Black Soldier, White Army

Black Soldier, White Army
Author: William T. Bowers
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 313
Release: 1997-05
Genre: Korean War, 1950-1953
ISBN: 0788139908

The history of the 24th Infantry regiment in Korea is a difficult one, both for the veterans of the unit & for the Army. This book tells both what happened to the 24th Infantry, & why it happened. The Army must be aware of the corrosive effects of segregation & the racial prejudices that accompanied it. The consequences of the system crippled the trust & mutual confidence so necessary among the soldiers & leaders of combat units & weakened the bonds that held the 24th together, producing profound effects on the battlefield. Tables, maps & illustrations.

Taps For A Jim Crow Army

Taps For A Jim Crow Army
Author: Christy McGuire
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2014-07-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813148995

Many black soldiers serving in the U.S. Army during World War II hoped that they might make permanent gains as a result of their military service and their willingness to defend their country. They were soon disabused of such illusions. Taps for a Jim Crow Army is a powerful collection of letters written by black soldiers in the 1940s to various government and nongovernment officials. The soldiers expressed their disillusionment, rage, and anguish over the discrimination and segregation they experienced in the Army. Most black troops were denied entry into army specialist schools; black officers were not allowed to command white officers; black soldiers were served poorer food and were forced to ride Jim Crow military buses into town and to sit in Jim Crow base movie theaters. In the South, German POWs could use the same latrines as white American soldiers, but blacks could not. The original foreword by Benjamin Quarles, professor emeritus of history at Morgan State University, and a new foreword by Bernard C. Nalty, the chief historian in the Office of Air Force History, offer rich insights into the world of these soldiers.

Forged in Battle

Forged in Battle
Author: Joseph T. Glatthaar
Publisher: LSU Press
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2000-03-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780807125601

Sixteen months after the start of the American Civil War, the Federal government, having vastly underestimated the length and manpower demands of the war, began to recruit black soldiers. This revolutionary policy gave 180,000 free blacks and former slaves the opportunity to prove themselves on the battlefield as part of the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the war, 37,000 in their ranks had given their lives for the cause of freedom. In Forged in Battle, originally published in 1990, award-winning historian Joseph T. Glatthaar re-creates the events that gave these troops and their 7,000 white officers justifiable pride in their contributions to the Union victory and hope of equality in the years to come. Unfortunately, as Glatthaar poignantly demonstrates, memory of the United States Colored Troops' heroic sacrifices soon faded behind the prejudice that would plague the armed forces for another century.

Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment

Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment
Author: Brian G. Shellum
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2010-02-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0803268033

An unheralded military hero, Charles Young (1864–1922) was the third black graduate of West Point, the first African American national park superintendent, the first black U.S. military attaché, the first African American officer to command a Regular Army regiment, and the highest-ranking black officer in the Regular Army until his death. Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment tells the story of the man who—willingly or not—served as a standard-bearer for his race in the officer corps for nearly thirty years, and who, if not for racial prejudice, would have become the first African American general. Brian G. Shellum describes how, during his remarkable army career, Young was shuffled among the few assignments deemed suitable for a black officer in a white man’s army—the Buffalo Soldier regiments, an African American college, and diplomatic posts in black republics such as Liberia. Nonetheless, he used his experience to establish himself as an exceptional cavalry officer. He was a colonel on the eve of the United States’ entry into World War I, when serious medical problems and racial intolerance denied him command and ended his career. Shellum’s book seeks to restore a hero to the ranks of military history; at the same time, it informs our understanding of the role of race in the history of the American military.

Black Soldiers in Jim Crow Texas, 1899-1917

Black Soldiers in Jim Crow Texas, 1899-1917
Author: Garna L. Christian
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1995
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780890966372

Chronicles the experiences of African-American soldiers serving in the United States Army in racially-segregated Texas from 1899 to 1914.

A Grand Army of Black Men

A Grand Army of Black Men
Author: Edwin S. Redkey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 254
Release: 1992-11-27
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1107782465

The Civil War stands vivid in the collective memory of the American public. There has always been a profound interest in the subject, and specifically the participation of black Americans in and reactions to the war and the war's outcome. Almost 200,000 African-American soldiers fought for the Union in the Civil War. Although most were illiterate ex-slaves, several thousand were well-educated, free black men from the northern states. The 176 letters in this collection were written by black soldiers in the Union army during the Civil War to black and abolitionist newspapers. They provide a unique expression of the black voice that was meant for a public forum. The letters tell of the men's experiences, their fears and their hopes. They describe in detail their army days - the excitement of combat and the drudgery of digging trenches. Some letters give vivid descriptions of battle; others protest against racism; still others call eloquently for civil rights. Many describe their conviction that they are fighting not only to free the slaves but to earn equal rights as citizens. These letters give an extraordinary picture of the war and also reveal the bright expectations, hopes, and ultimately the demands that black soldiers had for the future - for themselves and for their race. As first-person documents of the Civil War, the letters are strong statements of the American dream of justice and equality, and of the human spirit.

History of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865

History of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865
Author: Luis F B 1844 Emilio
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-07-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9781021441249

History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1863-1865 is a compelling account of the role of African American soldiers in the Civil War. Written by Luis F. Emilio, a veteran of the regiment, this book provides a firsthand perspective on the challenges faced by African American soldiers during the war. This book is an important contribution to the history of the Civil War and the ongoing struggle for social justice and equality in America. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

White War, Black Soldiers

White War, Black Soldiers
Author: Bakary Diallo
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2021-02-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1624669530

Strength and Goodness (Force-Bonté) by Bakary Diallo is one of the only memoirs of World War I ever written or published by an African. It remains a pioneering work of African literature as well as a unique and invaluable historical document about colonialism and Africa’s role in the Great War. Lamine Senghor’s The Rape of a Country (La Violation d’un pays) is another pioneering French work by a Senegalese veteran of World War I, but one that offers a stark contrast to Strength and Goodness. Both are made available for the first time in English in this edition, complete with a glossary of terms and a general historical introduction. The centennial of World War I is an ideal moment to present Strength and Goodness and The Rape of a Country to a wider, English-reading public. Until recently, Africa's role in the war has been neglected by historians and largely forgotten by the general public. Euro-centric versions of the war still predominate in popular culture, Many historians, however, now insist that African participation in the 1914-18 War is a large part of what made that conflict a world war.

Firefight at Yechon

Firefight at Yechon
Author: Charles M. Bussey
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780803262010

Firefight at Yechon is the harrowing story of Charles M. Bussey, a former Tuskegee airman and one of the first American combatants in the Korean War. He led the Seventy-seventh Engineer Combat Company for 205 days filled with almost continual fighting, during which he and his fellow American soldiers served with distinction. They also felt the effects of racism in the U.S. Army and wartime media, which singled out African American units for blame in the early days of the war. Firefight at Yechon sets the record straight about the contribution of African Americans in the Korean War. It also paints an unforgettably realistic portrait of the terrifying first days of fighting in 1950, when American soldiers, both black and white, were reeling under the assault of the North Korean People's Army. The Seventy-seventh Engineer Combat Company played an instrumental role in the retaking of Yechon on 20 July, the first major victory for the U.S. Army. The carnage of that fight and the shining courage of his fellow soldiers would never be forgotten by Bussey.

Searching for Black Confederates

Searching for Black Confederates
Author: Kevin M. Levin
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2019-08-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1469653273

More than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, scores of websites, articles, and organizations repeat claims that anywhere between 500 and 100,000 free and enslaved African Americans fought willingly as soldiers in the Confederate army. But as Kevin M. Levin argues in this carefully researched book, such claims would have shocked anyone who served in the army during the war itself. Levin explains that imprecise contemporary accounts, poorly understood primary-source material, and other misrepresentations helped fuel the rise of the black Confederate myth. Moreover, Levin shows that belief in the existence of black Confederate soldiers largely originated in the 1970s, a period that witnessed both a significant shift in how Americans remembered the Civil War and a rising backlash against African Americans' gains in civil rights and other realms. Levin also investigates the roles that African Americans actually performed in the Confederate army, including personal body servants and forced laborers. He demonstrates that regardless of the dangers these men faced in camp, on the march, and on the battlefield, their legal status remained unchanged. Even long after the guns fell silent, Confederate veterans and other writers remembered these men as former slaves and not as soldiers, an important reminder that how the war is remembered often runs counter to history.