commander of the U.S. army during the great war called black jack?

Answer 1

John "Black Jack" Pershing was the general commanding the US forces in Europe during the Great, or First World, War.

As an aside, Pershing wasn't actually known in the US armed forces as "Black Jack". Upon graduation from West Point Academy Pershing scandalized his graduating class by volunteering to serve with the USCI, United States Colored Infantry. Back then the only way that a white officer would be assigned to the USCI was as a punishment and when Pershing, who had been born in the former slave state of Missouri, volunteered it was a shock. He then further went on to speak highly of his men in the USCI and called them the finest soldiers with whom he had ever served. "They'd follow me to hell and I couldn't ask for better company" is a remark attributed to Pershing concerning the soldiers of the USCI.

Because of this other white officers often called Pershing, behind his back, "N-i-g-g-e-r Jack" Pershing as an insult. Pershing rose rapidly in the ranks during the administration of Teddy Roosevelt who remembered the officer who had led the US 10th Colored Infantry during the Spanish American War and had fought along side of Roosevelt's Rough Riders. When the press began to take notice of Pershing in the years leading up to World War One, pursuing Pancho Villa and other activities, they heard the insulting nickname that had been hung on him years before by racist officers and realizing that they couldn't very well print "N-i-g-g-e-r Jack" in the papers changed his nickname to the more socially acceptable "Black Jack" instead.

To this day most people imagine that Pershing was fond of the card game "21" or had a dark complexion and that was how he came to be called Black Jack. Instead Pershing, while not exactly a civil rights crusader as we understand the term today, earned his true nickname by treating his men, regardless of their color, with the honor and respect due to soldiers.

I hope the use of a particular word in this answer is not considerd too offensive, I noticed that Yahoo strikes the word as a matter of form but the story is difficult to tell and the point difficult to make without it's use.

Answer 2

John "Black Jack" Pershing... he was the head commander of black troops, thus the nickname was given.

Answer 3

General Blackjack Pershing, and by the way he and George Washington are the only men ever to hold the rank of General of the Armies.

Answer 4

John "Black Jack" Pershing...

Answer 5

no..it was jack meoff