History of the American Negro in the Great World War / His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico

by William Allison Sweeney

The most indispensable cog in the great machine which existed behind the lines, was the stevedore regiments, the butcher companies, the engineer, labor and Pioneer battalions, nearly all incorporated in that department of the army technically designated as the S.O.S. (Service of Supply). In the main these were blacks. Every Negro who served in the combatant forces could have been dispensed with. They would have been missed, truly; but there were enough white men to take their places if necessary. But how seriously handicapped would the Expeditionary forces have been without the great army of Negroes, numbering over 100,000 in France, with thousands more in this country designed for the same service; who unloaded the ships, felled the trees, built the railroad grades and laid the tracks; erected the warehouses, fed the fires which turned the wheels; cared for the horses and mules and did the million and one things, which Negro brawn and Negro willingness does so acceptably.

Theirs not to seek "the bubble reputation at the cannon's mouth," that great composed, uncomplaining body of men; content simply to wear the uniform and to know that their toil was contributing to a result just as important as the work of anyone in the army. Did they wish to fight? They did; just as ardently as any man who carried a rifle, served a machine gun or a field piece. But some must cut wood and eat of humble bread, and there came in those great qualities of patience and resignation which makes of the Negro so dependable an asset in all such emergencies.

How shall we describe their chronology or write their log? They were everywhere in France where they were needed. As one officer expressed it, at one time it looked as though they would chop down all the trees in that country. Their units and designations were changed. They were shifted from place to place so often and given such a variety of duties it would take a most active historian to follow them. In the maze of data in the War Department at Washington, it would take months to separate and give an adequate account of their operations.

BACK WITH THE HEROIC 15TH (369TH INFANTRY). LIEUT. JAMES REESE EUROPE'S FAMOUS BAND PARADING UP LENOX AVENUE, HARLEM, NEW YORK CITY. LIEUT. EUROPE SPECIALLY ENLARGED IN LEFT FOREGROUND.

SERGEANT HENRY JOHNSON (STANDING WITH FLOWERS), NEGRO HERO OF 369TH INFANTRY. IN NEW YORK PARADE. HE WAS THE FIRST SOLDIER OF ANY RACE IN THE AMERICAN ARMY TO RECEIVE THE CROIX DE GUERRE WITH PALM. NEEDHAM ROBERTS, HIS FIGHTING COMPANION, IN INSET.

RETURNING FROM THE WAR. MUSICIANS OF 365TH INFANTRY LEADING PARADE OF THE REGIMENT IN MICHIGAN BOULEVARD. CHICAGO.

SOLDIERS OF 365TH INFANTRY MARCHING DOWN MICHIGAN BOULEVARD. CHICAGO. THIS REGIMENT WAS PART OF THE CELEBRATED 92ND DIVISION OF SELECTIVE DRAFT MEN.

THE SEVEN AGES OF MEN. CURBSTONE GROUPS IN NEW YORK LINED UP TO GIVE THE HEROES WELCOME. THE SCENES WERE TYPICAL OF MANY IN CITIES AND TOWNS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

COLONEL FRANKLIN A. DENISON, FORMER COMMANDER OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY), INVALIDED HOME FROM FRANCE JULY 12, 1918.

FIRST COMMANDER OF THE 8TH ILLINOIS INFANTRY, COLONEL JOHN R. MARSHALL, WHO INCREASED THE ORGANIZATION FROM A BATTALION TO A REGIMENT, EVERY OFFICER AND MAN A NEGRO. UNDER COL. MARSHALL THE REGIMENT SAW DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.