24th Infantry Regiment and the Racial Debate in the U.S. Army

The debate over the service of black Americans in the U.S. Army centered around three questions: Could they serve? Would they be allowed to serve? And, if allowed, in what capacity would they serve? This is similar to modern debates about the service of women and homosexuals in the military. The valuable service of black Americans during the Civil War, coupled with Radical Republican policies ended this debate in 1866 with the formation of six regiments composed of black soldiers led by white officers. In 1870, the Army Reduction Act consolidated those regiments into four, the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. Both the size of the Army and the exemplary conduct of the black regiments stilled the debate for nearly fifty years, as the four black regiments were used in many of the same missions and roles as their white counterparts. Then, on the eve of American participation in World War I, the racial debate reignited. After the war, the four black regiments were all reduced in strength and never fully used again. This study follows the 24th Infantry from formation in 1866, through the early 1920s in order to determine what caused the reignition of the debate.