Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Buffalo Soldiers: Yosemite Research Library
[URL=
.html][IMG]
[/IMG][/URL]
Buffalo Soldiers, like their white counterparts in U.S. Army regiments, were among the first park rangers, in general, and backcountry rangers, in particular, patrolling parts of the West. African-American army regiments, formed just after the Civil War, had been dispatched westward where these black soldiers fought in the Indian Wars and were eventually given the name Buffalo Soldiers by the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians who saw a resemblance between their dark, curly hair and the matted cushion between the horns of the buffalo.
Congress, in 1866, created six segregated regiments which were soon consolidated into four black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry. Historians have recorded the service of these Buffalo Soldiers on the Western frontier, but their service in some national parks has been nearly forgotten. Approximately 500 Buffalo Soldiers served in Yosemite National Park and nearby Sequoia National Park with duties from evicting poachers and timber thieves to extinguishing forest fires. Their noteworthy accomplishments were made despite the added burden of racism.
As background, the U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks between 1891 and 1913, and, in that capacity, it helped create a model for park management as we know it today. These army troops were garrisoned at the Presidio of San Francisco during the winter months and served in the Sierra only during the summer months. This arrangement was an unusual duty for troops and greatly prized by army men with one army officer referring to the Sierra Nevada as the "Cavalryman's Paradise." Commanding officers became acting military superintendents for these national parks with two troops of cavalry, normally, assigned to each park. Each troop would be made up of approximately 60 men. The troops essentially comprised a roving economy-infusing money into park and local businesses-and thus their presence was generally welcomed. The presence of these soldiers as official stewards of park lands brought a sense of law and order to the mountain wilderness.
The hidden chapter of this U.S. Army history revolves around the participation of African-American troops of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, who protected both Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. (The parks are located approximately 150 miles apart.) Most of these men were veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War in which they were called "Smoked Yankees." Many of them enlisted in the South where opportunities for African-Americans were limited to sharecropping, and other labor intensive work.
Congress, in 1866, created six segregated regiments which were soon consolidated into four black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry. Historians have recorded the service of these Buffalo Soldiers on the Western frontier, but their service in some national parks has been nearly forgotten. Approximately 500 Buffalo Soldiers served in Yosemite National Park and nearby Sequoia National Park with duties from evicting poachers and timber thieves to extinguishing forest fires. Their noteworthy accomplishments were made despite the added burden of racism.
As background, the U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks between 1891 and 1913, and, in that capacity, it helped create a model for park management as we know it today. These army troops were garrisoned at the Presidio of San Francisco during the winter months and served in the Sierra only during the summer months. This arrangement was an unusual duty for troops and greatly prized by army men with one army officer referring to the Sierra Nevada as the "Cavalryman's Paradise." Commanding officers became acting military superintendents for these national parks with two troops of cavalry, normally, assigned to each park. Each troop would be made up of approximately 60 men. The troops essentially comprised a roving economy-infusing money into park and local businesses-and thus their presence was generally welcomed. The presence of these soldiers as official stewards of park lands brought a sense of law and order to the mountain wilderness.
The hidden chapter of this U.S. Army history revolves around the participation of African-American troops of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, who protected both Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. (The parks are located approximately 150 miles apart.) Most of these men were veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War in which they were called "Smoked Yankees." Many of them enlisted in the South where opportunities for African-Americans were limited to sharecropping, and other labor intensive work.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/buffalo-soldiers.htm
13 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
President Theodore Roosevelt visited San Francisco from May 12 to 14, 1903. Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th Cavalry provided escort and security during his stay.
President Roosevelt's 9th Cavalry Honor Guard, Presidio Golf Links, 1903.
Captain Young and the men of I and M troops remained at the Presidio winter quarters for one last duty before being dispatched to patrol Sequoia Natioanl Park. Their duty was to serve as special escort to the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, on his West Coast tour of California. The President visited San Francisco on May 12th through 14th. Thousands of people turned out to greet the Chief Executive.
Accompanying the President through the streets of San Francisco were Buffalo Soldiers on horseback flanking several carriages of honored guests. Captain Young was attired in his dress blues; the soldiers were resplendent wearing their neat but simple blue uniforms with a pill box cap, white canvas leggings and gloves.
The troops provided not only an escort and security for the distinguished guest, but also served as "Guard of Honor." The San Francisco Call lauded Troops I and M as two "crack military organizations that had the honor of forming Roosevelt's escort."
For many of these men, the escort duty had been a reunion of sorts, having last seen "Colonel" Roosevelt on the crest of San Juan Hill in 1898. Although Roosevelt had praised the Black soldiers shortly after the battle, he had since incensed them by making disparaging remarks about their worth as professional soldiers in Scribner's magazine.
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/presidio-garrison.htm
featured in the film on Yosemite that shows at Park's theatre. 
A great piece of Western history.
