Ft. Riley, Kansas....Cavalry School Photo
In 1865 after four years of bloody Civil War, America looked West. The nation wanted to make westward expansion possible in the face of renewed Indian resistance, yet the Army was seen as a dangerous, unsuitable, and low-paying job by most native-born white Americans.
The solution was to enlist large numbers of African Americans and European immigrants into the the U.S. Army. After a law was passed in Congress in 1866, African-Americans were recruited into the frontier Army and served as regular soldiers in a changing west.
Freed from slavery in the aftermath of the Civil War by the 13th Amendment, these black men served proudly on the western frontier because they thought that their military service would help white Americans see black Americans as equal citizens under the law.
For the black soldier, the Army was a haven from poverty and an opportunity for patriotic service, self respect, advancement and an education. They were called "Buffalo Soldiers" by their Southern Plains Indian opponents because their hair reminded the Indians of the curly hair between the horns of the bison.
The black troops took great pride in serving the republic that they believed allowed them to fight for their future. Like other soldiers, they were often assigned difficult tasks in out-of-the-way places, but because they were black, they were forced to deal with the added burden of racism.
These men performed their duty in garrison and in the field in segregated regiments under white officers and their jobs were varied. They attempted to place Plains Indians on reservations, maintain a quiet border with Mexico, arrest whiskey peddlers and unauthorized settlers, and capture thieves and outlaw gangs.
As the west changed, they changed with it, hunting poachers and fighting fires in America's new national parks. They did not fail to take advantage of the various opportunities offered to them by the Army and they earned an enviable service record with the highest level of re-enlistments and the lowest rates of desertion in the entire frontier army. They served throughout the west, and in doing so, were among the Nation's first black federal employees.
Their legacy of service is remembered today, not only by historians and researchers in libraries and archived, but also at modern Army posts. National park historic sites such as Ft. Davis in Texas, Ft. Larned in Kansas and Ft. Union in New Mexico tell the stories of the proud "Buffalo Soldiers" to millions of visitors each year.
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