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

By Stephen L. Harris

Book 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."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574886355
• ISBN13: 9781574886351
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 301 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

At last their story is told

It is at long last that the world is made familiar with these brave warriors of the first world war. They stepped up to the challenge and proved themselves as true warriors and men. It is a splendid telling of a story too long overlooked. Very well done.

Amazing Response After Prejudice

I see that the clerics in Iraq want to impose all kinds of contraints on what women can do in their society. They can't seem to understand that this eliminates half of the potential workforce in one step. And for many of our years we eliminated a large source of our workforce by arbitrarily holding down African-Americans. The truth is that African-Americans whatever they were called at the time played important parts in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (10% or the Northern Army), and the Indian wars later on (the Buffalo Soldiers). This is the first book that I've seen that talks about an African-American combat unit in the First World War. It continues to astound me to see what they had to endure in the form of prejudice before they could even go over and die for their country. This is an important part of our military and cultural history that deserves wide telling. Highly Recommended.

Excellent treatment of a fascinating topic

Harris has done a magnificent job of illuminating an important aspect of American military history. His meticulous research has uncovered new information in the French archives as well as obscure family archives. His narrative style is enthralling and he is able to transport the reader to the place and time of events and still produce a fine piece of historical research. This is undoubtably the most comprehensive history of the 369th written, and deserves to be in the library of every student of African-American history as well as military historians and music historians. A fine companion piece to Harris other book on the 7th Regt, one hopes that he will continue to chronicle the exploits of all the NYNG during the First World War. Harlem's Hellfighters should be counted with Bernald Naulty's Strength for the Fight, and Barbeau's Unknown Soldiers. More than a military history, it is also a fine lesson in the sociology of the early 20th century and the paradoxes of US military race policy. His use of James Reese Europe as the centerpiece of his work provides a cultural touchstone as one reads the unfolding pages. A must have book.