Fort Concho Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of The Buffalo Soldiers

Fort Concho will be celebrating the Buffalo Soldier army unity for their 150^th anniversary on Thursday, July 28, on the fort's Parade Ground, said a press release today.

According to the release, a special ceremony and talk will be hosted at 6:30 p.m. with Dr. John Langellier, a noted historian from Tucson, Arizona. Langellier will be giving his insight on the history and achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers. The talk will take place at the Commissary Building located at the intersection of Burgess Street and East Avenue C on the fort’s northeast corner.

Members of the fort’s Buffalo Soldiers living history unit, assisted by other living history members, will take down the flag and fire the evening gun; this represents what was done in the fort’s historic days.

The event will include light refreshments and free admission. Dr. Langellier’s book, Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldier in the Frontier Army, features photos from this historic period, and will be on sale during the event.

Congress authorized, on July 28, 1866, six regiments (eventually reduced to four) of black enlisted soldiers from the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry regiments and the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantry regiments.

These men were nicknamed “buffalo soldiers” by their Indian foes who equated their hair style and courage to that of their sacred buffalo; these troops served with distinction across the American west in the late 1800s. Companies of all four regiments served at Fort Concho from 1869-85. The 10th Cavalry had its headquarters at Fort Concho from 1875-82. Over Fort Concho’s 22-year active history, the Buffalo Soldiers represented half of the soldiers stationed at the post.

“This event is a unique opportunity to participate in a celebration of one of our community’s important origins,” Fort Concho Manager Bob Bluthardt said. “Dr. Langellier’s new book well covers this major segment of frontier history, and his talk will be informative and entertaining.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway will attend and make some remarks.

For more information, call 325-481-2646 or visit fortconcho.com.