The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas
1867-1885
"BUFFALO SOLDIERS"
Although the term "Buffalo Soldiers " was first used in the early 1870s in reference to black cavalry troopers, in recent years the term has become synonymous with all troops of African-American descent that served in the frontier Indian Wars Army.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENTS
Following the Civil War, Congress passed legislation to increase the size of the Regular Army. The Act of Congress, dated July 28, 1866, raised the number of cavalry regiments from six to ten and the number of infantry regiments from nineteen to forty-five. The legislation stipulated that of the new regiments created, two cavalry and four infantry "shall be composed of colored men." In compliance with the new law, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments and the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first U. S. Infantry Regiments were organized. They were composed of white officers with black enlisted men. In November of 1869, the army reduced the number of infantry regiments from forth-five to twenty-five, and in so doing, combined regiments. The Thirty-eighth and Forty-first regiments were combined to form the new Twenty-fourth U. S. Infantry, while the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth were organized into the new Twenty-fifth U. S. Infantry. From 1867 until 1885 units of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments, and the Forty-first, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry Regiments, served at Fort Davis.
AT FORT DAVIS
On July 1, 1867, companies C, F, H, and I, of the Ninth U. S. Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Wesley Merritt, officially reoccupied the post at Fort Davis, Texas, that had been abandoned by federal troops since 1861. Merritt and the Ninth Cavalry had a sizable job ahead of them. In addition to helping to construct a new post, they had the Apaches and Comanches with whom to contend. A major responsibility was to protect travelers and the mail on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. In so doing, the army stationed small detachments of men at a number of stage stations,and sent other troops out on scouts and patrols.
In 1869, Colonel Edward Hatch replaced Merritt as commander of Fort Davis. During his brief stay, Hatch ordered three separate expeditions against the Mescalero Apaches into the Guadalupe Mountains. All three expeditions involved Ninth Cavalry troopers. In 1871, Lieutenant Colonel William "Pecos Bill" Shafter led troops of the Ninth Cavalry on an expedition to a previously unscouted region of the southern Staked Plains. Although Shafter failed to encounter any Apaches, he and the men of the Ninth proved that troops could survive in an area almost void of surface water. In September, 1875, the Ninth U. S. Cavalry was transferred to New Mexico. The regiment had spent eight years in Texas at Fort Davis and other frontier posts.
THE FORTY-FIRST INFANTRY BECOMES PART OF THE TWENTY- FOURTH
Companies B and E of the Forty-first U. S. Infantry arrived at Fort Davis in the spring of 1868. For the next year-and-one-half, they were involved in regular garrison duties and scouting and patrolling with the Ninth Cavalry. In November of 1869, when theU.S. Army reduced and consolidated infantry regiments, Company E became part of the new Twenty-fourth U. S. Infantry and remained at Fort Davis. Units of the Twenty-fourth served at Fort Davis from 1869 to 1872 and again in 1880. The men were involved in all the usual, tedious, routine duties and fatigue details in garrison. In addition, like all soldiers stationed at Fort Davis, they provided an invaluable service by scouting, guarding water holes, and escorting government wagon trains, survey parties and freight and mail coaches. The Twenty-fourth Infantry played a significant role in the Victorio Campaign and specifically in the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY
The Twenty-fifth U. S. Infantry, like the Twenty-fourth Infantry, was formed during the army’s reduction-in-force of 1869. In July, 1870, Companies A and G of the Twenty-fifth arrived at Fort Davis. From that summer until the spring of 1880, various companies of the Twenty-fifth served at the post. In their ten-year stay at Fort Davis, these infantrymen had numerous accomplishments. Company E, under the command of Captain David Schooley, was responsible for the construction of new roads through Wild Rose Pass and Musquiz Canyon. In December, 1876, a large contingent of the regiment was ordered to "Presidio del Norte, Texas [present-day Presidio] for the purpose of protecting American citizens from aggression by Mexican marauders and bandits." Many of the troops remained in Presidio for more than two months before peace was finally restored to the town.
Perhaps the most important field work for the Twenty-fifth Infatry was completed by the men of Company I under the command of Second Lieutenant George Andrews. They constructed 91 ˝ miles of telegraph line west from Fort Davis to Eagle Spring, located at Sierra Blanca. The line, in conjunction with another to Fort Davis from Fort Concho, was the vital link used by Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson, Tenth U. S. Cavalry, and his command during the subsequent Victorio Campaign.
THE TENTH CAVALRY
In May of 1875, the regimental headquarters of the Tenth U. S. Cavalry moved from Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory to Fort Concho, Texas, with Company H ordered to Fort Davis. From 1875 to 1885, units of the Tenth were stationed at Fort Davis, which became headquarters for the regiment in 1882.
The mission of the Tenth Cavalry, like that of the other "Buffalo Soldier" regiments, was to protect the mail and travel routes, control Indian movements, and gain knowledge of the terrain. One highlight in the history of the Tenth occurred in the 1879-1880 campaign against the Apache leader, Victorio, and his followers. The Apaches had escaped from a reservation in New Mexico and were raiding in areas of western Texas. Learning that Victorio was in Mexico, Colonel Grierson attempted to prevent him from reentering Texas and especially from reaching New Mexico where he had supporters.
The campaign called for the biggest military concentration ever assembled in the Trans-Pecos area. Six troops of the Tenth Cavalry and Company H of the Twenty-fourth Infantry were assigned to patrol the area from the Van Horn Mountains, west to the Quitman Mountains, and north to the Sierra Diablos and Delaware Mountains. Major confrontations occurred at Tinaja del las Palmas (a waterhole south of Sierra Blanca) and at Rattlesnake Springs (north of Van Horn). These two engagements halted Victorio and forced him to retreat to Mexico where he was killed by Mexican troops in October 1880.
A REMARKABLE LEGACY
In the history of Fort Davis, enlisted men of African-American heritage, or "Buffalo Soldiers" as they were called, amassed a notable record of accomplishments. They arrived at the post in 1867 when western Texas was still open to attack by raiding Apaches and Comanches. By the time they left in 1885, peaceful travel and settlement prevailed in much of the region.
