Over 180,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army
during the Civil War. Of these, more than 33,000 died. After the war,
the future of African-Americans in the U.S. Army was in doubt. In
July1866, however, Congress passed legislation establishing two
cavalry and four infantry regiments (later consolidated to two) whose
enlisted composition was to be made up of African-Americans. The
majority of the new recruits had served in all Black units during the
war. The mounted regiments were the 9th and 10th Cavalries, soon
nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers by the Cheyenne and Comanche. Until
the early 1890s they constituted 20 percent of all cavalry forces on
the American frontier.
The 9th and 10th Cavalries' service in subduing Mexican
revolutionaries, hostile Native Americans, outlaws, comancheros,
and rustlers was as invaluable as it was unrecognized. It was
also accomplished over some of the most rugged and
inhospitable country in North America. A list of their
adversaries - Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Victorio, Lone Wolf, Billy the
Kid, and Pancho Villa - reads like a "Who's Who" of the American
West.
Lesser known, but equally important, the Buffalo Soldiers explored
and mapped vast areas of the southwest and strung hundreds of miles
of telegraph lines. They built and repaired frontier outposts around
which future towns and cities sprang to life. Without the protection
provided by the 9th and 10th Cavalries, crews building the ever
expanding railroads were at the mercy of outlaws and hostile
Indians. The Buffalo Soldiers consistently received some of the
worst assignments the Army had to offer. They also faced fierce
prejudice to both the colors of their Union uniforms and their skin by
many of the citizens of the post-war frontier towns. Despite this, the
troopers of the 9th and 10th Cavalries developed into two of the most
distinguished fighting units in the Army.
Buffalo Soldiers: The 9th Cavalry
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