The Buffalo Soldier

Stories relating to the origin of the legendary name “Buffalo Soldiers” are as varied as there are people to tell them. Presented here are a few of the most accepted ideas regarding the name. Some attribute it to the Indians likening the short curly hair of the black troopers to that of the buffalo. Another possibility for the nickname was the heavy buffalo robes the soldiers wore on winter campaigns. Others say that when the American bison was wounded or cornered, it fought ferociously, displaying uncommon stamina and courage, identical to the black man in battle
Buffalo Soldiers is a nickname originally applied to the members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army by the native Apache Indians, which was formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The term eventually encompassed these units:

U.S. 9th Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment

24th Infantry Regiment

25th Infantry Regiment

Although several African American regiments were raised during the Civil War to fight alongside the Union Army (including the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army

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