Valor Friday

It’s the end of September, 1918. At about the same time that the German high command is trying to tell the Kaiser that they will lose to war and it’s best to capitulate now, an American all-black infantry regiment is attempting to take Hill 188. Hill 188 is a tall, well defended German post overlooking a farm in the Ardennes Forest near Ardeuil-et-Montfauxelles, France. Leading his troops in the charge is Corporal Freddie Stowers, who wouldn’t make it off the hill, but would inspire his comrades on to victory with his sacrifice.

Stowers was born in 1896, in South Carolina. At least one of his grandparents had been a slave. Before the US entered the Great War, Stowers had worked as a farm hand, married a gal named Pearl, and fathered a daughter named Minnie Lee. When the US joined the war, Stowers was drafted into the Army.

The US Army was still strictly segregated, and so Stowers was placed into Company C, 371st Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 92nd Infantry Division (Colored). The regiment was made up almost exclusively of draftees. Owing to a labor shortage for the cotton crop in September 1917 when the regiment was being raised, their mustering was delayed until October. They sailed for France in April 1918.

In France, General John Pershing, who had been given the nickname “Black Jack” for his leadership of all-black “Buffalo Soldier” troops early in his career, wanted to put his black troops to combat duties. At the time, American military sentiment was that black soldiers should be relegated to support roles, a sentiment that would persist through both World Wars. Pershing instead seconded his black units to the French. The French were more accepting of black troops, having fought alongside many French colonial troops. Having been embroiled in heavy combat for almost four years also likely made the French more accepting of any help they could get to break the Germans’ backs.

The 371st Infantry (and the all-black 372nd Infantry Regiment) was made a part of French General Mariano Goybet’s 157th Infantry Division. Known as “The Red Hand” division from the symbol on their unit’s flag, they were in desperate need of reinforcements at the time.

Over the summer of 1918, the men of the 157th Infantry Division would spend three months on the line northwest of Verdun. They were pulled back for rest, but not for long. They were to be the at the forefront of the offensive in the Champagne region. Starting on 28 September 1918, they would lead the assault for Hill 188.

Between 28 September and 6 October, 2,384 men of the regiment would be engaged in the battle. More than 1,000 would be casualties (killed, wounded, captured, or missing). It’s been said that the officers suffered a higher casualty rate, and as a result they continued to lead after being wounded. Only stopping when blood loss made them lose consciousness. With such determination displayed by their leaders, the men of the 371st Infantry fought all the harder.

As I said earlier, Hill 188 was a significant enemy fortification. Overlooking the Bussy Farm, it was the home to numerous entrenched German positions. In the early morning hours of 28 September, Company C was among the vanguard charging up the hill. Raked by enemy mortars and machine gun fire, the men faced a grueling battle, but continued to steadily gain ground as the battle wore on.

With the Americans drawing closer and closer to their positions, the Germans suddenly surrendered. Both verbally and by hand sign, the Huns said they were giving up. As Company C cautiously approached the enemy trench, the Germans opened fire with machine guns. It had all been a ruse to draw them in.

Within minutes, the company was reduced by half as men fell all over the hill. Among them was Stowers’ platoon commander. After the lieutenant fell, so too did the more senior NCOs, leaving a mere corporal in command of a platoon. A platoon that was badly beaten after hours of slogging up the hill, and demoralized in the face of an enemy that feigned capitulation to kill more of their brothers. Stowers, who at the beginning of the day was in charge of a section within a squad, which was part of a platoon, was now in command of the whole platoon.

Stowers rose to the occasion, both literally and figuratively. He began crawling forward towards a German machine gun nest, pressing the advance as the Americans had done all morning. He shouted to his men to follow him. And they did. It speaks to the character of a man that he would attempt to lead such a charge in the face of overwhelming odds. It speaks to the quality of his leadership and demonstrates the respect his peers had for him that they followed him into the firestorm of certain death.

Reaching the first enemy trench line, they silenced the German machine gun with enfilade fire (attacking from the side). Stowers wasn’t going to stop here though. He quickly organized his men, and led them in an assault on the second trench line.

As Stowers crawled forward again, he was hit by a machine gun round. He didn’t stop. He was hit a second time. He continued on.

Only when blood loss was too great that he collapsed did he stop moving. Yet still he urged his men forward. His final moments were spent encouraging them to drive on. And they did, against all the odds stacked against them. Inspired by their corporal turned platoon leader, they won the fight for Hill 188.

Stowers was only 22 when he died in action. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but his recommendation was “misplaced.” It was misplaced along with the recommendations for other black American soldiers. The battle for Hill 188 saw the Buffalo Soldiers tally a remarkable combat record, by one definitive account, they “captured a number of prisoners, 47 machine guns, 8 trench engines (possibly minenwerfers), 3 field pieces (77 mm guns), a munition depot, a number of railroad cars, and enormous quantities of lumber, hay, and other supplies. It shot down three German airplanes by rifle and machine-gun fire during the advance.”

Instead of the Medal of Honor, Stowers was posthumously awarded the next highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, and would be retroactively eligible for the Purple Heart. In addition, the 317st Infantry (indeed the whole of the 175th Division) was awarded the French Croix de Guerre as a unit award for this and other actions. According to General Goybet’s citation, he says in part, “‘THE RED HAND’, sign of the Division, thanks to you, became a bloody hand which took the Boche by the throat and made him cry for mercy. You have well avenged our glorious dead.”

For comparison of the actions of a white soldier doing similar, little more than a week after Stowers fell then-Corporal Alvin York similarly was thrust into the role of platoon leader and also led his men in a successful assault against an enemy held hill. York, who became one of the most celebrated American soldiers of the war, would receive the Medal of Honor (as well as similar decorations from Allied countries). While Alvin York became a household name, the name of Freddie Stowers was largely lost to history.

It wasn’t until 1990 that Congressional action would be taken to start reviewing past combat decorations to correct the record and give some of these men their proper credit. As part of that review, Stowers’ DSC was upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. His sisters received the medal on his behalf. One of them was just 10 when her brother died in battle.

Stowers was the first black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during World War I. He was the only man of the 371st Infantry to have received that honor, though one officer of the regiment earned the French Legion of Honor, 22 men received the DSC, and 123 men received the French Croix de Guerre.

The men of the 371st would return home after Armistice Day (11 November 1918), sailing home in February 1919. A monument to the 371st Infantry was erected after the war, near where Stowers fell. During World War II, which fought through many of the same places, it was damaged by artillery fire. As of 2008 it stands in that damaged condition.

Post-war the 371st Infantry would be disbanded, but the regiment would be raised again when the world went to war once more. Still a segregated unit, they saw action in Italy, fighting along the Winter Line.

Category: Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, Valor, We Remember, WWI