Spotlight | Harlem Hellfighters of WWI

Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. In recognition of Black History Month, we are shining the spotlight on the achievements of Black  Americans who have paved the way and continue to blaze a trail forward. We begin our series, with a spotlight on some of the greatest heroes of World War One, NYC’s Harlem Hellfighters!

In 1916, the 15th New York National Guard Regiment (later the 369th Infantry Regiment) was formed as the U.S. prepared for entry into World War I. Seventy percent of this regiment called Harlem home.

The group was diverse. Their ages ranged from teens to mid-forties. Some were unskilled and lacked formal education, but others were themselves, educators. All of them were inspired by adventure, patriotism, and pride. “To be somebody, you had to belong to the 15th Infantry,” wrote enlistee Arthur P. Davis of Harlem.

Even before combat, these brave men weathered cruel treatment from their fellow Americans. Then, in October 1917, six months after the official U.S. entrance into the war, they trained for combat in Jim Crow-ruled Spartanburg, South Carolina. There they faced insult and even injury but maintained a professional and military demeanor.

On August 30, 1917, New York City threw a parade bidding farewell to New York’s National Guard division, the “Rainbow Division.” But the 15th Regiment was excluded. They were told, “black is not a color in the rainbow.”

Despite all this, on the first day of 1918, 2,000 troops arrived in Brest, France. Upon their arrival, they were assigned to fight under the French army because many white American soldiers refused to serve with Black soldiers. However, it was not long before they proved their bravery and combat skills.

Private Henry Johnson

Because their unit insignia featured a rattlesnake, they were initially nicknamed the “Black Rattlers.” Later they were dubbed the “Men of Bronze” by the French. But it is said that their German enemies gave them the name “Höllenkämpfer” or, in English, “Hellfighters” for their courage and ferocity.

In their brief time at war, the Harlem Hellfighters spent 191 days in the front-line trenches. This was more time in continuous combat than any other American unit of its size. Unfortunately, they also suffered more losses than any other American regiment, with more than 1,400 casualties.

private needham roberts

In one battle, Private Henry Johnson and Private Needham Roberts were able to fend off an entire German patrol despite being out of ammunition and badly injured. When  Roberts could fight no more, Johnson kept the enemy at bay using only his knife.

After the war, the French government recognized 171 members of the Regiment with the coveted Croix de Guerre medal. Moreover, the entire regiment was cited with a Croix de Guerre. But it wasn’t until almost one hundred years later, in 2015, that Henry Johnson was posthumously awarded our nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor.

On February 17, 1919, the Harlem Hellfighters, the regiment excluded from the prior year’s farewell parade, were rewarded with a victory parade.

Broadway Stages encourages you to remember the Harlem Hellfighters and so many like them that have fought for our great nation. Their heroic actions make us proud to call this great city and nation home.