BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
| Buffalo Soldiers | |
|---|---|
Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment in 1890
| |
| Active | 1866–1951 |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Nickname | "Buffalo Soldiers" |
| Engagements | American Indian Wars Spanish-American War Philippine-American War Border War World War I World War II |
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the "Negro Cavalry" by the Native Americantribes they fought; the term eventually became synonymous with all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866:
Although several African-American regiments were raised during the Civil War as part of the Union Army (including the 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.[1] 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.[2]
Etymology
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 bisons") a claim supported by other sources.[3][4] Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry.[5] Still other sources point to a combination of both legends.[6] The term 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 the 9th and 10th Cavalry units whose service earned them an honored place in U.S. history.
In September 1867, Private John Randall of Troop G of the 10th Cavalry Regiment was assigned to escort two civilians on a hunting trip. The hunters suddenly became the hunted when a band of 70 Cheyenne warriors swept down on them. The two civilians quickly fell in the initial attack and Randall's horse was shot out from beneath him. Randall managed to scramble to safety behind a washout under the railroad tracks, where he fended off the attack with only his pistol and 17 rounds of ammunition until help from the nearby camp arrived. The Cheyenne beat a hasty retreat, leaving behind 13 fallen warriors. Private Randall suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and 11 lance wounds, but recovered. The Cheyenne quickly spread word of this new type of soldier, "who had fought like a cornered buffalo; who like a buffalo had suffered wound after wound, yet had not died; and who like a buffalo had a thick and shaggy mane of hair."[7][8]
Service
During the American Civil War, the U.S. government formed regiments known as the United States Colored Troops, composed of black soldiers. After the war, Congress reorganized the Army and authorized 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, Louisiana, 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 both white and black 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, Nicholas M. Nolan, and the first black graduate of West Point,Henry O. Flipper.
History
Indian Wars
From 1866 to the early 1890;s, these regiments served at a variety of posts in the Southwestern United States and the 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 theIndian 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. On April 17, 1875, regimental headquarters for the 9th and 10th Cavalries were transferred to Fort Concho, Texas. Companies actually arrived at Fort Concho in May 1873. At various times from 1873 through 1885, Fort Concho housed 9th Cavalry companies A–F, K, and M, 10th Cavalry companies A, D–G, I, L, and M, 24th Infantry companies D–G, and K, and 25th Infantry companies G and K.[9]
A lesser known action was the 9th Cavalry's participation in the fabled Johnson County War, an 1892 land war in Johnson County,Wyoming between small farmers and large, wealthy ranchers. It culminated in a lengthy shootout between local farmers, a band of hired killers, and a sheriff's posse. The 6th Cavalry was ordered in by President Benjamin Harrison to quell the violence and capture the band of hired killers. Soon afterward, however, the 9th Cavalry was specifically called on to replace the 6th. The 6th Cavalry was swaying under the local political and social pressures and was unable to keep the peace in the tense environment.
The Buffalo Soldiers responded within 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 Cavalry remained in Wyoming for nearly a year to quell tensions in the area.[10][11]
1898–1918
After most of the Indian Wars ended in the 1890's, the regiments continued to serve and participated in the 1898 Spanish-American War(including the Battle of San Juan Hill) in Cuba, where five more Medals of Honor were earned.[12][13]
The men of the Buffalo soldiers were only some of the 5,000 Black men who served in the Spanish-American war.[14]
The regiments took part in the Philippine-American War from 1899 to 1903 and the 1916 Mexican Expedition.[12][13]
In 1918 the 10th Cavalry fought at the Battle of Ambos Nogales during the First World War, where they assisted in forcing the surrender of the federal Mexican and Mexican militia forces.[12][13][15]
Buffalo soldiers fought in the last engagement of the Indian Wars; the small Battle of Bear Valley in southern Arizona which occurred in 1918 between U.S. cavalry and Yaqui natives.[12][13]
Park rangers
Another little-known contribution of the Buffalo Soldiers involved eight troops of the 9th Cavalry Regiment and one company of the 24th Infantry Regiment who served in California's Sierra Nevada 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.[16]
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 coined.
A lasting legacy of the soldiers as park rangers is the Ranger Hat (popularly known as the Smokey Bear Hat). Although not officially adopted by the Army until 1911, the distinctive hat crease, called a Montana Peak, (or pinch) can be seen being worn by several of the Buffalo Soldiers in park photographs dating back to 1899. Soldiers serving in the Spanish American War began to recrease the Stetson hat with a Montana "pinch" to better shed water from the torrential tropical rains. Many retained that distinctive "pinch" upon their return to the U.S. The park photographs, in all likelihood, show Buffalo Soldiers who were veterans from that 1898 war.
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. 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 and General Grant National Parks. Charles Young was also the first African-American superintendent of a national park. 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 Young's descendants were in attendance at the ceremony.[17]
In 1903, 9th Cavalrymen in Sequoia built the first trail to the top of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. They also built the first 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 River in the southern section of Yosemite National Park. This arboretum had pathways and 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. The NPS cites a 1904 report, where Yosemite superintentent (Lt. Col.) John Bigelow, Jr. declared the arboretum "To provide a great museum of nature for the general public free of cost ..." Unfortunately, the forces of developers, miners and greed cut the boundaries of Yosemite in 1905 and the arboretum was nearly destroyed.[18]
In the Sierra Nevada, the Buffalo Soldiers regularly endured long days in the saddle, slim rations, racism, and separation 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. 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.[19]
In total, 23 "Buffalo Soldiers" received the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.[20]
West Point
On March 23, 1907, the United States Military Academy Detachment of Cavalry was changed to a "colored" unit. This had been a long time coming. It had been proposed in 1897 at the "Cavalry and Light Artillery School" at Fort Riley, Kansas that West Point Cadets learn their riding skills from the black non-commissioned officers who were considered the best. The one hundred man detachment from the 9th Cavalry served to teach future officers at West Point riding instruction, mounted drill and tactics until 1947.[21]
Systemic prejudice
The "Buffalo Soldiers" were often confronted with racial prejudice from other members of the U.S. Army. Civilians in the areas where the soldiers were stationed occasionally reacted to them with violence. Buffalo Soldiers were attacked during racial disturbances in Rio Grande City, Texas in 1899,[22] Brownsville, Texas in 1906,[23] and Houston, Texas in 1917.[24][25]
Pershing
General of the Armies John J. Pershing is a controversial figure regarding the Buffalo Soldiers. He served with the 10th Cavalry from October 1895 to May 1897. He served again with them for less than six months in Cuba. Because he saw the "Buffalo Soldiers" as good soldiers, he was looked down upon and called "Nigger Jack" by white cadets and officers at West Point. It was only later during the Spanish-American War that the press changed that insulting term to "Black Jack."[26] During World War I Pershing bowed to the racial policies of President of the United States Woodrow Wilson,Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and the southern Democratic Party with its "separate but equal" philosophy. For the first time in American history, Pershing allowed American soldiers (African-Americans) to be under the command of a foreign power.[n 1]
The Punitive Expedition, U.S.-Mexico Border, and World War I
The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 against the long-time rule of President Porfirio DÃaz initiated a decade-long period of high-intensity military conflict along the U.S.-Mexico border as different political/military factions in Mexico fought for power. The access to arms and customs duties from Mexican communities along the U.S.-Mexico boundary made border towns like Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and Nogales, Sonora, important strategic assets. As the various belligerents in Mexico vied for power, the U.S. Army, including the Buffalo Soldier units, was dispatched to the border to maintain security. The Buffalo Soldiers played a key role in U.S.-Mexico relations as the maelstrom that followed the ouster of DÃaz and the assassination of his successor Francisco Madero intensified.[citation needed]
By late 1915 the political faction led by Venustiano Carranza received diplomatic recognition from the U.S. government as the legitimate ruling force in Mexico. Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who had previously courted U.S. recognition and thus felt betrayed, then attacked the rural community of Columbus, New Mexico, directly leading to further border tensions as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson unilaterally dispatched the Punitive Expedition into Chihuahua, Mexico, under General John Pershing to apprehend or kill Villa. The 9th and 10th Cavalries were deployed to Mexico along with the rest of Pershing's units. Although the manhunt against Villa was unsuccessful, small-scale confrontations in the communities of Parral and Carrizal nearly brought about a war between Mexico and the United States in the summer of 1916. Tensions cooled through diplomacy as the captured Buffalo Soldiers from Carrizal were released. Despite the public outrage over Villa's Columbus raid, Wilson and his cabinet felt that the U.S.'s attention ought to be centered on Germany and World War I, not the apprehension of the "Centauro del Norte." The Punitive Expedition exited Mexico in early 1917, just before the U.S. declaration of war against Germany in April 1917.[citation needed]
The Buffalo Soldiers did not participate with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) 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. The Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division (United States) and the 93rd Infantry Division (United States) were the first Americans to fight in France. The four regiments of 93rd fought under French command for the duration of the war.
On August 27, 1918, the 10th Cavalry supported the 35th Infantry Regiment in a border skirmish in the border towns of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, between U.S. military forces, Mexican Federal troops and armed Mexican civilians (militia) in theBattle of Ambos Nogales. This was the only documented incident in which German military advisors fought along with Mexican soldiers and the only battle during World War I where Germans engaged and died in combat against United States soldiers on North America soil.[13][15]
The 35th Infantry Regiment was stationed at Nogales, Arizona, on August 27, 1918, when at about 4:10 pm, a gun battle erupted unintentionally when a Mexican civilian attempted to pass through the border, back to Mexico, without being interrogated at theU.S. Customs house. After the initial shooting, reinforcements from both sides rushed to the border. On the Mexican side, the majority of the belligerents were angry civilians upset with the killings of Mexican border crossers by the U.S. Army along the vaguely-defined border between the two cities during the previous year (the U.S. Border Patrol did not exist until 1924). For the Americans, the reinforcements were the 10th Cavalry, off-duty 35th Regimental soldiers and milita. Hostilities quickly escalated and several soldiers were killed and others wounded on both sides, including the mayor of Nogales, Sonora, Felix B. Peñaloza (killed when waving a white truce flag/handkerchief with his cane). A cease fire was arranged later after the US forces took the heights south of Nogales, Arizona.[13][15][27]
Due in part to the heightened hysteria caused by World War I, allegations surfaced that German agents fomented this violence and died fighting alongside the Mexican troops they led. U.S. newspaper reports in Nogales prior to the August 27, 1918 battle documented the departure of part of the Mexican garrison in Nogales, Sonora, to points south that August in an attempt to quell armed political rebels.[28][29][30]
Despite the Battle of Ambos Nogales controversy, the presence of the Buffalo Soldiers in the community left a significant impact on the border town. The famed jazz musicianCharles Mingus was born in the Camp Stephen Little military base in Nogales in 1922, son to a Buffalo Soldier.[31] The African-American population, centered on the stationing of Buffalo Soldiers such as the 25th Infantry in Nogales, was a significant factor in the community, even though they often faced racial discrimination in the binational border community in addition to racial segregation at the elementary school level in Nogales's Grand Avenue/Frank Reed School (a school reserved for Black children).[32] The redeployment of the Buffalo Soldiers to other areas and the closure of Camp Little in 1933 initiated the decline of the African-American community in Nogales.
World War II
Prior to WW2, the black 25th Infantry Regt was based at Ft Huachuca Arizona. During the war, Ft Huachuca served as the home base of the Black 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions. The 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were essentially disbanded and the soldiers were moved into service-oriented units, along with the entire 2nd Cavalry Division. The 92nd Infantry Division, AKA the "Buffalo Division", served in combat during the Italian Campaign. The 93rd Infantry Division—including the 25th Infantry Regiment— served in the Pacific theater.[33]Separately, independent Black Artillery, Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions as well as Quartermaster & support battalions served in WW2. All of these units to a degree carried on the traditions of the "Buffalo Soldiers".
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 so the embargo on using black soldiers in combat units was relaxed. The American Military History says:
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, the27th Cavalry and the 28th (Horse) Cavalry, were disbanded. The 28th Cavalry was inactivated at Assi-Okba, Algeria in April 1944 in North Africa, and marked the end of the regiment.[34]
There are monuments to the Buffalo Soldiers in Kansas at Fort Leavenworth and Junction City.[35] Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, who initiated the project to get a statue to honor the Buffalo Soldiers when he was posted as a brigadier general to Fort Leavenworth, was guest speaker for the unveiling of the Fort Leavenworth monument in July 1992.
Controversy
In the last decade, the employment of the Buffalo Soldiers by the United States Army in the Indian Wars has led a few historical revisionists to call for the "critical reappraisal" of the "Negro regiments." In this viewpoint, shared by a small minority,[36] the Buffalo Soldiers were used as mere shock troops or accessories to the forcefully-expansionist goals of the U.S. government at the expense of the Native Americans and other minorities.[36][37]
Legacy
Historical markers
In popular culture
- The song and music of Soul Saga (Song of the Buffalo Soldier) has had several renditions. In 1974, it was produced by Quincy Jones in the album Body Heat.[38] In 1975, the album Symphonic Soul contained another variation and was released by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra.[39]
- The song "Buffalo Soldier", co-written by Bob Marley and King Sporty, first appeared on the 1983 album Confrontation. Many Jamaicans, especially Rastafarians like Marley, identified with the "Buffalo Soldiers" as an example of black men who performed with exceeding courage, honor, valor, and distinction in a field that was dominated by whites and persevered despite endemic racism and prejudice.[40]
- The song Buffalo Soldier by The Flamingos specifically refers to the 10th Cavalry Regiment. The song was a minor hit in 1970.[41] A cappella group The Persuasions remade the song on their album Street Corner Symphony This version was produced by David Dashev and Eric Malamud.[42][43]
- The 1960 Western film Sergeant Rutledge tells the story of the trial of a 19th-century black Army first sergeant of the 9th Cavalry, played by Woody Strode, falsely accused of rape and murder. One of the characters narrates a history of the term "Buffalo Soldier" as coming from Plains Indians who first saw troopers of the 9th Cavalry wearing buffalo coats and caps in winter, and thought they looked like buffaloes. The movie's theme song, titled "Captain Buffalo", was written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston.[44]
- A 1961 episode of the television series Rawhide ("Incident of the Buffalo Soldier", season 3, episode 10, aired January 6, 1961) was about a former top sergeant Buffalo Soldier stationed at Fort Wingate.[45]
- A 1964 episode of Rawhide ("Incident at Seven Fingers", season 6, episode 30, aired May 7, 1964) was about a top sergeant of Troop F, 110th Cavalry Regiment (played by William Marshall) who is accused of being a coward and a deserter. Other Buffalo Soldiers and an officer track him down.[46]
- A 1968 episode of television series The High Chaparral ("The Buffalo Soldiers", season 2, episode 10, aired November 22, 1968), starring Yaphet Kotto, had the 10th Cavalry, C Company called in to establish martial law at the request of the citizens of Tucson, to help relieve it from the grip of a crime boss.[47]
- The 1970 television film Carter's Army (also known as the Black Brigade), starring Stephen Boyd, Rosey Grier and Richard Pryor, depicted a black unit during World War II, led by a white officer.
- The 1976 film Joshua, starring Fred Williamson, tells the story of a black soldier who, returned from fighting for the Union in the Civil War, becomes a bounty hunter determined to track down his mother's killers.[48]
- The 1997 television film Buffalo Soldiers, starring Danny Glover, drew attention to their role in the American Indian Wars.[49]
- The film Miracle at St. Anna, directed by Spike Lee, chronicles the Buffalo Soldiers who served in the invasion of Italy. It is based on the novel of the same name by James McBride.
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