The Black 10th Cavalry



 
 

Some of the Buffalo Soldiers that were stationed at Fort Assinniboine.
This picture was taken at St. Mary's Montana.



            The need for such a large military post on the northern Montana border was already beginning to diminish even before 1905.  The Spanish-American War of 1898 led to the transfer of most of Fort Assinniboine’s troops, including the Black 10th Cavalry or Buffalo Soldiers.
            The Black 10th Cavalry was well respected by Native Americans as some of the toughest and most experienced Indian fighters in the Army.  Even before the construction of Fort Assinniboine, the Buffalo Soldiers had distinguished themselves in campaigns against the Apache and Comanche Indians in the Southwest.  With the construction of Fort Assinniboine, a contingient of the Black 10th was transfered from the Southwest to Montana.
            While the Black 10th Cavalry may have proved useful in the Southwest they must have found Fort Assinniboine quite a change.  There were no major engagements between the Army and Indians after the construction of the fort and the Black 10th found its role to be primarily that of peace keepers.
            Because Buffalo Soldiers were generally among the very few experienced combat troops in the army, they were a valuable addition to America's fighting forces when in 1898 the United States declared war against Spain.  Black troops were also believed by the army to be immune to tropical diseases such as those expected to be encountered in Cuba and the Philippines.  This however proved not to be the case.

           The Buffalo Soldiers were shipped by rail from Fort Assinniboine to Wisconsin and then to Florida within a matter of days after the declaration of war.  In Florida they were augmented with additional recruits and two cavalry squadrons of approximately 400 men were armed with the new Krag-Joergenson rifles and shipped to Cuba.
            During the Spanish-American War, the now much reduced contingent at Fort Assinniboine was commanded by Col. Guy Vernon Henry.  A graduated of West Point and decorated veteran of the Civil War, Henry had been shot in the face in a battle with Indians at the Battle of the Rose Bud in southern Montana just prior to the defeat of Custer at the Little Big Horn.  He received the Medal of 

Women were a common addition to the issolated post, but Black
women were most likely to be employed as housekeepers or
employed at the fort laundry.
Honor on December 5, 1893 and later rose to the rank of Major General.
            An interesting side note to the arrival of Col. Henry in June 1898, was the command of Fort Assinniboine by Captain William T. Anderson, who took command in April 1898.
              What makes Anderson’s command interesting is the fact that he was a not only a medical doctor and a chaplain, but also Black.  The army did not allow Black officers at that time in American history with one notable exception – chaplains.
            President William McKinley appointed Anderson chaplain of the 10th Cavalry with the rank of captain in 1897.  In April 1898, when the Buffalo Soldiers were shipped out of Fort Assinniboine, Anderson remained behind.  He is believed to be one of the first Black officers to command an American military post.  He rejoined the 10th Calvary in July 1898 after the arrival of Col. Henry.