Buffalo Soldiers

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, with sales of more than 75,000 copies, The Buffalo Soldiers has become a classic. Now, in a newly revised edition, the authors have expanded the original research to explore more deeply the lives of buffalo soldiers in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments. Written in accessible prose that includes a synthesis of recent scholarship, this edition delves further into the life of an African American soldier in the nineteenth century. It also explores the experiences of soldiers’ families at frontier posts. In a new epilogue, the authors summarize developments in the lives of buffalo soldiers after the Indian Wars and discuss contemporary efforts to memorialize them in film, art, and architecture.

Set in West Germany in 1989 before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Buffalo Soldiers follows the misadventures of specialist Ray Elwood (Joaquin Pheonix), scammer, con-artist and US Army Base Battalion clerk. Elwood runs a blackmarket operation behind the back of Supply and Logistics Commander Lieutenant Colonel Wallace Berman (Ed Harris), that is until the military brass send in battle-hardened Commanding Sgt. Robert Lee (Scott Glenn) to close down Elwood's illicit operation. Things become still more complex when Elwood learns that his new love Robyn (Anna Paquin) is Sgt. Lee's daughter. The novel deals with the issues of warfare when there is no war and peacetime casualties. In the tradition of MASH it is funny and dark, exciting and thrilling. 'This book may well find a place on the shelf with Joseph Heller's Catch-22... It takes a fine novelist to tell such a sordid story so beautifully - and a brave one to hold out no hope for redemption but the jolting effect of a cold-eyed look at the truth' New York Times Book Review

At the end of the American Civil War, Charley - a young African-American slave - is ostensibly freed. But then her adopted mother is raped and lynched at the hands of a mob and Charley is left alone. In a terrifyingly lawless land, where the colour of a person's skin can bring violent death, Charley disguises herself as a man and joins the army. Soon, she's sent to the prairies to fight a whole new war against the 'savage Indians'. Trapped in a world of injustice and inequality, it's only when Charley is posted to Apache territory that she begins to learn what it is to be truly free.

Many used to believe that non-white people weren't smart enough to be soldiers. Others thought women weren't tough enough to fly planes. But those people were wrong. Learn how African Americans, American Indians, and other groups bravely fought for their country. And they did it when no one believed they could. Book jacket.

An account of the exploits of the African Americans known as Buffalo Soldiers, focusing on their part in the conflict between the Indians and the settlers.

As peacekeepers on American soil and as soldiers fighting the Spanish-American War, the Buffalo Soldiers saved lives and gave their own to help the United States grow. Find out what roles they played, and how, as soldiers, they took a major step toward desegregating the military and in gaining civil rights for future generations.

Read about the lives and experiences of the Buffalo Soldiers.

"Discusses the heroic actions and experiences of the Buffalo Soldiers and the impact they made during times of war or conflict"--