Buffalo Soldiers Monument

Story by Rob

Video by Lan

What a beautiful monument by artist Dixon! I had the privilege of being an invited guest at both the groundbreaking and several years later, the dedication. General Colin Powell gets much credit for this monument as he was the ranking officer at both ceremonies...but wait! Want to know who was the driving force behind the Buffalo Soldier Monument? It was a US Navy officer named Commander Carlton Philpot who was serving on the staff of the Command and General Staff College in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Talk about unsung heroes! If Commander Philpot hadn't provided the impetus, the Buffalo Soldier Monument might still have become a reality...but who knows when? 

I'm going to forward Lan a remarkable photograph that the Frontier Army Museum at Fort Leavenworth was kind enough to digitize for me some years back. It depicts a group of soldiers on horseback, with the leader in the center, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Wainright. Wainright was the Master of Foxhounds at Fort Leavenworth from 1929-1931. He has his hounds and staff standing near a tree (that is still there) on Grant Avenue. Now the Army in that day and age much endorsed foxhunting. Because they liked to wear scarlet coats and chase foxes and coyotes with hounds? Partly. But more relevantly to a cavalryman as Wainright was, foxhunting developed cross country-riding skills that highly complemented the horse cavalry mission. And were there other mounted horse cavalrymen in the photo? Of course! None other than members of the illustrious 10th Cavalry Regiment which had arrived on post circa 1930. They were in time to join Wainright on a foxhunt on many foxhunts on the post, and as we used to do, take that ceremonial ride with hounds right through the middle of Fort Leavenworth. 

Fort Leavenworth Fox Hunt Club en-route to the Buffalo Soldiers Monument Wreath Laying Ceremony

Now many of the staff members of the foxhunt in the 1930s were taken from the ranks of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cav... In the picture that will be coming, you will see a large group of mounted 10th Cav troopers on the left...likely a mandatory weekend formation. The "Gee Whiz" factor of it all? The picture is just across Grant Avenue from where the Buffalo Soldier Monument will be constructed some 60 or so years later. I find that neat irony!! Look for it...and more of this in Legends of the Lamp, for we will wrap in Wainright, who was to become a great hero of WWII, the Kansas Jayhawks, and the most famous Army horse of them all, as we continue to make our point that Fort Leavenworth is the neatest 5700 acres in all the US Army!