From: Roberta Cornett
Question: My husband recently
came across a WWI recruiting poster titled "Colored
Man is No Slacker". Where can I find information
related to this poster and other WWI African-American
recruiting posters? Thank you.
Answer: Dear Mrs. Cornett,
Do you actually own one of these
posters? If so, I’m green with envy – it’s
a real beauty. The Gilder Lehrman Institute (the sponsors
of this website) has a copy in their collection. The catalog
information there isn’t much help, I’ll admit,
but you might want to get in touch with the collection
staff to ask if they have more information. Email them
at: reference@gilderlehrman.com.
These books may be of help. If you local library doesn’t
have some of them, tell your librarian that you know all
about “interlibrary loan,” and they can borrow
copies from another institution:
Roberts, Frank E.The American Foreign Legion :
Black soldiers of the 93d in World War I, Annapolis,
Md. : Naval Institute Press, 2004.
Little, Arthur West. From Harlem to the Rhine;
the story of New York's colored volunteers, New
York, Covici, Friede, 1936.
Cobb, Irvin S. The glory of the coming; what mine
eyes have seen of Americans in action in this year of
grace and allied endeavor, New York, George H.
Doran Company, 1918.
Harris, Bill. The Hellfighters of Harlem : African-American
soldiers who fought for the right to fight for their
country, New York : Carroll & Graf Pub., 2002.
Sweeney, William Allison. History of the American
Negro in the Great World War; His Splendid Record in
the Battle Zones of Europe, New York, Negro Universities
Press, 1969.
Ellis, Mark. Race, war, and surveillance : African
Americans and the United States government during World
War I, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.
Williams, Charles H. Sidelights on Negro soldiers,
Boston: B.J. Brimmer Company, 1923.
Slotkin, Richard. Lost battalions: the Great War
and the crisis of American nationality, New York:
Henry Holt, 2005.
Barbeau, Arthur E. The unknown soldiers; Black
American troops in World War I, Philadelphia:
Here’s another World War I poster directed at
African Americans:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart7.html#0701
Here’s a poster at the Library of Congress depicting
African soldiers fighting in the French Army in World
War I: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?
And this is fascinating, too. Click on the picture to
enlarge it:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?
If you really want to overdose on World War I posters
of all kinds, go to this search screen at the Library
of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/mdbquery.html#Subject
and enter this string of search words: Posters 1910-1920
World War.
I think you’ll have fun pursuing this subject.
I was really lucky – my father was born in 1904,
and he was a Boy Scout during World War I. Scouts worked
to raise money for all of the “Liberty Loan”
bond drives, and my father saved copies of his favorite
posters. They came down to me in mint condition, and
they’ve all been lovingly framed and hang in our
bedroom. (My husband was an Eagle Scout and a career
Army officer, so this doesn’t strike him as an
odd decorating scheme at all.)
Best wishes – let me know if I can be of more
help. If you’ll let me know where you live, I
might be able to direct you to resources at research
libraries in your region.
Mary-Jo Kline
From:
Norman Shiren
Question: I
am trying to find some reference to exactly where on
the Hudson River the British ships Phoenix and Rose
were attacked in 1776. There is a lithograph of this
event and there are songs celebrating it, but I have
been unable to find any manuscript stating the location
.
Answer: Dear
Mr. Shiren:
As you'll see, this site gives the battle's location
as Tarrytown:
http://1-14th.com/14th-1stContEvacLI.htm
Other sources place the ships on "Tappan Bay,"
which, of course, includes Tarrytown.
I hope that this helps.
Mary-Jo Kline
From: Ramona K. Cecil
Question:
Dear Ms. Kline,
I'm an author needing an answer to a question concerning
military law. In 1812, if an enlisted man (Army) was
accused of a crime (murder and desertion) would the
accused man have had the option of hiring his own legal
defense to represent him at the court martial?
Any help with this, or direction to where I might find
this answer would be much appreciated. Thank you for
your time and consideration of my question.
Answer: Dear
Ramona,
This book should be helpful:
Lurie, Jonathan. Arming military justice : the
origins of the United States Court of Military Appeals,
1775-1950, Princeton University Press, 1992.
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