In the decades following the Civil War, scores of African Americans
served in the U.S. Army in the West. The Plains Indians dubbed them
buffalo soldiers, and their record in the infantry and cavalry, a record
full of dignity and pride, provides one of the most fascinating chapters
in the history of the era.
This anthology focuses on the careers and accomplishments of
black soldiers, the lives they developed for themselves, their
relationships to their officers (most of whom were white), their
specialized roles (such as that of the Black Seminoles), and the
discrimination they faced from the very whites they were trying to
protect. In short, this volume offers important insights into the social,
cultural, and communal lives of the buffalo soldiers.
The selections are written by prominent scholars who have delved
into the history of black soldiers in the West. Previously published in
scattered journals, the articles are gathered here for the first time in a
single volume, providing a rich and accessible resource for students,
scholars, and interested general readers. Additionally, the readings in
this volume serve in some ways as commentaries on each other,
offering in this collected format a cumulative mosaic that was only
fragmentary before.
Volume editors Glasrud and Searles provide introductions to the
volume and to each of its four parts, surveying recent scholarship and
offering an interpretive framework. The bibliography that closes the
book will also commend itself as a valuable tool for further research.
_________________________________________________________
BRUCE A. GLASRUD, a former dean of arts and sciences and
professor of history at Sul Ross State University, now lives in
retirement in Seguin, Texas. He is also an emeritus professor of
California State University, Hayward, where he did extensive study on
the history of African Americans in the West. MICHAEL N. SEARLES
teaches history at Augusta (Georgia) State University. Among other
article-length publications, he contributed a chapter to Black Texas
Cowboys. He has conducted many demonstrations and historic
reenactments on the black cowboy, and as "Cowboy Mike" has
brought Western history to life for students in elementary schools,
middle schools, high schools, and colleges.
What people are saying about this book
" . . . reading this anthology will give readers a strong sense of the
incredible richness of the black military experience in the west
following the Civil War."—Robert Wooster, Texas A&M
University at Corpus Christi
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