[WORLD WAR I] Photograph of the Harlem Hellfighters, African American troops. New York: Guarantee Photo Studio, operated by famous Harlem photographer James VAN DER ZEE (1886-1983), ca 1918. 9 x 7 in. (including margins) unmounted silver gelatin photograph, likely a period copy. Lower right corner of image embossed "Guarantee Photo Studio 109 West 135th St. N.Y." Verso with additional Guarantee Photo Studio stamps and pencil inscription reading, "Studio of James Van Der Zee." Featured in the image are African American soldiers, most likely of the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters." he image featured here depicts what appears to be a couple hundred Black troops resting in a field. We can see many rifles with bayonets fixed, as well as a pair of flags and a raised platform in a vast rural field. Research indicates that this may have been taken in 1918 when the Harlem Hellfighters were training in France. An all-Black regiment, the 369th fought heroically on the front lines in France during World War I. In March of 1918, the regiment began training under French command due to their need for replacements. Despite the expectation that this arrangement would be temporary, members of the 369th never served under American command during the war. By summer, they were fighting in the Champagne-Marne Defensive and the Aisne-Marne Offensive. It would be then that the Harlem Hellfighters would see grisly combat during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began on Sept. 26, 1918. As the 369th advanced, capturing towns and a key railroad junction, the losses mounted. In a matter of days, these advances cost the regiment 851 men, and shortly after they were relieved from the front lines. The regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the highest French military honor and its soldiers received 171 individual decorations for heroism, making these troops a rare breed in a time when only about one in 10 African Americans in the U.S. military served in a combat role, due to leadership decisions at the time. Moreover, black troops were permitted to participate in the postwar victory parade down the Champs Elysees in Paris and the U.S. War Department insisted that absolutely no black soldiers were to be depicted in the heroic frieze displayed in France's Pantheon de la Guerre. However, the 369th received an enthusiastic welcome from American civilians at the victory parade held in 1919 upon their return home. African American photographer James Van Der Zee was one of a few photographers who photographed the parade. They were documented by the International Film Service at that time, and the original image may have been produced then. Van Der Zee would go on to be the foremost visual chronicler of the Harlem Renaissance. A rare, possibly undocumented image. Some soiling throughout, adhesive residue to lower margin, light wear to edges and corners. Very good condition overall.
