Thomas Jefferson Bullock

Second Lieutenant Thomas J. Bullock was killed in action on September 2, 1918 in Frapelle, France.  He was 40 years old.

Thomas J. Bullock was born on January 16, 1878 in Henderson, North Carolina.   He graduated from Lincoln University in 1911 and became an educator and school principal in Wilmington, N.C. where he married Cleopatra Cleapor in 1913.

By the time President Woodrow Wilson declared war in April 1917, The thirty-nine year old Bullock had already seen several years of military service and was a Spanish American War veteran. Following the war with Spain, the young man went on to serve in the Philippines with the 25th Infantry Regiment.  A call for volunteers during rising tensions with Mexico compelled Bullock to join Company M of the 15th Regiment New York National Guard in October 1916.

Bullock's prior military experience and advanced education made him a prime candidate for the first and only World War I cycle of officer candidate school (OCS) for black soldiers. Sergeant Bullock reported to Des Moines, Iowa, for OCS in June 1917.  Bullock emerged as a 2nd Lieutenant.  Instead of returning to the 15th NYNG (the regiment that would become the famed 369th Infantry or "Harlem Hellfighters"), he reported to the 367th Infantry Regiment, 184th Infantry Brigade, 92nd Division.

After a period of advanced training in Bourbonne-les-Bains, France, the 92nd Division was ordered to relieve American and French troops in the St. Die sector.  From August 23 to 30, 1918 the division, less artillery, affiliated with the French 87th Division, and under control of the French XXXIII Corps, participated in the occupation of the St. Dié Sector. This sector, which was about 25 kilometers wide, lay in the Vosges north of St. Dié, and controlled the southern exit of the Saales Pass. At the end of this period the 92d Division assumed command of the sector and held it until September 20.

Upon arrival, the men of the 92nd encountered an enemy frustrated by its recent loss of Frapelle. Thirteen companies took up a position in the front line trenches to hold the line. 2Lt. Bullock among them.

From the 25th of August until the Division was relieved on the 20th of September, the principal activities consisted of patrolling and raiding parties, with artillery and aerial bombardment of enemy positions. Skirmishes between raiding parties were frequent. One of the most intense engagements during this period was on the night of the 31st of August, 1918, when the enemy made an attempt in force to retake Frapelle. In this attack the enemy was supported by intense artillery bombardment, employing mustard gas and flame projectors, but was repulsed with heavy losses.

On the night of September 1, the Germans advanced upon the portion of the line held by the 367th. During a lull in the fighting, 2Lt. Bullock and his platoon relieved their weary comrades. Gathering his men around him the veteran officer made plain the danger they faced that night but swore he would fight to the last. The ensuing German advance peppered the 92nd Division's line with mustard gas and incendiary shells but was repulsed yet again by the steadfast Americans.

As dawn broke the next morning, news of American casualties quickly spread through the ranks: 34 wounded, 4 dead. 2Lt. Bullock was the division's first officer claimed by combat. Regimental chaplain George Shippen Clark informed Bullock's alma mater, Lincoln University, that the lieutenant had been found where he was expected to be. "With his face to the front," wrote Chaplain Stark, "he dropped to his knees, and in that posture he died." He was forty years old.

Second Lieutenant Thomas J. Bullock was initially interred in La Chapelle, but in 1921, his next of kin made arrangements to bring him home to Wilmington. He is buried with his wife, Cleopatra, and his father-in-law, George Cleapor in the Pine Forest Cemetery.  His name is listed on the World War I Monument in Wilmington.

Last edited: 26 March 2026