Junior Buffalo Soldiers

The Basics

Two cavalry units and two all-black infantry regiments, the 24th and 25th, came to be called Buffalo Soldiers. By 1867, the first Buffalo Soldier units were sent to the West to fight Indians and protect settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews. Indians gave the troops the name of Buffalo Soldiers, probably because their short, dark, curly hair resembled the mane of the buffalo. In the 1950s, Buffalo Soldier regiments were disbanded when all military services were integrated.

 

 

 

Be An Explorer

Create a Buffalo Soldier Diary. Visit sites like The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Huachuca and The Buffalo Soldiers on the Western Frontier, then create a diary that explains the daily life of a typical Buffalo Soldier serving on the western frontier. You can include your own sketches or illustrations. As an alternative activity, select a different time period such as the Spanish-American or one of the World Wars.

Write a Buffalo Soldier Biography. Visit the websites for Henry Flipper or Cathay Williams (Listed below). Then write a brief biography of their lives. Make your own book and share it with friends and family.

Make a Buffalo Soldier Drawing. Study the photographs found at Buffalo Soldiers - America's Unsung Heroes and other websites. Then create your own Buffalo Soldier artwork. You might start by sketching a cavalry trooper and his horse or an infantryman. Decide whether your scene will be on a patrol, in a skirmish, or portray a daily fort scene.