West Point in Orange County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Buffalo Soldier Monument

Buffalo Soldier Field

— Ninth Cavalry — Tenth Cavalry —

Buffalo Soldier Monument image. Click for full size.

2021 bronze sculpture by Eddie Dixon. Photograph by Frederick Bothwell, March 22, 2022

1. Buffalo Soldier Monument

“We’re depicting a Buffalo Soldier in 1907 when they first arrived here at West Point.” —David Reel, Executive Director, West Point Museum as quoted in a 2021 U.S. Army online article by Jorge Garcia.

Inscription.

Buffalo Soldier Monument. Buffalo Soldier Field. In memory of The Buffalo Soldiers who served with the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments as part of the United States Military Academy Cavalry Detachment at West Point Presented by the Buffalo Soldiers Association of West Point 10 September 2021. , Buffalo Soldier Field , Ninth Cavalry . Tenth Cavalry. , This athletic field is named in honor of the men of the Ninth and Tenth U.S. Cavalry Regiments, detachments of which once served at West Point. These Regiments of Horse Cavalry were first created by the Army Reorganization Act of 1866, and their early service was on the western frontier. They were composed of Black American troops, who were called “Buffalo Soldiers” by their Indian foes, a sobriquet they adopted with pride. , During the Indian Wars of 1867 – 1891 the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries participated in eleven campaigns against hostile Indians, among whom were included Kiowas, Comanches, Utes, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kickapoos, Apaches, and Sioux. They were engaged in over 125 recorded battles and skirmishes, most of them in Texas and New Mexico, but also including actions in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Idaho, Montana, and Mexico. Some were major engagements, but many were detachment actions in which noncommissioned officers held the command, and there were many examples of hardships withstood and heroism displayed. Other duties included guarding the border, apprehending bandits and cattle thieves, and maintaining order in sparsely settled and unruly territory. , In the War with Spain both Regiments were in the Cuban Expedition of 1898. The Tenth made the frontal attack in the opening engagement at Las Guasimas, and both regiments participated in the attack on San Juan Hill, the Tenth extricating the Rough Riders from difficulty and then joining with them in the assault on the blockhouse. Both regiments were also engaged in the Siege of Santiago. , Subsequently the Ninth Cavalry was sent to the Philippines, where it saw action in numerous skirmishes from 1900 to 1902 during the insurrection. The Tenth eventually returned to border duty in the southwest, and accompanied General Pershing on the Punitive Expedition of 1916, being engaged at Agua Caliente, Parral, and Carrizal. , In 1907 a detachment of the Ninth Cavalry was assigned to West Point in support of cadet riding instruction and mounted drill, which was conducted on the ground now occupied by the athletic field and formerly known as the Cavalry Plain. In 1931 it was replaced by the 2nd Squadron of the Tenth Cavalry, which remained at West Point until inactivation in 1946.

In memory of The Buffalo Soldiers who served with the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments as part of the United States Military Academy Cavalry Detachment at West Point Presented by the Buffalo Soldiers Association of West Point 10 September 2021.

Buffalo Soldier Field
Ninth Cavalry • Tenth Cavalry
This athletic field is named in honor of the men of the Ninth and Tenth U.S. Cavalry Regiments, detachments of which once served at West Point. These Regiments of Horse Cavalry were first created by the Army Reorganization Act of 1866, and their early service was on the western frontier. They were composed of Black American troops, who were called “Buffalo Soldiers” by their Indian foes, a sobriquet they adopted with pride.

During the Indian Wars of 1867 – 1891 the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries participated in eleven campaigns against hostile Indians, among whom were included Kiowas, Comanches, Utes, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kickapoos, Apaches, and Sioux. They were engaged in over 125 recorded battles and skirmishes, most of them in Texas and New Mexico, but also including actions in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Idaho, Montana, and Mexico. Some were major engagements, but many were detachment actions in which noncommissioned officers held the command, and there were many

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examples of hardships withstood and heroism displayed. Other duties included guarding the border, apprehending bandits and cattle thieves, and maintaining order in sparsely settled and unruly territory.

In the War with Spain both Regiments were in the Cuban Expedition of 1898. The Tenth made the frontal attack in the opening engagement at Las Guasimas, and both regiments participated in the attack on San Juan Hill, the Tenth extricating the Rough Riders from difficulty and then joining with them in the assault on the blockhouse. Both regiments were also engaged in the Siege of Santiago.

Subsequently the Ninth Cavalry was sent to the Philippines, where it saw action in numerous skirmishes from 1900 to 1902 during the insurrection. The Tenth eventually returned to border duty in the southwest, and accompanied General Pershing on the Punitive Expedition of 1916, being engaged at Agua Caliente, Parral, and Carrizal.

In 1907 a detachment of the Ninth Cavalry was assigned to West Point in support of cadet riding instruction and mounted drill, which was conducted on the ground now occupied by the athletic field and formerly known as the Cavalry Plain. In 1931 it was replaced by the 2nd Squadron of the Tenth Cavalry, which remained at West Point until inactivation in 1946.

Erected 2021 by The Buffalo Soldier Association

Buffalo Soldier Monument Inscription image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Frederick Bothwell, April 22, 2022

2. Buffalo Soldier Monument Inscription

This side of the monument faces Buffalo Soldier Field.

of West Point.

Topics. This monument and memorial is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, Spanish-American • Wars, US Indian.

Location. 41° 22.704′ N, 73° 57.795′ W. Marker is in West Point, New York, in Orange County. Memorial is on Swift Road, on the left when traveling south. It is across Swift Road from Building 622. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Highland Falls NY 10928, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Thomas Hall (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); 1st Infantry Regiment (about 500 feet away); The Thayer Gate (about 600 feet away); Buffalo Soldiers (about 700 feet away); All Services Guardian Angel (about 700 feet away); Essayons— “Let Us Try” (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Path to Victory (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lafayette's Tour (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in West Point.

More about this monument. The brass tablet on the base of this monument commemorating the service of the 9th and 10th Cavalry units at West Point was was originally installed on a stone boulder in a relatively obscure location in a grove of trees in the middle of a busy intersection of West Point. It was on the perimeter of the former Cavalry

“Buffalo Soldier Field” Brass Tablet Mounted on the Street Side of the Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Frederick Bothwell, April 22, 2022

3. “Buffalo Soldier Field” Brass Tablet Mounted on the Street Side of the Monument

This tablet was initially installed in a relatively obscure location on a boulder in a grove of trees on the far side of this field—the former Cavalry Plain—in the middle of the busy intersection of Mills and Thayer Roads. We have a record of this tablet at its former location here.

Plain (now known as Buffalo Soldier Field), where until the late 1940s all cadets underwent riding instruction, conducted by West Point faculty members and troops of the 9th and 10th Cavalry—Buffalo Soldiers—who were stationed at West Point.

West Point Cadets, alumni and members of the Buffalo Soldier Association, led by a West Point graduate, MG Fred Gorden, raised funds to commission the creation of a large equestrian statue of a Buffalo Soldier to be erected in a prominent location on the open field. The original marker was remounted on the base of the statue and rededicated in 2021.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This is the former Buffalo Soldier Field monument at its original location.

Also see . . .
1. Buffalo Soldier Monument and Marker rededication article. A description of the new monument and events leading up to the rededication of the marker and Buffalo Soldier Field at West Point

“We at the West Point Museum worked with the Buffalo Soldiers Association of West Point, and the artist they eventually chose in Eddie Dixon, to make sure that the Buffalo Soldier uniform, the horse saddle and accessories are historically accurate to the period in which we are depicting in the sculpture,” David Reel, the executive director of the West Point Museum,
Photographed By Frederick Bothwell, March 22, 2022

4. Buffalo Soldier Monument
said. “In this case, we’re depicting a Buffalo Soldier in 1907 when they first arrived here at West Point.”

(Submitted on January 10, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas.)

2. 2021 United States Military Academy Buffalo Soldier Monument Dedication Ceremony. 35 minute video of the September 2021 rededication ceremony of the Buffalo Soldier marker on the new Buffalo Soldier monument at West Point (Submitted on June 12, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas.)

Additional keywords. USMA, United States Military Academy

Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 12, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. This page has been viewed 481 times since then and 273 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 12, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. 2. submitted on June 13, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. 3, 4. submitted on June 12, 2022, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.