Black soldiers, white laws : the tragedy of the 24th Infantry in 1917 Houston / John A. Haymond.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haymond, John A., 1967- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army. Infantry, 24th. Battalion, 3rd.

United States.

United States. Army--African American troops.

Houston Race Riot, Houston, Tex., 1917.

African American soldiers--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

African American soldiers.

Houston (Tex.)--Race relations--History--20th century.

Houston (Tex.).

Camp Logan (Tex.)--History.

Camp Logan (Tex.).

Physical Description:

xiv, 386 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2025.

Summary:

"The first full and definitive narrative of one of the most shocking and largely unknown events of racial injustice in US history: the execution of nineteen Black soldiers in Texas. On the sweltering, rainy night of August 23, 1917, one of the most consequential events affecting America's long legacy of racism and injustice began in Houston, Texas. Inflamed by a rumor that a white mob was arming to attack them, and after weeks of police harassment, more than one hundred African American soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, took their weapons without authorization and, led by a sergeant, marched into the largely Black San Felipe district of the city. Violent confrontations with police and civilians ensued and nineteen lives were lost. The Army moved quickly to court-martial 118 soldiers on charges of mutiny and murder, even though a majority of the soldiers involved had never fired their weapons. Inadequately defended en masse by a single officer who was not a lawyer, and who had no experience in capital cases, in three trials undermined by perjured testimony and clear racial bias, and confronted by an all-white tribunal committed to a rapid judgment, 110 Black soldiers were found guilty--despite the fact that no mutiny had, in fact, taken place. In the predawn darkness of December 11, thirteen of them were hanged at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio--hastily and in secret, without any chance to appeal. News of the largest mass execution in the Army's history outraged the country and inspired preventive legislation; and yet six more Black soldiers were executed in early 1918 and the rest were sentenced to life in prison. The Houston Incident, as it became known, has remained largely untold, a deep stain on the Army's record and pride. Award-winning historian and Army veteran John A. Haymond has spent six years researching the events surrounding the Incident and leading the efforts that ultimately led, in November 2023, to the largest act of retroactive clemency in the Army's history when the verdicts were overturned and honorable discharges awarded to all the soldiers involved. His dramatic chronicle of what transpired--situated amongst the rampant racism in Texas and the country-is a crucially important and harrowing reminder of our racially violent past, offering the promise that justice, even posthumously, can prevail"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Hangman's Slough

Lynch Mobs and Night Riders

Semper Paratus

The Ghosts of Brownsville

A Nest of Prejudice

Breaking Point

The Cataclysm

The Killing

Whitewash

Failure of Command

Investigations

A Mystery Within a Tragedy

United States vs. Nesbit

Gallows

Outrage

The Last Court Martial

Failures of Justice

The Prisoners

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Haymond, John A., 1967- Black soldiers, white laws

ISBN:

9780802164759

0802164757

9780802164766

0802164765

OCLC:

1528502183

Publisher Number:

90102355501