Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, thousands of African-American men volunteered to fight for a country that granted them only limited civil rights. Many from New York City joined the 15th N.Y. Infantry, a National Guard regiment later designated the 369th U.S. Infantry. Led by mostly inexperienced white and black officers, these men not only received little instruction at their training camp in South Carolina but were frequent victims of racial harassment from both civilians and their white comrades. Once in France, they initially served as laborers, all while chafing to prove their worth as American soldiers.

Then they got their chance. The 369th became one of the few U.S. units that American commanding general John J. Pershing agreed to let serve under French command. Donning French uniforms and taking up French rifles, the men of the 369th fought valiantly alongside French Moroccans and held one of the widest sectors on the Western Front. The entire regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French government's highest military honor. Stephen L. Harris's accounts of the valor of a number of individual soldiers make for exciting reading, especially that of Henry Johnson, who defended himself against an entire German squad with a large knife. After reading this book, you will know why the Germans feared the black men of the 369th and why the French called them "hell fighters."
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Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, thousands of African-American men volunteered to fight for a country that granted them only limited civil rights. Many from New York City joined the 15th N.Y. Infantry, a National Guard regiment later designated the 369th U.S. Infantry. Led by mostly inexperienced white and black officers, these men not only received little instruction at their training camp in South Carolina but were frequent victims of racial harassment from both civilians and their white comrades. Once in France, they initially served as laborers, all while chafing to prove their worth as American soldiers.

Then they got their chance. The 369th became one of the few U.S. units that American commanding general John J. Pershing agreed to let serve under French command. Donning French uniforms and taking up French rifles, the men of the 369th fought valiantly alongside French Moroccans and held one of the widest sectors on the Western Front. The entire regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French government's highest military honor. Stephen L. Harris's accounts of the valor of a number of individual soldiers make for exciting reading, especially that of Henry Johnson, who defended himself against an entire German squad with a large knife. After reading this book, you will know why the Germans feared the black men of the 369th and why the French called them "hell fighters."
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Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I

Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I

by Stephen L. Harris, Rod Paschall
Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I

Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I

by Stephen L. Harris, Rod Paschall

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Overview

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, thousands of African-American men volunteered to fight for a country that granted them only limited civil rights. Many from New York City joined the 15th N.Y. Infantry, a National Guard regiment later designated the 369th U.S. Infantry. Led by mostly inexperienced white and black officers, these men not only received little instruction at their training camp in South Carolina but were frequent victims of racial harassment from both civilians and their white comrades. Once in France, they initially served as laborers, all while chafing to prove their worth as American soldiers.

Then they got their chance. The 369th became one of the few U.S. units that American commanding general John J. Pershing agreed to let serve under French command. Donning French uniforms and taking up French rifles, the men of the 369th fought valiantly alongside French Moroccans and held one of the widest sectors on the Western Front. The entire regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French government's highest military honor. Stephen L. Harris's accounts of the valor of a number of individual soldiers make for exciting reading, especially that of Henry Johnson, who defended himself against an entire German squad with a large knife. After reading this book, you will know why the Germans feared the black men of the 369th and why the French called them "hell fighters."

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781574886351
Publisher: Potomac Books
Publication date: 03/01/2005
Pages: 356
Sales rank: 598,610
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author


Stephen L. Harris is the author of Duty, Honor, Privilege: New York’s Silk Stocking Regiment and the Breaking of the Hindenburg Line (Brassey’s, Inc., 2001), Harlem’s Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I (Brassey’s, Inc., 2003), and Duffy's War: Fr. Francis Duffy, Wild Bill Donovan, and the Irish Fighting 69th in World War I (Potomac Books, 2006). He lives in Weybridge, Vermont.

Table of Contents


List Of Illustrations
Foreword by Rod Paschall
Preface
Prologue: Strength of The Nation
1. “We Have The Regiment”
2. Pancho Villa Rides To The Rescue
3. “The Color Line Will Not Be Drawn In His Regiment”
4. The Man Who Stood For Something
5. The Honor Of The State
6. “I Will Startle The World”
7. “Black Is Not A Color of The Rainbow”
8. “Color, Blood, And Suffering Have Made Us One”
9. “The Man Has Kicked Us Right To France”
10. “Landed At Brest, Right Side Up!”
11. “This Pick And Shovel Work”
12. Ragtime In France
13. “God Damn, Le’s Go!
14. “He Can Go Some!”
15. “I Wish I Had A Brigade, Yes, A Division”
16. “There Was Nothing Between The German Army And Paris Except My Regiment”
17. “Lieutenant, You Shot Me! You Shot A Good Man!”
18. “Shell-Shocked, Gassed, Sunk To The Verge Of Delirium”
Epilogue: All Suns Had Gone Down
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About The Author
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