Bob Marley first sang about Buffalo Soldiers in 1983, a little less than 120 years after the actual Buffalo Soldiers were formed in the U.S. Army. Marley's song accurately depicts their story as a fight for survival in the prejudiced Army of the time period, but they also fought to survive the harsh conditions of the frontier, conflict with native tribes and Wild West outlaws as they sought to maintain law and order and protect settlers.
The Army units that would come to be known as "Buffalo Soldiers" were created during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. On June 28, 1866, Congress passed a legislation that allowed Black men to enlist in the peacetime army. Officially called "An Act to Increase and Fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States," it created two regiments of all-Black cavalry and four regiments of all-Black infantry, commanded by white officers.
What Is a Buffalo Soldier?
The original Buffalo Soldiers came from these units. The U.S. Army's 9th and 10th Cavalry were the first. Then came the four infantry units. The 38th U.S. (Colored) Infantry Regiment and the 41st U.S. (Colored) Infantry Regiment, were eventually consolidated into the 24th Infantry Regiment. The 39th and 40th (Colored) Infantry Regiments were consolidated into the 25th Infantry Regiment.
