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U.S. Army’s 369th Infantry Regiment, popularly known
as the “Harlem Hellfighters” was the best known African
American unit of World War I and based in "The Manoir" in Maffrecourt.
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Detail from "Harlem Hellfighters" Painting 
AFRICAN AMERICAN MACHINE GUNNERS ON THE ROAD NEAR
MAFFRECOURT, FRANCE. PART OF 369TH INFANTRY
CAPTAIN HINTON AND OFFICERS OF 1ST BATTALION. 369TH
AFRICAN AMERICAN INFANTRY ON ROAD NEAR MAFFRECOURT, FRANCE. 
THE 369TH INFANTRY IN REST BILLETS AT MAFFRECOURT,
FRANCE. HENRY JOHNSON. ONE OF FOREMOST HEROES OF THE WAR. WITH HIS
FAMOUS SMILE. IN RIGHT FOREGROUND.
You can listen to
James
Reese Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighters" Band
James Reese Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighters"
Band |
First organized in 1916
as the 15th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment and manned by black
enlisted soldiers with both black and white officers, the U.S. Army’s
369th Infantry Regiment, popularly known as the “Harlem
Hellfighters” was the best known African American unit of World War I.
Federalized in 1917, it prepared for service in Europe and arrived in
Brest in December. The next month, the regiment became part of the 93rd
Division (Provisional) and continued its training, now under French
instructors. In March, the regiment finally received its Federal designation
and was reorganized and reequipped according to the French model. That summer,
the 369th was integrated into the French 161st Division and began combat
operations.
Dubbing themselves “Men of Bronze,” the
soldiers of the 369th were lucky in many ways compared to other African
Americans in 1918 France. They enjoyed a continuity of leadership, commanded
throughout the war by one of their original organizers and proponents, Colonel
William Hayward. Unlike many white officers serving in the black regiments,
Colonel Hayward respected his troops, dedicated himself to their well-being,
and leveraged his political connections to secure support from New Yorkers.
Whereas African American valor usually went unrecognized, well over one hundred
members of the regiment received American and/or French medals, including the
first two Americans – Corporal Henry Johnson (below) and Private Needham
Roberts – to be awarded the coveted French Croix de Guerre
 the
369th arrived at the French Training Center at Le Manoir de Maffrecourt
(then known as "Chateau Maffrecourt" or "the "Champagne Chateau" on 1st May
1918, the French assigned the regiment to its 161st Division in the Argonne
sector. (We recently uncovered some
English graffiti - someones
initials and "14 May 1918"
in English on the wall of the main corridor of the house.)
Col.
Hayward, the commander, set up his headquarters at Vienne. The regiment's 1st
Battalion had its headquarters in Maffrecourt
 The
soldiers received French helmets, rifles and accouterments to ease supply
problems, but the move also further distanced the regiment from its own
country. During its 191 days of enemy contact-more than any other American
unit-the 369th never lost ground nor had a man captured. "The thing interesting
about them is they had no training," Harris says. "Their only training was
eight days in South Carolina, and then [they] went to be stevedores, and then
they finally got into the line and the French tried to teach them how to
fight." In addition to Privates Johnson and Roberts, the French government
awarded dozens the Croix de Guerre. .
On May 11, the 1st Battalion
relieved the 2nd Battalion at Montplaisir. On the night of May 12-13, two men
were out in a listening post that juts into No-man's Land.
 They were Henry Johnson
(left), a little red cap from Albany, New York, and Needham Roberts from
Trenton, New Jersey. An entire German platoon (about 25 men) attacked the post,
shooting both men. Johnson refused to fall. He withstood the attack, fighting
off the platoon with a bolo knife. One of the Germans he hacked, groaned in
perfect New York dialect, "The black bastard has got me." Johnson, swinging his
knife, snapped back, "Yas, an' dis little black bastard'll git yer 'agin if yer
get up!" Johnson was wounded numerous times. But the Germans feared him, his
knife and his fury and fled. He saved Roberts and 250 men of his company who
were 100 yards back of the post, huddled down in a trench. Johnson's stand was
one of the first gallant actions by an American soldier in the Great War.
He should have received the Congressional Medal of Honor (America's
highest award for valor), but was turned down because of the color of his skin.
However, a self-described racist journalist, Irwn Cobb, who was reporting on
the war for The Saturday Evening Post magazine, luckily arrived Maffrecourt in
time to get Johnson's story. He wrote that there's a new way to spell American,
"N-I-G-G-E-R." Well, this backhanded compliment didn't sit well with African
Americans. His story was published all over the U.S. and blacks used it to
force President Wilson, also a racist, to speak out, at last, on the scourge of
lynching. So it it took a little red cap to force the President's hand. A
remarkable story.
In
Stephen L Harris's book Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th
Infantry in World War I there's a chapter about
it: "He Can Go some." Even more remarkable, Johnson's son went on to be
a Tuskegee airman in World War II and his great grandson served our country in
Iraq. Johnson had no grandson. A grand daughter, instead, Tara Johnson, who, in
her own right, is a quite a person. There's been a move afoot to get Henry
Johnson his deserved Medal of Honor. But the best that was done so far was the
Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award.
This stand by
Johnson happened while his battalion was headquartered in Maffrecourt. The
369th left Maffrecourt around the first week in June.
 While
Lieutenant Robb, the white postmaster from Kansas, received the Medal of Honor
for his leadership in the defense of Sechault, the entire 369th Infantry
received the Croix de Guerre as a unit decoration for the same action. But no
black soldier in the regiment received a U.S. Army decoration for valor.
General Pershing designated them the first American unit to cross the
Rhine River into Germany as part of the Allied occupation force. Led by the
369th band, the men marched into the Rhineland to find a warm welcome from the
German civilians. The regiment sailed home in February 1919 and staged its own
victory parade up Fifth Avenue. Nearly a million people, white citizens as well
as black, welcomed home the "Hell Fighters"-a name given them by the Germans.
James Reese Europe
James Reese Europe could hardly have
been more aptly named. As the leader of the 369th Infantry Jazz Band, also
known as the "Hellfighters," he introduced the sounds of American ragtime to
Europeans during the World War I. Although his career was brief, he profoundly
influenced the course of popular music, not just in the United States but
throughout the world. Yet his name probably would not arouse much of a response
among jazz fans.
Acknowledgments
Our sincere thanks to
Stephen L Harris who kindly contributed most of the information above
linking the 369th to the Manoir de Maffrecourt.
Pictures courtesy
www.gutenberg.org and
others |
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