In many ways, Fort Douglas is the nexus of U.S. military history in Utah. And the story of the Buffalo Soldiers, a renowned Army unit of African American men, is no different.

The Buffalo Soldiers spent two decades serving in Utah—from Salt Lake City to Moab and points in between. But they started out at Fort Douglas.

Later this month, the Utah State Historic Preservation Office will install plaques around Fort Douglas noting significant locations in the Buffalo Soldiers’ history. On Aug. 29, the public is invited on guided tours with interpreters from the office. Register for a tour here.

Read more about the Buffalo Soldier Trail in Utah here.

Legend has it the Buffalo Soldiers were given their moniker by the Native American tribes they were fighting. Native fighters thought the Black soldiers’ dark, curly hair, along with their bravery during battle, were reminiscent of the great buffalo of the plains. Rather than take offense, the soldiers embraced it and eventually adopted the insignia of a buffalo.

The soldiers first came to Utah in 1878 to escort federal surveyors on a job in southeastern Utah. The secretary of the interior ordered the eastern boundary of the Utah territory and the state of Colorado to be surveyed.

“That whole southeast portion of Utah—the canyons and the rugged terrain—had to be surveyed,” said Marcos Van Dalen, a history researcher with the state office. The soldiers spent three months in southwest Colorado and southeast Utah, before scouting the Spanish Valley, the Abajo Mountains, Elk Mountain and Cane Springs.

They returned in 1886, moving through the Uintah and Ouray Reservation before establishing Fort Duchesne in August of that year. The fort became home for the 9th Cavalry. In 1896, the 24th Infantry unit of Buffalo Soldiers moved back from the southwest to station at Fort Douglas.

“So at one point, Utah had two forts with separate units of Buffalo Soldiers stationed there,” Van Dalen said.

Two very different forts

The experiences of Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Utah varied dramatically. Soldiers at Fort Duchesne dedicated their time to protecting white settlers in the Uinta Basin. They also removed white intruders from the reservation, and prevented the Colorado Militia from invading the Ute Reservation.

In Carbon County, the soldiers maintained and built roads and guarded train depots. Fort Douglas provided more routine.

“It was a lot more of what we call a garrison life, where you had your daily schedule, your drill, your training,” Van Dalen said.

At Fort Douglas, the soldiers challenged baseball teams from Salt Lake City to games. Because the fort was federal land, Sunday games, prohibited elsewhere in the state, could be played at Soldier Circle.

A regular baseball league of sorts developed. The Fort Douglas Browns played teams in Ogden and Park City, and the Jubilees in Salt Lake City, Van Dalen said.

In 1898, the Buffalo Soldiers were sent to fight in the Spanish-American War before returning once again to Utah.

Racial tensions

The Buffalo Soldiers’ time in Utah was not without racial tension.

“When they showed up, the newspapers had been printing that they didn’t know how the soldiers were going to act, that the African Americans were going to be violent on train cars,” Van Dalen said. “There were legitimate racial fears and myths propagated by the newspapers who were instigating those fears. There is no evidence the 24th had a negative reputation, and no legitimacy to the claims.”

That changed quickly, he said, “Because they were very good soldiers. Their record is very, very good in every conflict they served across every place they were stationed.”

After a year of the soldiers’ presence, The Salt Lake Tribune published a retraction.

Prominent residents

Van Dalen also credits Chaplain Allen Allensworth, one of the Army’s first Black chaplains, for working to mend community relations.

“Several months after the 24th Infantry arrived in Salt Lake City, he met with the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Van Dalen said. “It was a very positive relationship between the two.” Allensworth would preach around the valley as well as in Ogden and various other places.

Allensworth preached around the valley and in Ogden. The fort’s chapel was open to all, with Allensworth offering services every Sunday. Local newspapers touted his Thanksgiving services, where his wife played the piano, and his kids were in the choir.

“He hosted dinners and preached to soldiers regardless of race, organized community events and helped build relationships between Black soldiers and the broader community,” said Chris Merritt, chief state historic preservation officer.

The Buffalo Soldier band also served as a sort of diplomatic corps, Van Dalen said, regularly playing in the Days of ’47 Parade, then called the “Jubilee Parade.”

Among the prominent soldiers stationed in the Beehive State were John Hanks Alexander and Charles Young, who were roommates at West Point, both served in the 9th Cavalry at Fort Duchesne.

In 1899, a recently enlisted private named Benjamin O. Davis Sr. arrived at Fort Duchesne and quickly rose from private to sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank.

“He had aspirations to become an officer,” Van Dalen said. “At Fort Duchesne, he was tutored, mentored and trained by Charles Young. He then took the officer’s examination in 1901 and became a second lieutenant the following year.”

Nearly four decades later, Davis would make history by becoming the first African American general officer in the U.S. military when he was promoted by the army to brigadier general in 1940.

In 1903, the Buffalo Soldiers’ time in Utah came to an end.