History of the American Negro in the Great World War eBook (2024)

History of the American Negro in the Great World War

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Table of Contents
Section	Page
Start of eBook	1
CHAPTER XXI. THE LONG, LONG TRAIL.	1
FOREWORD	2
YOU LISTEN—­	5
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR	6
CHAPTER I.	7
CHAPTER II	13
CHAPTER III.	20
CHAPTER IV	26
CHAPTER V	35
CHAPTER VI	39
CHAPTER VII.	45
CHAPTER VIII	51
CHAPTER IX.	54
CHAPTER X.	60
CHAPTER XI.	68
CHAPTER XII.	78
CHAPTER XIII	88
	88
CHAPTER XIV.	100
CHAPTER XV.	110
CHAPTER XVI.	116
CHAPTER XVII	123
ROLL OF HONOR	133
CHAPTER XVIII.	134
CHAPTER XIX	139
HEROES OF THE 371ST AND 372ND.	146
CHAPTER XX	146
CHAPTER XXI	152
CHAPTER XXII	159
CHAPTER XXIII	163
CHAPTER XXIV	172
CHAPTER XXV.	177
CHAPTER XXVI.	183
CHAPTER XXVII.	188
CHAPTER XXVIII	190
CHAPTER XXIX.	197
CHAPTER XXX.	206
CHAPTER XXXI.	210
CHAPTER XXXII.	213
CHAPTER XXXIII.	222
THE PEACE TREATY	227

CHAPTER XXI. THE LONG, LONG TRAIL.

Operations of 368th infantry—­negroesfrom Pennsylvania, Maryland andsouth—­in Argonne hell—­defeatiron cross veterans—­valiantpersonal exploits—­lieutenantRobert Campbell—­private JohnBaker—­operations of 367thinfantry—­“Moss’s buffaloes”—­365Thand 366th regiments—­thegreat divide—­their soulsare marching on—­praisedby Pershing—­some citations

Chapter XXII. Glory That Wont Come Off.

167th First Negro Artillery Brigade—­“LikeVeterans” said Pershing—­First Artilleryto be Motorized—­Record by Dates—­Selectedfor Lorraine Campaign—­Best Educated Negroesin American Forces—­Always Stood by TheirGuns—­Chaplain’s Estimate—­LeftSplendid Impression—­Testimony of FrenchMayors—­Christian Behavior—­SoldierlyQualities

Chapter XXIII. Nor Storied Urn, Nor MountingShaft.

Glory not all Spectacular—­Brave ForcesBehind the Lines—­325th Field
Signal Battalion—­Composed of Young Negroes—­SeeReal Fighting—­Suffer
Casualties—­An Exciting Incident—­ColoredSignal Battalion a
Success—­Ralph Tyler’s Stories—­Burialof Negro Soldier at Sea—­More
Incidents of Negro Valor—­A Word from CharlesM. Schwab

Chapter XXIV. Those Who Never Will Return.

A Study of War—­Its Compensations and Benefits—­ItsRavages and Debasem*nts—­Burdens Fall uponthe Weak—­Toll of Disease—­NegroesSingularly Healthy—­Negroes Killed in Battle—­Deathsfrom Wounds and Other Causes—­RemarkablePhysical Stamina of Race—­Housekeeping inKhaki—­Healthiest War in History—­IncreasedRegard for Mothers—­An Ideal for Child Minds—­Moraleand Propaganda

Chapter XXV. Quiet Heroes of the Brawny Arm.

Negro Stevedore, Pioneer and Labor Units—­Swungthe Axe and Turned the
Wheel—­They were Indispensable—­Everywherein France—­Hewers of Wood,
Drawers of Water—­Numbers and Designationsof Units—­Acquired Splendid
Reputation—­Contests and Awards—­Pridein their Service—­Measured up to
Military Standards—­Lester Waltons Appreciation—­EllaWheeler Wilcox’s
Poetic Tribute

Chapter XXVI. Unselfish Workers in the Vineyard.

Mitigated the Horrors of War—­At the Front,Behind the Lines, at
Home—­Circle for Negro War Relief—­Addressedand Praised by Roosevelt—­A
Notable Gathering—­Colored Y.M.C.A.Work—­Unsullied Record of
Achievement—­How the “Y” ConductedBusiness—­Secretaries all
Specialists—­Negro Women in “Y”Work—­Valor of a Non-combatant

Chapter XXVII. Negro in Army Personnel.

His Mechanical Ability Required—­Skilledat Special Trades—­Victory
Depends upon Technical Workers—­Vast Rangeof Occupation—­Negro Makes
Good Showing—­Percentages of White and Colored—­Figuresfor General
Service

Chapter XXVIII. The Knockout Blow.

Woodrow Wilson, an Estimate—­His Place inHistory—­Last of Great
Trio—­Washington, Lincoln, Wilson—­UpholdsDecency, Humanity,
Liberty—­Recapitulation of Year 1918—­ClosingIncidents of War

Chapter XXIX. Homecoming Heroes. New YorkGreets Her Own—­Ecstatic Day for Old 15th—­Whitesand Blacks do Honors—­A Monster Demonstration—­ManyDignitaries Review Troops—­Parade of MartialPomp—­Cheers, Music, Flowers and Feasting—­“Hayward’sScrapping Babies”—­Officers ShareGlory—­Then Came Henry Johnson—­SimilarScenes Elsewhere

Chapter XXX. Reconstruction and the Negro.By Julius Rosenwald, President Sears, Roebuck & Co,and Trustee of Tuskegee Institute—­A Pleafor Industrial Opportunity for the Negro—­Tributeto Negro as Soldier and Civilian—­Duty ofWhites Pointed Out—­Business Leader andPhilanthropist Sounds Keynote

Chapter XXXI. The Other Fellow’s Burden.An Emancipation Day Appeal for
Justice—­By W. Allison Sweeney

Chapter XXXII. An Interpolation. Held—­ByDistinguished Thinkers and Writers, That the NegroSoldier Should be Given a Chance for Promotion asWell as a Chance to Die. Why—­WhiteOfficers over Negro Soldiers?

Chapter XXXIII. The New Negro and the New America.The Old Order Changeth, yielding place to new.Through the Arbitrament of war, behold a new and betterAmerica! a new and girded negro! “The Watchesof the night have passed!” “The WatchesOf the day begin!”

FOREWORD

He was a red headed messenger boy and he handed mea letter in a Nile green envelope,and this is what I read:

Dear Mr. Sweeney:

When on the 25th of March the last instalment of theMSS of the “History of the American Negro inthe Great World War” was returned to us fromyour hands, bearing the stamp of your approval as toits historic accuracy; the wisdom and fairness ofthe reflections and recommendations of the corps ofcompilers placed at your service, giving you fullauthority to review the result of their labors, yourobligation to the publishers ceased.

The transaction between us, a purely business one,had in every particular upon your part been compliedwith. From thenceforward, as far as you wereobligated to the publishers, this History; what itis; what it stands for; how it will be rated by thereading masses—­should be, and concretely,by your own people you so worthily represent and aretoday their most fearless and eloquent champion, is,as far as any obligation you may have been under tous, not required of you to say.

Nevertheless, regardless of past business relationsnow at an end, have you not an opinion directly ofthe finished work? A word to say; the growthof which you have marked from its first instalmentto its last?

-The Publishers-

* * * * *

Have I—­

A word to say? And of this fine book?

The best history of the Americannegro in the great world war,that as
yet has been written or willbe for years to come?

* * * * *

Does—­

The rose in bud respond to the wooing breath of themornings of June?

Is—­

The whistle of robin red breast clearer and more exultant,as its watchful gaze, bearing in its inscrutable depthsthe mystery of all the centuries; the Omniscienceof divinity, discovers a cherry tree bendingto—­

“The green grass”

from the weight of its blood red fruit?

* * * * *

Does—­

The nightingale respond to its mate; caroling itsamatory challenge from afar; across brake and daleand glen; beyond a

“Dim old forest” the earth bathed in thesilver light of the harvest moon!

* * * * *

Even so—­

And for the same reason which the wisest of us cannotexplain, that the rose, the robin and nightingalerespond to the lure that invites, the zephyrs thatcaress, I find myself moved to say not only a word—­afew, but many, of praise and commendation of thisbook; the finished work, so graciously and so quicklysubmitted for my inspection by the publishers.

There are—­

Books and books; histories and histories, treatiseafter treatise; covering every realm of speculativeinvestigation; every field of fact and fancy; of inspirationand deed, past and present, that in this 20th centuryof haste and bustle, of miraculous mechanical equipment,are born daily and die as quickly. But thereare also books, that like some men marked before theirbirth for a place amongst the “Seats of themighty”; an association with the immortals,that

“Were not bornto die.”

This book seems of that glorious company.

* * * * *

In the—­

Spiritualized humanity that broadened the vision andinspired the pens of the devoted corps of writers,responding to my suggestions and oversight in itspreparation; the getting together of data and facts,is reflected the incoming of a new and broadercharity—­a stranger in our midst—­ofglimpse and measurement of the Negro. Beyond thewritten word of the text, the reader is gripped witha certain felt but unprinted power of suggestion,a sense of the nation’s crime against him; theNegro, stretching back through the centuries; the shameand humiliation that is at last overtaking it, thathas not been born of the “Print Shops”

since the sainted Lincoln went his way, leavingbehind him a trail of glory, shining like the sun;in the path of which, freed through the mandate ofhis great soul, marched four millionnegroes, now swollen to twelve, their story,the saddest epic of the ages, of whom and in behalfof whom their children; the generation now and thoseto come, this History was collated and arranged.It is an evangel proclaiming to the world, theirunsullied patriotism; their rapid fire loyalty, thatthrough all the years of the nation’s life, hasnever flickered—­

“Has burned andburned Forever the same”,

from Lexington to the cactus groves of Mexico; inthe slaughter hells of Europe; over fields and uponspots where, in the centuries gone, the legions ofCaesar, of Hannibal and Attila, of Charlemagne andNapoleon had fought and bled, and perished! Striding“Breast forward” beneath the Stars andStripes as this History crowds them on your gaze, throughthe dust of empires and kingdoms that; before theChrist walked the earth; before Christianityhad its birth, wielded the sceptres of power whencivilization was young, but which are now but vanishingtraditions.

You are thrilled! History nor story affords nopicture more inspiring.

Making due allowance—­

For its nearness to the living and dead, whose heroicand transcendant achievements on the battle spotsof the great war secured for them a distinction andfame that will endure until—­

“The records ofvalor decay”,

it is a most notable publication, quite worthy tobe draped in the robes that distinguishes Historyfrom narrative; from “a tale that is told”;a story for the entertainment of the moment.

As interpolated—­

By the writers of its text; read between the linesof their written words; it is a History; not aloneof the American Negro on the “tented field”;the bloody trenches of France and Belgium, it is alsoa History and an arraignment, a warning and a prophecy,looking backwards and forward, the Negro being theobjective focus, of many things.

It presents—­

For the readers retrospection, as vividly as paintedon a canvas, a phantasmagoric procession of past events,and of those to come in the travail of the Negro;commencing with the sailing of the first “Slaver’sShip” for the shores of the “New World”,jammed fore and aft, from deck to hold, with its cargoof human beings, to the conclusion of the great warin which, individually and in units he wrote his namein imperishable characters, and high on the scrollon which are inscribed the story of those, who, intheir lives wrought for right and, passing, diedfor men! For a flag; beneath and within itsfolds his welcome has been measured and parsimonious;—­acountry; the construing and application of its lawsand remedies as applied to him, has inflicted intolerableinjustice: Has persecuted more often thanblessed. And so and thus, its perusal finished,its pages closed and laid aside, you are shaken andswayed in your feelings, even as a tree, bent and rivenbefore the march and sweep of a mighty hurricane.

* * * * *

Looking backwards—­

The spell of the book strong upon you, you see inyour mind’s eye, thousands of plantations coveringa fourth of a continent of a new and virgin land.The toilers “Black Folk”; men, women andchildren—­slaves!

* * * * *

You hear—­

The crack of the “driver’s” lash;the sullen bay of pursuing hounds.

* * * * *

Just over yonder—­

Is the “Auction Block”. You hearthe moans and screams of mothers torn from their offspring.You see them driven away, herded like cattle, chainedlike convicts, sold to “master’s”in the “low lands”, to toil—­

“Midst the cotton and the cane.”

YOU LISTEN—­

Sounding far off, faint at first, growing louder eachsecond, you hear the beat of drums; the bugle’sblast, sounding to arms; You see great armies, movinghitherward and thitherward. Over one flies theStars and Stripes, over the other the Stars and Bars;a nation in arms! Brother against brother!

* * * * *

You look—­

And lo, swinging past are many Black men; garbed in“Blue”, keeping step to the music of theUnion. You see them fall and die, at Fort Pillow,Fort Wagner, Petersburg, the Wilderness, Honey Hill—­slaughtered!Above the din; the boom of cannon, the rattle of smallarms, the groans of the wounded and dying, you hearthe shout of one, as shattered and maimed he is beingborne from the field; “Boys, the oldflag never touched the ground!”

* * * * *

The scene shifts—­

Fifty years have passed. You hear the clamor,the murmur and shouts of gathering mobs. Yousee Black men and women hanging by their necks tolamp posts, from the limbs of trees; in lonely spots—­dead!You see smoke curling upwards from burning homes!There are piles of cinders and—­deadmens bones!

* * * * *

Nearing its end—­

The procession sweeps on. Staring you in theface; hailing from East, West, North and South arebanners; held aloft by unseen hands, bearing on them—­thequintessence of America’s ingratitude,—­thesedevices:

“For AmericanNegroes:
Jim Crow steamand trolley cars;
Jim Crow residentdistricts;
Jim Crow amencorners;
Jim Crow seatsin theatres;
Jim Crow cornersin cemeteries.”

You mutter—­

“Are these indignities to continue?Is God dead?”

* * * * *

Comes—­

A voice. You listen!

“Whereforehear the word of the lord—­
“The daysof thy mourning shall be ended—­
“Violenceshall no more be heard in the land—­
“Neithersorrow nor crying—­
“For theformer things have passed away—­
“Behold Imake all things new—­
“Arise, shine;for thy light has come.

* * * * *

Herein—­

Lies the strength and worth of this unusual book,well and deservingly named: A History of theAmerican Negro in the Great World War. Beyondmerely recounting that story; than which there hasbeen nothing finer or more inspiring since the longaway centuries when the chivalry of the Middle Ages,in nodding plume and lance in rest, battled for theHoly Sepulchre, it brings to the Negro of Americaa message of cheer and reassurance. A sign, couchedin flaming characters for all men to see, appealingto the spiritualized divination of the age, proclaimingthat God is not dead! That a newday is dawning; has dawned for the Negro in America.A new liberty; broader and better. Anew Justice, unshaded by the spectre of:“Previous condition!” That the unpaid toilof thirty decades of African slavery in America isat last to be liquidated. That the dead of ourpeople, upon behalf of this land that it might havea birth, and having it might not perishfrom the earth, did not die in vain.That, in their passage from earth, heroes—­martyrs—­ina superlative sense they were seen and marked of theFather; were accorded a place of record in the pagesof the great white book with golden seals,in the up worlds; above the stars and beyond the flamingsuns.

It is A history—­

That will be read with instruction and benefit bythousands of whites, but, and mark well this suggestion,it is one that should be owned and beadby every negro in the land.

* * * * *

Typographically—­

Mechanically; that is to say, in those features thatreflect the finished artistic achievement of the Print,Picture and Binding art; as seen in the bold cleartype of its text, its striking and beautiful illustrations,its illuminating title heads of division and chapter;indicating at a glance the information to follow; thewhole appealing to the aesthetic; the sticklers forthe rare and beautiful; not overlooking its superbbinding, it is most pleasing to the sight, and worthyof the title it bears.

[Illustration: signature]

HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE GREAT WORLD WAR

CHAPTER I.

Spiritual emancipation of nations.

The march of civilization—­worldshocks to stir the world heart—­falsedoctrines of the Hun—­theiron hand concealed—­theWOBLD begins to awaken—­Germandesigns revealed—­rumblingsin advance of the storm—­tragedythat hastened the day—­TOLSTOY’Sprophecy—­vindication ofnegro faith in promises ofthe lord—­dawn of freedomfor all races.

The march of civilization is attended by strange influences.Providence which directs the advancement of mankind,moves in such mysterious ways that none can senseits design or reason out its import. Frequentlythe forces of evil are turned to account in defeatingtheir own objects. Great tragedies, cruel wars,cataclysms of woe, have acted as enlightening andrefining agents. Out of the famines of the pastcame experiences which inculcated the thrift and fore-handednessof today.

Out of man’s sufferings have come knowledgeand fortitude. Out of pain and tribulation, theattribute of sympathy—­the first spiritualmanifestation instrumental in elevating the human abovethe beast. Things worth while are never obtainedwithout payment of some kind.

Individual shocks stir the individual heart and conscience.Great world shocks are necessary to stir the worldconscience and heart; to start those movements toright the wrongs in the world. So long as peacereigned commerce was uninterrupted, and the acquisitionof wealth was not obstructed, men cared little forthe intrigues and ambitions of royalty. If theysensed them at all, they lulled themselves into afeeling of security through the belief that progresshad attained too far, civilization had secured toostrong a hold, and democracy was too firmly rootedfor any ordinary menace to be considered.

So insidious and far reaching had become the inculcationof false philosophies summed up in the general termKultur, that the subjects of the autocratic-riddenempires believed they were being guided by benigninfluences. Many enlightened men; at least itseems they must have been enlightened, in Germanyand Austria—­men who possessed liberatedintellects and were not in the pay of the Kulturists—­professedto believe that despotism in the modern world couldnot be other than benevolent.

The satanic hand was concealed in the soft glove;the cloven hoof artistically fitted into the militaryboot; the tail carefully tucked inside the uniformor dress suit; fiendish eyes were taught to smile andgleam in sympathy and humor, or were masked behindthe heavy lenses of professorial dignity; the serpent’shiss was trained to song, or drowned in crashing chordsand given to the world as a sublime harmony.

Suddenly the world awoke! The wooing harmonyhad changed to a blast of war; the conductor’sbaton had become a bayonet; the soft wind instrumentbarked the rifle’s tone; its notes were bulletsthat hissed and screamed; tinkling cymbals soundedthe wild blare of carnage, and sweet-throated hornsof silver and brass bellowed the cannon’s deadlyroar.

Civilization was so shocked that for long the exactsequence of events was not comprehended. It requiredtime and reflection to clear away the brain benumbingvapors of the dream; to reach a realization that libertyactually was tottering on her throne. German propagandistshad been so well organized, and so effectively didthey spread their poison; especially in the westernworld that great men; national leaders were deceived,while men in general were slow to get the true perspective;much later than those at the seat of government.

A few far-seeing men had been alive to the Germanmenace. Some English statesmen felt it in a vagueway, while in France where the experience of 1870-71,had produced a wariness of all things German, a limitednumber of men with penetrating, broadened vision, hadbeheld the fair exterior of Kaiserism, even whilethey recognized in the background, the slimy abodeof the serpent. For years they had sounded thewarning until at last their feeble voices attractedattention.

France, with her traditions of Napoleon, Moreau, Ney,Berthier and others, with rare skill set about thework of perfecting an army under the tutelage anddirection of Joffre and Foch. The defense maintainedby its army in the earlier part of the struggle providedthe breathing space required by the other allies.All through the struggle the staying power of theFrench provided example and created the necessary moralefor the co-operating Allied forces, until our own gallantsoldiers could be mustered and sent abroad for theknockout blow.

As is usual where conspiracies to perform dark deedsare hatched a clew or record is left behind.In spite of Germany’s protestations of innocence,her loud cries that the war was forced upon her, thereis ample evidence that for years she had been planningit; that she wanted it and only awaited the opportunetime to launch it. It was a gradual unearthingand examination of this evidence that at length revealedto the world the astounding plot.

It is not necessary to touch more than briefly theevidence of Germany’s designs, and the intriguesthrough which she sought world domination and thethrottling of human liberty. The facts are nowtoo well established to need further confirmation.The ruthless manner in which the Kaiser’s forcesprosecuted the war, abandoning all pretense of civilizationand relapsing into the most utter barbarism, is enoughto convince anyone of her definite and well preparedprogram, which she was determined to execute by everyfoul means under the sun.

She had skillfully been laying her lines and buildingher military machine for more than forty years.As the time approached for the blow she intended tostrike, she found it difficult to conceal her purposes.Noises from the armed camp—­bayings of thedogs of war—­occasionally stirred the sleepingworld; an awakening almost occurred over what is knownas the Morocco incident.

On account of the weakness of the Moroccan government,intervention by foreign powers had been frequent.Because of the heavy investment of French capitaland because the prevailing anarchy in Morocco threatenedher interests in Algeria, France came to be regardedas having special interests in Morocco. In 1904she gained the assent of Britain and the cooperationof Spain in her policy. Germany made no protest;in fact, the German Chancellor, von Bulow, declaredthat Germany was not specially concerned with Moroccanaffairs. But in 1905 Germany demanded a reconsiderationof the entire question.

France was forced against the will of her ministerof foreign affairs, Delcasse, to attend a conferenceat Algeciras. That conference discussed placingMorocco under international control, but because Francewas the only power capable of dealing with the anarchyin the country, she was left in charge, subject tocertain Spanish rights, and allowed to continue herwork. The Germans again declared that they hadno political interests in Morocco.

In 1909, Germany openly recognized the political interestsof France in Morocco. In 1911 France was compelledby disorders in the country to penetrate farther intothe interior. Germany under the pretext that hermerchants were not getting fair treatment in Morocco,reopened the entire question and sent her gunboatPanther, to Agadir on the west coast of Africa, asif to establish a port there, although she had nointerests in that part of the country. Franceprotested vigorously and Britain supported her.

Matters came very close to war. But Germany wasnot yet ready to force the issue. Her actionhad been simply a pretext to find out the extent towhich England and France were ready to make commoncause. She recalled her gunboat and as a concessionto obtain peace, was permitted to acquire some territoryin the French Congo country. But German newspapersand German political utterances showed much bitterness.Growling and snarling grew apace in Germany, and tothose who made a close study of the situation it becameevident that Germany sooner or later intended to launcha war.

One of the characteristic German utterances of thetime, came from Albrect Wirth, a German politicalwriter of standing, in close touch with the thoughtand aims of his nation. The utterance about tobe quoted may, in the light of later events, appearindiscreet, as Germany wished to avoid an appearanceof responsibility for the world war; but the mindsof the German people had to be prepared and this couldnot be accomplished without some of the writers andpublic men letting the cat out of the bag. Wirthsaid:

“Morocco is easily worth a big war, or several.At best—­and even prudent Germany is gettingto be convinced of this—­war is only postponedand not abandoned. Is such a postponement to ouradvantage? They say we must wait for a bettermoment. Wait for the deepening of the Kiel canal,for our navy laws to take full effect. It is notexactly diplomatic to announce publicly to one’sadversaries, ’To go to war now does not temptus, but three years hence we shall let loose a worldwar’—­No; if a war is really planned,not a word of it must be spoken; one’s designsmust be enveloped in profound mystery; then brusquely,all of a sudden, jump on the enemy like a robber inthe darkness.” The heavy footed Germanhad difficulty in moving with the stealth of a robber,but the policy here recommended was followed.

In 1914, the three years indicated by Wirth had expired.There began to occur dark comings and goings; mysteriousmeetings and conferences on the continent of Europe.The German emperor, accompanied by the princes andleaders of the German states, began to cruise the borderand northern seas of the Fatherland, where they wouldbe safe from listening ears, prying eyes, newspapers,telephones and telegraphs. It became known thatthe Kaiser was cultivating the weak-minded Russianczar in an attempt to win his country from its alliancewith England and France. There were no open rumblingsof war, but the air was charged with electricity likethat preceeding a storm.

An unaccountable business depression affected prettymuch the entire world. Money, that most sensitiveof all things, began to show nervousness and a tendencyto go into hiding. The bulk of the world wasstill asleep to the real meaning of events, but ithad begun to stir in its dreams, as if some prescience,some premonition had begun to reach it even in itsslumbers.

Finally the first big event occurred—­thetragedy that was not intended to accomplish as much,but which hastened the dawn of the day in which beganthe Spiritual Emancipation of the governments of earth.The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, nephew of the emperorof Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungaryand commander in chief of its army, and his wife theduch*ess of Hohenburg, were assassinated June 28, 1914,by a Serbian student, Gavrio Prinzip. The assassinationoccurred at Sarajevo in Bosnia, a dependency, or rather,a Slavic state that had been seized by Austria.It was the lightning flash that preceeded the thunder’smighty crash.

Much has been written of the causes which led to thetragedy. Prinzip may have been a fanatic, buthe was undoubtedly aided in his act by a number ofothers. The natural inference immediately formedwas that the murder was the outcome of years of illfeeling between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, due tothe belief of the people in the smaller state, thattheir aspirations as a nation were hampered and blockedby the German element in the Austrian empire.The countries had been on the verge of war severalyears before over the seizure of Bosnia and Herzegovinaby Austria, and later over the disposition of Scutariand certain Albanian territory conquered in the Balkan-Turkishstruggle.

Events are coming to light which may place a new constructionon the causes leading to the assassination at Sarajevo.It was undoubtedly the pretext sought by Germany forstarting the great war. Whether it may not havebeen carefully planned to serve that object and theSerbian Prinzip, employed as a tool to bring it about,is not so certain.

Several years prior to the war, the celebrated Russian,Tolstoy, gave utterance to a remarkable prophecy.Tolstoy was a mystic, and it was not unusual for himto go into a semi-trance state in which he professedto peer far into the future and obtain visions ofthings beyond the ken of average men. The Russianczar was superstitious and it is said that the Germanemperor had a strong leaning towards the mystic andpsychic. In fact, it has been stated that theKaiser’s claim to a partnership with The Almightywas the result of delusions formed in his consultationswith mediums—­the modern descendants of thesoothsayers of olden times.

Tolstoy stated that both the Czar and the Kaiser desiredto consult with him and test his powers of divination.The three had a memorable sitting. Some timeafterwards the results were given to the world.Tolstoy predicted the great war, and he stated hisbelief that the torch which would start the conflagrationwould be lighted in the Balkans about 1913.

Tolstoy was not a friend of either Russian or Germanautocracy, hence his seance may have been but a cleverruse to discover what was in the minds of the tworulers. Germany probably was not ready to startthe war in 1913, but there is abundant warrant forthe belief that she was trimming the torch at thattime, and, who knows, the deluded Prinzip may havebeen the torch.

The old dotard Francis Joseph who occupied the throneof Austria-Hungary, was completely under the dominationof the Germans. He could be relied upon to furtherany designs which the Kaiser and the German war lordsmight have.

The younger man, Francis Ferdinand, was not so easyto handle as his aged uncle. Accounts agree thathe was arrogant, ambitious and had a will of his own.He was unpopular in his country and probably unpopularwith the Germans. Being of the disposition hewas, it is very likely that the Kaiser found it difficultto bend him completely to his will. Being a stumblingblock in the way of German aims, is it not reasonablyprobable that Germany desired to get rid of him, thusleaving Austria-Hungary completely in the power ofits tool and puppet, Francis Joseph, and in the eventof his death, in the power of the young and suppliantKarl; another instrument easily bent to the Germanwill?

The wife of the archduke, assassinated with him, wasa Bohemian, her maiden name being Sophie Chotek.She was not of noble blood as Bohemia had no nobles.They had been driven out of the country centuries beforeand their titles and estates conferred on indigentSpanish and Austrian adventurers. Not being ofnoble birth, she was but the morgantic wife of theAustrian heir. Titles were afterwards conferredupon her. She was made a countess and then aduch*ess. Some say she had been an actress; notunlikely, for actresses possessed an especial appealto Austrian royalty. The cruel Hapsburgs rendereddull witted and inefficient by generations of inbreeding,were fascinated by the bright and handsome women ofthe stage. At any rate, Sophie Chotek belongedto that virile, practical race Bohemians, (also calledCzechs) that gave to the world John Huss, who lightedthe fires of religious and civil liberty in CentralEurope, giving advent later to the work of Martin Luther.

Bohemians had always been liberty-loving. Theyhad been anxious for three centuries to throw offthe yoke of Austria. There is no record thatSophie Chotek sympathized with the aims of her countrymenor that she was not in complete accord with the viewsof her husband and the political interests of theempire. But the experiences of the Germans andAustrians had taught them that a Bohemian was likelyto remain always a Bohemian and that his freedom-lovingpeople would not countenance plans having in viewthe enslavement of other nations. The Germansmay have looked with suspicion upon the Bohemian wifeof the archduke and thought it advisable to removeher also.

Prinzip was thrown into prison and kept there untilhe died. No statement he may have made ever hada chance to reach the world. No one knows whetherhe was a German or a Serbian tool. He does notseem to have been an anarchist; neither does he seemto have been of the type that would commit such acrime voluntarily, knowing full well the consequences.It is not hard to believe that he was under pay andpromised full protection.

Probably no Bohemian considers Sophie Chotek a martyr;indeed, the evidence is strong that she was not.Her heart and soul probably were with her royal spouse.But an interesting outcome is, that her assassination,a contributing cause to the war, finally led to thedownfall of Germany, the wreck of Austria, the freedomof her native country, and that Spiritual Emancipationof nations and races, then so gloriously under way.

Also, to the thoughtful and philosophic observer ofmaturing symptoms transpiring continuously in theaffairs of mankind; the fate of those nations of earththat in their strength and arrogance mock the Master,furnish a striking corroborative vindication of theNegro’s faith in the promises of the Lord; theglory and power of His coming. From the date,reckoning from moment and second, that Gavrio Prinzipdone to death the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungaryand his duch*ess, there commenced not alone a new day,a new hope and Emancipation of the whites of earth;empire kingdom, principality and tribe, but of theblacks; the Negro as well, so mysteriously; bewilderingly,moves God His wonders to perform.

It was that subliminated faith in the ubiquity andomniscience of God; the unchangeableness of His word;than which the world has witnessed; known nothingfiner; the story of the concurrent causes that projectedthe Negro into the World War, from whence he emergedcovered with glory, followed by the plaudits of mankind,that became the inspiration of this work—­hisstory of devotion, valor and patriotism; of unmurmuringsacrifice; worthy the pens of the mighty, but whichthe historian, as best he may will tell: “Nothingextenuate, nor set down aught in malice.”

CHAPTER II

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

Likened to Belshazzar—­The Kaiser’sFeasts—­In His Heart Barbaric Pride of thePotentates of Old—­German Madness for War—­InsolentDemands—­Forty-eight Hours to Prevent a WorldWar—­Comment of Statesmen and Leaders—­TheWar Starts—­Italy Breaks Her Alliance—­GermanicPowers Weighed and Found Wanting—­SpiritWins Over Materialism—­Civilization’sLamp Dimmed but not Darkened.

Belshazzar of Babylon sat at a feast. Very muchafter the fashion of modern kings they were good atfeasting in those olden days. The farthest limitsof the kingdom had been searched for every delightand delicacy. Honeyed wines, flamingo’stongues, game from the hills, fruits from vine andtree, spices from grove and forest, vegetables fromfield and garden, fish from stream and sea; everyresource of Mother Earth that could contribute toappetite or sensual pleasure was brought to the king’stable. Singers, minstrels, dancers, magicians,entertainers of every description were summoned tothe palace that they might contribute to the vanityof the monarch, and impress the onlooking nations abouthim.

He desired to be known and feared as the greatestmonarch on earth; ruling as he did over the world’sgreatest city. His triumphs had been many.He had come to believe that his power proceeded directlyfrom the god Bel, and that he was the chosen and anointedof that deity.

This was the period of his prime; of Babylon’sgreatest glory; his kingdom seemed so firmly establishedhe had no thought it could be shaken. But misleadingare the dreams of kings; his kingdom was suddenlymenaced from without, by Cyrus of Persia, another greatmonarch. There were also dangers from within,but courtiers and flatterers kept this knowledge fromhim. Priests of rival gods had set themselvesup within the empire; spies from without and conspiratorswithin were secretly undermining the power of theintrenched despot.

Such was Belshazzar in his pride; such his kingdomand empire. And, so it was, this was to be anorgy that would set a record for all time to come.

Artists and artisans of the highest skill had beensummoned to the work of beautifying the enormous palace;its gardens and grounds, innumerable slaves furnishingthe labor. The gold and silver of the nation wasgathered and beaten into ornaments and woven into beautifuldesigns to grace the occasion. There was a profusionof the most gorgeous plumage and richest fabrics,while over all were sprinkled in unheard of prodigality,the rarest gems and jewels. It was indeed to bea fitting celebration of the glory of Bel, and thepower and magnificence of his earthly representative;heathen opulence, heathen pride and sensuality wereto outdo themselves.

The revel started at a tremendous pace. No suchwines and viands ever before had been served.No such music ever had been heard and no such dancersand entertainers ever before had appeared, but, foolthat he was, he had reckoned without his host; hadmade a covenant with Death and Hell and had knownit not, and the hour of atonement was upon him; thehandwriting on the wall of the true and outraged God,conveyed the information; short and crisp, that hehad been weighed; he and his kingdom in the balanceand found wanting; the hour—­his hour, hadstruck; the time of restitution and atonement longon the way, had come; Babylon was to fall—­fell!—­andfor twenty-five centuries its glory and its powerhas been a story that is told; its magnificence butheaps of sand in the desert where night birds shriekand wild beasts find their lair.

In the Kaiser’s heart was the same barbaricpride, the same ambition, the same worship of a falsegod and the same belief that he was the especial agentof that deity.

His extravagances of vision and ambition were no lessdemoralizing to humanity and civilization, than thosethat brought decay and ruin to the potentates of old.He graced them with all the luxury and exuberancethat modern civilization, without arousing rebelliouscomplaint among his subjects, would permit. Hisgatherings appeared to be arranged for the bringingtogether of the bright minds of the empire, that theremight be an exchange of thought and sentiment thatwould work to the good of his country and the happinessof the world. Frequently ministers, princes andstatesmen from other countries were present, thatthey might become acquainted with the German idea—­itskultur—­working for the good of humanity.

Here was The Beast mentioned in Revelations, in adifferent guise; wearing the face of benevolence andclothed in the raiment of Heaven. There werefeasts of which the German people knew nothing, andto which foreign ambassadors were not invited.At these feasts the wines were furnished by Belial.They were occasions for the glorification of the Germangod of war; of greed and conquest; ambition and vanity;without pity, sympathy or honor.

Ruthless, vain, arrogant minds met the same qualitiesin their leader. Some knew and welcomed the factthat the devil was their guest of honor; perhaps othersdid not know it. Deluded as they all were andblinded by pride and self-seeking, the same handwritingthat told Belshazzar of disaster was on the wall,but they could not or would not see it. Therewas no Daniel to interpret for them.

German madness for war asserted itself in the ultimatumsent by Austria to Serbia after the assassinationat Sarajevo. Sufficient time had hardly elapsedfor an investigation of the crime and the fixing ofthe responsibility, before Austria made a most insolentdemand upon Serbia.

The smaller nation avowed her innocence of any participationin the murder; offered to make amends, and if it werediscovered that the conspiracy had been hatched onSerbian soil, to assist in bringing to justice anyconfederates in the crime the assassin may have had.

[Illustration: Negro soldiers onthe rifle range at camp grant,Illinois. Being taught marksmanship.An ideal Location resembling battleareas in France.]

[Illustration: Medical detachment 365thinfantry. A representative groupof medical officers and theirfield assistants. This branchof the 92nd division renderedmost valorous service.]

[Illustration: Bayonet exercises inthe training camp.]

[Illustration: Sports and physicalexercise in the training camp.]

[Illustration: Negro troops drilling.Scene at camp Meade, Md.,Where A portion of the 93rddivision and other efficient unitswere trained.]

[Illustration: An equine Barbershop near the camp. Oneof the duties incident tothe training camp.]

[Illustration: Troopers of 10thcavalry going into Mexico.These heroic negro soldiers wereambushed near Carrizal and sufferedA loss of half their numberin one of the bravest fightson record.]

[Illustration: Tenth cavalry survivorsof Carrizal. Despoiled oftheir uniforms by the Mexicansthey arrive at el Paso inoveralls. Lem SPILLSBURY, whitescout in center. Each soldierhas A Bouquet of flowers.]

[Illustration: America’s wartime president. This photographof Woodrow Wilson was especiallyposed during the war. Inhis study at the white house.]

[Illustration: Dr. J.E. Moorland,senior secretary of colored men’sDept., International Y.M.C.A. Theman largely responsible for successof his race in “Y”Work.]

[Illustration: A typical group of“Y” Workers, secretary Snyderand staff. Y.M.C.A. No.7,Camp grant, Illinois.]

[Illustration: President Woodrow Wilson(at head of table) and hiswar Cabinet. Left—­W.G.MCADOO secretary of the treasury;Thomas W. Gregory, ATTY. GENL.; JosephusDaniels, sec. Of navy; D.F.Houston, sec. Of agriculture;William B. Wilson, sec. Oflabor. Right—­RobertLansing, sec. Of state; NewtonD. Baker, sec. Of war; A.S.Burleson, postmaster-general; FranklinK. Lane, sec. Of interior;William C. Redfield, sec. Ofcommerce.]

With a war likely to involve the greater part of Europehanging on the issue, it was a time for cool judgment,sober statesmanship and careful action on all sides.Months should have been devoted to an investigation.

But Germany and Austria did not want a sober investigation.They were afraid that while it was proceeding thepretext for war might vanish. As surmised above,they also may have feared that the responsibility forthe act would be placed in quarters that would be embarrassingto them.

On July 23, 1914, just twenty-five days after themurder, Austria delivered her demands upon Serbiaand placed a time limit of forty-eight hours for theiracceptance. With the fate of a nation and theprobable embroiling of all Europe hanging on the outcome,forty-eight hours was a time too brief for properconsideration. Serbia could hardly summon herstatesmen in that time. Nevertheless the littlecountry, realizing the awful peril that impended,and that she alone would not be the sufferer, bravelyput aside all selfish considerations and practicallyall considerations of national pride and honor.

The records show that every demand which Austria madeon Serbia was granted except one, which was only conditionallyrefused. Although this demand involved the verysovereignty of Serbia—­her existence as anation—­the government offered to submitthe matter to mediation or arbitration. But Austria,cats-pawing for Germany, did not want her demandsaccepted. The one clause was inserted purposely,because they knew it could not be accepted. WithSerbia meeting the situation honestly and going overninety percent of the way towards an amicable adjustment,the diplomacy that could not obtain peace out of sucha situation, must have been imbecile or corrupt tothe last degree.

An American historian discussing causes in the earlystages of the war, said:

“The German Imperial Chancellorpays no high compliment to the intelligence ofthe American people when he asks them to believe that’the war is a life-and-death struggle betweenGermany and the Muscovite races of Russia’,and was due to the royal murders at Sarajevo.

“To say that all Europe had tobe plunged into the most devastating war of humanhistory because an Austrian subject murderedthe heir to the Austrian throne on Austrian soil ina conspiracy in which Serbians were implicated,is too absurd to be treated seriously. Greatwars do not follow from such causes, althoughany pretext, however trivial, may be regarded as sufficientwhen war is deliberately sought.

“Nor is the Imperial Chancellor’sdeclaration that ’the war is a life-and-deathstruggle between Germany and the Muscovite races ofRussia’ convincing in the slightest degree.So far as the Russian menace to Germany is concerned,the Staats-Zeitung is much nearer the truth whenits editor, Mr. Ridder, boasts that ’no Russianarmy ever waged a successful war against a first-classpower.’

“The life-and-death strugglebetween Germany and the Muscovite races of Russiais a diplomatic fiction invented after German Autocracy,taking advantage of the Serbian incident, set forthto destroy France. It was through no fearof Russia that Germany violated her solemn treatyobligations by invading the neutrality of Belgiumand Luxemburg. It was through no fear of Russiathat Germany had massed most of her army nearthe frontiers of France, leaving only six armycorps to hold Russia in check. Germany’spolicy as it stands revealed by her military operationswas to crush France and then make terms withRussia. The policy has failed because ofthe unexpected resistance of the Belgians and therefusal of Great Britain to buy peace at the expenseof her honor.”

A nearer and equally clear view is expressed for theFrench by M. Clemenceau, who early in the war said:

“For twenty-five years WilliamII has made Europe live under the weight of ahorrible nightmare. He has found sheer delightin keeping it in a state of perpetual anxietyover his boastful utterances of power and thesharpened sword.

“Five threats of war have beenlaunched against us since 1875. At the sixthhe finds himself caught in the toils he had laid forus. He threatened the very springs of England’spower, though she was more than pacific in herattitude toward him.

“For many years, thanks to him,the Continent has had to join in a giddy raceof armaments, drying up the sources of economic developmentand exposing our finances to a crisis which we shrankfrom discussing. We must have done with thiscrowned comedian, poet, musician, sailor, warrior,pastor; this commentator absorbed in reconcilingHammurabi with the Bible, giving his opinion on everyproblem of philosophy, speaking of everything, sayingnothing.” M. Clemenceau summed up theKaiser as “another Nero; but Rome in flamesis not sufficient for him—­he demands thedestruction of the universe.”

The Socialist, Upton Sinclair, speaking at the time,blamed Russia as well as Germany and Austria.He also inclined to the view that the assassinationat Sarajevo was instigated by Austria. He said:

“I assert that never before inhuman history has there been a war with lesspretense of justification. It is the supreme crimeof the ages; a blow at the very throat of civilization.The three nations which began it, Austria, Russiaand Germany, are governed, the first by a dodderingimbecile, the second by a weak-minded melancholic,and the third by an epileptic degenerate, drunk uponthe vision of himself as the war lord of Europe.Behind each of These men is a little clique ofblood-thirsty aristocrats. They fall intoa quarrel among themselves. The pretext is thatSerbia instigated the murder of the heir apparentto the Austrian throne. There is good reasonfar believing that as a matter of fact this murderwas instigated by the war party in Austria, becausethe heir apparent had democratic and anti-militarytendencies. First they murder him and thenthey use his death as a pretext for plunging thewhole of civilization into a murderous strife.”

Herman Ridder, editor of the Staats-Zeitung of NewYork contributed a German-American view. Mr.Ridder saw the handwriting on the wall and he verysoundly deprecated war and pictured its horrors.But he could not forget that he was appealing to alarge class that held the German viewpoint. Hetherefore found it necessary to soften his phrase withsome hyphenated sophistry. He dared not say thatGermany was the culprit and would be the principalsufferer. His article was:

“Sooner or later the nationsengaged in war will find themselves spent andweary. There will be victory for some, defeatfor others, and profit for none. There canhardly be any lasting laurels for any of thecontending parties. To change the map of Europeis not worth the price of a single human life.Patriotism should never rise above humanity.

“The history ofwar is merely a succession of blunders. Each treaty
of peace sows the seedof future strife.

“War offends ourintelligence and outrages our sympathies. We can
but stand aside andmurmur ’The pity of it all. The pity ofit
all.’

“War breeds socialism. Atnight the opposing hosts rest on their arms,searching the heavens for the riddle of life and death,and wondering what their tomorrow will bringforth. Around a thousand camp fires thesteady conviction is being driven home that this sacrificeof life might all be avoided. It seems difficultto realize that millions of men, skilled by yearsof constant application, have left the factory,the mill, or the desk to waste not only theirtime but their very lives and possibly the lives ofthose dependent on them to wage war, brother againstbrother.

“The more reasonable it appearsthat peace must quickly come, the more hopelessdoes it seem. I am convinced that an overwhelmingmajority of the populations of Germany, Englandand France are opposed to this war. TheGovernments of these states do not want war.

“War deals inhuman life as recklessly as the gambler in money.

“Imagine the point of view ofa commanding general who is confronted with thetask of taking a fortress; ’That position willcost me five thousand lives; it will be cheapat the price, for it must be taken.’

“He discounts five thousand humanlives as easily as the manufacturer marks offfive thousand dollars for depreciation. And sofive thousand homes are saddened that another flagmay fly over a few feet of fortified masonry.What a grim joke for Europe to play upon humanity.”

There were not wanting those to point out to Mr. Ridderthat the sacrifice of life could have been avoidedhad Germany and its tool Austria, played fair withSerbia and the balance of Europe. Also, his statementthat the government of Germany did not want the warhas been successfully challenged from a hundred differentsources.

H. G. Wells, the eminent English author, contributeda prophecy which translated very plainly the handwritingon the wall. He said:

“This war is notgoing to end in diplomacy; it is going to end
diplomacy.

“It is quite a different sortof war from any that have gone before. Atthe end there will be no conference of Europe on theold lines, but a conference of the world.It will make a peace that will put an end toKrupp, and the spirit of Krupp and Kruppism and theprivate armament firms behind Krupp for evermore.”

Austria formally declared war against Serbia, July28, 1914. During the few days intervening betweenthe dispatch of the ultimatum to Serbia and the formaldeclaration of war, Serbia and Russia, seeing the inevitable,had commenced to mobilize their armies. On thelast day of July, Germany as Austria’s ally,issued an ultimatum with a twelve hour limit demandingthat Russia cease mobilization. They were fondof short term ultimatums. They did not permitmore than enough time for the dispatch to be transmittedand received, much less considered, before the termsof it had expired. Russia demanded assurancesfrom Austria that war was not forthcoming and it continuedto mobilize. On August 1, Germany declared war.France then began to mobilize.

Germany invaded the duchy of Luxemburg and demandedfree passage for its troops across Belgium to attackFrance at that country’s most vulnerable point.King Albert of Belgium refused his consent on the groundthat the neutrality of his country had been guaranteedby the powers of Europe, including Germany itself,and appealed for diplomatic help from Great Britain.That country, which had sought through its foreignsecretary, Sir Edward Grey, to preserve the peaceof Europe, was now aroused. August 4, it sentan ultimatum to Germany demanding that the neutralityof Belgium be respected. As the demand was notcomplied with, Britain formally declared war againstGermany.

Italy at that time was joined with Germany and Austriain what was known as the Triple Alliance. ButItaly recognized the fact that the war was one ofa*ggression and held that it was not bound by its compactto assist its allies. The sympathies of its peoplewere with the French and British. AfterwardsItaly repudiated entirely its alliance and all obligationsto Germany and Austria and entered the war on the sideof the allies. Thus the country of Mazzini, ofGaribaldi and Victor Emmanuel, ranged itself on theside of emancipation and human rights.

The refusal of Italy to enter a war of conquest wasthe first event to set the balance of the world seriouslythinking of the meaning of the war. If Italyrefused to join its old allies, it meant that Italywas too honorable to assist their purposes; Italyknew the character of its associates. When itfinally repudiated them altogether and joined thewar on the other side, it was a terrific indictmentof the Germanic powers, for Italy had much more togain in a material way from its old alliance.It simply showed the world that spirit was above materialism;that emancipation was in the air and that the lampof civilization might be dimmed but could not be darkenedby the forces of evil.

CHAPTER III.

Militarism and autocracy doomed.

Germany’s machine—­herscientific endeavor to Mold soldiers—­influence
on thought and lives of thepeople—­militarism in thehome—­the status
of woman—­false theoriesand false gods—­the systemordained to
perish—­war’s shocks—­Americainclines to neutrality—­Germanand French
treatment of neutrals contrasted—­experiencesof Americans abroad and
enroute home—­statue ofliberty takes on new beauty—­bloodof negro and
white to flow.

Those who had followed the Kaiser’s attitudesand their reflections preceeding the war in the Germanmilitary party, were struck by a strange blendingof martial glory and Christian compunction. Noone prays more loudly than the hypocrite and noneso smug as the devil when a saint he would be.

During long years the military machine had been underconstruction. Human ingenuity had been reducedto a remarkable state of organization and efficiency.One of the principal phases of Kultur was the inaugurationof a sort of scientific discipline which made the Germanpeople not only soldiers in the field, but soldiersin the workshop, in the laboratory and at the desk.The system extended to the schools and universitiesand permeated the thought of the nation. It particularlywas reflected in the home; the domestic arrangementsand customs of the people. The German husbandwas the commander-in-chief of his household.It was not that benevolent lordship which the man ofthe house assumes toward his wife and family in othernations. The stern note of command was alwaysevident; that attitude of “attention!”“eyes front!” and unquestioning obedience.

German women always were subordinate to their husbandsand the male members of their families. It wasnot because the man made the living and supportedthe woman. Frequently the German woman contributedas much towards the support of the family as the males;it was because the German male by the system whichhad been inculcated into him, regarded himself asa superior being and his women as inferiors, made fordrudgery, for child-bearing, and for contributors tohis comforts and pleasures. His attitude waspretty much like that of the American Indian towardshis squaw.

Germany was the only nation on earth pretending tocivilization in which women took the place of beastsof burden. They not only worked in the fields,but frequently pulled the plow and other implementsof agriculture. It was not an uncommon sightin Germany to see a woman and a large dog harnessedtogether drawing a milk cart. When it becamenecessary to deliver the milk the woman slipped herpart of the harness, served the customer, resumedher harness and went on to the next stop. InBelgium, in Holland and in France, women deliveredthe milk also, but the cart always was drawn by oneor two large dogs or other animals and the woman wasthe driver. In Austria it was a strange sightto foreigners, but occasioned no remark among thepeople, to see women drawing carts and wagons in whichwere seated their lords and masters. Not infrequentlythe boss wielded a whip.

The pride of the German nation was in its efficientworkmen. Friends of the country and its systemhave pointed to the fact of universal labor as itsgreat virtue; because to work is good. Really,they were compelled to work. Long hours and thelast degree of efficiency were necessary in orderto meet the requirements of life and the tremendousburdens of taxation caused by the army, the navy, thefortifications and the military machine in general;to say nothing of the expense of maintaining the autocraticpomp of the Kaiser, his sons and satellites.Every member of the German family had his or her task,even to the little three-year-old toddler whose businessit was to look after the brooms, dust rags and otherhousehold utensils. There was nothing of cheerfulnessor even of the dignity of labor about this. Itwas hard, unceasing, grinding toil which crushed thespirits of the people. It was part of the systemto cause them to welcome war as a diversion.

To the German mind everything had an aspect of seriousness.The people took their pleasures seriously. Ontheir holidays, mostly occasions on which they celebratedan event in history or the birthday of a monarch ormilitary hero, or during the hours which they coulddevote to relaxation, they gathered with serious,stolid faces in beer gardens. If they dancedit was mostly a cumbersome performance. Generallythey preferred to sit and blink behind great foamingtankards and listen to intellectual music. Noother nation had such music. It was so intellectualin itself that it relieved the listeners of the necessityof thinking. There was not much of melody in it;little of the dance movement and very little of thelighter and gayer manifestations of life. Ithas been described as a sort of harmonious discord,typifying mysterious, tragic and awe-inspiring things.The people sat and ate their heavy food and dranktheir beer, their ears engaged with the strains ofthe orchestra, their eyes by the movements of the conductor,while their tired brains rested and digestion proceeded.

To the average German family a picnic or a day’souting was a serious affair. The labor of preparationwas considerable and then they covered as much ofthe distance as possible by walking in order to savecarfare. In the parade was the tired, carewornwife usually carrying one, sometimes two infants inher arms. The other children lugged the lunchbaskets, hammocks, umbrellas and other paraphernalia.At the head of the procession majestically marchedthe lord of the outfit, smoking his cigar or pipe;a suggestion of the goose-step in his stride, carryingnothing, except his dignity and military deportment.With this kind of start the reader can imagine thegood time they all had.

Militarism and autocracy doomedJoy to the German mind in mass was an unknown quantity.The literature on which they fed was heavier and moresomber than their music. When the average Germantried to be gay and playful he reminded one of anelephant trying to caper. Their humor in themain, manifested itself in coarse and vulgar jests.

For athletics they had their turn vereins in whichmen went through hard, laborious exercises which madethem muscle-bound. Their favorite sports werehunting and fencing—­the desire to kill orwound. They rowed some but they knew nothingof baseball, boxing, tennis, golf or the usual sportsso popular with young men in England, France and America.Aside from fencing, they had not a sport calculatedto produce agility or nimbleness of foot and brain.

Their emotions expanded and their sentiments thrilledat the spectacle of war. Uniforms, helmets andgold lace delighted their eyes. The parade, theguard mount, the review were the finest things theyknew. To a people trained in such a school andpurposely given great burdens that they might attainfortitude, war was second nature. They welcomedit as a sort of pastime.

In the system on which Kultur was based, it was necessaryto strike deeply the religious note; no differenceif it was a false note. The German ear was soaccustomed to discord it could not recognize the truefrom the false. The Kaiser was heralded to hispeople as a deeply religious man. In his publicutterances he never failed to call upon God to granthim aid and bless his works.

One of the old traditions of the Fatherland was thatthe king, being specially appointed by God, coulddo no wrong. To the thinking portion of the nationthis could have been nothing less than absurd fallacy,but where the majority do not think; if a thing isasserted strongly and often enough, they come to acceptit. It becomes a belief. The people hadbecome so impressed with the devoutness of the Kaiserand his assumption of Divine guidance, that the greatmajority of them believed the kaiser was always right;that he could do no wrong. When the great blowof war finally was struck the Kaiser asked his Godto look down and bless the sword that he had drawn;a prayer altogether consistent coming from his lips,for the god he worshipped loved war, was a god of famine,rapine and blood. From the moment of that appeal,military autocracy and absolute monarchy were doomed.It took time, it took lives, it took more treasurethan a thousand men could count in a lifetime.But the assault had been against civilization, onthe very foundation of all that humanity had gainedthrough countless centuries. The forces of lightwere too strong for it; would not permit it to triumph.

The President of the United States, from the bedsideof his dying wife, appealed to the nations for somemeans of reaching peace for Europe. The lastthoughts of his dying helpmate, were of the great responsibilityresting upon her husband incident to the awful crisisin the lives of the nations of earth, that was becomingmore pronounced with each second of time.

The Pope was stricken to death by the great calamityto civilization. A few minutes before the endcame he said that the Almighty in His infinite mercywas removing him from the world to spare him the anguishof the awful war.

The first inclination of America was to be neutral.She was far removed from the scenes of strife andknew little of the hidden springs and causes of thewar. Excepting in the case of a few of her publicmen; her editors, professors and scholars, Europeanpolitics were as a sealed book. The presidentof the United States declared for neutrality; thatindividual and nation should avoid the inflaming touchof the war passion. We kept that attitude aslong as was consistent with national patience andthe larger claims of humanity and universal justice.

As an evidence of our lack of knowledge of the impendingconflict, a party of Christian men were on the seawith the humanitarian object in view of attendinga world’s peace conference in Constance, Germany—­Germanyof all places, then engaged in trying to burn up theworld. Arriving in Paris, the party received itsfirst news that a great European war was about tobegin. Steamship offices were being stormed bycrowds of frantic American tourists. Martial lawwas declared. The streets were alive with soldiersand weeping women. Shops were closed, the clerkshaving been drafted into the army. The city hummedwith militarism.

Underneath the excitement was the stern, stoic attitudeof the French in preparing to meet their old enemy,combined with their calmness in refraining from outbreaksagainst German residents of Paris. One of theparty alluding to the incongruous position in whichthe peace delegates found themselves, said:

“It might be interesting to observethe unique and almost humorous situation intowhich these peace delegates were thrown. Startingout a week before with the largest hope and mostenthusiastic anticipation of effecting a closertie between nations, and swinging the churchesof Christendom into a clearer alignment againstinternational martial attitudes, we were instantly‘disarmed,’ bound, and cast into chainsof utter helplessness, not even feeling freeto express the feeblest sentiment against the highrising tide of military activity. We were loston a tempestuous sea; the dove of peace had beenbeaten, broken winged to shore, and the olivebranch lost in its general fury.”

Describing conditions in Paris on August 12, he says:

“We are in a state of tense expectation,so acute that it dulls the senses; Paris is relapsinginto the condition of an audience assisting ata thrilling drama with intolerably long entr’acts,during which it tries to think of its own personalaffairs.

“We know that pages of historyare being rapidly engraved in steel, writtenin blood, illuminated in the margin with glory on abackground of heroism and suffering, not morethan a few score miles away.

“The shrieking camelots (peddlers)gallop through the streets waving their newssheets, but it is almost always news of twenty-fourhours ago. The iron hand of the censor reducesthe press to a monotonous repetition of the sameformula. Only headlines give scope for originality.Of local news there is none. There is nothingdoing in Paris but steady preparation for meetingcontingencies by organizing ambulances and relieffor the poor.”

From the thousands of tales brought back by Americantourists caught in Germany at the outbreak of thewar, there is more than enough evidence that theywere not treated with that courtesy manifested towardsthem by the French. They were arrested as spies,subjected to all sorts of embarrassments and indignities;their persons searched, their baggage and lettersexamined, and frequently were detained for long periodswithout any explanation being offered. When finallytaken to the frontier, they were not merely put across—­frequentlythey were in a sense thrown across.

Nor were the subjects of other nations, particularlythose with which Germany was at war, treated withthat fine restraint which characterized the French.Here is an account by a traveller of the treatmentof Russian subjects:

“We left Berlin on the day Germanydeclared war against Russia. Within seventy-fivemiles of the frontier, 1,000 Russians in the trainby which they were travelling were turned outof the carriage and compelled to spend eighteenhours without food in an open field surroundedby soldiers with fixed bayonets.

“Then they were placed in dirtycattle wagons, about sixty men, women and childrento a wagon, and for twenty-eight hours were carriedabout Prussia without food, drink or privacy.In Stettin they were lodged in pig pens, andnext morning were sent off by steamer to Rugen, whencethey made their way to Denmark and Sweden withoutmoney or luggage. Sweden provided them withfood and free passage to the Russian frontier.Five of our fellow-passengers went mad.”

The steamship Philadelphia—­note the name,signifying brotherly love, so completely lost sightof in the conflict—­was the first passengerliner to reach America after the beginning of theEuropean war. A more remarkable crowd never arrivedin New York City by steamship or train. Therewere men of millions and persons of modest means whohad slept side by side on the journey over; voyagerswith balances of tens of thousands of dollars in banksand not a cent in their pocketbooks; men able andeager to pay any price for the best accommodationsto be had, yet satisfied and happy sharing bunks inthe steerage.

There were women who had lost all baggage and hadcome alone, their friends and relatives being unableto get accommodations on the vessel. There werechildren who had come on board with their mothers,with neither money nor reservations, who were happybecause they had received the very best treatmentfrom all the steamship’s officers and crew andbecause they had enjoyed the most comfortable quartersto be had, surrendered by men who were content tosleep in most humble surroundings, or, if necessary,as happened in a few cases, to sleep on the deckswhen the weather permitted.

Wealthy, but without funds, many of the passengersgave jewelry to the stewards and other employees ofthe steamship as the tips which they assumed wereexpected even in times of stress. The crew tookthem apologetically, some said they were content totake only the thanks of the passengers. One womanof wealth and social position, without money, andhaving lost her check book with her baggage, as hadmany others of the passengers, gave a pair of valuablebracelets to her steward with the request that hegive them to his wife. She gave a hat—­theonly one she managed to take with her on her flightfrom Switzerland—­to her stewardess.

The statue of Liberty never looked so beautiful toa party of Americans before. The strains of theStar Spangled Banner, as they echoed over the watersof the bay, were never sweeter nor more inspiring.As the Philadelphia approached quarrantine, the notesof the American anthem swelled until, as she sloweddown to await the coming of the physicians and customsofficials, it rose to a great crescendo which fellupon the ears of all within many hundred yards andbrought an answering chorus from the throngs who waitedto extend their hands to relatives and friends.

There was prophecy in the minds of men and women aboardthat ship. Some of them had been brought intoactual contact with the war; others very near it.In the minds of all was the vision that liberty, enlightenmentand all the fruits of progress were threatened; thatif they were to be saved, somehow, this land typifiedthe spirit of succor; somehow the aid was to proceedfrom here.

Liberty never had a more cherished meaning to menof this Republic. In the minds of many the convictionhad taken root, that if autocracy and absolute monarchywere to be overthrown; that “government of thepeople, by the people, for the people” should“not perish from the earth,” it wouldeventually require from America that supreme sacrificein devotion and blood that at periods in the growthand development of nations, is their last resort againstthe menace of external attack, and, regardless ofthe reflections of theorists and philosophers, thebest and surest guarantee of their longevity; thatthe principles upon which they were builded were somethingmore than mere words, hollow platitudes, meaning nothing,worthy of nothing, inspiring nothing. It was thedawning of a day; new and strange in its requirementsof America whose isolation and policy, as bequeathedby the fathers, had kept it aloof from the bickeringsand quarrels of the nations that composed the “ArmedCamp” of Europe, during which, as subsequentevents proved, the blood of the Caucasian and theNegro would upon many a hard fought pass; many a smokingtrench in the battle zone of Europe, run together inone rivulet of departing life, for the guarantee ofliberty throughout all the earth, and the establishmentof justice at its uttermost bounds and ends.

CHAPTER IV

AWAKENING OF AMERICA

President clings to neutrality—­Monroedoctrine and Washington’s
warning—­German crimes andGerman victories—­CardinalMercier’s
letter—­military operations—­firstsubmarine activities—­theLusitania
outrage—­exchange of notes—­unitedstates aroused—­role ofpassive
onlooker becomes irksome—­firstmodification of principles of Washington
and Monroe—­our destinylooms.

August 4,1914, President Wilson proclaimed the neutralityof the United States. A more consistent attemptto maintain that attitude was never made by a nation.In an appeal addressed to the American people on August18th, the president implored the citizens to refrainfrom “taking sides.” Part of hisutterance on that occasion was:

“We must be impartial in thoughtas well as in action, must put a curb upon oursentiments as well as upon every transaction thatmight be construed as a preference of one partyto the struggle before another.

“My thought is of America.I am speaking, I feel sure, the earnest wishand purpose of every thoughtful American that thisgreat country of ours, which is, of course, thefirst in our thoughts and in our hearts, shouldshow herself in this time of peculiar trial a nationfit beyond others to exhibit the fine poise of undisturbedjudgment, the dignity of self-control, the efficiencyof dispassionate action; a nation that neithersits in judgment upon others, nor is disturbedin her own counsels, and which keeps herselffit and free to do what is honest and disinterestedand truly serviceable for the peace of the world.”

American poise had been somewhat disturbed over thetreatment of American tourists caught in Germany atthe outbreak of the war. American sentiment wasopenly agitated by the invasion of Belgium and theinsolent repudiation by Germany of her treaty obligations.The German chancellor had referred to the treaty withBelgium as “a scrap of paper.” Thesethings had created a suspicion in American minds, havingto do with what seemed Germany’s real and ulteriorobject, but in the main the people of this countyaccepted the president’s appeal in the spiritin which it was intended and tried to live up to it,which attitude was kept to the very limit of humanforbearance.

A few editors and public men, mostly opposed to thepresident politically, thought we were carrying theprinciple of neutrality too far; that the violationof Belgium was a crime against humanity in generaland that if we did not at least protest against it,we would be guilty of national stultification if notdownright cowardice. Against this view was invokedthe time-honored principles of the Monroe Doctrineand its great corollary, Washington’s adviceagainst becoming entangled in European affairs.Our first president, in his farewell address, establisheda precept of national conduct that up to the time wewere drawn into the European war, had become almosta principle of religion with us. He said:

“Against the insidious wilesof foreign influence (I conjure you to believeme, fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free peopleought to constantly awake, since history andexperience prove that foreign influence is oneof the most baneful foes of republican government—­Europehas a set of primary interests which to us have noneor a very remote relation. Hence she must be engagedin frequent controversies, the causes of whichare essentially foreign to our concern.Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicateourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudesof her politics or the ordinary combinations andcollisions of her friendships or enmities.”

The Monroe Doctrine was a statement of principlesmade by President Monroe in his famous message ofDecember 2, 1823. The occasion of the utterancewas the threat by the so-called Holy Alliance to interfereforcibly in South America with a view to reseatingSpain in control of her former colonies there.President Monroe, pointing to the fact that it wasa principle of American policy not to intermeddle inEuropean affairs, gave warning that any attempt bythe monarchies of Europe “to extend their systemto any portion of this hemisphere” would beconsidered by the United States “as dangerousto our peace and safety.” This warningfell in line with British policy at the time and soproved efficacious.

[Illustration: Negro soldiers andred cross workers in frontof canteen, hamlet, N.C.]

[Illustration: Colored red crossworkers from the canteen atAtlanta, Ga., Feeding soldiersat railway station.]

[Illustration: Colored women inhospital garments class of branchno. 6. New Orleans chapter,American red cross. LouiseJ. Ross, director.]

[Illustration: Red cross workers.Prominent colored women of Atlanta,Ga., Who organized canteen forrelief of negro soldiers goingto and returning from war.]

[Illustration: The game is on.A baseball match between negroand white troops in one ofthe training areas in France.]

[Illustration: Col. William Haywardof 369th infantry playing baseballwith his negro soldiers atst. Nazaire, France.]

[Illustration: Jazz and southernmelodies hasten Cure. Negrosailor entertaining disabled navymen in hospital for CONVALESCENTS.]

[Illustration: Enjoying A bit ofCake baked at the Americanred cross canteen at is-sur-Tille,France.]

[Illustration: Corporal Fred. McINTYREof 369th infantry, with pictureof the kaiser which he capturedfrom A German officer.]

[Illustration: Lieut. Robert L.Campbell, negro officer of the368th infantry who won fameand the D.S.C. In Argonneforest. He devised A clever pieceof strategy and displayed greatheroism in the execution ofit.]

[Illustration: Emmett J. Scott, appointedby secretary Baker, as specialassistant during the world war.He was formerly confidential secretaryto the late Booker T. Washington.]

[Illustration: (Top)—­generalDiaz, commander-in-chief Italianarmies. Marshal Foch, commander-in-chiefallied forces.

(Center)—­general Pershing,commander-in-chief American armies.Admiral Sims, in charge ofAmerican naval operations overseas.

(Bottom)—­king Albert, commander-in-chiefBelgian army. Field MarshalHaig, head of British armies.]

In a later section of the same message the propositionwas also advanced that the American continent wasno longer subject to colonization. This clauseof the doctrine was the work of Monroe’s secretaryof state, John Quincy Adams, and its occasion wasfurnished by the fear that Russia was planning toset up a colony at San Francisco, then the propertyof Spain, whose natural heir on the North Americancontinent, Adams held, was the United States.It is this clause of the document that has furnishedmuch of the basis for its subsequent development.

In 1902 Germany united with Great Britain and Italyto collect by force certain claims against Venezuela.President Roosevelt demanded and finally, after threateningto dispatch Admiral Dewey to the scene of action,obtained a statement that she would not permanentlyoccupy Venezuelan territory. Of this statementone of the most experienced and trusted American editors,avowedly friendly to Germany, remarked at the time,

that while he believed “it was and will remaintrue for some time to come, I cannot, in view of thespirit now evidently dominant in the mind of the emperorand among many who stand near him, express any beliefthat such assurances will remain trustworthy for anygreat length of time after Germany shall have developeda fleet larger than that of the United States.”He accordingly cautioned the United States “tobear in mind probabilities and possibilities as tothe future conduct of Germany, and therefore increasegradually our naval strength.” Bismarckpronounced the Monroe Doctrine “an internationalimpertinence,” and this has been the Germanview all along.

Dr. Zorn, one of the most conservative of German authoritieson international affairs, concluded an article inDie Woche of September 13, 1913, with these words:“Considered in all its phases, the Monroe Doctrineis in the end seen to be a question of might only andnot of right.”

The German government’s efforts to check Americaninfluence in the Latin American states had of lateyears been frequent and direct. They comprisedthe encouragement of German emigration to certain regions,the sending of agents to maintain close contact, presentationof German flags in behalf of the Kaiser, the placingof the German Evangelical churches in certain SouthAmerican countries under the Prussian State Church,annual grants for educational purposes from the imperialtreasury at Berlin, and the like.

The “Lodge resolution,” adopted by thesenate in 1912, had in view the activities of certainGerman corporations in Latin America, as well as theepisode that immediately occasioned it; nor can therebe much doubt that it was the secret interferenceby Germany at Copenhagen that thwarted the sale ofthe Danish West Indies to the United States in 1903.

In view of a report that a Japanese corporation, closelyconnected with the Japanese government, was negotiatingwith the Mexican government for a territorial concessionoff Magdalena Bay, in lower California, the senatein 1912 adopted the following resolution, which wasoffered by Senator Lodge of Massachusetts:

“That when any harbor or otherplace in the American continent is so situatedthat the occupation thereof for naval or militarypurposes might threaten the communications orthe safety of the United States, the governmentof the United States could not see without graveconcern, the possession of such harbor or other placeby any corporation or association which has sucha relation to another government, not American,as to give that government practical power ofcontrol for naval or military purposes.”

All of the above documents, arguments and events wereof the greatest importance in connection with thegreat European struggle. America was rapidlyawakening, and the role of a passive onlooker becameincreasingly irksome. It was pointed out thatWashington’s message said we must not implicate

ourselves in the “ordinary vicissitudes”of European politics. This case rapidly was assumingsomething decidedly beyond the “ordinary.”As the carnage increased and outrages piled up, thefinest sensibilities of mankind were shocked and webegan to ask ourselves if we were not criminally negligentin our attitude; if it was not our duty to put fortha staying hand and use the extreme weight of our influenceto stop the holocaust.

From August 4 to 26, Germany overran Belgium.Liege was occupied August 9; Brussels, August 20,and Namur, August 24. The stories of atrocitiescommitted on the civil population of that country havesince been well authenticated. At the time itwas hard to believe them, so barbaric and utterlywanton were they. Civilized people could not understandhow a nation which pretended to be not only civilized,but wished to impose its culture on the remainderof the world, could be so ruthless to a small adversarywhich had committed no crime and desired only to preserveits nationality, integrity and treaty rights.

Germany did not occupy Antwerp until October 9, owingto the stiff resistance of the Belgians and engagementswith the French and British elsewhere. But Germanarms were uniformly victorious. August 21-23occurred the battle of Mons-Charleroi, a serious defeatfor the French and British, which resulted in a doggedretreat eventually to a line along the Seine, Marneand Meuse rivers.

The destruction of Louvain occurred August 26, andwas one of the events which inflamed anti-German sentimentthroughout the world. The beautiful cathedral,the historic cloth market, the library and other architecturalmonuments for which the city was famed, were put tothe torch. The Belgian priesthood was in woeover these and other atrocities. Cardinal Merciercalled upon the Christian world to note and protestagainst these crimes. In his pastoral letter ofChristmas, 1914, he thus pictures Belgium’swoe and her Christian fortitude:

“And there where lives were nottaken, and there where the stones of buildingswere not thrown down, what anguish unrevealed!Families hitherto living at ease, now in bitterwant; all commerce at an end, all careers ruined;industry at a standstill; thousands upon thousandsof workingmen without employment; working women; shopgirls, humble servant girls without the means of earningtheir bread, and poor souls forlorn on the bedof sickness and fever crying: ’O Lord,how long, how long?’—­God will saveBelgium, my brethren; you can not doubt it.Nay, rather, He is saving her—­Whichof us would have the heart to cancel this page of ournational history? Which of us does not exultin the brightness of the glory of this shatterednation? When in her throes she brings forthheroes, our mother country gives her own energy tothe blood of those sons of hers. Let usacknowledge that we needed a lesson in patriotism—­Fordown within us all is something deeper than personalinterests, than personal kinships, than party feeling,and this is the need and the will to devote ourselvesto that most general interest which Rome termedthe public thing, Res publica. And thisprofound will within us is patriotism.”

Meanwhile there was a slight offset to the Germansuccesses. Russia had overrun Galicia and theAllies had conquered the Germany colony of Togolandin Africa. But on August 26 the Russians wereseverely defeated in the battle of Tannenburg in EastPrussia. This was offset by a British naval victoryin Helgoland Bight. (August 28.)

So great had become the pressure of the German armiesthat on September 3 the French government removedfrom Paris to Bordeaux. The seriousness of thesituation was made manifest when two days later GreatBritain, France and Russia signed a treaty not tomake peace separately. Then it became evidentto the nations of the earth that the struggle was notonly to be a long one, but in all probability the mostgigantic in history.

The Germans reached the extreme point of their advance,culminating in the Battle of the Marne, September6-10. Here the generalship of Joffre and thestrategy of Foch overcame great odds. The Germanswere driven back from the Marne to the River Aisne.The battle line then remained practically stationaryfor three years on a front of three hundred miles.

The Russians under General Rennenkampf were drivenfrom East Prussia September 16. Three Britisharmored cruisers were sunk by a submarine September22. By September 27 General Botha had gained somesuccesses for the Allies, and had under way an invasionof German Southwest Africa. By October 13 Belgiumwas so completely occupied by the Germans that thegovernment withdrew entirely from the country and establisheditself at Le Havre in France. By the end of theyear had occurred the Battle of Yser in Belgium (October16-28); the first Battle of Ypres (decisive day October31), in which the British, French and Belgians savedthe French channel ports; De Wet’s rebellionagainst the British in South Africa (October 28);German naval victory in the Pacific off the coastof Chile (November 1); fall of Tsingtau, German possessionin China, to the Japanese (November 7); Austrian invasionof Serbia (Belgrade taken December 2, recaptured bythe Serbians December 14); German commerce raiderEmden caught and destroyed at Cocos Island (November10); British naval victory off the Falkland Islands(December 8); South African rebellion collapsed (December8); French government returned to Paris (December9); German warships bombarded West Hartlepool, Scarboroughand Whitby on the coast of England (December 16).On December 24 the Germans showed their Christian spiritin an inauguration of the birthday of Christ by thefirst air raid over England. The latter partof the year 1914 saw no important action by the UnitedStates excepting a proclamation by the president ofthe neutrality of the Panama canal zone.

The events of 1915 and succeeding years became ofgreat importance to the United States and it is witha record of those having the greatest bearing on ourcountry that this account principally will deal.

On January 20 Secretary of State Bryan found it necessaryto explain and defend our policy of neutrality.January 28 the American merchantman William P. Fryewas sunk by the German cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich.On February 10 the United States dispatched a noteto the German government holding it to a “strictaccountability if any merchant vessel of the UnitedStates is destroyed or any American citizens lose theirlives.” Germany replied February 16 statingthat her “war zone” act was an act ofself-defense against illegal methods employed by GreatBritain in preventing commerce between Germany andneutral countries. Two days later the Germanofficial blockade of Great Britain commenced and theGerman submarines began their campaign of piracy andpillage.

The United States on February 20 sent an identic noteto Germany and Great Britain suggesting an agreementbetween them respecting the conduct of naval warfare.The British steamship Falaba was sunk by a submarineMarch 28, with a loss of 111 lives, one of which wasan American. April 8 the steamer Harpalyce, inthe service of the American commission for the aidof Belgium, was torpedoed with a loss of 15 lives.On April 22 the German embassy in America sent outa warning against embarkation on vessels belongingto Great Britain. The American vessel Cushingwas attacked by a German aeroplane April 28. OnMay 1 the American steamship Gullflight was sunk bya German submarine and two Americans were lost.That day the warning of the German embassy was publishedin the daily papers. The Lusitania sailed at 12:20noon.

Five days later occurred the crime which almost broughtAmerica into the second year of the war. TheCunard line steamship Lusitania was sunk by a Germansubmarine with a loss of 1,154 lives, of which 114were Americans. After the policy of frightfulnessput into effect by the Germans in Belgium and otherinvaded territories, the massacres of civilians, theviolation of women and killing of children; burning,looting and pillage; the destruction of whole towns,acts for which no military necessity could be pleaded,civilization should have been prepared for the Lusitaniacrime. But it seems it was not. The burstof indignation throughout the United States was terrible.Here was where the terms German and Hun became synonomous,having in mind the methods and ravages of the barbaricscourge Attilla, king of the Huns, who in the fifthcentury sacked a considerable portion of Europe andintroduced some refinements in cruelty which havenever been excelled.

The Lusitania went down twenty-one minutes after theattack. The Berlin government pleaded in extenuationof the sinking that the ship was armed, and Germanagents in New York procured testimony which was subsequentlyproven in court to have been perjured, to bolster upthe falsehood. In further justification, theGerman government adduced the fact that the ship wascarrying ammunition which it said was “destinedfor the destruction of brave German soldiers.”This contention our government rightly brushed asideas irrelevant.

The essence of the case was stated by our governmentin its note of June 9 as follows:

“Whatever be the other factsregarding the Lusitania, the principal fact isthat a great steamer, primarily and chiefly a conveyancefor passengers, and carrying more than a thousandsouls who had no part or lot in the conduct ofthe war, was sunk without so much as a challengeor a warning, and that men, women and children weresent to their death in circ*mstances unparalleledin modern warfare.”

Three notes were written to Germany regarding theLusitania sinking. The first dated May 13 advancedthe idea that it was impossible to conduct submarinewarfare conformably with international law. Inthe second dated June 9 occurs the statement that“the government of the United States is contendingfor something much greater than mere rights of propertyor privileges of commerce. It is contending fornothing less high and sacred than the rights of humanity.”In the third note dated July 21, it is asserted that“the events of the past two months have clearlyindicated that it is possible and practicable to conductsubmarine operations within the so-called war zonein substantial accord with the accepted practicesof regulated warfare.” The temper of theAmerican people and the president’s notes hadsucceeded in securing a modification of the submarinecampaign.

It required cool statesmanship to prevent a rushinginto war over the Lusitania incident and events whichhad preceeded it. There was a well developedmovement in favor of it, but the people were not unanimouson the point. It would have lacked that cooperationnecessary for effectiveness; besides our country wasbut poorly prepared for engaging in hostilities.It was our state of unpreparedness continuing for along time afterwards, which contributed, no doubt,to German arrogance. They thought we would notfight.

But the United States had become thoroughly awakenedand the authorities must have felt that if the conflictwas to be unduly prolonged, we must eventually bedrawn into it. This is reflected in the modifiedconstruction which the president and others began toplace on the Monroe Doctrine. The great underlyingidea of the doctrine remained vital, but in a messageto congress delivered December 7, 1915, the presidentsaid:

“In the day in whose light we now stand thereis no claim of guardianship, but a full and honorableassociation as of partners between ourselves and ourneighbors in the interests of America.”Speaking before the League to Enforce Peace at Washington,May 27, 1916, he said: “What affects mankindis inevitably our affair, as well as the affair ofthe nations of Europe and of Asia.” In hisaddress to the senate of January 22, 1917, he said:“I am proposing, as it were, that the nationsshould with one accord adopt the doctrine of PresidentMonroe as the doctrine of the world—­thatno nation should seek to extend its policy over anyother nation or people, but that every people shouldbe left free to determine its own policy, its own wayof development, unhindered, unthreatened, unafraid,the little along with the great and powerful.”This was a modifying and enlarging of the doctrine,as well as a departure from Washington’s warningagainst becoming entangled with the affairs of Europe.

CHAPTER V

HUNS SWEEPING WESTWARD

Toward shores of Atlantic—­spreadruin and devastation—­capitalsof civilization alarmed—­activitiesof spies—­apologies andlies—­German arms winning—­gaintime to forge new weapons—­fewvictories for allies—­Roumaniacrushed—­incident of U-53.

The powerful thrusts of the German armies toward theEnglish channel and the Atlantic ocean, the pitilesssubmarine policy, and the fact that Germany and Austriahad allied with them Bulgaria and Turkey, began tospread alarm in the non-belligerent nations of theworld.

That Germany was playing a Machiavellian policy againstthe United States soon became evident. Aftereach submarine outrage would come an apology, frequentlya promise of reparation and an agreement not to repeatthe offense, with no intention, however, of keepingfaith in any respect. As a mask for their duplicity,the Germans even sent a message of sympathy for theloss of American lives through the sinking of theLusitania; which but intensified the state of mindin this country.

Less than three weeks after the Lusitania outragethe American steamship Nebraskan was attacked (May25) by a submarine. The American steamship Leelanawwas sunk by submarines July 25. The White Starliner Arabic was sunk by a submarine August 19; sixteenvictims, two American.

Our government received August 24 a note from theGerman ambassador regarding the sinking of the Arabic.It stated that the loss of American lives was contraryto the intention of the German government and wasdeeply regretted. On September 1 Ambassador vonBernstorff supplemented the note with a letter toSecretary Lansing giving assurance that German submarineswould sink no more liners.

The Allan liner Hesperian was sunk September 4 bya German submarine; 26 lives lost, one American.

On October 5 the German government sent a communicationregretting again and disavowing the sinking of theArabic, and stating its willingness to pay indemnities.

Meanwhile depression existed among the Allies andalarm among nations outside the war over the Germanconquest of Russian Poland. They captured Lublin,July 31; Warsaw, August 4; Ivangorod, August 5; Kovno,August 17; Novogeorgievsk, August 19; Brest-Litovsk,August 25, and Vilna, September 18.

Activities of spies and plottings within the UnitedStates began to divide attention with the war in Europeand the submarine situation. Dr. Constantin Dumba,who was Austro-Hungarian ambassador to the UnitedStates, in a letter to the Austrian minister of foreignaffairs, dated August 20, recommended “mostwarmly” to the favorable consideration of theforeign office “proposals with respect to thepreparation of disturbances in the Bethlehem steeland munitions factory, as well as in the middle west.”

He felt that “we could, if not entirely preventthe production of war material in Bethlehem and inthe middle west, at any rate strongly disorganizeit and hold it up for months.”

The letter was intrusted to an American newspapercorrespondent named Archibald, who was just settingout for Europe under the protection of an Americanpassport. Archibald’s vessel was held upat Falmouth, England, his papers seized and theircontents cabled to the United States. On September8 Secretary Lansing instructed our ambassador at Viennato demand Dr. Dumba’s recall and the demand wassoon acceded to by his government.

On December 4 Captain Karl Boy-Ed, naval attache ofthe German embassy in Washington, was dismissed byour government for “improper activity in navalaffairs.” At the same time Captain Franzvon Papen, military attache of the embassy, was dismissedfor “improper activity in military matters.”In an intercepted letter to a friend in Germany hereferred to our people as “those idiotic Yankees.”

As a fitting wind-up of the year and as showing whatthe German promise to protect liners amounted to,the British passenger steamer Persia was sunk in theMediterranean by a submarine December 30, 1915.

The opening of 1916 found the president strugglingwith the grave perplexities of the submarine problem,exchanging notes with the German government, takingfresh hope after each disappointment and endeavoringby every means to avert the impending strife and finda basis for the preservation of an honorable peace.

It was now evident to most thinking people that theapparent concessions of the Germans were granted merelyto provide them time to complete a larger programof submarine construction. This must have beenevident to the president; but he appears to have possessedan optimism that rose above his convictions.

Our government, January 18, put forth a declarationof principles regarding submarine attacks and inquiredwhether the governments of the allies would subscribeto such an agreement. This was one of the president’s“forlorn hope” movements to try and bringabout an agreement among the belligerents which wouldbring the submarine campaign within the restrictionsof international law. Could such an agreementhave been effected, it would have been of vast reliefto this country and might have kept us out of thewar. The Allies were willing to subscribe to anyreasonable agreement provided there was assurance thatit would be maintained. They pointed out, however,the futility of treating on the basis of promisesalone with a nation which not only had shown a contemptfor its ordinary promises, but had repudiated its sacredobligations.

A ray of hope gleamed across our national horizonwhen Germany, on February 16, sent a note acknowledgingher liability in the Lusitania affair. But thewhole matter was soon complicated again by the “armedship” issue. Germany had sent a note tothe neutral powers that an armed merchant ship wouldbe treated as a warship and would be sunk on sight.Secretary Lansing made the statement for this governmentthat by international law commercial ships have aright to arm themselves for self-defense. Itwas an additional emphasis on the position that thesubmarine campaign as conducted by Germany was simplypiracy and had no standing in international law.President Wilson, in a letter to Senator Stone February24, said that American citizens had a right to travelon armed merchant ships, and he refused to advisethem against exercising the right.

March 24 the French steamer Sussex, engaged in passengertraffic across the English channel, was torpedoedand sunk without warning. About eighty passengers,including American citizens, were killed or wounded.

Several notes passed between our government and Germanyon the sinking of the Sussex and other vessels.Our ambassador at Berlin was instructed to take energeticaction and to insist upon adequate attention to ourdemands. April 18 our government delivered whatwas considered an ultimatum to the effect that unlessGermany abandoned her methods of submarine warfare,the United States would sever diplomatic relations.The president addressed congress on the matter thefollowing day.

Germany had not yet completed her program of submarinebuilding and thought it wise to temporize with theAmerican government for a while longer. May 4she replied to the ultimatum of April 18, acknowledgedthe sinking of the Sussex and in the main accededto all the demands of the United States. Therewere certain phases which indicated that Germany wishedto use this country as a medium for securing certainagreements from the Allies. The president acceptedthe German conditions generally, but made it clearin his reply that the conditions could not depend uponany negotiations between this country and other belligerents.The intimation was plain enough that the United Stateswould not be a catspaw for German aims.

Up to this time in the year 1916 the advantage inarms had been greatly on the side of Germany and herallies. In January the British had evacuatedthe entire Gallipoli peninsula and the campaign inTurkey soon came to grief. Cettinje, the capitalof Montenegro, had also fallen to the Teutonic allies,and that country practically was put out of the war.

The British had made important gains in the Germancolonies in Africa and had conquered most of the Kamerunsection there. Between February and July theGermans had been battling at the important French positionof Verdun, with great losses and small results.Practically all the ground lost was slowly regainedby the French in the autumn. The Russians hadentered Persia in February, and April 17 had capturedthe important city of Trebizond in Armenia from theTurks. But on April 29 General Townshend surrenderedhis entire British force to the Turks at Kut el Amara,after being besieged for 143 days and finally starvedinto submission.

Throughout the balance of the year the advantage wasgreatly on the side of the Germans, for the latterpart of the year saw the beginning of the crushingof Roumania, which had entered the war August 27 onthe side of the Allies. Bucharest, the capital,fell to the Germans December 6; Dobrudja, January2, and Focsani, January 8 of the ensuing year, 1917.The crushing of Roumania was accomplished almost entirelyby treachery. The Germans knew the plans of allthe principal fortifications; the strength and plansof the Roumanian forces, and every detail calculatedto be of benefit. The country had been honeycombedwith their spies prior to and during the war, verymuch as Russia had been. It is quite evidentthat men high in the councils of the Roumanian governmentand in full possession of the military secrets ofthe country were simply disguised German agents.

Between July and November had occurred the great battlesof the Somme during which the Allies had failed tobreak the German lines. The Austrians in Junehad launched a great attack and made much progressagainst the Italians in the Trentino. The principaloffsets to the German gains during the last sevenmonths of the year 1916 were the Russian offensivein Volhynia and Bukovina, and the counter drive ofthe Italians against the Austrians. The Russianscaptured Czernovitz June 17, and by the end of themonth had overrun the whole of Bukovina. TheItalians drove out the Austrians between August 6 andSeptember 1, winning August 9 the important city andfortress of Gorizia.

Submarine incidents important to this government werenot lacking during the latter half of the year.The German submarine U-53 suddenly appeared October8 in the harbor at Newport, R.I. The commanderdelivered letters for the German ambassador and immediatelyput to sea to begin ravages on British shipping offthe Nantucket coast. Among the five or six vesselssunk was the steamer Stephano, which carried Americanpassengers. The passengers and crews of all thevessels were picked up by American destroyers andno lives were lost. The episode, which was aneight-day wonder, and resulted in a temporary tie-upof shipping in eastern ports, started numerous rumorsand several legal questions, none of which, however,turned out finally to have been of much importance,as U-53 vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, andits visit was not succeeded by any like craft.It is not improbable that the purpose of the Germangovernment in sending the boat to our shores was toconvey a hint of what we might expect if we shouldbecome involved with Germany. October 28 theBritish steamer Marina was torpedoed with a loss ofsix American lives.

The straining of President Washington’s adviceand the Monroe Doctrine were again evident throughoutthe year. President Wilson in an address beforethe League to Enforce Peace, May 27, had said thatthe United States was ready to join any practicalleague for preserving peace and guaranteeing the politicaland territorial integrity of nations. November29 our government sent a protest to Germany againstthe deportation of Belgians.

Almost immediately upon the invasion of Belgium theGerman authorities, in pursuance of their system ofterrorization, shipped to Germany considerable groupsof the population. On October 12,1915, a generalorder was issued by the German military governmentin Belgium providing that persons who should “refusework suitable to their occupation and in the executionof which the military administration is interested,”should be subject to one year’s imprisonmentor to deportation to Germany. Numerous sentences,both of men and women, were imposed under that order.

The wholesale deportation of Belgian workmen to Germany,which began October 3, 1916, proceeded on differentgrounds, for, having stripped large sections of thecountry of machinery and raw materials, the militaryauthorities now came forward with the plea that itwas necessary to send the labor after it. Thenumber of workmen deported is variously estimatedat between one and three hundred thousand.

“The rage, the terror, the despair” excitedby this measure all over Belgium, our minister, BrandWhitlock, reported, “were beyond anything wehad witnessed since the day the Germans poured intoBrussels. I am constantly in receipt of reportsfrom all over Belgium that bear out the stories ofbrutality and cruelty.

“In tearing away from nearly every humble homein the land a husband and a father or a son and brother,the Germans have lighted a fire of hatred that willnever go out. It is one of those deeds that makeone despair of the future of the human race, a deedcoldly planned, studiously matured, and deliberatelyand systematically executed, a deed so cruel thatGerman soldiers are said to have wept in its execution,and so monstrous that even German officers are nowsaid to be ashamed.” Poland and the occupiedparts of France experienced similar treatment.

CHAPTER VI

THE HOUR AND THE MAN

A beacon among the years—­tryingperiod for president Wilson—­Germany
continues dilatory tactics—­peaceefforts fail—­all honorablemeans
exhausted—­patience ceasesto be A virtue—­enemyabandons all
subterfuge—­unrestricted submarinewarfare—­German intrigueswith
Mexico—­the Zimmermann note—­Americaseizes the sword—­waris
declared—­Pershing goes abroad—­firsttroops sail—­war measures—­war
operations

An enormous beacon light in history will attach tothe year 1917. The outstanding feature of coursewas the entry of the United States into the greatwar—­the deciding factor in the struggle.It marked the departure of America from the traditionalpolicy of political isolation from Europe. Historywill record that it was not a voluntary, but a forced,departure, due to the utter disregard by Germany ofour rights on the seas, at home and elsewhere.

The first thirty days of the year found the man atthe head of our government still hoping against hope,still struggling with all the odds against him, stillcourageously engaged in efforts for peace. Itwas a particularly trying time for President Wilson,as a large portion of his own party and most of thenation was arrayed against him. The people ingeneral felt that the time for writing notes, for parleyinghad passed.

On December 12, 1916, Germany, in a formal note, hadoffered to enter into peace negotiations, but didnot specify any terms. The note referred in boastfullanguage to the victorious German armies. It wasrejected by the Allies as empty and insincere.The president on December 18, 1916, had addressedall the beligerents asking them to indicate preciselythe terms on which, they would make peace. Germany’sreply to this note was no more satisfactory than before.The Allies replied demanding restorations, reparationand indemnities.

On the 22nd of January the president appeared beforethe senate in his famous “peace without victory”address, in which he advocated a world league forpeace. His views were received sympathetically,though the Allies pointed out that no peace basedon the condition of things before the war could bedurable, and that as matters stood it would be a virtualvictory for Germany. It was the president’slast effort to bring peace to the world without resortingto armed force.

The most biased historian is bound to affirm thatWoodrow Wilson exhausted every effort not only tokeep the United States honorably at peace, but tobring about a pacific attitude and understanding amongthe belligerents. When finally he saw that noargument save that of the sword would avail, whenfinally the hour struck, he became the man of thehour courageously and nobly.

After President Wilson’s failure to bring abouteven a pacific attitude among the warring nations,no peace appeal from any quarter calculated to receiverespectful attention was made, excepting that issuedby Pope Benedict August 15, four months after theUnited States had declared war. The Presidentsummarized the Pope’s proposals as follows:

“His Holiness in substance proposesthat we return to the status existing beforethe war, and that then there be a general condonation,disarmament, and a concert of nations based upon anacceptance of the principle of arbitration; thatby a similar concert freedom of the seas be established;and that the territorial claims of France andItaly, the perplexing problems of the BalkanStates and the restitution of Poland be left to suchconciliatory adjustments as may be possible inthe new temper of such a peace, due regard beingpaid to the aspirations of the peoples whosepolitical fortunes and affiliations will be involved.”

The president’s reply to the Pope forcibly statedthe aim of the United States to free the world fromthe menace of Prussian militarism controlled by anarrogant and faithless autocracy. Distinguishingbetween the German rulers and the people, PresidentWilson asserted that the United States would willinglynegotiate with a government subject to the popularwill. The note disavowed any intention to dismembercountries or to impose unfair economic conditions.In part the President’s language was:

“Responsible statesmen must noweverywhere see, if they never saw before, thatno peace can rest securely upon political or economicrestrictions meant to benefit some nations andcripple or embarrass others, upon vindictiveaction of any sort, or any kind of revenge ordeliberate injury. The American people have sufferedintolerable wrongs at the hands of the ImperialGerman Government, but they desire no reprisalupon the German people, who have themselves sufferedall things in this war, which they did not choose.They believe that peace should rest upon therights of peoples, not the rights of governments—­therights of peoples great or small, weak or powerful—­theirequal right to freedom and security and self governmentand to a participation upon fair terms in the economicopportunities of the world, the German people,of course, included, if they will accept equalityand not seek domination.”

About five weeks prior to the Pope’s proposition,the Germans had again put forth a peace feeler.On July 19, the German reichstag adopted resolutionsin favor of peace on the basis of mutual understandingand lasting reconciliation among the nations.The resolutions sounded well but they were accompaniedby expressions to the effect that Germany in the warwas the victim of aggression and that it approved theacts of its government. They referred to the“men who are defending the Fatherland,”to the necessity of assuring the freedom of the seas,and to the impossibility of conquering a united Germannation. There was no doubt in the mind of anyneutral or any belligerent opposing Germany that theGerman government was the real aggressor and that thefreedom of the seas had never been restricted exceptby Germany herself, hence there was no tendency toaccept this as a serious bid for peace. The resolutionsfigured largely in German internal politics but werewithout effect elsewhere.

Stockholm, Sweden was the scene of a number of peaceconferences but as they were engineered by socialistsof an extreme type and others holding views usuallyclassed as anarchistic, no serious attention was paidto them. The “pacifists” in the Alliedand neutral countries were more or less active, butreceived little encouragement. Their argumentsdid not appeal to patriotism.

Going back to the beginning of the year, within aweek after the President’s “peace withoutvictory” speech before the senate, Germany repliedto it by announcing that beginning February 1, it wouldbegin unrestricted submarine warfare in certain extensivezones around the British Isles, France and Italy.It would, however, out of the kindness of its heart,permit the United States to use a narrow track acrossthe sea with a landing at Falmouth, one ship a week,provided the American ships were painted red and whiteand carried various kinds of distinguishing marks.

This of course was a direct repudiation by Germanyof all the promises she had made to the United States.The President saw the sword being forced into hishands but he was not yet ready to seize it with allhis might. He preferred first to exhaust theexpediency of an armed neutrality. On February3, he went before a joint session of the house andsenate and announced that Ambassador von Bernstorffhad been given his passports and all diplomatic relationswith the Teuton empire severed. On February 12,an attempt at negotiation came through the Swiss ministerwho had been placed in charge of German diplomaticinterests in this country. The President promptlyand emphatically replied that no negotiations couldbe even considered until the submarine order had beenwithdrawn.

On February 26, the lower house of congress votedformal permission for the arming of American merchantships as a protection against submarine attacks, andappropriated one hundred million dollars for the armingand insuring of the ships. A similar measurein the senate was defeated by Senator Robert M. LaFolletteof Wisconsin, acting under a loose rule of the senatewhich permitted filibustering and unlimited debate.The session of congress expired March 4, and the Presidentimmediately called an extra session of the senatewhich amended its rules so that the measure was passed.

Senator LaFollette’s opposition to the war andsome of his public utterances outside the senate ledto a demand for his expulsion from that body.A committee of investigation was appointed which proceededperfunctorilly for about a year. The senator wasnever expelled but any influence he may have had andany power to hamper the activities of the government,were effectually killed for the duration of the war.The suppression of the senator did not proceed somuch from congress or the White House, as from thepress of the country. Without regard to viewsor party, the newspapers of the nation voluntarilyand patriotically entered what has been termed a “conspiracyof silence” regarding the activities of theWisconsin senator. By refusing to print his nameor give him any sort of publicity he was effectivelysidetracked and in a short time the majority of thepeople of the country forgot his existence. Itwas a striking demonstration that propaganda dependsfor its effectiveness upon publicity, and has givenrise to an order of thought which contends that thenewspapers should censor their own columns and suppressmovements that are detrimental or of evil tendency,by ignoring them. Opposed to this is the viewthat the more publicity a movement gets, and the fullerand franker the discussion it evokes, the more quicklywill its merits or demerits become apparent.

If any evidence was lacking of German duplicity, violationof promises and general double-dealing, it came tolight in the famous document known as the “ZimmermannNote” which came into the hands of the Americanstate department and was revealed February 28.It was a confidential communication from Dr. AlfredZimmermann, German Foreign Minister, addressed tothe German Minister in Mexico and proposed an allianceof Germany, Mexico and Japan against the United States.Its text follows:

“On the 1st of February we intendto begin submarine warfare unrestricted.In spite of this it is our intention to endeavor tokeep neutral the United States of America.If this attempt is not successful, we proposean alliance on the following basis with Mexico:That we shall make war together and together make peace.We shall give general financial support, andit is understood that Mexico is to reconquerthe lost territory in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.The details are left to you for settlement. Youare instructed to inform the president of Mexicoof the above in the greatest confidence as soonas it is certain there will be an outbreak ofwar with the United States, and suggest that the presidentof Mexico on his own initiative, should communicatewith Japan suggesting adherence at once to thisplan; at the same time offer to mediate betweenGermany and Japan. Please call to the attentionof the President of Mexico that the employment ofruthless submarine warfare now promises to compelEngland to make peace in a few months.”

The American steamers City of Memphis, Vigilanciaand Illinois had been sunk and fifteen lives lostin pursuance of the German submarine policy to torpedowithout warning and without any regard to the safetyof crews or passengers, all ships found within thebarred zones. The President could no longer postponedrawing the sword. Being convinced that the inevitablehour had struck, he proved himself the man of the hourand acted with energy. A special session of congresswas called for April 2. The day is bound to standout in history for in the afternoon the Presidentdelivered his famous message asking that war be declaredagainst Germany. He said that armed neutralityhad been found wanting and in the end would only drawthe country into war without its having the statusof a belligerent. One of the striking paragraphsof the message follows:

“With a profound sense of thesolemn and even tragical character of the stepI am taking, and of the grave responsibility whichit involves, but in unhesitating obedience towhat I deem my constitutional duty, I advisethat the congress declare the recent course ofthe imperial German government to be in fact nothingless than war against the government and peopleof the United States; that it formally acceptthe status of belligerent which has thus beenthrust upon it and that it take immediate steps notonly to put the country in a more thorough stateof defence, but also to exert all its power andemploy all its resources to bring the governmentof the German empire to terms and end the war.”

Congress voted a declaration of war April 6.Only six senators out of a total of 96, and fiftyrepresentatives out of a total of 435, voted againstit. Congress also, at the request of the President,voted for the creation of a national army and theraising to war strength of the National Guard, theMarine corps and the Navy. Laws were passed dealing

with espionage, trading with the enemy and the unlawfulmanufacture and use of explosives. Provisionwas made for the insurance of soldiers and sailors,for priority of shipments, for the seizure and useof enemy ships in American harbors, for conservingand controlling the food and fuel supply of the country,for stimulating agriculture, for enlarging the aviationbranch of the service, for extending credit to foreigngovernments, for issuing bonds and for providing additionalrevenues by increasing old and creating new taxes.

The extra session of congress lasted a few days oversix months. In that time it passed all the abovemeasures and others of less importance. It authorizedthe expenditure of over nineteen billions of dollars($19,321,225,208). Including the amount appropriatedat the second session of the preceeding congress,the amount reached the unheard of total of over twenty-onebillions of dollars ($21,390,730,940).

German intrigues and German ruthlessness created anadditional stench in the nostrils of civilizationwhen on September 8, the United States made publicthe celebrated “Spurlos Versenkt” telegramwhich had come into its possession. It is a Germanphrase meaning “sunk without leaving a trace”and was contained in a telegram from Luxburg, the Germanminister at Buenos Aires. The telegram (of May19, 1917) advised that Argentine steamers “bespared if possible or else sunk without a trace beingleft.” The advice was repeated July 9.The Swedish minister at Buenos Aires sent these messagesin code as though they were his own private dispatches.

On August 26, the British Admiralty had communicatedto the International Conference of Merchant Seaman,a statement of the facts in twelve cases of sinkingsduring the previous seven months in which it was shownhow “spurlos versenkt” was applied.It was shown that in these cases the submarine commandershad deliberately opened fire on the crews of the vesselsafter they had taken to their small boats or had attemptedto dispose of them in some other way.

Within six weeks after the declaration of war ourgovernment was preparing to send troops to France.An expeditionary force comprising about one divisionof Regulars was announced May 14. General Pershingwho was to command arrived in England June 8, and inFrance June 13. The first body of our troopsreached France June 27 and the second a little later.The safe passage of these troops was remarkable, astheir departure had been made known to Germany throughher spies, and submarines laid in wait for the transports.The vigilance of our convoying agencies continuedthroughout the war and was one of the high spots ofexcellence reached in our part of the struggle.Of a total of over 2,000,000 soldiers transportedto France and many thousands returned on account ofsickness and furloughs, only 661 were lost as a directresult of German submarine operations.

On December 7, the United States declared war againstAustria-Hungary. This was largely on the insistenceof Italy and was valuable and gratifying to that ally.

President Wilson on December 26, issued a proclamationtaking over the railroads of the country, W.G.McAdoo was appointed director general. The proclamationwent into effect two days later and the entire railtransportation system, for the first time in the historyof the nation, passed under the control and managementof the government.

Excepting the revolution in Russia which led to theabdication of Czar Nicholas II (March 11-15) and sodisorganized the country that it never figured effectivelyin the war afterwards, the year was one of distinctadvantage to the Allies.

Kut el Amara was retaken by the British February 24.Bagdad fell to the same forces March 11. FromMarch 17th to 19th the Germans retired to the “HindenburgLine” evacuating a strip of territory in France100 miles long and averaging 13 miles in width, fromArras to Soissons. Between April 9 and May 14,the British had important successes in the Battle ofArras, capturing Vimy Ridge April 9. Between April16 and May 6 the French made gains in the Battle ofthe Aisne, between Soissons and Reims. BetweenMay 15 and September 15 occurred an Italian offensivein which General Cadorna inflicted severe defeatson the Austrians on the Carso and Bainsizza plateaus.

The British blew up Messines Ridge, south of Ypres,June 7 and captured 7,500 German prisoners. June12 King Constantine of Greece was forced to abdicateand on June 29, Greece entered the war on the sideof the Allies. A mutiny in the German fleet atWilhelmshaven and Kiel occurred July 30 and a secondmutiny September 2.

August 20-24 the French recaptured high ground atVerdun, lost in 1916. October 23-26 a Frenchdrive north of the Aisne won important positions includingMalmaison fort. The Germans retreated from theChemin de Dames, north of the Aisne, November 2.Between November 22 and December 13 occurred the Battleof Cambrai in which the British employed “tanks”to break down the wire entanglements instead of theusual artillery preparations. Bourlon Wood dominatingCambrai was taken November 26. A surprise counterattackby the Germans December 2, compelled the British togive up one-fourth of the ground gained. Jerusalemwas captured by the British December 9.

The British national labor conference on December29, approved a continuation of the war for aims similarto those defined by President Wilson.

Aside from the collapse of Russia, culminating inan armistice between Germany and the Bolsheviki governmentof Russia at Brest-Litovsk, December 15, the mostimportant Teutonic success was in the big German-Austriancounterdrive in Italy, October 24 to December 1.The Italians suffered a loss of territory gained duringthe summer and their line was shifted to the Piaveriver, Asiago plateau and Brenta river.

Brazil declared war on Germany October 26.

CHAPTER VII.

Negroes respond to the call.

Swift and unhalting array—­fewpermitted to volunteer—­onlynational
guard accepted—­no newunits formed—­selective drafttheir
opportunity—­partial divisionof Guardsmen—­complete divisionof
selectives—­many in training—­entermany branches of service—­negro
nurses authorized—­negroY.M.C.A. Workers—­negro war
correspondent—­negro assistantto secretary of war—­trainingcamp for
negro officers—­first timein artillery—­complete racialsegregation.

When the call to war was sounded by President Wilson,no response was more swift and unhalting than thatof the Negro in America. Before our country wasembroiled the black men of Africa had already contributedtheir share in pushing back the Hun. When civilizationwas tottering and all but overthrown, France and Englandwere glad to avail themselves of the aid of theirSenegalese, Algerian, Soudanese and other troops fromthe tribes of Africa. The story of their valoris written on the battlefields of France in imperishableglory.

Considering the splendid service of the—­inmany cases—­half wild blacks from the regionof the equator, it seems strange that our governmentdid not hasten sooner and without demur to enlistthe loyal Blacks of this country with their glowingrecord in former wars, their unquestioned mental attainments,their industry, stamina and self reliance. Yetat the beginning of America’s participationin the war, it was plain that the old feeling of intolerance;the disposition to treat the Negro unfairly, was yetabroad in the land.

He was willing; anxious to volunteer and offered himselfin large numbers at every recruiting station, withoutavail. True, he was accepted in numerous instances,but the condition precedent, that of filling up androunding out the few Negro Regular and National Guardorganizations below war strength, was chafing and humiliating.Had the response to the call for volunteers been asardent among all classes of our people; especiallythe foreign born, as it was from the American Negro,it is fair to say that the selective draft would notnecessarily have been so extensive.

It was not until the selective draft was authorizedand the organization of the National Army began, thatthe Negro was given his full opportunity. Hiswillingness and eagerness to serve were again demonstrated.Some figures dealing with the matter, taken from theofficial report of the Provost Marshall General (GeneralE.H. Crowder) will be cited later on.

Of the four colored regiments in the Regular Army,the 24th infantry had been on the Mexican border since1916; the 25th infantry in Hawaii all the years ofthe war; the Ninth cavalry in the Philippines since1916, and the 10th cavalry had been doing patrol andgarrison duty on the Mexican border and elsewherein the west since early in 1917. These four regimentswere all sterling organizations dating their foundationback to the days immediately following the Civil war.Their record was and is an enviable one. It isno reflection on them that they were not chosen foroverseas duty. The country needed a dependableforce on the Mexican border, in Hawaii, the Philippines,and in different garrisons at home.

A number of good white Regular Army regiments werekept on this side for the same reasons; not however,overlooking or minimizing the fact not to the honorof the nation in its final resolve, that there hasalways been fostered a spirit in the counsels andorders of the Department of War, as in all the othergreat government departments, to restrain rather thanto encourage the patriotic and civic zeal of theirfaithful and qualified Negro aids and servants.That is to say, to draw before them a certain imaginaryline; beyond and over which the personal ambitionsof members of the race; smarting for honorable renownand promotion; predicated on service and achievement,they were not permitted to go. A virtual “DeadLine”; its parent and wet nurse being that strangething known as American Prejudice, unknown of anywhereelse on earth, which was at once a crime against itsmarked and selected victims, and a burden of shamewhich still clings to it; upon the otherwise greatnation, that it has condoned and still remains silentin its presence.

Negro National Guard organizations had grown sincethe Spanish-American war, but they still were farfrom being numerous in 1917. The ones acceptedby the war department were the Eighth Illinois Infantry,a regiment manned and officered entirely by Negroes,the 15th New York Infantry all Negroes with five Negroofficers, all the senior officers being white; theNinth Ohio, a battalion manned and officered by Negroes;the 1st Separate Battalion of the District of Columbia,an infantry organization manned and officered by Negroes;and Negro companies from the states of Connecticut,Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Massachusettsalso had a company known as the 101st Headquarterscompany and Military Police. The Eighth Illinoisbecame the 370th Infantry in the United States army;the 15th New York became the 369th Infantry; the NinthOhio battalion and the companies from Connecticut,Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee, as well as theDistrict of Columbia battalion, were all consolidatedinto the 372nd Infantry.

When the above organizations had been recruited upto war strength there were between 12,000 and 14,000colored men representing the National Guard of thecountry. With a population of 12,000,000 Negroesto draw from; the majority of those suitable for militaryservice anxious to enlist, it readily can be seenwhat a force could have been added to this branchof the service had there been any encouragement ofit. There was not lacking a great number of therace, many of them college graduates, competent toact as officers of National Guard units. Manyof those commissioned during the Spanish-Americanwar had the experience and age to fit them for seniorregimental commands. The 8th Illinois was commandedby Colonel Franklin A. Denison, a prominent coloredattorney of Chicago and a seasoned military man.He was the only colored man of the rank of Colonelwho was permitted to go to France in the combatantor any other branch of the service. After a briefperiod in the earlier campaigns he was invalided homevery much against his will.

The 15th New York was commanded by Colonel WilliamHayward, a white man. He was devoted to his blacksoldiers and they were very fond of him. Officersimmediately subordinate to him were white men.The District of Columbia battalion might have retainedits colored commander, Major James E. Walker, as hewas a fine soldierly figure and possessed of the requisiteability, but he was removed by death while his unitwas still training near Washington. Some of theNegro officers of National Guard organizations retainedtheir commands, but the majority were superseded ortransferred before sailing or soon after arrival inFrance.

The 369th, the 370th and the 372nd infantry regimentsin the United States army, mentioned as having beenformed from the colored National Guard units, becamea part of the 93rd division. Another regiment,the 371st, formed from the draft forces was also partof the same division. This division was brigadedwith the French from the start and saw service throughthe war alongside the French poilus with whom theybecame great friends. There grew up a spirit ofwhich, side by side, they faced and smashed the savageHun, never wavered or changed. Besides the soldiersfrom Illinois, New York, Ohio, District of Columbia,Connecticut, Maryland and Tennessee, there were Negrocontingents from Mississippi and South Carolina inthe 93rd division. One of the regiments of thisdivision, the 369th (15th New York) was of the firstof the American forces to reach France, following mutualadmiration between these two widely different representativesof the human family, that during the period in theexpeditionary force of Regulars which reached FranceJune 13, 1917; being among the first 100,000 that wentabroad. However, the 93rd division, exclusivelyNegro, had not been fully formed then and the regimentdid not see much real fighting until the spring andsummer of 1918.

[Illustration: Negro nurses carryingbanner of famous negro regiment.Marching down fifth avenue, newYork. In great parade whichopened red cross drive.]

The 92nd division was another exclusively Negro division.There were many more Negro troops in training in Franceand large numbers at training camps in this country,but the 92nd and 93rd, being the earlier formed andtrained divisions, saw practically all the fighting.Units belonging to one or both divisions fought withspecial distinction in the Forest of Argonne, nearChateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, St. Mihiel district,Champagne sector, at Metz and in the Vosges mountains.

In the 92nd division was the 325th Field Signal battalion,the only Negro signal unit in the American army.The division also contained the 349th, 350th and 351stArtillery regiments, each containing a machine gunbattalion; the 317th Trench Mortar battery; the balancebeing made up of Negro engineers, hospital units,etc., and the 365th, 366th, 367th and 368th Infantryregiments.

Enlisted, drafted and assigned to active service,upwards of 400,000 Negroes participated in the war.The number serving abroad amounted to about 200,000.They were inducted into the cavalry, infantry, fieldand coast artillery, radio (wireless telegraphy, etc.),medical corps, ambulance and hospital corps, sanitaryand ammunition trains, stevedore regiments, laborbattalions, depot brigades and engineers. Theyalso served as regimental clerks, surveyors and draftsmen.

Sixty served as chaplains and over 350 as Y.M.C.A.secretaries, there being a special and highly efficientNegro branch of the Y.M.C.A. Numerous otherswere attached to the War Camp Community Service incities adjacent to the army camps.

Negro nurses were authorized by the war departmentfor service in base hospitals at six army camps—­Funston,Sherman, Grant, Dix, Taylor and Dodge. Race womenalso served as canteen workers in France and in chargeof hostess houses in this country.

One Negro, Ralph W. Tyler, served as an accreditedwar correspondent, attached to the staff of GeneralPershing, Dr. R.R. Moton, who succeeded the lateBooker T. Washington as head of the Tuskegee Institute,was sent on a special mission to France by PresidentWilson and Secretary Baker.

A race woman, Mrs. Alice Dunbar Nelson of Wilmington,Delaware, was named as a field worker to mobilizethe Negro women of the country for war work.Her activities were conducted in connection with theWomen’s Committee of the Council of NationalDefense.

The most conspicuous honor paid to a Negro by theadministration and the war department, was in theappointment, October 1, 1917, of Emmett J. Scott asspecial assistant to the Secretary of War. Thiswas done that the administration might not be accusedof failing to grant full protection to the Negroes,and that a thorough examination might be made intoall matters affecting their relation to the war andits many agencies.

Having been for 18 years confidential secretary toBooker T. Washington, and being at the time of hisappointment secretary of the Tuskegee Normal and IndustrialInstitute for Negroes, Mr. Scott was peculiarly fittedto render necessary advice to the war department withrespect to the Negroes of the various states, to lookafter all matters affecting the interests of Negroselectives and enlisted men, and to inquire into thetreatment accorded them by the various officials connectedwith the war department. In the position occupiedby him, he was thus enabled to obtain a proper perspectiveboth of the attitude of selective service officialsto the Negro, and of the Negro to the war, especiallyto the draft. In a memorandum on the subjectaddressed to the Provost Marshall General, December12, 1918, he wrote:

“The attitude of the Negro was one of completeacceptance of the draft, in fact of an eagerness toaccept its terms. There was a deep resentmentin many quarters that he was not permitted to volunteer,as white men by the thousands were permitted to doin connection with National Guard units and otherbranches of military service which were closed tocolored men. One of the brightest chapters inthe whole history of the war is the Negro’seager acceptance of the draft and his splendid willingnessto fight. His only resentment was due to thelimited extent to which he was allowed to join andparticipate in combatant or ‘fighting’units. The number of colored draftees acceptedfor military duty, and the comparatively small numberof them claiming exemptions, as compared with thetotal number of white and colored men called and drafted,presents an interesting study and reflects much creditupon this racial group.”

Over 1,200 Negro officers, many of them college graduates,were commissioned during the war. The only trainingcamp exclusively for Negro officers was at Fort DesMoines, Iowa. This camp ran from June 15, 1917,to October 15, 1917. A total of 638 officers wasgraduated and commissioned from the camp. NegroRegulars and Negro National Army men who had passedthe tests for admission to officers training campswere sent mainly to the training schools for machinegun officers at Camp Hanco*ck, Augusta, Georgia; theinfantry officers training school at Camp Pike, LittleRock, Arkansas, and the artillery officers trainingschool at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky.They were trained along with the white officers.The graduates from these camps along with a few NationalGuardsmen who had taken the officers’ examinations,and others trained in France, made up the balanceof the 1,200 commissioned.

In connection with the artillery training an interestingfact developed. It had been charged that Negroescould not develop into artilleryman. A strongprejudice against inducting them into that branch ofthe service had always existed in the army. Itwas especially affirmed that the Negro did not possessthe mathematical ability necessary to qualify as anexpert artillery officer. Nevertheless, out ofa number of Negro aspirants, very small in comparisonwith the white men in training for officers’commissions at the camp, five of the Negroes stoodalongside their white brothers at the head of theclass. The remainder were sprinkled down theline about in the same proportion and occupying thesame relative positions as the whites. The prejudiceagainst the Negro as an artilleryman was further andeffectually dispelled in the record made by the 349th,350th and 351st artillery regiments and their machinegun battalions in the 92nd division.

With the exception of the training camp for officersat Des Moines, Iowa, no important attempt was madeto establish separate Negro training camps. Inthe draft quotas from each state were whites and blacksand all with few exceptions, were sent to the mostconvenient camp. Arrangements existed, however,at the different camps for the separate housing andtraining of the Negro troops. This was in linewith the military policy of the Government, as wellas in deference to the judgment of both white andblack officers. It undoubtedly was necessaryto separate the two races. Furthermore, as themilitary policy called for regiments, battalions and,divisions made up entirely of Negroes, it was properto commence the organization at the training camps.Companies formed in this manner thus became hom*ogeneous,accustomed to one another individually and to theirofficers.

The situation was different from the Spanish-Americanwar, where Negro units, at least in one case, servedin white regiments. Racial strife and rivalrywere eliminated. The only rivalry that existedwas the good-natured and healthy one of emulationbetween members of the same race. On the fieldof battle there was rivalry and emulation between thewhites and blacks, but it was the rivalry of organizationsand not of races. The whole was tempered by thatsplendid admiration and fellow-feeling which comesto men of all races when engaged as partners in dangeror near death; in the defense and promotion of a greatcause; the eternal verities of Justice and Humanity.

CHAPTER VIII

RECRUDESCENCE OF SOUTH’S INTOLERANCE

Confronted by racial PEEJUDICE—–­splendid attitude of negro shamedit—­kept out of navy—­onlyone per cent of navy personnelnegroes—­modified marinescontemplated—­few have pettyofficers’ grades—­separateships proposed—­negro efficiencyin navy—­material for“Black ships”—­Navyopens door to negro mechanics.

Old feelings of race prejudice and intolerance, appearingmainly in the South, confronted the Negro at the beginningof the war. The splendid attitude of the Negroshamed and overcame this feeling in other sectionsof the country, and was beginning to have its effecteven in the South. It is true that men of therace were not accepted for voluntary enlistment innumbers of consequence in any section, but had thevoluntary system continued in vogue, the willingnessand desire of the race to serve, coupled with thevery necessities of the case, would have altered thecondition.

No new Negro volunteer units were authorized, butthe demand for men would soon have made it imperative.It would have been combatted by a certain elementin the South, but the friends of the few volunteerunits which did exist in that section were firm intheir championship and were winning adherents to theirview that the number should be increased. Theselective draft with its firm dictum that all men withincertain ages should be called and the fit ones chosen,put an end to all contention. The act was notpassed without bitter opposition which developed inits greatest intensity among the Southern senatorsand representatives; feelings that were inspired entirelyby opposition to the Negro.

It would have been a bad thing for the country andwould have prolonged the war, and possibly might havelost it, if the selective draft had been delayed.But it would have been interesting to see how far thecountry, especially the South, would have progressedin the matter of raising a volunteer army withoutaccepting Negroes. Undoubtedly they soon wouldhave been glad to recruit them, even in the South.

Unfortunately for the Negro, the draft was not ableto prevent their being kept out of the Navy.It is a very desirable branch of the service vitiatedand clouded, however, with many disgusting and aristocratictraditions. When the Navy was young and the servicemore arduous; when its vessels were merely armed merchantmen,many of them simply tubs and death traps and not thefloating castles of today, the services of Negroeswere not disdained; but times and national ideals hadchanged, and, the shame of it, not to the credit ofa Commonwealth, for whose birth a Negro had shed thefirst blood, and a Washington had faced the rigorsof a Valley Forge, a Lincoln the bullet of an assassin.

The annual report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation,rendered to the Secretary of the Navy and coveringthe fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, showed thatin the United States Navy, the United States NavalReserve Force and the National Naval Volunteers, therewas a total of 435,398 men. Of that great numberonly 5,328 were Negroes, a trifle over one percent.Between June and November 1918, the Navy was recruitedto a total force somewhat in excess of 500,000 men.Carrying out the same percentage, it is apparent thatthe aggregate number of Negroes serving, in the Navyat the close of the war, could not have been much inexcess of 6,000.

Some extra enlistments of Negroes were contemplated,as the Navy had in process of establishment just priorto the armistice, a new service for Negro recruits.It was to be somewhat similar to the Pioneer unitsof the army, partaking in some degree of the characterof Marines, just as the Pioneers partake of the characterof infantry, but in general respects resembling morethe engineer and stevedore units. About 600 menhad been selected for this service when the projectwas abandoned on account of the ending of the war.

With the exception of a very limited number who havebeen permitted to attain the rank of petty officer,Negroes in the Navy were confined to menial occupations.They were attached to the firing forces as coal passers,while others served as cooks assistants, mess attendantsand in similar duties. Quite a number were fullrated cooks. A few were water tenders, electriciansand gunners’ mates, each of which occupationsentitled them to the aforesaid rank of petty officer.Among the petty officers some had by sheer merit attainedthe rank of chief petty officer, which is about equalto the rank of sergeant in the army.

The idea of separate ships for the Negro might tosome degree ameliorate the sting incident to raceprohibition in that arm of government service.The query is advanced that if we can have black colonels,majors, captains and lieutenants in the army, why cannotwe have black commanders, lieutenants, ensigns andsuch in the Navy?

Negroes have often and in divers ways displayed theirintelligence and efficiency in the Navy. Take,for instance, the case of John Jordan, a Negro ofVirginia, who was chief gunner’s mate on AdmiralDewey’s flagship the “Olympia” duringthe Spanish-American war, and was the man who firedthe first shot at the enemy at Manila Bay. A Negrochief electrician, Salisbury Brooks, was the originatorof inventions which were adopted without reservationby the Navy designers and changed the constructionof modern battle ships.

One of the principal instructors on the U.S.S.Essex, the government training ship at Norfolk, isMatthew Anderson, a Negro. He has trained thousandsof men, many of them now officers, in the art and dutiesof seamanship. Scores of Negroes; men of thetype of these in the Navy, would furnish the nucleusfor officers and crews of separate Negro ships.

In a recent issue of “Our Navy” a magazinedevoted entirely to naval affairs, especially as regardsthe enlisted man, a writer reflects the opinion ofthese men in the following article:

“Whether you like the black manor not, whether you believe in a square dealfor him or not, you can’t point an accusing fingerat his patriotism, his Americanism or his fightingability. It is fair to neither the whiteman nor the black man to have the black man competewith the white man in the Navy. True, we haveblack petty officers here and there in the Navy,and in some cases black chief petty officers.It stands to reason that they must have been mightygood men to advance. They surely must knowtheir business—­every inch of it—­toadvance to these ratings. Yet they are not wantedin these ratings because they involve the blackman having charge of white men under him.Outside of the messman branch you will find comparativelyfew Negroes in the Navy today.

“There should be ‘blackships’ assigned to be manned by American Negroes.These are days of democracy, equality and freedom,”continues the writer. “If a man isgood enough to go over the top and die for theseprinciples, he is good enough to promote in the Navy.Why not try it? Put the black men on their ownships. Promote them, rate them, just thesame as the white man. But above all keep themon their own ships. It is fair to them and fairto the white men. The Brazilian and Argentinenavies have ‘black ships.’”

Recruiting officers of the Navy have recently openedthe doors to discharged Negro soldiers, and some civilians.If physically fit they are permitted to enlist asmachinists and electricians. The Navy has openeda school for machinists at Charleston, S.C., and aschool for electricians at Hampton Roads, Va.

Men for the machinists’ school are enlistedas firemen 3rd class. While in training theyare paid $30 a month. They also receive theirclothing allotment, their food, dry comfortable quartersin which to live, and all text books and practicalworking tools. In return for this chance to becomeproficient in a very necessary trade, all that is requiredof those enlisting is a knowledge of common fractions,ambition to learn the trade, energy and a strict attentionto the instruction given them.

Subjects taught in the course are arithmetic, notebook sketching, practical engineering, theoreticalengineering, clipping and filing, drilling, pipe fitting,repair work, rebabbiting, brazing, tin smithing, lathes,shapers, milling machines and grinders. It willbe seen that they get a vast amount of mechanicalknowledge and practically two trades, machinists andengineering.

In the electrical school the course is equally thorough.The men get a high grade of instruction, regardlessof cost of material and tools. The best textbooks that can be had are available for their use.

This liberality in order to get machinists and electriciansin the Navy, argues that some change of attitude towardsthe Negro is contemplated.

It may evolve into the establishment of “blackships.” The Negro sailor has been pleadingfor years that his color has been a bar to him.With a ship of his own, would come his chance.He would strive; do all within his power to make ita success and would succeed.

CHAPTER IX.

Previous wars in which thenegro figured.

Shot heard around the world—­CrispusATTTUCKS—­slave leads sonsof freedom—­the BostonMassacre—­anniversary keptfor years—­William Nell,historian—­3,000 negroes inWashington’s forces—­A stirringhistory—­negro woman soldier—­borderIndian wars—­negro heroes

Our American school histories teach us that the “shotwhich was heard around the world",—­theopening gun of the Revolutionary war, was fired atLexington in 1775. The phrase embodies a precioussentiment; time has molded many leaders, the inspirationfor almost a century and a half of the patriotic youthof our land. This is as it should be. Allhonor and all praise to the deathless heroes of thattime and occasion.

But why has not history been more just; at least,more explicit? Why not say that the shot whichstarted the Revolution—­that first greatmovement for human liberty and the emancipation ofnations—­was fired five years earlier; wasfired not by, but at, a Negro, Crispus Attucks?The leader of the citizens in that event of March 5,1770, known as the Boston Massacre, he was the firstman upon whom the British soldiers fired and the firstto fall; the pioneer martyr for American independence.

It is perhaps fitting; a manifestation of the inscrutableways of Providence, that the first life given in behalfof a nation about to throw off a yoke of bondage,was that of a representative of a race; despised,oppressed and enslaved.

Botta the historian, in speaking of the scenes ofthe 5th of March says:

“The people were greatly exasperated.The multitude ran towards King street, crying,’Let us drive out these ribalds; they have nobusiness here.’ The rioters rushedfuriously towards the Custom House; they approachedthe sentinel, crying ‘Kill him, kill him!’They assaulted him with snowballs, pieces of ice,and whatever they could lay their hands upon.

“The guard were then called,and in marching to the Custom House, they encountereda band of the populace, led by a mulatto named Attucks,who brandished their clubs and pelted them with snowballs.The maledictions, the imprecations, the execrationsof the multitude, were horrible. In themidst of a torrent of invective from every quarter,the military were challenged to fire. The populaceadvanced to the points of their bayonets.

“The soldiers appeared like statues;the cries, the howlings, the menaces, the violentdin of bells still sounding the alarm, increasedthe confusion and the horrors of these moments; atlength the mulatto Attucks and twelve of hiscompanions, pressing forward, environed the soldiersand striking their muskets with their clubs, criedto the multitude: ’Be not afraid, they darenot fire; why do you hesitate, why do you notkill them, why not crush them at once?’

“The mulatto lifted his armsagainst Captain Preston, and having turned oneof the muskets, he seized the bayonet with his lefthand, as if he intended to execute his threatAt this moment, confused cries were heard:‘The wretches dare not fire!’ Firing succeeds.Attucks is slain. Other discharges follow.Three were killed, five severely wounded andseveral others slightly.”

Attucks was killed by Montgomery, one of Captain Preston’ssoldiers. He had been foremost in resisting andwas first slain. As proof of a front engagement,he received two balls, one in each breast. Thewhite men killed with Attucks were Samuel Maverick,Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell.

John Adams, afterwards President of the United States,was counsel for the soldiers in the investigationwhich followed. He admitted that Attucks appearedto have been the hero of the occasion and the leaderof the people. Attucks and Caldwell, not beingresidents of Boston, were buried from Faneuil Hall,the cradle of liberty. The citizens generallyparticipated in the solemnities.

If the outrages against the American colonists hadnot been so flagrant, and so well imbedded as indisputablerecords of our history; if the action of the militaryauthorities had not been so arbitrary, the uprisingof Attucks and his followers might be looked upon asa common, reprehensible riot and the participantsas a band of misguided incendiaries. Subsequentreverence for the occasion, disproves any such view.Judge Dawes, a prominent jurist of the time, as wellas a brilliant exponent of the people, alluding in1775 to the event, said:

“The provocationof that night must be numbered among the
master-springs whichgave the first motion to a vast machinery—­a
noble and comprehensivesystem of national independence.”

Ramsey’s History of the American Revolution,says:

“The anniversary of the 5th ofMarch was observed with great solemnity; eloquentorators were successively employed to preserve theremembrance of it fresh in the mind. On theseoccasions the blessings of liberty, the horrorsof slavery, and the danger of a standing army,were presented to the public view. These annualorations administered fuel to the fire of libertyand kept it burning with an irresistible flame.”

The 5th of March continued to be celebrated for theabove reasons until the anniversary of the Declarationof American Independence was substituted in its place;and its orators were expected to honor the feelingsand principles of the former as having given birthto the latter. On the 5th of March 1776, Washingtonrepaired to the intrenchments. “Remember”said he, “It is the 5th of March, and avengethe death of your brethren.”

In the introduction to a book entitled “TheColored Patriots of the American Revolution”by William C. Nell, a Negro historian, Harriet BeecherStowe said in 1855:

“The colored race have been generallyconsidered by their enemies, and sometimes evenby their friends, as deficient in energy and courage.Their virtues have been supposed to be principallynegative ones.” Speaking of the incidentsin Mr. Nell’s collection she says:“They will redeem the character of the race fromthis misconception and show how much injusticethere may often be in a generally accepted idea”.Continuing, she says:

“In considering the servicesof the colored patriots of the Revolution, weare to reflect upon them as far more magnanimous,because rendered to a nation which did not acknowledgethem as citizens and equals, and in whose interestsand prosperity they had less at stake. Itwas not for their own land they fought, not even fora land which had adopted them, but for a land whichhad enslaved them, and whose laws, even in freedom,oftener oppressed than protected. Bravery,under such circ*mstances, has a peculiar beautyand merit.

“And their white brothers—­mayremember that generosity, disinterested courageand bravery, are of no particular race and complexion,and that the image of the Heavenly Father may be reflectedalike by all. Each record of worth in this oppressedand despised people should be pondered, for itis by many such that the cruel and unjust publicsentiment, which has so long proscribed them,may be reversed, and full opportunities given themto take rank among the nations of the earth.”

Estimates from competent sources state that not lessthan 3,000 Negro soldiers did service in the Americanarmy during the Revolution. Rhode Island firstmade her slaves free men and then called on them tofight. A black regiment was raised there, ofwhich Colonel Christopher Green was made commander.Connecticut furnished a black battalion under commandof Colonel David Humphrey.

Prior to the Revolution, two Virginia Negroes, IsraelTitus and Samuel Jenkins, had fought under Braddockand Washington in the French and Indian war.

It has been said that one of the men killed when MajorPitcairn commanding the British advance on Concordand Lexington, April 19, 1775, ordered his troopsto fire on the Americans, was a Negro bearing arms.Peter Salem a Negro did service during the Revolution,and is said to have killed this same Major Pitcairn,at the battle of Bunker Hill. In some old engravingsof the battle, Salem is pictured as occupying a prominentposition. These pictures were carried on someof the currency of the Monumental bank of Charlestown,Massachusetts and the Freeman’s bank of Boston.Other black men fought at Bunker Hill, of whom we havethe names of Salem Poor, Titus Coburn, Alexander Ames,Barzillai Lew and Gato Howe. After the war thesem*n were pensioned.

Prince, a Negro soldier, was Colonel Barton’schief assistant in capturing the British officer,Major General Prescott at Newport, R.I. PrimusBabco*ck received an honorable discharge from the armysigned by General Washington. Lambo Latham andJordan Freeman fell with Ledyard at the storming ofFort Griswold. Freeman is said to have killedMajor Montgomery, a British officer who was leadingan attack on Americans in a previous fight. Historydoes not record whether or not this was the same ora related Montgomery to the one who killed CrispusAttucks at Boston.

Hamet, one of General Washington’s Negroes,was drawing a pension as a revolutionary soldier aslate as 1839, Oliver Cromwell served six years andnine months in Col. Israel Shreve’s regimentof New Jersey troops under Washington’s immediatecommand. Charles Bowles became an American soldierat the age of sixteen years and served to the end ofthe Revolution. Seymour Burr and Jeremy Jonahwere Negro soldiers in a Connecticut regiment.

A Negro whose name is not known obtained the countersignby which Mad Anthony Wayne was enabled to take StonyPoint, and guided and helped him to do so.

Jack Grove was a Negro steward on board an Americanvessel which the British captured. He figuredout that the vessel could be retaken if sufficientcourage were shown. He insisted and at lengthprevailed upon his captain to make the attempt, whichwas successful.

There was in Massachusetts during those Revolutionarydays one company of Negro men bearing a special designation,“The Bucks.” It was a notable bodyof men. At the close of the war its fame and serviceswere recognized by John Hanco*ck presenting to it abeautiful banner.

The European struggle recently ended furnished a remarkableexample of female heroism and devotion to countryin the case of the Russian woman who enlisted as acommon soldier in the army of the Czar, served withdistinction and finally organized an effective unitof female soldiers known as the “Battalion ofDeath.” More resourceful and no less remarkableand heroic, is the case of Deborah Gannet, a Negrowoman soldier of the Revolution, which may be summedup in the following resolution passed by the GeneralCourt of Massachusetts during the session of 1791:—­

“XXIII—­Whereas, itappears to this court that the said Deborah Gannettenlisted, under the name of Robert Shurtliff, in CaptWebb’s company, in the Fourth Massachusettsregiment, on May 20, 1782, and did actually performthe duties of a soldier, in the late army ofthe United States to the 23rd day of October, 1783,for which she has received no compensation; and,whereas, it further appears that the said Deborahexhibited an extraordinary instance of femaleheroism by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallantsoldier, and at the same time preserving the virtueand chastity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished,and was discharged from the service with a fairand honorable character, therefore,

“Resolved, thatthe Treasurer of this Commonwealth be, and he
hereby is, directedto issue his note to the said Deborah for the
sum of thirty-four pounds,bearing interest from October 23, 1783.”

There is not lacking evidence that Negroes distinguishedthemselves in the struggles of the pioneer settlersagainst the Indians. This was particularly trueof the early history of Kentucky. The followingincidents are recorded in Thompson’s “YoungPeople’s History of Kentucky:”

“Ben Stockton was a slave inthe family of Major George Stockton of Flemingcounty. He was a regular Negro, and though a slave,was devoted to his master. He hated an Indianand loved to moralize over a dead one; gettinginto a towering rage and swearing magnificentlywhen a horse was stolen; handled his rifle well, thoughsomewhat foppishly, and hopped, danced and showed histeeth when a prospect offered to chase ‘theyaller varmints’. His master had confidencein his resolution and prudence, while he was a greatfavorite with all the hunters, and added muchto their fun on dull expeditions. On oneoccasion, when a party of white men in pursuit ofIndians who had stolen their horses called at Stockton’sstation for reinforcements, Ben, among others,volunteered. They overtook the savages atKirk’s Springs in Lewis county, and dismountedto fight; but as they advanced, they could seeonly eight or ten, who disappeared over the mountain.Pressing on, they discovered on descending themountain such indications as convinced them that thefew they had seen were but decoys to lead theminto an ambuscade at the base, and a retreatwas ordered. Ben was told of it by a man nearhim; but he was so intent on getting a shot that hedid not hear, and the order was repeated in alouder tone, whereupon he turned upon his monitora reproving look, grimaced and gesticulated ludicrously,and motioned to the man to be silent. He thenset off rapidly down the mountain. His whitecomrade, unwilling to leave him, ran after him,and reached his side just as he leveled his gun ata big Indian standing tiptoe on a log and peering intothe thick woods. At the crack of Ben’srifle the savage bounded into the air and fell.The others set up a fierce yell, and, as the fearlessNegro said, ‘skipped from tree to tree likegrasshoppers.’ He bawled out:’Take dat to ‘member Ben—­deblack white man!’ and the two beat a hastyretreat.

“In the family of Capt.James Estill, who established a station aboutfifteen miles south of Boonesborough, was a Negro slave,Monk, who was intelligent, bold as a lion, andas faithful to his pioneer friends as thoughhe were a free white settler defending his ownrights. About daylight, March 20, 1782, when allthe men of the fort except four were absent onan Indian trail, a body of the savages came uponMiss Jennie Glass, who was outside, but near the station,milking—­Monk being with her. They killedand scalped Miss Glass and captured Monk.When questioned as to the force inside the walls,the shrewd and self-possessed Negro represented itas much greater than it was and told of preparationsfor defense. The Indians were deceived,and after killing the cattle, they retreatedacross the river. When the battle of Little Mountainopened two days later, Monk, who was still a prisonerwith the Indians cried out: ‘Don’tgive way, Mas’ Jim! There’s only abouttwenty-five redskins and you can whip ’em!’This was valuable and encouraging informationto the whites. When the Indians began to advanceon Lieutenant Miller, when he was sent to prevent aflank movement and guard the horse-holders, Monkcalled also to him to hold his ground and thewhite men would win. Instead of being instantlykilled as was to be apprehended, even though the savagesmight not understand his English, he made hisescape before the fight closed and got back tohis friends. On their return to the station,twenty-five miles, without sufficient horses for thewounded, he carried on his back, most of the way,James Berry, whose thigh was broken. Hehad learned to make gunpowder, and obtainingsaltpetre from Peyton’s Cave, in Madison county,he frequently furnished this indispensable articleto Estill’s Station and Boonesborough.He has been described as being five feet five incheshigh and weighing two hundred pounds. He was arespected member of the Baptist church, whenwhites and blacks worshipped together. Hewas held in high esteem by the settlers and his youngmaster, Wallace Estill, gave him his freedom andclothed and fed him as long as he lived thereafter—­tillabout 1835.

“A year or two after the closeof the Revolutionary war, a Mr. Woods was livingnear Crab Orchard, Kentucky, with his wife, one daughter(said to be ten years old), and a lame Negro man.Early one morning, her husband being away, Mrs.Woods when a short distance from the house, discoveredseven or eight Indians in ambush. She ranback into the house, so closely pursued that beforeshe could fasten the door one of the savages forcedhis way in. The Negro instantly seized him.In the scuffle the Indian threw him, fallingon top. The Negro held him in a strong grasp andcalled to the girl to take an axe which was inthe room and kill him. This she did by twowell-aimed blows; and the Negro then asked Mrs. Woodsto let in another that he with the axe might dispatchhim as he came and so, one by one, kill themall. By this time, however, some men fromthe station nearby, having discovered that the housewas attacked, had come up and opened fire on thesavages, by which one was killed and the othersput to flight.”

CHAPTER X.

From Lexington to Carrizal.

Negro in war of 1812—­incidentof the Chesapeake—­battleof lake
Erie—­Perry’s fighters10 percent negroes—­incidentof the “Governor
Tompkins”—­Colonists formnegro regiments—­defense of

new
Orleans—­Andrew Jackson’stribute—­negroes in Mexicanand civil wars—­in
the Spanish-American war—­negroesin the Philippines—­heroesof
Carrizal—­general butler’stribute to negroes—­WendellPhillips on
Toussaint L’OUVERTURE.

Prior to the actual war of 1812 and one of the mostconspicuous causes leading to it, was the attack onthe Chesapeake, an American war vessel. Herethe Negro in the Navy figured in a most remarkabledegree. The vessel was hailed, fired upon andforced to strike her colors by the British. Shewas boarded, searched and four persons taken from thecrew charged with desertion from the English navy.Three of these were Negroes and one white. Thecharge against the Negroes could not have been verystrong, for they were dismissed, while the white manwas hanged.

The naval history of our second war with Great Britainis replete with incidents concerning the participationof the Negro. Mackenzie’s history of thelife of Commodore Perry states that at the famed battleof Lake Erie, fully ten percent of the American crewswere blacks. Perry spoke highly of their braveryand good conduct. He said they seemed to be absolutelyinsensible to danger. His fighters were a motleycollection of blacks, soldiers and boys. Nearlyall had been afflicted with sickness. Mackenziesays that when the defeated British commander wasbrought aboard the “Niagara” and beheldthe sickly and parti-colored beings around him, anexpression of chagrin escaped him at having been conqueredby such men.

The following extract is from a letter written byCommodore Nathaniel Shaler of the armed schooner “GovernorTompkins”, dated January 1, 1813. Speakingof a fight with a British frigate, he said:

“The name of one of my poor fellowswho was killed ought to be registered in thebook of fame and remembered with reverence as longas bravery is considered a virtue. He was a blackman by the name of John Johnson. A twenty-four-poundshot struck him in the hip and tore away allthe lower part of his body. In this state thepoor brave fellow lay on the deck and severaltimes exclaimed to his shipmates: ‘Fireaway, boys; don’t haul the colors down.’Another black man by the name of John Davis wasstruck in much the same way. He fell nearme and several times requested to be thrown overboard,saying he was only in the way of the others. WhenAmerica has such tars, she has little to fearfrom the tyrants of the ocean.”

With the history fresh in mind of the successful Negroinsurrection in St. Domingo, bringing out so conspicuousa military and administrative genius as ToussaintL’Ouverture, it is not surprising that the servicesof Negroes as soldiers were not only welcomed, butsolicited by various states during the War of 1812.Excepting the battle of New Orleans, almost all themartial glory of the struggle was on the water.New York, however, passed a special act of the legislatureand organized two regiments of Negro troops, whilethere was heavy recruiting in other states.

When in 1814 New Orleans was in danger, the free coloredpeople of Louisiana were called into the field withthe whites. General Andrew Jackson’s commendatoryaddress read to his colored troops December 18, 1814,is one of the highest compliments ever paid by a commanderto his troops. He said:

“Soldiers!—­when, onthe banks of the Mobile, I called you to take uparms, inviting you to partake of the perils and gloryof your white fellow-citizens, I expected muchfrom you; for I was not ignorant that you possessedqualities most formidable to an invading enemy.I knew with what fortitude you could endure hungerand thirst, and all the fatigues of a campaign.I knew well how you loved your native country,and that you, as well as ourselves had to defendwhat man holds most dear—­his parents, wife,children and property. You have done morethan I expected. In addition to the previousqualities I before knew you to possess, I found amongyou a noble enthusiasm, which leads to the performanceof great things.

“Soldiers! The Presidentof the United States shall hear how praiseworthywas your conduct in the hour of danger, and the representativesof the American people will give you the praise yourexploits entitle you to. Your General anticipatesthem in applauding your noble ardor.”

Many incidents are on record of the gallantry of Negrosoldiers and servants also serving as soldiers, inthe war with Mexico. Colonel Clay, a son of HenryClay, was accompanied into the thick of the battleof Buena Vista, by his Negro servant. He remainedby his side in the fatal charge and saw Clay strickenfrom his horse. Although surrounded by the murderousMexicans he succeeded in carrying the mangled bodyof his master from the field.

It has been stated and the evidence seems strong,that a Negro saved the life of General Zachary Taylorat the battle of Monterey. The story is thata Mexican was aiming a deadly blow at the General,when the Negro sprang between them, slew the Mexicanand received a deep wound from a lance. The Negrowas a slave at the time, but was afterwards emancipatedby President Taylor.

Upwards of 200,000 colored soldiers were regularlyenlisted in the Federal army and navy during the Civilwar. President Lincoln commissioned eight Negrosurgeons for field and hospital duty. Lossessustained by the Negro troops amounting to upwardsof 37,000 men, are shown to have been as heavy inproportion to the numbers engaged, as those of thewhite forces.

The record of the Negro troops in the Civil war isone of uniform excellence. Numerous officialdocuments attest this fact, aside from the spokenand written commendations of many high officers.Their bravery was everywhere recognized; many distinguishedthemselves and several attained to the rank of regularlycommissioned officers. Conspicuous in Negro annalsof that time is the case of Charles E. Nash, afterwardsa member of congress. He received a primary educationin the schools of New Orleans, but had educated himselflargely by his own efforts. In 1863 he enlistedin the 83rd regiment, United States Chasseurs d’Afriqueand became acting sergeant-major of that command.At the storming of Fort Blakely he lost a leg andwas honorably discharged.

Another, William Hannibal Thomas, afterwards becameprominent as an author, teacher, lawyer and legislator.His best known book was entitled, “The AmericanNegro: What he was, what he is, and what he maybecome.” He served as a soldier during theCivil War and lost an arm in the service.

The exploit of Robert Smalls was so brilliant thatno amount of unfairness or prejudice has been ableto shadow it. It is well known to all studentsof the War of the Rebellion and is recorded in theimperishable pages of history.

Smalls was born a slave at Beaufort, South Carolina,but managed to secure some education. Havingled a sea-faring life to some extent, the early partof the war found him employed as pilot of the Rebeltransport Planter. He was thoroughly familiarwith the harbors and inlets of the South Atlanticcoast. On May 31, 1862, the Planter was in Charlestonharbor. All the white officers and crew went ashore,leaving on board a colored crew of eight men in chargeof Smalls. He summoned aboard his wife and threechildren and at 2 o’clock in the morning steamedout of the harbor, passed the Confederate forts bygiving the proper signals, and when fairly out ofreach, ran up the Stars and Stripes and headed a coursefor the Union fleet, into whose hands he soon surrenderedthe ship. He was appointed a pilot in the UnitedStates navy and served as such on the monitor Keokukin the attack on Fort Sumter; was promoted to captainfor gallant and meritorious conduct, December 1, 1863,and placed in command of the Planter, a position whichhe held until the vessel was taken out of commissionin 1866. He was a member of the South CarolinaConstitutional Convention, 1868; elected same yearto the legislature, to the state senate 1870 and 1872,and was a member of the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifthCongresses.

Among the most inspiring pages of Civil War historywritten by the Negro, were the campaigns of Port Hudson,Louisiana; Fort Wagner, South Carolina and Fort Pillow,Kentucky. Negro troops participated in the siegeof the former place by the Federal forces under GeneralBanks, which began in May 1863, and ended in the surrenderof the fort July 8, 1863. Fort Wagner was oneof the defenses of Charleston. It was reducedby General Gilmore, September 6,1863 and Negro troopscontributed in a glorious and heroic manner to theresult. Fort Pillow had been taken by the Federalsand was garrisoned by a Negro regiment and a detachmentof cavalry. It was recaptured April 12, 1864by the Confederates under General Forrest. Practicallythe entire garrison was massacred, an act that willstain forever the name of Forrest, and the cause forwhich he struggled.

By the close of the Civil war, the value and fitnessof the Negro as a soldier had been so completely demonstratedthat the government decided to enlarge the Regulararmy and form fifty percent of the increase from coloredmen. In 1866 eight new infantry regiments wereauthorized of which four were to be Negroes and fournew cavalry regiments of which two were to be Negroes.The Negro infantry regiments were numbered the 38th39th, 40th and 41st. The cavalry regiments wereknown as the 9th and 10th.

In 1869 there was a general reduction in the infantryforces of the Regular army and the 38th and 41st wereconsolidated into one regiment numbered the 24th andthe 39th and 40th into one regiment numbered the 25th.The strength and numerical titles of the cavalry werenot changed. For over forty years the coloredAmerican was represented in our Regular Army by thosefour regiments. They have borne more than theirproportionate share of hard service, including manyIndian campaigns. The men have conducted themselvesso worthily as to call forth the best praise of thehighest military authorities. General Miles andGeneral Merritt, actively identified with the Indianwars, were unstinting in their commendation of thevalor and skill of Negro fighters.

Between 1869 and 1889, three colored men were regularlygraduated and commissioned from the United Statesmilitary academy at West Point and served in the RegularArmy as officers. They were John H. Alexander,Charles Young and H.O. Flipper. The latterwas dismissed. All served in the cavalry.Alexander died shortly before the Spanish-Americanwar and up to the time of his demise, enjoyed theconfidence and esteem of his associates, white andblack. Young became major in the volunteer serviceduring the Spanish-American war and was placed in commandof the Ninth Battalion of Ohio volunteers. Afterthe Spanish-American war he returned to the RegularArmy with a reduced rank, but ultimately became a Majorin that service. Upon America’s entry intothe European war he was elevated to the rank of Colonel.

At the breaking out of the Spanish-American war in1898, Negro military organizations existed principallyin the Regular Army. These were soon filled totheir maximum strength and the desire of Negroes northand south to enlist, seemed likely to meet with disappointment.Congress, to meet the insistence of colored men forservice, authorized the raising of ten Negro volunteerregiments of “immunes”—­men whohad lived in sections where the yellow fever and othermalignant or malarial visitations had occurred, andwho had suffered from them or shown evidences thatthey in all probability would be immune from the diseases.The plan to place white men in all commands above thegrade of second lieutenant, prevented Negroes fromenlisting as they otherwise would have done.Four immune regiments were organized—­the7th, 8th, 9th and 10th.

Several of the states appreciating the value of theNegro as a soldier and in response to his intensedesire to enlist, placed volunteer Negro organizationsat the disposal of the government. There werethe Third Alabama and Sixth Virginia Infantry; EighthIllinois Infantry; Companies A and B Indiana Infantry;Thirty-third Kansas Infantry, and a battalion of theNinth Ohio Infantry. The Eighth Illinois was officeredby colored men throughout. J.R. Marshallits first colonel commanded the regiment during theSpanish-American war and did garrison duty in Santiagoprovince for some time after the war; being for a whilemilitary governor of San Luis.

Gov. Russell of North Carolina, called out aNegro regiment, the Third Infantry, officered by coloredmen throughout. Colonel Charles Young commanding.It was not mustered into the service.

Company L. Sixth Massachusetts Infantry, was a Negrocompany serving in a white regiment. John L.Waller, deceased, a Negro formerly United States Consulto Madagascar, was a captain in the Kansas regiment.

About one hundred Negro second-lieutenants were commissionedin the volunteer force during the Spanish-Americanwar. There was a Negro paymaster, Major JohnR. Lynch of Mississippi, and two Negro chaplains,the Rev. C.T. Walker of Georgia and the Rev. RichardCarroll of South Carolina.

Owing to the briefness of the campaign in Cuba, mostof the service of Negro troops devolved upon the Regularswho were fit and ready. But all troops were atmobilization or training bases and willing and anxiousto serve. No pages in the history of this countryare more replete with the record of good fighting,military efficiency and soldierly conduct, than thoserecording the story of Negro troops in Cuba. ColonelRoosevelt said that the conduct of the Ninth and TenthCavalry reflected honor upon the whole American people,especially on their own race. He could hardlysay otherwise in view of the splendid support givenby those two regiments that—­such is, andwill continue to be the verdict of history, savedhim and his “Rough Riders” from annihilationat San Juan Hill.

Cuba, in her struggles for freedom, had among herown people two splendid Negro leaders, Antonio andJose Maceo.

Following the Cuban campaign, Negro troops saw distinguishedservice in the Philippine Islands uprisings.They have from time to time since garrisoned and preservedorder in those possessions. A very limited numberof Negro officers have been attached to their racialcontingents in the Philippines, and there will befound but a few of competent military authority inthis country, who will deny that educated, intelligentand qualified Negroes, are fitted for positions ofleadership and command.

The Negro of this country is primarily and essentiallyconcerned with the destiny and problems of his race.His work encouraged as it must be, by the laws andspirit of the age, will determine his future and markthe commencement of the elimination of the shamefulprejudice against him in the land, for which, fromLexington to the bloody trenches of France, he hasgiven of his blood to preserve.

Before leaving the subject of the Negro in previouswars, it is highly fitting to review the heroic incidentof June 21, 1916, at Carrizal, Mexico. Here isa tale of daring that to duplicate, would tax theimagination of war fiction writers, and among incidentsof fact will range along with the Texans’ defenseof the Alamo, where men fought and perished againstgreat odds.

The occasion was the celebrated expedition conductedby General J.J. Pershing into Mexico in pursuitof the bandit leader Villa. A picked detachmentconsisting of portions of Troops C and K of the coloredTenth Cavalry, was dispatched from Pershing’smain force towards the town of Villa Ahumada.The force was commanded by Captain Charles T. Boydof Troop C and Captain Lewis Morey of Troop K. LieutenantAdair was second in command in Troop C to CaptainBoyd. Including officers and civilian scouts,the force numbered about 80 men.

Early on the morning of June 21, the detachment wishingto pass through the garrisoned town of Carrizal, soughtthe permission of the Mexican commander. Amidsta show of force, the officers were invited into thetown by the commander, ostensibly for a parley.Fearing a trap they refused the invitation and invitedthe Mexicans to a parley outside the town. TheMexican commander came out with his entire force andbegan to dispose them in positions which were verythreatening to the Americans. Captain Boyd informedthe Mexican that his orders were to proceed eastwardto Ahumada and protested against the menacing positionof the Mexican forces. The Mexican replied thathis orders were to prevent the Americans from proceedingin any direction excepting northward, the directionfrom which they had just come.

Captain Boyd refused to retreat, but ordered his mennot to fire until they were attacked. The Mexicancommander retired to the flank and almost immediatelyopened with machine gun fire from a concealed trench.This was quickly followed by rifle fire from the remainderof the force. The Mexicans outnumbered the troopersnearly two to one and their most effective force wasintrenched. The Americans were on a flat plain,unprotected by anything larger than bunches of cactusor sage brush. They dismounted, laid flat onthe ground and responded to the attack as best theycould. The horses were mostly stampeded by theearly firing.

The spray of lead from the machine gun had becomeso galling that Captain Boyd decided to charge theposition. Not a man wavered in the charge.They took the gun, the Captain falling dead acrossthe barrel of it just as the last Mexican was killedor put to flight. Lieutenant Adair was also killed.The Mexicans returned in force and recaptured theposition.

Captain Morey had been concerned in warding off aflank attack. His men fought no less bravelythan the others. They finally were driven to seekrefuge in an adobe house, that is; all who were ableto reach it. Here they kept the Mexicans at bayfor hours firing through windows and holes in thewalls. Captain Morey seriously wounded, with afew of his survivors, finally escaped from the houseand hid for nearly two days in a hole. The soldiersrefused to leave their officer. When they finallywere able to leave their place of concealment, theseveral that were left assisted their Captain on theroad towards the main force. Arriving at a pointwhere reinforcements could be summoned, the Captainwrote a report to his commander and sent his men toheadquarters with it. They arrived in recordtime and a party was sent out, reaching the woundedofficer in time to save his life.

About half of the American force was wiped out andmost of the others were taken prisoners. Theyinflicted a much heavier loss on the Mexicans.Among the killed was the Mexican commander who hadordered the treacherous attack.

It may be that “someone had blundered.”This was not the concern of the black troopers; inthe face of odds they fought by the cactus and laydead under the Mexican stars.

In closing this outline of the Negro’s participationin former wars, it is highly appropriate to quotethe tributes of two eminent men. One, GeneralBenjamin F. Butler, a conspicuous military leader onthe Union side in the Civil War, and Wendell Phillips,considered by many the greatest orator America everproduced, and who devoted his life to the abolitionmovement looking to the freedom of the slave in theUnited States. Said General Butler on the occasionof the debate in the National House of Representativeson the Civil Rights bill; ten years after the bloodybattle of New Market Heights; speaking to the bill,and referring to the gallantry of the black soldierson that field of strife:

“It became my painful duty tofollow in the track of that charging column,and there, in a space not wider than the clerk’sdesk and three hundred yards long, lay the deadbodies of 543 of my colored comrades, fallenin defense of their country, who had offered theirlives to uphold its flag and its honor, as a willingsacrifice; and as I rode along among them, guidingmy horse this way and that way, lest he shouldprofane with his hoofs what seemed to me the sacreddead, and as I looked on their bronzed faces upturnedin the shining sun, as if in mute appeal againstthe wrongs of the country whose flag had onlybeen to them a flag of stripes, on which no starof glory had ever shone for them—­feelingI had wronged them in the past and believingwhat was the future of my country to them—­amongmy dead comrades there I swore to myself a solemn oath,’May my right hand forget its cunning andmy tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, ifI ever fail to defend the rights of those men whohave given their blood for me and my country this day,and for their race forever,’ and, God helpingme, I will keep that oath.”

Mr. Phillips in his great oration on Toussaint L’Ouverture,the Black of St. Domingo; statesman, warrior and LIBEEATOR,—­deliveredin New York City, March 11, 1863, said among otherthings, a constellation of linguistic brilliants notsurpassed since the impassioned appeals of Ciceroswept the Roman Senate to its feet, or Demosthenesfired his listeners with the flame of his matchlesseloquence;

“You remember that Macaulay says,comparing Cromwell with Napoleon, that Cromwellshowed the greater military genius, if we considerthat he never saw an army till he was forty; whileNapoleon was educated from a boy in the bestmilitary schools in Europe. Cromwell manufacturedhis own army; Napoleon at the age of twenty-sevenwas placed at the head of the best troops Europe eversaw. They were both successful; but, saysMacaulay, with such disadvantages, the Englishmanshowed the greater genius. Whether you allowthe inference or not, you will at least grant thatit is a fair mode of measurement.

“Apply it to Toussaint.Cromwell never saw an army until he was forty;this man never saw a soldier till he was fifty.Cromwell manufactured his own army—­outof what? Englishmen—­the best bloodin Europe. Out of the middle class of Englishmen,the best blood of the island. And with ithe conquered what? Englishmen—­theirequals. This man manufactured his army outof what? Out of what you call the despicablerace of Negroes, debased, demoralized by two hundredyears of slavery, 100,000 of them imported into theisland within four years, unable to speak a dialectintelligible even to each other. Yet outof this mixed, and, as you say, despicable mass,he forged a thunderbolt, and hurled it at what?At the proudest blood in Europe, the Spaniard,and sent him home conquered; at the most warlikeblood in Europe, the French, and put them underhis feet; at the pluckiest blood in Europe, the English,and they skulked home to Jamaica.”

The world is acquainted with the treacherous infamyinspired by the great Napoleon, that inveigled theBlack Chieftain and liberator of his people on shipboard,the voyage to France, and his subsequent death—­starved!—­inthe dungeon of the prison castle of St. Joux.

Whittier, the poet evangelist, whose inspired versecontributed much to the crystallization of the sentimentand spirit that finally doomed African slavery inAmerica, thus referred to the heartless tragedy andthe splendid Black who was its victim:

“Sleep calmy inthy dungeon-tomb,
BeneathBesancon’s alien sky,
Dark Haytien!—­forthe time shall come,
Yea, evennow is nigh—­
When, everywhere, thyname shall be
Redeemed from color’sinfamy;
And men shall learnto speak of thee,
As one of earth’sgreat spirits, born
In servitude, and nursedin scorn,
Casting aside the wearyweight
And fetters of its lowestate,
In that strong majestyof soul,
Which knowsno color, tongue or clime,
Which still hath spurnedthe base control
Of tyrantsthrough all time!”

CHAPTER XI.

Hour of his nation’s peril.

Negro’s PARTRIOTIC attitude—­selectivedraft in effect—­featuresand
results—­bold reliance onfaith in A people—­nocolor line
drawn—­distribution of registrantsby states—­negro andwhite
registrations compared—­negropercentages higher—­claimedfewer
exemptions—­inductions bystates—­better physicallythan whites—­tables,
facts and figures.

As stated in a previous chapter, the Negro’sreal opportunity to show his patriotic attitude didnot come until the passage of the compulsory servicelaw; selective draft, was the name attached to it laterand by which it was generally known.

On May 18, 1917, the day the law was enacted by congress,no advocate of preparedness could with confidencehave forecasted the success of it. There weremany who feared the total failure of it. The historyof the United States disclosed a popular adherenceto the principle of voluntary enlistment, if not arepudiation of the principle of selection or compulsorymilitary service.

It was to be expected that many people would lookupon the law as highly experimental; as an act that,if it did not produce grave disorders in the country,would fall short of the results for which it was intended.It was fortunate for the country at this time, thatthe military establishment possessed in the personof General Crowder, one who had made a special studyof selective drafts and other forms of compulsoryservice, not alone in this country, but throughoutthe nations of the world and back to the beginningof recorded history. He had become as familiarwith all phases of it as though it had been a personalhobby and lifetime pursuit.

The law was extremely plain and permitted of no guessingor legal quibbling over its terms. It boldlyrecited the military obligations of citizenship.It vested the president with the most complete powerof prescribing regulations calculated to strike abalance between the industrial, agricultural and economicneeds of the nation on the one hand and the militaryneed on the other.

Within 18 days between May 18, when the law was approved,and June 5, the day the president had fixed as registrationday, a great, administrative machine was built.Practically the entire male citizenship of the UnitedStates within the age limits fixed by law, twenty-oneto thirty years inclusive, presented itself at the4,000 enrollment booths with a registered result ofnearly 10,000,000 names. The project had beenso systematized that within 48 hours almost completeregistration returns had been assembled by telegraphin Washington.

The order in which the ten-million registrants wereto be called was accomplished on July 20 by a greatcentral lottery in Washington.

The boards proceeded promptly to call, to examinephysically and to consider claims for exemption ofover one and one half million men, a sufficient numberto fill the first national quota of 687,000. Thusin less than three and one-half months the nationhad accepted and vigorously executed a compulsoryservice law.

On June 5, 1918, 753,834 men were added to the rolls.On August 24, 1918, that number was increased by 159,161;finally on September 12, 1918, under the provisionof the act of August 31, 1918, 13,228,762 were addedto the lists of those available for military service,which, including interim and other accessions, amountedto a grand total of 24,234,021 enrolled and subjectto the terms of the Selective Service law. Thistremendous exhibition of man power struck terror tothe heart of the Hun and hastened him to, if possible,deliver a telling blow against the Allies before thewonderful strength and resources of the American nationcould be brought to bear against him.

Commenting on the facility with which the selectivedraft was put into effect, the report of the ProvostMarshall General stated in part:

“The expedition and smoothnesswith which the law was executed emphasized theremarkable flexibility, adaptability and efficiencyof our system of government and the devotion ofour people. Here was a gigantic projectin which success was staked not on reliance inthe efficiency of a man, or an hierarchy of men, or,primarily, on a system. Here was a boldreliance on faith in a people. Most exactingduties were laid with perfect confidence on the officialsof every locality in the nation, from the governorsof states to the registrars of elections, andupon private citizens of every condition, frommen foremost in the industrial and political lifeof the nation to those who had never before beencalled upon to participate in the functions ofgovernment. By all administrative tokens,the accomplishment of their task was magic.”

No distinction regarding color or race was made inthe selective draft law, except so far as non-citizenIndians were exempt from the draft. But the organizationof the army placed Negro soldiers in separate units;and the several calls for mobilization, were, therefore,affected by this circ*mstance, in that no calls couldbe issued for Negro registrants until the organizationswere ready for them. Figures of total registrationgiven previously in this chapter include interim accessionsand some that automatically went on the rolls afterSeptember 12, 1918. Inasmuch as the tables preparedby the Provost Marshall General’s departmentdeal only with those placed on the rolls on regularregistration days and do not include the accessionsmentioned, comparisons which follow will be basedon those tables. They show the total registrationas 23,779,997, of which 21,489,470 were white and2,290,527 were black. Following is a table showingthe distribution of colored and white registrantsby states:

Colored
Total registrants
Colored June 5, 1917 Colored Total
and white Colored registrants colored
registrants. to Sept 11, Sept12, registrants.
1918. 1918.
------------------------------------------------------------
--------------United States 23,779,097 1,078,331 1,212,196 2,290,527
=====================================================
Alabama 444,692 81,963 81,410 163,373 Arizona 93,078 295 680 975 Arkansas 365,754 51,176 53,659 104,835 California 787,676 3,308 6,404 9,712 Colorado 215,178 1,103 1,867 2,970Connecticut 373,676 3,524 4,659 8,183 Delaware 55,215 3,798 4,448 8,246 District ofColumbia 89,808 11,045 15,433 26,478 Florida 208,931 39,013 43,019 82,032 Georgia 549,020 112,593 108,183 220,781
Idaho 103,740 254 255 509
Illinois 1,571,717 21,816 35,597 57,413
Indiana 639,431 11,289 16,549 27,838
Iowa 523,957 2,959 3,022 5,981
Kansas 381,315 5,575 7,448 13,023
Kentucky 486,599 25,850 30,182 56,032
Louisiana . 391,654 76,223 82,256 158,479
Maine 159,350 163 179 342
Maryland 313,255 26,435 32,736 59,171
Massachusetts 884,030 6,044 8,056 14,100
Michigan 871,410 6,979 8,950 15,929
Minnesota 540,003 1,541 1,809 3,350
Mississippi 344,506 81,548 91,534 173,082
Missouri 764,428 22,796 31,524 54,320
Montana 196,999 320 494 814
Nebraska 286,147 1,614 2,417 4,031
Nevada 29,465 69 112 172
New Hampshire 95,035 77 98 175
New Jersey 761,238 14,056 19,340 33,396
New Mexico 80,158 235 350 595
New York 2,503,290 25,974 35,299 61,273
North Carolina 480,901 73,357 69,168 142,525
North Dakota 159,391 65 165 230
Ohio 1,387,830 28,831 35,156 63,987
Oklahoma 423,864 14,305

23,253 37,563
Oregon 176,010 144 534 678
Pennsylvania 2,067,023 39,363 51,111 90,474
Rhode Island 134,232 1,573 1,913 3,486
South Carolina 307,229 74,265 74,912 149,177
South Dakota 142,783 144 171 315
Tennessee 474,253 43,735 51,059 94,794
Texas 989,571 83,671 82,775 166,446 Utah 100,038 169 392 561 Vermont 71,464 63 89 152 Virginia 464,903 64,358 75,816 140,174 Washington 319,337 373 1,353 1,726 WestVirginia 324,975 13,292 14,652 27,944 Wisconsin 584,639 718 1,117 1,835 Wyoming 58,700 280 570 850

White
registrants White Total
Percent of June 5, 1917 registrants white Percent
total to Sept 11 Sept 12, registrants. of total
registrants. 1918. 1918. registrants.
------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------United States 9.83 9,562,515 11,926,955 21,480,470 90.37
============================================================
=======
Alabama 36.74 124,247 157,072 281,319 63.26 Arizona 1.05 39,884 52,219 92,103 98.95 Arkansas 28.66 117,111 143,808 260,919 71.34 California 1.23 312,994 464,970 777,964 98.77 Colorado 1.38 90,453 121,755 212,208 98.62Connecticut . 2.19 171,296 194,197 365,493 97.81 Delaware 14.93 20,761 26,208 46,969 85.07 District of Columbia 29.45 25,625 37,795 63,420 70.56 Florida 39.26 55,572 71,327 126,899 60.74 Georgia 40.22 147,604 180,635 328,239 59.78
Idaho 0.49 45,224 58,007 103,231 99.51
Illinois 3.65 685,254 829,050 1,514,304 96.35
Indiana 4.35 272,442 339,151 611,593 95.65
Iowa 1.14 237,744 280,232 517,976 98.86
Kansas 3.41 161,691 206,602 368,293 96.59
Kentucky 11.52 190,060 240,507 430,567 88.43
Louisiana 40.46 103,718 129,467 233,185 59.54

Maine 0.22 67,941 91,067 159,008 99.73
Maryland 18.89 110,066 144,018 254,084 81.11
Massachusetts 1.60 391,654 478,276 869,930 93.40
Michigan 1.83 404,040 451,441 855,481 98.17
Minnesota 0.62 247,750 288,903 538,653 99.38
Mississippi 50.24 75,977 95,447 171,424 49.76
Missouri 7.11 372,106 398,002 710,108 92.89
Montana 0.41 96,753 101,432 198,185 99.59
Nebraska 1.42 130,493 151,623 282,116 98.58
Nevada 0.58 12,581 16,712 29,293 99.42
New Hampshire 0.18 41,617 53,243 94,860 99.82
New Jersey 4.39 18,615 409,225 727,840 95.61
New Mexico 0.74 36,776 42,787 79,563 99.26
New York 2.44 1,092,061 1,349,956 2,442,617 97.56
North Carolina 29.63 155,102 183,274 338,376 70.37
North Dakota 0.15 72,837 85,324 159,161 98.85
Ohio 4.61 588,170 735,673 1,323,843 95.39
Oklahoma 8.86 173,851 212,450 386,301 91.15
Oregon 0.38 69,376 105,956 175,332 99.62
Pennsylvania 4.38 353,106 1,113,443 1,976,549 95.62
Rhode Island 2.59 57,433 73,313 130,746 12
South Carolina 48.56 70,395 87,657 158,052 51.44
South Dakota 0.23 64,896 77,572 142,468 99.77
Tennessee 19.99 169,674 209,785 379,459 80.01 Texas 16.82 376,385 446,740 823,125 83.18 Utah 0.56 45,930 53,547 99,477 99.44 Vermont 0.21 30,819 40,493 71,312 99.79 Virginia 30.15 141,714 183,015 324,727 69.85Washington 0.54 123,752 193,859 317,611 99.46 West Virginia 8.60 128,852 168,179 297,031 91.40 Wisconsin 0.31 265,501 317,303 582,804 99.69 Wyoming 1.45 24,612 33,238 57,850 98.56

Results of the classification of December 15, 1917to September 11, 1918, in respect to colored and whiteregistrants are shown in the following table:

Colored and white classification compared. Number. Percent Percent

oftotal of

classified. classified.
------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
Total colored and white registered:
June 5, 1917, to Sept. 11, 1918 10,640,846 100.00 -----
Total colored registered 1,078,331 10.13 100.00
Class I 556,917 ----- 51.65
Deferred classes 521,414 ----- -----
Total white registered 9,562,515 89.87 100.00
Class I 3,110,659 ----- 32.53
Deferred classes 6,451,856 ----- -----
Percentage accepted for service on calls before Dec.15, 1917 (report for 1917).
Colored ----- ----- 36.23
White ----- ----- 24.75

It will be seen that a much higher percentage of Negroeswere accepted for service than of white men.It is true that enlistments which were permitted whitemen but denied Negroes, depleted the whites eligibleto Class I to some extent. Probably there weremore Negro delinquents in proportion to their numbersin the south than white delinquents. The conditionsunder which they lived would account for that.Delinquents, under the regulations, were placed inClass 1. Then there is the undoubted fact thatthe Negro sought and was granted fewer exemptions onthe ground of dependency. Many Negroes in thesouth, where the rate of pay was low, were put inClass I on the ground that their allotment and allowanceswhile in the army, would furnish an equivalent supportto their dependents. But whatever the reason,the great fact stands out that a much greater percentageof colored were accepted for service than white men.The following table gives the colored and white inductionsby states:

Total colored Colored Colored Per
and white registrants, Percentage inducted Percent of
registrants, June 5, of colored June 5, colored
June 5, 1917, 1917, to and white 1917, to registrants.
to Sept. 11, Sept. 11, registrants. Nov. 11,
1918. 1918. 1918.
------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------United States 10,640,846 1,078,331 10.13 367,710 34.10
============================================================
=======
Alabama 206,210 81,963 39.75 25,874 31.57 Arizona 40,179 295 .73 77

26.10 Arkansas 168,287 51,176 30.4l 17,544 34.28 California 316,302 3,308 1.05 919 27.78 Colorado 91,556 1,103 1.20 317 28.74 Connecticut 174,820 3,524 2.02 941 26.70 Delaware 24,559 3,798 15.46 1,365 35.93 Districtof Columbia 36,670 11,045 30.12 4,000 36.22 Florida 94,585 39,013 41.25 12,904 33.08 Georgia 260,197 112,593 43.27 34,303 30.47
Idaho 45,478 254 .56 95 37.40
Illinois 707,070 21,816 3.09 8,754 40.13
Indiana 283,731 11,289 3.98 4,579 40.56
Iowa 240,703 2,959 1.23 929 31.40
Kansas 167,266 5,575 3.33 2,127 38.15
Kentucky 215,910 25,850 11.98 11,320 43.79
Louisiana 179,941 76,223 42.36 28,711 37.67
Maine 68,104 163 .24 50 30.67
Maryland 136,501 26,435 19.37 9,212 34.85
Massachusetts 397,698 6,044 1.52 1,200 19.85
Michigan 411,019 6,979 1.70 2,395 34.32
Minnesota 249,291 1,541 .62 511 53.16
Mississippi 157,525 81,548 51.77 24,066 29.51
Missouri 334,902 22,796 6.81 9,219 40.44
Montana 97,073 320 .33 198 61.87
Nebraska 132,107 1,614 1.22 642 39.78
Nevada 12,640 59 .47 26 44.07
New Hampshire 41,694 77 .18 27 35.07
New Jersey 332,671 14,056 4.23 4,863 34.60
New Mexico 37,011 235 .63 51 21.70
New York 1,118,035 25,974 2. 6,193 23.84
North Carolina 228,459 73,357 32.11 20,082 27.38
North Dakota 72,902 65 .09 87 -----
Ohio 617,001 28,831 4.67 7,861 27.27
Oklahoma 188,156 14,305 7.60 5,694 39.80
Oregon 69,520 144 .21 68 47.22
Pennsylvania 902,469 39,363 4.36 15,392 39.10
Rhode Island 59,006 1,573 2.67 291 18.50
South Carolina 144,660 74,265 51.34 25,798 34.74
South Dakota 65,040 144 .22 62 43.06
Tennessee 213,409 43,735 20.59 17,774 40.64
Texas 460,056 83,671 18.19 31,506 37.65
Utah 46,099 169 .37 77 45.56
Vermont 30,882 63 .20 22 34.92
Virginia 206,072 64,358 31.23 23,541 36.57
Washington 124,125 373 .30 173 46.38 West Virginia 142,144 13,292 9.35 5,492 41.32 Wisconsin 266,219 718 .27 224 31.20 Wyoming 24,892 280 1.12 95 23.93 Alaska 5 Hawaii PortoRico

White Percent of White
registrants, colored inductions, Percent
June 5, and June5, of white
1917, to white 1917,to registrants.
Sept. 11, registrants. Nov. 11,
1918. 1918.
------------------------------------------------------------
--------------United States 9,562,515 89.87 2,299,157 24.04
=====================================================
Alabama 124,247 60.25 33,881 27.27 Arizona 39,884 99.27 8,036 20.15 Arkansas 117,111 69.59 31,768 27.13California 312,994 98.95 60,148 21.13 Colorado 90,453 98.80 22,487 24.86 Connecticut 171,296 97.98 31,598 18.45Delaware 20,761 84.54 3,628 17.48 District of Columbia 25,625 69.88 5,631 21.97 Florida 55,572 58.75 12,012 21.62Georgia 147,604 56.73 32,538 32.04
Idaho 45,224 99.44 12,471 27.58
Illinois 685,254 96.91 68,729 24.62
Indiana 272,442 96.02 65,170 23.92
Iowa 237,744 98.77 65,935 27.73
Kansas 161,691 96.67 39,778 21.60
Kentucky 190,060 88.02 47,010 24.60
Louisiana 103,718 57.64 27,494 26.51
Maine 67,941 99.76 15,216 22.40
Maryland 110,066 80.63 24,655 22.40
Massachusetts 391,654 98.48 75,367 19.24
Michigan 404,040 98.30 94,085 23.29
Minnesota 247,750 99.38

73,169 29.53
Mississippi 75,977 48.23 19,296 25.40
Missouri 312,106 93.19 83,624 26.79
Montana 96,753 99.67 27,142 28.O5
Nebraska 130,493 98.78 29,165 22.35
Nevada 12,581 99.53 8,138 24.94
New Hampshire 41,617 99.82 8,377 20.13
New Jersey 318,615 95.77 66,527 20.88
New Mexico 36,776 99.37 8,811 23.96
New York 1,092,061 97.68 247,396 22.65
North Carolina 155,102 67.89 38,359 24.73
North Dakota 72,837 99.91 18,508 25.41
Ohio 568,170 95.83 130,287 22.15
Oklahoma 173,851 92.40 59,247 34.08
Oregon 69,376 99.79 16,090 23.19
Pennsylvania 863,106 95.64 185,819 21.53
Rhode Island 57,433 97.33 10,885 18.95
South Carolina 70,395 48.66 18,261 25.94
South Dakota 64,896 99.78 21,193 32.66
Tennessee 169,674 79.51 42,104 24.81
Texas 376,385 81.81 85,889 22.82
Utah 45,93O 99.63 10,711 23.32
Vermont 30,819 99.80 6,607 21.44 Virginia 141,714 68.77 34,796 24.55 Washington 123,752 99.70 28,513 23.04West Virginia l28,852 90.65 39,863 30.94 Wisconsin 265,501 99.73 70,758 26.65 Wyoming 24,612 98.88 7,828 31.81Alaska 1,957 Hawaii 5,406 Porto Rico 15,734

Further light on the question of more Negroes in proportionto their numbers being selected for service than whitemen, is found in a comparison of the Negroes and whitesrejected for physical reasons. The followingtable gives the figures for the period between December15, 1917 and September 11, 1918:

Colored and white physical rejections compared. Number. Percent of Percent of

examined partial

disqualifications.
------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------
Total, colored and white examined Dec. 15, 1917,
to Sept. 11, 1918 3,208,446 100.00 -----
Group A 2,259,027 70.41 -----

Disqualified partly or totally 949,419 ----- 100.00
Group B 88,436 2.76 9.31
Group C 339,377 10.58 35.75
Group D 521,606 16.25 54.94
Total, colored examined 458,838 100.00 -----
Group A 342,277 74.60 -----
Disqualified partly or totally 116,561 ----- 100.00
Group B 9,605 2.09 8.24
Group C 27,474 5.99 23.57
Group D 79,482 17.32 68.19
Total white examined 2,749,608 100.00 -----
Group A 1,916,750 69.71 -----
Disqualified partly or totally 832,858 ----- 100.00
Group B 78,831 2.87 9.47
Group C 311,903 11.34 37.45
Group D 442,124 16.08 53.08

The percentage of Negroes unqualifiedly accepted forservice, was 74.60% of the number examined; the whitemen accepted numbered 69.71% of the number examined.The Negroes it will be seen rated about 5% higherphysically than the whites. No better refutationcould be desired of the charge, having its inspirationin the vanquished, but unrepentant defenders of Negroslavery, mourning about its dead carcass, that theNegro is deteriorating physically, or that the so-calleddegenerative influences of civilization affect himin greater degree than they do the white man.

CHAPTER XII.

NEGRO SLACKERS AND PACIFISTS UNKNOWN

Such words not in his vocabulary—­desertionsexplained—­general Crowder
exonerates negro—­no willfuldelinquency—­strenuous effortsto meet
regulations—­no “Conscientiousobjectors”—­No draftevaders or
resisters—­negro’s devotionsublime—­justifies his freedom—­forgetshis
sorrows—­rises above hiswrongs—­testimony of localboards—­German
propaganda wasted—­A newAmericanism.

The only phase of the selective draft in which theNegro seemed to be discredited in comparison withhis white brother, was in the matter of desertions.At first glance and without proper analysis, the recordappeared to be against the Negro. Upon detailedstudy, however, the case takes on a different aspect.The records of the Provost Marshall General show thatout of 474,861 reported deserters, 369,030 were whiteregistrants, and 105,831 colored, the ratio of whitereported deserters to white registrants being 3.86,and the ratio of colored reported deserters to coloredregistrants being 9.81. Everyone knows now thatmany, yes, the bulk of the reported desertions amongboth whites and blacks, were not desertions at all.Circ*mstances simply prevented the men from keepingin touch with their local boards or from reportingwhen called.

Desertions among white registrants might have showna greater percentage had they not availed themselvesof the exemption feature of the law. Negroesdid not understand this clause in the act so well.Besides, as previously stated, many Negroes were placedin Class 1, even where they had dependants, becausetheir rate of pay in the army would enable them tocontribute as much to the support of their dependantsas would their earnings outside of army service.

This was a policy with many draft boards, but it isnot exactly clear in view of the increased earningpower of the Negroes through wartime demands for theirlabor. Following are the complete figures on so-calleddesertions, the variances in the several states beinggiven:

Total
white
and colored
registrants,
June 5,
1917, to Total Reported Percent of Percent of
Sept. 11, white desertions, total white
1918. registrants. white. registrants. registrants.
------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------United States 10,640,846 9,562,515 380,030 3.47 3.86 ====================================
====================================================Alabama 206,210 194,247 3,672 1.78 2.96 Arizona 40,179 39,884 6,930 17.36 17.40 Arkansas 168,287 117,111 2,476 1.47 2.11 California 316,302 313,994 15,323 4.84 4.90 Colorado 91,556 90,463 4,910 5.38 5.43 Connecticut 174,820 171,296 12,416 7.10 7.25 Delaware 24,559 20,761 686 2.79 3.30 Districtof Columbia 36,670 25,625 390 1.06 1.52 Florida 94,585 55,572 1,823 1.93 3.28 Georgia 260,197 147,001 4,499 1.73 3.05
Idaho 45,478 45,224

2,242 4.93 4.96
Illinois 707,070 685,254 21,673 3.07 3.16
Indiana 283,731 272,442 5,252 1.85 1.93
Iowa 240,703 237,744 5,283 2.19 2.21
Kansas 167,266 161,691 3,172 1.90 1.96
Kentucky 215,910 190,060 2,830 1.03 1.23
Louisiana 179,941 103,718 2,250 1.25 2.17
Maine 68,104 67,941 2,553 3.74 3.76
Maryland 136,501 110,066 3,831 2.81 3.48
Massachusetts 397,698 391,654 19,841 4.99 5.07
Michigan 411,019 404,040 17,222 4.19 4.26
Minnesota 249,291 247,750 10,108 4.05 4.08
Mississippi 157,525 75,977 1,713 1.09 2.25
Missouri 334,902 312,106 10,549 3.14 3.38
Montana 97,073 96,753 7,835 8.13 8.16
Nebraska 132,107 130,493 2,608 1.97 2.00
Nevada 12,640 12,581 1,392 1.10 11.06
New Hampshire 41,694 41,617 1,428 3.42 3.43
New Jersey 332,671 318,815 15,114 4.54 4.74
New Mexico 37,011 36,776 3,217 8.69 8.75
New York 1,118,035 1,092,061 57,021 5.10 5.22
North Carolina 228,459 155,102 1,175 5.14 .76
North Dakota 72,902 72,837 2,520 3.46 3.46
Ohio 617,001 588,170 22,846 3.70 3.88
Oklahoma 188,156 173,851 5,860 3.11 3.37
Oregon 69,520 69,376 2,023 2.91 2.92
Pennsylvania 902,469 863,106 31,739 3.52 3.68
Rhode Island 59,006 57,433 2,340 3.97 4.07
South Carolina 144,660 70,395 1,107 .77 1.57
South Dakota 65,040 64,896 1,243 1.91 1.92
Tennessee 213,409 169,674 4,389 2.05 2.58
Texas 460,056 376,385 19,209 4.18 5.10
Utah 46,099 45,930 1,735 3.76 3.78
Vermont 30,882 30,819 690 2.23 2.71
Virginia 206,072 141,714 3,090 1.50 2.18 Washington 124,125 123,752 7,261 5.85 5.87 West Virginia 142,144 128,8524,803 3.38 3.73 Wisconsin 266,219 265,501 4,663 1.75 1.76 Wyoming 24,892 24,612 1,734 6.96 7.05 Alaska 601Hawaii 184
Porto Rico 15

Total Reported Percent Percent
colored desertions, of total of colored
registrants. colored. registrants. registrants.
------------------------------------------------------------
----------------United States 1,078,331 105,831 .99 9.81 ==========================================
==================================Alabama 81,963 10,835 5.25 13.22 Arizona 295 64 .16 21.69 Arkansas 51,176 4,770 2.83 9.32California 3,303 268 .08 8.10 Colorado 1,103 91 .10 8.25 Connecticut 3,524 682 .39 19.35Delaware 3,798 303 1.23 7.98 District of Columbia 11,045 616 1.68 5.58 Florida 39,013 8,319 8.71 21.32Georgia 112,593 8,969 3.45 7.97
Idaho 254 108 .23 42.51
Illinois 21,816 2,911 .41 13.34
Indiana 11,289 1,199 .42 10.62
Iowa 2,959 517 .21 17.47
Kansas 5,575 255 .15 4.57
Kentucky 25,850 1,524 .71 5.90
Louisiana 76,223 5,962 3.31 7.82
Maine 163 29 .04 17.79
Maryland 26,435 2,410 1.77 9.12
Massachusetts 6,044 665 1.67 11.00
Michigan 6,979 1,015 .25 14.54
Minnesota 1,541 621 .25 40.30
Mississippi 81,548 8,112 5.15 9.95
Missouri 22,796 1,791 .53 7.86
Montana 320 114 .12 35.63
Nebraska 1,614 229 .17 14.19
Nevada 59 3 .02 6.08
New Hampshire 77 3 .01 3.90
New Jersey 14,056 1,535 .46 10.92
New Mexico 235 40 .11 17.02
New York 25,974 4,062 .36 15.64

North Carolina 73,357 4,937 2.16 6.73
North Dakota 65 19 .03 29.23
Ohio 28,831 4,048 .66 14.04
Oklahoma 14,305 1,223 .65 8.56
Oregon 144 18 .03 12.59
Pennsylvania 39,363 6,599 .73 16.76
Rhode Island 1,573 251 .43 15.96
South Carolina 74,265 4,589 3.14 6.18
South Dakota 144 27 .04 18.75 Tennessee 43,735 3,573 1.67 8.17 Texas 83,671 5,388 1.17 6.44Utah 169 11 .02 6.51 Vermont 63 4 .01 6.35 Virginia 64,358 4,935 2.39 7.67Washington 373 30 .02 8.04 West Virginia 13,292 2,013 1.41 15.14 Wisconsin 718 73 .03 10.17Wyoming 280 63 .25 22.50

[Illustration: Negro troops newlyarrived in France, lined upfor inspection.]

[Illustration: Negro troops onA practice run near their campin France.]

[Illustration: Presentation of bannerto negro stevedores for winningfirst week’s “Race toBerlin”, Marseilles, France.]

[Illustration: Negro winners instevedore contest being entertainedby 134th infantry quartet andband at Marseilles, France.]

[Illustration: Going to fightfor uncle Sam. Typical groupof negro selective service menleaving for the training camp.]

[Illustration: Negro troops arrivingin France. A comparison withthe upper picture shows therapid transformation from civiliansto fighting men.]

[Illustration: “Moss’s buffaloes”(367Th infantry), SERENADING famousmilitary chieftains in France.In window at left stands generalJohn J. Pershing, commander-in-chiefof American expeditionary forces;at right general Gouraud, commanderof the fourth French army.]

[Illustration: Heroes of the brawnyarm whose service was no lesseffective than that of thecombatants. A detail of negrorailway builders engaged on theline from Brest to Tours.]

[Illustration: Negro engineers buildingroads in France. An indispensablefeature of the service ofsupply.]

[Illustration: Negro troops inFrance enjoy an old-fashionedmeal.]

[Illustration: Negro machine gunnerson the road near MAFFRECOURT,France. Part of 369th infantry.]

[Illustration: Captain Hinton andofficers of 1st battalion. 369Thnegro infantry on road nearMAFFRECOURT, France.]

[Illustration: Auto horn WarnsAmericans of coming gas attack.Soldiers Don masks and soundthe alarm. Insert, left corner,machine gunners.]

No elaborate defense of the Negro will be attemptedin the matter of the desertion record. It isnot necessary. The words of Provost MarshallGeneral Crowder, the man who knew all about the selectivedraft and who engineered it through its wonderfullysuccessful course, completely absolved the Negro inthis connection. The following quotation in referenceto the above figures is taken verbatim from the reportof General Crowder to the Secretary of War, datedDecember 20, 1918.

“These figures of reported desertions,however, lose their significance when the factsbehind them are studied. There is in thefiles of this office, a series of letters from governorsand draft executives of southern states, calledforth by inquiry for an explanation of the largepercentage of Negroes among the reported desertersand delinquents. With striking unanimity the draftauthorities replied that this was due to two causes;first, ignorance and illiteracy; especially inthe rural regions, to which may be added a certainshiftlessness in ignoring civic obligations; andsecondly, the tendency of the Negroes to shift fromplace to place. The natural inclinationto roam from one employment to another has beenaccentuated by unusual demands for labor incidentto the war, resulting in a considerable flow ofcolored men to the north and to various munitioncenters. This shifting reached its heightin the summer of 1917, shortly after the first registration,and resulted in the failure of many men to keepin touch with their local boards, so that questionnairesand notices to report did not reach them.

“With equal unanimity the draftexecutives report that the amount of willfuldelinquency or desertion has been almost nil.Several describe the strenuous efforts of theNegroes to comply with the regulations, whenthe requirements were explained to them, many registrantstravelling long distances to report in person to theadjutant general of the state. ’Theconviction resulting from these reports’says General Crowder, ’is that the colored menas a whole responded readily and gladly to theirmilitary obligations once their duties were understood.”

So far as the records show, there were neither “slackers”nor “pacifists” among the Negroes.Hon. Emmett J. Scott, Special Assistant to the Secretaryof War, said that the war department had heard of onlytwo colored “conscientious objectors”.When those two were cross-examined it was revealedthat they had misinterpreted their motives and thattheir objections proceeded from a source very remotefrom their consciences.

Pacifists and conscientious objectors came principallyfrom the class who held religious scruples againstwar or the taking up of arms. The law permittedthese to enter a special so-called non-combatant classification.

It is a well known fact that Negro religionists aremembers of the church militant, so they could notbe included in the self-declared conscientious pacifisticsects.

Neither was the Negro represented in that class knownas draft resisters or draft evaders. A very goodreason exists in the fact that opposition to the draftcame from a class which did not admit the Negro tomembership. Practically all draft resistance wastraceable to the activities of radicals, whose fantasticdreams enchanted and seduced the ignorant and artlessfolk who came under their influence.

The resisters were all poor whites led by professionalagitators. Negroes had no such organizationsnor leaders.

The part played by the Negro in the great world dramaupon which the curtain has fallen, was not approachedin sublime devotion by that displayed by any otherclass of America’s heterogeneous mixture of tribeand race, hailing from all the ends of the earth, thatcomposes its great and wonderful population.Blind in a sense; unreasoning as a child in the sacrednessand consecration of his fealty; clamoring with thefervor of an ancient crusader; his eye on heaven, hissteps turned towards the Holy Sepulchre, for a chanceto go; a time and place to die, his was a distinctand marked patriotism; quite alone in “splendidisolation” but shining like the sun; unstreakedwith doubt; unmixed with cavil or question, which,finally given reign on many a spot of strife in “SunnyFrance”; the Stars and Stripes above him; a prayerin his heart; a song upon his lips, spelt death, butdeath glorious; where he fell—­Holyground!

“The fittest placewhere man can die Is where he dies for man!”

A product of slavery, ushered into a sphere of civiland political activity, clouded and challenged bythe sullen resentment of his former masters; his soulstill embittered by defeat; slowly working his waythrough many hindrances toward the achievement of successthat would enable both him and the world to justifythe new life of freedom that had come to him; facedat every hand by the prejudice born of tradition;enduring wrongs that “would stir a fever in theblood of age”; still the slave to a large extentof superstition fed by ignorance, is it to be wonderedat that some doubt was felt and expressed by the bestfriends of the Negro, when the call came for a draftupon the man power of the nation; whether, in the faceof the great wrongs heaped upon him; the persecutionshe had passed through and was still enduring, he wouldbe able to forgive and forget; could and would sorise above his sorrows as to reach to the height andthe full duty of citizenship; would give to the Starsand Stripes the response that was due? On thepart of many leaders among the Negroes, there wasapprehension that the sense of fair play and fair dealing,which is so essentially an American characteristic,when white men are involved, would not be meted outto the members of their race.

How groundless such fears, may be seen from the statisticalrecord of the draft with relation to the Negro.His race furnished its quota uncomplainingly and cheerfully.History, indeed, will be unable to record the fullnessand grandeur of his spirit in the war, for the reasonthat opportunities, especially for enlistment, as heretoforementioned, were not opened to him to the same extentas to the whites. But enough can be gatheredfrom the records to show that he was filled not onlywith patriotism, but of a brand, all things considered,than which there was no other like it.

That the men of the Negro race were as ready to serveas the white is amply proved by the reports of localboards. A Pennsylvania board, remarking uponthe eagerness of its Negro registrants to be inducted,illustrated it by the action of one registrant, who,upon learning that his employer had had him placedupon the Emergency Fleet list, quit his job.Another registrant who was believed by the board tobe above draft age insisted that he was not, and instating that he was not married, explained that he“wanted only one war at a time.”

The following descriptions from Oklahoma and Arkansasboards are typical, the first serving to perpetuateone of the best epigrams of the war:

“We tried to treat the Negroeswith exactly the same consideration shown thewhites. We had the same speakers to address them.The Rotary Club presented them with small silkflags, as they did the whites. The bandturned out to escort them to the train; and the Negroeswent to camp with as cheerful a spirit as did the whites.One of them when asked if he were going to France,replied: ’No, sir; I’m not going“to France”. I am going “throughFrance".’”

“In dealing with the Negroes,”the Arkansas board report says, “the southernboards gained a richness of experience that is withoutparallel. No other class of citizens wasmore loyal to the government or more ready toanswer the country’s call. The only blotupon their military record was the great number ofdelinquents among the more ignorant; but in themajority of cases this was traced to an ignoranceof the regulations, or to the withholding of mailby the landlord, often himself an aristocratic slacker,in order to retain the man’s labor.”

Many influences were brought to bear upon the Negroto cause him to evade his duty to the government.Some effort in certain sections of the country wasmade to induce them not to register. That theattempt to spread German propaganda among them wasa miserable failure may be seen from the statementof the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation of theDepartment of Justice, made to the United States Senatecommittee:

“The Negroes didn’ttake to these stories, however, as they were
too loyal. Moneyspent in the south for propaganda was thrown
away.”

Then too, these evil influences were more than offsetby the various publicity and “promotion of morale”measures carried on through the office of the specialassistant to the Secretary of War, the Hon. EmmetJ. Scott, and his assistants. Correspondence waskept up with influential Negroes all over the country.Letters, circulars and news items for the purposeof effecting and encouraging continued loyalty ofNegro citizens, were regularly issued to the variouspapers comprising both the white and Negro press.A special committee of 100 colored speakers was appointedto deliver public patriotic addresses all over thecountry, under the auspices of the Committee on PublicInformation, stating the war aims of the governmentand seeking to keep unbroken the spirit of loyaltyof Negro American citizens. A special conferenceof Negro editors was summoned to Washington in June,1918 by the same committee in order to gather anddisseminate the thought and public opinion of thevarious leaders of the Negro race. Such was onlya part of the work of the department of the specialassistant to the Secretary of War in marshalling theman power of the nation.

[Illustration: Negro troops ofU.S. Army receiving Holy baptismwhile in training for overseasduty at Norcross rifle range.Camp Cordon, Ga.]

It is only fair to quote the opinion and appreciationof this representative of the Negro race of the selectiveservice administration, especially as it affectedthe Negro and in reference to occasional complaintsreceived. The extract is from a memorandum addressedto the office of the Provost Marshal General on September12, 1918 and is copied from the report of that officialto the Secretary of War:

“Throughout my tenure here Ihave keenly appreciated the prompt and cordialcooperation of the Provost Marshall General’soffice with that particular section of the officeof the Secretary of War especially referred toherein. The Provost Marshall General’soffice has carefully investigated and has furnishedfull and complete reports in each and every complaintor case referred to it for attention, involvingdiscrimination, race prejudice, erroneous classificationof draftees, etc., and has rectified these complaintswhenever it was found upon investigation that therewas just ground for same. Especially inthe matter of applying and carrying out the selectiveservice regulations, the Provost Marshall General’soffice has kept a watchful eye upon certain localexemption boards which seemed disinclined to treatthe Negro draftees on the same basis as otherAmericans subject to the draft law. It isan actual fact that in a number of instances whereflagrant violations have occurred in the applicationof the draft law, to Negro men in certain sectionsof the country, local exemption boards have beenremoved bodily and new boards have been appointedto supplant them. In several instances these newboards so appointed have been ordered by theProvost Marshall General to reclassify coloredmen who had been unlawfully conscripted into the armyor who had been wrongfully classified; as a resultof this action hundreds of colored men have hadtheir complaints remedied and have been properlyreclassified.”

It is also valuable to note the opinion of this representativeof his race as to the results of the negroes’participation in the war:

“In a word, I believe the Negro’sparticipation in the war, his eagerness to serve,and his great courage and demonstrated valor acrossthe seas, have given him a new idea of Americanismand likewise have given to the white people ofour country a new idea of his citizenship, hisreal character and capabilities, and his 100per cent Americanism. Incidentally the Negro hasbeen helped in many ways physically and mentallyand has been made into an even more satisfactoryasset to the nation.”

Of the Negroes inducted into service, nearly all wereassigned to some department of the army or to specialwork in connection with the army. Of the fewwho were permitted to enlist, a very small percentagewas permitted to enlist in the Navy. Of thissmall number only a few were allowed the regular trainingand opportunities of combatants, to the discreditof our nation, not as yet, grown to that moral visionand all around greatness, not to be small.

CHAPTER XIII

Roster of negro officers.

COMMISSIONED AT FORT DES MOINES—­ONLY EXCLUSIVE NEGRO TRAININGCAMP—­MOSTLY FROM CIVILIAN LIFE—­NAMES, RANK AND RESIDENCE.

Fort Des Moines, Iowa, was the only training campestablished in the United States exclusively for Negroofficers. A few were trained and commissionedat Camps Hanco*ck, Pike and Taylor, and a few receivedcommissions at officers’ training camps in France,but the War Department records do not specify whichwere white and which Negro. The Fort Des Moinescamp lasted from June until October 1917. Followingis the roster of Negro officers commissioned.With the exception of those specified as from theUnited States Army or the National Guard, all camefrom civilian life:

Cleve L. Abbott, first lieutenant, Watertown, S.D.
Joseph L. Abernethy, first lieutenant, Prairie View,Tex.
Ewart G. Abner, second lieutenant, Conroe, Tex.
Charles J. Adams, first lieutenant, Selma, Ala.
Aurelious P. Alberga, first lieutenant, San Francisco,Calif.
Ira L. Aldridge, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Edward I. Alexander, first lieutenant, Jacksonville,Fla.
Fritz W. Alexander, second lieutenant, Donaldsville,Ga.
Lucien V. Alexis, first lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
John H. Allen, captain, U.S. Army.
Levi Alexander, Jr., first lieutenant, Ocala, Fla.
Clarence W. Allen, second lieutenant, Mobile, Ala.
Richard S. Allen, second lieutenant, Atlantic City,N.J.
James W. Alston, first lieutenant, Raleigh, N.C.
Benjamin E. Ammons, first lieutenant, Kansas City,Mo.
Leon M. Anderson, first lieutenant, Washing ton, D.C.
Levi Anderson, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Robert Anderson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
David W. Anthony, Jr., first lieutenant, St. Louis,Mo.
James C. Arnold, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Russell C. Atkins, second lieutenant, Winston-Salem,N.C.
Henry O. Atwood, captain, Washington, D.C.
Charles H. Austin, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
George J. Austin, first lieutenant. New York,N.Y.
Herbert Avery, captain, U.S. Army.
Robert S. Bamfield, second lieutenant, Wilmington,N.C.
Julian C. Banks, second lieutenant, Kansas City, Mo.
Charles H. Barbour, captain, U.S. Army.
Walter B. Barnes, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William I. Barnes, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Stephen B. Barrows, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Thomas J. Batey, first lieutenant, Oakland, Cal.
Wilfrid Bazil, second lieutenant, Brooklyn, N.Y.
James E. Beard, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Ether Beattie, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William H. Benson, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Albert P. Bentley, first lieutenant, Memphis, Tenn.
Benjamin Bettis, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.

Harrison W. Black, first lieutenant, Lexington, Ky.
Charles J. Blackwood, first lieutenant, Trinidad,Colo.
William Blaney, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Isaiah S. Blocker, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
William D. Bly, first lieutenant, Leavenworth, Kans.
Henry H. Boger, second lieutenant, Aurora, Ill.
Elbert L. Booker, first lieutenant, Wymer, Wash.
Virgil M. Boutte, captain, Nashville, Tenn.
Jas. F. Booker, captain, U.S. Army.
William R. Bowie, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Clyde R. Brannon, first lieutenant, Fremont, Neb.
Lewis Broadus, captain, U.S. Army.
Deton J. Brooks, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
William M. Brooks, second lieutenant, Des Moines,Ia.
Carter N. Brown, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Emmet Brown, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
George E. Brown, second lieutenant, New York City,N.Y.
Oscar C. Brown, first lieutenant, Edwards, Miss.
Rosen T. Brown, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Samuel C. Brown, second lieutenant, Delaware, Ohio.
William H. Brown, Jr., first lieutenant, U.S.Army.
Arthur A. Browne, first lieutenant, Xenia, Ohio.
Howard R.M. Browne, first lieutenant, KansasCity, Kans.
Sylvanus Brown, first lieutenant, San Antonio, Tex.
Charles C. Bruen, first lieutenant, Mayslick, Ky.
William T. Burns, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James A. Bryant, first lieutenant, Indianapolis, Ind.
William L. Bryson, captain, U.S. Army.
John E. Buford, second lieutenant, Langston, Okla.
Thomas J. Bullock, second lieutenant, New York City,N.Y.
John W. Bundrant, second lieutenant, Omaha, Neb.
John P. Burgess, first lieutenant, Mullens, S.C.
Dace H. Burns, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
William H. Burrell, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
John M. Burrell, second lieutenant, East Orange, N.J.
Herman L. Butler, first lieutenant, U.S. Army,
Homer C. Butler, first lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Felix Buggs, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Napoleon L. Byrd, first lieutenant, Madison, Wis.
John B. Cade, second lieutenant, Ellerton, Ga.
Walter W. Cagle, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles W. Caldwell, second lieutenant, Orangeburg,S.C.
Andrew B. Callahan, second lieutenant, Montgomery,Ala.
Alvin H. Cameron, first lieutenant, Nashville, Tenn.
Alonzo Campbell, captain, U.S. Army.
Lafayette Campbell, second lieutenant, Union, W. Va.
Robert L. Campbell, first lieutenant, Greensboro,N.C.
William B. Campbell, first lieutenant, Austin, Tex.
Guy W. Canady, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Lovelace B. Capehart, Jr., second lieutenant, Raleigh,N.C.
Adolphus F. Capps, second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
Curtis W. Carpenter, second lieutenant, Baltimore,Md.
Early Carson, captain, U.S. Army.
John O. Carter, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Wilson Cary, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Robert W. Cheers, second lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
David K. Cherry, captain, Greensboro, N.C.
Frank R. Chisholm, first lieutenant, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Robert B. Chubb, captain, U.S. Army.
Ewell W. Clark, first lieutenant, Giddings, Tex.
Frank C. Clark, second lieutenant, National Guard,Washington, D.C.
William H. Clarke, first lieutenant, Birmingham, Ala.
William H. Clarke, first lieutenant, Helena, Ark.
Roscoe Clayton, captain, U.S. Army.
Lane G. Cleaves, second lieutenant, Memphis, Tenn.
Joshua W. Clifford, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Sprigg B. Coates, captain, U.S. Army.
Frank Coleman, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
William Collier, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William N. Colson, second lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
Leonard O. Colston, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Jones A. Coltrane, first lieutenant, Spokane, Wash.
John Combs, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Barton W. Conrad, first lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
Lloyd F. Cook, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles C. Cooper, captain, National Guard, Districtof Columbia.
George P. Cooper, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Joseph H. Cooper, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Chesley E. Corbett, first lieutenant, Wewoka, Okla.
Harry W. Cox, first lieutenant, Sedalia, Mo.
James W. Cranson, captain, United States Army.
Horace R. Crawford, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Judge Cross, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Clarence B. Curley, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Merrill H. Curtis, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Edward L. Dabney, first lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Joe Dabney, captain, U.S. Army.
Victor R. Daly, first lieutenant, Corona, Long Island,N.Y.
Eugene A. Dandridge, first lieutenant, National Guard,District of
Columbia.
Eugene L.C. Davidson, first lieutenant, Cambridge,Mass.
Henry G. Davis, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Irby D. Davis, first lieutenant, Sumter, S.C.
William E. Davis, captain, Washington, D.C.
Charles C. Dawson, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
William S. Dawson, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Aaron Day, Jr., captain, Prairie View, Tex.
Milton T. Dean, captain, U.S. Army.
Francis M. Dent, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Thomas M. Dent, Jr., first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
James B. Dickson, second lieutenant, Asheville, N.C.
Spahr H. Dickey, captain, San Francisco, Cal.
Elder W. Diggs, first lieutenant, Indianapolis, Ind.
William H. Dinkins, first lieutenant, Selma, Ala.
Beverly L. Dorsey, captain, U.S. Army.
Edward C. Dorsey, captain, U.S. Army.
Harris N. Dorsey, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Seaborn Douglas, second lieutenant, Hartford, Conn.
Vest Douglas, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Frank L. Drye, first lieutenant, Little Rock, Ark.
Edward Dugger, first lieutenant, Roxbury, Mass.
Jackson E. Dunn, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Benjamin F. Dunning, second lieutenant, Norfolk, Va.
Charles J. Echols, Jr., captain, U.S. Army.
Charles Ecton, captain, U.S. Army.
George E. Edwards, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Leonard Edwards, second lieutenant, Augusta, Ga.
James L. Elliott, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Charles J. Ellis, second lieutenant, Springfield,Ill.
Harry C. Ellis, first lieutenant, Patrick, Ia.
Roscoe Ellis, captain, U.S. Army.
Leslie H. Engram, second lieutenant, Montezuma, Ga.
Alexander E. Evans, first lieutenant, Columbia, S.C.
Will H. Evans, second lieutenant, Montgomery, Tex.
Norwood C. Fairfax, second lieutenant, Eagle Rock,Va.
John R. Fairley, first lieutenant, Kansas City, Mo.
Clifford L. Farrer, first lieutenant, El Paso, Tex.
Leonard J. Faulkner, first lieutenant, Columbus, O.
William H. Fearence, first lieutenant, Texarkana,Tex.
Charles H. Fearing, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
Robert W. Fearing, second lieutenant, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alonzo G. Ferguson, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Gurnett E. Ferguson, captain, Dunbar, W. Va.
Thomas A. Firmes, captain, U.S. Army.
Dillard J. Firse, first lieutenant, Cleveland, O.
Octavius Fisher, first lieutenant, Detroit, Mich.
James E. Fladger, second lieutenant, Kansas City,Mo.
Benjamin F. Ford, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward W. Ford, second lieutenant, Philadelphia, Pa.
Frank L. Francis, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Henry O. Franklin, second lieutenant, San Francisco,Cal.
Ernest C. Frazier, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Arthur Freeman, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Sewell G. Freeman, second lieutenant, Aragon, Ga.
Edward S. Gaillard, first lieutenant, Indianapolis,Ind.
Tacitus E. Gaillard, second lieutenant, Kansas City,Mo.
James H.L. Gaines, second lieutenant, LittleRock, Ark.
Ellsworth Gamblee, first lieutenant, Cincinnati, O.
Lucian P. Garrett, second lieutenant, Louisville,Ky.
William L. Gee, first lieutenant, Gallipolis, Ohio.
Clayborne George, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Warmith T. Gibbs, second lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
Howard C. Gilbert, first lieutenant, Columbus, Ohio.
Walter A. Giles, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
Archie H. Gillespie, captain, U.S. Army
William Gillum, captain, U.S. Army.
Floyd Gilmer, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William Glass, captain, U.S. Army.
Jesse J. Gleeden, second lieutenant, Little Rock,Ark.
Leroy H. Godman, captain, Columbus, Ohio.
Edward L. Goodlett, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Nathan O. Goodloe, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Frank M. Goodner, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Elijah H. Goodwin, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James A. Gordon, first lieutenant, St. Joseph, Mo.
Herbert R. Gould, first lieutenant, Dedham, Mass.
James E. Gould, first lieutenant, Dedham, Mass.
Francis H. Gow, first lieutenant, Charleston, W. Va.
William T. Grady, second lieutenant, Dudley, N.C.
Jesse M.H. Graham, second lieutenant, Clarksville,Tenn.
William H. Graham, captain, U.S. Army.
Towson S. Grasty, first lieutenant, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Thornton H. Gray, first lieutenant, Fairmount Heights,Md.
Miles M. Green, captain, U.S. Army.
Thomas E. Green, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Walter Green, captain, U.S. Army.
Jesse J. Green, first lieutenant, Georgetown, Ky.
Thomas M. Gregory, first lieutenant, Newark, N.J.
Jefferson E. Grigsby, second lieutenant, Chapelle,S.C.,
Thomas Grundy, captain, U.S. Army.
William W. Green, captain, U.S. Army.
George B. Greenlee, first lieutenant, Marion, N.C.
Nello B. Greenlee, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Herbert H. Guppy, second lieutenant, Boston, Mass.
George C. Hall, captain, U.S. Army.
Leonidas H. Hall, Jr., second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
George W. Hamilton, Jr., first lieutenant, Topeka,Kans.
Rodney D. Hardeway, second lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
Clarence W. Harding, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Clifton S. Hardy, second lieutenant, Champaign, Ill.
Clay Harper, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Ted O. Harper, second lieutenant, Columbus, Ohio.
Tillman H. Harpole, first lieutenant, Kansas City,Mo.
Bravid W. Harris, Jr., first lieutenant, Warrenton,N.C.
Edward H. Harris, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Eugene Harris, captain, U.S. Army.
William Harris, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Byrd McD. Hart, captain, U.S. Army.
Albert L. Hatchett, first lieutenant, San Antonio,Tex.
Lawrence Hawkins, second lieutenant, Bowie, Md.
Charles M. Hayes, second lieutenant, Hopkinsville,Ky.
Merriam C. Hayson, first lieutenant, Kenilworth, D.C.
Alonzo Heard, captain, U.S. Army.
Almando Henderson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Douglas J. Henderson, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Robert M. Hendrick, first lieutenant, Tallahassee,Fla.
Thomas J. Henry, Jr., first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Vodrey Henry, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Jesse S. Heslip, first lieutenant, Toledo, Ohio.
Lee J. Hicks, captain, Ottawa, Kans.
Victor La Naire Hicks, second lieutenant, Columbia,Mo.
Arthur K. Hill, first lieutenant, Lawrence, Kans.
Daniel G. Hill, Jr., second lieutenant, Cantonsville,Md.
Walter Hill, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William Hill, captain, U.S. Army.
Clarence O. Hilton, first lieutenant, Farmville, Va.
Lowell B. Hodges, first lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
Horatio B. Holder, first lieutenant, Cairo, Ga.
George A. Holland, captain, U.S. Army.
James G. Hollingsworth, captain, U.S. Army.
George C. Hollomand, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Wayne L. Hopkins, second lieutenant, Columbus, Ohio.
James L. Horace, second lieutenant, Little Rock, Ark.
Reuben Homer, captain, U.S. Army.
Charles S. Hough, second lieutenant, Jamestown, Ohio.
Charles H. Houston, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Henry C. Houston, captain, U.S. Army.
Cecil A. Howard, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Clarence K. Howard, second lieutenant, Montgomery,Ala.
Charles P. Howard, first lieutenant, Des Moines, Ia.
Arthur Hubbard, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Jerome L. Hubert, first lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
William H. Hubert, second lieutenant, Mayfield, Ga.
Jefferson E. Hudgins, first lieutenant, U.S.Army.
Samuel M. Huffman, first lieutenant, Columbus, Ohio.
Samuel A. Hull, first lieutenant, Jacksonville, Fla.
John R. Hunt, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Bush A. Hunter, second lieutenant, Lexington, Ky.
Benjamin H. Hunton, first lieutenant, Newport News,Va.
Frederick A. Hurt, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Walter L. Hutcherson, first lieutenant, Amherst, Va.
Samuel B. Hutchinson, Jr., second lieutenant, Boston,Mass.
James E. Ivey, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Beecher A. Jackson, first lieutenant, Texarkana, Tex.
George W. Jackson, first lieutenant, Ardmore, Mo.
Joseph T. Jackson, first lieutenant, Charleston, W.Va.
Landen Jackson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Matthew Jackson, captain, U.S. Army.
Maxey A. Jackson, second lieutenant, Marian, Ky.
Joyce G. Jacobs, second lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Wesley H. Jamison, second lieutenant, Topeka, Kans.
Charles Jefferson, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Benjamin R. Johnson, first lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Campbell C. Johnson, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Ernest C. Johnson, second lieutenant, Washington D.C.
Everett W. Johnson, first lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
Hanson Johnson, captain, U.S. Army.
Hillery W. Johnson, second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
Joseph L. Johnson, second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
Merle O. Johnson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Robert E. Johnson, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Thomas Johnson, captain, U.S. Army.
Virginius D. Johnson, first lieutenant, Richmond,Va.
William N. Johnson, second lieutenant, Omaha, Neb.
William T. Johnson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Willie Johnson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles A. Jones, second lieutenant, San Antonio,Tex.
Clifford W. Jones, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Dee Jones, captain, U.S. Army.
Edward D. Jones, second lieutenant, Hartford, Conn.
James W. Jones, captain, Washington, D.C.
James O. Jones, second lieutenant, Paulding, Ohio.
Paul W. Jones, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Percy L. Jones, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Vivian L. Jones, second lieutenant, Des Moines, Ia.
Warren F. Jones, captain, U.S. Army.
William Jones, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles G. Kelly, captain, Tuskegee, Ala.
Elliott H. Kelly, first lieutenant, Camden, S.C.
John B. Kemp, captain, U.S. Army.
John M. Kenney, captain, U.S. Army.
Will Kernts, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Otho E. Kerr, first lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Orestus J. Kincaid, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Jesse L. Kimbrough, first lieutenant, Los Angeles,Cal.
Moses King, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Laurence E. Knight, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward C. Knox, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
John W. Knox, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Azzie B. Koger, first lieutenant, Reidsville, N.C.
Linwood G. Koger, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Charles E. Lane, Jr., first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
David A. Lane, Jr., first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Frank L. Lane, second lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
Benton R. Latimer, first lieutenant, Warrenton, Ga.
Ernest W. Latson, first lieutenant, Jacksonville,Fla.
Laige I. Lancaster, first lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Oscar G. Lawless, first lieutenant, New Orleans, La.
Samuel Lawson, second lieutenant, Philadelphia, Pa.
Wilfred W. Lawson, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Geo. E. Lee, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
George W. Lee, second lieutenant, Memphis, Tenn.
Lawrence A. Lee, second lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
John E. Leonard, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Garrett M. Lewis, first lieutenant, San Antonio, Tex.
Henry O. Lewis, first lieutenant, Boston, Mass.
Everett B. Liggins, second lieutenant, Austin, Tex.
Victor C. Lightfoot, second lieutenant, South Pittsburg,Tenn.
John Q. Lindsey, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Redden L. Linton, second lieutenant, Boston, Ga.
Glenda W. Locust, second lieutenant, Sealy, Tenn.
Aldon L. Logan, first lieutenant, Lawrence, Kans.
James B. Lomack, first lieutenant, National Guard,Dist. of Columbia.
Howard H. Long, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Victor Long, first lieutenant, U. S, Army.
Lonnie W. Lott, second lieutenant, Austin, Tex.
Charles H. Love, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Edgar A. Love, first lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
Frank W. Love, captain, U.S. Army.
George B. Love, first lieutenant, Greensboro, N.C.
John W. Love, first lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
Joseph Lowe, captain, U.S. Army.
Walter Lowe, first lieutenant, St Louis, Mo.
Charles C. Luck, Jr., second lieutenant, San Marcus,Tex.
Walter Lyons, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Harry J. Mack, second lieutenant, Cheney, Pa.
Amos B. Madison, first lieutenant, Omaha, Neb.
Edgar F. Malone, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edgar O. Malone, captain, U.S. Army.
Earl W. Mann, first lieutenant, Champaign, Ill.
Vance H. Marchbanks, captain, U.S. Army.
Leon F. Marsh, first lieutenant, Berkeley, Cal.
Alfred E. Marshall, second lieutenant, Greenwood,S.C.
Cyrus W. Marshall, second lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
Cuby Martin, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Joseph H. Martin, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Eric P. Mason, first lieutenant, Giddings, Tex.
Denis McG. Matthews, first lieutenant, Los Angeles,Cal.
Joseph E. Matthews, second lieutenant, Cleburne, Tex.
Anderson N. May, captain, Atlanta, Ga.
Walter H. Mazyck, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Peter McCall, captain U.S. Army.
Milton A. McCrimmon, captain, U.S. Army.
Robert A. McEwen, second lieutenant, E. St. Louis,Ill.
Osceola E. McKaine, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James E. McKey, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Carey McLane, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Archie McLee, first lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Leonard W. McLeod, first lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Albert McReynolds, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Marshall Meadows, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Louis R. Mehlinger, captain, Washington, D.C.
Louis R. Middleton, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Benjamin H. Mills, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Harry W. Mills, captain, U.S. Army.
Warren N. Mims, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
J. Wardlaw Mitchell, second lieutenant, Milledgeville,Ga.
Pinkney L. Mitchell, second lieutenant, Austin, Tex.
John H. Mitcherson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Ralph E. Mizell, second lieutenant, Champaign, Ill.
Hubert M. Moman, second lieutenant, Tougaloo, Miss.
John M. Moore, first lieutenant, Meridian, Miss.
Loring B. Moore, second lieutenant, Brunswick, Ga.
Elias A. Morris, first lieutenant, Helena, Ark.
Thomas E. Morris, captain, U.S. Army.
James B. Morris, second lieutenant, Des Moines, Ia.
Cleveland Morrow, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Henry Morrow, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Abraham Morse, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Benjamin H. Mosby, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
Benedict Mosley, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Scott A. Moyer, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Albert C. Murdaugh, second lieutenant, Columbia, S.C.
Alonzo Myers, captain, Philadelphia, Pa.
Thomas J. Narcisse, second lieutenant, Jeanerette,La.
Earl H. Nash, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Homer G. Neely, first lieutenant, Palestine, Tex.
Gurney E. Nelson, second lieutenant, Greensboro, N.C.
William S. Nelson, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
William F. Nelson, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
James P. Nobles, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Grafton S. Norman, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Richard M. Norris, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Ambrose B. Nutt, second lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
Benjamin L. Ousley, second lieutenant, Tougaloo, Miss.
Charles W. Owens, captain, United States Army.
Charles G. Owlings, second lieutenant, Norfolk, Va.
William W. Oxley, first lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
Wilbur E. Pannell, second lieutenant, Staunton, Va.
Charles S. Parker, second lieutenant, Spokane, Wash.
Walter E. Parker, second lieutenant, Little Rock,Ark.
Clemmie C. Parks, first lieutenant, Ft. Scott,Kans.
Adam E. Patterson, captain, Chicago, Ill.
Humphrey C. Patton, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Clarence H. Payne, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
William D. Peeks, captain, U.S. Army.
Robert R. Penn, first lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Marion R. Perry, second lieutenant, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Hanson A. Person, second lieutenant, Wynne, Ark.
Harry B. Peters, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
James H. Peyton, second lieutenant, Montgomery, Ala.
Joseph Phillips, captain, Columbus, Ohio.
David A. Pierce, second lieutenant, Clarksville, Tenn.
Harrison J. Pinkett, first lieutenant, Omaha, Nebr.
James C. Pinkston, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Percival R. Piper, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Anderson F. Pitts, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Fisher Pride, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Herman W. Porter, second lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass.
James C. Powell, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Wade H. Powell, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
William J. Powell, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Gloucester A. Price, second lieutenant, Fort Meyer,Fla.
John F. Pritchard, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Henry H. Proctor, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
John H. Purnell, first lieutenant, Trappe, Md.
Howard D. Queen, captain, U.S. Army.
Richard R. Queen, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Harold L. Quivers, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Washington H. Racks, second lieutenant, U.S.Army.
John E. Raiford, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Hazel L. Raine, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Fred D. Ramsey, first lieutenant, Wedgefleld, S.C.
James O. Redmon, second lieutenant, Newton, Iowa.
Charles G. Reed, first lieutenant, Charleston, S.C.
Rufus Reed, captain, U.S. Army.
Lightfoot H. Reese, second lieutenant, Newman, Ga.
William L. Reese, second lieutenant, Bennetsville,S.C.
Robert S. Reid, second lieutenant, Newman, Ga.
Samuel Reid, captain, U.S. Army.
Adolph Reyes, second lieutenant, Philadelphia, Pa.
Elijah Reynolds, captain, U.S. Army.
John F. Rice, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Douglas C. Richardson, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Harry D. Richardson, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Leonard. H. Richardson, first lieutenant, Oakland,Cal.
Maceo A. Richmond, second lieutenant, Des Moines,Ia.
Francis E. Rivers, first lieutenant, New Haven, Conn.
Marion C. Rhoten, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles E. Roberts, first lieutenant, Atlantic City,N.J.
Clyde Roberts, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward Robertson, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles W. Robinson, second lieutenant, Cleveland,Ohio.
George C. Robinson, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Peter L. Robinson, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
William W. Robinson, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Julian P. Rogers, first lieutenant, Montgomery, Ala.
John W. Rowe, first lieutenant, Danville, Ky.
Thomas Rucker, captain, U.S. Army.
Edward P. Rudd, first lieutenant, New York City.
Mallalieu W. Rush, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
John Russell, captain, U.S. Army.
Louis H. Russell, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Earl Ryder, second lieutenant, Springfield, Ill.
Chester Sanders, captain, U.S. Army.
Joseph B. Sanders, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Walter R. Sanders, captain, U.S. Army.
Clifford A. Sandridge, captain, U.S. Army.
Lorin O. Sanford, captain, U.S. Army.
Elliott D. Saunders, second lieutenant, U.S.Army.
Walker L. Savoy, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Elmer P. Sawyer, second lieutenant, Providence, R.I.
George S. Schuyler, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James E. Scott, second lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
James E. Scott, first lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Joseph H. Scott, first lieutenant, Darlington, S.C.
Walter W. Scott, second lieutenant, Brooksville, Miss.
William F. Scott, captain, U.S. Army.
Fletcher Sewell, captain, U.S. Army.
Shermont R. Sewell, first lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Charles A. Shaw, first lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Warren B. Shelton, second lieutenant, Hot Springs,Ark.
Robert T. Shobe, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Hal Short, first lieutenant, Iowa City, Ia.
Harry W. Short, second lieutenant, Iowa City, Ia.
Ogbon N. Simmons, first lieutenant, Waldo, Fla.
Richard Simmons, captain, U.S. Army.
William E. Simmons, first lieutenant, Burlington,Vt.
Austin Simms, second lieutenant, Darien, Ga.
John H. Simms, Jr., first lieutenant, Jacksonville,Fla.

[Illustration: Artillery at workin A French forest. This wasA phase of operation in whichthe negro units of the 167thbrigade distinguished themselves inthe closing days of the war.]

[Illustration: Sentry box outsideof regimental headquarters withwarning horn for gas attacks.Camouflaged gate on the left.]

[Illustration: One of the Hugeguns, 16-inch caliber of theAmerican railway artillery, whichdid such frightful execution nearthe close of the war.Camouflaged throughout.]

[Illustration: A railroad in France.This one was used by A portionof the 93rd division in theChampagne to transport troops andsupplies to the front.]

[Illustration: Passenger cars usedby famous 93rd. Negro divisionin Champagne, France.]

[Illustration: Sending message bycarrier Pigeon. Officer andsoldiers of 369th infantry outsideof dugout in France.]

[Illustration: Kitchen and diningquarters at the front. Soldiersbelong to famous 93rd divisionAmerican negro soldiers brigadedwith the French.]

[Illustration: Infantry and gunnersat close grips. Drawing representsA brilliant counter-attack in Ashell-torn wood in France.]

[Illustration: A typical trench scene.Negroes of the 93rd divisionserving with French in theChampagne.]

[Illustration: Secret organizationspresent at the breaking ofthe ground for McDONOUGH memorialhospital, W. 133Rd street, newYork. Named in honor ofMr. David Kearney McDONOUGH, pioneernegro physician of that city.To be used as A base unitfor colored soldiers.]

[Illustration: Lieut. John Applebeeof the red cross home service,comforting and reassuring soldiersanxious about the welfare oftheir families. Camp no.43. GIEVRES. France.]

[Illustration: Crown Prince andkaiser bill. Two German dogsand their captors. The soldiersare privates Robinson Cleve, 539thengineers and Daniel Nelson, 372ndinfantry.]

[Illustration: Types of negroengineers who were such importantfactors in our overseas forces.]

[Illustration: Four caverns, studdedwith Ivory, furnish harmony inthe training camp.]

Abraham L. Simpson, captain, Louisville, Ky.
Lawrence Simpson, first lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
William R. Smalls, first lieutenant, Manassas, Va.
Daniel Smith, captain, U.S. Army.
Enos B. Smith, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Ernest Smith, second lieutenant, Philadelphia, Pa.
Fairel N. Smith, first lieutenant, Orangeburg, S.C.
Joseph W. Smith, second lieutenant, Concord, S.C.
Oscar H. Smith, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Pitman E. Smith, first lieutenant, Columbus, Ohio.
Russell Smith, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Walter H. Smith, first lieutenant, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Levi E. Southe, second lieutenant, Chicago, Ill.
Carlos Sowards, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward W. Spearman, captain, U.S. Army.
Walter R. St. Clair, second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
Lloyd A. Stafford, captain, U.S. Army.
Moody Staten, captain, U.S. Army.
Percy H. Steele, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
Waddell C. Steele, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Grant Stewart, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Robert K. Stephens, captain, U.S. Army.
Leon Stewart, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Thomas R. Stewart, first lieutenant, Ft. Wayne,Ind.
William A. Stith, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James M. Stockett, Jr., first lieutenant, Providence,R.I.
Wilbur F. Stonestreet, second lieutenant, Topeka,Kans.
Daniel T. Taylor, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Hannibal B. Taylor, second lieutenant, Guthrie, Okla.
Pearl E. Taylor, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
Benjamin F. Thomas, captain, U.S. Army.
Bob Thomas, captain, U.S. Army.
Vincent B. Thomas, second lieutenant, Washington,D.C.
Charles M. Thompson, first lieutenant, Columbia, S.C.
Joseph Thompson, captain, U.S. Army.
Pierce McN. Thompson, first lieutenant, Albany,Ga.
Richard C. Thompson, first lieutenant, Harrisburg,Pa.
Toliver T. Thompson, first lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
William H. Thompson, first lieutenant, Jacksonville,Fla.
William W. Thompson, captain, United States Army.
James W. Thornton, first lieutenant, West Raleigh,N.C.
Leslie J. Thurman, captain, U.S. Army.
Samuel J. Tipton, captain, U.S. Army.
Frederick H. Townsend, second lieutenant, Newport,R.I.
Anderson Trapp, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Charles A. Tribbett, first lieutenant, New Haven,Conn.
Joseph E. Trigg, captain, Syracuse, N.Y.
Archibald R. Tuck, second lieutenant, Oberlin, O.
Victor J. Tulane, first lieutenant, Montgomery, Ala.
William J. Turnbow, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Allen Turner, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward Turner, first lieutenant, Omaha, Nebr.
Samuel Turner, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Shadrach W. Upshaw, second lieutenant, Austin, Tex.
Ferdinand S. Upshur, second lieutenant, Philadelphia,Pa.
George L. Vaughn, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.

Austin T. Walden, captain, Macon, Ga.
John P. Walker, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Lewis W. Wallace, captain, U.S. Army.
Thomas H. Walters, first lieutenant. New York,N.Y.
Robert L. Ward, first lieutenant, Detroit, Mich.
James H.N. Waring, Jr., first lieutenant, Washington,D, C.
Genoa S. Washington, captain, U.S. Army.
George G. Washington, second lieutenant, U.S.Army.
Bolivar E. Watkins, first lieutenant, St. Louis, Mo.
Alstyne M. Watson, second lieutenant, Tallapoosa,Ga.
Baxter W. Watson, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Louis L. Watson, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.
William H. Weare, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Walter T. Webb, first lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
Carter W. Wesley, first lieutenant, Houston, Tex.
Harry Wheeler, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Chauncey D. White, first lieutenant, Mathews, Va.
Emmett White, captain, U.S. Army.
Journee W. White, second lieutenant, Los Angeles,Cal.
Lorenzo C. White, second lieutenant, Hampton, Va.
Johnson C. Whittaker, first lieutenant, Lawrence,Kans.
Horace G. Wilder, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Arthur R. Williams, second lieutenant, Edwards, Miss.
Everett B. Williams, first lieutenant, Syracuse, N.Y.
Gus Williams, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
James B. Williams, first lieutenant, Baltimore, Md.
John Williams, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Oscar H. Williams, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Richard A. Williams, captain, Lawnside, N.J.
Robert G. Williams, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Seymour E. Williams, second lieutenant, Muskogee,Okla.
Major Williams, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Walter B. Williams, captain, U.S. Army.
William H. Williams, captain, U.S. Army.
Elmore S. Willie, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Harry E. Wilson, first lieutenant, Des Moines, Ia.
John E. Wilson, first lieutenant, Leavenworth, Kans.
William H. Wilson, second lieutenant, Greensboro,N.C.
Meredith B. Wily, first lieutenant, El Paso, Tex.
Christopher C. Wimbish, first lieutenant, Atlanta,Ga.
Hugh H. Wimbish, second lieutenant, Atlanta, Ga.
Rolland T. Winstead, second lieutenant, Rocky Mount,N.C.
George W. Winston, captain, United States Army.
Ernest M. Wood, second lieutenant, Mebane, N.C.
Benjamin F. Wright, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y.
Elbert S. Wright, second lieutenant, Baldwin, Kans.
John Wynn, second lieutenant, U.S. Army.
Edward York, captain, United States Army.
Charles Young, first lieutenant, U.S. Army.
William A. Young, second lieutenant, Sumter, S.C.
Charles G. Young, first lieutenant, Washington, D.C.

CHAPTER XIV.

Across Dividing seas.

Black thousands assemble—­soldiersof liberty—­severing hometies—­man’s
work must be done—­firstnegroes in France—­meetingwith French
colonials—­early historyof 15th new York—­theysail away—­become French
fighting men—­hold 20% ofAmerican lines—­terror toGermans—­only
barrier between Boche and Paris—­imperishablerecord of new
Yorkers—­turning point ofwar.

“Doan you seethe black clouds ris’n ober yondah Like as thowe’s
gwan ter hab a storm?

No, you’s mistaken,dem’s “Loyal black folks Sailingoff ter fight
fer Uncle Sam.”

From the plantations of the South, from the mines,the workshops and factories; from the levees of theMississippi, the cities, villages, farms of the North,the East, the South, the West; from the store, thecounting house, the office and the institution of learningthey came—­the black thousands to strikefor their altars and their homes; to fight for UncleSam. How splendid was the spectacle of their response!“Their’s not to ask the why; their’sbut to do and die.”

Bearing the burden placed upon them by white men asthey have for centuries, nevertheless, in this suprememoment of their country’s life; “a daythat shall live in story”; many of them did notknow what it all was about; where Germany was located,nor the significance attaching to the word Hun.In a vague way they understood that across the seaan armed and powerful nation was threatening the happinessof mankind; the freedom of the world.

In the presence of this contemplated crime, they werewide-eyed, open-souled, awake! Their sires hadknown bondage, and they, their children, had feltand knew the effects of it. America which forcenturies had oppressed their forefathers had finallythrough the arbitrament of war, freed them. Whitemen and black men; in the dark days of ’61-’65,numbering many thousands, had lain down their livesto save the Union, and in doing so had brought themfreedom.

They had been told that America was threatened; thatwas enough. It was to them a summons; sharp,quick, incisive to duty. It was, although onehundred and forty years after, the voice of Washingtonat Valley Forge; the call of Perry to their fathers,needing soldiers at the battle of Lake Erie; of Jacksonat New Orleans. It was to their listening earsthe echo of Bull Run, of Santiago, of Manila, andlater of Carrizal; Uncle Sam needed them! Thatwas enough; what more was to be said?

Denied the opportunity to enlist, the Negro’spatriotic, patient soul asserted itself; if he mustgo as a drafted soldier, it would be in the same finespirit that would have inspired him as a loyal enlistedman.

Life, as to all men, was sweet to them. Theyhad mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, wivesand sweethearts; the ties of association; of home,from all of which they would be separated and for allof which they cherished that love, which alone ofhuman fires: “Burns and burns, foreverthe same, for nature feeds the pyre.”

Above and over all these things, tending to augmentthe seriousness of the sacrifice he was to be calledupon to make, was the spirit, the optimism, the joyof life that attends vigorous youth and young manhood.

Nature in all of its enticing charm and beauty, wassmiling in the home places these men were leaving;flowers bloomed; birds sang; insects buzzed cheerily.There were green fields and babbling brooks; the statelybeauty of trees, and the delights of lake, river andvale. The cities from which they came, were manyof them, splendid monuments of the work of man.The sun clothed in glory the days, moon and stars gavea loveliness to the nights. Leaving these thingsto face suffering and hardship; possible death instrange lands, caused many a pang; but a man’swork had to be done, and they were there to do it.

Well they knew there would be no chance in Franceto follow the wild bee to its tree; to track the foxor hunt the ’possum or the coon. The humthey would hear would be that of machine gun bullets;their sting, death or serious wounding. For gamethey would hunt the Hun; would kill or be by him killed.

There were busy times in thousands of homes when theyoung Negroes of the land; from East, West, Northand South went forth to war.

Bright faces hiding the pangs of parting; happy, singinglads left their homes to enter a new life on earthor, the tragedy of it; also the glory; a new lifein the great Beyond; beyond the stars and flamingsuns. The training camp was their first destinationand was to be their home for months.

Correspondents in France wrote of Negro soldiers beingamong the first expeditionary force to set foot uponthe soil of the battle torn Republic. This forcearrived there in June, 1917, and was composed of marinesand infantry from the Regular army. Floyd Gibbons,the intrepid representative of the Chicago Tribune,speaking of the first Negro contingents in his remarkablebook entitled, “And They Thought We Wouldn’tFight”, said:

“There was to be seen on thestreets of St. Nazaire that day some representativeblack Americans, who had also landed in that historicalfirst contingent. There was a strange thing aboutthese Negroes. It will be remembered thatin the early stages of our participation in thewar it had been found that there was hardly sufficientkhaki cloth to provide uniforms for all of our soldiers.That had been the case with these American negrosoldiers.

“But somewhere down in Washington,somehow or other, someone resurrected an old,large heavy iron key and this, inserted into an ancientrusty lock, had opened some long forgotten door inone of the Government arsenals. There wererevealed old dust-covered bundles wrapped upin newspapers, yellow with age, and when these wrappingsof the past were removed, there were seen the uniformsof old Union blue that had been laid away backin ’65—­uniforms that had beenworn by men who fought and bled and died to save theUnion, and ultimately free those early ‘BlackAmericans’.

“And here on this foreign shore,on this day in June more than half a centurylater, the sons and grandsons of those same freedslaves wore those same uniforms of Union blueas they landed in France to fight for a newerfreedom; freedom for the white man no less thanthemselves, throughout all the earth.

“Some of these Negroes were stevedoresfrom the lower Mississippi levees; who sang asthey worked in their white army undershirts, acrossthe chest of which were penciled in blue and red, strangemystic devices, religious phrases and other signs,calculated to contribute the charm of safetyto the running of the submarine blockade.

“Two of these American Negroes,walking up the main street of St. Nazaire, sawon the other side of the thoroughfare a brother ofcolor wearing the lighter blue uniform of a Frenchsoldier. This French Negro was a colonialblack from the north of Africa and of coursehad spoken nothing but French from the day he was born.One of the American Negroes crossed the streetand accosted him.

“‘Lookahere, boy’, he inquired good-naturedly, ’whatcan you all
tell me about this herewah?’

“‘Comment,monsieur?’ responded the non-understanding Frenchblack,
and followed the rejoinderwith a torrent of excited French.

“The American Negro’s mouthfell open. For a minute he looked startled,and then he bulged one large round eye suspiciouslyat the French black while he inwardly debatedon the possibility that he had become color-blind.Having reassured himself, however, that his visionwas not at fault, he made a sudden decision and startedon a new tack.

“‘Now, nevermind that high-faluting language’ he said, ’youall
just tell me what youknow about this here wah and quit you’
putting on aihs.’

“The puzzled French Negro couldonly reply with another explosion of French interrogations,coupled with vigorous gesticulations. The AmericanNegro tried to talk at the same time and both of themendeavoring to make the other understand, increasedthe volumes of their tones until they were standingthere waving their arms and shouting into oneanother’s faces. The American gave it up.

“‘My Gawd’,he said shaking his head as he recrossed the streetand
joined his comrades,’this is sure some funny country. They gotthe
ignorantest coloredpeople here I ever saw.’”

It has been noted that the first Negro combatant regimentto reach France was the celebrated National Guardorganization known as the 15th New York Infantry,rechristened the 369th when made a part of the 93rddivision of the United States army. This was sucha well drilled and equipped regiment that early inthe war it was permitted to go across with the first100,000; all of which was due to the aggressivenessand insistence of its white commander, Colonel WilliamHayward. He simply gave the war department norest, stating that he was willing his men should unloadships, fell trees and build docks or cantonments solong as they were permitted to sail.

The regiment had been organized by Colonel Haywardat the suggestion of Governor Whitman of New York.It was to be patterned after the 8th Illinois wherecolored men of means sufficient to support commissions,were the officers. The regiment was started inJune 1916 and by October had 1,000 in the ranks.Colonel Hayward was the only white officer, the Negrocommission-holders at that time being Captain Marshall,Captain Fillmore, Lieutenant Lacey, Lieutenant Reedand Lieutenant Europe. The latter was attachedto the Machine Gun section but became later the famousmusician of the outfit. He was the only Negroofficer who remained with the regiment throughout,the others being superseded or transferred after severalmonths service in France.

Early in 1917, the Federal government said it wouldrecognize the regiment if it could muster fifty-oneofficers. As recruiting had been slow and a Negroregiment in New York was looked upon as an experiment,Colonel Hayward was obliged to secure the needed officersfrom among his friends in the 7th New York, the MotorBattery, Squadron A and other organizations.By this time the enlisted strength had grown to 1,200.On April 8, 1917, two days after the United Statesentered the war, the regiment was inspected by Federalofficers and a week later was recognized as a regularunit of the Federal Guard.

But, as the Colonel expressed it, they were a “streeturchin of a regiment.” They had no armory,no place to drill except in the open and no placewhere more than a single company at a time could meet.In his post-war observations, the Colonel has notedthat when the regiment returned to these shores andwas feasted and entertained by the people of New Yorkin the 71st regiment armory, it was the first occasionon which the old 15th was ever assembled under oneroof.

After its Federal recognition the regiment was sentto the Peekskill rifle range to learn to shoot, avaluable experience as developed later. Manyof the boys became expert marksmen, a skill that becameof precious value to them and their comrades.

In June, 1917, they went to a war strength of 2,000men and 56 officers. One battalion did pioneerwork at Camp Upton, another at Camp Dix. A thirdguarded 600 miles of railroads in New York, New Jerseyand Pennsylvania. The Machine Gun company guarded2,000 interned spies and pro-German prisoners at EllisIsland. Colonel Hayward has pointed with prideto the fact that in all their territory there was nota wreck, an explosion, an escaped prisoner or anyother trouble. Two battalions later went to Spartanburgfor training, but remained there only a couple ofweeks.

“I wonder what got those coloredboys to volunteer” someone asked theircolonel as they were embarking for France. Hereplied: “I have often thought ofthat. With many the cause was sheer patriotism.Others said they had gone into the 15th for socialreasons, to meet with their friends. One—­thisseemed to me a most pathetic touch—­said:’I j’ined up because when Colonel Haywardasked me it was the first time anyone had everasked me to j’ine up with anything in mywhole lifetime.’”

If any great amount of superstition had existed amongthe men or officers of the New York regiment, theywould have been greatly depressed over the seriesof incidents that preceded their arrival in France.In the first place they had been assigned to policeand pioneer duty at camps near New York, a duty whichno fighting man relishes. They embarked on thetransport Pocahontas November 12, 1917. Two hundredmiles at sea a piston rod was bent and the vessel putback to port. They got away again December 3,were out a day and had to return on account of firein the coal bunkers. A third attempt on December12, in a blizzard, was frustrated by a collision witha tanker in New York harbor.

After this series of bad starts, anyone inclined toindulge in forebodings would have predicted the certaintyof their becoming prey for the submarines on the wayover. But the fourth attempt proved successfuland they landed in France on December 27, 1917.They had hoped to celebrate Christmas day on Frenchsoil, but were forced by the elements and the precautionsof convoys and sailing master to observe the anniversaryon board the ship.

The Colonel undoubtedly thought that those first inFrance would be the first to get a chance at the Boche,but the department took him at his word, and for overtwo months his men were kept busy in the vicinity ofSt. Nazaire, largely as laborers and builders.Early in 1918 they went into training quarters nearSt. Nazaire. The 371st, another Negro regiment,made up of draft selectives principally from SouthCarolina, was later given quarters nearby.

The black soldiers of the 369th were brigaded as apart of the 16th division of the 8th Corps of the4th French Army. From St. Nazaire they went toGivrey-En-Argonne, and there in three weeks the Frenchturned them into a regulation French regiment.They had Lebel rifles, French packs and French gasmasks. For 191 days they were in the trenchesor on the field of battle. In April, 1918, theregiment held 20 percent of all the territory heldby American troops, though it comprised less than onepercent of all the American soldiers in France.

Officers of the 369th reported for an entire yearonly six cases of drunkenness, and twenty-four ofserious disease. The regiment fought in the Champagne,in the Vosges mountains, on the Aisne, at Main deMassiges, Butte de Mesnil, Dormouse, Sechault, theArgonne, Ripont, Kuppinase, Tourbe, and Bellevue Ridge.It was the first unit of any of the Allied armiesto reach the left bank of the Rhine following thesigning of the armistice, moving from Thann on November17th and reaching Blodesheim the next day.

Negro soldiers were a source of terror to the Germanythroughout the war, and objects of great curiosityto the German people afterwards. Wherever theyappeared in the area occupied by the Americans theyattracted great attention among the civilians.In Treves, Coblenz and other places during the earlydays of the occupation, crowds assembled wheneverNegro soldiers stopped in the streets and it becamenecessary for the military police to enforce the ordersprohibiting gatherings in the public thoroughfares.

Returning soldiers have told how they were followedin the German towns by great troops of stolid, wide-eyedGerman children who could not seem to decide in theirminds just what sort of being these Negro fighterswere. The curiosity of the children no doubt wasinspired by stories told among their elders of theferocity of these men.

The Associated Press has related a conversation witha discharged German soldier in Rengsdorf, in whichit is stated that the German army early in the waroffered a reward for the capture alive of each Negro.The soldier said that throughout the war the Germanslived in great terror of the Negroes, and it was toovercome this fear that rewards were offered.

One evening on the front a scouting party composedof ten Germans including the discharged soldier, encounteredtwo French Negroes. In the fight which followedtwo of the scouting party were killed. One ofthe Negroes escaped the other being taken prisoner.During the fight two of the Germans left their comradesand ran to the protection of their own trenches, butthese it was explained, were young soldiers and untrained.The reward of 400 marks subsequently was divided amongthe remaining six Germans for capturing the one FrenchNegro.

The 93rd division, which was made up of the 369th,370th, 371st and the 372nd regiments of infantry,was put into service green, so green they did notknow the use of rockets and thought a gas alarm andthe tooting of sirens meant that the Germans werecoming in automobiles. The New York regimentcame largely from Brooklyn and the district aroundWest 59th street in New York City, called San JuanHill in reference to certain notable achievementsof Negro troops at a place of that name in the Spanish-Americanwar.

They learned the game of war rapidly. The testimonyof their officers was to the effect that it was nothard to send them into danger—­the hardpart being to keep them from going into it of theirown accord. It was necessary to watch them likehawks to keep them from slipping off on independentraiding parties.

The New York regiment had a band of 40 pieces, secondto none in the American army. It is stated thatthe officers and men in authority in the French billetingplaces had difficulty in keeping the villagers fromfollowing the band away when it played plantation airsand syncopations as only Negroes can play them.

On April 12, 1918, the 369th took over a sector of5-1/2 kilometers in the Bois de Hauzy on the leftof a fringe of the Argonne Forest. There theystayed until July 1st. There was no violent fightingin the sector, but many raids back and forth by theNegroes and the Germans, rifle exchanges and occasionallysome artillery action.

One important engagement occurred June 12th, whichthe soldiers called the million dollar raid, becausethey thought the preparatory barrage of the Germansmust have cost all of that. The Germans came over,probably believing they would find the Negro outfitscared stiff. But the Negro lads let them havegrenades, accurate rifle fire and a hail from someconcealed machine gun nests. Sergt. Bob Collinswas later given the Croix de Guerre for his dispositionof the machine guns on that occasion.

While holding the sector of Hauzy Wood, the 369thwas the only barrier between the German army and Paris.However, had there been an attempt to break through,General Gouraud, the French army commander, would havehad strength enough there at once to stop it.About this time everyone in the Allied armies knewthat the supreme German effort was about to come.It was felt as a surety that the brunt of the drivewould fall upon the 4th French Army, of which the369th regiment and other portions of the American93rd Division were a part. This army was holdinga line 50 kilometers long, stretching between Rheimsand the Argonne Forest. It was the intentionof the Germans to capture Chalons and then proceeddown the Marne Valley to Paris. It was expectedthat the big German drive would begin on July 4th,but as it turned out it did not begin until the nightof the 14th—­the French national holiday.

On July 1st, the 369th had been moved from its sectorfurther toward the east where the center of the attackwas expected. Upon the 14th of July the Frenchmade a raid for the purpose of getting prisoners andinformation. This had a tremendous effect uponthe whole course of the war, for through it GeneralGouraud’s staff learned that at midnight theBoche artillery preparation was to begin, and at 5:25o’clock on the morning of the 15th the Germanswere coming over the top.

This phase of the operation is described by Col.Hayward as follows:

“This is what Gen. Gouraud—­PaGouraud we called him—­did: He knewthe Boche artillery would at the appointed hourstart firing on our front lines, believing aswas natural, that they would be strongly held.So he withdrew all his forces including the old 15th,to the intermediate positions, which were ata safe distance back of the front lines.Then, at the point where he expected would be the apexof the drive he sent out two patrols, totallingsixteen men.

“These sixteen had certain camouflageto perform. They were to set going a certaintype of French machine gun which would fire of itsown accord for awhile after being started off.They were to run from one of these guns to theother and start them. Also the sixteen wereto send up rockets, giving signals, which the Germansof course knew as well as we. Then againthey were to place gas shells—­withthe gas flowing out of them—­in all the dugoutsof the first line. Meanwhile the Frenchartillery had registered directly on our ownfront trenches, so that it could slaughter the Germanswhen they came across, believing those trenchesto be occupied as usual.

“Everything workedout as expected, and as luck had it, most of
those gallant sixteenFrenchmen got back safely.

“Five minutes before the Germansstarted their artillery preparation for the driveGen. Gouraud started his cannon going and therewas a slaughter in the German lines. Then whenthe German infantry crossed to our front linetrenches (now entirely vacant) they were smashedup because the French guns were firing directly uponthese positions, which they knew mathematically.And those of the Boche who went down in the dugoutsfor safety were killed by the gas which the Frenchmenhad left there for them.

“This battle—­the supremeGerman drive—­raged over eighty-five kilometers(51 miles). West of Rheims the enemy broke throughthe line, but they did not break through anywherein Gen. Gouraud’s sector. StonewallGouraud stopped them. The American units whichtook in the defense that was so successful werethe 42nd Division, including the gallant 69thof New York, who were to the west of us, ourown little regiment, and the American Railroad Artillery.

“That was the turning point ofthe war, because soon thereafter began MarshalFoch’s great counter thrust, in which the 1stand 2nd American Divisions participated so wonderfullyabout Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry and thatdistrict. Gouraud in my belief, turned the tideof the war, and I am proud that the New York City coloredboys had a share of that vital fight.

“Right here I may say that thisorphan, urchin regiment of ours placed in thepathway of the Boche in the most significant battlethe world has ever known, had only thirty-sevencommissioned officers, and four of those wounded,had to be carried in stretchers to their positionsin the trenches in order to direct the fighting.”

Colonel Hayward was himself in the hospital with abroken leg. Disregarding the orders of the surgeonshe went to the front line on crutches and personallydirected his men in the fight. In all of hiswritten and quoted utterances since the war, he hasrefrained from mentioning this fact, but it is embodiedin the regimental records.

Shortly after the French national holiday, the 369thwas sent about 15 kilometers west to a position infront of the Butte de Mesnil, a high hill near Maisonen Champagne, occupied by the Germans. Aroundthat district they held half a dozen sectors at differenttimes with only one week of rest until September 26th.

Artillery duels were constant. It is relatedthat near the Butte de Mesnil the regiment lost aman an hour and an officer a day from the shell fireof the Boche. So accurate were the gunners handlingthe German 77s that frequently a solitary soldierwho exposed himself would actually be “sniped”off by a cannoneer.

In the September fighting the 369th saw the toughestperiod of its entire service. In company witha Moroccan Negro unit and others, the regiment participatedin the attack on the Butte de Mesnil. The NewYorkers took the important town of Sechault and itwas for that exploit that their flag was decoratedwith the Croix de Guerre.

Throughout the western Argonne fighting and the varioussectors of the Champagne in which the 369th operated,especially during the months of July, August and September,their service was typical of that of other units ofthe 93rd Division. The going was tough for allof them and each contributed everlasting fame to Americanarms and undying renown to the Negro race.

Heroes of the Old 15th Infantry.

Officers and men of the 369th New York colored regimentawarded the
Croix de Guerre for gallantry in Action:

Sergt. A.A. Adams
Corp. John Allen
Lieut. R.R. DeArmond
Lieut. G.A. Arnston
Corp. Farrandus Baker
Sergt. E.W. Barrington
Sergt M.W. Barron
Sergt. William D. Bartow
Capt. Aaron T. Bates
Corp. Fletcher Battle
Corp. R. Bean
Corp. J.S. Beckton
Pvt. Myril Billings
Sergt. Ed. Bingham
Lieut. J.C. Bradner
Pvt. Arthur Brokaw
Pvt. H.D. Brown
Pvt. T.W. Brown
Lieut. Elmer C. Bucher
Pvt. Wm. H. Bunn
Sergt. Wm. Butler
Pvt. J.L. Bush
Sergt. Joseph Carmen
Corp. T. Catto
Corp. G.H. Chapman
Sergt. Major Benedict W. Cheesman
Capt. John H. Clarke, Jr.
Lieut. P.M. Clendenin
Capt. Frederick W. Cobb
Sergt. Robert Collins
Lieut. J.H. Connor
Sergt. Wm. H. Cox
Sergt C.D. Davis
Lieut. Charles Dean
Pvt. P. Demps
Wagoner Martin Dunbar
Corp. Elmer Earl
Pvt. Frank Ellis
Sergt. Sam Fannell
Capt. Robt. F. Ferguson, Jr.
Capt. Charles W. Fillmore
Capt. Edward J. Farrell
Capt. Hamilton Fish, Jr.
Capt Edwin R.D. Fox
Lieut. Conrad Fox
Sergt. Richard W. Fowler
Pvt. Roland Francis
Pvt. B. Freeman
Pvt. I. Freeman
Sergt Wm. A. Gains
Wagoner Richard O. Goins
Pvt. J.J. Gordon
Lieut. R.C. Grams
Pvt. Stillman Hanna
Pvt. Hugh Hamilton
Pvt. G.E. Hannibal
Pvt. Frank Harden
Pvt. Frank Hatchett
Corp. Ralph Hawkins
Colonel Wm. Hayward
Lieut. E.H. Holden
Sergt. Wm. H. Holliday
Corp. Earl Horton
Pvt. G. Howard
Lieut. Stephen H. Howey
Sergt. Major Clarence C. Hudson
Pvt. Ernest Hunter
Sergt. S. Jackson
Corp. Clarence Johnson
Sergt. D.F. Johnson
Pvt. Gilbert Johnson
Sergt. George Jones
Lieut. Gorman R. Jones
Sergt. James H. Jones
Pvt. Smithfield Jones
Pvt. J.C. Joynes
Lieut. W.H. Keenan
Lieut. Elwin C. King
Lieut. Harold M. Landon
Lieut. Nils H. Larsen
Major David A. L’Esperance
Lieut. W.F. Leland

Pvt. D.W. Lewis
Pvt. W.D. Link
Major Arthur W. Little
Lieut. Walter R. Lockhart
Sergt. B. Lucas
Pvt. Lester A. Marshall
Pvt. Lewis Martin
Sergt. A.J. McArthur
Capt. Seth B. MacClinton
Pvt. Elmer McGowan
Pvt. Herbert McGirt
Capt. Comerford McLoughlin
Pvt. L. McVea
Sergt. H. Matthews
Sergt. Jesse A. Miller
Sergt Wm. H. Miller
Sergt. E. Mitchell
Pvt. Herbert Mills
Corp. M. Molson
Lieut. E.D. Morey
Sergt. W. Morris
Sergt. G.A. Morton
Lieut. E.A. Nostrand
Sergt. Samuel Nowlin
Capt. John O. Outwater
Lieut. Hugh A. Page
Lieut. Oliver H. Parish
Sergt. C.L. Pawpaw
Pvt. Harvey Perry
Sergt. Clinton Peterson
Lieut. Col. W.A. Pickering
Lieut. Richardson Pratt
Sergt. John Pratt
Sergt. H.D. Primas
Pvt. Jeremiah Reed
Lieut. Durant Rice
Pvt. John Rice
Sergt. Samuel Richardson
Sergt Charles Risk
Pvt. F. Ritchie
Lieut. G.S. Robb
Corp. Fred Rogers
Pvt. Lionel Rogers
Pvt. George Rose
Lieut. R.M. Rowland
Sergt. Percy Russell
Sergt. L. Sanders
Pvt. William Sanford
Lieut. H.J. Argent
Pvt. Marshall Scott
Capt. Lewis E. Shaw
Capt. Samuel Shethar
Lieut. Hoyt Sherman
Major G. Franklin Shiels
Pvt. A. Simpson
Sergt. Bertrand U. Smith
Pvt. Daniel Smith
Sergt. Herman Smith
Corp. R.W. Smith
Major 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. Vaughan
Capt. Edward A. Walton
Capt Charles Warren
Sergt. Leon Washington
Pvt. Casper White
Capt. James D. White
Sergt. Jay White
Sergt. Jesse J. White
Sergt. C.E. Williams
Pvt. Robert Williams
Sergt. Reaves Willis
Pvt. H. Wiggington
Sergt. L. Wilson
Pvt. Tim Winston
Sergt. E. Woods
Pvt. George Wood
Lieut. A.D. Worsham
Sergt. E.C. Wright
Sergt. Henry Johnson
Pvt. Needham Roberts

CHAPTER XV.

Over there.

Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts—­thetiger’s cubs—­negrofirst to get
palm—­Johnson’s graphicstory—­smashes the Germans—­IrvinCobb’s
tribute—­Christian and Mohammedannegroes Pals—­valor of93rd
division—­laughter in faceof death—­negro and poiluhappy
together—­Butte de Mesnil—­valiantand humorous Elmer McCOWIN—­winning
war crosses—­verdict ofthe French—­the negro’sfaith.

A most conspicuous Negro hero of the war, and forthat matter of any race serving with the Americanarmy, was Sergeant Henry Johnson of Albany, N.Y.His exploit was shared by a company mate, Needham Roberts.For pure bull dog grit and tigerish fighting, the exploithas seldom, if ever, been equalled in the annals ofany war. It resulted in the War Crosses for eachwith a special citation, and the whole French forcein that section of the Champagne lined up to see themget the decorations. Across the red and greenribbon of Johnson’s decoration was a goldenpalm, signifying extraordinary valor. Johnsonwas the first private of any race in the Americanarmy to get the palm with his Croix de Guerre.Here is the story as told in Johnson’s own wordsafter his arrival back in New York:

“There isn’tso much to tell”, said Johnson with characteristic
modesty. “Therewasn’t anything so fine about it. Just foughtfor
my life. A rabbitwould have done that.

“Well, anyway, me and NeedhamRoberts were on patrol duty on May 15. Thecorporal wanted to send out two new drafted men onthe sentry post for the midnight-to-four job.I told him he was crazy to send untrained menout there and risk the rest of us. I said I’dtackle the job, though I needed sleep.

“German snipers had been shootingour way that night and I told the corporal hewanted men on the job who knew their rifles. Hesaid it was imagination, but anyway he took thosegreen men off and left Needham and me on theposts. I went on at midnight. It was moonlight.Roberts was at the next post. At one o’clocka sniper took a crack at me from a bush fiftyyards away. Pretty soon there was more firingand when Sergeant Roy Thompson came along I told him.

“‘What’sthe matter men’ he asked, ‘You scared?’

“‘No I ain’t scared’,I said, ’I came over here to do my bit and I’lldo it. But I was jes’ lettin’ youknow there’s liable to be some tall scrappin’around this post tonight’. He laughed andwent on, and I began to get ready. They’da box of hand grenades there and I took themout of the box and laid them all in a row where theywould be handy. There was about thirty grenades,I guess. I was goin’ to bust thatDutch army in pieces if it bothered me.

“Somewhere around two o’clockI heard the Germans cutting our wire out in frontand I called to Roberts. When he came I told himto pass the word to the lieutenant. He hadjust started off when the snippin’ andclippin’ of the wires sounded near, so I letgo with a hand grenade. There was a yellfrom a lot of surprised Dutchmen and then theystarted firing. I hollered to Needham to comeback.

“A German grenadegot Needham in the arm and through the hip. He
was too badly woundedto do any fighting, so I told him to lie in
the trench and handme up the grenades.

“‘Keep your nerve’I told him. ’All the Dutchmen in the woodsare at us, but keep cool and we’ll lick’em.’ Roberts crawled into the dugout.Some of the shots got me, one clipped my head, anothermy lip, another my hand, some in my side andone smashed my left foot so bad that I have asilver plate holding it up now.

“The Germans came from all sides.Roberts kept handing me the grenades and I keptthrowing them and the Dutchmen kept squealing, butjes’ the same they kept comin’ on.When the grenades were all gone I started inwith my rifle. That was all right until I shovedin an American cartridge clip—­it wasa French gun—­and it jammed.

“There was nothing to do butuse my rifle as a club and jump into them.I banged them on the dome and the side and everywhereI could land until the butt of my rifle busted.One of the Germans hollered, ‘Rush him!Rush him!’ I decided to do some rushing myself.I grabbed my French bolo knife and slashed in a milliondirections. Each slash meant something, believeme. I wasn’t doing exercises, letme tell you.

“I picked out an officer, a lieutenantI guess he was. I got him and I got somemore of them. They knocked me around considerableand whanged me on the head, but I always managedto get back on my feet. There was one guythat bothered me. He climbed on my back and Ihad some job shaking him off and pitching him overmy head. Then I stuck him in the ribs withthe bolo. I stuck one guy in the stomachand he yelled in good New York talk: ’Thatblack -------- got me.’

“I was still bangingthem when my crowd came up and saved me and
beat the Germans off.That fight lasted about an hour. That’sabout
all. There wasn’tso much to it.”

No, there was not much to it, excepting that nextmorning the Americans found four German bodies withplentiful indications that at least thirty-two othershad been put on the casualty list and several of theGerman dead probably had been dragged back by theircomrades. Thirty-eight bombs were found, besidesrifles, bayonets and revolvers.

It was Irvin Cobb, the southern story writer, whofirst gave to the world a brief account of the exploitof Johnson and Roberts in the Saturday Evening Postduring the summer of 1918. He commented as follows:

“If ever proofwere needed, which it is not, that the color of a
man’s skin hasnothing to do with the color of his soul, this twain
then and there offeredit in abundance.”

Mr. Cobb in the same article paid many tributes tothe men of the 369th and 371st serving at that timein that sector. Among other things he said:

“They were soldiers who woretheir uniforms with a smartened pride; who werejaunty and alert and prompt in their movements; andwho expressed as some did vocally in my hearing,and all did by their attitude, a sincere heartfeltinclination to get a whack at the foe with theshortest possible delay.”

Continuing, Mr. Cobb uttered a sentiment that is sureto awaken a glow in the hearts of all sympathizersand friends of the Negro race. “I am ofthe opinion personally,” he said, “andI make the assertion with all the better grace, Ithink, seeing that I am a Southerner with all theSoutherner’s inherited and acquired prejudicestouching on the race question—­that as aresult of what our black soldiers are going to do inthis war, a word that has been uttered billions oftimes in our country, sometimes in derision, sometimesin hate, sometimes in all kindliness—­butwhich I am sure never fell on black ears but it leftbehind a sting for the heart—­is going tohave a new meaning for all of us, South and Northtoo, and that hereafter n-i-g-g-e-r will merely beanother way of spelling the word American.”

Many a man in the four regiments comprising the 93rddivision when he heard about the exploit of May 15th,oiled his rifle, sharpened his bayonet and whettedhis trench knife, resolved to go Henry Johnson andNeedham Roberts one better if the opportunity cameto him. It did come to many of them in the daysthat followed and although none got a chance to distinguishhimself in equal degree with the redoubtable Johnson,it was because the Boche had become too wary.They had cultivated a healthy respect for the coloredmen and called them “blutlustige schwartze manner,”meaning “blood-thirsty black men.”Another nickname they had was “Hell Fighters.”

When the 93rd division was brigaded with the Frenchon the Aisne, at least two of the component regimentswere under a French general having in his commandseveral thousand Moroccan Negroes. He placed themon the other side of the river fearing they wouldquarrel over religious differences. However,it was impossible to keep them from fraternizing.There were no religious disputes, nor is it of recordthat the Americans attempted to convert the Mohammedans.But they did initiate their turbaned comrades intothe mysteries of a certain American game and it issaid that the disciples of Allah experienced considerablehard luck.

Most of the 93rd division was under fire from theearly days of May, 1918, until the close of the war.The 369th, which left New York with 56 officers and2,000 men, returned with only 20 officers and 1,200men of the original organization. A few had beentransferred to casual companies and other commands,but many will never come back; their bodies beingpart of the soil of France—­killed in action,died of wounds or disease.

The tale of the 93rd is full of deeds of valor, laughterin the face of death, of fearful carnage wrecked uponthe foe, of childlike pride in the homage their Alliespaid them, and now and then an incident replete withthe bubbling Negro humor that is the same whether itfinds its outlet on the cotton-fields of Dixie orthe battlefields of France.

Between the French and the colored troops the spiritwas superb. The French poilu had not been taughtthat the color of a man’s skin made a difference.He had no prejudices. How could he have, comingfrom a nation whose motto is liberty, fraternity,equality? He formed his judgment from braveryand Manhood and Honor. The Negro soldiers ate,slept and drank with the poilus. They were happytogether.

An incident of the valor of the 93rd division wasin the fight at Butte de Mesnil, as tough a spot asany in the line between the sea and Switzerland.The ground had been fought over back and forth, neitherside holding it for long. The French said it wasthe burying place of 200,000 of their troops and Germans,and that it could not be held permanently. TheNegro boys tackled the job. In four days theyhad advanced fourteen kilometers (8.4 miles) and theynever retreated.

The Negro troops to a great extent went into actionwith little training, but they learned quickly inthe hard school of experience. They excelledin grenade throwing and machine gun work. Grenadethrowing is very ticklish business. Releasingthe pin lights the fuse. Five seconds after thefuse is lighted the grenade explodes. It mustbe timed exactly. If thrown too quickly the enemyis liable to pick it up and hurl it back in time tocreate the explosion in one’s own lines.No one cares to hold a grenade long after the fuseis lighted so the boys sometimes threw them aheadof the signal.

“Shorty” Childress of B company, 371stInfantry, had been drilled with dummy grenades.When given the real thing he released the pin andimmediately heard the fulminating fuse working itsway down into the charge. It was too much forhis nerves. He threw the grenade as far as hecould send it. The lieutenant reprimanded himseverely.

“What do you mean,” he said, “byhurling that explosive ahead of the proper time.Do you want the Boches to pick it up, fire it backhere and blow us all to smithereens?”

“Shorty” was properly abashed. Hehung his head and responded: “Lieutenant,I begs your pardon, I didn’t mean to heave itso soon, but I could actually feel that thing a swellin’in my hand.”

But they soon acquired the idea, and after a shorttime very few of the grenades reached the enemy eitherahead of or behind time.

Here is the valiant and humorous story of Elmer McCowin,669 Lenox Avenue, New York City, a private in CompanyK, 369th infantry, and how he won the DistinguishedService Cross. He said:

“On September 26th, the captainasked me to carry dispatches. The Germanspumped machine gun bullets at me all the way, but Imade the trip and got back safely. ThenI was sent out again. As I started the captainhollered to bring him back a can of coffee. Hewas joking but I didn’t know it.

“Being a foot messenger I hadsome time ducking those German bullets.Those bullets seemed very sociable but I didn’tcare to meet up with any of them, so I kept ontraveling on high gear. None touched myskin, though some skinned pretty close.

“On the way back it seemed thewhole war was turned on me. One bullet passedthrough my trousers and it made me hop, skip and jump.I saw a shell hole six feet deep. Take it fromme I dented it another six feet when I plungedinto it. In my fist I held the captain’scan of coffee.

“When I climbed out of the holeand started running again a bullet clipped ahole in the can and the coffee started to run out.But I turned around stopped a second, lookedthe Kaiser in the face and held up the can ofcoffee with my finger plugging up the hole to showthe Germans they were fooled. Just then anotherbullet hit the can and another finger had toact as a stopper. I pulled out an old rabbit’sfoot that my girl had given me and rubbed it so hardthe hair almost came off.

“It must have been the good luckthing that saved my life because the bulletswere picking at my clothes and so many hit the canthat at the end all my fingers were in use tokeep the coffee in. I jumped into shellholes and wriggled along the ground and got back safely.And what do you think? When I got back into ourown trenches I stumbled and spilled the coffee.”

Not only did Lieutenant George Miller, battalion adjutant,confirm the story, but he added:

“When that boy came back withthe coffee his clothes were riddled with bullets.Yet half an hour later he went out into no man’sland and brought back a number of wounded untilhe was badly gassed. Even then he refusedto go to the rear and went out again for a woundedsoldier. All this under fire. That’sthe reason he got the D.S.C.”

Corporal Elmer Earl, also of Company K, living inMiddletown, N.Y., won the D.S.C. He explained:

“We had taken a hill Sept. 26in the Argonne. We came to the edge of aswamp when the enemy machine guns opened fire.It was so bad that of the 58 of us who went intoa particular strip, only 8 came out without beingkilled or wounded. I made a number of trips outthere and brought back about a dozen wounded men.”

The proudest recollection which Negro officers andprivates will carry through life is that of the whole-heartedrecognition given them in the matter of decorationsby the French army authorities. Four coloredregiments of the 93rd division attained the highestrecord in these awards. These regiments beingbrigaded with the French, their conduct in actionwas thus under their observation. Not only waseach of these regiments cited as a unit for the Croixde Guerre, but 365 individual soldiers received thecoveted decoration. A large number of DistinguishedService Crosses were also distributed to the 93rd divisionby General Pershing.

The verdict pronounced by critical French commandersmay be considered as an unquestionable confirmationthat the Negro troops were under all conditions bravefighters. This fact and the improved status ofthe Negro as a result of it was pointed to by theNew York Tribune, in a leading editorial in its issueof February 14, 1919. It said:

“The bas-relief of the Shaw Memorialbecame a living thing as the dusky heroes ofthe 15th cheered the Liberty statue and happily swarmeddown the gangplank. Appropriately the arrivalwas on the birthday of the “revered Lincoln,”and never was the young and martyred idealistof Massachusetts filled with greater pride than swelledin Colonel Hayward as he talked of his men the bestregiment, he said, with pardonable emphasis, ’ofall engaged in the great war.’

“These were men of the Champagneand the Argonne whose step was always forward;who held a trench ninety days without relief, withevery night a raid night; who won 171 medals forconspicuous bravery; who saw the war expire undertheir pressure in a discouraged German cannonade.First class fighting men! Hats off to them!The tribunal of grace does not regard skin color whenassessing souls.

“The boys cheeredthe Bartholdi statue. It makes some whites
uncomfortable.It converts into strange reading glib eulogies of
democratic principles.

“A large faith possesses theNegro. He has such confidence in justice,—­theflow—­of which he believes will yet softenhard hearts. We have a wonderful exampleof a patience that defies discouragement; the“Souls of Black Folk”! When valuesare truly measured, some things will be differentin this country.”

CHAPTER XVI.

Through hell and suffering.

Negro Officers Make Good—­Wonderful Recordof the 8th Illinois—­“Black Devils”Win Decorations Galore—­Tribute of FrenchCommander—­His Farewell to Prairie Fighters—­TheyFought After War Was Over—­Hard to StopThem—­Individual Deeds of Heroism—­TheirDead, Their Wounded and Suffering—­A Poem.

In the past when the subject of the Negro’sfighting ability was under discussion, there werealways found those whose grudging assent to his meritsas a soldier was modified by the assertion that hehad to be properly commanded; in other words musthave white officers. Never having been givena conspicuous opportunity to demonstrate his capacityfor leadership in battle, until the formation of the8th Illinois infantry in the Spanish-American war,the Negro was forced to rest under the imputationthat as a follower he did fairly well, but as a leaderhe was a failure.

Let anyone who still holds that view study the recordof the 8th Illinois, or the 370th, as it was rechristenedwhen entering the service of the general governmentin the recent war. Seventy-one War Crosses withspecial citations for valor and merit, and twenty-oneDistinguished Service Crosses were awarded officersand men of the regiment. Many men in the 370thwere veterans of the Spanish-American war as well asthe campaign of 1916 on the Mexican border, which,while not an actual war, was for some months a localityof service and hard service at that; the regimentpassing through it with great credit.

It was organized as a single battalion in 1891, increasedto a regiment and sent to Cuba in 1898, every officerand man in the regiment being a Negro. Upon itsreturn, over half of the city of Chicago turned outin greeting. Until July 12th, 1918, the regimenthad never had a white officer. Then its Colonel,F.A. Denison, was relieved on account of illnessand a white officer in the person of Colonel ThomasA. Roberts for the first time was placed in command.Shortly before the armistice two other white officerswere attached to the regiment, in the persons of MajorWilliam H. Roberts, a brother of the colonel, and CaptainJohn F. Prout; Second Lieutenant M.F. Stapleton,white, also served as adjutant of the First battalion.

The 370th received brief training at Camp Logan, Houston,Texas, and landed in France April 22, 1918; goingwithin a few weeks into actual service. Likenearly all of the new regiments arriving at that timeits operations were confined mainly to trench warfare.

Trench warfare continued until July 6, when the mengot their real baptism of fire in a section of theArgonne and were in all the important engagementsof their portion of the Champagne and other fronts,fighting almost continuously from the middle of Julyuntil the close of the war, covering themselves witha distinction and glory, as Knights in the warfarefor Mankind, that will endure as long as the storyof valorous deeds are recorded.

Like the other regiments of the 93rd Division, the370th was brigaded with the French; first with the73rd French Division and later under direct commandof General Vincendon of the 59th Division, a part ofthe famous 10th French army under General Mangin.Shortly after the signing of the armistice, the divisioncommander sent the regiment the following communication:

Officers, non-commissionedofficers and men:

Your efforts have been rewarded.The armistice is signed. The troops of theEntente to whom the armies of the American Republichave nobly come to join themselves, have vanquishedthe most powerful instrument of conquest thata nation could forge—­the haughty GermanArmy acknowledges itself conquered. However hardour conditions are, the enemy government hasaccepted them all.

The 370th R.I.U.S. has contributedlargely to the success of the 59th Division,and has taken in bitter strife both cannon and machineguns. Its units, fired by a noble ardor, got attimes even beyond the objectives given them bythe higher command; they have always wished tobe in the front line, for the place of honor is theleading rank.

They have shown in ouradvance that they are worthy of being there.

Vincendon.

“Black Devils” was the name the PrussianGuard who faced them gave to the men of the 370th.Their French comrades called them “The Partridges,”probably on account of their co*ckiness in action (aco*ck partridge is very game), and their smart, pridefulappearance on parade.

A general outline of the service of the Illinois menafter coming out of the trenches, as well as an illustrationof the affection and high appreciation in which theywere held by the French, is contained in the followingorder issued by General Vincendon in December:

Officers and soldiersof the 370th R.I.U.S.:

You are leaving us. The impossibilityat this time that the German Army can recoverfrom its defeat, the necessity which is imposed onthe people of the Entente of taking up again anormal life, leads the United States to diminish*ts effectiveness in France. You are chosento be among the first to return to America. Inthe name of your comrades of the 59th DivisionI say to you, au revoir. In the name ofFrance, I thank you.

The hard and brilliant battles of Chavigny,Leury and the Bois de Beaumont having reducedthe effectiveness of the division, the Americangovernment generously put your regiment at the dispositionof the French High Command. In order to reinforceus, you arrived from the trenches of the Argonne.

We at first, at Mareuil Sur Ourcq,in September, admired your fine appearance underarms, the precision of your review and the supplenessof your evolutions that presented to the eye the appearanceof silk unrolling in wavy folds. We advanced tothe line. Fate placed you on the banks ofthe Ailette in front of the Bois Mortier.October 12 you occupied the enemy trenches at Acierand Brouze. On the 13th we reached the railroadof Laon le Fere; the forest of Saint Gobain,the principal center of resistance of the Hindenburgline was ours.

November 5th the Serre was at lastcrossed and the pursuit became active. MajorProut’s battalion distinguished Itself at theVal St. Pierre, where it captured a German battery.Major Patton’s battalion was first to crossthe Hirson railroad at the heights of Aubenton,where the Germans tried to resist. Duncan’sbattalion took Logny and, carried away by theirardor, could not be stopped short of Gue d’Hossus on November 11th, after the armistice.We have hardly time to appreciate you and alreadyyou depart.

As Lieut. Colonel Duncan saidNovember 28, in offering to me your regimentalcolors as proof of your love for France and as anexpression of your loyalty to the 59th Divisionand our Army, you have given us of your bestand you have given it out of the fullness ofyour hearts.

The blood of your comrades who fellon the soil of France mixed with the blood ofour soldiers, renders indissoluble the bonds of affectionthat unite us. We have, besides, the pride ofhaving worked together at a magnificent task,and the pride of bearing on our foreheads theray of a common grandeur.

Vincendon.

[Illustration: This is a facsimile reproductionof the original, printed hurriedly near the fieldof battle and also translated hurriedly without eliminatingerrors. Corrected on page 155.]

To the 370th belongs the honor of the absolutely lastengagement of the war. An objective had beenset for the regiment on the morning of November 11th.General Vincendon heard of the hour at which hostilitieswere to end and sent an order to the regiment to shortenits objective. The order failed to arrive intime and ten minutes after the fighting was over Lieut.Colonel Duncan led the third battalion over the Germanline and captured a train of fifty wagons. GeneralVincendon said:

“Colonel Duncan is the hardest man to stop fightingI ever saw. He doesn’t know when to quit.”

One of the most daring exploits by a member of theregiment was that performed by Sergeant Matthew Jenkins,a Chicago boy and member of Company F. On September20, at Mont des Singes, he went ahead of his comradesand captured from the Boche a fortified tunnel whichby aid of his platoon was held for thirty-six hourswithout food or ammunition, making use of the enemymachine gun and munitions until relieved. Thisgained for Sergeant Jenkins the Croix de Guerre withPalm and the Distinguished Service Cross.

A deed of remarkable bravery accompanied by cleverstrategy was performed by Captain Chester Sandersand twenty men mostly of Company F. It won decorationsfor three and the unbounded admiration of the French.Captain Sanders and his men offered themselves as sacrificesin an effort to draw the fire of about a dozen Germanmachine guns which had been working havoc among theAmericans and French. The Illinois men ran intothe middle of a road knowing they were under Germanobservation. Instantly the Germans, suspectinga raid on their lines, opened fire on the underbrushby the roadside, figuring the Americans would takerefuge there. Instead they kept right in thecenter of the road and few were wounded. Theruse had revealed the whereabouts of the German guns,and a short time later they were wiped out by Frenchartillery.

Another hero of Company F was Lieutenant Harvey J.Taylor, who found himself in a nest of machine gunson July 16 in the western part of the Argonne forest.He received wounds in both legs, a bullet through onearm, a bullet in his side, had a front tooth knockedout by a bullet and received a ruptured ear drum byanother. After all this he was back in the linesOctober 24th at Soissons. The Germans were makinga counter attack that day and when the battling coloredmen needed supplies, Lieutenant Taylor, who was regimentalsignal officer, proceeded to get the supplies to them,though he had to pass through a German barrage.He was badly gassed. He received the Croix deGuerre with a special citation.

Lieutenant Elmer D. Maxwell won his Cross in the Champagne,six miles northwest of Laon. He led a platoonof men against a nest of machine guns, taking fourguns and eighteen prisoners, not to speak of leavingbehind a number of Germans who were not in a conditionto be taken prisoner.

Many of the officers of the regiment were wounded.The escape of many from death, considering the continuousfighting and unusual perils through which they passed,was miraculous. The only officer who made thesupreme sacrifice was Lieutenant George L. Giles of3833 Calumet Avenue, Chicago. He was the victimof a direct hit by a shell at Grandlut on November1 while he was heroically getting his men into shelter.Lieut. Giles was very popular with the men andwith his brother officers. He was popular amongthe members of the race section in which he lived inChicago, and was regarded as a young man of great promise.

One of the engagements of the first battalion thatreceived more than honorable mention was on the morningof November 6th, when the battalion crossed the Hindenburgline and after extremely hard fighting captured onSt. Pierre Mont, three 77 guns and two machine guns.Captain James H. Smith of 3267 Vernon Avenue, Chicago,commanded the company, and Lieutenant Samuel S. Gordonof 3842 Prairie Avenue, Chicago, the assault forcesmaking the capture. The battalion continued acrossthe Serre river and when the armistice was signedwas at a small place in Belgium.

Several of the officers passed through practicallyall of the fighting with hardly a scratch, only tobe taken ill at the finish and invalided home.These men would have been greatly disappointed hadthe war continued after they were put out of action.Conspicuous among them was Lieutenant Robert A. Wardof 3728 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, of the TrenchMortar platoon; Lieutenant Benjamin A. Browning of4438 Prairie Avenue, Chicago, and Lieutenant JosephR. Wheeler, 3013 Prairie Avenue, Chicago.

Major Rufus Stokes led the first battalion on theinitial raid at Vauquois. They fired 300 shellsfrom six trench mortars and scored a notable success.In that raid Private William Morris of Chicago, theonly man in the regiment who was captured by the Germans,was taken. He was reported missing at the time,but weeks later his picture was found among a groupof prisoners portrayed in a German illustrated newspaperfound in a captured dugout.

Three men were killed and a large number of othershad a miraculous escape while entering Laon a fewdays prior to November 1st. A German time mineexploded tearing up a section of railroad track, hurlingthe heavy rails into the air, where they spun aroundor flew like so many arrows.

First Lieutenant William J. Warfield, regimental supplyofficer, a Chicago man, won the Distinguished ServiceCross for extraordinary heroism in action near Fermede la Riviere, September 28th.

Sergeant Norman Henry of the Machine Gun company,whose home is in Chicago, won the Distinguished ServiceCross for extraordinary heroism in action near Fermede la Riviere, September 30th.

Other members of the regiment upon whom the D.S.C.was conferred by General Pershing were:

Captain William B. Crawford, home address, Denison,Texas; for extraordinary heroism in action at Fermede la Riviere, September 30th.

Sergeant Ralph Gibson, Company H, a Chicago man; forextraordinary heroism at Beaume, November 8th.

Sergeant Charles T. Monroe, Headquarters Company;for extraordinary heroism in action at Mont de Singes,September 24th. His home is at Senrog, Va.

Sergeant Emmett Thompson, Company L, home in Quincy,Illinois; for extraordinary heroism at Mont de Singes,September 20th.

Supply Sergeant Lester Fossie, Company M, home atMetropolis, Illinois; for extraordinary heroism atFerme de la Riviere, October 5th.

Private Tom Powell, deceased, Company H; for extraordinaryheroism near Beaume, November 8th.

Private Spirley Irby, Company H, home at Blackstone,Va.; for extraordinary heroism in action at Beaume,November 8th.

Private Alfred Williamson, medical detachment, homeat San Diego, California; for extraordinary heroismin action near Beaume, November 8th.

Private William G. Hurdle, Machine Gun Company No.3, home at Drivers, Va.; for extraordinary heroismin action at Ferme la Folie, September 30th.

Private Harry Pearson, Machine Gun company No. 3,home at Portland, Oregon; for extraordinary heroismin action near Ferme la Folie, September 30th.

Private Alonzo Walton, Machine Gun Company No. 3,home at Normal, Illinois; for extraordinary heroismin action at Rue Lamcher and Pont D’Amy, November7th and 9th.

Private Leroy Davis, Company L, home at Huntsville,Missouri; for extraordinary heroism in action at Montde Singes, September 18th.

[Illustration: Negro warriors administeringcold steel. Germans unableto stand the attack. Surrendering.In the Argonne forest France.]

About fifty percent of the 370th met casualties ofsome sort during their service in France. Likethe New York regiment heretofore mentioned, they weresingularly free from disease. Only 65 men andone officer were killed in action and about thirtydied from wounds. The total number wounded andmissing was 483. Probably 1,000 men were gassedand incapacitated at times, as the regiment had threereplacements, necessary to make up its losses.The regiment went to France with approximately 2,500men from Chicago and Illinois, and came back with1,260. Of course, many of the wounded, sick andseverely gassed were invalided home or came back asparts of casual companies formed at hospital bases.The replacement troops which went into the regimentwere mostly from the Southern states. A few ofthe colored officers assigned to the regiment afterits arrival in France, were men from the officerstraining camps in this country and France.

The 370th boasted of the only race court martial inthe army. There were thirteen members, LieutenantColonel Duncan presiding. Captain Louis E. Johnsonwas the judge advocate, and Lieutenant Washington washis assistant. It is not of record that the findingsof the court martial were criticized. At leastthere was no scandal as there was concerning courtmartial proceedings in other divisions of the army.The fact is that there was very little occasion forcourt martialing among the men of the 370th.The behavior of the men was uniformly good, as is attestedby the fact that every town mayor in France where themen passed through or were billeted, complimentedthe officers on the splendid discipline and good behaviorshown.

Colonel Roberts, a veteran cavalryman, was very fondof his men. He has repeatedly paid them the highestcompliments, not only for their valor and soldierlyqualities, but for their quick intelligence, amenityto discipline, and for the clean living which madethem so remarkably free from disease. He hasstated that he would not know where to select a bettergroup of men for everything that goes to make up efficient,dependable soldiers. Colonel Roberts receivedthe Croix de Guerre, with the following citation:

“A commander entirely devoted to duty, he succeededby dint of working day and night in holding with hisregiment a difficult sector, though the officers andmen were without experience, under heavy shelling.He personally took charge of a battalion on the frontline on October 12 and led it to the objectives assignedby the crossing of the Ailette canal.”

American historians may not give the Negro fightersthe place to which their records entitle them; thatremains to be seen. From the testimony of Frenchcommanders, however, it is evident that the pages ofFrench history will not be printed unless they containthe valiant, patriotic, heroic deeds of the Illinoisand New York regiments with their comrades of the93rd and 92nd Divisions.

In the various sectors to which they were assigned,they were in virtually every important fight.They met the flower of the Kaiser’s forces,held them and on more than one occasion made them retreat.The Hun had misjudged them and it was fortunate thathe had. They endured their share of hardship,marching many weary miles, day after day, withoutsufficient food. Nothing could affect their spiritand dash. When the call came, they went overthe top, that the world might be made safe for democracy.

Among the officers and men of the 370th were representedabout every calling in which the Negro of this dayengages. There were men of professional pursuits;lawyers, doctors and teachers; students, mechanics,business men, farmers and laborers. The poet ofthe regiment was Lieutenant Blaine G. Alston.The following little poem, if properly digested andunderstood, tells volumes within itself:

“Over there”

Did you ever hear abullet whiz,
Or dodgea hand grenade?
Have you watched longlines of trenches dug
By doughboyswith a spade?
Have you seen the landscapelighted up
At midnightby a shell?
Have you seen a hillsideblazing forth
Like a furnaceroom in hell?

Have you stayed allnight in a ruined town
With a rafterfor a bed?
With horses stampingunderneath
In the morningwhen they are fed?
Have you heard the crump-crumpwhistle?
Do you knowthe dud shell’s grunt?
Have you played ratin a dugout?—­
Then youhave surely seen the front.

—­Lieut.Blaine G. Alston, 370th U.8. Troops.

CHAPTER XVII

NARRATIVE OF AN OFFICER

Special Article by Captain John H. Patton, Adjutantof 8th
Illinois—­Summarizes Operations of the Regiment—­FromFirst Call to
Mustering Out—­An Eye Witness Account—­InTraining Camps, at Sea, in
France—­Service in Argonne Forest—­ManyOther Engagements—­A Thrilling
Record—­Battalion Operations in Detail—­SpecialMention of Companies and
Individuals.

Captain John H. Patton, regimental adjutant of the370th, who commanded the second battalion throughmost of its service, presents a summary of the operationsof the regiment from the first call to the musteringout. Being in charge of the organization’srecords, his account is detailed, authentic and highlyvaluable as supplementing the data of the previouschapter; gleaned from departmental records and othersources. It carries additional interest as beingthe testimony of an eye-witness, one who participatedin the stirring events in a marked and valorous degree.The recital in Captain Patton’s own words, thephrase of a highly trained and efficient militaryman, follows:

Pursuant to the call of the President, under dateof July 3, 1917, the 8th Illinois Infantry reportedat the various rendezvous on July 25, 1917, as follows:At Chicago, Illinois regimental headquarters; Headquarterscompany, Machine Gun company, Supply company, DetachmentMedical Department, and Companies A, B, C, D, E, F,G and H; at Springfield, Illinois, Company I; at Peoria,Illinois, Company K; at Danville, Illinois, CompanyL; at Metropolis, Illinois, Company M.

On the date the regiment responded to the call ColonelFranklin A. Denison commanded the regiment, the otherField Officers being Lieutenant Colonel James H. Johnson,Major Rufus M. Stokes, Major Charles L. Hunt, MajorOtis B. Duncan and Captain John H. Patton, regimentaladjutant.

The strength of the regiment a short time before respondingto the call was approximately one thousand officersand enlisted men, and orders having been receivedto recruit to maximum strength, 3604 enlisted men,an active recruiting campaign was begun. On July25, 1917, the strength was approximately 2,500.Soon afterwards orders were received that the regimentwould be organized according to Minimum Strength Tablesof Organization, which gave it an authorized strengthof 2,138 enlisted men. After reporting that theregiment already had several hundred men in excessof that strength, authority was granted to retain theexcess men. From this time until demobilizedat Camp Grant in March, 1919, the regiment had from600 to 1,300 men in excess of its authorized strength,and upon arrival in France in April, 1918, the entirepersonnel consisted of men who had voluntarily enlisted.

Intensive training was begun immediately after theregiment reported at the various armories and thepublic streets in the vicinity were utilized for thispurpose until October 12, 1917, on which date thevarious organizations entrained for Camp Logan, Houston,Texas, arriving a few days later.

While stationed at Camp Logan, the regiment was engagedin intensive training. Officers and enlistedmen attended the various schools established by the33rd Division to which the regiment had been attachedand acquitted themselves with credit.

At the end of October, 1917, on the date of the closingof the Second Liberty Loan Campaign, out of a totalof 2,166 officers and enlisted men belonging to theregiment at that time, 1,482 officers and men subscribed$151,400.00.

While at Camp Logan, approximately 96 percent of theregiment took out $10,000.00 War Risk Insurance perman.

On December 1, 1917, the official designation of theregiment was changed from the 8th Illinois Infantryto the 370th Infantry.

On March 6, 1918, the regiment left Camp Logan enrouteto Camp Stuart, Newport News, Va., arriving on March10, 1918, and immediately taking up its interruptedintensive training.

While at Camp Stuart, Va., Lieutenant Colonel JamesH. Johnson was discharged from the service, and MajorOtis B. Duncan, who had commanded the 3rd battalion,was promoted to the grade of lieutenant-colonel andCaptain Arthur Williams was promoted to the grade ofmajor and placed in command of the 3rd battalion.

On April 6, 1918, the regiment embarked on the S.S.President Grant en route overseas. In attemptingto get out to sea, the vessel ran aground in HamptonRoads and three days later having been refloated, thejourney overseas was resumed. On account of thisdelay the journey was begun without convoy, the warshipsassigned to this duty having departed as scheduledon or about April 6, 1918. On April 20, 1918,the steamer was met by a convoy of torpedo boats whichaccompanied us to Brest, France, at which place theregiment arrived on April 22, 1918.

The following day, April 23, 1918, the regiment debarkedand marched to camp at Pontanezen Barracks, near Brest,and two days later entrained for Grandvillers (Haut-Rhin),arriving on April 27, 1918, and taking station.

The regiment, upon arrival at Grandvillers, was attachedto the 73rd Division, French Army, and orders weregiven for the reorganization and equipping of theregiment to conform to that of a French regiment.All American arms, ammunition and equipment were salvagedand French rifles, machine guns, ammunition, wheeltransportation, packs, helmets and other necessaryequipment furnished. Except for the uniform theregiment was outfitted exactly as were the Frenchregiments of that division. French rations wereissued with the exception of the wine component, forwhich an extra allowance of sugar was substituted.

The Division sent officers to take charge of the instructionof the regiment in every phase of the work to be laterundertaken and another period of intensive trainingwas begun. Even French cooks were present toinstruct our cooks in the preparation and conservationof the French rations.

After six weeks training at this place, the regimententrained enroute to the front, arrived at Ligny-en-Barrios(Meuse) on June 13, 1918, and moved up toward thelines by easy stages.

On June 21, 1918, the regiment began occupying positionsin the Saint Mihiel Sector, completing the occupationon June 24, 1918. This being the first time theregiment had been actually in the lines, the divisioncommander deemed it advisable to intermingle our troopswith French troops in order that officers and menmight observe and profit by close association withthe veteran French troops. Thus the units of the1st and 2nd battalions, which had been assigned tothe front lines were intermingled with platoons andcompanies of the 325th regiment of infantry.

Many valuable lessons were learned while in this sector,which was exceptionally quiet at the time. Exceptfor occasional shelling and some scattered machinegun and rifle fire, nothing of interest occurred whilein the sector, and there were no casualties.

On the night of June 30-July 1, 1918, the regiment,having been relieved in the sector, began withdrawing,and on July 3, 1918, the withdrawal had been completedwithout any losses.

After resting a few days in the region of Lignieres(Meuse), the regiment entrained en route to the ArgonneForest, arriving behind the lines on July 6, 1918,the 1st Battalion, under command of Major Stokes,moving up immediately into the reserve positions atBrabant (S. Groupement Courcelles) and laterinto the front lines in the Center of Resistance dela Foret, Sub-Sector Hermont.

The 2nd Battalion under command of Major Hunt tookstation at Rarecourt, the latter moved up to Locheres(Plateau of Gorgia) at which place the Major locatedhis Commanding Post. From this position companiesof the 2nd Battalion were sent into the lines alternately,the companies being relieved after a five days’tour of duty.

On July 12, 1918, Colonel Franklin A. Denison, whohad commanded the regiment up to this time and hadbecome incapacitated through illness contracted duringthe strenuous days incident to the preparation of theregiment for service in the lines, was relieved fromcommand on this account and Colonel T.A. Roberts,cavalry, assumed command of the regiment.

The 3rd battalion under command of Major Williams,was held in reserve at Vraincourt, and only CompanyM of that battalion was sent into the front lines.This company took up positions in the supporting pointat Buzemont on August 7, 1918, and remained untilAugust 14, 1918.

On August 1, 1918, the Stokes Mortar platoon undercommand of Lieutenant Robert A. Ward took positionin the lines in the sub-sector Vaquois, and on August4, 1918, took an active part in a coup-de-main arrangedby the French. His mission, filling in the gapsin the French artillery barrage, was so successfullyaccomplished that his entire platoon was highly commendedfor their work by the commanding general of the division.

Although patrols were operating between the linesnightly and the positions occupied were under artillery,machine gun and rifle fire a number of times, theonly losses sustained during the six weeks in theArgonne Forest were 1 killed, 1 captured and 4 wounded.

On the night of August 15-16, 1918, the regiment wasrelieved from its positions in the Forest and marchedto Rampont and entrained for villages in the vicinityof Fains (Meuse) for a period of rest, arriving onAugust 18, 1918.

Upon arrival at the new stations, instruction wasbegun again, more attention being paid to open warfarethan to work incident to trench warfare. Thistraining proved of great value to the officers andmen in the latter days of the war, when the regimentwas actively engaged in the pursuit of the enemy tothe Belgian border.

On September 11, 1918, the regiment left its variousstations and proceeded by train to Betz, where itdetrained and marched to stations in villages in thevicinity of Mareuil-sur-Ourcq (Meuse).

On September 11, 1918, Majors Hunt and Williams havingbecome incapacitated through illness and injury, wererelieved from command of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions,respectively, and Lieutenant Colonel Otis B. Duncanand Captain John H. Patton were assigned to the commandof those battalions.

The battles of Chavigny, Leury and the Bois de Beaumonthaving reduced the effectives of the 59th French Division,the regiment was placed at the disposition of thedivision and was assigned as one of the three infantryregiments thereof. Upon joining this divisionthe effective strength of the regiment was approximatelydouble that of either of the two French regiments;and in future operations a large share of the workof the division fell to our lot.

On September 15, 1918, the regiment received ordersto move again toward the front. From Mareuil-sur-Ourcqto the region of St. Bandry (Meuse) the movement wasmade in motor trucks. On September 16, 1918, thejourney was resumed, the regiment proceeding by marching.Upon arrival at Tartier, Companies F and G were sentto Monte Couve (Aisne) to join the 232nd Regimentof Infantry, and Companies I and L pushed forward toBagneux (Aisne) to join the 325th Regiment. The1st battalion proceeded the next day to the cavesin the vicinity of Les Tueries, the 3rd battalionmoved up into the reserve in the region of AntiochFarm with the remainder of the 2nd battalion.

As soon as Companies F, G, I and L had moved up andtaken position in the lines opposite Mont des Signesan attack was ordered. Attacks on the enemy positionson the plateau of Mont des Signes were almost continuousfrom the date of arrival of these companies until aboutSeptember 21, 1918, when they were withdrawn and joinedtheir battalions. These companies acquitted themselveswith credit. One platoon under command of SergeantMatthew Jenkins, Company F, took a large section ofthe enemy works for which the sergeant was awardedboth the French Croix de Guerre and the American DistinguishedService Cross.

About the 22nd of September, the regiment for thefirst time took over a full regimental sector, theBattalion Stokes relieving the Battalion Garnier inthe positions outlined by La Folie-l’Ecluse onthe Canal l’Oise-l’Aisne and the FarmGulliminet, the Battalion Patton going into the supportpositions at Mont des Tombes and the Battalion Duncangoing into reserve at Tincelle Farm. ColonelRoberts located his commanding post at Antioch Farm.From the date of arrival in these positions untilthe enemy began to retreat on October 12, 1918, theentire area occupied by the regiment was almost constantlyshelled, gas being used frequently. The frontlines were almost constantly under the fire of enemyminnenwurfers and numerous machine guns located inthe Bois de Mortier, a very dense wood north of thecanal.

On the night of September 26-27, 1918, the BattalionPatton was ordered to relieve with like units one-halfof each of the companies of the Battalion Stokes inthe front lines and soon after the relief was completedan attack along the l’Oise-l’Aisne Canalwas ordered. By the extreme of effort the remainderof the Battalion Patton was brought up and havingcompleted the relief of the Battalion Stokes, the attackbegan as ordered. The attack continued until October4th, on which date all objectives had been gainedand the enemy pushed back across the canal. OnSeptember 30th the Battalion Duncan was thrown intothe fight and two companies of the Battalion Pattonwithdrawn to the support. The Battalion Duncanwas ordered to make a frontal attack which necessitatedan advance across the open fields. This was successfullyaccomplished, the battalion being subjected to intenseartillery, machine gun and rifle fire continuously.The Battalion Duncan, having gained its objectives,the Farm de la Riviere and the railroad south of thecanal, held on tenaciously in spite of the intensefire of the enemy and held the positions gained untilthe pursuit began on October 12, 1918, when it passedinto the reserve of the division.

During the occupancy of the sector, from September22, 1918, to October 12, 1918, patrols from the threebattalions were out night and day between the linesmaking necessary reconnaissances. On October 4,1918, a volunteer patrol of twenty men under commandof Captain Chester Sanders in an effort to discoverwhether the enemy had abandoned the woods, penetratedthe Bois de Mortier to a point about 100 yards behindthe enemy positions and having been discovered werefired on from all sides by numerous machine guns.The patrol returned to our lines intact. Forthis exploit Captain Sanders was awarded the FrenchCroix de Guerre and the patrol received the commendationof the commanding general of the division. OnOctober 7, 1918, after 5 minutes violent bombardmentby our artillery, three raiding parties from CompanyF made a dash for the triangle formed by the railroad,the L’Oise-l’Aisne canal and the Vauxaillonroad. One of these parties gained the enemy trenchesalong the canal, ejecting the enemy after a hand grenadefight. All parties returned to our lines intactthough several were wounded. Lieutenant WilliamWarfield of the Battalion Duncan single-handed tookan enemy machine gun nest which had been harassinghis company, and after disposing of the enemy machinegunners returned to our lines with the gun. Numerousother acts of gallantry were performed in this sectorfor which officers and men received both French andAmerican decorations.

At 9:20 a.m. on October 12, 1918, the alert was givenfor a general advance by the entire division and thebattalions assembled at the zones of assembly previouslydesignated. The Battalion Stokes was given themission of clearing the Bois de Mortier and the BattalionPatton was placed at the disposition of LieutenantColonel Lugand of the 232nd Infantry, and the 3rdbattalion was placed in the divisional reserve.At about 11:00 a.m. the pursuit began, the 1st battalionclearing the Bois de Mortier and successfully reachingits first objective, Penancourt, the same date, andcontinuing the pursuit the next day to a point westof Molinchart.

The Battalion Patton, having been assigned as thesupport battalion of the 232nd Regiment of Infantry,took up the pursuit via Anizy le Chateau, Cessieresand the Bois de Oiry, bivouacing the night of October13th in the vicinity of the Bois.

These battalions were commended by the commandinggeneral. The Battalion Stokes for its passageof the exceedingly strong position in the Bois deMortier and the 2nd for its well conducted march inpursuit via Anizy le Chateau.

On account of the straightening out of the lines dueto the retreat of the enemy, the 59th Division waswithdrawn on October 14th and sent back for rest,the regiment being sent into the St. Gobain Forestand vicinity for this purpose. Ten of the twelvedays in this locality were spent in hard work on theroads and the last two were given over to the re-equippingof the regiment.

On October 22, 1918, Major Rufus M. Stokes was relievedfrom command of the 1st battalion and assigned toduty as administrative officer of the Regimental Combatand Supply Trains. Captain John T. Prout was assignedto the command of the 1st battalion.

On October 27th, 1918, the regiment was again orderedinto the lines and at midnight on that date the 2ndbattalion moved up into support positions in the vicinityof Grandlup.

The 1st battalion on October 29, 1918, moved up intosupport positions in the vicinity of the same village.During this time the 3rd battalion was located atManneaux Farm in reserve. The battalions remainedin various positions in the vicinity of Grandlup untilNovember 5, 1918, on which date the enemy again beganto retreat, and while thus occupied were subjectedto severe shelling and those units occupying frontline positions to much machine gun and rifle fire;casualties were few except in Company A stationedin the vicinity of Chantrud Farm, where an enemy shellfell in the midst of the company at mess, killingthirty-five men and wounding fifty, thus causing thecompany to be withdrawn from the lines.

On the morning of November 5th, a general advancewas ordered and the enemy retreated before it.The retreat of the enemy was so rapid that our troopsdid not catch up with them until about November 8th,on which date a general attack by the division wasordered. The 2nd battalion on the left of thedivision was given the task of clearing out the enemyfrom positions along the Hirshon railroad and the Heightsof Aubenton. After an all day fight the battalionreached its objective about nightfall. The Frenchdivision on the left did not advance as anticipated,owing to enemy resistance on their front, and the 2ndbattalion having advanced about two kilometers to thefront suffered severely on account of the exposedflank, three men being killed and two officers andthirty-three enlisted men being wounded. On themorning of the 9th the enemy again retreated and the2nd battalion continued the pursuit to Goncelin, restingthere for the night and on the morning of the bothwas ordered to cantonment at Pont d’Any, whereit was located at the taking effect of the armistice.

On November 6th the 1st battalion took up the pursuitin support of the Battalion Michel of the 325th Regimentof Infantry, advancing via Brazicourt and Rapeireto Hill 150 near St. Pierremont. Company C havingpassed on into the front lines at the Brazicourt Farm,upon arrival near St. Pierremont were ordered on themorning of November 6, 1918, to attack and occupySt. Pierremont, cross the Serre River and take up aposition along the railroad track. The missionof the company was successfully accomplished in spiteof the strong resistance of the enemy, St. Pierremontbeing occupied, the river crossed and three piecesof enemy artillery as well as several machine gunstaken. For this operation Company C was citedand awarded the French Croix de Guerre with a Palm,the highest French citation received in the regiment.The battalion continued the pursuit until arrivalat Mont Plaisir, when it was ordered back to Fligny,where it was in cantonment at the taking effect ofthe armistice.

The 3rd Battalion took up the pursuit on November5th, resting in the open fields the nights of the5th and 6th. The battalion in moving up advancedvia Bosmont and Mont Plaisir and passed on into thefront lines at the Rue Larcher on November 7, 1918.In the afternoon of the 8th orders were received todeliver a cover fire for French units which were tomake an attack on the village of Logny, which was stronglyheld by the enemy. Company M, having been assignedfor this work, moved out from Hurtebise and advancedto a position where the cover fire could be effectivelydelivered, and opened fire. About this time wordwas received from the French commander that his troopscould not advance on account of the severe shell andmachine gun fire, and Company M having arrived ata position where it was safer to go ahead than to retreat,attacked the town and drove the enemy therefrom.For this action Lieutenant Osceola A. Browning, commandingCompany M, and several others received the FrenchCroix de Guerre and Sergeant Lester Fossie both theCroix de Guerre and the American Distinguished ServiceCross. On November 10, 1918, the advance andpursuit was continued. At Etignieres the battalionwas temporarily stopped by intense shell fire.On November 11, 1918, the pursuit was again takenup with Resinowez as the principal objective.Later the objective was changed to Gue d’Hossus,Belgium, which objective was reached a few minutesbefore the taking effect of the armistice, an enemycombat train of about 50 vehicles being captured aboutthis time.

A few days after the armistice, the regiment beganto move southward, taking station in villages in thevicinity of Verneuil-sur-Serre.

[Illustration: Some war crosswinners of 8th Illinois (370thinfantry). Front row leftto right: Capt. G.M.Allen. Lieut. O.A. Browning.Capt. D.J. Warner. Lieut.Roy B. Tisdell. Standing leftto right: Lieut. Robt.P. Hurd, lieut-col. Otis BDuncan. Major J.R. White.Capt. W.B. Crawford, lieut.Wm. Warfield. Capt. MatthewJackson.]

On December 12, 1918, the regiment formally passedfrom the French command and to Brest via Soissonsand Le Mans, arriving at the latter place on January10, 1919.

On February 2, 1919, the regiment embarked on theS.S. La France IV, en route to the U.S., arrivingon February 9, 1919, and taking station at Camp Upton,Long Island, N.Y.

On February 17, 1919, the regiment left Camp Uptonfor Camp Grant, Illinois, via Chicago, where it wasaccorded a wonderful and never-to-be-forgotten receptionby the citizens of Chicago.

After arrival at Camp Grant, work incident to thedemobilization of the regiment was commenced.The majority of officers and enlisted men were dischargedfrom the service during the latter part of February,and finally on March 12, 1919, orders were issueddeclaring that the regiment had ceased to exist.

The health of the regiment while in the service wasexceptional. The Medical Detachment, under commandof Major James R. White, worked incessantly to protectthe health of the command. Before departure forFrance a number of cases of pneumonia of a very severetype developed, but only two deaths resulted.The Medical Detachment was divided among the variousunits, Captain Spencer C. Dickerson having charge ofthe detachment attached to the 1st battalion, LieutenantJames F. Lawson that of the 2nd battalion, and LieutenantClaudius Ballard that of the 3rd battalion. Thework of these detachments was at all times of a highorder of excellence, and during engagements both officersand men in numerous instances went out into the openand rendered first aid to the wounded after terrificfire. Each man wounded, however slightly, wasgiven an injection of anti-tetanic serum and as a resultno cases of tetanus were reported, nor were any casesof gas baccilus infection reported. During thesevere fighting around the Guilliminet and de la RiviereFarms, more help was needed and Lieutenant Park Tancil,dental surgeon, volunteered to take charge of oneof the first aid stations which was daily receivingshowers of shells from the enemy batteries. LieutenantClaudius Ballard, though wounded during the fighting,refused to be evacuated and continued his duties administeringto the wounded. Major James R. White made dailyrounds of the first aid stations in the lines, disregardingthe intense fire of the enemy and personally dressingnumbers of wounded. For their heroic conduct inadministering to the wounded under fire, Major Whiteand Lieutenants Tancil and Ballard as well as severalenlisted men of the Medical Detachment, were awardedthe French Croix de Guerre, and Private Alfred Williamsonof the detachment was awarded both the French Croixde Guerre and the American Distinguished Service Cross.

* * * * *

Roster of officers old 8thIllinois (370th Infantry)

(All Negroes unless otherwise designated.)

Field and Staff—­F.A. Denison, commandinguntil July 12, 1918, invalided home; Col. T.A.Roberts (white), commanding after July 12, 1918; MajorJames R. White, surgeon; Major W.H. Roberts (white),operation officer; Capt. Charles W. Fillmore,personnel officer; Capt. John H. Patton, commanding2nd battalion; Capt. James E. Dunjil, assistantto adjutant; 1st Lieut. George Murphy, assistantto adjutant; 1st Lieut. Louis C. Washington,administrative officer; 2nd Lieut. Noble Sissle,assistant to administrative officer; 1st Lieut.Park Tancil, dentist; 1st Lieut. John T. Clemons,chaplain.

First Battalion—­Major Rufus M. Stokes,commanding; 2nd Lieut. M.F. Stapleton (white),battalion adjutant; Capt. Spencer C. Dickerson,medical officer; 1st Lieut. Harry W. Jones, battalionsupply officer.

Company A—­Capt. Stewart A. Betts,1st Lieut. John L. McDonald, 1st Lieut.Robert L. Chavis, 2nd. Lieut. Wycham Tyler,2nd Lieut. Howard F. Bell, 2nd Lieut. WillisStearles.

Company B—­Capt. Stuart Alexander,1st Lieut. Robert P. Hurd, 1st Lieut. FranklinMcFarland, 1st Lieut. Samuel Ransom, 2nd Lieut.Fred K. Johnson, 2nd Lieut. Samuel Block.

Company C—­Capt. James H. Smith, 1stLieut. Samuel S. Gordon, 1st Lieut. HarryN. Shelton, 1st Lieut. Arthur Jones, 2nd Lieut.Elmer J. Myers, 2nd Lieut. Roy B. Tisdell.

Machine Gun Company—­Captain Devere J. Warner,1st Lieut. George C. Lacey, 2nd Lieut. ThomasA. Painter, 2nd Lieut. Bernard McGwin, 2nd Lieut.Homer C. Kelly, 2nd Lieut. Julian D. Rainey.

Second Battalion—­Capt. John H. Patton,commanding; 1st Lieut. Samuel A. McGowan, battalionadjutant; 1st Lieut. James F. Lawson, medicalofficer; 1st Lieut. Rufus H. Bacote, medical officer;1st Lieut. William Nichols, battalion supplyofficer.

Company F—­Capt. Rufus Reed, 1st Lieut.Carter W. Wesley, 2nd Lieut. Edward Douglas,2nd Lieut. Robert A.D. Birchett.

Company G—­Capt. George M. Allen, 1stLieut. Durand Harding, 1st Lieut. GeraldC. Bunn, 1st Lieut. Harvey E. Johnson, 2nd Lieut.Clarence H. Bouchane.

Company H—­Capt. James C. Hall, 1stLieut Harry L. Allen, 1st Lieut. George L. Amos,1st Lieut Binga Dismond, 2nd Lieut Lawrence Willette,2nd Lieut. John A. Hall.

Machine Gun Company No. 2—­Capt. LilburnJackson, 2nd Lieut. Frank T. Logan, 2nd Lieut.Junius Walthall, 2nd Lieut. William A. Barnett.

Third Battalion—­Lieut. Col. OtisB. Duncan, commanding; 2nd Lieut. Stanley B.Norvell, battalion adjutant; 1st Lieut. ClaudiusBallard, medical officer; 1st Lieut. WilliamJ. Warfield, battalion supply officer.

Company I—­Capt Lorin O. Sanford, 1st Lieut.Howard R. Brown, 2nd Lieut. D. Lincoln Reid,2nd Lieut. Edmond G. White, 2nd Lieut. OswaldDes Verney, 2nd Lieut. Harry J. Douglas.

Company L—­Capt. William B. Crawford,1st Lieut. Frank Robinson, provost officer; 1st.Lieut Frank W. Bates, 2nd Lieut. James H. Peyton,2nd Lieut Luther J. Harris.

Company M—­Capt. Edward W. Spearman,1st Lieut Osceola A. Browning, 1st Lieut. JeromeL. Hubert, 2nd Lieut. Lawson Price, 2nd Lieut.Irving T. Howe, 2nd Lieut. Larkland F. Hewitt.

Machine Gun Company No. 3—­Capt. MatthewJackson, 1st Lieut. William C.P. Phillips,2nd Lieut. Charles C. Jackson, 2nd Lieut ClydeW. Donaldson, 2nd Lieut George F. Proctor.

Special Units

Headquarters Company—­Capt. Lewis E.Johnson, 1st Lieut Robert A.J. Shaw, 1st Lieut.Benote H. Lee, 2nd Lieut Elias F.E. Williams,pioneer officer; 2nd Lieut. Rufus B. Jackson,Stokes mortar; 2nd Lieut. Reginald W. Harang,signal officer.

Supply Company—­Capt. Lloyd G. Wheeler,1st Lieut. Harry Wheeler, 1st Lieut. JamesA. Riggs, 1st Lieut. Dan M. Moore, medical officer;2nd Lieut Augustus M. Fisher, veterinary surgeon.

Depot Company K—­Capt Wm. H. Lewis, commanding;2nd Lieut. Alvin M. Jordan, adjutant; 1st Lieut.Norman Garrett, 1st Lieut. Napoleon B. Roe, dentist;1st Lieut. George W. Antoine, medical officer;2nd Lieut Avon H. Williams; 2nd Lieut. EdwardL. Goodlett, 2nd Lieut Frank Corbin, 2nd Lieut FrederickL. Slade, 2nd Lieut. Walter H. Aiken, 2nd Lieut.Rufus A. Atkins, 2nd Lieut James T. Baker, 2nd Lieut.John S. Banks, 2nd Lieut. Marcus A. Bernard,2nd Lieut. Charles E. Bryant, 2nd Lieut HenryH. Carr, 2nd Lieut. Horace E. Colley, 2nd Lieut.Ira R. Collins, 2nd Lieut. Charles H. Conley,2nd Lieut. Bernie B. Cowan, 2nd Lieut. FlenoidCunningham, 2nd Lieut. Frank P. Dawson, 2nd Lieut.Samuel A. Dillard, 2nd Lieut. John W. Harris.

ROLL OF HONOR

Heroes of Old 8th Illinois

Negro National Guardsmen known in France as the 370thInfantry, who were decorated with the Croix de Guerre.The exploits of some of these men and also of someof those in the appended list decorated with the DistinguishedService Cross, are mentioned in the chapters devotedto the regiment.

Col. T.A.Roberts (white)
Lieut. Col.Otis B. Duncan
Major James R. White
Capt. John H. Patton
Capt. Chester Sanders
Capt. John T. Prout
Capt. Samuel R.Gwynne
Capt. Devere J.Warner
Capt. Wm. B. Crawford
Capt. George M.Allen
Capt. James C.Hall
Capt. Stuart Alexander
Capt. Mathew Jackson
Capt. James H.Smith
Lieut. Park Tancil
Lieut. OsceolaA. Browning
Lieut. George C.Lacey
Lieut. Frank Robinson
Lieut. ClaudiusBallard
Lieut. CharlesC. Jackson
Lieut. WilliamJ. Warfield
Lieut. Samuel S.Gordon
Lieut. Robert P.Hurd
Lieut. Henry N.Shelton
Lieut. Henry P.Cheatham
Lieut. StanleyB. Norvell
Lieut. Roy B. Tisdell
Lieut. Thomas A.Painter
Lieut. Lawson Price
Lieut. LincolnD. Reid
Lieut. Elmer J.Myers
Sergt. Norman Henry
Sergt. ClarenceT. Gibson
Sergt. MatthewJenkins
Sergt. Cecil Nelson
Sergt. Howard Templeton
Sergt. Chas. T.Monroe
Sergt. Derry Brown
Corp. James R.Brown
Corp. Lewis Warner
Corp. Joseph Henderson
Corp. Maceo A.Tervalon
Corp. William Stevenson
Corp. Emil Laurent
Corp. Charles T.Brock
Pvt. NathanielC. White (deceased)
Pvt. Robert Pride
Pvt. George B.White
Pvt. Howard Sheffield
Pvt. CorneliusRobinson
Pvt. Ulysses Sayles
Pvt. William Cuff(deceased)
Pvt. Hugh Givens
Pvt. Arthur Johnson
Pvt. Rufus Pitts
Pvt. Olbert Dorsey

Pvt. William Hurdle
Pvt. Bee McKissic
Pvt. Jonas Paxton
Pvt. Harry Pearson
Pvt. Paul Turlington
Pvt. Reed J. Brown
Pvt. Paul Johnson
Pvt. Reedy Jones
Pvt. Alonzo Keller
Pvt. Leroy Lindsay
Pvt. Lavern Massey
Pvt. Josiah Nevees
Pvt. Ira Taylor
Pvt. Jesse Ferguson
Pvt. William M.Robinson

Awarded Distinguished Service Crosses by General Pershing:

Capt. William B.Crawford
Lieut. WilliamJ. Warfield
Sergt. Norman Henry
Sergt. Ralph Gibson
Sergt. Robert Barnes
Sergt. CharlesT. Monroe
Sergt. Emmett Thompson
Sergt. Lester Fossie
Sergt. MatthewJenkins
Pvt. Tom Powell(deceased)
Pvt. Andrew McCall
Pvt. Wm. Cuff (deceased)
Pvt. Spirley Irby
Pvt. Alfred Williamson
Pvt. William G.Hurdle
Pvt. Harry Pearson
Pvt. Alonzo Walton
Pvt. Leroy Davis
Pvt. James Fuquay
Pvt. NathanielC. White (deceased)
Pvt. Arthur Johnson

CHAPTER XVIII.

BLOOD OF THE BLACK AND WHITE IN ONE RIVULET OF DEPARTING LIFE

Lincoln’s prophetic words—­negroesalongside best soldiers in theworld—­hold their own—­the372nd regiment—­brigaded withveterans of the Marne—­famous“Red hand” Division—­occupyhill 304 at Verdun—­ninedays battle in “Bloody Argonne”—­Admirationof the French—­conspicuouscomponents of 372nd—­chronologyof service.

They will probably helpin some trying time to keep the jewel of
liberty in the familyof freedom.—­Abraham Lincoln.

Prophetic words uttered by the Great Emancipator concerningthe Negroes of America. The Negroes helped.They would have helped in much greater measure hadthey been given the opportunity.

Fighting for the first time on the soil of the world’smost famous battleground—­Europe—­andfor the first time brought into direct comparisonwith the best soldiers of the world, they proved themselvesable to hold their own where tests of courage, enduranceand aggressiveness were most severe.

They fought valiantly in the vicinity of Chateau Thierry,on the Vesle, on the Aillette, in the Argonne, andvarious other sectors; and in the final drive at Metz.They vanquished the Germans who opposed them; theheaviest fire of the enemy failing to stop their advance.

No part of the 93rd Division made a more gallant recordthan the 372nd regiment. Throughout its servicein France it was a part of the famous French 157thDivision known as the “Red Hand” division,under the command of General Goybet. It was thisdivision which first opposed the Huns at the Marnein 1914. To brigade the Negro soldiers with suchfamous veterans was a rare mark of distinction andplaced the black men on their mettle at all times.

The 372nd arrived in France on April 14 and went intotraining with the French eleven days later. OnMay 29 the regiment took over a sector in the Argonneand on June 20 was sent to the trenches just west ofVerdun, occupying the famous battle-swept Hill 304,and sections at Four de Paris and Vauquois. OnHill 304 thousands of French and Germans had fallenas the battle line swung back and forward. Thatthis hill was given to the Negroes to hold demonstratedthat as soldiers they had already won the confidenceof the French.

The regiment’s first engagement was in the Champagnesector with Monthois as an objective. Here camethe real test. The Negroes were eager to getinto the fight. They cheered and sang when theannouncement came that their opportunity had arrived—­butthe question was; back of their enthusiasm had theythe staying qualities drilled into European troopsthrough centuries of training in the science of warfare.

The answer was that some of the heaviest and mosteffective fighting of the day was done by the Negroregiment. From June 6th to September 10th, the372nd was stationed in the bloody Argonne forest orin the vicinity of Verdun. On the night of September25th they were summoned to take part in the Argonneoffensive and were in that terrific drive, one ofthe decisive engagements of the war, from September28th to October 7th.

In the nine days’ battle the Negroes not onlyproved their fighting qualities in an ordeal suchas men rarely have been called upon to face, but thesequalities in deadly striking power and stubborn resistancein crises, stood out with such distinction that thecoveted Croix de Guerre was bestowed upon the regiment.

The casualty list of the 372nd in this and previousfighting carried 500 names of men killed, woundedand gassed. For their achievements they wereat once cited for bravery and efficiency in GeneralOrders from the corps commander transmitted throughtheir French divisional chief. It was dated October8th and read as follows:

In transmitting you with legitimatepride the thanks and congratulations of GeneralGarnier Duplessis, allow me, my dear friendsof all ranks, American and French, to address you fromthe bottom of the heart of a chief and soldier,the expression of gratitude for the glory youhave lent to our good 157th Division. Duringthese nine days of hard fighting you have progressedeight kilometers (4.8 miles) through powerfullyorganized defenses, taken 600 prisoners, captured15 heavy guns, 20 minenwerfers and nearly 150machine guns, secured an enormous amount of engineeringmaterial and important supplies of artillery ammunition,and brought down by your fire three enemy aeroplanes.The “Red Hand” sign of the division,has, thanks to you, become a bloody hand whichtook the Boche by the throat and made him cry for mercy.You have well avenged our glorious dead.Goybet.

In a communication delivered to the colonel of theregiment on October 1st, General Goybet said:

Your troops have been admirable intheir attack. You must be proud of the courageof your officers and men, and I consider it an honorto have them under my command. The braveryand dash of your regiment won the admirationof the Moroccan Division, who are themselvesversed in warfare. Thanks to you, during thesehard days, the division was at all times in advanceof all other divisions of the Army Corps.I am sending you all my thanks and beg you totransmit them to your subordinates. I call onyour wounded. Their morale is higher thanany praise.

The high honor of having its flag decorated with theCroix de Guerre was bestowed upon the regiment inthe city of Brest just a few days before it embarkedfor the return to America. Vice Admiral Moreau,the French commander of the port of Brest, officiallyrepresented his government in, the ceremony.It was intended as France’s appreciation of theservices of these Negro fighters.

The decoration took place at one of the most prominentpoints in the city and was witnessed by thousandsof French soldiers and civilians, as well as by sailorsand soldiers of several nations.

One of the conspicuous components of the 372nd wasthe battalion, formed from what formerly was knownas the 1st Separate Battalion of the District of ColumbiaNational Guard. This famous old Washington organizationhas a long, proud history. Many of the memberswere veterans of the Spanish-American war. Atthe close of the European war, the organization numbered480 men from the city of Washington, twenty of whomhad been decorated one or more times for individualbravery under fire.

The battalion was first assembled at Potomac Parkon the Speedway in Washington, shortly after the declarationof war. The men spent almost half a year at thecamp, during which time they had the important assignmentof guarding railway and highway bridges and adjacentpoints around the National Capitol. They alsohad the proud distinction of guarding the secret archivesand departments at Washington, a duty which requiredunquestioned loyalty and for which the Negroes werewell selected.

It seemed at the time an inconspicuous bit of wartime soldiering, and they were long trying days tothe men. But it was a service which requiredintelligence and nerve, as the likelihood was greatthat the enemy’s agents in this country wouldstrike in the vicinity of the seat of government.That such responsible duty was delegated to the Negroeswas a high compliment from the military authorities.The manner in which they discharged the duty is shownin the fact that no enemy depredations of any consequenceoccurred in the vicinity of Washington.

After a period of training at Camp Stewart, NewportNews, Va., the battalion was sent to France.Its colored commander was dead. Other coloredofficers were soon superseded, leaving the chaplain,Lieutenant Arrington Helm, the only colored officerattached to the organization.

Arriving at St. Nazaire, France, April 14, 1918, thebattalion was soon sent to Conde en Barrois, whereit underwent a period of intensive training with specialpreparation for sector warfare. The instructorswere French. Lessons were hard and severe, butthe instructors afterwards had much cause for pridein their pupils.

From the training camp the battalion and regimentproceeded to the Argonne front, at first settlingin the vicinity of La Chalade. It was there thesoldiers received their first taste of warfare, andit was there their first casualties occurred.

September 13th the outfit withdrew and retired tothe rear for a special training prior to participationin the general attack from Verdun to the sea.On the morning of September 28th the District of Columbiabattalion was sent to the front to relieve a regimentof famous Moroccan shock troops. It was at thistime that the Champagne offensive took such a decidedturn and the Washington men from that time on weretaking a most active and important part in the generalfighting. They distinguished themselves at Ripontjust north of St. Menehold. They suffered greatlyduring their valiant support of an advanced positionin that sector. Despite its losses the battalionfought courageously ahead. Prior to that it hadoccupied Hill 304 at Verdun. It had the distinctionof being the first American outfit to take over thatsector. The battalion fought doggedly and bravelyat Ripont and succeeded in gaining much valuable territory,as well as enemy machine guns and supplies and ninetyHun prisoners.

Later the battalion held a front line position atMonthois, and it finally formed a salient in the lineof the 9th French Army Corps. It was subjectedto a long period of gruelling fire from the Boches’famous Austrian 88s and machine guns, and an incessantbarrage from German weapons of high caliber.

The regiment moved south to the Vosges, where thebattalion took up a position in sub-sector B, in frontof St. Marie Aux Mines, where it was situated whenword of the armistice came.

The record of the Negro warriors from the Districtof Columbia is very succinctly contained in a diarykept by Chaplain Lieutenant Arrington Helm. Itrelates the activities of the unit from the time theysailed from Newport News, March 30, 1917, until theend of the war. It is also a condensed accountof the major operations of the 372nd regiment.The diary follows:

March 30—­Embarked from Newport News, Va.,for overseas duty on the U.S.S. Susquehanna.

April 17—­Disembarked at St. Nazaire andmarched to rest camp.

April 21—­Left rest camp. Base sectionNo. 1 and entrained for Vaubecourt.

April 23—­Arrived at Vaubecourt at 7 p.m.Left Vaubecourt at 8:30 p.m. and hiked in a heavyrainstorm to Conde en Barrois.

April 25—­Assigned to school under Frenchofficers.

May 26—­Left Conde en Barrois at 8 a.m.in French motor trucks for Les
Senades.

May 29—­Our regiment today took over thesector designated as Argonne
West.

May 31—­In front line trenches.

June 20—­Changed sectors, being assignedto the Vauquois sector, a sub-sector of the Verdunfront. The 157th Division is stationed in reserve.The enemy is expected to attack.

July 13—­Left for Hill 304 on the Verdunsector. Colonel Young has been relieved fromcommand and Colonel Herschell Tupes has assumed command.

July 25—­Left Sivry la Perche to take overHill 304. Arrived at Hill 304 at 9 p.m.

August 16—­Heavily shelled by regiment ofAustrians opposing us. Two Americans and oneFrenchman in the regiment killed.

August 20—­Lieutenant James Sanford, CompanyA, captured by the Germans.

August 21—­Fight by French and German planesover our lines. Very exciting.

September 8—­Left Hill 304. Relievedby 129th infantry of the 33rd Division. Hikedin rain and mud for Brocourt.

September 14—­Arrived at Juvigny at noon.

September 17—­Left Juvigny for Brienne laChateau at 8 p.m. Passed through Brienne la Chateauand reached Vitray la Francois this afternoon.The city is near the Marne.

September 18—­Hiked to Jessecourt.All colored officers left the regiment today.

September 28—­Arrived at Hans. Theregiment was in action in the vicinity of Ripont.The third battalion took up a battle position nearRipont.

September 29—­The third battalion went overthe top. The Germans are in retreat. Ourpositions are being bombarded. The machine gunfire is terrific and 88 millimeter shells are fallingas thick and fast as hailstones. We are unableto keep up with the enemy. This afternoon itis raining. This makes it bad for the woundedof whom there are many.

September 30—­The first battalion is nowon our right and advancing fast despite the rain andmud. The machine gun opposition is strenuous.Our casualties are small. We have captured alarge number of prisoners.

October 1—­Our advance is meeting with increasedopposition. The enemy has fortified himself ona hill just ahead. The ground prevents activesupport by the French artillery. Still we aregiving the Germans no rest. They are now retreatingacross the valley to one of their supply bases.The enemy is burning his supplies. We have takenthe village at Ardeuil. Our losses have beenheavy but the Germans have lost more in killed, woundedand taken prisoner than have our forces. On ourright the first battalion has entered the villageof Sechault, after some hard fighting by Company A.

October 4—­The Second battalion is goingin this morning. We are resting at Vieux threekilometers from Monthois, one of the enemy’srailroad centers and base hospitals. The enemyis destroying supplies and moving wounded. Wecan see trains moving out of Monthois. Our artilleryis bombarding all roads and railroads in the vicinity.The enemy’s fire is intense. We expecta counterattack.

October 5—­The enemy’s artillery hasopened up. We are on the alert. They haveattacked and a good stiff hand to hand combat ensued.The Germans were driven back with heavy losses.We have taken many prisoners from about twelve differentGerman regiments. We continued our advance andnow are on the outskirts of Monthois.

October 6—­The enemy is throwing a stiffbarrage on the lines to our left where the 333rd FrenchInfantry is attacking. We can see the Huns onthe run. The liaison work of the 157th Divisionis wonderful; not the slightest gap has been leftopen. Our patrols entered Monthois early thismorning and were driven out by machine gun fire, butreturned with a machine gun and its crew. Wewill be relieved by the 76th infantry regiment at8 p.m. We hiked over the ground we had foughtso hard to take to Minnecourt, where the regimentproceeded to reorganize.

October 12—­Left Valmy today and continuedto Vignemont.

October 13—­Arrived at Vignemont. Hikedfifteen kilometers to St.
Leonard.

October 15—­Left St. Leonard for Van deLaveline in the Vosges. We arrived at Van deLaveline at 10:15 p.m. and took over a sector.

November 11—­A patrol of Company A tookseveral prisoners from a German patrol. Receivedword of the signing of the armistice at 11 a.m. today.Martial music was played. The colors of the regimentare displayed in front of the post command.

It is related that the Washington fighters, as wellas the other members of the 372nd regiment, receivedthe news of the armistice with more of disappointmentthan joy, for they had made all preparations to advancewith the French through Lorraine.

CHAPTER XIX

Comrades on the march. Brothersin the sleep of death.

Policy of substituting white officers—–­injusticeto capable negroes—­disappointmentbut no open resentment—­showedthemselves soldiers—­intenserfighting spirit aroused—­raceforgotten in perils of war—­bothwhites and blacks generous—­affectionbetween officers and men—­negroespreferred death to captivity—­outstandingheroes of 371st and 372nd—­winnersof crosses

Changing from Negro to white officers was in accordancewith the military policy of the American Government;the generic inspiration and root being found in nationalprejudice, incident to the institution of slaveryand the spirit of racial caste and narrowness, thatstill disgraces it. Doubt was pretended to beentertained of the ability of the colored man to command,and although there were not lacking champions forthe policy of placing capable Negroes in command ofNegro units, the weight of opinion; superinduced andfostered by racial prejudice, inclined to the oppositecourse.

In the light of the fine record made by such Negroofficers as were given responsible commands, let ushope for the future honor of the nation; preeningherself as being in the vanguard of the progressivecommonwealths of the age, that a policy so unjust,narrow and unworthy will; as quickly as feasible beabandoned. In favor of Negro commanders is theadditional testimony of high French generals, who knewno color distinction and could see no reason why aNegro should not command his own race troops if hehad intelligence, courage and military skill.Indeed there are not wanting in the annals of Frenchwarfare brilliant examples where men of African bloodcommanded not only mulattoes and blacks, but heroicwhites as well. It is not of record that thosewhite Frenchmen showed any reluctance to follow suchleaders or viewed them with less affection than theydid their white officers.

One should not say that the Negro troops would havefought any better under the men of their own race.They achieved all possible glory as it was. Theysimply did their duty whether their officers were whiteor black. But that they did not fight any theless valiantly or efficiently under men of their ownrace is abundantly proven by the record of the 370th,or the 8th Illinois as the soldiers and their peoplestill prefer to call it; and other units which hadNegroes in responsible positions.

That there was disappointment, chagrin and anger inthe rank and file of the Negro soldiers when theirown officers were taken from them and white men substitutedwas natural and quite to be expected.

However, there was little open murmuring. Whilethe Negro regarded the removal of the officers whohad trained him and were, in a sense, his comrades,unfair and uncalled for, his fighting spirit, seemedto burn with an intenser heat; a determination todo his best to show and shame the spirit that robbedhim of his own race leaders, and at the same timeconvince his white commanders of the stuff he was madeof.

There was much disappointment in the ranks of theDistrict of Columbia battalion, when the place ofits old leader was taken by Major Clark L. Dickson,twenty-seven years of age, one of the youngest—­ifnot the youngest—­of battalion commandersin the American army. But their disappointmentwas soon allayed, for Major Dickson made an enviablerecord. He received the Croix de Guerre with thiscitation:

“Most efficient officer, valorousand intrepid, acting in dual capacity as regimentaladjutant and operation officer. Displayed theutmost energy in issuing operation orders during theperiod between September 26th and October 6th,1918, and especially distinguished himself incrossing a roadway under violent artillery fireto give assistance to a wounded brother officer.His clear view of the situation at all timesand the accuracy with which he issued the necessaryorders required of him, contributed largely to thesuccess of the regiment.”

Many of his men have stated that the citation onlyhinted at the real accomplishments of Major Dickson.

In the rigors of war and the perils of battle, menserving side by side, forget race. They simplyrealize that they are sharing hardships in common;are beset by a common foe and are the subjects of commondangers. Under such circ*mstances they becomecomrades. They learn to admire each other andwillingly give to each other a full measure of praiseand appreciation. The Negro soldiers generally,have expressed unstintedly, approbation and praiseof their white officers; and the officers have beenequally generous. Here is an appreciation by oneof the officers of the 372nd regiment, LieutenantJerome Meyer of Washington, concerning the men ofthat organization:

“Casualties were heavy becausethe colored lads fought to the last, cheerfullyaccepting death in preference to captivity. Theiradeptness in mastering the throwing of hand grenadesand in operating the machine guns quickly wonthem the esteem of the French. Remember,that the colored lads were quite new to warfare.But in the Champagne they fought with a persistenceand courage that enabled them to hold permanentlythe ground they gained and won for many of themtheir decorations. Not a few of the prisonerstaken by the regiment declared that the Germanswere in positive fear of the Negroes, who, theycomplained, would never quit even under terriblefire.”

One of the outstanding heroes of the 372nd regimentwas Sergeant Ira Payne, of 325 Fifteenth Street, Washington,D.C. He won the Croix de Guerre and the DistinguishedService Cross, and according to his comrades, “wasnot afraid of the devil himself.” His storyas related by himself on his return home, follows:

“During the fighting at Sechaultthe Germans were picking off the men of my platoonfrom behind a bush. They had several machine gunsand kept up a deadly fire in spite of our riflefire directed at the bush. We did our bestto stop those machine guns, but the German aimbecame so accurate that they were picking off fiveof my men every minute. We couldn’tstand for that.

“Well, I decided that I wouldget that little machine gun nest myself, andI went after it. I left our company, detoured,and, by a piece of luck got behind the bush.I got my rifle into action and ‘knockedoff’ two of those German machine gunners.That ended it. The other Germans couldn’tstand so much excitement. The Boches surrenderedand I took them into our trenches as prisoners.”

Not a long story for such an able and courageous exploit,yet it contains the germ for an epic recital on bravery.

First Sergeant John A. Johnson a colored member ofCompany B, was decorated with the Croix de Guerrewith palm for exceptional bravery during a chargeover the top, and for capturing single-handed, twoHun soldiers who later proved valuable as sourcesof information. Sergeant Johnson’s homewas at 1117 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, D.C.He was equally reticent about boasting of his deeds.

“Near Sechault during the timethe District men were making a big effort tocapture the town,” said Johnson, “I wasput in the front lines not fifty feet away fromthe enemy. A greater part of the time Iwas exposed to machine gun fire. I suppose I gotmy medal because I stuck to my men in the trenchesand going over the top. Quite a few of theboys were bumped off at that point.”

Another hero was Benjamin Butler, a private.The citation with his Croix de Guerre read: “Fordisplaying gallantry and bravery and distinguishinghimself in carrying out orders during the attack onSechault, September 29, 1918, under heavy bombardmentand machine gun fire.”

“I did very little,” Butlersaid. “During this fight with several others,I carried dispatches to the front line trenches fromheadquarters. They decorated me, I suppose,because I was the only one lucky enough to escapebeing knocked off.”

Private Charles E. Cross of 1157 Twenty-first street,Washington, D.C. was awarded the Croix de Guerre,his citation reading: “For his speed andreliability in carrying orders to platoons in the firstline under the enemy’s bombardment on September29, 1918.” In some cases he had to creepacross No Man’s Land and a greater part of thetime was directly exposed to the enemy’s fire.

Private William H. Braxton, a member of the machinegun company of the regiment, whose residence was at2106 Ward Place, Washington D.C., received the Croixde Guorre for “displaying zealous bravery.”

“An enemy party,” readshis citation, “having filtered through his platoonand attacked same in the rear. Private Braxtondisplayed marked gallantry in opening fire onthe enemy and killing one and wounding severalothers, finally dispersing the entire party.”

“The men who stuckby me when death stared them in their faces,”
said Braxton, “deservejust as much credit as I do. I was only the
temporary leader ofthe men.”

Corporal Depew Pryor, of Detroit, Michigan, was awardedthe Medal Militaire, one of the most coveted honorswithin the gift of the French army, as well as theAmerican Distinguished Service Cross. Pryor sawGermans capture a Frenchman. Grabbing an armfulof grenades, he dashed upon the Germans killing, woundingor routing a party of ten and liberating the Frenchman.

Sergeant Bruce Meddows, 285 Erskine street, Detroit,Michigan, brought home the Croix de Guerre with silverstar, which he won for bringing down an aeroplanewith an automatic rifle.

To have forty-six horses which he drove in cartingammunition up to the front lines, killed in five monthswas the experience of Arthur B. Hayes, 174 PacificAvenue, Detroit, Michigan. He returned home sick,with practically no wounds after risking his life dailyfor months.

Sergeant George H. Jordan of Company L, whose homewas in Boston, Mass., won the Croix de Guerre andpalm for taking charge of an ammunition train at Verdun,when the commanding officer had been killed by a shell.He saved and brought through eight of the seventeenwagons.

Lieutenant James E. Sanford of Washington, D.C., oneof the early Negro officers of the 372nd, was capturedin Avocourt Woods near Verdun, August 19, 1918.He was endeavoring to gain a strategic position withhis men when he was met by an overpowering force concealedbehind camouflaged outposts, he was taken to Karlsruheand transferred to three other German prison camps,in all of which he suffered from bad and insufficientfood and the brutality of the German guards.

[Illustration: U.S. Flag and 369thregiment flag, decorated with Croixde Guerre at UNGERSHEIM, Alsace,France.]

[Illustration: The 369th infantryin rest billets at MAFFRECOURT,France. Henry Johnson. Oneof foremost heroes of thewar. With his famous smile.In right foreground.]

[Illustration: The joke seemsto be on the lad at theleft.]

[Illustration: A few of the manyguns captured from the Germans.]

[Illustration: Americans in prisoncamp. Prisoners are amusedlisteners while jovial negro fighterrelates an episode of warlife to A German officer.]

[Illustration: Arthur Johnson, A doughboyof the 8th Illinois (370thinfantry), Winner of Croix deGuerre and the distinguished servicecross.]

[Illustration: Game probably isstrip poker as two men havealready discarded their Shirts.One has A large safety pinfor instant use. But then,note the Horseshoe on hisshoe.]

[Illustration: Kitchen police onboard the Celtic. There isalways some duty for uncleSam’s men on land orsea.]

[Illustration: Minstrels on boardthe “SAXONIA.” Typical grouporganized on the transports toentertain wounded boys returningfrom France.]

[Illustration: Men who handledthe cannons. Part of squadronA, 351st field artillery. Ontransport Louisville.]

[Illustration: Lieut. MAXOM andhis band, who saw distinguishedservice in France.]

[Illustration: Group on edge ofPier waiting to entrain fordemobilization camp. Part ofthe 351st artillery unit speciallymentioned by general Pershing.]

[Illustration: Salvation army lassieshanding out chocolate to twosoldiers of 351st artillery.]

[Illustration: Heroes of 351startillery greeting friends afterDEBARKING from the transport Louisville.]

Major Johnson led his battalion of the 372nd in anattack in the Champagne which resulted in the captureof a German trench, 100 prisoners, an ammunition dump,thirty machine guns and two howitzers. He receivedthe Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor decorationfrom the French, as well as the Distinguished ServiceCross from General Pershing.

Company B of the 372nd, took at Sechault in a raid,seventy-five prisoners and four machine guns.

One of the distinguished units of the 372nd, was theold and famous Company L of the Massachusetts NationalGuard. This unit was assembled at Camp Devensand left soon after the declaration of war for thesouth. It was stationed for a time at NewportNews, and was then incorporated with the 372nd, wentto France with that organization and saw its shareof service throughout the campaign. Other distinguishedunits were the well known Ninth Ohio Battalion NationalGuard, and National Guard companies from Connecticut,Maryland and Tennessee.

Brigaded with the 372nd in the French “Red Hand”division, was another Negro regiment, the 371st, madeup principally of selectives from South Carolina.It was commanded by Colonel P.L. Miles. Amongthe officers were Major Thomas Moffatt and CaptainWilliam R. Richey from Charleston.

The regiment saw practically the same service as the372nd under General Goybet, was mentioned in divisionaland special orders, was decorated by Vice AdmiralMoreau, Maritime Prefect of Brest, at the same timethe honor was conferred on the 372nd. The tworegiments were together for seven months. Themen of the 371st especially distinguished themselvesat Crete des Observatories, Ardeuil and in the plainsof Monthois. Seventy-one individual members receivedthe Croix de Guerre and some the Distinguished ServiceCross. Among the latter were the following:

Sergeant Lee R. McClelland, Medical Detachment, homeaddress, Boston, Mass., for extraordinary heroismin action near Ardeuil, September 30, 1918.

Corporal Sandy E. Jones, Company C, home address Sumter,S.C.; for extraordinary heroism in action in the Champagne,September 28 and 29, 1918.

Private Bruce Stoney, Medical Detachment, home address,Allendale, S.C.; for extraordinary heroism in actionnear Ardeuil, September 29, 1918.

Private Charlie Butler, Machine Gun Company, homeaddress, McComb, Miss.; for extraordinary heroismin action near Ardeuil, September 29, 1918.

Private Willie Boston, Machine Gun Company, home address,Roopville, Ga.; for extraordinary heroism in actionnear Ardeuil, September 29, 1918.

Private Tillman Webster, Machine Gun Company, homeaddress, Alexandria, La.; for extraordinary heroismin action near Ardeuil, September 29, 1918.

Private Ellison Moses, Company C, home address, Mayesville,S.C.; for extraordinary heroism in action near Ardeuil,September 30, 1918.

Private Hunius Diggs, Company G, home address, Lilesville,N.C.; for extraordinary heroism in action near Ardeuil,September 30, 1918.

The two regiments, besides the regimental Croix deGuerre, awarded for gallantry in the Champagne, wonindividual decorations amounting in the aggregateto 168 Croix de Guerre, 38 Distinguished Service Crosses,four Medal Militaire and two crosses of the Legionof Honor.

An incident of the service of the 371st and particularlyemphasizing the honesty and faithfulness of the NegroY.M.C.A. and the regiment’s medical detachment,was the case of Prof. H.O. Cook, a teacherin the Lincoln High School at Kansas City, Mo.Professor Cook, a Y.M.C.A. man attached to the sectorwhich the 371st was holding during the great offensivein September, went with the men to the front line trenchesand rendered valuable aid among the wounded untilhe was gassed. Owing to the fact that there wereno facilities at that particular time, for the safekeeping of money and valuables, he carried on his personmore than 150,000 francs (in normal times $30,000)which boys in the regiment had given him to keep whenthey went over the top.

After being gassed he was walked over for an hourbefore being discovered. The money was foundand sent by Sergeant Major White also colored, togeneral headquarters at Chaumont. When Prof.Cook was discharged from the hospital and made inquiryabout the money, it was returned to him. Nota cent was missing. Colonel Miles recommendedthat General Pershing award Prof. Cook a DistinguishedService Cross.

The men of the 93rd Division and other Negro divisionsand organizations will never forget their French comradesand friends. It was a lad of the 371st regimentwho wrote the following to his mother. The censorallowed the original to proceed but copied the extractas a document of human interest; in that it was aboyish and unconscious arraignment of his own country—­forwhich he with many thousands of others, were riskingtheir lives.

“Mammy,
these French peopledon’t bother with no color line business.They
treat us so good thatthe only time I ever know I’m colored is when
I look in the glass.”

The 371st regiment had 123 men killed in action andabout 600 wounded or gassed. The casualties ofthe 372nd consisted of 91 killed in action and between600 and 700 wounded or gassed. Like the otherNegro regiments of the 93rd Division, there was comparativelylittle sickness among the men, outside of that inducedby hard service conditions.

HEROES OF THE 371ST AND 372ND.

The names listed below are cross and medal winners.The exploits of some are told in detail in the chaptersdevoted to their regiments. There are many knownto have received decorations whose names are not yeton the records.

Cross of the Legionof Honor
372nd regiment.
Major Johnson

Medal Militaire 372nd regiment.Corp. Depew Pryor Corp. CliftonMorrison Pvt. Clarence Van Allen

Distinguished Service Cross 371stregiment. Sergt Lee R. McClellandCorp. Sandy E. Jones Pvt. BruceStoney Pvt. Charlie Butler Pvt.Willie Boston Pvt. Tillman Webster Pvt.Ellison Moses Pvt. Hunius Diggs

372Nd regiment MajorJohnson Sergt. Ira M. Payne Corp.Depew Pryor

Croix de Guerre 372nd regiment.Col. Herschell Tupes Major JohnsonMajor Clark L. Dickson Lieut. JeromeMeyer Sergt. Major Samuel B. Webster Sergt.John A. Johnson Sergt. Ira M. Payne SergtJames A. Marshall Sergt. Norman Jones Pvt.Warwick Alexander Pvt. George H. Budd Pvt.Thomas A. Frederick Pvt. John S. ParksPvt. Charles H. Murphy Pvt. WilliamN. Mathew Pvt. Ernest Payne Sergt.Homer Crabtree Sergt. Norman Winsmore Sergt.William A. Carter Sergt. George H. JordanSergt. Bruce Meddows Sergt. HarryGibson Corp. John R. White Corp.Benjamin Butler Corp. March Graham Pvt.Joseph McKamey Pvt. William Dickerson Pvt.William Johnson Pvt. Walter Dennis Pvt.Charles E. Cross Pvt. William H. BraxtonPvt. Nunley Matthews

CHAPTER XX

MID SHOT AND SHELL

In trench and valley—­theopen plain—­on mountaintop—­in no man’s
land—­two classes ofnegro soldiers considered—­trainedGuardsmen and
selectives—­gallant 92nddivision—­race can beproud of it—­had six
hundred negro officers—­setsat rest all doubts—­operationsof the
division—­at Pont A Mousson—­greatbattle of Metz—­some
reflections—­casualties considered

History, as made in France by the Negro soldier, fallsnaturally into two divisions; that which was madeby the bodies of troops which had an organizationprior to the war, and whether trained or not, couldlay claim to an understanding of the first principlesof military science; and that made by the raw selectives—­thedraft soldiers—­to whom the art of war wasa closed book, something never considered as likelyto affect their scheme of life and never given morethan a passing thought.

We have followed the first phase of it in the wonderfulcombat-records of the colored National Guard, itsvolunteers and recruits. We have seen them likea stone wall bearing the brunt of attack from the finestshock troops of the Kaiser’s Army. We haveseen them undaunted by shot and shell, advancing throughthe most terrific artillery fire up to that time everconcentrated; rout those same troops, hold their groundand even advance under the most powerful counter attackwhich the enemy could deliver. We have followedthem from trench to plain, to valley and into themountains and read the story of their battles underall those varying conditions. We have pitiedthem in their trials, sympathized with their woundedand ill, been saddened by their lists of dead andfinally have seen the survivors come home; have seenthem cheered and feted as no men of their race everwere cheered and feted before.

Much of the nation’s pride in them was due tothe fact that it knew them as fighting men; at leastas men who were organized for fighting purposes beforethe war. When they marched away and sailed wehad confidence in them; were proud of their appearance,their spirit, their willingness to serve. Thecountry felt they would not fail to clothe with lustertheir race and maintain the expectations of them.That they fulfilled every expectation and more; hadcome back loaded with honors; finer, manlier men thanever, increased the nation’s pride in them.

Now we come to a contemplation of the other class;the men who knew nothing of military life or militarymatters; who, most of them, wished to serve but neverdreamed of getting the opportunity. Many of thememployed in the cotton fields or residing in the remotecorners of the country, hardly knew there was a warin progress. Some of them realized that eventsout of the ordinary were transpiring through the suddenlyincreased demand for their labor and the higher wagesoffered them. But that Uncle Sam would ever callthem to serve in his army and even to go far acrossseas to a shadowy—­to them, far off land,among a strange people; speaking a strange language,had never occurred to most of them even in dreams.

Then all of a sudden came the draft summons.The call soon penetrated to the farthest nooks ofour great land; surprised, bewildered but happy, theblack legions began to form.

It already has been noted that with the exceptionof the 371st regiment, which went to the 93rd Division,the selectives who saw service in the fighting areas,were all in the 92nd Division. This was a completeAmerican division, brigaded with its own army, commandedthrough the greater part of its service by Major GeneralBallou and towards the end by Major General Martin.

While the 92nd Division as a whole, did not get intothe heavy fighting until the last two weeks of thewar, individual units had a taste of it earlier.Service which the division as a whole did see, wassome of the most severe of the war. The Negroesof the country may well be proud of the organization,for its record was good all the way through and inthe heavy fighting was characterized by great gallantryand efficiency.

One of the outstanding features of the division wasthe fact that it had about six hundred Negro commissionedofficers. Its rank and file of course, was composedexclusively of Negro soldiers. The fine recordof the division must forever set at rest any doubtsconcerning the ability of Negro officers, and anyquestions about Negro soldiers following and fightingunder them. It was a splendid record all the waythrough, and Negro officers rendered excellent serviceat all times and under the most trying circ*mstances.Many of these officers, be it understood, were entirelynew to military life. Some had seen service inthe National Guard and some had come up from the ranksof the Regular Army, but the majority of them weremen taken from civilian life and trained and graduatedfrom the officer’s training camps at Fort DesMoines, Camp Taylor, Camp Hanco*ck and Camp Pike.A few received commissions from the officers’training schools in France.

The 92nd Division was composed of the 183rd InfantryBrigade, consisting of the 365th and 366th InfantryRegiments and the 350th Machine Gun Battalion; the184th Infantry Brigade, composed of the 367th and 368thInfantry Regiments and the 351st Machine Gun Battalion;the 167th Artillery Brigade consisting of the 349th,350th and 351st Artillery Regiments; and the 349thMachine Gun Battalion, the 317th Trench Mortar Battalion,the 317th Engineers’ Regiment, the 317th Engineers’Train, the 317th Ammunition Train, the 317th SupplyTrain, the 317th Train Headquarters, the 92nd MilitaryPolice Company; and the Sanitary Train, comprisingthe 365th, 366th 367th and 368th Field Hospital andAmbulance Companies.

Briefly summarized, the operations of the 92nd Divisionmay be stated as follows: Arrived in France thesummer of 1918. After the usual period of intensivetraining in the back areas it was divided into severalgroups for training alongside the French in front linetrenches.

In August they took over a sector in the St. Die regionnear the Lorraine border. September 2nd theyrepulsed an enemy raid at LaFontenelle. On September26th the division was a reserve of the First ArmyCorps in the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

On October 10th they moved to the Marbache sectorin the vicinity of Pont a Mousson. November 10ththey advanced, reaching Bois Frehaut and Bois Cheminot,capturing 710 prisoners. These positions werebeing consolidated on November 11th when the armisticeput an end to the fighting. Of course there wasfighting by some units of the division from the timeearly in the summer when they went into the trenches.

When the Marbache sector was taken over by the 92ndDivision, “No Man’s Land” was ownedby the Germans and they were aggressively on the offensive.They held Belie Farm, Bois de Tete D’Or, BoisFrehaut, Voivrotte Farm, Voivrotte Woods, Bois Cheminotand Moulin Brook. Raids and the aggressivenessof the patrols of the 92nd Division changed the complexionof things speedily. They inflicted many casualtieson the Germans and took many prisoners.

Each of the places named above was raided by the doughtyblack men as was also Epley, while their patrols penetratednorth nearly to the east and west line through Pagny.The Germans were driven north beyond Frehaut and Voivrotteto Cheminot bridge. In their desperation theytried to check the Americans by an attempt to destroythe bridge over the Seille river. They succeededin flooding a portion of the adjacent country; thesetactics demonstrating that they could not withstandthe Negro soldiers. West of the Seille riverexcellent results followed the energetic offensive,the Germans losing heavily in killed, wounded andprisoners. In nearly every instance the raidswere conducted by Negro line officers.

Up to this time the division as a whole, had neverbeen in a major battle. The only regiment init that had seen a big engagement was the 368th infantry,which took part in the action in the Argonne Forestin September.

The division’s chance came in the great driveon Metz, just before the end of the war. Theywere notified at 4 o’clock Sunday morning, November10th. The motto “See it through” ofthe 367th infantry, known as the “Buffaloes,”echoed through the whole division.

They began their advance at 7 o’clock from Ponta Mousson. Before them was a valley commandedby the heavy guns of Metz and by innumerable nestsof German machine guns. The Negroes seemed torealize that here for the first time was the opportunityto show their mettle—­that for the firsttime they were going to battle as a division.A sense of race pride seemed to stir and actuate everyman. Here was a chance to show what this greatbody, composed of cotton-field Negroes, of stevedores,mechanics, general laborers, trades, professional menand those from all walks of civilian life who butrecently had taken up the profession of arms, coulddo. An opportunity to enact a mighty role wasupon them, and they played it well.

Not only were the black infantry and machine gun unitsup at the front; in the thickest of it, but the artillery—­the167th Brigade—­was on the line behavinglike veterans. They laid down a barrage for theinfantry that was wonderfully effective. Theyestablished a reputation which has been made by butfew, among French, British or Americans, of layingdown a barrage that did not entrap; and fatally so,their own comrades.

It was a glorious day for the division. The casualtyroll was heavy for the sector was strongly fortifiedand the enemy made a most determined resistance.Metz is considered by experts to be the strongest fortifiedinland city in the world.

Indeed it is almost as strong, if not quite so, asGibraltar or the Dardanelles. But from the waythe Americans hammered at it, military authoritiessay that only the signing of the armistice preventedthe taking of it by assault. As it was, the closeof fighting saw Negro troops on German soil.

The fortitude and valor of the Negroes, especiallyin the action against Metz, won them high praise fromtheir commanding officers. Entire units weredecorated by the French with the Croix de Guerre.Fourteen Negro officers and forty-three enlisted menwere cited for bravery in action and awarded the DistinguishedService Cross by General Pershing. This is asplendid showing considering that up to November 10th,1918, the greater portion of the division had to contentit*elf with making daily and nightly raids on theGerman front line trenches to harass the foe and captureprisoners. This, however, required daring andcourage and, in some ways, was more trying and dangerousthan being in a big engagement. A total of 57citations by the American military authorities, besideshonors bestowed by the French, is a splendid showingfor a division which won most of its honors duringits first great baptism of fire.

The casualties of the 92nd Division amounted to anaggregate of 1,511 of all kinds. Six officerswere killed in action and one died from wounds.Among the non-commissioned officers and privates 103were killed in action, 50 died from wounds, 47 weremissing in action and five were taken prisoner.Forty enlisted men died from disease. Sixteenofficers and 543 enlisted men were wounded; thirty-nineofficers and 661 enlisted men were gassed. Thenumber of gassed was unusually large, a reason being,perhaps, that the men in the front line trenches wereexceptionally daring in making raids into the enemy’sterritory. One of the main reliances of the Germansagainst these raids was poison gas, a plentiful supplyof which they kept on hand at all times, and whichthey could utilize quickly and with great facility.

The small number in this division who were taken prisonerby the enemy verifies the assertion made before thatthe Negro would sacrifice his life or submit to deadlywounds rather than be captured. When only fiveout of a total of about 30,000 fell into the Germans’hands alive, it gives some idea of the desperate resistancethey put up. Perhaps the stories they had heardabout the wanton slaughter of prisoners by the Hunor the brutalities practiced on those who were permittedto live, had something to do with the attitude ofthe Negroes against being captured; but a more likelysolution is that their very spirit to advance andwin and to accept death in preference to being conquered,caused the small number in the prisoner list, and thelarge number in the lists of other casualties.

Considering the desperate advance made by the 92ndDivision from Pont a Mousson the morning of November10th, through a valley swept by the tremendous gunsof Metz and thousands of machine guns, the casualtylist really is slight.

Advancing over such dangerous ground to gain theirobjective, it appears miraculous that the divisionwas not wiped out, or at least did not suffer moreheavily than it did. An explanation of this seemingmiracle has been offered in the rapidity of the advance.

No two battles are ever fought alike. Offensivesand defensives will be planned along certain lines.Then will suddenly obtrude the element of surpriseor something that could not be foreseen or guardedagainst, which will overturn the most carefully preparedplans.

No soldiers in the world were ever trained to a higherdegree of efficiency than the Germans. Mathematicalprecision ruled everywhere; the ultimate detail hadbeen considered; and all students of military matterswere forced to admit that they had reduced warfareseemingly, to an exact science. But it was amistake. The Germans were the victims of surprisetimes innumerable. Some of the greatest eventsof the war, notably the first defeat at the Marnein its strategic features, was a complete surpriseto them.

Everything about war, can, it seems, be reduced toa science except strategy. Certain rules canbe laid down governing strategy, but they do not alwayswork. Generally speaking, it is psychology; somethingwhich exists in the other man’s mind. Toread the other man’s mind or make a good guessat it, defeats the most scientifically conceived strategy.Napoleon outwitted the best military brains and washimself the greatest strategist of his time, becausehe invariably departed from fixed military customsand kept his opponent entirely at sea regarding whathe was doing or intended to do. Very seldom didhe do the thing which his enemy thought he would do;which seemed most likely and proper according to militaryscience. He thought and acted quickly in crises,relied constantly on the element of surprise and inventednew strategy on the spur of the moment.

It was the big new strategy, the big new surprises,with which the Germans found themselves unable tocope. The strategy of Foch which developed inthe offensive shortly after the battle of Chateau Thierryin July and was well under way in the early part ofAugust, was a surprise to the Germans. Pershingsurprised them in his St. Mihiel and following operations,especially the battles of Argonne Forest, and hada greater surprise in store for them in the Lorrainecampaign had the war continued.

Perhaps the Germans figured at Metz, that owing tothe extreme difficulty of the ground to be covered,their strong fortifications and great gun power, anyadvance, especially of Negro troops, would be slow.They accordingly timed their artillery action and theirdefensive measures for a slow assault.

But they were surprised again. Officers couldnot hold back the Negro fighters and German guns andsoldiers could not stop them. They plunged onto Preny and Pagny, and they rushed into the Bois Frehaut,and held for thirty-six hours, this place from whichpicked Moroccan and Senegalese troops were forcedto retreat in ten minutes after they had entered it.The Bois Frehaut was an inferno under the murderousfire of the Germans. Holding it for thirty-sixhours and remaining there until hostilities ceased,it is surprising that the casualty list of the 92ndDivision did not amount to many times 1,511.

It is not intended to convey the impression that theNegroes were entirely responsible for the victorybefore Metz. Many thousands of white troops participatedand fought just as valiantly. But this Historyconcerns itself with the operations of Negro soldiersand with bringing out as many of the details of thoseoperations as the records at this time will supply.

CHAPTER XXI

THE LONG, LONG TRAIL

Operations of 368th infantry—­negroesfrom Pennsylvania, Maryland andsouth—­in Argonne hell—­defeatiron cross veterans—­valiantpersonal exploits—­lieutenantRobert Campbell—­private JohnBaker—­operations of 367thinfantry—­“Moss’s buffaloes”—­365Thand 366th regiments—­thegreat divide—­their soulsare marching on—­praisedby Pershing—­some citations

When the history of the 92nd Division is written indetail, much prominence will necessarily be givento the operations of the 368th Infantry. Thisunit was composed of Negroes mostly from Pennsylvania,Maryland and the Southern states. They went abroadhappy, light-hearted boys to whom any enterprise outsideof their regular routine was an adventure. Theyreceived adventure a plenty; enough to last most ofthem for their natural lives. They returned matured,grim-visaged men who had formed a companionship anda comradeship with death. For months they wereaccustomed to look daily down the long, long trailleading to the Great Divide. They left behindmany who traveled the trail and went over the Divide.Peril was their constant attendant, danger so familiarthat they greeted it with a smile.

It has been noted that this unit of the division sawreal service prior to the campaign leading from PontMousson to Metz. Their first action was in Augustin the Vosges sector. This was largely day andnight raiding from front line trenches. A monthlater they were in that bit of hell known as the ArgonneForest, where on September 26th, they covered themselveswith glory.

They were excellent soldiers with a large number ofNegro officers, principally men who had been promotedfrom the ranks of non-commissioned officers in theRegular Army.

Their commander during the last six weeks of the war,the time when they saw most of their hard service,was Lieutenant Colonel T.A. Rothwell, a RegularArmy officer. He went abroad as commander of amachine gun battalion in the 80th Division, laterwas transferred to the 367th infantry and finallyto the 368th. Many of the officers of the latterorganization had served under Colonel Rothwell as non-commissionedofficers of the Regular Army. He paid them a hightribute in stating that they proved themselves excellentdisciplinarians and leaders. He was also veryproud of the enlisted men of the regiment.

“The Negroes proved themselvesespecially good soldiers during gas attacks,”said Colonel Rothwell, “which were numerous andof a very treacherous nature. During thewet weather the gas would remain close to theground and settle, where it was comparatively harmless,but with the breaking out of the sun it would risein clouds suddenly and play havoc with the troops.”

Green troops as they were, it is related that therewas a little confusion on the occasion of their firstbattle, when the regiment encountered barbed wireentanglements for the first time at a place in thewoods where the Germans had brought their crack gunnersto keep the line. But there was no cowardiceand the confusion soon subsided. They quicklygot used to the wire, cut their way through and cleanedout the gunners in record time.

Every one of the enemy picked up in that section ofthe woods was wearing an iron cross; the equivalentof the French Croix de Guerre or the American DistinguishedService Cross. It showed that they belonged tothe flower of the Kaiser’s forces. But theywere no match for the “Black Devils,”a favorite name of the Germans for all Negro troops,and applied by them with particular emphasis to thesetroops and others of the 92nd Division.

On October 10th, the regiment went to Metz and tookpart in all the operations leading up to that campaignand the close of the war. In the Argonne, beforeMetz and elsewhere, they were subjected constantlyto gas warfare. They behaved remarkably wellunder those attacks.

Major Benjamin P. Morris, who commanded the ThirdBattalion, has stated that in the drive which startedSeptember 26th, he lost nearly 25 per cent of hismen through wounding or gassing. The battalionwon eight Distinguished Service Crosses in that attackand the Major was recommended for one of the coveteddecorations.

The regiment lost forty-four men killed in action,thirteen died from wounds and eight were missing inaction. The list of wounded and gassed ran overthree hundred.

Individual exploits were quite numerous and were valiantin the extreme. Here is an instance:

It became necessary to send a runner with a messageto the left flank of the American firing line.The way was across an open field offering no coveringor protection of any kind, and swept by heavy enemymachine gun fire.

Volunteers were called for. A volunteer undersuch circ*mstances must be absolutely fearless.The slightest streak of timidity or cowardice wouldkeep a man from offering his services. PrivateEdward Saunders of Company I, responded for the duty.Before he had gone far a shell cut him down.As he fell he cried to his comrades:

“Someone come and get this message. I amwounded.”

Lieutenant Robert L. Campbell, a Negro officer ofthe same company sprang to the rescue. He dashedacross the shell-swept space, picked up the woundedprivate, and, with the Germans fairly hailing bulletsaround him, carried his man back to the lines.There was the case of an officer who considered itmore important to save the life of a heroic, valuablesoldier than to speed a message. Besides the woundedman could proceed no farther and there were otherways of getting the message through and it was sent.

[Illustration: Wounded negro soldiersconvalescing in base hospital.In the picture are two coloredwomen ambulance Drivers.]

[Illustration: Sample of identitycard carried by soldiers ofthe American expeditionary forces.Each identification was printedin English and French andincluded A photograph of the owner.The number on the card correspondingwith A Metal Tag on the man’sarm.]

[Illustration: Negro officers of366th infantry who achieved distinctionin France. Left to right.Lieut C.L. Abbott, Capt. Jos.L. Lowe, lieut. A.R. Fisher,Capt. E. White.]

[Illustration: Distinguished officersof the 6th Illinois (370thinfantry). First row, leftto right, Capt. D.J. Warner,A.H. Jones. Lieut. E.G.White, lieut. J.D. Rainey,lieut. Bernard McGWIN. Secondrow—­lieut. Luther J.Harris, lieut. Alvin M. Jordan,lieut. E.L. Goodlett, lieut.J.T. Baker. Third row, lieut.F.J. Johnson, lieut. JeromeL. Hubert.]

[Illustration: Distinguished officersof 8th Illinois (370th infantry).Left to right, lieut. Lawsonprice, lieut. O.A. Browning,lieut. W. Stearles, Capt.Lewis E. Johnson, lieut. EdmondG. White, lieut. F.W. Bates,lieut. E.F.E. Williams, lieut.Binga Dismond.]

[Illustration: Colonel Charles young,ranking negro officer of theregular army. One of threewho have been commissioned fromthe united states military academyat west point. A veteran officerof the Spanish-American warand western campaigns. Detailedto active service, camp grant,Rockford, Illinois. During theworld war.]

[Illustration: Two noted partisansof the allies in the greatworld war: Mrs. J.H.H. SENGSTACKE,and her famous son, RobertSENGSTACKE Abbott, editor and publisherof the Chicago defender. Itwas Mrs. SENGSTACKE who, whenthe defender had reached theone hundred thousand mark ofits circulation, started the pressthat ran off the edition,flaming with cheer an inspirationfor “Our boys” In thetrenches “Over there.”]

[Illustration: Reunited and happy.Lieut. Colonel Otis B. Duncanof 8th Illinois (370th infantry),who came out of the warthe ranking negro in theAmerican expeditionary forces; hisfather and mother.]

[Illustration: Miss Vivian Harsh,member Chicago chapter of canteenworkers, passing out smokes toreturned soldiers of 8th Illinois(370th infantry).]

[Illustration: Officers of 8thIllinois (370th infantry). Decoratedby French for gallantry inaction. Left to right.Lieut. Thomas A. Painter, Capt.Stewart Alexander, lieut. FrankRobinson.]

For the valor shown both were cited for the DistinguishedService Cross. Lieutenant Campbell’s superiorsalso took the view that in that particular instancethe life of a brave soldier was of more importancethan the dispatch of a message, for as a result, hewas recommended for a captaincy.

Another single detail taken from the same CompanyI:

John Baker, having volunteered, was taking a messagethrough heavy shell fire to another part of the line.A shell struck his hand, tearing away part of it,but the Negro unfalteringly went through with the message.

He was asked why he did not seek aid for his woundsbefore completing the journey. His reply was:

“I thought thatthe message might contain information that would
save lives.”

Has anything more heroic and unselfish than that everbeen recorded? Nature may have, in the opinionsof some, been unkind to that man when she gave hima dark skin, but he bore within it a soul, than whichthere are none whiter; reflecting the spirit of hisCreator, that should prove a beacon light to all menon earth, and which will shine forever as a “gemof purest ray serene” in the Unmeasurable andgreat Beyond.

Under the same Lieut. Robert Campbell, a fewcolored soldiers armed only with their rifles, trenchknives, and hand grenades, picked up from shell holesalong the way, were moving over a road in the ChateauThierry sector. Suddenly their course was crossedby the firing of a German machine gun. They triedto locate it by the sound and direction of the bullets,but could not. To their right a little ahead,lay a space covered with thick underbrush; just backof it was an open field. Lieutenant Campbellwho knew by the direction of the bullets that hisparty had not been seen by the Germans, ordered oneof his men with a rope which they happened to have,to crawl to the thick underbrush and tie the ropeto several stems of the brush; then to withdraw asfast as possible and pull the rope making the brushshake as though men were crawling through it.The purpose was to draw direct fire from the machinegun, and by watching, locate its position.

The ruse worked. Lieutenant Campbell then orderedthree of his men to steal out and flank the machinegun on one side, while he and two others moved upand flanked it on the other side.

The brush was shaken more violently by the concealedrope. The Germans, their eyes focused on thebrush, poured a hail of bullets into it. LieutenantCampbell gave the signal and the flanking party dashedup; with their hand grenades they killed four of theBoches and captured the remaining three—­alsothe machine gun. There was an officer who couldthink and plan in an emergency, and evolve strategylike a Napoleon.

First Lieutenant Edward Jones, of the Medical Corpsof the regiment, was cited for heroism at Binarville.On September 27th Lieutenant Jones went into an openarea subjected to direct machine gun fire to care fora wounded soldier who was being carried by anotherofficer. While dressing the wounded man, a machinegun bullet passed between his arms and body and aman was killed within a few yards of him.

In a General Order issued by the commander of thedivision, General Martin, Second Lieutenant NathanO. Goodloe, one of the Negro officers of the regimentalMachine Gun Company, was commended for excellent workand meritorious conduct. During the operationsin the Argonne forest, Lieutenant Goodloe was attachedto the Third Battalion. In the course of actionit became necessary to reorganize the battalion andwithdraw part of it to a secondary position.He carried out the movement under a continual machinegun fire from the enemy. General Martin said:“Lieutenant Goodloe’s calm courage setan example that inspired confidence in his men.”

General Martin also cited for meritorious conductnear Vienne le Chateau, Tom Brown, a wagoner, whoas driver of an ammunition wagon, displayed remarkablecourage, coolness and devotion to duty under fire.Brown’s horses had been hurled into a ditch byshells and he was injured. In spite of his painfulwounds he worked until he had extricated his horsesfrom the ditch, refusing to quit until he had completedthe work even though covered with blood from his hurts.

Private Joseph James of the 368th, received the DistinguishedService Cross for extraordinary heroism in action,September 27th, in the Argonne forest.

A regiment of the 92nd Division which gained distinction,received its share of decorations and was mentionedseveral times in General Orders from the high officers,was the 367th Infantry, “Moss’s Buffaloes.”This title was attached to them while they were undergoingtraining at Yaphank, N.Y., under Colonel James A.Moss of the Regular Army. It stuck to the outfitall through the war and became a proud title, a synonymof courage and fighting strength.

The 367th went to France in June 1918 and spent twomonths training back of the lines. It was sentto supporting trenches August 20th and finally tothe front line at St. Die, near Lorraine border.It remained there until September 21st and was thentransferred to the St. Mihiel salient where Pershingdelivered his famous blow, the one that is said tohave broken the German heart. It was at any rate,a blow that demonstrated the effectiveness of theAmerican fighting forces. In a few days the overseascommander of the Yankee troops conquered a salientwhich the enemy had held for three years and whichwas one of the most menacing positions of the entireline.

On October 9th, the regiment was sent to the leftbank of the Moselle, where it remained until the signingof the armistice.

Colonel Moss was taken from combatant duty early inOctober to become an instructor at the training schoolat Gondrecourt, the regiment passing under the commandof Colonel W.J. Doane.

Composed of selectives mostly from the state of NewYork, the regiment was trained with a view to developinggood assault and shock troops, which they were.

Casualties of all descriptions in the 367th, amountedto about ten per cent of the regimental strength.A number of decorations for personal bravery werebestowed, and the regiment as a whole was cited andpraised by General Pershing in his review of the 92ndDivision at Le Mans.

The entire First Battalion of the 367th, was citedfor bravery and awarded the Croix de Guerre by theFrench. The citation was made by the French Commissionbecause of the splendid service and bravery shown bythe regiment in the last engagement of the war, Sundayand Monday, November 10th and 11th in the drive toMetz. The men went into action through the bloodyvalley commanded by the heavy guns of Metz, and heldthe Germans at bay until the 56th regiment could retreat,but not until it had suffered a heavy loss. TheFirst Battalion was commanded by Major Charles L.Appleton of New York, with company commanders andlieutenants, Negroes.

Another distinguished component of the 92nd Divisionwas the 365th Infantry made up of selectives principallyfrom Chicago and other parts of Illinois. Thisregiment saw about the same service as the 367th,perhaps a little more severe, as the casualties weregreater. In the action at Bois Frehaut in thedrive on Metz, the 365th lost forty-three men killedin action and dead from wounds. In addition therewere thirty-two missing in action, most of whom werekilled or succumbed to wounds. About 200 werewounded or gassed.

In General Orders, issued by the commander of thedivision, a number of Negro officers, non-commissionedofficers and privates of the 365th were commendedfor meritorious conduct in the actions of November10th and 11th. Those named were; Captain JohnH. Allen, First Lieutenants Leon F. Stewart, FrankL. Drye, Walter Lyons, David W. Harris, and BenjaminF. Ford; Second Lieutenants George L. Games and RussellC. Atkins; Sergeants Richard W. White John Simpson,Robert Townsend, Solomon D. Colson, Ransom Elliottand Charles Jackson; Corporals Thomas B. Coleman,Albert Taylor, Charles Reed and James Conley, and PrivatesEarl Swanson, Jesse Cole, James Hill, Charles Whiteand George Chaney.

Captain Allen of the Machine Gun Company of the 365th,died in France of pneumonia. Only a short timebefore his death he had been awarded the DistinguishedService Cross by General Pershing, for exceptionalgallantry before Metz.

Private Robert M. Breckenridge of Company B, 365thregiment, also gave his life in France, but had receivedthe Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinaryheroism in action at Ferme de Belwir, October 29th,1918.

Corporal Russell Pollard of Company H received hisDistinguished Service Cross shortly before his returnhome. He was cited for extraordinary heroismin action in the first days battle at Metz.

The remaining infantry regiment of the Division notheretofore specially mentioned, was the 366th, a highlyefficient organization of selectives assembled fromthe mobilization and training camps of various sectionsof the country. Like the other regiments of thedivision, the greater number of these men were assembledin the autumn of 1917, trained continuously in thiscountry until the early part of the summer of 1918,sent to France and given at least two months’intensive training there. During the trainingperiods their instructors were mostly officers fromthe Regular Army or the military instruction schoolsof this country and France. Some English officersalso assisted in the training. That they possessedthe requisite intelligence for absorbing the instructionthey received is evidenced by the high type of soldierinto which they developed, their records in battle,and the unstinted praise which they received fromtheir superior officers, the French commanders andothers who witnessed or were familiar with their service.

The 366th went through the campaign in the Marbachesector and suffered all its rigors and perils.In the final two days of fighting they were rightat the front and achieved distinction to the extentthat in the review at Le Mans they also were singledout by General Pershing for special commendation.During the campaign the regiment had a loss of forty-threemen killed in action or died of wounds. Sevenmen were missing in action. The wounded and gassedwere upwards of 200.

In General Orders issued by the commander of the division,First Lieutenant John Q. Lindsey was cited for braverydisplayed at Lesseux; Sergeant Isaac Hill for braverydisplayed at Frapelle and Sergeant Walter L. Grossfor distinguished service near Hominville. Thesem*n were all colored and all of the 366th regiment.

Wherever men were cited in General Orders or otherwise,it generally followed that they received the DistinguishedService Cross or some other coveted honor.

CHAPTER XXII

GLORY THAT WONT COME OFF

167Th first negro artillery brigade—­“Likeveterans” Said Pershing—­firstartillery to be motorized—­recordby Dates—­selected forLorraine campaign—­best educatednegroes in American forces—­alwaysstood by their guns—­chaplain’sestimate—­left splendid impression—­testimonyof French mayors—­Christianbehavior—­soldierly qualities.

To the 92nd Division belonged the distinction of havingthe first artillery brigade composed entirely of Negroes,with the exception of a few commissioned officers,ever organized in this country. In fact, theregiments composing the brigade, the 349th, the 350thand 351st were the first complete artillery regimentsof Negroes and the only important Negro organizationsin the artillery branch of the service, ever formedin this country.

Their record was remarkable considering the brieftime in which they had to distinguish themselves,and had the war continued, they would surely havegained added glory; General Pershing in the reviewat Le Mans complimenting them particularly, statingthat when the armistice came he was planning importantwork for them. Following are the general’swords which brought much pride to the organization:

“Permit me to extend to the officersand men of the 167th Field Artillery Brigade,especially the 351st regiment, my congratulationsfor the excellent manner in which they conducted themselvesduring the twelve days they were on the front.The work of the unit was so meritorious thatafter the accomplishments of the brigade werebrought to my attention I was preparing to assignthe unit to very important work in the secondoffensive. You men acted like veterans,never failing to reach your objective, once ordershad been given you. I wish to thank you for yourwork.”

The unit was organized largely from men of WesternPennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Maryland andVirginia. Camp Meade, near Washington, D.C.,was their principal training point from the fall of1917 until June, 1918, when they went abroad.

To the brigade belongs the additional distinctionof being the first in the service to be motorized.Tractors hauled the big guns along the front at arate of twelve miles an hour, much better than couldhave been done with horses or mules.

Brigadier General W.E. Cole commanded the unituntil about the middle of September, 1918, when hewas elevated to a major generalship and the commandof the 167th passed to Brigadier General John H. Sherburne.In a General Order issued by the latter shortly beforehe left the unit, he said:

“I will ever cherish the wordsof the Commander in Chief, the compliment hepaid, in all sincerity to this brigade, when he watchedit pass in review. I wish the brigade to understandthat those words of appreciation were evokedonly because each man had worked conscientiouslyand unflaggingly to make the organization a success.The men went into the line in a manner to win the praiseof all.”

The history of the brigade from the time it left CampMeade until the end of the war may be summarized asfollows:

June 27—­Disembarked from ship at Brest,France.

July 2—­Started for the training area, reachingthere July 4.

July 5—­Began a period of six weeks trainingat Lathus in the
Montmorillion section.

August 20—­Went to La Courtine and remaineduntil September 16th, practicing at target range.Its gun squads excelled in target work and the brigade,especially the 351st regiment, won distinction there.

October 4—­Finished training at La Courtineand moved into a sector directly in front of Metz,where about three weeks were spent in obtaining thetractors and motor vehicles necessary for a completelymotorized artillery outfit.

October 25—­Preparing for action. Theenemy had noted the great movement of troops in thevicinity and German planes constantly hovered overthe unit dropping missiles of death upon it.

The brigade supported the infantry of the divisionin its attacks on Eply, Cheminot, Bouxieres, BoisFrehaut, Bois La Cote, Champey, Vandieres, Pagny andMoulin Farm. Attacks of more than mediocre importancewere: Pagny, November 4 and 5; Cheminot, November6, Epley, November 7; Bois Frehaut, November 10; BoisLa Cote and Champey, November 11.

In addition to those attacks certain machine gun nestsof the enemy were destroyed and strategic points werebombarded. During the entire advance the batteriesof the brigade were in front positions and very active.The attack on Bois La Cote and Champey began at 4:30in the morning and ended just fifteen minutes beforethe beginning of the armistice. During the engagementthe batteries kept up such a constant fire that theguns were almost white with heat.

Private Carl E. Southall of 2538 Elba street, Pittsburgh,Pa., claims to have fired the brigade’s lastshot. He was a member of Battery D, 351st regiment.When the watch showed the last minute of the war, hejumped forward, got to the gun ahead of his comradesand fired.

Had the war continued the artillery brigade wouldhave taken part in the offensive which was to havebegun after November 11 with twenty French and sixAmerican divisions investing Metz and pushing eastthrough Lorraine.

The history of one regiment in the artillery outfitis practically the same as another, with the exceptionthat the 351st seems to have had the most conspicuousservice. This unit of the brigade was commandedby Colonel Wade H. Carpenter, a West Pointer.

Owing to the technical requirements, a thorough knowledgeof mathematics especially being necessary before onecan become a good non-commissioned or commissionedofficer of artillery, this branch of the service appealsto men of schooling. It has been claimed thatthe 351st regiment contained the best educated groupof Negroes in the American forces; most of them beingcollege or high school men. They were praisedhighly by their officers, especially by Colonel Carpenter:

“When the regimenttrained at Camp Meade,” he said, “the menshowed
the best desire, tomake good soldiers. In France they outdid their
own expectations andshed glory for all.

“We didn’tget into action until October 28th, but after thatwe
kept at the Germansuntil the last day.

“The men of the 351st were soanxious to get into service that before theywere ordered to the front they found it difficult torestrain their impatience at being held back.However, their long training in France did thema lot of good, the experience of being taughtby veteran Americans and Frenchmen proving of greatvalue when it came to actual battle.

“They never flinchedunder fire, always stood by their guns and
made the famous 155millimeter French guns, with which we were
equipped, fairly smoke.

“I have been a regular army manfor many years, and have always been in commandof white troops. Let me say to you that neverhave I commanded a more capable, courageous andintelligent regiment than this. It wouldgive me the greatest pleasure to continue my armycareer in command of this regiment of Negroes.

“Not only wastheir morale splendid but they were especially ready
to accept discipline.They idolized their officers and would have
followed them throughhell if necessary.

“Fortunately, though many werewounded by shrapnel and a number made ill bygas fumes, we suffered no casualties in the slaincolumn. About twenty-five died of sicknessand accidents, but we lost none in action.

“When the armistice came ourhits were making such tremendous scores againstthe enemy that prisoners taken by the Americans declaredthe destruction wrought by the guns was terrific.On the last day and in the last hour of the warour guns fairly beat a rat-a-tat on the enemypositions. We let them have it while we could.”

Lieutenant E.A. Wolfolk, of Washington, D.C.,chaplain of the regiment, said:

“The morale and morals of themen were splendid. Disease of the serioustype was unknown. The men were careful to keepwithin bounds. They gave their officersno trouble, and each man strove to keep up thehigh standard expected of him. From the time wereached France in June, 1918, until the timewe quit that country we worked hard to maintaina clean record and we certainly succeeded.”

At the Moselle river, Pont a Mousson and Madieres,the regiment first saw action. The first andsecond battalions went into action immediately inthe vicinity of St. Genevieve and Alton. The thirdbattalion crossed the river and went into action inthe vicinity of Pont a Mousson. That was on October31st. The balance of the regiment’s servicecorresponds to that of the brigade, already mentioned.

As already gleaned from the reports of generals, regimentalofficers and the testimony of the chaplain of the351st, the artillery boys created a good impressionand left behind them a clean record everywhere.It has remained for the officers of the 349th regimentto preserve this in additional documentary form inthe shape of regimental orders and letters from themayors of French towns in which the regiment stoppedor was billeted. The following are some of thebulletins and letters:

Headquarters349th Field
Artillery, American Expeditionary
Forces, France, A.P.O. 722,
September 6, 1918.
The following letter having been received, ispublished
for the information of the regiment, and will be readat retreat Saturday, September 7, 1918. By orderof
colonel Moore.
Joseph H. McNALLY, Captain and Adjutant.
French republic
Town Hall of Montmorillion
(Vienne)
Montmorillion, August 12,1918.
Dear Colonel:
At the occasion of your departure permit me toexpress
to you my regrets and those of the whole population.
From the very day of its arrival your regiment,by its
behavior and its military appearance, it excited the
admiration of all of us.
Of the sojourn of yourself and your colored soldiers
among us we will keep the best memory and rememberyour
regiment as a picked one.
From the beginning a real brotherhood was established
between your soldiers and our people, who were gladto
welcome the gallant allies of France.
Having learned to know them, the whole population
holds them in great esteem, and we all join in sayingthe
best of them.
I hope that the white troops replacing your regiment
will give us equal satisfaction; but whatever theirattitude may be, they cannot surpass your 349th FieldArtillery. Please accept the assurance of mybest and most
distinguished feelings.
G. De Font-REAULX,
Assistant Mayor.
Headquarters 349th Field
Artillery, American Expeditionary
Forces, France, A.P.O.766,
January 25, 1919.
The following letter having been received ispublished
for the information of the regiment. By orderof
colonel O’NEIL.
George B. Compton, Captain and Adjutant.
MAIRIE de Domfront
(Orne)
Domfront, January 22, 1919.
The mayor of the town of Domfront has the verygreat
pleasure to state and declare that the 349th regiment

of
the 167th Field Artillery Brigade, has been billetedat
Domfront from the 28th of December, 1918, to the 22ndof
January, 1919, and that during this period the officers
as well as the men have won the esteem and sympathyof all the population.
The black officers as well as the white officershave
made here many friends, and go away leaving behindthem the best remembrances. As to the privatesoldiers, their behavior during the whole time hasbeen above all praise.
It is the duty of the mayor of Domfront to bidthe
general, officers and men a last farewell, and toexpress to all his thanks and gratitude for theirfriendly intercourse with the civilian population.
F. Berlin,Mayor.

After such testimony who can doubt the Christianlikebehavior and soldierly qualities of the black man?It has been noted that the artillerymen were in educationconsiderably above the average of the Negro forceabroad, but no severe criticism has been heard concerningthe conduct of any of the Negro troops in any partof France. The attitude of the French peoplehad much to do with this. The unfailing courtesyand consideration with which they treated the Negroesawoke an answering sentiment in the natures of thelatter. To be treated as Men, in the highestsense of the term, argued that they must return thattreatment, and it is not of record that they failedto give adequate return. Indeed the record tendsto show that they added a little for good measure,although it is hard to outdo a Frenchman in courtesyand the common amenities of life.

This showing of Negro conduct in France takes on increasedmerit when it is considered that the bulk of theirforces over there were selectives; men of all kindsand conditions; many of them from an environment notlikely to breed gentleness, self restraint or any ofthe finer virtues. But the leaders and the bestelement seem to have had no difficulty in impressingupon the others that the occasion was a sort of a trialof their race; that they were up for view and beingscrutinized very carefully. They made remarkablyfew false steps.

CHAPTER XXIII

NOR STORIED URN, NOR MOUNTING SHAFT

Glory not all spectacular—­braveforces behind the lines—­325thfield signal battalion—­composedof young negroes—­seereal fighting—­suffer casualties—­anexciting incident—­coloredsignal battalion A success—­RalphTyler’s stories—­burialof negro soldier at sea—­moreincidents of negro valor—­Aword from Charles M. Schwab.

Out of the glamor and spectacular settings of combatcomes most of the glory of war. The raids, theforays, the charges; the pitting of cold steel againstcold steel, the hand to hand encounters in trenches,the steadfast manning of machine guns and field piecesagainst deadly assault, these and kindred phases ofbattle are what find themselves into print. Becausethey lend themselves so readily to the word painteror to the artist’s brush, these lurid featuresare played to the almost complete exclusion of others,only slightly less important.

There are brave forces behind the lines, sometimesin front of the lines, about which little is writtenor pictured. Of these the most efficient andindispensable is the Signal Corps. While thisbranch of the service was not obliged to occupy frontline trenches; make raids for prisoners, or marchin battle formation into big engagements, it mustnot be supposed that it did not have a very dangerousduty to perform.

One of the colored units that made good most decisivelywas the 325th Field Signal Battalion of the 92nd Division.The men of this battalion had to string the wiresfor telegraphic and telephonic connections at timeswhen the enemy guns were trained upon them. Therefore,in many respects, their duty took them into situationsfully as dangerous as those of the combatant units.

This battalion was composed entirely of young Negroesexcepting the Lieutenant Colonel, Major and two orthree white line officers. With few exceptions,they were all college or high school boys, quite anumber of them experts in radio or electric engineering.Those who were not experts when the battalion wasformed, became so through the training which theyreceived.

Major Spencer, who was responsible for the formationof the battalion, the only Negro signal unit in theAmerican Army, was firm in the belief that Negroescould make good, and he remained with it long enoughto see his belief become a realization.

After arriving at Brest, June 19, 1918, the battalionproceeded to Vitrey, and from that town began a four-dayhike to Bourbonne les Baines. From that pointit proceeded after a few days to Visey, where theboys got their first taste of what was to be, later,their daily duties. Here the radio (wirelesstelegraphy) company received its quota of the latesttype of French instruments, a battery plant was establishedand a full supply of wire and other equipment issuedto Companies B and C. Here, too, the Infantry Signalplatoons of the battalion joined the outfit and sharedin the training.

A courage test and their first introduction into realfighting in addition to stringing wires and sendingand receiving radio messages, came on the afternoonof September 27th. A party including the Colonel,Lieutenant Herbert, the latter a Negro, and some Frenchliaison officers, advanced beyond the battalion postand soon found themselves outside the lines and directlyin front of a German machine gun nest.

The colonel divided his men into small groups andadvanced on the enemy’s position. The sortieresulted in the Signal boys capturing eight prisonersand two machine guns, but it cost the loss of CorporalCharles E. Boykin, who did not return. Two dayslater during a general advance, Sergeant Henry E.Moody was mortally wounded while at his post.Boykin was killed outright, while Sergeant Moody diedin the hospital, these being the first two of theSignal Battalion to make the supreme sacrifice.

On the 10th of October the 92nd Division, having takenover the Marbache sector and relieved the 167th FrenchDivision, the 325th Field Signal Battalion took overall existing lines of communication. In the daysfollowing they installed new lines and made connectionsbetween the various units of the division. Thiswas no small duty, when it is remembered that an armysector extends over a wide area of many square miles,including in it from 50 to 100 cities and towns.

The Marbache sector was an active front and time andtime again the boys went ahead repairing lines andestablishing new communications under shell fire,with no heed to personal danger—­inspiredonly by that ideal of the Signal Corps man—­getcommunication through at any cost, but get it through.

On the morning of November 10th, when the Second Armylaunched its attack on the famous Hindenburg linebefore Metz, the 92nd Division held the line of Vandieres—­St.Michel, Xon and Norry. The engagement lastedfor twenty-eight hours continuously, during which timethe Signal Corps functioned splendidly and as oneman, keeping up communications, installing new linesand repairing those shelled out.

One of the most exciting incidents was that participatedin by the First Platoon of the Signal Battalion onthe first day of the Metz battle. Shortly afterthe lighter artillery barrage was lifted, the big gunsof the enemy began shelling Pont a Mousson. Thefirst shells hit on the edge of the city and thenthey began peppering the Signal Battalion’sstation.

Sergeant Rufus B. Atwood of the First Platoon wasseated in the cellar near the switchboard; PrivateEdgar White was operating the switchboard, and PrivateClark the buzzerphone. Several officers and menwere standing in the “dugout” cellar.Suddenly a shell struck the top, passed through theceiling and wall and exploded, making havoc of thecellar.

[Illustration: Officers of the15th new York (369th infantry),marching in parade prior tothe war. Left to right—­col.Wm. Hayward, Bert Williams. Famouscomedian and Dr. G. McSWEENEY.]

[Illustration: After the war.One of the number of automobilesbearing wounded officers and soldiersof the 15th new York (369thinfantry). Major David L.’Esperance (with Helmet) andmajor LORRILARD Spencer.]

[Illustration: A representative groupof negro officers of “Moss’sbuffaloes” (167Th infantry).The little Lady with the Bouquetis one of their French acquaintances.]

[Illustration: Captain John H. Patton,regimental adjutant, 8th Illinoisinfantry. From June 26, 1916, toSeptember 11, 1918. Commanding 2ndbattalion, 370th infantry, fromSeptember 11. 1918, To December 25.1918. Saint Mihiel sector fromJune 21, 1918, to July 3, 1918.Argonne forest from July 6, 1916,to August 15, 1918. Battles forMont des Signes, from September16 to 30, 1918. Oise-AllSNE offensive,from September 717 1918. To November11, 1918. Awarded the French Croixde Guerre for meritorious servicecovering period from September11 to November II, 1918.]

[Illustration: Emil Laurent, negrocorporal of 8th Illinois (370thinfantry), A Croix de Guerre Winner,engaged in field telephone servicein A French wood.]

[Illustration: Group of “Hellfighters” (369Th infantry) withtheir jewelry (Croix de Guerre).Front row, left to right,“Eagle eye” Edward Williams,“Lamp light” Herb Taylor,Leon Trainor, “Kid Hawk”Ralph Hawkins, back row, leftto right, Sergt. M.D. Primus,Sergt. Daniel Storms, “KidWONEY” Joe Williams, “KidBuck” Alfred Hanly and Corp.T.W. Taylor.]

[Illustration: Dr. Joseph H. Wardon transport France. The onlynegro attaining the rank ofmajor in the medical corpsof the American expeditionaryforces.]

[Illustration: Captain Napoleon B.Marshall, famous Harvard athlete,who helped organize 15th newYork and was one of itsoriginal negro officers. Hewas seriously wounded at Metz.]

[Illustration: Brave negroes homewardbound from war. First callfor dinner.]

[Illustration: “Moss’s buffaloes”(367Th infantry), reviewed bygovernor Whitman after flag presentationin front of union league club,new York.]

[Illustration: The “Buffaloes”(367Th infantry), returning tonew York after valiant servicein France. Their colors stillflying.]

[Illustration: Soldiers who distinguishedthemselves at the fortress ofMetz. Group belonging to 365thinfantry arriving at Chicago station.]

[Illustration: Homeward bound inA Pullman car. No “Jimcrowing there.” The negrobears on his shoulder thecitation cord and emblem denotingvalorous service.]

Lieutenant Walker, who arrived just at this time,took hold of matters with admirable coolness and presenceof mind. Sergeant Atwood tried out the switchboardand found all lines broken. He also found on tryingit the buzzerphone out. Lieutenant Walker gaveorders to Private White to stay on the switchboardand Corporal Adolphus Johnson to stay on the buzzerphone.The twelve-cord monocord board was nailed up by Whiteand then began the connecting up of the lines fromoutside to the monocord board. All this timethe shelling by the Germans was fierce and deadly.Shells struck all around the boys and one struck anearby ammunition dump, causing the explosion of thousandsof rounds of ammunition, which created a terrificshock and extinguished all the lights.

But still the men worked on and would not leave thedangerous post, a veritable target for the enemy’sbig guns, until the lieutenant of the Military Policearrived and ordered them out.

The 325th Field Signal Battalion was a great success.What the boys did not learn about radio, telephonicand telegraphic work would be of little advantageto anyone. It will be of great advantage to manyof them in the way of making a living in times ofpeace.

By the time the armistice stopped the fighting thedifferent units of the 92nd Division had taken manyprisoners and gained many objectives. They finallyretired to the vicinity of Pont a Mousson, where timewas spent salvaging material and cleaning equipment,while the men, knowing there was to be no more fighting,anxiously awaited the time until they were orderedto an embarkation point and thence home.

The trip home in February, 1919, was about as perilousto some of them as the war had been. It was aperiod of unusually rough weather. The northAtlantic, never very smooth during the winter months,put on some extra touches for the returning Negrosoldiers. An experience common to many on severaldifferent transports has been described by MechanicCharles E. Bryan of Battery B, 351st Artillery uponhis return to his home, 5658 Frankstown Avenue, Pittsburgh,Pa. Asked about his impressions of the war, hesaid that which impressed him the most was the stormat sea on the way home.

“That storm beat the war all hollow,”he said. “Me and my buddies were messingwhen the ship turned about eighteen somersaults, andwe all pitched on the floor, spilling soup and beansand things all over the ship.

“The lights went out and somehow the automaticbell which means ’abandon ship’ was rungby accident. We didn’t know it was an accident,and from the way the ship pitched we thought she wason her way down to look up one Mr. Davy Jones.So we made a break for the decks, and believe me,some of those lads who had come through battles andall sorts of dangers were about to take a dive overthe side if our officers had not started explainingin time.”

Stories of varying degrees of interest, some thrilling,some humorous and some pathetic to the last degree,have been brought back.

Ralph Tyler, the Negro newspaper man, who was sentto France as the official representative of the Afro-Americanpress by the Committee on Public Information, haswritten many of the incidents, and told others fromthe rostrum. He has told how the small insignificant,crowded freight cars in which the soldiers traveledlooked like Pullman parlor coaches to the Negro soldiers.

“To many of our people back inthe ‘States,’” wrote Mr. Tyler fromFrance, “who saw our boys embark on fineAmerican railroad coaches and Pullman sleepersto cover the first lap of their hoped-for pilgrimageto Berlin, the coaches they must ride in over herewould arouse a mild protest. I stood atVierzon, one of France’s many quaint oldtowns recently, and saw a long train of freight carsroll in, en route to some point further distant.In these cars with but a limited number of boxesto sit upon, and just the floors to stand upon,were crowded some 1,000 of our own colored soldiersfrom the States. But a jollier crowd neverrode through American cities in Pullman sleepersand diners than those 1,000 colored troopers.They accepted passage on these rude box freight carscheerfully, for they knew they were now in war,and palace cars, downy coaches and the usualAmerican railroad conveniences were neither availablenor desirable.

“The point I wish to convey tothe people back home is that did they but knowhow cheerfully, even eagerly our boys over here acceptwar time conveniences, they would not worry quite somuch about how the boys are faring. Theyare being wholesomely and plenteously fed; theyare warmly clothed, they are cheerful and uncomplainingas they know this is war and for that reason knowexactly what they must expect. To the soldierwho must at times sleep with but the canopy ofheaven as a covering, and the earth as a mattress,a box freight car that shields him from the rain andwind is a real luxury, and he accepts it as such.

“There need not be any worryback home as to the maintenance of our coloredsoldiers over here. They receive the same substantialfare the white soldier receives, and the whitesoldier travels from point to point in the samebox freight cars as afford means of passage forcolored soldiers. In short, when it comes tomaintenance and equipment, and consideration forthe comfort of the American soldier, to use atrite saying, ’the folks are as good as thepeople.’ There is absolutely no discrimination,and the cheerfulness of those 1,000 boys whosefreight cars became, in imagination, Pullmanpalace cars, was the proof to me that the coloredboys in the ranks are getting a fifty-fifty break.”

“Two more stories have come tome,” continues Mr. Tyler, “to prove thatour colored soldiers preserve and radiate their humoreven where shells and shrapnel fly thickest.A colored soldier slightly wounded in the Argonnefighting—­and let me assure you there was‘some’ fighting there—­satdown beside the road to wait for a chance toride to the field hospital. A comrade hasteningforward to his place in the line, and anxiousfor the latest news of the progressing battle,asked the wounded brother if he had been in the fight;did he know all about it, and how were things goingat the front. ‘I sure does know allabout it,’ the wounded man replied. ‘Well,what’s happened to them?’ quickly askedthe trooper on his way to the front. ‘Well,it was this way,’ replied the wounded one, ‘Iwas climbin’ over some barbed wire tryin’to get to those d—­n Boches, and theyshot me; that’s what I know about it.’

“A company water cart was followingthe advancing troops when a German shell burstin the ditch almost beside the cart. The horseon the shell side was killed, and the driver waswounded in the head. While the blood fromhis wound ran freely down his face, the drivertook one look at the wreckage, then started stumblingback along the road. A white lieutenantwho had seen it all stopped the driver of thecart and said:

“The dressingstation is—­”

“Before he could finish his sentence,the wounded driver, with the blood flowing inrivulets down his face, said: ’Dressingstation hell; I’m looking for another horseto hitch to that cart and take the place of theone the shell put out of commission.’

“That was a bitof nerve, grim humor and evidence of fidelity to
duty. A mere woundin the head could not stop that driver from
keeping up with thetroops with a needed supply of water.”

Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones, who went to France under theauspices of the Y.M.C.A., sent back the followingaccount of the burial of a Negro soldier at sea:

“A colored soldier was buriedat sea today. The flags on all the shipsof the fleet have been at half-mast all day. Itmattered not that the soldier came from a lowlycabin. It mattered not that his skin wasblack. He was a soldier in the army of the UnitedStates, and was on his way to fight for Democracyand Civilization.

“The announcement of his deathwas signalled to every commander and every shipprepared to do honor to the colored soldier. Asthe sun was setting the guard of honor, includingall the officers from commander down, came toattention. The body of the Negro trooper wrappedin the American flag, was tenderly carried to the sternof the ship. The chaplain read the solemnburial service. The engines of the fleetwere checked. The troop ship was stopped for theonly time in the long trip from America to Europe.The bugle sounded Taps and the body of the Americansoldier was committed to the great ocean andto God.

“The comradeship of the solemnoccasion was the comradeship of real Democracy.There was neither black nor white, North nor South,rich nor poor. All united in rendering honorto the Negro soldier who died in the serviceof humanity.”

First Lieutenant George S. Robb of the 369th Infantrywas cited for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidityabove and beyond the call of duty” in actionwith the enemy near Sechault, September 29 and 30,1918.

While leading his platoon in the assault at Sechault,Lieutenant Robb was severely wounded by machine gunfire, but rather than go to the rear for proper treatment,he remained with his platoon until ordered to thedressing station by his commanding officer. Returningwithin forty-five minutes, he remained on duty throughoutthe entire night, inspecting his lines and establishingoutposts. Early the next morning he was againwounded, once again displaying remarkable devotionto duty by remaining in command of his platoon.

Later the same day a bursting shell added two morewounds, the same shell killing the captain and twoother officers of his company. He then assumedcommand of the company and organized its position inthe trenches. Displaying wonderful courage andtenacity at the critical times, he was the only officerof his battalion who advanced beyond the town and,by clearing machine gun and sniping posts, contributedlargely to the aid of his battalion in holding itsobjective. His example of bravery and fortitudeand his eagerness to continue with his mission despitethe several wounds, set before the enlisted men ofhis command a most wonderful standard of morale andself-sacrifice. Lieutenant Robb lived at 308S. 12th Street, Salina, Kansas.

Second Lieutenant Harry C. Sessions, Company I, 372ndInfantry, was cited for extraordinary heroism in actionnear Bussy Farm, September 29, 1918.

Although he was on duty in the rear, Lieutenant Sessionsjoined his battalion and was directed by his battalioncommander to locate openings through the enemy’swire and attack positions. He hastened to thefront and cut a large opening through the wire inthe face of terrific machine gun fire. Just ashis task was completed, he was so severely woundedthat he had to be carried from the field. Hisgallant act cleared the way for the rush that capturedenemy positions.

In August, 1918, back in the Champagne, a German raidingparty captured a lieutenant and four privates belongingto the 369th Infantry, and was carrying them off whena lone Negro, Sergeant William Butler, a former elevatoroperator, made his presence known from a shell hole.He communicated with the lieutenant without the knowledgeof the Germans and motioned to him to flee. TheLieutenant signalled to the four privates to makea run from the Germans. As they started Butleryelled, “Look out, you Bush Germans! Herewe come,” and he let go with his pistol.He killed one Boche officer and four privates, andhis own men made good their escape. Later theGerman officer who had been in charge of this raidingparty was captured and his written report was obtained.In it he said that he had been obliged to let his prisonersgo because he was attacked by an “overwhelmingnumber of “blutlustige schwartzemaenner.”The overwhelming number consisted of Elevator OperatorBill Butler alone.

September 30th the 3rd Battalion, of the 370th Infantry,composed of down-state Illinois boys from Springfield,Peoria, Danville and Metropolis, achieved a notablevictory at Ferme de la Riviere. This battalion,under the brilliant leadership of Lieutenant ColonelOtis B. Duncan, made an advance of one kilometer againstenemy machine gun nests and succeeded in silencingthem, thereby allowing the line to advance. Thisbattalion of the Illinois down-state boys succeededin doing what, after three similar attempts by theirFrench comrades in arms, had proven futile. Duringthis engagement many were killed and wounded and manyofficers and men were cited and given decorations.

Company C, of the 370th, under the command of CaptainJames H. Smith, a Chicago letter-carrier, signallydistinguished itself by storming and taking the townof Baume and capturing three pieces of field artillery.For this the whole company was cited and the captainwas decorated with the Croix de Guerre and Palm.

Lieutenant Colonel Duncan, who has been attached tothe office of State Superintendent of Public Instructionof Illinois for over twenty years, is one of the greatestheroes the Negroes of America have produced. Hereturned as the ranking colored officer in the AmericanExpeditionary Forces. Instead of being merelyan assistant Colonel, he was actively in command ofone of the hardest fighting battalions in the regiment.He has been pronounced a man of native ability, anable tactician and of natural military genius.

Sergt. Norman Henry, 5127 Dearborn St., Chicago,attached to the 3d Machine Gun Company, 370th Infantry,won the Croix de Guerre and Distinguished ServiceCross. It was in the Soissons sector September30 in the first rush on the Hindenburg line.

All of the officers and men fell under a heavy machinegun barrage except two squads of which Sergeant Henrywas left in command. They took two German dugoutsand were cut off from their own line without food.They held the Germans off with one machine gun forthree days. Often the gun became jammed, butthey would take it apart and fix it before the enemycould get to them.

Lieut. Samuel S. Gordon, 3934 Indiana Avenue,Chicago, of the 370th Infantry, exposed himself toopen machine gun fire for six hours and effected therescue of two platoons which had been cut off by thebarrage.

Company H had been badly cut up in a sudden burstof machine gun fire. Lieutenant Gordon with somemen were rushed up to relieve what was left of thecompany, and while reconnoitering were cut off by thesame fire. A stream of water four feet deep laybetween them and their trenches. By standingin the stream, Lieutenant Gordon let the men crawlto the edge of the bank, where he lifted them acrosswithout their having to stand up and become targets.

Corporal Emile Laurent, 5302 So. Dearborn Street,Chicago, a member of the 370th Infantry, had a busytime dodging machine gun bullets one night near Soissons.Volunteering as a wire cutter, he crawled out withhis lieutenant’s automatic in one hand and thewire clippers in the other. Half a dozen machineguns were opened upon him as he sneaked along theterrain. “Never touched me,” he wouldyell every time a chunk of steel parted his hair.He was out for three hours and cut a broad line throughthe charged wire. Then he crawled back withouta mark on him.

Private Leroy Davis of the same regiment, won a decorationat the Aillette Canal for bringing a comrade backunder machine gun fire. When he got back to hisown lines he would not trust him with the ambulanceoutfit, but carried him three miles to the emergencydressing station and then he ran back to the canalto get even. This little stunt saved his comrade’slife.

Praise for the American soldier comes from CharlesM. Schwab, the eminent steel manufacturer, who waschosen by President Wilson to head the Emergency FleetCororation, and rendered such conspicuous service inthat position. Returning in February, 1919, froma trip to Europe, Mr. Schwab said in an interview:

“I have come back with ten timesthe good opinion I had of our soldiers for thework they did. Everywhere I went I found thatthe American soldiers had left a good impressionbehind and there was nothing but the greatestpraise for them.

“During the present voyage Ihave been among the colored troops on board andtalked with them and learned what American soldieringhas done for them. They are better men thanthey were when they went away.”

CHAPTER XXIV

THOSE WHO NEVER WILL RETURN

A study of war—­itscompensations and benefits—­itsravages and
debasem*nts—­burdens fallupon the weak—­toll ofdisease—­negroes
singularly healthy—­negroeskilled in battle—­deathsfrom wounds and other
causes—­remarkable physicalstamina of race—­housekeepingin
khaki—­healthiest war inhistory—­increased regardfor mothers—­an ideal
for child minds—­moraleand propaganda.

It has been said that war has its compensations noless than peace. This saying must have had referencelargely to the material benefits accruing to the victors—­thewealth gained from sacked cities, the territorialacquisitions and the increased prestige and prosperityof the winners. There is also an indirect compensationwhich can hardly be measured, but which is known toexist, in the increased courage inculcated, the banishmentof fear, the strengthened sense of devotion, heroismand self-sacrifice, and all those principles of manlinessand unselfishness which are inspired through war andreact so beneficially on the morals of a race.There are some, however, who contend that these compensationsdo not overbalance the pain, the heart-rending, thehorrors, brutalities and debasem*nts which come fromwar. Viewed in the most favorable light, withall its glories, benefits and compensations, war isstill far removed from an agreeable enterprise.

Like so many of the other material compensations oflife, its benefits accrue to the strong while itsburdens fall upon the weak. A contemplation ofthe maimed, the crippled and those stricken with disease,fails to engender anything but somber reflections.

Owing to the advancement of science, the triumph ofknowledge over darkness, the late war through theunusual attention given to the physical fitness ofthe soldiers, probably conferred a boon in sendingback a greater percentage of men physically improvedthan the toll of destroyed or deteriorated would show.Yet with all the improvement in medical and sanitaryscience, the fact remains that disease claimed morelives than bullets, bayonets, shrapnel or gas.

Negro soldiers in the war were singularly free fromdisease. Deaths from this cause were surprisinglyfew, the mortality being much lower than it wouldhave been among the same men had there been no war.This was due to the general good behavior of the troopsas testified to by so many commanding officers andothers. The men observed discipline, kept withinbounds and listened to the advice of those competentto give it.

Out of a total of between 40,000 and 45,000 Negrosoldiers who went into battle or were exposed to theenemy’s attack at some time, about 500 werekilled in action. Between 150 and 200 died ofwounds. Deaths from disease did not exceed 200and from accident not over fifty. Those who werewounded and gassed amounted to about 4,000.

It speaks very highly for the medical and sanitaryscience of the army as well as for the physical staminaof a race, when less than 200 died out of a totalof 4,000 wounded and gassed. The bulk of the battlecasualties were in the 93rd Division.

The figures as given do not seem very large, yet itis a fact that the battle casualties of the AmericanNegro forces engaged in the late war were not veryfar short of the entire battle casualties of the Spanish-Americanwar. In that conflict the United States lost lessthan 1,000 men in battle.

While battle havoc and ravages from disease were terribleenough, and brought sadness to many firesides, andwhile thousands of survivors are doomed to go throughlife maimed, suffering or weakened, there is a brighterside to the picture. Evidences are plentiful that“housekeeping in khaki” was not unsuccessful.

According to a statement issued by the War Departmentearly in 1919, the entire overseas army was comingback 18,000 tons heavier and huskier than when itwent abroad. Many of the returning soldiers foundthat they literally burst through the clothing whichthey had left at home. Compared with the recordstaken at time of enlistment or induction into thedraft forces, it is shown that the average increasein weight was twelve pounds to a man.

Improvement of course was due to the healthful physicaldevelopment aided by the seemingly ceaseless flowof wholesome food directed into the training campsand to France. Secretary Baker was very proudof the result and stated that the late war had beenthe healthiest in history. The test he appliedwas in the number of deaths from disease. Thebest previous record, 25 per 1,000 per year was attainedby the Germans in the Franco-Prussian war. Ourrecord in the late war was only eight per 1,000 peryear. The Medical Corps did heroic service inkeeping germs away, but cooks, clothing designersand other agencies contributed largely in the makingof bodies too healthy to permit germ lodgments.

The hell of war brought countless soldiers to therealization that no matter how much they believedthey had loved their mothers, they had never fullyappreciated how much she meant to them.

“I know, mother,” criedone youth broken on the field, whose mother foundhim in a hospital, “that I began to see overthere how thoughtless, indeed, almost brutal,I had always been. Somehow, in spite ofmy loving you, I just couldn’t talk to you.Why, when I think how I used to close up likea clam every time you asked me anything aboutmyself——­” He broke off andwith fervent humility kissed the hand in hisown. “Please forget it all, mother,”he whispered. “It’s never goingto be that way again. I found out over there—­Iknew what it was not to have anyone to tell thingsto—­and now, why you’ve got tolisten to me all the rest of your life, mother.”

Angelo Patri, the new York schoolmaster who has beenso successful in instilling ideals into the childmind has addressed himself to the children of today,they who will be the parents of tomorrow. Hiswords are:

“Man has labored through theages that you might be born free. Man hasfought that you might live in peace. He has studiedthat you might have learning. He has leftyou the heritage of the ages that you might carryon.

“Ahead are the children of thenext generation. It’s on, on, you mustbe going. You, too, are torch-bearers of liberty.You, too, must take your place in the searchfor freedom, the quest for the Holy Grail.’Twas for this you, the children of America wereborn, were educated. Fulfill your destiny.”

Morale and propaganda received more attention in thelate war than they ever did in any previous conflict.Before the end of the struggle the subject of moralewas taken up and set apart as one of the highly specializedbranches of the service. The specialists weredesignated as morale officers. They had manyproblems to meet and much smoothing over to do.In the army, an Americanism very soon attached to themand they became known as “fixers.”

With respect to the Negro, the section of the WarDepartment presided over by Emmett J. Scott was organizedand conducted largely for purposes of morale and propaganda.Much of the work was connected with good Americanpropaganda to counteract dangerous German propaganda.

It is now a known fact that the foe tried to lurethe Negro from his allegiance by lies and false promiseseven after he had gone into the trenches. Thishas been attested to publicly by Dr. Robert R. Moton,the head of Tuskegee Institute, who went abroad atthe invitation of President Wilson and Secretary Bakerto ascertain the spirit of the Negro soldiers there.

Dr. Moton was told of the German propaganda and thebrazen attempts made on members of the 92nd Divisionnear Metz. He gave the following as a sample:

“To the coloredsoldiers of the United States Army.

“Hello, boys,what are you doing over there? Fighting the Germans?
Why? Have theyever done you any harm?

“Do you enjoy the same rightsas the white people do in America, the land offreedom and democracy, or are you not rather treatedover there as second class citizens? Andhow about the law? Are lynchings and themost horrible crimes connected therewith a lawfulproceeding in a democratic country?

“Now, all this is entirely differentin Germany, where they do like colored people;where they treat them as gentlemen and not as secondclass citizens. They enjoy exactly the same privilegesas white men, and quite a number of colored peoplehave fine positions in business in Berlin andother German cities.

“Why then fightthe Germans? Only for the benefit of the Wall
street robbers and toprotect the millions they have loaned the
English, French andItalians?

“You have never seen Germany,so you are fools if you allow yourselves to hateus. Come over and see for yourselves. Tocarry a gun in this service is not an honor buta shame. Throw it away and come over tothe German lines. You will find friends who willhelp you along.”

Negro officers of the division told Dr. Moton thispropaganda had no effect. He said the Negroes,especially those from the South, were anxious to returnhome, most of them imbued with the ambition to becomeuseful, law-abiding citizens. Some, however, wereapprehensive that they might not be received in aspirit of co-operation and racial good will.This anxiety arose mainly from accounts of increasedlynchings and persistent rumors that the Ku Klux Clanwas being revived in order, so the rumor ran, “tokeep the Negro soldier in his place.”

After voicing his disbelief in these rumors, Dr. Motonsaid:

“The result of this working togetherin these war activities brought the whites andNegroes into a more helpful relationship. Itis the earnest desire of all Negroes that thesehelpful cooperating relationships shall continue.”

In conversation with a morale officer the writer wastold that the principal problem with the Negroes,especially after the selective draft, was in classifyingthem fairly and properly. Some were in everyway healthy but unfit for soldiers. Others wereof splendid intelligence and manifestly it was unjustto condemn them to the ranks when so many had excellentqualities for non-commissioned and commissioned grades.The Service of Supply solved the problem so far asthe ignorant were concerned; all could serve in thatbranch.

The officer stated that the trouble with the War Departmentand with too many other people, is the tendency totreat Negroes as a hom*ogeneous whole, which cannotbe done. Some are densely ignorant and some arehighly intelligent and well educated. In thisofficer’s opinion, there is as much differencebetween different types of Negroes as there is betweenthe educated white people and the uneducated mountaineersand poor whites of the South; or between the bestwhites of this and other countries and the totallyignorant peasants from the most oppressed nationsof Europe.

In the early stages of the war, there was a greatscarcity of non-commissioned officers—­sergeantsand corporals, those generals in embryo, upon whomso much depends in waging successful war. It wasa great mistake in the opinion of this informant,and he stated that the view was shared by many otherofficers, to take men from white units to act as non-commissionedofficers in Negro regiments, when there were availableso many intelligent, capable Negroes serving in theranks, who understood their people and would havedelighted in filling the non-commissioned grades.He also thought the same criticism applied to selectionsfor commissioned grades.

It is agreeable to note that such views rapidly gainedground. The excellent service of the old 8thIllinois demonstrated that colored officers are capableand trustworthy. An action and expression thatwill go far in furthering the view is that of ColonelWilliam Hayward of the old 15th New York, who resignedcommand of the regiment which he organized and ledto victory, soon after his return from the war.Like the great magnanimous, fair-minded man whichhe is and which helped to make him such a successfulofficer, he said that he could not remain at the headof the organization when there were so many capableNegroes who could and were entitled to fill its personnelof officers from colonel down. Colonel Haywardhas been laboring to have the organization made apermanent one composed entirely of men of the Negrorace. A portion of his expression on the subjectfollows:

“I earnestly hope that the stateand city will not allow this splendid organizationto pass entirely out of existence, but will rebuildaround the nucleus of these men and their flags fromwhich hang the Croix de Guerre, a 15th New Yorkto which their children and grandchildren willbelong; an organization with a home of its ownin a big, modern armory. This should be a socialcenter for the colored citizens of New York,and the regiment should be an inspiration tothem. It should be officered throughout by coloredmen, though I and every other white officer whofought with the old 15th will be glad and proudto act in an honorary or advisory capacity.Let the old 15th ‘carry on’ as our Britishcomrades phrase it.”

It is to be hoped that we never have another war.Nevertheless these Negro military organizations shouldbe kept up for their effect upon the spirit of therace. If they are ever needed again, let us hopethat by that time, the confidence of the militaryauthorities in Negro ability, will have so gainedthat they will coincide with Colonel Hayward’sview regarding Negro officers for Negro units.

CHAPTER XXV.

QUIET HEROES OF THE BRAWNY ARM

Negro stevedore, pioneer and laborunits—­swung the axeand turned the
wheel—­they were indispensable—­everywherein France—­hewers ofwood,
drawers of water—­numbersand designations of units—­acquiredsplendid
reputation—­contests andawards—­pride in theirservice—­measured up to
military standards—­LesterWaltons appreciation—­EllaWheeler Wilcox’s
poetic tribute.

Some went forth to fight, to win deathless fame orthe heroes’ crown of death in battle. Therewere some who remained to be hewers of wood and drawersof water. Which performed the greater service?

For the direct uplift and advancement of his race;for the improved standing gained for it in the eyesof other races, the heroism, and steadfastness andthe splendid soldierly qualities exhibited by theNegro fighting man, were of immeasurable benefit.Those were the things which the world heard about,the exemplifications of the great modern forces andfactors of publicity and advertising. In the doingof their “bit” so faithfully and capably,the Negro combatant forces won just title to all thepraise and renown which they have received. Theircontribution to the cause of liberty and democracy,cannot be discounted; will shine through the ages,and through the ages grow brighter.

But their contribution as fighting men to the causeof Justice and Humanity was no greater, in a sensethan that of their brethren: “Unwept, unhonoredand unsung,” who toiled back of the lines thatthose at the front might have subsistence and thesinews of conflict.

The most indispensable cog in the great machine whichexisted behind the lines, was the stevedore regiments,the butcher companies, the engineer, labor and Pioneerbattalions, nearly all incorporated in that departmentof the army technically designated as the S.O.S. (Serviceof Supply). In the main these were blacks.Every Negro who served in the combatant forces couldhave been dispensed with. They would have beenmissed, truly; but there were enough white men to taketheir places if necessary. But how seriouslyhandicapped would the Expeditionary forces have beenwithout the great army of Negroes, numbering over 100,000in France, with thousands more in this country designedfor the same service; who unloaded the ships, felledthe trees, built the railroad grades and laid thetracks; erected the warehouses, fed the fires whichturned the wheels; cared for the horses and mules anddid the million and one things, which Negro brawnand Negro willingness does so acceptably.

Theirs not to seek “the bubble reputation atthe cannon’s mouth,” that great composed,uncomplaining body of men; content simply to wear theuniform and to know that their toil was contributingto a result just as important as the work of anyonein the army. Did they wish to fight? Theydid; just as ardently as any man who carried a rifle,served a machine gun or a field piece. But somemust cut wood and eat of humble bread, and there camein those great qualities of patience and resignationwhich makes of the Negro so dependable an asset inall such emergencies.

How shall we describe their chronology or write theirlog? They were everywhere in France where theywere needed. As one officer expressed it, atone time it looked as though they would chop down allthe trees in that country. Their units and designationswere changed. They were shifted from place toplace so often and given such a variety of dutiesit would take a most active historian to follow them.In the maze of data in the War Department at Washington,it would take months to separate and give an adequateaccount of their operations.

[Illustration: Back with the heroic15th (369th infantry). Lieut.James Reese Europe’s famousband parading up Lenox avenue,Harlem, new York city. Lieut.Europe specially enlarged in leftforeground.]

[Illustration: Sergeant Henry Johnson(standing with flowers), negrohero of 369th infantry. Innew York parade. He wasthe first soldier of anyrace in the American armyto receive the Croix de Guerrewith palm. Needham Roberts,his fighting Companion, in inset.]

[Illustration: Returning from thewar. Musicians of 365th infantryleading parade of the regimentin Michigan Boulevard. Chicago.]

[Illustration: Soldiers of 365thinfantry marching down MichiganBoulevard. Chicago. This regimentwas part of the celebrated92nd division of selective draftmen.]

[Illustration: The seven agesof men. Curbstone groups innew York lined up to givethe heroes welcome. The sceneswere typical of many in citiesand towns all over the country.]

[Illustration: Colonel Franklin A.Denison, former commander of 8thIllinois (370th infantry), invalidedhome from France July 12, 1918.]

[Illustration: First commander ofthe 8th Illinois infantry, colonelJohn R. Marshall, who increasedthe organization from A battalionto A regiment, every officer andman A negro. Under col.Marshall the regiment saw distinguishedservice in the Spanish-Americanwar.]

[Illustration: Former officers of370th infantry (old 8th).Left, colonel Franklin A. Denison,commander until July, 1918; center,colonel T.A. Roberts (white).Succeeding commander; right, lieut.Colonel Otis B. Duncan. Appointedcolonel to succeed colonel T.A.Roberts.]

[Illustration: Crowd on the lakefront in Chicago almost Smothersreturning soldiers of “Fighting8th” (370Th infantry).]

It is known that a contingent of them accompaniedthe very first forces that went abroad from this country.In fact, it may be said, that the feet of AmericanNegroes were among the first in our forces to touchthe soil of France. It is known that they numberedat least 136 different companies, battalions and regimentsin France. If there were more, the records atWashington had not sufficiently catalogued them upto the early part of 1919 to say who they were.

In the desire to get soldiers abroad in 1918, thepolicy of the administration and the Department seemsto have been to make details and bookkeeping a secondaryconsideration. The names of all, their organizationsand officers were faithfully kept, but distinctionsbetween whites and blacks were very obscure. Untilthe complete historical records of the Governmentare compiled, it will be impossible to separate themwith accuracy.

Negro non-combatant forces in France at the end ofthe war included the 301st, 302nd and 303rd StevedoreRegiments and the 701st and 702nd Stevedor Battalions;the 322nd and 363rd Butchery Companies; Engineer Servicebattalions numbered from 505 to 550, inclusive; Laborbattalions numbered from 304 to 348, inclusive, alsoLabor battalion 357; Labor companies numbered from301 to 324, inclusive; Pioneer Infantry regimentsnumbered 801, 809, 811, 813, 815 and 816, inclusive.These organizations known as Pioneers, had some ofthe functions of infantry, some of those of engineersand some of those of labor units. They were preparedto exercise all three, but in France they were calledupon to act principally as modified engineering andlabor outfits. They also furnished replacementtroops for some of the combatant units.

Service was of the dull routine void of the spectacular,and has never been sufficiently appreciated.In our enthusiasm over their fighting brothers weshould not overlook nor underestimate these. Therewere many thousands of white engineers and Serviceof Supply men in general, but their operations weremostly removed from the base ports.

Necessity for the work was imperative. Owingto the requirements of the British army, the Americanscould not use the English Channel ports. Theywere obliged to land on the west and south coasts ofFrance, where dock facilities were pitifully inadequate.Railway facilities from the ports to the interiorwere also inadequate. The American ExpeditionaryForces not only enlarged every dock and increased thefacilities of every harbor, but they built railwaysand equipped them with American locomotives and carsand manned them with American crews.

Great warehouses were built as well as barracks, cantonmentsand hospitals. Without these facilities the armywould have been utterly useless. Negroes didthe bulk of the work. They were an indispensablewheel in the machinery, without which all would havebeen chaos or inaction.

Headquarters of the Service of Supply was at Tours.It was the great assembling and distributing point.At that point and at the base ports of Brest, Bordeaux,St. Nazaire and La Pallice most of the Negro Serviceof Supply organizations were located. The Frenchrailroads and the specially constructed American linesran from the base ports and centered at Tours.

This great industrial army was under strict militaryregulations. Every man was a soldier, wore theuniform and was under commissioned and non-commissionedofficers the same as any combatant branch of the service.

The Negro Service of Supply men acquired a great reputationin the various activities to which they were assigned,especially for efficiency and celerity in unloadingships and handling the vast cargoes of materials andsupplies of every sort at the base ports. Theywere a marvel to the French and astonished not a fewof the officers of our own army. They sang andjoked at their work. The military authoritieshad bands to entertain them and stimulate them togreater efforts when some particularly urgent taskwas to be done. Contests and friendly rivalrieswere also introduced to speed up the work.

The contests were grouped under the general headingof “A Race to Berlin” and were conductedprincipally among the stevedores. Prizes, decorationsand banners were offered as an incentive to effortin the contests. The name, however, was moreproductive of results than anything else. Themen felt that it really was a race to Berlin and thatthey were the runners up of the boys at the front.

Ceremonies accompanying the awards were quite elaborateand impressive. The victors were feasted andserenaded. Many a stevedore is wearing a medalwon in one of these conquests of which he is as proud,and justly so, as though it were a Croix de Guerreor a Distinguished Service Cross. Many a unitis as proud of its banner as though it were won inbattle.

Thousands of Service of Supply men remained with theAmerican Army of Occupation after the war; that is,they occupied the same relative position as duringhostilities—­behind the lines. The Armyof Occupation required food and supplies, and theduty of getting them into Germany devolved largelyupon the American Negro.

Large numbers of them were stationed at Toul, Verdun,Epernay, St. Mihiel, Fismes and the Argonne, wheremillions of dollars worth of stores of all kinds weresalvaged and guarded by them. So many were leftbehind and so important was their work, that the NegroY.M.C.A. sent fifteen additional canteen workers toFrance weeks after the signing of the armistice, asthe stay of the Service of Supply men was to be indefinitelyprolonged.

The Rev. D.L. Ferguson, of Louisville, Ky., whofor more than a year was stationed at St. Nazaireas a Y.M.C.A. worker, and became a great favoritewith the men, says that during the war they took greatpride in their companies, their camps, and all thatbelonged to the army; that because their work wasalways emphasized by the officers as being essentialto the boys in the trenches, the term “stevedore”became one of dignity as representing part of a greatAmerican Army.

How splendidly the stevedores and others measuredup to military standards and the great affection withwhich their officers regarded them, Rev. Dr. Fergusonmakes apparent by quoting Colonel C.E. Goodwin,who for over a year was in charge of the largest campof Negro Service of Supply men in France. Ina letter to Rev. Dr. Ferguson he said:

“It is with many keen thrustsof sorrow that I am obliged to leave this campand the men who have made up this organization.The men for whose uplift you are working havenot only gained, but have truly earned a largeplace in my heart, and I will always cherish a lovingmemory of the men of this wonderful organization whichI have had the honor and privilege to command.”

Lester A. Walton, who went abroad as a correspondentfor the New York Age, thus commented on the stevedoresand others of the same service:

“I had the pleasure and honorto shake hands with hundreds of colored stevedoresand engineers while in France. The majority werefrom the South, where there is a friendly, warmsun many months of the year. When I talkedwith them no sun of any kind had greeted themfor weeks. It was the rainy season when a clearsky is a rarity and a downpour of rain is a dailyoccurrence. Yet, there was not one wordof complaint heard, for they were ‘doing theirbit’ as expected of real soldiers.Naturally they expressed a desire to get homesoon, but this was a wish I often heard made by a doughboy.

“Members of the ‘S.O.S.’will not came back to America wearing the DistinguishedService Cross or the Croix de Guerre for exceptionalgallantry under fire, but the history of the greatworld war would be incomplete and lacking inauthenticity if writers failed to tell of thebloodless deeds of heroism performed by non-combatantmembers of the American Expeditionary Forces.”

During the summer of 1918, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, thepoetess, went to France to write and also to helpentertain the soldiers with talks and recitations.While at one of the large camps in Southern France,the important work of the colored stevedore came toher notice and she was moved to write a poem whichfollows:

Thestevedores

We are the Army Stevedores, lusty andvirile and strong.
We are given the hardest work of the war, andthe hours are long.
We handle the heavy boxes and shovel the dirtycoal;
While soldiers and sailors work in the light,we burrow below like a mole.
But somebody has to do this work or the soldierscould not fight!
And whatever work is given a man is good if hedoes it right.
We are the Army Stevedores, and we are volunteers.
We did not wait for the draft to come, and putaside our fears.
We flung them away to the winds of fate at thevery first call of our land.
And each of us offered a willing heart, and thestrength of a brawny hand.
We are the Army Stevedores, and work we mustand may,
The cross of honor will never be ours to proudlywear and sway.
But the men at the front could not be there,and the battles could not be won.
If the stevedores stopped in their dull routineand left their work undone.
Somebody has to do this work; be glad that itisn’t you.
We are the Army Stevedores—­give usour due.

CHAPTER XXVI.

UNSELFISH WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD

Mitigated the horrors of war—­atthe front, behind the lines,at home—­Circle fornegro war relief—­addressedand praised by Roosevelt—­Anotable gathering—­coloredY.M.C.A. Work—­unsullied recordof achievement—­how the“Y” Conducted business—­secretariesall specialists—­negro womenin “Y” Work—­valorof A non-combatant.

Negroes in America are justly proud of their contributionsto war relief agencies and to the financial and moralside of the war. The millions of dollars worthof Liberty Bonds and War Savings stamps which theypurchased were not only a great aid to the governmentin prosecuting the war, but have been of distinctbenefit to the race in the establishing of savingsfunds among many who never were thrifty before.Thousands have been started on the road to prosperityby the business ideas inculcated in that manner.Their donations to the Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A. andkindred groups were exceptionally generous.

An organization which did an immense amount of goodand which was conducted almost entirely by Negro patriots,although they had a number of white people as officersand advisers, was the “Circle for Negro WarRelief,” which had its headquarters in New YorkCity.

At a great meeting at Carnegie Hall, November 2, 1918,the Circle was addressed by the late Theodore Roosevelt.On the platform also as speakers were Emmett J. Scott,Irvin Cobb, Marcel Knecht, French High Commissionerto the United States; Dr. George E. Haynes, Directorof Negro Economics, Department of Labor; Mrs. AdahB. Thorns, Superintendent of Nurses at Lincoln hospital,and Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, who presided.

Mr. Roosevelt reminded his hearers that when he dividedthe Nobel Peace Prize money among the war charitieshe had awarded to the Circle for Negro War Reliefa sum equal to those assigned to the Y.M.C.A., theKnights of Columbus, and like organizations.

“I wish to congratulate you,”Mr. Roosevelt said, “upon the dignity andself-restraint with which the Circle has stated itscase in its circulars. It is put betterthan I could express it when your officers say:’They, (the Negroes) like the boys at the frontand in the camps to know that there is a distinctlycolored organization working for them. Theyalso like the people at home to know that suchan organization, although started and maintained witha friendly cooperation from white friends, is intendedto prove to the world that colored people themselvescan manage war relief in an efficient, honestand dignified way, and so bring honor to theirrace.

“The greatest work the coloredman can do to help his race upward,” continuedMr. Roosevelt, “is through his or her own personto show the true dignity of service. I seein the list of your vice-presidents and alsoof your directors the name of Colonel CharlesYoung, and that reminds me that if I had been permittedto raise a brigade of troops and go to the otherside, I should have raised for that brigade twocolored regiments, one of which would have hadall colored officers. And the colonel of thatregiment was to have been Colonel Charles Young.

“One of the officers of the otherregiment was to have been ‘Ham’ Fish.He is now an officer of the 15th, the regiment of Negroeswhich Mr. Cobb so justly has praised, and when‘Ham’ Fish was offered a chance forpromotion with a transfer to another command, Iam glad to say he declined with thanks, remarking thathe ‘guessed he’s stay with the sunburnedYankees.’”

A guest of honor at the meeting was Needham Roberts,who won his Croix de Guerre in conjunction with HenryJohnson. The cheering of the audience stoppedproceedings for a long time when Mr. Roosevelt arrivedand shook hands with Roberts.

“Many nice things were said atthe meeting,” commented the New York Age,“but the nicest of all was the statement thatafter the war the Negro over here will get morethan a sip from the cup of democracy.”

One of the splendid activities of the Circle was inthe providing of an emergency relief fund for menwho were discharged or sent back, as in the case ofNeedham Roberts, on account of sickness or injuries.Many a soldier who was destitute on account of hisback pay having been held up was temporarily relieved,provided with work or sent to his home through theagency of the Circle.

While the war was in progress the Circle attendedto a variety of legal questions for the soldiers,distributed literature, candy and smokes to the mengoing to the war and those at the front; visited andministered to those in hospitals, looked after theircorrespondence and did the myriad helpful things whichother agencies were doing for white soldiers, includingrelief in the way of garments, food, medicine andmoney for the families and dependents of soldiers.

The organization had over three score units in differentparts of the country. They engaged in the sameactivities which white women were following in aidto their race. Here is a sample clipped from oneof the bulletins of the Circle:

“On the semi-tropical islandof St. Helena, S.C., the native islanders have,in times past, been content to busy themselves intheir beautiful cotton fields or in their ownlittle palmetto-shaded houses, but the war hasbrought to them as to the rest of the world broadervision, and now, despite their very limited resources,71 of them have formed Unit No. 29 of the Circle.They not only do war work, but they give whatever serviceis needed in the community. The members knitfor the soldiers and write letters to St. Helenaboys for their relatives. During the influenzaepidemic the unit formed itself into a health committeein cooperation with the Red Cross and did mosteffective work in preventing the spread of thedisease.”

Similar and enlarged activities were characteristicof the units all over the nation. They made manifestto the world the Negro’s generosity and hiswillingness in so far as lies in his power, to bearhis part of the burden of helping his own race.

After the war the units of the Circle did not growweary. Their inspiration to concentrate was forthe relief of physical suffering and need; to assistexisting organizations in all sorts of welfare work.As they had helped soldiers and soldiers’ families,they proposed to extend a helping hand to workinggirls, children, invalids and all Negroes deservingaid.

To the lasting glory of the race and the efficientself-sacrificing spirit of the men engaged, was thewonderful work of the Negro Young Men’s ChristianAssociation among the soldiers of this country andoverseas. Some day a book will be written dealingadequately with this phase of war activity.

The best writers of the race will find in it a themewell worthy of their finest talents. The subjectcan be touched upon only briefly here.

To the untiring efforts and great ability of Dr. J.E.Moorland, senior secretary of the Negro Men’sDepartment of the International Committee, with hiscorps of capable assistants at Washington, belongsthe great credit of having organized and directedthe work throughout the war.

Not a serious complaint has come from any quarterabout the work of the Y.M.C.A. workers; not a pennyof money was wrongfully diverted and literally nota thing has occurred to mar the record of the organization.Nothing but praise has come to it for the noble spiritof duty, good will and aid which at all times characterizedits operations. The workers sacrificed theirpursuits and pleasures, their personal affairs andfrequently their remuneration; times innumerable theyrisked their lives to minister to the comfort andwell being of the soldiers. Some deeds of heroismstand forth that rank along with those of the combatants.

The splendid record achieved is all the more remarkableand gratifying when the extensive and varied personnelof the service is taken into consideration. Noless than fifty-five Y.M.C.A. centers were conductedin cantonments in America, presided over by 300 Negrosecretaries. Fourteen additional secretariesserved with Student Army Training Corps units in ourcolleges. Sixty secretaries served overseas, makinga grand total of 374 Y.M.C.A. secretaries doing warwork.

Excellent buildings were erected in the cantonmentshere and the camps overseas, which served as centersfor uplifting influences, meeting the deepest needsof the soldier’s life. In the battle zoneswere the temporary huts where the workers resided,placed as near the front lines as the military authoritiescould permit. Many times the workers went intothe most advanced trenches with the soldiers, servingthem tobacco, coffee, chocolate, etc., and doingtheir utmost to keep up spirits and fighting morale.Much of the uniform good discipline and behavior attributedto the Negro troops undoubtedly was due to the beneficialinfluence of the “Y” men and women.

As an example of the way the work was conducted itis well to describe a staff organization in one ofthe buildings.

It was composed of a building secretary, who was theexecutive; a religious work secretary, who had chargeof the religious activities, including personal workamong the soldiers, Bible class and religious meetings;an educational secretary, who promoted lectures, educationalclasses and used whatever means he had at hand to encourageintellectual development, and a physical secretary,who had charge of athletics and various activitiesfor the physical welfare of the soldiers. He workedin closest relationship with the military officersand often was made responsible for all the sportsand physical activities of the camp. Then therewas a social secretary, who promoted all the socialdiversions, including entertainments, stunts and motionpictures, and a business secretary, who looked afterthe sales of stamps, post cards and such suppliesas were handled, and who was made responsible for theproper accounting of finances.

The secretaries were either specialists in their linesor were trained until they became such. Someidea of their tasks and problems, and of the tactand ability they had to use in meeting them, may begained by a contemplation of the classes with whichthey had to deal. The selective draft assembledthe most remarkable army the world has ever seen.Men of all grades from the most illiterate to thehighly trained university graduate messed togetherand drilled side by side daily. There were menwho had grown up under the best of influences and otherswhose environment had been 370th or vicious,all thrown together in a common cause, wearing thesame uniform and obeying the same orders.

The social diversions brought out some splendid talent.A great feature was the singing. It was essentialthat the secretary should be a leader in this andpossessed of a good voice. These were not difficultto find, as the race is naturally musical and mostof them sing well. Noted singers were sent tosing for the boys, but it is said that frequentlythe plan of the entertainment was reversed, as theyrequested the privilege of listening to the boys sing.

A wonderful work was done by “Y” secretariesamong the illiterates. Its fruits are alreadyapparent and will continue to multiply. They foundmen who hardly knew their right hand from their left.Others who could not write their names are said tohave wept with joy when taught to master the simpleaccomplishment. Many a poor illiterate was giventhe rudiments of an education and started on the wayto higher attainments.

Headquarters of the overseas work was at Paris, France,and was in charge of E.C. Carter, formerly SeniorStudent secretary in America, and when war was declared,held the position of National Secretary of India.Much of the credit for the splendid performance ofthe “Y” workers abroad belonged to himand to his able aid, Dr. John Hope, president of Morehousecollege, Atlanta, Ga. The latter went over inAugust, 1918, as a special overseer of the Negro Y.M.C.A.

Three distinguished Negro women were sent over as“Y” hostesses, with a secretarial rating,during the war. Their work was so successful thattwenty additional women to serve in the same capacitieswere sent over after the close of hostilities.They were to serve as hostesses, social secretariesand general welfare workers among the thousands ofNegro soldiers who had been retained there with theArmy of Occupation and the Service of Supply.

The first Negro woman to go abroad in the Y.M.C.A.service was Mrs. Helen Curtis of 208 134th Street,New York, in May, 1918. For a number of yearsshe had been a member of the committee of managementof the Colored Women’s Branch of the Y.M.C.A.,and had assisted at the Camp Upton hostess house.Her late husband, James L. Curtis, was minister residentand consul general for the United States to Liberia.Mrs. Curtis lived in Monrovia, Liberia, until herhusband’s death there. She had also livedin France, where she studied domestic art for two years.Being a fluent speaker of the French language, herappointment was highly appropriate.

So successful was the appointment of Mrs. Curtis thatanother Negro secretary in the person of Mrs. AddieHunton of 575 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y., followedthe next month. Her husband was for many yearssenior secretary of the International Committee ofthe Y.M.C.A. Negro Men’s Department, andher own work had always been with the organization.

A short time later Miss Catherine Johnson of Greenville,Ohio, followed in the wake of Mrs. Curtis and Mrs.Hunton. She is a sister of Dr. Johnson of Columbus,Ohio, appointed early in 1919 minister to Liberia.

No less successful at home than abroad was the workof the Y.M.C.A. among the Negroes in cantonments andtraining camps. It is known that the servicesrendered by the Association to the officers’training camp at Fort Des Moines had much to do withmaking that institution such a remarkable success.From that time on comment was frequent that the bestwork being done by the Association in many of the campswas done by Negro secretaries.

The heroic exploit of Professor Cook, the “Y”secretary, which secured him a recommendation forthe Distinguished Service Cross, is mentioned elsewhere.It was only equalled by the valiant performance ofA.T. Banks of Dayton, Ohio, a Negro “Y”secretary who went over the top with the 368th Infantry.Secretary Banks, during the action, tarried to giveaid to a wounded soldier. The two were forcedto remain all night in a shell hole. During thehours before darkness and early the following morningthey were targets for a German sniper. The secretarysucceeded in getting the wounded man back to the lines,where he then proceeded to organize a party to goafter the sniper. They not only silenced him,but rendered him unfit for any further action on earth.Mr. Banks returned to America with the sniper’srifle as a souvenir. His work was additionallycourageous when it is considered that he was a non-combatantand not supposed to engage in hostilities. Hadhe been taken by the Germans he would not have beenaccorded the treatment of a prisoner of war, but undoubtedlywould have been put to death.

Were the records sufficiently complete at the presenttime to divulge them, scores of examples of valorousconduct on the part of the “Y” workers,Red Cross and other non-combatants who ministered toNegro soldiers could be recounted. The work ofall was of a noble character. It was accompaniedby a heroic spirit and in many cases by great personalbravery and sacrifice.

CHAPTER XXVII.

NEGRO IN ARMY PERSONNEL

His mechanical ability required—­skilledat special trades—­victorydepends upon technical workers—­vastrange of occupations—­negromakes good showing—­percentagesof white and black—­figuresfor general service.

In 1917 and 1918 our cause demanded speed. Everyday that could be saved from the period of trainingmeant a day gained in putting troops at the front.

Half of the men in the Army must be skilled at specialtrades in order to perform their military duties.To form the units quickly and at the same time supplythem with the technical ability required, the Armyhad to avail itself of the trade knowledge and experiencewhich the recruit brought with him from civil life.To discover this talent and assign it to those organizationswhere it was needed was the task of the Army Personnelorganization.

The army could hardly have turned the tide of victoryif it had been forced to train from the beginningany large proportion of the technical workers it needed.Every combat division required 64 mechanical draughtsmen,63 electricians, 142 linemen, 10 cable splicers, 156radio operators, 29 switchboard operators, 167 telegraphers,360 telephone repairmen, 52 leather and canvas workers,78 surveyors, 40 transitmen, 62 topographers, 132auto mechanics, 128 machinists, 167 utility mechanics,67 blacksmiths, 151 carpenters, 691 chauffeurs (autoand truck), 128 tractor operators and 122 truckmasters.

Besides these specialists each division required amongits enlisted men those familiar with 68 other trades.Among the latter were dock builders, structural steelworkers, bricklayers, teamsters, hostlers, wagoners,axemen, cooks, bakers, musicians, saddlers, crane operators,welders, rigging and cordage workers, stevedores andlongshoremen. Add to these the specialists requiredin the technical units of engineers, ordnance, airservice, signal corps, tanks, motor corps and all theservices of supply, and the impossibility of increasingan army of 190,000 in March 1917, to an army of 3,665,000in November, 1918, becomes apparent unless every skilledman was used where skill was demanded.

To furnish tables showing the number of Negroes whichthe selective draft produced for the various occupationsmentioned was at the compilement of this work notpracticable. In many cases the figures for whiteand black had not been separated. The Army Personnelorganization did not get into the full swing of itswork until well along in 1918.

A good general idea of the percentages of white andblack can be gained from the late drafts of that year.Figures for white drafts were not available with theexception of that of September 3rd. But a veryfair comparison may be made from the following tableshowing some occupations to which both whites andblacks were called. Take any of the three generalservice drafts made upon Negro selectives and it makesa splendid showing alongside the whites. Outof 100,000 men used as a basis for computation, itshows that among the Negro selectives an average ofslightly over 25 percent were available for technicalrequirements, compared with slightly over 36 percentamong the whites. It reveals a high number ofmechanics and craftsmen among a race which in theminds of many has been regarded as made up almost entirelyof unskilled laborers:

Supply per 100,000 in late Negro drafts for generalservice, compared with supply of white men in sameoccupations for the September 3rd draft:

Misc.Figures Sept. 3

Sept. 1 Sept 25 Upon DraftOccupation—­ Draft Draft 59,826 Men White

Mechanical engineer 7 30 8 25
Blacksmith 393 334 331 733
Dock builder ... ... 15 ...
Carpenter 862 571 670 2,157
Stockkeeper 161 176 140 562
Structural steel worker 463 326 351 334
Chauffeur 3,561 4,003 3,300 7,191
Chauffeur, heavy truck 1,304 1,356 987 2,061
Bricklayer 189 99 132 223
Hostler 3,351 1,433

2,062 3,559
Teamster or wagoner 8,678 12,660 9,534 13,691
Transit and levelman ... 4 2 47
Axeman logger 1,192 1,759 1,423 1,827
Clerical worker 603 395 324 4,159
Baker and cook 4,129 3,157 2,974 1,077
Musician 105 17 115 160
Alto horn 56 47 38 46
Baritone 21 21 15 16
Bass horn 35 21 18 16
Clarinet 21 64 25 66
Cornet 98 56 67 132
Flute 21 ... 5 29
Saxaphone 7 13 10 23
Trap drum 217 197 100 46
Trombone 42 69 40 67
Bugler 14 13 12 24
Saddler ... 26 3 12
Crane operator, hoistman 21 39 42 44
Crane operator, pile driver ... 13 12 7
Crane operator, shovel ... 13 5 30
Oxy-acetylene welder ... 21 8 44
Rigger and cordage worker 49 77 57 40
Stevedore, cargo handler 161 34 68 10
Longshoreman 652 664 651 15
——­ ——­ ——­ ——­
26,413 27,708 23,544 38,473

Figures are for general servicedrafts and do not include the
enlarged list of occupations for which both whitesand Negroes were
selected.

[Illustration: Five sea tugs pushingtransport “France” Intodock. Ship Laden with membersof new York’s “Fighting15th” (369Th infantry) andChicago’s “Fighting 8th”(370Th infantry) negro heroes frombattlefields of Europe.]

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE KNOCKOUT BLOW

Woodrow Wilson, an estimate—­hisplace in history—­lastof great Trio—­Washington,Lincoln, Wilson—­upholds decency,humanity, liberty—­recapitulationof year 1918—­closing incidentsof war.

When sufficient years have elapsed for the formingof a correct perspective, when the dissolving elementsof time have swept away misunderstandings and theinfluences engendered by party belief and politicallyformer opinions, Woodrow Wilson is destined to occupya place in the Temple of Fame that all Americans maywell be proud of. Let us analyze this and letus be fair about it, whatever may be our beliefs oraffiliations.

Washington gave us our freedom as a nation and startedthe first great wave of democracy. Probably,had some of us lived in Washington’s time, wewould have been opposed to him politically. Todayhe is our national hero and is reverenced by all freepeople of the earth, even by the nation which he defeatedat arms. Lincoln preserved and cemented, albeithe was compelled to do it in blood, the democracy whichWashington founded. He did infinitely more; hestruck the shackles from four million human beingsand gave the Negro of America his first opportunityto take a legitimate place in the world. Lincoln’sservice in abolishing slavery was not alone to theNegro. He elevated the souls of all men, forhe ended the most degrading institution that Satanever devised—­more degrading to the masterwho followed it, than to the poor subject he practicedit upon. Unitedly, we revere Lincoln, yet therewere those who were opposed to him and in every wayhampered and sneered at his sublime consecration tothe service of his country. It takes time toobtain the proper estimate of men.

Enough light has already been cast on President Wilsonand his life work to indicate his character and whatthe finished portrait of him will be.

We see him at the beginning of the European conflict,before any of us could separate the tangled threadsof rumor, of propaganda, of misrepresentation, todetermine what it was all about; before even he couldcomprehend it, a solitary and monitory figure, callingupon us to be neutral, to form no hasty judgments.We see him later in the role of peacemaker, upholdingthe principles of decency and honor. Eventuallyas the record of atrocities and crimes against innocentsenlarges, we see him pleading with the guilty to returnto the instincts of humanity. Finally as theultimate aim of the Hun is revealed as an assault uponthe freedom of the world; after the most painstakingand patient efforts to avoid conflict, during whichhe was subjected to humiliation and insult, we seehim grasp the sword, calling a united nation to armsin clarion tones, like some Crusader of old; his shibboleth:Decency, humanity, liberty.

What followed? His action swept autocracy fromits last great stronghold and made permanent the workwhich Washington began and upon which Lincoln buildedso nobly. This of Woodrow Wilson; an estimate—­therecan be no other thought, that will endure throughouthistory.

In the earlier chapters are sketched the main eventsof the great war up to the end of the year 1917, whenthe history of the Negro in the conflict became thetheme. It remains to give an outline review ofbattles and happenings from the beginning of 1917 untilthe end of hostilities; culminating in the most remarkablearmistice on record; a complete capitulation of theTeutonic forces and their allies, and a complete surrenderby them of all implements and agencies for wagingwar. The terms of the armistice, drastic in theextreme, were largely the work of Marshal FerdinandFoch, commander-in-chief of the Allied armies.

Early in 1918 it became evident that England, Franceand Italy were rapidly approaching the limit of theirman power. It became necessary for America tohasten to the rescue.

Training of men and officers in the various cantonmentsof America was intensified and as rapidly as theycould be brought into condition they were shippedto France. The troop movement was a wonderfulone and before the final closing of hostilities inNovember there were more than 2,000,000 American troopsin Europe. The navy was largely augmented, especiallyin the matter of destroyers, submarine chasers andlighter craft.

Our troops saw little actual warfare during the firstthree months of the year. Americans took overa comparatively quiet sector of the French front nearToul, January 21. Engagements of slight importancetook place on January 30 and February 4, the latteron a Lorraine sector which Americans were holding.On March 1, they repulsed a heavy German raid in theToul sector, killing many. On March 6, the Americanswere holding an eight mile front alone.

On March 21 the great German offensive between theOise and the Scarpe, a distance of fifty miles, began.General Haig’s British forces were driven backabout twenty miles. The French also lost muchground including a number of important towns.The Germans drove towards Amiens in an effort to separatethe British and French armies. They had somesuccesses in Flanders and on the French front, butwere finally stopped. Their greatest advancemeasured thirty-five miles and resulted in the retakingof most of the territory lost in the Hindenburg retreatof the previous year. The Allies lost heavilyin killed, wounded and prisoners, but the Germansbeing the aggressors, lost more.

While the great battle was at its height, March 28,the Allies reached an agreement to place all theirforces from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean,under one supreme command, the man chosen for theposition being General Foch of the French. OnMarch 29, General Pershing placed all the Americanforces at the disposal of General Foch.

The Germans began a new offensive against the Britishfront April 8 and won a number of victories in theLa Basse canal region and elsewhere. The battleof Seicheprey, April 20, was the Americans’ firstserious engagement with the Germans. The Germanscaptured the place but the Americans by a counterattack recovered it.

Another great offensive was started by the Germans,May 27, resulting in the taking of the Chemin desDames from the French and crossing the river Aisne.On the following day they crossed the Vesle river atFismes. Here the Americans won their first notablevictory by capturing the village of Cantigny and taking200 prisoners. They held this position againstmany subsequent counter-attacks. By the 31st theGermans had reached Chateau Thierry and other pointson the Marne, where they were halted by the French.They made a few gains during the first days of June.On June 6, American marines made a gallant attack,gaining two miles on a front two and one-half mileslong near Veuilly la Poterie. On the followingday they assisted the French in important victories.In the second battle northwest of Chateau Thierry,the Americans advanced nearly two and one-half mileson a six mile front, taking 300 prisoners. Itwas in these engagements that the Americans establishedthemselves as fighters equal to any.

On June 9, the Germans began their fourth offensive,attacking between Montdidier and the river Oise.They advanced about four miles, taking several villages.In the operations of the following day which gainedthem several villages, they claimed to have captured8,000 French. This day the American marines tookthe greater portion of Belleau wood and completedthe capture of it June 11. The French at the sametime defeated the Germans between Robescourt and St.Maur. There were other battles on the 12th and13th, but on the 14th it became evident that the Germanoffensive was a costly failure.

The fighting from this time until the end of Junewas of a less serious nature, although the Americansin the Belleau and Vaux regions gave the Germans norest, attacking them continually and taking prisoners.The Americans at this time were also engaged in anoffensive in Italy. July 2, President Wilsonannounced there were 1,019,115 American soldiers inFrance.

The Fourth of July was celebrated in England, Franceand Italy as well as in the United States. Onthat day Americans assisted the Australians in takingthe town of Hamel and many prisoners. On the 8thand 9th the French advanced in the region of Longpontand northwest of Compiegne. On the 12th theytook Castel and other strong points near the west bankof the Avre river. July 14, the French nationalholiday was observed in America, and by the Americansoldiers in France.

The fifth and last phase of the great offensive whichthe Germans had started in March, began July 15, inan attack from Chateau Thierry to Massignes, alonga sixty-five mile front and crossing the Marne atseveral places. At Chateau Thierry the Americansput up a strong resistance but the enemy by persistentefforts finally succeeded in getting a footing onthe south bank. The battle continued east andwest of Rheims with the Allies holding strongly andthe Germans meeting heavy losses.

While the Germans were trying to force their way regardlessof cost, in the direction of Chalons and Epernay,General Foch was preparing a surprise in the Villers-Cotteretsforest on the German right flank. In the largeforce collected for the surprise were some of the bestFrench regiments together with the famed Foreign Legion,the Moroccan regiment and other crack troops includingAmericans. On the morning of July 18, a heavyblow was launched at the Germans all along the linefrom Chateau Thierry on the Marne to the Aisne northwestof Soissons.

The foe was taken completely by surprise and townafter town fell with very little resistance.Later the resistance stiffened but the Allies continuedto advance. Cavalrymen assisted the infantry andtanks in large numbers, helped to clean out the machinegun nests. The Americans who fought side by sidewith the French won the unbounded admiration of theircomrades. Thousands of prisoners were taken withlarge numbers of heavy cannon, great quantities ofammunition and thousands of machine guns. Bythe 20th Soissons was threatened. The Germansfinding themselves caught in a dangerous salient andattacked fiercely on both flanks, retreated hurriedlyto the north bank of the Marne and still farther.

Meanwhile things were going badly for the Austrians.After its retreat in 1917 to the line of the Piaveriver, the Italian army had been reorganized and strengthenedunder General Diaz, who had succeeded General Cadornain command. French and British regiments had beensent to assist in holding the line, and later someAmerican forces.

The Austrians began an offensive June 15 along a 100-milefront, crossing the Piave in several places.For three days they made violent attacks on the Montelloplateau, and along the Piave from St. Andrea to SanDona and at Capo Sile, twenty miles from Venice.Then the Italians, British, French and Americans counter-attackedand within three days had turned the great Austrianoffensive into a rout, killing thousands, taking thousandsof prisoners, and capturing an immense amount of warmaterial including the Austrian’s heavy caliberguns. The whole Austrian scheme to advance intothe fertile Italian plains where they hoped to findfood for their hungry soldiers, failed completely.It was practically the end of Austria and the beginningof the end for Germany. Bulgaria gave up September26, due to heavy operations by the French, Italiansand Serbians during July, August and September, inAlbania, Macedonia and along the Vardar river to theboundaries of Bulgaria. They signed an armisticeSeptember 29 and the king of Bulgaria abdicated October3. Turkey being in a hopeless position throughthe surrender of Bulgaria, and the success of theBritish forces under General Allenby, kept up a feebleresistance until the end of October when she too surrendered.The collapse of Austria-Hungary followed closely onthat of Turkey. They kept up a show of resistanceand suffered a number of disastrous defeats untilthe end of October when they raised the white flag.An armistice was signed by the Austrian representativesand General Diaz for the Italians, November 3.

On the anniversary of Britain’s entry into thewar, August 4, Field Marshall Haig, commander-in-chiefof the British forces issued a special order of theday, the opening paragraph of which was:

“The conclusionof the fourth year of the war marks the passing of
the period of crisis.We can now with added confidence, look
forward to the future.”

On August 4, General Pershing reported:

“The full fruits of victory inthe counter offensive begun so gloriously byFranco-American troops on July 18, were reaped today,when the enemy who met his second great defeaton the Marne, was driven in confusion beyondthe line of the Vesle. The enemy, in spiteof suffering the severest losses, has proved incapableof stemming the onslaught of our troops, fightingfor liberty side by side with French, Britishand Italian veterans. In the course of theoperations, 8,400 prisoners and 133 guns have beencaptured by our men alone. Our troops havetaken Fismes by assault and hold the south bankof the Vesle in this section.”

On August 8, the British and French launched an offensivein Picardy, pressed forward about seven miles on afront of 20 miles, astride the river Somme and capturedseveral towns and 10,000 prisoners. It was inthis engagement that the hard fighting at ChipillyRidge occurred, in which the Americans so ably assisted,notably former National Guardsmen from Chicago andvicinity. Montdidier was taken by the French August10. The British also continued to advance andby the 11th the Allies had captured 36,000 prisonersand more than 500 guns. A French attack August19-20 on the Oise-Aisne front, netted 8,000 prisonersand liberated many towns. On the 21st Lassignywas taken by the French. This was the cornerstoneof the German position south of the Avre river.On August 29 the Americans won the important battleof Guvigny. By September 2 the Germans were retreatingon a front of 130 miles, from Ypres south to Noyon.By the 9th the Germans had been driven back to theoriginal Hindenburg line, where their resistance beganto strengthen.

On September 12 the American army, led by GeneralPershing, won a great battle in the attack on andwiping out of the famous St. Mihiel salient.This victory forced the enemy back upon the Wotan-Hindenburgline, with the French paralleling him from Verdunto the Moselle. Pershing’s forces continuedfighting steadily, wearing out the Germans by steadypressure. On September 26 the Americans begananother offensive along a front of 20 miles from theMeuse river westward through the Argonne forest.This developed into one of the bloodiest battles ofthe war for the Americans. On September 29 Americanand British troops smashed through the Hindenburgline at its strongest point between Cambrai and St.Quentin. British troops entered the suburbs ofCambrai and outflanked St. Quentin. Twenty-twothousand prisoners and more than 300 guns were captured.Meanwhile the Belgians tore a great hole in the Germanline, ten miles from the North sea, running from Dixmudesouthward.

On October 3 the French launched three drives, onenorth of St. Quentin, another north of Rheims, anda third to the east in Champagne. All were successful,resulting in the freeing of much territory and thecapture of many prisoners. On October 4 the Americansresumed the attack west of the Meuse. In theface of heavy artillery and machine gun fire, troopsfrom Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, andWest Virginia, forced the Germans back to the so-calledKriemhilde line. In the Champagne, American andFrench troops were moving successfully. On the6th the Americans captured St. Etienne; on the 9ththey reached the southern outskirts of Xivry and enteredChaune wood. On the same day the armies of FieldMarshall Haig made a clean break through the Hindenburgsystem on the west. Through a twenty-mile gap,they advanced from nine to twelve miles, penetratingalmost to the Le Selle and Sambre rivers.

On October 12 the British General Rawlinson, withwhom an American division had been operating, senta telegram of congratulation to the commander of thedivision, which comprised troops from Tennessee, inwhich he highly praised the gallantry of all the Americantroops. French troops on October 13 capturedthe fortress of La Fere, the strongest point on thesouth end of the old Hindenburg line. They alsoentered Laon and occupied the forest of St. Gobain.On October 15 the Americans took and passed St. Juvinafter desperate fighting. On October 16 theyoccupied the town of Grandpre, a place of great strategicimportance, being the junction of railways feedinga large part of the German armies. The Germansnow began a retreat on an enormous scale in Belgium.So fast did they move that the British, French andBelgians could not keep in touch with them. TheNorth sea ports of Belgium were speedily evacuated.Northwest of Grandpre the Americans captured Talmafarm October 23, after a stiff machine gun resistance.Victories continued to be announced from day to dayfrom all portions of the front.

On November 1 the Americans participated in a heavybattle, taking Champaigneulle and Landres et St. George,which enabled them to threaten the enemy’s mostimportant line of communication. On November 4the Americans reached Stenay and on the 6th they crossedthe Meuse. By the 7th they had entered Sedan,the place made famous by the downfall of NapoleonIII in the war of 1870. On other parts of theAmerican front the enemy retreated so fast that theinfantry had to resort to motor cars to keep in touchwith him. It was the same on other fronts.The Germans put up a resistance at the strong fortressof Metz, which the Americans were attacking November10 and 11.

Armistice negotiations had been started as early asOctober, 5, and were concluded November 11th.This date saw the complete collapse of the Germanmilitary machine and will be one of the most momentousdays in history, as it marked the passing of an oldorder and the inauguration of a new era for the world.In the armistice terms every point which the Americansand Allies stipulated was agreed to by the Germans.The last shot in the war is thus described in an AssociatedPress dispatch of November 11:

“Thousands of American heavyguns fired the parting shot to the Germans atexactly 11 o’clock this morning. The linereached by the American forces was staked outthis afternoon. The Germans hurled a fewshells into Verdun just before 11 o’clock.

“On the entireAmerican front from the Moselle to the region of
Sedan, there was artilleryactivity in the morning, all the
batteries preparingfor the final salvos.

“At many batteries the artilleristsjoined hands, forming a long line as the lanyardof the final shot. There were a few seconds ofsilence as the shells shot through the heavy mist.Then the gunners cheered. American flagswere raised by the soldiers over their dugoutsand guns and at the various headquarters. Soonafterward the boys were preparing for luncheon.All were hungry as they had breakfasted earlyin anticipation of what they considered the greatestday in American history.”

The celebration, which occurred November 11, uponannouncement of the news, has never been equalledin America. It spontaneously became a holidayand business suspended voluntarily. Self-restraintwas thrown to the winds for nearly twenty-four hoursin every city, town and hamlet in the country.There was more enthusiasm, noise and processions thanever marked any occasion in this country and probablyeclipsed anything in the history of the world.

[Illustration: Return of the 15thnew York, 369th infantry.Shown swinging up Lenox avenue.New York city where they receivedA royal welcome.]

CHAPTER XXIX.

HOMECOMING HEROES

New York greets her own—­ecstaticday for old 15th—­whitesand blacks do honors—­Amonster demonstration—­manydignitaries review troops—­paradeof martial pomp—­cheers,music, flowers and feasting—­“Hayward’sscrapping babies”—­Officersshare glory—­then cameHenry Johnson—­similar sceneselsewhere.

No band of heroes returning from war ever were accordedsuch a welcome as that tendered to the homecoming369th by the residents of New York, Manhattan Islandand vicinity, irrespective of race. Being oneof the picturesque incidents of the war, the likeof which probably will not be repeated for many generations,if ever, it well deserves commemoration within thepages of this book.

Inasmuch as no more graphic, detailed and colorfulaccount of the day’s doings has been printedanywhere, we cannot do better than quote in its entiretythe story which appeared in the great newspaper, TheWorld of New York, on February 18, 1919. Theparade and reception, during which the Negro troopspractically owned the city, occurred the preceedingday. The World account follows:

“The town that’s alwaysready to take off its hat and give a whoop fora man who’s done something—­’nomatter who or what he was before,’ as theold Tommy Atkins song has it—­turned itselfloose yesterday in welcoming home a regimentof its own fighting sons that not only did something,but did a whole lot in winning democracy’swar.

“In official records,and in the histories that youngsters will
study in generationsto come, this regiment will probably always be
known as the 369th Infantry,U.S.A.

“But in the hearts of a quartermillion or more who lined the streets yesterdayto greet it, it was no such thing. It was theold 15th New York. And so it will be inthis city’s memory, archives and in thefolk lore of the descendants of the men who made upits straight, smartly stepping ranks.

“New York is not race-proud norrace-prejudiced. That this 369th Regiment,with the exception of its eighty-nine white officers,was composed entirely of Negroes, made no differencein the shouts and flagwaving and handshakes thatwere bestowed upon it. New York gave itsOld 15th the fullest welcome of its heart.

“Through scores of thousandsof cheering white citizens, and then througha greater multitude of its own color, the regiment,the first actual fighting unit to parade as aunit here, marched in midday up Fifth Avenueand through Harlem, there to be almost assailedby the colored folks left behind when it went awayto glory.

“Later it was feasted and entertained,and this time very nearly smothered with hugsand kisses by kin and friends, at the 71st RegimentArmory. Still later, perfectly behaved and perfectlyecstatic over its reception, the regiment returnedto Camp Upton to await its mustering out.

“You knew these dark lads a yearand a half ago, maybe, as persons to be slippeda dime as a tip and scarcely glanced it. Theywere your elevator boys, your waiters, the Pullmanporters who made up your berths (though of courseyou’d never dare to slip a Pullman portera dime). But, if you were like many a prosperouswhite citizen yesterday you were mighty proudto grasp Jim or Henry or Sam by the hand andthen boast among your friends that you possessedhis acquaintance.

“When a regiment has the medalhonors of France upon its flags and it has putthe fear of God into Germany time after time, and itsmembers wear two gold stripes, signifying a year’sfighting service, on one arm, and other stripes,signifying wounds, on the other, it’s awhole lot different outfit from what it was when itwent away. And that’s the old 15thN.Y. And the men are different—­andthat’s Jim and Henry and Sam.

“Col. William Hayward, thedistinguished white lawyer and one time PublicService Commissioner, who is proud to head these fighters,was watching them line up for their departureshortly after 6 o’clock last evening, whensomeone asked him what he thought of the day.

“‘It has been wonderful!’he said, and he gazed with unconcealed tendernessat his men. ’It’s been far beyondmy expectations. But these boys deserveit. There’s only one thing missing.I wish some of Gen. Gouraud’s French boys,whom we fought beside, could be here to see it.’

“The Colonel slappedhis hand affectionately upon the shoulder of
his dark-skinned orderly.

“‘How aboutthat, Hamilton, old boy?’ he inquired.

“’That’sright, Colonel, sir; Gen. Gonraud’s boys surewould have
enjoyed this day!’the orderly responded as he looked proudly at
the Colonel.

“There’sthat sort of paternal feeling of the white officerstoward
their men, and thatfilial devotion of the men to their officers,
such as exists in theFrench Army.

“Much as the white populationof the town demonstrated their welcome to theRegiment, it was, after all, those of their own colorto whom the occasion belonged. And they did themselvesproud In making it an occasion to recall foryears in Harlem, San Juan Hill and Brooklyn,where most of the fighters were recruited.

“At the official reviewing standat 60th street, the kinsfolk and admirers ofthe regimental lads began to arrive as beforehandedlyas 9 o’clock. They had tickets, andtheir seats were reserved for them. Theofficial committee had seen to that—­andnine-tenths of the yellow wooden benches wereproperly held for those good Americans of NewYork whom birth by chance had made dark-skinned insteadof fair. But this was their Day of Days,and they had determined (using their own accentuation)to be there and to be there early.

“The first-comers plodded across59th Street from the San Juan Hill district,and it was fine to see them. There seemed to bea little military swank even to the youngsters,as platoons of them stepped along with facesthat had been scrubbed until they shone. Had awoman a bit of fur, she wore it. Had a mana top hat—­origin or vintage-date immaterial—­hedisplayed that. All heads were up, high;eyes alight. Beaming smiles everywhere. Nonot quite everywhere. Occasionally therewas to be seen on a left sleeve a black bandwith a gold star, which told the world that one ofthe Old 15th would never see the region westof Columbus Circle, because he had closed hiseyes in France. And the faces of the wearersof these were unlaughing, but they held themselvesjust as proudly as the rest.

“Few of the welcomers went flagless.No matter whether a man or woman wore a jewelor a pair of patent leather boots as a sign of “class,”or tramped afoot to the stand or arrived in a limousine,nearly every dark hand held the nation’semblem.

“Nearly everyone wore white badges bearing the letters: “Welcome,
Fighting 15th,”or had pennants upon which stood out the regimental
insignia—­acoiled rattlesnake of white on a black field.

“Those colored folk who couldafford it journeyed to the stand in closed automobiles.Gorgeously gowned women alighted with great dignitybeneath the admiring gaze of their humbler brethren.Taxies brought up those whose fortunes, perhaps,were not of such amplitude. Hansoms andhacks conveyed still others, and one party camein a plumber’s wagon, its women members all bundledup in shawls and blankets against the cold, butgrinning delightedly as the whole stand applauded.

“Children by thethousands lined the east side of the avenue—­Boy
Scouts and uniformedkids and little girls with their school books
under their arms, andthey sang to the great delight of the crowd.

“Just why it was that when GovernorSmith and former Governor Whitman and ActingMayor Moran and the other reviewers appeared behinda cavalcade of mounted policemen, the youngsters struckup that army classic, “Oh, How I Hate toGet Up in the Morning,” no one could tell,but it gave the reviewers and the crowd a laugh.

“With the state and city officialswere the members of the Board of Aldermen, theBoard of Estimate, Major Gen. Thomas J. Barry, ViceAdmiral Albert Gleaves, Secretary of State, FrancisHugo; Rodman Wannamaker and—­in a greenhat and big fur coat—­William Randolph Hearst.Secretary Baker of the War Department was unable toattend, but he did the next best thing and senthis colored assistant, Emmett J. Scott.

“The reviewers arrived at 11:30and had a good long wait, for at that time theparaders had not yet left 23rd Street. But whatwith the singing, and the general atmosphereof joyousness about the stand, there was enoughto occupy everyone’s time.

“There was one feature whichtook the eye pleasingly—­the number ofbabies which proud mothers held aloft, fat pickaninnies,mostly in white, and surrounded by adoring relatives.These were to see (and be seen by) their daddiesfor the first time. Laughingly, the otherday, Col. Bill Hayward spoke of ‘our boys’posthumous children,’ and said he thoughtthere were quite a few of them.

“‘Some ofour boys had to go away pretty quickly,’ he reminisced.
‘Some of themwere only married about twenty minutes or so.’

“‘O Colonel!’said the modest Major Little on that occasion.

“‘Well,maybe it was a trifle longer than twenty minutes,’admitted
Bill. But anyhow,there was the regiment’s posthumous childrenin
the stand.

“It was 11:26 when the old 15thstepped away from 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue.They looked the part of the fighting men they were.At an exact angle over their right shoulders weretheir long-bayonetted rifles. Around theirwaists were belts of cartridges. On theirheads were their ‘tin hats,’ the steelhelmets that saved many a life, as was attestedby the dents and scars in some of them.Their eyes were straight forward and their chins,held high naturally, seemed higher than ever becauseof the leather straps that circled them.The fighters wore spiral puttees and their heavyhobbed hiking shoes, which caused a metallic clashas they scraped over the asphalt.

“At the head of the line rodefour platoons of mounted police, twelve abreast,and then, afoot and alone, Col. Hayward, whoorganized the 15th, drilled them when they hadnothing but broomsticks to drill with, fatheredthem and loved them, and turned them into thefightingest military organization any man’s armycould want.

“The French called them ‘HellFighters.’ The Germans after a few mix-upsnamed them ‘Blutlustige Schwartzmanner’(blood-thirsty black men.) But Col. Bill,when he speaks of them uses the words ’thosescrapping babies of mine,’ and they likethat best of all. Incidentally (when outof his hearing) they refer tenderly to him as‘Old Bill, that fightin’ white man.’So it’s fifty-fifty.

“The Colonel had broken a legin the war, so there were those who looked forhim to limp as he strode out to face the hedge ofspectators that must have numbered a quarter ofa million. But nary a limp. With hisfull six feet drawn up erectly and his strong facesmiling under his tin hat, he looked every bitthe fighting man as he marched up the centreof the avenue, hailed every few feet by enthusiastswho knew him socially or in the law courts or in thebusiness of the Public Service Commission.

“‘Didn’tyour leg hurt you, Bill?’ his friends asked himlater.

“’Sure ithurt me; he said, ’but I wasn’t going topeg along on the
proudest day of my life!’Which this day was.

“Behind the Colonelmarched his staff, Lieut. Col. W.A.Pickering,
Capt. AdjutantRobert Ferguson, Major E.A. Whittemore, Regimental
Sergt. Majors C.A.Connick and B.W. Cheeseman, Regimental Sergts.
L.S. Payne, H.W.Dickerson and W.W. Chisum, and Sergts. R.C.Craig,
D.E. Norman andKenneth Bellups.

“The Police Band was at the frontof the line of march, but it was a more famousband that provided the music to which the Black Buddiesstepped northward and under the Arch of Victory—­thewonderful jazz organization of Lieut. JimmieEurope, the one colored commissioned officerof the regiment. But it wasn’t jazz thatstarted them off. It was the historic Marche duRegiment de Sambre et Meuse, which has been France’smost popular parade piece since Napoleon’sday. As rendered now it had all the crash of buglefanfares which is its dominant feature, but anadditional undercurrent of saxaphones and bassesthat put a new and more peppery tang into it.

“One hundred strong, and theproudest band of blowers and pounders that everreeled off marching melody—­Lieut. Jimmie’sboys lived fully up to their reputation.Their music was as sparkling as the sun thattempered the chill day.

“Four of their drums were instrumentswhich they had captured from the enemy in Alsace,and ma-an, what a beating was imposed upon thosesheepskins! ’I’d very much admireto have them bush Germans a-watchin’ metoday!’ said the drummer before the march started.The Old 15th doesn’t say ‘Boche’when it refers to the foe it beat. ‘Bush’is the word it uses, and it throws in ‘German’for good measure.

“Twenty abreast the heroes marchedthrough a din that never ceased. They wereas soldierly a lot as this town, now used to soldierlyoutfits, has ever seen. They had that peculiarsort of half careless, yet wholly perfect, stepthat the French display. Their lines werestraight, their rifles at an even angle, and they movedalong with the jaunty ease and lack of stiffnesswhich comes only to men who have hiked far andfrequently.

“The colored folks on the officialstand cut loose with a wild, swelling shriekof joy as the Police Band fell out at 60th Streetand remained there to play the lads along whennecessary and when—­now entirely itself—­thekhaki-clad regiment filling the street from curbto curb, stepped by.

“Colonel Hayward, with his handat salute, turned and smiled happily as he sawhis best friend, former Governor Whitman, standingwith his other good friend, Governor Al Smith, withtheir silk tiles raised high over their heads.It was the Governor’s first review in NewYork and the first time he and Mr. Whitman had gottogether since Inauguration Day. They were ofdifferent parties, but they were united in greetingColonel Bill and his Babies.

“From the stand, from the KnickerbockerClub across the street, from the nearby residencesand from the curbing sounded shouts of individualgreetings for the commander and his staff. Butthese were quickly drowned as a roar went upfor Lieutenant Europe’s band, with itscommander at the head—­not swinging a batonlike a common ordinary drum-major, but walkingalong with the uniform and side-arms of an officer.

“‘The Salute to the 85th,’which they learned from their comrade regimentof the French Army of General Gouraud, was what theywere playing, a stirring thing full of buglecalls and drum rolls, which Europe says is thebest march he ever heard.

“So swiftly did the platoonssweep by that it took a quick eye to recognizea brother or a son or a lover or a husband; but theeyes in the stand were quick, and there wereshouts of ‘Oh, Bill!’ ’Hey, boy,here’s your mammy!’ ‘Oliver, lookat your baby!’ (It wasn’t learnedwhether this referred to a feminine person or one ofthose posthumous children Colonel Hayward spokeabout.) ’Hallelujah, Sam! There youare, back home again!’

“Half way down the ranks of the2,992 paraders appeared the colors, and all hatscame off with double reverence, for the Stars andStripes and the blue regimental standard that two huskyebony lads held proudly aloft had been carriedfrom here to France, from France to Germany andback again, and each bore the bronze token withits green and red ribbon that is called the Croix deGuerre. Keen eyes could see these littlemedals swinging from the silk of the flags, hightoward the top of the poles.

“At the end of the lines whichfilled the avenue came a single automobile, first,with a round-faced smiling white officer sitting init and gazing happily from side to side. Thiswas Major Lorillard Spencer, who was so badlywounded that he came back in advance of the outfitsome weeks ago. There was a special racket ofcheers for him, and then another for Major DavidL. ’Esperance, also wounded and riding.

“Then a far different figure,but one of the most famous of the whole war.Henry Johnson! That Henry, once a mild-manneredchauffeur, who to protect his comrade, NeedhamRoberts, waded into a whole patrol of ‘bushGermans’ with a lot of hand grenades, his rifleand his trusty ‘steel’ in the shape ofa bolo knife, and waded into them so energeticallythat when the casualties were counted there werefour dead foemen in front of him, thirty-four othersdone up so badly they couldn’t even crawl away,and heaven knows how many more had been put toflight.

“And now Henry, in commemorationof this exploit, was riding alone in an openmachine. In his left hand he held his tin hat.In his right he held high over his head a bunchof red and white lilies which some admirer hadpressed upon him. And from side to side Henry—­aboutas black as any man in the outfit if not a trifleblacker—­bowed from the waist down withall the grace of a French dancing master.Yes, he bowed, and he grinned from ear to ear andhe waved his lilies, and he didn’t overlooka bet in the way of taking (and liking) all thetributes that were offered to him.

“A fleet of motor ambulances,back of Henry, carried the wounded men who wereunable to walk, nearly 200 of them. But thoughthey couldn’t walk, they could laugh andwave and shout thanks for the cheers, all ofwhich they did.

“Almost before the happy coloredfolk could realize at the official stand thathere were their lads back home again, the last of theparade rolled along and it was over. Withthat formation and the step that was inspiredby Lieutenant Europe’s band—­and bythe Police Band which stood at 60th Street andkept playing after the music of the other diedaway—­it required only seventeen minutesfor the regiment to pass.

“From this point north the welcomeheightened in intensity. Along the parkwall the colored people were banked deeply, everyonegiving them the first ranks nearest the curb.Wives, sweethearts and mothers began to dashinto the ranks and press flowers upon their menand march alongside with them, arm-in-arm. Butthis couldn’t be, and Colonel Hayward hadto stop the procession for a time and order thepolice to put the relatives back on the sidewalks.But that couldn’t stop their noise.

“The residents of the avenuepaid fine tribute to the dusky marchers.It seemed inspiring, at 65th Street, to see Mrs. VincentAstor standing in a window of her home, a greatflag about her shoulders and a smaller one inher left hand, waving salutes. And HenryFrick, at an open window of his home at 73d Street,waving a flag and cheering at the top of hisvoice.

“At the corner of 86th streetwas a wounded colored soldier wearing the Croixde Guerre and the Victoria Cross as well. ColonelHayward pressed to his side with a hearty handshake,exclaiming: ‘Why, I thought you weredead!’ It was one of his boys long ago invalidedhome.

“No, sir, Colonel,not me. I ain’t dead by a long ways yet,
Colonel, sir,’said the lad.

“‘How’sit going, Colonel?’ asked a spectator.

“‘Fine,’said the Commander. ’All I’m worryingabout is whether my
boys are keeping step.’He needn’t have worried.

“The real height of the enthusiasmwas reached when, after passing through 110thstreet and northward along Lenox Avenue, the heroesarrived in the real Black Belt of Harlem.This was the Home, Sweet Home for hundreds ofthem, the neighborhood they’d been born in andhad grown up in, and from 129th Street north thewindows and roofs and fireescapes of the fiveand six story apartment houses were filled tooverflowing with their nearest and dearest.

“The noise drowned the melodyof Lieut. Europe’s band. Flowers fellin showers from above. Men, women and childrenfrom the sidewalks overran the police and threwtheir arms about the paraders. There wasa swirling maelstrom of dark humanity in the avenue.In the midst of all the racket there could becaught the personal salutations: ‘Oh,honey!’ ‘Oh, Jim!’ ‘Oh, youCharlie!’ ’There’s my boy!’‘There’s daddie!’ ‘How soonyou coming home, son?’ It took all theability of scores of reserve policemen between 129thStreet and 135th Street, where the uptown reviewingstand was, to pry those colored enthusiasts awayfrom their soldiermen.

“There was one particular crywhich was taken up for blocks along this district:’O-oh, you wick-ed Hen-nery Johnson! Youwick-ed ma-an!’ and Henry the Boche Killerstill bowed and grinned more widely than ever,if possible.

“‘Lookslike a funeral, Henry, them lilies!’ called oneadmirer.

“’Funeralfor them bush Germans, boy! Sure a funeral forthem
bushes.’ shoutedHenry.

“The official reviewing party,after the parade had passed 60th street, hadhurried uptown, and so had the Police Band, and sothere were some doings as the old 15th breezedpast 135th Street. But no one up there caredfor Governors or ex-Governors or dignitaries.Every eye was on the Black Buddies and every throatwas opened wide for them.

“At 145th Street the halt wascalled. Again there was a tremendous rushof men and women with outstretched arms; the militarydiscipline had to prevail, and the soldiers werenot allowed to break ranks, nor were the civilians(save the quickest of them) able to give thehugs and kisses they were overflowing with.

“As rapidly as possible the fighterswere sent down into the subway station and loadedaboard trains which took them down to the 71st RegimentArmory at 34th Street and Fourth Avenue. Herethe galleries were filled with as many duskycitizens as could find places (maybe 2,500 or3,000) and so great was the crowd in the neighborhoodthat the police had to block off 34th Street almostto Fifth Avenue on the west and Third on theeast.

“As each company came up fromthe subway the friends and relatives were allowedto go through the lines, and, while the boys stoodstill in ranks, but at ease, their kinsfolk wereallowed to take them in their arms and tell themreally and truly, in close-up fashion, what theythought about having them back.

“When the entire regiment wasin the Armory, the civilians in the gallery brokeall bounds. They weren’t going to stay upthere while their heroes were down below on thedrill-floor! Not they! They swarmedpast the police and depot battalion and so jammed thefloor that it was impossible for the tired BlackBuddy even to sit down. Most of the boyshad to take their chicken dinner—­servedby colored girls, and the chow, incidentally,from Delmonico’s—­standing upwith arms about them and kisses punctuating assaultsupon the plates.

“‘Some chow,hey Buddy?’ would be heard.

“‘Pretty bon.’You’d get the answer. ’I’d liketo have beaucoup more of this chicken.’There was noticeable a sprinkling of French wordsin the conversation of the Old 15th, and, indeed, someof them spoke it fluently.

“‘Sam toldme,’ one girl was heard to say, ’that hekilled nineteen
of them Germans allhis own self, but nobody saw him and so he
didn’t get thatCross doo Gare.’”

Mustering out commenced at Camp Upton the followingday. Thus ended the service of the 369th.Their deeds are emblazoned on the roll of honor.Sons and grandsons of slaves, welcomed by the plauditsof the second largest city in the world. Whata record of progress in a trifle over half a centuryof freedom. What an augury of promise for thefuture of the colored race, and what an augury forthe world freedom which they helped to create, and,

overshadowing all else, what an object lessonit should be to our country at large: east, west,north, south, that, “One touch of nature makes‘all men’ kin.” That in heropinion and treatment of her faithful, loyal blackcitizens; nigg*rdly, parsimonious, grudging and half-heartedly,how shameful she has been, how great has been hersin; forgetting; or uncaring, even as Pharoh of old,that: “God omnipotent liveth,” andthat “He is a just and a vengeful God!”

New York’s welcome to her returning Negro boyswas fairly typical of similar scenes all over thecountry. Chicago gave a tremendous ovation tothe heroes of the old 8th Infantry. In Washington,Cleveland, and many other cities were great paradesand receptions when theirs came home. In hundredsof smaller towns and hamlets the demonstrations wererepeated in miniature.

CHAPTER XXX.

RECONSTRUCTION AND THE NEGRO

By Julius Rosenwald, presidentSears, Roebuck & co, and trusteeof Tuskegee Institute—­Aplea for industrial opportunityfor the negro—­tributeto negro as soldier and civilian—­dutyof whites pointed out—­businessleader and philanthropist soundskeynote.

Although American sacrifices in the European War havebeen great, we find compensation for them in manydirections. Not the least of these is the vastlyincreased number of opportunities the reconstructionperiod will offer to many of our citizens.

Today the United States is the leading nation of theworld in virtually every line of activity. Wehave been thrust into a new world leadership by thewar. It behooves us to make the most of our newopportunities. To equip ourselves creditablywe must utilize the best there is in the manhood andwomanhood of our nation, drawing upon the intellectand ability of every person who has either to give.

Approximately ten percent of our present populationis colored. Every man, woman and child of thisten percent should be given the opportunity to utilizewhatever ability he has in the struggle for the maintenanceof world leadership which we now face. Just insofaras we refuse to give this part of our population anopportunity to lend its strength to helping us seta pace for the rest of the world, as best it can, sodo we weaken the total strength of our nation.In other words, we can either give our colored populationthe right and the opportunity to do the best workof which it is capable and increase our efficiency,or we can deny them their rights and opportunities,as we have done in many instances, and decrease ourefficiency proportionately.

Of course, the question naturally arises as to howefficient the colored man and the colored woman arewhen given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability.No better answer can be found than that given by thesplendid work of the majority of our colored peopleduring the war. On the firing line, in the campsbehind the line, and in civil life our colored populationhas done well indeed. Four hundred thousand Negroesoffered their lives for their country. Many moremade noble sacrifices in civilian life.

It was my privilege not only to observe the work donein civil life by colored persons in this country duringthe war, but to visit colored troops in France duringhostilities.

There is no question that the Negro has given a splendidaccount of himself both as an exceptionally fearlessfighting man and as a member of non-combatant troops.I made diligent effort to ascertain the manner inwhich the Negro troops conducted themselves behindthe lines. It is much easier for a man to becomelax in his conduct there than in actual fighting.Without exception every officer I questioned statedhe could not ask for more obedient, willing, harderworking or more patriotic troops than the Negro regimentshad proven themselves to be. Every account Ihave read regarding the engagement of colored men infighting units and every case in which I had the opportunityto inquire personally regarding the bravery of coloredtroops has led me to believe our colored men wereas good soldiers as could be found in either our ownarmy or the armies of our allies, regardless of color.

One needs only to scan the records of the War Departmentand the official reports of General Pershing to findpositive proof of the valor, endurance and patriotismof the colored troops who battled for liberty anddemocracy for all the world. The entire nationnotes with pride the splendid service of the 365thto the 372nd Infantry units, inclusive. Whenhistorians tell the story of the sanguinary conflictsat Chateau Thierry, in the Forest of Argonne, in theChampagne sector, Belleau Wood and at Metz, the recordwill give reason to believe that the victories achievedon those memorable fields might have shown a differentresult had it not been for the remarkable staying andfighting abilities of the colored troops. French,English and American commanding officers unite insinging the praises of these gallant warriors andagree that in the entire Allied Army no element contributedmore signally than did they to the final downfall ofthe German Military Machine in proportion to theirnumbers.

Not only did the combatant units of the colored troopswin laurels across the sea, but the 301st StevedoreRegiment was cited for exceptionally efficient work,having broken all records by unloading and coalingthe giant steamer “Leviathan” in fifty-sixhours, competing successfully with the best stevedoredetachments on the western front of France. Everywhere,behind the lines as well as when facing shot, shelland gas, the colored soldiers have given a most creditableaccount of themselves and are entitled to the productof their patriotism and loyalty.

Those who remained at home during the war realizefully that the patriotic service rendered by coloredpersons in civil life, both in doing war work andin the purchase of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stampsis to be commended.

Surely after the many demonstrations of patriotismboth on the battlefield and at home the white peopleof this country will be willing to accord the coloredpeople a square deal by at least giving them a fairopportunity to earn a livelihood in accordance withtheir ability.

We have been asking the impossible of the coloredman and the colored woman. We have demanded thatthey be honest, self-respecting citizens, and at thesame time we have forced them into surroundings whichalmost make this result impossible. In many placesthey are deprived of a fair opportunity to obtaineducation or amusem*nt in a decent environment.Only the most menial positions are offered them.An educated girl particularly has practically no opportunityto earn a livelihood in the manner for which her educationfits her.

We whites of America must begin to realize that BookerT. Washington was right when he said it was impossibleto hold a man in the gutter without staying therewith him, because “if you get up, he will getup.” We do not want to remain in the gutter.We, therefore, must help the Negro to rise.

If we are to obtain the best results from coloredlabor, unions should admit it to their membership.It is not the universal practice to admit coloredpersons to unions. The result, of course, is thateven if a colored man has the opportunity to learna trade, knowing he will not be permitted to enjoythe benefits of a union, he does not have the highestincentive for learning it. The north is especiallyneglectful in not providing openings for the coloredmen in trades. In the south it is not unusualto see a colored brick-mason working alongside a whitebrick-mason. But in the north the best a coloredman can hope for on a building job now is a positionas a hod-carrier or mortar-mixer.

When the alien arrives in this country, he is givenopportunity for virtually every kind of employment.But the colored man who is born in the United States,and, therefore, should share in its opportunities,is not given as fair a chance as the alien worker.

Naturally, we cannot hope that these conditions willbe remedied in a day or a month nor can the coloredman expect that the millennium will come to him throughthe action of white people alone. He can improvehis chances of securing greater rights and opportunitiesin the United States, if he will make the most ofthe limited opportunities now afforded him. Hewho does the best he can with the tools he has at handis bound in time to demand by his good work bettertools for the performance of more important and profitableduties. The conviction is general that “Hethat is faithful in that which is least is faithfulalso in much.”

The late Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who was a goodfriend of the black man as well as the white, struckthe right note in his introduction to the biographyof Booker T. Washington when he said:

“If there is anylesson more essential than any other for this
country to learn, itis the lesson that the enjoyment of rights
should be made conditionalupon the performance of duty.”

There exist certain rights which every colored manand woman may enjoy regardless of laws and prejudice.For instance, nothing can prevent a colored personfrom practicing industry, honesty, saving and decency,if he or she desires to practice them.

The helpfulness of the colored race to the Governmentneed not be confined to fighting in the army nor toservice in the manifold domestic callings. Itis the duty of the colored citizens, as it is theirright, to have a part in the substantial developmentof the nation and to assist in financing its operationsfor war or peace. The colored people, as a rule,are industrious and thrifty and have come to appreciatetheir importance as a factor in the economic and financialworld, as indicated by their prosperous business enterprises,their large holdings in real estate, their managementof banks, and their scrupulous handling of the millionsof deposits entrusted to their care. This capital,saved through sacrifice, has been placed in a mostgenerous manner at the disposal of the Governmentthroughout its period of need, and the list of corporations,fraternities and individuals who have aided in bringingsuccess to American arms by the purchase of LibertyBonds and War Savings Stamps and by contributionsto other war relief agencies, is indeed a long one.

Opportunities of the colored people to make safe investmentof their savings never were so great as they are today.The financial program the Government has entered uponand is continuing to carry out to meet the expenseof the war gives a chance to save in sums as smallas twenty-five cents and makes an investment uponwhich return of both principal and interest is absolutelyguaranteed. Too often colored people have entrustedtheir savings to wholly irresponsible persons, lostthem through the dishonesty of these persons, and indiscouragement abandoned all attempts at saving.Today, however, there is no excuse for any man notsaving a certain amount of his earnings no matterhow small it may be. It is a poor person, indeed,who cannot invest twenty-five cents at stated intervalsin a Thrift Stamp. Many are able also to buysmall Liberty Bonds. It is a duty and a privilegefor colored persons to help the Government financethe war, which was for both whites and blacks.

It is the particular duty of white persons, in cooperationwith the most influential members of their own race,to explain these Government financial plans to thecolored men and women that they may make safe investments,acquire a competence, and thus become better citizens.

It is my belief that the Negro soldier returning fromFrance will be a better citizen than when he left.He will be benefited mentally and physically by hismilitary training and experience. He will havea broader vision. He will appreciate Americancitizenship. He will know, I believe, that freedom,for which he risked his life and all, is not license.He will find his brothers at home who did not go overseasbetter for their war sacrifices. Both the soldierand the civilian have proved their devoted loyalty.Justice demands that they now be rewarded with anequal chance with the white man to climb as high inthe industrial and professional world as their individualcapacity warrants.

[Illustration: Homecoming heroes of8th Illinois (370th infantry).Famous negro fighters marchingin Michigan Boulevard. Chicago]

CHAPTER XXXI.

The other fellow’s burden.

An Emancipation Day Appeal for Justice.

By W. Allison Sweeney.

Publisher’s Note: At ourrequest, Mr. Sweeney consented to the reproductionof this poem, which with the accompanying letter fromthe late Dr. Booker T. Washington, and the commentby the Chicago Daily News, appeared in that newspaperjust prior to New Years Day, 1914. We regardit as a powerful argument, affecting the Negro’spast condition and his interests.

“President Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamationSept. 22, 1862. It went into effect at the beginningof January, 1863. New Year’s day has thusbecome ‘Emancipation day’ to the coloredpeople of the United States and to all members ofthe white race who realize the great significanceof Lincoln’s act of striking off the shacklesof an enslaved race. Services on that day combinehonor to Lincoln with appeals to the people of Lincoln’snation to grant justice to the Negro. A remarkableappeal of this sort is embodied in the poem here presented.

“W. Allison Sweeney, author of “TheOther Fellow’s Burden” is well known amonghis people as writer, editor and lecturer. Hispoem, which sketches with powerful strokes the lamentablehistory of the colored race in America and tells oftheir worthy achievements in the face of discouragements,deserves a thoughtful reading by all persons.Of this poem and its author Dr. Booker T. Washingtonwrites as follows:

“Tuskegee Institute, Ala., Dec.24, 1913.—­To the Editor of the ChicagoDaily News: I have read with sincere interestand appreciation W. Allison Sweeney’s poem,‘The Other Fellow’s Burden.’All through Mr. Sweeney’s poem there is an invitationput in rather a delicate and persuasive way, but neverthelessit is there, for the white man to put himself in thenegro’s place and then to lay his hand upon hisheart and ask how he would like for the other fellowto treat him. If every man who reads this poemwill try sincerely to answer this question I believethat Mr. Sweeney’s poem will go a long way towardbringing about better and more helpful conditions.

“Mr. Sweeney is, of course, a member of theNegro race and writes from what might be called theinside. He knows of Negro aspirations, of Negrostrivings and of Negro accomplishments. He hashad an experience of many years as writer and lecturerfor and to Negroes and he knows probably as well asanyone wherein the Negro feels that ‘the shoeis made to pinch.’ The poem, it seems tome, possesses intrinsic merit and I feel quite surethat Mr. Sweeney’s appeal to the great Americanpeople, for fair play will not fall upon deaf ears.Booker T. Washington.”

The “white man’sburden” has been
told theworld,
But what of the otherfellow’s—­
The “lion’swhelp”?

Lest you forget,
May he not lisp his?
Not in arrogance,
Not in resentment,
But that truth
May stand foursquare?

This then,
Is the Other Fellow’sBurden.

* * * * *

Brought into existence
Through the enforcedconnivance
Of a helpless motherhood
Misused through generations—­
America’s darkestsin!—­
There courses throughhis veins
In calm insistence—­incriminatingirony
Of the secrecy of blightinglust!
The best and the vilestblood
Of the South’svariegated strain;
Her statesmen and herloafers,
Her chivalry and herruffians.

Thus bred,
His impulses twisted
At the starting point
By brutality and sensuoussavagery,
Should he be crucified?
Is it a cause for wonder
If beneath his skinof many hues—­
Black, brown, yellow,white—­
Flows the sullen flood
Of resentment for prenatalwrong
And forced humility?

Should it be a wonder
That the muddy lifecurrent
Eddying through hisarteries,
Crossed with the goodand the bad,
Poisoned with conflictingemotions,
Proclaims at times,
Through no fault ofhis,
That for a surety thesins of fathers
Become the heritageof sons
Even to the fourth generation?
Or that murdered chastity,
That ravished motherhood—­
So pitiful, so helpless,
Before the white hot,
Lust-fever of the “master”—­
Has borne its sure fruit?

You mutter, “Thereshould be no wonder.”
Well, somehow, Sir Caucasian,
Perhaps southern gentleman,
I, marked a “whelp,”am moved
To prize that mutteredadmission.

* * * * *

But listen, please:
The wonder is—­thegreater one—­
That from Lexingtonto San Juan hill
Disloyalty never smirched
His garments, nor civicwrangle
Nor revolutionary ebullition
Marked him its follower.

A “striker”?Yes!
But he struck the insurgent
And raised the flag.

An ingrate?
Treacherous?
A violator?
When—­oh,spectacle that moved the world!
For five bloody years
Of fratricidal strife—­
Red days when brotherswarred—­
He fed the babe,
Shielded the mother.
Guarded the doorsill
Of a million southernhomes?

Penniless when freedomcame? Most true;
But his accumulationsof fifty years
Could finance a groupof principalities.

Homeless? Yes;but the cabin and the hut
Of Lincoln’s day—­uncoverat that name!—­
Are memories; the mansionof today,
Dowered with cultureand refinement,
Sweetened by clean lives,
Is a fact.

Unlettered? Yes;
But the alumni of hisschools,
Triumphant over thehandicap
Of “previous condition,”
Are to be found theworld over
In every assemblageinspired
By the democracy ofletters.

In the casting up whatappears?
The progeny of lustand helplessness,
He inherited a mottledsoul—­
“Damned spots”that biased the looker on.

Clothed a freeman,
Turned loose in theland
Creditless, withoutexperience,
He often stumbled, theway being strange,
Sometimes fell.

Mocked, sneered at from every angle,spurned, hindered in every section, North,south, east, west, Refused the most primitiverights, His slightest mistakes Made mountainsof, Hunted, burned, hanged, The death rattlein his throat Drowned by shouts and laughterAnd—­think of it!—­ Theglee of little children. Still he pressedon, wrought, Sowed, reaped, builded.

His smile ever ready,
His perplexed soul lighted
With the radiance
Of an unquenchable optimism,
God’s presencevisualized,
He has risen, step bystep.
To the majesty of thehome builder,
Useful citizen,
Student, teacher,
Unwavering patriot.

This of the Other Fellow.
What of you, his judgesand his patrons?

If it has been yourwont
In your treatment ofhim
Not to reflect,
Or to stand by in idleunconcern
While, panting on hisbelly,
Ambushed by booted ruffianism,
He lapped in sublimeresignation
The bitter waters
Of unreasoning intolerance,
Has not the hour ofhis deliverance,
Of your escape fromyour “other selves”
Struck?

If you have erred,
Will you refuse to knowit?

Has not the time arrived
To discriminate between
Those who lower
Those who raise him?

You are shamed by yourabortions,
Your moral half growths
Who flee God’seye
And stain his greenearth,
But you are not judgedby yours;
Should he be judgedby his?

In his special case—­ifso, why?
Is manhood a myth,
Womanhood a toy,
Integrity unbelievable,
Honor a chimera?

Should not his boysand girls,
Mastering the curriculumof the schools,
Pricked on to attainmentby the lure
Of honorable achievement,
Be given bread and nota stone
When seeking employment
In the labor mart,
At the factory gate
Or the office door?

Broadened by the spiritof the golden rule,
Will you not grant thesechildren of Hagar
An even break?

Is the day not here,O judges,
When the Other Fellow
May be measured in fairness,
Just fairness?

* * * * *

It is written men mayrise
“On their deadselves to higher things;”
But can it be that thisclear note of cheer
To sodden men and smittenraces
Was meant for all savehim?

Chants an immortal:
“He prayeth bestwho loveth best
All things both greatand small;
For the dear God wholoveth us,
He made and loveth all.”

CHAPTER XXXII.

An interpolation.

Held by distinguished thinkersand writers, that the negrosoldier should be given A chancefor promotion as well as Achance to die—­why whiteofficers over negro soldiers?

Ever since the conclusion of the conflict of ’61-’65,in which Negro troops numbered by thousands, tookan active part upon behalf of the Union, there hasbeen a growing and insistent wonder in the minds ofmany, why, given a chance to die in the military serviceof the nation, they should not also at the same timebe given a chance for promotion.

Subsequent affairs engaged in by the government requiringthe intervention of its military arm, the Spanish-Americanwar, the Philippines investiture incident thereto,the Mexican disagreement, the whole crowned by thestupendous World War; its frightful devastation anddin yet fresh to our sight, still filling our ears,as it will for years; in all of which they have contributedtheir share of loyalty and blood—­of lives!—­havebut added to, strengthened the wonder mentioned.

Up to the beginning of the European muddle it wasdiscussed if at all, not so much as a condition demandinguncensored condemnation, as one to continue to bepatient with, trusting to time and an awakened senseof fair play upon the part of the nation at largeto note the custom complained of, and banish the irritationby abolishing the cause.

However, there has not been lacking those who havespoken out, who have raised their voices in protestagainst what they deemed an injustice to the loyal“fighting men” of their race, and so feeling,have not hesitated to make their plea to those aboveempowered to listen, regardless of the mood in whichthey did so.

As long ago as the summer of 1915, or to be exact,August 26th of that year, Capt. R.P. Rootsof Seattle, Washington, addressed a letter to theHon. Lindley M. Garrison at Washington, at the timeSecretary of War, directing his attention to the discrepancyof assignment complained of, accompanied with certainsuggestions; having to do with a condition that thegovernment must eventually face; that will not down,and must sooner or later be abrogated. CaptainRoots’ communication to the Secretary of War,also one addressed to the Hon. Joseph Tumulty, privatesecretary to President Wilson, follows:

“Seattle,Wash., August 26, 1915.
“Hon. LindleyM. Garrison, Secretary of War,
Dear Sir: As anex-officer of the Spanish-American war, having servedas
Captain of Company “E”of the Eighth Illinois Volunteers, I am taking
the liberty to ask that,if you should recommend any increase in the
Army you give the Negroa chance in the manner, and for reasons I shall
further explain.
Youwill notice by my service with the 8th Illinois thatI am a
colored man, and assuch am offering these suggestions, which, in the
main, are just.
Ifthe increase is sufficient, we should have:
Twocoast artillery companies.
Oneregiment of field artillery (Inthese branches we are not
represented at all).
Oneregiment of cavalry.
Theabove to be embodied in the Regular Army and to beofficered as
you think fit.
Butmy main object is: Three Regiments of Infantryofficered from
colonel downwith colored men. I should nothave these Infantry
Regiments of the regularservice for the reason that to appoint officers
to the rank of Colonel,Majors, etc., would not be fair to the regular
service officers, andwould interfere with the promotion of the same,
but I would have themrank as volunteers. Give them the name of
“IMMUNES,”“Foreign service regiments,”or any other name that you
choose.
Myfurther reasons are as to officering these regiments,that there
would be many misfitsin such organizations and I would leave it so that
you or the Presidentcould remove them without prejudice from the
service, but to fillby other colored men the vacancies that

might
occur. I shouldofficer these regiments with Spanish War veterans,
non-commissioned officersof the retired and regulars, but should
appoint all 2d Lieutenantsfrom the schools of the country giving
military training.
The2d Lieutenants upon passing the regular army examinationcould be
placed in the eligiblelist of the regular army, but not until at least
two years’ servicewith these regiments. You could set a time limiton
these regiments if youso desire, say ten or twelve years duration;
either mustered outor in the regular service.
“NowMr. Secretary, I have striven to meet any objectionswhich might be
made by the Army onaccount of social prejudice, etc. With thisthought
I should send theseregiments to some foreign post to serve where there
are dark races; to thePhilippines, Mexico, or Haiti. The object lesson
would be marked politically,both at home and abroad.
“The48th and 49th Regiments organized in 1899 and sentto Philippines
were unsatisfactorybecause of there being three social lines of
separation in thoseorganizations—­the field andstaff of these
regiments werewhite, and the line officers werecolored. In a social
way the line officerswere entirely ignored, and even officiallywere
treated very littlebetter than enlisted men or with no more courtesy,
to such an extent asto cause comment by both soldiers and natives.
“Nowas to the colored citizen of this country coming toits defense
there is no question,as he has always done so But, to use a late
phrase, he is beginningto want his “Place in thesun”—­he wants a
chance to rise on hismerits and to know when heshoulders A gun, that
if he isdeserving of it, he will haveA chance to rise. He can fight
and will, but will fightbetter with an incentive than without one. He
is a, citizen regardlessof all laws to the contrary; also he is the new
Negro, and notof the “Uncle Tom” class, the passing ofwhom so many
white citizens regret.
“Hereads your literature, attends your theaters, goesto your schools,
observes you in hiscapacity as a waiter or porter, and is absorbing the
best you have in theways of civilization, and in fact, in every walk of
life, he is a factor;and when he is asked to defend his country should
he not be given thesame chance as the white man?
“Youwill say that he should go to West Point. Welland good; but who is
to send him? Next,who will defend him while there against the
“Unwritten Law”of the white students not to allow him to matriculate?
“Thefirst officers of such regiments could be easily picked,made from
Spanish War veteransand non-commissioned officers of the regular army,
and second lieutenantsfrom graduates from colleges giving military
training. Suchan organization officered in this manner would be ideal,
speaking from my experienceas a veteran of the Spanish War.
“Onething you may have overlooked: We are twelve millionin this
country, with anestimate of A million men fitfor service.
“Supposeat such a crisis as is now transpiring in Europe, thiscountry,
with its millions offoreign citizens, should suddenly find itself face
to face with a revolution.The presence and loyalty of these million
negroes might meanmuch for the stability of this government.
“Ihave spoken plainly because I am a citizen; this ismy country. I was
born here, and shallat all times be found with the flag; hence I ask,
that in your recommendations,looking to the betterment and enlargement
of the army, you givethe black patriot such consideration,as I cannot
but feel is due him,the thousands of young colored men who have passed
through colleges andschools in an effort to prepare themselves for
filling a place in theworld.
“Iam opposed to segregation, but as it seems, under thepresent
conditions of the racessocially to be the only way to a square deal,I
accept it. Thereare Irish regiments, German regiments, etc., letus
then have Negro regiments.The coming generations will look after the
rest. I am, veryrespectfully,
R.P.Roots
400 26th Ave., North,Late Capt. 8th Ill. Vol. Infantry.”

“Seattle,Wash., Nov. 9, 1915.
“Hon Joseph Tumulty, Secretary to the President,Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:—­I am enclosing a copy ofa letter sent to the Secretary of
War, which I would be very much pleased to haveyou call the President’s
attention to, and ask if he can approve of it.
“I was not fully informed as to thePresident’s policy in regard to
Haiti at the time of writing, and am not now,except through such
information as received by the daily press.Taking that, in the main as
authentic, I wish to add that I think a Brigadeof Colored Troops, such
as recommended in my letter to the Secretaryfor foreign service, would
be the proper thing for Haiti.
“It being a Negro Republic, the racialfeeling as to the Negro’s

treatment in this country, which I need not mention,has been enlarged
upon and not understood by the Negroes of otherparts of the world, so
that as it seems to me, to organize a constabularyofficered by white
Americans, would be inviting murder; for agitatorsfrom other
governments, if they so desired, would soon causea rebellion, and then
you would have it all to do over again.
“Colored troops from this country,I mean officers as well, would tend
to cause a good feeling among the natives, notat first but later on as
each became used to the other. Thewhite man thinks he is superiorto
any negro, and would showit even though he tried notto, and the
Haitian would be going around with a chip onhis shoulder looking for
someone to knock it off.
“You have three men in the regulararmy who could supervise the
organization of these troops, and one who isalready a Colonel of the
Eighth Illinois National Guard, also severalothers if you wished to
consider them.
“Hoping that you will see the advisabilityof such an organization for
diplomatic reasons and for justice tothe American negro—­who hasbeen
loyal—­and served from Bunker Hilluntil now, I am,
Very respectfully,
R.P. Roots,
400 26th St. N. Seattle, Wash., Late Capt.Eighth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry during Spanish War.”

As touching upon the above, Editor E.S. Abbottof the Chicago defender, made the followingcomment:

“There may be reasons deemedgood and sufficient upon the part of PresidentWilson and Secretary Garrison for not having repliedto the very courteous and finely conceived lettersof appeal and suggestion, having to do with anew deal—­with justice and fair playin the future towards the Negro soldiery of our country,written them some weeks ago by Capt.R.P. Roots of Seattle.

“It is not always meet, especiallyin times like these, of war and stress, of worriesand apprehension, reaching across the world, for ourrulers and servants facing great responsibilities andperplexing situations, to respond to every queryand satisfy all curiosities. Much reticencemust be permitted them. Much accepted, asa matter of course, without pursuing curiosity to thelimit.

“There may be ideas conveyedby Captain Roots to the president, through hiscommunications to Secretaries Garrison and Tumultythat some people may not agree with, but therecan be no disagreement over the proposition thatthe lot of colored soldiers in the armies ofthe United States—­in the past, and at thepresent, is much different than that accordedto white soldiers; very little to really be proudof; very, very much to be ashamed of—­muchthat is humiliating and depressing.

“Because the present administrationmay be powerless in the matter, afraid to touchit, fearing a live wire or something of that kind,should our duty in the premises, towardour own, be influenced thereby?

“I wonder—­isthe time not now—­right now, to commencean attack
upon this intrenchedscandal—­this dirty, humiliating Americanism?

“No other nation on earth, Christianor pagan, treats its defenders, its soldiery,so meanly, so shabbily, as does this, her blackdefenders; but whether the nation is more to blame,than we, who so long have submitted without amurmur, is a question. ’The trouble’shouted Cassius to Brutus, ’is not in our stars,that we are Underlings, but in ourselves.’

“Shall we, responding to theinitiative furnished by captain Roots, commencean organized assault upon this national vice againstthe soldiers of our race? Is this the time,readers of The Defender? Is this the time,brothers and editors of the contemporary press?

R.S.Abbott.”

Following in the footsteps of Captain Roots; apparentlyobsessed by the same vision and spirit, Mr. WillisO. Tyler, eminent Los Angeles race representative,attorney and Harvard graduate, also makes a plea forjustice for Negro troops in the regular army, alsofor Negro officers, and proposes reforms and legislationfor utilizing the present force of Negro officers,and creating enlarged opportunities for others.Says Mr. Tyler:

“Officers in the regular armyfor the most part, are graduates of West Point.They are commissioned second lieutenants at graduation.No Negro has graduated from West Point in thepast twenty-nine years, and none has enteredthere in 32 years. Col. Charles Young graduatedin 1889, twenty-nine years ago,—­he enteredin 1884. Henry W. Holloway entered in 1886,but attended only that year. In all, onlytwelve Negroes have ever attended West Point and onlythree have graduated. Of the three graduates,the first, Henry O. Flipper (1877) was afterwardsdischarged.

“The second, John H. Alexander(1887) died in 1894. The third and lastgraduate, Charles Young (1889) has but recently beenreturned to active duty. We understand hehas attained the rank of Colonel. The Negroesof the United States, to the number of twelve millions,have only one West Point graduate in the regulararmy. There are however four regiments ofColored troops, two of infantry, and two of cavalry,and these have been maintained for 52 years, (since1866), and more than two hundred officers findplaces in the four Colored regiments. Thesetwo hundred officers, with about three exceptionsare white officers. In all, only twelve Negroeshave held commissions in the regular army.Of this number seven were Chaplains and two werepaymasters.

“In 1917 there were two firstlieutenants; and (then) Major Charles Young inthe regular army. Hence only two officers of theline and only one of the staff (other than Chaplains),out of more than two hundred who found placeswith the four colored regiments.

“We need not stop for the reasonswhy Negroes have not been attending West Point,nor even admitted there for the past 32 years.Certain it is they have not been attending the nation’sgreat military school, and certain it is thatin law, good conscience and right, one cadetat West Point in every twelve should be a Negro.

“The future lies before us.The four regiments of Colored Troops have vindicatedtheir right to be maintained as such by having madefor the army some of its finest traditions.Why not have the four colored regiments officeredby colored men from the Colonel down to the secondlieutenants?

“The United States is just makingan end to a glorious participation in the greatworld’s war. In this war the Negro soldiersplayed well their part. They laughed in the faceof death on the firing line; they have been awardedthe ‘Ribbon’ and the Croix de Guerre—­withpalms. Who were their officers?

“From the officers training campat Fort Des Moines, Iowa, 639 colored men werecommissioned. Since then 267 more have been commissioned,not counting those in Medical Reserve Corps, nor the41 Chaplains. Colored Captains and Lieutenantsled colored soldiers “Over the Top”and commanded them on march and in trench. Manyofficers were given but three months in the officer’sTraining camp; many of them had served as non-commissionedofficers in one of the four colored regiments.But not one word of criticism or complaint ofthem has reached us. Their adaptability to theirnew duties is beyond cavil. Their efficiency,bravery—­leadership, are all unquestionedand permanently established.

“The future lies before us.What will our country do? Surely it willnot retire all of these fine young colored officers,who responded so nobly to the call of their country,to private life and continue the discriminationwhich in the past deprived them of admissionto West Point and of commissions in the regular army.I do not believe it. I believe that thesense of justice and fair play is deeply rootedin the American people. I believe that our fourcolored regiments in the regular army will in the futurebe officered by colored men. That the doorsof West Point will be opened in accordance withjustice and fair play to a proper number andproportion of colored Cadets. But this is notall nor is it enough.

“We believe that at present thenation owes the Colored people certain legislationand that the nation being solvent and loud in itsprotestations of kindness toward the Colored peoplefor their loyal and patriotic participation inthe war both at home and on the battlefield,should now pay its debt toward the colored peopleand reward them to the extent that the best ofthe nearly one thousand officers now servingin the National Army be transferred to the Regulararmy, and assigned to duty in the four Colored regiments,and that these be from colonel down to second lieutenants.We also believe that in the future West Point andAnnapolis should ‘lend a little colour’to their graduation exercises in the presenceof Colored graduates.

“No doubt legislation will beneeded to this end. At present commissionsare granted first to the graduates of West Point, andeven a fair and more liberal policy in this regardin the future will not meet present needs.What is needed now is legislation providing forthe transfer (or at least the opportunity to enter)into the regular army of a sufficient number ofour Colored Officers now with commissions toofficer in toto the four Colored regiments wenow have.

“Commissions are also grantedat present to a limited number of enlisted menwho are recommended for these examinations, and whosucceed in passing. The candidates must beunder 27 years of age and unmarried. Theymust have had a certain amount of secondary school,or college education which few privates or non com’s(colored) have had. This is the case becausefew young Colored men with the necessary growth‘single blessedness,’ and college training,feel, or have heretofore felt that the door of ’equalopportunity’ announced by Mr. Rooseveltstands open to them in the regular army.To trust the officering of four Colored Regiments tothis second mode of selecting and commissioningofficers, would prove fatal to our hopes andfail of accomplishment.

“The third method of selectingofficers at present is by examinations of civilians,certain college presidents and other civiliansbeing permitted to recommend certain civilians, (studentsand others) for examination for second lieutenants.

“In this regard Negroes havemet the same difficulties that they have encounteredin the past 32 years in their efforts to gain admissionto West Point. At best only a small percent ofeach year’s graduating class from WestPoint can get commissions in this manner.Those selected have been white men, what we are afternow is a present day, practical way of utilizingthe best material we now have, holding commissionsand making secure the opportunity for other Coloredmen to enter the army as second lieutenants and bydint of industry, close application, obedience,brains and time gain their promotion step bystep, just as white men have been doing and cando now. This is the American—­democratic,fair play, reward and justice we seek for thetwelve million Negro citizens of our great republic.Congress could if it would, provide for the presentby an appropriate measure giving the right and opportunityto our returning officers to stand examinationfor commissions in the Regular army; Militaryexperience and knowledge, and general and specialeducational qualifications to determine the rank orgrade received.

“In this way our four coloredregiments could be officered by colored men.Otherwise, the fine talents and desire for serviceto the country held by the one thousand intelligentand courageous young Negroes who are officers,will be lost and rejected by the country, andthe 12 million Negroes in the United States will continue,notwithstanding their patriotism and devotion, to bedenied of their just representation in commissionsin the regular army.

“We believe that once this isdone the sense of fairness and justice that,after all is said and done is so firmly imbedded inthe American people, will see to it that our properand proportionate number of young Colored menare admitted to West Point and Annapolis annuallyand that the other avenues for gaining admissionin the army and navy will not be blocked, closed anddenied Negroes by the unreasonable race prejudicewhich has heretofore done so.

“Our country iseither a country of ‘equal opportunity’or it is
not. It is eithera democracy or it is not.

“Certainly theNegroes have failed to realize this ’equal
opportunity’ inthe matter of training at West Point and Annapolis,
and is gaining commissionsin the Regular army.

“The great war in Europe is closedor soon will be. We have again shown ourcountry that ‘our hearts are on the right side.’What will our country do for us? We askonly that the door of ’equal opportunity’be unbarred—­that we may enter.”

Said Colonel Charles Young, U.S.A., touching uponthe same subject:

I affirm that any systemof schools saying to students of any race,
“Thus far shaltthou go and no farther,” is flinging a lie inthe
face of God.

* * * * *

The ability and willingness of the government andits people to fit the Negro into the body politicwith all the rights, privileges, and immunities ofa full fledged American will be the test before theworld which knows and sees the relations and actsof the individuals and states of the United States.

Human equity and a respect for law and truth mustbe sacred with us; the spirit of America is the squaredeal and fair play.

* * * * *

This granted as an American principle, the Negro peopleof the United States demand to know whether the sweepinggeneralization of lack of leadership and the capacityof the Negro officer was derived by a consultationof the War Department, the press, both white and Negroand the reports of impartial officers.

The black officer feels that there was a prejudgmentagainst him at the outset and that nearly every movethat has been made was for the purpose of bolsteringup this prejudgment and discrediting him in the eyesof the world and the men whom he was to lead and willlead in the future.

* * * * *

Remembering the multitude of the Croix de Guerre andcitations on the breasts of the returning Negro officersand the Distinguished Service Crosses to boot, theNegro officer is smiling, not discouraged with himselfand is still carrying on for the flag, the countrywhere he was born and where the bones of his fathersare buried, and for the uplift and leadership of hispeople for a more glorious Americanism.

History tells us that on the continent of Americathat Toussaint L’Ouverture, who with a leadershipthat no man ever surpassed and who routed the besttroops of Napoleon Bonaparte, was a pure Negro anda slave until after fifty years old.

Major Martin R. Delaney was a pure Negro, and manyothers that can be mentioned were pure Negroes.

Ex-parte judgments will not go in the future history,for the black man will not only act his history buthe will write it, and be it said that he knows historymethods, and that with him they are not those whichcome from the heat of prejudice and a direct and concertedattempt to discredit any group of American people.

Unpatriotic and unwarranted statements do no goodand lull the country to sleep, and throw it off itsguard while the effects of these statements are causingjust rankling in the breasts of the Negro people whohave had a New Vision.

The Negro officers know the psychology of their ownrace and also of the white race; but it is to be fearedthe latter will never know the mind and motive forcesof the Negro, if he imagines that his group has nothad a new birth in America, whose language it speaks,whose thought it thinks for its own betterment, andwhose ideals, both social, political, and economicit emulates.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The new negroand the new America

“The old order
Changeth, yielding place to new.”
Through the
Arbitrament of war, behold a new and betterAmerica!
a new and girded Negro!
“The watches
Of the night have passed!
“The watches
Of the day begin!”

Out of war’s crucible new nations emerge.New ideas seize mankind and if the conflict has beena just one, waged for exalted ideals and imperishableprinciples and not alone for mere national securityand integrity, a new character, a broader nationalvision is formed.

Such was the result of the early wars for democracy.The seeds of universal freedom once sown, finallyripened not alone to the unshackling of a race, butto the fecundity and birth of a spirit that movedall nations and peoples to seek an enlarged liberty.The finger of disintegration and change is never still;is always on the move; always the old order is passing;always the new, although unseen of man, is comingon. And so it is, that nations are still in thethroes of reconstruction after the great war.That it was the greatest and most terrible of allwars, increases the difficulties incident to the establishmentof the new order, precedent to a restoration of tranquilconditions.

So radical were some of the results of the conflict,such as the overthrow of despotism in Russia, anda swinging completely to the other extreme of thependulum; similar happenings in Germany and Austriatranspiring, that subject peoples in general, findingthemselves in possession of a liberty which they didnot expect and were not prepared for, are in a sensebewildered; put to it, as to just what steps to take;the wisest course to pursue.

At home we have a nearer view and can begin to seeemerging a new America. The men who fought abroadwill be the dominant factor in national affairs formany years. These men have returned, and willreturn with a broadened vision and with new and enlargedideas regarding themselves and, quite to be expected,of progress and human rights.

With the leaven of thought which has been workingat home, added to the new and illuminating; more liberalviewpoint regarding the Negro attained by the Americanwhites who served with him in France, will come; isalready born, a new national judgment and charity ofopinion and treatment, that will not abate; will growand flourish through the coming years, a belated senseof justice and restitution due the Negro; a most wholesomesign of shame and repentance upon the part of thenation. The old order based on slavery and environment;the handicap of “previous condition” haspassed. Will never return! That, orthe “Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man”is, and always was, an iridescent dream; a barrenideality!

The new America owes much of its life to the Negro;guaranteed through centuries of a devotion, than which,there has been nothing like it; you seek in vain fora counterpart; a patriotism and suffering and shedblood; the splendor and unselfishness of which willgerminate and flower through the ages; as long ashistory shall be read; to the last moment of recordedtime.

In days to come, now on the way, men will say, oneto another: “How could it have been thatthose faithful Blacks; those loyal citizens; whosetoil enriched; whose blood guaranteed the perpetuityof our institutions; were discriminated against—­wronged?”

In a country based and governed on the principle thatall men are free and equal, discrimination or specialprivilege will eat at the heart of national life.Capital must not have special advantages over labor;neither labor over capital. Jew and Gentile, protestantand catholic, Negro and White men, must be equal;not alone in the spirit of the law but in the applicationof it. Not alone in the spirit of industrialism,commerce and ordinary affairs of life, but in theirinterpretation and application as well.

Social discriminations and distinctions may prevailwith no great danger to the body politic, so longas people do not take them too seriously—­donot mistake the shadow for the substance, and regardthem the paramount things of life.

Obviously the Negro no less than the Caucasian, hasa right, and no government may challenge it, to saywho his associates shall be, who he shall invite intohis house, but such rights are misconstrued and exceededwhen carried to the point of proscribing, oppressingor hampering the development of other men, regardlessof the nationality of their competitors.

The logical growth of achievement for the Negro isfirst within the lines of his own race, but, all thingsbeing equal; genius being the handmaiden of no particularrace or clime, he is not to be hindered by the lawof the land, the prejudice of sections or individuals,from seeking to climb to any height.

The bugbear and slander, raised and kept alive bythat section of the land south of the imaginary line,to wit: that the Negro was ambitious for “racialequality,” only is entitled to reference in thesepages for the purpose of according it the contemptdue it. That the whites of the country have nota complete monopoly of those unpleasing creatures knownas “tuft hunters” and “social climbers,”is no doubt true, but that the Negro, as representedby intelligence and race pride, ever worries overit; cares a rap for it, is not true.

Humanity’s great benefit coming from the war,which cannot be changed or abridged, will consistof a newer, broader sense of manhood; a demand forthe inherent opportunities and rights belonging toit; for all men of all colors, of all climes; andbeyond that; of more significance; as marking thedawn indeed of a new and better day,will be a larger, juster sense; springing up in thenation’s heart; watered by her tears, of repentanceof past wrongs inflicted on the Negro. The Negrowill become the architect of his own growth and development.The South will not be permitted; through the forceof national opinion, to continue to oppress him.

The talk of the revival of KuKlux societies to intimidatethe Negro; “to keep him in his place,”is the graveyard yawp of a dying monster. Arethe thousands of Negroes who faced bullets in the mostdisastrous war of history, and several hundred thousandmore who were ready and willing to undergo the sameperils, likely to be frightened by such a threat, suchan antiquated, silly, short-sighted piece of injusticeand terrorism?

Men’s necessities force a resort to common sense.Racial prejudice and ignorant, contemptible intolerance,must disappear under, and before the presence of therenewal of business activity in the South, and thenecessity for Negro labor. Each soldier returningfrom Europe is a more enlightened man than when hewent away. He has had the broadening effect oftravel, the chance to mingle with other races and acquirethe views born of a greater degree of equality andmore generous treatment.

These men desire to remain in their southern homes.Climatically they are suited and the country offersthem employment to which they are accustomed; butmore than all, it is home, and they are bound to itby ties of association and affection.

With a mutual desire of whites and blacks to achievean end, common sense will find a basis of agreement.The Negro will get better pay and better treatment.His status accordingly will be improved. His employerwill get better service, he also will be broadenedand improved by a new spirit of tolerance and charity.

Cooperation among the white and black races receiveda decided impetus during the war. A movementso strongly started is sure to gather force untilit attains the objects more desirious of accomplishment.Some of these objects undoubtedly are far in the distance,but will be achieved in time. When they are,the Negro will be far advanced on the road of racialdevelopment. The day has dawned and the starthas been made. Before the noontime, America willbe prouder of her Negro citizens and will be a happier,a more inspired and inspiring nation; a better homefor all her people.

One of the results of the war will be an improvementin the government and condition of Negroes in Africa.Exploitation of the race for European aggrandisem*ntis sure to be lessened. No such misgoverned coloniesas those of Germany will be tolerated under the newrule and the new spirit actuating the victorious Allies.Evils in other sections of that continent will disappearor receive positive amelioration.

The most hopeful sign in America is the tendency insome sections where trouble has been prevalent inthe past, to meet and discuss grievances. Insome sections of the South, men of prominence are exhibitinga willingness to meet and talk over matters with representativesof the race. Such a spirit of tolerance willgrow and eventually lead to a better understanding;perhaps a general reconciling of differences.

Many concessions will be required before completejustice prevails and the Negro comes into his own;before the soil can be prepared for the complete floweringof his spirit.

Primarily, before attaining to the full growth andusefulness of the citizen under the rights guaranteedto him by the Constitution, the Negro, especiallyin the South, will require better educational facilities.If he is to become a better citizen, he must have theeducation and training necessary to know the full dutiesof citizenship. He pays his share of the schooltaxes and it is manifestly unjust to deny him theaccruing benefits.

He is ambitious too, and should be encouraged to ownland, and to that end should have the assistance withoutprejudice or discrimination, of national and statefarm loan bureaus.

Unjust suffrage restrictions must and shall be removed,giving to the Negro the full rights of other citizensin this respect. With better educational facilitiesand the ownership of real estate, he will vote moreintelligently, and there will be no danger that hisvote will be against the interests of the countryat large or the section in which he resides.

The withering taint of “Jim Crow"-ism, mustbe obliterated; wiped out—­will be.Railroads will be compelled to extend the same accommodationsto white and colored passengers. The traveller;whatever his color, who pays the price for a ticket,must and shall in this land of Equality and Justice,be accorded the same accommodations.

Peonage, so-called, will end. It cannot endureunder an awakened, enlightened public opinion.Negroes, all other things equal, will be admittedto labor unions, or labor unions will lose the potentialityand force they should wield in labor and industrialaffairs.

The Negro’s contribution to the recent war andto previous conflicts, has earned him beyond questionor challenge, a right to just consideration in themilitary and naval establishment of the nation.America, grudging as she has been in the past to enlargehis rights, or even to guarantee those which she hasgranted, has grown too great indeed. Her disciplinehas been too real to deny him this fair consideration.There will be more Negro units in the Regular Armyand National Guard organizations; untrammelled facilitiesfor training, in government, state and college institutions.

Selective draft figures having revealed the Negroas a better; if not the best, physical risk, willmake it easier for him to secure life insurance, which;after all is a plain business proposition. Insurancecompanies are after business and are not concernedwith racial distinctions where the risk is good.The draft has furnished figures regarding the Negro’shealth and longevity which hitherto were not availableto insurance actuaries. Now that they have them,no reason exists for denying insurance facilitiesto the race.

With a growing, every minute, of a better understandingbetween the races; with the Negro learning thriftthrough Liberty Bonds, Savings Stamps and the lessonsof the war; with an encouragement to own propertyand take out insurance; being vastly enlightened throughhis military service, and with improved industrialconditions about to appear, he is started on a betterroad, to end only when he shall have reached the fullattainment belonging to the majesty of Americancitizenship.

With this start, lynchings, the law’s delays,the denial of full educational advantages; segregation,insanitary conditions, unjust treatment in reformand penal institutions, will vanish from before him;will be conditions that were, but are no more.

There is a predominance of Anglo-Saxon heritage inthe white blood of America. The Anglo-Saxon wasthe first to establish fair play and make it his shibboleth.Should he deny it to the Negro; his proudest and mostvaunted principle would prove to be a doddering lie;a shimmering evanescence.

He will not deny it!

* * * * *

Note—­up to this pointthe text faces only have beennumbered. The 64 full pages ofhalf-tone photographs (over 100separate pictures) and the plates,tinted in many colors (notprinted on back) bring thetotal number of pages toover four hundred.

THE PEACE TREATY

The treaty of peace was drawn by the allied and associatedpowers at Versailles, and was there delivered to theGerman Government’s delegation on May 5, 1919—­thefourth anniversary of the Lusitania sinking.

It stipulates in the preamble that war will have ceasedwhen all powers have signed and the treaty shall havecome into force by ratification of the signatures.

It names as party of the one part the United States,The British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, describedas the five allied and associated powers, and Belgium,Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Equador, Greece, Guatemala,Haiti, the Hedjaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama,Peru, Portugal, Roumania, Serbia, Siam, Czecho-Slovakiaand Uruguay; and on the other side Germany.

The treaty contains agreements in substance as follows:

Section 1. The League of Nations—­Theleague of nations may question Germany at any timefor a violation of the neutralized zone east of theRhine as a threat against the world’s peace.It will work out the mandatory system to be appliedto the former German colonies and act as a final courtin the Belgian-German frontier and in disputes as tothe Kiel canal, and decide certain economic and financialproblems.

Membership—­The members of the league willbe the signatories of the covenant, and other statesinvited to accede. A state may withdraw upongiving two years’ notice, if it has fulfilledall its international obligations.

Section 2. A permanent secretariat will be establishedat Geneva. The league will meet at stated intervals.Each state will have one vote and not more than threerepresentatives.

The council will consist of representatives of thefive great allied powers, with representatives offour members selected by the assembly from time totime. It will meet at least once a year.Voting will be by states. Each state will haveone vote and not more than one representative.

The council will formulate plans for a reduction ofarmaments for consideration and adoption. Theseplans will be revised every ten years.

Preventing War—­Upon any war, or threatof war, the council will meet to consider what commonaction shall be taken. Members are pledged tosubmit matters of dispute to arbitration or inquiryand not to resort to war until three months afterthe award. If a member fails to carry out theaward, the council will propose the necessary measures.The council will establish a permanent court of internationaljustice to determine international disputes or togive advisory opinions. If agreement cannot besecured, the members reserve the right to take suchaction as may be necessary for the maintenance ofright and justice. Members resorting to war indisregard of the covenant will immediately be debarredfrom all intercourse with other members. Thecouncil will in such cases consider what militaryor naval action can be taken by the league collectively.

The covenant abrogates all obligations between membersinconsistent with its terms, but nothing in it shallaffect the validity of international engagements suchas treaties of arbitration or regional understandingslike the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenanceof peace.

The Mandatory System—­Nations not yet ableto stand by themselves will be intrusted to advancednations who are best fitted to guide them. Inevery case the mandatory will render an annual report,and the degree of its authority will be defined.

International Provisions—­The members ofthe league will in general, through the internationalorganization established by the labor convention tosecure and maintain fair conditions of labor for men,women and children in their own countries, and undertaketo secure just treatment of the native inhabitantsof territories under their control; they will intrustthe league with general supervision over the executionof agreements for the suppression of traffic in womenand children, etc.; and the control of the tradein arms and ammunition with countries in which controlis necessary; they will make provision for freedomof communications and transit and equitable treatmentfor commerce of all members of the league, with specialreference to the necessities of regions devastatedduring the war; and they will endeavor to take stepsfor international prevention and control of disease.

Boundaries of Germany—­Germany cedes toFrance Alsace-Lorraine 5,600 square miles to the southwest,and to Belgium two small districts between Luxemburgand Holland, totaling 989 square miles. She alsocedes to Poland the southeastern tip of Silesia, beyondand including Oppeln, most of Posen and West Prussia,27,686 square miles, East Prussia being isolated fromthe main body by a part of Poland. She loses sovereigntyover the northeastern tip of East Prussia, forty squaremiles north of the Eiver Memel, and the internationalizedareas about Danzig, 729 square miles, and the basinof the Saar, 738 square miles, between the westernborder of the Rhenish Palatinate of Bavaria and thesoutheast corner of Luxemburg; and Schleswig, 2,767square miles.

Section 3. Belgium—­Germany consentsto the abrogation of the treaties of 1839 by whichBelgium was established as a neutral state, and agreesto any convention with which the allied and associatedpowers may determine to replace them.

Luxemburg—­Germany renounces her varioustreaties and conventions with the grand duchy of Luxemburg,and recognizes that it ceased to be a part of theGerman zolverein from January 1,1919, and renouncesall right of exploitation of the railroads.

Left Bank of the Rhine—­Germany will notmaintain any fortifications or armed forces less thanfifty kilometers to the east of the Rhine, hold anymaneuvers, nor within that limit maintain any worksto facilitate mobilization. In case of violationshe shall be regarded as committing a hostile actagainst the powers who sign the present treaty andas intending to disturb the peace of the world.

Alsace and Lorraine—­The territories cededto Germany by the treaty of Frankfort are restoredto France with their frontiers as before 1871, todate from the signing of the armistice, and to be freeof all public debts.

All public property and private property of Germanex-sovereigns passes to France without payment orcredit. France is substituted for Germany asregards ownership of the railroads and rights overconcessions of tramways. The Rhine bridges passto France, with the obligation for the upkeep.

Political condemnations during the war are null andvoid and the obligation to repay war fines is establishedas in other parts of allied territory.

The Saar—­In compensation for the destructionof coal mines in northern France and as payment onaccount of reparation, Germany cedes to France fullownership of the coal mines of the Saar basin withthe subsidiaries, accessories and facilities.

After fifteen years a plebiscite will be held by communesto ascertain the desires of the population as to continuanceof the existing regime under the league of nations,union with France or union with Germany. Theright to vote will belong to all inhabitants of over20 years resident therein at the time of the signature.

Section 4. German Austria—­Germanyrecognizes the total independence of German Austriain the boundaries traced.

Germany recognizes the entire independence of theCzecho-Slovak state. The five allied and associatedpowers will draw up regulations assuring East Prussiafull and equitable access to and use of the Vistula.

Danzig—­Danzig and the district immediatelyabout it is to be constituted into the free city ofDanzig under the guaranty of the league of nations.

Denmark—­The frontier between Germany andDenmark will be fixed by the self-determination ofthe population.

The fortifications, military establishments and harborsof the islands of Helgoland and Dune are to be destroyedunder the supervision of the allies by German laborand at Germany’s expense. They may not bereconstructed, nor any similar fortifications builtin the future.

Russia—­Germany agrees to respect as permanentand inalienable the independence of all territorieswhich were part of the former Russian empire, to acceptabrogation of the Brest-Litovsk and other treatiesentered into with the Maximalist government of Russia,to recognize the full force of all treaties enteredinto by the allied and associated powers with stateswhich were a part of the former Russian empire, andto recognize the frontiers as determined therein.The allied and associated powers formally reservethe right of Russia to obtain restitution and reparationof the principles of the present treaty.

Section 5. German Rights Outside of Europe—­OutsideEurope, Germany renounces all rights, title and privilegesas to her own or her allied territories, to all theallied and associated powers.

German Colonies—­Germany renounces in favorof the allied and associated powers her overseas possessionswith all rights and titles therein. All movableand immovable property belonging to the German empireor to any German state shall pass to the governmentexercising authority therein. Germany undertakesto pay reparation for damage suffered by French nationalsin the Kameruns or its frontier zone through the actsof German civil and military authorities and of individualGermans from January 1, 1900, to August 1, 1914.

China—­Germany renounces in favor of Chinaall privileges and indemnities resulting from theBoxer protocol of 1901, and all buildings, wharves,barracks, forts, munitions or warships, wireless plants,and other property (except diplomatic) in the Germanconcessions of Tientsin and Hankow and in other Chineseterritory except Kiaochow, and agrees to return toChina at her own expense all the astronomical instrumentsseized in 1901. Germany accepts the abrogationof the concessions of Hankow and Tientsin, China agreeingto open them to international use.

Siam—­Germany recognizes that all agreementsbetween herself and Siam, including the right of extraterritory, ceased July 22, 1917. All German publicproperty except consular and diplomatic premises passes,without compensation, to Siam.

Liberia—­Germany renounces all rights underthe international arrangements of 1911 and 1912 regardingLiberia.

Morocco—­Germany renounces all her rights,titles and privileges under the act of Algeciras andthe Franco-German agreements of 1909 and 1911 andunder all treaties and arrangements with the sheriffianempire. All movable and immovable German propertymay be sold at public auction, the proceeds to bepaid to the sheriffian government and deducted fromthe reparation account.

Egypt—­Germany recognizes the British protectorateover Egypt declared on December 19, 1914, and transfersto Great Britain the powers given to the late sultanof Turkey for securing the free navigation of the Suezcanal.

Turkey and Bulgaria—­Germany accepts allarrangements which the allied and associated powersmake with Turkey and Bulgaria with reference to anyright, privileges or interests claimed in those countriesby Germany or her nationals and not dealt with elsewhere.

Shantung—­Germany cedes to Japan all rights,titles and privileges acquired by her treaty withChina of March 6, 1897, and other agreements, as toShantung. All German state property in Kiaochowis acquired by Japan free of all charges.

Section 6. The demobilization of the Germanarmy must take place within two months. Its strengthmay not exceed 100,000, including 4,000 officers,with not over seven divisions of infantry, also threeof cavalry, and to be devoted exclusively to maintenanceof internal order and control of frontiers. TheGerman general staff is abolished. The army administrativeservice, consisting of civilian personnel, not includedin the number of effectives, is reduced to one-tenththe total in the 1913 budget. Employes of theGerman states, such as customs officers, first guardsand coast guards, may not exceed the number in 1913.Gendarmes and local police may be increased only inaccordance with the growth of population. Noneof these may be assembled for military training.

Armaments—­All establishments for the manufacturing,preparation or storage of arms and munitions of war,must be closed, and their personnel dismissed.The manufacture or importation of poisonous gasesis forbidden as well as the importation of arms, munitionsand war material.

Conscription—­Conscription is abolishedin Germany. The personnel must be maintainedby voluntary enlistment for terms of twelve consecutiveyears, the number of discharges before the expirationof that term not in any year to exceed 5 per centof the total effectives. Officers remaining inthe service must agree to serve to the age of 45 yearsand newly appointed officers must agree to serve activelyfor twenty-five years.

No military schools except those absolutely indispensablefor the units allowed shall exist in Germany.All measures of mobilization are forbidden.

All fortified and field works within fifty kilometers(thirty miles) east of the Rhine will be dismantled.The construction of any new fortifications there isforbidden.

Control—­Interallied commissions of controlwill see to the execution of the provisions, for whicha time limit is set, the maximum named being threemonths. Germany must give them complete facilities,and pay for the labor and material necessary in demolition,destruction or surrender of war equipment.

Naval—­The German navy must be demobilizedwithin a period of two months. All German vesselsof war in foreign ports, and the German high sea fleetinterned at Scapa Flow will be surrendered, the finaldisposition of these ships to be decided upon by theallied and associated powers. Germany must surrenderforty-five modern destroyers, fifty modern torpedoboats, and all submarines, with their salvage vessels;all war vessels under construction, including submarines,must be broken up.

Germany is required to sweep up the mines in the Northsea and the Baltic. German fortifications inthe Baltic must be demolished.

During a period of three months after the peace, Germanhigh power wireless stations at Nauen, Hanover andBerlin, will not be permitted to send any messagesexcept for commercial purposes.

Air—­The armed forces of Germany must notinclude any military or naval air forces except onehundred unarmed seaplanes. No aviation groundsor dirigible sheds are to be allowed within 150 kilometersof the Rhine or the eastern or southern frontiers.The manufacture of aircraft and parts of aircraftis forbidden. All military and aeronautical materialmust be surrendered.

The repatriation of German prisoners and internedcivilians is to be carried out without delay and atGermany’s expense.

Both parties will respect and maintain the gravesof soldiers and sailors buried on their territories.

Responsibility and Reparation—­The alliedand associated powers will publicly arraign WilliamII of Hohenzollern, formerly German emperor, beforea special tribunal composed of one judge from eachof the five great powers, with full right of defense.

Persons accused of having committed acts in violationof the laws and customs of war are to be tried andpunished by military tribunals under military law.

Section 7. Reparation—­Germanyaccepts responsibility for all loss and damages towhich civilians of the allies have been subjected bythe war, and agrees to compensate them. Germanybinds herself to repay all sums borrowed by Belgiumfrom the Allies. Germany irrevocably recognizesthe authority of a reparation commission named bythe Allies to enforce and supervise these payments.She further agrees to restore to the Allies cash andcertain articles which can be identified. As animmediate step toward restoration, Germany shall paywithin two years $5,000,000,000 in either gold, goods,ships or other specific forms of payment.

The measures which the allied and associated powersshall have the right to take, in case of voluntarydefault by Germany, and which Germany agrees not toregard as acts of war, may include economic and financialprohibitions and reprisals and in general such othermeasures as the respective governments may determineto be necessary in the circ*mstances.

The commission may require Germany to give from timeto time, by way of guaranty, issues of bonds or otherobligations to cover such claims as are not otherwisesatisfied.

The German government recognizes the right of theAllies to the replacement, ton for ton and class forclass, of all merchant ships and fishing boats lostor damaged owing to the war, and agrees to cede tothe Allies all German merchant ships of sixteen hundredtons gross and upward.

The German government further agrees to build merchantships for the account of the Allies to the amountof not exceeding 200,000 tons’ gross annuallyduring the next five years.

Section 8. Devastated Areas—­Germanyundertakes to devote her economic resources directlyto the physical restoration of the invaded areas.

Coal—­Germany is to deliver annually forten years to France coal equivalent to the differencebetween annual pre-war output of Nord and Pas de Calaismines and annual production during above ten year period.Germany further gives options over ten years for deliveryof 7,000,000 tons coal per year to France, in additionto the above, of 8,000,000 tons to Belgium, and ofan amount rising from 4,500,000 tons in 1919 to 1920to 8,500,000 tons in 1923 to 1924 to Italy, at pricesto be fixed as prescribed. co*ke may be takenin place of coal in ratio of three tons to four.

Dyestuffs and Drugs—­Germany accords optionto the commission on dyestuffs and chemical drugs,including quinine, up to 50 per cent of total stockto Germany at the time the treaty comes into force,and similar option during each six months to end of1924 up to 25 per cent of previous six months’output.

Cables—­Germany renounces all title to specificcables, value of such as were privately owned beingcredited to her against reparation indebtedness.

Restitution—­As reparation for the destructionof the library of Louvain, Germany is to hand overmanuscripts, early printed books, prints, etc.,to the equivalent of those destroyed, and all worksof art taken from Belgium and France.

Section 9. Finances—­Germany isrequired to pay the total cost of the armies of occupationfrom the date of the armistice as long as they aremaintained in German territory.

Germany is to deliver all sums deposited in Germanyby Turkey and Austria-Hungary in connection with thefinancial support extended by her to them during thewar and to transfer to the Allies all claims againstAustria-Hungary, Bulgaria or Turkey in connection withagreements made during the war.

Germany guarantees to repay to Brazil the fund arisingfrom the sale of Sao Paulo coffee which she refusedto allow Brazil to withdraw from Germany.

Contracts—­Pre-war contracts between alliedand associated nations, excepting the United States,Japan and Brazil, and German nationals, are canceledexcept for debts for accounts already performed.

Opium—­The contracting powers agree, whetheror not they have signed and ratified the opium conventionof January 23, 1912, or signed the special protocolopened at The Hague in accordance with resolutionsadopted by the third opium conference in 1914, to bringthe said convention into force by enacting withintwelve months of the time of peace the necessary legislation.

Missions—­The allied and associated powersagree that the properties of religious missions interritories belonging or ceded to them shall continuein their work under the control of the powers, Germanyrenouncing all claims in their behalf.

Section 11. Air Navigation—­Aircraftof the allied and associated powers shall have fullliberty of passage and landing over and in Germanterritory; equal treatment with German planes as touse of German airdromes, and with most favored nationplanes as to internal commercial traffic in Germany.

Section 13.—­Freedom of Transit—­Germanymust grant freedom of transit through her territoriesby rail or water to persons, goods, ships, carriagesand mail from or to any of the allied or associatedpowers, without customs or transit duties, undue delays,restrictions and discriminations based on nationality,means of transport or place of entry or departure.Goods in transit shall be assured all possible speedof journey, especially perishable goods.

(The remainder of Section 12 concerns the use of Europeanwaterways and railroads.)

Section 13. International Labor Organizations—­Membersof the league of nations agree to establish a permanentorganization to promote international adjustment oflabor conditions, to consist of an annual internationallabor conference and an international labor office.

The former is composed of four representatives ofeach state, two from the government and one each fromthe employers and the employed; each of them may voteindividually. It will be a deliberative legislativebody, its measures taking the form of draft conventionsor recommendations for legislation, which if passedby two-thirds vote must be submitted to the lawmakingauthority in every state participating. Each governmentmay either enact the terms into law; approve the principles,but modify them to local needs; leave the actual legislationin case of a federal state to local legislatures;or reject the convention altogether without furtherobligation.

The international labor office is established at theseat of the league of nations as part of its organization.It is to collect and distribute information on laborthrough the world and prepare agents for the conference.It will publish a periodical in French and Englishand possibly other languages. Each state agreesto make to it, for presentation to the conference,an annual report of measures taken to execute acceptedconventions. The governing body is its executive.It consists of twenty-four members, twelve representingthe government, six the employers and six the employes,to serve for three years.

On complaint that any government has failed to carryout a convention to which it is a party the governingbody may make inquiries directly to that governmentand in case the reply is unsatisfactory may publishthe complaint with comment. A complaint by onegovernment against another may be referred by thegoverning body to a commission of inquiry nominatedby the secretary-general of the league. If thecommission report fails to bring satisfactory action,the matter may be taken to a permanent court of internationaljustice for final decision. The chief reliancefor securing enforcement of the law will be publicitywith a possibility of economic action in the background.

The first meeting of the conference will take placein October, 1919, at Washington, to discuss the eight-hourday or forty-eight hour week; prevention of unemployment;extension and application of the international conventionsadopted at Bern in 1906 prohibiting night work forwomen and the use of white phosphorus in the manufactureof matches; and employment of women and children atnight or in unhealthful work, of women before andafter childbirth, including maternity benefit, andof children as regards minimum age.

Nine principles of labor conditions are recognizedon the ground that the well-being, physical and moral,of the industrial wage earners is of supreme internationalimportance. With exceptions necessitated by differencesof climate, habits and economic developments, theyinclude: The guiding principle that labor shouldnot be regarded merely as a commodity or article ofcommerce; right of association of employers and employesis granted; and a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable

standard of life; the eight-hour day or forty-eighthour week; a weekly rest of at least twenty-four hours,which should include Sunday wherever practicable;abolition of child labor and assurance of the continuationof the education and proper physical development ofchildren; equal pay for equal work as between menand women; equitable treatment of all workers lawfullyresident therein, including foreigners, and a systemof inspection in which women shall take part.

Section 14. Guaranties—­As a guarantyfor the execution of the treaty, German territorywest of the Rhine, together with bridgeheads, willbe occupied by allied and associated troops for fifteenyears. If before the expiration of the fifteenyears Germany complies with all the treaty undertakings,the occupying forces will be withdrawn.

Eastern Europe—­All German troops at presentin territories to the east of the new frontier shallreturn as soon as the allied and associated governmentsdeem wise.

Section 15. Germany agrees to recognizethe full validity of the treaties of peace and additionalconventions to be concluded by the allied and associatedpowers with the powers allied with Germany; to agreeto the decisions to be taken as to the territoriesof Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, and to recognizethe new states in the frontiers to be fixed for them.

Germany agrees not to put forward any pecuniary claimagainst any allied or associated power signing thepresent treaty, based on events previous to the cominginto force of the treaty.

Germany accepts all decrees as to German ships andgoods made by any allied or associated prize court.The Allies reserve the right to examine all decisionsof German prize courts.

The treaty is to become effective in all respectsfor each power on the date of deposition of its ratification.