The following is part of a series of articles written in honor of eighteen African American men from Tippecanoe County who served their country during World War I. Initial information was extracted from the Tippecanoe County Honor Roll Book published in 1919. Additional background information was extracted from a report written by Stephen J. Taylor for the Hoosier State Chronicles. The lives of these men were researched by the General de Lafayette Chapter Black History Committee and preserved in written form. The project received national recognition from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in 2020. Thank you to Renee’ Thomas (Purdue Black Cultural Center) and Sana Booker (West Lafayette City Clerk) for serving as advisors for the project.
By Diana Vice, regent for the General de Lafayette Chapter, NSDAR
From the Black Yankee Series: Robert Crutchfield (1897-1940)
Robert Murray Crutchfield was born May 7, 1897, in Lebanon, Tennessee to Nathan and Mollie (Newby) Crutchfield. Nathan would not live to see his son rise through the ranks to become a Sergeant in the United States Army, and Mollie could have never imagined that three of her sons would serve a united country in the Great War.
Nathan Crutchfield was born in 1867 to Charles and Ann Crutchfield shortly after the Civil War ended. Tennessee was not a pleasant place for Charles and Ann Crutchfield to raise a family during the Reconstruction Era. Resources and opportunities were limited for black families to venture off to the vast unknown in search of a better life, but they eventually made it to Plainfield, Indiana by 1880 when Nathan was 15 years old. Nathan’s two older siblings, Charles, Jr. and Alice, stayed behind in Tennessee, and Ralph (12), James (7), and John (6) moved with their parents to Indiana.
Robert’s mother, Mollie Newby, was born into slavery in 1859. Not much is known about her family, other than her father’s name, Dick Newby, which was listed on her death certificate, along with an “Unknown Mother.” Since Mollie’s mother was listed as “Unknown,” it is possible that she was separated from her child during the slavery years.
Life was rough for black families living in Tennessee during the Civil War and post-Civil War eras. Slavery was a very harsh system that consisted of long days of field work in the hot sun, or, of performing grueling tasks in an iron foundry and other labor-intensive industries.
Slaves had few legal rights. Marriages were not recognized by law, and children and spouses could be separated from their families. Owners could legally use violence against slaves. Many were subjected to violent whippings, sometimes for minor offenses that were beyond the victim’s control.
One-in-four people living in Tennessee were slaves, and twenty-five percent of white families living in Tennessee were slave owners. There were three white Crutchfield families living in Lebanon, Tennessee at that time, including Samuel B. Crutchfield, who owned 22 slaves in 1830; James Crutchfield who owned seven in 1840, and James Crutchfield who owned one slave. It is likely one of these men owned Robert’s ancestors, which explains how the surname of Crutchfield originated in their family. About 7,000 free blacks lived in Tennessee during the pre-Civil War era, but they were subjected to restrictive laws that limited their opportunities.
The Battle of Lebanon
During the Civil War thousands of slaves fled to fight with northern invading armies. Slaves in Lebanon, Tennessee, were given such an opportunity when Union General Ebenezer Dumont invaded Lebanon, Tennessee during the early hours of May 5, 1862. Dumont was in full pursuit of Colonel John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate Cavalry with detachments from the 1st Kentucky Cavalry under Colonel Wolford and the 4th Kentucky Cavalry under Colonel Green Clay Smith.
A fifteen-mile running battle ensued in which Confederate soldiers were forced to retreat. Local Confederate sympathizers in the community fired upon the Union Cavalry. Later the Confederates surrendered when Dumont threatened to burn the town. During the attack, the federal losses totaled to ten killed, 21 wounded, and five missing. The Confederate losses added up to 60 killed and an unknown number wounded or missing.
Moving Forward
Nathan and Mollie were listed in census records as living in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1900. Nathan, a stone mason, was 33 years old. Seven living children were listed, including Sarah Lina (1882), Granville (1891), Hortense (1893), Annie (1893), Garrett (1897), Robert Murry (1897), and Maude (Marie) (1900). It appears there were two sets of twins in the family.
By 1900, Nathan and Mollie had been married for six years. A copy of the couple’s marriage license, dated July 29, 1894, is pictured to the left.
According to census records, three older children were born prior to this union, so this may have been a second marriage for Mollie, who was eight years older than her husband. Records show that Granville begins using the surname of Davis later in life.
By 1910 Mollie was listed as a widow and working as a matron for a boarding school in Lebanon, Tennessee. Three of her children were living with her at that time, including Sarah, Marie, and James, age 3, which means her husband was likely still living in 1907 when James was conceived.
Robert Crutchfield, age 13, was living with the Belk family in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1910 and was working as a laborer.
Mollie came to Lafayette, Indiana after her husband died and lived with her adult children for the rest of her life. Robert found love in Lafayette. He married Carrie Turnstall on June 13, 1918.
Mollie came to Lafayette, Indiana after her husband died and lived with her adult children for the rest of her life. Robert found love in Lafayette. He married Carrie Turnstall on June 13, 1918.
Mollie Gives Three Sons to the Great War
It seems a bit ironic that Mollie Crutchfield would be called to sacrifice three sons to serve their country in the Great War. Bitter memories of the past likely caused a great sadness to her soul, but she had no choice but to move forward so that her sons could protect the freedoms for which her family suffered greatly to attain.
Robert Murray Crutchfield, the subject of this biography, was assigned to the 448th Reserve Labor Battalion Quarter Master, Company A and worked his way up the ranks to that of Sergeant. He was stationed at Camp Custer, Michigan where he remained throughout the war. The January 19, 1918, edition of the Camp Custer Bulletin described a snow blizzard that caused operations at the camp to come to a complete standstill. Robert would have experienced the hardships related to the blizzard.
Garrett Crutchfield, born February 7, 1895, served in Company “C” of the 324th Labor Battalion QMC. He departed for Hoboken, N.J. on July 10, 1918, aboard the Manchuria. He was not featured in the Tippecanoe County Honor Roll book since he entered the war as a Kentucky resident. He came to Lafayette after the war where he lived for the remainder of his life. He is buried in the Spring Vale Cemetery.
Artincer Crutchfield, the eldest son of Mollie Chambers, born on June 3, 1890, enlisted in the Army in 1911 also via the Kentucky military system.
A Double Tragedy
Mollie eventually married again to a man named Columbus Battles. Not much is known about him, and Mollie is once again listed as a widow in later public records. The spring of 1921 brought great tragedy to the family. Anna Crutchfield Harris, now a married 27-year-old woman with two children, contracted Tuberculosis and lingered with the illness for eight months before passing away on May 13, 1921. It must have been too much for Mollie to bear, because she suddenly fell ill after being stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. She died on May 8, 1921 at the age of 59. Anna Harris died four days later.
The newspaper reported the sad news, “Mrs. Mollie Battles, mother of Mrs. Harris, was buried Wednesday afternoon and for this reason the death of Mrs. Harris is particularly sad.” In addition to seven brothers and sisters, Anna left behind her husband, Verbil Harris, and their two children, Floyd, 8, and Robert, 6.
A House of Horror: Tragic End for Robert as Hardships Continue
After the war, Robert and his wife, Carrie, went to Louisville, Kentucky to live near her family where Robert found work as a truck driver. A local newspaper account reported that Robert and Carrie returned to Lafayette to attend the wedding of friends, Miss Bessie Johnson and Claude Hill, in 1923, a well-known and respected couple in the community.
Robert and Carrie later divorced, and he had a hard time adjusting to life. He became depressed, and on October 8, 1934, Robert attempted suicide by slicing his wrists. He went into the police station after changing his mind and received medical attention.
In November of 1936 Robert was held up and robbed by two bandits at gunpoint near Ninth and South Streets in Lafayette. The robbers took his money and Army discharge papers.
Later, that same year, Robert was arrested for public intoxication and paid a $10 fine after being placed on probation. At that time, mental health services for military veterans were limited. A few months later Robert became intoxicated, which was considered a violation of his probation. He was subsequently ordered to serve a few months at the Indiana State Farm, which is now called the Putnamville Correctional Facility, and one with a history as a house of horrors.
Life in Prison Work Camp Turns Deadly
At the time of Robert’s incarceration, the facility was labeled a “security misdemeanant work camp;” however, historians have referred to it as “The Black Hole of Indiana;” “The Most Damnable Spot in America;” “A Disgrace to Civilization,” “Filth and Abomination,” and “Indiana’s Black Hole of Calcutta.”
Robert’s incarceration at the work camp led to the tragic and questionable death of the Army veteran.
On November 18, 1940, while “riding on the top of a truck,” Robert, age 43, “fell off the truck and fractured his skull,” which caused his death. Seventy years later, questions still loom.
Why was Robert Crutchfield riding on top of a truck within the prison grounds? Russell Shannon, the 25-year-old Putnam County Coroner, conducted an inquest into the death and ruled it to be an accident.
Was it really an accident, and was Mr. Shannon qualified to make such a determination? Russell Shannon’s day job was that of the town undertaker, and according to census records, his education level did not go beyond that of a high school diploma.
A 2015 report entitled, “The Black Hole of Indiana,” written by Stephen J. Taylor, sheds light on the prison’s dark history and events leading up to it. Some of the following information is a result of Taylor’s riveting report.
“The Hoosier State sometimes gets bad national press, but in 1923 the criticism was home-grown,” wrote Taylor. “True to Hoosier stereotypes, the alleged horrors took place on a farm, the state penal farm, and involved abuse of prisoners.”
Subsequent prison reforms were apparently not enough to spare Robert Crutchfield such a cruel and tragic fate; however, we can look to history so as never to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Prohibition Era’s Dark Secrets Exposed
The national Prohibition Era began in 1920; however, Indiana Governor James Goodrich initiated a statewide alcohol ban two years in advance of the federal edict. Many Hoosiers thought such a ban would lower crime, decrease accidents, and that it would also improve public morals. History has proven that it created many more problems than it attempted to eliminate.
One of the strongest supporters of Prohibition was the Ku Klux Klan, a powerful group that, at one time, counted 165,746 dues-paying Indiana members with chapters in 90 of the state’s 92 counties. Members of the clan included business owners, politicians, and even members of the clergy. The Klan’s prominence in Indiana politics and society was evident after World War I. The Hoosier state was touted as having one of the most powerful Klan organizations in the nation. Its members were made up of white Hoosier Protestants of many social and income levels. In addition to African Americans, the group was opposed to Catholics, Jews, alcohol, and immorality. A high-profile Klan leader, Edward Jackson, was elected Indiana’s governor in 1924.
As the influence of the Klan made its way through the state, some counties and towns passed local dry laws prior to national prohibition. This prompted law enforcement agencies to crack down on operators of illegal saloons, moonshine distillers, and “town drunks.”
Federal agents and local police joined forces and raided still operations along the Wabash River in Lafayette. Irish and Black citizens were also targeted for alcohol possession. Local jails throughout the state were soon becoming overcrowded due to prohibition laws, so politicians turned to the idea of creating “open-air” penitentiaries to house low-level offenders.
It didn’t take long for politicians to realize the labor of inmates could be exploited. It was a temptation they could not resist. More than half the prisoners at the Putnamville facility were there on liquor-related charges. Other offenses were minor, including that of an 18-year-old boy who was sent to the prison camp for stealing a penknife. Prohibition laws proved to be lucrative for greedy politicians and private business interests.
The Profitable Corruption of Forced Labor
Much of the following information about life at the penal farm was extracted from a 2015 detailed report published by the Hoosier State Chronicles, entitled, “The Black Hole of Indiana,” and verified through published news accounts.
Prisoners were forced into strenuous labor. They were required to break up hardened rock in quarries that would be used for building roads and for production of crushed limestone. Other forced labor assignments included sawing lumber from a neighboring forest reserve and operating a working farm that included fruit trees, cattle, and various crops. Most of the produce went to feed patients and staff at state hospitals.
A brick plant was added in 1918 with prisoners turning out 30,000 bricks per day. The bricks were used for the construction of a new medical college and a military warehouse in Indianapolis.
“The money-making possibilities of the state farm were already stirring up buzz among citizens of Putnamville, an old pioneer town on the National Road that nearly became a ghost town when the Putnam County seat was moved to Greencastle,” wrote Stephen Taylor.
Critics compared the penal labor system to those described by famous author Charles Dickens’ as hellish “workhouses.” There were 217 prisoners housed at the farm in just one month after its grand opening. The residents included 30 African Americans. That number skyrocketed to 1,200 within a year, and after its first decade in business, there were 25,000 prisoners housed there, making the possibilities of forced labor endless.
Stories of abuse began to circulate. The abuses were reported in newspapers throughout the state. Less than a year after its implementation, an elderly bootlegger from Terre Haute requested deportation to his native country of Germany during the height of World War I rather than serve 90 days at the farm. Ernest Morrison, charged with public intoxication on several occasions, chose to enlist in the Army rather than being sent back to the penal farm.
In 1917 four men escaped, including an African American from Lake County. Prison officials caught up with the men and a gunfight ensued. The African American named Hall was shot dead.
In 1920 a controversy erupted when Charles McNulty, a Putnamville parolee, filed a complaint with the State Board of Health, alleging unsanitary conditions. He claimed that prisoners were underfed and forced to work ten hours of hard labor each day. Meat was only served once a week with “one slice of fat bacon,” which was less than prisoners received that were not required to work. Other prisoners backed up McNulty’s claims. Oscar Knight filed a complaint and said the food that was served to inmates “is not fit for hogs.”
Newspaper reports told of claims that prisoners routinely picked worms from their food, and that bugs and manure were mixed with their greens.
Stories of physical abuse also surfaced. One prison guard earned the name of “Wild Bill” for years of terror at the penal farm. Wild Bill had allegedly killed two prisoners, one by shooting and the other by bludgeoning him on the head. Wild Bill was eventually removed, but prisoners said the abuse continued with Bill’s “understudies.” It would be common for prisoners to be subjected to a clubbing or manacling them with chains and would be fed nothing but bread and water during the period of “torture.”
There were further allegations that the governor’s family and those within his administration profited from unpaid labor. Inmates were reportedly “farmed out” to the Globe Mining Company, partly run by the governor’s son at that time.
There were also allegations that wealthy bootleggers with the right connections would often not be punished while blacks and poor white men would receive the harshest treatment. The governor denied the allegations that were made by McNulty and others and hand-picked members of an oversight committee to investigate.
Newspaper Editor Goes to Jail After Exposing Corruption
Much of the following information about life at the penal farm was extracted from a 2015 detailed report published by the Hoosier State Chronicles, entitled, “The Black Hole of Indiana,” and verified through published news accounts.
George R. Dale, a civil liberties maverick and newspaper editor from Muncie, Indiana soon began investigating allegations of prisoner abuse at the State Farm in Putnamville, Indiana. His discoveries uncovered horrifying systemic abuse, riddled with racism.
The son of a Union Civil War Captain, Dale was born in Monticello, Indiana on February 5, 1867. He was best known as editor of the Muncie Post-Democrat from 1920-1936. He went on to start several newspapers before becoming mayor of Muncie from 1930-1935. Ironically, his battles against the Ku Klux Klan in 1935 ended his newspaper career and landed him in the very prison that was the subject of his writings and warnings. Dale was sentenced to hard labor for criticizing a Delaware County judge with Klan connections.
The landmark battle against the Ku Klux Klan during a time when the racist organization nearly took over Indiana government in the 1920s was a dangerous one for Dale. After writing several critical reports about the Muncie Klan, Dale was attacked by gunmen who tried to shoot him and his son. He was not intimidated and continued lampooning the Klan, sometimes referring to them as “Koo-Koos.” Dale published lists of known or suspected Klan members and took on the KKKs powerful women’s auxiliary during a time when they were spreading racial hate throughout the Hoosier state. Dale openly supported blacks, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants, and anyone else who was a target of the Klan.
Dale reported that many inmates were jailed on trivial liquor charges. He described one man whose family was left destitute and had to rely on charity while he was being forced to provide free labor at the prison. Dale also wrote about disparities in jail sentences between black and white teens. He mentioned black teens who were sent to the penal farm for bicycle theft while some white teens were given probation for greater offenses.
He told the story of James Martin, a young African American who was sentenced to six months for stealing $5.00. Martin had a wife and three children.
Dale compared this to the treatment given to a prominent Muncie business man who was caught drunk in a red-light district. Rather than face punishment, corrupt officers gave him a lift home.
Ed Hendrickson, a 30-year-old man who was begging for breakfast, was charged with vagrancy. When he was unable to pay the fine, he was sentenced to 60 days at Putnamville.
Dale even took on Clarence Dearth, a Muncie judge whom he referred to as “the most contemptible chunk of human carrion that ever disgraced the circuit bench in the state of Indiana.” He was eventually sentenced by Dearth for contempt of court and libel. Dale’s legal attempts to avoid prison were unsuccessful due to the unfair political influences that existed in the state at that time.
In July of 1926, Dale spent nine days at Putnamville where he was forced to dig ditches before he was mysteriously released by Governor Jackson. He was given another sentence in August of 1927, but only spent enough time at the prison to be fingerprinted and labeled a convict.
KKK Rears Its Ugly Head in Lafayette
Imagine being one of the eighteen Tippecanoe County African American soldiers who served their country in the Great War when they discovered that 2,200 people attended a Ku Klux Klan rally at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds on June 18, 1924. The “Reverend” Kern, of Covington, spoke on “The Principles of the Ku Klux Klan” that night.
To be fair, not all of those in attendance were from the Lafayette community; however, the event sparked outrage from many of Lafayette’s citizens. Opponents of the unwelcomed visitors found a clever way to expose a few cowardly men that were hiding beneath robes of hate. When two of the attendees of the rally came out, they found that their cars were missing. Police were called to report the thefts. The vehicles were later found parked in other areas of the city, but the police reports listed the names of the vehicle’s owners. The theft of a Chevrolet belonging to E. McDonald, and a Ford owned by C. R. Beckart were reported in the newspaper the next day.
Robert Crutchfield, an American Hero Laid to Rest
For Robert Crutchfield, a man who served his country with distinction and honor, to be placed in such a hostile environment for a minor crime is difficult to imagine. No one is alive to say what really happened on that fateful day, but we do know that society would have been much better served had veterans been given proper mental health treatment rather than forcing them to provide hard labor in prison camps. Ironically, it was much like the treatment that Robert Crutchfield’s ancestors fought to eradicate. Who would have predicted that Robert’s experiences during the Great War would turn out to be the easiest part of his life?
A service was held at the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Lafayette, and Robert was buried in the Springvale Cemetery. His obituary listed three brothers, James and Garrett of Lafayette, Artencer of Indianapolis, Grant Davis, a half-brother of Indianapolis, two sisters, Marie Giles and Sarah Reed of Lafayette.
Hardships and Perseverance
Another tragedy for the Crutchfield family came eleven years later, in 1951, when Garrett Crutchfield fell down the stairs and suffered a skull fracture. Like his brother, he died a short time later. Garrett had been living with her sister, Marie Crutchfield Giles, who had opened a restaurant, the Pekin Cafe, in 1948. Garrett worked for his sister as a cook. At the time of his death, he was working as a cook at the Lahr Hotel in Lafayette.
Robert Crutchfield and his family endured many hardships, including the chains of slavery, the horrors of war, and the aftermath of personal struggles. They persevered through all the obstacles placed in their paths by fate. Even at the depth of Robert’s pain, when he initially attempted suicide, he knew he must go on. The descendants of Nathan and Mollie didn’t allow the trials of life to beat them down. Rather, they gained strength from those trials and found ways to carry on the legacy of hope that began in the hearts of their enslaved ancestors.
About the Black Yankees Project
This is part of a compilation of research conducted by the Black History Committee of the General de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, in commemoration of the official end of World War I on November 11, 1918. It is the goal of the committee to preserve the memories of the African American men from Tippecanoe County who served with honor and distinction in the Great War.
Initial information was extracted from the Tippecanoe County Honor Roll Book, published in 1919. Additional records, including census, marriage, death, military, news clippings, and other historical information were used to create the following biographical sketches for the men.
By November 11, 1918, over 350,000 African Americans had served on the Western Front. Eighteen of those men were from Tippecanoe County. These Great War veterans from Tippecanoe County are deserving of special recognition, especially since they were not given proper credit or treatment for the many sacrifices they made on behalf of the nation. Regrettably, the biographical photographs of our county’s African American soldiers were placed on the last pages of the biographical section in Tippecanoe County’s World War I Honor Roll Book.
In addition, biographical data for these brave soldiers were not forwarded to the Indiana State Library to be placed in the historical files with other local veterans. The General de Lafayette Chapter would like to rectify this oversight. The chapter will provide the Indiana State Library with complete biographical material for each African American World War I veteran.
Editor’s Note:
The title for the booklet was inspired by Thomas Davis, an African American First World War Veteran who shared his experiences at the age of 105 in 1997 with authors Eric and Jane Lawson. Mr. Davis served his tour of duty in France, alongside French soldiers who gave Black Americans more honor and respect than they received from some of their own countrymen.
Davis recalled that the people of France referred to African American soldiers as “Black Yankees.” He didn’t take offense to it as it was meant as a term of endearment. Black soldiers were held in high regard by their French counterparts, as well as French citizens, for the efficient and swift movement of supplies.
“The Negro Service of Supply men acquired a great reputation in the various activities to which they were assigned, especially for efficiency and celerity in unloading ships and supplies of every sort at the base ports. They were a marvel to the French and astonished not a few of the officers of our own army,” wrote the author of the History of the American Negro in the Great War.”
The Daughters of the American Revolution agree that the “Black Yankees” of the Great War were a marvel and emphatically worthy of honor.
Reviews
“Black Yankees masterfully illustrates the role of eighteen African American World War I Tippecanoe County, Indiana soldiers who overcame society’s limitations. Far too long the American story has neglected to mention the role of African American men and their contributions. Thank you to General de Lafayette Daughters of the American Revolution for researching and compiling the inspiring biographies. This publication ensures these soldiers will no longer be subject to erasure.”
-Renee Thomas, Director, Purdue University Black Cultural Center
“The dedication of the African American soldier throughout America’s history has often been overlooked, ignored or simply forgotten. Until now, through the committed efforts of the General de Lafayette, Daughters of the American Revolution, “Black Yankees” tells the stories of eighteen African American World War I Indiana soldiers. The research involved in speaking of their personal histories and their willingness to stand for a country, that more often than not, did not stand for them, is a testament to their grit and that of these amazing women who brought their stories to light. Thank you for your work, and I am eternally grateful to have learned, through you, about these great Americans.
-Sana G. Booker, West Lafayette City Clerk
General de Lafayette Chapter NSDAR 