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This article is written because of a request from a blog supporter, Buffalo Soldier 9. He commented on an article about the black motorcycle club called The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Clubs (NABSTMC). He asked that I would capture information on more African American’s in the military. So here we go with the brief history of the Original Buffalo Soldiers.
The “final” Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. When African Americans celebrate the New Year we should be aware of our history and how celebrating January 1st in all years to come should be looked upon. The proclamation declared, “All persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people thereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
The premise was that it officially freed all slaves within the states or parts of states that were in rebellion and not in Union hands. Over 900, 000 slaves remained in Union territory still in human bondage.
The unfortunate thing to me is if you take a look at the correctional institutions and how black inmates work for little or nothing, have no skills to sustain themselves after being released, which leads to recidivism or becoming a ward of the state through public assistance. Where with some there is no way out in sight. I’ll save this for another article…back to the Buffalo Soldiers; same story different day.
Black history month is coming and I want to express my personal feelings about this. Black history month should be celebrated every month of the year. We make rich contributions to our nation every day as African Americans.
Cathay was a house slave, joined the army to be independent, married, and divorced. William Cathay was a new recruit and at the time medical examinations were not required of those who enlisted into the army so they said he was fit for duty thus giving assurance of her place in history as the only documented female Buffalo Soldier, and as the only documented African-American woman who served in the U.S. army prior to the 1948 law, which officially allowed women to join the army.
On November 15, 1866 she enlisted in the United States army at St. Louis, in the Thirty-eighth United States Infantry Company A, Capt. Charles E. Clarke commanding. Two years into serving in the Army her secret was revealed that she wasn’t a man in fact her name was Cathay Williams. Ms. Williams served in the Thirty-eighth U.S. Infantry from November 15, 1866-
October 14, 1868 where she was discharged from the Army as the first female Buffalo Soldier without a pension.
Buffalo Soldiers were not involved in Indian massacres, though they were camped near the sites of two incidents and assisted those who survived. The Buffalo Soldiers did not mistreat Native-Americans and were not responsible for their removal from reservations. The army supported segregation. It maintained separate facilities where possible. The Buffalo Soldiers built many forts whose facilities at times they couldn’t use. Because these soldiers were brave and courageous the Indian called them Buffalo Soldiers.
We should be proud of the performance of the Buffalo Soldiers. Eighteen Congressional Medals of Honor and a rightful place in our rich history as African Americans; the Buffalo Soldiers must be recognized. With how it relates to today in what we receive from the government such as education; they also operated with inferior equipment and sometimes worked in extreme weather conditions without adequate clothing.
The name “Buffalo Soldiers” was given because the Indians respected a brave and powerful adversary, which relates directly to their much revered buffalo. It was also said Indians identified the hair of the soldiers to the hair on the buffalo’s head. By the 1950s, Buffalo Soldier regiments were disbanded when all military services were integrated.
Here are two videos that show the history of the major part the original Buffalo Soldiers played in our US military and our country.
Goldie~Regulator for Life!
Iron sharpens Iron…especially on Steel
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