| |
| |
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, In the latter part of the 19th century, African |
|
|
American army personnel performed heroic service on the Texas |
|
|
frontier, as well as elsewhere in the Southwest and on the Great |
|
|
Plains; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Called Buffalo Soldiers by the Plains Indians, the |
|
|
men belonged to African American units that had been created in the |
|
|
aftermath of the Civil War; in 1866, Congress authorized the |
|
|
establishment of six black regiments, the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry |
|
|
and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st U.S. Infantry; the latter four |
|
|
units were consolidated in 1869 into the 24th and 25th U.S. |
|
|
Infantry; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Cavalry and infantry units of the Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
served in Texas from 1867 to 1885; often stationed at isolated |
|
|
posts, they patrolled the frontier, escorted mail carriers, built |
|
|
roads, and performed a number of other duties; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Buffalo Soldiers also fought with valor in most of |
|
|
the major campaigns of the period, seeing combat against the |
|
|
Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Sioux, and Arapaho; during the |
|
|
Indian Wars, 13 Buffalo Soldiers won the Medal of Honor, the |
|
|
nation's highest military award; five more were accorded that |
|
|
prestigious decoration during the Spanish-American War; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Elements of the Buffalo Soldier regiments also |
|
|
helped to suppress the Philippine Insurrection and took part in |
|
|
General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition; during World War |
|
|
II, the 9th and 10th Cavalry were disbanded and their personnel |
|
|
transferred to other units; the 25th Infantry fought in the Pacific |
|
|
and was deactivated in 1949, while the 24th Infantry fought in the |
|
|
Pacific and the opening stages of the Korean War before being |
|
|
deactivated in 1951; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Notable officers who served with the Buffalo |
|
|
Soldiers included Henry O. Flipper, the first African American to |
|
|
graduate from West Point, as well as Benjamin H. Grierson, Abner |
|
|
Doubleday, William R. Shafter, Joseph A. Mower, and Edward Hatch; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Public interest in the Buffalo Soldiers was |
|
|
rekindled in the 1960s by a John Ford film, Sergeant Rutledge, and |
|
|
by the publication of several scholarly histories; in the 1990s, |
|
|
assisted by the Soldiers in Blue Committee of Abilene, the Texas |
|
|
Parks and Wildlife Department launched a statewide educational |
|
|
program that now works with a network of local Buffalo Soldier |
|
|
reenactment and living history groups; the Texas Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
community program of the TPWD has reached many young people across |
|
|
Texas, introducing them to the story of these African American |
|
|
soldiers and also to the history of Hispanic vaqueros, Native |
|
|
Americans, frontier women, and other cultural groups of that era; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The TPWD has also created the Texas Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
Heritage Trail project, the initial plan for which was conceived by |
|
|
Dr. A. C. Jackson and Gloria Jackson of Abilene, James and Robbyne |
|
|
Fuller of Midland, Eric Strong of Lubbock, and TPWD staff member Ken |
|
|
Pollard; the objective of the project is to promote heritage |
|
|
tourism while encouraging the preservation of significant sites and |
|
|
properties associated with the Buffalo Soldiers and other frontier |
|
|
minorities in Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A number of events related to the Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
are scheduled for each July, which was designated Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
Heritage Month by the 76th Texas Legislature; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Through their bravery and devotion to duty, the |
|
|
Buffalo Soldiers contributed significantly to the development of |
|
|
the Lone Star State and reflected honor on the army of this nation, |
|
|
and their story is indeed deserving of special recognition; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby commemorate the courageous service of the Buffalo Soldiers |
|
|
and encourage all Texans to acquaint themselves with the |
|
|
outstanding history of their regiments. |