Buffalo Soldiers were instrumental in the American Civil War. They were mostly stationed at posts within the Great Plains as well as the Southwestern regions of the nation. These soldiers fought bravely against the Indians and a total of nineteen Medals of Honor were earned by them.

Staked Plains Horror

In 1948, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981 eliminating racial segregation in America’s armed forces. The last all-black units were disbanded during the 1950s. Mark Matthews, the nation’s oldest living buffalo soldier, died in 2005 at age 111 in Washington, D.C.

John Nichols

Indians

The Buffalo Soldiers’ main duty was to support the nation’s westward expansion by protecting settlers, building roads and other infrastructure, and guarding the U.S. mail.

He was armed with a . 45-70 caliber Springfield carbine, a Colt Army . 45 caliber pistol (model 1873) and a saber. While in the field he wore a slouch ‘campaign’ hat, black at first and a light grayish-brown by 1874.

The regiments’ main objectives were to protect travel routes and to control American Indian populations. In 30 years of service on the frontier, buffalo soldiers were involved in almost 200 major and minor engagements.

READY AND FORWARD

The 92nd Infantry Division was the only African American infantry division to see combat in Europe during World War II, as part of the U.S. Fifth Army, fighting in the Italian Campaign….92nd Infantry Division (United States)

The Buffalo Soldier’s main charge was to protect settlers as they moved west and to support the westward expansion by building the infrastructure needed for new settlements to flourish. The name “Buffalo Soldiers” has become interesting lore in itself.

38,000

Western novels and films have presented a notion that the US military ‘buffalo soldiers’ in the plains area were recognized with mutual regard by the tribes. American Indian people fought to hold on to their traditions, spirituality, basic economic commissary, their land, and their lives.

The Geronimo Campaign involved the buffalo soldiers and it started when the Apache refused to move to reservations.

The Apache tribe were a strong, proud war-like people. There was inter-tribal warfare and conflicts with the Comanche and Pima tribes but their main enemies were the white interlopers including the Spanish, Mexicans and Americans with whom they fought many wars due to the encroachment of their tribal lands.

Despite their adept use of swift horses and their knowledge of the terrain, the Apache were eventually outmatched by the superior arms of American troops. The Navajo surrendered in 1865 and agreed to settle on a reservation in New Mexico.