A short quiz

How Much Do You Know About the 371st?

Eight questions about the 371st Infantry Regiment and Sgt. Perry Loyd, each answered with a short reveal, a plain explanation, and its source.

Question 1 of 8

In April 1918 the U.S. Army sent the 371st, a regiment of Black draftees from South Carolina, to France.

Whose army did they fight in?

Pick your answer to each question, then open “Reveal the answer” to check it and read where it comes from.

Question 1 of 8
In April 1918 the U.S. Army sent the 371st, a regiment of Black draftees from South Carolina, to France.
Whose army did they fight in?
- The French Army
- The American Army, in General Pershing's line
- The British Army
- An all-Black American division, the 93rd
Reveal the answer
American soldiers, French rifles, French helmets.
Correct answer: The French Army
The 371st was attached to the French 157th Infantry Division, the "Red Hand" division, under General Mariano Goybet, and fought with French weapons, helmets, and equipment. The 93rd Division it had been assigned to was never fully organized: its headquarters was demobilized in May 1918 and its regiments were loaned to the French, who needed infantry, while the American Expeditionary Force declined to brigade Black regiments with white American units.
Sources: Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War (1919), ch. XVI, p. 232 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); 371st Infantry Regiment WWI Memorial Monument Association (371stmonument.org) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 2 of 8
Hill 188, September 1918. Two men from the same South Carolina regiment, in the line in France.
What happened to Sergeant Perry Loyd?
- He was killed leading the assault
- He was wounded the next day and survived
- He was captured
- He came through untouched
Reveal the answer
He came home. The man killed on Hill 188 was Cpl. Freddie Stowers.
Correct answer: He was wounded the next day and survived
Sgt. Loyd was wounded on September 29, 1918, one day after the assault on Hill 188 opened, and survived. He went home to Sumter County, farmed as a sharecropper, and died in 1946. The man killed leading the assault on Hill 188 was Cpl. Freddie Stowers, of the same regiment.
Sources: U.S. Army (army.mil), "100 Years Later, WWI Soldier Awarded Purple Heart," article 212701 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Military.com (Associated Press, October 15, 2018) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Live 5 News (2022), "Honor Overdue: The 100-Year Journey to Sgt. Loyd's Purple Heart" (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); WIS-TV (2025) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Military headstone, High Hills AME Church Cemetery, Dalzell, S.C., photograph on Find a Grave memorial 193977217 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); World War I Selective Service System draft registration card, Local Board for the County of Lee, S.C., June 5, 1917 (National Archives, M1509); copy supplied by the family (Perry W. James IV), 2026 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 3 of 8
Cpl. Freddie Stowers, Company C, died leading the assault on Hill 188 on September 28, 1918. He was 22.
How long did it take the United States to award him the Medal of Honor?
- About a year, in 1919
- 72 years, in 1990, from President Ronald Reagan
- 73 years, in 1991, from President George H. W. Bush
- It has never been awarded
Reveal the answer
Seventy-three years. His sisters accepted it.
Correct answer: 73 years, in 1991, from President George H. W. Bush
The Medal of Honor was presented on April 24, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush in the White House East Room and accepted by Stowers' sisters, Georgiana Palmer and Mary Bowens. He was the first African American awarded the Medal of Honor for World War I service. Accounts that give 1990, or President Reagan, are wrong.
Sources: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush, 1991, Book I (govinfo.gov), "Remarks at a Ceremony for the Posthumous Presentation of the Medal of Honor to Corporal Freddie Stowers" (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); U.S. Army (army.mil), "Centennial Profile: Cpl. Freddie Stowers," article 175507 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); National Park Service (nps.gov) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 4 of 8
After Sgt. Loyd was wounded in 1918, his chain of command recommended him for the Wound Chevron, the decoration that preceded the Purple Heart.
When did his family receive a decoration for that wound?
- In 1919, when the regiment came home
- In 1946, at his funeral
- In the 1970s, when the Army reviewed old records
- One hundred years later, in 2018
Reveal the answer
A century. His grandson accepted it.
Correct answer: One hundred years later, in 2018
Sgt. Loyd never received the Wound Chevron in his lifetime. His service file burned in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center, and two federal applications were denied before Sen. Tim Scott's office intervened. On October 13, 2018, he was posthumously presented the Purple Heart at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, accepted by his grandson and namesake, Perry W. James IV, the author of this site's book.
Sources: U.S. Army (army.mil), "100 Years Later, WWI Soldier Awarded Purple Heart," article 212701 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Military.com (Associated Press, October 15, 2018) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); WIS-TV (2018) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); World War I Centennial Commission (worldwar1centennial.org), "A Purple Heart for Sergeant Loyd" (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Live 5 News (2022), "Honor Overdue: The 100-Year Journey to Sgt. Loyd's Purple Heart" (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Sen. Tim Scott, U.S. Senate (scott.senate.gov) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); National Archives (archives.gov), "The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center" (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 5 of 8
In nine days of fighting in the Champagne sector, September 28 to October 6, 1918, the 371st took Hill 188 and the villages beyond it.
How much of the regiment was lost?
- About one in ten
- About one in four
- Nearly half
- Almost all
Reveal the answer
1,065 of 2,384. Nearly half, in nine days.
Correct answer: Nearly half
According to Emmett J. Scott's 1919 official history, the regiment's losses were 1,065 out of 2,384 actually engaged, mostly in the first three days. Scott never separates killed from wounded, missing, or captured. That is why the "1,065 killed" you may read elsewhere is wrong: the figure is losses, not deaths.
Source: Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War (1919), ch. XVI, p. 232 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 6 of 8
After Hill 188, Bussy Ferme, Ardeuil, and Montfauxelles, the French Army cited the 371st as a whole.
What did France give the entire regiment?
- The Croix de Guerre with Palm, pinned to its colors
- The Legion of Honour, to every man
- Nothing as a unit, only individual medals
- A Presidential Unit Citation from the United States
Reveal the answer
France pinned it to the regiment's colors at Brest, January 1919.
Correct answer: The Croix de Guerre with Palm, pinned to its colors
The entire regiment received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. French Vice-Admiral Moreau decorated its colors at Brest on January 27, 1919.
Sources: 371st Infantry Regiment WWI Memorial Monument Association (371stmonument.org) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War (1919), ch. XVI, p. 232 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 7 of 8
The 371st was made up of Black draftees, most of them from South Carolina.
Who commanded them?
- White officers, mostly Southern
- Black officers trained at Fort Des Moines
- French officers
- A mix, decided company by company
Reveal the answer
The officers over them were white, most of them Southern.
Correct answer: White officers, mostly Southern
The regiment was composed of African American draftees, predominantly South Carolinians, with smaller numbers from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It was commanded by white officers, mainly Southern.
Sources: Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War (1919), ch. XVI, p. 232 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); 371st Infantry Regiment WWI Memorial Monument Association (371stmonument.org) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).
Question 8 of 8
In 2023 the South Carolina Senate recognized a day as 371st Infantry Day.
Which day?
- September 28
- November 11
- August 31
- February 28
Reveal the answer
February 28. South Carolina wrote it into the record in 2023.
Correct answer: February 28
On February 21, 2023, the South Carolina Senate adopted Resolution S. 551, sponsored by Sen. John Scott, recognizing February 28, 2023, as 371st Infantry Day. February 28 is also the day the regiment was demobilized at Camp Jackson in 1919; the resolution does not say why that date was chosen.
Sources: South Carolina Senate Resolution S. 551 (scstatehouse.gov), adopted February 21, 2023 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); 371st Infantry Regiment WWI Memorial Monument Association (371stmonument.org) (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site); Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War (1919), ch. XVI, p. 232 (opens in a new tab, leaves the Sergeant Rawhide site).

The full story of Sgt. Perry Loyd and the 371st is told in SGT. RAWHIDE.

Read the full story: buy the book

Or read the regiment’s history on this site