Lt. Henry
Flipper
The Black troops were dubbed
“Buffalo Soldiers” by the
Natives due to their hair (which
looked like buffalo fur) and
fierceness in battle. And fight
they did. (The soldiers took the
nickname as a sign of respect).
the field in pursuit, and ultimately destroying the enemies’ will to
fight. In many of these skirmishes, the soldiers were outnumbered,
but the range of their breechloading .45 Springfield rifles and
carbines was over twice that of their opponents, which caused the
Natives to break off hostilities.
After the region became quiet and post life became routine, the
10th Cavalry was sent to Arizona in 1885 to fight a different Apache
band.
In view of the rigors of campaigning, it’s not surprising that
injuries from combat were only about 5% of the cases recorded by
the post hospital. Between hospital records and disability requests,
an accurate picture can be painted of frontier army life. Horse
kicks, broken bones, rheumatism, bad backs, chest congestion, and
hemorrhoids are the most common. Bad sanitation, a monotonous
diet of beef, bacon, beans, and flour, and uncertain water quality
added constipation, dysentery, and diarrhea to the list. The lack of
fresh vegetables resulted in many cases of scurvy, resulting in one
post surgeon to suggest the development of a post garden as well
as weekly doses of sauerkraut. Then there were the typical preantibiotic/pre-vaccination
diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria,
typhoid, and diphtheria. (There is an especially poignant post
report of a family losing seven children to diphtheria in two weeks).
The enlisted men partied as hard as they fought, and the post
surgeon reports wounds from brass knuckles, stabbings and
gunshots due to off-base activities. Nevertheless, the hospital was
not segregated, and army medical care was considered the national
standard at the time. (The medical instruments on display at the
fort hospital can cause shudders in today’s visitors).
18 Cenizo Summer 2020