| Men and Women of the West |
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| Mary Fields "Stagecoach Mary" |
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Mary Fields was born a slave and grew up and orphan, she was never married and she had no children. The nuns from the orphanage was her family, Mother Amadeus was her mother. Mary Fields lived by her wits and her strength. She traveled north to Ohio, settled in Toledo and worked for the Catholic convent. She formed a strong bond with Mother Amadeus. When the nuns moved to Montana and Mary learned of Mother Amadeus' failing health, she went west to help out. Having nursed Mother Amadeus back to health, she decided to stay and help build the St. Peter's mission school. Later, the nuns financed her so that she could open her own business. She opened a cafe. Mary would always feed the hungry and therefore almost lost her business because of her big heart. In 1895 she found a job that suited her, as a U.S. mail coach driver for the Cascade County region of central Montana. Even though she was about 60 years old at the time, Mary proved herself the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses and was hired. Mary became the second woman and the first African American woman to work for the United States Postal Service. Mary continued to deliver the mail until she was almost 70 years old, earning the nickname of “Stagecoach Mary.” “Stagecoach Mary” Fields broke all boundaries of race, gender and age. She was a true pioneer.
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| Buffalo Soldiers 10th Calvary |
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| Black Cowboy in the West |
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For enslaved Blacks the West offered freedom and refuge from the bonds
of slavery. It also gave African Americans a chance at better earnings. From
pioneers to cowboys to prospectors, African Americans have contributed
immensely to the most legendary chapter of American History The Wild West.
No less than twenty-five percent of all cowhands were Black. In fact,
the label “cowboy” is thought to have originally been a derogatory term used to
describe Black “cowhands”
The Wild West provided African Americans the chance for a life that
could potentially be dictated by their skills and not the color of their skin.
However, racial intolerance was still a part of daily life but to a lesser
extent than other areas of the United States.
| Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish-American War in Cuba and in the Philippine-American War. It was the only African-American unit under American command that fought German soldiers (advisors) in World War I. The regiment was trained as a combat unit but later relegated to non-combat duty and served in that capacity in World War II until its deactivation in 1944.
Buffalo Soldiers were responsible for escorting settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews. They also conducted campaigns against American Indian tribes on a western frontier that extended from Montana in the Northwest to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the Southwest.
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| Emanual Stance |
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Sergeant Emanual Stance Company F, 9th Cavalry, was the first African-American to receive the Medal of Honor during the Indian Campaigns. He was born in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, in 1847.
Stance earned his place in history books in May 1870 while leading a patrol to find two kidnapped children near Fort McKavett, Texas. During the two-day mission, Stance and his nine troopers skirmished with more numerous Apaches, capturing fifteen horses and protecting government supplies without suffering loss. Elated by Stance’s success, his commander immediately recommended him for a Medal of Honor, which Stance received one month later, the first African American regular so honored.
Stance reached the rank of First Sergeant before being murdered on Christmas Eve in 1887. His body was found on the road to Crawford, Nebraska with four bullet wounds; the probable victim of his own men.
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