State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Forty-eighth Legislature
First Regular Session
2007
HOUSE
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2047
A CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
DESIGNATING
2007 AS THE YEAR OF THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS.
Whereas, after the Civil War, the United States faced
the need for a larger “peacetime military” to occupy the South and protect settlers on the western frontier. In the summer of 1866, the United States Congress passed legislation establishing
a peacetime military; and
Whereas, before the legislation was passed, a hotly debated issue concerned the inclusion of African-Americans in the
regular Army. Some politicians made the then radical suggestion that the Army
fully integrate African-Americans into its ranks. Other politicians wanted the
army to remain white-only. They eventually agreed to maintain the status quo
and continue placing African-American recruits in segregated units. A provision
of the 1866 legislation created six regiments of African-American troops, four infantry and two cavalry, of approximately
one thousand men each; and
Whereas, in August 1866, the 9th and 10th cavalries were organized. The
9th cavalry was in Greensville, Louisiana, with most of
the original recruits from near New Orleans and Louisville. The 10th cavalry was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Many of the recruits in both units were freed slaves from the north. The primary mission assigned to these African-American troops was to combat the Native American tribes
caught in the westward expansion of the United states and to escorts the tribes to the reservations; and
Whereas the nickname “Buffalo Soldier” was bestowed on the troops by the Native Americans as an attestation
to their valor in battle. The buffalo was a sacred animal to the Native Americans,
and they would not bestow its name on the soldiers unless they were worthy adversaries, fighting ferociously to the end and
living up to their motto “Ready and Forward.” The proud acceptance
of the name “Buffalo Soldier” by the African-American soldiers was a badge of honor and pride for the troops;
and
Whereas, the buffalo soldiers were sent to the great Plains along the Rio Grande, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Colorado
and into the Dakotas. The duties of the 9th and 10th U.S.
cavalries included guarding the mail and escorting and guarding stagecoaches, cattle drives, railroad crews and surveyors. They built roads and telegraph lines, mapped and explored, including mapping vast
territories in Arizona and New Mexico
marking water holes. They played a major part in building the west and making
it safe for the westward expansion; and
Whereas in July 1885, the 10th Cavalry moved west into Arizona. After arriving troops of the regiment were dispersed through the area to cover as
much territory as possible. These troops were stationed at Whipple Barracks,
Fort Grant, Fort
Thomas and Fort Apache,
and
Where in 1913, the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers were sent to Fort Huachuca
and remained there for almost twenty years. They joined General John J. Pershing
in the 1916 expedition into Mexico and during World War I, they were assigned the mission of guarding the United States-Mexico
border; and
Whereas, Second Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, a member of the 10th Cavalry, was the first African –American graduate
of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, Class of 1877. Lieutenant
Flipper excelled in Engineering, Law, French and Spanish. After dismissal from
the Army, Henry O. Flipper went on to attain recognition and respect as a surveyor and in 1890, he opened his own civil mining
engineering office in Nogales, Arizona. Joseph S. Flipper II, the grand-nephew of Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, has lived in Phoenix
since 1945. He has had a long and distinguished teaching career and is an active
member of the Greater Southern Arizona Area Chapter of the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Association; and
Whereas, on July 5, 1992, General Colin Powell, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dedicated the Buffalo Soldier
Monument at Fort Leavenworth Kansa, the birthplace of one of the regiments. The
monument stands as a well-deserved tribute to the soldiers for their continued excellence and contributions to this state
and nation over the years. Despite prejudice in and out of the military and being
allocated the worst horses, clothing and equipment, these outstanding individuals earned more Congressional Medal of Honor
and had the lowest desertion rate of any unit in the Army.
Therefore
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives
of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring:
1. That the Legislature recognize the State of Arizona
as one of the Frontier Homes of the Buffalo Soldier.
2. That the Legislature recognize the contributions made by the Buffalo
Soldiers to this country and state.
3. That the Legislature designates 2007 as “The year of the Buffalo
Soldier.”
4. That the Secretary of the state of Arizona transmit copies of this
Resolution to the Greater Southern Arizona Area Chapter of the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Association and to the Arizona Historical
Society.
Adopted
by the Arizona House of Representatives, February
22, 2007, the Senate concurring.
________________(signed)__________________
Speaker, House of Representatives
________________(signed)_________________
Chief Clerk, House of Representatives
Timothy
S. Bee_______
President of the Senate
Chaimin Billington____
Secretary of the Senate
Janice K. Brewer____
Secretary of State
