News Release

Visiting scholar presenting Buffalo Soldier talk at park

Date: August 3, 2017
Contact: Ben Hayes, 907-983-9206

Skagway – Join Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park on August 11, 2017, from 10:00-11:00 am at the park visitor center for a special guest program on African American Soldiers. 

Dr. John Langellier, author of Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldiers in the Frontier Army, will share a special program on African American Soldiers in the late nineteenth century. The one hour program will begin at 10:00 am in the visitor center theater. 

A segregated Army unit, Company L of the 24th U.S. Infantry regiment, served in Skagway during the end of the Klondike Gold Rush. These men, also known as “Buffalo Soldiers”, fought a war on two fronts: protecting the community of Skagway while facing discrimination from the same people they served. Helping to tell their story is a new, ongoing project at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Visiting scholar John P. Langellier received his BA and MA in history from the University of San Diego, and his PhD from Kansas State University in military history. He is the author of dozens of books and scores of articles related to military history and the American West including four previous titles for Schiffer Publishing. Langellier has served as a consultant to film and television for such shows as the PBS production For Love of Liberty, hosted by Halle Barry. He co-produced two episodes of A&E’s Time Machine series, “The Buffalo Soldiers” and “The Buffalo Soldiers: The Legend Continues.” He is an honorary member of the Ninth and Tenth US Horse Cavalry Association and a Smithsonian Institution fellow.