93rd Infantry Division (United States) - World War I

World War I

The 93rd was known initially as the 93rd Infantry Division (Provisional). When it was fully formed, the unit became known as the 93rd Infantry Division (Colored) and was composed of the following regiments:

185th Brigade (Infantry)

• 369th Infantry Regiment ("The Harlem Hellfighters"; formerly the 15th Infantry Regiment, New York National Guard). Now the 719th Transportation Company, 369th Sustainment Brigade.
• 370th Infantry Regiment ("The Black Devils"; formerly the 8th Infantry Regiment, Illinois National Guard). Awarded the Fourragère. Now lineage is carried on by the 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry, Illinois National Guard.

186th Brigade (Infantry)

• 371st Infantry Regiment (1st Provisional (Colored) Infantry Regiment, National Army was drawn from black draftees)
• 372nd Infantry Regiment (Made up of troops of the 1st Separate Battalion, District of Columbia National Guard; 1st Separate Company, Connecticut National Guard; Company L, Massachusetts National Guard; 9th Separate Battalion, Ohio National Guard; 1st Separate Company, Maryland National Guard; and 250 draftees from Camp Custer, Michigan. Now its lineage is carried on by the 229th Main Support Battalion, Maryland National Guard, and the 372nd Military Police Battalion, District of Columbia National Guard.

The division was activated in December 1917 and sent to France; however, the troops never fought together as a division. Over the objections of the division's commander, Brig. Gen. Roy Hoffman (appointed 15 December 1917), its brigades were broken up and the regiments brigaded with French Army formations. They were issued French equipment and arms but wore US uniforms; the "blue hat" nickname is derived from the blue-painted Casque Adrian helmets they wore.

Each regiment was brigaded with French forces for three time periods: 1 to 21 July 1918; from 1 August 1918; and from 24 October 1918 to the armistice:

The regiments that later formed the 93rd were originally sent to France to be converted into badly needed labor units. However, the outcry by African-American leaders including W.E.B. DuBois and A. Philip Randolph forced the US to reconsider. The alternative would be the potential loss of needed African-American recruits for labor and service units.

Four independent regiments were chosen to assume the designations of the 93rd (Provisional) Infantry Division's regiments (369th, 370th, 371st, and 372nd Infantry). The problem was, where to place them?

The main American Expeditionary Force (AEF) refused to have African-American soldiers in combat. Ironically, the commander of the AEF, Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing had earned his nickname and reputation as an officer in the 10th Cavalry, then still a black Buffalo Soldier regiment. While Pershing was an early supporter of having "colored" soldiers in the military, he seems to have bowed to political expediency in this case.

The British already had several American divisions under their command. This was due to a deal struck with the American armed forces, which had no transport fleet when they entered the war. The United Kingdom and their Commonwealth allies would transport six American divisions by sea to Europe. Then the American divisions would be folded into British Corps. The French had a similar deal where they exchanged the Americans' 3" cannon for early-model French 75mm cannon to simplify the supply of ammunition and Chauchat light machineguns to replace their scarce Lewis Guns. In return, they demanded that American troops be placed under their command to replace their early-war losses.