Buffalo Soldiers in the West: A Black Soldiers Anthology

Part IV - Community of Soldiers

part IV CommunityofSoldiers Buffalo soldiers in the American West, reared in a segregated society that offered black citizens few of the benefits available to their white counterparts, developed a community of black soldiers. Their duty hours were often tedious and boring; off-duty diversions were primarily limited to their own company. They quickly learned (if such learning were necessary) that for meaningful and enjoyable lives while on military duty they must rely on each other. White and black soldiers seldom mixed, and the segregated society placed considerable obstacles in the paths of black soldiers who joined in any type of activity with whites on or off the base. Segregation led to the adoption of black community strategies and activities that brought support for each other. While the U.S. military offered opportunities not available in Jim Crow-dominated civilian society and most recreational activities took place within the segregated unit, black soldiers did meet with both civilian and military whites for occasional duties, events, and activities. Black soldiers received a double dose of negative responses from the citizenry, first because they were soldiers and second because they were black. Sometimes they could lose their lives. Black soldiers off base who became embroiled in a dispute at a bar or gambling house might well be killed by a white civilian. Suppliers, within and without the military, took advantage of their precarious position: Products sent to the camps for black soldiers might spoil overly soon, and inferior animals and other supplies were issued to the black troops. Yet, the use of black soldiers to prevent violence garnered compliments and favorable opinions from the citizenry who benefited. Numerous examples existed of mutual enjoy- ment; black musical bands impressed and performed for the local citizens , and the bands were invited by them to community gatherings. Athletic events, especially baseball competition, led to mutually agreeable relationships between black soldiers and the larger community. An exceedingly important factor in the ability of buffalo soldiers to lead hospitable communal lives was the geographic location of their camps. The worst place to serve, as noticed by episodes in our chapter on discrimination and violence, was Texas. Texas’ Southern heritage of slavery, racism, and hatred of black soldiers led to many violent confrontations . While the New Mexico frontier experience witnessed confrontations between black soldiers and citizens, there was also mutual engagement and interchange. The New Mexico black soldiers ultimately relocated to Utah, where black soldier and white community relations were quite satisfactory, as Michael J. Clark persuasively points out in “Improbable Ambassadors: Black Soldiers at Fort Douglas, 1896–99.” Fort Douglas was located in an attractive setting near Salt Lake City; the black troops for the most part were welcomed by the white community , and the site already featured a reasonably sized black community. Recreational activities included societies and clubs, athletics, bands, and virtually no black-white conflicts or struggles. At the beginning of the Spanish-American War, the black soldiers of the Twenty-fourth Infantry were among the first groups to be sent to Cuba, where they performed well and were received back with a great welcome in the United States and in Salt Lake City. The war left its imprint on the participants, and the postwar buffalo soldiers seemed more disenchanted with life; disciplinary violations increased. Shortly, the members of the Twentyfourth (1899) were sent to fight in William McKinley’s PhilippineAmerican War. Overall, their favorable experience and behavior at Fort Douglas led them to be called “Improbable Ambassadors.” Black soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, located at Fort Missoula , Montana in the 1890s, discovered one other reason to enjoy their position as black soldiers when they participated in the great bicycle experiment. As Charles M. Dollar showed in “Putting the Army on Wheels: The Story of the Twenty-fifth Infantry Bicycle Corps,” under the leadership of Lieutenant Moss, the army formed the Black Bicycle Corps, an experimental group to ascertain whether the bicycle could be used efficiently to move infantrymen and equipment. Trips generally were marked with hardships; mud, rough roads, wind, and tire blowouts especially frustrated the black bicyclists, but there were good experiences 218 part IV as well. Friendly people greeted them along the way, and when they entered St. Louis a big celebration resulted. The experiment was successful . The use of black soldiers in the bicycle corps illustrated that the military, as opposed to society...