Lt. Henry O. Flipper's Unit moves to Fort Concho in San
Angelo, Texas.
During the winter
of 1879-1880, Lt. Henry O. Flipper's Unit moved to Fort Concho in San Angelo,
Texas. During this time, Lt. Flipper helped connect the military forts in
West Texas by telegraph wire. Depicted here is just one of the many
scouting details on the staked plains to clear the area for the telegraph line.
Light snowfall and freezing wind chills warrant the wear of the buffalo fur
overcoat. Many Buffalo soldier historians believe that the fur coats were
one of the reasons the Native Americans called these enlisted Black men "Buffalo
Soldiers."
Because the
soldiers wore buffalo fur coats, had dark eyes, hair and skin and displayed a
fearless way of fighting when cornered, reminded the Native Americans of his
sacred buffalo. The African Americans on the Great Plaines of the United
States became known as "The Buffalo Soldiers."
