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In 2018, we shared a blog post detailing the World War I experience of James P. Spencer, a Black soldier in the 370th Infantry of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), whose picture had been spotlighted in our True Sons of Freedom exhibit. Spencer, a Virginian by birth, had served in a unit that was mostly made up of men from a National Guard unit formed in Chicago, the 8th Illinois. How did a Virginian end up in this unit? Thanks to our volunteer transcribers’ work on the World War I Questionnaires we now have a fuller answer, as well as the names of twenty other Virginians who fought in one of the most decorated regiment in the A.E.F.

The 8th Illinois Becomes the 370th

As noted in the previous blog post, James P. Spencer attached a letter with his questionnaire. It is on one page, handwritten, front and back, and details his service in the 370th. He specifically praises his commanding officer Colonel (later Brigadier General) Franklin Dennison who he says “led us through untold hardships” and “put us in fine trim for fighting” but “was replaced by a white colonel simply on prejudicial grounds.”1

The 8th Illinois regiment of the National Guard in Chicago, the precursor of the 370th, had a full roster of Black officers. Unlike many other hastily assembled World War I regiments, many of the men had recent military experience, having been deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border as part of the hunt for the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.

One of the first Virginians to join the 370th was John B. Brewer. He was born in Norfolk and returned to Virginia after the war, but was working in Chicago when he enlisted in the army in 1917, joining the 370th Medical Corp as a dental assistant. Brewer was present when the men of the 370th, mostly men from Illinois at this point, left Chicago to begin basic training at Camp Logan in Texas.2

One company of the regiment was already present in Texas but the majority of the regiment was delayed because of the Houston Riot of 1917. White Houstonians did not want Black soldiers downtown on their off-hours. Several incidents of violence led a large group of the Black soldiers to mutiny and march into town. The violence and chaos that followed resulted in the largest court-martial in U.S. history. Afraid of more violence, Houston officials delayed bringing in the 370th for several months. Although the 370th eventually trained at Camp Logan without major incident, they certainly had to deal with the racism and resentment of the Houston population. Due to this delay, they ended up with less training than the majority of troops.

From Camp Logan, the regiment moved to Camp Stuart in Newport News, Virginia, for embarkation to France. Capt. William Braddan, the regiment’s chaplain, called Newport News “a place of a thousand prejudices.”3 Although the 370th had not been involved in the violence in Texas, many white Virginians believed that they had, which caused them to act out violently against the men who were in fact training to defend them.

The 370th finally arrived in France in April 1918, but they did not leave American racism behind. When they arrived overseas, they were refused integration into the U.S. Army. Many white officers were comfortable with Black soldiers in the lower ranks, doing jobs no one else wanted, such as burying the dead and moving cargo, but did not want to be peers with the Black officer corps of the 370th. Many white soldiers did not want to be lower in command than Dennison. Finally, the 370th, along with other Black regiments in their division, were placed under the command of the French army. They were given French uniforms, had to learn French maneuvers, had to learn how to fire French weapons, and the cooks even had to learn how to prepare French rations. All this retraining had to be done through a language barrier.

The Virginians at War

You may be wondering why we are talking about a largely Illinois regiment when we were dealing with Virginia war questionnaires. This is where the transcription comes in. After seeing the letter from Virginian James Spencer, we dug a little deeper to find out why a Virginian was in the 370th, which still proudly referred to itself as the 8th Illinois much of the time. By searching the transcriptions for “370th” and other keywords we found several more Virginians.

After months of intense training, a long sea voyage, and the beginning of the 1918 flu epidemic, many of the original recruits had been discharged due to illness or other reasons. Shortly after the original group arrived in France, another group of men, called the “Newport News April Draft Replacement,” were sent overseas to fill out the ranks. In order to fill these holes quickly, men that were close at hand were selected. Many of the men were reassigned from depot brigades (the groups that receive and organize recruits and provide them with uniforms and equipment before sending them to France) in Newport News. A depot brigades assignment came with little glory or respect, but with a much better survival rate as many never went overseas. These Virginians, although they had some basic training, had even less combat training than the original recruits from Illinois. This was the case not only for James P. Spencer, whom we mentioned earlier, but also Hampton student Samuel C. Wright, Portsmouth laborer Harvey Page, and farmer William G. Hurdle, who were all transferred as part of the Newport News April Draft Replacement.

Virginians in the 370th*
William F. Banks (1895-1975)
John B. Brewer (1890-1943)
Don Coleman (1897-1962)
Isaiah Dickerson (1880-1951)
Junius Esley (c1894-1969)
Dr. Don V. Estill (1895-1966)
Willis Brown Godwin (1895-1971)
George Halsted/Halstead (1887-1963)
Grayson M. Harris (1896-1979)
Edward Hosby (1894-1980)
William G. Hurdle (189?-1974)
Alton Jackson (1895-1979)
William Preston Jones (1886-?)
Floyd M. Madison (1896-1956)
Joseph R. McIntyre (1890-1962)
Harvey Page (1888-1950)
Willie B. Parks (1896-1949)
Herman Perry
William Pretlow, Jr. (1895-1961)
Henry L. Raby
James P. Spencer (1888-1960)
Samuel C. Wright (1894-1991)

*these names are only the individuals that we have found questionnaires for

Despite these numerous impediments, the men of the 370th are said to have fought bravely. Their French counterparts called them the Partridges because of their confidence and pride.4 The Germans called them the Black Devils because of their ferocity in fighting.5 There was a lot of pressure for them to succeed, to fill the role of model minorities. Capt. William S. Braddan, the regiment’s chaplain, told the men:

“Fellows, you stand as pioneers on the frontier of your Race’s progress. If you fail, the hands on the dial of your Race’s progress will be pushed back fifty years. The whites over there are expecting you to fail because you are officered by your Race men, now go to it and show them how, when led by your own officers, you can and will charge hell with a bucket of water.”6

We can see by the answers on the questionnaires that many of the men felt that the French treated them much better than did their white fellow Americans. Addie W. Hunton and Kathryn M. Johnson, two of just three Black female YMCA volunteers overseas, tried to get in touch with Black regiments in France, and were told by white officers that their services were not needed, and that it would be too dangerous for them because the men were “rough.”7 They later learned that such talk was being circulated by the white army officers in order to keep French women away.

Although the French were not without prejudice, they seemed to see the soldiers foremost as Americans and they were grateful for their service. Many men were given military honors, including Virginian William Hurdle for, in his account, “voluntarily rescuing a wounded comrade from an [exposed position].”8 The honors were deserved, but Col. Dennison, as an experienced soldier, was concerned with his troops’ lack of training. After refusing to put his soldiers in a situation where he felt their lack of experience would cause unnecessary harm, he was replaced with a white officer, Col. T. A. Roberts. The official reason given was Dennison’s health, but his men knew there was more to it, as we see in Spencer’s note. Capt. Braddan wrote home to his church to tell them that Roberts was “the arch enemy, vilifier and traducer” (someone who repeats slander and gossip) and said that Roberts frequently enjoyed signing his letters, “The White Hope in a Black Regiment.”9

Roberts had no qualms about sacrificing his Black troops for the supposed greater good of the largely white army. The men themselves were probably torn between wanting to serve heroically but also knowing that some of their leaders valued their lives less than those of their white counterparts. Spencer writes in his questionnaire that he “put up barb wire within 100 yards of the enemy in broad day time.”10

Image from the book SCOTT'S OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR, by Emmett J. Scott.

One by one, the Black officers of the 370th were replaced at Roberts’ urging while other officers such as Capt. Braddan requested transfers instead of continuing to serve under him. The 370th lost ninety-six men in battle during the course of the war and the questionnaires relate many long-term injuries. Spencer received a machine gun wound for which he did not receive disability due to prejudice. Many men suffered from gas attacks. In addition to a machine gun wound to his leg, Isaiah Dickerson of Halifax was gassed twice in 1918, resulting in chronic bronchitis which turned into cancer, of which he died in 1951. When asked how the war affected his health, he replied succinctly: “Physically-Very Bad Mentally-Unnoticeable.”11 Others were more frank about the mental effects, Harvey Page said it was “impossible to explain.”12

The Return Home

Many of the men were reminded further of American racism when they returned home and were not given the same opportunities or respect as their white counterparts. Willis Brown Godwin, a teacher of Agriculture and Hampton University graduate wrote in his questionnaire:

“After the fighting and my return back to this country U.S. it made me wonder why can’t all men be treated equally. What did we fight for? Democricy [sic]. Are we having it?”13

All these men faced racism when they returned. Some were able to return to the jobs they had before the war, such as George Halstead who worked for over forty years as a cook in the household of a Norfolk department store chain founder.14 Many, including Halstead and Spencer, were bulwarks of their communities serving in many organizations and fighting for the rights the country they served had denied them.

Others had to change professions because of their injuries. Some, such as Willie B. Parks, believed that Black veterans looking for jobs “should have better citizenship, equal rights, preference in employment.”15 As a native Norfolk resident, Parks would have been all too aware of the animosity towards Black veterans. In July of 1919, a Norfolk homecoming celebration for Black veterans of World War I was attacked. Six people were shot and at least two were killed. City officials called in Marines and Navy personnel, possibly some of the same men who had chafed under the thought of serving with Black soldiers in the first place. These so-called “race riots” occurred in many cities across the country, including Chicago, the home of many 370th members, and Washington D.C. That summer of 1919 became known as the “Red Summer.”

In his original questionnaire in 1921, John B. Spencer wrote, “I felt that it was my patriotic duty to serve my country at the most critical hour in its Nations history, though my race had not been given proper rights.”16 Spencer went on to be an educator and school principal, and thirty-seven years later returned to Europe. He was quoted in a local newspaper article as saying, “Upon my observation this far on our European tour, I find that we are treated racially better than we are in our own country. What a shame that is upon wealthy America!”17 He had not seen a lot of difference in those thirty-seven years.

Spencer also wrote in the letter accompanying his questionnaire:

“This regiment won distinction during its stay in France, especially in the estimation of the French people. Our commanding general said the history of the Great War will be quite incomplete if the noble deeds of this regiment be not handed down in history to coming generations.”18

There are stories still waiting to be told. Every transcription provides easier access to these stories. If you would like to help transcribe our collections to make them more readable and searchable, you can learn more at our Making History website.

Footnotes

  1. Spencer, James Preston. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  2. Brewer, John Bernard. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  3. Braddan, William S. Under Fire with the 370th Infantry (8th I.N.G.) A.E.F. Memoirs of the World War. William S. Braddan, 1928.
  4. Scott, Emmett J. Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War. Homewood Press, 1919.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Braddan, William S. Under Fire with the 370th Infantry (8th I.N.G.) A.E.F. Memoirs of the World War. William S. Braddan, 1928.
  7. Hunton, Addie W, and Kathryn M. Johnson. Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces. Brooklyn Eagle Press, n.d..
  8. Hurdle, William Glenn. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  9. Braddan, William S. Under Fire with the 370th Infantry (8th I.N.G.) A.E.F. Memoirs of the World War. William S. Braddan, 1928.
  10. Spencer, James Preston. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  11. Dickerson, Isaiah. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  12. Page, Harvey. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  13. Godwin, Willis Brown. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  14. “Veteran Cook Retired: George Halstead Worked for Ames Family 43 Years.” New Journal and Guide (1916-), Feb 26, 1955.
  15. Parks, Willie Bryant. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  16. Spencer, James Preston. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
  17. “J. P. Spencer Writes of Travels Abroad.” Afro-American (1893-), Aug 02, 1958.
  18. Spencer, James Preston. Virginia War History Commission Individual Service Records (Questionnaires), 1919-1924 (bulk 1919-1921), State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Jessi Bennett

Digital Collections Specialist

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