Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Most Canadians have no idea that Blacks served, fought, and died on European battlefields, all in the name of freedom. The story of the overt racist treatment of Black volunteers is a shameful chapter in Canadian history. It does, however, represent an important part of the Black legacy and the Black experience. It is a story worth reporting and worth sharing.

Their motto was "Come Out Fighting," and that they did without fail. The 761st Tank Battalion - the famed "Black Panthers" - was the first African American armored unit to enter combat, and in World War II they fought in four major Allied campaigns and inflicted 130,000 casualties on the German army. And the fighting was intense - only one out of every two Black Panthers made it home alive. This is the complete history of the 761st, told in large part through the words of the surviving members of the unit. Richly illustrated, this work recounts how the unit was given long overdue recognition - the Presidential Unit Citation and the Medal of Honor - in recent years.

The tale of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-Day have gone unrecognised to this day.

The history of the 24th Infantry regiment in Korea is a difficult one, both for the veterans of the unit & for the Army. This book tells both what happened to the 24th Infantry, & why it happened. The Army must be aware of the corrosive effects of segregation & the racial prejudices that accompanied it. The consequences of the system crippled the trust & mutual confidence so necessary among the soldiers & leaders of combat units & weakened the bonds that held the 24th together, producing profound effects on the battlefield. Tables, maps & illustrations.

This book investigates the story of 600 Black men from across North America and the Caribbean, who, in 1917, went to war in a labour unit, No. 2 Construction Battalion. Regarded then by senior Command as morally infectious, a century later they have become central actors in a powerful cultural myth, celebrated in folk tales, poetry, drama and text. Black Soldiers in a White Man’s War examines critically that mythical narrative. Based on service records of the 600 volunteers and 35 courts-martial in the unit, it probes the lives of these soldiers, who laboured in the forests of France during 1917 and 1918. Black Soldiers in a White Man’s War will shock some, but, for the majority of readers, it will present a fresh, vibrant portrait of a group of young Black men, who at a time of international crisis volunteered to fight the King’s enemies. It will also open readers to experiences these men faced as they returned to a post-war racist society.

History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1863-1865 is a compelling account of the role of African American soldiers in the Civil War. Written by Luis F. Emilio, a veteran of the regiment, this book provides a firsthand perspective on the challenges faced by African American soldiers during the war. This book is an important contribution to the history of the Civil War and the ongoing struggle for social justice and equality in America. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Known as the "Black" Regiment, the Story of the First Continental Army Unit Composed of African American and Native American Enlisted Men In December 1777, the Continental army was encamped at Valley Forge and faced weeks of cold and hunger, as well as the prospect of many troops leaving as their terms expired in the coming months. If the winter were especially cruel, large numbers of soldiers would face death or contemplate desertion. Plans were made to enlist more men, but as the states struggled to fill quotas for enlistment, Rhode Island general James Mitchell Varnum proposed the historic plan that a regiment of slaves might be recruited from his own state, the smallest in the union, but holding the largest population of slaves in New England. The commander-in-chief's approval of the plan would set in motion the forming of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. The "black regiment," as it came to be known, was composed of indentured servants, Narragansett Indians, and former slaves. This was not without controversy. While some in the Rhode Island Assembly and in other states railed that enlisting slaves would give the enemy the impression that not enough white men could be raised to fight the British, owners of large estates gladly offered their slaves and servants, both black and white, in lieu of a son or family member enlisting. The regiment fought with distinction at the battle of Rhode Island, and once joined with the 2nd Rhode Island before the siege of Yorktown in 1781, it became the first integrated battalion in the nation's history. In From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution, historian Robert A. Geake tells the important story of the "black regiment" from the causes that led to its formation, its acts of heroism and misfortune, as well as the legacy left by those men who enlisted to earn their freedom.