| Army's Monument to the Unsung: Blacks Who Helped Win the West |
| Buffalo Soldiers Monument Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |
In the 1860's it was a swampy meadow where black soldiers
slept because they were barred from the white barracks.
Today bronze statue of a black cavalryman pulling back the
reins of his horse.
The Buffalo Soldier Monument at Fort Leavenworth here
commemorates a chapter of military history that is at once
proud, shameful and unsung: the existence of separate and
unequal all-black regiments in the Army, from the end of
the Civil War to the integration of the armed forces in 1952.
Established by Congress to help patrol the harsh, uncharted
West, the four black regiments, two infantry and two
cavalry, Bravery in Battle
About 12,000 people, many on picnic blankets and in lawn
chairs, listened as a series of speakers acknowledged the
contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers.
Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
explained that generations of blacks served in the United
States military. "Beginning with the Buffalo Soldiers in
1866, African-Americans would henceforth be in uniform,
challenging the conscience of the nation," he said.
slept because they were barred from the white barracks.
Today bronze statue of a black cavalryman pulling back the
reins of his horse.
The Buffalo Soldier Monument at Fort Leavenworth here
commemorates a chapter of military history that is at once
proud, shameful and unsung: the existence of separate and
unequal all-black regiments in the Army, from the end of
the Civil War to the integration of the armed forces in 1952.
Established by Congress to help patrol the harsh, uncharted
West, the four black regiments, two infantry and two
cavalry, Bravery in Battle
About 12,000 people, many on picnic blankets and in lawn
chairs, listened as a series of speakers acknowledged the
contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers.
Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
explained that generations of blacks served in the United
States military. "Beginning with the Buffalo Soldiers in
1866, African-Americans would henceforth be in uniform,
challenging the conscience of the nation," he said.
Comdr. Carlton G. Philpot, a Navy historian who teaches at Fort Leavenworth
for the statue, says the Buffalo Soldiers got that name from the Indians
against whom they often fought.
Though they are hardly to be found in the history textbooks and Wild West
movies that shape Americans' image of the frontier, it was soldiers like those
of the 9th and 10th Cavalries who guarded the wagon trains and helped build
the towns of the West.
"One out of every five soldiers in the West was black," said Commander
Philpot. 'Didn't Know We Existed'
The units fought overseas as well, distinguishing themselves in the
Spanish-American War and in World War II.
In 1983, General Powell, then the deputy commanding general at Fort
Leavenworth, discovered two gravel alleys named for the 9th and 10th
Cavalries. He urged that some better way be found to commemorate them, and
after several false starts, Commander Philpot organized the committee to raise
money to build a monument.
Today's event coincides with a five-day 126th-anniversary celebration that
brings together about 150 surviving Buffalo Soldiers. Hollis Ellis, 85 years old,
of Los Angeles, joined the 10th Cavalry in 1927 and retired in 1948.
"I'm very proud," he said. "This is something that has been overdue for years.
Black kids, white kids, they didn't know we existed."
Andrew Isaacs, 70, of Inglewood, Calif., who served with the 10th Cavalry,
agreed. "We didn't exist in the history books," he said. "I have a grandson
who's going to college, yet he didn't even know about the 10th Cavalry."
The statue was made by a black sculptor, Eddie Dixon, 43, of Lubbock, Tex.,
who spent two and a half years on it.
"This is symbolic of all the unsung heroes out of time," he said.
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