The Forgotten Soldier...
Who Were The Buffalo Soldiers?
African American cavalrymen and infantrymen of the US Army: the famed Buffalo Soldiers
At the end of the American Civil War, the U.S. Army had two major problems of which they were ordered to handle expediently. The first was to oversee the Southern States during the period of Reconstruction. The second task was to assist those who chose to settle down in the new Western Territories.
During the war, Black units proved their worth on the battlefields. As a result, The Congress of the United States passed legislation to form two new cavalry and four new infantry regiments in July 1866. These units would consist of African-Americans, many of whom had already served in the aforementioned Black Units of the Civil War. The newly formed regiments were the 9th, 10th, 27th and 28th Cavalry as well as the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments.
The troopers of the 10th Cavalry was under the authority of Col. Benjamin Grierson, while stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Another Cavalry Unit was under the control of Col.Edward Hatch, the 9th Cavalry. After participating in several battles with Native Americans. They recognized the Black Soldiers as worthy opponents and spoke of them as the Buffalo Soldiers in reference to the similarity of their hair and the fur coat of the buffalo.
In time the Buffalo Soldiers left Fort Leavenworth Kansas, heading further West to assist with many of the major tasks at hand. Also in 1898, they fought along side of Theodore Roosevelt and his rough-riders. They also served along the Border of Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. Although, having to face continued Prejudice, they became one of the many Distinguished fighting units in the Army.
The logo for Kay Little's Another Westerner depicts the lone representation of a MAN that existed, but was not recognized by the society in which he lived. The Artist, Kay Little, is attempting to bring the story of the Black Westerners to the fore front.
The Buffalo Soldiers, who helped forge what we now know as the American West, the Black cowboys who aided ranchers in moving their herds north and other people of the west.