Long before the Tuskegee Airmen made their contributions to the U.S. war effort in World War II, the Buffalo Soldiers helped tame the American West.
Area residents can learn more about this group of African Americans, many of whom were newly freed after the Civil War, during a special presentation by the Alexander/Madison Chapter of KC Buffalo Soldiers at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the West Plains Civic Center theater.
The free presentation, sponsored by Missouri State University-West Plains’s (MSU-WP) University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department, is being offered through the State Historical Society of Missouri Speakers Bureau.
Who they were
The Buffalo Soldiers, as they became known, were members of six all all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments formed following the Civil War to help control Native Americans, capture cattle rustlers and thieves, and protect settlers, stagecoaches, wagon trains and railroad crews on the Great Plains.
Following the Indian Wars and westward expansion, the regiments protected the national parks, fought with Theodore Roosevelt in the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War, and served in World Wars I and II. They were eventually disbanded after President Harry S. Truman eliminated racial segregation in the military through executive order in 1948.
About the presentation
During the Feb. 24 presentation, chapter president and certified oral storyteller John “JR” Bruce, and executive vice president George Pettigrew, and treasurer and certified oral storyteller Donna Madison will tell the tale of two Buffalo Soldiers with ties to Missouri.
The first, Isaac Johnson, was an illiterate hotel worker and former slave from Montgomery, Alabama, who arrived at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis in 1867 and enlisted as a private in the newly formed 38th Colored Infantry. Johnson escorted mail along the Santa Fe Trail and was shot during one of his trips. Pettigrew is Johnson’s great-grandson.
The second, Cathay Williams, is the only woman who served with the Buffalo Soldiers. Born a slave in Independence, Williams’s height and appearance allowed her to enlist in the 38th Infantry as a man known as William Cathay. Madison, daughter of the chapter’s co-founder James Madison, a decorated Buffalo Soldier, will bring Williams’s story to life.
“It’s a privilege to have the Buffalo Soldiers’ story told to us through this fantastic tribute performance,” said U/CP Theater and Events Coordinator Hannah Salvesen. “When I first discovered this performance, I knew we could learn so much and have our hearts touched by the amazing true stories highlighted in this show.”
Learn more
For more information about the Alexander/Madison Chapter of KC Buffalo Soldiers, visit the organization’s website. For more information about the State Historical Society of Missouri, visit SHSMO.org.
For more information about the Feb. 24 event, contact the U/CP office at 417-255-7966 or visit WP.MissouriState.edu/UCP.