The Buffalo Soldiers

Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldiers in the Frontier Army is John Langellier’s magnus opus in words and photographs on the U.S. Army’s 19th-century black soldiers, including Civil War soldier, Sgt. Tom Sharp, Company B, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops Heavy Artillery Regiment. – Courtesy Library of Congress, circa 1863-1865 – — Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldiers in the Frontier Army is John Langellier’s magnus opus in words and photographs on the U.S. Army’s 19th-century black soldiers, including Civil War soldier, Sgt. Tom Sharp, Company B, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops Heavy Artillery Regiment.
– Courtesy Library of Congress, circa 1863-1865 –

John P. Langellier explores the challenges and opportunities provided African-Americans following the Civil War Fighting for Uncle Sam: Buffalo Soldiers in the Frontier Army (Schiffer Military History, $39.99). The value of this excellent book is twofold: its myriad research references, unavailable from any other single source, and its extensive collection of photographic images. The idiom “A picture is worth a thousand words” definitely applies in this instance. While the photos are impressive, they are supported by insightful, historically well-researched prose. Langellier, a collector of Buffalo Soldiers photos and artifacts, has perused private and public archives, university libraries, personal collections, state historical societies, museums, film archives, as well as the Library of Congress to present a broad and expansive view of Buffalo Soldiers in battle, parade formation, sport competitions, musical concerts and studio photographs. The images alone are worth the price of the book, but the purchaser of Fighting for Uncle Sam will receive much more.

—Michael N. Searles, emeritus professor of history at Augusta University