The Buffalo Soldiers were the first professional African American Soldiers, who began serving after the Civil War. Texas Parks and Wildlife is helping preserve their history through a new website, which takes visitors along the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Trail.
Coy Portier, the Buffalo Soldiers program coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife, says Abilene’s trail is one of many that mark the paths the Buffalo Soldiers took across Texas in the 1800s.
"We’re celebrating the important history of the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Trail,” Portier said. “This was a trail that was started in 1995 by Dr. Jackson and his wife Gloria Jackson. This trail started here in Abilene; that trail just shows the path of the Buffalo Soldiers starting in New Orleans down to Indianola and the Brownsville area."
At Saturday’s event, guests toured a Buffalo Soldiers encampment, experienced frontier living demonstrations and heard presentations by Buffalo Soldiers staff.
Calvin Chaney, the president of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club in Dallas, came with the rest of his club to show support for the trail and website. He said he hopes this event brings visibility to the Buffalo Soldiers.
“You know it is important for us as Black military members to acknowledge the history that has gotten us to this point,” Chaney said. “So visibility is primary; when they see us, it raises questions; it encourages them to ask about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and what we are doing to represent them and honor their contributions.”
To see the Buffalo Heritage Trail and learn more about their history, go to TexasTimeTravel.com.
