Buffalo Soldiers in the 1880s

Isaiah Mays was born enslaved in Virginia. On May 11, 1889 Mays was a corporal in Company B of the 24th Infantry when he was attacked in the “Wham Paymaster Robbery.” During the fighting he crawled and ran over two miles to the nearest ranch to get help. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on February 19, 1890. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 1, Grave 630-B.

Benjamin Brown was an early African American recipient of the Medal of Honor, and had a military career that took him throughout the United States and the world.

Augustus Walley was born enslaved in 1856 in Maryland. He enlisted in the Ninth Cavalry in 1878. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on August 16, 1881. He fought at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War in 1898. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 9, 1938.

Brent Woods, who became a sergeant in the Buffalo Soldiers, was born enslaved in 1855. He earned the Medal of Honor for his valor in New Mexico on August 19, 1881. He is buried in Mill Springs National Cemetery in Nancy, Kentucky.

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.

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.

He entered the Army as an illiterate ex-slave, but Moses Williams took advantage of the opportunities presented to him to become educated and also became a Buffalo Soldier who achieved one of the Army's highest honors during his military service career.

Henry Ossian Flipper was born enslaved on March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia. He was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877. He was dishonorably discharged from the Army on June 30, 1882, based on racist motives of some white officers he served with. He was posthumously pardoned on February 19, 1999.

John Hanks Alexander was born on January 6, 1864, in Helena, Arkansas. He attended the United States Military Academy, and in 1887 he became the second African American to graduate. He was a roommate and mentor to Charles Young at West Point and in the U.S. Army. He died on March 26, 1894, in Springfield, Ohio, and was buried at the Cherry Grove Cemetery in Xenia, Ohio.

Throughout his life, Charles Young overcame countless obstacles in his ascent to prominence. In spite of overt racism and stifling inequality, Young rose through the military ranks to become one of the most respected leaders of his time. From leading men in combat on foreign soil to leading men domestically in our country's national parks, Young led by example and inspired a generation of new leaders. He was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General on November 1, 2021.

Benjamin Jackson was a Buffalo soldier and a Kinkaid homesteader in central Nebraska whose homestead land became involved in an extortion scheme. Jackson joined the army in 1881 serving in Company M of the 9th US Calvary during the Indian Wars. Benjamin Jackson filed for his own homestead in Wheeler County, Nebraska in 1904. Shortly after proving up on his homestead, but before he received his patent, Jackson made an agreement to exchange his homestead for land in Oklahoma.

Benson enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 25, 1875. Caleb Benson served with the 10th Cavalry in Companies D & K. During his service, Benson participated in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine American War. On July 6, 1905, he received a relinquished homestead claim from Captain Whitehead near Fort Robinson. Soon Benson’s company was called to the Philippines for 18 months. Once he returned he married and lived on his homestead.

Clinton Greaves was born in 1855 Virginia. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in the Florida Mountains of New Mexico in January 1877. He died on August 18, 1906, in Columbus, Ohio. He is buried in Columbus at Green Lawn Cemetery, Section 27, Lot 88.

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.

Edward Lee Baker, Jr., was a Buffalo Soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Spanish American War in Cuba on July 1, 1898. He served in numerous units including the Forty-ninth Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. He was commissioned a captain in the Philippine Scouts in 1902. He died on August 26, 1913, at the age of 47 and was buried in Los Angeles, California.

Edward Bordinghammer was a soldier in the segregated military for nearly 30 years. He served his country from New York to Alaska to Texas. During his time at Camp Skagway, Alaska, he was a musician for Company L, 24th Infantry.

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.

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.

Fort Concho was established in 1867 in west Texas. It served as the regimental headquarters of Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882. Today the fort is preserved as Historic Fort Concho and is a national historic landmark.

Black Seminoles were descendants of self-emancipated formerly enslaved people from Coastal Carolina and Georgia who partially assimilated with the Seminole people of Florida. In 1870 a group of Black Seminoles who had migrated to Texas from Mexico formed the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts. They scouted for the U.S. Army on the Texas frontier. Four Black Seminoles received the Medal of Honor.