PIONEER INFANTRY ORGANIZATIONS
There were fourteen other organizations in France, known as Pioneer Infantry Regiments, which did mainly stevedore work. These were composed largely of men who were drafted during the summer of 1918 and who were given from one to three months of intensive military training in American camps and then sent overseas. The commissioned officers were white, and the enlisted personnel colored. In France a small number of colored dental officers, chaplains, and band leaders were assigned in some of the regiments. It appears that the idea of the War Department in forming these organizations was to have men trained to fight, if needed, and also to have sufficient men to do the work necessary for the maintenance of a big army.
Most of the regiments reached France during the months of September and October, 1918, and consequently did no actual fighting. They worked in the S. O. S. and in the advanced section, sometimes in the back area of shell fire, and in a few instances near the front lines. Their work consisted of road building, assistance at the base ports, salvaging the battlefields, demunition and demolition work, and the building of ammunition dumps with material moved from the battlefields to the roads and then to central stations. The removing of ammunition after the Château-Thierry drive was so satisfactorily done that Lt. Col. Ord, chief ammunition officer of the S. O. S., wrote a letter in which he said: “These two depots were transformed from a heterogeneous pile to this remarkable condition in seven days, and I desire to compliment the officers and twenty-six men who went from these headquarters as well as the 801st Pioneer Infantry for this remarkable achievement.”
Before the Armistice several regiments worked behind the front lines in the Argonne Forest and at St. Mihiel, where they built narrow- and wide-gauge railroads and macadam roads for the movement of light and heavy artillery and supplies. It was also the task of some to bury the dead, working under shell fire. Sometimes bombs dropped among them, killing and wounding them; but because of their late arrival in France they did not work long in such danger. After the Armistice some did guard duty, looking after the German prisoners. Companies of the 806th and 811th Pioneer Infantry regiments did a part of the concrete and grading work for the Pershing Stadium, the $100,000 structure erected by the Y. M. C. A. for the inter-allied games held in July, 1919.
While the Pioneer Infantry regiments and the stevedores did the same kind of work for the most part, the former received the better treatment, as their officers generally insisted on a square deal for their men. In one battalion the major, an Alabamian, discouraged segregation by removing all objectionable signs, and he made no effort to prevent his men from associating with respectable French people. The commander of the 815th Pioneer Infantry regiment gave wholesome lectures to his men as a means of education and encouragement. These organizations also, with few exceptions, were liberal in granting leaves and in issuing week-end passes, and some of the men were sent to the universities in France when the A. E. F. conducted its great educational program.
Most of the regiments had good bands, minstrel shows, and baseball teams. The 807th Pioneer Infantry Band of fifty-two pieces was removed from its organization for several months and stationed with General Liggett of the First Army Corps, being called the First Army Post Band. The 806th Pioneer Infantry Band played at the Columbus Stadium in Paris, giving daily concerts during the A. E. F. try-outs for the inter-allied meet. The baseball team of the 809th was the most notable Negro team in France. It won the championship of the St. Nazaire base and finished third in the A. E. F. league. The umpires in the league were fair in all the games.
The Pioneer Infantry organizations proved a disappointment to many of the soldiers in them because, as one officer said, “they did everything the infantry was too proud to do and the engineers too lazy to do.” However, they did splendid work and returned to America with a record of honorable achievement.
CHAPTER VIII
THE NINETY-SECOND DIVISION
The Ninety-second Division gave to the Negroes of the United States the opportunity which they had long desired, namely, organization into fighting units commanded largely by Negro men. In its creation Negroes were drafted from all sections of the country and from all walks of life. The largest group of Negro officers ever commissioned served with this division, which was not trained in one camp, as was true with other divisions in the National Army, but whose various units were distributed among seven camps, extending from Camp Funston, Kan., to Camp Upton, N. Y. The units were stationed as follows:
| Division Headquarters | } | Camp Funston |
| Headquarters Troops | ||
| Divisional Trains | ||
| 365th Infantry | Camp Grant | |
| 366th Infantry | Camp Dodge | |
| 367th Infantry | Camp Upton | |
| 368th Infantry | Camp Meade | |
| 349th Field Artillery | } | Camp Dix |
| 350th Field Artillery | ||
| 351st Field Artillery | Camp Meade | |
| 349th Machine-Gun Battalion | Camp Funston | |
| 350th Machine-Gun Battalion | Camp Grant | |
| 351st Machine-Gun Battalion | Camp Upton | |
| 317th Engineers Regiment | } | Camp Sherman |
| 317th Engineers Train | ||
| 325th Signal Corps | ||
| 317th Trench Mortar Battery | Camp Dix |
As the headquarters troops, the military police, the 317th ammunition, sanitary, and supply trains were all organized and trained with the headquarters of the Division at Camp Funston, there was great enthusiasm for achievement among these troops, and an earnest effort was made to have them attain the highest possible efficiency. Being close to the inspiration and brains of the Division, they set the standard for the other units. By their wonderful progress moreover they changed the attitude of the camp in regard to Negro soldiers and developed in themselves and in their commanding officers greater confidence in their ability.
The infantry regiments were probably the best known, not only among the Negro people but in Army circles as well. Negroes had made a glorious record in this branch of the service and were naturally expected to defend that record. The thousands of soldiers inducted into the Division, and especially those drawn into the four infantry regiments, began their training resolved that they would live up to the traditions of the past. Every man realized that he was representing a confident and loyal people who prayed and hoped for the success of the Division, who followed every step of its progress, and who rejoiced with every victory and sorrowed at every failure. The men were fully conscious of their responsibility and began their work with enthusiasm.
From reveille to retreat the recruits were carried through intensive training, which included physical exercise, a study of the articles of war, practice marching, use of the bayonet, shooting, the use of grenades, and signal and semaphore work. Besides their program of purely military instruction they were given lectures on personal hygiene and first aid that prepared them to be not only good soldiers but also better men. From five to seven months of such training showed wonderful results in every regiment. Undeveloped young men from the farms and cotton-fields of the South learned to stand erect and to walk with a firm step, and they were also made to feel that America expected each of them to do a man’s work.
So well did Negroes absorb this training that they were often considered the best drilled and best disciplined organizations in the camps where they were trained. This was said to be true, for instance, of the 367th Infantry, commonly known as the “Buffaloes,” which was trained at Camp Upton. It paraded in New York City on Washington’s Birthday, 1918, when it was presented with colors by the Union League Club. The 368th was reviewed by President Wilson in Baltimore during a Liberty Loan drive. At such times the press of the country carried articles commending the Negro men for their martial appearance and wonderful marching, and this praise not only developed a greater pride in themselves but caused other Americans to recognize their real value as soldiers.
The organization of the 92nd Division made it necessary to train Negroes in other branches of service than the infantry. The mere suggestion of Negro artillery regiments brought laughter from some old Army men, and even officers assigned to train the soldiers in this branch of the service were dubious as to their success. However, three artillery regiments were organized and the experiment proved a success. After seven months of hard work at Camps Dix and Meade these regiments were ready to sail to France, where they were to receive additional training before doing combat duty. Specialist details, composed of “non-coms,” were given intensive training, and before leaving the States they were able to calculate firing data, to use the various American optical instruments, to connect up and use the field telephones, to signal, and to perform efficiently the work connected with the occupation of a position.
In the three machine-gun battalions—the 349th, 350th, and 351st, trained at Camps Funston, Grant, and Upton respectively—it was found that Negroes immediately grasped the intricacies of the machine-gun and soon excelled in its mechanical manipulation. Ignorant men, those unable either to read or to write, could take apart and assemble every part of a gun to the minutest spring. As in other branches, they worked with a will to succeed, and learned map-reading, trench-digging, the use of dug-outs, and the construction of shafts and camouflaged machine-gun emplacements, all of which knowledge was to be essential when they met the enemy in France. They also mastered the drill and made a splendid record on the range. In the Division overseas a machine-gun school was also started, in charge of Lieut. Benjamin H. Mosby, a Negro officer, one of the main objects being to make machine-gun officers out of infantry officers. More than two hundred men attended this course.
The organization of the 325th Signal Corps marked the first time in the history of the country when Negro men were placed in this branch of the service. Before the organization of this unit was completed, a representative of the War Department visited Negro educational institutions and explained the qualifications for this branch of the service. As a result, men with superior technical and academic training were inducted into it. The work was new to most of the men, but their training enabled them to master it rapidly, so much so that they surprised the higher officials. The corps was organized and trained at Camp Sherman, and six officers were raised from the ranks. The unit boasted of having one of the best health records in France; not one case of venereal disease was discovered in it. The story is told of one man who, though he could scarcely write his name when he entered the service, was able, at the time of the Armistice, to take messages at the rate of twenty-five words a minute.
The distribution of the troops in the Division handicapped the administration somewhat. Orders were delayed in transmission, and it was impossible to correlate the activities of the several arms of the service; nor could the Division assemble for a review. The first opportunity the different units had of meeting came when they were ordered to join the American Army in France and met at Hoboken, June 10, 1918, just before sailing. After an exciting voyage all the units arrived safely at Brest; and after a short stay at Camp Pontenazen, the headquarters troops and infantry regiments went on to Bourbonne-les-Bains, making the four-day trip in crowded French box cars.
Bourbonne-les-Bains is a beautiful old city, located in Haute-Marne at the end of a valley encircled by a picturesque chain of hills. The people were hospitable and welcomed the soldiers into their homes and places of amusement. While the atmosphere was restful, however, the task before the Division was eminently serious. Eight weeks of intensive training were given in the methods of modern warfare, and terrain exercises and tactical problems worked out. The men perfected themselves in shooting, in the use of the bayonet and grenades, and in signal work and trench-digging.
The three artillery regiments, comprising the 167th Field Artillery Brigade, on reaching France were stationed at different centers for six weeks of intensive training—the 349th and 350th at Montmorillion and the 351st at Lathus. Finally the brigade was mobilized at La Courtine. Here instruction was given in radio, telephone, and motor operations, dug-out construction, gun emplacement, and range work. Even after they reached France, there was still doubt in the minds of some as to whether the Negro men would make artillerymen. A French officer, however, came to test the barrage made by the 350th Artillery, and after it had been put over, he jumped up and clapped his hands, saying that it was the fastest and the most accurate he had ever seen put over. In all the training area of the 92nd Division unusually fine relations existed between the soldiers and the French people.