"BUFFALO SOLDIERS"
Buffalo Soldiers were United States Army regiments composed exclusively of African American soldiers, formed during the 19th century to serve on the American frontier. On September 21, 1866, the 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" was purportedly given to the regiments by the Native American tribes who fought against them during the American Indian Wars, and the term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American regiments that were established in 1866, including the 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Regiment and 38th Infantry Regiment
Numerous African American Union Army regiments were raised during the Civil War (referred to collectively as the United States Colored Troops), "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by the U.S Congress as the first all-black Army regiments in peacetime. The regiments were racially segregated, as the U.S. military would not desegregate until 1948. On November 15, 2024, Robert Dixon, the last surviving Buffalo Soldier, died aged 103.The oldest Buffalo Soldier, Mark Matthews, died in 2005 at the age of 111 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources disagree on how the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" began. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum the name originated with the Cheyenne warriors in the winter of 1877, 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 Comanches. Hill attributed the origin of the name to the Comanche, due to Grierson's assertions. The Apache used the same term ("We called them 'buffalo soldiers,' because they had curly, kinky hair ... like bison") a claim supported by other sources.[6][7][8][9][10] Another possible origin credits the Plains Indians who gave them that name because of the bison coats they wore in winter.[11] The phrase "Buffalo Soldiers" became a generic term for all black soldiers. It is now used for U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to any of the African-American regiments formed in 1866.
During the Civil War, the U.S. government formed regiments known as the United States Colored Troops, composed of black soldiers and Native Americans. The USCT was disbanded in the fall of 1865. In 1867 the Regular Army was set at ten regiments of cavalry and 45 regiments of infantry. The Army was authorized to raise two regiments of black cavalry (the 9th and 10th (Colored) Cavalry) and four regiments of black infantry (the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st (Colored) Infantry), who were mostly drawn from USCT veterans. The first draft of the bill that the House Committee on Military Affairs sent to the full chamber on March 7, 1866, did not include a provision for regiments of black cavalry; however, this provision was added by Senator Benjamin Wade prior to the bill's passing on July 28, 1866. In 1869 the Regular Army was kept at ten regiments of cavalry but cut to 25 regiments of Infantry, reducing the black complement to two regiments (the 24th and 25th (Colored) Infantry). The 38th and 41st were reorganized as the 25th, with headquarters in Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Louisiana, in November 1869. The 39th and 40th were reorganized as the 24th, with headquarters at Fort Clark, Texas, in April 1869. The two black infantry regiments represented 10 percent of the size of all twenty-five infantry regiments. Similarly, the two black cavalry units represented 20 percent of the size of all ten cavalry regiments
During the peacetime formation years (1865–1870), the black infantry and cavalry regiments were composed of black enlisted soldiers commanded by white commissioned officers and black noncommissioned officers. These included the first commander of the 10th Cavalry Benjamin Grierson, the first commander of the 9th Cavalry Edward Hatch, Medal of Honor recipient Louis H. Carpenter, and Nicholas M. Nolan. The first black commissioned officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers and the first black graduate of West Point, was Henry O. Flipper in 1877.
From 1870 to 1898, the total strength of the US Army totaled 25,000 service members, with black soldiers maintaining their ten percent representation.
General of the Armies John J. Pershing is a controversial figure regarding the Buffalo Soldiers. He served with the 10th Cavalry Regiment from October 1895 to May 1897, starting as a first lieutenant when he took command of a troop of the 10th in October 1895.
In 1897, Pershing became an instructor at West Point, where he joined the tactical staff. West Point cadets upset over Pershing's disciplinary treatment and high standards took to calling him "Nigger Jack", because he had learned to have full respect for black soldiers while leading them. Later during the Spanish–American War, where Pershing served with the 10th for six months in Cuba, the press softened the term to "Black Jack", which they continued to use in World War I.
At the start of the Spanish–American War, First Lieutenant Pershing was offered a brevet rank and commissioned a major of volunteers on August 26, 1898. He fought with the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) on Kettle and San Juan Hills in Cuba and was cited for gallantry.
During World War I, Pershing was the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front. While earlier a champion of the African-American soldier, at this time he did not defend their full participation on the battlefield, but bowed to the racist policies of President Woodrow Wilson, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, and the Southern Democratic Party with its "separate but equal" philosophy
Legacy and honors:
Memorials In 1973, West Point Academy would become the first military academy to honor the Buffalo Soldier, renaming the area at the academy where the Buffalo Soldiers trained future officers "Buffalo Soldier Field" and placing a memorial rock.at the northeast corner of the field.
The Buffalo Soldier Monument by American sculptor Eddie Dixon was installed at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 2021.A monument dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, were initiated and dedicated in 1992 by Gen. Colin Powell to the memory of the 9th & 10th Cavalry Regiments in the United States Army that were once only made up of black soldiers.
On March 25, 2013, the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906 was designated by United States President Barack Obama as a unit of the National Park Service. The 19th-century house museum also has an exhibit on African American soldier, Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers.
On February 20, 2014, officials at the United States Army post, Fort Bliss, changed the name of Robert E. Lee Road to Buffalo Soldier Road, recognizing the African-American units that moved through the fort in the 19th century; it also honors them since they protected American settlers in the west during the aftermath of the American Civil War.
On June 23, 2020, The El Paso, Texas City Council voted unanimously to rename Robert E. Lee Road in east-central El Paso as Buffalo Soldiers Road.
In September 2021, a new monument featuring a black soldier on horseback would be erected in honor of the Buffalo Soldiers on the west side of West Point Academy's Buffalo Soldier Field. The plaque from the original memorial rock that was dedicated in 1973 would also be relocated and placed at the base of the new statue.