Echoes of the Buffalo Soldiers in Colorado’s Hidden History”

A personal journey through a forgotten chapter of the American West — and why we must reclaim and retell our own stories.

A few years ago, while driving down Highway 160 (on my way to the Great Sand Dunes) near the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I was fortunate enough to discover historical Fort Garland. I had stopped at a local restaurant and was nosy enough to drive around after eating, and I eventually came upon rustic Fort Garland.

Visiting museums of any type is a habit of mine wherever I travel. To my surprise, this museum visit was much more than a way to waste time on my way to another location. Fort Garland was one of the places in which the famed Buffalo Soldiers lived and worked. I was shocked. At that point, I had lived in Colorado for over 25 years. I considered myself well-versed in the state’s history, having even served on the Advisory Board for the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum.

But I must have been listening to loud music, or walking out of rooms or earshot, whenever someone started a conversation about this historically significant museum. It made me feel as if I was suffering from imposter syndrome. But since I am not a history teacher, I quickly overcame that brief mental lapse.

The small and rustic Fort is built of adobe and mud bricks. The Fort was constructed in 1858, as part of America’s extension into the western regions of the continent. After the Civil War, Kit Carson commanded the New Mexico Volunteers at the location. In 1875, African American cavalrymen, famously known as Buffalo Soldiers, served at Fort Garland between 1875 and 1879.

There are more than two stories about why they were called Buffalo Soldiers. The most widely accepted version states that the Cheyenne called them that name because the soldiers' dark, curly hair reminded them of a buffalo's mane. Others suggest it was given to them because of their toughness and tenacity, things they attribute to the buffalo. Two things can be correct. Interestingly, the term “Buffalo Soldier” did not gain popularity until the late 1960s. William H. Leckie’s book, *The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West* (University of Oklahoma Press, 1967), was the first book to use the term in the book’s title.

The first documented Buffalo Soldier print appeared in October 1873 in the Nation Magazine. No military document included the term because it was not an officially designated name. It was slow to come to print, and only fragmented records of it appeared within those museums and parks of military posts. I checked the Google Ngram Viewer, and it hardly appeared at all in the 20th century until Leckie’s book in 1967. What would have happened if Leckie had not written and published his book?

In 1960, the term Buffalo Soldier was first used in John Ford’s Western, Sergeant Rutledge 1960. Interestingly, this movie’s version of how the name came into being is different from the other versions I heard. Check out the clip: Buffalo Soldier Name Origin

After the Civil War, four Black regiments were created: the 9th and 10th Cavalry, along with the 24th and 25th Infantry. Black soldiers served in three locations in Colorado: in the San Luis Valley, Fort Lyon, and Fort Lewis (Near today’s Hesperus/Durango). The primary duties of the black soldiers were to patrol trails and protect settlers, protect mail and surveying parties, enforce federal policies and treaties, and perform road infrastructure work.

The significance of this history, right under our noses, cannot be overstated. This is mainly because of the times in which these soldiers serve, under harsh conditions, and on top of all of that, throw in racism. These men are to be revered in our story of America. There is also controversy. The soldiers were also the left hand of the American government. This is a fact that cannot be overlooked, and it is the part where I question my own values as they relate to the history of this famed group of men. The history of the degradation of Native Americans by the American government was long and brutal. Soldiers used violence in battles against Native Americans who were clinging to a disappearing culture, while being banned from their land. It is not a great look, but controversy is only avoided if you refuse to speak about the things you disagree with. But this is a topic for another time.

The soldiers of the 9th & 10th Cavalry and the 24th & 25th Infantry provided professionalism under the pressure of racism. They protected mail, rail lines, mapped routes, escorted surveyors, and enforced federal policy. All of this helped American expansion in the West. Their combat records indicate that they fought valiantly in the Indian Wars, the Philippine-American War, and battles such as San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill, among others, where they proved themselves to be highly effective and resilient. They served as Park Rangers in Yosemite and Sequoia before the National Park Service existed. Their work and presence challenged negative assumptions, opening the door for later integration into the United States military forces.

My visit to Fort Garland this time was very personal. I brought my daughter and two of my grandsons, ages 8 and 4, along with me. They are too young to truly understand what they will see or hear, but it is never too early to plant the seeds of knowledge and curiosity in children. It was also great timing; A visiting Smithsonian exhibition was in the middle of a two-month-long residency in Fort Garland. The name of the traveling exhibition is “Americans”, and according to the Smithsonian, it’s a thought-provoking exhibition that began a six-year national tour last August. It is based on the major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. “Americans” explores how deeply intertwined American Indians are in the history, popular culture, and identity of the United States. This exhibit alone was worth the visit to Fort Garland. I will cover this further in another article.

The staff at the museum were very friendly and informative. The reception area felt very cozy and doubled as a gift shop, with costly piñon nuts for sale on the counter (I purchased a pound). My advice to people is to research the topics of a museum before visiting. There is so much packed in the relatively small land area that occupies the museum’s various buildings, it would be difficult to get the full scope of the story with little knowledge of the historic contextual significance of those African American soldiers, whose influence and presence in the West, which has not only affected the Negro experience in all major wars since then, the effects of their historic presence in the West is still being felt.

The brochure handed out in the museum’s lobby was folded in half. The front page advertised the visiting art exhibit. Once unfolded, there was information on each of the Fort’s buildings and their usage. Turning to the back page, there is a write-up on the brief history of the Fort. The African American Buffalo Soldiers were only addressed in the last sentence.” “African-American cavalrymen, the famed ‘Buffalo Soldiers’, distinguished themselves at Fort Garland between 1875 and 1879.”

Sometimes soldiers slept two to a bunk.

It was then that I realized one of the reasons few people know of this historic gem is that it is not featured as one of the few forts that housed African American soldiers, as the museum is not advertised that way. The Buffalo Soldiers were just one of many occupants during the fort’s history. There’s more talk of bricks, mud, and flat roofs than there is mention of Buffalo Soldiers. Fort Garland was, by default, a historic place because of its role in the taming of the West. “Yes, Buffalo Soldiers were also at Fort Garland for a small time, four years!” My concentration was on the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. It meant much to me. But others were maybe more concerned that the famous Kit Carson was stationed there with his family, or that in 1861, the Colorado volunteers, who were trained at Fort Garland, fought in the Battle of Glorieta Pass, in Norther New Mexico Territory, and are credited with stopping the South’s effort to stretch the Civil War to the Western region of the Americas.

The history of the place is the history of the place. I am not concerned that the Buffalo Soldier portion of the history is not highlighted at the top. At least it is there. And it is very detailed. I would be more concerned if the history were not there at all, or there but truncated in some way. I do not necessarily depend on the museums or even public schools to be responsible for teaching our children about their own history. Parents must be involved. That is why I brought my grandsons with me in the first place. We must seek out places like Fort Garland ourselves because we have to mine our own history data in the face of the present administration’s backlash against any part of that history that does not paint America as benevolent.