Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Buffalo Soldiers

Episode Date: April 11, 2022

Subscribe to the podcast!  https://podfollow.com/everythingeverywhere/ During the US Civil War, over a quarter million African-Americans served and fought on the Union side with distinction. After the Civil War, in a reorganization of the United States Army, permanent, albeit segregated, units of black soldiers were created. These units served in almost every military conflict fought by the United States until the end of the Second World War.  Learn more about the Buffalo Soldiers, their origin, and their service, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. -------------------------------- Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact [e-mail] to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the U.S. Civil War, over a quarter million African Americans served and fought on the Union side with distinction. After the Civil War, in a reorganization of the United States Army, permanent, albeit segregated, units of black soldiers were created. These units served in almost every military conflict fought by the United States until the end of the Second World War. Learn more about the Buffalo soldiers, their origin, and their service on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now.

Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. The origin of the Buffalo soldiers dates back to the Civil War. In 1862, the United States Congress passed two bills that began the process of black military service in the Union Army. The Confiscation Act of 1862 freed slaves from any slave owner in rebellion, and the Militia Act of 1862 allowed the president to use freed slaves in any way he saw fit. Initially, President Lincoln didn't do anything, but after the Emancipation Proclamation in September, the full enlistment for Black Americans began in January of 1863.

They didn't have full integration with regular army units. Rather, there were separate segregated units led by white officers. There were a little under 80,000 black soldiers who enlisted from Union States, and the majority of those came from border states like Missouri, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C. More than double that number, however, came from freed slaves from states and rebellion. Despite not being allowed to serve for the first 18 months of the war, black Union soldiers suffered higher casualty rates than white soldiers. As with white soldiers, the vast majority of casualties were due to disease, not combat deaths.

But they did suffer uniquely by Confederates on the battlefield, and especially if they were captured. Ulysses S. Grant was initially skeptical of black units in the army, but changed his mind after the Battle of Vicksburg, when he noted, quote, The Negro troops are easier to preserve discipline among than our white troops, and I doubt not will prove equally good for garrison duty. All that have been tried have fought bravely, end quote.

In total, 16 Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to Black soldiers during the war, and numerous other medals were awarded as well. For many black intellectuals of the era, military service during the war was considered an important part of obtaining true U.S. citizenship. Frederick Douglass, who served as a recruiter for the Union Army and whose son served in combat, noted, quote, once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter U.S. Let him get an eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket. There is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. end quote. After the war when the army was reorganized for peace time, given their high levels of

service, the decision was made to keep black units as a permanent part of the U.S. Army. In 1866, Congress created six all-black regiments, two cavalry and four infantry. However, this was reduced to two cavalry and two infantry units after an army-wide reduction of units in 1869. The four units were the ninth cavalry regiment, the 10th cavalry regiment, the 24th Infantry Regiment, and the 25th Infantry Regiment. Three of these units, all but the 25th Infantry, still exist today, albeit as integrated units, of course. The name Buffalo Soldier has been the subject of debate.

However, there is general agreement that the name came from the Indian tribes that they encountered. One story holds that it was given by the Cherokee, and another is that it was given by the Comanche. One story is that it was given because of the texture of the hair of the soldiers. Another is that it came from their fighting spirit, and yet another story is that it was given by Plains Indians because the soldiers wore coats made of buffalo hides during the winter. The name originally only applied to soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, but eventually was also given to the 9th Cavalry and finally to all four black regiments. As with most army units after the war, their primary assignment was in the American West.

Many of the men who enlisted initially were Civil War veterans. Most of them felt that they had better odds in the army where their food, lodging, and clothing were provided, even if they didn't make a lot of money. It was simply a more appealing option than what they would have encountered in the private sector after the war. A map of Buffalo Soldier engagements plotted out over the United States

shows that most of them occurred in the Great Plains and in the southern half of the country. The largest concentration of assignments was in West Texas, New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, as well as western Kansas and eastern Colorado. However, there were occasional missions

as far north as Montana and Utah. The Buffalo soldiers were involved in most of the high-profile events which took place during the period from 1867 to 1890, the period which is commonly referred to as the Indian Wars. They were involved in the Apache Campaign in Arizona and New Mexico, and the Ghost Dance War, which included the massacre at Wounded Knee. No Buffalo soldiers actually took part in the massacre itself, but they did guard the Pine Ridge Reservation where it occurred and did have to relieve the 7th Cavalry when they were besieged. They were also involved in the Johnson County War in Wyoming, between

small and large ranchers, an event that's worthy of its own episode. And they also helped remove Sooners who entered the Oklahoma Territory early. In total, there were 23 Congressional Medal of Honors awarded to Buffalo Soldiers during the Indian Wars. The first black commissioned officer in the U.S. military was born a slave in the South, and Henry O'Flipper was also the first black graduate of West Point in 1887 and went on to become the first black commander of a Buffalo soldier unit. However, actual military engagements were the exception, not the rule.

Most of their job, like the rest of the Army in the West at this time, was protecting settlers, hunting down cattle rustlers, protecting mail delivery, and working on infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. After the Indian Wars, one of the assignments given to the Buffalo soldiers is one that few people are aware of. They were some of the very first rangers at national parks in the United States. beginning in 1899, soldiers of the 9th Cavalry and 24th Infantry Regiments served in Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. A special note is Captain Charles Young. Young was the third black graduate of West Point, and he became the first black superintendent of a national park when he was appointed the superintendent of King's Canyon and Sequoia. I had the pleasure of visiting Charles Young's home in Ohio, which is itself now part of the National Park System.

and I highly recommend visiting if you happen to be near Daytona, Ohio, as it's just outside of town. The late 19th century is the period of time when most people associate with the Buffalo soldiers. However, that was by no means the end of the activity of their regiments. They saw action in the Spanish-American War in Cuba. In particular, they were heavily involved in the Battle of San Juan Hill and basically saved Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt's public pronouncements on black soldiers that participated in the battle were initially glowing. However, after the war ended and his public profile increased, he seemingly turned on them and downplayed their role. This was probably done to increase the mystique surrounding his performance in the battle.

All black units also saw action in the Philippines War, another little-known conflict that's deserving of its own episode, as well as U.S. actions in Mexico in the pursuit of Pancho Villa. As during the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldier units had all white officers. One young lieutenant who served with the 10th cavalry in 1895 was one John J. Pershing. Pershing served with the 10th cavalry for almost two years before attending West Point, including their service in Cuba. While at West Point, he was derided for this service and given the nickname N-word Jack because of his service with the Buffalo Soldiers. This was eventually toned down to just Black Jack, and his nickname became Black Jack Pershing, a nickname that stuck with him the rest of his life, although most people have no idea that its origin

was because of his service with the Buffalo soldiers. When he became the top American general during World War I, he didn't integrate the army because of the demands of President Woodrow Wilson. However, he did continue to think highly of black soldiers throughout his career. By the First World War, the term Buffalo soldier had fallen out of use, but the segregated army unit still remained. In World War II, the four historic black regiments served, but, there were many more black units that were created as well, including the famous Tuskegee Airmen,

which are also worthy of a future episode. Another notable example of service of black soldiers that I covered in a previous episode was the Red Ball Express. They were responsible for the logistics after the Normandy invasion and the convoy of almost non-stop trucks had had to run for months. Racially segregated units were formally dissolved in the early 1950s by the Order of President Harry Truman and continued and finalized under President Dwight Eisenhower. All four of the historically black regimens were disbanded. During the entire time the Buffalo Soldier units were in existence, the soldiers in those units suffered almost constant discrimination.

They were usually subject to living conditions worse than white soldiers, they received substandard gear and equipment, and they were harassed constantly by other white units. When they were stationed near civilians, they experienced their worst treatment. And this was especially the case when they were sent to Cuba and had to wait in Florida where they were subject to the state's Jim Crow laws. On the way to Cuba, 1,200 men were placed on a ship that had a single toilet. Three of the four regiments that were the original Buffalo Soldier units have actually been brought back.

The 9th Cavalry was brought back in 1957, the 10th cavalry was reinstated in 1958, and the 24th Infantry Unit was reactivated in 1995. All three of these units honor their history by using Buffalo Soldier as their nicknames today. The Buffalo Soldiers have become legendary since her units were disbanded. The most famous cultural reference is probably the 1983 song released by Bob Marley and the Whalers. There have also been many films and television shows that feature the story of the Buffalo Soldiers. Today, you can visit the National Buffalo Soldier Museum in Houston, Texas, as well as the Buffalo Soldier Museum at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. There is also a display at the National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C.

The very last Buffalo Soldier died in 2005. Mark Matthews died at the age of 111. Born in 1894, he served on the Poncho Via Expedition, World War I, and World War II. He was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery. On one hand, the Buffalo soldiers are a stain on the history of the United States and how they were treated and the fact that they were the result of a racially segregated army. But at the same time, they also serve as a source of inspiration, for the courage they showed and the conditions that they showed it under.

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