Jude Hall (1744- August 1827)

Revolutionary War soldier, was born a slave in Exeter, New Hampshire. 

His first known master was Philemon Blake of nearby Kensington,on whose farm Jude worked,who sold him to his fellow townsman Nathaniel Healy in early 1775.Jude was so distressed by the sale that he ran away from his new master and had made it far as Amherst,New Hampshire,when the first battle of the Revolution broke out at Lexington and Concord.With the uproar caused throughout New England by the war's outbreak he could have mad an easy escape.He seems to have been filled with the patriotic spirit of the day and on May 10th 1775 he enlisted as a soldier in the company of Captain Jacob Hind in Colonel James Reed's Third New Hampshire Regiment.

Jude service in the New Hampshire militia was not unsual.While New Hampshire had a 1719 statue that prohibited African Americans (along with the mental ill and "Native Americans) from serving in the militia,the law was ignored and African American soldiers were mustered,paid the same,and shared the same hardships as any other colonies, notably Massachusetts and Connecticut,was the subject of considerable debate,the same did not hold true for New Hampshire,and 

nearly two hundred African American men that saw service in the state's forces have been documented.The legal condition under which New Hampshire's African American soldiers (and sailors) performed their service was varied; some were freed men, others were slaves who were freed by conscientious masters on the eve of the Revolution,and some were slaves that purchased their freedom with the bounty money they received for enlisting.Not be forgotten are those men that served in the army,sometimes as substitutes for their masters,and were only freed when their service was over,as well a small number of men that served 

but never gained their freedom and remained slaves even after the war

ended. as for Jude,tradition holds that he was formally freed,by presumably by Nathaniel,after his military service was completed.

Whether or not Jude's company commander had any reservations about using African American soldiers is unknowm; if he did,his fears were quickly dispelled as Jude was a tough soldier.He fought with his regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17 1775 and was "thrown headlong by a cannonball striking near him" while stationed at the rail fence at the bottom of the hill.Jude would continue serving in the Third New Hampshire until November 13 1776. He then immediately re-enlisted in Col.Nathan Hale's Second New Hampshire Regiment.The reasons for this switch are unknown,they may have been motivated by the lure of additional bounty money for additional term of service,as well as chance to serve with men from the part of the state that Jude knew well, Kensington, included.Despite the fact that Jude had ran away, the town of Kensington claimed him as one of its own soldiers; so did Amherst, where Jude had stopped his running to enlist.

The two towns would later argue over the matter,futher demonstrating that color was not an issue when it came to troop enlistment in the state.

Described on his regiment muster rolls "Negro," twenty-three years old, five feet, ten inches tall, with "black" complexion, 

hair, and eyes,he became a battle-hardened veteran and served with his regiment at least through 1782. He particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778,gaining the nickname "Old Rock" in fighting that took place in 100 heat.Later in the war Jude served garrison duty with his regiment in the area of West Point, New York, from January to February 1783 Jude was absent on leave and may have returned to Exeter or Kensington, New Hampshire, to spend time with his future wife, Rhoda Paul.Whether or not he returned to serve with the New Hampshire Battalion until its disbandment in January 1784 is unknown but likely.It would not be until 1786 that he was paid in full for his seven years of nearly uninterrupted miluitary service.

As with many veterans, both African Americans and white, times were tough for Jude after the war, and he suffered through many economic and physical hardships, the latter no doubt aggravated by his years of grueling service. Living in and around the Former Revolution established population of free African Americans, he was warned out of town a number of times-indicating his severe poverty.In 1786 he married Rhoda Paul and they would have ten children. Life for their children was equally difficult; three of his grown children sons were kidnapped and sold into slavery, two of whom were never heard from again. For a time the family lived in a cabin in the woods near Exeter, close to a body of water called Jude's Pond, Jude was known as a skilled fisherman. The family's financial situation eased somewhat in 1818 when he began receiving a small pension for his military service. After his death, Rhoda moved to Maine and colected a wodow's pension until her death in 1844.

His service as a soldier in the American Revolution is respresntative of the valuable service peformed by large numbers of patriotic African American soldiers from New England. Though his own future freedom was assured, Jude and others like him fought as if they were indeed free men.In the case of Jude, his influence would continue beyond his own lifetime; during the Civil War two of his grandsons, Moses ( third U.S. Colored Regiment) and Aaron (Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment) Hall would enlist as soldiers undoubtedly spurred on by the legendary service of their granddaddy.

"Amelio Robles Avila" (November 1889-December 9 1984)

Was a colonel during the Mexican Revolution. Assigned female at birth with the name Amelia Robles Avila,he fought in the Mexican Revolution,rose to the rank of colonel,

and lived openly as a man from age 24 until his death at age 95.

He was born in Xochipala,Guerrero to Casimiro Robles & Josefa Avila. Casimiro was a wealthy farmer who owned 42 hectares of land and a small mezcal factory.Amelio 
had two older brothers Teodulo & Prisca.Amelio was three years old when Casimiro 
died and a few years later Josefa married Jesus Martinez,one of the ranch hands who took care of the livestock.Josefa & Jesus had three more children,Luis,Concepcion,and Jesus Martinez Avila.They raised the children in the 
Catholic religion.Amelio studied until the fourth grade at the school for young ladies 
in Chilpancingo.

From a young age,Amelio showed an interest in activities that were considered masculine,learning to tame horses and handling weapons,and becoming an excellent
marksman and rider.Before joining the army,Amelio was treasurer in a Maderistas club in Xochipala.

Amelio joined the army in 1911 or 1912, perhaps when General Juan Andreau Almazan passed through Xochipala in 1911 as pressure mounted against Porfirio Diaz to resign as president.

Between August & November 1911, Amelio was sent to the Gulf of Mexico in a commission in order to obtain money from oil companies for the revolutionary cause.
Two years later,Amelio began to dress as a man and demanded to be treated as such.
(He was not alone as a person assigned female presenting as male in the Mexican army at the time.Maria de la Luz Barrera and  Angel(a)  Jimenez also adopted male 
indentiities during the war.) From 1913-1918,Amelio fought as "el coronel Robles" 
with the Zapatistas under the command of Jesus H.Salgado,Heliodoro Castillo,and Encarnacion Diaz.Amelio gained the respect of peers and superiors as a capable military leader,and was eventually given his own command.

In 1919,some time after Emiliano Zapata was killed,Amelio and 315 men under his command joined the the forces of Alvaro Obregon, and in 1920 fought with them in the Agua Prieta Revolt which brought an end to the government of Venustiano Carranza.In 1924,Amelio supported General Alvaro Obregon against the Delahuertist
rebellion under the command of General Adrian Castrejon,where the Delahuertist 
general Marcial Cavazos died and Amelio was hurt.

Following the military phase of the Revolution,Amelio supported revolutinary general Alvaro Obregon when the latter was president of Mexico in 1920-1924; Amelio fought with Obregon forces to put down the 1923 rebellion of Venustiano Carranza.When 
Amelio settled in Inguala for a time  after the revolution,a group of men are said to have attacked him wanting to reveal his anatomy;he killed two in self-defense.
In 1939 he supported Almazan in the presidential election.

In 1948,Amelio received the medical certificate required to officially enter the 
Confederation of Veterans of the Revolution.The medical revision confirmed that he 
had received six bullet wounds.

In 1970,the Mexican Secretary of National Defense recognized Amelio as veteran (veterano) of the Revolution.Toward the end of his life,he received various decorations acknowledging distinguished military service: a decoration as a 
veteran of the Mexican Revolution,and the Mexican Legion of Honor; in 1973 or 1974,
he was also decorated with the Revolutionary Merit award.( medalla al merito revolucionario).

According to historian Gabriela Cano Ortega,Amelio adopted a male identity not as 
a survival strategy because of a strong desire to be a man.his male identity was accepted by family,society,distinguished military service;and the Mexican government,and Amelio lived as a manfrom the age of 24 until his death.According to to a former neighbor,if anyone called Amelio a woman or "Dona" he would threaten 
them with a pistol.Amelio has therefore been seen as transgender.

Amelio met Angela Torres in Apipilulco in the 1930,and they later married.They adopted a daughter together,Regula Robles Torres. Horacio Legras says that that both later became estranged from Amelio.

On his deathbed Amelio supposedly made two requests,to received honors for his military service and to be dressed as a woman in order to commend his soul to God.
The latter request has never been confirmed,and his death death certificate notes that he lost the ability to speak more than a year before dying.

"George Washington Lee" (January 4,1894-August 1,1976)

Was an African-American soldier,author,political leader,and corporate executive.Born in Heathman,Mississippi,George Spent most of his life in 

Memphis,Tennessee.He received numerous citations for his benevolence and civil initiatives.

His parents,the Reverend George & Hattie Lee Stringfellow,separated before 
his birth,George and his brother Abner were raised by their mama,who worked as a sharecropper.Hattie Lee moved the family to nearby Indianola,
Mississippi,as a child,George obtained summer employment at a grocery store in Indianola,was subsequently fired by the white owner who was pressured by white patrons to hire white staff.

George entered Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College in Loman,Mississippi,where he was recognized for his academic achievement.

In the summer of 1912,George moved to Memphis,Tennessee,where he found work as a bellhop at the Gayoso Hotel.When the hotel's manager died in 1916,
George demonstrated his skill at writing and composed a eulogy to his former boss which was published in a Memphis newspaper.

After the outbreak of World War I,he was determined to enter the Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Training School in Iowa.In the qualifying examinations,George excelled in both physical skill and intelligence,and at 
the age of twenty-three was selected to attend the camp.Lieutenant Lee's 920th Division provided their bravery while stationed in France,and George himself was awarded a French Croix de guerre medal for bravery.His division none-the-less received racist insults and innuendos from white soldiers.

Lieutenant Lee recived an honorable discharge in 1919,and returned to Memphis where he soon found employment as a salesman with with the black-owned Mississippi Life Insurance Company.Within weeks he was promoted to manager,and then to vice-president in 1920.

When white-owned Southern Life Insurance Company purchased Mississippi Life in 1923,the new owners requested George continue to work for them collecting premiums from the African-American clients,and offered him $7,000 per year and two percent of each premium.George refused,asserting 
that he did not want to enable the takeover of a black-0wned business.He went on to join the Atlanta Life Insurance Company,where he became a senior
vice-president,and continued to work until his death in a car wreck.

George was active in the Republican Party,and in the 1928 presidential election served as national directors of "Veterans for Hoover". In 1952,George
delivered one of the speeches at the Republican national convention in Chicago,where he seconded the nomination of  Senator Robert Taft.In the 1956 presidential election,George is credited with delivering Tennessee to Eisenhower.

In 1934,Robert authored Beale Street: Where the Blues Began;the first book by an African-American author advertised in the Book-of-Month Club news.
His second novel, River George,was published in 1937.George's stores were 
published in The Negro Digest,The World's Digest,and Southern Literacy Messenger,and  in 1942,an anthology of his short stories entitled Beale Street Sundown was published.

In 1951,The Chicago Defender named George one of ten "Most Useful Men" for his efforts at voter registration in Memphis.

George became Grand Commissioner of Education and the Civil Rights Department of the National Elks for the Memphis chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in 1952.

In 1956,George was the first African-American to have a US post office named 
after him,in Memphis.

As Memphis African-American leaders became more radical throughout the 
1940s and 1950s,George became increasingly more conservative.He opposed 
the violence of the Rap Brown "Black Power" movement,and during the 1960s 
he traveled around the country criticizing black power movements towards violence.He believered African-Americans should appeal to the white sense of
conscience to guilt rather than simply demand their own rights through violence.

A number of of George's speeches have been inserted into the Congressional Record,and in 1973 his portrait was hung in the Rotuunda  of the Tennessee State Capitol.

In 2006,construction began on George's Landing Retail,Entertainment and Parking," in the Beale Street district of Memphis.A street in the area is also named in his honor.

Sergeant William Robinson Clarke (October 4 1895-April 26 1981)

Was a Jamaican World War I airman who was the first black pilot to fly for Britain.He was born in Kingston Jamaica,son of Eugenia Clarke.William 
became a mechanic,and was of the first individuals in Jamaica to learn to drive.On the outbreak of  war in 1914 William,aged,19 travelled to England at his own cost.He joined the Royal Flying Corps on July 26 1915.He served as a mechanic and then as a driver for an observation balloon company.

In December 1916 he began pilot training,gaining his wings on April 26 1917.He was posted to No.4 Squadron RFC  at Abeele on May 27,flying R.E.8 
biplanes over the Western Front.In common with many pilots of the era his operational service was brief.On the morning of July 28 1917,on a reconnaissance mission over Ypres,five miles on the German side of  the lines,
William and his observer,Second Lieutenant F.P. Blencowe,were attacked by German scouts.William was serious wounded and lost consciousness.The observer brought the aeroplane back to the British lines on making a forced landing near Godewaersvelde.

In a letter to his mama, William wrote: "I was doing some photographs a few miles the other side when about five huns scouts came down upon me,and before I could get away,I got a bullet through the spine.managed to pilot the machine nearly back to the aerodrome,but had to put her down as I was too weak to fly any more... he was honourably discharged in 1919,receiving the 
Silver Star Badge.

After recovering from his wounds William returned to Jamaica.He was later active in the building trade.He was active in veterans affairs and was life president of the Jamaican branch of the Royal Air Forces Association.

The 6888th Battalion of the Women's Army Corps in Birmingham 1945.

The 6888th Battalion Central Postal Directory was an all-black battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC).tHE 688th had 855African American women,boyh enlisted and officers,was led by Major Charity Adams Earley.It was the only all-African American,all-female battalion overseas during World WarII.The group was nicknamed "Six Triple Eight" and their motto was " mail,morale.The battalion was organized into five companies,Headquarters,Company A,Company,Company, B,Company C, and Company D.Most of the 6888th worked as postal clerks,but others were cooks,mechanics,and held others positions,so that the 6888th was a self-sufficient unit.

During World War II,there was a significant shortage of soldiers who were able to manage the postal service for the U.S. Army overseas.In 1944,Mary McLeod Bethune worked to get the support of first lady,Eleanor Roosevelt,for a "role for African women in the war overseas.African-Americans newspapers,also challenged the U.S.Army to "use African American women in meaningful Army jobs.The women who signed up went to basic training in Georgia.Women were already in the WAC,like Alyce Dixon,serve at diffirent locations,including the Pentagon before they joined the 6888th.

The 6888th left the United States on February 3,1945,sailing on lle de France and arriving in Glasgow on February 14.lle encountered several German U-Boats on the trip,forcing the ship to take evasive maneuvers.Eventually,the women then took a train to Birmingham England.When the 6888th arrived in Birmingham,"they saw letters stacked to the ceiling of the temporary post office.The temporary post office was located in converted hangars.Some letters had been in the makeshift offices for as long as two years.Army officials believed that undelivered mail was "hurting morale.Many letters and packages were difficult to source,as they were addressed with only the first name of the soldier,had a commonly used name or used nicknames.Early in the operation,a white general attempted to send a white officer to "tell them how to do it right," but commander Earley responded,"sir,over my dead body sir!" The Battalion finished what was supposed to be a six-month task in three months in May 1945.

The 6888th devised their own system to handle the backlog of mail.The women of the 6888th worked in three different shifts,seven days a week,processing and delivering mail,-a morale booster-to fighting troops in Europe.Each shift handled an estimated 65,000 pieces of mail.
It was cold when they arrived,and they women wore long underwear and coats in the unheated buildings.The 6888th was a segregated unit,sleeping and eating in different locations from the white,male soldiers.They were housed in a former school building,with officers quartered in houses nearby.Some women felt that European "locals" treated them better than people did in the United States.A chaplain working at Birmingham caused problems Major Earley,ordering her soldiers not to report to work,but to report to his office,causing them to be AWOL.Earley had to "counsel" him to let the women alone," reminding that she she was in charge of the women's assignments.

Once backlog in Birmingham had been delt with,the 6888th arrived at Le Havre in June 1945 and then a train to Rouen.The 6888th dealt with another backlog of mail in Rouen,some of the were three years old.Military Police in the WAC unit were not allowed to have weapons, so they used jujitsu to keep out "unwanted visitors.They also participated in a parade ceremony at the place where Joan of Arc died.

By October 1945,the mail, in Rouen had been cleared and the 6888th was sent to Paris.They marched through Paris and were "housed in a luxurious hotel,where they received first-class treatment.During this
time,because the was over,the battalion was reduced by 300 women and 200 due to to discharge in January 1946.

In February 1946,the unit returned to the United States where were disbanded at Fort Dix.There was no public recognition for their service at the time.

Members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion were awarded the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal,the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal during their service.

On February 25,2009 the Battalion was honored at the Women in Military Service for American Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
The event was attended by three former unit members of the 6888th including Alyce Dixon,Mary Ragland, and Gladys Shuster Carter.Alyce and Mary were also honored by President Barack Obama and first lady,Michelle Obama in 2009.

On November 30,2018,Fort Leavenworth dedicated a monument to the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.Five women from the Battalion- Maybeel Campbell,Elizabeth Johnson,Lena King,Anna Robertson and Deloris Ruddock-were present at the dedication.

"Raye-Jean-Jordan-Montague" (January 21,1935-October 9,2018)

Was an internationally registered professional engineer (RPE)with the U.S. Navy who is credited with the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval's first female program manager of ships (PMS-309),Information Systems Improvement Program,she held a civilian equivalent rank of captain.She was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2018.

Raye was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Rayford Jordan & Flossie Graves Jordan.She attended St. Bartholomew School before moving to Merrill High School in Pine Bluff ( Jefferson County), graduating in 1952. She attended Arkansas AM&N (Now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff),wanting to study engineering,because no college in Arkansas were awarding such degrees to African American women in the 1950s, she took a degree in business,graduating in 1956.She was married three times: Weldon A.Means in 1955,to David H. Montague in 1965,and to James Parrott in 1973.After her marriage to James ended,she returned to the Montague, the same last name as her only child,David R. Montague.

In 1956, Raye began her career with the navy at the old David Taylor Model Basin (now the Naval Surface Warfare Center) in Carderock,Maryland as a digital computer systems operator.She later advanced to the position of computer systems analysts at the Naval Ship Engineering Center and served as the program director for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Integrated Designs Manufacturing, and Maintenance Program as well as the division head for the Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) program. On January 22,1984 she accepted the newly created position of deputy program manager of the navy's Information Improvement Program.

Raye's career spanned the development of computer technologies, from the UNIVAC I, the world's first commercially available computer,down to modern computers.She successfully revised the first automated system for selecting and printing ship specifications and produced the first draft for the FFG-7 frigate ( the oliver Hazard Perry-class,or Perry-Class,ship) I'm eighteen hours.This was the first designed by computer.

In 1972,she was awarded the U.S. Navy's Meriitorious Civilian Service Award,the navy's third-highest honorary award.Raye was the first woman professional engineer to receive the society of Manufacturing Engineers Achievement Award (1978) and the National Computer Graphics Association Award for the Advancement of Computer Graphics (1988). She was also received a host of other honors from military branches, industry, and academia.Raye worked on the USS Dwight D.Eisenhower (CVN-69) and the navy's first landing craft helicopter-assault ship (LHA).The last project with which she was affiliated was the Seawolf-class submarine (SSN-21).
Raye retired in 1990.In 2006,after fifty years spent in the metropolitan Washington DC area,she returned to Arkansas,living in west little rock,where she remained active with lifequest,The Links inc., the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority,and the American Contract Bridge League.She also mentored inmates through a community re-entry program through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) as well as students at the Estem Elementary Public Charter School in Little Rock.In 2017,with the movie Hidden Figures having awakened an awareness of the previously unacknowledged contributions of African American engineers and mathematicians in the American defense and space industries,Raye was featured on the T.V. show Good Morning America and dubbed a "real life hidden figure." Rayed died of congestive heart failure.

"Andre-Cailloux"(1825-May 27,1863)

Andre funeral.

Was one of  the first  African-American  officers in the  Union Army to be killed in combat during the American Civil War.He died heroically during the unsuccessful first attack on the Confederate fortifications during the Siege of  Port Hudson,Louisiana.Accounts of his heroism were widely reported in the press,and became a rallying cry for the recruitment of  African-Americans into the Union Army.

His reputation as a patriot and martyr long outlived him.In an 1890 collections,of
interviews,Civil War veteran Colonel Douglass said, "If ever patriotic heroism deserved to be,and the American people we have never redeemed their gratitude to
genuine patriotism until that debt is paid."

Born a bi-racial slave in Louisiana,Andre lived his entire life in and around  New Orleans.As a young man,Andre had been apprenticed in the cigar-making trade.He was owned by members of the Duvenrnay family 1846,when his petition for Manumission,which was supported by his master,was granted by an all-white police jury in the city of New Orleans.

In 1847,he married Felicie Coulon,a free Creole of  Color, who had been born into slavery,but freed when her mama paid her purchase price.Andre & Felicie had four children born free,three of  whom survived to adulthood.

Felicie's mama Feliciana had been an enslave mulatto woman.She had participated in the local placage system as the common-law wife of a white  planter,Valentin Encalada,for several years.Felicie was not Valentin's daughter,she was born into slavery because of  her  mama's status and his "property" as the child  of  her mama.(This was according to the principle of  partus sequitur ventrem in slave law.)
Feliciana brought her daughter's freedom from Valentin in 1842.

Upon gaining  his freedom,Andre earned his living as a cigar maker.Prior to the beginning of the Civil War he established his own cigar-making business.His financial circumstances were modest,Andre became recognized as a leader within the free Afro-French Creole community of New Orleans.Established during the French colonel
years,the  free people of  color had become a distinct community,existing as a third class between the white colonist and the majority of enslaved Africans.In New Orleans culture,white daddies had sometimes. acknowledged their mixed-race children and paid for their education,especially sons,or arranged apprenticeships.
Sometimes they settled property on them.

An avid sportsman,Andre was admired as one of the best boxers in the city.He was also an active supporter of the Institute Catholique,a school for orphaned African
American children,as it also taught the children of  free people of color.After manumission,Andre learned to read,probably with the assistance of the teachers at
the Institute Catholique.He became fluent in both English & French.

By 1860,was a well-respected member of the 10,00 "free men of  color" Afro-Creole
community in New Orleans.At the time,New Orleans was the largest city in the South,
and the sixth-largest city in the United States,with a population of about 100,000.

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861,Andre became a lieutenant in the Native Guard,a Confederate regiment organized to defend the city of  New Orleans.Free men of  color had participated  in the local militia since the time of French colonial 
rule.He was one of the first African-American officers of  any North America unit.

The regiment then was made up  entirely of  free men of  color who resided in and
around New Orleans.The regiment was organized primarily as a public relations move by the Confederate Government of the state of Louisiana,provided no financial
support to its members,Andre took his responsibilities seriously,and his unit was observed to be well drilled and well trained.

The Confederate Native Guard were never called to active duty,and were disbaned before Union Admiral David Farragut captured the city of  New Orleans in April 1862.

In September 1862,Union General  Benjamin Franklin Butler,military commander of 
the Department of  the Gulf,who made his headquarters in New Orleans,organized  an all-African-American Union Army 1st.Louisiana Native Guard regiment.Unlike the
Confederate unit,this regiment had a minority of free men of color;the great majority were African-Americans who had escaped from slavery.

Andre joined  this regiment and  was made  captain of  Company E.His  Company was
considered  one of the best  drilled  in the Native Guard.Andre gradually earned  the
respect of  Colonel  Spencer Stafford,the white officer who commanded  the regiment.When General  Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks replaced Benjamin as
Commander of the Department of the Gulf in December 1862,he brought with him an
additional 30,000 troops,bringing the total strength under his command to 42,000.

By this time,the all African-American Native Guard had grown to three regiments,as 
slaves continue to  escape to the Union lines to join the cause.Althought the  officers
(lieutenants & captains ) were African-Americans,including future Governor P.B.S. Pinchback who was  a Company Commander of the 2nd Regiment,the commanding officers (colonels,lieutenants colonels,and majors) were white.Nathaniel set out to remove all African-American officers from their positions,and generally accomplished this with the 2nd and 3rd Regiments,was unable to do so with the with
the 1st.Regiment,to which Andre belonged.

The 1st.Regiment of the Native Guard was assigned primarily to fatigue duty (chopping wood,digging trenches) until May 1863,when Nathaniel moved most of his army (35,000 men) in a position to surround the Confederate fortifications at  Port Hudson. Louisiana.Port Hudson was a strategically located fort on a bend in the Mississippi River just mines north of  Baton Rouge, Louisiana.At the time,the Confederacy controlled the two-hundred-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between Vicksburg,Mississippi,in  the north  and Port Hudson in the south.The  Union wanted  to gain control of  Vicksburg and the river.

While General  Ulysses Grant laid siege to Vicksburg,Nathaniel conducted  the  Siege of  Port  Hudson.

On May 27,1863,Nanthaniel launched a poorly coordinated attack on the well-defended,well  fortified Confederate positions at  Port Hudson.As part of the attack

the first day,Andre  was ordered to lead  his company of 100 men in almost suicidal

assault  against sharpshooting Confederate troops.Despite  his company suffering heavy casualties,Andre,Shouting  encouragement to his men in French and English,led
several charges.On his last charge,a  Minie Ball tore through his arm,leaving it useless at his side.Severely wounded,Andre continued to lead the charge until a
Confederate artillery she killed him.His actions were described by Rodolphe Desdunes,whose brothers,Aristide,served  under Andre: "The eyes of the world  were indeed  on this American Spartacus [Callioux].The hero of  Ancient Rome displayed
no brave heroism than this officer who ran forward to his death with a smile on his lips,and crying,"Let us go forward O comrades!" six times he threw himself  against the murderous  batteries of  Port Hudson,and in each assault he repeated  his urgent
call," Let us go forward,for one more time!" finally,falling under the mortal blow, he
gave his order to his attending officer,"Bacchus,take charge!" If anyone should say the knightly Bayard did better or more,according to history,he lies.

Despite a truce the next day asked for by Nanthaniel,and granted by the Confederate  commander Frank Gardner,to recover the Union dead from the field of
battle,rebel  sharpshooters kept northern soldiers from collecting African-American
casualities.Andre's decomposing body lay on the ground for 47 until Port Hudson finally surrender to Nathaniel  July 9,1863.

Most of the Union dead were buried in the area.This was later designated as Port Hudson National Cemetery,designated  in 1974 as a National Historic Landmark.

The story of  Andre's heroism preceded  the return of  captain's body to New Orleans.When  his funeral  was held  there on July 29,1863, Andre  was honored  by 
a long  procession and  thousands  of attendees.He was buried  in Saint  Louis  Cemetery.His heroism  achieved mythic  proportions during  the  Civil War and was frequently recounted.He was often referred to as example by leading proponents of 
African American soldiers serving in the Union Army.

After Andre's death,his widow,Felicie,struggle to receive the financial  benefits promised to veterans by the United States Government.After several years of  effort,
she received a small pension,she died in poverty in 1874.Felicie was working at the time as a domestic servant for  the  Catholic priest who had  preached the eulogy at her husband's funeral.

"Alfred-Masters" (February 5,1916-June 16,1975)

Was an African-American member of the United States Marine Corps.He

became the very first African-America in the United States Marines at his swearing in-ceremony on June 1,1942,at 12:01 in Oklahoma City and then his first training camp was Montford Point in North Carolina.
He rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant.

Alfred married Isabell Masters.They had  three daughters, Shirley Jean,
Alfreda Dean and Cora Lavonne Masters,the marriage ended in divorce in the 1940s.

Isabell went on to become an educator and five-time U.S. presidential 
candidate.In 1994,their daughter Cora became the fourth wife  of  political  Marion Berry.

Alfred married Mary Hendricks in 1949 and they had five children,3-girls Mary Ann Masters,Kathryn Louise Masters,Carolyn Donata Masters Faulkner--and 2 boys-- Otto Joe Masters and Alfred Dan
Masters.

Alfred died in Anthony New Mexico.He is buried at  Fort Bliss National
Cemetery in El Paso Texas.

"Charles-Howard-Sr"( March 10-1890-1969)

He was born in Des Moines and graduated  from the Fort Des Moines officer-candidate school in 1917.One year later Charles was a second lieutenant and serving with the 92nd Division,366th,Infantry in France  during World War I.After the military,Charles received his law degree from Drake University in 1920.He was a gifted lawyer who never lost a capital trial.

Charles co-founded the National  Bar Association in 1925,and was also an Iowa Bystander  columnist in the 1920s and 1930s,and later published the Iowa Observer newspaper in 1939.He was a friend of  entertainer Paul Robeson and in 1948;he keynoted the Progressive Party National
Convention Two years later,after attending the Communist-sponsored World Peace Congress in Warsaw,Poland; Charles returned to Iowa the target  of intense criticism and was disbarred in 1951.

He served as the National  Negro Press correspondent at the United Nations until his death.He is considered by many Iowa's most colorful journalist of all time.

"John-Newington-Conna"(1836-October 11,1921)

Was a pivotal  figure in the early  history  and development  of  Washington State.Born enslaved  near  San Augustine,Texas.John was a free man by the time  of  the Civil  War  because he  served  in  the  1st Louisiana Native Guards ,an all-African Americans Union  Regiment  between  1863 &  1865.  John  fought  in  three major  engagements:  the bloody  siege at  Port  Hudson  and battles  at  Miliken's  Bend  and  Tonica Bayou.

After  his  military  discharge on  May 4,1865,John  moved  north  to  Hartford,Connecticut.There  he  married  Mary L.Davis  in 1870.In 1879 ,the  Connas and their seven children   moved  to Kansas City, Kansas.In 1883,when  the  continental  railroad  reached  the west  coast,the Conna family  became the  first  African Americans to travel  by train  to Tacoma,Washington,the western terminus.He purchased  a 160 acre  farm north  of  Tacoma  which is now  a part  of  Federal  Way,Washington.


Shortly thereafter,John  joined the  Allen  C. Mason  real estate  firm and  soon  became  its leading  broker  by 1890  he started his own real estate  firm.He  also  actively recruited  African  Americans  from other  parts  of the country  to  migrate  to the Pacific  Northwest  including  coal miners who  settled  near  Roslyn, Washington  in the  1890s.


John was  politically  active.By the time  Washington  became a state  in 1889,he was  the titular leader  of the  African American  voting  bloc  in  Tacoma  as president  of the John Brown Republician  Club  and the  Washington  State  Protective  League.He  was  also  a member  of the local  chapter  of  the   African -American  League,the predecessor  to the NAACP.Due to his political influence  he was selected  Sergeant  at  Arms  for the  Washington State  Legislature  in 1889. While there  he helped  successfully  lobby  for Washington's  first  Public  Accommodation  law.On  December 24,18889,John & Mary  Conna donated  40 acres  of land,which is now called  the Conna addition ,to the City of  Tacoma.

He caught  the  "gold fever"  and the age of  64 sailed  for Alaska.By  1910  he had established a  real estate,mining  and investment  company  and a second  hand furniture  store  in  Fairbanks,Alaska.John  also ran  unsuccessfully  for the Alaska  Territorial  Senate  and for  the Fairbanks  City Council  as a Socialist.At  the time  of  his  death  in 1921,at the time  of his death John owned  six rental  houses  in  Fairbanks,and several  shares  of the Cripple  Creek  gold  mine.

"Andre-Pinto-Reboucas" (January 13,1838-April 9,1898)

Was a Brazillian military engineer,abolitionist and inventor,son of Antonio Pereira

Reboucas (1798-1880) and Carolina Pinto Reboucas.Lawyer,member,of Parliament (representing the Brazillan state of Bahia) and advise to Pedro II f Brazil,his daddy was the son of a manumitted slave and Portugese tainlor.His brothers Antonio Pereira Reboucas Filho & Jose Reboucas were also engineers.


Andre became famous in Rio de Janeiro,at the time capital of the Empire of Brazil,solving the trouble of water supply,bringing it from fountain-heads outside the town.


Serving as military engineer during the Paraguayan War in Paraguay,Andre developed a torpedo,which was used successfully.


Alongside Macado de Assis and Olavo Bilac,Andre was a very important middle class representative with African descent,he also was one of the most important voices for the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
 
He encouraged the career of  Antonio Carlos Gomes,author of  the opera O Guarani.


In the 1880's,Andre began to participate actively in the abolitionist cause,he helped create the Brazilian Anti-Slavery Society,alongside Joaquim Nabuco,Jose do Patrocino and others.


After the Republician coup dEtat Andre went exile with Pedro II Europe.For two years he stayed exiled in Lisboa,as a correspondent for The Times of  London.


In 1892,facing financial problems,Andre went to Launda,and after that,Funchai,in Maderia.In 1898 his body was found at the shoreline.He supposedly  committed suicide.

"Martha-Putney" [ November 9,1916-December 11,2008]

Born Martha Settle,she was the daughter of Oliver & Ida Settle of Norristown Pennsylvania.Her daddy worked as a laborer to support his wife and eight children.As a young woman,she helped garner black votes for a candidate for Congress whom she had heard speak.The candidate won,and with his help she got a scholarship to Howard University,where she received a bachelor's degree (1939) and master's degree in history (1940).Failing to find a job as a teacher in Washington's public school system, she toiled,unhappily,as a statistical clerk with the government's War Manpower Commission. The future looked bleak.

On February 1,1943,Martha joined the women's Army Auxiliary Corps.She entered the 35th Officer Candidate School at Fort Des Moines Iowa,where she was commissioned on July 7,1943.After completing OCS,Martha was assigned as Basic Training Company Officer at Fort Des Moines.She had two temporary duty assignments in Texas and was assigned company commander of the 55th WAC hospital company stationed at Gardiner General Hospital in Chicago.She is the author of When the Nation Was In Need: Blacks in the Women's Army Corps during World War II (Metuchen,N.J.: Scarecrow Press, Inc.) 1992. The only war-era slight that hurt her was one that she she was powerless to change at the time.Back in Des Moines, a group pf German P.OW.'s being held nearby was invited to the officer's club the same club from which African American officers were barred."They were letting the enemy in,but keeping us out."

After the war was over,Matha's doggedness helped her through doctororal studies at Penn,on the G.I. BILL.When she interviewed with the late Dr.Lynn Case G "29 Gr"31,then head of the history department,she remembershim telling her,"We don't give these degrees to your people." I just looked at him frankly and tolf him I didn't want him and the University to give me one thing.If he didn't think I could make it,let me know as soon as possible. Because,i didn't have any time to waste.He said okay and halfway through the semester,he told me,"You're going to make it." Martha went on to teach at Bowie State College and then howard University,pushing her students to work to their potential.After retiring,she kept busy writing books and article; her latest project is a history of African-Americans in the Army from the Revolutionary War through the present. Martha was one of four recipents of the 1999 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal,honoring individuals who have made contributions to society in ways that reflect Roosevelt's ideals.

She attributed her lifelong perseverance to lessons in self-esteem she picked up from her parents,growing up in a family of eight children Norristown Pennsylvania."I just decided I wasn't going to accept [ other people's'] classifications for me,"she says."I knew that somebody was going to open the door for me if I kept on pushing.She authored,blacks in the United States Army: Portraits through history,Black Sailors: Afro-American Merchant Seamen and Whalemen prior to the Civil War,and When the Nation was in need: Blacks in the Women's Army Corps during World WarII.Martha S.Putney,who became one of the first black women to serve in the Women's Army Corps during World War II and who went on to write pioneering works history of African Americans in the military.Martha died in Washington.

"Lucien-Victor-Alexis" (July 8,1887-December 18,1981)

Not very much is known of his early childhood in New Orleans,but what is known are

the achiivements he would make in the later years to come.Born to Louis Victor & Alice Saaucier Alexis,he was educated in the local schools where he excelled academically. Lucien was determined to attend Harvard University.Not having the finances to do so,he began working in 1907 (at the age of twenty) as a railway mail clerk, saving for the education he so desperately desired.

By the time he reached twenty-seven he had set aside enough money for four years of college. He applied and was accepted at Harvard but was asked to attend (for one year) Philllips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire,a prestigious preparatory high school. While at Exeter,he lived in the home of Mr.H.F.Quimby and soon developed a keen interest in foreign languages and the sciences.By now he had had only enough money for three years upon entering Harvard,so he managed by graduating "cum laude" a year early (1917).It was there,at Harvard,that he earned the nickname: "The Negro Einstein."

That same year,Lucien entered Officers' Training School in Des Moines,Iowa and was commissioned  as a 1st lieutenant and assigned to the 367th Infantry on October 15, 1917. World War 1 was raging in Europe and Lucien sailed for service in France on June,1918.Two months before departing,Lucien married Rita Holt in Gulfport,Mississippi and together they would have one son, Lucien Victor Alexis Jr.

Upon returning to New Orleans,Lucien took up the profession of teaching. He was assigned to McCarthy Elementary in 1921 and appointed  Assistant Principal in 1923 at Willow Elementary.But his greatest reward came in 1926 when he became principal of Mcdonogh#35,the only public high school opened for the education of African American students in the city of New Orleans. For the next nearly 30 years,he would leave an indelible mark on the institution which is still being echoed by many of his formal students up to the present day.

"It was not unusual to spot our principal walking up and down the corridors of the Rampart Street Schol reading scientific works printed in German. Noted for his mastery of Latin,he often found time to instruct advanced classes in the subject." (Class of 1936).


Other graduates affectionately tell stories of his successful administration but also his dreadful "army." Being a former military man,Lucien was said to be strict but fair as well as famous for his method of disciplining students.Students who violated his dress code or discipline code were forced to join Alexis' "army" and ordered to march up and down the second floor of the school building.


Respect for Mr.Alexis soon extended beyond the school grounds and into the community.Since McDonogh#35 was located on South Rampart and Girod Streets,the students had to pass through a neighborhood of sleazy bars,houses of prostitution and various other vices.Often the girls were meddled by men on the way going and coming from school.Fortunately,once it was known that you were an "Alexis"girl,you were never meddled again.They respected Mr.Alexis and knew to show respect for his students.
Lucien did not give up his interest and love for science and once he became principal.For five he engaged in serious scientific study and soon published a 40 page brochure outlining his principles of a new theory which he termed his "ethonic" theory.


From 1929-1937,he published the following scientific articles: Fundamentals in Physics & in Chemistry,The Thermo-Electric Formula,The Riddle of the Magnetic Field,An Empirical Disclosure of the Fallacies of  Relativity, A Counter-Deduction from Bent Alpha Tracks,Radiations-Their Loci of Travel and Their  Loci of Orgin,The Co-Orgin of Gravity & Cosmic Rays,Simple Formula for Measuring Atoms,Their Speed,and the Speed of Light.

Lucien also spent a great deal of time on his favorite hobbies at home.On the 25th Anniversary of his graduation from Harvard,he told he told the Harvard press of the Hobbies:

"Don't interfere with my physics and chemistry,which I have raised from the ignoble position of a hobby into the dignified status of a science.Don't interfere with my Italian which I have picked up since leaving you fellows.Don't interfere with my German,My French,or my Spanish which I have kept plugging at.These are my near hobbies.You may interfere with my gardening and my frequent efforts at directing operettas,especially the Gilbert and Sullivan one,for there you are in the field of real hobbies of mine."

He is buried in the family's tomb in St.Louis Cemetery No 3.