Buffalo Soldiers Research Museum

Buffalo Soldiers Q&A

Questions

  1. When did Congress pass an act to establish the all-black regiments in the regular peacetime army?
  2. What were the names of those four units?
  3. At the inception of these four units, what was the total number of Black officers assigned for duty?
  4. What was the monthly pay of the new troopers in these regiments?
  5. Who gave the name Buffalo Soldiers to the 9th & 10th Cavalry and the 24th & 25th Infantry?
  6. Why were they given the name Buffalo Soldiers?
  7. Which regiments had the lowest desertion rate among the cavalry units in the west?
    8. Trooper Waddell
    Trooper Waddell
  8. The food for the Buffalo Soldiers was of poor quality and lacking in variety. What did their diet consist of?
  9. What is the name of the first, second, and third Black officers to graduate from West Point Military Academy?
  10. In 1992, which fort unveiled a monument dedicated to the history of the Buffalo Soldiers?

Answers

  1. July 28, 1866
  2. The 9th & 10th (horse) Cavalry and the 24th & 25th Infantry
  3. None. There were no experienced Black officers. Congress provided that all officers of the new regiments were to be White.
  4. Thirteen dollars a month was the pay upon enlisting.
  5. The name Buffalo Soldiers was given to the 10th Cavalry by the Cheyenne Native Americans during a battle in 1867.
  6. Because of the texture of their hair and the respect the Cheyenne had for the way the Black soldiers fought.
  7. The 9th & 10th Cavalry had the lowest desertion rate.
  8. The Buffalo Soldiers' diet consisted of beans, bread, beef with molasses, corn bread, and sweet potatoes.
  9. Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper was the first Black officer to graduate from West Point Military Accademy in 1877. Lieutenant John Alexander was second (1887), and Lieutenant Charles Young was third (1892).
  10. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

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