The 369th Infantry

     The 369th Infantry was the first African American National Guard regiment in the state of New York.  I have incorrectly just identified them considering that, when being the National Guard in New York, their name was the "Fifteenth New York". Every single member of this regiment was drafted straight out of Harlem, hence the also common ncikname, the "Harlem Hellfighters". And if you can not remember any of those, the also went by the "Self-made Regiment" or the "Men of Bronze".


Lots of soldiers as they leave for war

     Established on June 2, 1913, the 369th was not even strictly organized until 1916.  But this infantry included 2,053 soldiers and 54 officers.  Of the soldiers, all were black, but when it came to the officiers, it differed between black and white.  In fact there was a dispute about whether or not the leaders were chosen farily and not just by the color of their skin!
     James Reese ("Big Jim") Europe was New York's hottest ragtime band leader and perhaps the most well known member of the regiment.  But with any need they had, there was always someone to fill its need.  For instance, they had no armory of weapons, so Harlem lended its dance hall into a makeshift armory and weapons became a no-longer necessity.


A book on the "Harlem Hellfighters"

     As far as the war goes, training was only three weeks in before this brave group was called into battle and sent into Brest Harbor (France) on December 27, 1917.  But this was only after making a scene about leaving.  Now you might suppose I mean in a bad way, but in fact it wasn't at all! Instead of accepting the invitation to march in the Farwell Parade with the rest of the United States' troups, they had a seperate parade acknowledging their uniqueness.  This was key and very influencial and supporting for the members of the infantry.




A few brave men

     Bringing it back to April 6, 1917, enlistment was at a very high point and everyone was urging and trying to become part of this so-called "elite group."  They had never fought before, but they had that passion in their heart's to prove themselves... and they did.  Skipping ahead a year, looking at April 1918, the infantry became a new part of the 16th Divison of the 8th Corps of the 4th French Army under General Henri Gourard.  And as opposed to common belief, the 369th fought its entire combat life with the French Army.  Although it was only in combat for 6 months, they were straight with very few resources provided.  They had 1500 casualties and only 900 replacements sent, I'm not so sure that wasn't a racist thing...  All 1500 casualties came from just the four campiagns they went on (Champagne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Champagne 1918, and Alsace 1918).  Needless to say, they were not provided for nearly as well as they should have been, considering they were the most decorated regiment to return back from the war (Distinguish Service Cross Award among many others), it is unjust and unfair the way they were provided for! 


One of the bravest black souls during WWI

Sources

-Blackpast.org: I learned about the casualties and support numbers
-New York State Division of Militray and Naval Affairs: I learned all the exact dates and some more minor details
-Journal of Military History, Volume 68, Number 1, pages 269-270: I learned about a book that was written on my topic as well as that the hellfighters fought with the French the whole time
-Encyclopedia of African American History, Volume 2, pages 369-371: I learned a lot of basic facts and the history of its assembling
-AVL-EBSCO-National Archives: I learned about all of the regiments decorations
-Brigham Young University, "American Negro in The World War: I learned more about the decorations and the racial distinguishments within the regiment