Information Technology web page assignment created by Chanhome Amphonephong
The nickname "Buffalo Soldier" dates back to the late 1860s, when black soldiers volunteered for duty in the American West. The American Indians, who regarded the new threat as "black white men," coined the term "Buffalo Soldier" out of respect for a worthy enemy. According to one story, the Indians thought that the black soldiers, with their dark skin and curly hair, resembled buffaloes. Another story attributes the name to the buffalo hides that many black soldiers wore during the harsh winters out West, as a supplement to their inadequate government uniforms.
Henry Parker enlisted in the U.S. Cavalry on May 18, 1867 in Memphis, Tennessee by Captain Davis for a period of five years. He was 21 years old and listed his occupation as a groom. His description included black eyes, black hair and a complexion listed as mulatto. Henry's height was recorded as 5'9 1/2". He was assigned to Company D of the Tenth U.S. Cavalry and was discharged on May 18, 1872 at Ft. Sill, Indian Territory * as a private. Fort Sill ca. 1827-1876, courtesy
of the National Archives, Fort Sill today. Remarkably, he never reported for sick call during the first two years and four months of service.
As a Buffalo Soldier, great grandfather, Sergeant Henry Parker, and the U.S. army were a part of the Plains Indian's nightmare. As an American soldier, he served his country under the worst of conditions, showing the courage and bravery that has been the tradition of all fighting men, no matter their cause, no matter their sacrifice. It should be noted, that Regimental returns show that the Buffalo Soldiers were not involved in Indian massacres, though they were camped near the sites of two incidents and assisted those who survived. It is this author's stated belief, that the Buffalo Soldiers did not mistreat Native Americans and were not responsible for their removal from reservations.
After escaping from his slave master in Apton Valley, Kentucky, great grandfather joined the 101st Regiment United States Colored Infantry, at 18 years of age. He served three years as a private in the Civil War. Action was seen at White's Ranch, Boyd's Station and Stevenson's Gap, and at Scottsborough and Larkinsville, Alabama.
On June 6, 1872, Henry Parker re-enlisted in the army at Fort Sill for another five years. His height, however, was now listed as 5' 11 1/2". He was again assigned to Company D of the Tenth U.S. Cavalry. When discharged at Fort Concho, Texas on June 6, 1877, Henry Parker was a sergeant, a member of the "Color Guard" with his character listed as "Excellent".
In every major war, throughout the history of the United States, from the American Revolution through the Indian Wars, Native Americans and African Americans have fought with and against each other. This scenario prevailed during the Civil War. Some tribes fought for the South, such as the Cherokees while others assisted the North like the Seminoles.In the spring of 1944, after years of pressure from the black community, the government grudgingly rescinded its policy excluding African American soldiers from combat. On July 30, 1944, the first wave of Buffalo Soldiers--the 370th Regimental Combat Team--disembarked at Naples, Italy, where they were greeted by a jubilant crowd of black American soldiers from other service units. The rest of the division would arrive a few months later.
Black soldiers who fought in the Indian Wars, fought their opponents as they have done throughout this country's military history. They
fought to win and to give their lives if necessary, for their personal beliefs. They wanted to gain the respect and equality they never saw as slaves and rarely received as freedmen. So, they continued on as soldiers. They were sadly mistaken in thinking they would gain these components of freedom, in a country built in-part by their enslavement and which still held deep racial and cultural prejudices.As soon as these soldiers were relocated into their hostile environments, they were engaged in life and death struggles. They were under fire. Friends were killed and their oath to keep the peace, put to the test by Indians, settlers and those outside the law.
Though they guarded railroads and telegraph lines, stagecoaches, arms shipments, towns, homesteads, whites and Indians, they never knew when they would be ambushed by foes or the very townspeople they were protecting! Not infrequently, just by entering a town or saloon, shoot-outs occurred. There was also the occasional sniper, waiting for a kill. Those that murdered troopers were never punished for their crimes, even when there were witnesses. The troopers always responded with a deadly intent of their own. When investigated by the military, those troopers found guilty were punished accordingly, but not always justly.
Slaves and the black soldiers, who couldn't read or write, had no idea of the historical deprivations and the frequent genocidal intent of the U.S. government toward Native Americans. Free blacks, whether they could read and write, generally had no access to first hand or second-hand unbiased information on this relationship. Most whites who had access often didn't really care about the situation. It was business as usual in the name of "Manifest Destiny". Most Americans viewed the Indians as incorrigible and non-reformable savages. Those closest to the warring factions or who were threaten by it, naturally wanted government protection at any cost.
In spite of all the difficulties, Hatch managed to organize all twelve companies of the regiment by February, 1867, even though only eleven officers had reported for duty at that time. In March, Hatch received orders transferring the regiment to Texas. Two companies, L and M, were to be stationed at Brownsville on the Rio Grande while the remaining ten companies were to encamp near San Antonio and undergo further training.
Black soldiers who fought in the Indian Wars, fought their opponents as they have done throughout this country's military history. They fought to win and to give their lives if necessary, for their personal beliefs. They wanted to gain the respect and equality they never saw as slaves and rarely received as freedmen. So, they continued on as soldiers. They were sadly mistaken in thinking they would gain these components of freedom, in a country built in-part by their enslavement and which still held deep racial and cultural prejudices.On September 18, 1879, troopers from Companies B, C, E and G of the 9th Cavalry were ambushed by Victorio, War Chief of the Warm Springs Apaches, at Las Animas Creek in the Black Range of New Mexico. Conflicting reports put the number of troopers killed at either five or six, along with either two or three Navjo scouts. Several troopers were awarded Congressional Medals of Honor, after saving wounded troopers. (From Ambush In Massacre Canyon by Gene Ballinger, The Courier, July 29, 1993).
The numbers alone tell an impressive story. Of 12,846 Buffalo Soldiers who saw action, 2,848 were killed, captured or wounded. The Buffalo Soldiers did, in fact, break through the Gothic Line. They reached their objective, captured or helped to capture nearly 24,000 prisoners and received more than 12,000 decorations and citations for their gallantry in combat. The soldiers of the 92nd Division had proved their worth through months of bitter combat in the Italian campaign.