The Draft registration was an act called the “Selective Service Act (Selective Draft Act),” was enacted on May 18, 1917. That act authorized the Federal Government to create a National Army. Prior to WWI, the United States had a small military force compared to the European countries.
The Selected Service Draft Act required all males age 21 to 30 to register for military service. The War Department requested Congress to amend the age requirement and by September of 1918, the age was extended to all men from 18 to 45 years of age.
For African Americans who fell within this age group, the draft cards include genealogical information. Even better, if the individual served in World War I, their military records will provide their descendants a window into their lives. Many of the older African Americans born in the 1870s and prior to 1900 were probably the first or second generation from slavery. Their pension records might be the only information about their former enslaved parents. These records are a gold mine for their descendants.
Displayed below are the African American Alexandrians with the “B” surnames.
Baker, Gilbert – born April 20, 1893
Baker, James – born August 9, 1877
Baker, James Walter – born December 22, 1882
Baker, Lawrence – born March 12, 1888
Baker, Robert Curtis – born January 20, 1888
Ball, James A. – born March 31, 1887
Ball, Thomas H – born March 17, 1892
Ballard, Eugene – born April 2, 1885
Baltimore, Charles – born April 15, 1892
Baltimore, Leon C – born February 6, 1889
Baltimore, Preston S. – born March 23, 1892
Banks, Abe – born November 28, 1892
Banks, Edward J. – born February 7, 1890
Banks, Harry James – born July 2, 1899
Banks, James Henry – born August 1, 1873
Banks, Rufus McKinley – born November 26, 1896
Barber (Barbour), Samuel – born December 24, 1882
Barbour, Mathew – born February 4, 1880
Barksdale, Hanes – born June 15, 1894
Barrett, Howard Ashby – born September 8, 1882
Barrier, Fred Pelham – born September 12, 1878
Bates, Henry – born May 10, 1879
Bates, Randall – born February 26, 1885
Beach, Charles – born December 25, 1899
Beale, Moses – born February 22, 1893
Beander, William H. – born November 13, 1886
Beckham, Addison – born April 3, 1893
Beckham, Water Binton – born November 5, 1890
Belk, Thurlow Roy – born February 1, 1890
Belk, Charles Henry – born July 16, 1900
Bell, George – born January 1, 1884
Bell, Howard – born in 1896
Bell, James Edward – born March 17, 1879
Bell, Lewis – born February 4, 1898
Bell, Seabron – born September 20, 1885
Bell, Thomas – born April 18, 1880
Bell, Ulysses Garnett – born August 20, 1888
Bell, William Henry – born May 21, 1879
Belt, James Horace – born May 8, 1873
Bembery, John – born September 15, 1874
Bentley, Louis Laurence – born June 5, 1897
Bentley, Madison Clayton – born September 27, 1890
Bentley, Raymond Asa – born August 25, 1883
Berkley, Henry Strother – born September 18, 1879
Berry, Edward – born October 17, 1894
Beverley, Dan – born August 24, 1886
Beverley, Ernest – born April 16, 1880
Blackburn, John – born September 15, 1893
Blackwell, Walter – born June 2, 1892
Blake, Walter – born September 18, 1872
Blondheim, John – born September 20, 1890
Blue, James Nathaniel – born February 17, 1897
Blue, Randolph Benisford – born June 29, 1885
Bohanan, Robert Henry – born July 7, 1897
Bolden, Lawrence – born May 11, 1894
Bolden, Samuel – born April 27, 1893
Boswell, Maurice Henry – born February 6, 1893
Boswell, Otto – born September 11, 1896
Bouden, James Alex – born June 2, 1899
Bouden, Russia Sterling – born December 25, 1889
Bowen, Austin – born June 26, 1889
Bowen, Clarence C – born February 27, 1893
Bowman, John William – born December 22, 1978
Bowman, Richard Henry – born December 6, 1880
Boyd, Charles – born September 20, 1895
Boyd, Joseph – born July 24, 1899
Boyd, Julian Ashton – born March 22, 1890
Brabson, James Sydney – born October 7, 1899
Bradshaw, Edward – born in 1881
Branch, Charlie – born June 7, 1881
Brandon, David C – born May 16, 1892
Bratten, William Thomas – born January 21, 1883
Braxton, William McLindsey – born November 4, 1876
Breckenridge, John Henry – born September 10, 1897
Breisford, Charles – born June 1, 1897
Brent, Edward – born July 15, 1887
Brice, Boise – born in 1897
Brice, Edward – born August 3, 1873
Briggs, Howard – born in 1885
Broadus, Charles – born October 1, 1887
Broadus, Ulysses – born December 3, 1885
Broders, Marion – born April 2, 1880
Broders, Richard Edward – born April 5, 1875
Brooks, Benjaman – born July 2, 1876
Brooks, Frank Z – born August 1, 1879
Brooks, George Seldon – born May 12, 1896
Brooks, Lincoln Griffin – born June 9, 1878
Brooks, Richard Henry – born February 28, 1880
Brooks, Summerfield – born January 6, 1892
Brooks, William – born June 16, 1890
Brown, Aaron – born in 1890
Brown, Alexander Stanley – born September 24, 1891
Brown, Bud – born in 1879
Brown, Earnest – born August 1899
Brown, Frank – born April 9, 1888
Brown, George – born November 14, 1896
Brown, James H – born December 16, 1893
Brown, Joseph Edward – born May 13, 1899
Brown, Louis – born June 6, 1893
Brown, Maten – born March 2, 1897
Brown, Riley – born January 1, 1890
Brown, Thomas – born May 10, 1882
Bryant, Edward – born December 14, 1876
Bryant, Robert Champ – born November 5, 1881
Bryant, William Henry – born March 27, 1873
Buckner, Henry – born January 1, 1891
Buckner, William Isaac – born September 29, 1873
Buggie, William James – born July 4, 1887
Burgess, Albert – born April 15, 1892
Burgess, Pearl Albert – born September 9, 1890
Burgin, Edward – born August 15, 1897
Burke, Boyd – born October 5, 1883
Burke, Hugh – born September 2, 1880
Burke, Robert – born March 1, 1874
Burke, Robert Jr. – born May 30, 1898
Burke, Rosier – born January 2, 1900
Burr, Louis – born March 23, 1885
Burrell, Charles – born August 16, 1895
Burrell, John Thomas – born March 25, 1883
Burton, Albert – born March 20, 1881
Burton, Arthur – born May 1, 1873
Butler, Emmett – born April 18, 1882
Butler, George – born April 1, 1897
Butler, Isaac – born February 5, 1883
Butler, Junius – born May 9, 1900
Butler, John Lee – born April 23, 1900
Butler, John Matthew – born July 30, 1891
Butler, Lawrence – born June 18, 1886
Butler, Robert – born in 1899
Butler, Robert Henry – born December 19, 1897
Butler, Walter A – born September 6, 1888
Byrd, Charlie Henry – born June 8, 1900
Byrd, Henry – born December 27, 1891
Byrd, James W – born January 1, 1896
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