The Black U.S. Soldier

August 8, 2001
I. Introduction
II. Civil War A. The emergence of a black fighting man. 1. Lincoln refusal of black combat men 2. Formation of state units 3. Lincoln’s reversal 4. The birth of the U.S. colored fighting man B. The Buffalo soldiers 1. Formation of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th infantry 2. Birth of the Buffalo soldier 3. The almost death of the Buffalo soldier
III. World War I A. Limited roles of black men B. Combat Units
IV. World War II A. 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion B. 96th engineers C. 99th Fighter Squadron D. 332nd Fighter Group
V. Conclusion

The emergence of the African-American professional fighting man in America began with the Civil War. Through the years and the wars the African-American people have proven themselves time and time again, but racism and prejudices have kept the majority of these heroes from ever receiving the recognition that they deserve. At the start of the Civil War was when President Lincoln first called for the 75,000 volunteers to fight against the Confederate states, but the thousands of African-Americans were turned away. These men were told that white men would fight a “white man war” and that their services were not needed. One man even petitioned the Ohio Governor, David Tod, who rejected the idea and stated that “this was a white man government and that they were able to defend and protect it”. Even after a few Union defeats and heavy losses, Lincoln still refused to change the policy of enlisting men of color. Many people advocated the use of the African-American people to help win the war. One of the most persistent was Fredrick Douglas. Fredrick was quoted as saying, “Colored men, were good enough to fight under Washington, but they are not good enough to fight under McClellan” and he continued to say “The side which first summons the Negro to its aid will conquer”. In July of 1862, Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers and received very little response, but still Lincoln refused to give the approval to use blacks in combat roles. As of this time many blacks were beginning to earn wages to build Union fortifications and to work as cooks or carpenters. Some military units were using blacks as spies and scouts. In August of 1862, General Jim Lane organized the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment, over the objection of the Secretary of War, Edwin Swaton. Despite its beginnings, the Regiment had its first encounter with the enemy on October 27th and 28th at Island Mound in Missouri. The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry went on to become one of the most active black units in the war with 14 engagements. The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment was not the only colored unit organized against Lincoln’s wishes; there were several Infantry, Heavy Artillery, or Calvary State Regiments and other groups such as Corps d’Afrique and the colored National Guard. On January 1, 1863 the official issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation brought on an extreme turn-about for Lincoln. Lincoln authorized governors and commanders to organize people of color for combat roles. The first African-American unit organized under the U.S. government was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The 54th is the official birth of the African-American fighting man in the U.S. military. In May of 1863 the Bureau of Colored Troops was instituted in order to keep track of the newly assembled black regiments. By early 1864 nearly all of state volunteer regiments, Corps d’Afrique or National Guard designations were redesignated as the United States Colored Troops. For example, the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment became the 79th United States Colored Infantry Regiment and the 127 Ohio Volunteer Infantry became the 5th U.S. Colored Infantry. Over the next couple of years many of the Civil War regiments were disbanded. Then on July 27, 1866 President Andrew Jackson signed a bill that created six new regiments for African-American people, this bill created the first peacetime force for the black man. The six regiments included the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry, the Infantry Regiments were later consolidated into the 24th and 25th Infantry. These Regiments were then filled and sent out to the Western frontier, where they encountered and fought against the Plains Indians. The Cheyenne Indians gave these men the nickname the “Buffalo Soldiers” because of the courage and heart showed by them in battle. So came the birth of the Buffalo Soldier, a group of men that were feared and revered on the Western plain for the exploits on the frontier. The Buffalo Soldier legacy was fired and hardened by fighting Indians, tracking and arresting outlaws and by rescuing kidnapped children. Many Medal of Honor recipients came from the ranks of the Buffalo Soldiers during this time. The Buffalo Soldiers also had been plagued by racial troubles that almost got them and all black men expunged from the military service. The almost final straw came on August 17, 1917 in Houston, Texas. The soldiers of the 24th had heard a rumor that the Corporal Charles Baltimore had been killed while trying to find out about another member of the regiment, who had been arrested earlier that day. Upon hearing the news, about one hundred men got their guns and went into Houston to avenge their friends. When it was all over, there were twenty dead bodies including five policemen. Following this incident, Congress and the War department limited the four regiments of Buffalo Soldiers to menial labor and by excluding them from combat in World War I. The role of the black man in World War I was a very limited one, very few of them men drafted ever got to see combat. The majority of these men served in the labor battalions or other service units. These service units performed many tasks throughout their war zone. Some of these duties included construction work, fortifications, burying the dead, and entertaining other troops with music. There were several all black military bands that played during the war; two such were the 803rd Pioneer Infantry band and the 39th Infantry band. So many soldiers enjoyed these bands and these bands introduced many to both blues and jazz music. The few African-American combat units fought with the courage that their forefathers would have been proud of; many of these soldiers received a Croix de Guerre or a Distinguished Service Cross (France’s highest Honors). Regiments such as the 92nd and 93rd fought side by side with French and white American troops to push back the German forces. In World War I the African-Americans were given the opportunity to become officers in the U.S. military and were able to lead their own troops in the war zone. These men made great strides for the African-Americans by showing that the black man could control his men and be a competent leader, much to the surprise of white government leaders. The door for military involvement was now cracked open; these men and other African-American people would push it further open during World War II. World War II gave the African-American people more opportunities than ever before experienced in the U.S. military. The African-American served from the European to the Pacific Theaters and everywhere in between. The African-American was still being placed into the Infantry Regiment and labor battalions, but now the African-Americans had fighter and bomber pilots, navigators and other skilled soldiers. The African-American Infantries and ground forces where men who fought with the courage and honor that their fellow comrades would of been proud of. One such unit was the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion; it was the only African-American unit on June 6 at the beaches of Normandy. The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was designated as an anti-aircraft unit whose job was to protect allies’ troops from the German aircraft. Another such unit was the 96th Battalion of U.S. Army Engineers; they were the first African-American troops to be fired upon in World War II. On April 23, 1942 the 96th became the first U.S. unit on Port Moresby, New Guinea. The 96th Battalion was given the challenge of making docks, airfields, roads, and housing throughout the Pacific Theater. The 96th started as a simple labor battalion but soon became one of the best-trained and equipped Battalions in the Southwest Pacific area (Hall, xiii). In addition to the African-American ground troops, World War II also gave birth to the African-American combat pilot. The 99th Pursuit Squadron was the first group of the Tuskagee Airmen to see combat. On June 2, 1943 the 99th Pursuit Squadron received its first combat assignment, to attack the fortified island of Pantelleria off of the coast of Italy. The 99th helped the Air Force to achieve their first victory that was decided by air power alone. The 99th was not alone for long, soon after their formation the U.S. Air Force created the 332nd Fighter Group. The 332nd Fighter Group consisted of the 100th, 301st, 302nd Pursuit Squadrons, and soon after the 332nd entered combat the 99th joined its ranks. The 332nd went on to fly over 1,000 missions, ranging from bomber escorts to dive bombing enemy positions themselves. The men of the 332nd fought all over Europe and represented themselves honorably and courageously. The African-American positions in the U.S. military have changed greatly thru World War II; they now fought on the land, sea, and air and in every branch of the military. Now the segregated African-Americans were in for one more change. In 1948 President Harry S. Truman ordered that the practice of segregation of the military by race be ceased, and so began the integration of the U.S. military. Over the years the African-Americans has proved themselves to be an effective and loyal soldier. They have given their lives for an ungrateful nation, a notion that set them up to fail at every opportunity, but still the African-American proved themselves to be a heroic warrior. A warrior who a nation is just beginning to honor, the nation is trying to honor these brave men by trying to accept them into the nation as an equal not as a Negro. Maybe someday as a nation, we will succeed in this, but until then the black warrior will still protect an ungrateful nation.