The Buffalo Soldiers were United
States Army regiments that primarily comprised African
Americans, formed during the 19th century to serve on the American
frontier. In 1866, through an act of Congress,
legislation was adopted to create six all African-American Army units. On September 21, 1866, the 10th Cavalry
Regiment was formed at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas. The nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" was
purportedly given to the regiment by Native Americans who fought against them in the American
Indian Wars, and the term eventually became synonymous with
all of the African American U.S. Army regiments established in 1866, including
the 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry
Regiment, 25th Infantry
Regiment and 38th Infantry
Regiment. The
recruits came from varied backgrounds including former slaves and veterans from
service in the Civil War.
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.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Buffalo Soldiers were
assigned to the harshest and most desolate posts. Specific duties included
subduing Mexican revolutionaries, outlaws, rustlers and warring Native
Americans. Additional administrative duties included exploring and mapping the
Southwest and establishing outposts for future towns.
Wars from 1866 to 1891, 416 soldiers were awarded
the Medal
of Honor. Although the Buffalo Soldiers were 12% of the
U.S. Army infantry force and 20% of the cavalry force in this era, Buffalo
Soldiers were awarded less than 4% of all Medals of Honor awarded. Other
regiments during the era received a greater number of Medals of Honor but were
not distinguished enough to see duty in Cuba for the Spanish–American War. For
example, the 8th
Cavalry Regiment with 84 Medals of Honor, were not assigned
duty to fight in Cuba in 1898. Scholars have hypothesized that commanders were
reticent to award behavior that they expected from soldiers, the bureaucracy
impeded awards, and the posting of black soldiers to remote outposts reduced
the visibility of black soldiers (the 1st Cavalry participated in twenty-one campaigns and the 2nd cavalry participated in nineteen campaigns during
this era, compared to the 9th Cavalry's eight campaigns). Historian Thomas Philips
counted 2,704 engagements with native tribes during this era, of which the four
black regiments participated in 141 or about 4%.
barriers imposed by the social climate of their day, the Buffalo Soldiers
performed with grace and dignity in every conflict. Their resilience embodies
the uncanny determination to overcome any opticals dispatched on the
battlefield or from the nation they fought for. We honor the American spirit and
true patriotism of the Buffalo Soldiers, who are threads in the spirit of
freedom in the fabric of America.
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