The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Assinniboine

By editor

Havre, Hill County, Montana

In the late nineteenth century, the vast northern plains of what is now Montana bore witness to a complex intersection of cultures and histories, embodied in the presence of the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Assinniboine. These African American troops, organized as part of the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments, were among the earliest professional soldiers charged with enforcing the fragile peace along the shifting frontiers of the American West. Their story is often told in military terms, but to understand their place in the history of this land requires a wider lens -- one that honors the many peoples and forces that shaped this place.

The Buffalo Soldiers were organized in 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in the aftermath of the Civil War. They were among the first peacetime all-black regiments in the U.S. Army, created during a time when the country struggled to reconcile the promises of emancipation with the realities of segregation and discrimination. The name “Buffalo Soldiers” was given by the Cheyenne and other Plains tribes, who observed the soldiers’ fierce courage and dark curly hair and bestowed upon them the name, a symbol of respect rather than derision. The soldiers accepted this name with pride.

By 1892, the 10th Cavalry regiment was transferred from Fort Grant in Arizona to Montana’s Fort Custer. Soon, detachments were stationed at Forts Keogh, Assinniboine, and also at Fort Buford in what is now North Dakota. Fort Assinniboine, situated near the Milk River within the traditional territory of the Nakoda (Assiniboine) and other Plains peoples, became the regimental headquarters in 1896. This location was chosen for its strategic importance in overseeing the northern plains, where tensions between Native nations, settlers, and the U.S. military remained volatile.

Among the officers serving with the 10th Cavalry was Lieutenant John J. Pershing, a man whose military career would rise to international prominence. Pershing was stationed at Fort Assinniboine during this period, learning firsthand the challenges of commanding troops in the rugged and often unforgiving terrain of the northern plains. When war erupted with Spain in 1898, Pershing requested to return from his academic post at West Point to lead his men into battle. The 10th Cavalry fought alongside Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba, a clash that would become emblematic of American military valor. An eyewitness later recalled, “If it had not been for the Negro cavalry the Rough Riders would have been exterminated.” This acknowledgment, though rare in its time, recognized the crucial role these soldiers played in a pivotal moment of American history.

Among the enlisted men at Fort Assinniboine was Horace W. Bivens, a non-commissioned officer renowned for his marksmanship and leadership. Over a military career spanning more than thirty years, Bivens was awarded 32 medals, including the Silver Star for his valor at San Juan Hill. His record remains one of the highest for marksmanship in army history. Bivens’ story illustrates the dedication and skill that characterized many Buffalo Soldiers, who often served as both warriors and peacekeepers in a land that was still contested and unsettled.

The presence of the Buffalo Soldiers in Montana intersected with the histories of the Native peoples who had long inhabited these lands. The Assiniboine, whose name means “Stone Sioux” in the Dakota language, had endured decades of displacement and conflict by the time the 10th Cavalry arrived. The Blackfeet Nation to the west, the Gros Ventre and the Nakoda to the north, and the Crow to the south all navigated shifting relations with the expanding United States. The military forts, including Assinniboine, were symbols of federal authority but also places where Native people encountered new challenges and opportunities.

The Cheyenne naming of the Buffalo Soldiers reflects a complex relationship between Native nations and the black troops. The soldiers were often deployed to enforce policies that restricted Native movement and sovereignty, yet they themselves lived with the burdens of racial prejudice. This shared experience of marginalization forged a complicated kinship. As the Kiowa leader Satanta once remarked about the soldiers in a different context, “They fight like the buffalo, brave and relentless, but they are not our enemies.” This nuanced perspective reminds us that history rarely divides into simple categories of friend and foe.

The military activities of the Buffalo Soldiers in Montana included escorting railroad workers, protecting settlers, and participating in campaigns against Native resistance during the final decades of Indian wars. Their presence at Fort Assinniboine coincided with the aftermath of the Nez Perce War of 1877 and the conclusion of the Great Sioux War that included the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. While the soldiers were not involved in all these battles, their deployment was part of the broader federal effort to impose order on a contested landscape.

The 1897 regimental history of the 10th Cavalry reflected on the role of these men in the western frontier: “The settlement and civilization of the Great West is due to no small degree to the veterans of the Tenth Cavalry. The mountains and plains know the story of his devotion to duty, and his toils. Many a hero sleeps in an unknown grave whose life was offered as a sacrifice to the peace and security now enjoyed throughout our vast domain.” These words, while from a military perspective, acknowledge the sacrifices made by soldiers who served far from the centers of power and recognition.

Yet, it is important to consider the consequences of the military presence for the Indigenous peoples of the region. The forts and patrols established by the U.S. Army, including the Buffalo Soldiers, helped enforce policies that confined Native nations to reservations and limited their traditional ways of life. The Milk River and its surrounding valleys, once rich hunting and gathering grounds for the Assiniboine and Nakoda, became sites of enforced settlement and resource extraction. The Buffalo Soldiers, though themselves marginalized, were agents of this profound transformation.

Today, the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Assinniboine invites reflection on the intertwined histories of race, military service, and Native sovereignty in Montana. Their story is not only one of military achievement but also of the complexities of identity and power on the northern plains. As a Dakota man who has walked these lands and known their histories, I recognize the layered truths in this shared past.

In remembering the Buffalo Soldiers, we honor men who bore the weight of both racial prejudice and frontier duty. They served in a region shaped by Nakoda, Gros Ventre, Blackfeet, and other nations whose voices remain vital. The earth beneath Fort Assinniboine carries the memories of many, and it is through careful listening that those memories might find their proper place.

See also

• The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Assinniboine at Havre, Hill County
• Fort Assinniboine at Havre, Hill County
• Bear Paw Battlefield at Chinook,