333 and Private Peters

By Eric Mease – Originally published in the Cecil County Whig

On August 5, 1917, as the United States was ramping up its preparations to enter World War I, an army unit was formed called the 333rd Field Artillery Regiment. As its name implies, its men were trained in the use of heavy guns on and behind the front lines in those days. What set the 333rd apart was its recruits, African Americans all. They were part of a segregated army, coming on the heels of the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War and the Buffalo Soldiers in the so called “Indian Wars” in the American west. While the unit saw no action in World War I, it would go on to fight with distinction in our next war, World War II, less than a quarter century later.

One of the members of the 333rd Artillery Regiment in World War I was one Louis Erdun Peters of Conowingo. Private Peters was born in Cecil County in November of 1892. By 1900 he is 8 years old living with his parents in Oakwood, Cecil County. When the war broke out, Peters was a laborer with the Pennsylvania Rail Road in Media, Pennsylvania. He was drafted into Uncle Sam’s army early in 1918 at the age of 24. On his draft card he proudly described his race as “African” when most other black recruits were writing “Colored” or “Negro.” He also indicated that he was supporting his mother when he was drafted. On August 31st, 1918, Private Peters found himself in northern France near the thick of the fighting between Allied and Central Powers. Although neither Peters nor his unit saw action in World War I, it was no guarantee of safety. Soon after arriving in France, Private Peters contracted Tuberculosis and was hospitalized. Less than a month later, he was dead, a victim of disease which still took nearly as many American soldiers’ lives as enemy fire.

At least 17 other men from Cecil County lost their lives in the service of their country during World War I. Three of those soldiers also died of disease, either Tuberculosis or Pneumonia. They were Pvts. Phineas Peterson, a Carpenter with the Clifford Mills of Newark, Arthur Todd, a Saddler, and William Bowie, another African American veteran of the “Great War” from Chesapeake City.

Also like Peters, 2 of the 17 were employed by the railroads. Corporal William Slicher was a native of Chesapeake City and was a boiler maker with the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road at the round house in Baltimore. Slicher, the son of a German immigrant, fought and died in the Meuse-Argonne area of France.
Likewise, Private Maulden Dennis of Elkton, performed signal maintenance for the Pennsylvania Rail Road, Maryland Division working out of Wilmington. Private Dennis too died of battle wounds in Meuse-Argonne.

Not all of Cecil County’s drafted young men worked on the railroad. Pvt. Earl Curtis Kelly of Elkton was a Paper Maker for the Jessep and Moore Paper Company in Providence, Maryland. Pvt. Amos Richardson Nields was a Machinist for the Auto Car Company of Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
And finally, Pvt. Clarence Harold Cole of Perryville was 21 years old when he was drafted into Company “F” of the 313 Regiment. Before the war Cole was a stenographer in the Cecil County Recorder of Deeds office in Elkton. His boss was Charles Peacock. Thirty two days before the armistice was signed, ending the “War to End all Wars,” Private Cole was killed in action on October 7th, 1918.

This week, as we remember the centennial of World War I and the establishment of such regiments as the 333rd, we also pause to remember the 18 men from Cecil County “who gave their last full measure of devotion” as well as the over 3100 brave men and women from Cecil County who served their country in that “Great War.” A monument stands in front of the old Armory in Elkton, honoring their service and sacrifice. You can find more information about the First World War and Cecil County’s part in it at the Historical Society of Cecil County. In addition to its hard copy files, the Society also has access to electronic databases such as “Ancestry.com” and “Fold3.com” which contain information on individual soldiers.