Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West

by William H. Leckie and Shirley A. Leckie

Book Overview

Originally published in 1967, William H. Leckie's The Buffalo Soldiers was the first book of its kind to recognize the importance of African American units in the conquest of the West. Decades later,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806112441
• ISBN13: 9780806112442
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent history !

This is a fascinating history of a neglected subject. The men who served really come to life through their stories - though I found the authors writing a bit choppy and sometimes dry. The subject matter however is very interesting and overcomes any writing deficiences. This is a detailed mostly linear history from the advent of the black regiments throughout their history. I really enjoy that this book is a history not a thinly disguised political work - it's only agenda is history - and an honest one at that. In telling the story of these men from failures to heroism and going to original sources to see their fascinating views of service, white officers and of the native americans - it is a well flushed out history - and brings these men into focus as real men of American history - the good, the bad and the incredibly heroic. An excellent read for those into Western history and the story of these courageous men.

Updates a classic originally published in 1967

The revised edition of THE BUFFALO HUNTERS: A NARRATIVE OF THE BLACK CALVARY IN THE WEST updates a classic originally published in 1967, when it was the first book to recognize the importance of Afro-American units in the opening of the West. This revised edition expands the original research to explore the lives of these soldiers in the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments, using recent scholarship to expand and enhance discoveries and creating an eye-opening title recommended for any college-level or in-depth collection of either military or Afro-American history.

Thrilling Account

This was an absolutely thrilling account of the frontier Army and some of the bravest men to ever put on the uniform.

Two Proud Regiments

This is a first class narrative of two very proud and successful regiments of cavalry. It is obviously well researched. The author nearly goes astray in at least two places by going off on a tangen but recovers quickly and gets back to the point. He certainly likes the word "deprecate" and by the end of book I wished he could have used a thesaurus. Also, he discribes their maneuvers as "marches" where in fact the 9th and 10th must have ridden as they were, after all, mounted soldiers. The biggest fault, in my opinion, is the very ending. What happen to these two regiments? Where they disbanded and if so, what happen to some of the major figures? This interesting story seems to come to an abrupt halt without so much as a wave goodbye.

Excellent narrative of the forgotten west.

William H. Leckie's Buffalo Soldiers proves to be a well written and well researched book on the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments which were stationed mostly in the southwest section of the United States from Texas to Arizona. Both regiments were manned by black soldiers although officered by whites. Long forgotten by history, the book reflects on the valuable services these black soldiers contributed to the creation of our nation in that region. The book, I thought did a great justice in retelling this story that Americans in general have forgotten. The book traces the history of these "buffalo soldiers" (as coined by the Indians for black soldiers' woolly hair) between 1866 to 1891. The book covers all the military activities of these two regiments and provides insights to the campaigns and battles they fought. The book also reflects in part, the near unending forces of prejudice these buffalo soldiers had to put up with from the rest of the army and its civilian overlords. As far as I can see, this remains one of the few books that gives a definitive accounts of the buffalo soldiers during this period. Only real weakness I see in this book was that it didn't give great details into the lives and insights to these black soldiers who fought so well. But the book is still worth reading if not for anything, to see how well men fights, if well led and well trained, against the prejudices of their own nation and against cunning and powerful Indian foes who ironically, was fighting for what these black men were fighting for, respects and equality. I will end this review with an ironic quote from the movie, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, "Men in dirty-shirt blue, only a page in history books to mark their lives. But wherever they rode, whatever they fought for, that place became the United States". Thus lies the legacy of the buffalo soldiers.