The first recognition of No. 2 Construction Battalion was the dedication of a plaque. It was unveiled in the main hallway of the Ontario Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park on 5 July 1920 on the 4th anniversary of the unit’s founding. The project was spearheaded by Toronto minister, Reverend Harry Logan, and his wife who were the parents of a No. 2 soldier, Private Harry Logan Jr. Private Logan who died of pulmonary tuberculosis two years later.
After considerable lobbying by Blacks and white supporters, Canada fielded one Black battalion during the First World War — but they had to fight with shovels, not rifles. No. 2 Construction Battalion was authorized on July 5, 1916, in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and was composed of Black men from across Canada, United States and British West Indies. Its officers were white, with the exception of the unit’s chaplain, Honorary Captain The Reverend William Andrew White.
