WWI - The Fighting 369th All-Black Infantry Quiz

Answer: New York

The unit was first structured in 1913 as the 15th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment. While the unit was lead by both black and white officers, the white officers controlled the command structure. The ground troops were exclusively black soldiers.

The 369th Infantry became a part of the 93rd Division in 1917 when the unit was ordered to active duty. They were one of only four all-black regiments in the U.S.

Answer: Hellfighters (Die Unerschrockenen)

Since 70% of the unit called Harlem, NY home, they became known as The Harlem Hellfighters. The French called them "Les Enfants Perdus" or "The Lost Children". None of these men was ever held in capture. The unit never lost a prisoner and never relinquished any captured ground. According to commanding officer Col. William Hayward, their motto was "God damn, let's go."

Answer: Col. William Hayward

Col. Hayward was named commanding officer of 15th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment at its inception by New York Governor Charles Whitman. Hayward commanded the unit through their entire involvement in the war. Hayward, April 29, 1877 - Oct. 13, 1944, was born in Nebraska and died in New York City. Prior to taking command of the 15th he was the commanding officer of a Nebraska National Guard unit. Hayward was an ardent supporter of the men of the 369th and the unit returned that respect in kind. Maj. Whittlesey was the commanding officer of "The Lost Battalion," an American unit that became stuck behind German lines. Lt. Izac and Lt. Luke were WWI pilots.

Answer: Lt. James Reese Europe

Lt. Europe was a well-known ragtime musician who was responsible for the first all-black performance at Carnegie Hall. Col. Hayward had recruited Europe specifically to form the unit's band. Europe accomplished this in fine form, recruiting musicians from throughout the U.S. and its territories. One of his recruits was Harlem dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

After Europe was commissioned a First Lieutenant, he turned over his baton to bandmaster Eugene Mikell and led a machine gun unit instead.

He died in New York in 1919 from a stab wound inflicted during an argument by one of the drummers in his band. He was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery. The alternate choices were also men of the 369th. Sgt. Spottswood Poles was an acclaimed baseball outfielder in the Negro Leagues.

He received five battle stars and a Purple Heart for his service with The Harlem Hellfighters. Lt. George Robb was a white member of the unit who received The Medal of Honor. Lt. Vertner Tandy has the distinction of being the first black man to earn a commission while in the 15th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment.

The 369th's Regimental Band helped introduce Jazz to the people of Europe.

Answer: France

Gen. Pershing wasn't a bigot. He'd served in the 10th Calvary with black "Buffalo Soldiers' in Montana and at San Juan Hill. Pershing was concerned with the welfare of the blacks and made an effort to position them in combat situations rather than menial labor posts - which was the primary function of "colored" troops in WWI.

The French were delighted at the prospect of fresh reinforcements and race wasn't an issue. The men of the 369th were issued French helmets and weapons. They continued to wear their American uniforms but switched to French if they were participating in raids. Only a few disagreements surfaced between the French and the 369th. On June 6, 1918 when the fighting was so fierce at Belleau Wood the French general in command told the 369th to retreat. Col. Hayward told the general he did not understand him.

The general shouted, "Retire, Retire!" Hayward said his men did not "retire" and countered with, "They move forward or they die."

Answer: Séchault

In the Meuse-Argonne (Champagne) Offensive, the 369th was assigned to the French 161st Division. At one point, the unit - advancing right up the middle - moved so quickly they overtook the French forces on their left and right flanks. This move threatened to cut them off and it was necessary to fall back to reorganize.

They first took the town of Ripont then advanced over Bellevue Signal Ridge to take the strategically important village of Séchault and moved on. The unit sustained more than 1,500 casualties in their mission to reduce the German defenses in the region but received only 900 replacements.

After the November 11th Armistice, the men of the 369th was the first American soldiers to cross the Rhine into Germany alongside the French Army of Occupation.

The other cities listed are in southern France.

Answer: Henry Johnson

Pvt. Henry Lincoln Johnson earned the nickname "Black Death" from the battle that night. He and Pvt. Roberts were posted on sentry duty when they began receiving fire. Roberts was wounded badly in his effort to seek help and returned to the trench to pass grenades to Johnson.

The Germans, an untold amount coming from all directions, cut the perimeter of the fence and advanced. The grenades ran out. Johnson took bullets in his head, lip, side and hands. His rifle jammed. When he realized the Germans were attempting to capture Roberts, Johnson used his rifle's butt on the enemy until the stock broke. With only his bolo knife left he hacked away at the Germans - killing four and maiming 10 to 20.

He reclaimed Roberts and held out until reinforcements arrived. Maj. Arthur Little, 369th Infantry Division, wrote later, "The little soldier from Albany came down like a wild cat upon the shoulders of the German.

As Johnson sprang, he unsheathed his bolo knife, and as his knife landed upon the shoulders of that ill-fated Boche, the blade of the knife was buried to the hilt through the crown of the German's head." Johnson sustained 21 injuries and prevented the Germans from breaking through the French lines. Johnson and Roberts were the first Americans to be awarded the Croix de Guerre in WWI.

It became known as Henry Johnson's War or The Battle of Henry Johnson.

Answer: From his wounds and alcohol dependency

As the 369th paraded up New York's Fifth Avenue on its return from France, its convalescent squad was lead by Sgt. Henry Johnson. As he stood in the lead Cadillac waving, the crowd shouted "Oh you, Black Death!" Johnson received no disability from the Army as his wounds had not been properly documented on his discharge papers.

His injuries, and the steel plate in his foot, left him crippled. Unable to find work, he fell into alcohol abuse. His marriage ended. He died alone and impoverished at the age of 32 in New York City.

He and Roberts had short-lived fame when the Army used them as poster boys for recruitment. Roberts faired no better after the war. In 1928 he was arrested for a sex crime. In the late 1940s he was accused of molesting an eight-year-old girl.

In 1949, Roberts and his wife committed suicide by hanging. Johnson was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Answer: six months

The unit made three attempts over the course of several months to get underway to France on the transport ship Pocahontas. When they finally saw open sea, foul weather and a collision with another ship continued to impede progress. The captain of the Pocahontas wanted to turn back again but Col. Hayward insisted they press on. Finally, according to Col. Hayward's notes, they "landed at Brest. (France) Right side up." on Dec. 27, 1917.

While the unit was relieved on December 12, 1918 from assignment to the French and returned to New York, a portion of their time "over there" was relegated to menial labor support duties.

The men spent 191 days in the front-line trenches - more than any other American unit.

Answer: Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina

Edgy confrontations arose between the Hellfighters and the white residents of Spartanburg. Max Brooks, author of "The Harlem Hellfighters" wrote, "[It was] a powder keg! The whole nation was keyed up for another race riot, and you're sending northern black troops to train in South Carolina...the first state to secede from the Union." Though there were minor kerfuffles, the Hellfighters managed to finish their training without a major racial incident. President Wilson had called for all men, of all races, to join the war effort. Since Wilson had given high praise to the movie "Birth of a Nation" and had refused to support an anti-lynching bill, blacks considered this call to duty hypocritical.

The "Baltimore Afro-American" wrote on April 28, 1917, "Will some one tell us just how long Mr. Wilson has been a convert to TRUE DEMOCRACY?" More blacks, however, followed the lead of W.E.B. Du Bois, a founder of the NAACP, who countered with, "Let us, while this war lasts, forget our special grievances and close our ranks shoulder to shoulder with our white fellow citizens and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy." And so they did.