AMERICA AT WAR
The Harlem Hellfighters Fought for France—and Waited for America’s Honor
Segregation sent the 369th Infantry to French command in World War I. Its record in combat, music, and public memory exposed the distance between military service and equal citizenship.
The Harlem Hellfighters spent more time on the World War I front lines than any other American regiment. Their return home brought a Fifth Avenue celebration, then the hard realities of Jim Crow and a long campaign for recognition.
When Gen. John J. Pershing transferred the 369th Infantry to French command in April 1918, the decision exposed a basic contradiction. The American Expeditionary Forces had brought the regiment to Europe, but the U.S. Army would not integrate its Black soldiers into white combat divisions. France armed the men with French equipment and sent them into the line. [4]
The 369th returned with a record few American units could match: 191 days in continuous frontline combat, roughly 1,500 casualties, a French Croix de Guerre for the regiment, and more than 170 individual French decorations. New Yorkers celebrated the soldiers as the Harlem Hellfighters. Equal treatment at home did not follow. [4][6]
From the 15th New York to the Western Front
The regiment began before the United States entered World War I. In June 1913, New York Gov. William Sulzer signed legislation authorizing a Black National Guard regiment. The 15th New York (Colored) Infantry was formally organized in 1916 under Col. William Hayward, a white officer. Its ranks drew heavily from Harlem. [1]
At Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the men trained amid Jim Crow restrictions and hostility. They reached Brest, France, on December 27, 1917, and, like many Black troops, initially received labor assignments rather than combat work. [1]
The 15th New York was redesignated the 369th Infantry. Its route to the battlefield would run through a foreign army.
French Command and 191 Days at the Front
On April 8, 1918, Pershing placed the 369th under the French Army’s 16th Division. The transfer did not represent integration within the American Army. It allowed the regiment to fight without altering the Army’s segregated combat structure. The 369th received French helmets, rifles, and other equipment before entering the trenches. [4]
The regiment fought in the Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, it took Ripont. By the end of its service, the 369th had spent 191 continuous days on the front lines, longer than any other American regiment in the war. [4]
The unit suffered approximately 1,500 casualties. It was credited with never surrendering trench ground to the enemy and with having no soldier captured alive. Those results directly challenged the racist assumptions about Black soldiers’ courage and fitness for combat that had shaped the Army’s treatment of the regiment. [4][6]
France awarded the Croix de Guerre to the regiment, while more than 170 of its soldiers received individual French decorations. [6]
Henry Johnson’s Fight in the Argonne
The regiment’s most famous action began at a sentry post in the Argonne Forest on the night of May 15, 1918. Pvt. Henry Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts were on watch northwest of Sainte-Menehould when German raiders attacked.
Roberts was badly wounded. After exhausting his ammunition, Johnson fought with grenades, the butt of his rifle, and a bolo knife. Official accounts credit him with fighting off at least 12 attackers and preventing Roberts from being taken prisoner. Johnson sustained 21 wounds. [2][3]
France awarded both men the Croix de Guerre. Johnson became a prominent symbol of the regiment’s courage, but public attention did not provide security when he returned home.
Johnson was celebrated publicly but denied U.S. military disability benefits. His wounds were not properly reflected in his discharge paperwork, leaving him without compensation that could have supported him after the war. He died in July 1929 at age 32 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. [2]
His recognition in the United States came decades later: a posthumous Purple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002, and the Medal of Honor in 2015. [2]
A Harlem Sound Across France
The 369th’s legacy extended beyond the trenches. Lt. James Reese Europe, already a major figure in Black American music, led the regiment’s band. Its performances brought orchestral ragtime and early jazz to audiences across France. [1][7]
On February 17, 1919, the 369th marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City. Hundreds of thousands watched the regiment’s homecoming parade. The celebration was especially striking because the unit had been excluded from New York’s 1917 farewell parade. [1][7]
The parade did not end the racial order the soldiers had left behind. The postwar period included the racial violence known as the Red Summer, when white mobs attacked Black communities in cities and towns across the United States. Black veterans, including men who had served in uniform, returned to a country that could praise their service while denying their equality. [7]
Recognition, at Last
The Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act became law on August 25, 2021. [5]
On September 3, 2025, congressional leaders formally presented the medal at the U.S. Capitol. The presentation followed advocacy by descendants and supporters, including efforts associated with Debra Willett, granddaughter of Sgt. Leander Willett, and Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York. [4]
The medal could not undo the treatment the regiment and its veterans received. It did place the 369th more firmly in the public record. Segregation sent the soldiers to French command; their performance on the Western Front made them one of the defining American regiments of World War I.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were the Harlem Hellfighters assigned to the French Army?
The U.S. Army would not integrate the 369th’s Black soldiers into white combat divisions. Pershing transferred the regiment to French command in April 1918, where it fought with French equipment. [4]
How did the 369th Infantry Regiment get the name “Hellfighters”?
“Harlem Hellfighters” became the widely used public name for the 369th after its wartime service. The regiment was also associated with the “Black Rattlers,” a name reflected in its insignia. The available record does not establish a single definitive moment when “Hellfighters” was coined. [1]
When did Henry Johnson receive the Medal of Honor?
President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor on June 2, 2015, for his actions during the May 15, 1918, attack in the Argonne Forest. [2]
TIMELINE
Key moments
Sources
- Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I — National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
- Sergeant Henry Johnson | Medal of Honor Recipient — United States Army
- Henry Johnson | World War I | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient — Congressional Medal of Honor Society
- “Hellfighters” Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal — Army University Press
- Popular Name: Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act — Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- Unpacking the Stories Behind Artist Bisa Butler's Portrayal of the Harlem Hellfighters — Smithsonian American Art Museum
- One Hundred Years Ago, the Harlem Hellfighters Bravely Led the U.S. Into WWI — Smithsonian Magazine
RELATED STORIES