U.S. History Is Incomplete Without a Study of the Buffalo Soldiers

As the American Civil War ended, the United States faced the task of rebuilding the war-torn country. Jobs were hard to find, food was scarce and thousands were homeless. People traveled west to start a new life on the frontier. Conflicts between American Indians and ever-increasing numbers of settlers were inevitable. New settlers repeatedly petitioned Congress for an increased military force to protect them from marauding bands of American Indians.