We’re trying to find out what we can about Sgt. Alfred Adams, from Albany, a member of Company C (the Albany Company) of the 369th Regiment (the Harlem Hell Fighters) awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government in World War I.
By now most of you are very familiar with the story Sgt. Henry Johnson from Albany – posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in World War I. As the story goes, he enlisted with about a half dozen other Black men from Albany, many of whom worked for the railroad. We’re pretty sure Alfred Adams was one of those men.*
This is what we know: He was born to Jacob and Caroline Sawyer Adams in 1897 in Albany. They appeared to have lived on Orange St., at various addresses, before Alfred enlisted in 1917. His father was a waiter (probably for the D & H Railroad). He had younger brother and sister, Edwin and Pauline. His father was active in community organizations, including the Elim House, for “colored young women” on Orange St. in the early 1900s and the Albany Inter-racial Council in the 1940s.
The story of the Harlem Hell Fighters (the 369th Infantry) is fascinating. It was a Black unit (the U.S. Army wasn’t de-segregated until 1948 by Pres. Truman) formed from the 15th NY National Guard, created to recruit Black men for World War I. It was among the first U.S. units shipped to Europe to help the French – desperate for American aid. General Pershing, commander of the American forces, was caught between a rock and a hard place. White troops didn’t want to fight in combat with black troops, yet Pershing didn’t want American soldiers to take orders from French officers. Finally, Pershing relented, and permitted the 369th to fight under French officers, rather than just serving in a support role, as was the case with most Black American troops.
So the Hell Fighters were among the first American troops to see combat during the War, performing with courage and bravery, that opened the eyes of the Country to what a Black man could do. The 369th spent more time in front line combat than any other American unit. It sustained heavy casualties and the regiment was much reduced in size when it returned home at the War’s end. It appears that as many as 120-150 soldiers from the 369th were awarded the French medal for heroism – the Croix de Guerre. At least two of those men, Sergeants Henry Johnson and Alfred Adams, were from Albany and both lived on Orange St.
And that takes us back to Sgt. Adams. He was working for the Railroad when he enlisted in the Army in May 1917 when he was 20. By August he was promoted to Corporal. We think it was his actions in the summer of 1918, during the Champagne offensive in the Battle of the Marne, for which Sgt. Adams was awarded the Croix de Guerre. In late August 1918 he was promoted to Sergeant. But his war wasn’t over. In September 1918 he was severely wounded – his name appears in an Albany newspaper casualty list almost a month later on October 8.
Unlike Sgt. Johnson, Sgt. Adams returns to more normal life in Albany. He’s discharged from the Army in February 1919, and marries Beatrice Van Houten in 1920 – they don’t appear to have had children. He goes to work as a Red Cap (railroad porter) at Union Station in Albany. We lose track of the Sgt. until 1948, when a reference to him emerges in an interview by “The Knickerbocker News” with Frank Noble, head Red Cap. (Adams has continued to work as a Red Cap and he and Noble are best friends; they own a camp on Lake Champlain. It’s in that interview that Noble mentions that Adams was a member of the 369th and awarded the Croix de Guerre – that set us off on our search).
Finally in 1955 we find Sgt. Adams and his wife living in West Hill, at 123 North Lake Ave. (between Elk St. and Clinton Ave.). Then we lose track. We believe Sgt. Adams died in 1974.
So tell us anything you may know about Sgt. Adams or any of the Black men identified below. Please message us with any pieces of information so we can tell more of the stories of Sgt. Adams and other men from Albany who served with the legendary Harlem Hell Fighters.
*This is a list (probably not complete) of the men from Albany who served with the 369th (all served in Company C):
Pvt. Cornelius Banks
Pvt. Harold Caesar
Pvt. Walter Cobbs
Corp. Robert Blackwell
Corp. Robert DeGraw
Corp. William Freeman
Pvt. William Hallicons
Corp. Charles Jackson
Pvt. George Jackson
Albert Johnson (rank unknown)
James Johnson (rank unknown)
Pvt Charles jones
Pvt. Robert Lodge
Sgt. George McNamara
Corp. Foster Molson
Corp. Merritt Molson (may also have received the Croix de Guerre)
George Morgan (rank unknown)
Pvt. William Randall
Pvt. Clarence Sickles
Sgt. William Thomas
Pvt. John Wallace
Copyright 2021 Julie O’Connor
Friends of Albany History 