page_title: The Black Battalion
section_title: Content
hierarchical_section_title: The Black Battalion / Content
caption_attribution_description: Reverend William Andrew White
context_page_description: The Black Battalion Canada's best kept military secret refers to the 1987 book by Calvin W. Ruck CM about the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, the only the only all-black battalion to serve in World War I. The book's main theme is to chronicle the contributions of Black veterans of the Great War, whose military heritage had been forgotten. Ruck served on the Canadian Senate from 1998 to 2000, and has been honoured with the Order of Canada and the Governor General's award.
context_section_description: Ruck provided the context behind the establishment of the segregated No. 2 Construction Battalion. 
  Five hundred black soldiers volunteered from Nova Scotia alone, representing 56% of the Black Battalion. It was the only black battalion in Canadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of black soldiers to serve in World War I. The first black officer in the British Empire, Reverend William A. White led the Battalion.
caption: Reverend William A. White – first black officer in the British Empire
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