Today we pay tribute to 13 Black soldiers who were hanged on December 11, 1917, for alleged participation in Houston’s Camp Logan Riot. Primary Documents on the riot and trial are available on the Fred Parks Law Library website at South Texas College of Law.
Sgt. William C. Nesbitt
Corp. Larsen J. Brown
Corp. James Wheatley
Corp. Jesse Moore
Corp. Charles W. Baltimore
Pvt. William Brackenridge
Pvt. Thomas C. Hawkins
Pvt. Carlos Snodgrass
Pvt. Ira B. Davis
Pvt. James Divine
Pvt. Frank Johnson
Pvt. Rosley W. Young
Pvt. Pat MacWharter
Visit the links below to learn more about these 13 men and the 16 others who were subsequently sentenced to death by hanging (10 sentences were commuted to life terms).
On This Day: December 11, 1917
Black Soldiers Executed for Houston Riot (Zinn Education Project)
U.S. Army Executes 13 Black Soldiers in Houston, Texas (Equal Justice Initiative)
Historical Context
Houston Riot of 1917 (Texas State Historical Association)
Remembering the black soldiers executed after Houston's 1917 race riot (Public Radio International’s The World)
The 1917 Houston Riots/Camp Logan Mutiny (Prairie View A&M University)
Houston Riots of 1917 (Veterans Administration, National Cemetery Administration) (VIDEO)
Convictions Overturned (2023)
U.S. Army Overturns the Convictions of 110 Black Soldiers in the 1917 Camp Logan Rebellion to Redress the Unfair Trials that Resulted in the Execution of 19 (Death Penalty Information Center)
U.S. Army overturns convictions of 110 Black soldiers in 1917 Houston riot at Camp Logan (Houston Chronicle) (Subscription Required)
A Century After 19 Were Executed, Army Overturns Racially Biased Convictions of 110 Black Soldiers (Equal Justice Initiative)