Henry Alvin Cameron

Henry Alvin Cameron was born in Nashville, Tennessee on February 4, 1872 to Walter and Jane Bentley Cameron. His true date of birth in February 1872 has been established from census records taken at various stages of his life and a biographical sketch of himself that Professor Cameron wrote for an encyclopedia of outstanding black Americans published in 1915 ("see Who’s Who of the Colored Race, A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African descent. Volume 1 (pg58) - edited by Frank Lincoln Mather. Chicago 1915. Reprint. Detroit: Gale Research, 1976").

Henry Cameron graduated in 1892 from Meigs High School in East Nashville - the first black public high school in the city of Nashville. In 1896, he was awarded a B.A. degree from Fisk University and joined the faculty at Pearl High School in Nashville a year later as a Science Teacher. In 1898, Professor Cameron received his LL.B. degree from Central Tennessee College, a post-secondary school for blacks located at the current site of Cameron School. He married his long-time high school sweetheart, Louise S. Brien, on June 5, 1899.

Professor Cameron was an avid sports enthusiast who became the first basketball and baseball coach at Pearl High in Nashville. He also served in a multitude of other roles in the community: President of the Middle Tennessee Teacher’s Association, Secretary of the Tennessee Aid Assn., Member of the Nashville Teacher’s Literary and Benefit Assn, a 32nd degree Mason; Fraternal Member of the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Lodge of Tennessee and President of the Capital City Baseball League, a local baseball franchise consisting of 8 teams based in the Nashville area.

In April 1917, with a terrible war going on in Europe, the United States decided to enter this conflict against the Germans. Professor Cameron, at the age of 45, took a leave of absence from teaching at Pearl in June 1917 to participate in the war effort. On October 15, 1917, he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army at Fort Des Moines, Iowa; a facility established especially for training black officers in WWI.

On June 10, 1918, he sailed for France and was assigned to Company M, 365th Infantry, 92nd Division – one of three black Infantry Divisions in combat during World War I. For some unknown reason, the US Army reversed Lt. Cameron’s first and middle names and he was listed in his service records as Alvin H. Cameron instead of Henry A. Cameron. As an officer, he was a fastidious and capable leader who always cared about the safety and well-being of the men under his command. They succeeded in winning many battles against a fierce and determined German army in the face of insurmountable odds which unfortunately included overt discrimination reeived from his own U.S. Army superiors.

On October 30 1918, during the Battle of Argonne Forest, France - one of the bloodiest battles of the war - Lt. Cameron was killed in action while on a scout patrol with his unit. He was the first of only three black men appointed officers in WWI from Tennessee and the first black officer to die from Tennessee. Lt. Cameron's body was not brought back to Nashville. His remains are still located in France at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery in Thiacourt, France. Posthumous medals conferred upon 1st Lieutenant Henry Cameron for bravery in action during World War I include: the Croix de Guerre (awarded by the French); the Meusse-Argonne with St. Die defensive clasps; the World War I Victory Medal with battle clasps and the Purple Heart. Lt. Cameron and other comrades did not receive the Congressional Medal of Honor ("Only one black soldier who served in WWI, Corporal Freddie Stowers, has received this medal. It was awarded posthumously to his family by President George H.W. Bush in April 1991. Also, only one woman to date has been given this medal, Dr. Mary E. Walker)".

Nevertheless, a year later in 1919, with the introduction of American Legion posts all over the US, the "Henry A. Cameron Post 6" in Nashville, Tennessee was established in his honor. It was one of the first American Legion posts named after an African-American and is still in operation today. Additionally, on November 26, 1928, in a show of honor and respect for Professor Lt. Henry Cameron, the Nashville City School Board named Cameron School in tribute to this man who stood for the highest example of civic duty by giving his life unselfishly for his country. His distinguished career as an educator, businessman, community leader, coach and soldier leaves an indelible testimonial of scholarship, commitment and public service for all of us to follow. A large-scale photo of Professor Cameron now hangs in the lobby of Cameron School in Nashville, Tennessee for students, faculty and visitors of the school to see.

External links

* [http://www.cameronalumni.org Cameron Alumni website]