For the 2001 film of the same name, see Buffalo Soldiers (2001 film).

For the Bob Marley song of the same name, see Buffalo Soldier (song).

Buffalo Soldiers is a nickname originally applied to the members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army by the Native American tribes they fought, which was formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The term eventually encompassed these units:

• U.S. 9th Cavalry Regiment
• U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment
• 24th Infantry Regiment
• 25th Infantry Regiment

Although several African American regiments were raised during the Civil War to fight alongside the Union Army (including the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.

On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, who was the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. ^[1]

Origins of the name

Depending on the source, there is seemingly some disagreement on how the nickname "buffalo soldiers" began. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, the name originated with the Cheyenne warriors in 1867, the actual Cheyenne translation being "Wild Buffalo." However, writer Walter Hill documented the account of Colonel Benjamin Grierson, who founded the 10th Cavalry regiment, recalling an 1871 campaign against the Comanche tribe. Hill attributes the origin of the name to the Comanche due to Grierson's assertions. Needless to say, there is some controversy as to where the name originated. Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. ^[2] Other sources assert that Native Americans called the black cavalry troops "buffalo soldiers" because of their dark curly hair, which resembled a buffalo's coat.^[3] Still other sources point to a combination of both legends.^[4] Regardless of how the name originated, the term Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African American soldiers. It is now used in reference to U.S. Army units which trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th cavalry units whose bravery earned them an honored place in U.S. history.

Their service

During the American Civil War, the U.S. government formed regiments known as the United States Colored Troops, composed of black soldiers led by white officers. After the war the Congress reorganized the Army, authorizing the formation of two regiments of black cavalry with the designations 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry, and four regiments of black infantry, designated the 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st Infantry Regiments (Colored). The 38th' and 41st were reorganized as the 25th Infantry Regiment, with headquarters in Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, in November 1869. The 39th and 40th were reorganized as the 24th Infantry Regiment, with headquarters at Fort Clark, Texas, in April 1869. All of these units were composed of black enlisted men commanded by white officers such as Benjamin Grierson, Ranald S. Mackenzie and, occasionally, black officers such as Henry O. Flipper.

From 1866 to the early 1890s these regiments served at a variety of posts in the Southwestern United States(Apache Wars) and Great Plains regions. They participated in most of the military campaigns in these areas and earned a distinguished record. Thirteen enlisted men and six officers from these four regiments earned the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars. In addition to the military campaigns, the "Buffalo Soldiers" served a variety of roles along the frontier from building roads to escorting the U.S. mail.

After the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s the regiments continued to serve and participated in the Spanish-American War (including the Battle of San Juan Hill), where five more Medals of Honor were earned. They took part in the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico and in the Philippine-American War.

. A lesser known action was the 9th Cavalry's participation in the fabled Johnson County War, a 1892 land war in Johnson County, Wyoming between small farmers and large, wealthy ranches that culminated in a lengthy shootout between local farmers, a band of hired killers, and a sheriff's posse. The 6th Cavalry was eventually ordered in to quell the violence and take possession of the band of hired killers on the orders of the President of the United States. Soon after, however, the 9th Calvary was specifically called upon to replace the 6th as the 6th cavalry was swaying under the local political and social pressures and were unable to keep the peace in the tense environment. The buffalo soldiers responded with about two weeks from Nebraska and moved the men to the rail town of Suggs, Wyoming creating "Camp Bettens" despite a racist and hostile local population. One soldier was killed and two wounded in gun battles with locals. Nevertheless, the 9th Calvary remained in Wyoming for nearly a year to quell tensions in the area.^{[5] [6]}

A another forgotten contribution in the buffalo soldier story involves eight troops of the 9th Cavalry Regiment and one company of the 24th Infantry Regiment who served in California's Sierra Nevada (U.S.) as some of the first national park rangers. In 1899, buffalo soldiers from Company H, 24th Infantry Regiment briefly served in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park and General Grant (Kings Canyon) National Parks.^[7]

U.S. Army regiments had been serving in these national parks since 1891, but until 1899 the soldiers serving were white. Beginning in 1899, and continuing in 1903 and 1904, African-American regiments served during the summer months in the second and third oldest national parks in the United States (Sequoia and Yosemite). Because these soldiers served before the National Park Service was created (1916), they were "park rangers" before the term was even coined. One particular buffalo soldier stands out in history: Captain Charles Young who served with Troop "I", 9th Cavalry Regiment in Sequoia National Park during the summer of 1903. Charles Young was the third African-American to graduate from the United States Military Academy, and at the time of his death he was the highest ranking African-American in the U.S. military. He made history in Sequoia National Park in 1903 by becoming Acting Military Superintendent of Sequoia & General Grant National Parks. During Young's tenure in the park he named a giant sequoia for Booker T. Washington. Recently, another giant sequoia in Giant Forest was named in Captain Young's honor. Some of his descendants were in attendance at the ceremony. Charles Young was also the first African-American superintendent of a national park.^[8]

Other Park Contributions

In 1903, 9th Cavalrymen in Sequoia built the first trail to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, as well as the first usable wagon road into Sequoia's Giant Forest, the most famous grove of Giant Sequoia trees) in Sequoia National Park.

In 1904, 9th Cavalrymen in Yosemite built an arboretum on the South Fork of the Merced in the southern section of Yosemite National Park. This arboretum had pathways, benches, and some plants were identified in both English and Latin. Yosemite's arboretum is considered to be the first museum in the national park system.

In the Sierra Nevada, the buffalo soldiers regularly endured long days in the saddle, slim rations, racism, and estrangement from family and friends. As military stewards, the African-American cavalry and infantry regiments protected the national parks from illegal grazing, poaching, timber thieves, and forest fires.

Until fairly recently, this was yet another "forgotten story," but Yosemite Park Ranger Shelton Johnson researched and interpreted the history in an attempt to recover and celebrate the contributions of the buffalo soldiers of the Sierra Nevada.^[9]

In total, 23 "Buffalo Soldiers" received the Medal of Honor, the highest of any United States military unit.^[1]

Systemic prejudice

The "Buffalo Soldiers" were often confronted with racial prejudice from other members of the U.S. Army, and civilians in the areas where the soldiers were stationed occasionally responded with violence. Elements of the "Buffalo Soldiers" were involved in racial disturbances in:

• Rio Grande City, Texas in 1899^[10]
  • Brownsville, Texas in 1906^[11]
    • Houston, Texas in 1917^[12][13]
      
      The "Buffalo Soldiers" did not participate as organized units during World War I but experienced non-commissioned officers were provided to other segregated black units for combat service — such as the 317th Engineer Battalion.
      
      Early in the 20th century the "Buffalo Soldiers" found themselves being used more as laborers and service troops rather than active combat units. During World War II the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were disbanded and the soldiers were moved into service-oriented units. One of the infantry regiments, the 24th Infantry Regiment, served in combat in the Pacific theater. Another was the 92nd Infantry Division aka the Buffalo Soldiers Division, which served in combat during the Italian Campaign in the Mediterranean theater. Another was the U.S. 93rd Infantry Division — including the 25th Infantry Regiment — which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations.^[14]
      
      Despite some official resistance and administrative barriers, black airmen were trained and played a part in the air war in Europe, gaining a reputation for skill and bravery. (See Tuskegee Airmen.)
      
      In early 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge, American forces in Europe experienced a shortage of combat troops. As well as thinning out the administrative tails, the embargo on using black soldiers in combat units was relaxed. The American Military History says:

      "Faced with a shortage of infantry replacements during the enemy's counteroffensive General Eisenhower offered Negro soldiers in service units an opportunity to volunteer for duty with the infantry. More than 4,500 responded, many taking reductions in grade in order to meet specified requirements. The 6th Army Group formed these men into provisional companies, while the 12th Army Group employed them as an additional platoon in existing rifle companies. The excellent record established by these volunteers, particularly those serving as platoons, presaged major postwar changes in the traditional approach to employing Negro troops."

      Korean War and integration

      The 24th Infantry Regiment saw combat during the Korean War and was the last segregated regiment to engage in combat. The 24th was deactivated in 1951 and its soldiers were integrated into other units in Korea. On December 12 1951 the last Buffalo soldier units, the 27th Cavalry and the 28th (Horse) Cavalry were disbanded (although, the 28th Cavalry was inactivated at Assi-Okba, Algeria in April of 1944 in North Africa and marked the end of the regiment)^[15].
      
      There are two monuments to the Buffalo soldiers in the state of Kansas at Fort Leavenworth and Junction City^[16]. Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell was guest speaker for the unveiling of the Fort Leavenworth monument in July 1992.

      Controversy

      In recent years, the employment of the Buffalo Soldiers by the United States Army in the Indian Wars has led to modern critical reappraisal of the regiment by cultural historians as being mere accessories to the forcefully-expansionist ideals of the U.S. government at the expense of the Native Americans^[17][18]. This is a far cry from the historical cultural upholding of the Buffalo Soldiers as being a rare exception to the predominately-malicious, anti-African American socioeconomic climate at the time.

      Cultural references

      Music

      • The song "Buffalo Soldier", co-written by Bob Marley and King Sporty and one of their best-known songs, first appeared on the 1983 album Confrontation. Many Jamaicans, especially Rastafarians like Marley, identified with the "Buffalo Soldiers" as an example of prominent black men who performed with courage, honor and distinction in a field long dominated by whites, and persevered despite endemic racism and prejudice.

      Films

      • The 1960 courtroom drama, Sergeant Rutledge, starring Woody Strode, tells the story of the trial of a black Army non-commissioned officer falsely accused of rape and murder.
      • On November 22, 1968, an episode of the television series High Chapparal called "The Buffalo Soldiers", starring Yaphet Kotto, was broadcast; it paid tribute to their patriotic spirit.
      • In 1997, a television movie called Buffalo Soldiers, starring Danny Glover, was broadcast; it drew attention to their role in the military history of the United States.
      • In 2001, a film called Buffalo Soldiers attracted some attention. Based on a 1992 novel of the same name by Robert O'Connor, the plot depicts (white) American soldiers stationed in Germany during the Cold War who sell goods on the black market.

      Books

      • In the novel The Sum of All Fears, by Tom Clancy, the 10th Cavalry Regiment is reactivated as an Armored Cavalry Regiment, and deployed to Israel to serve both as a training center for the Israel Defense Forces and to show the commitment of the United States to guarantee the security of Israel following a general peace treaty in the Middle East. The 10th Cavalry Regiment also appears in Executive Orders, where it fights in an attempted invasion of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by a new Islamic state formed by the union of Iran and Iraq.
      • Writer ZZ Packer is working on a novel about the Buffalo Soldiers.

      See also

      

      Buffalo Soldiers who participated in the Spanish American War.
      • Black Seminoles (Cimarrones)
      • "Colonel" Charles Long
      • List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
      • Military history of African Americans
      • Tuskegee Airmen
      • United States Colored Troops
      • US 2nd Cavalry Division
      • 92nd Infantry Division
      • U.S. 93rd Infantry Division
      • U.S. 366th Infantry Regiment
      • U.S. 761st Tank Battalion (aka "Black Panthers")
      • U.S. 784th Tank Battalion

      References

      1. ^ Shaughnessy, Larry (September 19, 2005), Oldest Buffalo Soldier to be Buried at Arlington, <[1] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      2. ^ Brief History (Buffalo Soldiers National Museum), 2007, <[2] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      3. ^ National Park Service, Buffalo Soldiers, <[3] (retrieved on May 1, 2007)
      4. ^ The Smithsonian Institution, The Price of Freedom: Printable Exhibition, <[4] (retrieved on May 1, 2007)
      5. ^ Fields, Elizibeth Arnett. [https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/ES-Programs/Conservation/Legacy/AAME/aame2.html Historic Contexts for the American American Military Experience]
      6. ^ Schubert, Frank N. The Suggs Affray: The Black Cavalry in the Johnson County War The Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan., 1973), pp. 57-68
      7. ^ Johnson, Shelton Invisible Men: Buffalo Soldiers of the Sierra Nevada Park Histories: Sequoia NP (and Kings Canyon NP), National Parks Service. Retrieved: 2007-05-18.
      8. ^ Leckie, William H. (1967). The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. LCCN 67-15571.1967&rft.pub=University%20of%20Oklahoma%20Press&rft.place=Norman,%20OK"> 
      9. ^ Johnson, Shelton, Shadows in the Range of Light, <[5] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      10. ^ id="CITEREFChristian2001">Christian, Garna (August 17, 2001), Handbook of Texas Online: Rio Grande City, Texas, <[6] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      11. ^ id="CITEREFChristian2005">Christian, Garna (February 17, 2005), Handbook of Texas Online: Brownsville, Texas, <[7] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      12. ^ id="CITEREFHaynes2004">Haynes, Robert (April 6, 2004), Handbook of Texas Online: Houston, Texas, <[8] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      13. ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page (Police Officer Rufus E. Daniels), <[9] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      14. ^ Hargrove, Hondon B. (1985). Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-89950-116-8.1985&rft.pub=McFarland%20%26%20Company&rft.place=Jefferson,%20NC&rft.isbn=0-89950-116-8"> 
      15. ^ The 28th Cavalry: The U.S. Army's Last Horse Cavalry Regiment, <[10] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      16. ^ Services - Buffalo Soldier Monument, <[11] (retrieved on April 24, 2007)
      17. ^ The shame of the Buffalo Soldiers, <[12] (retrieved on July 24, 2007)
      18. ^ The Buffalo Soldier of the West and the Elimination of the Native American Race, <[13] (retrieved on July 24, 2007)
      

      External links

      • Buffalo Soldiers History
      • African Americans in the U.S. Army
      • General Order #143 - May 27, 1863 (regarding the organization of African American troops)
      • Buffalo Soldiers at San Juan Hill
      • Buffalo Soldier Monument - Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
      • American RadioWorks documentary: Korea, The Unfinished War Interviews (transcripts and audio) with black soldiers from Korea, including the 24th infantry
      • Buffalo Soldier National Museum
      • Photograph Gallery of Buffalo Soldiers On the Eve of War (World War II)
      • History of Negro soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and other items of interest, by Edward Augustus Johnston, published 1899, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
      • The 25th Infantry Regiment
      • BuffaloSoldier.net
      • U.S. Army 10th Cavalry history
      • U.S. Army 25th Infantry history
      • Buffalo Soldiers from the Handbook of Texas Online
      • shadowsoldier.wilderness.net, a website devoted to remembering the contributions of the buffalo soldiers of the Sierra Nevada, by Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, Yosemite National Park
      • the Warriors Project, an ongoing research program of the University of Texas at El Paso, Arizona State University and the National Park Service's DSCESU program
      
      
      

      •  • [ e] Buffalo Soldiers

      Main article: Buffalo Soldiers Soldiers: Dennis Bell • Horace Bivens • Thomas Boyne • Benjamin Brown • John Denny • Nicolae Dunca • Christian Fleetwood • Clinton Greaves • Edward Hatch • Henry Johnson • George Jordan • Mark Matthews • John Morton-Finney • Emanuel Stance • Cathy Williams • William Othello Wilson • Brent Woods • Isaiah Mays Army divisions: 92nd Infantry Division (United States) • U.S. 9th Cavalry Regiment • 25th United States Colored Infantry • 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment

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      Buffalo Soldiers is a 2001 film, based on the 1993 novel by Robert O'Connor, which follows the rogue activities of a group of US soldiers based in West Germany during 1989 when the fall of the Berlin Wall is imminent.
      ..... Click the link for more information.
      "Buffalo Soldier" is a reggae song co-written by Bob Marley and Noel G. "King Sporty" Williams from Marley's final recording sessions in 1980. It did not appear on record until the 1983 posthumous release of Confrontation
      ..... Click the link for more information.
      10th Cavalry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments and served in combat during the Indian Wars of the western United States and the Spanish-American War.
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