History of the American Negro in the Great World War / His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico

Another distinguished component of the 92nd Division was the 365th Infantry made up of selectives principally from Chicago and other parts of Illinois. This regiment saw about the same service as the 367th, perhaps a little more severe, as the casualties were greater. In the action at Bois Frehaut in the drive on Metz, the 365th lost forty-three men killed in action and dead from wounds. In addition there were thirty-two missing in action, most of whom were killed or succumbed to wounds. About 200 were wounded or gassed.

In General Orders, issued by the commander of the division, a number of Negro officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the 365th were commended for meritorious conduct in the actions of November 10th and 11th. Those named were; Captain John H. Allen, First Lieutenants Leon F. Stewart, Frank L. Drye, Walter Lyons, David W. Harris, and Benjamin F. Ford; Second Lieutenants George L. Games and Russell C. Atkins; Sergeants Richard W. White John Simpson, Robert Townsend, Solomon D. Colson, Ransom Elliott and Charles Jackson; Corporals Thomas B. Coleman, Albert Taylor, Charles Reed and James Conley, and Privates Earl Swanson, Jesse Cole, James Hill, Charles White and George Chaney.

Captain Allen of the Machine Gun Company of the 365th, died in France of pneumonia. Only a short time before his death he had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Pershing, for exceptional gallantry before Metz.

Private Robert M. Breckenridge of Company B, 365th regiment, also gave his life in France, but had received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action at Ferme de Belwir, October 29th, 1918.

Corporal Russell Pollard of Company H received his Distinguished Service Cross shortly before his return home. He was cited for extraordinary heroism in action in the first days battle at Metz.

The remaining infantry regiment of the Division not heretofore specially mentioned, was the 366th, a highly efficient organization of selectives assembled from the mobilization and training camps of various sections of the country. Like the other regiments of the division, the greater number of these men were assembled in the autumn of 1917, trained continuously in this country until the early part of the summer of 1918, sent to France and given at least two months' intensive training there. During the training periods their instructors were mostly officers from the Regular Army or the military instruction schools of this country and France. Some English officers also assisted in the training. That they possessed the requisite intelligence for absorbing the instruction they received is evidenced by the high type of soldier into which they developed, their records in battle, and the unstinted praise which they received from their superior officers, the French commanders and others who witnessed or were familiar with their service.

The 366th went through the campaign in the Marbache sector and suffered all its rigors and perils. In the final two days of fighting they were right at the front and achieved distinction to the extent that in the review at Le Mans they also were singled out by General Pershing for special commendation. During the campaign the regiment had a loss of forty-three men killed in action or died of wounds. Seven men were missing in action. The wounded and gassed were upwards of 200.

In General Orders issued by the commander of the division, First Lieutenant John Q. Lindsey was cited for bravery displayed at Lesseux; Sergeant Isaac Hill for bravery displayed at Frapelle and Sergeant Walter L. Gross for distinguished service near Hominville. These men were all colored and all of the 366th regiment.

Wherever men were cited in General Orders or otherwise, it generally followed that they received the Distinguished Service Cross or some other coveted honor.

CHAPTER XXII.

GLORY THAT WONT COME OFF.

167TH FIRST NEGRO ARTILLERY BRIGADE—"LIKE VETERANS" SAID PERSHING—FIRST ARTILLERY TO BE MOTORIZED—RECORD BY DATES—SELECTED FOR LORRAINE CAMPAIGN—BEST EDUCATED NEGROES IN AMERICAN FORCES—ALWAYS STOOD BY THEIR GUNS—CHAPLAIN'S ESTIMATE—LEFT SPLENDID IMPRESSION—TESTIMONY OF FRENCH MAYORS—CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR—SOLDIERLY QUALITIES.

To the 92nd Division belonged the distinction of having the first artillery brigade composed entirely of Negroes, with the exception of a few commissioned officers, ever organized in this country. In fact, the regiments composing the brigade, the 349th, the 350th and 351st were the first complete artillery regiments of Negroes and the only important Negro organizations in the artillery branch of the service, ever formed in this country.

Their record was remarkable considering the brief time in which they had to distinguish themselves, and had the war continued, they would surely have gained added glory; General Pershing in the review at Le Mans complimenting them particularly, stating that when the armistice came he was planning important work for them. Following are the general's words which brought much pride to the organization:

"Permit me to extend to the officers and men of the 167th Field Artillery Brigade, especially the 351st regiment, my congratulations for the excellent manner in which they conducted themselves during the twelve days they were on the front. The work of the unit was so meritorious that after the accomplishments of the brigade were brought to my attention I was preparing to assign the unit to very important work in the second offensive. You men acted like veterans, never failing to reach your objective, once orders had been given you. I wish to thank you for your work."

The unit was organized largely from men of Western Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Camp Meade, near Washington, D.C., was their principal training point from the fall of 1917 until June, 1918, when they went abroad.

To the brigade belongs the additional distinction of being the first in the service to be motorized. Tractors hauled the big guns along the front at a rate of twelve miles an hour, much better than could have been done with horses or mules.

Brigadier General W.E. Cole commanded the unit until about the middle of September, 1918, when he was elevated to a major generalship and the command of the 167th passed to Brigadier General John H. Sherburne. In a General Order issued by the latter shortly before he left the unit, he said:

"I will ever cherish the words of the Commander in Chief, the compliment he paid, in all sincerity to this brigade, when he watched it pass in review. I wish the brigade to understand that those words of appreciation were evoked only because each man had worked conscientiously and unflaggingly to make the organization a success. The men went into the line in a manner to win the praise of all."

The history of the brigade from the time it left Camp Meade until the end of the war may be summarized as follows:

June 27—Disembarked from ship at Brest, France.

July 2—Started for the training area, reaching there July 4.

July 5—Began a period of six weeks training at Lathus in the Montmorillion section.

August 20—Went to La Courtine and remained until September 16th, practicing at target range. Its gun squads excelled in target work and the brigade, especially the 351st regiment, won distinction there. October 4—Finished training at La Courtine and moved into a sector directly in front of Metz, where about three weeks were spent in obtaining the tractors and motor vehicles necessary for a completely motorized artillery outfit.

October 25—Preparing for action. The enemy had noted the great movement of troops in the vicinity and German planes constantly hovered over the unit dropping missiles of death upon it.

The brigade supported the infantry of the division in its attacks on Eply, Cheminot, Bouxieres, Bois Frehaut, Bois La Cote, Champey, Vandieres, Pagny and Moulin Farm. Attacks of more than mediocre importance were: Pagny, November 4 and 5; Cheminot, November 6, Epley, November 7; Bois Frehaut, November 10; Bois La Cote and Champey, November 11.

In addition to those attacks certain machine gun nests of the enemy were destroyed and strategic points were bombarded. During the entire advance the batteries of the brigade were in front positions and very active. The attack on Bois La Cote and Champey began at 4:30 in the morning and ended just fifteen minutes before the beginning of the armistice. During the engagement the batteries kept up such a constant fire that the guns were almost white with heat.

Private Carl E. Southall of 2538 Elba street, Pittsburgh, Pa., claims to have fired the brigade's last shot. He was a member of Battery D, 351st regiment. When the watch showed the last minute of the war, he jumped forward, got to the gun ahead of his comrades and fired.

Had the war continued the artillery brigade would have taken part in the offensive which was to have begun after November 11 with twenty French and six American divisions investing Metz and pushing east through Lorraine.

The history of one regiment in the artillery outfit is practically the same as another, with the exception that the 351st seems to have had the most conspicuous service. This unit of the brigade was commanded by Colonel Wade H. Carpenter, a West Pointer.

Owing to the technical requirements, a thorough knowledge of mathematics especially being necessary before one can become a good non-commissioned or commissioned officer of artillery, this branch of the service appeals to men of schooling. It has been claimed that the 351st regiment contained the best educated group of Negroes in the American forces; most of them being college or high school men. They were praised highly by their officers, especially by Colonel Carpenter:

"When the regiment trained at Camp Meade," he said, "the men showed the best desire, to make good soldiers. In France they outdid their own expectations and shed glory for all.

"We didn't get into action until October 28th, but after that we kept at the Germans until the last day.

"The men of the 351st were so anxious to get into service that before they were ordered to the front they found it difficult to restrain their impatience at being held back. However, their long training in France did them a lot of good, the experience of being taught by veteran Americans and Frenchmen proving of great value when it came to actual battle.

"They never flinched under fire, always stood by their guns and made the famous 155 millimeter French guns, with which we were equipped, fairly smoke.

"I have been a regular army man for many years, and have always been in command of white troops. Let me say to you that never have I commanded a more capable, courageous and intelligent regiment than this. It would give me the greatest pleasure to continue my army career in command of this regiment of Negroes.

"Not only was their morale splendid but they were especially ready to accept discipline. They idolized their officers and would have followed them through hell if necessary.

"Fortunately, though many were wounded by shrapnel and a number made ill by gas fumes, we suffered no casualties in the slain column. About twenty-five died of sickness and accidents, but we lost none in action.

"When the armistice came our hits were making such tremendous scores against the enemy that prisoners taken by the Americans declared the destruction wrought by the guns was terrific. On the last day and in the last hour of the war our guns fairly beat a rat-a-tat on the enemy positions. We let them have it while we could."

Lieutenant E.A. Wolfolk, of Washington, D.C., chaplain of the regiment, aid:

"The morale and morals of the men were splendid. Disease of the serious type was unknown. The men were careful to keep within bounds. They gave their officers no trouble, and each man strove to keep up the high standard expected of him. From the time we reached France in June, 1918, until the time we quit that country we worked hard to maintain a clean record and we certainly succeeded."

At the Moselle river, Pont a Mousson and Madieres, the regiment first saw action. The first and second battalions went into action immediately in the vicinity of St. Genevieve and Alton. The third battalion crossed the river and went into action in the vicinity of Pont a Mousson. That was on October 31st. The balance of the regiment's service corresponds to that of the brigade, already mentioned.

As already gleaned from the reports of generals, regimental officers and the testimony of the chaplain of the 351st, the artillery boys created a good impression and left behind them a clean record everywhere. It has remained for the officers of the 349th regiment to preserve this in additional documentary form in the shape of regimental orders and letters from the mayors of French towns in which the regiment stopped or was billeted. The following are some of the bulletins and letters:

After such testimony who can doubt the Christianlike behavior and soldierly qualities of the black man? It has been noted that the artillerymen were in education considerably above the average of the Negro force abroad, but no severe criticism has been heard concerning the conduct of any of the Negro troops in any part of France. The attitude of the French people had much to do with this. The unfailing courtesy and consideration with which they treated the Negroes awoke an answering sentiment in the natures of the latter. To be treated as Men, in the highest sense of the term, argued that they must return that treatment, and it is not of record that they failed to give adequate return. Indeed the record tends to show that they added a little for good measure, although it is hard to outdo a Frenchman in courtesy and the common amenities of life.

This showing of Negro conduct in France takes on increased merit when it is considered that the bulk of their forces over there were selectives; men of all kinds and conditions; many of them from an environment not likely to breed gentleness, self restraint or any of the finer virtues. But the leaders and the best element seem to have had no difficulty in impressing upon the others that the occasion was a sort of a trial of their race; that they were up for view and being scrutinized very carefully. They made remarkably few false steps.

CHAPTER XXIII.

NOR STORIED URN, NOR MOUNTING SHAFT.

GLORY NOT ALL SPECTACULAR—BRAVE FORCES BEHIND THE LINES—325TH FIELD SIGNAL BATTALION—COMPOSED OF YOUNG NEGROES—SEE REAL FIGHTING—SUFFER CASUALTIES—AN EXCITING INCIDENT—COLORED SIGNAL BATTALION A SUCCESS—RALPH TYLER'S STORIES—BURIAL OF NEGRO SOLDIER AT SEA—MORE INCIDENTS OF NEGRO VALOR—A WORD FROM CHARLES M. SCHWAB.

Out of the glamor and spectacular settings of combat comes most of the glory of war. The raids, the forays, the charges; the pitting of cold steel against cold steel, the hand to hand encounters in trenches, the steadfast manning of machine guns and field pieces against deadly assault, these and kindred phases of battle are what find themselves into print. Because they lend themselves so readily to the word painter or to the artist's brush, these lurid features are played to the almost complete exclusion of others, only slightly less important.

There are brave forces behind the lines, sometimes in front of the lines, about which little is written or pictured. Of these the most efficient and indispensable is the Signal Corps. While this branch of the service was not obliged to occupy front line trenches; make raids for prisoners, or march in battle formation into big engagements, it must not be supposed that it did not have a very dangerous duty to perform.

One of the colored units that made good most decisively was the 325th Field Signal Battalion of the 92nd Division. The men of this battalion had to string the wires for telegraphic and telephonic connections at times when the enemy guns were trained upon them. Therefore, in many respects, their duty took them into situations fully as dangerous as those of the combatant units.

This battalion was composed entirely of young Negroes excepting the Lieutenant Colonel, Major and two or three white line officers. With few exceptions, they were all college or high school boys, quite a number of them experts in radio or electric engineering. Those who were not experts when the battalion was formed, became so through the training which they received.

Major Spencer, who was responsible for the formation of the battalion, the only Negro signal unit in the American Army, was firm in the belief that Negroes could make good, and he remained with it long enough to see his belief become a realization.

After arriving at Brest, June 19, 1918, the battalion proceeded to Vitrey, and from that town began a four-day hike to Bourbonne les Baines. From that point it proceeded after a few days to Visey, where the boys got their first taste of what was to be, later, their daily duties. Here the radio (wireless telegraphy) company received its quota of the latest type of French instruments, a battery plant was established and a full supply of wire and other equipment issued to Companies B and C. Here, too, the Infantry Signal platoons of the battalion joined the outfit and shared in the training.

A courage test and their first introduction into real fighting in addition to stringing wires and sending and receiving radio messages, came on the afternoon of September 27th. A party including the Colonel, Lieutenant Herbert, the latter a Negro, and some French liaison officers, advanced beyond the battalion post and soon found themselves outside the lines and directly in front of a German machine gun nest.

The colonel divided his men into small groups and advanced on the enemy's position. The sortie resulted in the Signal boys capturing eight prisoners and two machine guns, but it cost the loss of Corporal Charles E. Boykin, who did not return. Two days later during a general advance, Sergeant Henry E. Moody was mortally wounded while at his post. Boykin was killed outright, while Sergeant Moody died in the hospital, these being the first two of the Signal Battalion to make the supreme sacrifice.

On the 10th of October the 92nd Division, having taken over the Marbache sector and relieved the 167th French Division, the 325th Field Signal Battalion took over all existing lines of communication. In the days following they installed new lines and made connections between the various units of the division. This was no small duty, when it is remembered that an army sector extends over a wide area of many square miles, including in it from 50 to 100 cities and towns.

The Marbache sector was an active front and time and time again the boys went ahead repairing lines and establishing new communications under shell fire, with no heed to personal danger—inspired only by that ideal of the Signal Corps man—get communication through at any cost, but get it through.

On the morning of November 10th, when the Second Army launched its attack on the famous Hindenburg line before Metz, the 92nd Division held the line of Vandieres—St. Michel, Xon and Norry. The engagement lasted for twenty-eight hours continuously, during which time the Signal Corps functioned splendidly and as one man, keeping up communications, installing new lines and repairing those shelled out.

One of the most exciting incidents was that participated in by the First Platoon of the Signal Battalion on the first day of the Metz battle. Shortly after the lighter artillery barrage was lifted, the big guns of the enemy began shelling Pont a Mousson. The first shells hit on the edge of the city and then they began peppering the Signal Battalion's station.

Sergeant Rufus B. Atwood of the First Platoon was seated in the cellar near the switchboard; Private Edgar White was operating the switchboard, and Private Clark the buzzerphone. Several officers and men were standing in the "dugout" cellar. Suddenly a shell struck the top, passed through the ceiling and wall and exploded, making havoc of the cellar.

OFFICERS OF THE 15TH NEW YORK (369TH INFANTRY), MARCHING IN PARADE PRIOR TO THE WAR. LEFT TO RIGHT—COL. WM. HAYWARD, BERT WILLIAMS. FAMOUS COMEDIAN AND DR. G. McSWEENEY.

AFTER THE WAR. ONE OF THE NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES BEARING WOUNDED OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE 15TH NEW YORK (369TH INFANTRY). MAJOR DAVID L. 'ESPERANCE (WITH HELMET) AND MAJOR LORRILARD SPENCER.

A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP OF NEGRO OFFICERS OF "MOSS'S BUFFALOES" (167TH INFANTRY). THE LITTLE LADY WITH THE BOUQUET IS ONE OF THEIR FRENCH ACQUAINTANCES.

CAPTAIN JOHN H. PATTON, REGIMENTAL ADJUTANT, 8TH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. FROM JUNE 26, 1916, TO SEPTEMBER 11, 1918. COMMANDING 2ND BATTALION, 370TH INFANTRY, FROM SEPTEMBER 11, 1918, TO DECEMBER 25, 1918. SAINT MIHIEL SECTOR FROM JUNE 21, 1918, TO JULY 3, 1918. ARGONNE FOREST FROM JULY 6, 1916, TO AUGUST 15, 1918. BATTLES FOR MONT DES SIGNES, FROM SEPTEMBER 16 TO 30, 1918. OISE-AISNE OFFENSIVE, FROM SEPTEMBER 30, 1918. TO NOVEMBER 11, 1918. AWARDED THE FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE COVERING PERIOD FROM SEPTEMBER 11 TO NOVEMBER 11, 1918.

EMIL LAURENT, NEGRO CORPORAL OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY), A CROIX DE GUERRE WINNER, ENGAGED IN FIELD TELEPHONE SERVICE IN A FRENCH WOOD.

GROUP OF "HELL FIGHTERS' (369TH INFANTRY) WITH THEIR JEWELRY (CROIX DE GUERRE). FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, "EAGLE EYE" EDWARD WILLIAMS, "LAMP LIGHT" HERB TAYLOR, LEON TRAINOR, "KID HAWK" RALPH HAWKINS, BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, SERGT. M.D. PRIMUS, SERGT. DANIEL STORMS, "KID WONEY" JOE WILLIAMS, "KID BUCK" ALFRED HANLY AND CORP. T.W. TAYLOR.

DR. JOSEPH H. WARD ON TRANSPORT FRANCE. THE ONLY NEGRO ATTAINING THE RANK OF MAJOR IN THE MEDICAL CORPS OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES.

CAPTAIN NAPOLEON B. MARSHALL, FAMOUS HARVARD ATHLETE, WHO HELPED ORGANIZE 15TH NEW YORK AND WAS ONE OF ITS ORIGINAL NEGRO OFFICERS. HE WAS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED AT METZ.

BRAVE NEGROES HOMEWARD BOUND FROM WAR. FIRST CALL FOR DINNER.

"MOSS'S BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY), REVIEWED BY GOVERNOR WHITMAN AFTER FLAG PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF UNION LEAGUE CLUB, NEW YORK.

THE "BUFFALOES" (367TH INFANTRY), RETURNING TO NEW YORK AFTER VALIANT SERVICE IN FRANCE. THEIR COLORS STILL FLYING.

SOLDIERS WHO DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES AT THE FORTRESS OF METZ. GROUP BELONGING TO 365TH INFANTRY ARRIVING AT CHICAGO STATION.

HOMEWARD BOUND IN A PULLMAN CAR. NO "JIM CROWING THERE." THE NEGRO BEARS ON HIS SHOULDER THE CITATION CORD AND EMBLEM DENOTING VALOROUS SERVICE.

Lieutenant Walker, who arrived just at this time, took hold of matters with admirable coolness and presence of mind. Sergeant Atwood tried out the switchboard and found all lines broken. He also found on trying it the buzzerphone out. Lieutenant Walker gave orders to Private White to stay on the switchboard and Corporal Adolphus Johnson to stay on the buzzerphone. The twelve-cord monocord board was nailed up by White and then began the connecting up of the lines from outside to the monocord board. All this time the shelling by the Germans was fierce and deadly. Shells struck all around the boys and one struck a nearby ammunition dump, causing the explosion of thousands of rounds of ammunition, which created a terrific shock and extinguished all the lights.

But still the men worked on and would not leave the dangerous post, a veritable target for the enemy's big guns, until the lieutenant of the Military Police arrived and ordered them out.

The 325th Field Signal Battalion was a great success. What the boys did not learn about radio, telephonic and telegraphic work would be of little advantage to anyone. It will be of great advantage to many of them in the way of making a living in times of peace.

By the time the armistice stopped the fighting the different units of the 92nd Division had taken many prisoners and gained many objectives. They finally retired to the vicinity of Pont a Mousson, where time was spent salvaging material and cleaning equipment, while the men, knowing there was to be no more fighting, anxiously awaited the time until they were ordered to an embarkation point and thence home.

The trip home in February, 1919, was about as perilous to some of them as the war had been. It was a period of unusually rough weather. The north Atlantic, never very smooth during the winter months, put on some extra touches for the returning Negro soldiers. An experience common to many on several different transports has been described by Mechanic Charles E. Bryan of Battery B, 351st Artillery upon his return to his home, 5658 Frankstown Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. Asked about his impressions of the war, he said that which impressed him the most was the storm at sea on the way home.

"That storm beat the war all hollow," he said. "Me and my buddies were messing when the ship turned about eighteen somersaults, and we all pitched on the floor, spilling soup and beans and things all over the ship.

"The lights went out and somehow the automatic bell which means 'abandon ship' was rung by accident. We didn't know it was an accident, and from the way the ship pitched we thought she was on her way down to look up one Mr. Davy Jones. So we made a break for the decks, and believe me, some of those lads who had come through battles and all sorts of dangers were about to take a dive over the side if our officers had not started explaining in time."

Stories of varying degrees of interest, some thrilling, some humorous and some pathetic to the last degree, have been brought back.

Ralph Tyler, the Negro newspaper man, who was sent to France as the official representative of the Afro-American press by the Committee on Public Information, has written many of the incidents, and told others from the rostrum. He has told how the small insignificant, crowded freight cars in which the soldiers traveled looked like Pullman parlor coaches to the Negro soldiers.

"To many of our people back in the 'States,'" wrote Mr. Tyler from France, "who saw our boys embark on fine American railroad coaches and Pullman sleepers to cover the first lap of their hoped-for pilgrimage to Berlin, the coaches they must ride in over here would arouse a mild protest. I stood at Vierzon, one of France's many quaint old towns recently, and saw a long train of freight cars roll in, en route to some point further distant. In these cars with but a limited number of boxes to sit upon, and just the floors to stand upon, were crowded some 1,000 of our own colored soldiers from the States. But a jollier crowd never rode through American cities in Pullman sleepers and diners than those 1,000 colored troopers. They accepted passage on these rude box freight cars cheerfully, for they knew they were now in war, and palace cars, downy coaches and the usual American railroad conveniences were neither available nor desirable.

"The point I wish to convey to the people back home is that did they but know how cheerfully, even eagerly our boys over here accept war time conveniences, they would not worry quite so much about how the boys are faring. They are being wholesomely and plenteously fed; they are warmly clothed, they are cheerful and uncomplaining as they know this is war and for that reason know exactly what they must expect. To the soldier who must at times sleep with but the canopy of heaven as a covering, and the earth as a mattress, a box freight car that shields him from the rain and wind is a real luxury, and he accepts it as such.

"There need not be any worry back home as to the maintenance of our colored soldiers over here. They receive the same substantial fare the white soldier receives, and the white soldier travels from point to point in the same box freight cars as afford means of passage for colored soldiers. In short, when it comes to maintenance and equipment, and consideration for the comfort of the American soldier, to use a trite saying, 'the folks are as good as the people.' There is absolutely no discrimination, and the cheerfulness of those 1,000 boys whose freight cars became, in imagination, Pullman palace cars, was the proof to me that the colored boys in the ranks are getting a fifty-fifty break."

"Two more stories have come to me," continues Mr. Tyler, "to prove that our colored soldiers preserve and radiate their humor even where shells and shrapnel fly thickest. A colored soldier slightly wounded in the Argonne fighting—and let me assure you there was 'some' fighting there—sat down beside the road to wait for a chance to ride to the field hospital. A comrade hastening forward to his place in the line, and anxious for the latest news of the progressing battle, asked the wounded brother if he had been in the fight; did he know all about it, and how were things going at the front. 'I sure does know all about it,' the wounded man replied. 'Well, what's happened to them?' quickly asked the trooper on his way to the front. 'Well, it was this way,' replied the wounded one, 'I was climbin' over some barbed wire tryin' to get to those d—n Boches, and they shot me; that's what I know about it.'

"A company water cart was following the advancing troops when a German shell burst in the ditch almost beside the cart. The horse on the shell side was killed, and the driver was wounded in the head. While the blood from his wound ran freely down his face, the driver took one look at the wreckage, then started stumbling back along the road. A white lieutenant who had seen it all stopped the driver of the cart and said:

"The dressing station is—"

"Before he could finish his sentence, the wounded driver, with the blood flowing in rivulets down his face, said: 'Dressing station hell; I'm looking for another horse to hitch to that cart and take the place of the one the shell put out of commission.'

"That was a bit of nerve, grim humor and evidence of fidelity to duty. A mere wound in the head could not stop that driver from keeping up with the troops with a needed supply of water."

About This Book

CHAPTER XXII.

GLORY THAT WONT COME OFF.

CHAPTER XXIII.

NOR STORIED URN, NOR MOUNTING SHAFT.