Fort
Huachuca (wa-choo-ka) is an army post in Southeast Arizona. It is one of the oldest military bases in the
United States. It is a product of the
Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s and was established as Camp Huachuca in 1877. At
that time, it offered protection to settlers travelling through the area or
living in what was then Apache territory.
As part of its long and
proud history, Fort Huachuca has served as one of the homes of “B” Troop, often
referred to as the Buffalo Soldiers,
for many years. The Buffalo Soldiers at one time consisted only of African
Americans. African-Americans
have served and with distinction in all U.S. military engagements. They made
the greatest sacrifices and contributions during the Civil War when more than
180,000 African Americans were in the Union Army. Over 33,000 of these soldiers sacrificed
their lives for their country.
In 1866, Congress established a peacetime
army, reducing the size of armed forces dramatically and abolishing all the
African-American units created during the Civil War. Of the new cavalry
regiments and infantry units established at that time, four of the cavalry and
two of the infantry units consisted of “colored men.” These troops remained in the West until the
Spanish-American War. At that time one if five cavalry soldiers and one
in eight infantry soldiers were black.
They were nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers.
There are different stories regarding the origin of the name, but the
most widely accepted is that the Indians saw a similarity between the black
soldiers’ hair and buffalos. The Buffalo
Soldiers were former slaves, freemen and Black Civil War soldiers, and they
were the first African Americans to serve during peacetime.
The Buffalo Soldiers escorted settlers and
railroad crews and even cattle herds. Throughout the western States, they
conducted campaigns against American Indian tribes. They participated in the Spanish American War, The Philippine Insurrection, The Mexican Expedition, World
War I, World War II, and the Korean Police Action. Their contribution subduing Mexican
revolutionaries, hostile Native
Americans, outlaws, Comancheros, and rustlers was largely unrecognized, but
invaluable. Their adversaries included Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Billy the
Kid, and Pancho Villa.
In addition, the Buffalo Soldiers
explored and mapped vast areas of the southwestern states and strung hundreds
of miles of telegraph lines and much more. Their assignments were considered the
worst the Army had to offer. The Buffalo Soldiers became one of the most
distinguished Army fighting units, in spite of the fact that they faced extreme
by those living in the post-war frontier towns.
Today's
Buffalo Soldiers represent a wide variety of occupations: attorney, doctor,
fireman, computer technician, police officer and more. They are active duty soldiers, retired military
or someone who simply believes it is an honor to be part of this historic
group.
The mission of today’s
Buffalo Soldiers is to promote the heritage and traditions of the U.S. Army in
the Southwest during the period of the Indian Wars and support recruiting,
community relations, and official/ nonofficial ceremonial functions. Through
appearances at social, cultural, and other activities, B Troop advances the
interests of the U.S. Army, military horsemanship of the 1880's, and the
history of Fort Huachuca. They
participate in ceremonies on the 4th of July and in parades. I really enjoy their
Fort Huachuca today is a major military
installation and one of prominence throughout the Southwest. Today it is the home of the U.S. Army
Intelligence Center and the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command
(NETCOM). In 1976 it was declared a
National Landmark.
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