Buffalo Soldier #1062

Caption from poster__            Buffalo Soldier     The nickname buffalo soldiers began with the Cheyenne   warriors in 1867. The actual Cheyenne translation was   Wild Buffalo. The nickname was given out of respect  and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. Overtime,  Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African    American soldiers.       Buffalo Soldiers was a name given to two cavalry regiments and two infantry regiments. These United States Army units were made up entirely of African American soldiers. In 1866 two U.S. Army  African American regiments were formed, the 9th and 10th cavalries. Members of these two cavalry units and two all-black infantry  regiments, the 24th and 25th, came to be called Buffalo Soldiers.  By 1867, the first Buffalo Soldier units were sent to the West to  fight Indians and protect settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews. Indians gave the troops the name of Buffalo Soldiers, probably  because their short, dark, curly hair