Berry Craig to Speak on Andrew Carman, Black World War I Veteran
The July 20th meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society will feature Berry Craig, well-known historian of the Jackson Purchase, speaking on “ ‘Like Chasing Rabbits Back Home’: Andrew Carman Remembers WWI.” The meeting will be held at the Benton Branch of the Marshall County Public Library, 1003 Poplar Street, beginning at 10:30 am. A brief business meeting will precede the talk.
Andrew Carman was drafted in July 1917 and went through basic training at segregated Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville. The army sent Carman “over there” from Newport News, Virginia, in a troopship convoy. In France he was assigned as a replacement in the storied 369th U.S. Infantry, an African American regiment mainly from Harlem in New York City. Carman was wounded in action and years later received the Purple Heart. He returned to Graves County and was a farmer. Craig interviewed Carman before his death and puts his life into the context of west Kentucky in the early twentieth century.
“We are delighted that Berry Craig can share his work on Andrew Carman with the Society at our July meeting,” JPHS President Bill Mulligan said. “He has done a great deal of research on the history of the Jackson Purchase and has the gift of being able to present it to both popular and academic audiences. Carmen’s story deserves to be widely known in the region and I hope this will move towards that goal,” Mulligan concluded.
Berry Craig writes extensively on the history of the Jackson Purchase. Among his books are: Kentucky Confederates: Secession, Civil War, and the Jackson Purchase, Kentucky’s Rebel Press: Pro-Confederate Media and the Secession Crisis. Hidden History of Western Kentucky, True Tales of Old-Time Kentucky Politics: Bombast, Bourbon, and Burgoo, Hidden History of Kentucky in the Civil War, and Hidden History of Kentucky Soldiers. He is Professor Emeritus at West Kentucky Community and Technical College.