Almost 200,000 Black Troops served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. 40,000 passed away. In 1866 peacetime units were formed. Units were segregated and the Buffalo Soldier regiments where all Black regiments. They made up the 9th and 10th calvary regiments and the 24th and 25th infantry regiments. The Buffalo soldiers were given their name by Native Americans who referred to the bravery and their hair. The soldiers themselves also adapted the name. The first units were organized in 1866 and they served through the 90s.
The Buffalo units served in the Indian Wars generally, guarding trails and manning forts. They built roads and guarded the mail. Members of the calvary units trained cadets at West Point in horsemanship. This was because of their skill with horses. They are remembered through Buffalo Soldier Field and a campus monument. Henry O. Flipper is a West Point graduate and the first African American to command Buffalo Soldier, the 10th regiment. Charles Young, another West Point graduate rose to the rank of colonel in the 10th Calvary regiment.
Buffalo Soldiers also served in Cuba during the Spanish American war and climbed San Juan Hill.
