Third North Carolina Regiment (1898–1899)
[4] Within the formal United States Army, black men were restricted to service in four segregated regiments under white officers or in secondary roles such as cooks.
[6] Some North Carolinian blacks who had created informal militia units upon the outbreak of the war asked Russell to formally incorporate them into the state's contingent to be pressed into federal service.
United States Senator Marion Butler, a Fusionist, attempted to persuade white officials to support the scheme by arguing that black men could "stand the climate of Cuba and are anxious to enlist".
[8] On April 27, 1898, he announced the creation of the battalion and placed it under the command of James H. Young, a prominent black political ally of the governor, who was given the rank of major.
[8] The governor ordered Young to recruit an additional seven companies of troops which would be merged with his battalion to form the Third North Carolina Infantry, United States Volunteers.
[15] In an attempt to dislodge the Fusionist coalition from North Carolina's government in the elections of 1898, the Democratic Party engaged in a white supremacist campaign which decried "Negro domination".
[11] Democratic newspapers criticized Russell for giving blacks guns, accused him of making the officers' appointments due to political rather than military considerations, and stated that he doted on his "pet regiment" with favoritism.
"[2] Daniels singled out Young for criticism, accusing him of sabotaging efforts to deploy the regiment to Cuba for garrison duty so that he could remain within traveling distance of Raleigh to attend to political affairs.
[16] North Carolina Adjutant-General Andrew D. Cowles, a Republican, also stated in an interview that news of the heavy casualties at the Siege of Santiago had led a significant amount of the regiment's initial volunteers to back out of their enlistment due to "downright cowardice.
[18] The end of fighting in Cuba by the midsummer of 1898 negatively impact morale of the soldiers' who had anticipated service in conflict and now thought that at best they would perform garrison duty in captured territory.
The Morehead Pilot reported that the actions of the troops within the city once nearly created a race riot which was narrowly avoided due to the intervention of authorities.
[20] Even after the First Georgia was disbanded, complaints about incidents of misconduct were ascribed to the North Carolinians, since most whites believed that a unit with black officers could not maintain discipline.
The Knoxville Journal reported, "The men realize that their actions are watched closely and it is their desire to so conduct themselves as to gain the confidence and respect of every one with whom they come in contact as true soldiers.
Disgruntled by racial atmosphere in Georgia and the Deep South, some soldiers began to hope the unit would be posted to Cuba as a way of avoiding discrimination.
"[25] President of the Raleigh-based Shaw University Charles F. Meserve was intrigued by the negative press and decided to travel to Camp Poland unannounced in late December to ascertain the situation.
He reported that the barracks were "well nigh perfect" in terms of cleanliness, that Young forbade the serving of alcohol at the canteen, and wrote that the white provost marshal, Major John A. Logan Jr., had thought well of the unit's disciplinary situation.
