In a memorandum on the subject addressed to the Provost Marshall General, December 12, 1918, he wrote: "The attitude of the Negro was one of complete acceptance of the draft, in fact of an eagerness to accept its terms.

There was a deep resentment in many quarters that he was not permitted to volunteer, as white men by the thousands were permitted to do in connection with National Guard units and other branches of military service which were closed to colored men.

One of the brightest chapters in the whole history of the war is the Negro's eager acceptance of the draft and his splendid willingness to fight.

His only resentment was due to the limited extent to which he was allowed to join and participate in combatant or 'fighting' units.

The number of colored draftees accepted for military duty, and the comparatively small number of them claiming exemptions, as compared with the total number of white and colored men called and drafted, presents an interesting study and reflects much credit upon this racial group." Over 1,200 Negro officers, many of them college graduates, were commissioned during the war.