The largest murder trial and the largest court martial in US history has come to a new conclusion over 100 years after it first ended. The U.S. Army has overturned the conviction of an all-Black regiment for mutiny following a new review of the historic proceeding.
In April of 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and joined the quagmire that was the First World War. The U.S. army of the time was slow and more accustomed to chasing down bandits along the Mexican frontier. To aid in training and recruitment, military training camps were built all over the country. One such camp was Camp Logan, a seven acre base in Houston, Texas. Houston was still a deeply pro-Jim Crow city, and 1917 was just 54 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was announced. When an all-Black regiment was sent to guard the camp’s construction, a disaster was guaranteed to occur.
On July 27, 1917, the all-Black 24th infantry regiment was sent to Houston. Nearly a month later, on August 23 of the same year, the Houston Riot of 1917, also known as the Camp Logan Mutiny, occurred. Throughout the month in between, racial violence and discrimination against the “Buffalo Soldiers” occurred. However, on August 23, a serious altercation occurred between Houston police officer Lee Sparks, and Corporal (Cpl) Charles Baltimore of the 24th. Cpl Baltimore was pistol whipped and beaten by Sparks and his partner, when Baltimore attempted to secure the release of one of his soldiers.
The regiment heard rumors of Spark’s death, and set up defensive positions around the camp, fearing an attack by the police and a racially motivated mob. Spark ended up returning to the camp bleeding, but in the interim the White battalion commander fled his command. It was then that a sergeant led a company of the regiment out of the camp and into Houston where a melee occurred. The incident ended when members of the Illinois National Guard and police officers ended the march, but 17 people were killed and 21 wounded.
The entire company was soon after court martialed, and put under the charge of mutiny, which carries the punishment of death. In the ensuing three different trials, 19 men were hanged, and many others were sentenced to life in prison.
This decision was recently overturned after over 100 years, when the NAACP and South Texas College of law joined forces with New Jersey lawyer Jason Holt, a descendant of one of those executed.
Together they proved that the trial was completely mis-managed. Major Harry Grier, the man representing the Buffalo Soldiers, was not even a lawyer. He was given 10 days to prepare for a court martial involving dozens of soldiers, and even admitted that mutiny had already been proven, something that worked against his clients’ best interest.
In 2022, when the request for a review of the proceeding was submitted, it was reviewed by three different parole boards. In the end, they submitted to the Secretary of the Army that there was a lack of physical evidence regarding mutiny. Furthermore, that having only one man—who wasn’t even a lawyer—represent 110 men after 10 days was enough for a mistrial today. Finally, although many of the Black soldiers were convicted, not one White soldier, police officer, or citizen was charged with a crime.
This evidence convinced the Army Secretary to approve setting aside the convictions, announced publicly in a statement on November 13. This means that the soldier’s descendants can now receive benefits, and that formal documents of Honorable Discharges have been drawn up and placed in official records. We can’t change the past, but we can honor the memories of those who had to suffer under the hands of injustice.
