A Fight for Justice

More than a century ago, 110 Black American soldiers were convicted of murder, mutiny, and other crimes after a riot in Houston.

The U.S. Army hanged 19 of the soldiers, including 13 on a single day—December 11, 1917—as World War I raged. It was the single largest mass execution of American soldiers by the government.

The soldiers’ families have spent decades fighting to show that the men were betrayed by the military. In November, they won a measure of justice: The Army said it had formally overturned all 110 convictions and acknowledged that the military trials were tainted by racial discrimination.

“Can you balance the scales by what we’re doing?” says Jason Holt, whose uncle, Pfc. Thomas C. Hawkins, was among the first 13 soldiers hanged in 1917. “I don’t know. But it’s an attempt. It’s an attempt to make things right.

More than a 100 years ago, 110 Black American soldiers were found guilty of murder, rebellion against America, and other crimes after a riot in Houston, Texas.

The U.S. Army hanged 19 of the soldiers, including 13 on a single day—December 11, 1917—during World War I. It was the single largest mass execution of American soldiers by the government.

The soldiers’ families have spent decades fighting to show that the men were wrongfully convicted by the military. In November, they won their fight. The Army said it had formally overturned all 110 convictions. They admitted that the military trials were influenced by racial discrimination.

“Can you balance the scales by what we’re doing?” says Jason Holt, whose uncle, Pfc. Thomas C. Hawkins, was among the first 13 soldiers hanged in 1917. “I don’t know. But it’s an attempt. It’s an attempt to make things right.”

More than 380,000 African Americans served in the Army during World War I (1914-18), according to the National Archives. Historians note that many of them saw this as an opportunity to prove their patriotism and make a case for equal treatment in the U.S. during the era of Jim Crow laws in the South and rampant discrimination in the North.

But few of those Black soldiers were given the opportunity to serve in combat. Instead, most were assigned to labor battalions and given tasks like building roads and burying the dead. They also faced extreme hostility and racism, both inside and outside the military.

Such was the case for the 110 troops convicted in 1917. They belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, a segregated Black unit known as the Buffalo Soldiers, which had been assigned in the summer of 1917 to guard the construction of a training camp for White soldiers in Houston.

In the city, White residents taunted the Black soldiers with racist slurs and physically harassed them. After two Black soldiers were beaten and violently arrested, a group of more than 100 men from their unit—hearing rumors of additional threats—seized rifles and marched into Houston, where violent clashes broke out on August 23, 1917.

More than 380,000 African Americans served in the Army during World War I (1914-18), according to the National Archives. Historians note that many of them saw this as an opportunity to prove their patriotism. It was also a chance to make a case for equal treatment in the U.S. during the time of Jim Crow laws in the South and widespread discrimination in the North.

But few of those Black soldiers were given the opportunity to serve in combat. Instead, most were assigned to labor battalions. They were given tasks like building roads and burying the dead. They also faced extreme hostility and racism, both inside and outside the military.

Such was the case for the 110 troops convicted in 1917. They belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, a segregated Black unit known as the Buffalo Soldiers. In the summer of 1917, they had been assigned to guard the construction of a training camp for White soldiers in Houston.

In the city, White residents insulted the Black soldiers with racist slurs and physically harassed them. Two Black soldiers were beaten and violently arrested. After hearing rumors of more attacks, a group of more than 100 men from their unit seized rifles and marched into Houston. Violent clashes broke out on August 23, 1917.

Nineteen people were killed—4 Black soldiers and 15 White people, including police officers, soldiers, and civilians.

The riot resulted in three military trials, which are now considered by officials to be some of the most unjust in the nation’s history. The 110 members of the 24th Infantry Regiment were represented by a single officer who had some legal training but wasn’t a lawyer. The court deliberated for only two days before convicting the first 58 soldiers.

Less than 24 hours later, with no chance for appeal, the first 13 soldiers were hanged on a hastily constructed gallows on the banks of a creek at the Army’s Camp Travis in San Antonio. By September of the following year, 52 additional soldiers had been convicted, and 6 more had died by hanging.

The men were initially buried in unmarked graves, each with just an empty soda bottle containing a piece of paper with his name on it. Their bodies were relocated to the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery grounds in 1937.

The injustice has since served “as a catalyst for change in our military justice system,” Gabe Camarillo, the under secretary for the Army, said in 2022.

Now, he noted, every soldier has the right to appeal a conviction, and every execution must be reviewed by a sitting U.S. president.

In November, Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth acknowledged that the convicted soldiers “were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials.”

Nineteen people were killed—4 Black soldiers and 15 White people, including police officers, soldiers, and civilians.

The riot resulted in three military trials. The trials are now considered by officials to be some of the most unfair in the nation’s history. The 110 members of the 24th Infantry Regiment were represented by a single officer who had some legal training but wasn’t a lawyer. The court deliberated for only two days. It then convicted the first 58 soldiers.

With no chance for appeal, the first 13 soldiers were hanged within 24 hours at the Army’s Camp Travis in San Antonio. By September of the following year, 52 additional soldiers had been convicted. Six more men had died by hanging.

The men were initially buried in unmarked graves. The only identification was an empty soda bottle containing a piece of paper with the soldier’s name on it. Their bodies were later relocated to the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery grounds in 1937.

The injustice has since served “as a catalyst for change in our military justice system,” Gabe Camarillo, the under secretary for the Army, said in 2022.

Now, he noted, every soldier has the right to appeal a conviction, and every execution must be reviewed by a sitting U.S. president.

In November, Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth acknowledged that the convicted soldiers “were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials.”

The Army said the soldiers’ records would be corrected, to the extent possible, to characterize their military service as “honorable,” and their descendants would be made eligible for benefits.

And in February, several descendants of the soldiers gathered at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery as the Department of Veterans Affairs dedicated new headstones for 17 of the executed servicemen. (The families of the other two soldiers who were hanged reclaimed their remains for private burial.) The new headstones acknowledge each soldier’s rank, unit, and home state—a simple honor accorded to every other veteran buried in the cemetery. They replaced the previous headstones that noted only their names and dates of death.

The Army said the soldiers’ records would be corrected. Their military service would be changed to “honorable,” and their families would be made eligible for benefits.

In February, several descendants of the soldiers gathered at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. The Department of Veterans Affairs placed new headstones for 17 of the executed servicemen. The families of the other two soldiers who were hanged kept the remains for private burial.

The new headstones acknowledge each soldier’s rank, unit, and home state just like every other veteran buried in the cemetery. The previous headstones only noted their names and dates of death.

The headstones were unveiled after an honor guard fired a three-volley rifle salute, a bugler played taps, and officials presented the descendants with folded American flags and certificates declaring that the executed soldiers had been honorably discharged.

Angela Holder, whose great-uncle, Cpl. Jesse Moore, was among the 13 soldiers hanged on December 11, 1917, says stories of his service told by her great-aunt prompted her to research his military career. She learned that he had served in the Philippines.

“He served proudly, and to now have the headstone redressed is an acknowledgment of who he was,” Holder says. “He was a very proud soldier.”

The headstones were unveiled after standard military funeral traditions, including an honor guard firing a three-volley rifle salute and a bugler playing taps. Then officials presented the descendants with folded American flags and certificates declaring that the executed soldiers had been honorably discharged.

Angela Holder, whose great-uncle, Cpl. Jesse Moore, was among the 13 soldiers hanged on December 11, 1917, says stories of his service told by her great-aunt prompted her to research his military career. She learned that he had served in the Philippines.

“He served proudly, and to now have the headstone redressed is an acknowledgment of who he was,” Holder says. “He was a very proud soldier.”