Buffalo Soldiers U.S
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National Park Service Buffalo Soldiers U.S. Department of the Interior Guardians of California National Parks California lthough African American soldiers A have fought in America’s wars since the Revolution, they were not permitted to enlist in the Regular Army until Reconstruction. By 1869, Congress had established four all-black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry. The soldiers of these regiments would become known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The salary, $13 per month, was low for the 1870s, but still paid better than the menial jobs commonly available to African Americans. Moreover, the military provided a dignity not typically afforded by civilian life. How the Buffalo Soldiers In Cuba & the Philippines Cavalry encampment, likely en route to Sequoia National Park, 1903. Photograph from the collection of Charles Young. Got Their Name After the U.S. declared war Courtesy of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio According to legend, Native Ameri- on Spain in 1898, Buffalo Sol- cans called the troopers “buffalo sol- dier troops went to Cuba. They The Army in the National Parks The Route to the Parks Meeting Locals diers” because their dark, curly hair fought in the Battle of San Juan Before the creation of the National Park Troops typically left for the parks in The Army’s arrival in town drew resembled a buffalo’s coat. The Native Hill alongside white regiments Service in 1916, the Army was respon- May and returned in November. For attention, and the years of the Buffalo Americans revered the buffalo for its and Theodore Roosevelt’s vol- sible for patrolling Yellowstone, Sequoia, each park, some 100 troopers and their Soldiers were no exception. In some fierce bravery and fighting spirit, so the unteer “Rough Riders.” The and Yosemite—our first national parks. officers paraded on horseback through communities, the very concept of the nickname can also be considered a sign Spanish-American War pre- They protected the lands for the enjoy- San Francisco, followed by mules and national parks was as foreign as the of respect. The soldiers accepted the sented a conflicted situa- ment of visitors and laid the foundations wagons. The journey would take them presence of the troopers themselves. title with pride and honor. tion for African American for the future national park system. down historic El Camino Real and However, despite any praise in print for soldiers, in which they Beginning in 1891, soldiers spent the across the Diablo Range to the San the “heroes of San Juan Hill,” residents Indian Wars fought on behalf of their Following the Civil War, the U.S. turned summer blazing trails, constructing Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada. The did not always transcend their personal country abroad yet lacked equal roads, creating maps, evicting grazing soldiers traveled about 280 miles over prejudices. The Buffalo Soldiers could its attention to developing the American rights at home. frontier. The Buffalo Soldiers fought in livestock, extinguishing fires, monitor- 13 days to get to Yosemite and 320 miles expect to face discrimination, inde- campaigns against native tribes, pursued After Spain’s defeat, an insurgent ing tourists, and keeping poachers and over 16 days to get to Sequoia. They pendent of their military status. loggers at bay. The soldiers’ expedition- camped near racetracks, roadhouses, bandits, improved roads, escorted the movement emerged in the U.S.-occu- Nonetheless, the soldiers made an ary frontier experience, as well as their and rivers. If they had leisure time, they mail, scouted and mapped. Their work pied Philippines. All four Buffalo impression that lasted beyond their sense of responsibility and service, lent patronized restaurants and saloons. to secure the frontier was performed in Soldier regiments participated in the brief stay. In December 1903, Captain itself toward duty in the parks. the face of hostile conditions, not only ensuing Philippine Insurrection. The Apart from San Francisco and San (later Colonel) Charles Young spoke in terms of extreme climates and terrain troops began to return in 1902, passing The Buffalo Soldiers patrolled the parks Jose, northern California at this time at an assembly at Stanford University. but also significant racial tension. through San Francisco to their new during three summers, entrusted with was predominantly rural. The Santa Young was the third African American assignments, which included garrison the same duties as the units that pre- Clara and San Joaquin valleys began to graduate from West Point and the th Cover from left to right: 9 Cavalry duty at the Presidio and guard duty at ceded and followed them. In 1899, the as centers of Native American popula- highest ranking black officer in the Army in Yosemite, 1904. NPS; Unidentified Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant 24th Infantry spent about a month in tions, and then experienced waves of at the time. He had traveled in the vicin- cavalry in forest. NPS; 9th Cavalry in (Kings Canyon) National Parks. Yosemite, 1903. Courtesy of the Nevelle Yosemite and Sequoia. In 1903 and 1904, Spanish settlement, the boom of the ity of the university earlier that year, en th th Hawkins Silliman Collection; Buffalo 9 Cavalry troopers were in the parks Gold Rush, and the growth of agri- route to Sequoia with the 9 Cavalry. His soldier on Giant Forest Road, Sequoia Member of the 24th Infantry on mounted for the entire summer, leaving from San culture. speech implored the students to extend 1903. Courtesy of the National Afro- patrol in Yosemite, 1899. NPS, Yosemite Francisco in 1903 and from the Presidio “the white man’s chance” for education American Museum and Cultural Center. Research Library. of Monterey the following year. to African Americans. Wilberforce, Ohio. The Route Today How does the Buffalo Soldiers’ Cali- ite headed through Raymond and fornia compare to the contemporary along what is now CA-41 N, entering landscape? For the Santa Clara Valley the park at Wawona. Those bound portion of the route, stops that were for Sequoia followed today’s CA-99 S once small, isolated towns are now and CA-198 E toward the Ash Moun- full-fledged cities with barely discern- tain Entrance. SAN FRANCISCO Yosemite ible borders. Today’s Silicon Valley is a For additional African American mili- site of freeways and sprawl, technol- tary history in California, visit Colonel ogy booms and busts, and popula- SAN Allensworth State Historic Park. tions growing rapidly in number and BRUNO 82 WAWONA diversity. However, the continued use Presidio of San Francisco El Camino Real of El Camino Real and the intact vis- 223 Halleck Street PALO Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129 ALTO tas of the mountains and foothills 41 www.nps.gov/prsf maintain a link to the past. Yosemite National Park SAN JOSE CROOK’S Part of the soldiers’ trail is now the P.O. Box 577 101 RANCH RAYMOND San Luis Reservoir. Otherwise, the Yosemite, CA 95389-0577 SAN LUIS Raymond Rd rest of their route has not changed www.nps.gov/yose HOUSE LOS BANOS as radically. The San Joaquin Valley 152 152 Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park Road 600 GILROY remains the agricultural heart of the 47050 Generals Highway BELL DOS PALOS state, though it has witnessed signifi- Three Rivers, CA 93271-9700 STATION MADERA Kings 33 Canyon cant development of its urban areas. www.nps.gov/seki 101 Avenue 7 & 7½ The vastness of this landscape is just FIREBAUGH as the Buffalo Soldiers experienced it FRESNO over a hundred years ago, conveying MONTEREY SALINAS 99 a sense of history and place. 68 KINGSBURG The trail approximates historic El North Sequoia Camino Real from San Francisco to THREE RIVERS Gilroy, CA-152 E to Dos Palos, CA-33 VISALIA S to Firebaugh, and rural roads 198 to Madera. At Madera, the route 9th Cavalry Guidon. forked: troops destined for Yosem- rev. 08/15 folder-buffalo-2015_final.indd 1 8/25/2015 10:13:37 AM Buffalo Soldiers The Presidio of San Francisco In the City A soldier’s life often included a dose of San Francisco culture. The Buffalo Soldiers socialized with the small but closely knit African American com- munity. For nightlife, troopers com- monly frequented the dancehalls and saloons along Pacific Avenue, the epi- center of the city’s infamous Barbary Coast. However, even in the popular black nightclubs, Buffalo Soldiers fell under additional scrutiny. Fights were a nightly phenomenon on the Barbary or 218 years, the Presidio served as an Coast, but the reporting of incidents Farmy post under Spanish, Mexican, involving African American soldiers and U.S. rule, during which its grounds tended to stereotype them as armed 1199 were transformed from mostly empty and dangerous. windswept dunes and scrub to a verdant, preeminent military installation. Confrontations Among Soldiers Booker T. Washington & Legacy at the Presidio NEL TUN NEL Conflicts among soldiers were not TUN Life on the Post Theodore Roosevelt Today, the San Francisco National TUN T NEULNNEL uncommon at the time, and racial TUTN UN NENLEL All four Buffalo Soldier regiments tension was a part of the scene. News- In 1903, Buffalo Soldiers figured into Cemetery is the final resting place of passed through the Presidio during papers reported incidents including a the California visits of two promi- 450 Buffalo Soldiers. The headstones SAN FRANCISCO th NATIONAL the Philippine Insurrection. 9 Cav- MAIN POST streetcar brawl and fights that resulted nent Americans. In January, Booker overlooking the Golden Gate are quiet CEMETERY BARRACKS alry troops remained at the post until in police intervention. T. Washington addressed the soldiers reminders of the sacrifices and last- 1904—the first African American units at the Presidio, reminding them that ing contributions made by African to be part of the regular garrison.