African-American History in Wyoming: Military Service

• "9th Cavalry at Suggs from Camp Bettens, June 17, 1892." Sheridan Press, May 27, 1967
• "Band Concert Was A Musical Treat." Cheyenne State Leader April 2, 1912
• “Buffalo Soldiers: A Forgotten Legend.” Denver Post, 27 Feb. 1980.
• Carroll, John M. "The Black Military Experience in the American West."  Liveright; [1st ed.] edition , 1971
• Cashin, Herschle V. "Under Fire with the 10th U.S. Cavalry." Arno Press & The New York Times, 1969
• "Cheyenne Negro will be Lonesome at West Point." Cheyenne State Leader  Jan. 25, 1910 pg. 1
• Coleman, Ronald G. “Buffalo Soldiers: Guardians of Unita Front 1886-1901.” Utah Historic Quarterly, no. No.4, 1979. Fall
• Clark, Michael J. "Improbable Ambassadors: Black Soldiers at Fort Douglas, 1896-1899." Utah Historical Quarterly Vol. 46, No. 3 Summer 1978
• Davis, David B. "World War Two and Memory." The Journal of American History; Vol 77, no. 2, Sep. 1990
• Dobak, William A. & Phillips, Thomas D. "The Black Regulars: 1866-1898." University of Oklahoma: Norman, 2001
• Fletcher, Marvin. "The Black Soldier and Officer in the United State Army." 355.1F614
• Fowler, Arlen L. "The Black Infantry in the West, 1869-1891." University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1967
• Franklin, John H. "Their War and Mine." The Journal Of American History; Vol. 77 no. 2, Sept 1990
• Glass, E.L.N. and Carroll, John M. "The Regular Regiment Series: The Tenth Cavalry 1866-1921." The Old Army Press, 1972.
• Good, Donnie D. "The Buffalo Soldier." American Scene , Thomas Gilcrest Institute of American History and Art, 1970. 
• Kenner, Charles L." Buffalo Soldiers and Officer of the Ninth Calvary 1867-1898: Black and White Together." University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1999.
• Leckie, William H. "The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Calvary in the West." University of Oklahoma Press, 1967.
• Muller, William G. and Carroll, John M. "The Regular Regiments Series: The Twenty-Fourth Infantry Past and Present." The Old Army Press, 1972.
• Murry, Robert A. "The U.S. Army in the Aftermath of the Johnson County Invasion." Annals of Wyoming, Volume 38, No. 1, April 1966, pp. 59-76. 
• "Negro Generals Bear Close Relationship with Cheyenne". Wyoming State Tribune, Dec. 3, 1965 pg. 2
• Rea, Tom. "Buffalo Soldiers in Wyoming and the West." Wyohistory.org, 2015.
• Schubert, Frank N. "The Black Regular Army in Wyoming, 1885-1912." Manuscript-1114 or H94-20.
• Schubert, Frank N. "The Fort Robinson Y.M.C.A.  1902-1907: A Social Organization in a Black Regiment." Nebraska History Vol. 55 no. 2 Summer 1974
• Schubert, Frank N. "The Suggs Affray—The Black Cavalry in the Johnson County War." The Western Historic Quarterly,  Vol. 5/1
• "The Court Martial of LT. Henry O. Flipper—An Example of Black White Relationships in the Army, 1881." The American West Vol 9, No. 1 January , 1972
• "The Tenth United States Cavalry Regiment, 1866-1869." The Guidon Vol. 4 No. 3 July-September, 1970
• "Warren Air Force Base Rich in Black Heritage." Cheyenne Eagle July 23, 1978

On July 28, 1866 six all-Black Army units were created including the 9th and 10th cavalry units and the 38th and 41st infantry units. In 1869 due to a reduction the 38th and 41st infantry were combined to form the 24th US Infantry Regiment. These units were stationed at Fort D.A. Russell between 1887 and 1916. According to legend, the Native Americans who fought these Black soldiers gave these units the nickname. There are various stories of how the name came about. One story is the men's curly black hair gave the tribes that encountered them the impression of buffalo fur. Another story is the regiments tireless and fierce march across the prairie was reminiscent of the vast herds of buffalo. Another story is in the winter the men in the regiments were known to wear buffalo hide coats. These regiments fought the Apache, the Cheyenne, Comanche, and the Ute in the Indian Wars, and gained the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers." The 10th cavalry is the unit most associated with the name, but all of the Black regiments who fought the tribes were called by that name.  

These Black soldiers fought honorably for their country, despite being stationed at the worst locations and being given secondhand discards of horses and equipment from white regiments. The 9th cavalry participated in keeping the peace after the Johnson County War and the Railroad disputes in the 1890s.

Additional Resources:

• Contemporary newspaper accounts may be found at wyomingnewspapers.org
• "9th Cavalry History." 1st Cavalry Division Association. https://1cda.org/history/history-9cav/
• “Buffalo Soldiers.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, 18 Apr.  2019. 
• Schubert, Frank. "10th Cavalry Regiment (1866-1944). BlackPast, 10 Apr. 2011. 

Vernon J. Baker was one of seven African-American soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War II. He was born in 1919 and orphaned when he was four years old. He and his sisters went to live with their grandparents and grew up in Cheyenne. 

In 1997 he finally received his Medal of Honor after being unjustly denied it. Vernon was one of seven African-Americans who were delayed in getting their Medal of Honors for 50 years. Baker was the only recipient still alive to personally accept the military's highest honor from President Bill Clinton. 

Vernon J. Baker died on July 13, 2010.

Medal of Honor Citation for First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker:

"For Extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel, and equipment during his company's attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following night, Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy minefields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest's traditions of the Armed Forces."

Additional Resources:

• "Medal of Honor Recipient Vernon Baker: "Set the Example." The National WWII Museum New Orleans, 2020.