A mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army took place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas. The incident occurred within a climate of overt racist hostility from members of the all-white Houston Police Department (HPD) against members of the local black community and black soldiers stationed at Camp Logan. Following an incident where police officers arrested and assaulted black soldiers, many of their comrades mutinied and marched to Houston. There they opened fire and killed eleven civilians and five policemen. Five soldiers also died, (four to friendly fire and one to suicide). In accordance with the military laws of the time, 118 soldiers were tried in three courts-martial. This was the largest murder trial in US history.
Race riot in Houston, Texas; 2 Black people and 11 white people killed
A mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army took place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas.
Historical Significance
A mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army took place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas.
Events Before
The first blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood is performed during World War I
The first blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood is performed during World War I
Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martiniq
Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martinique Hotel, New York City
Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest bat
Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
British author of "The Lord of the Rings", J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Mary Bratt at St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic
British author of "The Lord of the Rings", J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Mary Bratt at St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Warwick
Actress Gloria Swanson (17) weds actor Wallace Beery (30)
Actress Gloria Swanson (17) weds actor Wallace Beery (30)
Events After
Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland; January 2 becomes January 14
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Russian Bolshevik Party is renamed the All-Russian Communist Party
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Fearing foreign invasion, Vladimir Lenin shifts revolutionary Russia's capital from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow
Fearing foreign invasion, Vladimir Lenin shifts revolutionary Russia's capital from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow
American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (17) weds Daisy Parker (21); divorce in 1923
American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (17) weds Daisy Parker (21); divorce in 1923
German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur S
German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is credited with the kill.
More from the 1910s
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on August 23, 1917?
- A mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army took place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas. The incident occurred within a climate of overt racist hostility from members of the all-white Houston Police Department (HPD) against members of the local black community and black soldiers stationed at Camp Logan. Following an incident where police officers arrested and assaulted black soldiers, many of their comrades mutinied and marched to Houston.
- Why is Race riot in Houston, Texas; 2 Black people and 11 white people killed significant?
- A mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army took place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas.