Britt stood outside and watched the regimental band straggling back to the barracks with their instruments in hand. Troopers of the new black Ninth Cavalry had been dismissed and were housing their guidons in the long leather cases. They walked back to the stables, leading their horses. All bays. Brown shoe polish had been used on those horses with white blazes or socks and so they all looked alike.
The 9th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular U.S. Army set aside for black enlisted men. These were authorized by Congress in the act of July 28, 1866 reorganizing the army for post-Civil War service, mainly against native peoples in the West. Colonel Edward Hatch, an officer with no military experience prior to the Civil War but who distinguished himself as the commander of an Iowa cavalry regiment during the rebellion, was the 9th’s first commander. Initial recruiting efforts centered on New Orleans and vicinity. By February 1867, twelve companies were organized and on their way to Texas.
The regiment participated in numerous frontier campaigns, against the Comanche, the Ute, and most notably the Apache between 1877 and 1881. In the early 1880s it also engaged in efforts to restrain settlers seeking to take up land in Indian Territory before that area was legally open. In the 1870s the regiment was involved in the El Paso Salt War and in the 1890s it participated in efforts to restore order in the wake of the Johnson County, Wyoming Cattle War (1892) and railroad labor disputes (1894). Colonel Hatch remained in command until his death at Fort Robinson, Nebraska in April 1889. Forty-four of its soldiers were killed in action during this period, 28 against the Apaches.
Eleven members of the regiment received the Medal of Honor for actions between 1870 and 1890. Sergeant Emanuel Stance was the first in 1870. He was followed by Sergeant Thomas Boyne, Private John Denny, Corporal Clinton Greaves, Private Henry Johnson, Sergeant George Jordan, Sergeant Thomas Shaw, Sergeant Augustus Walley, Sergeant Moses Williams, Corporal William Wilson, and Sergeant Brent Woods. All of the awards were for bravery in combat against Indians, eight against Apaches.
The term Buffalo Soldier was used by the Native American warriors who fought against the Ninth Cavalry.
