Indian Wars From 1867 to the early 1890s, these regiments served at a variety of posts in the
Southwestern United States and the
Great Plains regions. They participated in most of the military campaigns in these areas and earned a distinguished record. Thirteen enlisted men and six officers from these four regiments earned the
Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars. In addition to the military campaigns, the Buffalo Soldiers served a variety of roles along the frontier, from building roads to escorting the
U.S. mail. On April 17, 1875, regimental headquarters for the 10th Cavalry was transferred to
Fort Concho, Texas. Companies actually arrived at Fort Concho in May 1873. The 9th Cavalry was headquartered at
Fort Union from 1875 to 1881. At various times from 1873 through 1885, Fort Concho housed 9th Cavalry companies A–F, K, and M, 10th Cavalry companies A, D–G, I, L, and M, 24th Infantry companies D–G, and K, and 25th Infantry companies G and K. From 1879 to 1881, portions of all four of the Buffalo Soldier regiments were in
New Mexico pursuing
Victorio and
Nana and their Apache warriors in
Victorio's War. The 9th Cavalry spent the winter of 1890 to 1891 guarding the
Pine Ridge Reservation during the events of the
Ghost Dance War and the
Wounded Knee Massacre. Cavalry regiments were also used to remove
Sooners (whites), who were
squatting (illegally occupying) native lands in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Buffalo Soldiers fought in the last engagement of the Indian Wars, the small
Battle of Bear Valley in southern
Arizona which occurred in 1918 between U.S. cavalry and
Yaqui natives.
Range Wars The Buffalo Soldiers, specifically the
9th Cavalry, participated in two of the largest range conflicts in the American Old West. Range wars were battles fought between large cattle ranchers against smaller ranchers and farmers who competed for land, water, and livestock in the
open range. Many of these conflicts resulted in military intervention to pacify and maintain peace. A lesser known action was the
9th Cavalry's participation in the
Colfax County War in
Colfax County, New Mexico in 1873. Buffalo Soldiers were among the units sent, and on one occasion, some of them had a shootout with a group of Texas
cowboys in the St. James Hotel. Three soldiers died during the shootout and a few months later one of the cowboys,
Davy Crockett, who was involved, was killed by the local sheriffs. Notorious gunfighter,
Clay Allison, shot and killed a black sergeant in a bar where he was drinking. The 9th cavalry had a much larger participation in the fabled
Johnson County War in
Johnson County,
Wyoming. It culminated in a lengthy shootout between local farmers, a band of hired killers, and a
sheriff's posse. The 6th Cavalry was ordered in by
President Benjamin Harrison to quell the violence and capture the band of hired killers. Soon afterward, however, the 9th Cavalry was specifically called on to replace the 6th. The 6th Cavalry was swaying under the local political and social pressures and was unable to keep the peace in the tense environment. The Buffalo Soldiers responded within about two weeks from Nebraska, and moved the men to the rail town of
Suggs, Wyoming, creating "
Camp Bettens" despite a hostile local population. One soldier was killed and two wounded in a
gun battle with locals. Nevertheless, the 9th Cavalry remained in Wyoming for nearly a year to quell tensions in the area.
1898–1918 After most of the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s, the regiments continued to serve and participated in the 1898
Spanish–American War (including the
Battle of San Juan Hill) in
Cuba, where five more Medals of Honor were earned. Additionally, the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment had a company of African-American soldiers, company L, that saw action in
Puerto Rico. Up to 5,000 "Black men" enlisted in volunteer regiments in the Spanish–American War in Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, and some had all black officers. Several other African-American regiments of United States Volunteer Infantry (USVI) were formed and nicknamed "Immune Regiments", due to having more natural resistance to malaria, yellow fever & other
tropical diseases, but only the 9th Immunes served overseas in the war. The Buffalo Soldier regiments also took part in the
Philippine–American War from 1899 to 1903 and the 1916
Mexican Expedition. Many black soldiers established a rapport with "the brown-skinned natives on the islands," and an unusually large number of black troops
deserted during the campaign, some of whom joined the Filipino rebels, of whom the most famous was the celebrated
David Fagen. In 1918, the 10th Cavalry fought at the
Battle of Ambos Nogales during the
First World War, where they assisted in forcing the surrender of the federal Mexican and Mexican militia forces. ==Park Rangers==