GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2001

RATIFIED BILL

RESOLUTION 2001-4

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 139

A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE Memory of the BUFFALO SOLDIERS OF THE FRONTIER.

Whereas, more than 180,000 African‑Americans served in the Union Army during the Civil War; and

Whereas, in 1866, Congress enacted legislation that established two cavalry and four infantry regiments whose enlisted members were to be composed of African‑Americans; and

Whereas, the two cavalries and four regiments were later consolidated into the 9^th and 10^th Cavalries; and

Whereas, the 9^th and 10^th Cavalries served in the Native American campaigns in the West, fought in the Spanish American War, saw tours of duty in the Philippine Islands, enforced neutrality laws along the United States' border with Mexico, protected mail and travel routes, erected hundreds of miles of telegraph lines, explored and mapped terrain in the Southwest, built and repaired frontier outposts and roads, protected the crews who built the railroads, and enforced law and order; and

Whereas, these African‑American soldiers were nicknamed "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Comanche because the soldiers' fierce fighting spirit and dogged trail skills reminded the Comanche of the rugged and revered buffalo; and

Whereas, North Carolinians, Sgt. William McBryar of Elizabethtown, Frank Pullen of Enfield, and Wade H. Hammond of Durham, served as Buffalo Soldiers; and

Whereas, Buffalo Soldiers earned 25 Medals of Honor, also referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest distinction a soldier can earn for valor on the battlefield; and

Whereas, during peacetime, from 1920 through 1941, Buffalo Soldiers formed efficient horse and marksmanship units; and

Whereas, as the United States entered World War II, new wartime technology and the gradual desegregation of the military eventually brought an end to the 9^th and 10^th Cavalries; and

Whereas, the United States owes a great debt of gratitude to the bravery and sacrifice of the Buffalo Soldiers; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

SECTION 1.  The General Assembly honors the memory of William McBryar, Frank Pullen, and Wade H. Hammond and wishes to pay tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9^th and 10^th Cavalries who gave their lives while rendering service to our country.

SECTION 2.  The General Assembly encourages the citizens of this State to remember these heroic soldiers for their role in helping to shape our country.

SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6th day of March, 2001.

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                                                                         Beverly E. Perdue

                                                                         President of the Senate

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                                                                         James B. Black

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives