WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Great Men Back Then: Hamilton Fish III

Episode Date: April 23, 2024

Hamilton Fish III commanded the Harlem Hellfighters during World War I. He carried on the legacy of his great-grandfather by fighting for civil rights. 

You are listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Lauren Scott, and this is Great Men Back Then, the show where we talk about great people in American history. Today, we will be talking about Hamilton Fish III, an American soldier, author, and politician from New York. Now, you may recognize his name, And that is because a couple weeks ago, I did an episode of Greatman back then on his grandfather, Hamilton Fish the first. In the episode about his grandfather, I really emphasized how he was the most trusted advisor to former president Ulysses S. Grant, and he was recognized as the pillar of Grant's presidency. His grandfather was known for his stance on abolition and how he supported the Union Army

during the Civil War, and he was part of that group of Americans early on who advocated for the abolition of slavery and to move closer to a society that recognize black people as equal. And in his grandson, Hamilton Fish, the Third, we are seeing a lot of those same values carry over. And in this family, we are seeing these values remain consistent on their standards. of abolition, and we'll get into that today about Hamilton Fish III and how a lot of his values also aligned with his grandfathers. So a quick fun fact about the Fish family, whenever Hamilton Fish Sr. was first named, he was named after Alexander Hamilton because his parents were friends with him. So he was named after one of the founding fathers of America.

And so we can see in Hamilton Fish the Third, obviously, that legacy of Alexander Hamilton still lives on. But Hamilton Fish the Third is most well known for being a great critic and opponent of former president Franklin Roosevelt. He did not support his matters on international affairs, such as the American entry into World War II, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was also a big opponent of his New Deal. But perhaps most importantly, Hamilton Fish III is remembered for his involvement in World War I, whenever he commanded a company of the 369th Infantry Regiment,

a unit of African American soldiers known as the Harle, Hellfighters. So if you know anything about World War I, you know that the United States entered the war in 1917. So in the year 1917, obviously there was still great racial tensions in the nation, much conflict around the civil rights movement, a lot of people opposing it. And to have black soldiers fight for America was obviously a very controversial. thing in 1917. So the fact that Fish was willing to command this unit shows great character of him. But not only did he lead this regiment of black soldiers, he also advocated for veterans and the anti-lynching movement. So he was a great voice in the whole civil rights movement. And this is kind of where we see

those values of his family leading back to his grandfather, who was a huge advocate of the Union Army and greatly supported Ulysses S. Grant, who was obviously anti-slavery. We're seeing those same values live on in this family by Hamilton Vitch III, leading this regiment of black soldiers, and then also supporting the anti-lynching movement, which was a very controversial. thing to support back in those days. It is because Hamilton Fish the third supported the civil rights movement, even in a difficult time during the United States, that I argue he was great. Thank you for listening to Great Men back then. I'm Lawrence Scott on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.