Buffalo Soldiers 1892-1918

The buffalo soldiers' first combat deployment since the end of the Indian Wars followed the outbreak of war between the USA and Spain following an accidental explosion that sank the USS Maine in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. Cuban guerrillas had been in rebellion against their Spanish overlords since 1895, and the American public had become increasingly alarmed by the inhumane methods used by the Spanish government in trying to quell this revolt. Convinced that his warship had been sabotaged, President William McKinley received permission from Congress on April 19 to use the US Army and Navy to force Spain to renounce its sovereignty over Cuba. Commanded by MajGen Willi am Shafter, the US force that prepared to invade Cuba consisted of the 5th Corps, and included all four black Regular regiments. The 9th and 10th Cavalry formed part of the Cavalry Division, under ex-Confederate cavalry leader Gen Joseph Wheeler, USV, while the 24th and 25th Infantry served in the 2nd Division. Twelve African-American Volunteer units also filled out the ranks of the US Army during the Spanish-American War. These included four of the ten "Immune Regiments," whose ranks were filled with those supposed to possess immunity from yellow fever, or likely to be exempt from "diseases incident to tropical climates" - a dangerous fiction.
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