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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, For more than four decades, African American members |
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of the United States military served bravely and with distinction |
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in the face of racism and neglect while stationed at Fort Brown in |
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Brownsville, on the Texas-Mexico border; and |
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WHEREAS, African Americans were prohibited by law from |
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serving in this nation's armed forces until the second year of the |
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Civil War, when the Militia Act of 1862 allowed them to join the |
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army; this led to the formation of regiments known, in the language |
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of the time, as United States Colored Troops (USCT); by the end of |
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the war, the USCT included more than 123,000 men, approximately 10 |
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percent of the Union army; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1864, a Union force that was 75 percent black took |
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control of Fort Brown, which guarded the U.S. border along the lower |
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Rio Grande; the black troops were ordered to camp on low, swampy |
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land away from the white troops, and they were given inferior |
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uniforms, clothing, equipment, and food; many of them died as a |
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result of their deplorable circumstances, mostly from diseases such |
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as cholera, malaria, and yellow fever; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1866, members of the USCT were allowed to join the |
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regular army, and these "Buffalo Soldiers" continued to serve at |
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Fort Brown until the turn of the century, policing the border, |
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protecting stagecoach routes, and pursuing bandits and Indian |
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raiders; they were also tasked with jobs, such as road building, |
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that were not assigned to white soldiers, and they had to deal with |
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a white population that bitterly resented the presence of black |
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troops in their community; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1899, the black soldiers of the 25th Infantry |
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Regiment displayed exceptional valor at the Battle of San Juan Hill |
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during the Spanish-American War, but when members of the same unit |
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were posted to Fort Brown in 1906, they were met with animosity by |
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the local community; white residents of Brownsville dressed up in |
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blackface and shot up the town, and the black soldiers were blamed; |
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as a result of the infamous "Brownsville Raid," the members of the |
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25th were cashiered, and it wasn't until 1972 that they were |
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posthumously exonerated; in 1909, the national military cemetery at |
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Brownsville was abandoned, and the soldiers who had been interred |
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there, most of whom were black, were reburied in a mass grave in |
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Louisiana; Fort Brown was decommissioned after World War II; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of 42 years, African American troops |
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endured disease, inadequate resources, unhealthy living |
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conditions, and the ferocious hostility of the community they had |
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sworn to defend, and yet despite those hardships, they stood guard |
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along our nation's southern border and served with courage, |
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dedication, and fortitude; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby express its gratitude for the service of the |
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United States Colored Troops and the Buffalo Soldiers who were |
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stationed at Fort Brown from 1864 to 1906 and pay tribute to their |
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determination and resolve. |
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Lucio III |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 835 was adopted by the House on March |
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23, 2017, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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