The 369th Infantry, or 15th New York National Guard was organized in
1916, and did guard duty during the summer of 1917 in the States of
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It came into existence with the
understanding that it was to have a full quota of colored officers;
some unfavorable conditions, however, caused very few to attempt to
qualify, and when they sailed for France on December 14, 1917, they had
only the following named: Captains Charles W. Fillmore and Napoleon B.
Marshall, First Lieutenants George W. Lacey and James Reese Europe, and
Second Lieutenant D. Lincoln Reid; the other officers were white, with
Col. William Hayward commanding.
The regiment landed at Brest on December 27, 1917, being the first
colored American fighting troops to put their feet on French soil;
on January 1, 1918, they left by train for St. Nazaire, where they
remained for two months building railroads, docks, piers, and working
in store houses, in addition to keeping up their military training
exercises. Here their name was changed from 15th New York N. G. to
369th Infantry. On March 12 they were sent to Givry in Argonne, where
they were billeted at Noirleu, St. Mard, and Remacourt. They remained
at these points until April 8, when they were sent to Main-de-Massiges,
Champagne Sector, where they were attached to the 16th Division of
the 4th French Army, and became to all intents and purposes, French
soldiers; their only mark of differentiation was their uniforms, and
sometimes they even wore the French helmet.
For 191 days these soldiers were in the front line trenches, and it is
claimed by them that they remained there for a longer continuous period
than any troops in the allied armies. They were engaged in the battles
of Main-de-Massiges, Butte-de-Mesil, the Dormois, Seechault, Argonne
Forest, Ripont, Kuppinase, Vosges Mountains, the Aisne, the Tourbe,
Maison-en-Champagne, Fontaine, and Bellevue Ridge.
[Illustration: GROUP OF COMMISSIONED AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF
15TH NEW YORK (369TH INF.)
1. Capt. Charles W. Fillmore. 2. Capt. Napoleon B. Marshall. 3. Group
of Sergeants. 4. Needham Roberts. 5. Henry Johnson.]
By an accident, it is said, the regimental records were lost, but
the casualties are estimated at 600 killed and 3,000 replacements;
the replacements were made from new recruits just brought over from
the States, and sometimes they more than filled the vacancies made
by the killed and wounded. These new recruits were often untrained,
and frequently had to be taught to load a gun after they reached the
front line trenches; their ignorance of how to protect themselves
in battle caused the list of killed and wounded to be much larger
than it otherwise would have been; but with the assistance of their
comrades in arms, they soon became seasoned soldiers; and, according to
a record published by 19 non-commissioned officers, while the regiment
made tremendous sacrifices, they inflicted much greater losses on the
enemy than they themselves suffered, and captured many prisoners and
munitions of war.
For its record in the great German Offensive of July, 1918, and the
Allied Offensive of the following September and October, the regiment
was awarded the Croix de Guerre. In addition to this there were 132
officers and men cited for conspicuous and meritorious conduct, and
awarded the Croix de Guerre or the Legion d’Honneur. Among these
were the now famous Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, the first two
Americans, white or colored, to be decorated; these two men defeated
twenty or more Germans in one midnight engagement, by the skillful use
of hand grenades, the butt ends of their rifles, and the bolo knife;
they routed an entire machine-gun nest, and brought back numerous war
trophies; both were severely wounded, and remained in the hospital for
some time before they were again able for service.
After the victory of the great German Offensive of July, 1918, General
Gouraud, Commander of the 4th French Army, with whom the organization
was fighting, issued the following bulletin:
Fourth Army Staff,
5th B., No. 6954/3. July 16, 1918.
TO THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN SOLDIERS OF
THE FOURTH FRENCH ARMY
During the day of July 15th you have broken the efforts of fifteen
German Divisions supported by ten others.
They were, from their orders, to reach the Marne in the evening; you
have stopped them where we wanted to give and to win the battle.
You have the right to be proud, heroic infantrymen and machine
gunners of the advanced posts, who have signalled the attack, and
who have subdivided it, aviators who flew over it, battalions and
batteries who have broken it, staffs who have so minutely prepared
that battlefield.
It is a hard blow to the enemy. It is a beautiful day for France.
I rely upon you that it will always be the same, each time they will
dare to attack you, and with all my heart of a soldier, I thank you.
(Signed) GOURAUD.
In combination with the facts that the regiment was the first of the
colored Americans to see active service at the front, and produced
the first two winners of the Croix de Guerre of all the soldiers of
the American Expeditionary Forces, they have the final distinction of
having been the first unit of the Allied Armies to reach the Rhine.
They arrived at Blodelsheim on the Rhine on November 18, 1918, as
the advance guard of the 161st Division of the 2nd French Army. The
next day after the signing of the Armistice, Marshal Foch gave out the
following document to be read to the command; it was read to these men
three days after they reached Blodelsheim: