Buffalo Soldiers, Old Forts and Statesmen...

Interesting term that...Buffalo Soldiers. 

The Indians used it, and it stuck...

Ft. Davis TX is one of the original locations for the Buffalo Soldiers.

The fort was founded in 1854 and named after Jefferson Davis (before the war over state's rights/slavery/northern aggression) and finally closed in 1891. 

It had a mission to protect people traveling the frequently used Austin to El Paso route...over 400 miles long.

The Buffalo Soldiers were both free and freed African Americans and the Army's primary enlisted men stationed at the fort.

They proved themselves - and were therefore held in high regard by both the US Military and the Indians as able bodied fighters and to be respected.

After 1891, the need for Buffalo Soldiers and Fort Davis was past and the fort decommissioned.  It quickly fell into disrepair with much of the fort's original buildings torn down and used to build the local town of Ft Davis.

It was restored and partially rebuilt based on the original starting in 1961 after the fort was selected as a National Monument.

So enough history...what makes it special now???





If you were going to establish a western fort...the scenic location of Ft. Davis would make it one of your first picks.

Stunning rock walls, all part of a box canyon surround 3 sides of the fort, with a south facing opening.  All this is situated in wide open, gently rolling terrain for miles around.

The fort was established to protect the region, rather than a place to find protection behind walls.

Therefore, unlike traditional eastern forts, Ft. Davis had no stockade or thick walls surrounding the fort.  It really was just a collection of buildings built over time including officer's homes, enlisted men's barricks, a hospital, commissary and buildings used for care of the horses and cavalry equipment.

Repesentative displays and narratives have been set up in some of the buildings to show how it actually was in the day.



The below are a few of the officers homes lined up, facing the parade field.  It was said, officers often had their families with them, along with cooks and house servants.  One highlight was the Commanding Officer's home, fully furnished as it was in the 1880's.

The hospital, below had the doctor's office set up, although much of the remaining hospital was only the shell, original walls and descriptive narrative.

Interesting is how the narrative changed my perspective.

Very little "Saturday Mattinee" charging cavalry shoot 'em up activity or wounds occurred. 

There were few big battles, few running gun fights or major campaigns.  

Most of the action in the hospital was dealing with consumption, dysentery, stomach problems, infections, germs and viruses...pretty normal stuff at the time. 

I think it was also the overall setting that was surprising - the western fort tucked into the hills, no fort walls, just wide open...

...and those beautiful rock hills surrounding the fort...

...stacked monoliths 40 and 50 feet tall, standing up on end, defying gravity and defying time...stunningly beautiful, beckoning to be climbed.

In reflecting on it, Ft. Davis reminds me of a time when authority could be trusted, when the purpose of government was to help and was largely comprised of unselfish statesmen rather than self-serving politicians.

When there was respect for the military and unwavering confidence in the Cavalry's last minute - just in time arrival.

And I know it wasn't perfect, conditions were rough, and the Buffalo Soldiers may have been treated harshly...

But I'm enough of a romantic to believe they must have found some meaning from their effort and purpose in what they did.

And perhaps drew some comfort from those beautiful western sunsets or when looking to the creator of those awesome rock hills.




Buffalo Soldiers, old forts and Statesmen,
...only the old forts still exist.




And someday, someone will be offended at the name...and "they" will succeed in rewriting history and Ft. Davis will be renamed...and then, even the old forts will no longer exist...




Sometimes, I wonder if the tough old days may not have been so bad... 




Let the adventure continue...