jjares reviewed Buffalo Soldiers: The History and Legacy of the Black Soldiers Who Fought in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars on + 3270 more book reviews
This is a concise overview of the difficulties black soldiers had in becoming part of the US Army. When the end of the Civil War came about, the 180,000 black men who fought in volunteer units (as part of the United States Colored Troops), were allowed to enlist in the Regular Army.
When the peacetime Army was established in 1866, the Regular Army raised two regiments of black cavalry; the 9th and 10th (Colored) Cavalry Units. There's some dispute about where the "Buffalo Soldiers" name came from, but the most popular story is that the Indians named them because their hair reminded the Indians of the buffalo's thick hair in winter.
Whatever the cause, the black soldiers wore the title with pride. This tells the story of the first black Medal of Honor winners and the first black cadet in West Point. To have been one of those early black cadets must have been an exercise in fortitude and patience. They were isolated throughout their studies. It couldn't have been easy to have been an officer (still isolated) after they graduated.
This tells that the first Buffalo Soldiers were used to chase, kill, and/or return Native Americans to reservations. I was so surprised that Buffalo Soldiers later became rangers in the first National Parks. With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the Buffalo Soldiers moved into overseas action. They were also in the middle of the action in the Philippine War (which was not popular with the black voters back home).
The Buffalo Soldiers were part of General Pershing's foray into Mexico, hunting for Pancho Villa (who had decimated the town of Columbus, New Mexico), as part of the Mexican Revolution in 1916.
By the start of World War II, the Buffalo Soldier regiments had been disbanded or reorganized. But President Harry Truman decreed in 1948 that the regiments be integrated and so the Korean War was fought with mixed troops. When the final regiment was deactivated in 1951, the story of the Buffalo Soldiers was truly over.
When the peacetime Army was established in 1866, the Regular Army raised two regiments of black cavalry; the 9th and 10th (Colored) Cavalry Units. There's some dispute about where the "Buffalo Soldiers" name came from, but the most popular story is that the Indians named them because their hair reminded the Indians of the buffalo's thick hair in winter.
Whatever the cause, the black soldiers wore the title with pride. This tells the story of the first black Medal of Honor winners and the first black cadet in West Point. To have been one of those early black cadets must have been an exercise in fortitude and patience. They were isolated throughout their studies. It couldn't have been easy to have been an officer (still isolated) after they graduated.
This tells that the first Buffalo Soldiers were used to chase, kill, and/or return Native Americans to reservations. I was so surprised that Buffalo Soldiers later became rangers in the first National Parks. With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the Buffalo Soldiers moved into overseas action. They were also in the middle of the action in the Philippine War (which was not popular with the black voters back home).
The Buffalo Soldiers were part of General Pershing's foray into Mexico, hunting for Pancho Villa (who had decimated the town of Columbus, New Mexico), as part of the Mexican Revolution in 1916.
By the start of World War II, the Buffalo Soldier regiments had been disbanded or reorganized. But President Harry Truman decreed in 1948 that the regiments be integrated and so the Korean War was fought with mixed troops. When the final regiment was deactivated in 1951, the story of the Buffalo Soldiers was truly over.
