The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Douglas

In 1887, Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry were stationed at Fort Douglas, near Salt Lake City, Utah. They were part of the U.S. Army’s broader efforts to secure western territories during the post-Civil War era. These Black American troops, many of them formerly enslaved, were among the most disciplined units in the frontier army. The performed with distinction and honor. At Fort Douglas, their duties included escorting settlers, protecting stagecoach routes, and maintaining order in a region marked by tensions between Native American nations and expanding white settlements.

Their presence at Fort Douglas reflected both the racial contradictions of the time—Black soldiers enforcing federal policy on lands taken from Indigenous peoples—and their critical role in shaping the early development of the American West. Despite facing racial prejudice from local citizens and within the Army itself, the Buffalo Soldiers earned a reputation for professionalism, endurance, and bravery in some of the harshest conditions in the West.

The Joy Trip Project celebrates American History. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series aims to elevate the untold and often hidden stories of our shared national heritage.

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