NEGRO SOLDIERS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. The use of slaves as soldiers with the reward of freedom to those who survived, was strongly advocated at different times by members of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Slaves were employed as laborers on the fortifications in all parts of the Confederacy. Both slaves and free Negroes offered their services. A considerable number of the latter enrolled themselves. Tae Cadrleston Mercury for January 3, 1861 announced that 150 able bodied free colored men of Charleston had offered their services gratuitously to the Governor to hasten forward the important work of throwing up defences along the coast. In Lynchburg and Petersburg, Virginia in April 1861 free Negroes enrolled for the purpose of offering their services to the Governor for the defence of the State. "ATTENTION, VOLUNTEERS: Resolved by the Committee of Safety, that C. Deloach, D. R. Cook, and William B. Greenlaw be authorized to organize a volunteer company composed of our patriotic freedom of color, of the city of Memphis, for the service of our common defence. All who have not enrolled their names will call at the office of W. B. Greenlaw & Co. "F. W. FORSYTHE, Secretary." In June 1861, the Legislature of Tennessee passed an act authorizing the Governor to receive into military service free persons of color between the ages of eighteen and fifty. Pay and rations were assigned them November 23, 1861, there was a review in New Orleans of 28,000 Confederate troops. Among these was one regiment composed of 1,400 free colored men. On the 9th of February, 1862, there was another grand review of Confederate troops in New Orleans. The Picayune contained the following paragraph concerning this review: "We must also pay a deserved compliment to the companies of free colored men, all very well drilled, and comfortably uniformed. Most of these companies, quite unaided by the administration, have supplied themselves with arms without regard to cost or trouble. One of these companies, commanded by the well-known veteran, Captain Jordan, was presented, a little before the parade, with a fine war-flag of the new style. This interesting ceremony took place at Mr. Cuching's store, on Camp, near Common Street. The presentation was made by Mr. Bigney, and Jordan made, on this occasion, one of his most felicitous speeches." en Mulattoes were made free by the treaty with France in 1803 were listed in 1862 for the defense of that city. The next year, according to Flemming, they received into the Confederate service as heavy artillery man. In February, 1864, the Confederate Congress passed an act making all male free Negroes (with certain exceptions) between the ages of eighteen and fifty liable to perform such duties in the army or in connection with the military defences of the country in the way of work upon the fortifications, or in government work, etc., as the Secretary of War might from time to time prescribe, and providing them rations, clothing and compensation. The Secretary of War was also authorized to employ for similar duty 20,000 male Negro slaves. In February, 1865, at a meeting held in the African Church in Richmond to acquaint the people concerning the failure of the Peace Conference held at Fortress Monroe, Mr. Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State, proposed that legislation by the States be immediately effected so that the slaves could be armed. The next day a bill was presented in the House to give effect to Mr. Benjamin's suggestion, and providing for the volunteer enlistment of slaves for military service. A motion to reject was lost by ayes 21, nays 53; a motion to postpone the matter indefinitely was lost another to refer it to the Military Committee was also lost, and the motion of the original mover for a select committee passed. A resolution had already been offered in the Senate instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to report a bill with the least possible delay to take into the military service of the Confederate States, by volunteer enlistment with the consent of the owners, or by conscription, not exceeding 200,000 Negro soldiers. The resolution was defeated. Dr. A. T. Augusta.-October 2, 1863, was appointed surgeon of the Seventeenth Regiment U. S. Colored Volunteers. He is said to have been the first colored man commissioned in the medical department of the United States Army. Henry M. Turner.-Eminent_Bishop_of_the_African_Methodist Episcopal Church. First Negro Chaplain_in_the United States Army. Born February 1, 1833, near Newberry, South Carolina. Appointed Chaplain, 1863. Elected Bishop in 1880. Died May 8, 1915. REFERENCES: Williams, History of the Negro Troops in The War of the Rebellion; Idem, History of the Negro Race in America, Vol. 11. Chapters XVIII-XX; Wilson, History of the Black Phalanx; The Annual Cyclopedia, 1864, pp. 212-213; 1865, pp. 191-192. NEGRO SOLDIERS IN REGULAR ARMY. July 28, 1866, Congress passed a law that Negro regiments should be a part of the regular army. Under this act the Ninth and Tenth Calvary and the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first Regiments of Intantry were organized. March 3, 1869, a consolidation act, was passed, and the Thirty-eighth_and Forty-nrst were re-organized as the Twenty-fourth Regiment of Infantry; the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth were re-organized as the Twenty-fifth Regiment of Infantry. These regiments were stationed on the frontier and rendered valuable service in the military operations against the Indians, extending from Dakota to Mexico. The Ninth and Tenth Calvary won the reputation of being the best Indian nghters on the frontier. IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the four Negro regiments were among the nrst troops ordered to the front. Negro soldiers took a more conspicuous part in the Spanish-American War than in any previous war waged by the United States. At the first battle in Cuba, Las Guasimas, the Tench Calvary distinguished itself by coming to the support of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. The Twentyfifth Infantry took a prominent part in the Battle of El Caney. The Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and Twenty-fourth Infantry rendered heroic service in the famous battle of San Juan Hill. NEGRO VOLUNTEER REGIMENTS IN SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. White and Colored Officers. 8th U. S. Volunteers, Immunes Indiana raised two companies of colored troops, which were attached to the Eighth Immunes and officially designated as First Regiment Colored Companies A. and B. colored officers. No one of the Negro volunteer regiments reached the front in time to take part in a battle. The Eighth Illinois formed part of the Army of Occupation, and distinguished itself in policing and cleaning up Santiago. After the close of the Spanish-American War, two colored regiments, the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth United States Infantry were enlisted and served in the Philippine War. Captains and Lieutenants colored. Other officers white. In 1917 the white Cavalry detachment on duty at the Military Academy at West Point was replaced by a Negro Cavalry detachment. It is called the United States Military Cavalry Detachment. It is used in teaching the cadets cavalry tactics. The Carrizal Incident. In 1916 the United States sent a punitive expedition under General Pershing into Mexico in pursuit of the Villa forces which had raided Columbus, New Mexico. Two Negro regiments, the 10th Calvary and the 24th Infantry were a part of his expedition. On June 21, Troops C and K of the 10th Calvary were ambushed at Carrizal by some 700 Mexican soldiers. Although outnumbered almost ten to one, these black soldiers dismounted in the face of a withering machine gun fire, deployed, charged the Mexicans and killed their commander. This handful of men fought on until of the three officers commanding them, two were killed and one was badly wounded. Seventeen of the men were killed and twenty-three were made prisoners. One of the many outstanding heroes of this memorable engagement was Peter Bigstaff who fought to the last beside his commander, Lieutenant Adair. John Temple Graves, of Atlanta, Georgia, the well known publicist in the course of a tribute to the Carrizal fighters, wrote: "The black trooper might have faltered and fled a dozen times, saving his own life and leaving Adair to fight alone. But it never seemed to occur to him. He was comrade to the last blow. When Adair's broken revolver fell from his hand, the black trooper pressed another into it, and together shouting in defiance, they thinned the swooping circle of overwhelming odds before them. "The black man fought in the deadly shamble side by side with the white man following always, fighting always as his Lieutenant fought. "And finally, when Adair literally shot to pieces, fell in his tracks, his last command to his black trooper was to leave him and save his life. Even then the heroic Negro paused in the midst of that Hell of carnage for a final service to his officer. Bearing a charmed life, he had fought his way out. He saw that Adair had fallen with his head in the water. With superb loyalty the black trooper turned and went back to the maelstrom of death, lifted the head of his superior, leaned him against a tree and left him there dead with dignity when it was impossible to serve any more. "There is not a finer piece of soldierly devotion and heroic comradeship in the history of modern warfare than that of Henry Adair and the black trooper who fought by him at Carrizal." AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR. From June 5, 1917 to September 12, 1918 there were 2,290,527 Negroes registered for service in the United States Army. Those examined for service numbered 458,838.* The per cent of rejections of those examined was greater for white registrants than for Negro registrants. Of those examined, 70.41 per cent of the whites and 74.60 per cent of the Negroes were accepted. The number of Negroes finally inducted into the service was 367,710. The number accepted for full military service was, 342,277. Of the total registrants, 26.84 per cent of the whites and 31.74 per cent of the Negroes were accepted for full military service. Number Negro Soldiers Mobilized. There were in addition to the 342,277 secured through the selective draft, the four regiments of the regular army, the 9th Cavalry, 10th Cavalry, 24th Infantry, 25th Infantry, and National Guard Units as follows: 8th Illinois, 15 New York, 9th Ohio Battalion, 1st Separate Battalion of the District of Columbia; Co. L., 6th Massachusetts Infantry; First Separate Company of Connecticut National Guard; First Separate Company of Marvland National Guard; and Company G. unattached of Tennessee National Guard. Including those in the regular army and the National Guard Units the total number of Negro soldiers mobilized for the World War was about 380,000. About 200,000 of these were sent to France. Some 42,000 of these were combat troops. Some 1,400 Negroes were commissioned as officers in the United States Army during the World War. (For a list of these see 1918-19 Negro Year Book, pages 223-228.) PARTIAL LIST NEGRO ARMY UNITS IN FRANCE. 183rd Infantry Brigade 365th and 366th Infantry Regiments; 351st Machine Gun Battalion. 184th Infantry Brigade 367th and 368th Infantry Regiments; 351st Machine Gun Battalion. 167th Artillery Brigade *(For list of colored and white registrants and inductions by states, see 1918-1919 Negro Year Book pages 206-217.) 349th, 350th and 351st Artillery Regiments. 349th Machine Gun Battalion (92nd Division at Large.) 317th Trench Mortar Battalion. 317th Engineers Regiment. 317th Engineers Train. /317th Ammunition Train. 317th Supply Train. 317th Trains Headquarters and Military Police. 317th Sanitary Train, comprising 365th, 366th, 367th, 368th Field Hospital and Ambulance Companies. 325th Field Signal Corps; Radio (or wireless telegraphy, etc.) Provisional 93rd Division, Combat Troops. (BRIGADED WITH THE FRENCH.) 185th Infantry Brigade 369th and 371th Infantry Regiments. 186th Infantry Brigade 186th Infantry Brigade 371st and 372nd Infantry Regiments. Pioneer and Service Units. Pioneer Regiments of Infantry-numbered 811 to 815 (inclusive.) Many Depot Brigades, Service or Labor Battalions, Stevedore Regiments, Hospital and Ambulance Corps, Sanitary Trains, Supply Trains, Etc. The Record Of The Negro In World War. The American Negroes made a magnificent record in the World War. They were the one group in the Nation who were a 100 per cent loyal and were impervious to German propaganda. They were the one group which most willingly responded to the draft and furnished the largest proportionate number of draftees; 74.60 per cent of the Negroes examined were accepted and 69.71 per cent of the whites. Provost Marshal General Crowder, in his report for 1918, in speaking of the Negroes and the draft, quotes from a memorandum sent him by Mr. Emmett J. Scott, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War: "One of the brightest chapters in the whole history of the war is the Negro's eager acceptance of the draft and his splendid willingness to fight. His only resentment was due to the limited extent to which he was allowed to join and participate in combatant or 'fighting' units. The number of colored draftees accepted for military duty, and the comparatively small number of them claiming exemptions, as compared with the total number of white and coloured men called and drafted, present an interesting study and reflects much credit upon this racial group.' The First Soldiers, American Expeditionary Forces Were Two Negroes. The Negro soldiers from the United States made a wonderful record on the battle fields of France. They were the first of the American Expeditionary Forces to get into action. The first soldiers of the American Army to be decorated for bravery, in France were two Negroes, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, members of the 369th Infantry which was formerly the 15th New York National Guard Regiment. On the night of May 15, 1918, these two men, while on sentry duty were attacked by a raiding party of some twenty or more Germans. "The names of these two men will stand out forever in the roll of honor of their race. Battling in the blackness of night with their rifles, hand granades and a bolo knife, wholly deprived of the assistance of their comrades, they put to flight an enemy assaulting party of at least twenty-four strong. For this act of bravery, Johnson and Roberts received medals of honor. Other Citations For In Action. The following are only examples of the many individual feats of bravery by American Negro soldiers for which there were citations:* "Private Tom Rivers, Company G. 366th Infantry, for extraordinary heroism in action near the Bois Delaviorette, although gassed, volunteered and carried important messages through heavy barrage to the support companies. He refused first aid until his company was relieved." Second Lieutenant Nathan O. Goodloe, of the 368th Machine Gun Company, commended for excellent work and meritorious conduct. During the operations in the Forest D Argonne, Lieut. Goodloe was attached to the 3rd Battalion. During the course of the action it became necessary to reorganize tha battalion and withdraw part of it to a secondary position. He carried out the movement under a continual machine gun fire from the enemy. General Martin said: "Lieuv. Goodloe's calm courage set an example that inspired confidence in his men. "With the approbation of the Commander in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, the Marshal of France, Commander-in-chief of the French Armies of the East, cites in the order of the division: Private Mack Watson, Headquarters Company 3rd Battalion, of the 372nd Regular Infantry. Not being useful as a telephonist any more, he requested the battalion commander to allow him to take part in the attack, in the first wave, and displayed the greatest intrepidity during the assault of the trenches, south of the Bussy Farm, September 28, 1918. This order was signed by Marshal Petain, commander-in-chief of the French Armies of the East, at the general headquarters on January 13, 1919. "Private Reuben Burrell, machine gun company 371st Infantry. For extraordinary heroism in action in the Champagne sector, France, September 31, 1918. Private Burrell, althoughly painfully wounded in the knee, refused to be evacuated, stating that if he went to the rear there would not be enough left for his group to function. "Private Ellison Moses, Company C, 371st Infantry, for extraordinary heroism in action near Arduil, France, September 31, 1918. After his company had been forced to withdraw from an advanced position, under severe machine gun and artillery fire, this soldier went forward and rescued wounded soldiers, working persistently until all of them had been carried to shelter. Private Tillman Webster 371st Infantry. For extraordinary heroism in action near Ardenil, France, September 29, 1918. With three other soldiers, Private Webster crawled 200 yards ahead of our line under violent machine gun fire and rescued an officer who was lying mortally wounded in a shell-hole. "The 368th Infantry fought in the Argonne. It became necessary to send a runner across an open field swept by heavy machine gun fire. Volunteers were called for. Private Edward Saunders of Company I responded. Before he had gone far a shell cut him down As he fell he cried to his comrades: "Some one come and get this message. I am wounded." Lieutenant Robert L. Campbell of the same company dashed across the shell swept space picked up the wounded private, and with the Germans fairly hailing bullets around him carried his man back to the American lines. For the valor shown both were cited for the Distinguished Service Cross and Lieutenant_Campbell, in addition, was recommended for Captaincy. From this, the same company, John Baker, having voluntured, was taking a message through heavy shell fire to another part of his line. A shell struck his hand, tearing away part of it, but unfaltering, he delivered the message. He was asked why he did not seek aid for his wounds before completing the journey. "I thought the message might contain information that would save lives,' was the answer. Under the same Lieutenant, Robert L. Campbell, a few colored soldiers, armed only with their rifles, trench knives, and hand grenades, were moving over a road to the Chateau Thierry sector. Suddenly their course was crossed by the firing of a German machine gun. They tried to locate it by the direction of the bullets, but could not. To their right, a iittle ahead, lay a space covered with thick underbrush; just back of it was an open field. Lieutenant Campbell who knew by the direction of the bullets that his party had not been seen by the Germans, ordered one of his men with a rope which they happened to have, to crawl to the thick underbrush and tie the rope, to several stems of the brush; then to withdraw as far as possible and pull the rope, making the brush shake as though men were crawling through it. The purpose ruse worked, Lieutenant Campbell then ordered three of his men to steal out and flank the machine gun on one side, while he and two others moved up and flanked it on the other side. The brush was shaken more violently by the secret rope. The Germans, their eyes focused on the bush, poured a hail of bullets into it. Lieutenant Campbell gave the signal. The flanking party dashed up; with their hand grenades they killed four of the Boches and captured the remaining three-also the machine gun.' Four Regiments And A Battalion For Bravery In Action. " The military authorities awarded the Croix de Guerre to four whole Negro Regiments, the 369th, 370th, and 371st and 372nd and the first battalion of the 367th Infantry for heroism in action. One of these regiments, the 370th, formerly the 8th Illinois, was, with the exception of the colonel, officered entirely by Negroes. Thirty of the Negro officers in this regiment received medals of honor *(For somewhat complete list of individuals decorated for bravery, see 1918-1919 Negro Year Book, pages 221-222.) |