The Buffalo Soldiers and Indian Hot Springs

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Buffalo Soldiers and Indian Hot Springs, out here in Hudspeth County. Now, there are places on this earth that have been drawing people in for a long, long time, and these hot springs are among them. For centuries, people sought out these waters.

Generations of nomadic Indian tribes knew them. They called them Indian Hot Springs, and the land around them held the kind of quiet that only comes from deep, old use. Then the Civil War ended, and the United States Army reorganized itself.

Among the new regiments it established were several made up entirely of Black soldiers. One of them was the 10th Cavalry. Their Indian adversaries gave them a name that stuck: buffalo soldiers.

And out here in this hard, dry stretch of country, the buffalo soldiers of the 10th Cavalry did the work the Army assigned them: scouting, mapping, pushing through terrain most men would think twice about crossing. They were also pursuing raiding bands of Mescalero Apache Indians. And so members of the 10th Cavalry were sent out to guard the water holes and river crossings known to be frequented by the Apaches.

That kind of assignment puts you right in the middle of things. There's no comfortable distance from it. October 28, 1880.

Dawn. Soldiers from companies B and K were positioned on a ridge near this very site. And at that first gray light of morning, Apaches attacked.

Now, the official accounts and the contemporary accounts don't all line up perfectly; that much the marker is honest about. But what they do agree on is this: at least five buffalo soldiers were slain in that attack. And they were buried where they fell.

Their names were Carter Burns, George Mills, William Backus, Jeremiah Griffin, and James Stanley. Two more soldiers, Scott Graves and Thomas Rach, were reported missing after the battle. Their bodies were said to have been found weeks later, and buried with their comrades.

Seven graves, out here in this country. In the 1960s, those seven graves were relocated in this vicinity. The springs that had drawn people here for centuries, they're still here too.

The land holds all of it. The healing waters and the names of the dead, right next to each other, which is about as honest a thing as a piece of ground can do.

What the marker says

The natural hot springs in this area have been used for centuries by people seeking curative waters. Known as Indian hot Springs, they were used by generations of nomadic Indian tribes. Following the Civil War, the U.S. army established several regiments of black soldiers, including the 10th Cavalry. Called "buffalo soldiers", by their Indian adversaries, the soldiers conducted numerous scouting and mapping expeditions in this region. Pursuing raiding bands of Mescalero Apache Indians, members of the 10th Cavalry were sent to guard water holes and river crossings known to be frequented by the Indians. At dawn on October 28, 1880, soldiers of companies B and K were attacked on a ridge near this site by Apaches. Although official and contemporary accounts of the battle vary, at least five buffalo soldiers were reported slain in the attack and were buried where they fell. They were: Carter Burns, George Mills, William Backus, Jeremiah Griffin, and James Stanley. Two soldiers, Scott Graves and Thomas Rach, were reported missing. Their bodies were said to have been found and buried with their comrades weeks later. The seven graves were relocated in this vicinity in the 1960s. (1988)