The United States Congress passed an act on July 28, 1866 that authorized the organization of six all black regiments for use in the U.S. Army. There would be four infantry units, the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first (recognized as the Twenty-Fourth and the Twenty-Fifth in later years) and two cavalry units designated the 9th and 10th Cavalry. Together, the two cavalry units and the four infantry units are referred to as Buffalo Soldiers, a name given to them by the Plains Indians for their fierce fighting and short curly hair. During the period from 1867 until 1885 black troops of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry patrolled the southwest and fought in the Indian Wars of the late 19th century.
Outline
- Origin of the Buffalo Soldiers.
9th and 10th Cavalry - Mission
Guard Duty for workers and projects
Indian reservation patrols - Lifestyle
Overcoming illiteracy
Desertion record - Area
- Accomplishments
Apache Chief Victorio driven to Mexico
Gen. Sherman's winter campaigns.
1879-80 campaign against the Apache under Geronimo - Bibliography
Cooke, Bill, International Museum of the Horse, 1996, http://www.imh.org/imh/buf/buftoc.html
Davis, Stanford L, buffalo soldier.net, 1999, http://www.buffalosoldier.net/
Fowler, Arlen L. The Black Infantry in the West: 1869-1891, University of Oklahoma Press, 1966.
Savage, Cynthia, Buffalo Soldier Educational and Historical Committee, 1999, Female Buffalo Soldier, http://www.femalebuffalosoldier.org/index.html
Stovall, Taressa, The Buffalo Soldiers, Chelsea House Publishers,1997.
