The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-04
HAYWARD TELLS OF
NEGROES HEROISM
Colonel Pictures the Terrific
Fighting in Which New
Workers. Took Part.
FRENCH AWARD CROSSES
Major Spencer, on Clutches,
Describes Bravery Shown
Under Rain Of Shells.

Col. William Hayward, former PUP
he Service Commissioner and now
commanding officer OF the old FIJI
tenth New York Infantry, tells Of the
experiences of the States negro regi-
ment in the great offensive in a letter
Just received by Gov. Charles 8. Whit
man. The letter. rs given to the pub
lie yesterday with tho permission Of
the Governor, said in part:
There is 80 much to write about ]
feel like throwing down my pen and
giving UP. for to write one-tenth would
All a great book-and what shall
| leave outf
you surely have heard we're in the
great offensive starting September 20.
! 1t expresses 1t mildly. At times 1t
seemed to me We were the offensive.
Twelve days and nights our division
(French) fought on. We advanced
fourteen kllometers mine or ten miles).
I'VE had two weeks out for rest,
| then back IN line in q sector the mere
mention OF which makes the French
man, Officer and poilu, raise his eye
brows and shrug his shoulders. We
| lost a man an hour and an officer q
day there for while. It was from
this sector we attacked on September
| 20, though all but two battalions OF our
division were out tuning up for sew
eral days before.
Into the Jaws of Death.
AT 5:35 we started and after that
| for twelve days II was inch by inch.
| foot by foot. German cannons and
machine gunsit seemed to me were just
| growing out of the ground. Poor
! Lorry major Lorillard Spencer, Whit
mans military secretary was hit six
| times by machine guns almost at the
start.
/ I'VE had everything happen TO us
which ever happened to a regiment
and lot Of things we got up for the
| terrible experience. and yet perfectly
! fascinating and marvellous
| II can't attempt TO describe those
| days. the attacks against acres OF
barbed wire, trenches, ridges, ruined
towns and the old Boche fighting like
| a tiger to keep each one. l saw shells
fall on water and explode the same as
IL they had hit the ground. When we
| crossed the D. River the BoChe had
| our range and the water looked Ike n
| hailstorm was falling on its surface.
| We went across a cemetery which had
been used up to the time Of the at
! tack in one town. a civilian cemetery.
| Our guns and theirs had literally
blown the graves out into the open.
| The recently killed soldiers We're by
no means the most gruesome sight at
! that revolving place.
Vision OF Terrible Fighting.
We finally on the fourth day gained
the heights overlooking the marvellous
plain and valley and l saw what I'm
sure has never been given to man TO
see before I saw four divisions Of
our troops attack abreast (twelve reg
iments). The two artillery forces, ours
and Bochr. firing from behind. laid
down terrible barrages on each others
infantry (the way artillery duels gen.
orally go-against each others infan-
try and not each other). Il was Ike
double belt OF flame. smoke. tossed
M earth, men and debris for four
kilometers that could see.
Major Litt!e's battalion WIS leading
there and getting romped hard. The
air was full constantly Of battles he
tween individual planes and whole
escadrilles We saw fifty-seven French
planes go over together. bu: the Bochc,
II seemed to me. could always send n
plane over US 10 indicate by rockets
where our line was for his artillery to
burn us up
Suffice II to say we got cited, the regi-
ment will receive the Croix de Guerre
for its co,ors and each officer men
toned by name personally. provided
the Lieutenant or other officer at q.
II. @. A. f. f., decides the French are
not making a h!deous mistake in thus
honoring an American regiment. Many
/ missing were wounded and evacu-
ated through aid stations of neighbor-
ing units"
Bravery OF spencer's Men.
Resting on his crutches in the Union
| Club yesterday afternoon, Major Loril-
lard Spencer, commander OF the Third
Battalion OF the Fifteenth New York
Infantry, told OF the bravery Of those
New York negroes who had an impor-
taNt share in the scrap that started
when the Germans started banging the
Allies line last summer.
Il remember the worst fight early in
June when the Germans launched a
severe attack on my battalion, and the
men stuck 10 their posts admirably.
[ using hand grCnades ana machine
guns TO check the onslaught Com
pany n. commented by Capt David
lEsperance, bore the brurt o. t. ana
Capt. Shaw, New York Insurance
broker. had charge OF the machine gun
: section which was so placed that II
surprised the attackers as they
streamed toward our trenches and
sprayed Death among them. The
, Boche dropped 'm.nnles' around us,
and these giant aerial torpedoes
gougcd big holes in the earth, burying
some of my men.