Buffalo Soldiers in the 1860s

A moment of freedom becomes a lifetime of service – and a mystery. From his escape on the Planter with Robert Smalls to a long history of military service, learn Gabriel Turner's story in this article.

Cathay Williams became the first African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army; she posed as a man, enlisting under the pseudonym William Cathay.

Thomas Boyne was born enslaved in Prince Georges County, Maryland, in 1849. He fought during the American Civil War as part of Battery B, Second Colored Light Artillery. After the war, he joined the Ninth U.S. Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier regiment. Boyne was awarded the Medal of Honor for two separate engagements in 1879. He also served in the Fortieth Infantry and Twenty-fifth Infantry.

Sergeant Emanuel Stance of the Ninth U.S. Cavalry was the first African American soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the post-Civil War era. Stance was born into slavery in Carroll Parish, Louisiana, in 1844. He enlisted in the Ninth U.S. Cavalry on October 2, 1866. Stance received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, on June 20, 1870.

George Jordan came to the Army like many other African American young men of the time, illiterate and in search of meaning in their lives. Jordan would go on and become a well-respected leader among his men in his storied military career that spanned three decades.

Henry Johnson was born enslaved in 1850. He enlisted in the cavalry in 1867. By October 1879, he reached the rank of sergeant. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Milk River, October 2-5, 1879. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 23, Lot 16547.

John Denny enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1867 in Elmira, New York and served with the Ninth Cavalry. In 1879 at Las Animas Canyon, New Mexico, Sergeant John Denny saved a fellow comrade in battle. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Sgt. Thomas Shaw was one of several Buffalo Soldiers who would wind up receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars on the frontier.

Charles Key was a Buffalo Soldier who served his country for decades with distinction.

James Brown served in the 10th Cavalry almost thirty years, before his untimely death in 1895.

Co. A of the 10th U.S. Cavalry was stationed at Fort Larned from April 1867 to January 1869. Although they served with dedication, their time at the fort was troubled by racial prejudice.

Fort Davis, in Texas, and the all-Black Buffalo Soldiers played important roles on the Texas frontier. Various groups of Buffalo Soldiers called Fort Davis home for almost 20 years, from 1867 to 1885. Today Fort Davis is a national historic site under the aegis of the National Park Service.

African Americans have served in every war in United States history since the American Revolution. In 1866, a year after the Civil War ended, Congress authorized the formation of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, establishing Black military presence in the peacetime regular Army. These regiments became known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The 10th Calvary, formed at Fort Leavenworth, KS, is distinctive in military history.

On June 28, 1866, the U.S. Congress passed a law that created the Buffalo Soldier regiments. The original Buffalo Soldier Regiments were the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first Infantry.