By
Sj drummond

African Americans have fought in military conflicts since colonial days.
However, the Buffalo
Soldiers, comprised of former slaves, freemen and Black Civil War soldiers, were the first to serve during peacetime.

• July 28th, 1866, provisions were made for the Negroes to serve in the U.S. Army
• Six regiments, 2 of Cavalry and 4 of infantry were authorized
– The Ninth (9th) and Tenth (10th) U.S. Cavalry
Regiments
******************************************************
These regiments would become known as
The Buffalo Soldiers

• Guarded the mail
• Escorted/guarded stage coaches, cattle drives, railroads crews and surveyors
• Built roads and telegraph lines
• Mapped and explored
• Played a major part in building the west and making it safe for the coming westward expansion.

• The 9 th and 10 th conducted campaigns against
Native American tribes on the western frontier extending from Montana in the NW to Texas,
New Mexico, and Arizona in the SW.
• During this time, approximately 20% of the U.S.
Cavalry troopers were Black.
• They fought in over 177 engagements during the
Indian Wars.

There are several possible origins for the 9 th & 10 th cav.’s name:
• combat prowess, bravery, tenaciousness, and looks on the battlefield
• name symbolized the Native Americans’ respect for the Buffalo Soldiers' bravery and valor
• because of the Negro's dark and strange kinky hair was so similar to the buffalo
• the Plains Indians felt that like the mighty buffalo, the Buffalo Soldiers fought ferociously to the end.

• Regarding their nickname, Walter Hill writes in his article
Exploring the Life and History of the Buffalo Soldiers: "... the 10th [cavalry] acquired the name 'Buffalo Soldiers; during the 1871 campaign against the Comanche in the
Indian Territory. Grierson said that the Comanche respected the soldiers' tireless marching and dogged trail skills. They had earned the name of the rugged and revered buffalo.
• The 10th made the Buffalo its regimental coat of arms years later, but the term Buffalo Soldiers, became synonymous with both the 9th and 10 th units.
• Their motto became "Ready and Forward."

Buffalo Soldiers, down through the years, have worn the name with pride.

• the chance for social and economic betterment.
(Something difficult to achieve in a society all but closed to them)
• they were free, but many did not have skills to go forward or a place to go. (So many felt that the army would be a new home)
• the adventure of being sent west to help tame an untamed wilderness
• this could lead them to their great dream--building a new life on their own land
• the prospect of learning how to read and write--they felt this would bring them closer to learning and therefore to earning the respect of the white men (knowing what the white man knew would help them survive and prosper)

•
Enlisted for a minimum of 5 years
•
Received the basic troopers pay of thirteen dollars per month, plus quarters, meals and uniforms
•
Most started with uniforms and equipment that was castoff remnants of both Civil War armies
• New recruits used cotton compressors as barracks, ate boiled beef, hash, beans, corn bread and occasionally sweet potatoes, molasses and coffee, not much better off than what they had come from
•
Received the crippled and sickly horses left from the Civil War. (Up until now, the cavalry had always been given the finest of horses)
•
Learned that sometimes your horse could be the difference between life and death. They soon learned to care for their horses better than they cared for themselves.
• Served two continuous decades on the Great Plains and in the mountains and deserts of New Mexico and Arizona
•
Arrived at Fort Stockton and Davis to find the forts were in disrepair and required complete rebuilding. (they had to cut logs, make adobe bricks, construct sinks and erect quarters and corrals)

• 1862: (November) first all-black unit formed, the 1st regiment of South Carolina Volunteers.
• 1866: (July) Congress approves legislation creating six all black regiments in the U.S. army: he
9th and 10th cavalry, and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st infantry.
• 1869: the four infantry regiments consolidated into two — the 24th and 25th.
• 1869: the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 24th infantry sent to the frontier to fight in the Indian Wars.
• 1871: term "Buffalo Soldier" first used.
• Spanish-American war: 9th and 10th cavalry and 24th and 25th infantry sent to Cuba. Cavalry marches alongside the infantry, since horses were still at sea. The Buffalo Soldiers participate in battle of San Juan Hill, alongside future president Theodore Roosevelt.
• 1899-1909: portions of all four Buffalo Soldier regiments and two new black volunteer regiments see action in the Philippines.
• 1903: Buffalo Soldiers assigned to patrol national parks in California, including Yosemite, General
Grant, Sequoia and the Presidio. Captain Charles Young, the third black West Point graduate, was named Acting Superintendent of Sequoia National Park. The Buffalo Soldiers continue to patrol the parks until the National Park Service was created in 1916.
• 1915: participate in America's punitive expedition into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa.
• 1950s: the U.S. army integrates, ending the glorious tradition and service of the Buffalo Soldiers.

When: August 1880
Where: In the Sierra Diablo Mountains, 40 miles south of the Guadalupes, at a place called Rattlesnake Springs.
Who: elusive Warm Springs Apache Chief, Victorio
What: Vitorio’s last skirmish with Colonel Grierson and the
10th Cavalry.
Details: Grierson cut the Apaches off from this critical resource, outguessing and beating Victorio's band to the springs in a marathon 65 mile ride through the harshest of country within 21 hours on horseback and wagons.
Victorio was forced to retreat into Mexico, where he and his band were later killed by Mexican troops.

A woman, Cathay Williams, disguised herself as a man and served as a Buffalo Soldier from 1866 to 1868.
At least 18 Medals of Honor were presented to Buffalo
Soldiers during the Western Campaigns. (Similarly, 23 African
Americans received the nation's highest military award during the Civil War.)
George Armstrong Custer turned down a command of the Buffalo Soldiers. When he was given a commission with the Buffalo Soldiers of the Ninth
U.S. Cavalry, he refused to accept it. (To their good fortune). He was not the only officer to refuse a commission. Ironically, these very same Buffalo Soldiers ended up rescuing Custer and his command when he and his men were pinned down during an engagement.

• Buffalo Soldiers participated in many other military campaigns:
– The Spanish American War
– The Philippine Insurrection
– The Mexican Expedition
– World War I
– World War II
– The Korean Police Action
• Chased bandit Pancho Villa
• Fought with Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill
• The 9th Cavalry was Guard of Honor for President T. Roosevelt when he visited San Francisco and the Presidio. This was the first time black cavalry soldiers served as escort for a U.S. President.

• Buffalo Soldiers - Who are the Buffalo Soldiers? African
American Soldiers in American History. African Americans Who
Fought For Americans and the United States on the Frontier! 23
Feb. 2009 http://www.buffalosoldiers.com/
• BUFFALO SOLDIERS & INDIAN WARS. 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.buffalosoldier.net
• Buffalo Soldiers Donnie W. Brown Chapter 9th & 10th (Horse) Cavalry
Association El Paso, Texas. 24 Feb. 2009
<http://www.buffalosoldierselpaso.org/>
• "Buffalo Soldiers History, U.S. Indian and Span-Am Wars."
1800's Repro Items: Mexican War, Civil War, Indian Wars &
Victorian. 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.ushist.com/buffalosoldiers.htm
• “Buffalo Soldiers." Jo Davidsmeyer - playwright and author. 23
Feb. 2009 http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/bookstore/buffalosoldie rs.html