The Buffalo Soldiers

Several African-American regiments were stationed at Fort Craig after the Civil War, between 1867 and 1869. Called "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Indians they battled because their courage and dark hair and skin resembled those of the buffalo, they were deeply involved in the government's efforts to suppress hostile Indian tribes and settle controversial civil disputes. One regiment helped capture the Apache leader Geronimo and Billy the Kid. Others built and defended telegraph lines, constructed forts and roads, and guarded stagecoaches, mail routes, and survey parties. Military life offered African-American men, including ex-slaves, work with dignity. Although they often faced hostility from the settlers they guarded and were given the most difficult and dangerous assignments, they rarely deserted, and they were known to have received fewer courts martial for drunkenness than white cavalrymen. A few black cadets studied at West Point, and by the time the frontier years had drawn to a close, 11 black soldiers had received national medals of honor. U.S. Army commander William Tecumseh Sherman, who had at first opposed the conscription of black regulars, later proudly described them in 1879 as "...good troops first...rate soldiers...faithful to their tasks... brave as the occasion calls for."

New Mexico · United States