The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of AmericaDu Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)
History
The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)
African Americans -- History; United States -- Race relations
Finally we come to the World War the history of which is not yet written.
At first and until the United States entered the war the Negro figured
as a laborer and a great exodus took place from the South as we have
already noted. Some effort was made to keep the Negro from the draft but
finally he was called and although constituting less than a tenth of the
population he furnished 13% of the soldiers called to the colors. The
registry for the draft had insulting color discriminations and determined
effort was made to confine Negroes to stevedore and labor regiments under
white officers. Most of the Negro draftees were thus sent to the Service
of Supplies where they were largely under illiterate whites and suffered
greatly. Finally a camp for training Negro officers was established and
nearly 700 Negroes commissioned, none of them, however, above the rank of
captain; Charles Young, the highest ranking Negro graduate of West Point
and one of the best officers in the army was kept from the front, because
being already a colonel with a distinguished record he would surely have
become a general if sent to France.
Two Negro divisions were planned, the 92nd and the 93rd. The 93rd was to
be composed of the Negro National Guard regiments all of whom had some
and one all Negro officers. The latter division was never organized as
a complete division but four of its regiments were sent to France and
encountered bitter discrimination from the Americans on account of their
Negro officers. They were eventually brigaded with the French and saw
some of the hardest fighting of the war in the final drive toward Sedan.
They were cited in General Orders as follows by General Goybet:[100]
“In transmitting to you with legitimate pride the thanks and
congratulations of the General Garnier Duplessis, allow me, my
dear friends of all ranks, Americans and French, to thank you
from the bottom of my heart as a chief and a soldier for the
expression of gratitude for the glory which you have lent our
good 157th Division. I had full confidence in you but you have
surpassed my hopes.
“During these nine days of hard fighting you have progressed
nine kilometers through powerful organized defenses, taken
nearly 600 prisoners, 15 guns of different calibers, 20
minnewerfers, and nearly 150 machine guns, secured an enormous
amount of engineering material, an important supply of
artillery ammunition, brought down by your fire three enemy
aeroplanes.
“Your troops have been admirable in their attack. You must be
proud of the courage of your officers and men; and I consider
it an honor to have them under my command.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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