Controversial Monument: Gen. John B. Castleman, ex-Confederate Tells Soldiers it is Their Duty to Salute Black Officers

The New York Times
November 12, 1917

SALUTE NEGROES IN SOUTH.

Gen. Castleman, ex-Confederate, Tells Soldiers it is Their Duty.

LOUISVILLE, Ky, Nov. 11- Louisville, in which much of the spirit of the old South still lives, putting aside racial feeling and personal prejudice, has settled for itself, patriotically and unreservedly, the question of the propriety of white soldiers saluting negro officers. This question, which came to the fore recently, was on the first thought answered to reconcile inherent convictions with military regulations.

The solution was that an officer should not be regarded as a personality toward whom the salute homage to the country's uniform and to the things it typifies should be accepted.

An exposition of this viewpoint was voiced by General John B. Castleman, a Major of the Army of the Confederacy, later Colonel of a Kentucky National Guard regiment and a Brigadier General of Volunteers who saw active service in Porto Rico during the Spanish-American War. He said:

"The discipline of the army must be maintained, and non-commissioned officers understand little of the spirit of the army when they refuse to salute a negro officer. I have held several commissions in the military service, and I unhesitatingly say that I would or will, at any time salute an officer, superior or inferior, who salutes me without regard to the color of his skin. The regulations, the laws, and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline upon which these regulations and laws are based prescribe this. It is no time to stand against them. I want to urge every soldier to be a soldier in the full sense of the term. We are at war, and soldiers are under the rules of the American Army. We are all one under the flag. We salute the rank, not the individual."

The incident which brought forth General Castleman's statement occurred here recently when two white soldiers refused to salute Captain Glass, a colored officer.

On saluting black officers General John B Castleman

Drawing Color Line, Albert Lea Evening Tribune, 1917

DRAWING COLOR LINE.

The question as to whether a white man must salute a colored officer in Uncle Sam's army is causing considerable trouble in many of the training camps. Many white officers, especially southerners have absolutely refused to recognize a colored officer.

Gen. John B. Castleman of Kentucky says:

"I unhesitatingly say that I will at any time salute an officer, superior or inferior, who salutes me, without regard to the color of his skin. The regulations and laws, and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline, upon which these regulations and laws are based, prescribe this. It is no time to stand against them. I want to urge every soldier to be a soldier in the full sense of the term. We are at war, and soldiers are under the rules of the American army. We are all one under the flag. We salute the rank, not the individual."

General Castleman's stand in this matter seems to be right. It isn't the man that he salutes, but what he stands for.'

Albert Lea Evening Tribune
Thursday, November 22, 1917, Albert Lea, Minnesota


It is the rank, not the individual, who is saluted. The military regulations are plain on this point, and we of the South, however hard it comes to us, must see to it that our spirit is that of America and the National Army in every particular. The Negroes are soldiers like the white men, ready to face the same conditions and perils and ready to pour out their blood as freely as if they were white. If General John B. Castleman, as he says, can cheerfully salute a Negro soldier, then any son of a Confederate can do the same. — Louisville, Ky., Times. 
(source: The Crisis: Volumes 15-18 page 78)

White Soldiers Object To saluting Negro Officers.

In connection with the commissioning of large numbers of Negroes as officers, there almost immediately came up the question as to whether white soldiers should salute Negro officers the same as they did white officers. This matter was brought prominently, to public attention when at Louisville, (Kentucky) a non-commissioned white officer was taken to task for failing to salute a Negro Captain. General John B. Castleman of Louisville, (Kentucky), a former Confederate soldier, when asked for his opinion on the matter of saluting Negro officers, said:

“The discipline of the army must be maintained and the non-commissioned officers understand little of the spirit of the army when they refuse to salute a Negro officer. I have held several commissions in the military service and I unhesitatingly say that I would or will at any time salute any officer, superior or inferior, who salutes me, without regard to the color of his skin. The regulations, the laws and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline upon which these regulations and laws are based, prescribe this. This is not the time to stand against them. I regret the incident and want to urge every soldier to be a soldier in the full sense of the term. We are at war, and soldiers are un der the rules of the American army. We are all one under one flag. We salute the rank, not the individual.”

(source: Negro Year Book, An Annual Encyclopedia of the Negro 1918-1919)

The New York Times
November 12, 1917

Salute Negroes in the South
Gen. Castleman, ex-Confederate, Tells Soldiers it is their Duty