BUFFALO SOLDIERS. No, the naming of the American Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments post Civil War soldiers had absolutely nothing to do with the city of Buffalo, N.Y. However it was a name bestowed upon these men by Native American Indians during the Indian Wars — why? Well that is truly anyone’s best guess and lost to history.

Today is set aside annually to honor the men known as Buffalo Soldiers — the first peacetime all-Black Army Regiment. In 1866, Congress passed the Army Organization Act which allowed former slaves to serve during the Civil War and over 180,000 brave African American men answered the call, and made up six regiments and fought bravely for the Union Army. According to a 2021 US Army press release, “In 1992, Congress passed a law designating July 28 as Buffalo Soldiers Day.

“The Buffalo Soldiers adjusted the way America and the U.S. military viewed race,” said Sgt. Maj. Quincy Rice, Military Surface Deployment Distribution Command’s directorate of operations sergeant major. “They proved to be courageous and well-disciplined soldiers, which was further represented by the stellar example and phenomenal leadership of Colonel Charles Young.”

Young, who was only the 3rd African American graduate of the US Military Academy, led the Buffalo Soldiers in the Ninth and Tenth US Cavalry — in addition, he was the first African American to achieve the rank of colonel in the US Army.

According to the US Army, “The regiments played a major role in developing the western part of the nation. They traversed the frontier monitoring Native American populations, building roads, and protecting settlers, all while contending with challenging terrain, inadequate supplies and discrimination.”