372ND INFANTRY
The 372nd Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Stuart, Newport News, in January, 1918, of infantry troops from the First Separate Battalion of Washington, D. C., the Ninth Separate Battalion of Ohio, First Separate Company I of Maryland, First Separate Company K of Tennessee, First Separate Company M of Connecticut, and Company L of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment. These organizations had survived since the Spanish-American War by reason of the enthusiasm of a few commanders who had held them together from year to year in spite of handicaps, until the call to arms in 1917.
Every one of these units had made an interesting record. The First Separate Battalion of Washington was the first unit of district guardsmen to be mobilized for duty on the Mexican Border in 1916. It served for four months, spending a part of the time at Naco, Ariz., where it guarded waterworks. On March 29, 1917, just before the United States entered the war, it was mustered into the Federal service and called to guard the White House, the Capitol, and other Government buildings and railroad properties around Washington. The Ninth Ohio Battalion was composed of companies from Springfield, Cleveland, and Columbus. It was called to the mobilization center in 1916, but was not ordered to the border. In July, 1917, when the regiment was called to service, efforts were made to raise it to war strength, which was finally reached at Camp Stuart. The First Separate Company of Maryland was organized in the 80’s by Capt. William R. Spencer, who commanded it for nearly thirty years. In 1917 it first went to Pittsburgh for guard duty, but later was sent to Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala., where it served at the remount station until it was ordered to France. While at Camp McClellan it participated in a review of thirty-five thousand men and was conceded by the reviewers to be the best drilled company in the line of march. Company K of Tennessee, commanded by Captain Hadley, was the only National Guard company of Negro men in the South. It trained at Camp Sevier, Greenville, S. C., before joining the 372nd at Newport News. Company M of Connecticut was one of the two National Guard companies in New England composed of Negro men. During the years of its existence it trained in camp with the Connecticut National Guard, which as early as 1904 it accompanied to Manassas, Va., for the Bull Run sham battle. During the maneuvers an unfortunate incident occurred, two troopers in the unit opposing this company being injured, and it was withdrawn from further participation in the event. Company L, of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, was the only Negro company attached to a white regiment in the United States; and William J. Williams, the first captain, was the first Negro to receive that commission in the United States Volunteer Army. This company served in the Spanish-American War, and it was mustered into the Federal service on the day that the United States declared war on Germany. It was first sent to Fort Smith, N. H., where it remained until July. Thence it was moved successively to Framingham, Ayer, the Watertown Arsenal, where it was raised to war strength, then to Westfield, and thence to Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C. In January, 1918, it was ordered to Camp Stuart to join the other National Guard units preparatory to the formation of the 372nd Regiment under the command of Colonel Glendie B. Young. While organization was being completed, the men were given three months of intensive training in all forms of offensive and defensive tactics.
On March 30 the regiment sailed for France, arriving at St. Nazaire on April 13. It was stationed in one of the rest camps outside the city, details doing stevedore work at Montoir until the 21st, when the regiment was ordered to the Givry-en-Argonne training area, where it was billeted at Condé-en-Barrois. Under French officers intensive instruction was given in the use of hand and rifle grenades, machine-guns and automatic rifles, trench construction and battle formations; and during this period the regiment was reorganized in accordance with the French table of organization and became an integral part of the 63rd Division of the French Army.
Leaving Condé-en-Barrois on May 27, the 372nd proceeded to towns in the Meuse and Vosges Departments, there to await operation orders. These were received on June 6, the different battalions being assigned to the sub-sector Argonne (Meuse), which was placed under the command of Colonel Young. The First Battalion was located at La Noue and Les Islettes as reserve to the 63rd Division, the Second at Camp Kapp and Basse Chevrie, and the Third at Courtes Chousses. There were no large offensive operations in this sector, but patrols from both sides gave the regiment its first real opportunity to see modern warfare.
On June 21 the 372nd was transferred from the 63rd to the 35th French Division, the latter having relieved the 63rd. On June 27 the commanding officer of the 35th Division ordered the 372nd to relieve the 123rd French R. I. in the Vauquois Sector (Meuse). This relief, which was made by the battalions going into the line separately, continued until July 3, when it was completed. On July 2 the regiment was again transferred, this time to the 157th “Red Hand” Division. It was immediately ordered to occupy new positions in support, and from July 11 to 14 it relieved the 49th French R. I. in sub-sector Courcelles. The First Battalion on the night of the 11th moved to Bois de Fenchères, the Second and supply company on the following night to Camp Demougin at Brabant, and the Third and headquarters company to Lochères. On July 4, 1918, Colonel Herschel Tupes relieved Colonel Young in the command of the regiment.
The 372nd moved into second-line positions on July 18. The First Battalion was stationed at sub-sector West, the Second at Vigneville, and the Third at Bois de Bethelainsville. On the 26th the regiment moved into a sub-sector of Hill 304 in the Verdun region, where it relieved the 333rd French Regiment. This relief was completed on the 28th, with the First Battalion in the front line left of sub-sector 304, the Second on the right of 304, and the Third in reserve at Camp Dormandie. The regiment remained in the Verdun region throughout the month of August. Here it took part in no offensive operations except active patrol duty; yet the men were under constant bombardment, which made the line of communication difficult to hold in order. Detachments took part in two attacks, which were accompanied by artillery operation put over by the 333rd French Regiment. On both occasions the men of the 372nd were praised for their conduct under fire. Sub-sector 304 was organized and consolidated for the first time by this regiment.
While in this sector the Negro officers, many of whom had been with their units for years, were removed. It was natural that the removal of those who had helped to organize and promote their organizations should affect the morale of the regiment for a time, but the men finally adjusted themselves to the changes and the work of the regiment proceeded.
On September 8 the 129th U. S. Infantry relieved the 372nd. The battalions marched to Bois de Brocourt and Bois de Fouchères, where they remained until September 12, when orders arrived to leave for the training area in Brienne le Château. Four days later they were ordered by train to Vitry-le-François in Haute-Marne, and thence they proceeded by night marches through Jussacourt, Contault-le-Maupas, Dommartin-sur-Yevre, and Mes Maigneaux to Hans, ten kilometers west of Ste. Menehould, where they arrived on September 25.
In the big offensive the attack which had been scheduled for the Fourth Army began at 5.25 on the morning of September 26. The mission of the 157th French Division was “to exploit the successes after the initial breaking through attack had attained the assigned objectives.” The 372nd was ordered to advance at 3 in the afternoon. The headquarters and headquarters company occupied the north bank of Marson Brook, and the three battalions were on the south of the brook. On the 27th the First and Third Battalions marched north to new positions in Ravin d’Hébaterne, while the Second Battalion was held in reserve for the 157th Division. On the 28th the Second Battalion advanced to Ripont by Corduroy road. The Third was ordered to attack north of Ripont Rouvroy road, which it did at 11.30. Stubborn resistance was offered by the enemy from their entrenchments on Crete-des-Observatoires, but after hard fighting, which lasted the entire afternoon, this position was rushed and cleared. The Third Battalion captured in this advance 60 prisoners, one 105-calibre field-gun, two 77-calibre field-guns, 2 anti-tank rifles, and large quantities of material and small arm ammunition. The Third Battalion continued its advance until night, reaching the woods south of Bussy Farm, three and a half kilometers north of Ripont. Its ranks had been greatly depleted in the day’s operations.
On September 29 the First Battalion was ordered to attack towards Moulin, L’Avébrune, and then towards Challerange, but after starting the attack it was obliged to leave its direction of attack and advance toward Sechault because of the strong resistance from that direction. The town was finally captured, the First Battalion of the 372nd assisting. Because of the casualties suffered by the First and Third Battalions, they were ordered at nightfall to the woods south of Bussy Farm, where they were reorganized into one provisional battalion.
On September 30 the Second Battalion advanced to a plateau 250 meters south of Bussy Farm and on October 1 to Trières Farm, where it relieved a battalion of the 371st Infantry. The provisional battalion, commanded by Major Johnson, advanced three kilometers north of Sechault on the Sechault-Monthoise road, capturing the town of Ardeuil. On October 3 the advance was held up, pending the capture of Croix de Langley, west of Monthoise, by the 120th French Division, which was stopped in its advance. The enemy took advantage of a heavy fog on the 4th and launched a strong counter-attack, assisted by heavy artillery preparation. This attack, which developed into a hand-to-hand combat, was completely repulsed by two battalions of the 333rd French Regiment, and the Second Battalion of the 372nd, the enemy leaving behind 55 prisoners and 6 machine-guns.
The 372nd was relieved on October 6 by a French regiment and moved southward to the north banks of Marson Brook for the 7th, and on to Somme Bionne, 12 kilometers west of Ste. Menehould, on the 8th. Its fighting qualities were put to severe test in the Champagne offensive from September 26 to October 7. The nature of the attack may be judged by the losses sustained. Seven officers and 74 enlisted men were killed and 32 officers and 435 men were wounded. Three of the wounded officers afterwards died.
The regiment entrained at Valmy in Champagne on the 11th for Alsace, arriving at Corcieux in the Department of Vosges the following day. Here it detrained and marched to St. Leonard, preparatory to entering the front lines to relieve the 70th French Infantry at Ban-de-Laveline in sub-sector B on the 15th. It remained in this sector until after the armistice. On the night of November 7 patrols were sent out from each battalion to gain contact with the enemy, who were believed to be retreating. A patrol from the Second Battalion, consisting of an officer and twenty-three men, advanced two kilometers into territory occupied by the Germans, who surrounded them. The officer and one man were killed. All the rest, a number of whom were wounded, were captured, with the exception of one man, who made his escape and returned to the battalion. On the last morning of the war another patrol went 1200 meters into the enemy’s line and captured a soldier of the 2nd Ersatz Bavarian Regiment. There were no heavy offensives in sub-sector B, but there was aggressive patrolling, which secured valuable information from the enemy. On November 17 the regiment was ordered to Granges, Ammontzev, and Jussarupt in the Vosges, where it remained until January 1. At Ammontzev, on December 17, 1918, General Goybet, commander of the 157th French Division, awarded the Croix de Guerre to those officers and men who had won the coveted prize, and Colonel Tupes presented to eight men the Distinguished Service Cross.
The 157th, the “Red Hand Division,” was ordered dissolved on December 20. At the same time the 372nd was returned to the American Army. The regiment had served with the French since April, 1918. During that time the relations had been most friendly, the men of the two nations working together in perfect harmony. The 372nd played an important part in the operations of its division. Its occupation of sub-sector Argonne Quest, considered a phase of training, was satisfactorily conducted. In the Vauquois sub-sector its mission was difficult and important, namely, the defense of Côtes-de-Foriment, the key to the Aire Valley, which was threatened by a German offensive. Its fighting in the Champagne and its capture of Crete-des-Observatoires, the key to Challerange and Monthois, caused the French Higher Command to say that its achievements were equal to those of any French unit in its division.
The regiment entrained for Le Mans on January 1, arriving two days afterwards. There it remained until the 11th, when it was ordered to Brest, where it arrived on the 14th. At Brest, on January 24, 1919, the regimental colors were decorated with the Croix de Guerre with palm by Vice-Admiral Moreau of the French Navy. The citation said:
The 372nd Infantry
Gave proof during its first engagement of the finest qualities of bravery and daring exploits, which are the virtues of assaulting troops.
Under the orders of Colonel Tupes, dashed with superb gallantry and admirable scorn of danger, the assault of a position continuously defended by the enemy, taking it by storm under exceptionally violent machine-gun fire, continued the progress in spite of the enemy’s artillery fire and severe fire. Made numerous prisoners, captured cannons, many machine-guns and important war material.
(Signed) QUILLET,
Colonel, Commanding 157th L. D.
Of individual heroes in the regiment thus cited for gallantry there were many. Two of the most outstanding were Corporal Clarence R. Van Alen, of Boston, and Sergeant Clifton Merrimon, of Cambridge, both of whom were members of the “Old 6th Massachusetts” and both of whom received the extraordinary triple decoration of the Croix de Guerre with palm, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medaille Militaire. On the morning of September 28, 1918, when his company was under a gruelling fire from hidden German machine-gun nests, Corporal Van Alen, having determined the location of one of these, rushed it single-handed. He killed four of the operators and brought the other three as prisoners into the American lines, himself escaping with a few scratches. Later on the same day, and during the same engagement, he rushed and captured single-handed a trench mortar battery that was inflicting severe losses upon the French lines. Corporal (afterwards Sergeant) Merrimon, near Bussy Farm on September 27, made an attack with hand grenades on an enemy machine-gun which was causing heavy losses to his platoon, and succeeded in killing the gunner and putting the gun out of commission. He then reorganized the remainder of the platoon, leading his men to their position south of Bussy Farm. Although gassed himself, he silenced the machine-gun single-handed. Colonel Tupes himself was decorated with the Croix de Guerre, and altogether four members of the regiment received the Medaille Militaire and fifty-two the Croix de Guerre.
The 372nd sailed for America on February 3, 1919, landing at Hoboken on Lincoln’s Birthday. Demobilization was completed on March 6.
Of such nature was the work and the fighting of the 93rd Division of the American Army in France, which was composed of Negro soldiers and whose different regiments were so largely decorated with the Croix de Guerre with palm.
CHAPTER X
HOME-FIRES
“Keep the home-fires burning,
While your hearts are yearning;
Though your lads are far away
They dream of home;
There’s a silver lining
Through the dark cloud shining;
Turn the dark cloud inside out
Till the boys come home.”
To the American returning from France in 1919, the whole country that had been the scene of the war came back like a panorama or a dream. The moans of the dying and the devastation of homes and villages mingled with the treasures of art and the shrines of devotion. Perhaps he recalled the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the Palace of Kings at Fontainebleau, the tombs of Voltaire and Rousseau and Hugo, the Luxembourg, or the never-to-be-forgotten Promenade at Nice. Roman ruins and amphitheatres, the parade on Bastille Day, fireworks on the Seine, nights at the opera, the games at the Pershing Stadium, the endless coming and going at Brest, even memories of Héloïse and Abelard, all crowded upon the mind to awaken wonder. But above all, far above all, came back the France of the Great Soul, of Liberty and Fraternity and Courage, of the “Marseillaise,”—of Verdun and the deathless word, “Ils ne passeront pas.”
It is a country to love, a country worth dying for. Yet few Americans would prefer even France to their own wonderful land. Memories of those at home rushed back even on the field of battle; and though he lived in Mississippi or Montana, to the returning soldier even the harbor of New York spoke of home. After all there is nothing like the land of one’s birth and loved ones. “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
To the Negro soldier who went to France the experience was, as for every soldier, one ever to be remembered. Some men who in Alabama or Louisiana had in all their lives hardly been twenty-five miles from home were suddenly taken thousands of miles away, across the Atlantic, to decide the fate of empires. Altogether four hundred thousand Negro men answered their country’s call. Of these a little more than half saw service abroad, and many never came back.
Of those who remained at home importance attached to an organization of which little has been said in these pages, that of the Students’ Army Training Corps. Units of this were established in twenty representative educational institutions, and with inspiring ceremony on October 1, 1918, the flower of the young men of the nation, in these and other colleges, took the oath of loyalty to the flag. Meanwhile black fathers and mothers invested millions of dollars in Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and contributed generously to all the numerous “drives”; and history has not yet told of how much the Negro woman, working hard in the fields of the South, did to feed her country and the world while the war was on.
To the Negro soldier no thought was dearer or more inspiring than that of these women at home, so largely defenceless; and no hope was stronger than that the future might be better for them and their children. Only such feeling explains the tenderness, even the tears, with which the men in uniform greeted the women of their race who in one way or another strove to help them. At Camp McClellan one man was daily growing weaker from pneumonia. One morning a Negro woman who was a member of the Red Cross brought some flowers to be given to him. A beautiful rose was selected by the Chaplain who, when giving it to the soldier, said, “This is the flower that the lady brought you this morning.” “For me?” asked the man; then, looking at the gift with all its beautiful suggestion, he said, “Chaplain, I am twenty-three years old. Do you know that this is the first time anyone ever gave me a flower?” Overseas it was the same. To one talented young woman who went to France to try to bring good cheer, and who inspired the men by her beautiful playing on the piano, a soldier wrote appreciatively: “I just want to thank you for the way you entertained us soldiers last evening and say that you really did bring sunshine to us all. To-day it seems that a burden has been lifted off us, and we wish you could stay in our camp forever. I feel better than I have felt in the whole eleven months that I have been overseas. All the soldiers are talking of you to-day; it has been a year since some of them saw a colored woman. A friend of mine is from Cincinnati and he joins me in wishing you Good Luck and Godspeed.”
Not only through the personal presence of such a worker as this but in far-reaching and unseen ways the influences of home were brought to bear upon the men at the front. Sometimes in the darkest night the great good cheer and the big heart of the Negro shone forth. More than one man “higher up,” while on patrol in No Man’s Land, was buoyed up by the simple faith of an untutored Negro lad. “Officer,” said one, in such a situation, “it is hard, but I’m with you to the end.” On another night, before they went over the top, six boys were in a dug-out. After talking things over, one suggested that they say the Lord’s Prayer. Only one knew it; but while a game of dice was going on in another corner, the little group knelt and repeated the words, gathering strength for the attack that was to come before the new day. Hearing a slight noise toward the close, they turned and saw that a major had come into the dug-out. “Let’s say it again, boys,” he said, “it gives me more courage too.” Then they knelt again and the officer joined with them in the prayer.
In many ways the war meant the awakening of new impulses. As one traveled through the South, again and again he noticed a service flag at the window, sometimes in a cabin forlorn and dilapidated, sometimes in one neat and in a cluster of trees or surrounded by cotton. Sometimes there was only one star, but often there were two; and whenever those stars appeared they meant that the deeper springs of life were being stirred, and that a people whose horizon had been limited was beginning to think in terms of the world. If such was the influence at home, even stronger was that with the men who went to France. They were thrilled with a new hope. One and all they were willing to give their very lives if things might be better for those in the little home in South Carolina or Georgia. They had seen their glorious Stars and Stripes and they knew that they had not fully realized its benefits; but now as never before that banner unfurled meant democracy, and as a beacon light it pointed the way for all lovers of liberty. Negro men went to war believing that a new day was dawning for them, and that loyalty to their country’s cause in her hour of need would be the means of their enjoying in fuller measure the blessings for which they were fighting. In that faith they were willing to face shells and gas at Verdun, in Champagne, and in the Argonne, or wherever duty might lead them.
When the war closed then, it is unfortunate that the experiences of thousands of these men had embittered them instead of bringing them into the freedom for which they had longed. Let us pass over smaller matters and consider only two of the larger reasons that accounted for their feeling. It is possible that no group similarly situated did more to make Armistice Day possible than did the American Negro soldiers; and we have seen that the record of the 369th Infantry was such that it was given the honor of leading French troops to the Rhine. When, however, in Paris, on July 14, 1919—on Bastille Day, the day of freedom—the Allied generals and their armies participated in the greatest military demonstration in the history of the world, the American Negro was not there. Other nations had all the races that fought under their flags in line. Belgium had her black colonial troops; England had Indians and Africans with her own sons and her soldiers from the colonies; and France had her Senegalese, Moroccans, Algerians, Soudanese, and Madagascans: every race that came to her defence was in her victorious army on that memorable day. Only America left her Negro troops behind. The last soldiers in the Victory Parade passed down the Champs Elysees, and still the hero of the 369th or the 371st had not appeared. He alone in the day of glory was the Disowned, the Disinherited.
Then there was “Le Panthéon de la Guerre,” a great painting by “Pierre Carrier-Belleuse, Auguste François Gorguet, and their associates, who on the morrow of the victory of the Marne undertook a work for the glorification of France.” Standing before the painting one beheld thousands of French heroes, officers of all ranks, and soldiers, gunners, horsemen, sailors, and aviators—every group that represented France. Along the right of this great circular painting were seen the Allied nations, represented by their sovereigns, statesmen, and military leaders, with representatives of the groups that assisted in the great struggle. Colonial as well as European soldiers were there. In the American group President Wilson stood in the center with one of his peace documents, and on either side were members of the cabinet, statesmen, military and naval leaders. Every group of Americans was supposed to be represented, and all were there—soldiers, sailors, business men, farmers, cowboys, Indians,—all except the Negro, the Negro soldier, and the stevedore who bore the heavy load. It was not sufficient to say to the Negro that this was an accidental omission; he knew better.
This, then, is the question for Americans. Either these things are true or they are not. Either they are just or they are not. That they are true everybody knows. That they are just we leave to the conscience of our readers.
Meanwhile let us remember that now as ever the Negro has faith in his country and in the principles for which it stands. In every crisis he has been loyal and true. In the World War, in spite of propaganda, he answered promptly every call. For him, as for others, the draft was a great Americanizer. It did within a year what decades of quiet existence would not have done. It carried him far from his home and showed him other peoples and other customs; and as never before he realized that he was to do a man’s part for his own country’s welfare.
As a result of the war also there was co-operation between the races in communities where previously little or none had existed. The inter-racial committees that have been organized throughout the South are the direct outgrowth of efforts to work together in the course of the war. The welfare organizations moreover introduced for Negro young men and women such wholesome recreation as had not been enjoyed by them in large numbers before. Through this work standards developed and a new appreciation of the place that such recreation should have in the lives of the youth of the race.
And in the years to come who will read of the work of the Negro stevedores without feeling that America owes a great debt to these men? They had a heavy and sometimes an unpleasant task, but the zeal with which they worked hastened the peace and saved the lives of thousands of men. In the 92nd Division also more than 20,000 Negro men were moulded into a great fighting organization, officered largely by Negroes for the first time in the history of America; while the record of the 93rd Division is one to make not only every Negro but also every American proud.
Such memories linger in the mind of every man who played his part on the field of battle, and also of that one who offered himself for his country but happened not to be called to the front. Forgetting themselves, but uplifted with hope, they went forth in the spirit of the Master. Risking life itself, they were willing to die, if need be, that others might live. They had only sublime faith in their country, and over all was the divine purpose, “For God and Home and Native Land.”
Transcriber’s Notes
— Where hyphenation was inconsistent, this has been standardized using the one more common in this text. Where that was not possible to discern, the most common hyphenation in use at the time of publication has been used.
— Several unconventional spellings for French locations have been left as per the original, except where otherwise noted.
— Page 28: “The fact than many” changed to “The fact that many”
— Page 36: “The Plattsburgh idea of military training was” changed to “The Plattsburg idea of military training was”
— Page 42: “manual of physical” changed to “manual or physical”
— Page 46: “words of farewell and mpressed” changed to “words of farewell and impressed”
— Page 46: “a surprisingly efficient organzation” changed to “a surprisingly efficient organization”
— Page 60: “not always carried out.”” changed to “not always carried out.”
— Page 70: “his own comrades in arms” changed to “his own comrades in arms.”
— Page 80: “the first Satuday of each month” changed to “the first Saturday of each month”
— Page 89: “was at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, O.” changed to “was at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.”
— Page 103: “erected for Negro stevedores” changed to “erected for Negro stevedores.”
— Page 114: “The next moring a hundred white and colored soldiers” changed to “The next morning a hundred white and colored soldiers”
— Page 116: “Here there was a minstrel troup” changed to “Here there was a minstrel troupe”
— Page 124: “the young woman who recieved the yarn” changed to “the young woman who received the yarn”
— Page 143: “317th Engineers, The task” changed to “317th Engineers. The task”
— Page 168: “positions of Champey, Bouières, La Côte,” changed to “positions of Champey, Bouxières, La Côte,”
— Page 179: “measles, parolitis” changed to “measles, parotitis”
— Page 188: “by a heavy minewerfer” changed to “by a heavy minenwerfer”
— Page 197: “northeast of Châlons in the Campagne” changed to “northeast of Châlons in the Champagne”
— Page 212: “Vauxaillon with the Arlette Canal” changed to “Vauxaillon with the Ailette Canal”
— Page 227: “General Garnier Duplossis” changed to “General Garnier Duplessis”
— Page 236: “capturing the town of Ardueil.” changed to “capturing the town of Ardeuil.”
— Page 248: “not only ever Negro but also every American proud” changed to “not only every Negro but also every American proud”