incorporated
into his work a large number of official documents accessible only to
some one, who like himself, was connected with the War Department
during the conflict. It has another value, moreover, in that it well
sets forth the reaction of an intelligent federal official of color on
the thousands of events daily transpiring around him.

The author undertakes to connect the Negro with the fundamental cause
of the war in that race prejudice was its source. He shows how
fortunate it was to have Negro troops as the first of the national
guard to be adequately equipped for immediate service and to occupy
the post of honor in guarding the White House and the national
capital, by order of the President of the United States. His own
appointment and his work as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of
War as an official recognition of the Negroes' interest in the war are
made the nucleus around which the facts of the work are organized.
How the Negroes figured in the national army, how Negro soldiers and
officers were trained, and how they were treated in the camps all
bring to light information for which the public has long been waiting.
After giving passing mention to the black soldiers in the armies of
the European nations the author directs his attention to the Negro
regiments overseas. Special chapters are devoted to the achievements
of the 367th, 368th, 370th, 371st and 372d regiments. The behavior of
the Negroes in battle is sketched in the chapter entitled the Negro as
a Fighter.

While dealing primarily with actual war, the author has been careful
to give adequate space to agencies which helped to make the war
possible. The valuable service rendered by the Negroes in the Service
of Supply constitutes one of the most interesting chapters of the
book. Whereas these Negroes were actually conscripted to labor in
spite of the declaration of the War Department to the contrary, they
accepted their lot with the spirit of loyalty and performed one of the
great tasks of the war in getting supplies to Europe and furnishing
the army with them in France. Negro labor in war times, Negro women in
war work, the loyalty of the Negro civilians, and the social welfare
agencies are also treated. Finally the author takes up an important
question: _Did the Negro get a square deal?_ In a position to know the
many problems confronting the Negroes drawn into the army, Mr. Scott
has brought forward in this final chapter adequate evidence