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African American soldiers were allowed to enlist in the regular peacetime army of the United States for the first time at the end of the Civil War. Many of the new regulars had fought as United States Colored Troops during the war. By 1869, four African American regiments—the 9th and 10th Cavalry, the 24th and 25 Infantry—had been dispatched to the western frontier wars. Their duties were not limited to fighting Indians, who first called them "buffalo soldiers." In garrison, they drilled, stood guard, and maintained horses, barracks, weapons, and equipment. In the field, they patrolled harsh terrain in every extreme of weather, built or rebuilt army posts, strung telegraph wire, and escorted settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews.
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Object ID: 1994.0339.06
Division: Division of Work and Industry
Subject(s): Clothing & Accessories, Cultures & Communities, Military
March 14, 2007
Why were they called "Buffalo soldiers"?
—Julie, UK
Curator Response:African American soldiers in unprecedented numbers served in the United States Army on the western frontier in the late nineteenth century. As members of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments, they were the first African Americans in the nation's history to serve in the regular peacetime army. Before these regiments were organized, blacks were allowed to serve in the army only in wartime. The soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were the first to be called "buffalo soldiers." According to legend, Native Americans gave the troopers that name becasue their tight, curly hair and their fighting spirit reminded the Indians of the buffalo. The soldiers accepted it as a term of respect and honor, and it is often applied today to U.S. Army units that are linear descendants fo the original buffalo soldiers.
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