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On June 28, 1866, an act of
Congress authorized the creation of six regiments
of black soldiers, two of cavalry and four of infantry.
These troops went on to play a major role in the history
of the West as the "Buffalo Soldiers."
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| For more than 20 years, the 9th
and 10th cavalry regiments served on the Frontier from Montana
to Texas.They
built forts and roads, strung telegraph lines, protected
railroad crews and escorted stagecoach lines. They fought
the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache warriors.
The Plains Indians began to call the black cavalrymen "Buffalo
Soldiers" and the troops accepted the name and wore it proudly.
To be associated with the Indian's scared buffalo was a
measure of respect. |
| First Sergeant Emanuel Stance of
the 9th Cavalry, stationed at Ft. McKavett, was the first
African American to receive the Medal of Honor in the Indian
Wars. By the close of the Indian Wars, ten more Medals of
Honor would be awarded to Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry. |
