The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West [Hardcover]

William H. Leckie (Author), Shirley A. Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

Originally published in 1967, William H. Leckie's The Buffalo Soldiers was the first book of its kind to recognize the importance of African American units in the conquest of the West. In this revised edition, the authors further explore the lives of buffalo soldiers in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments, showing that they were increasingly confident in their fighting ability and, above all, determined to prove themselves worthy of their newly entitled citizenship.

Before William Leckie's groundbreaking work, buffalo soldiers had been relegated to historical obscurity. Thirty-six years later, with sales of more than 75,000 copies, The Buffalo Soldiers is a classic. Now, in a newly revised edition, the authors expand the original research.

Written in accessible prose that includes a synthesis of recent scholarship, (I>The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West, Revised Edition, delves further into the social impact of being an African American soldier in the nineteenth century. This work also explores the experiences of the soldiers' families at frontier posts. In a new epilogue, the authors summarize developments in the lives of buffalo soldiers after the Indian Wars and discuss contemporary efforts to memorialize them in film, art, and architecture.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William H. Leckie, Retired Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Toledo, is the co-author, with Shirley A. Leckie, of Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin Grierson and his Family (OU Press). Shirley A. Leckie, Professor of History at the University of Central Florida, is the author of Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth and Angie Debo: Pioneering Historian, both published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press; Revised edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806135239
• ISBN-13: 978-0806135236
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,610,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updates a classic originally published in 1967, June 8, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West, Revised Edition (Paperback)

The revised edition of THE BUFFALO HUNTERS: A NARRATIVE OF THE BLACK CALVARY IN THE WEST updates a classic originally published in 1967, when it was the first book to recognize the importance of Afro-American units in the opening of the West. This revised edition expands the original research to explore the lives of these soldiers in the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments, using recent scholarship to expand and enhance discoveries and creating an eye-opening title recommended for any college-level or in-depth collection of either military or Afro-American history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history !, April 26, 2010

By 

J&K "vtrock" (Vermont) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West, Revised Edition (Paperback)

This is a fascinating history of a neglected subject. The men who served really come to life through their stories - though I found the authors writing a bit choppy and sometimes dry. The subject matter however is very interesting and overcomes any writing deficiences.

This is a detailed mostly linear history from the advent of the black regiments throughout their history. I really enjoy that this book is a history not a thinly disguised political work - it's only agenda is history - and an honest one at that. In telling the story of these men from failures to heroism and going to original sources to see their fascinating views of service, white officers and of the native americans - it is a well flushed out history - and brings these men into focus as real men of American history - the good, the bad and the incredibly heroic.

An excellent read for those into Western history and the story of these courageous men.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet, August 18, 2010

By 

Big Sistah Patty (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West, Revised Edition (Paperback)

This is another bittersweet book. It's kind of depressing. The author primary goal is telling us how the 9th and the 10th were instrumental subjugating the native people. This was their value and the primary job to remove the people by any means necessary in order to make the Plains a peaceful place for white settlement. At the same time these Black men were treated badly by being practically starved and frozen to death, given the broke down equipment, horses, inferior food, housing, etc. They were constantly chasing natives, with little rest. I admire the men,

This book is absolutely worth reading. However, I just can't bring myself to give it more than three stars. If the Buffalo Soldiers is a topic you are truly interested, I would recommend this book, even with a three star rating.

This excerpt below brings to mind Paul Lawrence Dunbar's We Wear the Mask. He said "why should the world be overwise in counting all of our tears and sighs. Nay let them only see us when we wear the mask." I am sure an observer saw smiles, but I know my people. They had their mask firmly in place.

"While there they did not receive adequate shelter or clothing and at times were without rations. The men had not complained, however, and had performed their duties with customary cheerfulness. "