A Modern day “Buffalo Soldier”
Horace Williams is a civilian employee working at Camp Mabry. He served two tours in Vietnam and was wounded at CU CHI on February 10, 1966 while serving in Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry (Wolfhounds), 25th Infantry Division. As an Army Vietnam veteran and a resident of Austin, Texas, that puts Horace squarely in the middle of the most populous demographic group of Chapter 1919 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, nothing particularly noteworthy about that. But, he does something truly special and unique for a member of our veterans group.
Early in the morning on any given weekend, Horace gets up and dresses in his authentic replica uniform of an 1870s Cavalryman, loads his two horses in the trailer, hooks up to his pickup truck, and he’s off to someplace in Texas with the other members of his “Buffalo Soldiers” re-enactment group. Horace is the President and co-founder of the officially designated group, Company A, 9th Cavalry Regiment, that presents a living history of the frontier Black Cavalry Troopers. They perform for the public in parades, trail rides, rodeos, historical commemorations and ceremonies, and make appearances in public schools. The uniforms for the “Buffalo Soldiers” and the equipment for their horses were sponsored by the Texas Military Forces Museum and faithfully replicate U.S. Cavalry issue of the late 1800’s, accurate in every detail.
Co A, 9th Cavalry, along with many other public appearances, participate in rodeos in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Mesquite. Austin Community College periodically airs a tape of Horace’s history presentation to an elementary school class, look for it on ACCTV. In his spare time, Horace Williams is also a member of the Travis County Sheriffs Posse.