Essay Archive - Buffalo Soldiers
Buffalo Soldiers
"Buffalo Soldiers" was the name given to African-American cavalrymen by their
native-American antagonists during the Indian Wars in the post-Civil War
American West. The first men to serve in all-black army units did so in the
Union Army, during the Civil War. The initial all-black regiment, the 54th
Massachusetts, trained by its white commander, Col. Robert G. Shaw, suffered
heavy casualties in a heroic, though unsuccessful attempt to capture Fort Wagner
at Charleston (S.C.) harbor in July 1863. In all, about 209,000 ex-slaves and
fr....
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