Brigadier General Franklin A Denison: The First African-American General in the U.S. Military History

Franklin A. Denison (1862–1932) was a trailblazing African American attorney, military officer, and civic leader whose distinguished career broke racial barriers and reshaped the role of Black Americans in law, military service, and public life.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Denison graduated with honors from Lincoln University, a historically Black institution, and went on to make history in 1890 when he was elected valedictorian of his all-white class at Union College of Law, then affiliated with Northwestern University. Just one year later, he became the first Black assistant prosecuting attorney in Chicago, marking the beginning of a long career in public service and justice.

Denison’s military record was equally historic. He joined the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, the only all-Black unit in the United States, and in 1914 earned the rank of colonel, becoming one of the highest-ranking Black officers in the nation at the time. During the Spanish-American War, Denison was appointed judge of the Court of Claims in Santiago, Cuba, and is believed to be the first African American to preside over a general court-martial in U.S. Army history. Fluent in Spanish, he played a crucial diplomatic and judicial role in the postwar military occupation.

With the onset of World War I, Denison was instrumental in organizing and recruiting Black soldiers. He trained the unit that would become the 370th Infantry Regiment, which later served under French command. Though widely respected by his men, Denison was removed from combat command on the eve of deployment and replaced by a white officer, Col. Thomas A. Roberts. Officially described as being on sick leave, the decision was widely condemned as racially motivated. Black troops understood that white military leadership feared the optics—and consequences—of Black officers successfully leading men in battle.

James P. Spencer, a Black soldier in the 370th, later wrote, “[Denison] led us through untold hardships…put us in fine trim for fighting…[but] was replaced by a white colonel simply on prejudicial grounds.”

Despite these injustices, the 370th fought valiantly in France, adapting to French uniforms, weapons, and rations. Denison’s groundwork ensured the unit’s readiness—even as white officers refused to salute him and the broader Army resisted Black leadership.

In 1917, Denison and the Eighth Regiment were stationed at Camp Logan near Houston, Texas. Although present during the Houston Riot of 1917, where 19 Black soldiers of the 24th Infantry were executed and over 100 convicted, Denison’s regiment remained uninvolved and maintained discipline, reflecting his commitment to order amid crisis.

After the war, Denison returned to Chicago, where he continued to serve as assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois. Yet his prominence and influence made him a target. Following the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, the Bureau of Investigation (precursor to the FBI) labeled him the “chief individual agitator”, despite providing no evidence and relying instead on racially biased informants. That summer, his home was partially destroyed by a white mob, one of many attacks during an era of rampant racial violence.

Still, Denison’s accomplishments could not be erased. On June 30th, 1922, he officially retired from the Illinois National Guard with the rank of brigadier general—the first African American ever to do so. This recognition was formally acknowledged in Special Order No. 85, dated June 30, 1922, and signed by Adjutant General G.E. Black. Major General George Bell, Jr., commander of the 33rd Division during the war, and Major General Milton J. Foreman also affirmed and commended Denison’s promotion and service. Their endorsement substantiates that Denison was recognized by three high-ranking generals as retiring with the full rank of brigadier general, the highest ever attained by a Black man in the U.S. military at the time.

“My work is finished,” said Gen. Denison today. “I trained the 8th, and I believe that I am responsible for its record. I appreciate the honor given me, elevating me to the rank of brigadier general upon my retirement. Although physically out of the national guard service, I shall always consider myself a soldier of the state of Illinois—and my heart will always be with the members of the 8th infantry.”

But two months later, his legacy was quietly undermined. On August 31, 1922, an official amendment was issued to correct what was described as a “clerical error.” The amended order revised the record of Denison’s retirement rank from brigadier general to colonel, stripping him posthumously of the recognition he had earned. Having already retired from the military, Denison had no official status and no means to contest the decision. Racial prejudice, which had shadowed him in life, continued to follow him into death. When he passed away in 1932, he was buried with a headstone that read “Colonel,” not “Brigadier General.”

If Denison is not widely known in Chicago today, there may be a reason. Shortly after his death, the Chicago Defender, the largest and most influential Black-owned newspaper in the country, published a poignant commentary. It lamented that young African Americans did not know that Franklin A. Denison had been the first Black Brigadier General in U.S. history, stating:

“There may be some excuse for their ignorance in this regard, however, for General Denison was not a ballyhoo man, but one who sought to be measured by his accomplishments rather than by his ability as a self-advertiser.”

Franklin A. Denison passed away in 1932 and some 6,000 mourners attended his rites at the Eighth Regiment Armory. Ten days later the Illinois House of Representatives passed, without a dissenting vote, a resolution honoring Denison as “a military hero and a political leader who possessed the highest degree of courage and a type of honesty that is seldom found….” In 1927 a monument to the men of the “Old 8th, was erected in 1927 at the corner of 35th Street and South Parkway (now Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive). Denison’s name on one of four plaques commemorating Black military figures from Chicago.