Charles River Editors - Buffalo Soldiers: The History and Legacy of the Black Soldiers Who Fought in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars

By Charles River Editors

Buffalo Soldiers from the 25 th Army Regiment

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A Buffalo Soldier in the 9 th Cavalry

"The only White officer who supports the unit is Regimental Commanding Officer Colonel Benjamin Grierson. Ostracized by other officers for his enthusiastic command of the African-American troops, Grierson believes in the abilities, dedication, and record of performance of the Buffalo Soldiers and declines offers to lead at any other post. General Pike offers to relieve Grierson 'of this self-imposed exile and have him commanding a real cavalry regiment within a month,' but Grierson refuses." Excerpt from the 20 th century documentary Buffalo Soldiers

The exploration of the American West, beginning with Lewis and Clarks transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the eras new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the lands indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico and Canada. Even the great survey parties, such as Colonel William Powells exploration of the Colorado River, came decades later. The first views of the Wests enormity by white Americans were seen by individuals of an entirely different personality, in an era that could only exist apart from its home civilization.

Naturally, the West was an endless source of fascination for those who were either personally or circumstantially ill-suited to travel there. As explorers opened trails and people expanded the frontier, unusual walks of life like cattle drives and hunting became commonplace, as did images of dusty boomtowns. Before the Transcontinental Railroad connected the Atlantic and Pacific, the West possessed a distinctly separate culture from the East Coast, and cowboys, early settlers, and an enormous array of indigenous peoples produced a hybrid culture that seemed doomed to disappear as a result of the inevitable modernization.

However, one crucial aspect of life in the West has flown under the radar the whole time: the massive presence of black people across the frontier. Explorers, soldiers, and settlers of African-American heritage comprise an unfamiliar story to most students of American history, but in the push westward, they were present in sufficient enough numbers to exert great influence on the nations development. Among the earliest accounts is that of Isabel de Olvera, who settled in New Mexico around the year of 1600, and it is estimated that by 1750, 25% of Albuquerques population shared discernible African ancestry. York, the well-known servant of Lewis and Clark, accompanied the legendary expedition under the auspices of the Jefferson administration, and Edward Rose traveled up the Missouri River in the same era. Within just a few years, Pio Pico became the governor of California, and George Bush became one of the first black men to travel the Oregon Trail, opening that route to a flood of settlers over a 10-year period.

In addition to these individuals, there were black frontiersmen who participated in the exploration of the Western terrain, said to have numbered in the dozens. Seldom heard but notable names of black figures in the West include trick rodeo rider Jesse Stahl, stunt rider and castle rustler Ned Huddleston, and Bass Reeves, the first black deputy U.S. Marshal. Isom Dart and Willie Bill Pickett also garnered some fame in the era. Needless to say, such a career was an unusual destiny for those who emerged from the system of slavery.

During the Civil War, over 180,000 black men fought in volunteer units as part of the United States Colored Troop (USCT), but it was only after the end of it that they were allowed to enlist in the Regular Army. They did so in four segregated regiments, and they colloquially became known as Buffalo Soldiers. The evolution of these black units followed the course of the organization of the peacetime Regular Army. With the end of the Civil War came the demobilization of the millions of men who had volunteered to fight on behalf of the Union, including the USCT, which disbanded in late 1865. The first draft of a bill setting the organization of the Army sent to the House on March 7, 1866 called for the establishment of eight infantry regiments to be staffed by veterans of the USCT, but the legislation lacked similar provisions for black cavalry units. When the bill got to the Senate for approval, Senator Benjamin Wade succeeded in having a provision added that authorized black cavalry units.

The bill that passed on July 28, 1866 authorized a total of 10 regiments of cavalry and 45 regiments of infantry, and in 1867, the Regular Army raised two regiments of black cavalry, designated the 9th (Colored) Cavalry and the 10th (Colored) Cavalry. In addition, the Army raised four regiments of black infantry: the 38th (Colored) Infantry, the 39th (Colored) Infantry, the 40th (Colored) Infantry, and the 41st (Colored) Infantry. Ultimately, however, the number of black regiments did not stay at six for very long, because in 1869 there was a further reduction in the size of the Regular Army, with the number of infantry regiments reduced to 25. As part of the reduction, the number of black regiments was reduced from four to two, so the 38th and 41st were reorganized as the 25th (Colored) Infantry, and the 39th and 40th were reorganized as the 24th (Colored) Infantry. The enlistment in both the cavalry and infantry was for five years, with soldiers being paid $13 a month, plus room, board, and clothing.

Of course, these units are now known for the nickname attached to them, but exactly where the nickname Buffalo Soldiers came from is a subject of some dispute. Dr. Walter Hill wrote, According to Benjamin H. Grierson, Colonel, 10th Cavalry, 1867 to 1890, the 10th acquired the name Buffalo Soldiers during the 1871 campaign against the Comanches in the Indian Territory. Grierson said that the Comanches 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 10th units. The term appeared in public for the first time in 1873, in reference to the 10th Cavalry, in a letter from Mrs. Frances M.A. Roe to a popular magazine. She wrote, The officers say that the Negroes make good soldiers and fight like fiends...the Indians call them buffalo soldiers because their woolly heads are so much like the matted cushion that is between the horns of the buffalo. Others believe that the nickname originated from the Cheyanne. Another possible source came from the Apaches for the buffalo coats they wore in the winter.