Buffalo Soldiers in the Green Mountain State

By Danielle Harris-Burnett

In 1863 the U.S. Army established the first official all-Black military regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and subsequently formed the 9th and 10th Cavalries in 1868. Due to their role in westward expansion, these cavalries were known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, the 10th Cavalry served in a variety of other conflicts, including the Spanish-American War (1898) and Philippine-American War (1899-1902).

The US military began integrating units starting in 1948. Since then, the Buffalo Soldiers have come to represent the legacy of multiple all-Black regiments. The formal recognition of all-Black regiments created a shift in public consciousness. The Buffalo Soldiers were simultaneously able to generate authority from their job and change public perceptions around race relations. Each of these intersections is key to our understanding of the time the 10th Cavalry spent in Vermont between 1909 and 1913.

The 10th cavalry arrived in Vermont on July 10th, 1909. The Bennington Banner announced their arrival, “Colored Cavalry Arrives at Fort Ethan Allen: Eleven Troops of 10th Regt. Quartered at Post, Anxiety in the Vicinity.” They were the first all-Black regiment posted at Fort Ethan Allen in Winooski, Vermont. The 10th Cavalry’s arrival more than doubled Vermont’s Black population. Many Black Vermonters moved away from the state between 1890 and 1900. But racial tensions in and around the fort received further fuel from sensational journalism in local newspapers around the state, in articles that insisted the 10th cavalry would increase Vermont’s crime rate.

While segregation was never formally adopted in Vermont, white Burlington residents tried to introduce restrictions in the city’s street cars after the 10th Cavalry arrived. Lucius Bigelow, a former journalist, wrote an impassioned letter to the people in the Burlington Free Press in July of 1909 stating, “a northern man, who wants a Jim Crow car in Vermont is either a vulgar brute or a silly snob.” Fortunately, Burlington streetcar companies did not cave to these calls for segregation. While there is an extensive collection of articles documenting the unit’s arrival, each one has a glaring omission. We do not have many surviving records of how members of the 10th Cavalry felt about this day-by-day analysis of their arrival in Vermont.

From 1909 to 1913, the 10th Cavalry became recognizable figures in Vermont public life. They participated in state parades and took part in sporting events with Norwich University and private sports clubs around the state. These events became microcosms for Vermont’s racial inequities in the early 20th century, documented by local reporters. The papers cheered the efforts of Vermont teams when they won but cried foul if the 10th Cavalry beat them. A 1911 article in the Barre Daily Times reported sourly that the soldiers won, “through a fluke,” and mentions a return game at the fort.

Outside of the public’s scope of interest, married members of the 10th Cavalry became homeowners and renters around Winooski and Burlington. In 1910, census records show that only 26% percent of Black Vermonters were women—many of whom moved with their husbands in the 10th Cavalry. During their time in Vermont, the 10th Cavalry and their families were socially isolated. White diners walked out of restaurants in Burlington and Winooski.

In November of 1909, Sam Dobbins became president/bartender for the Hiawatha Club in Winooski, Vermont. The Hiawatha Club functioned as an improvement society for the 10th Cavalry and other Black Vermonters in Winooski. The club became integral to the 10th Cavalry’s community. However, it was short-lived. In February of 1912, the clubhouse burned to the ground. Dobbins and several other inhabitants escaped the fire, along with the cash register. James Polk, a member of the 10th Cavalry, died in the fire. Dobbins did not reestablish Hiawatha after the fire. He went on to serve in World War I, and as a post commander of the American Legion.

A handful of soldiers, such as Dobbins, made Vermont their permanent home. But in 1913, the 10th Cavalry received transfer orders from Forth Ethan Allen to Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The 10th Cavalry had a tremendous impact on Vermont’s racial relations. As the first all-Black regiment stationed at Fort Ethan Allen, the 10th Cavalry’s motions became topics of media interest to Vermonters. In addition, the 10th Cavalry established a close-knit community network of Black Vermonters within Winooski and Burlington. In 2009, members of the Buffalo Soldiers 9th and 10th Cavalry National Association visited Fort Ethan Allen to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 10th Cavalry’s arrival in Vermont. The time that the Buffalo Soldiers spent in the state represents a shift in Vermont’s racial relations. Vermont was not an exception to the bias and tensions that the 10th Cavalry experienced in other states. However, primary sources from 1909-1913 tell us precious little about how the soldiers felt about their time stationed in Vermont.

In our educational programs at the Vermont History Museum, it is the lack of sources surrounding the 10th Cavalry’s time in Vermont that drives our instructional strategy. Over the summer, we completed work on our newest Hands-on History program, The Buffalo Soldiers: Life in the 10th Cavalry. Students rotate between four stations focusing on: Vermont’s population changes, the Cavalry’s role in public life, building community, and the legacy of the 10th today. Students use the resources at each of these stations to answer a core question: How can we use sources to learn about parts of history that are intentionally left out or forgotten?

We wanted to give students the opportunity to explore how important it is to analyze perspective in historic sources. In this program students can explore how the intersections of race, military status, and socioeconomics create a holistic picture of the 10th Cavalry’s time in Vermont. We are excited to include this period of Vermont state history in our Hands-On offerings, and hope students will gain meaningful experience analyzing primary sources on the soldiers.

This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2023 issue of our member magazine, History Connections. To get it and support the Vermont Historical Society, sign up as a member.