1. A Black Soldier in the Great War. Report by: Candina Doucette
Moses Stevenson
A Black Soldier in the Great War.
Report by: Candina Doucette 

2. December 1916 JULY 1916 1881 1911 Census August 1914 Born
Census shows other children older.
1881
Married to Birtha Stevenson
Son- Foster Stevenson
1911 Census
World War One began
August 1914
Number Two Construction Battalion created
JULY 1916
Stevenson officially enlisted.
Attestation papers show that Jennie had passed away and Foster was left in the care of his uncle.
December 1916

3. May 1919 November 1943 February 1919 Fall 1919 November 10 1943 1941
Discharged and returns home
Class "A" Award
February 1919
Married Sadie Francis
May 1919
Moved to Gibson woods
Fall 1919
Began work at Camp Aldershot
1941
Sick. He continued to get worse.
Hospitalized
November 1943
Passed away
November

4. Thorn's Cove, Nova Scotia
 On October 14, 1881 Samuel and Matilda Stevenson had a son they named Moses Edward. 

5. 1911 Canadian Census: Thorn's Cove, NS.

6. 677

8. World War One Begins
When war broke out in 1914, African Canadian men were denied the opportunity to enlist. Despite their bravery and loyalty during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, they were told that this was a “white man’s war”.  

9. Number Two Construction Battalion
 By 1916, however, Canadian enlistment was drastically reduced  and African Canadian men were still lobbying for their right to defend their country. On July 5, 1916, military officials authorized the creation of the all black Number Two Construction Battalion with headquarters in Pictou, Nova Scotia. The men were still not trusted to be armed, so their role was to support the front lines by building roads and bridges, digging trenches, defusing land mines so advancing troops could move forward, and bringing out the wounded. 

10. No. 2 Construction Battalion Cap Badge

11. Discharge Papers

13. Class A Army Award: Stevenson received this award in 1919 for his service on the front lines. 

14. Queen Anne Hotel, Annapolis Royal.

15. Marriage Certificate

16. Gibson Woods, Nova Scotia.
Moses and Sadie moved after their marriage in 1919 to look for work as a farm hand. 
Ten children. Two died very young. 
1921 Canadian Census, Stevenson had earned $600 in the past twelve months.  White men living in Sheffield Mills made an average of $ in the same amount of time.   

17. The Passing of Moses Stevenson
Working at CFB Aldershot. 
Remembered for walking the entire eighteen kilometer round trip every day.
In early November 1943, he fell ill, but despite his wife’s pleads for him to stay home and recover, he went to work. 
Sicker until he was brought home unconscious by a co- worker.
Taken to Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville where he died on November 10, 1943

19. Moses' Legacy
A 2016 photo taken during an interview with Moses and Sadie Stevenson's daughter, Mrs. Hilda (Stevenson) Smith, and active Gibson Woods community member, Geraldine Browning. 

20. Acadia University December 2016

21. Bibliography
“Censuses of Canada.” Library and Archives Canada. April 15,
Certificate of Death, Moses Edward Stevenson 10 November 1943, Kings County, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics. Copy in possession of Candina Doucette, Digby, Nova Scotia. 
Certificate of Marriage, Moses Edward Stevenson to Sadie Francis, 24 May 1919, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics. Copy in possession of Candina Doucette, Digby, Nova Scotia. 
Hilda Smith (Stevenson). Interview by Candina Doucette, September 28, 2016. 
Geraldine Browning. Interview by Candina Doucette, September 28, 2016. 

22. Bibliography
“Personnel Records of the First World War.” Library and Archives Canada. October 24, 2016.  war/personnel-records/Pages/search.aspx.  
Phillips, Erica "Red Poppy, Black Ribbon." Maclean's 116, no. 46: Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 22, 2016).  
Ruck, Calvin W. The Black Battalion: : Canada's Best Kept Military Secret. Thirtieth-anniversary ed. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing, 2016.  
Walker, James W. St G. "Race and recruitment in World War I: Enlistment of visible minorities in the Canadian Expeditionary Force." Canadian Historical Review 70, no. 1 (1989): 1-26.