In 1866 Congress authorized the first African-American army units: four black infantry regiments and two black cavalry regiments. In 1869, the four infantry regiments were combined into the Twenty-fourth Infantry and the Twenty-fifth Infantry Regiments. Only white officers were allowed to lead. Blacks were not felt to be capable of leadership positions. For the white officers, posting to a black unit was viewed as less than desirable and many viewed posting to a black unit as a dead end for their career.
In the Spanish-American war of 1898, black troops were used in Cuba. It was assumed that the black soldiers would be more resistant to the tropical diseases which they would encounter. By 1899, 18 black soldiers had been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for bravery and gallantry above and beyond the call of duty.
During the 1899-1902 American-Filipino war the United States Army dispatched four black regiments to the Philippines. Some sources indicate that 7,000 black soldiers served in this conflict. Here the black soldiers found themselves in the position of fighting against oppressed islanders who were seeking independence from foreign (i.e. U.S.) rule. One of the members of the 25th Infantry, M.W. Saddler, would write:
“We are now arrayed to meet a common foe, men of our own hue and color. Whether it is right to reduce these people to submission is not a question for a soldier to decide. Our oaths of allegiance know neither race, color, nor nation.”
Another soldier wrote in 1899:
“Our racial sympathies would naturally be with the Filipinos. They are fighting manfully for what they conceive to be their best interests. But we cannot for the sake of sentiment turn our back upon our own country.”
In the Philippines, the black soldiers were angered by the use of the term “nigger” by the white soldiers in referring to the Filipinos. Some of the black troops deserted and joined the Filipino rebels. Corporal David Fagan of the 24th Infantry accepted a commission as an officer in the rebel army and fought against the American forces for two years. He fought in the Brigade of General Urbano Lacuna in central Luzon. While originally commissioned as a lieutenant, Fagan’s valor, guile, and many military successes led to his promotion to the rank of captain. Because he was a successful guerilla leader, the American military became obsessed with his capture. His exploits were reported in the
Manila Times, and in several American newspapers.
Fagan led at least eight engagements with American troops. His most famous action involved the capture of a steam launch on the Pampanga River. Fagan and his men seized its cargo of guns and disappeared before the American cavalry arrived. His exploits took on legendary proportions both in the American press and among the Filipinos.
There are no official records of the number of black deserters. Some sources indicate between fifteen and thirty and not all of these joined the rebel army. Historians have recorded the names of seven, including Fagan, who joined the rebels.
In their propaganda war, the insurgents used posters addressed to “The Colored American Soldier” in which they reminded the black soldiers of the lynchings back home and asked them not to serve the white imperialists against other people of color.
In 1901, black infantryman William Fulbright, in a letter to the editor of an Indianapolis newspaper, summarized the conflict:
“This struggle on the islands has been naught but a gigantic scheme of robbery and oppression.”
The Filipino situation created among blacks in the United States a militant opposition to the war. Henry M. Turner, the senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church called the war “an unholy war of conquest.”
At the end of the war, the United States granted amnesty to the insurgents, but they offered a substantial reward ($600) for David Fagan who was considered a traitor. There are two conflicting reports about what happened to him after the war. One story is that he married a local woman and lived peacefully in the mountains. The other story claims a partially decomposed head was turned in for the reward. There is, however, no record of the reward actually being paid.
In his summary of the role of the black soldiers in the American-Filipino war, History Professor Gill H. Boehringer (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) writes:
“In remembering the atrocious treatment of the Filipinos in that war, it is fitting that we also remember those who refused to do the dirty work of their military and political leaders. Just as the American Anti-Imperialist League is remembered for its active, though ultimately unsuccessful, campaign to prevent the war, we should remember those black Americans who fought in the jungles and mountains to keep the Philippines free. Their struggle continues in many parts of the world today.”