NEGRO CHAPLAINS
It mattered not how ignorant a Negro soldier was, or how difficult his life had been, he believed in God and in the efficacy of prayer. There was something about his religion that was satisfying and genuine, and no one could attend his services and hear him sing and pray without being touched. In writing to his family and friends he usually asked for their prayers. “Tell them all to pray for me and that I am trusting in the Lord,” said one in dictating a letter, and another: “Tell them not to worry about me now. I am happy and contented. I have prayed constantly and have now no fear of death. Whatever happens will be all right. Tell them to pray for me.” On one Sunday night at Camp Jackson several white soldiers came into one of the religious services at the colored “Y,” and they joined heartily in the singing. After the meeting they told the secretary that they were leaving for France the next morning and had come to the meeting in order to get a little nearer to God.
Such being the general situation, importance attached to the man who became the religious guide in time of stress. The average minister was hardly adapted to the work of chaplain, because his experience had not prepared him to have an understanding and appreciation of the problems of the men in the new situation. Some who were fitted were pastors of leading churches and in most cases it was impossible for them to get a leave of absence. Besides the difficulty of securing competent men, there was also opposition on the part of many officers to having Negro chaplains in their organizations. When the efforts of the Federal Council of Churches resulted in increasing the number, they found difficulty in serving the Negro men because several of them were kept in one camp and often in one organization. At Camp Meade, for instance, at one time there were three Negro chaplains in the 1st Development Battalion. When this battalion was disbanded in December, 1918, two of the chaplains were assigned to the 4th Battalion, where there were already one Negro and two white chaplains. At Camp Travis three Negro chaplains were found serving one organization, and at both Camps Taylor and Sherman there were several chaplains with a small number of soldiers. At the same time there were throughout the South Negro organizations without any chaplain at all, except a machine-gun group at Camp Hancock and a part of the 157th Development Battalion at Camp McClellan, which units were served respectively by a white and a colored chaplain.
The work of the chaplains who remained in the States consisted in conducting religious services and in educational work, visiting the sick in the hospitals, aiding the soldiers in securing their allotments and allowances, and often adjusting difficulties. A number of white chaplains served Negro soldiers, especially in the labor organizations and in one instance in a fighting unit, the 371st Infantry. Many of these men were sincere and conscientious, yet they were not able to influence the men to any great extent. One said that he felt the soldiers would rather have one of their own race for a religious leader. At first the soldiers would not go to him with their difficulties, but as he worked among them they came to have more confidence in him, and a few began to seek his aid in the matter of securing their allotments and allowances. His most effective work, however, was in conducting schools for the illiterate. In general it was not impossible for the white chaplain to enter into the life of the Negro soldier, if he dealt with him as man to man and was a living example of his teachings.
To be a Negro, however, was by no means the only requisite of a successful chaplain for Negro troops. Personality and moral force also counted. Because care was not exercised at first in the selections for Negro soldiers, a great opportunity was lost to serve them in their darkest hours, when both physical and moral dangers surrounded them. Some workers, however, won the hearty commendation of both officers and men. Whether in America or in France, they gave of themselves freely for their comrades. Such a man was Allen O. Newman of the 366th Infantry. Soon after joining his regiment he won his way to the hearts of the men by his genuine appreciation of their difficulties. When they were in training at Camp Dodge he became one of them. He ate with some company daily and afterwards gave a short talk on patriotism or morality. He was also regimental song leader. A chorus of two hundred and fifty men that he developed gave several concerts in the city of Des Moines. Chaplain Newman accompanied his regiment through France, and in the front line trenches he visited and comforted them constantly. Chaplain H. M. Collins, who served the stevedore organizations at Camp Williams, Issurtille, was a genuine “big brother” to his men. The commander, in speaking of his work, said that he had been the greatest factor in helping to better conditions in the camp. He remained until the last Negro soldier started for America. Altogether the sixty Negro chaplains who served during the war made a real contribution in building up the morale, the morality, and the loyalty of the Negro soldier.