Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor, 1870-1898 by Frank N. Schubert

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Synopsis

They were U.S. Army soldiers. Just a few years earlier, some had been slaves. Several thousand African Americans served as soldiers in the Indian Wars and in the Cuban campaign of the Spanish-American War in the latter part of the 19th century. They were known as buffalo soldiers, believed to have been named by Indians who had seen a similarity between the coarse hair and dark skin of the soldiers and the coats of the buffalo. Twenty-three of these men won the nation's highest award for personal bravery, the Medal of Honor. iBlack Valori brings the lives of these soldiers into sharp focus. Their remarkable stories are told in the collected biography. Derived from extensive historical research, iBlack Valori will enrich and inspire readers with its tales of trials and courage.p

Library Journal

Department of Defense historian Schubert (On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier, LJ 11/1/94) offers here accounts of African Americans who won the Congrepssional Medal of Honor during the Indian wars and the Spanish American War. His work contains elements both of collective biography and of unit histories of the various campaigns for which the soldiers were decorated. Although this volume clearly evidences meticulous research, the sources available on the men themselves are too sketchy for satisfying reading. The book is organized by campaign, and the accounts of movements and battles are easier to follow, but even here, the narrative frequently halts to introduce the soldiers and describe the actions that won recognition. The work would have been more helpful had it been issued as a reference title. Nonetheless, given the popularity of the topic and the quality of information contained herein, it may be recommended for all collections.Fritz Buckallew, Univ. of Central Oklahoma Lib., Edmond