"K," who won the Distinguished Service Cross. He tells his own story as follows: "On September 26 the Captain asked me to carry despatches. The Germans pumped machine-gun bullets at me all the way. But I made the trip and back safely. Then I was sent out again. As I started with the message the Captain yelled to bring him back a can of coffee. He was joking, but I didn't know it at the time. "Being a foot messenger, I had some time ducking those German bullets. Those bullets seemed very sociable, but I didn't care to meet up with them, so I kept right on traveling on high gear. None touched my skin, though some skinned pretty close. "On the way back it seemed the whole war was turned on me. One bullet passed through my trousers and it made me hop, step, and jump pretty lively. I saw a shell hole six feet deep. Take it from me, I dented another six feet when I plunged into it hard. In my fist I held the Captain's can of coffee. "When I climbed out of the shell hole and started running again, a bullet clipped a hole in the can and the coffee started to spill. But I turned around, stopped a second, looked the Kaiser in the face, and held up the can of coffee with my finger plugging up the hole to show the Germans they were fooled. Just then another bullet hit the can and another finger had to act as a stopgap. "It must have been good luck that saved my life, because bullets were picking at my clothes and so many hit the can that at the end all my fingers were hugging it to keep the coffee in. I jumped into shell holes, wriggled along the ground, and got back safely. And what do you think? When I got back into our own trenches I stumbled and spilled the coffee!" Not only did Lieut. George Miller, Battalion Adjutant, confirm the story, but he added about Private McCowin: "When that soldier came back with the coffee his clothes were riddled with bullets. Yet half an hour later he went back into No-Man's-Land and brought back a number of wounded until he was badly gassed. Even then he refused to go to the rear and went out again for a. wounded soldier. All this under fire. All this under fire. That's the reason he got the D. S. C." Corporal Elmer Earl, also of Company "K," living at Middle town, New York, also won the Distinguished Service Cross. He explained: "We had taken a hill September 26 in the Argonne. We came to the edge of a swamp, when enemy machine guns opened fire. It was so bad that of the fifty-eight of us who went into a particular strip, only eight came out without being killed or wounded. I made a number of trips out there and brought back about a dozen wounded men." How Sergeant Butler Won the D. S. C. On authority of General Pershing, Colonel Hayward himself presented the Distinguished Service Crosses to the heroes among his regiment. Then, from the hands of General Collardet, of the French Army, he received the medal of the Legion of Honor. But even among this list of distinguished heroes those who knew of the exploits of Sergeant "Bill" Butler insisted upon calling for him and making him the object of their attentions. It was on the night of August 12, 1918, while the fighting was raging in the Champagne District, that Sergeant Butler's opportunity came to him. A German raiding party had rushed the American trenches and, after firing a few shots and making murderous use of the short trench knives and clubs carried for such encounters, had captured five privates and a lieutenant. The victorious raiders were making their way back to their own trenches when Butler, occupying a lone position in a forward post, saw that it would be necessary for the party to pass him. The Negro sergeant waited until the Germans were close to his post, then opened fire upon them with his automatic rifle. He kept the stream of lead upon the raiders until ten of their number had been killed. Then he went forth and took the German lieutenant, who was slightly wounded, a prisoner, released the American lieutenant and five other prisoners, and returned to the American lines with his prisoner and the rescued party. Under the heading, "Trenton Has Nothing on Salisbury," The Afro-American of Baltimore said: "Trenton, New Jersey, may have her Needham Roberts, but it takes Salisbury, Maryland, to produce a William Butler. Roberts had his comrade, Henry Johnson, to help him in repulsing a raiding party of Germans, but Butler took care of a German lieutenant and squad of Boches all by himself. Herbert Corey, a white newspaper correspondent, in telling of the incident said that Butler came 'a-roaring and fogging' through the darkness with his automatic, and 'nobody knows how many Germans he killed.' It was for this that General Pershing awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross recently and the citation read: 'Sergt. William Butler, Company L, 369th Infantry (A. S. No. 104464). For extraordinary heroism in action near Maison de Champagne, France, August 18, 1918. Sergeant Butler broke up a German raiding party which had succeeded in entering our trenches and capturing some of our men. With an automatic rifle he killed four of the raiding party and captured or put to flight the remainder of the invaders. Home address, Mrs. Jennie Butler, Water Street, Salisbury, Maryland.' "The rest of the State of Maryland and the whole United States now has its hat off to Butler of Salisbury." And the New York Tribune, on April 28, 1919, said: "Bill' Butler, a slight, good-natured colored youth, who until two years ago was a jack-of-all-trades in a little Maryland town, yesterday came into his own as a hero among heroes. More than 5,000 men and women arose to their feet in City College stadium and cheered themselves hoarse while representatives of two Governments pinned their highest medals upon the breast of the nervous youth. Sergeant Butler was one of a list of twenty-three members of the famous 15th Regiment upon whom both France and the United States conferred medals of honor because of extraordinary heroism on European battlefields.. But by common consent his name comes first on the list-a list that was made up only after a careful comparison of the deeds of gallantry that finally resulted in the breaking of the Hun lines." Won the Cheers of the French Of the 369th it may be stated that although the Germans never captured a single man, they killed nearly 200 of them and wounded more than 800 others, but on the other side of the score were to be found more than 400 Germans captured by the Third Battalion of the 369th alone, and countless men of the enemy killed and wounded. It proved itself to be one of the most efficient military units of all the Allied forces. The officers and men were constantly cheered by the gratitude of the French, who never failed to place in evidence their appreciation for the wonderful fighting prowess of the men of the 369th. The French were amazed not only at the proficiency of the men as soldiers but at their proficiency in laying railroad tracks, which was the first duty assigned them near one of the larger French ports. The 369th laid many stretches of track, pushed them into alignment, gave twists to the bolts, and proceeded half a mile farther down to repeat the performance. "Magnifique!" exclaimed a party of French officers who watched them do the work. The story of the wanderings of "the old 15th," of its hard fighting in France, of its returning to America, and of the triumphant procession through the streets of New York City, down Fifth Avenue, is one of the proudest possessions of the Negro race and of American arms. Five colored officers went over with the 369th Regiment. These officers were afterwards transferred to the 92nd Division. Considerable criticism followed the transfer of these colored officers from a colored regiment which had won such renown as the 369th. Col. Hayward, however, gave the following as reason for the transfer: "In August, 1918, the American Expeditionary Force adopted the policy of having either all white or all colored officers with Negro regiments, and so ours were shifted away (though Lieut. Europe later was returned to us as bandmaster, whereas he had been in the machine gun force before). Our colored officers were in the July fighting and did good work, and I felt then and feel now, that if colored officers are available and capable, they, and not white officers, should command colored troops. I hope, if the Fifteenth is reconstructed, as it should be, colored men will have the active work of officering it, from top to bottom. "There is splendid material there. I sent away forty-two sergeants in France who were commissioned officers in other units. I would have sent others, but they declared they'd rather be sergeants in the Fifteenth than lieutenants or captains in other regiments." CHAPTER XV "THE EIGHTH ILLINOIS" Story of the 370th U. S. Infantry-Another Negro National Guard Regiment That Won Distinction on the Battlefield-Chicago's Colored Fighters-Called "Black Devils" by the Germans and "Partridges" by the French Because of Their Proud Bearing-First American Troops to March into the Fortified City of Laon-Their Stubborn Resistance at the Oise-Aisne Canal. The Eighth Illinois National Guard Regiment, which during the great war came to be known as the 370th U. S. Infantry, was the only regiment in the entire United States Army that was called into service with almost a complete complement of colored officers from the highest rank of Colonel to the lowest rank of Corporal. Having been brigaded with French troops and given every opportunity to get into the thickest of the fray and to demonstrate their bravery, ability, and solidarity as fighting men, the brilliant record made by this regiment effectually served to answer the question as to whether colored soldiers would follow colored officers into battle. Below will be found the record of events of the 370th U. S. Infantry (formerly 8th Illinois Infantry) from July 25, 1917, the date of responding to the call of the President, to March 11, 1919, the date of demobilization of the regiment. Pursuant to the call of the President, dated July 3, 1917, the regiment reported at the various rendezvous on July 25, 1917, as follows: At Chicago, Illinois-Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, Supply Company, Detachment Medical Department, and Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. At Springfield, Illinois-Company I. |