This Black History Month is particularly special for me as it’s the first time I’ve explored the wonders of Black history on my own. 

Throughout my high school experience, I always felt there was a severe lack of Black history being taught to students, so I made it a personal goal of mine to learn more African-Canadian history. Since coming to Queen’s, I’ve grown more passionate in my study of Black history and applied my passion to class assignments. 

For one assignment, I spent many hours in Stauffer, eventually coming across the fascinating story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion (No. 2 CB), Canada’s first all-Black battalion to serve during World War I. 

The first thing I noticed about the No. 2 CB was the limited information available, having encountered only a single book by Calvin Ruck, a former Senator of Nova Scotia. I quickly came to realize that Senator Ruck’s book would be a gem among Stauffer’s giant collection. For that very reason, I felt it my obligation to share my findings on the No. 2 CB with a larger audience.  

At the beginning of World War I, there was a vast wave of patriotism felt across Canada and like everyone else, many African-Canadians felt it was their obligation to fight for Canada and the British Empire. Canada wasn’t secretive about its discrimination towards African-Canadians and often times outright rejected those who wanted to volunteer for the war.

With the exception of a few volunteers who enlisted into select units, the vast majority of African-Canadians weren’t accepted into the Canadian military. Because of this, there were protests started by both Blacks and whites, with the earliest form of these protests beginning with a man named Arthur Alexander who wrote to Ottawa in 1914, demanding that Black men be allowed to enlist. 

George Morton, a resident of Hamilton, continued these protests and was better able to capture the attention of public and military officials. It was eventually revealed by these officials that there were many problems with letting African-Canadians join in the fighting. It was only agreed upon later in the war that a segregated unit would be made on the condition that enough African-Canadians filled the entirety of its ranks.  

This led to the making of the No. 2 CB, which was officially established on July 5, 1916 in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Official numbers are unclear, but it’s suggested that just over 600 men were recruited from across Canada, the United States and parts of the West Indies to make up the battalion.

After the battalion received its training, it was moved overseas on March 28, 1917 to join up with the Canadian Forestry Corps. For the remaining years of the war, the battalion worked primarily as a labour unit that handled jobs such as building and maintaining roads, bridges and trenches, cutting trees, doing mill work, maintaining water supplies, transporting supplies and managing heavy equipment. After the war’s conclusion, the battalion returned home in 1919 and was disbanded on September 15 that same year. 

I started my research knowing nothing about the No. 2 CB and enjoyed every moment I uncovered something new. In general, this is only a snippet of the historic undertakings the No. 2 CB underwent, but even knowing this much does these soldiers a service.  

This Black History Month, I encourage everyone to learn and share in the history of African-Canadians and carry on the legacy of the No. 2 CB. Even beyond that, I encourage everyone to explore subjects that they’re unfamiliar with. Perhaps then, each and every one of us could learn something new and eventually we could all find subjects that drive us towards our passions.