The Hellfighters of Harlem: African-American Soldiers Who Fought for the Right to Fight for Their Country

Rating:
Summary: Slapdash treatment of an important subject
Review: While Bill Harris should be thanked for writing about this topic, the treatment he affords it is weak at best. The whole story of the 15th NYNG (later 369th Infantry) as told here is riddled with factual errors, ranging from the date of the creation of the regiment confused with its actual implementation, to having Colonel Hayward associated with it 3 years before he actually assumed command. References to other events are also wrong, most noticeably, the Houston Riot of 1917 which happened in the 24th Infantry, not the 8th Illinois. Harris wrongly refers to the 69th New York as a division named the "Rainbow Division" (the 69th was a regiment in the 42nd Division which was, and still is the "Rainbow Division")and also states that the 15th NY (369th) was not allowed to participate in the parade with the 69th. Many other white New York regiments (7th, 12th etc.) did not parade with the 69 as they were not chosen to represent New York in the 42nd Division, and
Harris is wrong when he refers to the 369th as being formerly the 15th New York. The 369th was not designated as such until after they were in France, at the time of the parade they were still the 15th New York. They were never a part of the 42nd division, although they had hoped to be included in it. Perhaps one of the most egregious errors is the continuation of the myth that Henry Johnson was buried in an unmarked potters field in Albany when in fact he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Conspicious by their abscence are any reference to primary source documents which exist both in this country and France, nor are any of the standard published works on African Americans in The First World War cited. Little's "From Harlem to the Rhine" is used, as is Scott's "History of the Negro in the World War", but no other works on this period appear in the bibliography, and the former was written over 30 years ago and the latter at the conclusion of the war. There has been much scholarly work done since then. His overview of the African American experience in the US military is equally thin and again his bibliography omits many scholarly studies of this subject, focusing instead on unit histories or personal narratives.
This book takes an important theme and does a poorly researched rush job to make it to press in time for the holidays. For a factual book on this subject one should still refer to Arthur Barbeau's "The Unknown Soldiers" or Bernard Nalty's "Strength for the Fight". The experience of African Americans in World War 1 and in the US Military is a crucial theme in American history, to which this book does not do justice. We can only hope that someone else produces a beter work on it in the near future than Bill Harris has done with this.

Rating:
Summary: Slapdash treatment of an important subject
Review: While Bill Harris should be thanked for writing about this topic, the treatment he affords it is weak at best. The whole story of the 15th NYNG (later 369th Infantry) as told here is riddled with factual errors, ranging from the date of the creation of the regiment confused with its actual implementation, to having Colonel Hayward associated with it 3 years before he actually assumed command. References to other events are also wrong, most noticeably, the Houston Riot of 1917 which happened in the 24th Infantry, not the 8th Illinois. Harris wrongly refers to the 69th New York as a division named the "Rainbow Division" (the 69th was a regiment in the 42nd Division which was, and still is the "Rainbow Division")and also states that the 15th NY (369th) was not allowed to participate in the parade with the 69th. Many other white New York regiments (7th, 12th etc.) did not parade with the 69 as they were not chosen to represent New York in the 42nd Division, and
Harris is wrong when he refers to the 369th as being formerly the 15th New York. The 369th was not designated as such until after they were in France, at the time of the parade they were still the 15th New York. They were never a part of the 42nd division, although they had hoped to be included in it. Perhaps one of the most egregious errors is the continuation of the myth that Henry Johnson was buried in an unmarked potters field in Albany when in fact he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Conspicious by their abscence are any reference to primary source documents which exist both in this country and France, nor are any of the standard published works on African Americans in The First World War cited. Little's "From Harlem to the Rhine" is used, as is Scott's "History of the Negro in the World War", but no other works on this period appear in the bibliography, and the former was written over 30 years ago and the latter at the conclusion of the war. There has been much scholarly work done since then. His overview of the African American experience in the US military is equally thin and again his bibliography omits many scholarly studies of this subject, focusing instead on unit histories or personal narratives.
This book takes an important theme and does a poorly researched rush job to make it to press in time for the holidays. For a factual book on this subject one should still refer to Arthur Barbeau's "The Unknown Soldiers" or Bernard Nalty's "Strength for the Fight". The experience of African Americans in World War 1 and in the US Military is a crucial theme in American history, to which this book does not do justice. We can only hope that someone else produces a beter work on it in the near future than Bill Harris has done with this.