The naval history of our second war with Great Britain is replete with incidents concerning the participation of the Negro. Mackenzie's history of the life of Commodore Perry states that at the famed battle of Lake Erie, fully ten percent of the American crews were blacks. Perry spoke highly of their bravery and good conduct. He said they seemed to be absolutely insensible to danger. His fighters were a motley collection of blacks, soldiers and boys. Nearly all had been afflicted with sickness. Mackenzie says that when the defeated British commander was brought aboard the "Niagara" and beheld the sickly and parti-colored beings around him, an expression of chagrin escaped him at having been conquered by such men.

The following extract is from a letter written by Commodore Nathaniel Shaler of the armed schooner "Governor Tompkins", dated January 1, 1813. Speaking of a fight with a British frigate, he said:

"The name of one of my poor fellows who was killed ought to be registered in the book of fame and remembered with reverence as long as bravery is considered a virtue. He was a black man by the name of John Johnson. A twenty-four-pound shot struck him in the hip and tore away all the lower part of his body. In this state the poor brave fellow lay on the deck and several times exclaimed to his shipmates: 'Fire away, boys; don't haul the colors down.' Another black man by the name of John Davis was struck in much the same way. He fell near me and several times requested to be thrown overboard, saying he was only in the way of the others. When America has such tars, she has little to fear from the tyrants of the ocean."

With the history fresh in mind of the successful Negro insurrection in St. Domingo, bringing out so conspicuous a military and administrative genius as Toussaint L'Ouverture, it is not surprising that the services of Negroes as soldiers were not only welcomed, but solicited by various states during the War of 1812. Excepting the battle of New Orleans, almost all the martial glory of the struggle was on the water. New York, however, passed a special act of the legislature and organized two regiments of Negro troops, while there was heavy recruiting in other states.

When in 1814 New Orleans was in danger, the free colored people of Louisiana were called into the field with the whites. General Andrew Jackson's commendatory address read to his colored troops December 18, 1814, is one of the highest compliments ever paid by a commander to his troops. He said:

"Soldiers!—when, on the banks of the Mobile, I called you to take up arms, inviting you to partake of the perils and glory of your white fellow-citizens, I expected much from you; for I was not ignorant that you possessed qualities most formidable to an invading enemy. I knew with what fortitude you could endure hunger and 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 defend what man holds most dear—his parents, wife, children and property. You have done more than I expected. In addition to the previous qualities I before knew you to possess, I found among you a noble enthusiasm, which leads to the performance of great things.

"Soldiers! The President of the United States shall hear how praiseworthy was your conduct in the hour of danger, and the representatives of the American people will give you the praise your exploits entitle you to. Your General anticipates them in applauding your noble ardor."

Many incidents are on record of the gallantry of Negro soldiers and servants also serving as soldiers, in the war with Mexico. Colonel Clay, a son of Henry Clay, was accompanied into the thick of the battle of Buena Vista, by his Negro servant. He remained by his side in the fatal charge and saw Clay stricken from his horse. Although surrounded by the murderous Mexicans he succeeded in carrying the mangled body of his master from the field.

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

Upwards of 200,000 colored soldiers were regularly enlisted in the Federal army and navy during the Civil war. President Lincoln commissioned eight Negro surgeons for field and hospital duty. Losses sustained by the Negro troops amounting to upwards of 37,000 men, are shown to have been as heavy in proportion to the numbers engaged, as those of the white forces.

The record of the Negro troops in the Civil war is one of uniform excellence. Numerous official documents attest this fact, aside from the spoken and written commendations of many high officers. Their bravery was everywhere recognized; many distinguished themselves and several attained to the rank of regularly commissioned officers. Conspicuous in Negro annals of that time is the case of Charles E. Nash, afterwards a member of congress. He received a primary education in the schools of New Orleans, but had educated himself largely by his own efforts. In 1863 he enlisted in the 83rd regiment, United States Chasseurs d'Afrique and became acting sergeant-major of that command. At the storming of Fort Blakely he lost a leg and was honorably discharged.

Another, William Hannibal Thomas, afterwards became prominent as an author, teacher, lawyer and legislator. His best known book was entitled, "The American Negro: What he was, what he is, and what he may become." He served as a soldier during the Civil War and lost an arm in the service.

The exploit of Robert Smalls was so brilliant that no amount of unfairness or prejudice has been able to shadow it. It is well known to all students of the War of the Rebellion and is recorded in the imperishable pages of history.

Smalls was born a slave at Beaufort, South Carolina, but managed to secure some education. Having led a sea-faring life to some extent, the early part of the war found him employed as pilot of the Rebel transport Planter. He was thoroughly familiar with the harbors and inlets of the South Atlantic coast. On May 31, 1862, the Planter was in Charleston harbor. All the white officers and crew went ashore, leaving on board a colored crew of eight men in charge of Smalls. He summoned aboard his wife and three children and at 2 o'clock in the morning steamed out of the harbor, passed the Confederate forts by giving the proper signals, and when fairly out of reach, ran up the Stars and Stripes and headed a course for the Union fleet, into whose hands he soon surrendered the ship. He was appointed a pilot in the United States navy and served as such on the monitor Keokuk in the attack on Fort Sumter; was promoted to captain for gallant and meritorious conduct, December 1, 1863, and placed in command of the Planter, a position which he held until the vessel was taken out of commission in 1866. He was a member of the South Carolina Constitutional Convention, 1868; elected same year to the legislature, to the state senate 1870 and 1872, and was a member of the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses.

Among the most inspiring pages of Civil War history written by the Negro, were the campaigns of Port Hudson, Louisiana; Fort Wagner, South Carolina and Fort Pillow, Kentucky. Negro troops participated in the siege of the former place by the Federal forces under General Banks, which began in May 1863, and ended in the surrender of the fort July 8, 1863. Fort Wagner was one of the defenses of Charleston. It was reduced by General Gilmore, September 6,1863 and Negro troops contributed in a glorious and heroic manner to the result. Fort Pillow had been taken by the Federals and was garrisoned by a Negro regiment and a detachment of cavalry. It was recaptured April 12, 1864 by the Confederates under General Forrest. Practically the entire garrison was massacred, an act that will stain forever the name of Forrest, and the cause for which he struggled.

By the close of the Civil war, the value and fitness of the Negro as a soldier had been so completely demonstrated that the government decided to enlarge the Regular army and form fifty percent of the increase from colored men. In 1866 eight new infantry regiments were authorized of which four were to be Negroes and four new cavalry regiments of which two were to be Negroes. The Negro infantry regiments were numbered the 38th 39th, 40th and 41st. The cavalry regiments were known as the 9th and 10th.

In 1869 there was a general reduction in the infantry forces of the Regular army and the 38th and 41st were consolidated into one regiment numbered the 24th and the 39th and 40th into one regiment numbered the 25th. The strength and numerical titles of the cavalry were not changed. For over forty years the colored American was represented in our Regular Army by those four regiments. They have borne more than their proportionate share of hard service, including many Indian campaigns. The men have conducted themselves so worthily as to call forth the best praise of the highest military authorities. General Miles and General Merritt, actively identified with the Indian wars, were unstinting in their commendation of the valor and skill of Negro fighters.

Between 1869 and 1889, three colored men were regularly graduated and commissioned from the United States military academy at West Point and served in the Regular Army as officers. They were John H. Alexander, Charles Young and H.O. Flipper. The latter was dismissed. All served in the cavalry. Alexander died shortly before the Spanish-American war and up to the time of his demise, enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his associates, white and black. Young became major in the volunteer service during the Spanish-American war and was placed in command of the Ninth Battalion of Ohio volunteers. After the Spanish-American war he returned to the Regular Army with a reduced rank, but ultimately became a Major in that service. Upon America's entry into the European war he was elevated to the rank of Colonel.

At the breaking out of the Spanish-American war in 1898, Negro military organizations existed principally in the Regular Army. These were soon filled to their maximum strength and the desire of Negroes north and south to enlist, seemed likely to meet with disappointment. Congress, to meet the insistence of colored men for service, authorized the raising of ten Negro volunteer regiments of "immunes"—men who had lived in sections where the yellow fever and other malignant or malarial visitations had occurred, and who had suffered from them or shown evidences that they in all probability would be immune from the diseases. The plan to place white men in all commands above the grade of second lieutenant, prevented Negroes from enlisting as they otherwise would have done. Four immune regiments were organized—the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th.

Several of the states appreciating the value of the Negro as a soldier and in response to his intense desire to enlist, placed volunteer Negro organizations at the disposal of the government. There were the Third Alabama and Sixth Virginia Infantry; Eighth Illinois Infantry; Companies A and B Indiana Infantry; Thirty-third Kansas Infantry, and a battalion of the Ninth Ohio Infantry. The Eighth Illinois was officered by colored men throughout. J.R. Marshall its first colonel commanded the regiment during the Spanish-American war and did garrison duty in Santiago province for some time after the war; being for a while military governor of San Luis.

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

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

About one hundred Negro second-lieutenants were commissioned in the volunteer force during the Spanish-American war. There was a Negro paymaster, Major John R. Lynch of Mississippi, and two Negro chaplains, the Rev. C.T. Walker of Georgia and the Rev. Richard Carroll of South Carolina.

Owing to the briefness of the campaign in Cuba, most of the service of Negro troops devolved upon the Regulars who were fit and ready. But all troops were at mobilization or training bases and willing and anxious to serve. No pages in the history of this country are more replete with the record of good fighting, military efficiency and soldierly conduct, than those recording the story of Negro troops in Cuba. Colonel Roosevelt said that the conduct of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry reflected honor upon the whole American people, especially on their own race. He could hardly say otherwise in view of the splendid support given by those two regiments that—such is, and will continue to be the verdict of history, saved him and his "Rough Riders" from annihilation at San Juan Hill.

Cuba, in her struggles for freedom, had among her own people two splendid Negro leaders, Antonio and Jose Maceo.

Following the Cuban campaign, Negro troops saw distinguished service in the Philippine Islands uprisings. They have from time to time since garrisoned and preserved order in those possessions. A very limited number of Negro officers have been attached to their racial contingents in the Philippines, and there will be found but a few of competent military authority in this country, who will deny that educated, intelligent and qualified Negroes, are fitted for positions of leadership and command.

The Negro of this country is primarily and essentially concerned with the destiny and problems of his race. His work encouraged as it must be, by the laws and spirit of the age, will determine his future and mark the commencement of the elimination of the shameful prejudice against him in the land, for which, from Lexington to the bloody trenches of France, he has given of his blood to preserve.

Before leaving the subject of the Negro in previous wars, it is highly fitting to review the heroic incident of June 21, 1916, at Carrizal, Mexico. Here is a tale of daring that to duplicate, would tax the imagination of war fiction writers, and among incidents of fact will range along with the Texans' defense of the Alamo, where men fought and perished against great odds.

The occasion was the celebrated expedition conducted by General J.J. Pershing into Mexico in pursuit of the bandit leader Villa. A picked detachment consisting of portions of Troops C and K of the colored Tenth Cavalry, was dispatched from Pershing's main force towards the town of Villa Ahumada. The force was commanded by Captain Charles T. Boyd of Troop C and Captain Lewis Morey of Troop K. Lieutenant Adair was second in command in Troop C to Captain Boyd. Including officers and civilian scouts, the force numbered about 80 men.

Early on the morning of June 21, the detachment wishing to pass through the garrisoned town of Carrizal, sought the permission of the Mexican commander. Amidst a show of force, the officers were invited into the town by the commander, ostensibly for a parley. Fearing a trap they refused the invitation and invited the Mexicans to a parley outside the town. The Mexican commander came out with his entire force and began to dispose them in positions which were very threatening to the Americans. Captain Boyd informed the Mexican that his orders were to proceed eastward to Ahumada and protested against the menacing position of the Mexican forces. The Mexican replied that his orders were to prevent the Americans from proceeding in any direction excepting northward, the direction from which they had just come.

Captain Boyd refused to retreat, but ordered his men not to fire until they were attacked. The Mexican commander retired to the flank and almost immediately opened with machine gun fire from a concealed trench. This was quickly followed by rifle fire from the remainder of the force. The Mexicans outnumbered the troopers nearly two to one and their most effective force was intrenched. The Americans were on a flat plain, unprotected by anything larger than bunches of cactus or sage brush. They dismounted, laid flat on the ground and responded to the attack as best they could. The horses were mostly stampeded by the early firing.

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

Captain Morey had been concerned in warding off a flank attack. His men fought no less bravely than the others. They finally were driven to seek refuge in an adobe house, that is; all who were able to reach it. Here they kept the Mexicans at bay for hours firing through windows and holes in the walls. Captain Morey seriously wounded, with a few of his survivors, finally escaped from the house and hid for nearly two days in a hole. The soldiers refused to leave their officer. When they finally were able to leave their place of concealment, the several that were left assisted their Captain on the road towards the main force. Arriving at a point where reinforcements could be summoned, the Captain wrote a report to his commander and sent his men to headquarters with it. They arrived in record time and a party was sent out, reaching the wounded officer in time to save his life.

About half of the American force was wiped out and most of the others were taken prisoners. They inflicted a much heavier loss on the Mexicans. Among the killed was the Mexican commander who had ordered the treacherous attack.

It may be that "someone had blundered." This was not the concern of the black troopers; in the face of odds they fought by the cactus and lay dead under the Mexican stars.

In closing this outline of the Negro's participation in former wars, it is highly appropriate to quote the tributes of two eminent men. One, General Benjamin F. Butler, a conspicuous military leader on the Union side in the Civil War, and Wendell Phillips, considered by many the greatest orator America ever produced, and who devoted his life to the abolition movement looking to the freedom of the slave in the United States. Said General Butler on the occasion of the debate in the National House of Representatives on the Civil Rights bill; ten years after the bloody battle of New Market Heights; speaking to the bill, and referring to the gallantry of the black soldiers on that field of strife:

"It became my painful duty to follow in the track of that charging column, and there, in a space not wider than the clerk's desk and three hundred yards long, lay the dead bodies of 543 of my colored comrades, fallen in defense of their country, who had offered their lives to uphold its flag and its honor, as a willing sacrifice; and as I rode along among them, guiding my horse this way and that way, lest he should profane with his hoofs what seemed to me the sacred dead, and as I looked on their bronzed faces upturned in the shining sun, as if in mute appeal against the wrongs of the country whose flag had only been to them a flag of stripes, on which no star of glory had ever shone for them—feeling I had wronged them in the past and believing what was the future of my country to them—among my dead comrades there I swore to myself a solemn oath, 'May my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I ever fail to defend the rights of those men who have given their blood for me and my country this day, and for their race forever,' and, God helping me, I will keep that oath."

Mr. Phillips in his great oration on Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Black of St. Domingo; statesman, warrior and LIBEEATOR,—delivered in New York City, March 11, 1863, said among other things, a constellation of linguistic brilliants not surpassed since the impassioned appeals of Cicero swept the Roman Senate to its feet, or Demosthenes fired his listeners with the flame of his matchless eloquence;

"You remember that Macaulay says, comparing Cromwell with Napoleon, that Cromwell showed the greater military genius, if we consider that he never saw an army till he was forty; while Napoleon was educated from a boy in the best military schools in Europe. Cromwell manufactured his own army; Napoleon at the age of twenty-seven was placed at the head of the best troops Europe ever saw. They were both successful; but, says Macaulay, with such disadvantages, the Englishman showed the greater genius. Whether you allow the inference or not, you will at least grant that it 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—out of what? Englishmen—the best blood in Europe. Out of the middle class of Englishmen, the best blood of the island. And with it he conquered what? Englishmen—their equals. This man manufactured his army out of what? Out of what you call the despicable race of Negroes, debased, demoralized by two hundred years of slavery, 100,000 of them imported into the island within four years, unable to speak a dialect intelligible even to each other. Yet out of 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 warlike blood in Europe, the French, and put them under his feet; at the pluckiest blood in Europe, the English, and they skulked home to Jamaica."

The world is acquainted with the treacherous infamy inspired by the great Napoleon, that inveigled the Black Chieftain and liberator of his people on shipboard, the voyage to France, and his subsequent death—STARVED!—in the dungeon of the prison castle of St. Joux.

Whittier, the poet evangelist, whose inspired verse contributed much to the crystallization of the sentiment and spirit that finally doomed African slavery in America, thus referred to the heartless tragedy and the splendid Black who was its victim:

"Sleep calmy in thy dungeon-tomb, Beneath Besancon's alien sky, Dark Haytien!—for the time shall come, Yea, even now is nigh— When, everywhere, thy name shall be Redeemed from color's infamy; And men shall learn to speak of thee, As one of earth's great spirits, born In servitude, and nursed in scorn, Casting aside the weary weight And fetters of its low estate, In that strong majesty of soul, Which knows no color, tongue or clime, Which still hath spurned the base control Of tyrants through all time!"



CHAPTER XI.

HOUR OF HIS NATION'S PERIL.

NEGRO'S PARTRIOTIC ATTITUDE—SELECTIVE DRAFT IN EFFECT—FEATURES AND RESULTS—BOLD RELIANCE ON FAITH IN A PEOPLE—NO COLOR LINE DRAWN—DISTRIBUTION OF REGISTRANTS BY STATES—NEGRO AND WHITE REGISTRATIONS COMPARED—NEGRO PERCENTAGES HIGHER—CLAIMED FEWER EXEMPTIONS—INDUCTIONS BY STATES—BETTER PHYSICALLY THAN WHITES—TABLES, FACTS AND FIGURES.

As stated in a previous chapter, the Negro's real opportunity to show his patriotic attitude did not come until the passage of the compulsory service law; selective draft, was the name attached to it later and by which it was generally known.

On May 18, 1917, the day the law was enacted by congress, no advocate of preparedness could with confidence have forecasted the success of it. There were many who feared the total failure of it. The history of the United States disclosed a popular adherence to the principle of voluntary enlistment, if not a repudiation of the principle of selection or compulsory military service.

It was to be expected that many people would look upon the law as highly experimental; as an act that, if it did not produce grave disorders in the country, would fall short of the results for which it was intended. It was fortunate for the country at this time, that the military establishment possessed in the person of General Crowder, one who had made a special study of selective drafts and other forms of compulsory service, not alone in this country, but throughout the nations of the world and back to the beginning of recorded history. He had become as familiar with all phases of it as though it had been a personal hobby and lifetime pursuit.

The law was extremely plain and permitted of no guessing or legal quibbling over its terms. It boldly recited the military obligations of citizenship. It vested the president with the most complete power of prescribing regulations calculated to strike a balance between the industrial, agricultural and economic needs of the nation on the one hand and the military need on the other.

Within 18 days between May 18, when the law was approved, and June 5, the day the president had fixed as registration day, a great, administrative machine was built. Practically the entire male citizenship of the United States within the age limits fixed by law, twenty-one to thirty years inclusive, presented itself at the 4,000 enrollment booths with a registered result of nearly 10,000,000 names. The project had been so systematized that within 48 hours almost complete registration returns had been assembled by telegraph in Washington.

The order in which the ten-million registrants were to be called was accomplished on July 20 by a great central lottery in Washington.

The boards proceeded promptly to call, to examine physically and to consider claims for exemption of over one and one half million men, a sufficient number to fill the first national quota of 687,000. Thus in less than three and one-half months the nation had accepted and vigorously executed a compulsory service 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 provision of the act of August 31, 1918, 13,228,762 were added to the lists of those available for military service, which, including interim and other accessions, amounted to a grand total of 24,234,021 enrolled and subject to the terms of the Selective Service law. This tremendous exhibition of man power struck terror to the heart of the Hun and hastened him to, if possible, deliver a telling blow against the Allies before the wonderful strength and resources of the American nation could be brought to bear against him.

Commenting on the facility with which the selective draft was put into effect, the report of the Provost Marshall General stated in part:

"The expedition and smoothness with which the law was executed emphasized the remarkable flexibility, adaptability and efficiency of our system of government and the devotion of our people. Here was a gigantic project in which success was staked not on reliance in the efficiency of a man, or an hierarchy of men, or, primarily, on a system. Here was a bold reliance on faith in a people. Most exacting duties were laid with perfect confidence on the officials of every locality in the nation, from the governors of states to the registrars of elections, and upon private citizens of every condition, from men foremost in the industrial and political life of the nation to those who had never before been called upon to participate in the functions of government. By all administrative tokens, the accomplishment of their task was magic."

No distinction regarding color or race was made in the selective draft law, except so far as non-citizen Indians were exempt from the draft. But the organization of the army placed Negro soldiers in separate units; and the several calls for mobilization, were, therefore, affected by this circumstance, in that no calls could be issued for Negro registrants until the organizations were ready for them. Figures of total registration given previously in this chapter include interim accessions and some that automatically went on the rolls after September 12, 1918. Inasmuch as the tables prepared by the Provost Marshall General's department deal only with those placed on the rolls on regular registration days and do not include the accessions mentioned, comparisons which follow will be based on those tables. They show the total registration as 23,779,997, of which 21,489,470 were white and 2,290,527 were black. Following is a table showing the distribution of colored and white registrants by states:

Colored Total registrants Colored June 5, 1917 Colored Total and white Colored registrants colored registrants. to Sept 11, Sept 12, 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 2,970 Connecticut 373,676 3,524 4,659 8,183 Delaware 55,215 3,798 4,448 8,246 District of Columbia 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 West Virginia 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 98.62 Connecticut . 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 69.85 Washington 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, 1917 to September 11, 1918, in respect to colored and white registrants are shown in the following table:

Colored and white classification compared. Number. Percent Percent of total 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 Negroes were accepted for service than of white men. It is true that enlistments which were permitted white men but denied Negroes, depleted the whites eligible to Class I to some extent. Probably there were more Negro delinquents in proportion to their numbers in the south than white delinquents. The conditions under which they lived would account for that. Delinquents, under the regulations, were placed in Class 1. Then there is the undoubted fact that the Negro sought and was granted fewer exemptions on the ground of dependency. Many Negroes in the south, where the rate of pay was low, were put in Class I on the ground that their allotment and allowances while in the army, would furnish an equivalent support to their dependents. But whatever the reason, the great fact stands out that a much greater percentage of colored were accepted for service than white men. The following table gives the colored and white inductions by 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 District of 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 Porto Rico



White Percent of White registrants, colored inductions, Percent June 5, and June 5, 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 27.13 California 312,994 98.95 60,148 21.13 Colorado 90,453 98.80 22,487 24.86 Connecticut 171,296 97.98 31,598 18.45 Delaware 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 21.62 Georgia 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 23.04 West 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 31.81 Alaska 1,957 Hawaii 5,406 Porto Rico 15,734

Further light on the question of more Negroes in proportion to their numbers being selected for service than white men, is found in a comparison of the Negroes and whites rejected for physical reasons. The following table gives the figures for the period between December 15, 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 for service, was 74.60% of the number examined; the white men accepted numbered 69.71% of the number examined. The Negroes it will be seen rated about 5% higher physically than the whites. No better refutation could be desired of the charge, having its inspiration in the vanquished, but unrepentant defenders of Negro slavery, mourning about its dead carcass, that the Negro is deteriorating physically, or that the so-called degenerative influences of civilization affect him in greater degree than they do the white man.



CHAPTER XII.

NEGRO SLACKERS AND PACIFISTS UNKNOWN

SUCH WORDS NOT IN HIS VOCABULARY—DESERTIONS EXPLAINED—GENERAL CROWDER EXONERATES NEGRO—NO WILLFUL DELINQUENCY—STRENUOUS EFFORTS TO MEET REGULATIONS—NO "CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS"—NO DRAFT EVADERS OR RESISTERS—NEGRO'S DEVOTION SUBLIME—JUSTIFIES HIS FREEDOM—FORGETS HIS SORROWS—RISES ABOVE HIS WRONGS—TESTIMONY OF LOCAL BOARDS—GERMAN PROPAGANDA WASTED—A NEW AMERICANISM.

The only phase of the selective draft in which the Negro seemed to be discredited in comparison with his white brother, was in the matter of desertions. At first glance and without proper analysis, the record appeared to be against the Negro. Upon detailed study, however, the case takes on a different aspect. The records of the Provost Marshall General show that out of 474,861 reported deserters, 369,030 were white registrants, and 105,831 colored, the ratio of white reported deserters to white registrants being 3.86, and the ratio of colored reported deserters to colored registrants being 9.81. Everyone knows now that many, yes, the bulk of the reported desertions among both whites and blacks, were not desertions at all. Circumstances simply prevented the men from keeping in touch with their local boards or from reporting when called.

Desertions among white registrants might have shown a greater percentage had they not availed themselves of the exemption feature of the law. Negroes did not understand this clause in the act so well. Besides, as previously stated, many Negroes were placed in Class 1, even where they had dependants, because their rate of pay in the army would enable them to contribute as much to the support of their dependants as would their earnings outside of army service.

This was a policy with many draft boards, but it is not exactly clear in view of the increased earning power of the Negroes through wartime demands for their labor. Following are the complete figures on so-called desertions, the variances in the several states being given:

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 District of 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 142,144 128,852 4,803 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 601 Hawaii 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 9.32 California 3,303 268 .08 8.10 Colorado 1,103 91 .10 8.25 Connecticut 3,524 682 .39 19.35 Delaware 3,798 303 1.23 7.98 District of Columbia 11,045 616 1.68 5.58 Florida 39,013 8,319 8.71 21.32 Georgia 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 6.44 Utah 169 11 .02 6.51 Vermont 63 4 .01 6.35 Virginia 64,358 4,935 2.39 7.67 Washington 373 30 .02 8.04 West Virginia 13,292 2,013 1.41 15.14 Wisconsin 718 73 .03 10.17 Wyoming 280 63 .25 22.50



No elaborate defense of the Negro will be attempted in the matter of the desertion record. It is not necessary. The words of Provost Marshall General Crowder, the man who knew all about the selective draft and who engineered it through its wonderfully successful course, completely absolved the Negro in this connection. The following quotation in reference to the above figures is taken verbatim from the report of General Crowder to the Secretary of War, dated December 20, 1918.

"These figures of reported desertions, however, lose their significance when the facts behind them are studied. There is in the files of this office, a series of letters from governors and draft executives of southern states, called forth by inquiry for an explanation of the large percentage of Negroes among the reported deserters and delinquents. With striking unanimity the draft authorities replied that this was due to two causes; first, ignorance and illiteracy; especially in the rural regions, to which may be added a certain shiftlessness in ignoring civic obligations; and secondly, the tendency of the Negroes to shift from place to place. The natural inclination to roam from one employment to another has been accentuated by unusual demands for labor incident to the war, resulting in a considerable flow of colored men to the north and to various munition centers. This shifting reached its height in the summer of 1917, shortly after the first registration, and resulted in the failure of many men to keep in touch with their local boards, so that questionnaires and notices to report did not reach them.

"With equal unanimity the draft executives report that the amount of willful delinquency or desertion has been almost nil. Several describe the strenuous efforts of the Negroes to comply with the regulations, when the requirements were explained to them, many registrants travelling long distances to report in person to the adjutant general of the state. 'The conviction resulting from these reports' says General Crowder, 'is that the colored men as a whole responded readily and gladly to their military 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 Secretary of War, said that the war department had heard of only two colored "conscientious objectors". When those two were cross-examined it was revealed that they had misinterpreted their motives and that their objections proceeded from a source very remote from their consciences.

Pacifists and conscientious objectors came principally from the class who held religious scruples against war or the taking up of arms. The law permitted these to enter a special so-called non-combatant classification.

It is a well known fact that Negro religionists are members of the church militant, so they could not be included in the self-declared conscientious pacifistic sects.

Neither was the Negro represented in that class known as draft resisters or draft evaders. A very good reason exists in the fact that opposition to the draft came from a class which did not admit the Negro to membership. Practically all draft resistance was traceable to the activities of radicals, whose fantastic dreams enchanted and seduced the ignorant and artless folk who came under their influence.

The resisters were all poor whites led by professional agitators. Negroes had no such organizations nor leaders.

The part played by the Negro in the great world drama upon which the curtain has fallen, was not approached in sublime devotion by that displayed by any other class of America's heterogeneous mixture of tribe and race, hailing from all the ends of the earth, that composes its great and wonderful population. Blind in a sense; unreasoning as a child in the sacredness and consecration of his fealty; clamoring with the fervor of an ancient crusader; his eye on heaven, his steps turned towards the Holy Sepulchre, for a chance to go; a time and place to die, HIS was a distinct and marked patriotism; quite alone in "splendid isolation" but shining like the sun; unstreaked with doubt; unmixed with cavil or question, which, finally given reign on many a spot of strife in "Sunny France"; the Stars and Stripes above him; a prayer in his heart; a song upon his lips, spelt death, but death glorious; where he fell—HOLY GROUND!

"The fittest place where man can DIE Is where he dies for man!"

A product of slavery, ushered into a sphere of civil and political activity, clouded and challenged by the sullen resentment of his former masters; his soul still embittered by defeat; slowly working his way through many hindrances toward the achievement of success that would enable both him and the world to justify the new life of freedom that had come to him; faced at every hand by the prejudice born of tradition; enduring wrongs that "would stir a fever in the blood of age"; still the slave to a large extent of superstition fed by ignorance, is it to be wondered at that some doubt was felt and expressed by the best friends of the Negro, when the call came for a draft upon the man power of the nation; whether, in the face of the great wrongs heaped upon him; the persecutions he had passed through and was still enduring, he would be able to forgive and forget; could and would so rise above his sorrows as to reach to the height and the full duty of citizenship; would give to the Stars and Stripes the response that was due? On the part of many leaders among the Negroes, there was apprehension 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 out to the members of their race.

How groundless such fears, may be seen from the statistical record of the draft with relation to the Negro. His race furnished its quota uncomplainingly and cheerfully. History, indeed, will be unable to record the fullness and grandeur of his spirit in the war, for the reason that opportunities, especially for enlistment, as heretofore mentioned, were not opened to him to the same extent as to the whites. But enough can be gathered from the records to show that he was filled not only with 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 serve as the white is amply proved by the reports of local boards. A Pennsylvania board, remarking upon the 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 placed upon the Emergency Fleet list, quit his job. Another registrant who was believed by the board to be above draft age insisted that he was not, and in stating that he was not married, explained that he "wanted only one war at a time."

The following descriptions from Oklahoma and Arkansas boards are typical, the first serving to perpetuate one of the best epigrams of the war:

"We tried to treat the Negroes with exactly the same consideration shown the whites. We had the same speakers to address them. The Rotary Club presented them with small silk flags, as they did the whites. The band turned out to escort them to the train; and the Negroes went 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 "through France".'"

"In dealing with the Negroes," the Arkansas board report says, "the southern boards gained a richness of experience that is without parallel. No other class of citizens was more loyal to the government or more ready to answer the country's call. The only blot upon their military record was the great number of delinquents among the more ignorant; but in the majority of cases this was traced to an ignorance of the regulations, or to the withholding of mail by the landlord, often himself an aristocratic slacker, in order to retain the man's labor."

Many influences were brought to bear upon the Negro to cause him to evade his duty to the government. Some effort in certain sections of the country was made to induce them not to register. That the attempt to spread German propaganda among them was a miserable failure may be seen from the statement of the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice, made to the United States Senate committee:

"The Negroes didn't take to these stories, however, as they were too loyal. Money spent in the south for propaganda was thrown away."

Then too, these evil influences were more than offset by the various publicity and "promotion of morale" measures carried on through the office of the special assistant to the Secretary of War, the Hon. Emmet J. Scott, and his assistants. Correspondence was kept up with influential Negroes all over the country. Letters, circulars and news items for the purpose of effecting and encouraging continued loyalty of Negro citizens, were regularly issued to the various papers comprising both the white and Negro press. A special committee of 100 colored speakers was appointed to deliver public patriotic addresses all over the country, under the auspices of the Committee on Public Information, stating the war aims of the government and seeking to keep unbroken the spirit of loyalty of Negro American citizens. A special conference of Negro editors was summoned to Washington in June, 1918 by the same committee in order to gather and disseminate the thought and public opinion of the various leaders of the Negro race. Such was only a part of the work of the department of the special assistant to the Secretary of War in marshalling the man power of the nation.



It is only fair to quote the opinion and appreciation of this representative of the Negro race of the selective service administration, especially as it affected the Negro and in reference to occasional complaints received. The extract is from a memorandum addressed to the office of the Provost Marshal General on September 12, 1918 and is copied from the report of that official to the Secretary of War:

"Throughout my tenure here I have keenly appreciated the prompt and cordial cooperation of the Provost Marshall General's office with that particular section of the office of the Secretary of War especially referred to herein. The Provost Marshall General's office has carefully investigated and has furnished full and complete reports in each and every complaint or case referred to it for attention, involving discrimination, race prejudice, erroneous classification of draftees, etc., and has rectified these complaints whenever it was found upon investigation that there was just ground for same. Especially in the matter of applying and carrying out the selective service regulations, the Provost Marshall General's office has kept a watchful eye upon certain local exemption boards which seemed disinclined to treat the Negro draftees on the same basis as other Americans subject to the draft law. It is an actual fact that in a number of instances where flagrant violations have occurred in the application of the draft law, to Negro men in certain sections of the country, local exemption boards have been removed bodily and new boards have been appointed to supplant them. In several instances these new boards so appointed have been ordered by the Provost Marshall General to reclassify colored men who had been unlawfully conscripted into the army or who had been wrongfully classified; as a result of this action hundreds of colored men have had their complaints remedied and have been properly reclassified."

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

"In a word, I believe the Negro's participation in the war, his eagerness to serve, and his great courage and demonstrated valor across the seas, have given him a new idea of Americanism and likewise have given to the white people of our country a new idea of his citizenship, his real character and capabilities, and his 100 per cent Americanism. Incidentally the Negro has been helped in many ways physically and mentally and has been made into an even more satisfactory asset to the nation."

Of the Negroes inducted into service, nearly all were assigned to some department of the army or to special work in connection with the army. Of the few who were permitted to enlist, a very small percentage was permitted to enlist in the Navy. Of this small number only a few were allowed the regular training and opportunities of combatants, to the DISCREDIT of our nation, not as yet, grown to that moral vision and all around greatness, NOT to be small.



CHAPTER XIII

ROSTER OF NEGRO OFFICERS.

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

Fort Des Moines, Iowa, was the only training camp established in the United States exclusively for Negro officers. A few were trained and commissioned at Camps Hancock, Pike and Taylor, and a few received commissions at officers' training camps in France, but the War Department records do not specify which were white and which Negro. The Fort Des Moines camp lasted from June until October 1917. Following is the roster of Negro officers commissioned. With the exception of those specified as from the United States Army or the National Guard, all came from civilian life:

Cleve L. Abbott, first lieutenant, Watertown, S.D. Joseph L. Abernethy, first lieutenant, Prairie View, Tex. Ewart G. Abner, second lieutenant, Conroe, Tex. Charles J. Adams, first lieutenant, Selma, Ala. Aurelious P. Alberga, first lieutenant, San Francisco, Calif. Ira L. Aldridge, second lieutenant, New York, N.Y. Edward I. Alexander, first lieutenant, Jacksonville, Fla. Fritz W. Alexander, second lieutenant, Donaldsville, Ga. Lucien V. Alexis, first lieutenant, Cambridge, Mass. John H. Allen, captain, U.S. Army. Levi Alexander, Jr., first lieutenant, Ocala, Fla. Clarence W. Allen, second lieutenant, Mobile, Ala. Richard S. Allen, second lieutenant, Atlantic City, N.J. James W. Alston, first lieutenant, Raleigh, N.C. Benjamin E. Ammons, first lieutenant, Kansas City, Mo. Leon M. Anderson, first lieutenant, 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, Kansas City, 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, District of 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, Little Rock, 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.



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—SOLDIERS OF LIBERTY—SEVERING HOME TIES—MAN'S WORK MUST BE DONE—FIRST NEGROES IN FRANCE—MEETING WITH FRENCH COLONIALS—EARLY HISTORY OF 15TH NEW YORK—THEY SAIL AWAY—BECOME FRENCH FIGHTING MEN—HOLD 20% OF AMERICAN LINES—TERROR TO GERMANS—ONLY BARRIER BETWEEN BOCHE AND PARIS—IMPERISHABLE RECORD OF NEW YORKERS—TURNING POINT OF WAR.

"Doan you see the black clouds ris'n ober yondah Like as tho we's gwan ter hab a storm?

No, you's mistaken, dem's "Loyal BLACK FOLKS Sailing off ter fight fer Uncle Sam."

From the plantations of the South, from the mines, the workshops and factories; from the levees of the Mississippi, the cities, villages, farms of the North, the East, the South, the West; from the store, the counting house, the office and the institution of learning they came—the black thousands to strike for their altars and their homes; to fight for Uncle Sam. How splendid was the spectacle of their response! "Their's not to ask the WHY; their's but to do and die."

Bearing the burden placed upon them by white men as they have for centuries, nevertheless, in this supreme moment of their country's life; "a day that shall live in story"; many of them did not know what it all was about; where Germany was located, nor the significance attaching to the word Hun. In a vague way they understood that across the sea an armed and powerful nation was threatening the happiness of mankind; the freedom of the world.

In the presence of this contemplated crime, they were wide-eyed, open-souled, awake! Their sires had known bondage, and they, their children, had felt and knew the effects of it. America which for centuries had oppressed their forefathers had finally through the arbitrament of war, freed them. White men and black men; in the dark days of '61-'65, numbering many thousands, had lain down their lives to save the Union, and in doing so had brought them freedom.

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

Denied the opportunity to enlist, the Negro's patriotic, patient soul asserted itself; if he must go as a drafted soldier, it would be in the same fine spirit that would have inspired him as a loyal enlisted man.

Life, as to all men, was sweet to them. They had mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and sweethearts; the ties of association; of home, from all of which they would be separated and for all of which they cherished that love, which alone of human fires: "Burns and burns, forever the same, for nature feeds the pyre."

Above and over all these things, tending to augment the seriousness of the sacrifice he was to be called upon to make, was the spirit, the optimism, the joy of life that attends vigorous youth and young manhood.

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

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

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

Bright faces hiding the pangs of parting; happy, singing lads left their homes to enter a new life on earth or, the tragedy of it; also the glory; a new life in the great Beyond; beyond the stars and flaming suns. The training camp was their first destination and was to be their home for months.

Correspondents in France wrote of Negro soldiers being among the first expeditionary force to set foot upon the soil of the battle torn Republic. This force arrived there in June, 1917, and was composed of marines and infantry from the Regular army. Floyd Gibbons, the intrepid representative of the Chicago Tribune, speaking of the first Negro contingents in his remarkable book entitled, "And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight", said:

"There was to be seen on the streets of St. Nazaire that day some representative black Americans, who had also landed in that historical first contingent. There was a strange thing about these Negroes. It will be remembered that in the early stages of our participation in the war it had been found that there was hardly sufficient khaki cloth to provide uniforms for all of our soldiers. That had been the case with these American negro soldiers.

"But somewhere down in Washington, somehow or other, someone resurrected an old, large heavy iron key and this, inserted into an ancient rusty lock, had opened some long forgotten door in one of the Government arsenals. There were revealed old dust-covered bundles wrapped up in newspapers, yellow with age, and when these wrappings of the past were removed, there were seen the uniforms of old Union blue that had been laid away back in '65—uniforms that had been worn by men who fought and bled and died to save the Union, and ultimately free those early 'Black Americans'.

"And here on this foreign shore, on this day in June more than half a century later, the sons and grandsons of those same freed slaves wore those same uniforms of Union blue as they landed in France to fight for a newer freedom; freedom for the white man no less than themselves, throughout all the earth.

"Some of these Negroes were stevedores from the lower Mississippi levees; who sang as they worked in their white army undershirts, across the chest of which were penciled in blue and red, strange mystic devices, religious phrases and other signs, calculated to contribute the charm of safety to the running of the submarine blockade.