369th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 369th Infantry Regiment, originally formed as the 15th New York National Guard Regiment before it was re-organized as the 369th upon its federalization, and commonly referred to as the Harlem Hellfighters, was an infantry regiment of the New York Army National Guard during World War I and World War II. The regiment mainly consisted of African Americans. With the 370th Infantry Regiment, it was known for being one of the first African-American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.
The regiment was named the Black Rattlers after arriving in France by its commander Colonel William Hayward. The nickname Men of Bronze was given to the regiment by the French after they had witnessed the gallantry of the Americans fighting in the trenches. Legend has it that they were called the Hellfighters by the German enemy, although there is no documentation of this and the moniker may have been a creation of the American press. During World War I, the 369th spent 191 days in front line trenches, more than any other American unit. They also suffered the most losses of any American regiment, with 1,500 casualties. The regiment was also the first of the Allied forces to cross the Rhine into Germany. The lineage of the 369th Infantry is perpetuated today by the 42nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade.
Background
On 5 October 1917, Emmett Jay Scott, long-time secretary to Booker T. Washington, was appointed Special Assistant to Newton D. Baker, the Secretary of War. Scott was to serve as a confidential advisor in situations that involved the well-being of ten million African Americans and their roles in the war. While many African Americans who served in the Great War believed racial discrimination would dissipate once they returned home, that did not happen.Although many African Americans were eager to fight in the war, they were often turned away from military service. When the United States realized that it did not have close to enough soldiers, it decided to pass the Selective Service Act of 1917 which required all men from the ages of 21 to 30 to register for the draft; this included African Americans. Many African Americans enlisted believing that their military service would give them the opportunity to change the way they were perceived by white Americans.
The 369th Regiment was reformed from the National Guard's 15th Regiment in New York. The 15th New York National Guard was a state militia regiment which served to help suppress the 1863 New York City draft riots and was mustered into federal service for 30 days in June 1864, providing manpower for Army posts in the New York Harbor. The 15th Regiment was reconstituted after Charles S. Whitman was elected Governor of New York. He enforced the legislation that was passed due to the efforts of the 10th Cavalry in Mexico, which had passed as a law that had not manifested until June 2, 1913.
When the U.S. entered World War I, many African Americans believed that entering the armed forces would help eliminate racial discrimination throughout the United States. Many felt it was "a God-sent blessing" so they could prove they deserved respect from white Americans through service in the armed forces. On the other hand, many were forced through false promises of freedom and equality. Through the efforts of the Central Committee of Negro College Men and President Wilson, a special training camp to train black officers for the proposed black regiments was established.
World War I
Formation
The 369th Infantry Regiment was constituted on 2 June 1913 in the New York Army National Guard as the 15th New York Infantry Regiment. The 369th Infantry was organized on 29 June 1916 at New York City.The infantry was called into Federal service on 25 July 1917 at Camp Whitman, New York. While at Camp Whitman, the 369th Infantry learned basic military practices. After their training at Camp Whitman, the 369th was called into active duty in New York. While in New York, the 369th's three battalions were spread throughout New York where they guarded rail lines, construction sites, and other camps.
Then on 8 October 1917 the Regiment traveled to Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they received training in actual combat. Camp Wadsworth was set up similar to the French battlefields. While at Camp Wadsworth they experienced significant racism from the local communities and from other units. There was one incident in which two soldiers from the 15th Regiment, Lieutenant James Reese Europe and Noble Sissle, were refused by the owner of a hotel shop when they attempted to buy a newspaper. Several soldiers from the white 27th Division, a New York National Guard organization, came to stand with and support their fellow New York soldiers. Lieutenant Europe, however, directed them to leave before violence erupted. There were many other shops that refused to sell goods to the members of the 15th Regiment, so members of the 27th Division told the shop owners that if they did not serve black soldiers that they can close their stores and leave town. The white soldiers then stated "They're our buddies. And we won't buy from men who treat them unfairly."
The 15th Infantry Regiment NYARNG was assigned on 1 December 1917 to the 185th Infantry Brigade. It was commanded by Col. William Hayward, a member of the Union League Club of New York, which sponsored the 369th in the tradition of the 20th U.S. Colored Infantry, which the club had sponsored in the U.S. Civil War. The 15th Infantry Regiment shipped out from the New York Port of Embarkation on 27 December 1917, and joined its brigade upon arrival in France. Despite its designation and training as an infantry regiment, the unit was relegated to labor service duties in France instead of being assigned a combat mission.
The 15th Infantry Regiment, NYARNG was reorganized and re-designated on 1 March 1918 as the 369th Infantry Regiment, but the unit continued labor service duties while it awaited a decision as to its future.
Assignment to the French Army
Because of the U.S. Army's policy of continued segregation between African American and White units, it was decided on the 8th of April, 1918, to reassign the unit to the 16th Division of the 4th Army of the French Armed Forces for the duration of American participation in the war. Eventually the 369th Infantry were issued French weapons, helmets, belts, and pouches, although they continued to wear their U.S. uniforms. While in the United States, the Regiment was subjected to intense racial discrimination, and its members looked down upon. French Colonel of the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters was persuaded to write the notorious pamphlet Secret Information Concerning Black American Troops, which "warned" French civilian authorities of the alleged inferior nature and supposed racist tendencies of African Americans.The 369th was largely treated similarly to other French units at the time. The regiment was not segregated from other French units, and generally faced little racial discrimination. Prior to the 369th's integration, the French army had included many colonial units with non-white personnel, many from Morocco and Senegal. Having also faced severe manpower shortages, French soldiers shared less concern for race than Americans.
The 369th Infantry Regiment was relieved 8 May 1918 from assignment to the 185th Infantry Brigade and went into the trenches as part of the French 16th Division. It served continuously until 3 July before returning to combat in the Second Battle of the Marne. Later, the 369th was reassigned to Gen. Lebouc's 161st Division to participate in the Allied counterattack. On one tour, they were out for over six months, which was the longest deployment of any unit in World War I. On 19 August, the regiment went off the line for rest and training of replacements.
While overseas, the Hellfighters saw enemy propaganda intended for them. It claimed Germans had done nothing wrong to African Americans, and they should be fighting the US, which had oppressed them for years. It had the opposite of the intended effect.
On 25 September 1918, the French 4th Army went on the offensive in conjunction with the American drive in the Meuse–Argonne. The 369th turned in a good account in heavy fighting, though they sustained severe losses. The unit captured the important village of Séchault. At one point the 369th advanced faster than French troops on their right and left flanks and risked being cut off. By the time the regiment pulled back for reorganization, it had advanced through severe German resistance.
In mid-October the regiment was moved to a quiet sector in the Vosges, and was stationed there on 11 November, the day of the Armistice. Six days later, the 369th made its last advance and on 26 November, reaching the banks of the river Rhine and becoming the first Allied unit to do so. The regiment was relieved on 12 December 1918 from assignment to the French 161st Division. When the regiment attempted to travel home on board the USS Virginia, the ship's captain, Henry Joseph Ziegemeier, had them removed "on the grounds that no blacks had ever traveled on an American battleship." It returned to the New York Port of Embarkation and was demobilized on 28 February 1919 at Camp Upton at Yaphank, New York, and returned to the New York Army National Guard.
Honors
One Medal of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to members of the regiment.Pvt. Henry Johnson, a former rail station porter from Albany, New York, earned widespread acclaim in the 369th for his extraordinary feats in combat in France, leading to the moniker "Black Death". In May 1918, Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts valiantly repelled a 24-man German patrol, despite both sustaining severe injuries. Amidst the chaos, Johnson directed Roberts to alert the French units about the approaching enemy, but Roberts returned under gunfire. Together, they fought until a German grenade incapacitated Roberts. Undeterred, Johnson took it upon himself to maintain the defensive line and shield his comrade. With depleted ammunition, Johnson engaged the enemy using grenades, the rifle butt, and eventually a bolo knife. Reports suggest Johnson may have slain at least four German soldiers and wounded around 30 others, enduring at least 21 injuries himself. Recognizing their valor, over 100 men from the 369th received American and/or French decorations, with Johnson becoming the first American to be awarded the Croix de Guerre.
On 13 December 1918, one month after Armistice Day, the French government awarded the Croix de Guerre to 170 individual members of the 369th, and a unit citation was awarded to the entire regiment. It was pinned to the unit's colors by General Lebouc.
One of the first units in the United States armed forces to have black officers in addition to all-black enlisted men, the 369th could boast of a fine combat record, a regimental Croix de Guerre, and several unit citations, along with many individual decorations for valor from the French government. Nevertheless, the poor replacement system —coupled with no respite from the line — took its toll, leaving the unit utterly exhausted by the armistice in November. The 369th Infantry Regiment was the first New York unit to return to the United States, and was the first unit to march up Fifth Avenue from the Washington Square Park Arch to their armory in Harlem. Their unit was placed on the permanent list with other veteran units.
Arthur W. Little, who had been a battalion commander for the 369th, wrote in the regimental history From Harlem to the Rhine, it was official that the outfit was 191 days under fire, never lost a foot of ground or had a man taken prisoner; on two occasions men were captured, but were recovered. Only once did it fail to take its objective and that was due largely to bungling by French artillery support.
By the end of the 369th Infantry's campaign in World War, I they were present in the Champagne – Marne, Meuse – Argonne, Champagne 1918, Alsace 1918 campaigns in which they suffered 1,500 casualties, the highest of any U.S. regiment. In addition, the unit was plagued by acute discipline problems resulting from disproportionate casualties among the unit's longest-serving members and related failures to assimilate new soldiers. The 369th also fought in distinguished battles such as Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry.