'Teddy's Tantrum' on 'Roosevelt's summary 1906 dismissal of 167 black infantrymen,' Later Exonerated

TEDDY'S TANTRUM by Tom Durwood

ABOUT THE BOOK

The rise of the black American soldier is one of the themes in a new ebook about Teddy Roosevelt and the 25th Infantry. In TEDDY'S TANTRUM, author Tom Durwood argues that Roosevelt's summary 1906 dismissal of 167 black infantrymen was a significant point on a timeline that includes the Battle of Lexington Green, Henry Flipper (the first black West Point graduate), the 761st tank battalion, and Colin Powell, among many, many others. Perhaps even more significant was the exoneration of those black troops in 1972, the direct result of a book, The Brownsville Raid, written by a largely forgotten and overlooked writer named John D. Weaver.

Durwood, who is Associate Professor of English at Valley Forge Military College, has written an ebook based upon Weaver's little-known work, recounting the epic tale of the 25th Infantry's tangle with citizens of Brownsville Texas and the almost century-long campaign to straighten the official record.

Others agree that this is a story worth telling. Robert B. Edgerton, UCLA Professor of Anthropology and author of Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in American Wars supports Durwood's efforts. "The Brownsville Raid is little known and the critical role played by Theodore Roosevelt needs to be understood by Americans just as the role of the 25th Infantry is too little understood," he says of TEDDY'S TANTRUM.

Book details:

Teddy's Tantrum by Tom Durwood

ebook only, ISBN 978-0-615-622651

Pub date: March 25, 2012