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Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West

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William H. Leckie's Buffalo Soldiers proves to be a well written and well researched book on the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments which were stationed mostly in the southwest section of the United States from Texas to Arizona. Both regiments were manned by black soldiers although officered by whites. Long forgotten by history, the book reflects on the valuable services these black soldiers contributed to the creation of our nation in that region. The book, I thought did a great justice in retelling this story that Americans in general have forgotten. The book traces the history of these "buffalo soldiers" (as coined by the Indians for black soldiers' woolly hair) between 1866 to 1891. The book covers all the military activities of these two regiments and provides insights to the campaigns and battles they fought. The book also reflects in part, the near unending forces of prejudice these buffalo soldiers had to put up with from the rest of the army and its civilian overlords.

As far as I can see, this remains one of the few books that gives a definitive accounts of the buffalo soldiers during this period. Only real weakness I see in this book was that it didn't give great details into the lives and insights to these black soldiers who fought so well. But the book is still worth reading if not for anything, to see how well men fights, if well led and well trained, against the prejudices of their own nation and against cunning and powerful Indian foes who ironically, was fighting for what these black men were fighting for, respects and equality. I will end this review with an ironic quote from the movie, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, "Men in dirty-shirt blue, only a page in history books to mark their lives. But wherever they rode, whatever they fought for, that place became the United States". Thus lies the legacy of the buffalo soldiers.

The Civil War was the first time Blacks were organized into Black-only combat brigades. They fought well, and in some cases, exceptionally well. But for the most part, except for the heroics of the 54th Massachusetts at battery Wagner outside Charleston and along the Mississippi Valley, especially at Fort Pillow, history little noted their service. After the success of the Civil War the experiment with all Black combat units was continued in the Frontier Army. Thanks to William Leckie the significant contributions of the 9th and 10th US Cavalry to the peaceful settlement of the Western frontier has not been consigned to history's dust bin but rather is captured here in an exceptional and quite frankly action packed work. Between them the 9th and 10th Cavalry earned an amazing 8 Congressional Medals of Honor.

In 1866 green, untrained civilians were enlisted in these units, the 9th under Edward Hatch and the 10th under Benjamin Grierson, both outstanding Civil War Cavalry commanders. After rudimentary training the 9th was headquartered at Fort Davis and for the next 6 years patrolled west Texas and the Mexican Border. Their responsibilities were to maintain law and order in western and southwestern Texas, between the Rio Grande and Concho Rivers from Fort Clark to El Paso. The 9th remained in Texas for eight years. The regiment subsequently went to New Mexico, covering parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Texas, and participated in the Apache Wars from 1875 to 1881. Their patrolling was astonishing. Out for months at a time Leckie indicates marches of 1,000 miles were not uncommon. Fighting Mexican bandits, border raiders and numerous Indian tribes, they also engaged Mexican revolutionaries that had crossed to the US side to rest and refit. After 15 years of service, almost all of it continually in the field, the 9th Cavalry was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas in 1881.

The author appears to have had much more information about the 10th Cavalry. The 10th initially was stationed at numerous forts throughout Kansas and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). They provided guards for workers of the Kansas and Pacific Railroad, strung miles of new telegraph lines and to a large extent built Fort Sill in present day Oklahoma. A very good work about this period of the 10th's existence is Carbine and Lance by Wilbur Nye. They were constantly patrolling the Kiowa and Comanche reservations in an attempt to prevent Indian raids into Texas and Texan raids into the reservations. In 1867 and 1868, the 10th Cavalry participated in Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's winter campaigns against the Cheyenne, Arapahos, and Comanches. Units of the 10th prevented the Cheyenne from fleeing to the northwest, thus allowing Custer and the 7th Cavalry to defeat the Cheyenne at the Battle of the Washita.

In 1875, the 10th Cavalry moved its headquarters to Fort Concho in west Texas, today's San Angelo, where they protected mail and travel routes, controlled Indian movements, provided protection from Mexican revolutionaries and outlaws, and gained significant knowledge of the territory. The 10th scouted 30,000 miles of uncharted terrain, opened more than 300 miles of new roads and laid over 200 miles of telegraph lines. They played an important role in the Apache Wars, preventing Victorio's return to the U.S. by taking control of vital desert water holes along the Indians' route. It was an amazing campaign. To execute this campaign, the 10th patrolled literally thousands of square miles from the Van Horn Mountains west to the Quitman Mountains and north to the Sierra Diablo and Delaware Mountains, engaging in major fights at Tinaja de las Palmas and Rattlesnake Springs. These actions forced Victorio to retreat into Mexico. Soon after re-crossing the border, Victorio and many of his warriors were killed by Mexico's military. After 20 years on the Southwestern Frontier the regiment was transferred to the Dakotas in time to assist in the final battles with the Sioux.

These men were tough, no nonsense combat soldiers responsible for settling some of America's wildest frontiers. They fought Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapaho, Ute, Kiowa, Kickapoo and Apache Indians to a standstill. But these were not the only combatants they faced. Mexican bandits, revolutionaries, white outlaws, rustlers and, at times, the Texas Rangers all made for a hellish environment. Little wonder then that these men were extremely loyal to one another with one of the lowest desertion rates of any soldiers in this theater of operations. And as if all these contenders were not enough to cope with, they also periodically supported local law enforcement, effectively ending the infamous Lincoln County War in New Mexico.

This is a most marvelous read about a group of Americans that played a most significant role in settling the American West. They were men who left their country in much better shape than they found it. They were most selfless.

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 four stars. If the Buffalo Soldiers is a topic you are truly interested, I would recommend this book. It is a very good read though a little depressing. I guess when you read the true history of America it is depressing. I guess that why so many don't want to know.

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. "

I FELT THAT THE BOOK WAS VERY SPECIFIC. IT DEALT WITH MANY DETAILS OF THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS AND THE INDIANS AND THE GENERALS. IT ALSO WENT AS FAR AS TO SHOW SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT WERE INVOLVED. I READ THE BOOK FOR A BOOK REVIEW FOR CLASS. BUT I WILL READ IT AGAIN FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. MY 12 YEAR OLD NEPHEW READ THE BOOK AND INJOYED IT.

This is a first class narrative of two very proud and successful regiments of cavalry. It is obviously well researched.

The author nearly goes astray in at least two places by going off on a tangen but recovers quickly and gets back to the point. He certainly likes the word "deprecate" and by the end of book I wished he could have used a thesaurus. Also, he discribes their maneuvers as "marches" where in fact the 9th and 10th must have ridden as they were, after all, mounted soldiers.

The biggest fault, in my opinion, is the very ending. What happen to these two regiments? Where they disbanded and if so, what happen to some of the major figures? This interesting story seems to come to an abrupt halt without so much as a wave goodbye.