When most military readers think of the Buffalo Soldiers, they think of the Indian Wars, or perhaps the Buffalo Soldiers’ role in Cuba. Brian Shellum’s book, Buffalo Soldiers in Alaska: Company L, Twenty-Fourth Infantry, looks at a story that has largely been forgotten: the role Buffalo Soldiers played in Alaska.
Between the purchase of Russian America, the discovery of gold in Alaska, and the nearby Yukon Territory of Canada, the U.S. Army kept a minimal presence in the district. The native tribes of Alaska did not constitute a great threat and the U.S. Army consisted of only a relatively few regiments spread mostly in the West. The Spanish-American War and the Gold Rush both served to change, if not the size of the Army’s commitment in Alaska, then certainly the nature of its mission.
Within a few short years, the U.S. Army suddenly found itself on duty in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Hawaii, and China. Some of these territories would require garrisons to ensure their status as U.S. territories while the Philippines would see a long-term insurgency. Regular Army troops were suddenly at a premium.
