THEY BROKE THE COLOR BARRIER as the first African-American soldiers to man the front lines at the height of World War I. They spent more time in continuous combat — 191 days — than any other American regiment in that war and never had a man captured by the enemy. They fought heroically and suffered tremendous casualties, yet they largely were unknown by the majority of Americans back home.
The predominantly black 369th Infantry Regiment helped open doors for all American service personnel of color who followed — but they had to join the French army to do it.
The saga of the 369th — nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters — began in New York City several years before the Great War. The African-American community in New York City had petitioned to establish its own National Guard regiment but initially was rebuffed by the governor and state legislators. Undaunted, businessman Charles Fillmore established a provisional regiment that trained on the streets of Harlem. A law later was passed allowing for the establishment of a black National Guard regiment, but the governor never signed the legislation.
That changed in 1916 when the New York National Guard received orders to Texas to address a threat by Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. With the unit deployed, New York was left unprotected. Attorney William Hayward dusted off the law establishing a black National Guard regiment, and the governor signed it.
The result was the 15th New York National Guard Regiment, which Hayward commanded as a colonel.
Recruitment boost
Hayward established a recruitment station in a Harlem cigar store, but local blacks weren’t exactly busting down the door to join. Then prominent African-American musician and songwriter James Reese Europe showed up. Hayward saw in him the perfect recruitment tool and asked him to organize a regimental band. But Europe, who wanted only to be a soldier, balked, informing Hayward he could do so only if given $10,000 to pay his musicians. Hayward tapped a wealthy associate for the money, and soon the 15th New York had one of the country’s finest regimental bands. It proved to be a remarkable recruitment aid; within months, the 15th had about 2,000 volunteers, some coming from as far away as Albany.
In 1917, the U.S. entered World War I, and many National Guard units were pressed into service to fight overseas. Among them was the 15th New York, whose members traveled to Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, S.C., for basic training. The soldiers endured horrific racial prejudice from white residents and soldiers. In one incident, Europe’s good friend Noble Sissle was attacked and physically thrown out of a hotel as he tried to buy a newspaper. The incident almost set off a race riot, and the regiment went back to New York. Shortly after the 15th arrived at Camp Mills, N.Y., however, Hamilton Fish Jr., commander of the 15th’s K Company and a future founder of the American Legion, learned of a plot by white racists with Alabama’s 167th Infantry to attack the black soldiers. Fish armed his men for self-defense but was able to defuse the situation before anyone got hurt.
72 MILITARY OFFICER FEBRUARY 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88