Lewis Cunningham Broadus

Lewis Cunningham Broadus
In this 1909 photograph, he wears the ribbon of the Certificate of Merit.
Birth name	Louis Cunningham
Nickname(s)	"Cap"
Born	July 24, 1877 Henrico County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	June 23, 1961 (aged 83) Jamaica, Queens, U.S.
Buried at	Pinelawn Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1897-1923
Rank	Captain
Unit	25th Infantry Regiment 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Indian Wars Spanish–American War  • Battle of San Juan Hill  • Battle of El Caney Philippine–American War Border War (1910–19) World War I  • Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Certificate of Merit Medal
Spouse(s)	Florence Blackwood (m. 1897)
Other work	Special Officer, Mount Vernon PD Alcohol Tax Division, New York City

Lewis Cunningham Broadus (1877–1961) was a "Buffalo Soldier" born in Henrico County, Virginia, who served his country with distinction in the 25th Infantry Regiment and the 92nd Infantry Division of the United States Army from 1897 to 1923. He volunteered in the "Colored Troops" and fought in military campaigns including the Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, the Border War, and World War I, during which he was awarded a Certificate of Merit Medal for bravery by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

The Certificate of Merit Medal was renamed as the Distinguished Service Cross and sent to his surviving family who presented it as a gift to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and accepted by the Museum's Curator of Collections^[1] His military papers were donated to the Library of Virginia Foundation, on behalf of the Library of Virginia.^[2]

Background & Personal Life

Born on July 24, 1877 in Richmond, Virginia, he was the son of an Irish slave owner, Lewis Cunningham, and an enslaved African woman, today known only as Lizzie. He appears in the U.S. Census dated June 3, 1880, Henrico County, Virginia, as Louis Cunningham, age three. After the untimely death of his mother, he was raised by the Broadus family, listed in the census as "Arthur- stable hand", his son "David- tobacco hand", and daughter "Mary- washerwoman". He later changed his name to Lewis Broadus. After enlisting as a volunteer in the "Colored Troops" Company M 25th Infantry, Lewis was sent to Fort Custer, Montana. There, he met and married Florence Blackwood, a young Native American woman of the Lakota (Sioux) born of the Burnt Thigh Tiyospaye Band, which was later named the Rosebud Sioux, during the time period when the Dakota Territory became the State of South Dakota. After marrying, Lewis decided to make the U.S. Army his career, which involved frequent "postings" to many different areas of the country. Postings required many adjustments to new communities such as new local military schools and new neighborhoods for his young family, which then consisted of Lewis, Florence, daughter Mabel, and son Ernest.

Military career

After the end of the Civil War and just eight years before his birth, the U.S. Army had established four African American regiments which became the 24th and the 25th Infantry, and the 9th and the 10th Cavalry. At age twenty, in 1897, he enlisted as a young volunteer in the "Colored Troops" Company M 25th Infantry and was sent to Fort Custer, Montana. Shortly after, he was sent to fight in America's first overseas conflict, the Spanish American War. Since 1885, Cuba had been fighting for independence from Spain. In 1898, when the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, American troops were mobilized for war. The African American regiments of the 24th and 25th Infantry and 9th and 10th Cavalry were in the forefront of the fighting. Lewis Broadus saw action at the Battle of El Caney. The following excerpt is an eyewitness account of charging the Blockhouse at El Caney:

It has been reported that the 12th U.S. Infantry made the charge, assisted by the 25th Infantry, but it is a recorded fact that the 25th Infantry fought the battle alone, the 12th Infantry coming up after the firing had nearly ceased. Private T.C. Butler, Company H, 25th Infantry, was the first man to enter the block-house at El Caney, and took possession of the Spanish flag for his regiment. An officer of the 12th Infantry came up while Butler was in the house and ordered him to give up the flag, which he was compelled to do, but not until he had torn a piece off the flag to substantiate his report to his Colonel of the injustice which had been done to him. Thus, by using the authority given him by his shoulder-straps, this officer took for his regiment that which had been won by the hearts' blood of some of the bravest, though black, soldiers of Shafter's army. The charge of El Caney has been little spoken of, but it was quite as great a show of bravery as the famous taking of San Juan Hill.

Frank W. Pullen, Jr., Ex-Sergeant-Major 25th U.S. Infantry. Enfield, N.C., March 23, 1899.^[3]

He also saw action in the Battle of San Juan Hill along with Lt.Col. Teddy Roosevelt's famous Rough Riders. Although an infantryman, he ended up with the African American 10th Cavalry as they charged the hill on horseback. The 10th never received recognition for the charge but his family keeps the memory of their forbearer—whom they affectionately call "Cap"—hanging onto a horse's neck, galloping up San Juan Hill under heavy artillery fire. The victory at San Juan Hill led to the swift defeat of the Spanish army. African American troops bravely served their country, but the U.S. War Department refused to promote African American men as commissioned officers. "Cap" nonetheless requested promotion as he had distinguished himself by recovering the horses of the mounted officers at great personal risk, and also saved the lives of four men of the regiment. In a letter to Captain W.S. Scott, Company G, 25th Infantry, Fort McIntosh, Texas, dated September 4, 1899, he wrote the following:

Sir

I have the honor to request that the Capt. will recommend me to the war Dept. for an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Volunteer regiment which was ordered a few days ago. My service in the army is from Jan. 28/97 to the present time and in the present company. I served in the Spanish American War in early 1898. Battles El cancy (sic), under fire July 2nd and 3rd, and before Santiago, 10th and 11th, 1898. I was among the first to charge the block house at El cancy (sic) and on the night of July 2, I volunteered to go back through the bamboo jungles and got some papers, horses and a part of the lost platoons. I brought them to the firing line in the morning of the 3rd and I volunteered to go with Lt. O'Neil over on the bluff to take observation of the Spanish guns, which the Captain knows was a danger in it. Hoping this will meet your approval.

Very respectfully,

Lewis Broadus

Company G, 25th Infantry, Fort McIntosh, Texas

However, the War Department sent him to the Presidio, which was then a military training base located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. Thousands of regiments passed through it on their way to fight against Filipino nationalists (Insurectos) during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). His regiment was stationed in Mindanao, the second largest island after Luzon.

Upon returning to the U.S., he was sent back to the frontier to once again serve as a "Buffalo Soldier," patrolling and defending what was called the "Indian Territories"—the Western Plains region. An incident occurred while he served as 1st Sergeant at Fort Niobrara, Nebraska in July, 1906. A memorandum from the Acting Secretary of the U.S. War Department, Office of the Chief of Staff, Washington dated September, 1906 states:

"Award of Certificate of Merit to 1st Sergeant Lewis Broadus, Company M, 25th Infantry, for coolness, presence of mind, and bravery in rushing in on a man armed with a rifle and intent on murder, seizing and deflecting the aim of the rifle just before it was fired, saving Sergeant Thompson, at whom the rifle was aimed, and perhaps several others who were in line of fire, this at such an imminent risk to himself that the bullet and flame from the discharge passed between his upraised shoulder and his cheek …"

He was awarded the Certificate of Merit Medal on Sept. 25, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

During the Border War, "Cap" was sent to fight Mexican revolutionaries in "skirmishes" (brief periods of fighting) on the Texas–Mexican border. Later, between 1913 to 1917, the 25th Infantry Regiment was sent to Oahu, Hawaii where approximately 800 African American soldiers were housed in the Schofield Barracks.

Captain Lewis Cunningham Broadus, as featured in The Crisis Magazine, June 1917

As W.E.B. DuBois had founded The Crisis Magazine (in 1910)—the official publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the June 1917 issue featured "Cap" as one of four "outstanding men of the month."^[4][5] His photograph shows him in formal military dress wearing the insignia of Regimental Sergeant Major on his left arm, black and gold service stripes above his wrists, ornamental braided cord (aiguillette) across his chest, and over 20 medals from shoulder to waist. That same year, he was assigned to special duty in Hartford, Connecticut where he served in the capacity of Ordnance Sergeant–a non commissioned staff officer, receiving and issuing all ordnance, (artillery, weapons, ammunition) "assisting the Property and Disbursing Officer for the State of Connecticut, per Special Orders #281 C.D. of Long Island Sound, Fort H.G. Wright, N.Y." Once again, he petitioned for appointment as "Commissioned Officer in the Colored Regiments" citing his exemplary service record:

Enlisted Jan. 20, 1897

Appointed Corporal and Sergeant Sept 25, 1898 Company D 25th Infantry

Promoted to 1st Sergeant July 26, 1900.

Served in Company D 25th Infantry to Feb 26, 1901

Transferred to Company M

Appointed Corporal Sergeant and 1st Sergeant Company M 25th Infantry

Served in Company M to May 19, 1912

Battalion Sergeant Major 25th Infantry to May 2, 1914

Ordnance Sergeant US Army from May 2, 1914 to 1917.

Awarded Certificate of Merit

Qualified as Expert Rifleman 1904,05, 06, 07, 1910, 1912 and 1914.

Qualified as Expert Pistol Shot 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1913

As the United States entered World War I, his "Buffalo Soldier" regiment, the 25th Infantry, became part of the segregated 92nd Infantry Division under General John J. Pershing. Prior to departing for Europe, he once again sought promotion as Commissioned Officer and received another commendation. The letter was in support of sending him to "the Reserves Officers Training Camp at Fort Des Moines, Iowa ^[6] for the term of his instruction commencing June 18, 1917 … [as] he is in a high degree the type of a soldier desired there." This time, he fulfilled his goal: Captain Infantry, U.S. Army. Lewis, along with the majority of black officers and draftees who trained at Camp Dodge, was organized into the 366th Infantry Reserve Regiment.^[7] After months of training, the division departed for France in June, 1918. The 366th fought with distinction in engagements such as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest American engagement of the war, which ultimately led to the armistice ending the First World War.

Retirement and Legacy

After his military career ended, he settled in the town of Mount Vernon, New York where he worked as Special Officer for the Mount Vernon police department and was employed by the Alcohol Tax Division of NYC until his retirement in 1947.

By 1961, "Cap" had served his country for 26 years with "impeccable military and combat credentials" and was one of the last remaining Spanish–American War veterans. He died at age 83 in Veterans Hospital in Jamaica, NY and had a military burial in Pinelawn Cemetery, Farmingdale, Long Island.

The Certificate of Merit Medal that he was awarded as a young man in 1906 by President Roosevelt had been converted to the Distinguished Service Medal in 1919. By the "Act of Congress approval March 5, 1934, authorization of the U.S. War Department", this award was converted into the United States Distinguished Service Cross.

Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross, in lieu of a previously issued Certificate of Merit and Distinguished Service Medal, to First Sergeant Lewis Broadus, United States Army, for coolness, presence of mind, and bravery in saving lives of others at Fort Niobrara, Nebraska, on 3 July 1906, while serving as a member of Company M, 25th Infantry Regiment.^[8]

In 2007, his medal was donated by his family to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., where it is included in its permanent collection and special exhibitions.

References

1. SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE April 23, 2007, Curatorial Department, Curator of Collections.
2. LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION DEED OF GIFT, on behalf of THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/MR24S2FUPSBRF31A8M857KCI2NJBPMSJFXN625Q6JRDDA1IDQI-45938?func=full-set-set&set_number=001674&set_entry=000004&format=999
3. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11102/11102-h/11102-h.htm Chapter III
4. THE CRISIS, JUNE 1917 "BLACK DEFENDERS OF AMERICA" Schomburg Collection, NYC 355.1 page 70, "AN ARMY SERGEANT"
5. https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/civil-rights/crisis/0600-crisis-v14n02-w080.pdf pg.83–84
6. http://fortdesmoinesmuseum.org/history/1917-graduates/
7. https://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/scott/SCh11.htm
8. http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=15788

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