For the first time since his honorable discharge from the Army in 1945, Smith was recognized on Feb. 10 for his service at the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery Regiment in Jamaica. In a ceremony attended by Governor George Pataki and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Pataki presented Private First Class Smith with his federal Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and state Conspicuous Service Cross earned during his service to his country during WW II.

According to the Governor’s office, PFC Smith served with Company D, 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. He fought in the Rhineland and Rome-Arno Campaigns and in March of 1945, he was wounded in combat by a rifle bullet that shattered his ankle. After several months recovering, he was honorably discharged in August of 1945.

According to information released by the NY State Governor’s office in December of 1944, the American forces in the European Theater found themselves critically short of infantry troops, following heavy American losses at the Dec. 16 German counter-offensive in the Ardennes. Although the American military was segregated at the time and African Americans were prohibited from serving in combat, General Eisenhower for the first time in history called for volunteers from among the African American troops to fill this critical need.

Within two months, over 5,000 African American soldiers had volunteered to fight at the front, despite a stipulation requiring non-commissioned officers to forfeit their rank, the Governor’s spokesperson said. Smith was one of the first of the 2,221 soldiers to be accepted and trained as infantrymen.

Despite their patriotism and honorable service, these African American volunteers were never issued military awards and decorations earned while serving in combat, and often the records of former non-commissioned officers were never updated to reflect the rank they had achieved before they volunteered.

‘Glory’ And Queens Honor

Many of us know the movie “Glory” was an award winning depiction of a Black Union Army unit during the Civil War.

But would you be surprised to learn that an African American man from Jamaica was a part of the unit the movie was based on?

Elias Wilmore was one of over 175,000 African Americans who fought in the Civil War.

And as part of an exhibition on display at the Queens Historical Society through March 3, stories of African Americans like Wilmore are the focus.

“Many Thousand Gone: Long Island African Americans and Civil War” tells the story of African Americans throughout the war. The exhibit is on display at the historic Kingsland Homestead in Flushing and continues through March 3.

The exhibition tells the story of the wartime experiences of African Americans throughout the North.

Through photographs, drawings and artifacts, visitors can see first hand how African Americans fought, led wagon trains, constructed army forts and worked as blacksmiths during the war effort.

African American soldiers were confined to units designated “U.S. Colored Troops” and were paid less than white soldiers.

Wilmore’s Way

Denzel Washington won an academy award for his performance in the “Glory” for his portrayal of a soldier in the Union Army’s 54th Regiment from Massachusetts.

The unit was the first African American Unit in the North.

And Elias Wilmore of Jamaica was one of the real soldiers who served in that now- famous unit.

According to historical accounts, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was organized in 1863 in Readville, Massachusetts by Robert Gould Shaw, a member of an abolitionist family from Boston.

The regiment was composed primarily of free blacks from throughout the north including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.

The unit took out advertisements in local newspapers, including ones distributed in Queens and Long Island, looking for recruits – most likely how Wilmore found himself in the unit.

Amongst its recruits were Lewis and Charles Douglass — sons of ex-slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.

The unit was made famous in “Glory” which provides historic detail about the unit’s origins and famous battles.

A ‘Pioneer’ And African American Navy Man

An African American who lived in Flushing, Lewis Latimer, volunteered for the Union Navy. Lying about his age, he saw action aboard the gunboat U.S.S. Massasoit. During the Civil War the Union Navy was not segregated.

When Latimer moved to Flushing after the war, he served as the Secretary of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans post.

Latimer went on to become a renowned inventor and became the only African American member of Thomas Edison’s “Pioneers” who conducted research on electrical lighting and drew up plans for Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone.

Latimer’s home still stands in Flushing where it was relocated in 1988.

An Unusual Record Of Service

“Many Thousand Gone” features rare photographs of a soldier named Wesley Hunt who had one of the most unusual wartime records of any African American.

Hunt was born into slavery in Kentucky.

When the war broke out he was sent to serve in the Confederate Army. During a battle in 1864 he was captured by Union troops.

He soon after joined up with the Union Army to fight the Confederacy and was honorably discharged in 1865.

He chose Queens as his home after the war and settled in Whitestone.

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