1866
The 9th Cavalry, often called Buffalo Soldiers too by many. They fought against the comanche’s, and assisted in guard patrol in Arizona. They were recruited in Louisiana and Kentucky. The 9th Cavalry was organized on September 21, 1866 as part of the regular Army at Greenville, Louisiana. Maj/Gen. Philip Sherdian was authorized to raise a cavalry from within his own command, the Military division of the Gulf, at New Orleans in 1866. Men from the volunteer colored regiments that wished they could enlist in the regular regiments.
- At Ft. Stockton were troops A, B, C, and K
- At Ft. Davis were troops D, E, F, G, H and I
- At Brownsville, Texas were troops L and M
1876
By February there were I2 companies organized with all regiments in Texas by March. They were commanded by Col. Edward Hatch In Greenville, Louisiana. Recruitment took place in New Orleans and enlistments were for 5 years.
1870
A search through the 1870 census of Presidio County, Texas reveals that most of the blacks in the Forts in that area listed their home state as Kentucky or Louisiana, or states that bordered Kentucky or Louisiana.
1880s
The Lincoln County range war of New Mexico - began about 1875 from this range war emerged a young white man who became a fugitive by the name of "Billy the Kid" and some of his fellow workers were black. On the other side of the war was the 9th Cavalry, led by their Commander, Maj. Dudley and a few ex- military who were citizens. The war was later investigated by the Territorial Governor, Lew Wallace, who was also busy with another project, his novel Ben Hur (1880). It is believed that members of this group also were on hand when the Wham Paymaster Robbery took place in Arizona.