370TH INFANTRY
The 370th Infantry Regiment, which was otherwise known as “the old 8th” of Chicago, was one of the federalized National Guard units that entered the World War with a record of achievement and with a tradition to uphold. The regiment’s beginning dates back to 1892, when a small group of men in Illinois banded themselves together for the purpose of organizing a battalion of Negro soldiers. The first company was formed with B. G. Johnson as captain, John C. Buckner as first lieutenant, and John R. Marshall as second lieutenant. Three years later a battalion was formed with John C. Buckner as major, and soon afterwards this was admitted to the Illinois State militia as the Ninth Battalion Infantry National Guard. This organization at the time it was formed gave Negro men their best opportunity in the country to gain a knowledge of military tactics, which they found useful when Congress declared war on Spain April 25, 1898.
The allotment for Illinois under President McKinley’s call for 175,000 men was seven regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. When these eight regiments left for camp and the Ninth Battalion was not called to the colors, the Negro people felt that they were wilfully being kept out of the war with Spain. Shortly afterwards, however, John R. Tanner, who served as governor of the state during the Spanish-American War, called John R. Marshall to his office and suggested that he organize a regiment of Negro men, in which case he would be the first man of his race to bear the military title of Colonel; and the work of organization accordingly began.
President McKinley’s second call for 75,000 men on May 25, 1898, gave Governor Tanner an opportunity to carry out his promise to put the regiment into service. He ordered it to Springfield, where the work of recruiting continued until it reached war strength with 1195 men and 76 officers, and on July 23 John R. Marshall was sworn in as Colonel. While every other Illinois regiment had gone to Cuba and soldiers from all parts of the country were constantly embarking, the 8th remained at Camp Tanner in Illinois; and just about the time the Negro soldiers were getting discouraged over their prospects of taking part in real war, Governor Tanner visited the camp and in a speech said: “Even from the doors of the White House have I received letters asking and advising me not to officer this regiment with colored men, but I promised to do so, and I have done it. I shall never rest until I see this regiment, my regiment, on the soil of Cuba battling for the right and its kinsmen.”
It was not Spanish shot and shell that sent many Americans to their graves, but the hot climate of Cuba and its fevers; in some camps the sick and dying were found in every tent and the dead march was heard at every mess call. Yet when the men of the 8th were asked to go to Cuba to relieve the 1st Illinois whose men were dying daily, they readily said “Let’s go”; and their volunteering under the circumstances was especially commended by President McKinley.
On August 14, 1898, the regiment arrived in Cuba and immediately it attracted attention by its military precision. Some very efficient men were officers, among them Major Franklin A. Dennison, who served as judge of claims in Santiago. When the regiment returned on March 17, 1900, and marched down Michigan Avenue, it was given a great ovation by the citizens of Chicago. Much of its success had been due to the hard work of Colonel Marshall, who served until January 1, 1914. He was succeeded by Major Dennison, who took command January 12. During the next year the state legislature appropriated money for the erection of a new armory. The corner-stone of this was laid in 1915, and it was the first building of its kind for Negroes in America. In the course of the trouble with Mexico the 8th was sent to the border.
When war was declared against Germany, April 6, 1917, the regiment was sent to Texas for preparation. It was in Houston during the riots between the citizens and the soldiers of the 25th Infantry, but its record for discipline was upheld. For a while after the riots it was not thought safe for it to remain at Camp Logan, but the soldierly bearing of its officers and men demonstrated that such fears were unwarranted; and when the regiment left Texas for Newport News the citizens of Houston turned out to do it honor. Its arrival at Newport News, with a Negro colonel who placed Negro military police on the streets, created something of a sensation. On Washington’s Birthday, 1918, three companies, led by Colonel Dennison and the regimental band, went to Norfolk to take part in a demonstration to stimulate interest in the sale of war stamps, and for the first time in the history of the city Negro troops marched at the head of a procession of several thousand American soldiers, sailors, and marines.
The regiment did intensive training at Newport News until it sailed for France. It arrived in Brest April 22, 1918, spent two days in the barracks at Pontenazen, and then journeyed for three days to Grandvillars, a village near the town of Belfort and within three miles of the Swiss border. Here it received intensive training under French officers for six weeks. The regiment made excellent progress and was complimented on numerous occasions. It was supplied with French equipment, and during the training period and the time spent in quiet sectors it was attached to four different French divisions.
At the end of the first training period the regiment marched on June 12 and 13 to Morvillars, where it entrained for Ligny en Barrois (Meuse). It then moved near the town of Bar-le-Duc in the department of the Meuse. Here it was declared fit for active service, and on June 21 it was placed on the front line in a quiet sector in the St. Mihiel district for fourteen days. Leaving for the Argonne on July 19, it was placed in the Verdun sector on the plateau of Gorgia and at Hermont and Mont des Allieux. At the last named place, on July 24, the first casualty in action took place when Private Robert M. Lee of machine-gun company No. 2 was killed. The only other operation except the usual routine work was the raid of a Stokes mortar platoon, commanded by Lt. Robert A. Wood, on August 4. This was in the sub-sector of Vauquois. Three hundred rounds of ammunition were fired, the object being to fill up the gaps of the artillery barrage.
On August 15 the 370th was placed at the disposal of General Mangin, who was commander of the 10th Army and who ordered the regiment in reserve along the Curcq River. From this position it was taken on September 15 to the Soissons sector with the 59th Division in the area of Vauxaillon with the Ailette Canal and Alizy Château as its strong salients. The Third Battalion, commanded by Colonel Otis B. Duncan, succeeded in taking the southern boundary of the canal. Four rifle companies were detached with two French regiments and assisted in taking Mont des Singes. The fighting was severe. The 370th was usually in close support, but it also participated in several attacks, in all of which the objectives were gained.
For the first time, on September 22, the regiment was given a full sector extending from L’Écluse to a point 300 meters west of the crossing of the Pinon Braucourt road. The First Battalion went into a position on the Oise-Aisne Canal and the Farm Guilliminet, the Second into a support position at Mont des Tombs and Les Tueries and the slopes west of Antioche Farm, and the third into reserve at Tincelle Farm. The headquarters company was stationed at Levilly and the supply company at Monte Couve.
In the midst of the relief of the First and Second Battalions on the front line during the night of September 27, an attack was ordered at dawn. By the greatest effort the relief was completed and the Second Battalion, which was ordered to work, began offensive operations. These lasted three days. During the night, while the relief was being conducted, there was considerable mixing of units. It was difficult to maintain liaison and as a result one company advanced too far and a number of casualties resulted.
Colonel Duncan, commanding the Third Battalion, was ordered on September 30 to attack along the canal from Mont des Singes to the Pinon Braucourt road. The fighting in this section continued until the evening of October 4 before it was certain that the enemy had been driven across the canal. During this advance the patrols of the regiment were out nightly around L’Écluse and along the canal. The 370th drove the enemy from this triangle several times, but it was difficult to remain where it was as it was the target of severe artillery and machine fire from two directions. This attack of the 30th is memorable in the annals of the 370th as it was against the Hindenburg line and was driving back the famous Prussian Guard, the flower of Emperor William’s army. On account of the orders’ being delayed in transmission, the advance started in broad daylight. It was led by Colonels Roberts and Duncan with other officers close by their sides. As they passed through a shell-torn ravine, German machine-gun bullets rained upon them, but they pressed forward, finally engaging in a hand-to-hand struggle and driving the enemy before them. The fact that some of the new troops got separated from their units in the night caused the rumor to be circulated that the regiment as a whole was demoralized. This was found to be not true, as all the objectives were gained and the morale of the men in the front line was good at all times.
The regiment took part in the general advance of the division on October 12, pushing back the German line 70 kilometers. In this advance the cities of Laon and Crépy were captured. The First and Second Battalions were complimented by the commanding general, the First for its passage of the strong position in Bois de Mortier and its successful reaching of its objective, and the Second for a well conducted march in pursuit of the enemy via Anizyle-Château to Cessières, which was reached late on the night of the 12th. Here the division stopped for twelve days, ten of which were spent in cleaning the town and the last two in supplying the men with much needed clothing. During these days the First and Second Battalions were in the St. Gobain forest and the Third at Mauneux Farm.
After this brief period of rest from fighting, the division went into the front line again, the First and Second Battalions going in near Grandliep, with the Third in reserve near Chambrey. There were no engagements between October 24 and November 3, but on the latter date a large shell fell and exploded in the midst of Company A at Chautrud Farm where the men were gathered around the kitchen. Thirty-four were killed and fifty-two wounded.
On November 5 the enemy began a general withdrawal with the French following closely. The three battalions of the 370th continued in pursuit, alternating in the front line position. Company C of the First Battalion, Captain James H. Smith commanding, took a German battery consisting of three field pieces (77 cannon) and two machine-guns, for which it was proposed for an army citation. The Second Battalion helped to take Beaume and Aubenton, while the Third had crossed the Belgian frontier when the Armistice was signed. On November 10 the regiment celebrated the evacuation of Signy le Petit, a town which had been occupied for four years by the Germans, who marched out four hours before the parade through the town with a French soldier carrying the Stars and Stripes and Color-Sergeant Mark P. Freeman, a Negro, carrying the Tricolor of France.
After the Armistice the regiment did road work and fatigue duty, cleaning up the villages and towns where it was stationed. With the French the relations were always most cordial; all had been comrades, working and fighting together for a great cause. In spite of the difficulties of language, which were often serious, the regiment showed marked improvement as the operations progressed. It played an important part in the activity of the division, as its numerical strength was nearly half of that of the infantry of the whole. During most of the advance to the Ailette and north of the Hindenburg line, the battalion operated separately, but for three weeks in front of the Ailette the regiment functioned as an organization, and it did as much work as any other regiment in the 59th Division. Valuable and necessary service was also rendered by 125 men of the regiment’s depot company who were attached to the divisional artillery, and by 75 who were attached to the engineers.
On the day that the armistice was signed General Vincenden commended the men of the 59th Division for helping to vanquish “the most powerful instrument of conquest that a nation could forge.” In referring to the “Black Devils,” he said: “The 370th R. I. U. S. has contributed largely to the success of the 59th Division and has taken in bitter strife both cannon and machine-guns. Its units, fired by a noble ardor, go at times even beyond the objectives given by the higher command; they have always wished to be in the front lines, for the place of honor is in the leading rank. They have shown, in the course of our advance, that they are worthy of being there.” As the officers and men were leaving the French command, he further thanked and commended them in General Order No. 4785, which especially complimented the intrepidity of Colonel Duncan and said to the men in closing: “The blood of your comrades who fell on the soil of France, mixed with the blood of our soldiers, renders indissoluble the bonds of affection that unite us. We have, besides, the pride of having worked together at a magnificent task, and the pride of bearing on our foreheads the ray of a common grandeur.”
Prominent among those to whom these words were addressed and among those who received citations were Sergeant Charles T. Monroe of the Headquarters Company of the regiment, Sergeant Mathew Jenkins of Company F, and First Lieut. William J. Warfield of Company L. Sergeant Monroe displayed extraordinary heroism in action at Mont-de-Sanges, September 24, 1918. A private at the time, in the absence of a platoon commander he took charge of a platoon of Stokes mortars, directing the work of the men under heavy shell fire. Although the shelling was at times so intense that the guns were buried, Sergeant Monroe and his men worked unceasingly in placing them back in action. He himself was buried by the explosion of a shell, but on being dug out, continued to direct the work of his men and to inspire them by his fearless example. Sergeant Jenkins, on September 20, 1918, was in command of a detachment that was ordered to attack the German line. After rescuing, under fire, a wounded comrade, he charged with his detachment, took a fortified tunnel, and, being far in advance of his lines and without rations and ammunition, held the position for more than thirty-six hours until relieved, making use of captured guns and ammunition to repel the attacks made upon him. Lieutenant Warfield’s exploit took place near Ferme de la Rivière, September 28, 1918. Although separated with his platoon from the company, he continued to lead a stubborn resistance against enemy machine-gun nests, successfully capturing a gun and killing the crew. Although severely wounded, he still continued to command, refusing relief until his objective was reached. Altogether the regiment received twenty-one Distinguished Service Crosses, sixty-eight French Croix de Guerre, and one Distinguished Service Medal.
The 370th was released from the French command and returned to the American Army December 12, 1918. After the change it encamped at Soissons until December 23, then at Le Mans until January 8, 1919, and then at Brest until February 1, when it sailed for America, arriving at Camp Upton nine days later. As the men of the 370th turned towards their native land, they did so with pride in the achievements of their regiment and with the knowledge that it had lived up to its tradition. It had served on two fronts and had participated in the Oisne-Aisne offensive, the last great battle of the war. While patrols had gone forth both day and night, only one man had been taken prisoner. Because of such a record, all Chicago turned out on February 17 to do honor to the “Old 8th.” Offices and stores were closed for the day, bells and whistles welcomed the heroes home, and at the Coliseum, where the regiment went after leaving the station, thousands gathered that they might see the war-scarred and medal-bedecked soldiers and hear something of their experiences. After this great meeting, there was in the afternoon a regimental parade down Michigan Avenue in full war equipment, amid the plaudits of all Chicago. At the close of the parade the regiment entrained for Camp Grant at Rockford for demobilization. This was completed March 12, and thus the noble record of the 370th became history.