During
World War I African American soldiers in the U.S. military faced an enormous
degree of discrimination from the draft process throughout their service.  They were trained at separate camps and
served in separate units commanded by white officers.  Those stationed in the U.S. were housed in
inferior quarters and assigned to manual labor jobs, such as building roads and
bridges, repairing railroads, hauling supplies and even digging graves.

Headquarter camp of the U.S. Army 328th Labor Battalion located south of the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest.

The
U.S. Army 328^th Labor Battalion, consisting of over 1,000 black
soldiers, was stationed at Pisgah Forest from early June to late December 1918.  They were divided into companies of 250
soldiers, ten white non-commissioned officers and three white commissioned officers,
spread a few miles apart along the Davidson River.  A headquarters camp was located near the
forest entrance on the east side of the Davidson River.  Officers’ tents, an infirmary, a supply tent
and corral were located across the river near present day Lowe’s. The
commanding officer was Lt.         

   Nathaniel Golden.

In a
letter to Mary Jane McCrary dated June 2, 1961 Golden shared his memories of
the time.  Golden provided a basic
description of the camps and key events that occurred.  It
appears there was little interaction between local residents and soldiers, with
the exception of a few officers.  A
search of the Brevard News supported this as there was little mention of the
encampment.

One incident that Golden touched on in just a
few sentences was a mutiny in Company B.  The
uprising stemmed from a general discontent with conditions—a continued food
shortage, lack of entertainment and poor leadership. On the evening of July 17
Headley Braveboy cut in line for a second cup of lemonade.  When the mess sergeant tried to remove
Braveboy and take him to the guard tent he resisted, a crowd gathered and
things quickly got out of hand. This event lead to the court martial of 22
African American soldiers on charges ranging from disobeying orders to
attempted murder.

Jan
Hodges’ account “The Mutiny at Pisgah Forest” from the Summer 2013 issue of National
Archives and Records Administration’s quarterly magazine, Prologue can be found
online at www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2013/summer/pisgah-forest.pdf
or in the WWI archival file located in the Local History Room at the
Transylvania County Library. A transcript of Golden’s letter to McCrary is also
available.

Photographs
and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina
Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library
hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional
photographs. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-1820.