Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866
at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the "Negro Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought in the
Indian Wars. The term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American regiments formed in 1866:
9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, and 25th Infantry Regiment.
Although several African American regiments were raised during the Civil War as part of the Union Army (including the 54th
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established
by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army. On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, who was
the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources disagree on how the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" began. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, the name
originated with the Cheyenne warriors in the winter of 1877, the actual Cheyenne translation being "Wild Buffalo". However, writer
Walter Hill documented the account of Colonel Benjamin Grierson, who founded the 10th Cavalry regiment, recalling an 1871
campaign against Comanches. Hill attributed the origin of the name to the Comanche due to Grierson's assertions. The Apache
used the same term ("We called them 'buffalo soldiers', because they had curly, kinky hair ... like bisons") a claim supported by other
sources. Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry. Still other
sources point to a combination of both legends. The term Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all black soldiers. It is now used
for U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th Cavalry units whose service earned them an honored place
in U.S. history.
In September 1867, Private John Randall of Troop G of the 10th Cavalry Regiment was assigned to escort two civilians on a hunting trip.
The hunters suddenly became the hunted when a band of 70 Cheyenne warriors swept down on them. The two civilians quickly fell in
the initial attack and Randall's horse was shot out from beneath him. Randall managed to scramble to safety behind a washout under
the railroad tracks, where he fended off the attack with only his pistol and 17 rounds of ammunition until help from the nearby camp
arrived. The Cheyenne beat a hasty retreat, leaving behind 13 fallen warriors. Private Randall suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder
and 11 lance wounds, but recovered. The Cheyenne quickly spread word of this new type of soldier, "who had fought like a cornered buffalo;
who like a buffalo had suffered wound after wound, yet had not died; and who like a buffalo had a thick and shaggy mane of hair.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldier |