369th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 369th Infantry Regiment , formerly the 15th New York National Guard Regiment , was an infantry regiment of the United States Army that saw action in World War I and World War II . The 369th Infantry is known for being the first African - American and Puerto Rican regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I . The regiment was nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters and the Black Rattlers , in addition to several other nicknames . History . The 369th Infantry Regiment was constituted 2 June 1913 in the New York Army National Guard as the 15th New York Infantry Regiment . It was organized on 29 June 1916 at New York City . It was mustered into Federal service on 25 July 1917 at Camp Whitman , New York . It was drafted into Federal service 5 August 1917 . The regiment trained in the New York area , performed guard duty at various locations in New York . They trained more intensely at Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg , South Carolina , where they experienced significant racism from the local communities and from other units . The 15th Infantry Regiment NYARNG was assigned on 1 December 1917 to the 185th Infantry Brigade . It was commanded by Col . William Hayward , a member of the Union League Club of New York , which sponsored the 369th in the tradition of the 20th U . S . Colored Infantry , which the club had sponsored in the Civil War . The 15th Infantry Regiment shipped out from the New York Port of Embarkation on 27 December 1917 , and joined its brigade upon arrival in France . The unit was relegated to labor service duties instead of combat training . The 185th Infantry Brigade was assigned on 5 January 1918 to the 93rd Division [ Provisional ] . The 15th Infantry Regiment , NYARNG was reorganized and redesignated 1 March 1918 as the 369th Infantry Regiment , but the unit continued labor service duties while it awaited the decision as to its future . The US Army decided on 8 April 1918 to assign the unit to the French Army for the duration of the United States ' participation in the war . The men were issued French helmets and brown leather belts and pouches , although they continued to wear their U . S . uniforms . The 369th Infantry Regiment was relieved 8 May 1918 from assignment to the 185th Infantry Brigade , and went into the trenches as part of the French 16th Division . It served continuously to 3 July . The regiment returned to combat in the Second Battle of the Marne . Later the 369th was reassigned to Gen . Lebouc ’ s 161st Division to participate in the Allied counterattack . On 19 August , the regiment went off the line for rest and training of replacements . On 25 September 1918 the French 4th Army went on the offensive in conjunction with the American drive in the Meuse - Argonne . The 369th turned in a good account in heavy fighting , sustaining severe losses . They captured the important village of Séchault . At one point the 369th advanced faster than French troops on their right and left flanks , and risked being cut off . By the time the regiment pulled back for reorganization , it had advanced fourteen kilometers through severe German resistance . In mid - October the regiment was moved to a quiet sector in the Vosges Mountains . It was there on 11 November , the day of the Armistice . Six days later , the 369th made its last advance and on 26 November , reached the banks of the Rhine River , the first Allied unit to reach it . The regiment was relieved on 12 December 1918 from assignment to the French 161st Division . It returned to the New York Port of Embarkation and was demobilized on 28 February 1919 at Camp Upton at Yaphank , New York , and returned to the New York Army National Guard . During its service , the regiment suffered 1500 casualties and took part in the following campaigns : One Medal of Honor and many Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to members of the regiment . The most celebrated man in the 369th was Pvt . Henry Lincoln Johnson , a former Albany , New York , rail station porter , who earned the nickname " Black Death " for his actions in combat in France . In May 1918 Johnson and Pvt . Needham Roberts fought off a 24 - man German patrol , though both were severely wounded . After they expended their ammunition , Roberts used his rifle as a club and Johnson battled with a bolo knife . Johnson was the first American to receive the " Croix de Guerre " awarded by the French government . By the end of the war , 171 members of the 369th were awarded the Legion of Honor . Photographs show that the 369th carried the New York Regimental flag overseas . The French government awarded the regiment the " Croix de Guerre " with silver star for the taking of Séchault . It was pinned to the colors by General Lebouc at a ceremony in Germany , 13 December 1918 . One of the first units in the United States armed forces to have black officers in addition to its all - black enlisted corps , the 369th compiled a war record equal to any other U . S . infantry regiment . It earned several unit citations along with many individual decorations for valor from the French government . The 369th Infantry Regiment was the first New York unit to return to the United States , and was the first unit to march up Fifth Avenue from the Washington Square Park Arch to their armory in Harlem . Their unit was placed on the permanent list with other veteran units . In re - capping the story of the 369th Arthur W . Little , who had been a battalion commander , wrote in the regimental history " From Harlem to the Rhine " , that it was official that the outfit was 191 days under fire , never lost a foot of ground or had a man taken prisoner , though on two occasions men were captured but they were recovered . Only once did it fail to take its objective and that was due largely to bungling by French artillery support . There were 1500 casualties . During the war the 369th ' s regimental band ( under the direction of James Reese Europe ) became famous throughout Europe . It introduced the until - then unknown music called jazz to British , French and other audiences , and started an international demand for it . At the end of the war , the 369th returned to New York City , and in February 1919 , paraded through the city . Thousands lined the streets to see them : the parade began on Fifth Avenue at 61st Street , proceeded uptown past ranks of white bystanders , turned west on 110th Street , and then swung on to Lenox Avenue , and marched into Harlem , where black New Yorkers packed the sidewalks to see them . The parade became a marker of African American service to the nation , a frequent point of reference for those campaigning for civil rights . In the 1920s and 1930s , the 369th was a regular presence on Harlem ' s streets , each year marching through the neighborhood from their armory to catch a train to their annual summer camp , and then back through the neighborhood on their return two weeks later . Coast Artillery lineage . After World War I the unit was redesignated and reorganized as a Coast Artillery unit . The coast Artillery section of the lineage is given below . There is some evidence in the New York annual report from 1941 that , like many units of the 1930s , it was underfunded and did not receive any antiaircraft weapons until its mobilization for World War II . After mobilization training the unit was deployed to Hawaii , and eventually Okinawa . Inducted into federal service 13 January 1941 at New York City . Regiment broken up 12 December 1943 as Follows - Legacy . The 369th Regiment Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 . A section of the Harlem River Drive in New York City is named for the 369th Infantry Regiment . The filk er Michael Longcor is the composer and recorder of the song " The Ballad of Esau ' s Sons " ( lyrics by poet Martha Keller ) , which describes the 369th ' s exploits during World War I without explicitly naming the unit . A silver color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a blue shield charged with a silver rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike . The rattlesnake is a symbol used on some colonial flags and is associated with the thirteen original colonies . The silver rattlesnake on the blue shield was the distinctive regimental insignia of the 369th Infantry Regiment , ancestor of the unit , and alludes to the service of the organization during World War I . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 369th Infantry Regiment on 17 April 1923 . It was redesignated for the 369th Coast Artillery Regiment on 3 December 1940 . It was redesignated for the 369th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 7 January 1944 . It was redesignated for the 569th Field Artillery Battalion on 14 August 1956 . The insignia was redesignated for the 369th Artillery Regiment on 4 April 1962 . It was amended to correct the wording of the description on 2 September 1964 . It was redesignated for the 569th Transportation Battalion and amended to add a motto on 13 March 1969 . The insignia was redesignated for the 369th Transportation Battalion and amended to delete the motto on 14 January 1975 . It was redesignated for the 369th Support Battalion and amended to revise the description and symbolism on 2 November 1994 . The insignia was redesignated for the 369th Sustainment Brigade and amended to revise the description and symbolism on 20 July 2007 .