THE
BUFFALO SOFOLDIERS FORT BAYARD BY BRETT FERNEAU
Mimbres Region Arts Council • Performance Series September thru May • Silver City Blues Festival Memorial Day Weekend • Weekend at the Galleries Columbus Day Weekend • Fiesta de la Olla featuring Juan Quezada - July 1201Pope St. Silver City, NM
The end of the Civil War marked the beginning of a new era in the development of Old West Country. Great cattle drives moved northward from Texas to the railroads and mining activity at Pinos Altos and Santa Rita was on the increase. The U.S. Army ordered the construction of a post near Pinos Altos in order to protect the settlers. Named for Brigadier General George D. Bayard, Fort Bayard was established in 1866 by Company B of the 125th U.S. Colored Infantry. For the following 33 years, soldiers from Fort Bayard pursued hostile Native Americans, Mexican revolutionaries, Anglo outlaws and train robbers, comancheros and rustlers through some of the most arduous and unforgiving terrain on the continent. Hundreds of soldiers stationed at Fort Bayard during those years were African Americans, nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers” by the Cheyenne and Comanche. Commanded by white officers, the otherwise all-black units included the 125th Infantry as well as the distinguished 9th Cavalry Regiment, transferred from Texas in 1875/76. During the years 1868 and ’69, troop strength at Fort Bayard numbered 304 black and 131 white soldiers. In all, over 20 members of the all-black 9th and 10th Cavalries were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Proud of their uniforms and professions, the Buffalo Soldiers fought fierce battles, built outposts and forts, strung hundreds of miles of telegraph lines and explored and mapped huge areas, in addition to growing and raising much of their own food. The Buffalo Soldier Memorial at Fort Bayard was dedicated in their memory in 1992. The Buffalo Soldiers also served at other southwest New Mexico forts.
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