While not a lot of information is known about Samuel Crosswell, research shows that he lived on North Avenue, his family was part of the Israel of God’s Church, and he served in World War I. It is service in the War that reveals a local connection to an international story.
Corporal Samuel Crosswell was part of the 92nd Division of the 365th Infantry Regiment “Buffalo Soldiers.” The 92nd Division of the 365th Infantry drew Black soldiers from all over the United States. Although they were part of the United States Army, prejudices prevented most African American units from participating in combat with the American or British forces. As a result, most Black soldiers served as laborers. However, a few units, including the 92nd, served in combat with the French Army, whose soldiers did not object to fighting alongside African Americans .
This description provides a small glimpse into Crosswell’s time in the War. “In the fall of 1918, through the thick haze of gun smoke and mustard gas, French soldiers, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), and German soldiers toiled in their respective trenches, fighting and scraping through dirt and the leftover splinters of a forest, the destruction of World War I surrounding them. Fought from September 26 to the Armistice on November 11, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive included the 365th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division ‘Buffalo Soldiers'” [1]
[1] National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/buffalo-soldier-world-war-i; accessed June 2022.
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