Two areas involving in California were designated as three national parks in 1890: General Grant, Sequoia, and Yosemite. (General Grant National Park has since been absorbed into Kings National Park as of 1940.) The management and protection of these federal lands originally fell under the War Department. The U.S. Army was tasked with overseeing and protecting all national park lands from illegal logging, mining, grazing, and poaching. In addition, they provided improvements to the parks such as cutting roads and trails.
For the early national parks located in California, Yosemite and Sequoia, both situated high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where snow and ice kept most people out for the majority of the year, this was a five-month assignment--from May through November. Deployment orders were issued annually to different Army units stationed in the Presidio in San Francisco or the Presidio in Monterey. These were considered elite assignments and sought after by the commanders of all units.
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| 9th Cavalry assigned to the Presidio in San Francisco |
Buffalo Soldiers came into being after the Civil War. Four all-Black regiments were formed: the 9th Cavalry and 10th Cavalry, and the 24th Infantry and 25th Infantry. Like their White counterparts, they saw a lot of action during the frontier wars era. However, there was still a lot going on in the late 1890s, too: The Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898 and the Philippines Insurrection between 1899 through 1902. When the troops were deployed elsewhere, civilian rangers were hired to look out for the parks. Before and after, though, Army units were assigned.
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| Route from Presidio to either Yosemite (north) or Sequoia (south) |
To reach these national parks required traveling on horseback followed by mules and wagons. The journey took them down historic El Camino Real and across the Diablo Range to the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada. Between Madera and Fresno, they followed the stagecoach routes to reach their assigned park. The soldiers traveled about 280 miles over thirteen days to reach Yosemite National Park and 320 miles over sixteen days to arrive at Sequoia National Park.
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| 24th Infantry patrolling Yosemite NP 1899 |
The first time Buffalo Soldiers were assigned to administer a national park was in the summer of 1899. A detachment of the 24th Infantry Regiment, under the leadership of Lieutenant W.H. McMasters served as the park's guardians.
The Philippines Insurrection kept the Army deployed elsewhere in 1900-1902.
In 1903, a momentous event took place when then-President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite National Park. (For details about the president's visit, please read my post on a different blog HERE.
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| 9th Cavalry Troopers in Yosemite 1903 |
Although Troops I and M of the 9th Cavalry, stationed at the Presidio in Monterey, California, were assigned to Sequoia National Park for the 1903 season, other troops of the 9th Cavalry joined the President's party at the railroad terminus in Raymond to escort them into Yosemite.
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| 9th Cavalry enters Yosemite from the West |
These Buffalo Soldiers stayed with the President throughout the three days of his visit before he continued his journey out of the park. From there, they continued their assignment to administer and protect Yosemite National Park for that year.
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| Capt. Charles Young |
Another momentous event also took place in 1903 involving the 9th Cavalry. Usually, White officers were assigned to head Black military units. However, in 1903, Captain Charles Young, the third Black soldier to graduate from West Point and veteran of the Philippines Insurrection, lead troops I and M from the Presidio in Monterey on May 20, 1903 headed for Sequoia National Park.
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| 1903 9th Cavalry encampment, likely on way to Sequoia (Charles Young photograph) |
As the senior military officer, Capt. (later Colonel) Young holds the distinction of being the first Black acting supervisor of a national park in the United States. Later, a Giant Sequoia was named the Colonel Charles Young Tree in his honor. During that year, Capt. Young and his men completed the first usable wagon road into the Giant Forest, extending roads toward Moro Rock. They also built trails on Mount Whitney in addition to protecting the park from illegal sheep grazing and poachers.
Troop D of the 9th Cavalry were called upon to administer Yosemite National Park in 1904. This popular picture shows the troop posed on the Fallen Monarch, a well-known feature in the park.
Troops A and B of the 9th Cavalry under the command of Captain George F. Hamilton returned to Sequoia National Park in 1904.
Starting in 1905, other units of the U.S. Army were deployed to administer these two parks. This continued until 1914, when troops were withdrawn and the national parks, at that point under the administration of the Department of Interior, were assigned civilian acting park superintendents from that agency until the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.
Ardith Yosemite Bride took place during the era of the Buffalo Soldiers being assigned to Yosemite National Park. This book is currently available for sale as well as at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE
Sources:
https://www.army.mil/article/283724/buffalo_soldiers_the_national_parks_and_the_presidio_of_monterey
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/buffalosoldiers/index.htmhttps://www.yosemite.com/the-buffalo-soldiers-of-yosemite
Buffalo Soldiers Guardians of California National Parks, National Park Service
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