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STRIVING for PERFECTION

DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL BLACK OFFICERS

iUniverse, Inc.

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CHAPTER 1

WHERE WE'VE BEEN

God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

—2 Samuel 22:23

No people come into possession of a culture without having paid a heavy price for it.

—James Baldwin

I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.

—Muhammad Ali, 1975

A wise man once said, "If you don't know your history, you're bound to repeat it." Let's face it, knowing the origin of your people and their many accomplishments is vitally important, because it creates pride and defines culture within a people by serving as an example of what is possible. Most will agree that the history of African Americans is like no other ethnic group in America. We were the only people deliberately brought to this country for the sole purpose of servitude. You may be wondering, What about the thousands of free people who lived in America as free citizens or indentured servants? At the start of the Revolutionary War, it is reported that there were over five hundred thousand blacks living, earning a wage and owning land like their white neighbors. At the time of the American Revolution, many African Americans had been living alongside white colonizers for about one hundred years with little to no problems.

They took pride in their land and belongings, and they were just as committed to freeing themselves from British rule as their white neighbors. You might be wondering, Then what happened? I do not want this book to be just another lesson in history, but one that illustrates the leadership and tenacity blacks demonstrated throughout America's turbulent past. As a professional military officer, I highly recommend that you know your history! You need to understand that black history is American history, and you need to know the stories of Peter Salem and Crispus Attucks from the Revolutionary War, all the way through to our recent heroes from the Global War on Terrorism. You need to know about the blacks who fought in every war since the Revolutionary War, the 5,000 blacks who supported the Confederacy, and the 186,000 blacks who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

Blacks have fought in every major military conflict in which America has ever engaged. It is imperative that you take time out and learn the stories of the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen. I don't remember learning of any of these details while in high school or during college undergraduate training. It took me coming on active duty and seeking out this knowledge on my own by holding conversations with other black officers and investing time in the library to fill this void.

As a child growing up in the 1960s and '70s, I watched war movies with my father, and even though I knew my grandfathers and father fought in World War II and Korea, respectively, we never saw blacks playing a significant part in war movies, so I knew that account was not accurate. My brothers and I would ask my father about what it was like being in the army and having the opportunity to live in foreign countries and fight in wars. I can clearly remember him talking about the exotic foods and the friends he made during this period of his life. All of these stories made a huge impression on me at an early age and created a deep desire to serve in the military.

What you need to remember about your history is that black Americans have always answered the call to their nation's defense. Throughout the United States of America's history, the government turned its back on black Americans. But these brave people continued to gallantly serve because they had dreams and visions of a better future. We need to remember that formal education was not allowed for these blacks during the first two hundred years of their existence in this country. Blacks had a definitive purpose for serving in our military; they desired a better life. Any life was better than living in bondage or working for meager wages in unfair living conditions. The prevailing thought of the day was: if you are going to die, then die for something. Which would you prefer, dying as a slave or as a military man serving your country and being known for holding a recognizable and respectable profession?

American Revolutionary War, 1775 – 1783

Let's take a quick look back and see how African Americans contributed to developing this country. Did you know that more blacks actually fought for the British Army and the American colonials? Blacks typically sided with whoever promised freedom for their service. The British actively recruited slaves and promised to reward them with their freedom at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. History writes that blacks played an active role five years before the American Revolution began. On March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks confronted a crowd of angry British soldiers while leading a group of colonists that were protesting the laws of England. The British soldiers, led by Private Hugh Montgomery of the British regulars, fired on the colonist, killing Attucks and four other white settlers. These five men were buried in the first integrated grave in the New World, which is located in Boston Commons, Massachusetts.

We all know that the Continental Army eventually won the war and defeated the British and that slavery continued. George Washington initially prevented blacks from serving in the Continental Army. It was not until the enormous problems with desertion prior to Valley Forge that General Washington decided to recant on this policy and allowed blacks entry into the army. During this period it is reported that over one hundred thousand slaves escaped to Indian lands in Canada and Florida. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson reported that he lost a large percentage of his slaves. In May 1775, one month after blacks had fought at Lexington and Concord, the Committee for Safety of the Massachusetts Legislature presented a legislative resolution that read:

Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee, as the contest now between Great Britain and the Colonies respects the liberties and privileges of the latter, which the Colonies are determined to maintain, that the admission of any persons, as soldiers, into the army now raising, but only such as are freemen, will be inconsistent with the principles that are to be supported, and brought dishonor on the colony, and that no slaves be admitted into this army, upon any consideration whatever.

This position on blacks serving was not shared by the British, who suffered manpower and resource shortages. On November 7, 1775, John Murray, the earl of Dunmore, issued a proclamation:

And I do hereby further declare all intended [sic] servants, Negroes and others (appertaining to Rebels) free, and that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining His Majesty's Troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing of the colony to a proper sence [sic] of their duty, to His Majesty's crown and dignity.

Shortly after the Dunmore proclamation, George Washington authorized recruiting of free Negroes "desirous of enlisting." Slave participation was still forbidden, and Washington reinforced this general order on February 21, 1776. Many blacks fought under Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment. During Valley Forge, General Washington's troop strength was dangerously low and he was forced to accept slaves. He continued to accept them until the end of the war. During this same period, half of the Colonial Army that drove the British from Louisiana was black.

At the end of the war, approximately five thousand black soldiers fought in major battles in the American Revolution, from Bunker Hill to Yorktown. In 1792, Congress passed an act restricting blacks from serving in the army, and all blacks were quickly dismissed from its ranks and returned to slavery. Some twenty thousand blacks that served with the British at the end of the war were transported to Sierra Leone, Canada, and the Caribbean. One little known fact is the eight hundred or more blacks who served in the British Ethiopian Regiment were comprised primarily of ex-slaves committed to serving the British Crown, and they fought gallantly in three major battles. Even though many blacks fought heroically during this war, America quickly forgot and turned her back on them, forcing them back into slavery.

This would be the first of many times that this episode would occur. In my opinion, America has a serious problem with selective amnesia when it comes to the rights and accomplishments of African Americans. Many of the more notable blacks who fought in this war were Salem Poor, who was cited for bravery at Bunker Hill; Jack Sisson, who fought in the raid on General Prescott's headquarters; James Armistead, who served as a spy for General Lafayette; Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell, who accompanied George Washington when he crossed the Delaware; Edward Hector, who fought bravely in the Battle of Brandywine in 1777; and James Robinson, a Maryland slave who fought at Yorktown. By 1778, each of General Washington's brigades had an average of forty-two black soldiers assigned.

War of 1812 (1812 – 1815)

In 1798, the secretary of war wrote to the commander of the Marine Corps that "no Negro, mulatto or Indian is to be enlisted." Louisiana became a state in 1812, and its legislature authorized the governor to enroll free black landowners in the militia. In 1803, a group of free blacks who called themselves Free Men of Color were denied voluntary service in the territorial militia but were allowed to enlist as a battalion in 1812. This unit's commanding officers were white, but they were allowed three black lieutenants.

The War of 1812 was primarily a naval war, so in 1812 nothing prevented blacks from serving in the navy. Blacks were still barred from serving in the army during this period. Blacks comprised approximately 10 to 20 percent of sailors assigned to the Great Lakes region. Commodore Perry had hundreds of blacks serving with him during his victory on Lake Erie. Early during the war, the Navy petitioned Congress to recruit blacks within its ranks. Finally, in March 1813, Congress abolished this policy and allowed blacks into the armed forces. England and Spain refused to return slaves to their owners if they fought against the Americans. Many blacks fled to Florida to live among the Seminole Indians. These slaves did not realize their value, because the first Seminole War was started to recapture runaway slaves. The second Seminole War began because of white land encroachment.

White settlers wanted to move the Seminole Indians aside to make room for their expansion. The large number of blacks living among the Seminoles was one of the primary reasons Seminole extraction was pursued. Approximately, one-third of the Seminole Indians willing to fight were blacks living amongst the Seminole nation. Later, after the war, the Seminoles were forced to live in Indian territories, but blacks were returned to their original plantations if records could confirm, or they tried to escape to Mexico.

It is important to note that the largest number of black American troops was assembled for the defense of New Orleans in December 1814 and January 1815. When Andrew Jackson was gathering his forces for the imminent British invasion, General William C. C. Claiborne advised him that he could gather four hundred Free Men of Color. More than six hundred were recruited. Two battalions were formed under the command of Colonel Michael Fortier. The ranking black officer and the first commissioned African American in the US Armed Forces to reach field-grade status was Second Major Vincent Populas.

Civil War 1861 – 1865

Many would agree that the Civil War was the most divisive war in American history for several reasons. The war was fought on American soil, pitted brother against brother, separated the Union, and put the morality of slavery on center stage of national politics. History gives credit to President Abraham Lincoln for abolishing slavery, but the little known fact is that President Lincoln originally had no intention of eliminating slavery. His primary focus was on preserving the Union at all costs. He knew that slavery was the most divisive issue facing the nation, and his emphasis was not making this an issue but keeping states from seceding from the Union.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, and the war was on. Soon after this attack, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia cut their ties with the Union and joined the Confederacy. The Union wrestled with how to handle runaway slaves. As slave masters headed to war, thousands of slaves immediately ran away. During this period the Union had no policy on fugitive slaves. Consequently, unit commanders made their own decisions concerning fugitive slaves. Many decided to return the slaves to their owners, while some decided to use them for cooking, digging ditches, doing laundry, and doing other meager tasks. On August 6, 1861, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed and slaves were considered as "contraband of war." If the slaves were considered contraband, then they would be characterized as being legally free.

By 1862, President Lincoln realized that as long as blacks remained enslaved, the Confederacy would use them as free labor in support of the war effort. Blacks were not allowed to serve in the army, fighting for the Union. In an effort to level the playing field, the president started considering setting the slaves free via emancipation. At this point blacks were tasked to build fortifications, serve as nurses and blacksmiths, and work in hospitals, factories, and armories. Black free labor leveraged support in favor of the Confederacy.

Many European countries were prepared to enter the war in support of the Confederacy because President Lincoln still did not want to make the war about abolishing slavery. He also would not allow free blacks to fight in the war in support of the Union. According to European public opinion, if the president decided to free the slaves they would overwhelmingly side with the North.

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves that lived within the states that rebelled, leaving approximately one million blacks still enslaved that resided in the North. Blacks, now free, ran immediately to join the Union forces and serve in its Army. For years blacks had worked in the Navy aboard ships, but now they had the option of serving in either the Army or the Navy. President Lincoln's war department did not expect the overwhelming numbers of blacks, both free and former slaves, to enlist in the army. In some places these numbers were so amazing that a separate colored unit had to be created.

The first colored unit to form was the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment commanded by a white officer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. By 1863, the war department created the Bureau of Colored Troops. Blacks endured not only segregation but discrimination, as well. Black soldiers were paid meager wages compared to their white military brethren. Blacks received $7 per month and a $3 clothing allowance, while whites received $13 per month and $3.50 for clothes. Finally, in 1864, the War Department gave equal wages for black soldiers. The army did not have a policy yet to commission black officers. Only a mere one hundred black officers served during the Civil War. By the war's end, more than 186,000 blacks served in the Union Army, 40,000 came from border slave states, 53,000 from free states, and an amazing 93,000 from Confederate states in the South, fleeing slavery. Twenty-four black soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a whopping 200,000 blacks served collectively in the US Armed Forces during this war. Over 38,000 blacks gave the ultimate sacrifice, fighting first for respect and then freedom.

On April 18, 1865, the Civil War ended, with over 620,000 Americans dying, and setting over four million blacks free. Many blacks remained in the South, yet millions migrated to the industrial North, attempting to create a better life than they had in the South. Some blacks traveled back to their plantations in an attempt to find relatives and loved ones. Some Southern whites resisted the change with all their might and continued to prey upon blacks with little interruptions or interference from anyone. The period for the next ten years would be termed "Reconstruction," because the country was in dire need of healing and rebuilding.
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from STRIVING for PERFECTION by GERALD D. CURRY. Copyright © 2013 by Gerald D. Curry. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc..
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