Primary Source Analysis

The primary source that I chose to analyze was Colored Officers or No Colored Soldiers by Presley Holiday. Sargent Presley Holliday’s document was a response to Roosevelt’s attack on African American soldiers. The document is critical of Colonel Roosevelt’s criticism of black troops. Presley Holleyday claims he was there during the battle and that colored soldiers were fighting just as hard as white soldiers. Holliday states in his document that after Roosevelt threatened to shoot anyone who backed from the from, they all responded “We will stay with you, Colonel”(77) He then goes on to call the claims that Roosevelt made “uncalled for and uncharitable.” (77) He ends the document by explaining that it is not just to have white officers for black soldiers and once again criticized Roosevelt for his false accusations. This document shed light on the reality or at least gave a different perspective on the role that African American soldiers played. The altering of history is seen again and again and we can see that with this document. We see here that once again, colored soldiers were not only not getting the credit they deserve but were also made to be worse than they actually were.