Regarding their nickname,
Walter Hill writes in his article
Exploring the Life and History of
the Buffalo Soldiers: "... the 10th
[cavalry] acquired the name
'Buffalo Soldiers; during the
1871 campaign against the
Comanches in the Indian
Territory. Grierson said that the
Comanches respected the
soldiers' tireless marching and
dogged trail skills. They had
earned the name of the rugged
and revered buffalo. The 10th
made the Buffalo its regimental
coat of arms years later, but the
term Buffalo Soldiers, became
synonymous with both the 9th
and 10th units."