Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515188
The Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite National Park By AUDREY PETERMAN 16 B M & T ••• January/February 2024 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com the turn of the 20th Century sev- eral regiments of Buffalo Soldiers patrolled the high mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevadas in California, and protected the recently designated Yosemite National Park. The spectacular views of lush mountain val- leys, giant sequoia trees, thundering water- falls, mile-high granite mountains and rarefied air had been set aside for posterity. Being among them must have been an elixir to the battle-tested soldiers. Only recently emancipated, Buffalo Soldiers had fought against Native Americans to protect European colonists in their Western Migration from places such as Fort Davis, now a National Historic Site. They'd put infrastruc- ture in place including stringing military tele- graph, and served as escorts for government wagon trains, survey parties and mail coaches. Many of these soldiers had distinguished themselves in the Philippine-American war. Now they'd been called upon to protect America's "Crown Jewel" in "the Range of Light," one of the most remote places in the country. Today Americans and the world benefit from the success of their efforts as we enjoy Yosemite at close to the same natural state as the turn of the 20th century. The natural beauty is barely disturbed. Amenities including a his- toric luxury hotel and other lodging are care- fully designed to be unobtrusive. (I stepped outside the lobby of the Ahwahnee Hotel once and saw a fairytale wedding unfolding on the glorious lawn, the bride being a lovely young black woman.) To get an idea of the acreage the Buffalo Soldiers protected, consider that, at 1,200 square miles, Yosemite National Park is two- and-a-half times the size of New York City, (all five boroughs) which is 468.9 square miles. Many of the soldiers were from the Jim Crow A t