93rd Infantry Division (Colored)

93rd Infantry Division (Colored) The 93rd Infantry Division (Colored) was a segregated United States Army formation organized during World War I and reactivated for service in World War II, composed predominantly of African American soldiers drawn from United States Colored Troops, Fort Des Moines, and National Guard elements mobilized at Camp Lee and Camp Shelby. Its units served under both American and foreign commands, including attachment to the French Army in 1918 and operational roles in the Pacific War and Italian Campaign in 1944, earning decorations such as the Croix de Guerre and contributing to debates in the Civil Rights Movement, Desegregation of the United States Armed Forces, and postwar military reform.

Formation and Organization

The division was first constituted in 1918 under the National Army (United States) establishment, drawing recruits from Harlem, Chicago, Fort Meade (Maryland), and training depots at Camp Grant and Camp Funston, with regimental designations derived from the federal numbering system and oversight by officers from War Department (United States). Organizationally it comprised infantry regiments, machine gun battalions, signal companies, medical detachments, and logistical elements modeled on the American Expeditionary Forces order of battle, while leadership and staff coordination involved figures associated with Base Hospital No. 107, Chemical Warfare Service, and the Adjutant General's Office. The division’s racial designation reflected policies established by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and precedents in the Bureau of Colored Troops, provoking controversy involving activists such as W. E. B. Du Bois and legislators on the Committee on Military Affairs (House of Representatives).

World War I Service

Elements of the division were shipped to France and placed under French Army command as part of the exchange of services negotiated between General John J. Pershing and French military authorities, participating in trench sectors, raids, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive support operations alongside units from the French Fourth Army and colonial formations from Senegalese Tirailleurs. Soldiers fought at locations including Seicheprey, Meuse-Argonne, and the Picardy sector, earning citations such as the Légion d'honneur and Croix de Guerre for acts recorded by observers from the American Expeditionary Forces staff and journalists attached to the Harper's Weekly and The New York Times. The division’s experience intersected with policy debates in the House Committee on Military Affairs and inspired coverage from activists including A. Philip Randolph and publications such as The Crisis (magazine), shaping postwar assessments by the United States Army Center of Military History.

Interwar Reorganization and Training

Between the wars the unit’s lineage passed through redesignation, demobilization, and reserve assignments tied to the National Guard Bureau and Regular Army reorganization under the National Defense Act of 1920, with training rotations at Fort Benning, Camp Meade, and summer encampments involving regimental maneuvers observed by staff from the War Department General Staff. Officers attended schools at United States Army Infantry School and staff courses influenced by doctrines from the Harvard University-affiliated Industrial College of the Armed Forces, while mobilization plans incorporated lessons from the Washington Naval Conference and interwar publications such as the Field Service Regulations (United States Army). Veterans’ organizations including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (United States) advocated on behalf of former members during debates over pensions and federal recognition.

World War II Service

Reactivated during mobilization for World War II under the Army Ground Forces and assigned to theaters including the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (United States) and the China-Burma-India Theater in advisory and combat service roles, the division’s regiments were reorganized into separate infantry battalions and assigned to composite formations supporting operations in Italy, Sicily campaign, and island operations in the Pacific Ocean. Units served in coordination with formations such as the 92nd Infantry Division (United States), the 36th Infantry Division (United States), and Allied corps including the Eighth Army (United Kingdom), receiving tactical direction from commanders linked to the Allied Forces Headquarters and logistical support from the Transportation Corps. Combat actions and engineering tasks brought the division into contact with German forces from the Wehrmacht, Italian partisan networks associated with Giuseppe Garibaldi (partisan), and Chinese Nationalist units under Chiang Kai-shek in joint operations, while awards and disciplinary records were adjudicated through channels including the Board of Review (United States Army) and the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Postwar Demobilization and Legacy

Following Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day the division underwent demobilization at stations including Fort Lewis (Washington), Camp Patrick Henry, and Fort Monroe, with personnel processed through the Selective Service System and benefits administered under statutes such as the G.I. Bill. Veterans participated in organizations including NAACP advocacy, testified before committees like the House Committee on Un-American Activities and the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and influenced integration initiatives leading to Executive Order 9981 issued by President Harry S. Truman, which ultimately affected the United States Army structure and policies of the Department of Defense (United States). The division’s history is preserved in collections at the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian Institution, and regimental museums such as the United States Army Center of Military History exhibits, informing scholarship by historians like Ira Berlin, William H. Chafe, and Timothy J. Lombard.

Category:Infantry divisions of the United States Army Category:African-American military units and formations