Courtesy Photo | An excerpt from the 1871 Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania showing...... read more read more
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by Lt. Col. Angela King-Sweigart and Sgt. Damian Smith
*This is not intended to be a comprehensive history, but rather an overview with a focus on known aspects of Soldiers in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Additional information and research on black service members’ contributions to the Pennsylvania National Guard is welcomed. The term “black” is used to indicate race, as opposed to the term African-American which implies a person of African descent. Official units names during segregated times often included the word ‘colored’ to indicate nonwhite troops. In many historical cases records are scarce, incomplete, not digitized, not indexed and an individual’s specific heritage may not be clear.*
1700s
Pennsylvania established an informal militia organization known as “associators” as early as 1747. On November 25, 1755, the Pennsylvania Assembly passed the colony’s first militia law. Unlike the other colonies, militia service was voluntary rather than compulsory. No militiaman had to spend more than three days away from his home and extended service was limited to three weeks.
Numerous black militiamen held positions during the Revolution throughout the colonies. As many as 5,000 blacks, both slave and free, fought for independence. Many historians state that the Army was very integrated during the Revolution and would not reintegrate again until 1943.
For example on March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks, a black man, and several other patriots from Boston protested the British in and around the city, in what later became known as the Boston Massacre. Attucks was killed in this attack. He became known as the first American casualty of the Revolutionary War. Additionally, America’s first all-black unit, the 1st Rhode Island Regiment was formed during this time.
Did Pennsylvania have black militiamen? “It’s very likely,” according to command historian Sgt. Damian Smith. The colonists were fighting for survival from the greatest military force in the world, the British Empire. Additionally, some colonists did not want to secede from the British eliminating them from the potential pool of Soldiers. America needed every able-bodied man to help in the fight.
One can view some of Pennsylvania’s Revolutionary War service cards digitally via the Pennsylvania State Archives. The cards indicate rank, Company, and other items, but generally do not include race or ethnicity. Additionally, many muster rolls did not survive over time.
1800-1865
During the War of 1812, black Soldiers served in both integrated regiments and all-black regiments. Many black Soldiers served with courage and distinction, both on land and at sea. Some worked as laborers, constructing fortifications and supplying the U.S. Army with food, materiel and munitions. Several northern states, including Pennsylvania, recruited entire regiments of black Soldiers.
During the Civil War, Pennsylvania was a key for black enlistments. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania supplied more than 360,000 Soldiers for the regular U.S. Army; 40,000 in the Navy; 25,000 for the militia; and 8,612 black troops which was 10.9% of those that fought for the Union Army. These regiments were known as the 3d, 6th, 8th, 22d, 24th, 25th, 32d, 41st, 43d, 45th, and 127th U.S. Colored Regiments. Black units were commanded by white officers.
More than 186,000 black Soldiers ultimately served in the Union Army and nearly 40,000 died during the war. Several black Americans received the Congressional Medal of Honor for acts of heroism during the war.
1866-1913
During this time the Pennsylvania Militia was redesignated on April 7, 1870 to the National Guard of Pennsylvania [NGP] both organizations had segregated units.
In the 1871 Annual Report, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania reported that the 11th, 12th, and 13th were black regiments located in Philadelphia. Various black companies such as the Douglas Zouves (Allegheny County); Blue Mountain Sharpshooters (Dauphin County); Lincoln Guard (Franklin County); Taylor Guard (Lycoming Country); and Hartranft Guards (Montgomery County) existed across the Commonwealth. Some of these units had black officers. Units received names from the commanding officers.
Many of these units provided excellent service to the Commonwealth. Some of these were called up in various state active duty missions such as civil unrest (riots), strikes, and flooding in various areas across Pennsylvania.
A new development during this time was the commissioning of black men to lead black troops.
An early black officer from this time period was Octavius Catto. Catto was a staunch believer in equal rights and was a leader in Philadelphia. He assisted in raising black troops for the Union Army and offered to lead them, but was rejected. Undeterred, he continued to support the Union raising eleven regiments of black troops.
He was commissioned by the state in the National Guard of Pennsylvania [NGP] on May 6, 1871. He was an inspector general with the 12th Regiment of the 5th Brigade and held the rank of major.
Catto was activated to quell riots in 1871 in Philadelphia. The riots and unrest were related to black men voting. This was the first election since October of 1870 when Pennsylvania passed the 15th Amendment guaranteeing voting rights for black men. He was shot in the back by Frank Kelly, a member of Moyamensing Hose Company, a Democratic Party operative and an associate of the party boss, William McMullen. At the time, Republicans held power in Philadelphia and were actively seeking the black vote.
Catto was commemorated with a statue outside of city hall in Philadelphia in 2017. The Pennsylvania National Guard has dedicated a medal to his memory for outstanding public service.
Another noteworthy officer from western Pennsylvania in Monongahela, was William Caitlin. Caitlin served in the Civil War with the 32d Regiment U.S. Colored Troops Cavalry. After the war he continued to be a community leader, operating a barber shop. Caitlin was commissioned by the state in the National Guard of Pennsylvania [NGP] on September 8, 1871 and rose to the rank of captain.
Also during this time West Point graduated its first black officer, 2nd Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper who became the first African-American to be earn a regular U.S. Army commission in 1877 and be federally recognized.
The Spanish-American War began in April, 1898 when Maj. Gen. William Shafter, a former commander of the 24th Infantry led an expeditionary force of over 17,000 men, including nearly 3,000 Black regulars (active duty troops), into Cuba.
1914-1938
During World War I, or as it was known then the Great War,the National Guard greatly expanded and the War Department took 400,000 Guardsmen into a combat-ready force. However, the utilization of black Guardsmen was far different from their white counterparts due to the U.S. Army’s policy of racial segregation.
Secretary of War Newton Baker approved the creation of a provisional all black division composed of three regiments of Guardsman and a regiment of black draftees. The 15th New York became the 369th Infantry, the 8th Illinois became the 370th Infantry, and other black Guard units were consolidated to form the 372d Infantry. The 369th became known as the “Harlem Hellfighters,” by their German adversaries, but were forced to fight under the command of the French Army.
The Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum located at Fort Indiantown Gap has a drum on display believed to be from the famed unit’s band.
1939-1949
At Fort Indiantown Gap, or as it was known then, Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, in July of 1943, a Transportation Corps Unit Training Center was activated to train Port Battalions consisting mainly of black troops for World War II service.
Operating 24 hours a day in different shifts, several thousand men were trained on loading and unloading ships. Theses black Soldiers were housed in Area 16 on post, in separate barracks that utilized pot-bellied stoves for heating.
On July 26, 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order No. 9981, directing the integration of America’s armed forces. The order declared that “equality of treatment and opportunity” would exist for service members without regard to “race, color, religion or national “origin.”
1950-1973
Black Soldiers continued to integrate with their white counterparts both in the regular Army and in the Pennsylvania National Guard. During this time the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts (1964 and 1965, respectively) were passed.
The 1960s also marked the full engagement of the United States in the war in Vietnam.
1973-Present
According to the U.S. Army’s website, “In 2003, there were approximately 254,000 blacks serving the Army as an active-duty, Reserve or National Guard Soldier, or as an Army civilian, according to the U.S. Office of Army Demographics. This was 20.3 percent of the total Army. In the general U.S. population, 12.7 percent of 18- to 55-year-olds are black. This continued the trend of the late 20th century, when the percentage of black Americans serving in the Army was higher than the percentage of blacks in the general U.S. population. The website also states that as of Fiscal Year 2014, black Soldiers make up 15 percent of the National Guard.
Additional Notes
The National Guard is the oldest component, of the U.S. armed forces and traces its lineage to early militias. In 1792 Congress passed a law requiring all males between 18 and 45 to enroll in a local militia. These militiamen were called upon during many conflicts to augment the full-time or regular U.S. Army.
The Pennsylvania National Guard was been through several redesignations throughout its history. The Pennsylvania Military Association was redesignated March 16, 1777 as the Pennsylvania Militia. The Pennsylvania Militia was redesignated on April 7, 1870 as the National Guard of Pennsylvania [NGP]. In 1903 federal legislation was passed to provide federal oversight and funding to militias who met certain standards. In 1916 the National Defense Act was passed, which officially changed the name to National Guard. On February 8, 1917 the National Guard of Pennsylvania [NGP] was redesignated to the Pennsylvania National Guard. Since 1917 the National Guard has become an operational force and routinely deploys to serve the president overseas as well as is mobilized by the governor’s during times of domestic need such as natural or manmade disasters.
Much of this article’s information was obtained via the following sources:
•The Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum .Many thanks to the curator of the museum Mr. Charlie Oellig for his assistance with this article.
•African Americans in the U.S. Army,
•John W. Vessey, Jr. I am the Guard: A History of the Army National Guard, 1636-2000. (U. S. Government Printing Office, 2001)
•Frank H. Smoker, Jr., Back at the Gap: The History of Fort Indiantown Gap. (Jonestown, Pennsylvania: Key Comp Printing Service, 2009)
•Russell F. Weigley, History of the United States Army. (New York City, New York: Macmillan, 1967)
•Militia Bureau, Annual Report, 1917
•Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania (1870). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. F. Myers State Printer, 1871)
•Samuel P. Bates, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerely, State Printer, 1871), Vol V.
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.23.2018 14:09 |
| Story ID: | 266996 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,293 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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