Historical Trail Project - May 20th 2010
Join us in commemorating a trail originally trekked by US Army Soldiers who protected our National Parks until 1914. In 1903 Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Calvary lead by Captain Charles Young, were garrisoned at the Presideo in San Francisco. Among other duties, they were stewards of Yosemite and Sequia National Parks. They rested in Los Banos on day 7 of their 16 day journey by horseback from the Presideo to Sequoia.
This Historical Trail Project is currently in the planning stages. The scope of which will be shared in a up coming blog. Overall the this project is an effort to help bring to light the contributions made by Charles Young and that of the Buffalo Soldier.
Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. If you are interested in knowing more or would like to help send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.
History
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Did You Know?
It was not until after the Civil War that African Americans could enlist in the Regular Army.
Photo By David Simms
Our trip to Washington D.C. to testify before the House Subcommittee on National Parks Forests & Public Lands in support of Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s Bill HR 4491 ‘the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act’ last week was amazing!
First of all, the support we got for this trip was humbling! So many of you stepped up to the plate and gave us moral and logistical support. I would like to thank specifically, Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Alan Spears of the National Parks Conservation Association without whom our trip would of been extremely more challenging. Along with Guy Washington and Justine Lai and many others of the National Park Service, David Smith of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and Peter Viola, Legislative Correspondent for Congresswoman Jackie Speier for their moral and logistical support and ALL OF YOU who wrote letters of support for HR 4491 that we took with us.
Those letters will be entered in the permanent Congressional record and I would like to remind all of you that there is still time to send us your letters of support for HR 4491. We need to have them in hand NLT March 6th 2010 so that we can have them in the appropriate hands by March 10th.
I would also like to acknowledge the Buffalo Soldiers themselves, they are the ones we are trying to honor and I hope they approve of our actions. I would like to think that they were behind us, I cannot begin to tell you the miracles that occurred that made this trip a huge success. Time after time, when we thought something was doomed, presto! it fell into place like magic!
The experience itself was educational, exciting and humbling! we were well received by members of Congress and others who went out of their way to thank us for making the trip to D.C. Folks, I have to admit that WE THE PEOPLE do count! The reception we got was proof positive!
Several “pros” told us point blank that we got the “star” treatment from members of Congress. Our Vice President and Public Information Officer Geneva Brett gave an outstanding testimony on our Association’s behalf and Cadet Kevin Craig Jr. stole the show! That young lad is one of the luckiest kids I have ever met! He got to meet Congresswoman Speier and other members of Congress up close and personal and the “Swag” he was given!
Kevin Jr. is the epitome of what we are all about. Our efforts are not done for our personal benefit they are to educate our youth in particular about the role the Buffalo Soldiers had in this great nation and to ensure that their history is not forgotten! We, the Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers Association use the Buffalo Soldiers as TRUE role models that our youth can look up to and as many of you know I am particularly impressed by the third black graduate of West Point, Charles Young.
The experience in the Halls of Congress, our meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Counsel as well as my personal inner experience of standing next to the grave of Colonel Charles Young, will be forever etched in my memory as one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life.
Sample Support Letter
Dear Fellow American,
Rarely in life are we gifted the opportunity to truly make a difference in American History. Even rarer is that all that’s required to do so is the simple writing of a letter that will become a part of the Congressional Record forever. Please, join us in supporting the Buffalo Soldiers Study Act – a precursor to the establishment of a National Historical Trail of the 1903 Route of the 9th Cavalry. The Buffalo Soldiers who, led by then Captain Charles Young protected, developed and tended our National Parks and rested right here in Los Banos.
We’d like your email/letter to be included in the Congressional permanent record. We would like you to write two letters, one to the Chairperson of the hearing Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva and the other to YOUR elected representative. We would like to take your letter with us to Congress, but we would need it in hand by tomorrow 2-23-2010. If you cannot make this deadline, all letters must be in our hands no later than March 6th 2010 in order to be included in the Congressional permanent record.
You can Email, Fax or Snail Mail your letter to us.
Below are some ideas you might include in your letter. These are just suggestions, please write the letter in your own words.
Dear Chairman Grijalva:
I/we support H.R. 4491, the “Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act”, and ask you to do the same. I/we support this Bill because:
____a) it honors American Veterans. This Bill recognizes and acknowledges Veterans of Foreign and Domestic Wars who have been little noted and mostly forgotten in the pages of American history.
____b) it will educate the American public about the important contributions African-Americans made in our National Parks prior to the establishment of the National Parks Service in 1916.
____c) the establishment of a Historical Trail will benefit communities along the route by the creation of historical and cultural tourism. Such tourism will result in increased sales and sales tax dollars benefiting merchants and community services.
____d) it will educate the American public about the history of our National Parks Service by bringing the National Parks out of the Parks and to the public, generating more interest in enjoying “America’s Best Idea”.
____e) it will educate the American public about the segregated army units knows as Buffalo Soldiers and their remarkable, yet mostly unknown, contributions to our nation. The Buffalo Soldiers, who excelled under extreme adversity, will serve as exemplary role models to our youth.
____f) it will bring to light the amazing life and military career of Colonel Charles Young; 3rd Black Grad of West Point, 1stBlack Supr of a Nat’l Park, 1stBlack Military Attaché, highest ranking Black officer from 1894-1922, one of 10 people to date to have a memorial service in the marble Amphitheater at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery, yet he remains relatively unknown outside the National Parks Service and modern day Buffalo Soldier historians.
____g) it’s never too late to recognize people and groups for contributions they have made to society. We cannot change the omissions of history, but together we can write new history honoring the Buffalo Soldiers who were overlooked because of the time in which they served.
As a member of the ____________________(insert name of your group) and/or as an American citizen, the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers is important. This story/their story is too important to be forgotten. Please pass H.R. 4491. On behalf of every Veteran who has ever served, thank you!
Sincerely,
Name
Address (City/state/zip) Phone number and e-mail
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On February 25th 2010, the House Subcommittee on Parks, Forests, and Public Lands will be conducting a legislative hearing on Congresswoman Speir’s proposed bill regarding the National Park Service study on the Buffalo Soldier National Historic Trail.
The Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers Association has been invited to testify on why this bill is benificial and in the best interest of Congress.
This is a direct result of all of YOU supporting this nationally significant cause! This is truly an exciting development! We could not of reached this point without all of you supporting this project.
Are we a step away from getting Charles Young promoted to Brigader- General as well?
With your help, “we can, we will”.
Thank you for your continued support!
If you listen very carefully you might be able to hear ” thank you” whispered from across the ages from some Veterans of Foreign Wars called Buffalo Soldiers. No Veteran should be slighted or forgotten; every Veteran signed a blank check to the USA …. to do whatever, whenever, wherever duty called. It is time these Veterans are not only remembered, but also honored for their service, valor and excellence under extreme adversity.
Our sincerest thanks and appreciation to Congresswoman Speier and the co-sponsors.
January 21, 2010 Press Release …..
Speier bill honors Buffalo Soldiers’ historic Presidio-Yosemite trek
Today, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (San Francisco/San Mateo County) introduced the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act along with Reps William “Lacy” Clay (MO), Barbara Lee (CA), John L. Lewis (GA) and 47 other original co-sponsors. The bill authorizes the National Park Service to study the role the African American regiments played in establishing the National Park System and to honor their historic contribution to the nation.
The Buffalo Soldiers were garrisoned at the San Francisco Presidio toward the end of the 19th Century and dawn of the 20th. Many came to San Francisco after successful campaigns in the Philippine Insurrection and the Spanish American War (where they gained legendary status as fearless fighters alongside Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders”). Among the duties assigned to the Buffalo Soldiers was patrolling the newly-preserved Yosemite and Sequoia parks prior to the establishment of the National Park System.
To get to the parks, the soldiers left the Presidio in May and headed south along El Camino Real through San Mateo County. It was a thirteen day trip covering 280 miles from San Francisco to Yosemite. The trek to Sequoia spanned 320 miles and took 16 days. Later, regiments disembarked from Monterey, shortening the journey somewhat.
“I lived my entire life within walking distance of El Camino Real and never knew this chapter in our local history,” Congresswoman Speier said.
“This bill directs the National Park Service to study and disseminate the role of Buffalo Soldiers in the foundation of the National Park System. Locally, my hope is that this remarkable story is incorporated into lesson plans for children learning about our region. We all learned in history class about the Spanish missionaries, the 49ers and the railroad barons. In more recent years, educators have stressed the history of local Native American tribes who made their home along what would later be known as San Francisco Bay. The story of the Buffalo Soldiers should be added to that history.”
WHY THEY’RE CALLED BUFFALO SOLDIERS
According to legend, Native Americans nicknamed the troops “Buffalo Soldiers” in reaction to their dark skin and curly hair. Since the buffalo was highly-esteemed in Native American cultures for its bravery and fierce fighting spirit, the troops accepted the title as a badge of honor.
The Buffalo Soldiers’ story has most recently been memorialized in Ken Burns’ documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/watch-video/#858.
You can stay up to date with all of the sponsors and the movement of the bill at www.thomas.gov – in the next few hours, the bill should be listed (HR 4491).
Please email or phone your Congressional Representative and urge them to vote YES to honoring these little noted and mostly forgotten American Veterans. If you don’t know your Congressional Representative, you can find your Representataive based on your zip code. You can also write your Representative.
There is no sense in complaining about what folks did or didn’t do yesterday … YOU must act today to make a difference! Please, and thank you!
It was to our delight to welcome Bob Burton and Houston Wedlock (Vision Quest)and dine with them at Woolgrowers in Los Banos as we discuss the Historical Trail Project. I was ecstatic about so much knowledge that I didn’t know about the Buffalo Soldiers history. Who knew the Buffalo Soldiers were abroad in so many international areas such as China, Haiti, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico & the Philippines? Did you also know their trade mark name was Wild Buffalos before they were called Buffalo Soldiers…(WOW!!!) we learn something new everyday.
Any amount is appreciated. Consider donating $13, a monthly salary of a Buffalo Soldier!
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