Only known female Buffalo Soldier

DEDICATION DATE: JULY 22, 2016

Located at the Richard Allen Cultural Center & Museum

412 Kiowa Street, Leavenworth, KS 66048

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Cathay Williams was the first and only known Female Buffalo Soldier. She was conscripted by the Union Army, in Saint Louis, Missouri, as a cook and laundress. Following the Civil War she returned to the Saint Louis area and enlisted in the United States Army as a man at Jefferson Barracks on November 15, 1866 under the pseudonym William Cathey.  She served for nearly two years in the 38th Infantry, Company A. She was discharged on October 14, 1868 at Fort Bayard, New Mexico Territory when her gender was revealed during a medical examination. Her duty stations included Fort Riley, KS, Fort Hacker, KS., Fort Union, New Mexico Territory, and Fort Cummings, Colorado Territory.
 

After her discharge she had numerous medical issues, married and worked as a cook and laundress and lived in Fort Union, New Mexico Territory, and the following locations in the Colorado Territory-Las Animas County, Publeo, Colorado and Trinicad. To date no verifiable picture of her has been located, nor has the date of her death nor her burial site been determined. 

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This monument was dedicated to General Powell to honor his "service to America" as an American Son, an American Soldier and an American Statesman.

DEDICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 05, 2014

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Nearly 1,000 attendees were present at the dedication ceremony of a bust honoring retired Army General Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and former Secretary of State was dedicated  at Fort Leavenworth Friday, September 5, 2014. 

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General Powell is the originator of the idea for the monument to honor the Buffalo Soldiers, he has been a longtime champion for recognizing the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers at the post, around the country and the world. When he was Secretary of State his official gift was a 9-inch bronze bust of the Horse and Rider Statue.

The 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth under the command of Col. Benjamin H. Grierson in 1967.

DEDICATION DATE: AUGUST 08, 2012

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Colonel Grierson was a Civil War Hero, a music teacher, and the first Commanding Officer of the 10th Cavalry which was formed at Fort Leavenworth in Septrmber 1867. He commanded the 10th Cavalry for nearly 20 years. While others in the army treated the Black soldiers badly, and issued them substandard equipment, clothing and horses, Grierson and his wife frequently petitioned the army for better treatment and equipment. In addition to second hand equipment the Black Soldiers were not allowed to sleep in the buildings and were forced to sleep in tents outdoors during the first winter. The Buffalo Soldier Monuments and the others are located on this historical ground. The soldier was initially scheduled to remain at Fort Leavenworth for two years, but because of the poor treatment, Grierson moved the soldiers out earlier.

1st African-American to graduate from West Point and the first African-American officer assigned to a Buffalo Solider Unit-the 10th Cavalry.

DEDICATION DATE: MARCH 30, 2007

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Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper was the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was born into slavery on March 21, 1856 in Thomasville, Georgia, and died on May 03, 1940 and is buried in his hometown.  He graduated 50th in a class of 76 on June 14,  1877. The environment at West Point was very hostile towards him, and he received the silent treatment from his fellow cadets.  From 1878 to 1880, he served as a second Lieutenant with o the Army’s 10th Cavalry--the Buffalo Soldiers. He was falsely accused of embezzling army funds, but was found innocent. However, he was dishonorably discharged from the Army on June 30, 1882 for "conduct unbecoming and officer."

Following his discharge he was an engineer and spent many years trying to clear his name. At Fort Sill, Oklahoma a water drainage system was developed by Lt Flipper, after a German engineer trained at Heidlberg University had failed. The system is known as "Flipper's Ditch" and it removed stagnant and eliminated the cause of malaria fever.

In 1976 the Department of the Army converted his discharge to "Honorable," and in 1999 President Bill Clinton Pardon his conviction. 

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Lt. Flipper was honored March 30, 2007 at Fort Leavenworth with a bronze bust on a 4-foot limestone marker in a prominent place in the Circle Firsts down from the Buffalo Soldier Horse and Rider statue. Many members of his family attended the ceremony. 

1st Black Paratroopers-Note: SGT Walter Morris, the first Black Paratrooper was at the Dedication.

DEDICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 07, 2006

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The memorial to the 555th Parachute Infantry, the first black Parachute Infantry unit in a then-segregated US Army stands proudly near Smith Lake on board Fort Leavenworth KS. WWII ended before they were deployed overseas. Instead they were sent to the NW US to fight forest fires started by Inceneary devices sent over in air balloons by the Japanese. Thus the nickname--Smoke Jumpers.

1st Black Army 4-star

DEDICATION DATE: MAY 27, 1995

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General Roscoe Robinson Jr., US Army (Ret.) was the first African American to become a four-star general in the United States Army. He was born on October 11, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, and died July 22, 1993. He is buried in the Arlington Cemetery. 

The soldiers who served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments from the American Indian Wars through the 1950s.

DEDICATION DATE: JULY 22, 1992

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The Buffalo Soldier Monument was dedicated July 22, 1992, at Fort Leavenworth. The idea for the monument originated with retired Gen. Colin Powell when he was assigned to Fort Leavenworth in the early 1980s as a brigadier general. He believed something should be done to recognize the contributions and achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers, members of African-American military units.