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NY State Military Museum reveals contents of Harlem Armory "time capsule" during August 4 media availability

The time capsule, hidden in the cornerstone of the Army built for Henry Johnson's regiment, reveals a snapshot of the past 99-years ago.

Saratoga Springs, New York (08/01/2022) — The contents of a time capsule found at the New York National Guard's historic Harlem Armory, which was built for the famous "Harlem Hell Fighters" in 1921-24, will be made available for review by reporters at the New York State Military Museum on Thursday, August 4.

The Hell Fighters, officially known as the 369th Infantry, was the unit in which Albany Medal of Honor recipient Henry Johnson served during World War I.

WHO: New York State Military Museum Director Courtney Burns will explain the significance of what was found.

WHAT: An opportunity for reporters to examine and obtain still and video imagery of newspapers, documents and photographs deposited inside the cornerstone of the Harlem Armory drill hall in 1923.

WHEN: 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 4, 2022

WHERE: New York State Military Museum, 61 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs

Coverage opportunities: Video and still imagery of the items found inside the copper time capsule, as well as the time capsule itself. Remarks by New York State Military Museum Director Courtney Burns.

BACKGROUND:

On Feb. 19, 2022, while replacing a deteriorating granite plaque labeled 1922 on the Harlem Armory corner stone, a contractor discovered a sealed tin box inside a hollow in the stone.

The corner stone was laid on May 27, 1923, but there was no mention in any reports of the event of a time capsule being placed inside the stone.

The armory, now the home of the New York Army National Guard's 369th Sustainment Brigade, was built to house the 369th Infantry Regiment -the drill hall in 1921-24 and the administrative building in the 1930s- made famous during their service in World War I as the Harlem Hell Fighters.

Originally the 15th Infantry, New York National Guard, the regiment was comprised of Black Soldiers and commanded mostly by white officers and fought as part of a French division.

Renumbered as the 369th U.S. Infantry, the regiment spent 191 days in combat, never retreated and accumulated 170 French Croix de Guerre awards for heroism.

Johnson, who worked at the Albany railroad station, was one of those awarded the Croix De Guerre for his heroism in combat. He defeated a German patrol in May 1918 and saved fellow Soldier Needham Roberts from being taken prisoner. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2015.

The ceremonial cornerstone was laid by New York City Mayor John Francis Hylan, who had also broken ground for the armory in November 1921.

William Hayward, who had commanded the 369th in France and was then the U.S. attorney for New York, spoke at the ceremony, as did Congressman -later New York City mayor- Fiorello LaGuardia.

The time capsule was turned over to Burns and the Military Museum staff opened it in May. Inside they found carefully preserved period newspapers carrying stories about the 369th, two typewritten histories of the unit, and documents reflecting the pride of the African-American community in New York City as the period called the Harlem Renaissance got underway.

Media Attachments

Courtney Burns, director of the New York State Military Museum, examines the copper box time capsule discovered inside the cornerstone of the original section of the New York National Guard’s historic Harlem Armory during renovation work. The box, which was not known to be in the corner stone, contained documents pertaining to the 369th “Harlem Hell Fighters” or World War I fame, as well as documents of importance to the Black community in 1923 New York City.

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