http://www.historiccharleston.org/experience/arh/

If your vacation plans include Charleston, SC this summer, a "must see" stop is the Aiken-Rhett House at 48 Elizabeth Street.  The Aiken-Rhett House will take you to 1858 and let you see the splendor of one of Charleston's premier urban mansions, complete with dormitory-like quarters for enslaved African Americans.  The house is now a museum and owned by the Historic Charleston Foundation.  Use the link above to visit the Foundation's Aiken-Rhett House web page and make plans for your visit.

During my stopover this spring at the Aiken-Rhett House, members of the Foundation's staff provided important assistance in my quest to familiarize myself with William Aiken, his family, and the source of his wealth.  William Aiken, Jr. served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate prior to his election as governor.  In the 1850s, Governor Aiken served three terms in the United States House of Representatives.  Given the opportunity to spend hours pouring over personal correspondence of the Aiken family and survey their former home, I was able to envision and describe and write a scene within one of their high society balls in my forthcoming novel, The North Americans. 

My novel is set during America's Civil War, Reconstruction, and Indian Wars.  Five excerpts from Chapter 2 of the novel, told from the point of view a twenty three year old servant woman named Bianca, appear below.  I am grateful to the staff of the Historic Charleston Foundation for going above and beyond the call of duty to unearth a treasure-trove of unpublished Aiken documents that support this and other chapters in my novel.

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 92nd Infantry Division troops in the Po Valley, Italy, April-1945. Courtesy of the National Archives. 

  
In 1972, Ned Almond told the US Army’s Chief of Military History:  “I do not agree that integration improves military efficiency; I believe it weakens it.... The basic characteristics of Negro and white are fundamentally different and these basic differences must be recognized by those responsible for integration.... There is no question in my mind of the inherent difference in races. This is not racism – it is common sense and understanding. Those who ignore these differences merely interfere with the combat effectiveness of battle units.”

 

Major General Edward M. (Ned) Almond was the commanding general of the 92^nd Infantry Division from 1942 until 1945.  He was responsible for training (1942-44) and leading the division during combat in Italy (1944-45).

 

In November of 1944, the all-black 366^th Infantry Regiment was attached to the 92^nd.  Corporal Will Wallace, Jr. and his friends (see my novel: Will and Dena) in the 2nd Battalion, 366^th Infantry Regiment were present when the entire regiment assembled at Livorno, Italy to hear Ned Almond’s “welcome speech.” 

 

The late Captain Hondon B. Hargrove served in the 92^nd Infantry Division and authored the book, Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II.  According to Captain Hargrove, General Almond told the 366^th in his welcome speech, “I didn’t ask for you.  I don’t need you.  You’re here because your Negro newspapers have seen fit to cause you to be brought over here; now I’m going to see that you suffer your share of the casualties.”

 

The stories I heard as a boy, while eavesdropping on my uncles telling my father tales from Italy about Generals Mark Clark and Ned Almond, have never been far from my mind.  From my childhood memories, the Korean War was raging at the time I heard these stories.  Ned Almond’s name contended well with the Dodgers - Yankees rivalry of the early 1950s as a topic of discussion when the men of my family gathered.  Almond was in the news again because he led the US Army’s X Corps in Korea.  My kinsmen argued that during World War II, the black enlisted men of the 92^nd Infantry Division had “two enemies” – Ned and the Germans.  These men bitterly alleged that Almond’s strategies amounted to the use of black troops as cannon fodder.

 

During World War II, the army brass considered the performance of the 92^nd as poor.  Ned Almond took the extraordinary step of blaming the failure of the division under his command on his Negro troops.  Further, he recommended that Negro troops never again be employed in combat roles by the army.
  

Military Historians have made the opposite conclusion.  They attribute the 92^nd’s poor showing directly to Ned Almond and his command policies and strategies.  Among the august historians making this conclusion were Ulysses Lee, the author of The Employment of Negro Troops in World War II (Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1966) and Major Paul Goodman, author of "A Fragment of Victory: The 92^nd Infantry Division in Italy During World War II, 1942-45" (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Army War College, 1952).  Major Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D., wrote an award-winning essay on the impact of segregation on African Americans in the military — “Recipe for Failure: Major General Edward M. Almond and the Preparation of the U.S. 92^nd Infantry Division for Combat in World War II” — which appeared in the July 1992 issue of the Journal of Military History. 
  
Not until 1997, did 92^nd Infantry Division veterans Lieutenants John Fox (posthumously) and Vernon Baker receive the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions against German forces in 1944 and 1945.
    

In Will and Dena, readers are given the opportunity to see the effects of Ned Almond’s method of “handling Negro troops” from the point of view of privates and corporals.  Readers follow Will and his army buddies as they react, discuss, and cope with the orders that are passed down to them.
  

Click “Bob’s Books” on the left edge of this page and order your copy of Will and Dena. 

  
© 2010 by BBBR.  All Rights Reserved.

  
CHARLOTTE, NC -- January 20, 2010 – (WFAE 90.7 FM).  Charlotte officials are making a pitch to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. A delegation of city, county and private officials last week formally notified the Democratic party of its intention to bid for the convention.

“This is the largest media event in the free world, so to have that opportunity for exposure the world over for Charlotte as a great destination is something that is unparalleled," says Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will lead the public lobbying effort while Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers will head a private fund-raising campaign.
  

In the novel, Will and Dena, the make-believe central North Carolina town of Oakton seeks exposure for the purpose making itself a destination for tourists and investment.  During World War II, Oakton Mayor Andrew Mitchell, other elected officials, and business leaders established a baseball team of premier players to bring fame and exposure to Oakton and “Cardinal County.” 

The character, Judge Bill Stevens, told a gathering of investors in Oakton, “When we’re successful, the folks in Raleigh and the rest of the state will know who we are and answer the phone when we call.”

Discover the role played by Will Wallace, Jr. on the Oakton Red Birds baseball team and later on US Army teams.  Discover the unforeseen impact on Will, Dena, and the town of Oakton.

Beginning Monday, 11 January 2010, I will be available for in-person lectures and presentations about the cavalrymen and infantrymen called “Buffalo Soldiers.”

 

As a charter member of Baltimore’s 9^th and 10^th (Horse) Cavalry Association, I performed “Buffalo Soldier” lectures and presentations requested by K-12 schools, churches, and Maryland state agencies during the 1990s. 

 

My new “Buffalo Soldier” lecture/presentation series will also be available via Internet video conference, as well as in-person.  This is a no-fee service provided by Books by Bob Rogers, Inc.  This service is also available to corporations and universities.

 

Use the “Contact Bob” page in this web site to request and schedule a lecture or presentation for your organization.  My short bio is on the “About Bob” page.

 

Y’all visit again real soon.

This is an excerpt from my recent interview.  A link to the whole interview appears on page to your left.

Tyler:  Will you tell us a little bit about what is the separation between fact and fiction in “Will and Dena”? Are the main characters based on real people or just the supporting characters who are famous and well-known?

Bob:  The primary fiction is my invention of the dialog characters. The secondary fiction is that I added a one hundred first county to North Carolina’s one hundred: Cardinal County, and of course, its county seat, Oakton. Lastly, I took the liberty to change the designation of a company in the 366th Infantry Regiment and use only that one out of convenience to describe training and combat.

So, for example, my character, Joe, grieved over his cousin’s hanging. The “cousin,” Robert Hall, was a historic figure and the very real victim of a lynch mob in Newton, Georgia in January 1943.

My character called Judge Stevens and his wife, Elizabeth, are based loosely on one of my mother’s heroes, Judge J. Waites Waring of Charleston, SC. After Judge Waring’s ruling opened South Carolina’s Democratic Primary to black voters in 1948, my mother never missed another election until 2004, the year she passed away. Judge Waring also ruled that qualified black teachers must be paid the same as qualified white teachers. Thurgood Marshall argued several cases before Judge Waring. Judge Waring and his wife, also named Elizabeth, were ostracized by Charleston’s white society to the point that after a few years he resigned from the bench and they moved to New York.

First Sergeant Hardy is based totally on a first sergeant I met on my first day of active duty at Fort Hood, Texas.

Tyler:  What about the World War II background of the novel do you think will appeal to readers?

Bob:  Readers may understand intellectually that the Armed Services of the United States were segregated until after World War II. The bonus they get in “Will and Dena” is being there with a character they have come to know since his days before the military. Experiencing with Will the need to fight two enemies brings a whole new perspective to suffering under the command of an American general who does not want your presence while fighting a skilled and dug-in German army. This makes real for readers what one finds in some history books that only report on the combat engagements of the US Army’s segregated 92nd Infantry Division in Italy.

Will’s life journey is accelerated as he deals firsthand with the feelings of depravity and inhumane treatment at the hands of the US Army in World War II. I think readers will appreciate the dimension added by this backdrop.

Y'all c'mon back real soon for another look at my blog.