Donnie W. Brown Chapter 9th & 10th (Horse) Cavalry Association
The El Paso based Chapter of the Ninth and Tenth (Horse) Cavalry Association is named in honor of Trooper Donnie W. Brown who served with the 10th Cavalry from 1922-1925. Trooper Donnie W. Brown was transferred to Fiddler's Green in 1995.
The Donnie W. Brown Chapter was chartered in July, 1996. Trooper Estine Davis is the current President of the Chapter.
Fort Davis, Texas
The Ninth Cavalry initially saw action in Texas with Companies C, F, H and I reoccupying the abandoned Fort Davis on June 29, 1867, The first home of the Tenth Cavalry was Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After seeing duty in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, the regiment came to Texas in 1875. Black troops, including elements of the 24th & 25th Infantry Divison served at Fort Davis from 1867 to 1885, having a significant impact on Texas history.
Ninth Cavalry on Parade Field at Fort Davis - 1875
Troopers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry served with honor and distinction in the protection of settlers and stage coaches, stringing of telegraph lines and the mapping and exploration of Texas. The map above shows the many Forts in Texas where Buffalo Soldiers served. Note the heavy concentration of U.S. Army forts along the Rio Grande River.
FLIPPER, HENRY OSSIAN (1856-1940). Henry Ossian Flipper, engineer, the first black graduate of West Point, the eldest of five sons of Festus and Isabella Flipper, was born a slave at Thomasville, Georgia, on March 21, 1856. He attended school at the American Missionary Association, and in 1873, as a freshman at Atlanta University, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy. Although Flipper was the fifth black accepted to West Point, he was the first to graduate. At West Point he was often ostracized and had little social interaction with white cadets beyond official activities. He graduated fiftieth in a class of seventy-six on June 14, 1877, and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant. Flipper described his successful struggle against ostracism and prejudice in The Colored Cadet at West Point (1878). In January 1878 he was assigned to Company A of the Tenth United States Cavalry.
Commander 9th Cavalry
Col. Edward Hatch was selected to command the new regiment. Hatch, who was a brevet Major General by the close of the Civil War, was an able and ambitious officer. At the Battle of Collierville (Shelby County, Tennessee, Nov 3, 1863), Colonel Hatch, although outnumbered three to one, surprised Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers, CSA in with a cavalry charge that caused the Conferates to call off the battle. Col Hatch commanded a cavalry brigade while BG Chalmers commanded a division. Col. Hatch served admirably in U.S. Army until his death in 1889. Sergeant Nathan Fletcher and a detachment of Ninth Cavalry troopers escorted Colonel Hatch's both to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for burial.
Commander 10th Cavalry
Colonel Grierson was a superb cavalry commander during the Civil War. From April 17-May 2, 1863 he executed what is known as Grierson's Raid. He led 1,700 Union soldiers over 600 miles deep into Confederated territory and attacked the railroad station as Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The John Wayne motion picture "The Horse Soldier's" is loosely based upon this daring raid.
When the Plains Indians first saw the men of the 10th Cavalry wearing with their dark skins, curly hair and wearing fur overcoats they referred to them as "Buffalo Soldiers." The nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" was originally given to the 10th Cavalry by Cheyenne warriors out of respect for their fierce fighting in 1867. The Cheyenne Native American term used was actually "Wild Buffaloes", which was translated to "Buffalo Soldiers." In time, all African American Soldiers became known as "Buffalo Soldiers." Despite second-class treatment these soldiers made up first-rate regiments of the highest caliber and had the lowest desertion rate in the Army.
(left) Regimental Crest for the 9th Cavalry
(right) Regimental Crest for the 10th Cavalry
Troop A Tenth Cavalry led by Captain Nicholas A. Nolan at the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs , Texas August 6, 1880. Rattlesnake Springs is 40 miles north of present day Van Horn, Texas.
Buffalo Soldiers in Texas
Trooper Hardrick Crawford, Jr. presenting a Youth Service Award earned by the Chapter to Chapter President Trooper Estine Davis at the Chapter's annual Christmas Party. Also pictured is the youth Commandant of the Victory Warriors Drill & Dance Academy. 
2nd Lt Henry Ossian Flipper