SIDELIGHTS ON NEGRO SOLDIERS BY CHARLES H. WILLIAMS Special Investigator of Conditions among Negro Soldiers in the World War With an Introduction by BENJAMIN BRAWLEY BOSTON B. J. BRIMMER COMPANY 1923 COPYRIGHT 1923 BY B. J. BRIMMER COMPANY First Edition, June, 1923 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THE AMBROSE PRESS, INC. Norwood, Massachusetts Dedicated to the Memory of My Mother and to My Aunt Mrs. Maria Burnside PREFACE It is the purpose of this book to tell something of the achievement of the Negro soldier in the World War and to describe the conditions under which he lived as these were seen by the writer, who for eighteen months investigated conditions in America and France under the auspices of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, with the recommendation of the Secretary of War and the Adjutant General of the United States Army. Most of the information was secured by visits to the soldiers in the camps, by interviews with thousands of them, and by personal investigation in the communities adjacent to the camps, as well as by the study of records and documents. Camp commanders, officers in charge of Negro troops, representatives of all the welfare organizations, city officials, and both Negro and white civilians were consulted in the effort to secure the facts concerning the fighting record, the work, the conduct, and the treatment of Negro soldiers in the course of the war. I am indebted to the Historical Branch of the War Department for access to its records on the operations of Negro combatant troops, to the office of the Adjutant General for special information, and to many friends for suggestions and help in the preparation of the material; and it is hoped that the book now offered to the public may in some small way help the American people better to understand not only the perplexing situation but also the signal achievement of Negro men working and fighting in behalf of their country and in defence of the highest ideals of life. CHARLES H. WILLIAMS. Hampton Institute, December 15, 1922. INTRODUCTION