
husband to your country, and it is my hope and prayer to bring
him back to you safe and sound, together with as many of his
comrades as it is humanly possible by care and caution to conserve
/
24
and bring back to America. But it must be borne in mind that we
cannot all come back, that none of us can come back until the
job is done.”
IN DESCRIBING THEIR 191 DAYS OF FIGHTING, “ONE
OF THE 15TH COMMANDERS’ SAID:
“We got our first taste of trench life on March 12, last year,
when we occupied dugouts in the Amree sector with Gen. Gouraud's
4th French Army. The discomforts of traveling did not bother
the boys. There was little sleep for anybody and the only rations
were ‘corned Willie,' hardtack and cold beans. The one character-
istic of my unit was their good humor. They had no sooner settled
in the dugouts when several games of ‘craps' and poker started and
some of them began to do a buck and wing dance.
German Positions Strong
“Little did they think of the German dugouts at Maison en
Champagne several feet in front of us. They were a marvellous
system of military field fortifications that we were later called upon
to break through and demolish. For a time we thought they were
impregnable. My right battalions were resting on the Aisne River
just a little east of Argonne Forest. My regiment was assigned
to Gen. Gouraud's 4th French Army, which extended from the
Armee sector to Rheims.
“My men were filled with war fervor and spirit. They joked
and laughed and were ready at any time to show the Huns what
a bunch of scrappers the Harlemites were. We were in the trenches
for weeks before we saw any real action. There were a few
skirmishes which resulted in some of my men being killed and
wounded. Occasionally an enemy aeroplane would come swooping
down from the sky and drop a bomb in our trenches. These
incidents caused a considerable measure of contempt for the enemy.
The high explosive shells fell all about our dugouts.
“Gen. Gouraud and the General Staff expected a final offensive
on the part of the enemy on the night of July 4 while the French
soldiers were helping to celebrate our Independence Day. But not
a shell fell in the lines all day. We then prepared for a mass attack
on July 15, which was a French holiday. Sure enough we learned
from several German prisoners that the looked for offensive was
to start with a terrific barrage fire late that night. But Gen.
Gouraud beat them to it.
25
“He ordered the artillery companies behind us to cut loose an
hour before the time the Germans had scheduled to renew their
drive toward Paris. There was a terrifying whistling of high
explosive shells, to say nothing of the tumultuous whistle of the
machine guns. Action was constant for several hours. And then
for the first time we went “over the top' with the French Army.
Four Day Bombardment
“There were veterans across the way who did their best to
take the heart out of us. We were in exposed positions. There was
a sharp give and take with a great deal of artillery activity. The
French batteries opened up with all they had. It was really a
terrific bombardment and undoubtedly even more terrific to with-
stand. It kept up for four days. *
“The Germans were at their maximum strength, while numeri-
cally the Allied forces were at a minimum, because only one per
cent of the American forces were on the firing line. When the
Huns failed to break through on July 16 we knew we had them
beaten and the final Allied victory would be soon close at hand.
The Germans poured an enfilading fire upon our men.
“Our objective was Maison en Massieges, a graduated hilly
section. We got the jump on the enemy. Behind us were the
mangled forms of our comrades, victims of the deadly and terrific
shells and machine gun fire.
“We found the enemy withdrawing, but he had left behind
many strong machine gun posts which were subjecting the terrain
to intense fire. The men of the 3rd battalion, under Maj. David A.
L’Esperance and Capts. William B. Crawford and George M. Allen,
fought heroically. When the offensive was over Lieut. Jimmy
Europe's band played ‘Way Down Upon the Swanee River,’ which
echoed over the hills of France.
“We reorganized our shattered battalions and again took up
formidable places in the front line trenches. We then took part
in the battles of the Vosges Mountains, the Aisne, Argonne Forest,
at Tourbe, on the Bellevue Ridge, at Ripone and the Champagne.
Made Good in Test
“In the offensive of July 15 the old 15th had its first real test
and made good. More than that, the losses suffered had sent
through the regiment a resolution that these losses should be
avenged. In all the following battles the men displayed the same
courage and bravery despite the terrible losses inflicted upon them.
26
At one time when we reorganized there were but enough troops
to make out of what was once a solid regiment but a provisional
battalion. Later we were sent over a thousand replacements. Of
the original regiment when we returned home there were but thirty
officers and 952 enlisted men. Lieut. Col. Lickering, Lieut. L.
Hanstein, Lieut. E. A. Walton and Lieut. Lockhart and Capts.
McLoughlin and Gutwater were some of the officers who returned
after being through all the battles.
“Every possible advantage was with the Germans, but we
never stopped to consider that. We knew we had them licked
after July 16, but they never realized they were licked. No words
can do justice to the way my “Black Devils’ fought. Every nook
and cranny, every shell hole was a German fortress. The trenches
were a network that was hard to pass over. The ground in all
battles we participated in was fairly honeycombed with enemy
trenches. The Harlem boys simply mopped them up. As they
continued to advance in all battles we left Germans behind.
“I received many commendations about the wonderful fighting
done by the regiment from Gen. Gouraud.”
Col. Hayward’s story of the big battle in Champagne is perhaps
the most vivid yet told to date. He had hardly recovered from a
severe attack of influenza when the Allied offensive on the Cham-
pagne sector began on the morning of September 26.
Had Worst Sector
“During the Champagne offensive,” he said, “we had con-
cededly the worst Boche stronghold from Switzerland to the sea,
just a few kilometers west of the Argonne Forest. The ‘Hell
Fighters’ were still with the French division under Gen. Gouraud.
We knew in advance that we were to attack, and we were all tuned
up for the occasion. I was glad, because we needed the time, and
it also gave us a chance to see the wonderful preparations, the
assemblage of the shock units of infantry, of pontoon trains,
aviators, artillery and ambulance.
“For days ammunition trains and supplies poured in. The
various units had time to take stock. Mere skeletons of regiments
were given replacement troops. The enemy land opposite us was
high and gave the Huns absolute control, for the time being, of
the surrounding country. The engineers came up, and were ready
to follow our advance and clean up the roads and bridges. There
were strong German machine gun posts ahead of us.
“It appeared the Boche was aware we were preparing, for their
airplanes hovered over us. Well, anyhow, the eventful time drew
27
near. One of our men in an observation balloon was shot down by
an enemy airplane. Some of the aviators flew so low we were able
to throw hand grenades at them.
“The men were loaded down with emergency rations, blankets,
rolls, hard tack, assault equipment, besides carrying hand grenades,
ammunition, cartridges, wire cutters, gas masks and water bags,
besides their heavy guns.
“The artillery preparation of the French was to be for about
seven hours, starting about midnight. According to Gen. Gouraud,
it was the greatest assemblage of artillery in any one spot in the
world's history.
Hundreds of Big Guns
“There were hundreds of big cannons. The roads were con-
gested with big guns, motor trucks and wagons. Field and horse
artillery were also in readiness, and back of all was the monster
American naval guns with their snouts up in tree tops.
“My troops were happy as they waited in the dugouts, trenches
and tunnels for the signal to go over the top. Of course some of
them were a bit nervous. But who would not be? Some knelt
down and prayed to God that they were back at Lenox avenue and
135th street, while others dreamed of sitting in a cabaret in San
Juan Hill section with their sweethearts. In fact, I would have
just as soon been sitting in the Union League Club in Fifth avenue
watching the shopping throngs passing by, or else trying a case
before the bar of justice. But still there was justice to be done on
the battlefields of France, and I was glad to be ready to give my life
for the freedom and civilization of humanity.
“Whitey Nichols, one of the comedians of the First Battalion,
told me he would rather stand any place in Lenox avenue for ten
years trying to dodge the bullets from a policeman’s thirty-eight
than face machine gun fire for a minute. But he got all over his
nervousness and was one of the bravest fighters.
“While we were all waiting for our barrage fire to start one
of the Big Berthas whizzed over us and exploded behind our lines.
We all jumped. The night lit up like Luna Park, Coney Island,
and the Great White Way combined.
“The riot started. Suddenly there was a burst of flame. A
storm of machine gun bullets cut the air like rain and hail. Many
concrete walls several feet thick were blown to pieces, tiny orifices
for machine guns inside were blown to bits, blockhouses with
glorified pill boxes were blown to atoms.
28
Barrage Tremendous
“It is unbeliavable to hear the roaring sound of our artillery
and see them burst on the German lines. Our barrage seemed to
be fired but a few feet over my head, and at times I believed I could
have put up my hand and touched the shells. One could actually
feel them whiz by one's hair.
“Some of my lads went to sleep despite the terrific thundering
of the guns. But when the time came to advance everybody was
ready. For twelve consecutive days we crossed rivers, captured
towns, stormed bluffs and slopes, ridges and hills, and captured
tremendous strong enemy positions. We only had the sound of
our barrage fire to guide us. The Germans did not know that a
force was finding its way into their midst until our force was ac-
tually on top of them. We captured hundreds of prisoners. For
twelve days our shell fire was completely lambasting them and
we gained about fourteen kilometers. The sight of German prison-
ers proved an inspiration. In some places, where we were of the
opinion there were enemy mines, we made the prisoners jump on
the ground. In most cases there were no explosions and in other
cases some of them were blown to pieces.
“We met irresistible waves of infantry at times, but after hand-
to-hand encounters managed to sweep them back. The Germans
were tired out and were afraid of the ‘black demons’ during the
last days of the onslaught. They got cold feet. But the enemy
artillery still continued to be effective as was the machine fire of
the Boche.
“I saw much and endured much, worried so much I cannot
remember half of it. We slept sometimes in holes like foxes for
a few minutes, sometimes in German dugouts.
Shelled by Enemy
“When we crossed the Darmois River, where it widened into
a swamp, the Huns shelled us industriously, and it looked like a
rainstorm on the surface of the water. Shells broke from percussion
when they hit the water. To be heard we at times had to shout
in one another's ear.
“Many grewsome sights confronted me. I saw my men, to-
gether with the French, killed and wounded. The Germans were
sprawled all over. Many bodies were mutilated by shells. I will
never forget the time we passed over an old cemetery. Both the
enemy and our artillery pounded the earth until the graves were
literally blown out of the ground.
29
“We gained our objective after four days and nights and sur-
mounted a great ridge known as Butte, overlooking towns, lakes,
farms and a wonderful valley dotted with chateaus.
“From here I witnessed the most wonderful sight of the battle.
It was four enemy divisions attacking in perfect liasion. They
covered a front of four miles. The ‘Hell Fighters’ were in the
centre of the Allied division, which was the right centre of the four
attacking divisions. The artillery was close behind us, and the
German artillery behind their troops, and what a battle it was
Each artillery was firing on the advancing infantry.
“This made a double belt of flame, smoke and tossed up men.
The sky was full of aircraft. We were constantly in the atmos-
phere of gas, but fortunately it was phosgen and arsene, and not
the deadly mustard or yperite gases. But, nevertheless, it took the
lining out of our nostrils, throats and lungs, and we cried like onion
peelers. *
“When the offensive at that time was over we came out with
but twenty officers. The loss in troops was exceedingly heavy.
“Major Lorillard Spencer was hit several times with machine
gun bullets.
Cited for Gallantry
“The regiment received the Croix de Guerre after the battle
and was again cited for gallantry in action in October. I think 132
officers and men were individually given Croix de Guerre for ex-
ceptional bravery.
“Perhaps New Yorkers are not aware,” continued Colonel
Hayward, “that the Old Fifteenth was the first entire regiment
of the Allied forces to reach the Rhine. They left Thann on No-
vember 17 and with a French division reached Blodesheim, on the
left bank of the Rhine, the following day.”
But a few original 15th Regiment men who left here in the
latter part of 1917 paraded in the wonderful demonstration of last
Monday. Most of the men were replacement troops. Their home
towns are scattered all over the country. Col. Hayward was unable
to give any statistics about the losses inflicted on his command.
However, the percentage of killed and wounded is known to be high.
The returning men were in good physical condition and were
mustered out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Col. Hayward said he is going to lead the “simple life” for a
time, until his wounded left comes around in good condition.
“It sure is a great thing to be back in God’s country and see
something other than manslaughter,” he said. “I am a lawyer and
80
hope soon to continue my practice. Fighting is all right, but, as
Harry Lauder says, “It’s nice to get up in the morning, but it's
nicer to lie in yir bed.’”
Shell Disturbs Crap Game
One man who earned at least the Croix de Guerre, but did not
get it for a certain rescue he made was Pvt. Peter Sands. The
inevitable crap game was in progress up in the foremost trench
when down drops a Hun shell. It did not hit anybody, but it blew
the only set of dice in that section out into No Man's Land. Pvt.
Sands, who had been winning at that moment, volunteered to
rescue the dice.
All the German machine gun fire in that sector and all the
snipers failed to stop him from bringing them back, and the game
was resumed.
One, Pvt. Nichols, according to Maj. Lorillard Spencer, was
the champion crap shooter of the outfit. He and his friends man-
aged to keep a game going even when the regiment had not seen
the least sign of pay for eleven months. In fact, the paymaster
was so long overdue that no one even had the heart to start a rumor
he might come again some time.
After a while the regiment found it could keep itself in funds
by teaching African golf to the Poilus and the Moroccans. The
French troops, especially the Moroccans, took to the game like
ducks to the water. For a while they paid high for their lessons,
but finally they became so adept that this source of revenue was
lost.
“Grenading” the Rats
Then there was Pvt. Lionel Rogers, of Company L, who
dreamed of being the most expert grenade thrower in the whole
outfit. He used to spend every hour off practicing, instead of
grabbing the chance to do a little bunk fatigue. He found that
throwing light grenades at the trench rats offered good practice,
and he soon was causing the most awful casualties among them,
although the rest of the regiment protested the rats offered alto-
gether too big a target.
One day, as he was blowing a few hundred rats to pieces, he
paused to eat, and got some butter on his fingers. When he re-
sumed practice a grenade slipped out of his hand, and Lionel went
to the hospital. Fortunately it held only a light charge.
Also there was Pvt. William Jackson, of Capt. Outwater's com-
pany, who was too proud not to fight. Gen. Gouraud one time
31
was holding a big review, and Jackson was detailed to be among
those to represent the old 15th. He flatly refused to go, although
there was chicken and any quantity of vin ordinaire promised.
The result of this, of course, was a court martial, with Col.
Hayward presiding.
No Closed Season for Him
Jackson pleaded that if he had gone to the review he would
have missed a chance to fight, and anything that kept him from
killing Huns was contrary to the rules of warfare as he construed
them, and he did not intend to lose a single day's hunting while
the open season for “Jerries” was on. The court let him go, and
the officers presented him with a new bolo knife and a whetstone
as an aid toward helping his ambition along.
One of the officers who got the Croix de Guerre was Capt.
Edward Shaw. He won that when he saw Maj. L’Esperance
caught between the German and the American barrages, and got
his machine gun section working to such good effect that the major
got out of his predicament all right.
Lieut. Whitney Keronchen got the Legion of Honor for in-
vestigating a tunnel which Col. Hayward thought might at any
moment disgorge attacking Germans.
The lieutenant went out, slipped up the side of a hill, put his
head into the tunnel and discovered it was a piece of camouflage.
The fire he had to go through going and coming, however, was just
as heavy as though he had been reconnoitering the Hindenburg
tunnel defenses.
THE “HONOR ROLL.” OF THE OLD 15TH
The men who were awarded medals by the French for extraor-
dinary valor in action were:
Sergt. A. A. Adams Pvt. D. M. Link
Corp. John Allen Maj. Arthur W. Little
Lieut. R. R. de Armond Lieut. Walter R. Lockhart
Lieut. G. A. Arnston Sergt. B. Lucas
Corp. Ferrandus Baker Pvt. Lester A. Marshall
Sergt. E. W. Barrington Pvt. Lewis Martin
Sergt. M. W. Barron First Sergt. A. J. McArthur
Sergt. W. D. Bartow Capt. Seth B. MacClinton
Capt. Aaron T. Bates Pvt. Elmer McCowan
Corp. Fletcher Battle Pvt. Herbert McGirt
82
Corp. R. Bean Capt. Comerford McLoughlin
Corp. J. S. Beckton Pvt. L. McVea
Pvt. Myril Billings First Sergt. H. Matthews
Sergt. Edward Bingham First Sergt. Jesse A. Miller
Lieut. J. C. Bradner First Sergt. William H. Miller
Pvt. Arthur Brokaw Sergt. E. Mitchell
Pvt. E. D. Brown Pvt. Herbert Mills
Pvt. T. W. Brown Corp. M. Molsen
Lieut. Elmer C. Bueher Lieut. A. D. Morey
Pvt. William H. Bunn Sergt. W. Morris
Sergt. William Butler Sergt. G A. Morton
First Class Pvt. J. L. Buch Lieut. E. A. Nostrand
Sergt. Joseph Carmen Sergt. Samuel Nowlin
Corp. T. Catto Capt. John O. Outwater
Corp. G. H. Chapman Lieut. Hugh H. Page
Sergt. Maj. Benedict W. Cheeseman Lieut. Oliver IH. Parish
Capt. John H. Clarke, Jr. Sergt. C. L. Pawpaw
Lieut. P. M. Clendenin Pvt. Harvey Perry
Capt. Frederick W. Cobb Sergt. Clinton Peterson
Sergt. Robert Collins Lieut. Col. W. A. Pickering
Lieut. J. H. Connor Lieut. Richardson Pratt
Sergt. William H. Cox First Sergt. John Pratt
First Sergt. C. D. Davis Sergt. H. D. Primas
Lieut. Charles Dean Pvt. Jeremiah Reed
Pvt. P. Demps Sergt. N. Roberts
Wagoner Martin Dunbar Lieut. Durant Rice
Corp. Elmer Earl Pvt. John Rice
Pvt. Frank Ellis Sergt. Samuel Richardson
Sergt. Sam Fannell Sergt. Charles Risk
Capt. Robert F. Ferguson, Jr. Pvt. F. Ritchie
Capt. Charles W. Fillmore Lieut. G. S. Robb
Capt. Edward J. Farrell Corp. Fred Rogers
Capt. Hamilton Fish, Jr. Pvt. Lionel Rogers
Capt. Edwin R. D. Fox Pvt. George Rose
Lieut. Conrad Fox Lieut. R. M. Rowland
Sergt. Richard W. Fowler Sergt. Percy Russell
Pvt. Roland Francis Sergt. L. Sanders
Pvt. B. Freeman Pvt. William Sanford
Pvt. L. Freeman Lieut. H. J. Sargent
Sergt. William A. Gains Pvt. Marshall Scott
Wagoner Richard O. Gins Capt. Lewis F. Shaw
Pvt. J. J. Gordon Capt. Samuel Shethar
Lieut. R. C. Grams Lieut. Hoyt Sherman
33
Pvt. Stillman Hanna
Pvt. Hugh Hamilton
Pvt. G. E. Hannibal
Pvt. Frank Harden
Pvt. Frank Hatchett
Corp. Ralph Hawkins
Col. William Hayward
Lieut. E. H. Holden
Supply Sergt. William H. Holliday
Corp. Earl Horton
Pvt. G. Howard
Lieut. Stephen H. Howry
Sergt. Maj. Clarence C. Hudson
Pvt. Ernest Hunter
Sergt. S. Jackson
Sergt. H. Johnson
Corp. Clarence Johnson
First Sergt. De Forrest Johnson
Pvt. Gilbert Johnson
Sergt. Hezekiah Johnson
Sergt. George Jones
Lieut. Gorman R. Jones
Sergt. James H. Jones
Pvt. Smithfield Jones
Pvt. J. C. Joynes
Sergt. J. A. Jamieson
Lieut. W. H. Keenan
Lieut. Elwin C. King
Lieut. Harold M. Landon
Lieut. Nils H. Larsen
Maj. David A. L’Esperance
Lieut. W. F. Leland
Pvt. D. W. Lewis
Maj. G. Franklin Shield
Pvt. A. Simpson
First Sergt. Vertrand U. Smith
Pvt. Daniel Smith
Sergt. Herman Smith
Corp. R. W. Smith
Maj. Lorillard Spencer
Sergt. J. T. Stevens
Corp. Dan Storms
Lieut. George F. Stowell
Corp. T. W. Taylor
Lieut. Frank B. Thompson
Sergt. Lloyd Thompson
Sergt. A. L. Tucker
Sergt. George Valaska
Lieut. D. H. Vaughn
Capt. Edward A. Walton
Corp. Charles Warren
Sergt. Leon Washington
Pvt. Caspar White
Capt. James D. White
Sergt. Jay White
Sergt. Jesse J. White
First Sergt. Clarence E. Williams
Pvt. Robert Williams
Sergt. Reeves Willis
Pvt. H. Wigginton
Sergt. O. Wilson
Pvt. Tim Winston
Sergt. E. Woods
Pvt. George Wood
Lieut. A. D. Worsham
Sergt. E. C. Wright
REPRODUCTION OF CROIX DE GUERRE CITATION
GIVEN 15TH REGIMENT BY FRIENCH
Citation for Croix de Guerre, awarded the 369th Regiment d'In-
fanterie, U. S. (formerly the Fifteenth New York Infantry), for its
operations as a combat unit of a French division in the great offensive
in Champagne, September and October, 1918, by the French Command-
34
ing General. Under command of Col. Hayward, who, though injured,
insisted on leading his regiment in the battle; of Lieut. Col. Pickering,
admirably cool and brave; of Maj. Cobb, killed; of Major Spencer,
grievously wounded; of Maj. Little, a true leader of men; the 369th
R. I., U. S., engaging in an offensive for the first time in the drive of
September, 1918, stormed powerful enemy positions energetically
defended, took after heavy fighting, the town of Strucburg, captured
prisoners and brought back six cannons and a great number of machine
guns.
At the time the Croix de Guerre was presented to the regiment at
La Marns there were 23 of the boys in the hospital wounded. Of
course these men were honored with their medals after being discharged
from the hospital. The award being made by Lieut. Col. Pickering.
ONLY ONE COMPANY LEFT OUT OF A WHOLE
BATTALION
After the great fight of September 26th, at P. C. Fontaine, fewer
than a company of men survived from the entire battalion which took
part in the battle. When you stop to think that a battalion consists
of one thousand men and a company of two hundred and fifty, you
will just begin to realize the total numbers of casualties. In speaking
about the colored troops, Maj. Spencer said that the French were
amazed with the work of the colored boys, not only in their fighting
qualities, but also their all around ability in laying railroad tracks.
This is one of the first duties to which his regiment was assigned.
The work being near one of the French ports. The French could
not believe that the tracks were safe, so fast did the men work, and
would not run their trains over them until they had assured them-
selves that the tracks would bear up. The troops laid long stretches
of track, pushed them into alignment, gave some twists to the bolts
and proceeded a half a mile further down to repeat the performance.
‘Magnifique,” exclaimed a party of French officers watching the
work.
35
CHAPTER II
HEROES WHO LIE BURIED ON FRENCH SOIL
Heroes who lie buried on French soil. Brooklyn boy who helped
down the Huns. Jersey boy who helped make history. California
hero. Private James Turpin's tragic death. Graves of the old 15th
Regiment heroes. Captain Marshall's gallant fight. How Butler out-
guessed the Boche. Sergt. Jamieson's story. New York State
Buffaloes. 92nd Division heroes. West 99th Street does itself proud.
It would give us considerable pleasure to publish in this book
a complete list of each and every man who sacrificed his life or
was wounded in battle. This is impossible at the present time,
however. First of all, because, as far as we know, a complete list
has not been published by the War Department, and, secondly,
lack of space prevents a list of this kind in this book.
However, we do give you below the names of a few boys who
died under the most heroic circumstances:
J. J. Hamilton,
E. E. Jones,
Howard H. Streadrick,
Allen Heson,
Mr. Robinson,
Sims Belcher,
Harry T. Dudley, H. Payton,
Robert Knight, Mr. Robert,
R. C. Reid, Arthur Morse,
George Sealy, Mr. Mayfield,
Fletcher Battle,
James Holmes,
Dorance Brooks,
V. Harrigan,
W. H. Johnson,
Sergt. Stephens,
Arthur Moore,
Mr. De Forest,
Henry Stokes,
W. A. McCray,
W. Fountain,
Charles Crisp,
Lieut. Robb,
Capt. Sebell,
Maj. Cobb,
Lieut. Werst.
Later on we hope to have an honor roll made up in such form
|that it can be pasted right in the back of this history. If you are
interested in such a list, get in touch with us, and we shall glad
to give you full information.
BROOKLYN BOY WHO “HELPED DOWN THE HUNS”
Pvt. Granville Robinson, 271 Bergen st., Brooklyn, a member of
the old 15th. Pvt. Robinson had his right foot blown off and his skull
36
fractured in the Argonne drive on Sept. 28. He had no complaint
about his ill luck, other than one against the army mail service. The
wounded soldier said he wrote thirty-six letters home, to which he
received no reply, so concluded they were not delivered. His only
relative is his mother, to whom the letters were addressed, and he does
not know whether or not she is still alive.
JERSEY BOY WHO HELPED TO MAKE HISTORY
Among the enlisted men of the 369th Infantry, the old 15th New
York Regiment of colored troops to receive the Croix de Guerre and
special citation for bravery in action is a former Elizabeth boy, Corp.
Ralph Hawkins.
According to the information of the award, Hawkins received the
honor for leading 100 of his comrades in an assault that recaptured a
French village from the Germans during the closing days of the war.
Many German prisoners were taken and the citation was later conferred
by General Pershing.
Hawkins was born in Elizabeth, N.J., about 21 years ago, a son of
Fred Hawkins, who now lives in Philadelphia. The soldier is a grand-
son of C. R. H. Hawkins, a Civil War veteran and former newspaper
man. The family lived in High street when residents of Elizabeth.
CALIFORNIA HERO
Carl Jackson, a negro of Long Beach, Cal., has been cited for
bravery. He was a member of an American scouting party when he
encountered three Germans. One of the Boches brought him down
with a bullet in his right leg. However, when the Germans least
expected, he raised up and with three shots from his revolver wounded
the three Boches and took them as prisoners.
PVT. JAMES TURPIN’S TRAGIC DEATH
You will notice in this book, a picture showing one of our colored
heroes after he was struck by a German 77 shell. Turpin was a mem-
ber of the old 15th Regiment, now known as the Rattlesnakes. He
was attached to the Observatory Department, and was working under
Sergt. Jamieson. At the time that he met his death, he was taking
a survey of the German operation as they were advancing at P. C.
37
Marson, Argonne sector. The shell which struck Turpin took his head
right off and dropping about forty feet from his body exploded. The
concussion tore his body, limb from limb, and left it in such a mangled
condition that it was very hard to remove his remains for burial. The
death of this man removed from the ranks a person whose spirit
remained with him to the last. There was no command, no matter how
dangerous, that Turpin ever hesitated to do. He loved his country
and flag and was glad to pay the supreme sacrifice in order that
Democracy and Liberty might live.
Mr. Turpin lived with his father on Lenox Ave. between 132nd
and 133 sts., New York City. Turpin was born in Washington, D. C.
Sergt. Jamieson was standing very close to Turpin when he was struck
and to this day he cannot explain how he escaped the same fate that
befell his comrade.
GRAVES OF THE OLD 15TH’S HEROES
Amongst the pictures in this book, you will find one showing the
graves of some of the 15th boys who died in action. In these graves
were placed the bodies of 208 New York City boys. We at home have
never realized the severity of the war because we were thousands of
miles away from the conflict itself. It takes a picture of this kind to
bring us to a full realization of what the boys went through that we
might live and enjoy liberty. Just think how sad it was for boys who
were comrades in civil life and pals in war times to see each other
killed and wounded. When the men sailed for France they realized that
they might never return, but there was always that hope among us who
remained behind that they would all come back in safety. This was
not to be however, and today you will find thousands of graves out in
No Man's land of the gallant colored boys who fought so nobly for
their country and flag.
It has been said that approximately 1,002 colored boys of the
15th regiment alone died in battle that militarism might be wiped out
forever and that we might enjoy democracy in its highest sense.
CAPT. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE MARSHALL’S GALLANT
FIGHT
Capt. Napoleon Bonaparte Marshall, a lawyer of this city who has
been overseas commanding Co. I of the old 15th Inf. (now the 365th),
returned with his body trussed in a steel corset because of several
shrapnel wounds in his ribs and lungs. Capt. Marshall was a noted
38
athlete at Exeter and Harvard and in 1897 ran the quarter mile in
50 seconds. He said he was much pleased at being back on home soil
once more, and in his own congenial way exclaimed: “Do you remember
the days when I used to have to go around talking on the corners to
get recruits for Col. Bill Hayward's 15th Regiment. But we got them,
and they fought some fight. The French wanted us to stay with them
all the time. On the night of Oct. 21 we were ordered to make a raid
to feel out the enemy preparatory to a drive on Metz. We were just
twelve miles south of Metz, on the Moselle River. I took thirty-one
men along. We crawled into No Man's land and blundered into a
German patrol party. The enemy sent up a rocket signal and the next
instant the Germans showered us with an artillery deluge, shrapnel
shells, high explosives and a few bullets for good measure. We were
cut off from our own lines. We were up against it bad. There was
only one thing to do. We advanced toward the enemy lines and thereby
got under their range. Then we detoured and in three hours got
back to our own lines. We were commended by the brigade comman-
der.” Harlemites will greet the captain with open arms, as they have
always held him in high esteem.
HOW BUTLER OUT-GUESSED THE BOCHE
Wm. Butler, a sergeant, who before his enlistment in New York
was an elevator runner. Sergeant Butler distinguished himself so as to
win the distinguished honor of the Croix de Guerre, which places him
on the roll of honor with Roberts and Johnson. Butler's act of bravery
took place on the morning of Aug. 18 in a sector near Maison de Cham-
paigne. There had been a lively artillery firing which presages a violent
attack of the enemy. A strong raiding party, cutting in from both
sides, with the aid of a barrage, managed to isolate four of the Allies'
combat posts. In one of these posts was Lieutenant A. M. Jones of
Butler's company. He stepped over to light a star shell. Five Boches
sprang upon him. He and four of his men were pulled from the
trench and shoved towards the line of Germans, along an old trench in
disuse, which had been used for communication purposes in No Man's
Land. Right here is where Sergt. Butler got onto the job. He with
two of his comrades were crouching. Seeing the predicament of his
lieutenant, Sergt. Butler yelled in good Lenox Ave. style, “Look out,
you bush hikers, I am coming.” This coming to the ears of the cap-
tured lieutenant, he sang out, “Don’t fire, sergeant.” “Not yet, sir, but
soon,” was the reply. This colloquy, unknown to the Germans, got
them into a most excited state and thinking they had fallen into an
ambuscade, they wheeled towards Butler's hiding place. As the five fell
39
back toward the American lines, Lieut. Jones cried, “Now let them have
it, Sergeant.” Well did he let them have it. You better guess he did I
He aimed his automatic rifle so accurately that he killed four Huns and
badly wounded an officer who died later, besides the valiant sergeant
put a score or more to a disgraceful rout. This is why Sergt. Butler
had the Croix de Guerre bestowed on him.
SERGT. JAMIESON, THE FIGHTING COLORED BOY OF
THE OLD 15TH, TELLS HIS STORY
After considerable training in the U. S. during which we had
our ups and downs, we sailed for France. It was necessary for us
to make three different starts before we finally cleared American waters.
While on the subject of our training in America, I am going to tell
you of a little incident which took place at Camp Mills, Long Island.
We had only been in camp a short time, when we learned that our
military pals of the 69th National Guard, New York, who were also
in the same camp, were being shamefully treated by some of the soldiers
from the state of Alabama. Of course, the 69th and the old 15th were
on the best of terms, and we felt it our duty to take their part as much
as possible. It was here that Capt. Hamilton Fish, Jr., showed his real
love for the colored soldier, taking with him an enlisted man by the
name of Cotton who had for many years previous to his enlistment
trained the world's greatest pugilist “Jack Johnson.” Capt. Fish, Capt.
Napoleon B. Marsh and Cotton went over to the tents occupied by the
Alabama regiment and said, “Of course it is against military rules
for an officer to engage in any battle or fight with an enlisted man, so I
have brought with me a private who will fight any two men in your
organization, and any officer who thinks he knows how to scrap can
come by and settle his argument with me, as I will be glad to entertain
him.” No one accepted his challenge and they all gradually drifted
away. Nine o'clock the next morning we were removed from Mineola
and sent to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where we stayed until we
embarked for France.
We sailed from America, December 12th, and our ship dropped
anchor in the harbor of Brest, December 28th. On the morning of
December 31st, we disembarked, and after an all night ride in side-door
Pullmans, “box cars,” containing 40 men and 8 horses, we arrived at
St. Nazaire at 3:00 A. M. It was at this point that we saw German
prisoners for the first time. *
On March 3rd, we were ordered to get together our paraphernalia
and start for the trenches. We did not go directly to the trenches as
40
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SYIHOIHOEIO CITHYIOTOO HO CHIMONIO V
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SERGT. JAMIESON -
Ths Sergeant is waving to President Wilson. Standing alongside of him
is the President of France's daughter.

GRAVES OF 15TH REG. BOYS OUT IN “NO MAN'S LAND”
Here is where our New York colored boys were buried after
being shot down by the Germans.

* -
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BOYS IN TRAINING AT PEEKSKILL, N. Y.
These are Some of the Boys Who Helped to Make History.

LIEUT. EUROPE
Here stands the famous bandmaster. The boy who put the P in pep.

SHELL HOLE
Here is where a large German shell struck. Notice the depth of the hole.

ºſooq aqq uſ uuſų „noqe peºN ºu osuuſof sſ đn ºuſpueſs ohne alq) Jo ºu quod ølſ) u I
BIBIO SCIVGIH RIIGIHIL OIGHCHCHOHO OHAN NVW GIHAL ‘NOSNIHOT
ſae ae sae，

TRENCH WAR-FARE
This picture will give you some idea of trench life.


expected, because another order came in, whereby two companies of
the third battalion were sent to Gonrechure to take up guard duty.
The balance of our regiment was sent to New-Aeoulia. It was in this
town that the majority of boys began to appreciate that war was a
serious proposition. Instead of our little crap and card games, there
were prayer meetings and an outsider could have heard songs with a
harmony that was equal if not better than that rendered by Some of
our greatest artists. *
On March 14th, a wagon train came in looking like our Fifth
Ave. Bus line coaches, covered with mud. It was at this point that
our Springfield rifles were taken from us and in their stead we were
given French guns. We did not mind this, but when rumors came up
that they were also going to exchange our uniforms for French outfits, we
were up on our toes. We would have all rather died than to give up the
last thing identifying us as U. S. soldiers as far as wearing apparel was
concerned. This rumor however, never came true and the uniforms we
all loved, remained with us to the end. However, with our French
rifles, French helmets and American uniforms, we appeared to be one-
half American and one-half French, and we were known throughout
military circles as the “lost children.” On March 12th, we joined the
16th French Division, 8th Corps, French Army, and began drilling day
and night that we might be prepared to take our places in the trenches.
It was while at New Airlei that I was sent to a machine gun school
at Jesechore where I remained for fourteen days. While at the school,
I was taught the use of the hand grenade, machine gun mechanism,
the use of the rifle, also the trombalian, a device that fits the muzzle
of a French rifle and will throw a grenade from 150 to 250 feet in the
air and fall to the ground with a velocity that is equal to 220 lbs.
killing and mangling as many people who happen to be within thirty
feet of the falling grenade. I was also instructed in assembling and
disassembling the rifle both day and night. All this was done under
actual gun firing. I was also instructed in the art of trench duty,
trench wireless, training dogs and pigeons to carry messages and
bayonet work. -
On April the 18th, 1918, we were the first negro troops in action
entering the trenches for the first time. It was during this occupancy
that the Germans who were facing us on Main-de-Massiges, Le Cham-
pagne, who were known as the “green goats” of Germany thought they
would spring a little surprise on us. After lunging what they thought
would be a victorious offensive, they received the surprise of their
lives. They were not only driven back to their own lines, but some
of our boys secured valuable information from the prisoners who were
captured. This information resulted in our artillery doing very effec-
49
tive work. The bombardment lasted about 36 hours at the end of which
the Germans realized that they were up against real Americans.
We stayed in this sector about 30 days, not only holding our own
position but protecting the positions of the Morrocans who were at our
right and the French who were at our left.
Trench life has its comic side as well as its serious side, there
is always something happening which helps to keep up the spirit of
the men. So it was when the French issued us two quarts of wine
to each drinking canteen and told us it should last 24 hours. Our boys
felt that this information was all wrong and it took some of our men
just about 10 minutes to dispose of their share. Of course, after this
free indulgence, some of our boys thought they saw Germans in the
trees, in the trenches and in fact everywhere. Some of our sentries
were firing at the twigs on the trees when they happened to be blown
by the wind thinking a German was concealed in the foliage, and of
course there were numerous other things which happened after the
boys had drank their wine. So the precious wine had to die a natural
death and we had to go without it.
It was while holding the sector opposite Butte De Misil, that we
heard that the chief of staff of the Germans had offered a prize of
100 marks for every black soldier captured. Up to this time they
were not aware of the fact that we were Americans because we wore
French helmets and American uniforms. Of course 100 marks
appealed to the German soldiers and it was quite often that we had
to break up their little raiding parties.
It was also at this point that we began to get our real taste of
cooties, this being the American name. The French name being totoes.
These little bugs seemed very anxious to defeat us and it seemed as
though when you killed one a whole regiment came after you, and
they selected no other time than in the wee hours of the morning
when you were drowsy and sleepy. It was while fighting with the
cooties that I scratched these few words in dedication of them in my
note book.
They ran wild simply wild over me,
They’re as reckless as reckless can be,
No matter where I’m at, when I take off my hat,
There are little ones, and big ones, you could pick them off like that,
Oh, how they bite, oh, how the bite all over me,
They made me just as sore as I could be,
But at night when I lay down, each little coot would seek a crown,
Oh, how they crawled, how they crawled all over me.
At Dormis, Rechault and Ceuppnise, the Germans were surprised
and shocked by the powerful inroads made by us during our stay.
50
We were removed from this sector to Repont. It was while at Repont
that I was placed in an observatory tower. The duty of an observer is
very serious and dangerous. It is necessary for the man in observation
to report everything that he sees and hears, and it was while in this
position that I was able to study more closely the tactics of the
Germans who were facing us.
That you might get some idea of a man's feeling while in an
observation post, imagine yourself standing beneath a tree in late
Autumn, with the leaves showering down on you. This is just the
way it felt to me, only instead of harmless leaves falling about, there
were shells and bullets. It was while doing this sort of duty, that I
saw my first comrade killed, “James Turpin.” We had just taken
our places for duty in an observation post and I had warned Turpin
about putting his head out of the door. I was standing inside looking
through my glasses, watching the Germans who were mending their
barb wires, when the Germans suddenly began to shell our sector
very heavily. We could not locate the angle from which they were
fighting because they were using gas, and we were forced to put on
our gas masks. At that moment, there was no way to get the informa-
tion back to the intelligence department where such information was
always wanted, so we were forced to remain there. I had just told
Turpin that we would lose our dinner because we could not go out on
account of the heavy bombardment. Turpin replied, “All right, Buddy,
I will stay.” The shelling kept up two or three hours more, and just
when we thought they were through, Turpin said that he wanted some
water. He started out of the door, but I called him back. He turned
around to me and said, “Are you afraid Jimmy; those are only little
ones,” referring to the shells, “and none of them have my name marked
on them.” These were the last words he uttered. Handing me my
glasses, he stepped outside and the next moment I felt something warm
splashing over my body. There was my comrade lying a short distance
from my feet. His head had been shot from his body and lay to one
side. The poor boy's blood was spattered all over my body. The
shell which struck him fell a short distance away and the concussion
blew his body apart. I was forced to remain on the post alone for the
next 12 hours. We buried poor Turpin on the hill amid shots and
shells. War for him, however, was over. He had given up his life
for Democracy and Liberty.
During one of our engagements, I was shot twice by indirect firing.
Both injuries happened the same night. With a pen knife I extracted
one of the pieces of cartridges that had penetrated into my flesh and
by administering to myself from my first aid package, I was able to
resume my duty until I was sent to the sanitary department. It was
5R
while in this sector that we lost Corp. Stevens of “D” Company. I
had reported previously to Major Little that the Germans were throw-
ing grenades in our direction, but he regarded it as a little matter.
It was on the next morning that I heard the same thing, and we started
to report it, when the corporal left his dugout, going to see who was
throwing the grenades. He thought possibly that some of his men
were throwing them. As he rounded the corner of the trench, he
walked directly into an Austrian 77 shell, the concussion of which
broke him up into wee bits.
A few days later, another one of my comrades of “D” Co. was
killed directly in front of Willy Missey. He was standing on duty
in the trenches, when struck by a “minnie waffle.” We were forced
to shovel this poor boy up, as the pieces of his remains were too small
to put together.
We moved out of this sector and was sent to our final sector, the
Champagne front. It was here that the greatest of all battles was
fought. Credited with being the best trench diggers and fighters and
that our marching and endurance was a marvel, we became very popular
with the French. They never failed even in the trenches to praise us.
You will bear in mind that up to this time, we were 181 odd days in the
trenches and under shell fire. Still, we realized that our greatest duty
laid before us and we were willing and glad to stick until the very last.
It was while here that our regimental song was composed. . It goes
Something like this:
Oh! Kaiser Bill he was a mighty man,
He sent a message back to Uncle Sam,
Just to keep the 15th off of ‘No Man's Land,’
And we will show you how to hold a winning hand,
Old Sammy said that he didn't understand,
Why they didn't want the 15th on ‘No Man's Land',
But he just thought that he would take a chance,
That's just why the 15th sailed for France,
It took the Buffaloes, the Red Hand and the Fighting 15th,
To make the Germans lay their rifles down,
For many years past fighting for,
We are going to fight 'em now until we die.
We always thought that neutral was our style,
But since we met Kaiser Bill we changed our style,
It takes the Buffaloes, Red Hand the Fighting 15th,
To make the Germans lay their rifles down.
It took the 9th and 10th and the Fighting 15th
To make the Germans turn their tables and run.
52
You could see them going across the hill just like the shot of a gun.
Woodrow Wilson said, “He didn't want no shines,”
But when he met Kaiser Bill, gee, but he changed his mind,
And kept the 9th, the 10th and the Fighting 15th,
Right on top on the firing line.
JAMIESON. '
At story as told by one of our men who was doing sentry duty. It
is about a hog who had roamed around in some of our trenches for
some time.
As C. I. Brooks tells the story, the sentry heard grunting and
thinking it was a German, crawled into the grass calling out, “Halt!”
The hog not understanding, kept crawling around in the grass and
grunting, but was challenged again. After the final challenge, the sentry
fired. His aim must have been true for he walked slowly into the
kitchen pulling what he thought was a German. It made a delicious
dish for us. Just before preparing the dish, we found that there were
14 shots in Major Hog's side.
On the morning of the 29th, the final word came that we were
to move into the death valley sector. Severe fighting followed and
in the last big drive of September, after we had been pushed for days
and days, I was wounded and forced to go to the rear. On September
28th, some machine gun bullets entered my body along with a piece
of shrapnel. This resulted in the fracture of the upper part of my
left arm, leaving that arm two inches shorter than the right. How-
ever, if the call should come again tomorrow, I would again gladly
volunteer my services.
My regiment after I left it, was repeatedly under fire and was
in the great drive and assault on Metz. After this victory, the regi-
ment was relieved and sent back to the rear.
In January my comrades were again, at Brest, and while at this
port, they again exchanged their French equipment for the American.
Smiles of before came back. The boys returned to the U. S., the 10th
day of February, and were greeted with cheers upon their return.
Sergt. JOHN A. JAMIESON,
369th Infantry, R. I. W. S.
“NEW YORK STATE BUFFALOES”
367th Infantry Made Boche Feel Like “Unwelcome Guest”—
Helped to Save 56th Regiment in Marbache Sector—Cited
by Maj.-Gen. Ballou, Division Commander
It is an interesting thing, this question of decorations for
colored troops, found again in the case of the 367th Infantry, and
58
the opinion is held generally that if the white troops find them-
selves as well supplied with medals, they may be said to have
measured up to their full duty.
As has been pointed out, the 92d Division, under Maj.-Gen.
Ballou, was the first combat division to return from France. It
was also one of the first to get there, and many of its units were
serving with the French brigades before being organized into a
regular part of the American Army.
Receives Special Mention
Although Gen. Ballou cited the entire division in a very un-
usual and flattering way, the 367th Infantry was picked out for
special mention too, and the general, in his letter to the com-
mander of the regiment declared that “the Germans knew that
they were unwelcome visitors whenever they came into territory
held by the 367th.” This was after the actions of November 10
and 11.
The entire first battalion was cited in glowing terms by a
French general after the battles in the Marbache sector, from
October 25 to November 5. It was then that the 56th Infantry,
on the left of the 367th, was badly hammered by the Germans,
and, according to the 367th's officers, forced to retire. The first
battalion went to the rescue of the 56th and held its own ground
as well. The Germans did not follow up this retreat.
As the 367th was an important part of the 92d Division, the
divisional citation from Gen. Ballou is a part of the treasured pos-
sessions of the regiment's personnel.
Text of the Citation
It said:
Headquarters of the 92d Division,
American Expeditionary Forces,
A. P. O. 776.
18th November, 1918.
Memorandum :
Five months ago to-day the 92d Division landed in France.
After seven weeks of training it took over a sector in the front
line, and since then some portion of the division has been practi.
cally continuously under fire.
It participated in the last battle of the war with creditable
success, continuously pressing the attack against highly organized
defensive works. It advanced successfully on the first day of the
bj4
battle, attaining its objectives and capturing prisoners. This in
the face of determined opposition by an alert enemy and against
rifle, machine gun and artillery fire. The issue of the second day's
battle was rendered indecisive by the order to cease firing at
11 A. M., when the armistice became effective.
The division commander, in taking leave of what he con-
siders himself justly entitled to regard as his division, feels that
he has accomplished his mission. His work is done and will en-
dure. The results have not always been brilliant and many times
were discouraging, yet a well organized, well disciplined and well
trained colored division has been created and commanded by him
to include the last shot of the great world war.
May the future conduct of every officer and man be such as
to reflect credit upon the division and upon the colored race.
By command of Maj.-Gen. Ballou:
ALLEN J. GREER,
Official : Colonel, General Staff,
EDW. J. TURGEON, Chief of Staff.
Major, Infantry, U. S. Army,
Acting Adjutant.
Individuals Commended
As these men had done exceptionally fine work under trying
conditions, the following were specially mentioned by Gen. Ballou
in a letter to the regimental commander:
Second Lieut. Nello B. Greenlee, Company B, regimental gas
officer; First Lieut. Everest B. Williams, Company C, first bat-
talion, gas officer; Pvt. Bert Walker, Company B.
The Croix de Guerre, the great French war prize, was won
by Capt. Thomas Johnson, of Company C, while the first prisoner
taken by the regiment was brought in by Pvt. Lindsay Farr, of
Company I. In the Champagne sector of the Argonne Forest
Lieut. Eugene Gordon has the distinction of having captured, with
the aid of soldiers, nineteen Germans. On one occasion, with
seven men, he captured seven Boche fighters, while at another
time, with the assistance of a corporal, he brought in two more.
The second time was the more exciting, as the corporal was left
on the outside of a large chateau with one prisoner while the officer
entered the building and brought out another.
Spent Thirty-six Hours on Patrol
Another feat of meritorious character was accomplished by
55
First Lieut. Charles E. Lane, who was sent forward to the town
of Senons, in the German lines, to discover if the place had been
evacuated by the enemy. He remained with his patrol thirty-six
hours and finally entered the town to find that the Germans, except
one soldier, had departed. The Boche got away through some
subterranean passage.
The regiment was brought to Meade under the command of
Col. Erskine B. Bassett, and information regarding the work of
the troops was furnished by Lieut. William Bowman, assistant
personnel officer. Col. Bassett was formerly a National Guard
officer from the Middle West.
New York negroes comprised 60 per cent., of the personnel
of the regiment. The South furnished 20 per cent., New England
10 and the West 10 per cent. The enlisted men were all negroes.
The officers were all negroes, with the exception of the colonel,
lieutenant colonel, three majors and the regimental adjutant and
regimental personnel officer.
Col. James A. Moss, a regular army officer, was placed in
command of the 367th in Camp Upton November 2, 1917. He
trained the regiment and took it through its trying campaigns
until October 24, 1918, when he was succeeded by Lieut. Col.
William G. Doane. Col. Moss is said to have made the suggestion
that the regiment be called the “Buffaloes,” as the term had been
applied to colored troops by the Indians in the old days of Western
uprisings when the black soldier proved a hard scrapper and re-
minded the redskins of the buffaloes of the prairie days.
Later the title “buffalo” was applied to the entire 92d Divi-
sion, although the swastika design is used by the artillerymen.
When the regiment reached France it went through a period
of intensive training, and the first company to see active service
was Company D, which went into the line at La Foraine August
19 and the rest of the regiment on August 22. They remained
here and in the Mère Henry sector until September 18.
Serves as Advance Guard
The regiment was moved up then to guard the Argonne
Forest, back of the vicinity of Montfaucon, and stayed in reserve
there from September 22 to October 4. From September 26 to
October 2 the 367th was used as advance guard for the artillery
of the 35th Division. The third battalion was used here and was
commanded by Lieut. Col. Fitzhugh Minnegerode, who, when
transferred to the 28th Division, won the Croix de Guerre, the
56
Distinguished Service Cross and two other medals. It was while
acting as advance guard for the artillery that the boys covered
many miles in a big advance on the Germans.
After the regiment was joined to the other colored regiments
of the 92d Division, and the advance was begun on Metz, in the
Marbache sector, the troops distinguished themselves for valor
and were ready for a big advance when peace was declared.
The armistice did not result in a letting down in the morale
of the soldiers, according to the officers, and it was a source of
pride to them that in three towns they were invited to return by
the mayor, as their behavior had been so excellent. They were
complimented, too, for the manner in which they served the French
civilians who were left by the Germans at Noveant, eight kilome-
ters from Metz. The civilians were destitute and the colored sol-
diers gave them kind treatment. The good behavior of the regi-
ment was noted by seven towns in addition to those mentioned.
The people of France were pleased with the 367th, and par-
ticularly so because of the excellence of its band, which frequently
played French tunes, directed by Lieut. Egbert E. Thompson, the
drum major being Leroy Randall, formerly of the 10th Cavalry.
In the entertainment field the boys were not amiss, and this
fact was noted by Secretary L. B. Roberts, Jr., of the “Y” at
Challes les Eaux, a rest centre. He wrote a letter to the colonel
in which the following men were given special praise: Sergts.
Battle, Pendleton, Dines, Robinson and Randall, Corps. Chad-
wick, Williams, Phillips and Hall and Pvts. Burse, Bradley, Scott,
Molloy, Fitzgerald, Franklin, Knox and Austin.
Four Men Long in Service
Among the colored officers are four men who have served
their country nearly thirty years in the regular army. These are
Capt. Williams, who just lacks six months of having served thirty
years; Capt. Russell, Capt. Thomas Johnson and Second Lieut.
Baxter Watson, all of whom have a record of twenty-nine years
in the United States uniform.
Among the treasured mementoes of the war belonging to
First Lieut. James E. Scott, of Headquarters Company, is a banner
just given him by the members of his command, which was made
in France. It is embroidered in silk and bears the insignia of the
regiment.
The friends of the 367th declare that its record will show that
it lived up to its motto, adopted by Col. Moss, who, it is said,
57
declared when asked who started the war, “I don’t know who
started it, but the 367th will see it through ſ”
And it did see it through.
Regimental Officers
Following were the principal officers of the regiment when
the troops were in action: Col. James A. Moss (until October 24);
Lieut. Col. William G. Doane (in command from October 24 till
remainder of the war); Maj. Charles L. Appleton, 1st battalion;
Maj. Fred Bull, 2d battalion; Maj. Ray D. Dillen, 3d battalion;
Capt. Elmer A. Brueit, regimental adjutant; Capt. Jacob J. Pfen-
ninger, personnel adjutant; Second Lieut. William Bowman, as-
sistant personnel adjutant; First Lieut. Victor R. Daly, 1st bat-
talion adjutant; First Lieut. Lucian B. Alexis, 2d battalion adju-
tant; Second Lieut. Herbert H. Gippy, 3d battalion adjutant;
Chaplain William S. Bradden; First Lieut. Barton W. Conrad,
regimental intelligence; Company A, Capt. Peter McCall; Com-
pany B, Capt. Alonzo B. Campbell; Company C, Capt, Thomas
Johnson; Company D, First Lieut. Eugene L. C. Davidson;
Company E, First Lieut. Benj. H. Mills; Company F, First
Lieut. Charles E. Lande, Jr.; Company G, Capt. Robert H. Chubb ;
Company H, First Lieut. James P. Nobles; Company I, Capt.
William F. Scott; Company K, Capt. John Russell; Company L,
Capt. Edward L. York; Company M, Capt. Reuben Horner; Head-
quarters Company, First Lieut. James E. Scott; Machine Gun
Company, Thomas E. Merris; Supply Company, First Lieut.
Osceola E. McKaine, First Lieut. E. B. Williams, Second Lieut.
R. E. Fearing.
92.D DIVISION HEROES
While Lieut. Eddie Brown was commanding a supply train
of rations moving along a road that was being heavily shelled by
the Germans, in order to prevent the food from getting up to the
Buffaloes in the front line, who had not had anything to eat for
twelve hours, his horse was hit by a bursting shell. The animal
became wild with fright and pain and ran madly down a ravine
that was full of shell holes and covered with bobwire entangle-
ments. It was only Lieut. Brown's expert horsemanship that
enabled him to cling to the animal as it jumped from shell hole to
shell hole. Finally the horse came to the edge of a large mine
58
crater, paused a moment and then with one mighty leap attempted
to reach the other side. The horse fell, pinning Lieut. Brown's
limb to the ground in a mass of heavy wire entanglement.
Fortunately Lieut. Charles Tribbett was on his way from the
front to battalion headquarters. He saw the horse and rider fall.
Rushing down the draw to the place of the accident, he speedily
released his fellow officer's limb by cutting the wire.
Except for a few minor bruises, Lieut. Brown was uninjured.
He changed horses and continued on his way to the firing line
with “eats” for the boys.
Lieut. Brown, better known as “Eddie” to his host of New
York friends, said on his return: “Fellows, this was no stage stuff
this time; it was really a show with ball ammunition.”
Lieut. Benjamin Wright, while endeavoring to maintain
liaison with our advanced infantry and make maps of the German
front line from a battle plane driven by Lieut. Bernard Granville,
who will be remembered by his prominent rôles in Ziegfeld’s
Follies, met with a hair-raising experience. After flying over some
French villages which stood in ruins as a result of the terrific
bombardment, the plane turned toward the German lines. The
German anti-aircraft and machine guns immediately opened fire
on it, and the left wing of the machine was damaged by the burst-
ing shrapnel. It was only the skillful handling of the plane by
Lieut. Granville that averted what might have been a fatal acci-
dent. Lieut. Wright said that it all had happened so quickly that
he hardly realized what had taken place when he again found
himself safe on mother earth just behind our front lines. The
aviator endeavored to reach the huge hangar, but the damaged
wing caused him to make an immediate landing.
When asked how he enjoyed the ride, Lieut. Wright said:
“It’s great! You haven’t lived unless you’ve sailed about in the
clouds. You feel as if you’re master of all you survey.” Another
fellow officer interrupted. “But what about your narrow escape?”
Whereupon the American officer replied, “That fades into insignifi-
cance when you’ve enjoyed the exciting and delightful exhilaration
of a trip in the sky.”
Lieut. Octavius Fisher and four or five non-commissioned
officers also made flights for the purpose of mapping. These
officers and enlisted men were eager to make other flights, not-
withstanding the great danger involved in flying over the German
lines at extremely high altitudes and in being subjected to heavy
shelling.
59
WEST 99TH ST., NEW YORK CITY, DOES ITSELF PROUD
How many of you colored folks living in New York know of
the distinguishing feats which the race' accomplished in the war
through which we have just passed?
How many single blocks in the whole country can boast of
sending 136 men to the colors? Not many that we know of. Still,
this is what West 99th street, New York City, did. Just think of
it—136 men from one block who went forth at the call of the
nation to do and die that democracy might live.
Below is a list of this distinguished body of men:
George Sealy, Edward Hill,
Fletcher Battle, John Winston,
James Holmes, *. James B. Branch,
Lieut. Earl Pugsley, Willie Edward,
Lieut. Buddie Overton, James P. Newton,
Sergt. Rudolph Forster, Thomas Magz,
Sergt. Preston Downs, Joseph Covington,
Clarence A. Gover, Buff Sealey,
Aubrey Holmes, Archibald Lowman,
Norman F. Gillis, J. C. A. Biggs,
Paul Anthony, Stanley Hewan,
H. H. Hickson, Cecil Reed,
Stewart Wilkins, Philip Spence,
James Elmor, G. Petty,
Clarence Fields, C. Thorne,
Alfred D. Lee, G. Thorne,
Cornelius Medovan, A. Johnson,
William Foust, Jasper Hynes,
Marion Smith, W. Hynes,
George Peters, F. A. Brown,
Louis Hughes, William Johnson,
Nathaniel Franklin, John W. Johnson,
Ernest Pickerman, Joe Frazer,
Percival West, Cham Frazer,
George W. Scott, Pagton Frazer,
S. Munroe, George Gilhams,
Charles McCoy, Harvey Buller,
Blane Brown, A. W. Shoates,
William Solomon, Louis Dannelly,
Edwin Brown, Edward Barnes,
S. W. Newman, John Nason,
60
A. J. Letwitch,
H. T. Johnson,
James Puree,
Maxwell Smith,
Benjamin Wallace,
Charles Harrison,
Casper Holder,
Elton Brown,
Dominico Umbornd,
Charles W. Welch,
Joseph J. Wiggins,
Jose J. Figuerra,
Micken Sanderson,
Charles Hatchett,
Thomas Johnson,
Sims Belcher,
Wallace B. Lee,
James Gibbs,
Ollie Robinson,
Moses E. Brown,
H. B. Hollerman,
Robert E. McVan,
Henry Catscart,
William H. Turner,
Andrew Trent,
Henderson Kelly,
William E. Smith,
George Tuckett,
Johis Velez,
John Gerrald,
John Davis,
Geatah Nelson,
James White,
Frank Rocco,
Allen Francis,
Dennis Flemming,
Joseph E. Butler,
Jimmie Saddles,
Thomas Jennings,
George Jennings,
Eddie Jennings,
Bennie Singleton,
Henderson Kelly,
Charlie Budd,
Clarence Johnson,
Edward Howe,
Alfred Johnson,
William Cozens,
William Roy Thorpe,
Gus Errico,
Harbut Mallin,
Rufus Boston,
Horace Bridgeman,
Purnell Peoples,
George Tue,
John Marshall,
Dave Smith,
Mr. Morrison,
Charles Ferguson,
Maj. Jones,
Lehland Rhodes,
Frank Robinson,
Eugene Robinson,
Fred Bolden,
Fred Williams,
James Parker,
Lawrence Joaquin,
Mr. Hall,
Clement Morse,
Ernest Elliot,
Leon Fraiter,
John Crosby.
61
CHAPTER III
INFLUENTIAL FRIENDS OF THE COLORED PEOPLE
Influential friends of the colored people: Theodore Roosevelt,
General Pershing, ex-Governor Whitman. 15th Regiment's State
Regimental flag. Commissioned colored officers. Poem. How the
colored race backed the boys buying Liberty Bonds. Col. Hayward's
letter to his former law partner. Our colored chaplains. Our colored
nurses. Strength of army corps. Colored women's part in World War.
Col. Roosevelt
Amongst the stoutest supporters of the colored race are ex-
President Roosevelt, Gen. Pershing and ex-Governor Whitman.
Col. Roosevelt being a man of extremely broad conception, and a
firm believer in equality, always chaperoned the rights and privileges
to which the colored people throughout the country were entitled.
They could go to him with their troubles, no matter how small, and
he was always ready to listen. It is safe to say that, were the
colonel alive to-day, now that the war is over, he would be fighting
for the same recognition for the colored people throughout the
country that the whites enjoy. In a speech at Carnegie Hall dur-
ing the war the colonel said, “The white people, being prejudiced,
always judge the whole race by a few criminals, and the greatest
thing the colored people can do for their race would be to run down
the criminals whenever possible.” He further said that after the
war he would do everything within his power to get a square deal
for the colored race. He said that the colored people should not
only get the material things, but also the same respect that is given
the white people in aiding them to maintain their dignity.
Col. Roosevelt’s death was a severe blow to black and white
alike. The colored people, however, felt this blow to a greater
extent because they were counting on Col. Roosevelt to help them
in securing undivided opinion throughout the whole country. At
Col. Roosevelt’s funeral there were fifty boys from the old 15th.
They carried with them a large wreath which they placed on the
colonel's grave. The men stood at attention while the wreath was
being placed in position, and there were many tear-filled eyes
amongst this group of gallant men who had fought for the same
principles that Col. Roosevelt loved.
62
Gen. Pershing's Love for the Colored Men
Gen. Pershing in a regimental address in France said: “When
this expedition was first started the question was asked, “Do you
want any colored men over there?' and I said, ‘Yes, of course I
want colored men. Aren’t they American citizens? Can’t they
do as much in the line of fighting and as much work as any other
American citizens?’”
The general said he was reared in a town where three-fourths
of the people were colored. He was proud to say he was reared
by a colored mammy and equally proud to say he commanded a
colored troop during the Spanish War, and that “they did splendid
work then and they are doing splendid work now !”
“I used to wrestle with a colored boy named Dave Robertson,”
said Pershing, speaking of his boyhood days, “and Dave used to
throw me as often as I threw him.”
The general was cheered enthusiastically by the colored regi-
ment and by the other service of supply men he addressed on his
tour. The cheers were loudest when he promised to give the men
at the bases “a chance at the boche” up at the front.
“I expect to come back here,” he said, “and organize a few
volunteer units, and give you guns and let you go up to the front
and try your hand at it.”
Whitman’s Praise of the Colored Troops
Ex-Governor Whitman, while in and out of power, has always
been a staunch supporter of the colored cause and right. When-
ever it was possible for him to do something which would be to
their advantage, he was always ready and willing, and it was by
a stroke of Whitman's pen which made the old 15th part of the
State Service.
When still Governor of New York State, and while speaking
at the Metropolitan Church, 130th Street and Seventh Avenue, New
York, he said that he was mighty proud of the record the 15th
was making in forcing the Huns to do the Turkey Trot back
towards the Rheine. It was Governor Whitman who presented
the 15th boys with a State Regimental flag.
THE 15TH'S STATE REGIMENTAL FLAG
Before the 15th boys sailed for the other side, they were pre-
sented with a regimental flag by Governor Whitman. At the time
63
that the flag was accepted by the men, they promised that it would
be returned, to be hung in a conspicuous place in the Capitol. The
flag was loved and cherished by every man in the organization,
because it represented the feelings and respect of the people
throughout the State. No matter how important the battle, the
flag always occupied a conspicious place.
When it was returned, it was battle scarred and torn. No-
body knows not even the troops themselves, how many bullets
passed through the fabric. Nevertheless, one look at what remained
of the flag, would convince anybody that it had shared the hard-
ships with the men.
Everybody in the organization would have rather laid down
his life than sacrifice this flag to the enemy. They protected it to
the very last, and returned it to the Capitol as promised where it
now occupies a prominent position.
COMMISSIONED COLORED OFFICERS
The colored commisioned officers in the old 15th did wonder-
ful work in helping to maintain the morale of the colored dough
boys.
The white officers in charge, of course, were always respected
and obeyed, but then it is only natural that the boys should feel
that officers of their own color, would understand their ways bet-
ter than the white officers.
A great many of these men commanded other units in the
93d Division.
Some of the prominent colored officers were:
Capt. C. W. Filmore, now Lieut. Col.
Capt. N. B. Marshall
Capt. Parks
Capt. Tandy
Capt. Toney
First Lieut. James Reese
First Lieut. George Lacey
First Lieut. G. Gee
Second Lieut. D. Lincoln Reed
The following officers left the States as privates and received
their commisions in France:
Lieut. F. Slade
Lieut. C. Hooper
64
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Lieut.
Band Master Eugine Nickels
Colored officers of the 92nd division are shown in another part of
Howe
Desvernay
Cheeatam
N. Sissel
Eugine Rhodes
George Butler
Eddie Brown
E. T. McKaine
Bradley
G. McLaine
Ben Wright
Paul Roberson
the book
THE COLORED REGIMENT
They were calling for men; more men to enlist;
More food for the cannon; more boys to be missed
When the carnage was over. The whites thought it fine,
But the brave laddie were first in the line.
The skeptical laughed and said when they knew,
“They know naught of fighting; now what can they do I’’
But they went to the front, these boys of the South,
Through the shot and shell to the cannon's red mouth,
While the star-spangled banner, above them unfurled,
Carried courage and hope to the rest of the world.
They were soon in the heart of the melee, the fray
Seemed just about over and going their way.
The white man and Colored, all quarrels forgot,
Were fighting as one, 'midst the shell and the shot.
When a cry rent the air, “They have captured the flag l’”
Though in each heart was born the courage to drag
Its folds from the enemy’s clutches, ’twas they
Of the brave Colored squad who battered their way
To the star-spangled banner and brought it safe back,
Though a score of their comrades were left in its track.
When Peace sent them home, weary, wounded and spent,
The city went wild o'er the brave regiment.
There wasn’t an eye in the crowd but was wet
65
As the hands of the white and the Colored men met.
There wasn’t a hat but came off to the flag
And the men who had rescued the dear tattered rag.
There wasn’t a heart but beat faster that day
For the few who out there in the rude trenches lay.
Brave boys, may the tale bring new courage to you,
And make other men just as loyal and true.
EDNA PERRY BOOTH (White),
814 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.
HOW THE COLORED RACE BACKED THE BOYS BY
BUYING BONDS
While the colored boys were in France thrashing the con-
temptible Huns the folks at home were backing them to the limit
by buying Liberty Bonds. They did not stop after they had sub-
scribed their quotas, but spent every cent they could beg or bor-
row to help buy guns, ammunition and food for their loved ones
in Europe.
We mention below some individual and collective subscrip-
tions to the fourth loan:
$700,000 Memphis, Tenn.; $202,000 Muskogee, Okla.; $350,000
New York City; $200,000 Nashville, Tenn.; $60,150 Dallas, Texas,
a surplus of $10,150; 2,950 employees of the Norfolk, Va., Navy
Yard, $180,000 the Brown Savings Bank, Norfolk, subscribed four
times its allotment of $22,000; in two weeks colored citizens of
Berkley, Va., raised upwards of $50,000; a $250,000 quota for Pitts-
burgh, Pa., brought $1,006,200; the North Carolina Mutual Insur-
ance Company has a total of $160,000 for the four loans; 2,106
persons subscribed $115,600 through the Mutual Savings Bank,
Norfolk, Va., nine and one-half times their allotment; pupils of
the Stowe School, Cincinnati, Ohio, $15,000; Walter M. Meade, a
twelve-year-old orphan in Hartford, Conn., who has four brothers
serving in France, as a Boy Scout sold $1,600 worth of bonds; 36
coal-miners at St. Clairsville, Ohio, $4,050; 34 employees of the
Big-Four Roundhouse, New York Central Lines, at Columbus,
Ohio, $5,000; Paul Quinn College, Waco, Texas, $12,000; in Okla-
homa City, Okla., colored worker, under Roscoe Dunjee, sold
$44,000 worth of Liberty Bonds and negro employees of industrial
plants bought $33,500; Red Caps of the Grand Central Terminal,
New York City, $20,000; at Colon, Arthur Tamarerac, a colored
66
clerk, $500; Thomas Motley, a driller at Cristobal, $600; Women's
Liberty Loan Committees accepted the offer of the N. A. A. C. P.,
of colored women speakers as follows: Mary B. Talbert, of Buf-
falo, N. Y., in Louisiana and Texas; Lizzie B. Fouse, of Lexing-
ton, for Kentucky; Addie W. Dickerson, of Philadelphia, Pa., for
North Carolina; Nannie H. Burroughs, of Washington, D. C., for
Maryland and Virginia.
David H. Raynes, of Vivian, La., bought $100,000 in Fourth
Liberty Loan Bonds. He is the largest individual buyer in the
state. Mr. Raynes is a colored farmer, and is the largest individual
- buyer in the state.
Colored people of Maryland subscribed $1,000,000 to the first
two Liberty Loans, and $1,000,000 to the third; $10,000 to War
Savings Stamps through colored agencies.
WHAT COL. HAYWARD HAD TO SAY TO HIS FORMER
LAW PARTNER WM. H. PITZER, OF NEBRASKA CITY
“Well, we are at rest.” A few days ago a tired, ragged, lousy,
battled-scoured regiment trudged out of a sector after being under
fire every day for 129 days, after being through the greatest battle
in the world’s history and after holding what was at one time
(14 months after the United States declared war on Germany),
one-fifth of all the ground the whole American Army was holding
when that army had about ten times as many commissioned
officers in France as we had enlisted men.
“The French general, from Gen. Gouraud down, say that we
did our work as well as the veteran French infantry regiments
on either side of us. We captured prisoners, including a German
officer and lost none of them. We killed many of them in their
trenches and inside our own lines. We were never driven from
our front trenches, although assaulted repeatedly. “No Man's
Land’ soon became the 15th B. Y. land after we took over each
of the sectors we held, the last one being the most active and
dangerous sector from Switzerland to the channel, so the French
tell us.
“On total killed and captured we are away ahead of the boche
—maybe 100. And we did what we were given to do with a mini-
mum of losses.
“Gen. Gouraud has inscribed to me a copy of his now famous
67
address to his soldiers before the great battle in which he expresses
his great esteem “Au Col. Hayward et son brave regiment.’
“So as we tramped away to the south in the sunshine and
dust of the late days of August and the sound of the damned guns
grew fainter and fainter, and we took off our steel helmets and
put away our gas masks, temporarily, you can imagine how the
spirits of the men grew high and how they sang marching songs
lustly and what our thoughts were.
“And when one remembers the beginnings of this little old
handpicked, home-made regiment of Harlem colored boys and
that we were never inspected, never trained, never coached by an
officer outside the regiment, that we were never in an American
brigade or division, that we never had a training period, even ever
So short, as all the other American regiments had, but instead
were the cheerful and officient chore boys of the War Department
until coming to France—well, it’s done, and that's the answer,
and now we're looking toward bigger and better things, after a
few weeks’ rest and training, in open warfare. Pray God we may
never again have to go back to permanent trenches in a stabilized
position.
“Many acts of individual bravery stand out conspicuously,
even in this gallant army of French and veterans. At least thirty
Croix de Guerres have been awarded officers and men (subject to
approval of A. E. F., H. Q.). On the other hand we had, as I
presume, every regiment must have, some men whose conduct in
line and out was not at all credible. But they couldn’t all be
heroes on $30 a month, could they?
“We have been here several days. You should see my bullies
now. All clean, de-loused, new uniforms, spick and span and
happy, and how they can drill and manoeuvre. I enclose copy of
letter from Gen. Chabord, the French general, who commanded
the infantry of our division so long leaving us to command a
division. He seems to think well of us, n'est ce pasſ”
Praised by Chabord
Enclosed in the letter was the following commendatory com-
munication from Gen. Chabord:
“I thank you for the fine things contained in your letter. Be
assured that on my part I have kept very pleasant memories of
the 369th R. I. and of its brave and excellent officers and particu-
larly of their commanding officer.
“We should have been happy and proud to fight in open war-
68
fare, side by side with such marm-hearted collaborators; we would
have gone to battle with absolute confidence.
“You have your share in the big battle with the French army,
which stopped abruptly the enemy offensive and which enabled
us to counter-attack somewhere else, on a large scale.
“My division has been engaged in this counter-offensive and
has achieved some good work. For my debut I prepared and
carried out an attack supported by an American artillery brigade
under command of Gen. Bowley. The succes of this attack is
chiefly due to the co-operation of your compatriots, who displayed
the finest military qualities. “All right, Colonel, we shall get them.’
They have led in the wing. Let us not be sleepy, but let us be
also foresighted against the kicks of the animal at bay.
“My friendly regards to Col. Pickering and to all your officers.
“With a friendly hand shake and with the expresion of my
entire devotion.”
OUR COLORED CHAPLAINS
With all that has been said about the colored troops, colored
nurses, and the part the colored men and women who remained
at home played in the World War, very little has been said about
the colored chaplains, and we propose right here to tell you all
about the heroic work that these men did.
In army life, the chaplain is known amongst the dough boys
as a “sky pilot,” not as an act of discourtesy, but in army life,
most every branch of the service has its own peculiar nick-name.
Whenever it came time to go Over the Top, you would always
find the men out amongst the leaders that they might administer
to the dying and wounded, and aside from all this, these men
were a grand body of fighters in themselves. They knew their
country was battling to right a wrong, and it has often times been
said, that the Germans realized the power of their strength. The
colored chaplains did their work nobly.
OUR COLORED NURSES DID HEROIC WORK FOR OUR
WOUNDED TROOPS
For a considerable length of time, after the United States
had entered the European struggle, there seemed to be a feeling
that colored nurses would not be able to accomplish the good
69
results that our white girls did. The colored women throughout
the country were more than anxious to cross the seas that they
might administer to the colored boys who had been wounded in
battle. They felt that they were just as much entitled to this
privilege as any one else, and as a matter of fact they were.
After a considerable length of time, Secretary of War, Hon.
Newton D. Baker, convinced the surgeon general of the Army
that it was our duty to send registered colored nurses to the
other side. Just as soon as this decision had been made, a call
went out for volunteers for immediate over seas service. The
response was instantaneous. The colored women from all parts
of the country flocked to the service and it was not long before
the colored dough boys had colored nurses at their bedsides.
How well these women performed their duty, is best proven
by the stories you hear on every side from the returned troops.
Their praise is very high, and even though they had the best of
care at the hands of white nurses, they seemed to think and fell
that their period of confinement and convalesence was shortened
to a considerable extent by the careful and motherly treatment
that these colored nurses gave them.
It is safe to say that should the United States ever enter
another war, the colored nurses of this country, will play an im-
portant part in the medical routine.
STRENGTH OF ARMY CORPS
An army corps is 60,000 men.
An infantry division is 19,000 men.
An infantry brigade is 7,000 men.
A regiment of infantry is 3,000 men.
A battalion is 1,000 men.
A company is 250 men.
A corporal's squad is eight men.
A field battery has 195 men.
A supply train has 283 men.
A machine gun battalion has 296 men.
An engineer's regiment has 1,098 men.
An ambulance company has 66 men.
A field hospital has 55 men.
A medicine detachment has 13 men.
A major general heads the field army and also each army
corps.
A brigadier general heads each infantry brigade.
A colonel heads each regiment.
A lietuenant colonel is next in rank below a colonel.
A major heads a battalion.
A lieutenant heads a platoon.
A sergeant is next below a lieutenant.
A corporal is a squad officer.
COLORED WOMENS PART IN THE WORLD WAR
When the Government started to organize our armies, it was
only natural that the service should take millions of our men,
colored and white alike from various industries. Of course it was
just as necessary to keep our factories in operation as it was to
send men to the other side. If our industries were crippled, we
could not take care of the wants of the men in Europe and for
that matter our Allies as well. There was only one solution to
this problem, and that was to recruit female labor. The recruit-
ing however, was only carried on a very short time, because the
women of our country volunteered for laborous work, the same
as our men volunteered for over seas service. In this direction,
the colored women of our country played a very important part.
You would find them by the thousands in every sort of manu-
facturing plants, and they did their work equally as well as the
white women did it. In fact no duty was to hard for them to
undertake. They realized that upon their efforts depended to a
considerable extent, the welfare of our soldiers in general.
Years ago, it was thought that the colored woman's place
was in the household as maids, cooks and general housekeepers.
But today, this has all been changed. A new area has been opened
to them and we hope the race will avail itself of the opportunity
which has been spread out before them.
7I
CHAPTER IV
SOUTHERN STATES
Southern states: Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee,
Louisiana, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Virginia, West
Virginia, Delaware, Maryland. Washington, D. C., and Pennsylvania.
Southern editorials. Southern heroes. Southern officers. Southern
cantonment named after negro. “The old 8th.” Illinois. Robert's and
Duncan's story of the 8th Illinois in France. Editorial comments on
return of 8th Illinois. Honor roll of 8th Illinois. 8th Illinois’ citations.
Battle-scarred hero's story. Western colored boy's story.
“Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisi-
ana, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Vir-
ginia, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D. C., and Pennsyl-
vania” each contributed its share toward the marking of the 349th
and 350th Field Artillery, 366th and 368th Infantry, and the 317th
Sanitary, Ammunition, Military Police, Engineers’ and Supply
trains. The 367th Infantry being made up of New York State
drafted men entirely and the 365th men coming mostly from
Chicago, Ill., and the state of Ohio. All of these regiments com-
bined were known as the 92d Division. Of course, drafted
men from other states helped to make the total strength of this
division.
Among them in that black phalanx that is grimly fighting,
and stoically dying—glad of the opportunity, for a New Freedom,
are men from the cane brakes of Louisiana, the rice swamps of
the Carolinas, the cotton fields of Mississippi, and the coal fields
of Alabama whose ancestors, and themselves, drank to the dregs
from the cup of bitterness—race discrimination. But they, these
black soldiers, are giving every ounce of their patriotism, courage
and valor.
Originally, the 367th Infantry was the only regiment known
as the “Buffaloes”, but later on all other regiments of the 92d
Division adopted the same insignia. The name arising from a
title which was given one of their commanders Col. Moss, while
in the West. Col. Moss was known as a Buffalo in military tactics
and the same name was passed to his men.
The total casualties of the 92d, colored, Division has been
estimated at 1,478. Among the killed were six officers. One
officer and 31 enlisted men died from wounds received in action;
72
40 enlisted men died from diseases; 28 enlisted men are listed as
“missing”; 16 officers and 543 enlisted men were wounded; 39
officers and 661 enlisted men were gassed. The division's number
of gassed is unusually large. A reason is, perhaps, that the colored
soldiers in the front-line trenches of this division were unusually
daring in making raids into the enemy's territory.
There were numerous other colored organizations unattached
acting as labor battalions. These boys came from various parts
of the country, but principally from the South and West.
The majority of men in the 92d Division, were trained at
Camp Funston, but various other camps were also used. The
365th, 366th, 367th and 368th Infantry were all given their finishing
touches at Camp Upton, L. I., and the 317th Supply, Ammunition,
Military Police and Engineers also at Camp Upton. The boys
were sent to Hoboken to embark for France.
The entire 92d Division went through some of the severest
fighting and could always be depended on to keep the Germans
on the run. * £
No objective was too hard for them to take, and their officers
to a man knew that the 92d could always be depended on.
What Germans thought of Buffaloes:
A regiment of these “Black Devils,” as they are called by the
Germans, known as the “Buffaloes,” alone captured three hundred
Germans. The Germans apparently seemed fearful of their safety
when they faced these shouting colored boys, and in many cases
gave themselves up without conflict as prisoners.
When informed they would be relieved by fresh troopers after
holding their line for nearly thirty-six hours of continuous fight-
ing, the Buffaloes reported that they needed no relief, but began
pressing “Heinie” back farther.
“EDITORIAL COMMENTS IN SOUTHERN NEWSPAPERS”
The following comments were made while we were still
actively engaged in whipping Germany, but it will give you some
idea of the Southern sentiment:
The Savannah (Ga.) Morning News reports that “from every
section of the state come reports that negroes are meeting the
demands of war with a spirit and devotion that prove them worthy
American citizens “ ” *. This is no more than Georgia expects
of her negro population. Just as with the white citizens, the
73
| g
negroes have their work cut out for them and they have gone
about it in a business-like and patriotic manner.”
The same may be said of the negroes of this state. Let us
demand, then, that the spirit of intolerance and race hatred that
shows itself in lynchings and the burning of negroes shall be
stopped, the negro himself having earned such consideration,
whatever may be said of our obligations to law and humanity.
The State Journal of Raleigh, N. C., writes:
Troop trains that weekly go through Raleigh carrying help to
our allies, have been accustomed along the route to drop the
heroic boys down in the cities where the populace could briefly
see them and cheer them as they leave their country.
Nobody, save the soldier, can tell how much this means to
the men who bear arms for us in another world. They stop and
gather loving symbols from a people aroused to highest enthus-
iasm, and parading the streets the boys in uniform make those
of us who imagine a sacrifice, feel a lasting shame while sitting
back enumerating items of expense and counting the cost in
comforts.
But there is one black hero who goes through every time two
whites do and we hear nothing of him. That is the chocolate
soldier who sits wedged into a stuffy day coach and waits until
snail-like trains back him from the station to put out on the main
line. Nearly all of these black boys have been drafted and put
into uniform to fight across a trackless waste of water for an
abstraction which is well-nigh stranger to them at home. A few
colored friends may know of their coming and there is a short
good-bye at the stations. But the great heart of a municipality
is lost to them and they must go to war without any of the cheers
that so freely and lovingly are given to the white men with whom
they eventually will fight.
It isn’t right and it should be ended this day.
The colored troops should be allowed to get off the cars,
march through the city and receive the plaudits of all the people
for whom they fight. If there be white people who feel as the
fool Baird of Abbeville felt before he got into the Federal peni-
tentiary for his feeling; if there be whites who withhold their
own enthusiasm lest it spoil a “dam nigger,” then let the colored
soldier have the public streets for a moment while his own cheer
him as he puts out to war. There are black people who have
souls and sentiment and whose hearts thrill and ache for their
own. Let these black people see their boys and give them memen-
toes of the land to which thousands of them will not return.
º
74
The white people owe it to themselves to give all the com-
fort and cheer that they can. No race can be happy long sur-
rounded by those whose happiness has been destroyed either by
indifference or by wilfulness. Much has been written of the
“problem of the negro soldier.” We are always making a “prob-
lem” out of a simple justice to the colored man who has risen. In
earnest striving by the might of his merits. The “problem” now
before the negro soldier is helping us to kill Huns. Let us make
the job easier for him by giving him a little heart for his work.
The World News, of Roanoke, Va., says:
The same newspapers that bring news of this fine heroism
that wins honor for our whole country tell of the lynching in
Georgia of three members of this same race, one of them a woman,
suspected of murder. Of course there was no excuse for this, as
the courts are in full power and operation in Georgia. Equally,
of course, nobody will be punished. We predict that one of the
results of the war will be that the negro troops will acquit them-
selves so well that the United States Congress will interfere in
this lynching business, of which negroes usually are the victims.
Evidently in this regard there is no use clinging to the doctrine
of States’ rights and trusting weak and cowardly local authorities
and sympathetic juries to punish mob murders. We have been
trying it now fifty years and after hundreds of such murders there
is hardly a record of a conviction. The States have failed to main-
tain within their own borders decent respect for the lives of citi-
zens and residents of the United States. The war will hasten the
time when members of murdering mobs will face the Federal
Courts and serious punishment, even if an amendment to the Con-
stitution is required to bring that result. The country is sick and
tired of having to bear as a whole the shame of the lawlessness
of bloodthirsty rowdies and the miserable truckling to it of small
and cheap county and town politicians who value their little jobs
more than the honor of their States and country and their alle-
giance to their own oaths of office and duties.
Following this comes the Northcliffe international prize of
$125 to Charles Knight, a negro, for the riveting record on ship-
building.
Each in his own way contributes to the cause of democracy.
Each performed his particular task better than his fellows. Each
acquitted himself as best sustains the traditions of America.
The foundation of patriotism, builded by their fathers at
Fort Pillow, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, underlies a structure
of achievement that constantly grows more imposing.
75
The negroes of America have kept the faith and bared the
strong arm in defense of the liberty they have themselves known
but a short half century.
SOUTHERN HEROES
Of course it goes without saying that all of the boys fought
gallantly and we would like very much to give you all their names,
but then lack of space prevents our doing this. We do, however,
give you a few names of boys who received honorable mention:
Lieut. A. R. Williams
Lieut. G. Canaday
Sergt. Goodgame
Sergt. Thomas Frazier
Pvt. H. W. Richardson
Corp. M. H. Davis
Among the heroes it is well to mention the name of the Rev.
R. H. Windsor, of Rayville, La., who contributed twelve sons to
the army. His boys have all made a wonderful record, and Rev.
Windsor can well afford to feel proud.
He was presented with a twelve-star service pin by the Amer-
ican Red Cross.
Mr. Windsor also received a letter of congratulation from
President Wilson.
“92D DIVISION OFFICERS”
Capt. Aaron Day, Jr.
In the galaxy of commissioned officers of the 92nd Division, none
are more deserving of special mention than the dignified gentleman,
scholar and soldier, Aaron Day, Jr., commanding Co. B. Capt. Day,
who comes from the Lone Star State, received his early training at
the Houston High School, Houston, Tex., later graduating from
Prairie View and special work in chemistry at the University of
Chicago, and is exceptionally well qualified for the duties imposed
upon him as company commander. At the time of his leaving for the
training camp he was holding the chair of chemistry at Prairie View.
His eminent fitness for leadership is readily recognized in the respect
and confidence in which he is held by the men under his charge.
76
Capt. Samuel Reid
in command of Co. B, 349th Machine Gun Battalion, is the senior
ranking negro officer in the division. Of his career sufficient matter
to make a book could be compiled. Since his first enlistment, in 1893,
his service has been one of much variety, in Cuba, the Philippines and
other of our possessions. At present not only is he commander of
above company, but due to the absence of Maj. Robert Sterrett, he
is serving in the capacity of battalion commander. In the latter part
of the year, as a result of tenure of service, Capt. Reid will be entitled
to be placed on the retired list. Many of those most intimate with
his past life and history and of his ability to render efficient service
during this crisis, are predicting that he will not retire at this time.
Capt. Eugene Harris
commanding Co. B, Headquarters 317th Troop and Military
Police, is a soldier of Virginia stock, his early life being spent in and
around Hampton. He is a veteran soldier, and his reminiscenses are
most interesting. His first enlistment was in 1899, and singular as it
may seem from that day until June last, when he entered the training
camp at Des Moines, he had served constantly with one company,
climbing round by round to the highest non-commissioned promotion
in his regiment. Doubtless in his selection to command the 317th
Troop and Military Police his peculiar fitness for this line of endeavor
was considered; and his efforts are being daily commended by the
officers of the division. Capt. Harris is at present enjoying the bi-
weekly companionship of his devoted wife and son, who are stopping
at Junction City, a few miles away.
Capt. Lewis W. Wallace
is the commander of Co. B, of the 349th Machine Gun Battalion, and
responsible for the enthusiasm, aggression and determination of this
organization. He is a Chicagoan typically, and while he has engaged
in extensive endeavors which have necessitated his absence, he is none
the less a native of the Windy City. He entered the United States
Army a young man, after having engaged in many diversified pur-
suits. Being desirous of going through the “school of hard knocks”
he deliberately enlisted in what was reputed at the time to be the
roughest and toughest fighting organization in the Army, the 9th
Cavalry. Later he was transferred to the 25th Infantry, and had,
what to him was, the pleasure of going through Mexico. After this
the then Sergt. Wallace entered the training camp at Fort Des Moines
77
and received a commission as captain in the Officers' Reserve Corps.
Although still in his twenties, Capt. Wallace has engaged in almost
every legitimate occupation not requiring technical skill, from a bank
clerk to timekeeper for a construction company. With this remark-
able asset in a man of his age and with his knowledge of men, their
strength, their weaknesses, their capabilities and their limitations, he
has set out to perfect in his company those characteristics, ambitions
and attributes necessary to make a fighting unit worthy of the name.
And his success is evidenced by the love and respect both officers and
men have for their leader.
Capt. Abram L. Simpson
attached to Co. B, 349th Machine Gun Battalion, has the distinc-
tion of being the youngest captain in the 92d Division, if not in
the entire national army. It is not his youth, however, which
attracts immediate attention to him, but his keenness and capabil-
ity as an officer. Although only 23 years of age, Capt. Simpson,
who is from Louisville, Ky., graduated from Wilberforce, further
pursued his studies at the University of Chicago and was a mem-
ber of the faculty of Morris Brown College, Atlanta. He went
from this institution to the training camp, where he was commis-
sioned.
Capt. Lee J. Hicks
the only captain from the State of Kansas, is a native of Ottawa.
He finished high school at that point, also Ottawa University, and
completed the commercial course at Western University, Kansas
City, before launching into the world. After being connected with
Anderson's bank at Jacksonville, Fla., he accepted a position as
secretary to J. H. Washington, superintendent of industries at
Tuskegee Institute. He served in that capacity until he entered
the training camp, from which he was commissioned as captain at
the age of 24 years. Captain Hicks is in command of Motor
Company C, 317th Ammunition Train.
Capt. William E. Davis
was born and reared in the nation's capital, Washington, D. C.,
where he attended the Armstrong Technical High School, where
his connection with the crack cadet corps of that city probably
awakened his first ambition to be a soldier. Graduating from
Armstrong, he entered Howard University, where he finished the
pharmaceutical course and became pharmacist in the hospital at
78
Tuskegee. He is another of the youthful officers, being 24 years
of age, and received his commission last October in Des Moines.
Lieut. Benjamin E. Ammons
Every inch a soldier. A native of Texas, he finished the
public schools there and graduated from Tuskegee. Impressed by
his ability, Dr. Booker T. Washington retained him as a member
of the faculty and assistant commandant of the school’s military
department. Later he became commandant at Western Univer-
sity, Kansas City, Kan., being commissioned in the State militia.
At the Des Moines camp he won the position of first lieutenant in
the Officers’ Reserve Corps and is now serving with the Head-
quarters' 317th Troop and Military Police, 92d Division.
Lieut. Tacitus Gaillard
hails from Savannah, Ga. He is a graduate of Tuskegee Institute
and received his first military training as a captain in the cadet
battalion of that school. After graduation he was employed by
the Board of Education at Kansas City, Mo., as instructor in brick
masonry at Lincoln High School, where he supervised the con-
struction of several buildings. Aggressive and enthusiastic, com-
ing from business and civil life, he quickly adjusted himself to the
military environment and fills an important place in Co. D, 340th
Machine Gun Battalion.
Lieut. James Edward Fladger
is second lieutenant in Co. B, 349th Machine Gun Battalion, and
was born in Summerville, S. C. Receiving his early training there,
he went to Kansas City, where he has developed under the direc-
tion of his uncle, a prominent physician at that point, and by con-
stant application was constantly a winner of honors in the schools
there. He entered the training camp among the first from Kansas
City and was commissioned on October 15.
Prof. Clarence A. Giullot
is now in charge of the Knights of Columbus War Activities among
colored soldiers at Camp Funston. He is doing a splendid work
and has made the large, well appointed building which this organi-
zation has provided for the boys of the 92d a headquarters for
athletic activity and social recreation.
Prof. Guillot comes to his new work well prepared. He has
79
held the chair of French at Howard University until granted a
leave to serve here. He is a graduate of Fisk University, 1911;
was a graduate student at Harvard University and a special stu-
dent under Prof. De Champs, University of Toronto, in 1916.
While at Harvard he was admitted to the Circle Francais, being
the first and only race man admitted to this organization.
Lieut. Arthur Hubbard
is one of the able officers at Camp Funston. A regular army man,
he was commissioned as first lieutenant at the Des Moines O. T. C.
and is now serving in the important positions of adjutant of the
349th Machine Gun Battalion, supply and ordinance officer. A
native of Alabama, he left Birmingham to enter service. His
unusual ability in office detail and administration or, in the lan-
guage of one of the junior officers, as a “paper man,” has won the
genuine respect and confidence of his fellow officers and comrades.
SOUTHERN CANTONMENT NAMED AFTER NEGRO
The Stevedore Cantonment and the Labor Encampments in
the vicinity of Newport News, Va., will hereafter be known col-
lectively as Camp Alexander, in honor of the late Lieut. John H.
Alexander, 9th U. S. Cavalry, a negro graduate of the U. S. Mili-
tary Academy, who served from the time of his graduation until
his death as an officer of the U. S. Army.
This certainly should impress the race not only in the South
but all over the country. We can all look forward to other such
testimonials. The colored boys have given their best, and this is
the least the people of our country can do.
THE OLD 8th ILLINOIS OR “TIN HELMETS”
In writing about the old 8th Illinois, we know the people of
the State are vitally interested in this regiment from the time they
were organized in 1892. The men of this regiment have always
been numbered among the finest fighters in the country, and in
the war through which we have just passed, as well as the Spanish-
American War and the Mexican troubles, they have lived up to
tradition in every way.
80
COLORED SOLDIERS ON PARADE
Here are the boys on parade after their return from France. They are passing beneath
the Victory Arch on Fifth Avenue, New York City.

ON THE BATTLE FIELD
These boys are on a scouting trip

BARB WIRE ENTANGLEMENTS OUT IN “NO MAN'S LAND”
This is what the boys had to go through to reach the “Huns.”

GERMAN FEMALE PRISONER
This woman was operating a machine gun when our colored boys captured
her. It has been said she was chained to the gun when the Germans retreated.

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COLORED BAPTISM AT CAMP
Colored deacon baptizing soldier boys at southern camp.

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ALL MEDAL MEN
All these colored boys were awarded medals for bravery on the field of “battle.”

The old 8th Illinois, when they were federalized, were known
as the 370th Infantry and part of the 93d Division. Upon their
return from France they paraded down Michigan avenue with their
colors flying, flags that never touched the ground, and in their
ranks marched twenty-six men who wore service crosses and sixty-
eight with Croix de Guerres. This is a magnificent record and
one that the State of Illinois and America might feel proud of.
No regiment of all the Allies fought braver without complaint than
these noble sons of Chicago and Illinois. The State may well
honor these heroes. They created a record for daring on the
battlefields which has never been excelled, but then the 8th as a
regiment is known for its daring and deeds. This is the second
time since its organization that it has brought lustre and honor to
the grand old State of Illinois. Back in 1898 it marched down
Michigan avenue amid the plaudits of all Chicago.
History of the Eighth
It was about 1892 a small group of men banded themselves
together to organize a battalion of our race. One company was
formed, Company A, of which B. G. Johnson was captain and the
late Maj. John C. Buckner first lieutenant and Col. John R. Mar-
shall second lieutenant. An additional company was added, and
in 1895 they had an entire battalion, with John C. Buckner as its
major and Col. John R. Marshall as captain of Company A. Dur-
ing that period they were admitted to the State militia as the 9th
Battalion, I. N. G. For several years the 9th Battalion was the
West Point of the members of the race of the country. It was
in this battalion that they learned the knowledge of military tac-
tics, hard drilling, marching and maneuvres. Marshall and Buck-
ner were the men who manned the battalion and many give the
credit to Col. John R. Marshall.
War with Spain
In the spring of 1898 the world was expecting Congress to
declare war on Spain. The press clamored for war and no diplo-
macy could stop the sentiment for it. War was inevitable, and the
citizen soldiery was preparing for it. It was on April 25 that Con-
gress declared that “a state of war existed between the United
States and Spain.” This was the 9th Battalion's chance. The
President’s proclamation called for 175,000 troops, and under the
allotment Illinois was to furnish seven regiments of infantry, one
regiment of cavalry, no battalion mentioned. The State's seven
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regiments left for Springfield, all except the old 8th. The question
arose was misfortune or prejudice.
Governor Calls Marshall
Governor John R. Tanner, one of the best friends the race ever
had and Illinois' war governor during the Spanish-American War,
called Col. John R. Marshall to Springfield and told him if he could
organize a regiment that he would be the first man of his race to
become a colonel of an outfit. Other men, such as Maj. Robert
R. Jackson, Col. Franklin A. Denison, Hon. E. H. Wright, Editor
S. B. Turner, Rev. Reverdy C. Ransom and Rev. J. F. Thomas,
proceeded to Springfield to ascertain from Governor Tanner why
the battalion had not been called. He told the committee if a sec-
ond call was made, “I will put the regiment into service.” Two
companies were formed in Chicago, one at Springfield, Cairo,
Mound City, Litchfield and Bloomington. There were the usual
pessimists who declared the English would never fill up or go to
the front. Capt. John R. Marshall showed splendid ability as an
organizer. He was aided and given counsel by Col. James H.
Johnson, then adjutant of the battalion, and Maj. R. R. Jackson,
captain of Company D.
June 30, 1898, the Day
It was on May 25 that President McKinley issued the second
call for 75,000 men and twenty days later Governor Tanner issued
the order commanding the 8th and 9th regiments to proceed to
Springfield, Ill. June 30, 1898, the regiment marched from their
old armory to the station. At night it was on its way to Spring-
field. Other companies from the State assembled at the camp,
then called Camp Tanner. About 1,000 men were in camp. Col.
Denison, Maj. Jackson and Lieut. Hawkins were dispatched to
various parts of the State for recruiting, and a few days after this
the regiment was filled. July 23 John R. Marshall was sworn in
as colonel of the regiment. The muster roll was 1,195 and 76
officers. Early in August the 9th Regiment (white) received word
to prepare for Cuba. This brought great rejoicing in the camp
and much sorrow to the 8th. The 9th left and there was the same
pessimistic cry prejudice. At this stage Governor Tanner visited
the camp and in a speech said: “Even from the very doors of the
White House have I received letters asking and advising me not
to officer this regiment with colored men, but I promised to do so,
so I have done it. I shall never rest until I see this regiment—my
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regiment—on the soil of Cuba, battling for the right and its kins-,
men.” To Governor Tanner belongs the honor of the birth of the
8th Regiment. This brought joy to the regiment, and it knew
then there was a chance for them.
“Dandy First” Recalled
The 1st Illinois, the “Dandy First” of Chicago, were dying
like poisoned sheep in the hot climate of Cuba. They could not
stand it. Every tent became a sickroom and the dead march was
heard at every mess call. Col. Henry Turner (white) implored
Governor Tanner to have the 1st recalled. Col. Marshall was
called by Governor Tanner to ascertain the sentiment among his
men to go to Cuba. Speaking for them, Col. Marshall said, “Every
man is ready.” When the colonel told the regiment the news the
whole regiment said: “Let’s go.” This is the spirit that has char-
acterized every soldier in all the wars of the United States, from
Crispus Attucks to Col. Otis B. Duncan. Governor Tanner sent
the message to H. C. Corbin, adjutant general, Washington, D. C.
The Secretary of War sent a message back the next day that he
had directed the regiment be sent to Cuba on the steamer Yale,
leaving New York the following Tuesday.
On August 14, 1899, the regiment arrived in Cuba. It was in
this country that the gallant 8th won its spurs, that it proved that
our sons were as brave and patriotic as their fathers in the War
of the Rebellion. No daring was too great for them around San
Luis Hill, Cuba. For miliary precision and cleverness Gen. Ewers
(white) said that the 8th was the first on the island. The planning
of the camp, the execution of its details was the handiwork of
Lieut. Col. James H. Johnson and the splendid hospital work under
Maj. Allen A. Wesley, Col. Franklin A. Denison and Maj. R. R.
Jackson were valuable aids to Col. John R. Marshall. During the
major portion of his time Col. Denison served as judge of claims,
sitting at Santiago. Gen. Lawton appointed Col. Denison presi-
dent of a general court martial, being the only member of his race
at that time thus appointed.
Returns from Cuba
The regiment returned from Cuba on March 17, 1900. Great
preparations were made for them and a wonderful reception given
them at Tattersall's hall. President McKinley said when the 8th
volunteered to relieve the “Dandy First” “that it was the proudest
moment of his life.”
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Casualty List—Heroes of the 8th, 1898
Walter Johnson George Patterson
James Baker Frank Richards
Paul Smith Simon B. Peters
Lawrence Micheaux George Farris
Willis Garrett Charles Early
Byron L. Lakeman Aldnza Parks
Samuel Nickens William Jones
Sylvester Johnson William Sparks
Burt Whitworth Benj. Hollins
William Thomas John Combs
Always a Crack Regiment
For years the regiment was under the command of Col. John
R. Marshall since it left Cuba. It was through his hard work and
military sagacity that kept the outfit together. On many an occa-
sion we have traveled with it to Peoria and Springfield when it was
in camp, and there saw them go through their military maneuvres
and dress parades, the latter under two governors, Deneen and
Lowden. One of the prominent figures of the outfit was Sergt.
William Berry, who was bandmaster from 1904 to 1917. Under
him the band made a national reputation. It was under Col. Mar-
shall’s regime that great friends were made to secure money for
the purchase of the old and new armory. His record is cherished
by all Chicagoans. He has the honor of being the first colonel of
the race and is known all over America. See him once, you will
always recall his military bearing. Col. Marshall resigned, much
to the regret of his regiment, on January 1, 1914.
Too much credit cannot be given its former colonel for his
patience and hard work in giving to the world this brave and heroic
body of fighting men.
Col. Denison in Command
Col. Franklin A. Denison took command of the regiment on
January 12, 1914. The old armory at 37th street and Wabash
and Michigan avenues was sold to the Catholic school and it had
to move to a livery stable on Forest avenue, north of 35th street.
In this stable the election of Col. Denison took place. Lieut. Col.
James H. Johnson, who had served nobly and honorably under
Col. Marshall, remained lieutenant colonel. Then came the task
of securing a new regiment. This is fresh in the memory of those
living to-day. Senator Samuel Ettelson, a member of the State
92
Legislature, offered a bill in the Senate for an appropriation for an
armory and Hon. S. B. Turner, then and now a member of the
Illinois Legislature, offered a bill in the House. Governor Dunne
favored the bill and money was appropriated for a new armory,
the first of its kind for the race in the United States. No one denies
the heroic work of Col. Marshall in securing money to help buy the
ground for the new armory.
It was the crowning effort of Col. F. A. Denison to see that
a new armory was erected. The cornerstone was laid in 1915 by
Gen. E. S. Burt.
At no time did Col. James H. Johnson, Maj. Robert R. Jackson,
Maj. Otis B. Duncan or Maj. C. L. Hunt relax their interest in the
regiment, nor did any officer of the staff or enlisted man in the
outfit lag in their duty when the campaign was on for the new
armory. Before the Mexican imbroglio Maj. Jackson resigned as
major and Louis B. Anderson as regimental adjutant. Maj. Stokes
succeeded Maj. Jackson and Capt. John H. Patton succeeded Adj.
Anderson. The late Rev. Jordan Chavis, chaplain, was succeeded
by Rev. Bradden. Capt. C. L. Hunt succeeded Maj. Franklin A.
Denison.
Sent to Texas
It was in 1916 that the Mexican imbroglio occurred. Presi-
dent Wilson declared war on Mexico. Among the national guards
of the country to respond to the call was Illinois, and the 8th, true
to its colors, was ready. The regiment, under the command of
Col. Denison, made a favorable and honorable record while on the
Mexican border. The chase for Villa was finally given up and
the President of the United States sent the National Guard back
home.
COL. T. A. ROBERTS AND LIEUT. COL. OTIS B. D'UN CAN’S
STORY OF THE OLD 8TH II, LINOIS IN FRANCE
The old 8th, or 370th Infantry Regiment, as part of the 93d
Division, arrived at Brest April 22, 1918, and spent two days in
Pontanezen Barracks, an institution built by Emperor Napoleon,
and from there entrained for camp, where they were destined to
receive their first European training. They traversed the beauti-
ful country of France on their journey lasting three days, arriving
at Grandbillars, a little village situated about three miles from the
Swiss border and fifteen minutes’ ride from the town of Belfort,
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which was made famous by Bartholdi, the creator of America’s
Statue of Liberty, in his production of the masterpiece, “The Lion
of Belfort.” For six weeks the regiment went through intensive
training by French officers, seasoned by four years of conflict.
Thus they underwent a change from city spoiled to accomplished
soldiers, armed and equipped with all the modern implements and
methods of warfare. It was also during this period that the regi-
ment was changed from an American regiment to a French regi-
ment in everything except salary and color of uniform. French
rifles, French machine guns and French gas masks formed part of
the equipment with which the Chicago 8th was destined to do its
part in the great battles which were to come.
Goes to French Village
At the end of this period of training the regiment was marched
to a nearby French village where it entrained for a position nearer
the front lines. It disembarked at Ligny en Barrowis, in the De-
partment of the Meuse, and went into billets in three of the beau-
tiful hamlets which surrounded the famous town of Bar le Duc.
Having been declared by the generals under whom they had
trained to be fit for active service, they were soon placed in a sector
in front of the now famous St. Mihiel district, where our boys re-
ceived the experience of facing a real live German and real front
line trench. As was the custom of all troops, the French had seen
fit to place them in a quiet sector, therefore happily there were no
casualties during their first fourteen days of French warfare. At
the conclusion of that time they were taken out and marched
approximately twenty-five miles to rest billets for two days, after
which they entrained for the now famous Verdun sector, arriving
at Les Islette, where the battalions were distributed—1st to Bar-
vent, 2d to Lochers, 3d to Vraincourt. From these three places
parts of the regiment were sent into line July 19 on the plateau
of Gorgia, Hermont and Mont des Allieux. On July 24 they re-
ceived their first casualty in action when Pvt. Robert M. Lee, of
Machine Gun Company 2, was killed in action on Mont des Allieux.
Their regimental headquarters during the period from July 16 to
August 15 was stationed at Vraincourt, which is known as the
sub-sector of Aire.
Start Fighting
On the 4th of August the Stokes mortar platoon under com-
mand of Lieut. Robert A. Ward took part in a raid in the sub-
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sector of Vauquois, which was the first offensive operation in
which the regiment took part. Three hundred rounds were fired,
the mission being to fill up the gaps of the artillery barrage. On
August 15 the regiment was relieved from the sub-sector Aire and
proceeded by way of Camp St. Pierre to three villages—Fains,
Combles and Veel—where it was placed at the disposition of Gen.
Mengin, commander of the 10th French Army. After resting for
thirteen days, at which time the regiment was reviewed by the
commanding general of the Second Army, Gen. Hirschauer, and
many field maneuvres were executed.
At Soissons
On August 31, pursuant to the orders of Gen. Mengin, the
regiment took station along the Curcq River in the reserve of the
army. On the 15th of September the regiment was taken by motor
trucks to within thirty kilometers of the front lines in the Soissons
sector. The particular position to which the regiment was assigned
is known as the hinge of the Hindenburg Line and lies to the front
of Vauxellon with the Ailette Canal and Alizy chateau as its strong
salient. It was in this sector that the regiment had its hardest
battles, its greatest losses and also the deed in which a great num-
ber of men were cited. Three attacks on the Ailette Canal were
unsuccessful on account of the superior strategical condition and
strong fortified machine gun emplacement.
Smash Hindenburg Line
Col. Otis B. Duncan, in command of the 3d Battalion, on the
afternoon of the 15th, succeeded in taking the southern boundary
of the Ailette Canal and thereby breaking for the first time in that
sector the tremendous Hindenburg Line. Sad, but true, that thirty
officers leading their men in attack became casualties, notably
among whom were Capt. Samuel R. Gwynne, who was wounded
twice before he would allow himself to be removed from the field
of battle; Capt. Horace M. Burke and Lieut. Robert L. Chavis, at
that time commanding Company I. This position was held de-
fensively for twelve days and it was during this battle that the
first machine gun was captured by the regiment on Oct. 12. The
regiment then joined the rest of the division and assisted in push-
ing back the German line a distance of seventy kilometers. During
this time they captured the cities of Laon and Crepy. In the latter
was found a long range gun which had been used by the Germans
for months in harassing the city of Paris.
95
Repair Roads
Having opened its objective on October 13, the division to
which the regiment belonged was given a rest, during which time
it was only required to perform such duties as repairing fifteen
miles of road. On October 18 the first decoration received by the
regiment was bestowed by Gen. Vincendon, commander of the
59th French Division, upon Col. T. A. Roberts, Capt. Chester
Saunders, commanding Company F; Sergt. Cecil Nelson, Company
L, and Sergt. Jenkins, of Company F. On October 27 Sergt. How-
ard Templeton, Company C, was decorated for distinguished
service, rendered while attacking the Hindenburg Line. On
October 28 the regiment was called to the pursuit of the enemy.
The 2d Battalion marched twenty kilometers to a support position
and the 3d Battalion marched to the reserve position, about twenty
kilometers north of Laon. On the 30th of October the 1st Bat-
talion took part in the position in the line north of Granlup, and
on November 2 the divison was instructed to follow the enemy in
case of retreat. On the same day Sergt. Matthew Jenkins, Com-
pany F, was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross.
35 Killed, 50 Wounded
On November 3, at Chantreud, the mess line of Company A
was struck by a shell from the enemy's fire, killing 35 men and
wounding 50. So severe was this blow that it was necessary to
withdraw this entire company from action, and on November 6
the 1st Battalion was ordered to move out and flank the rear guard
of the enemy, which had been left to harass the forward movement
of the division and met with a stubborn resistance at Tavoux. The
resistance was of such violent nature that the town had to be
encircled, and Capt. Smith, in command of Company C, maneu-
vred his company with such precision and accuracy that made it
possible to attack the town at three sides, forcing the enemy not
only to retreat but to leave behind them several field pieces,
machine guns and dead Germans.
Fought with the French
The 8th participated in the final drive against the Germans on
the French sector, advancing in the final stages of the war as far
as 35 kilometers in one day. They were the first Allied troops to
enter the French fortress Laon when it was wrested from the
Germans after four years of war. The 8th won 26 service crosses
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and 68 Croix de Guerre. “The Fighting Devils” fought the last
battle of the war, capturing a German wagon train of 50 wagons
and crews a half hour after the armistice went into effect. They
even refused to fraternize with the Germans after the armistice
was signed. Col. Roberts (white) and Lieut. Col. Otis B. Duncan
were in command at the time of the fighting. Gen. Vincendon, the
French commander, said he never saw a braver regiment. One
date will always stand out in the history of the 8th Illinois—Sep-
tember 30, 1918. That was the day they smashed the Hindenburg
Line, driving back the crack 3rd Prussian Guard, the flower of the
kaiser's army. Owing to an order being late in reaching the 8th,
the advance started in broad daylight. Cols. Roberts and Duncan
personally led the regiment, all officers being in front with them.
Over 300 yards of shell-torn land through a ravine dominated by a
plateau from which the Germans rained machine gun bullets. The
8th hit the line and passed it. It was fighting of the most gruelling
sort and in the end was a hand-to-hand struggle. France will write
the name of this regiment and its bravery and heroism in their
history. What will America do?
Regiment Celebrates
On November 10 the regiment in parade marched in triumphal
entry into the French village of Signy le Petit with the band play-
ing French music and the Stars and Stripes carried by a French
soldier and the French tri-color carried by Color Sergt. Mark P.
Freeman, celebrating the delivery of the town after four years of
German occupancy only ten hours after the German had left its
bounds. On November 11 all commanding officers received tele-
grams that at a certain hour firing would cease on all lines, which
ended the bloodiest battle the world has ever known.
On December 19 the regiment was ordered to base for America.
The same day general order, known as 4785, directed to the 59th \
Division of the Army of France and read at first formation, ad-
dressed to the officers and soldiers of the 370th R. I. U. S., reads as
follows:
2. General Orders No. 4785
Officers and Soldiers of the 370th R. I. U. S. : S
* You are leaving us. The impossibility at this time that the
German Army can recover from its defeat—the necessity which
is imposed on the peoples of the Entente of taking up again a nor-
mal life—leads the United States to diminish its effectives in
France. You are chosen to be among the first to return to Amer-
97
ica. In the name of your comrades of the 59th Division, I say to
you: Au revoir—in the name of France, thank you.
The hard and brilliant battles of Chavigny, Leury and the
Bois de Beaumont having reduced the effectives of the division,
the American Government generously put your regiment at the
disposition of the French high command in order to reinforce us.
You arrived from the trenches of the Argonne. *
We at first, in September, at Mareuil-Sur-Ourcq, admired your
fine appearance under arms, the precision of your review, the sup-
pleness of your evolutions that presented to the eye the appearance
of silk unrolling its wavy folds.
We advanced to the line: Fate placed you on the banks of
the Ailette, in front of the Bois Mortier. October 12 you occupied
the enemy trenches Acier and Brouze. On the 13th we reached
the railroad of Laon-LaFere—the forest of Saint Gobaiy principal
centre of resistance of the Hindenburg Line, was ours.
November 5 the Serre was at last crossed—the pursuit became
active. Prout's Battalion distinguished itself at the Sal St. Pierre,
where it captured a Germán battery. Patton's Battalion crossed
the first, the Hirson Railroad at the heights of Aubenton, where
the Germans tried to resist. Duncan's Battalion took Logny, and,
carried away by their ardor, could not be stopped short of Gue
d’Hossus, on November 11, after the armistice.
We have hardly had the time to appreciate you and already
you depart.
As Lieut. Col. Duncan said November 28, in offering to me
your regimental colors “as a proof of your love for France, as an
expression of your loyalty to the 59th Division and our army, you
have given us of your best and you have given it out of the fullness
of your hearts.”
The blood of your comrades who fell on the soil of France,
mixed with the blood of our soldiers, renders indissoluble the bonds
of affection that unite us. We have, besides, the pride of having
worked together at a magnificent task, and the pride of bearing
on our foreheads the ray of a common grandeur.
A last time—Au revoir. 2 -
All of us of the 59th Division will remember the time when
the 370th R. I. U. S., urider the orders of the distinguished Col,
Roberts, formed a part of our beautiful division.
^, GEN. VINCENDON,
Commanding the 59th Division.
Signed: VINCENDON.
98
EDITORIAL COMMENT ON RETURN OF 8TH REGIMENT
The “Black Devils” are coming home.
The latter part of this week or the first part of next these
colored men from Chicago—members of the famous old 8th Regi-
ment—will carry their colors down Michigan boulevard, covered
with the glory of the deeds of heroes. They said when they left
that they would bring the old flag back or stay with it in France
forever. And they made good.
They are also bringing on their proud breasts twenty-two
American Distinguished Service Crosses and sixty-eight Croix de
Guerre.
No American regiment has done better.
They are the first Illinois regiment that was actually in the
fighting to come back to the city as a body. And, true to the char-
acteristic good nature of the race, they are coming back as they
went away—without a whimper or without a complaint.
Out in that section of the South Side where most of them live
they are preparing for them a reception that will outdo the wel-
come that our fighting men received in France. Some of their
relatives have been saving ever since they went away to make the
homecoming all that money can provide.
But these men went out to fight for the white race. They
went over to help France and Belgium.
And when they come back, not only their own people, but all
of Chicago should go out to do them honor. They have added a
bright chapter to the history of Illinois at arms, and they deserve
all the honors that a grateful city and State can give them.
Furthermore, their people have made a proud record while
they were away. Not a man of their color went to an internment
camp for disloyalty. Not a man or woman of their race gave the
Government any trouble during the period of the war.
They are hard working people, who earn their bread in the
sweat of their brow, and out of their small earnings did their share
in Liberty Loan, Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and other drives.
Their war record as a race is enviable.
Their soldiers went out to fight the fight of men; they died
the death of heroes; they were Americans to the core.
They proved themselves, and Chicago should show its pride
and appreciation as they pass by.—Editorial, Chicago American,
February 11, 1919. ->
99
The Eighth
Chicago to-day greets the first of its battle-scarred volunteer
regiments to return from France—the old 8th Infantry. With a
record of ninety-six killed and 500 wounded, with ninety decora-
tions for individual valor, these smashing fighters have proved
themselves citizens and patriots of the first degree.
Their homecoming reminds us of the days when they stormed
the armory, struggling for a chance to don the uniform and hurl
their dusky American bodies into the breaches the Hun was tear-
ing in humanity’s front line. We have forgotten whether they
succeeded in subscribing for more Liberty bonds than any other
regiment in service—but we know they tried.
Splendid as were their victories upon the battlefields, however,
the old 8th accomplished more in the time since we saw it last
than the regiment itself realizes.
Its first triumph was at Houston, and it was a triumph the
effects of which cannot be measured, because they are illimitable.
Following the deadly race riot at the Texas camp, the country
rang with protests against sending the Chicago colored troops
there, although they naturally belonged there with the rest of the
Illinois National Guard. Threats and fears were voiced.
But the country, especially the Texans, did not know our Chi-
cago blacks. They did not realize that these were intelligent,
picked young men with big town training, whose one object in life
was to get a crack at an enemy of their country that was striving
to enslave the world.
The 8th went calmly into nervous, hostile Houston and pro-
ceeded about its business with its head up and eyes front. Its
escutcheon was white when, some months later, admiring Houston
God-speed on its ways with cheers that were at once a tribute and
an apology. The Texans knew manhood when they saw it.
And so did the Germans when they got up against it.—Edi-
torial, Herald-Examiner, February 17, 1919.
The “Old Eighth.”
Chicago can take real pride in the return of the 370th Infantry,
made up of the men who, as National Guardsmen, were the 8th
Illinois Infantry. It can be said of the regiment that its record
is not doubtful.
Negro fighters as a rule have made good in this greatest of all
struggles. But the “old 8th” is signally destined for continued
applause. The regiment was sent into the South by an order that
I00
was not particularly notable for its wisdom, but the men went
without a murmur. They were billeted in a city that was not dis-
posed to felicitous reception. But these Chicago fighters con-
ducted themselves with such admirable decorum and military pro-
priety that they were roundly applauded when they took up their
arms and marched off to battle.
In France the “old 8th” sustained a heavy casualty list, but
carried on regardless. The regiment well merits the applause of
Chicago; the city is proud of its soldiers; they are brave men of
whom it may be said that they did their duty as citizens of Amer-
ica. Chicago is glad to say that the “old 8th” went forth Spartan-
like and brought back the shield.—Editorial, Chicago Tribune,
February 13, 1919.
THE HONOR ROLL OF THE “OLD EIGHTH” ILLINOIS
OR “RED DEVILS”
Men of the “old 8th.” Illinois decorated with the Croix de Guerre
at the request of the commanding general of the 59th Division,
French Army:
Lieut.-Col. Otis B. Duncan Corp. Wm. Stevenson
Maj. Jas. R. White Corp. Emla Laurent
Capt. John H. Patton Corp. James Brown
Capt. John T. Prout Corp. Charles T. Brock
Capt. Samuel R. Gwynne Corp. Lewis Warner
Capt. Devere J. Warner Corp. Trevalon Maceo
Capt. George M. Allen Corp. Joseph Henderson
Capt. Jas. H. Hall Pvt. Howard Shelfield
Capt. Stuart Alexander Pvt. Ulysses S. Akers
Capt. Mathew Jackson Pvt. Wm. Cuff
First Lieut. Park Tancil Pvt. (first class) Robert Pryor
First Lieut. Osceola A. Browning Pvt. Bee McKizzie
First Lieut. George Lacey Pvt. Olbert Dorsey
First Lieut. Frank Robinson Pvt. Arthur Johnson
First. Lieut. Claudis Ballard Pvt. Charles T. Monroe
First Lieut. Charles C. Jackson Pvt. Jonas Paxton
First Lieut. William Warfield Pvt. Rufus Pitts
First Lieut. Samuel S. Gordon Pvt. Wm. Hurdle
First Lieut. Robert L. Hurd Pvt. Pearson Harry
First Lieut. Harry W. Shelton Pvt. Paul Turlington
Second Lieut. H. P. Cheatham Pvt. Cornelius Robinson
Second Lieut. S. B. Norvell Pvt. (first class) George B. White
101
Second Lieut. Roy Tisdell Pvt. Paul Johnson
Second Lieut. T. A. Painter Pvt. Ira Taylor
* Second Lieut. Lawson Price Pvt. Leroy Lindsey
Second Lieut. Lincoln L. Reid Pvt. Reed J. Brown
Second Lieut. Elmer J. Meyers Pvt. Hugh Givens
Sergt. Norman Henry Pvt. Josiah Neeves
Corp. James P. Brown Pvt. Alonzo Kellar
Pvt. Nathaniel White Pvt. Henry Jones
Pvt. Robert Pride Pvt. Jesse Ferguson
Pvt. Ulysses Sayles Pvt. Lavern Massey
Pvt. Hugh Givens Pvt. Deny Brown
Pvt. Reedy Jones Pvt. (first class) N. C. White
Sergt. Clarence B. Gibson Pvt. Johnson
Along with the above men, the following have been given
honorable mention:
Chaplain W. S. Braddon Lieut. B. A. Browning
Maj. Hunt. Sergt. Jackson
Capt. Smith. Sergt. H. C. Washington
Capt. Johnson Sergt. E. I. Tidrington
Capt. J. Morgan Sergt. O. W. Carter
Lieut. Chavis Sergt. R. Taylor
Lieut. Ward Corp. F. Carrington
Lieut. Moss Corp. R. Breckenridge
Lieut. Hinton Corp. R. S. Ellington
Lieut. Stearls Pvt. Russell Jones
Lieut. White Pvt. Lawrence Chavis
Lieut. E. F. Williams Pvt. Lloyd McCoy
Lieut. Price Pvt. Richard Courtney
Lieut. Bates Pvt. Elmer Nelson
Lieut. B. Dismond Pvt. Paul Martin
Lieut. Warren Williams Pvt. Henry Barnett
Lieut. Giles Pvt. Asbury Wilson
Lieut. S. C. Dickerson Pvt. Edward Dobbins
Lieut. H. J. Taylor Pvt. Fletcher Phillips
Lieut. E. D. Maxwell Pvt. Leroy Owens
Lieut. J. R. Wheeler Pvt. Horace Jordan
Lieut. R. J. Ward
8TH II, LINOIS CITATIONS
The 370th Illinois Infantry was twice cited for valiant conduct,
twenty-five members were recommended for the Distinguished Service
Cross and 100 men were decorated for bravery.
102
BATTLE-SCARRED HERO TELLS OF TRIALS ON FIRING
LINES
Back with the story of bleeding France, whose fertile fields now
lay waste with dead and dying, whose once rich cities are now marked
with naught but stricken ruin, wrecked and mutilated by the wanton
hand of the enraged Hun, whose air is filled with the noise of roaring
cannon and whose soil echoes and will still echo with the tread of
the millions of Allies that are massing and driving these “mad dogs
of war” back to their lairs. This is the yarn Pvt. David Meadows,
who saw fighting in the Champagne district, brings to us.
“I was a cook on the B. & O. line when I suddenly became seized
with a desire to join the army,” he said. “I cannot describe those days
when I was tortured with the stories of the fearful outrages of
German kulture and their heinous outrages against womanhood. There
was an issue that I must decide, and I did. In October, 1917, I
enlisted here and was sent to Jefferson barracks, Missouri, where I
was placed in the 3 rd Regiment, then forming.
France Heroic Through Grief
“On the 1st of December we arrived in France. Not the gay
France such as described in stories, but France the horrified and sad
at the destruction of her manhood, her cities, her homes. But with
heroic patience she bears on. I shall never forget that day. The
Snow was just beginning to fall and a pale haze hung over the city,
but this fact did not dampen the enthusiasm of that vast throng that
lined the quays to pay us homage. Those were breathless moments
for me and all of us. Right into the hearts of the people, their homes,
we went. Truly when Robert Burns wrote his poem, ‘A Man's a
Man for a’ That,’ he must have been thinking of France. But more
exciting moments than these were in store for me.
A Nightmare of Ruins
“Not long afterward we were on our way to the front, and as
we moved up we met heartless scenes of devastation. The grim
trail led through village after village which had been pillaged, dis-
tricts where the earth, furrowed by big shells, was bleeding; while
smoking ruins still tottered under the heavy explosions; wheat, corn
and oat fields wasted by the trampling of huge armies that swayed
back and forth in their death grapples; here and there parts of equip-
ment strewed the road; forests were stripped naked by shell fire.
Hell. More than that, this hideous nightmare, a one that served to
fire our determination to ‘see it through.’ And we were determined.
I08
“Imagine a thousand explosions at once, a million noises in one
grand chorus, and this is the calm sereneness of battle, and at night
the sky lit by rockets and signals of a thousand fireworks. My life
in the trenches was exceedingly exciting. One incident I will relate.
My comrades and I had just arrived at our dugout and had thrown
our tired bodies down to snatch a bit of sleep, when we heard a
German ‘Katy' strike. The force of the explosion buried us beneath
a pile of debris, but we were lucky, and after we dug our way out
you can wager some Boche paid dearly for disturbing our beauty nap.
Withering Fire Cuts Boche
“It was in that fierce fighting around the Champagne district that
I was wounded.
Great masses of those gray hordes came against us liken to
waves, but they rolled back under the withering fire of our machine
guns. And then our counter attack. It was glorious, as we attacked
them across desolate fields, honeycombed by shell fire, through barb
wire entanglements, with cold steel, and those Boches shuddered.
Many of our prisoners were glad to be captured. Among some we
found boys around the age of 16, hungry, gaunt and wild-eyed
CreatureS.
“It was on the morning of March —, a dense barrage preceding
us, as we awaited word to go over. It never came for me, for out of
that cloud of fearfulness came gas. In the midst of this and bursting
shells we were, and then I forgot. All about me was the dim outline
of moving figures. I struggled to go on, but something uncanny re-
strained me. I was wounded.”
WESTERN COLORED BOY'S LETTER HOME
First Line Trench, Somewhere in France, July 24, 1918. My
Dear X:—I am writing you today from the first lines and have the
satisfaction of knowing that I am the first of the replacement com-
manders to be called. I am in G company, with Bunn, Giles and,
Capt. Allen. For months I have been hearing the big guns belching
forth their fire, but I am to pick my way betwen their shells for the
first time tonight. There is much delight in knowing how wonderfully
our boys are facing the fire. Almost every officer has led a patrol
through No Man's Land and no one has been touched by the Huns,
and even as I turn my face toward the rat-tat-tat of machine guns
104
I cannot force myself to believe that I have a rendezvous with death.
It seems more like one is hunting the Hun than fighting him.
Comrades Fight Bravely
I shall not say that our gallant French comrades are fighting
brilliantly—there is no other way that they can fight; but I will
confirm what you must have read in the papers—the Americans are
terrible; their onslaughts are unstoppable. The Germans are so im-
pressed with the fierceness of their attacks that their journals are
saying, “The Americans are ferociously scalping their victims, as is
the American custom.” We are believing that the beginning of the
end is at hand. We have started to push the Hun out of beautiful
France, and now that the inertia has been overcome there will be no
stopping. I predict that we who meet with no accidents will be show-
ing our Easter clothes on Thirty-fifth Street next year. Some even
go so far as to say that we may eat our Christmas dinners in Illinois;
but whenever we do come marching up Michigan Avenue, “won't that
be one mighty day!”
Trenches Dangerous
We have had to amuse ourselves since leaving the instruction
depot. How would you like to be aroused at 3:30 by an alarm for
gas P But my debut was not half as bad as I expected. We had a
seven-course French meal last night, and, can you imagine it, we
have electric lights in our dugout. I am sleeping with a fine young
Frenchman, very amiable and jaunty. I did not fall off to sleep,
however, as easily as usual. The rats, the grenades and the automatic
rifles awoke me several times. It rained just before we arrived and
all is mud. As Masefield says, the trenches are damn dirty, damn
dull and damn dangerous.
As I am writing you the bursting of shells is punctuating my
sentences. I am afraid that after the war we will have to live in Gary
in order for me to go to sleep at nights. Nothing has become so
soothing as the noise of bursting steel.
Give my regards to every one. Tell them we have lost no one
so far to my knowledge, but, of course, even before this reaches you
the entire regiment may be a thing of the past. With much love.
BINGA DISMOND.
105
CHAPTER V
Colored boy of Gerald, Kas., wins service cross. How E. E. Nelson
met his death. King George's greeting. 8th Illinois mustered out.
Jack Johnson wanted to fight, Washington, D. C., New Haven, Conn.,
Boston, Mass, and 9th Ohio troops. Butler's gallant fight. Cleveland's
welcome to the old 9th. Cleveland boy honorably mentioned. Red
Hand heroes. 365th Infantry. Trials and tribulations of the
365th Infantry.
COLORED BOY OF GERALD, KAN., WINS SERVICE
CROSS
The story of how Corp. Isaac Valley of Gerald, Kan., won the
Distinguished Service Cross is an inspiration to every man in the
country. Valley is one of the few soldiers who won that honor. He
served three years in the 24th Infantry before he was transferred to
the Illinois regiment. A private in attempting to throw a grenade
dropped it in the trench in the midst of his comrades. Valley had
no time to pick it up and throw it out. He, therefore, put his foot
on it and shoved it into the mud. The grenade exploded and tore
off part of his foot. His only comment as he was carried back was,
“I saved the others, even if it did get me.”
When Gen. Pershing heard of the incident he awarded the ribbon
which is the ambition of every fighting man to possess. “That man
will be back in a few days,” said the colonel to me today.
One night a big German raiding party came over and penetrated
behind the first lines of this unit before the Americans opened up
and, without the loss of a single man, drove them back.
Chicagoans Repel the Foe
Good fighters from Chicago—Sergt. Robert Taylor of 3520
Forest Avenue, Corpl. Fred Carrington of 3145 Wabash Avenue,
Pvts. Fletcher Phillips of 4048 Indiana Avenue, Edward Dobbins of
3755 Wabash Avenue, Leroy Owens of 2825 Federal Street, Corpl.
Robert Breckenridge of 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue and
Pvt. Horace Jordan—were at an advanced listening post when the
raiders passed overhead, leaving a guard which the men drove away
and then joined in the attack that repelled the raiding party. The
raid was in revenge for a successful attack made by the Americans
on the previous night.
Sergt. Norman Nelson of 3538. Dearborn Street, Chicago, on
106
another night was one of a patrol party of forty scouting within the
German lines. A flare disclosed the presence of the patrol, and Nelson
dropped behind a bush. The Germans opened up with their machine
guns, and the bullets, coming thick and fast, cut the bush like a scythe,
and dented Nelson's steel helmet.
“HOW SERGT. ELMER E. NELSON MET DEATH”
Pretty two-year-old Edna Nelson, chubby, bright-eyed, and with
two shadowy dancing dimples hidden in her cherubic face, is so lonely
for her daddy, who went across with the victorious 8th, now the 370th
Infantry. Each night at prayer this babe asks God to “bring back my
daddy to me”—and each night her mother, Mrs. Helen Nelson, chokes
back a heavy sob and wipes away a mist of tears, for she knows that
baby’s daddy can never return, since she received a dispatch from the
War Department that—but she must not bare the truth to her inno-
cent child, who is looking for daddy with a little heart full of stored
up rapture in vain.
Was True Soldier Type
Baby Nelson's father was Sergt. Elmer E. Nelson of Co. G, of
the old Illinois 8th. At the time of his departure with that regiment,
the Nelson family resided at 3544 Wabash Avenue. Since that time
his family moved to a modest residence at 5020 Federal Street.
Nelson was one of the true soldier type, unfaltering in courage,
and filled with the inspiration of sacrifice. From the days of the bare-
foot boy in knee trousers his ambition was that of a soldier and a
leader. Six years’ enlistment he spent with the 8th, and was a veteran
of the Mexican trouble. His last letter, written to his wife, was
about September 24, in which he said that he was in the trenches, and
was anxious to go “over the top.” Four days later he was killed while
leading his platoon in a charge on the outskirts of Argonne Sector.
Wounded, Urged Men in Fray
Realizing he was mortally wounded, he refused to be moved to a
first aid station in the rear, but by sheer strength he supported his
body on an arm and shouted commands to his men until he was
exhausted. This shining example of endurance, the dispatch reads,
fired the determination of his comrades to take the costly objective.
Dying, he shoved a letter into the hands of a comrade to be delivered
to his wife. This letter Mrs. Nelson received the day the armistice
was signed.
107
HOW KING GEORGE GREETED THE OLD EIGHTH
REGIMIENT
Soldiers of the United States, the people of the
British Isles welcome you on your way to take your
stand beside the armies of many nations now fighting in
the Old World the great battle for human freedom.
The Allies will gain new heart and spirit in your
company. I wish that I could shake the hand of each
one of you and bid you Godspeed on your mission.
KING GEORGE V.
“EIGHTH II, LINOIS MUSTERED OUT”
The 370th Infantry, or the old 8th, was mustered out of service
at Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
“JACK JOHNSON WANTED TO FIGHT”
Jack Johnson, the American pugilist, now in Madrid, wanted to
fight for his country. He wrote the following letter to Capt. E. H.
La Guardia, Representative in Congress from New York:
“After my talk with you it occurred to me to ask you
to use your good offices in my behalf. I am as good an
American as anyone living and naturally I want to do
my bit. I firmly believe I wasn’t fairly treated at home.
“All I ask now is a chance to show my sincerity.
There's no position I would consider too dangerous. I
am willing to fight and die for my own country. I
cannot offer any more.
“Will you kindly make my offer known to the proper
authorities? I am anxiously awaiting a reply.
Capt. La Guardia referred the letter to the adjutant general.
WASHINGTON, D. C., NEW HAVEN, CONN., BOSTON,
MASS., AND THE NINTH OHIO TROOPS
National Guard Units from Washington, D. C., New Haven,
Conn., Boston, Mass., and the 9th Ohio, with a few men from other
parts of the country, made up the 372nd Infantry as part of the 93d
Division. These men were given the name of the “Red Hands” by the
108
French. The name arising from the fact that the 372d captured a
valuable piece of ground called Red Hill. This hill had passed back
and forth between the French and Germans several times, but when it
was taken by the 372d it remained the property of the Allies.
These men fought in practically the same engagements as the
15th New York and 8th Illinois.
One hundred and twenty-four members of the 371st and 372d
Infantry were decorated. Four of whom were awarded the War
Cross.
The Medaille Militaire was awarded to Sergt. Depew Preyor,
Corp. Clifton Morrison, Pvt. Clarence Van Allen and Kenneth Lewis.
The second of whom was killed by hand grenades.
“Leroy Letcher Wounded”
While trying to hold a position in the front line trenches Corp.
Letcher was struck by a German shell. He was badly wounded, and
forced to retire from the lines. However before he was injured he
distinguished himself in many ways and received honorable mention.
RUEBEN BUTILER'S GALLANT DEEDS
Reuben Butler, Company L, 372d Infantry, fought on the
Champagne front. He says that although he was not absolutely
scared stiff he did feel somewhat doubtful of the outcome when he
first entered the front line trenches. Butler's command relieved the
15th N. Y. Infantry. Shortly before they marched to the front, new
canteens of the French model were issued them. The metal of these
was not covered and as the men hiked along, the reflection of the sun's
rays on the canteens could be seen for many yards. Naturally they
made a most excellent mark for the Germans and as a result a num-
ber of Butler’s comrades were killed.
Our hero's position was beside his platoon commander when his
company went over the top. He was carrying the signals. They
had not advanced many yards before the lieutenant fell dead with
eight machine gun bullets in his body. The company was ordered to
lie down. On one side of Butler lay his best friend; on the other
side was his corporal. Both of them were killed. Butler still won-
ders how he escaped.
The company finally rushed the German trenches. The enemy,
realizing they were defeated, arose with upraised hands, crying
“Kamerad kamerad l’” The Americans at once ceased firing. One
109
Sergeant advanced with his squad. He had nearly reached a German
when a Sound of a machine gun was heard. The poor fellow pitched
forward on his face. He had been shot through the legs by a con-
cealed machine gun which the treacherous Hun had operated with
his feet. With a howl of rage the company pushed forward. You
may imagine the rest.
CLEVELAND’S WELCOME TO OLD NINTH
Washington's Birthday, 1919, will go down in the annals of
Cleveland as a most glorious and memorial day for two reasons:
First, the tens of thousands of citizens turned out en masse to greet
the “Old 9th Ohio Battalion,” battle scarred but beaming with smiles,
returning from shell-torn France as heroes of Verdun, Champagne
and the Argonne; secondly, it was the twentieth anniversary of the
return of the same unit from the Spanish American War in 1898.
Early Saturday morning, three hours before the arrival of the two
special trains bearing the 897 heroes, union passenger station and
the hillside overhanging the station was jammed with fathers,
mothers, wives, brothers, sisters, sweethearts and other loved ones
and admirers who were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ohio’s
“fighting 9th.” on the New York Central, which was scheduled to
arrive a little before noon. There were also waiting at the station
the reception committee of citizens of one hundred, with William R.
Conners, secretary of the Negro Welfare Association as chairman,
including Mayor Harry Davis, Harry L. Vail, secretary of the
mayor's war advisory board; Lieutenant Harry E. Davis and many
other prominent citizens; the Soldiers' Aid Girls headed by Miss
Early, the Autumn Leaf Culture Club, representatives of the K. of
P. and other secret organizations and Jackson’s military band of
fifty pieces.
“CLEVELAND BOY HONORABLY MENTIONED”
Silas Davis, 19 years of age, residing at 2248 E. 40th St.,
Cleveland, a member of Company H, 372d Infantry, “Old 9th Bat-
talion” was badly injured while battling the Huns out in No Mans
Land, dying later from his wounds.
Davis enlisted April, 1917, and after a thorough training in the
United States sailed for France.
This boy received honorable mention for his gallantry.
I 10
“RED HAND” HERO
Sergt. Sylvester Meyers, formerly of Lincoln, Ill., upon his
arrival in this country was taken to Plattsburg, N. Y., where he
spent several weeks at the base hospital recuperating from a gun
wound received at the battle front in Italy fighting with a British
unit under the command of Sir Douglas Haig, and under the im-
mediate command of Capt. Louis DeVille. Sergt. Meyers left the
United States with the 372nd Infantry and was transferred with
the first 5,000 men to a British unit who were sent to Italy under
the command of Sir Douglas Haig, at which place he spent four
months, receiving on two occasions severe wounds, the result of
which compelled him to spend twenty-one days in Base Hospital
No. 5, after which he returned to the front and was gassed in
the battle of the Marne.
Sergt. Meyers was sent home for recuperating purposes with
the same convoy of ships in which the Covington was sunk. He
wears a badge of honor presented for meritorious service which
was the killing of ten Germans in a hand-to-hand combat. He
enjoys the distinction of having gone over the top on three
different occasions. He also wears an insignia which denotes that
he accomplished expert service as a rifleman. He expressed him-
self as being highly in accord with the great struggle now in
operation, and hoped to soon regain his health, that he may
speedily return to the scene of action. He looked forward to an
early termination of the war and said that his one desire was to be
numbered among the last soldiers to leave the field of battle.
The sergeant spoke in the highest terms of treatment accorded
him while abroad.
371ST INFANTRY
The 371st Infantry also formed part of the 93rd Division.
This Division consisted of drafted men, mostly from the South,
but there was a scattering of men from different parts of the
country.
Their insignia was also a red hand, as they shared the glory
of capturing Red Hill with the 372nd. A number of boys from
this unit were also given the Croix de Guerre.
365TH INFANTRY
The 365th Infantry were part of the 92nd Division and con-
III
sisted of men mostly from Illinois and Ohio. The 365th were
given the name of the Buffaloes along with the various other units
which made up the 92nd Division.
The 365th Infantry left Camp Grant May 26, last, and sailed
for France June 19. In the fighting in the Vosges in September
and from October 8 to November 11, fighting its way from Pont
a Mousson to within ten kilometers (six miles) of Metz, it lost
62 dead and approximately 550 wounded.
The entire regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the
French for their gallant fighting.
No command was too hard for them to carry out, and they
were always out in front when the opportunity presented itself.
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THE 365TH
INFANTRY
The Chicago boys who made up the 365th Infantry were very
much downhearted when they arrived in New York City aboard
the steamship Olympic.
Many of the men had tear-stained cheeks, and officers of the
regiment charged that they had been “Jim Crowed” and that their
regimental flag, presented to them by Robert S. Abbott, editor
of a Chicago newspaper, at the Lincoln-Douglas celebration in
Chicago on February 12, 1918, prior to their leaving for France,
had been “junked” by an order said to have come from Col.
George H. McMaster (white). One of the officers in commenting
upon the action of the colonel, said:
Officers Ashamed
“We are coming home filled with chagrin and ashamed to
face our friends in Chicago, who presented us with that beautiful
stand of colors. We have no heart to parade, as the regiments that
have gone home before us have done. We would have to march
without a flag, for the only one in the regiment is a little one
Chaplain Robinson carried in his pocket through the nine weeks
we were continuously at the front in Vosges and in the Argonne
fighting. When Gen. Pershing reviewed the troops at LeMans
and commended the 365th for its valorous deeds, ours was the
only regiment which did not have a flag; it had been sent to the
“scrap heap.” A written protest was filed on the ship before it
landed, seeking to have the segregation order rescinded, but Brig.
II2
Gen. Charles Gearhardt, commanding all troops on the Olympic,
turned the committee presenting the petition down flat. He is
a Southerner of the old school.
Locked Out
The door to the main dining room was slammed in the officer's
face when they endeavored to gain entrance. British naval officers
told the men that the commanding officer had instructed them to
bar all men who were not white. The rejected officers were led to a
side dining room, a room set apart from them, but refused to eat.
A round robin was drafted and presented to Brig. Gen Gearhardt,
who paid slight attention to the plea, but said that the order was
not issued as a matter of segregation.
Where Is That Flag?
“There was no segregation on the battlefields of Europe. We
all fought together as Americans through and through, all intent
on bringing victory to the American arms and peace to the entire
world,” said one of the officers to Gearhardt. Every officer who
had been slighted by the commanding officials stated that as soon
as they reached home a concerted effort would be made to deter-
mine who was responsible for the order, and why it was issued.
The regiment was greatly embarrassed as it marched through the
streets of New York. Yells greeted them in this fashion: “Where
is that regimental flag?”
Congressional Probe Asked
Upon learning that the regiment had been stripped of its flag,
prominent Chicagoans flooded Senators and Representatives at
Washington, asking that an investigation be made, and that the
officer who “pulled the bone” be made to suffer. Penalty for such
un-American acts while serving the stars and stripes is a reduction
in rank or a sentence by courtmartial. Senator J. Hamilton Lewis,
Congressmen Martin Madden and William E. Mason, all of
Illinois, have pledged themselves to ask for a Congressional in-
vestigation.
113
CHAPTER VI
Colored Canadian honored by King George. Somalis and South
African negroes good soldiers. Unflinching bravery of Moroccans.
How the colored boys from British West Indies fought. Colored sea-
man hero in U-boat raid. Lieut. James Reese Europe. Corpl. White's
story. Jack Allen's story. Graham's experiences. Battle-scarred Brook-
lyn hero tells of his experiences in France. What the colored boys
did. A negro woman to her adopted soldier boy. Frenchmen from
Africa do their bit nobly. A funny story. More Brooklyn heroes.
Race superiority. How negro officers felt about fighting. Self-
segregation not patriotic.
COLORED CANADIAN DECORATED BY KING GEORGE
In this history you read not only of the American colored soldier,
but also colored troops from every part of the earth.
This chapter tells you all about James Grant of St. Catharines,
Ontario, who as far as is known is the first colored Canadian to be
decorated for bravery by his majesty, King George.
M. J. Gordon, in writing to Grant's parents, recently said:
“It is absolutely impossible for me to give you any particulars,
but we have done some traveling of late. I have seen more of France
and Belgium within the past few weeks than I have seen of the whole of
Canada in comparison. Some day I will be able to tell you all about it.
“I am sitting at present in John Miller's and Tom Bradley's dug-
out. Tom Bradley is acting sergeant major, as Sergt. Maj. Mc-
Laughlin is on leave in England. We have a little quartette in the
battery now, and I am the lead of it. Three other chaps, Bugg, Lee
and Watson, are the other members. We generally divide our boxes
from home up among us, so often I have one when they haven’t and
vice versa, and after each one we have a little sing, and we have some
little quartette, too. When we were on the road traveling we would
strike a town where we would stay overnight and would then strike
out to see if we could find a piano. Watson plays exceptionally well
on the piano, and Bugg is a fine violinist and leading the solos.
“The General”
“Old ‘General’ Grant is an honorary member and goes all around
with us and gets his old bass voice working away at times.
“Long before you get this you will likely know that ‘old Gen.
Grant’ had been decorated with the military medal, and we are all
II.4.
quite proud of him. The story is as follows: The gun of E sub-
section was put out of action when we were in Belgium, and another
gun had to be sent up to replace it. So a six-horse hitch under Col.
Morris and Bombardier Miller, with drivers Buschlem, Lee and
Grant, were detailed to pull a new gun into action through a spot
which was always pretty hot, and it just happened so that the road
was blocked with motor lorrie, blown-up wagons, etc. Fritz was
shelling very heavy, and when they got to the point (a cross-road)
where it seemed like almost suicide to pass, it looked as if they were
stuck as a couple of vehicles were blown up across the road and
there was the smallest kind of space to get through. Corp. Morris
ordered the lead and center teams, driven by Lee and Buschlem, to
unhook and go back to where they would have more cover for the
horses and themselves, as it was utterly impossible for a six-horse
hitch to get through the space. But there was a chance that the
wheel team, driven by “the general,’ might make it, so John Miller
and ‘the general’ stayed with it while Boyce and Morris went to get
assistance to manhandle the gun, if necessary. He returned with-
out any success, as no one would help them or could help them, and
although he had been gone hardly more than ten minutes had hur-
ried right back.
Grant, the Man
“‘Old General’ and John Miller had manhandled the gun through
the small space, and it was quite simple to pull the limber through
with the wheel team and bring the center and lead teams up, limber
up and carry on. Of course, every one of them did as much as the
other, but there was only one to be decorated, and as ‘the General'
had done several little things before this, Corp. Morris, when asked
by the major who he thought the man should be, said ‘Grant.”
“They are going to prepare a big dinner for all of our brigade,
and the boys tell us if it is anything like last Christmas it will be as
good a meal as you can buy in London or Paris.”
SOMALIS AND SOUTH AFRICAN NEGROES
GOOD SOLDIERS
The Somalis and South African negroes have covered them-
selves with glory:
The Somali battalion, recruited in Somaliland, are strict
Mohammedans, never touching wine or alcohol. The Somalis are
115
very independent in character and hard to deal with, but their
French officers are accustomed to these freedom-loving tribesmen,
and by appealing to their pride of race and their self-respect obtain
their devoted obedience. They learn to handle modern infantry
weapons quickly, and excel in grenade-throwing and in rifle and
machine gun practice, for these are men of intelligence and full
of initiative.
Two hundred and sixty-four personal citations for bravery
were won by the negro soldiers of a single Somali battalion since
it landed in France, June, 1916. Of these 190 were gained in the
fierce battles along the Aisne and the remainder in the vicinity
of Verdun.
In South Africa 40,000 negroes were serving in Botha's com-
mand, while in the winter of 1916-17 there were between 6,000
and 7,000 Kafir-Zulus and Basutos laboring in France.
THE UNFLIN CHING BRAVERY OF THE MOROCCANS
The Moroccans, like all French colored troops, wear yellow
khaki instead of the usual horizon-blue uniform. Members of the
Foreign Legion wear the blood-red shoulder braid of the Legion
of Honor. Their division has been four times cited as a unit for
bravery in the field.
But even the spectacular Foreign Legion pales beside the
Moroccan Division:
The French troops which last May barred Von Arnim, the
German general, from debouching from Mt. Kemmel against Mt.
Catz, included the famous Moroccan division which formed a part
of the wonderful Iron Corps brought up from the Nancy region.
Foreign soldiers and Algerian Tirailleurs are brigaded in the
Moroccan division, making it one of the choicest and hardest
fighting units of the Allied arms.
The Moroccan division has seen more fighting than any other
French unit during the war, particularly in Joffre's Champagne
offensive in 1915, and at Verdun where it took part in the desperate
Fleury and Thiaumont attacks which raged for weeks incessantly.
It executed a mammoth raid at Flirey, north of Toul, just
before Americans took over that sector, and afterward supported
the Americans stationed in their rear. At the beginning of Hin-
denburg's offensive last May the Moroccans were shifted north-
west, seconding Chasseurs and Alpine troops, and later were
116
rushed to the north to take part in the struggle for possession
of the ridges guarding Ypres and the channel ports.
HOW THE COLORED BOYS FROM BIRITISH WEST
INPIES FOUGHT
On the morning of the 12th Capt. (temporary Lieut. Col.) F. C.
Bryant, the officer commanding the British forces, landed at Tome
with 57 Europeans, 535 native soldiers, two 2.95 guns and 2,000
carriers. The 12th and 13th were occupied in organizing the base,
and on the 14th the forces advanced inland along the line of railway,
the bridges of which had been broken down by the retreating Ger-
mans to Toglekove, where the wireless installation which had been
erected there had been destroyed. At about 3 p.m. on the 15th touch
was made with the enemy at Lilikove, the bridge over the River Tili
being blown up as the British troops approached. The advance was
delayed by the extremely difficult nature of the country, and Lieut.-
Col. Bryant found it necessary to bivouac at Ekuni, the enemy hav-
ing been driven back. The loss on the British side in this skirmish
was one native soldier killed and one European non-commissioned
officer and two native soldiers wounded. A long train of twenty
vehicles was found wrecked on the railway bridge at Ekuni.
In the meantime a smart little action had been fought by the C
Company of the Gold Coast Regiment under Capt. Potter. At about
4 a.m. on the 15th, when the company was halted close to Ekuni, a
train was heard to pass down the line in the direction of Tsevie.
Steps were taken to block the line near the bridge, and soldiers were
disposed in a position to attack the train as it approached, while the
rest of the company advanced on Agbelufoe Station. Another train
now approached, but succeeded in escaping to the north. Agbelufoe
Station was occupied and Cap. Potter disposed his forces so as to
intercept the enemy's retreat to the northward. Attacks were made
by the enemy during the evening and night, but by this time the
advance of the main British force was making itself felt, and they
fled back to their train and surrendered to Capt. Potter. The number
of the enemy was reliably computed at 200, greatly outnumbering
the British forces opposed to them. Out of 30 Germans with this
force 25 were killed and captured. As a result of this action 30 miles
of the railway to the north of Agbelufoe were captured intact, includ-
ing the important bridge over the River Haho, seven miles north of
Agbelufoe, besides the wrecked train at Ekuni, two engines, one
Maxim gun and a quantity of arms and ammunition.
117
At 7 a.m. on the 16th two European prisoners were brought in,
one of whom proved to be Baron Codelli, the designer of the great
wireless station at Kamina. The advance of the main force towards
Agbelufoe was continued and contact made with the enemy at Gani
Rofe, from which point the road was encumbered by arms, equip-
ment, bicycles, ponies, etc., thrown away and abandoned by the
enemy in their hasty retreat.
From the 16th to the 18th the troops were halted for a rest, but
on the first day strong officers' patrols were pushed up the line to
seize the important bridge of Haho. As the enemy was reported to
be advancing in strength a company of the Gold Coast Regiment was
sent up to reinforce the patrols, which were further strengthened by
a force of 150 Tirailleurs Senegalais under Capt. Castaing, which
came up on the 18th from Anencho. On the same day half of the
C Company was sent on to Adakhe, four miles north of the Haho
bridge. The bridge at Togblekove was repaired and rail-head brought
up to Tilikove, and the telegraph line was restored as far as Agbelufoe.
On the 19th the British advanced guard occupied Nuatja. Mes-
sages were despatched to Capt. Elgee, commanding the Krachi col-
umn, and to Major Maroix, commanding the French column at
Tchetti, instructing them to be within two days’ march of Kamina
on the 26th when the British forces would be at the Ammutschi
River. Ho had been occupied on the 17th by District Supervisor
Saich, with 46 preventive service men, without opposition, and
another column from Gambaga, under Lieut. Grattan-Belleu, was
within a day's march of Sansanne Mango. On the 18th Yendi was
occupied by Captain Marlow and the Northern Territories constabu-
lary, amid enthusiastic demonstrations by the people. The Ger-
mans were thus being surrounded and placed in a hopeless position.
On the 20th the whole of Lieut.-Col. Bryant’s force was concen-
trated about Nuatja, with advanced troops in and in front of Kpe-
dome. Reports having come in that the enemy was strongly en-
trenched at the village of Chra, 400 yards north of the railway bridge
over the Chra River, patrols were pushed forward. These were met
with a hot fire from two Maxims, the enemy blowing up the bridge
and exploding mines on the railway. The most advanced troops got
into touch with the enemy, numbering 60 Europeans and 400 native
soldiers, early on the morning of the 22d, in an entrenched position.
While part of the forces held the enemy in front the two wings were
told to work around the enemy's flank. The French troops, who
were on the right wing, worked right round on to the enemy's left,
and up to within fifteen yards of the trenches, but after fighting with
extraordinary bravery, were compelled to retire with the loss of Lieut.
Guillemari of the Tirailleurs and Lieut. Thompson of the Gold Coast
118
Regiment, who had been placed in command of a company of the
Tirailleurs. After the fight Lieut. Thompson's body was found sur-
rounded by the bodies of a Gold Coast non-commissioned officer and
the sergeant, two corporals and nine privates of the Tirailleurs, who
had died in his defense. Thompson and his brave defenders were
buried on the spot, with Thompson's grave in the center.
The left wing worked its way round the enemy's left flank in
spite of heavy fire, but also had to withdraw from lack of support.
The troops were ordered to entrench themselves for the night, and
at dawn preparations were made to renew the attack, but patrols
brought in the news that the enemy had abandoned the position dur-
ing the night.
The casualties on the British side were two officers and 21 native
soldiers killed and two officers and four native soldiers wounded.
On the German side two Europeans were killed, but their losses were
probably small owing to the strength of their entrenchments.
As the result of the fight was fairly equal on both sides the
enemy's retreat was probably caused by the advance of Maj. Maroix's
column which was threatening Kamina, which the German governor
had been so strictly instructed to defend. A strong French force was
also approaching from the north. Capt. Bouchez, of the 2d Tirail-
leurs Senegalais, with 630 rifles and a body of Mossi warriors under
their own chiefs, had marched 210 miles over inundated country and
under continuous rain in fifteen days and driven the German garri-
son over 400 strong, from Sansanne Mango, 180 deserting to the
French on the second day of their retreat.
The village of Chra was occupied at 8 a. m. on the 23d, and that
and the following day were occupied in evacuating the wounded,
organizing transport and supplies and sending out patrols to feel
for the enemy, who were reported to be rallying.
During the night of the 24th loud explosions were heard in the
direction of Kamina, and on the morning of the 25th the masts of the
wireless station, which had been clearly visible the previous afternoon,
had disappeared. At 10:30 a. m. Glei was occupied, and at 4 p. m.
Maj. von Roben came in under a flag of truce and offered to capitu-
late on terms, if granted the honors of war. It appears that there
had been a good deal of dissension among the Germans gathered at
Kamina, and Maj. von Goring had abandoned his intention to resist
to the last. Lieut. Bryant replied that the Germans were not in a
position to treat and that the surrender must be unconditional.
The next day the Germans accepted the position and surrendered
unconditionally. The Europeans who surrendered numbered 206.
The material included the entire rolling stock with four engines of
116
the Togoland Railway, three Maxim guns, over 1,000 rifles and
320,000 rounds of ammunition and a quantity of native and Euro-
pean stores.
Thus within three weeks, by a campaign brilliantly conducted in
a country admirably adapted for defence by the difficulty of main-
taining communication between the various portions of the attacking
troops, the enemy had been completely defeated and the great wire-
less installation, which was no doubt intended to play a prominent
part in the war, destroyed and communication between Germany and
her African colonies cut off. The hostile attitude of the people of
Togoland had considerable influence in inducing this submission. It
was reported that the clerks in German employ refused to take up
arms against the British, and though many of the natives were com-
pelled to accept arms they speedily deserted, carrying their rifles and
ammunitions with them. All along the line of advance the French
and British troops were welcomed by the people as deliverers. At
Yendi the chiefs and people poured out of the town to meet Capt.
Armitage and his troops and escort him into the town. The King
expressed his desire to be taken under the British protection and to
be reunited with the Dagomba country, of which the Yendi district
ethically forms a part, but which had been cut into two parts by the
delimitation of the British and German territories. A form of treaty to
this effect was signed, but cannot take effect till the conclusion of peace.
A serious charge lies against Maj. von Doring of having used
dum-dum or soft-nosed ammunition, which on impact, expand and
cause wounds of extreme severity. Dr. Claridge, the Senior Medical
Officer with the British field force, states in his report that without
exception all the wounds hitherto treated in the force by the medical
staff have been caused by soft-nosed bullets of large calibre. The
injuries caused by these projectiles are severe, shattering bones and
causing extensive damage to the tissues. This is a breach of the
Hague convention of July, 1899, while the arming of natives not
under control was a breach of the Hague convention of October, 1907.
The attitude of the native peoples under French and British pro-
tection was enthusiastically loyal to the protecting Power. Offers of
assistance came from every part of the British Protectorate of the
Gold Coast Colony and the only difficulty of the British officials was
to temper the enthusiasm of the chiefs and people without hurting
their feelings.
With the full and joyful consent of the people the Gold Coast
Government defrayed the whole cost of the campaign, amounting to.,
pound 60,000 and undertook the cost of administration, pound 3,000
120
REMAINS OF JAMES TURPIN
You will read in this
book of this boy's tragic death.

----- - -
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GAS ALARM
This soldier is sounding a gas alarm. The Germans are shelling the sector
with gas shells.



- -
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-
-
RUINS IN BLEEDING FRANCE
Study this picture carefully. What punishment do you think Germany deserves after
this kind of work.






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MORE MEDAL MEN
These boys also were awarded medals for extraordinary bravery while facing the Huns.


DRAFTED BOYS
These are drafted boys who later helped to make history.

ARRIVAL OF LA FRANCE
Colored boys arriving in New York on board the steamship La France.

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per month, until the fate of the country is finally decided on the con-
clusion of peace.
The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Walter Long,
stated in January of this year, with reference to the captured German
colonies: º
“Let no man think that these territories shall ever return to Ger-
man rule.”
To return Togoland to the Germans would be to surrender to
their vengeance the helpless people who welcomed the invaders, a
vengeance which would be surely wreaked with ruhtless and appall-
ing cruelty in spite of any paper guarantees which might be given.
COLORED SEAMAN IS HERO IN U-BOAT RAID
Enroch Roker, a colored boatswain on board the steamer
Edna, along with other members of the crew, was given ten
minutes to take to the boats when his vessel was stopped in mid-
ocean by a submarine. Roker says it only took them five minutes.
After clearing their own boat they were ordered aboard the
submarine. In relating his experiences Roker says:
“Believe me, that sub was some craft. Guess she must have
been 350 feet long. Had one large conning tower. She had two
six-inch guns, one forward and the other aft. We were ordered
to go below into a small room near the engines. It was terribly
hot, phew ! We found other prisoners from American ships there
when we got there. -
“There must have been seventy-five members of the crew
of the enemy sub. Our sleeping quarters were poor. Every one
was compelled to sleep on his side—so crowded were the bunks.
Eight days of this. We were allowed liberty of the ship in the
rear when running on the surface. Below decks it was stifling
hot. I don’t see how those Germans can stand it. Some of the
sleeping bunks and bedding was lettered ‘U-151.’ The small
steering wheel bore the number. “U-153.’
“That evening at five o’clock we tasted food for the first time.
It was black bread and tea without milk or sugar. We saw lots
of good food around us, but didn’t get the chance to taste any.
It was our stores from the Edna. The Germans enjoyed it, how-
ever. The next morning we were handed out small slices of the
black bread. This time it had some cheap jam on it. Also coffee
129
without sugar. Noon came and we were doled out some beans,
a little potato and a mixture of chopped pork—and what not.
“Aboard the Edna I had two discharges from the English
coast trade ships. Before I stepped foot aboard the sub I destroyed
them. If those Germans had known my status, good night! I
had picked up a few German words while sailing into German
ports years before and I began to get interested in what the crew
were saying. I learned they had sailed from Kiel six weeks ago.
They had been cruising around Cuba, the Bahama Islands and the
West Indies before they were sighted off Cape Hatteras. I over-
heard one sailor tell they were out for a six months’ cruise and
had provisions and supplies for such a visit.
German Crew Talks About Incidents in America
“Many of the crew spoke good English and often talked about
incidents in Baltimore, Philadelphia and other ports. The German
storekeeper had lived in America for eight years. At one time he
had served an enlistment in the United States Navy. Occasionally
we were allowed to go on deck, but when anything was sighted
we got our orders and they were ‘Rause mit un.’
“One night—I can’t remember which—we were ploughing
along on the surface. I was aft of the rear hatch. I could just
see a light about eight or ten miles away. I believed we were in
the vicinity of the New England coast. Perhaps it was a light-
house. When the officer of the sub caught it we were immediately
ordered below. We stayed for a couple of hours. The sub's wire-
less was cracking overhead all the time we were below. We got
chummy with members of the crew. Two of them showed me
photographs of their sweethearts. One of them lives in Phila-
delphia. I saw photographs of two of the members taken with
Iron Crosses pinned to their breasts.
“Sunday morning the chief engineer said: ‘Nigger, rause.
America ga come.’
“By golly, that sounded good to me. Pretty soon from below
we heard the boom-boom. That meant, we learned afterward,
that the Winneconne had been hit. We were then loaded into
two boats with the other members of the Winneconne and set
adrift. Some of the crew shook hands with us and hoped to see
us soon in America. They gave us water and black bread. I have
got a souvenir—a piece of the cork lifebelt from the U-boat. Once
I sat down in the small boat I didn’t even turn my head to see
what became of the sub. I had enough.”
130
LIEUT. JAMES REESE EUROPE
In writing this history it would be hardly fair not to tell you
about Lieut. Reese Europe.
The lieutenant at one time conducted the orchestra on the
Forty-fourth Street Theatre Roof Garden, but when war broke
out the boy felt it his duty to enter the service. This he did,
and there is many a man who was inspired to greater deeds, even
though dead tired, when Lieut. Europe's good old jazz music
struck up.
Mobile, Ala., should be particularly proud of this man, because
part of his boyhood days were spent in this State.
Col. Hayward claims the lieutenant was the best band master
in France.
HERBERT WHITE, OF THE 369TH INFANTRY, FOR-
MERLY THE OLD 15TH NATIONAL GUARD, NEW
YORK, TELLS A FEW OF HIS EXPERIENCES
IN THE WORLD WAR
On April 6, 1917, I enlisted in the old 15th, New York Na-
tional Guard. After my enlistment I was sent to Peekskill, along
with the rest of the men of my regiment for preliminary training.
On May 30 my whole regiment returned to New York. I
was again called for active duty June 5. On July 15 I was called
into the Federal service. On July 16 my regiment entrained for
Camp Whitman, where we were to be made into real soldiers.
After about one and one-half months of hard drilling and
hiking I was pretty well seasoned, as were the rest of the men in
my company. On August 16 the 3rd Battalion of the old 15th
was sent to Camp Dix, N. J., for guard duty, where we relieved
the 2nd New Jersey Infantry. -
After one month of continuous guard duty at Camp Dix we
entrained for Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C., where we
were to take up training for overseas duty.
Our next move was to Camp Mills, Long Island. It was
here that we had our first race differences. We were only at
Camp Mills twenty-four hours when we were moved to different
armories in New York City, where we rested and were equipped
for overseas.
After three different attempts to sail from New York we
finally got under way and arrived in France the latter part of
I31
December. After leaving our ship we entrained for St. Nazaire.
It was at this point that we had our first taste of real laboring
work. We spent about two and one-half months doing all sorts
of laborious detail. We built dams and railroads, and we were
complimented many, many times by the French on our all around
ability.
On March 12 our regiment was brigaded with the 16th French
Division, and in the latter part of March we entrained for Reming-
court. Bayonet drilling, grenade throwing, machine gun opera-
tion and one hundred and one other different things were only
part of the instruction that we received. It was shortly after that
when we turned in our American equipment and were in turn
given French outfits.
On April 20 the 3rd Battalion was ordered to the Champagne
front. All of our boys had smiling faces, because they realized
that they were at last going to show the Germans just what they
were made of. Reaching the third line trenches, a few of the boys
were very nervous, as the Germans had commenced throwing over a
terrible bombardment. On reaching our positions we were
assigned to our dugouts and received one hour rest and we were
then instructed by the French to patrol and protect our sector.
At seven o’clock the same evening we were ordered to take
our positions for the first time in the trenches. The Americans
were instructed by their French comrades when, where and how
to fire upon the enemy and protect themselves when attacked by
the Germans.
A few days passed when my captain asked who would
volunteer to form a platoon of thirty-two men. Three-quarters
of the company were very anxious to join the platoon, and my
captain had to pick the thirty-two men, and I happened to be one
of the lucky ones. At three o'clock in the morning we were
ordered “over the top” for the first time. We were to patrol from
our front line to the German front line and get all the information
and prisoners possible. After five minutes of patrolling we were
discovered by the German sentries and fired upon. The machine
guns started to bark and the only thing we could do was to stick
to the ground. The Germans kept up their firing for about ten
minutes, but none of our men were even struck. We were then
ordered to crawl back to our trenches. But this was a very hard
job, because the Germans about this time started to shell our front
lines. After crawling a little way we went astray. I finally
crawled into a shell hole where I was greeted by a French lieu-
tenant and four of my comrades. There we had to stay until the
182
Germans ceased firing. At about four a. m. it began to rain very
hard and there was a let-up in the shelling. We then crawled
back to our first lines, where we went to our bunks and went to
sleep in our wet and torn clothes. The following day the boys
were highly praised for the work they had accomplished in the
early morning and my battalion was ordered to the reserve line
where we rested for five days.
In the early part of May we were ordered back to the trenches.
For ten days we not only held our position, but made several raids
and secured valuable information. On May 10 the Germans
decided to find our weakness and made a heavy attack on us,
this being the first real attack that my battalion had been in. The
captain ordered every man to his post and shouted, “Boys, you
have got to fight and fight like h–.” After three-quarters of an
hour the enemy withdrew to their position, leaving behind them
many dead and wounded. We were praised very highly by the
French general for our part in the action and we were then relieved
by the first battalion of our regiment. At this point I was taken
sick and sent to the camp hospital, where I stayed for three weeks.
About the middle of May my battalion was ordered to the
Argonne Forest, where they were doing some fierce fighting. Time
after time the Germans bombarded our position and tried to gain
ground, but they failed and lost at each attack. On June 12 the
Prussian Guards made a great and determined attempt to cross
our lines. They threw a terrific barrage but were met with a
strong defense. Every man was at his post until the Germans
finally retired. The machine gunners stuck to their posts and
mowed down the advancing Germans with their guns burning hot
and the ammunition nearly out. After all this action we had not
lost a single foot of ground and there were comparatively few of
our men injured. It was in this battle that many of our boys were
cited for bravery.
On July 14 the Germans made another determined effort to
win the war. This fight was known as the second battle of the
1Marne. About midnight the Germans threw one of the heaviest
bombardments of their four years of warfare. Our third battalion
was ordered to the front lines and the night was terrible. For
miles and miles all you could see was the flash of big guns and
the continuous roar of cannon and bursting of shells. We finally
started for the front, but had an awful time getting under the
German barrage. Shells were bursting all along the roads, killing
men, horses, and blowing up wagons. As we moved toward the
front we could hear nothing but our comrades lying on the ground
133
crying, “Help me, boys.” As the battalion got nearer the front
at the cross-road stood Maj. Spencer directing and encouraging
the boys. Shells were dropping all around him, but he never
moved a muscle. Shells were falling very fast and it was so dark
that the platoons were losing each other. At daybreak shells
were still falling as fast as ever. Nevertheless we reached our
position and, together with our French comrades, we not only
held, but drove the Germans back a few kilometers to Belleouridge,
which the boys held for some time.
Between the latter part of August and the early part of
September our regiment was again ordered out of the trenches
where the battalions went to different little towns for rest. After
a short period of hard training and good rest we were again
ordered to the front. Arriving at Camp Rougone we were re-
placed with several hundred new men as we were then training
for action. The French at that time were preparing for a terrific
drive in which we were to take part. On September 18 we were
ordered to carry ammunition to the front. At eight o'clock we
started on the mission, reaching P. C. Reny two hours later. After
walking about three hours we were checked by the Germans
throwing gas shells. Several men in my platoon were gassed.
For two hours the Huns bombarded the road where we were
working. After a while the bombardment ceased a little and we
continued to work. About this time a shell hit our ammunition
train and tore up everything around it. Two men of my platoon
were killed, and we had to go in a dugout for safety. There we
remained until four o'clock in the morning. This sort of work
we had to do every evening for five days.
On September 23 another call went forth for replacement and
fourteen men of my platoon were sent to different companies. On
September 25 my regiment was in position and in readiness for
the big drive which was to begin at twelve sharp that night.
At twelve sharp the bombardment started. Every gun along
our front opened. There was a continuous roar and bursting of
shells. On September 26, at five a. m., order came for the boys
to go “over the top.” Our first replacement company was ordered
to the front line with ammunition, machine gun strips, grenades
and other explosives. The second replacement company were to
carry “minnie-waffles” and assist the heavy artillery. In my
company, the 3rd replacement, we had different details, such as
carrying wounded, fixing roads and pioneer work. My platoon
was ordered to the front lines to repair torn up roads. The roads
were all torn to pieces and it was necessary to repair them before
134
the artillery moved. We were given shovels, picks and spades
and started to work under heavy shell fire. As we advanced along
the road a terrible air battle was being waged over our heads
and it was necessary for us to take cover in the ditch for one-half
hour, and the result was the falling of two German planes. We
had only resumed work about five minutes when a German air-
plane flew over us, at the same time turning his machine gun
loose. We again had to take to cover, but did not lose a man.
As we set to work again to repair the road there was a thick
passing of cavalry in the midst of which a shell burst, killing eight
horses, which meant another hard job. The roads had to be
cleaned up within a few minutes, for the boys advanced fast and
the artillery had to move up. I sent to the rear for more men to
strengthen my platoon. We then dragged torn up horses and our
dead comrades to the side of the road. As the artillery advanced
the bridge over which they were to pass was blown up, and with
our French comrades, we immediately rebuilt it. However, we
worked very fast and the artillery was soon able to pass on. We
were then called on to help the stretcher bearers. This was
where I got the worst feeling in my life. As we marched across
the recaptured ground all we could see was wounded and dead.
Men with their legs torn off and heads crushed in could be seen
and heard crying for help. We lost many a man for the want of
medical attention, and while bringing the wounded to the rear we
were passed by another colored regiment. We returned to the
front and were ordered by a French soldier to go back quickly.
Not paying any attention to him, we went to the left of the other
outfit.
After moving from our positions a shell fell in the midst of
another platoon which was advancing and killed all except one
sergeant and three privates. At this point our men were crying
for food. We had no water and no bread. The men were roaming
around looking for food. We finally met some French comrades
with some captured bulls and German bread. We asked our
comrades for a piece of bread, as we were hungry. With a smile
they handed us some, and then asked us to follow them to their
dugouts. We then knocked one bull in the head with a hammer,
killed, skinned and cooked him. It was here that we got our first
meal during the whole drive. We boys were now at the famous
piece of ground known as “Snake Hill.” This is the hill that the
French had been trying to hold for years. Our boys did the job
in one day. As the boys advanced over “Snake Hill,” losing many
and capturing hundreds of prisoners and machine guns, I lost
I35
two of my pals, Frank Demsy, a comedian, and William Stout,
a comedian and boxer, and it was here that Maj. Spencer was
seriously wounded.
It was about this time that we got our first taste of liquid
fire. The Germans started throwing it over, and the fire crawled
to a nearby hill, striking a mine, and destroying everything around
it. Shortly after this, we were relieved and sent to different towns
for a good clean-up and rest. Of course there had been heavy
losses of men in our regiment and a call went out for replacement.
In transferring the men, I was attached to Company “K.” At that
time, this battalion was camping in the open field with no tents
or shelter. It was raining very hard, and of course our clothes
were soaked. Nevertheless, we slept right out on the wet ground.
A few days later, we were ordered to Alsace. Arriving in
Bellfore, we were taken in trucks to the town of Alsace and from
there again started for the trenches in the mountains. It was
while en route that I was again taken sick. I appealed to my ser-
geant, but he was unable to help me. After three miles of walking
in the mountains, I became very weak and when our company
stopped for rest, I could not get up. I was lying there until two
French comrades brought me to the hospital. There I was treated
for the grippe and rheumatism, and later they found out that I was
suffering from a heavy attack of gas. After three weeks of treat-
ment, I was sent to the classification camp. It was shortly after
this that the armistice was signed and oh! how happy the boys
Were.
In the course of time my regiment did guard duty in the
Rhine district. Our next move was to entrain for Lemans. We
were there one week, cleaning up and getting rid of the cooties.
A day before we left Lemans, my battalion was called for dress
parade. As we marched along the field and lined up in company
formation, we were called to attention. Not knowing what was
going to happen, my captain, some non-commissioned officers and
myself were called to the front of the battalion. It was then that
I was cited for bravery in the Champagne drive.
On the 2nd of February, we were bound for the good old
U. S. A. on the La France and landed in New York, February 9th.
After our parade we were mustered out of service at Camp Upton.
CORPORAL HERBERT W. WHITE,
2 West 137th St., New York City,
Co. I, 369th Infantry, formerly the old 15th N. Y. N. G.
I36
JACK ALLEN'S STORY
While working at No. 1038 Fifth Avenue, New York City, I read
about the Germans’ progress in sinking our ships and their barbar-
ous treatment to the innocent people of France and Belgium. I
thought that the good old U. S. A. would not tolerate such tactics
and that sooner or later war would be declared. With this in my
mind, I decided to enlist, which I did a day before the Declaration of
War. It is a well known fact, that when the United States entered
the war, there were people who claimed that the colored troops
would never rally to the colors the way the whites did. But this
dope was all wrong, and as a matter of fact some of the greatest
and best fighting that was done in France was carried on by the col-
ored men. Most every regiment of colored boys who fought were
given some sort of a medal for their valor, and the courageous man-
ner in which they fought has proved beyond a doubt that the black
man is no slacker when it comes to defending his country and flag.
We went through all sorts of hardships and were given many
insults by the officers who cast aside the rules and regulations of the
U. S. A. Nevertheless, we have proven beyond doubt that we can
be depended on in any crisis, and no matter how great the danger we
are always ready to take our chance with every other true American
in wars' gamble. Our race has helped to make history and we were
glad of the opportunity.
PRI. JACK ALLEN,
Machine Gun Company,
359th Infantry.
GRAHAM’S EXPERIENCES
I was working as a shipping clerk at 1667 Broadway, New York,
when I heard that the old 15th New York was looking for new mem-
bers. Being a lover of Democracy and Liberty, I decided to join the
organization at once. This I did June 2, 1917.
After my enlistment I was sent along with the regiment to
Camp Whitman to be Federalized. From this camp we were sent
to several other camps to do guard duty and to train for Over Seas
Service.
On November 12th, I sailed for France. After two days’ sail-
ing, our ship met with an accident which caused us to return back
to Hoboken, where we entrained for Camp Merritt. After ten days
in camp, I was taken ill and sent to the hospital. Here I spent nine
137
weary days because I realized that my regiment had already sailed for
Over Seas. Leaving the hospital December 15th and being too late
to rejoin my regiment, I was sent to Camp Merritt to a casual com-
pany, and was placed in charge of the 16th casuals. After a week or
more of continuous routine, I was given one day's rest for Christ-
mas. While we were eating our Christmas dinner, one of our
Southern officers called the boys to attention and announced, “There
are some packages for you darkies and don’t A. N. touch them until
I give the orders.” I approached the officer and told him in a mili-
tary manner that there were no “N’s” in the company, and for tell-
ing him this I was given extra work the next day.
On January 13, 1918, I went aboard the “Agamemnon” to sail
for France, and after arriving there, I was put to work along with
my comrades cleaning up the camp. Of course, we all know that
there is no such thing as discrimination in army life, black and white
being treated equally alike. But then, on every occasion that pre-
sented itself, the southern crackers took occasion to make us feel
that we were not on the same par.
One day while standing in line waiting to get some candy and
cakes from the canteen, we were ordered by one of the southern
guards on duty to move back and let his friends in first. Of course,
there was some objection to the obedience of this command, and
without another word the guard drew his gun and said, “You N. S.,
move to the rear.” Sergt. White, who was in the same detail with
myself, with a quick movement took the gun from the guard. We
were then warned by a dozen or more of the guard’s comrades to
get to h out of there. After Sergt. White had unloaded the
guard’s gun and returned it to him, we got out of the line. Down-
hearted and disgusted, Sergt. White and myself looked at each other
with tears in our eyes. A captain by the name of Robinson asked us
what was wrong, and I told him. After hearing my story, he told
me to leave it to him. The captain then told our troubles to the
colonel of the ship from whom he received orders to put the sentry
in the brig for the remainder of the trip.
Day after day, Capt. Robinson put us in a position where we
were treated like soldiers should be treated. We had plenty to eat
and enough sleep, and enjoyed ourselves as the rest of the men on
board the ship did.
On January 23d, we entrained for Bloise, and believe me, it was
some ride. We were placed in a small box car holding 48 men.
Nevertheless, there were more than this number crowded in the same
car. The weather was extremely cold, and you can imagine the
hardships we went through. Open cars, and no place to lie down
138
and not permitted to make a fire. Our rations consisted in part
of a small portion of corned beef. At that time, the Germans were
poisoning the water all along the line, and we were not permitted
to drink in any of the towns at which we stopped.
Arriving at Bloise, three nights later, I was sent to a casual
company. A few days later, my company was ordered to do engi-
neer work. We were at this detail for three weeks. In the mean-
time, a few of the officers violated every army regulation with
their insults to us. I tired of this sort of treatment, and asked
one of my superior officers if I could not be sent to my outfit.
Even after I made this request, I was detained two weeks longer.
About the early part of March, I was sent to our regiment
which was doing labor work in St. Nazaire. I stayed with the
outfit one week. About the 20th of March, I rejoined my com-
pany at Remicourt where we all underwent intensive training for
duty in the trenches. It was here that we exchanged our Ameri-
can equipment for that of the French.
On April 20th, our company went to the trenches for the first
time. I was very happy, but shaky. After engaging in many
thrilling patrols, raids, and in the September drive, I was taken
ill and sent to the hospital in the town of Marns, where I received
much needed treatment. I was restored to my former health
through the careful nursing of the girls who treated everybody
alike and under the watchful influence of officers who felt that we
were all created equal and men who lived up to the spirit and
rules of the U. S. Army.
Upon my discharge, I was sent to La Marne, where my regi-
ment was preparing to return to the good old U. S. A. While in
this camp, the conveniences were not all that a New York hotel
would offer. We had mud and water aplenty and there was
many and many a night that we worked from sunset to dawn, and
to stand in line from one to one and one-half hours for something
to eat was a common occurrence. Of course, I realized that this
part of our experience was part of the soldier's life. But then I
do say that some of the officers with our forces used very little
consideration.
Finally my regiment received sailing orders and we left France
February 2nd, landing in New York February 7th. Arriving in
New York, we were sent to Camp Upton where we were mustered
out of service. With all the hardships we went through the abuse
we received, we are still true Americans and love our country and
flag.
139
Were another war to break out tomorrow, we would again
be ready to defend our country with our life.
JOHN GRAHAM,
Company “K,” 369th Infantry, formerly the old 15th,
New York Nat’l Guard.
BATTLE-SCARRED BROOKLYN HERO TELLS OF HIS
EXPERIENCES IN FRANCE
Like a great many of my military pals, I received my first
training at Peekskill, New York. Army life at first was very
hard for me, but after three four days of good hard work, I
was thoroughly acclimated. Of course, while training in Peeks-
kill, we were in reality a state organization, but there was so
much war spirit in the air that we realy felt that we were full-
fledged soldiers and not mere rookies.
After our training at Peekskill, we came back to New York
and were not called into service again until August, 1917. We
then went to Camp Whitman where we had some real, honest-to-
goodness training and manoeuvering.
After a time, my battalion was called to Camp Upton, Long
Island, to do guard duty. When we arrived at Camp Upton, we
found that the camp was not as yet built up, the roads still being
uncut in many places and the so-called Main Street knee deep with
mud. In addition to this, there were millions of mosquitoes and
it was necessary for us to wear mosquito net masks while doing
guard duty. There were times when you could take your hands
and wipe them across your mask and get a handful of mosquitoes.
All this was very uncomfortable, but then it was part of the sol-
dier's life. While at Upton, we had to contend with all sorts of dis-
turbances, such as riots, fights; and forest fires were not an
uncommon occurrence. Our work consisted of general policing.
After leaving Camp Upton, we went to Spartansburg, and to
show you the various climates, I might mention that when you
went to bed at night, the thermometer would be between 65 and
70 degrees, and when you woke up in the morning, you would be
glad to put your overcoat on and wear it until the middle of the
day. g
After leaving Spartansburg, we came to New York presum-
ably to embark for France, but through some sort of misunder-
standing, our plans went astray and my battalion was sent to
Van Cortlandt Park where we were stationed for ten days.
140
Our next move was to the Armory where we were again pre-
pared to sail. I will never forget the day of our expected departure
for France. We were taken in automobile buses down to the
foot of East 99th St., where we went aboard the steamer Repub-
lic. Very few people knew that we were going by that route
because there were not many of our folks there to bid us “Good-
bye.” The Republic steamed around to the Hoboken pier and
we went aboard our ship, the Pocahontas, formerly the Princess
Irene, a German passenger liner.
As you have no doubt read in some of the other boys' stories
about the different attempts we made at sailing before we finally
got away, I will not go into this part of my experience.
However, we finally arrived at Brest, December 27th. We
were then taken from our boat to a small English boat, and when
I tell you that we were packed on board just like sardines, you
can take my word for it, I will never forget my experience in
disembarking. In going down the gang plank, we only had one
rope to hold on to, and with the ice, sleet, and our heavy packs,
it was pretty hard manoeuvering. From Brest we were taken
aboard box cars which were marked eight horses and forty men
and given rations of hard tack, jam, and tomatoes, which was
supposed to last us through the trip.
We arrived at St. Nazaire about four o’clock. The next morn-
ing arriving at the camp, we were lined up and given hot coffee
and then assigned to our billets with no beds or stoves, and to
make matters worse we were not allowed to make a fire. How-
ever, an official order came to our rescue in the form of a call
to arms. We were taken out into the drilling field and marched up
and down for about three hours. This helped to get our blood
in circulation, and as a matter of fact it warmed us up so that
we were prepared for almost anything. While at St. Nazaire we
had considerable labor work to do, such as building dams and
railroads, etc. One week before leaving St. Nazaire, we were
taken off this sort of work and told to get ourselves in readiness
to become soldiers again. This we did with much zest.
Just before leaving, we were told that we were going to be
brigaded with the French. We left St. Nazaire at 6:00 in the
evening in three sections, one battalion to a section. We were
put on a train which was the first decent train we had ever been
in while in France, and still that train was what the people called
third-class accommodation. We rode for three days, and our food
consisted of jam, cold beans, tomatoes and hard tack. We dis-
embarked at a place called Givery Argonne. The regiment was
14]
here split up, the 2d battalion going to St. Marns, the 1st to
Norlew, and the 3rd to Remingcourt, the men being billeted in
houses throughout the town. It was at this point that we were
given a thorough schooling in the French system of training. After
two or three more moves, we took our places in the trenches. The
Germans in the meantime kept shelling us with gas, but we were
very fortunate in having very few losses.
About the middle of July, the Germans started one of their great
offensives. They gave us everything they had in the hardware
line, and it was said that this was one of the greatest drives ever
attempted. After the first surprise, the boys stuck to their posi-
tions like veterans. The sky was lit up for miles and miles from
the shell fire. - Even the veteran troops of the French Army and
the Moroccans could not have shown any greater fighting spirit.
When the order came to move up, our troops advanced with a zest
that equalled the best fighting men in France.
After these experiences in the trenches, I was detailed to what
is known in the French Army as the “Train-de-combat.” This is a
little unit of the regiment that you never hear much about, but
one in which men very often work all day and even all night.
You have to do all sorts of work, such as carrying food, ammuni-
tion and clothing to the boys in the front line trenches even
though the roads were under heavy shell and gas attack. Nothing
must hinder your work, because it is necessary for the men up
front to have food and ammunition. I have seen men and horses
blown right from their wagons. I must make mention of the
Moroccan Cavalry and their chaired back saddles. I think they
are one of the greatest and bravest fighting troops that I have
ever come in contact with. Their one belief is that in going to
their death, is going to Heaven, and that is one reason of their
recklessness in fighting the enemy. Although we boys did not
share this belief, altogether, we were not far behind the Moroc-
cans when it came to fighting.
My next move was to get caught in a bombardment while
working on an ammunition train. I saw men and beasts alike
blown hundreds of feet in the air by the exploding shells, but
fortunately I came through the whole thing without a scratch.
Of course, we had to call for replacements time and time again
and I am mighty proud to be able to say that every man was
ready to take his turn no matter how great the danger. Next we
were sent to the trenches in the mountains.
Of course I was in several engagements up to the time the
armistice was signed, but none of them equalled in violence those
142
which I went through during my first few months’ stay in France.
Just about the time the armistice was to be signed, we were getting
ready to take ammunition, gas masks and supplies to our comrades
up in the front lines. Of course it is a well-known fact that after
the armistice was signed, the 369th Infantry, formerly the old 15th,
New York, was one of the first regiments to occupy territory on
the Rhine. Our stay in the Rhine district was comparatively
short because we were ordered back to Brest to embark for home
WaterS.
SERGT. G. J. WILLIAMS,
461 Carlton Ave., Brooklyn, New York,
Company A, 369th Infantry, U. S. A.
143
CHAPTER VII
What the colored boys did during spare moments in camp. A
negro woman to her adopted soldier boy. Frenchmen from Africa do
their bit nobly. Race superiority. More Brooklyn heroes. A funny story.
How negro officer felt about fighting. Self-segregation not patriotic.
“WHAT THE COLORED BOYS DID DURING THEIR
SPARE MOMENTS WHILE IN CAMP”
Yes, of course, it was remarkable—so remarkable, so unusual, so
distinctive that, might you have sat as censor over the outbound mail
of the soldiers at Camp Sherman, Uncle Sam's monster cantonment
near Chillicothe, you’d have found a thousand soldiers, without a doubt,
enthusing wildly as to it, and hoping that the good Y workers who had
the affair in charge would see fit to repeat it again and again.
It—to read the announcement in cold type—might not have at-
tracted more than passing notice.
“A minstrel show was staged at the big Auditorium at Camp Sher-
man by members of the –th and —th and certain other regiments,”
the press dispatch no doubt said.
A minstrel show, given at an army camp, where all manner of
sane and wholesome performances are now being given, either free or
at ridiculously low cost, just to cover or near cover expenses, is hardly
a matter of note. But in the giving of this particular minstrel show
there went the talent of actual colored men throughout, colored men
who were renowned for their wit, their song, their skill with instru-
ments—colored men who were college men, no few ; negroes who were
glad of the chance to show a thousand of their white colleagues-at-
arms what the race redeemed to freedom a half century before was now
able to do in the cause of maintaining this world liberty.
Behind the mustering that talent, the drilling in rehearsal to round
out the whole, there lies a wholesome tale—a tale filled with hints to
workers for the soldiers otherwheres, and a story that gives its lesson
of what the Y men are doing for the colored troops and what, in turn,
these troops will do.
At Camp Sherman, to begin at the beginnings of the tale, there is
an entire Y. M. C. A. building—“hut” is the word they apply to these,
though they are far from “huts” this side of the seas, indeed—devoted
to the colored soldiers.
144
This colored Y. M. C. A. unit comes in for its full share of what-
soever the others receive, and rest assured the bounty is a plenteous
OIIC.
Keeping 'Em in Good Spirits
Possibly as great a phase as any of it, in maintaining the contentment
of the solders, keeping them in good spirits in playtime hours, keeping
them from that bane of all camp commanders—the homesickness—is
the work of the entertainment committee of the “Y.” This committtee
divides its labors into three distinct sorts, each, then, with special eye
to individual needs of the audience served. To develop the talent
already in the camp is its first and perhaps most important phase. It
is here that the colored soldiers will come to the fore, providing enter-
tainment not for themselves alone, but for the entire cantonment.
Again, motion pictures are arranged for all parts of the big en-
campment.
Then, thirdly, outside talent is brought in.
To get the material for the programs built by the first of these has
been no easy matter. The untiring Y workers assigned the especial task
go through the companies, search over the regiments, and pick out all
talent they may learn of. It isn't easy to get wind of these things; men
are naturally modest, even about volunteering here; men will perhaps
hesitate to perform in public, especially if they know officers will be
in the audience gathered around, and particularly where they know
that their audience will be with them for months and months, and
so any slip-up won’t be forgotten overnight.
However, when the Y workers among the colored regiments, step-
ping across the barrack room, happen to hear William whistling an old
Kentucky lullaby, busy at kitchen police, singing in full rich minor keys,
“Way Down Upon the Suwanee River,” they linger and loiter and en-
joy, and then show the two happy soldiers that to keep such talent from
the other Sammies is selfish and not at all “doing one's bit” to the full.
So, again, when a colored soldier sends home for his mandolin or banjo
for whiling away the evenings on the company street or near quarters,
it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to know that that man loves music
and so find what he does best with these. And so with the other
acquirements of the black soldiers.
This talent, squarely picked, is filed in a list that is carefully carded
and organized. º
From that list then is drawn what variety is required for any
stated program, but especially for the minstrel shows. The black regi-
ments are especially in demand at such time, for the colored Sammie is
a happy, joy-loving soul, and he does know how to entertain, not only
145
his own regiment, his own race, but if any part of the camp wants enter-
tainment it calls on the Y and the Y calls on these men. If any interest
in the towns nearby wants an entertainment to raise funds for certain
war ends, rest asssured that the Y can supply and please them all.
Nor is it always only minstrel shows—not by a very, very great
deal.
Give Operas and Class Plays
Out of the talent in the monster cantonment the Y. M. C. A. at
Camp Sherman has given operas, middle class plays, such things as,
say vaudeville sketches—that is, monologues, quartettes, and the like.
And if the colored soldier isn't on the program he is part of the
audience, if open to soldiers at all. When the school of the line gives
a smoker for company funds the Y will draw from this talent for
variant to the chit-chat; if a negro regiment entertains it does the same.
But, to re-emphasize, aside from doing their own share in providing
entertainment, these colored soldiers have “open sesame” to some
splendid entertainments provided through the Y’s themselves.
Men who have played on the big vaudeville circuits are far from
rare here. Pat Stromberg and Callahan Brothers, notable contortion-
ists, all have appeared.
Meanwhile, the Y. M. C. A. men are delving deeper, further. They
are searching out that home talent to finer degrees still for overseas
service or shipboard besides.
When Sammie gets “over there”—as he's so eager to do—the good
French folk will do what they can for him; but customs and enter-
tainments vary with countries, and so Sammie won't at all mind being
entertained Évery so often by Americans, entertaining in American
ways. “Over there” there may be movies, but not so many with
American subjects; “over there” there may be jesting actors, but the
wit is of a different type.
No Cause for Worry
But Sammie, white or colored, need not worry. Although the
work is just in its infancy, the Y. M. C. A. has made such strides at it
that it is already taking great proportions, and the soldiers can put on
their own “shows” be they where-so-e'er. Company commanders,
realizing the worth of recreation to their men, are advising of talent in
their midst, and this helps much where men are too modest to volunteer.
One of these evenings drop in, if you may, at the entertainment the
colored privates may be holding there at Sherman, or possibly for some
organization to war purposes near. Maybe it's vaudeville, maybe it’s
146
a minstrel show; in either case watch for a certain quartette there.
There's a tenor who is worth going far to hear.
Drop in at the mess hall—perhaps in the squad room—and, proper
hours, other entertainment is on. Some time ago the “school of the
line” gave a dance in Chillicothe for which the Y put on a “bones”
performance in intermission. The thing was such a stupendous suc-
cess that when, shortly after, a full-fledged minstrel show was given at
the camp auditorium every seat was occupied, and many others wishing
simply couldn’t get into the house. º
Interesting features, born of military regulation, attend these
performances, none the less. The men must, of course, be returned by
10:30, and so performances here do not await more fashionable civilian
hours, but start at 6:30 or at latest 7:00 o'clock.
And the variety of good things open to the white man and the
black man who care just to come in and enjoy them | Every one of
the Y buildings has its own talent, puts on performances open to all
comers again and again. Just the big “sings,” as they're known—they
are most delightful.
Again, twice a week, in each building, there are motion pictures.
These “movies” are billed from building to building; things here are
advertised as where competition might be most keen. Only down at
heart Sammie knows this long, long time that, in addition to what the
individual Y. M. C. A. “hut” of his sector may be providing, there is
also “something doing” for him at the big auditorium every night.
At the camp, too, these sometimes aren't allowed to lose their
interest because of using that home talent, excellent though it is, alone.
In addition the Y. M. C. A. has provided for introduction of no end
of outside talent.
Sunday Afternoons
Sunday afternoons, for example, two performances at least by
outsiders are billed for the auditorium. Sunday night there's a “sing”
and lecture. Special occasions they may vary on this; for example, at
Christmas, in view of the big community “sing,” under other auspices
than the Y’s, the latter arranged its plans as not to compete.
The outside talent is showing, if nothing else did, how the heart of
the nation is with Sammie, and there is nothing it won't do for him.
Great enterprises send entire troupes down there, they paying all ex-
penses. Already the camp is hardly a three-month-old in its real
magnitude; that is to say; and already they have had over $4,000 worth
of outside entertainment absolutely free of charge. One great vaude-
ville circuit—Editor Keith's—sent twenty-two acts in all, and the
I47
Y. M. C. A. records show 25,000 men in different auditoriums came
to see them.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has already been twice to
Camp Sherman; prices are made to simply cover exact minimum costs
of the trip.
Giant basketball games to determine championships, notable boxing
contests, are held that Sam may enjoy.
Where Sammie goes he is looked after, even when away out on
the range. There, on the artillery ranges, two tents are provided the
Y workers, that these may go about with the men. They not alone
look after little practical needs of Sam, but they cheer him up, fill him
with enthusiasm, “pep”—make him enjoy soldiering and feel the real
lure and “thrill of it” that he does in the big work of peace time at
home.
Results
And Sammie—well, he does feel results—quickly, keenly, and he
does come to anticipate them, look forward to them.
Drop in at Camp Sherman, and the soldier you know, be he black
man or white, is apt to suggest very first thing:
“Let’s go down and see what's on next at the Y.”
He wants you to stay, to attend, to enjoy with him. He knows
it's a performance which is a treat. He knows that not alone he, but
you, will never have an evening filled to brim the more fully with some-
thing so much the worth while. He-but go forth yourself and be
witness.
Go when you will, where you will, at the big cantonment, and we
are willing to guarantee that you'll return finding the soldiers con-
tented, happy, eager for the day's work—and eager, too, for play hours,
not because of wanting to be shut off the soldiering, but because of
very pardonable eagerness for the rise of curtain on the evening's
program down at the Y.
A NEGRO WOMAN TO HER ADOPTED SOLDIER BOY
FLORENCE LEWIS BENTLEY
My dear Soldier:
The post-card telling of your safe arrival on the other side came
to me this morning, and the great relief which I feel measures the
anxiety I had concerning your safe transfer. A friend said to me,
“If the welfare of this boy whom you have never seen effects you
I 48
so greatly, how would it be if he were your real son?” When I
answered that I could not feel more keenly if you were, in fact, the
child of my body, of course, there were arguments to show I was
mistaken. But you and I can afford to smile at such misapprehension.
We, who have established a real kinship of the spirit—whose souls
have met in an union which transcends that of flesh and blood—we
two have a sweet knowledge not shared by many. Since our cor-
respondence I have clearly realized that the travail of the body is not
the keenest experience in producing life. The awakening of a young
soul far transcends the material quickening so dear to the material
mother. And I have seen your soul take life. This is our sweet secret
now—but one of these days all men will know that spirit, not matter,
is the true substance, and this very war, of which you are a part, is
going to help along that day of clear vision. Such is my hope.
Our friend, on the very day of her return from Newport News,
brought to me your last letter. You were very right not to send it by
mail because, of course, much would have been censored.
I am very sorry that you had not left the country before you had
heard of that terrible lynching, and of that humiliating order to the
Soldiers, in a western camp, to submit tamely to personal insult, from
which the uniform of their country was powerless to protect them.
You would be half a man if you did not feel the infamy of it all—
if you did not feel the need to renew your grip upon your loyalty so
sharply assailed by such dire happenings.
Now, my dear, dear boy, we have been all over this ground—
have we not? And we have tried to place these American atrocities
in their true relation to the Great World Upheaval. You say you read
my letters all over again in order to quiet your thought and get a
hold on yourself. I feel grateful for that. I send this one to empha-
size all I have said, and to which you have assented. You do not “go
over seas to risk your life in the defence of a country which crucifies
your brothers and denies you the ordinary rights of citizenship.” You
go to help to protect from disaster the idea for which this country
stands—that idea which, though maltreated and defaced by imperfect
men, must ultimately be made manifest in all its glorious reality as
Universal Freedom. Men call it Democracy, but it is really the King-
dom of Brotherhood whose basic law is love.
Get away from personality as much as possible. Don’t look on
yourself merely as a negro soldier, but see yourself a factor in a
Magnificent Emprise, than which this old world has never known a
greater. Enlarge the units of your thought. Cease thinking in per-
sons, in races, in cities and countries. Think in worlds. Then you
get hold of the principle which underlies all this upheaval, and whose
149
control reaches from little you and me up to the skies. It is only by
seeing largely that you can act greatly.
After much thought I have come to the conclusion that the negro
soldier of America is the most heroic figure in this whole war. He
must be super-man, for the endurance of mere man has a human limit.
There are negroes from other parts of the world doing tremendous
things in Europe, and they with their white comrades are spurred on
and strengthened by the admiration and loyal affection of their respec-
tive countrymen. It seems that the American negro soldier alone must
do without this warm stimulus of a country's undivided love. He
must cut his way through to attainment, leaning on nothing but a sense
of duty, the passionate loyalty of his own little race group, and a re-
liance on God. He gives magnificently and receives what seems a
reluctant dole. Well, dear son, let us face that stern fact, for we
know that out of such stuff God makes his Great Ones, and we also
know that in the inevitable summing up of things that same impartial
God bestows rewards—and also punishment.
Let me repeat what I have so often written, my dear soldier.
Your courage and strength are unassailable as long as you keep your
vision. Heads up and eyes straight forward is required spiritually as
well as physically in a true soldier. Let no happening distract you
from the great thing to which you are called. When you have wiped
out error in one shape, other forms of it will fade away. Such is the
contagion of good. Try to make those friends of yours get this higher
view and you will be helping them to a greater happiness and a higher
manhood º
Because you wanted it, I am sorry that I had no photograph to
send you before you left, but after all “the painted semblance” is no
loss, dear, if you carry my spirit with you. Etch upon your heart,
my dear soldier, the ideas, the hopes, the aspirations and—yes—the
warm love I have tried to convey to you, and you will have a picture
of the real me which no accident of war or any other thing can ever
take from you. We will meet some happy day, we both believe, but if
you are to make the supreme sacrifice you will always live for me in
your beautiful spiritual reality. I will see you always as the gallant,
brave, devoted soul who went—not because of draft or other compul-
sion—but willingly, knowingly and joyously to help free the world
from error. I will remember that in so doing he laid his dear life,
to rescue even those who “despitefully used him and persecuted” him.
“Greater love hath no man than this,” and in this way, dear son of
my heart, you would be following the great example.
I kiss your cheek, Faithfully,
MOTHER.
150
FRENCHMEN FROM AFRICA Do THEIR BIT Nobly
The “Joyeux” did marvelous fighting on the French front. Their
motto is, “To the last man if necessary.”
They electrified the entire sector when on May 27 the Germans
attempted to storm their defenses. Although the enemy attacked in
vastly superior numbers, the “Joyeux,” fighting desperately, with entire
disregard to numbers, held their ground and every yard of the line
of barbed wire entanglement fronting the French trenches was orna-
mented with dead Germans.
Some of the enemy elements which succeeded in penetrating the
trenches were slaughtered with bayonets and grenades. Supreme abne-
gation was shown by the war-hardened “Joyeux,” who checked the
powerful German assaults. The line of trenches was firmly held and
communication was kept open between the various defending elements.
In Heroic Night March
On the night of May 28 the First battalion of the Chasseurs
d’Afrique fell back in an orderly manner, having fulfilled the mission
intrusted to it and picking up the equally weary elements of the Third
battalion, which had struggled no less gloriously. After an all-night
march of twenty kilometers (twelve miles) they arrived at their desti-
nation without abandoning any material, the machine gunners carrying
their pieces on their backs. Several of the “Joyeux” spoke to me
of this moving night march with heroic simplicity.
“We were counted and reconstituted,” said one of them. “About
midnight of May 29, without taking time for repose, we again went to
the front. One June 1 we launched an attack, making a formidable
charge, which caused the boches to renounce their attempt to advance.”
Multiplied acts of heroism were performed by these men. One
of the battalions taking part in the action was composed of very young
chaps who had arrived on the French battlefields as late as Jan. 3 last,
after distinguishing itself in Morocco by its ardor and endurance. The
esprit animating from this battalion is very chivalrous.
Recover Body of Commander
Four “Joyeux” in the night of May 28 saw their company com-
mander, Lieutenant Marechal, fall in a boyaux, pierced by enemy bul-
lets. Not wishing to lose the body of their chief, the valiant four
resisted the Germans with grenades, holding them at bay. After they
had recovered the body the same four “Joyeux” carried it all the way
during the terrible, back-breaking twenty kilometer retreat. On the
morning of May 29, although harassed by fatigue and lack of sleep,
I 51
they organized a short funeral service, glorifying the officer who had
fallen at their head.
On June 1 the same battalion, supported by two companies of
other battalions, after being almost submerged by the German waves,
threw itself, the officers leading with drawn revolvers, into a hand-to-
hand encounter with the Germans, who fell back in disorder, abandon-
ing their field and machine guns.
“Frenchmen from Africa”
The Germans have applied the common name of “Frenchmen from
Africa” for the soldiers of all the French regiments which in time of
peace served in Africa, including legionnaires, zouaves, “Joyeux,” colo-
nials, mitrailleurs—Arab and black sharpshooters recruited in north-
ern Africa—Spahis and African chasseurs. These corps are especially
feared by the enemy and form one of the firmest bulwarks of the allied
defense.
“RACE SUPERIORITY”
One of the issues of the war is race prejudice. The Germans have
this trait in so marked a degree that it ought to share the growing
unpopularity which now accumulates around things distinctively Ger-
man, whether good, bad or indifferent. Ever since the Germans took
from Frenchmen like Gobineau, Englishmen like Houston Cham-
berlain, and Slavs like Treitschke, the legend that the world’s civiliza-
tion was the creation of a single race—the Teutonic—they have been
unendurable. The bulk of German books on history, politics and so-
ciology for the last few decades have been devoted to the elaboration of
this great Teutonic myth. Slavs were barbarians, Latin nations were
decadent, Celts were futile, the yellow races were “monkeys,” black men
were not human, Jews were enemies of the state; only the Teuton was
tall, blond, handsome, virile, virtuous, reverent, honorable, practical,
idealistic, scientific, thrifty, continent, just, brave, self-respecting, and
capable of self-government. The fact that many Frenchmen, Russians
and Irishmen had all these qualities and that some Germans had none
of them (not even the blondness) did not prevent the Pan-Germans
from identifying the imaginary “Teuton” with the German nation.
The moral of this pitiful collapse of German humor and common
sense before the mirage of Teutonism should keep us from similar
follies. Let our enemies have a monopoly of racial egotism.
2: xk ºr
But the war raises the question of race prejudice also in a broader
form; not merely the claims of the Teutonic super-race but the claims
152
of the “white race” itself to eternal and inevitable superiority. Ger-
many has no doubt on the matter. Inferior as are the non-Teutonic
peoples of Europe in German eyes, they take rank above the “native”
races of Asia and Africa to such a degree that slavery or the sword
is the just wage of the latter. Note the German fury at the Allies
for seeking the aid of Japan and for employing African troops on
European battlefields. Remember the day when the Kaiser preached
against the “yellow peril” in the spirit of yellow journalism. Read
any good book or article on Germany’s system of rule in her overseas
colonies. It is true that private plantation owners in Belgian and
Portuguese Africa, and even in a few parts of French Africa, have
been excessively cruel to the native laborers in their employ. But
nowhere have the officials of a government been so systematically op-
pressive as in German Africa. The atrocities in the Belgian Congo
were the work of a soulless capitalism. The atrocities in German
Southwest Africa were the work of bureaucrats inspired by racial
arrogance and measureless contempt of those whom they ruled. If the
preacher of race hate from the Mississippi valley or the Pacific Coast
were to migrate to the banks of the Elbe, he would not only relieve us
of his presence, but would find an appreciative audience and a true
“spiritual home.” Race prepudice is pro-Germanism.
If the hideous example of racial arrogance afforded by Germany
does not suffice to cure us of our prejudices, there is another fact
which should make us reflect. Who are the Allies? At least five na-
tions among them—China, Japan, Siam, Liberia and Haiti—have no
white population worth mentioning. An absolute majority of the
people of the British Empire live in India; “white” men certainly,
but also “natives” and non-Europeans. France and its colonies, if
taken as a whole contain nearly as much black as white,and French
Indo-China contributes numerous yellow men to swell the total. Italy,
Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, Cuba and others of the Allies have many
non-white subjects and citizens. The United States, with its ten
million negroes and mixed-bloods, its Indian tribes, its Pacific colonies,
cannot claim to be a racial unity. If we sum together all the people
who are fighting against Germany, it seems probable that at least three
out of four of them are “natives;” that is, people not descended from
the races of Europe. Of course, the white race is the most largely
represented on the actual battle line, but, since an army is only the
delegate of a people, we should learn to think of the war as a league
of all the races of mankind against the common foe of all humanity.
I 58
“MORE BROOKLYN HEROES.”
Thomas Ball Fred C. Moultrie
Frank Henderson Edward F. Simpson
Granderson Smith Henry A. Weeks
L. C. Cross Harry Kelly
Robert Ransome Frank Dickerson
Roscoe C. Cooper Joseph R. Mercer
James Ransome Lewis Carey
Thomas Sykes Edward Bradford
Arthur Hacket David Sidney
Thaddeus Butler Jesse James Burnett
James Cooper James Hawkins
“A FUNNY STORY”
Lieut. Windshield Jackson's Recent Letter Showing That War
Has Its Funny, As Well. As Serious Side.
It has been so long since I wrote you that I guess that you have
had an idea that myself and pal, Tomatto, had fallen victim to the
Huns, but I assure you that such is not the case. We have been with
a famous fighting French regiment for over nine months, and in the
same company are the only five survivors of the regiment of the French
Legion with which we originally enlisted. Just think, only five out of
1250, all the rest either having made the supreme sacrifice or invalided;
I will not say that any have been held in the German prison camps,
for the simple reason that we had a strict rule not to be taken alive,
being the first of the allied troops to adopt the “ask-no and give-no”
rule, and believe me, we lived up to it in the strictest sense of the word.
It would take a book to hold a full detailed account of our experiences
since I last wrote you, but through it all Tomatto and I have held stead-
fast with each other in a manner that would make Damon and Pythias
look like a couple of bitter enemies. It is a peculiar thing when you come
to think of it; here a short time ago Tomatto was notified that a Jap-
anese division had been landed in Russia, and that provisions would be
made to transfer him to it if he desired such a change. At about the
same time word was delivered to me that a regiment of colored troops
had arrived at a sector a short distance away, and that if I wished I
could join them, and that arrangements could likely be made whereby
I would hold the same official rank that I have here, being a lieutenant.
Tomatto and I had a talk about the offer; he sat still and never said a
word during the time that I was putting the idea up to him, and when
I had finished, he stood up at salute and with tears in his eyes said,
“Lieutenant, we have faced death a hundred times together, and when
either of us have needed the other, we have always been on hand. My
154
place now, I think is with you, just the same as your place is with me,
and I think that both of our places are with the French army until the
war ends.” Well, Tomatto got rid of that speech in a look and tone
that had my eyes all wetted up, too, and right there we decided to
notify the commanding officer of our decision, which we did the
following morning. -
Maj. Peeknut Proud
“I am proud of you two,” said Major Pecknut, “and I am sure that
every other officer of our division will feel the same when I make my
report as to your decision.”
I will not be able to write in great detail at this time. You no
doubt have been reading of the terrific fighting which has been going
on, and believe me when I say that our early experiences are standing
us in good stead. Tomatto and I raided a German trench last Sunday
night all by our lonely. We noticed, from time to tinje, that there was
light being moved in a section just opposite us, but divided from us by
three lines of barbed entanglement. These flashes of light are common
when machine rifles are being used, but the fact that only a light artil-
lery fire was coming our way from the rear of the boche second line,
we concluded that there was something doing that would be of interest.
So we started across the top with a goodly supply of grenades and a
couple of extra small arms, including a pair of new “bolos,” or double-
edged short swords, which have lately been adopted by the French
army. I was slightly in the lead, snipping the wires, with Tomatto
dragging along at my heels with a concussion bomb all ready to hurl at
the slightest sign that the Huns were awake to what we were pulling,
but they apparently felt as secure as if they were at home with their
families, for they never even had a sentry on post; the constant roar of
the artillery drowned out any noise that we may have made, and as a
consequence, we were peeping over the cdge of their trench and into
the dugout that they were occupying before they had any idea at all
that there was anything doing. Tomatto tossed his bomb in as we both
ducked well down to the ground, and an awful explosion followed,
Our close range bombs are sºmokeless affairs, so after waiting for a few
seconds until some of the dust had settled, we jumped down into the
trench and into the dugout, which was a rººm about twelve feet square.
Well, they were laying all about the play ind the sight was one that
made even us two old-timers clinch our tº ºth. We learned afterward
that there had been ten men in the place, and all were either killed out-
right or were jammed out of commission except two, and these had their
hands scratching the roof and were screaming in terror through the
grime which followed the explosion, “Kamerad.” Trai: º, . . .
pºof:CTED S
frnus 1
1 5 §
Old Tomatto Howled
Old Tomatto howled and laughed at these fellows until tears ran
down his cheeks. He made a motion as if he was going to prod one of
them with his bolo, and the look of horror on the boche’s face actually
startled me. We directed them over the edge of the trench and told
them in our best German to crawl across the top; they sure were in a
blue funk and away they started, uneScorted, directly toward our lines.
Tomatto and I then crept down the trench to another dugout, and with-
out a word of warning we sprang in front of the opening and snatched
an old chenille curtain down with which they had covered the entrance.
“Up with your bread-hooks,” I commanded. “Do any of you hams
talk English?” t
“I do,” replied one of the officers, a captain with about a dozen
different kinds of decorations on his bosom.
“Weil, tell the rest of these cradle-robbers to come out of here one
at a time, and no monkey business, or we will have the whole gob of
you shaking hands in hell before you can squeak.”
These birds sure were scared. Tomatto stood at one side of the en-
trance and disarmed the bunch—twenty-one of them—as they passed
out, and headed them in the direction of the first dugout that we had
captured. One of then, made a break toward the far end of the trench,
but he didn't get far. Tº matto didn't even raise his gun, but fired from
the hip, and the result was so effective that the rest of the Huns acted
more like a group of Sunday school pacifists than anything else.
Well, to make a loºg story short, we got them started over the top
and made them lie on the ground and worm it for our lines, and it is
a good thing for them that we did, too, for we hadn’t gone far before
we came across the carcasses of the two that we had sent on before.
They were riddled and scenned to never have had a chance to “Kame-
rad” their way to our trench in Safety. We sent up a couple of short-life
signal colors to insure against getting, pills out of the wrong box, so
landed our kraut-eaters home in Safety. What the major said to us
the next day I am too modest to Say, but I am of the opinion that we are
in line for some more jewelry, and just think, we have nine different
decorations each, already, and just for doing our duty as soldiers.
Tomatto sends his best regards to you and all the readers of the De-
fender, and I do the same. I promise now not to let it be long
between letters, and hope to do like So many of the others lave done,
viz., make the Old Roll Top Desk and a trip to the Trough. Your old
friend, f
. . . . . . . . . . ." § 3. Sº LIEUT. WINDSHIELD JACKSON,
coexagar law Trench Army, Somewhere in France.
U.S. cops). 156
“HOW NEGRO OFFICER FELT ABOUT FIGHTING”
“One of my men came to me several days ago,” he said, “and
asked me why I had joined the army. He reminded me that I was
above draft age and he wanted me to tell him what I was fighting for.
I told him I was fighting for what the flag meant to the Negroes in the
United States. I told him I was fighting because I wanted other
oppressed people to know the meaning of democracy and enjoy it. I
told him that millions of Americans fought for four years for us
Negroes to get it and now it was only right that we should fight for all
we were worth to help other people get the same thing.
“We are supposed to have had equal rights for fifty years now,
but many times we have thought that those rights have been denied us,
and many times it has been held that we have never done anything to
deserve them.
“I told him that now is our opportunity to prove what we can do.
If we can’t fight and die in this war just as bravely as white men, then
we don't deserve an equality with white men, and after the war we
had better go back home and forget about it all. But if we can do
things on the front; if we can make ourselves felt; if we can make
America really proud of the Ole th, then I am sure it will be the
biggest possible step toward our equalization as citizens. That is what
I told him, and I think he urderstood me. The whole (censored) has
the same spirit.” - -
And so the strife for distinction has been inculcated to the ranks
of the Old (censored). The men are looking forward to being known
as the “Black Devils,” the same as the Chas curs have earned the right
to the “Blue Devil” nickname. *
These Negro officers and men have tasted a new equality since
arriving in France. In the village square of a small hamlet Serving as
headquarters I saw them mingling on the easiest terms with the most
cultivated French officers. And as officers they carry out their bearing
it, their personal :: pearance. Among no American officers in France
now, even the natticºst, whose habitat is at G. GI. Q., far from the dust
and mud of the cºmps, have I seen ºre highly polished shees and
leathers or better pressed uniforms. Pride in the wearing of clothes is
something which these Negro officers dist not have to learn from orders.
SELF-SEGREGATION NOT PATRIOTIC
* + • - * * * * - . .
There have been unany colored men during this World Walt Who
have done an unpatriotic thing—an un-American thing. They have
15"/
asked that their race be segregated, that their race be denied a place
in the melting pot of all other races beneath the Stars and Stripes.
While the hyphen has been buried with the oblivion of a divided
allegiance; while the patriotic statesmen of this Republic have been
thundering from Washington to the Golden Gates of California, from
Maine to Oregon, for a fusing of all the peoples of the land into one
American race, we find many pigmy black men seeking to have their
race set apart in all the efforts for the common good. Selfishly for the
most part they have sought for segregated camps, for segregated
Y. M. C. A. huts, for segregated canteens and now for Segregated
Knights of Columbus huts. Either for themselves or some of their
friends, like the black purblind leaders who ask for separate public
schools in the Northern States, they have been looking for jobs. -
The caste influence of segregation upon their race in the sight of
all the foreign races being welcomed into the white American body
politic, has made no appeal to them. The sure degradation of separate
accommodations into inferior accommodations with the lapse of time
has either not occurred to them or concerned them So long as they
could get the jobs now. The unpatriotic thing which they do in striving
to perpetuate race and caste lines in this Republic when it with liberty
loving peoples the world over are fighting for Democracy and against
caste and race barriers, has not penetrated the thick skulls of many of
these blatant ignoramuses and demagogues. Unlike the other peoples
of the world they have sought through hypocrisy and currish fawning
at the feet of those in power, through base treachery to the cause of
their own race advancement to postpone for their own people the
thing for which they have been fighting and dying for others. But not
all of the black men who have been seeking Segregation for their race
have been of the bread and butter brigade. Through their admiration
for these leaders, a host of unthinking others have been misled. The
efforts of both have been equally ruinous if not fatal to a square deal
of democracy for their people, when the deal is made at the peace table
and the years thereafter. Both have gone up and down the country
asking for “a Negro this” and “a Negro that” until white statesmen
are beginning to believe that the race feels itself inferior and unworthy,
that the race prefers to be jim Crowed even in this risis and even in
the free States of this Republic. Many Caucasian bigots have added
their dirty work to the slavish Seeking of these black worthies. To-
gether they have manufactured a Self-Scgregation propaganda among
colored people which is as dangerous to Democracy in the final analysis
as the hyphen of the Hun. There can no more be a Negro nation
within the nation, in this Republic if it is to endure, than there can be
a [[un nation within the nation. There can be colored Americans,
. I 58
there can be white Americans. But they must all be Americans and
nothing else.
These are indeed the days of small men. What separate camps
what separate Christian Associations, what separate Catholic canteens
would Fred Douglass, John Mercer Langston, Blanche K. Bruse and
James C. Price be asking for in this world crisis if they were alive
today? What chains of slavery would the race still not wear had they
not in those other days of chaos and confusion stood for the truth, the
further freedom and equality of their people. On every hand we hear
from leading white war workers that the colored men going forth for
Democracy prefer to be jim crowed. How putrid is their patriotism,
how hypocritical is their Christianity in promulgating such treachery.
The truth is THE RACE DOES NOT WISH ANY MORE THAN
IT DESERVES DISTINCT AND DIFFERENT treatment in this,
their native land. We say to every patriot in this country: SEGRE-
GATION IS WRONG. IT IS DANGEROUS.. IT HURTS BOTH
RACES-today and for all time to come. THIS GREAT WORLD
WAR WILL HAVE BEEN FOUGHT IN VAIN FOR AMERICA
IF IT DOES NOT BRING BLACK AMERICA AND WHITE
AMERICA CLOSER TOGETHER RATHER THAN SEND
THEM FURTHER APART. We ask the Commander and Chief of
the Army and Navy to abolish every caste and color line among the
forces of our common Uncle Sam. We ask the Director of the Rail-
roads of the nation to abolish the hideous jim crow cars of the South
as a matter of economy and of winning the war. We ask the American
people to kill the monster of segregation gnawing at the vitals of the
nation. WE ARE FIGHTING TODAY FOR AND AS ONE
AMERICAN PEOPLE, ONE AND INSEPARABLE, NOW AND
EOREVER I