Blacks in the Military-- Part 5: World War I

Many Blacks joined the U.S. military after the entry of the United States in World War  in 1917.  Of the 200,000 Blacks who served in the regular army, most did so in support roles within segregated units.  Some 170,000 never even left the country.

There were notable exceptions, though.  The 369th  Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters, fought alongside the French Army for six months, during which 171 of its members earned the French Legion of Merit honor.

One member of the 369th also received a Medal of Honor, one of only two recipients of that honor among black troops during that war.

--Old Secesh

Blacks Serving in the Military-- Part 4: Spanish American War and Aftermath

In April 1898, following a period of rising tension over Spanish treatment of native Cubans, the United States declared war on Spain.

The Navy had enough manpower, but the Army only had 28,000 soldiers.  Enlistees, volunteers and National Guard units soon added 220,000 more, including 5,000 black men, but the only black troops to fight in the war were the Buffalo Soldiers.

The bloodiest and best-known battle in Cuba was the Battle of San Juan Hill, during which the most difficult fighting was by the Buffalo Soldiers, five of whom received the Medal of Honor for that action.

They would go on to achieve fame and distinction in the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1903), Mexico (1914), World War I (1916-1918) and World War II (1944-1945).

Blacks Serving in the U.S. Military-- Part 3: The Civil War and Post War, the Buffalo Soldiers

Feb. 23 War 1812 search

Of course, some 180,000 Blacks served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  I will write about the black experience in this war in my Saw the Elephant: The Civil War blog.

After the Civil War, Congress organized the Army into ten cavalry regiments and forty-five infantry ones.  When the Army pared back to 25  regiments of infantry in 1869, the four black regiments were consolidated into two.  The two were the 24th and 25th, which came to be known as the "Buffalo Soldiers" and were posted mostly to the Southwest and West.

Their job was primarily to battle Indians who gave them that name.

Buffalo Soldiers would serve in the U.S. military for the next fifty years, primarily in the Indian Wars , for which thirteen enlisted men and six officers received the Medal of Honor.

Blacks Serving in U.S. Military Over the Years-- Part 2: The American Revolution and the War of 1812

American Revolution

Southern colonies, fearing  that armed slaves would lead to revolts, opposed the use of slaves in Patriot militia, though some would serve in isolated instances.

The British, however, recruited heavily in the South, promising freedom for any slave who fought for them with the Loyalists.   Consequentially, while an estimated 9,000 black soldiers and sailors fought for the Americans, some 20,000 fought for the British.

***********************************

Post Revolution and War of 1812

After the American revolution, Blacks were pushed out of the U.S. military.  The Federal Militia Acts of 1792, specifically  prohibited black service in the U.S. Army.

As a result, few Blacks  participated on the side of the United States during the War of 1812.  Only Louisiana  was allowed to have separate black militia units in that conflict.

Due to a severe manpower shortage, the U.S. Navy accepted free black recruits.  Some 15% to 20% of Navy manpower  was made up of them.  Some slaves also served in the British Army and Navy in anticipation of freedom.

Blacks Serving In U.S. Military Over the Years: The American Revolution

From the Feb. 23, 2021, U.S. Army "African American service and racial integration in the U.S. military" by Dr. Paul-Thomas Ferguson.

Formal black service in the U.S. military dates from the American Revolution.  Many freemen and some slaves already served in Northern colonial militias to protect their homes against Indian attack.  Their numbers rose in 1770 after Crispus Attucks, a black man believed to be the first casualty at the Boston Massacre, was killed.

Commanding general of the Continental Army, George Washington, was initially against recruiting black soldiers, but military necessity later made him relent.

 The most prominent group of black soldiers served in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.   Enough black and Indian soldiers were recruited to eventually make up half of its 225 men.  This regiment achieved its greatest fame protecting  the Continental army's withdrawal from Aquidneck island during the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Black History: General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. (1877-1970)

He was the first black general in the U.S. Army.  While a student at Howard University the Spanish-American War started and he entered the military service on July 13, 1898, as a temporary first lieutenant of the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry.

His military decorations include the bronze Star and he Distinguished Service Medal.

His son, Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. became the first black general officer in the U.S. Air Force.

I would put the Davis family in for one of the renamed U.S. Army bases.

Negro Leagues Become Major League Baseball League and 'Hammerin' ' Hank's Death

One thing I am glad to see is that the old Negro Leagues have finally been given their due as Major League Baseball, something long overdue.  These players were as good as the white players, but were not allowed to compete with them because of the color of their skin.

Also, I was sad to see the recent death of Hank Aaron on January 22 of this year.  He was excitement.  But, I never knew the amount of hate mail and death threats he received as he neared the home run record of Babe Ruth.

Maybe we are not all the way we should be when it comes to race relations, but things are much better for Blacks than they were in the first half of the 20th century.

Black History: Jack Roosevelt Robinson... You Might Know Him Better As...

But you probably know him better as Jackie Robinsson.

JACK ROOSEVELT "JACKIE" ROBINSON (1919-1972)

The first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era when he made his 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended some sixty years of baseball segregation.

Robinson went on to have an extraordinary baseball career and in 1962 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He not only battled racism in sports, but also he was an officer in the highly segregated U.S. Army during World War II.  I'll write about his WW II career in my Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blog.

Black History, Into Space: Guion 'Guy' Bluford, Jr., Ronald Erwin McNair and Frederick Gregory

GUION "GUY" BLUFORD, JR. (1942-present)

A retired United States Air Force colonel.  he was the first black astronaut into space as a member of the Challenger Space Shuttle crew in 1983.

He took part in four space shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992.

*******************************

RONALD ERWIN McNAIR  (1950-1986)

Ronald Erwin McNair was the second black person into space and sadly, was on the ill-fated  Space Shuttle Challenger and met his death January 28, 1986.

*******************************

FREDERICK D. GREGORY (1941-present)

A veteran of 3 space shuttle missions.

Black History: Ruth Carol Taylor

RUTH CAROL TAYLOR (1931-present)

Became the first black flight attendant in the United States when she was hired Feb. 11, 1958, by Mohawk Airlines.

Only six months after breaking that historic barrier, Taylor's career ended due to another discriminatory barrier, the airline's practice of not employing married flight attendants.

Black History: Carl B. Stokes and Louis Stokes

CARL B. STOKES (1927-1996)   

Is known for being Cleveland, Ohio's 51st mayor and the first black mayor of a major American city.

He was also a soldier, lawyer, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, a broadcaster and a judge.

In 1994, President Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles.

**********************************

LOUIS STOKES  (1925-2015)

Brother of Carl P. Stokes.  Grew up in Cleveland in the Outwaite Public Housing Project.  First black U.S. Congressman elected from Ohio.  Served 15 terms in the House of Representatives.

Black History: Mr. A and Herb Kent 'The Cool Gent'

While on the subject of black deejays, here are two of my favorites whom I listened to a whole lot back in the day.

Mr. A broadcast a night show on Chicago's WNIB, a classic music station, and played some of the best blues and R&B you could ever want to hear.  If I woke up in the wee hours, I would pop a cassette in the recorder and record his show and listen to it later.

Herb Kent, the "Cool Gent" deejayed on Chicago's WVON from 1963 to his death in 2016.  Loved his Dusties and Old School music.

Two of the greatest.

Black History: Harold Baron 'Hal' Jackson, Disc Jockey and Radio Personality

HAROLD BARON "HAL" JACKSON (1915-2012)

American disc jockey and radio personality who broke a number of color barriers in radio broadcasting.

He began his radio career as the first black radio sports announcing, broadcasting Howard University home baseball games and local Negro League baseball games.

In 1939, he became the first black host at WINX Washington with the bronze Review, a nightly interview program.  He moved to New York in 1954 and became the first radio personality to broadcast three daily radio shows on three different New York stations.

Four million listeners tuned in nightly to hear Jackson's mix of music and conversations with jazz artists and celebrities.

Black History: William Grant Still, Classical Composer

WILLIAM GRANT STILL  (1895-1978)

He was a black classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions, including operas, ballets, symphonies, chamber works and folk arrangements.

He was the first black to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera  performed by a major opera company and the first to have an opera performed on national television.

He is often referred to as "The Dean" of black composers.

Black History: Elizabeth 'Bessie' Coleman, Aviator

ELIZABETH "BESSIE" COLEMAN (1892-1926)

Popularly known as "Queen Bess," was the first black woman to become an airplane pilot.

She had to travel to Europe for flight training because no American flight school would accept her because of her race.

Upon returning, she intended to start a flying school for black pilots.  She toured the country, giving lectures at black schools, churches and recreational facilities in an effort to encourage Blacks to enter the field of aviation.

Preparing for an airshow in Jacksonville, Florida, she was killed when she was thrown from a crashing aircraft while riding as a passenger.

Black History: Mary Eliza Mahoney, Nurse

From the Feb. 7, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Leading the way."  Stories of Blacks who overcame to succeed.

MARY ELIZA MAHONEY (1845-1926)

Was the first Black to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States.  She graduated from the New England Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses in 1879.

She was one of only three people in her class to complete the sixteen-month program.

In 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, which in 1951 merged with the American Nurses Association.

--Cooter

US Navy Ships: USS McCampbell (DDG-85)-- Part 2

The ArleighBurke -class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85) shown with the Arleigh Burke -class guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG-69) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD-20) maneuver while operating in the Philippine Sea.

U.S. Navy warships train together to increase their tactical proficiency, lethality and interoperability of participating units in nan Era of Great Power Competition.

--DaCootNav

US Warships: USS McCampbell (DDG-85)-- Part 1 General Characteristics

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America 2021 February calendar.

BUILDER:  Bath Ironworks, Bath, Maine

LAUNCHED:  July 2, 2000

DISPLACEMENT:  9,200 tons

LENGTH:  509.5 feet

BEAM:  66 feet

DRAFT:  31 feet

ARMAMENT:  One 32 cell, one 64 cell Mark 41 Vertical Launching System, 

ninety-six RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc missiles

One 5-inch (130 mm), two 25-mm MK-38, four 50 caliber guns, two MK-46 torpedo tubes, one 20 mm Phalanx CIWS

AIRCRAFT:  two SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters

Cooter

Spanish Flu Outbreak 1918-- Part 5: Struck at Camp Grant First in the Area

The first cases to hit the northern Illinois area were identified at Camp Grant  in Rockford.  Some newspapers speculated that Boone County actually had cases of Spanish flu as early as February 1918, but local doctors misdiagnosed then as secondary effects of the scarlet fever.

By October of 1918, though, the deadly virus was everywhere.  Due to the close proximity of soldier living quarters at Camp Grant in Rockford, hundreds were admitted every day to the military hospital there.  There was a record 768 hospitalizations in one day.

There were so many deaths that officers decided not to broadcast the total number to avoid a general public panic.  Military vehicles were used as ambulances for the camp and for Winnebago and surrounding counties, including Boone.

Here in Belvidere, schools, churches and theaters were closed before the sate banned attendance at any public gatherings effective October 18, 1918.  Once the state ban took effect, funerals, weddings, lodge meetings, government meetings/councils and hospital visits were not allowed.

The state also mandated masks for anyone in contact with the public outside of their own families.

--DaCoot

Spanish Flu Outbreak 1918-- Part 4: A Major Fuel Shortage As Well That Year

In January 1918, the federal government ordered all businesses closed for five days due to a national fuel (coal) shortage.  In the local area (Belvidere, Illinois) the National Sewing Machine, The Belvidere  Screw and Machine Company, The Gossard Corset Company and Parsons Casket Company were shut down but food manufacturing companies like the Borden Plant and Wait Creamery were allowed to stay open. 

In addition, the railroad ran on reduced hours and any businesses that needed fuel to run were ordered to close on Mondays for nine weeks.  Schools which had enough surplus fuel to heat classrooms could stay open as could businesses which did not rely on fuel.

This caused a huge debate on whether to close the schools to use their fuel for businesses and residences.

So, the year 1918 was already off to a bad start and the country was still in the midst of World War I as American casualties increased dramatically.  So, before the virus hit, there already had been a major scarlet fever outbreak and the coal shortage.

--Cooter

The Roanoke River Lighthouse in North Carolina

From the Feb. 4, 2021, Chowan (N.C.) Herald "Week in NC history"  by the NC Department of Cultural Resources.

LONG ROUTE TO ROANOKE RIVER LIGHTHOUSE

On February 5, 1832, Elizabeth City councilman William Shepard petitioned the House of Representatives for a light station to help guide sailors to safety by the mouth of the Roanoke River.

Two years later, Congress appropriated $10,000 for a lightship to operate in the Albemarle Sound.  The ship operated through the Civil War, but was replaced by a screw-pile lighthouse that operated on whale oil in 1867.  The structure, in turn, was damaged by fire and later ice in the 1880s.

A larger lighthouse, the one that now stands, was authorized in 1886 and finished by 1887.  It was fitted with a Fresnel lens and continued to operate until 1941, when it was decommissioned by the Coast Guard.

This 1886 lighthouse changed hands twice in the 1950s, sold for $10 each time.  Edenton businessman Emmett  Wiggins moved  it to land he owned in Chowan County in 1955 and lived in it until he died .

In 2007, the Edenton Historical Commission purchased the lighthouse and restored it in cooperation with the state of North Carolina.  The restored lighthouse opened to the public as part of the Historic Edenton State Historic Site in 2012.

--Cooter

The Spanish Flu Outbreak of 1918-- Part 3: A Massive Scarlet Fever Epidemic Preceded the Flu

In Boone and Winnebago counties in northern Illinois, hospitals had no neds for the stricken because of the fast rising demand so victims ended up roaming the streets seeking help and shelter.

The virus was not identified at first because these counties were recovering from a massive outbreak of scarlet fever in 1917.

Many children died from this contagious fever and a ban was put on school gatherings, interschool athletic contests and school activities.  The primary scarlet fever cases struck from January to April of 11917, but cases were still being reported as late as December of that year.  Local schools were closed on and off at varying times throughout the year as cases flared up.

--Cooter

The Spanish Flu Outbreak of 1918-- Part 2: Lots of Similarities 1918 and 2020

My grandparents lived through it, but my parents did not as Dad was born in 1928 and Mom in 1930.

Most cases of the virus made their appearance within three to four days.  Common symptoms included fever, cough, sneezing, headache, body ache and bloodshot eyes. However, many cases developed into bacterial pneumonia, meningitis and severe ear infection that struck suddenly and spread to the brain.

One day a person could feel perfectly fine and the next could be severely ill.  Many deaths were actually attributed to the secondary infections that could not be fought with weakened immune systems.  (Sounds a bit familiar.)

With limited antibiotics and no vaccines, United States hospitals and morgues filled up quickly and to overflowing.

--Cooter