Captain Merrel Moody instructs Privates Enichel Kennedy, Oscar Davis, B. D. Kroninger and Will Johnson of Infantry School Stables, on the proper way to clean a saddle at Fort Benning, Georgia. Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the US 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. This nickname was given to the Negro Cavalry by the Native American tribes they fought in the Indian Wars. The term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American regiments formed in 1866: 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, and 25th Infantry Regiment. Although several African American regiments were raised during the Civil War as part of the Union Army, the Buffalo Soldiers were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular US Army. U.S. Army photograph July 25, 1941. |