No. 2 Construction Battalion

The No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), was raised in Nova Scotia and was the only predominantly black battalion in Canadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of black soldiers to serve in World War I. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel D.H. Sutherland, formerly of the 193rd Battalion, CEF, all but one of the unit's 19 officers were white, the exception being Captain William A. White, the unit's Chaplain.

The Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men was one of the first black regiment in Canada and served during the War of 1812. Another Black regiment raised in Canada was the Victoria Rifles (Nova Scotia) (1860-61),as established just after the Crimean War on the eve of the American Civil War. It was The Volunteer Military Company from Victoria, BC, active between 1860 and 1864. They were led by Captain Anderson, who eventually resigned his command over how poorly the battalion was treated by local military establishment.

With the outbreak of WWI, few blacks were serving in the Canadian military because of the racial attitudes prevalent at the time. Initially, some blacks attempted to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, but most were rejected. The Department of Militia and Defence's policy towards recruitment was to defer to the judgement of the individual commanding officer, and since many held deeply ingrained beliefs about the inferiority of blacks, very few were accepted.

Members of the black community petitioned the military for inclusion in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Reverend C.W. Washington of Edmonton offered to raise an all-Black battalion, military officials authorized the creation of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

On May 11, 1916, The British War Office informed the Governor General that it approved of the formation of this unit. So on July 5, 1916, No. 2 Construction Battalion was authorized. Its headquarters was initially in Pictou, Nova Scotia, but moved to Truro, Nova Scotia in September 1916.

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