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24TH INFANTRY "PEACE PAVILION" MONUMENT





PURPOSE: This “Peace Pavilion” is to provide a peaceful place where people can sit, contemplate, and meditate on peaceful ways to achieve fair and equal treatment, freedoms, justice, and respect for all humanity. This pavilion is also in recognition of the Buffalo Soldiers who came to serve, the tragic event and lessons learned by all involved. The event also resulted in very significant changes in the ‘Due Process” of Military Law for all soldiers.



The Event



U.S. 24th Infantry (Buffalo Soldiers) (Hung Before Dawn) Camp Logan Mutiny/1917 Houston Race Riot





The Houston Riot of 1917, also known as the Camp Logan Mutiny, involved 156 soldiers of the all black 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry-a unit of the famed Buffalo Soldiers. The incident occurred on Aug 23, 1917, lasting roughly two hours on a hot, raining night, and resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and 15 white civilians. The episode has the ignominious distinction of the only race riot in U.S. history where more whites than blacks were killed, and it also resulted in both the largest murder trial and the largest court martial in U.S. history. Almost four months later, on December 11, 13 black soldiers were summarily hung at hastily constructed gallows near Salado creek on Camp Travis, adjacent to Ft Sam Houston, a National Guard Training facility in San Antonio, Texas. Subsequently, in 1918 six more were hung at the same site. The men were unceremoniously buried adjacent to Salado creek in graves whose only identification was a number, I thru 19. The bodies were moved to The Ft Sam Houston cemetery years later. Sixty-three other were given life sentences. While contemporary Court Martial proceeding were followed, there clearly was a failure of "Due Process" of law. The court assigned a teacher of Law who was not lawyer and had no courtroom experience and was given only two weeks to prepare a defense as to the degree of culpability of 63 soldiers. There was no conclusive evidence or reliable witness testimony that any of the first group of 13 executed men had participated in the riots. Due to seven of the soldiers turning states evidence for clemency, the remaining six that were hung, reportedly were seen firing at civilians. This bloody event was totally avoidable.



"The contemporary environment that existed for black soldiers in the military and civilian culture"





Hung Before Dawn



Very much unlike today, The U.S. Army, from the very start of the existence of the Buffalo Soldiers (9th & 10th Cavalry 24th & 25th Infantry 1866 -1951), due to the those times, permitted a level of racism within its ranks in that the Army segregated the black officers and enlisted troops from the white troops, which in turn, to a more than significant degree, established a "them" and "us" environment. What this led to was, as new officers and enlisted whites entered the army with racist Jim Crow mind sets that they possessed in civilian life was only perpetuated by what they encountered after enlistment. What followed was many of the Army’s Jim Crow leaders of this type at times provided little or no protection for its black troops involving adverse racial treatment and confrontations., especially when it came the bad racial treatment of black troops by local civilians and often bowing to local politician. While there are many examples, here are a few:


1867 - The 9th Cav incident at San Pedro Spring, Texas Whereby a bigoted officer, Lt Heyl, after returning from a saloon, was the root cause of the loss of life of an officer & a black trooper, Lt Heyl received no punishment:


1871 - The 10th Cav incident where company C was returning to Ft Sill, Lt Price, in a fit of rage, shot & killed two of his black troopers after an argument. Lt Price received no punishment. Off post recreational establishments in large or small town was available around the Forts, Camps, and posts. As black soldiers visited these establishments, they had no cause to seek trouble - it was waiting for them.


1870 - the incident at Ft McKavett whereby a civilian, John Jackson, shot and killed Pvt Boston Henry in cold blood, long eluded the law and in the process subsequently shot and killed two more buffalo soldiers. When caught & tried, the jury found him not guilty.


1877 - Captain Sparks and several other Texas Rangers visited Nasworthy’s saloon, outside Ft Concho, to drink and dance, and discovered that a number of black troopers were doing likewise, whereupon they drew their pistols and pistol whip the soldiers and threw them out. While Sparks did leave rangers much later, he received no punishment.


1906 - The Fort Brown incident of the Brownsville, Texas riot whereby a bartender was killed and a police officer wounded by gunshots one night and the towns people accused the black soldiers of the 25th Infantry, even though their Commander testified that none of the troops left the post that night. False evidence was planted against the men. Bowing to local political pressure, President Roosevelt ordered the dishonorable discharge of the whole regiment of the 25th infantry stripping them of their pensions, however honorable discharges was restored to all the men 66 years later in 1972 as a result of further investigation. This type of treatment persisted even after the below stated tragedy.


1943 – As in WWl, when the army attempted to enforce their Jim Crow mind sets on the French army by telling them that black Officers under their command were not to receive the same protocols as white officers, which the French blew off as ridiculous, the English also viewed it as ridiculous during WWll in the town Bamber Bridge in Lancashire England. The army did not like the practice of the English not having a problem of black & white soldiers having fun drinking and dancing in same establishments with white English women. Because to them, they were all Americans. But this did not sit well with the white units there. Then there was an attempt to enforce Jim Crow law on foreign soil by restricting the black soldiers from the establishments, which failed. Then the Military Police was sent in to arrest the black soldiers for simply trying to have some fun. Then chaos erupted into white Americans literally fighting black Americans on foreign soil while they were fighting for world democracy. A number of local civilians attempted to help the black soldiers because of the horror of what was happening. The Army went to great length to hush up the conflict because they didn’t want the country to find that they were fighting their own soldiers which would have angered the black population and weaken the moral in the country. A lot of the assigned white officers over the years like and respected the black troopers because of their adherence to military discipline and bravery in batt le and treated them accordingly, but the great weight of Jim Crow & racism over shadowed those officers. The constant bigoted environment both in and outside the military continued for these brave and many Medal of Honor winning troopers down thru the years of their existence.
--Billy Gordon





Sixty-four soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 24th United States Infantry, a predominantly black unit, were tried in the largest court martial in US military history over their roles in the Camp Logan riot. Thirteen were sentenced to death. Credit: Public domain.



"Then came Camp Logan, Houston, Texas"



The Army had planned to build 32 training facilities as it entered WWI in April 1917 and Houston city official lobbied hard to get one the posts. Houston got its wish, two-fold, signing $2 million contract for a sprawling 7,600-acre National Guard training center (Camp Logan) and later, Ellington Field, as an aviation training site. Camp Logan was projected to bring in $60,000 a week into the Houston economy. However, there was a caveat, issued by the Houstonians, that the Camp be free of Blacks Soldiers, a common request from city officials, particularly cities in the south, that sought military business. The Army responded that they had no other regiment to send. As Mississippi senator (from Jackson County, Texas) James K. Vardaman stated "Whites are opposed to putting arrogant, strutting representatives of the black soldiery in every community". He and other southern congressman unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation preventing the enlistment of blacks to the Military War efforts. Whites feared the Spector of armed Black men giving their local black the appearance of equality and fermenting their own desire for better treatment. The Black soldiers thought that once they don the U S military uniform, they would begin to receive some semblance of better treatment. They were gravely mistaken.


The Army was fully aware that Texas, particularly Houston, was fraught with Jim Crow Laws, legal and otherwise, yet they chose to send its black 24th into this hostile situation with no plans counteract the situation. In addition, The Army was further warned that the 24th had already suffered during a previous stay in Texas. The men were greatly dismayed at news they were being transferred to Houston. In an attempt to block the move, Battalion Commander Col. William Newman reported that" I had already had an unfortunate experience when I was in command of two companies of the 24th Infantry at Del Rio Texas, April 1916, when a colored soldier was killed by a Texas Ranger for no reason than that he was a colored man that it angered Texans to see colored men in the uniform of a soldier". His reasoning and well-warranted, but his protestation fell on deaf ears. And, if only he had been heeded.



"The Munity Riot"



On July 24, 1917, construction began for Camp Logan. The construction Houston had gotten its military installation, and on July 28 it got 654 men of the all black 24th Infantry-with its all white commanding officer group. The unit had been dispatched from Columbus, N.M. for seven weeks duty guarding Camp Logan's construction. Houston officials had promised the Army "in the spirit of patriotism" there would no racial trouble, that black soldiers would be welcome, but the city' s whites had no such intentions of opening their arm s to the 24th regardless the length of stay. Chief of Police Clarence Brock, whose 159 man force (two blacks) already had a miserable reputation of brutality and other forms of ill-treatment towards the city's black populace, had even instructed his men to avoid using the term 11nigger"when addressing the soldiers, but that edit was widely ignored as patrolman harassed and arrested soldiers for minor infractions and perceived slights that further increased racial tensions in a city where blacks were openly and routinely referred to as 11 niggers" by police and white citizens alike.


The soldiers slowly began to disobey some of the Jim Crow law of public transportation whereby blacks had to sit in the rear. This 11 insolence" predictably brought harsh enforcement by police & white citizens. None were more brazen and unrestrained in their verbal and physical attacks than Houston policemen. conditions began to boil over on August 23. That morning, patrolman Lee Sparks, whose penchant for brutality against blacks was well known, and his partner, Rufus Daniels, had pursued a man accused of participating in a dice game. Their chase led them to a house where they arrested a thinly clad woman and accused her of hiding the man. Outside, near the police call box, a 24th soldier approached and asked Starks what was going on and if he could get clothes for the woman. Sparks immediately began pistol-whipping the soldier and supposedly said, "That's the way we do things in the South. We're running things not the damned niggers." Later, that afternoon, a military policeman from the 24th, Corporal Charles Baltimore, became involved when he inquired of the soldier's arrest. Baltimore was also beaten by Sparks, and then shot at as he fled. He was caught, beaten again and taken to the police station. Baltimore would be released, however, rumors spread to the post that he had been assaulted, unjustly taken to the city jail and possibly murdered.


Incensed, a group of soldiers urged others in the unit to march on the police station, free Baltimore - if he was still alive and kill every policeman they encountered. There was also talk among the men that an armed mob of white citizens was heading to the camp. Newman's replacement as battalion commander, Major Kneeland Snow, and his staff were never in control, though he ordered his four first sergeants to collect all rifles and search the camp for loose ammunition, and also ordered all soldiers be confined to the camp. Snow had confirmed Baltimore's release from police headquarters, however, the thought that their lives were in danger from an approaching mob became more of a concern to the soldiers who broke into the supply tent, took weapons and began firing randomly in the dark after someone yelled, "Here they come!" More than 100 armed soldiers, possibly led by First Sergeant Vida Henry, began their march towards the jail. Henry had, at first, tried to prevent the men from taking arms, however, at some point joined them. In their rampage, one of their victims was a white child who died after being hit by a stray bullet. Another victim, who may have been mistaken for a Houston policeman, was Capt. J. W. Mattes of the 2nd Illinois Field Artillery. Also killed was patrolman Daniels, who had been involved with the beating and arrest of Baltimore.


The men never made it to the police station. Some began to desert the march and went into hiding, others headed back to camp, and Henry stole off on his own. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The next day, martial law was in force and on the following day, Aug. 25, the Battalion was headed by train back to Camp Furlong in Columbus, N.M. Once there, 118 of them were arrested and charged with murder and mutiny and were sent to the stockade at nearby Fort Bliss in El Paso to begin their wait for court martial. 5/30/2019 The 1917 Houston Riots/Camp Logan Mutiny- Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture Between November 1, 1917 and March 26, 1918, the army held three separate courts­ martial with the first, United States v. William C. Nesbit, convening in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston's Gift Memorial Chapel, which had the only space on post large enough to hold a trial for the first 63 men - all represented by a single attorney working on a mere two weeks preparation. (Ma j. Harry S. Grier was inspector general of the 36th Division and had taught law at West Point, but had no trial experience and was not a lawyer.) Their charges were: disobeying orders, mutiny, murder, and aggravated assault. All of the men entered not guilty pleas and throughout the ordeal, even to the gallows, maintained their innocence.


Some witnesses may have been coerced into testifying against their fellow soldiers, others promised leniency or immunity, others merely unreliable, but none of the testimony was conclusive that any of the men on trail had participated in the event. In all, testimony was heard from 169 prosecution witnesses, but only 29 for the defense. On November 28, 13 of the men were sentenced to be hung, however, they were not notified of their sentence until Dec. 9, two days before their execution. For the remaining men, 41 received life sentences, four were given lesser time, and five were acquitted. In a final letter to his family, Pvt. 1st Class Thomas C. Hawkins wrote:” Dear Mother and Father, When this letter reaches you I will be beyond the veil of sorrow. I will be in heaven with the angels.. .I am sentenced to be hanged for the trouble that happened in Houston, Texas. A/tho (sic) I am not guilty of the crime that I am accused of, but mother, it is God's will that I go now and, in this way, " Pre-dawn, on December 11, near Salado Creek, the 13 soldiers were taken to hastily constructed gallows and summarily hung.


There had been no notice given to the media or public and their sentences and hangings would not be formally announced until later that morning. As they were escorted to the gallows, the soldiers were reportedly calm and sang hymns. A white soldier from Company C., 19th Infantry, which had been charged with guarding the prisoners - "the hanging detail," it was called - recounted the scene: "The doomed men were taken off the trucks, not one making the slightest attempt to resist. They were shivering a little, but I think this was due more to the cold rather than fear. The unlucky thirteen were line up. The conductors took their places and the men for the last time heard the command, "March!" Thirteen ropes dangled from the crossbeam of the scaffold, a chair in front of every rope, six on one side, seven on the other. As the ropes were being fastened about the men's necks, big (Pvt. Frank) Johnson's voice suddenly broke into a hymn - "Lord, I'm comin' home" - and the others joined him.


The eyes of even the hardest of us were wet." Because the U.S. was at war, the swiftness of the executions was backed by the Articles of War. However, that did not temper the outrage from the black community, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, but also some military officials. Acting Judge Advocate Gen.• Brig. Gen. Samuel T. Ansell, was particularly angered and said: "The men were executed immediately upon the termination of the trial and before their records could be forwarded to Washington or examined by anybody, and without, so far as I can see, any one of them having time or opportunity to seek clemency from the source of clemency, if he had been so advised."


While the NAACP began a campaign to obtain the release of the imprisoned soldiers, General Order No. 7 (which Ansell proposed) was issued on January 17, 1918 providing that no enlisted personnel could be executed without first examination of the trial records by the judge advocate general and confirmation of the sentence by the president of the United States. That commuted 10 death sentences in the two other trials, but had no benefit for the 13 black soldiers of questionable guilt buried in the far reaches of Fort Sam Houston in makeshift graves. For the remaining two trials: http://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/research-projects/the-1917-houston-riotscamp-logan-mutiny/ 1/3 5/30/2019 The 1917 Houston Riots/Camp Logan Mutiny- Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture • U.S. v. Washington- December 17-22, 1917, 15 defendants, five were executed on September 7, 1918 • U.S. v. Tillman - February 18-March 26, 1918, 40 defendants, one execution The military tribunals indicted 118 enlisted men total for participating in the mutiny and finding 110 guilty. A total of 19 soldiers were hanged and 63 received life sentences in federal prison. One soldier was judged incompetent to stand trial. Two white officers faced courts-martial, but were released. No white civilians were brought to trial. Some soldiers served as many as 20 years before their release.



Conclusion



The finger-pointing for blame began immediately in the aftermath of the Houston mutiny and riot and the focus was overwhelmingly on the black soldiers of the 24th, the logical suspects, given the event's racial overtones as well as the reality of their actions. At best (or worst), the soldiers overreacted to the mounting tension between them and the Houston police, but there were too many early warning signs to dismiss the event as merely an act of premeditated or even spontaneous insurrection by a vengeful group of blacks. The U.S. Army, the Houston Chamber of Commerce, Houston's white citizens, and especially the Houston Police Department were all complicit in lighting a fuse that would lead to the 24th's explosion. Most prominent among those were the police, whose verbal abuse and thuggish arrest methods, in the end, pushed the soldiers to act as they did. The outcome was destined. It would have been surprising if nothing had occurred during their stay in Houston. The army was well aware they were putting the soldiers in an incendiary situation, and only had to look at the history of black soldiers in the south and previous violent confrontations in Texas. Yet, they reasoned the 24th was the only unit available for the duty of guarding Camp Logan construction, then gambled on sending the soldiers to Houston for seven weeks and hoped for the best.


The Houston Chamber of Commerce and other city officials were blinded by economic dollar signs and foolishly assured the army their black troops would be just fine in a city where African Americans were routinely disrespected and publicly demeaned by whites, in general. At least the white citizens were honest about their contempt for blacks, in or out of uniform. However, Chief Brock had no handle on a brutish police force that neither liked nor respected him. In the soldiers' response to their abuse, there is no evidence their actions were premeditated or otherwise planned. More likely, fueled by rumors over the arrest of Baltimore and then fear of an approaching mob of armed and angry whites, they acted out of frustration, anger, confusion, and self-defense. Houston's darkest day is spoken of in hushed tones of guilt and embarrassment.


The 24th has not been afforded the luxury of silence. What happened in Houston will always be a blemish on an otherwise outstanding history - most research on the 24th at least mentions "the trouble in Houston." And military officials for years afterward would point to the incident as perfect reasoning, with at least a modicum of apprehension, not to send soldiers to installations in the South. Of course, that was unavoidable, and there would be other racially charged incidents, none the scale of what happened in Houston, involving black soldiers and white citizens - and white soldiers(!) - in the South. Today, the area where Camp Logan was located is called Memorial Park, a tranquil upscale area evincing but a lone marker as a sign of the chaos that took place there 95 years ago. In May 1924, the City of Houston took ownership of the land to be used as a park dedicated to the memory of soldiers who lost their lives serving in World War I - not to the African Americans whose careers and lives came to a tragic end there.


Between 1934 and 1937, 17 of the executed soldiers' bodies were exhumed from their resting place near Salado Creek and reburied at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Two other bodies were released to family members. While the headstones of graves surrounding the alleged rioters all bear formal military respect, noting name, rank, birth and death, honors, etc. Eerily, for the Houston soldiers, their headstones depict only name and date of death.



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