Immediately’s submit was written by Rachael Salyer, archivist on the Nationwide Archives Textual Reference Department, School Park, MD.
“I’ve traveled this nation […] and I need to get dwelling,” CL Daniel, World Battle I veteran and sufferer of the Tulsa bloodbath
Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum just lately introduced that World Battle I veteran CL Daniel is the primary recognized sufferer of the Tulsa race bloodbath because the metropolis started investigating the graves at Oaklawn Cemetery in 2019. A Metropolis of Tulsa press launch dated July 12, 2024 notes that CL. Daniel’s id was partially confirmed by paperwork held by the Nationwide Archives, together with “essentially the most compelling proof linking him to the Tulsa bloodbath – a letter CL’s household legal professional wrote on behalf of CL’s mom to the US Veterans Administration about CL’s survivor advantages.”
This 1936 letter was written on behalf of CL Daniel’s mom, Amanda M. Daniel, who was searching for veterans advantages as her son’s surviving relative. The letter states that Ms. Daniel “has no exemption [papers] and it’s troublesome for him to determine his loss of life. CL was killed in a race riot in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1921, in response to the perfect info he offered” (see picture 2).
The letter is a part of CL Daniel’s Navy Pension Deed (XC601416) which was issued to St. It’s within the custody of the Nationwide Archives in St. Louis. As a result of Daniel’s Official Navy Personnel File (OMPF) was amongst these destroyed in a hearth on the Nationwide Personnel Information Heart (NPRC) in 1973, the pension file and related index and final pay slip are among the many main data in NARA’s custody. to doc Daniel’s navy service. The pension data present that CL Daniel utilized for a grant in March 1921, just some months earlier than his loss of life. Amongst different issues, the file accommodates a single letter written by CL Daniel, which supplies an perception into his life after leaving the military (see picture 3).
He writes that “I’ve been visiting this nation for a while and now I’m as glad as I used to be on the base visitor home with the truth that I’ve no cash and I need to get dwelling.[.]Daniel outlines his service at Camp Gordon and his time on the base hospital, and likewise applies for incapacity funds, saying, “I need assistance, Battle Division help my legs harm.[.]” Within the letter, Daniel additionally mentions his mom, Amanda Daniel, who lives in Newnan, GA, and concludes by reiterating his plea for assist: “I want a job if I qualify the place I can give you the results you want till I die.[.]” Further letters within the pension file present that the Battle Division made a number of makes an attempt to contact CL Daniel over the subsequent few years, however failed to appreciate that he had been killed simply months after he contacted them for help.
CL Daniel’s service can also be documented by different data in NARA’s custody, together with his World Battle I registration card and related classification record, that are held on the Nationwide Archives in Atlanta. These data embody details about Daniel’s enlistment into the Military, in addition to some private info: Born in Coweta County, GA; labored in a cotton mill; and was thought-about to be of brief, medium construct (see Figures 4 and 5).
Information present inconsistent details about CL’s start date. In keeping with the draft certificates, his date of start was March 1896, however the index to the pension certificates exhibits his birthday as July 14 of that yr. The obvious federal census data for the Daniel household for 1900 and 1910 don’t record CL or the names of any kids whose initials could also be CL. Nonetheless, the 1910 census lists the title “Seal”. That is how the enumerator might have transcribed “CL” when speaking to the household (see image 6). On this census entry, Seal’s yr of start is 1902, so if this is similar CL Daniel, he would have been solely 16 when he joined the military and 19 when he was killed.
CL Daniel spent his time within the Military at Camp Gordon, a World Battle I warfare boot camp in Chamblee, GA (see pictures 7 and eight) that housed the Military’s 82nd Division.
The pension document and the cardboard sheet additionally comprise Dániel’s service quantity (3494059) and details about the formations he served in, together with the forty seventh Squadron, the twelfth Coaching Battalion, the 157th Depot Brigade and B Squadron, 406th Reserve Labor Battalion. CL Daniel’s service with these models could be traced by way of their collected rolls and rosters (see Determine 9). These paperwork are from the St. Preserved by the Nationwide Archives in St. Louis, digitized, and out there on-line because the FamilySearch assortment United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939 • FamilySearch.
Different data relating to those models are present in varied collection, similar to data regarding the historical past of the Battle Division 1918-1941 (entry NM-84 310) in File Group 165: Information of the Battle Division Workers. . This collection, within the custody of the Nationwide Archives in School Park, MD (Archives II), accommodates 4 recordsdata for the 157th Depot Brigade and several other recordsdata associated to Camp Gordon.
Additionally held by the Nationwide Archives in Washington, D.C. in File Group 393: Information of the Continental Command of the US Military, Basic Orders of Models and Workplaces, 1917-1919 (Entry A1-5 171-5) Sequence. This collection accommodates data regarding the 157th Depot Brigade and the twelfth Coaching Battalion.
Though unit data are unlikely to supply particular particulars about CL Daniel’s life, they might present some perception into his navy service.
For extra details about the data outlined above, please contact the NARA Reference Unit that maintains the precise data. For extra info on African American troopers throughout World Battle I, see the NARA web site. African Individuals within the Navy in World Battle | Nationwide Archives and the NARA Information Data Paper 105: Information of Navy Companies Referring to the African Individuals from the Put up World Battle Interval to the Korean Battle.
Particular due to my colleagues, Holly Rivet at St. of the Nationwide Archives in St. Louis, Shane Bell of the Nationwide Archives in Atlanta, and Claire Kluskens of the Nationwide Archives in Washington, D.C. for his or her analysis help.
*All pictures from the American Unofficial Assortment of World Battle I Images, 1917-1918 collection. Battle Division. File group 165: Paperwork of the Basic Workers and Particular Workers of the Ministry of Battle. Reference department of nonetheless photographs. Nationwide Archives in School Park, MD. stillpix@nara.gov.
**From pension doc “XC601416 Daniel, CL” a Claims of Deceased Veterans (XC Recordsdata). Veterans Administration. File Group 15: Information of the Division of Veterans Affairs. Nationwide Archives of St. in Louis. stl.archives@nara.gov.
***From draft 1917-1918 registration playing cards and 1917-1918 classification lists. Battle Division. Workplace of the Provost Marshal. Selective service system. File group 163: Paperwork of the selective service system (World Battle I). Nationwide Archives in Atlanta. atlanta.archives@nara.gov.
****From the 1910 Census Inhabitants Schedule, 1910–1910 (“1910 Census”). Division of Commerce and Labor. Census Bureau. File group 29: Information of the Census Workplace. Nationwide Archives, Washington, DC archives1reference@nara.gov.
*****From Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1 November 1912 – 31 December 1943.. Battle Division. Doc group 64: Paperwork of the Nationwide Archives and Archives. Nationwide Archives of St. in Louis.
