THE SPIRIT OF THE “BUFFALO SOLDIER”

 

By Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Curry (Ret'd)
CurryforAmerica.com 

Writing in the 1800s Poet and Publisher Josiah Gilbert Holland said, “A time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands … men who possess opinions and a will … men who will not lie.” Today we need strong, honest leadership at every level of government. We need a rekindling of the “Buffalo Soldier” spirit.

John Randall represents the type of heroism that was typical of Buffalo Soldier Congressional Medal of Honor winners. In September 1867 Private John Randall of Troop G, 10^th United States Cavalry along with two civilians was attacked by 70 Cheyenne Indian warriors. The two civilians were killed instantly and Randall’s horse was shot out from under him. Private Randall single handedly held off the Cheyenne until help arrived from a nearby military camp. In the process he suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and his body was pierced eleven times by Indian spears.

The Cheyenne returned to their camp and told stories of this new type of American soldier they had encountered, a soldier who “fought like a cornered buffalo, who like a buffalo suffered wound after wound yet did not die, and who like a buffalo had a thick and shaggy mane of hair.” And so the name “Buffalo Soldier” came into being. More important than the name was that Buffalo Soldiers carried within them the unconquerable, indomitable spirit of the buffalo.

During the Civil War nearly two million men served in the Union Army. Most of them were white, but nearly 200,000 were black soldiers who fought so well that when the war was over, the U.S. Congress authorized formation of four black, regular army regiments. They were the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry Regiments and the 24^th and 25^th Infantry Regiments, and were called by the nick name “Buffalo Soldiers.”

From 1866 until the mid-1890s the Buffalo Soldiers fought Cheyenne Indians, Apaches, Sioux and other Indian tribes all along the western frontier. They were also called upon to build roads, string telegraph lines, open the Santa Fe Trail, escort U.S. mail carriers, and bring an end to the Johnson County, Wyoming wars. When the Grand Canyon caught on fire and burned out of control, they were called upon to help put it out.

In 1898 Buffalo Soldiers fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba charging up San Juan Hill under the command of Teddy Roosevelt. They also fought in the Philippine-American War and in the 1916 Mexican Expedition, and were called upon to perform National Park Ranger duty. From 1897 to 1947 a hundred man Buffalo Soldier unit was detailed to West Point to teach the cadets how to ride plus teach them mounted drills and tactics.

Perhaps it was the stories of the spirit of the Buffalo Soldiers that contributed to President Reagan’s declaration that the United States is a “shining city on a hill,” one that other nations would do well to emulate. Many people of the world do recognize America’s exceptionalism and excellence.

This was made clear to me on one of my many tours of duty in Germany. I was stationed in Frankfurt and helped the Europeans establish an international organization. One of the first orders of business at their first convention was to elect officers, and someone from the Netherlands nominated me to be vice president of the new organization. An angry Frenchman stood to his feet and declared that if there was one thing they didn’t need, it was another American meddling in Europe’s affairs.

This caused a bit of a firestorm. A few Europeans agreed with the speaker, but most came to my defense. I let the battle roar along for a few minutes then told them that I had just received orders returning me to the Unite States and couldn’t accept the honor of being their vice president.

At that point a distinguished man, who I later learned was a bishop in the Catholic Church, stood to his feet and said, “Gentlemen, I don’t know why God has blessed the United States so much but he has. If you want a Billy Graham there is only one country that has a Billy Graham. If you want a John F. Kennedy you have to go to the United States. If you want a Martin Luther King, Jr. there is only one country that has one. So I wouldn’t be too quick to criticize the United States lest you be found opposing what God is doing.”  Just then someone suggested that we adjourn for lunch.

Perhaps it was the spirit of the Buffalo Soldier that moved the German Bishop that day, perhaps not. In any event, he along with many other Europeans who attended that meeting openly acknowledged to me later that America is indeed a “Shining City on a Hill.”

This past Memorial Day it was indeed fitting to pay our respects to the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers and to all the other brave men and women who have so valiantly defended America’s freedoms on the field of battle, especially those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor.