Buffalo Soldier Tragedy of 1877

The troopers were half of a two-part hunt. About two dozen buffalo hunters led by James Harvey set out in May 1877 and had been searching the Llano Estacado for months when they met Capt. Nicholas Nolan on Bull Creek in mid-July. Together they set up a supply base at Double Lakes. When the trails scattered and the search turned to water, the hunters went southwest and found it. They went on to the site of Lubbock, recovered much of the stolen stock and believed the raid the last by Comanches in Texas.

What the plaque says

Buffalo Soldier Tragedy of 1877 African American troops, known as Buffalo Soldiers, were vital in defending the Texas frontier. On July 26, 1877 Buffalo Soldiers from Co. A of the 10th Cavalry began to pursue a Comanche party. During the pursuit, the Comanches led the troops away from water holes as the expedition traveled through Cochran and other counties. After Several days without water, Capt. Nicholas Nolan led his dehydrated soldiers and remaining animals back to Double Lakes in Lynn County; they arrived on July 30, having gone 86 hours without water. Several soldiers left camp in search of water and four died during the expedition: Pvt. John H. Bonds; Pvt. Isaac Derwin; Pvt. John Isaacs; and Pvt. John T. Gordon. (2008)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge — 15 mi
  The oldest national wildlife refuge in Texas, a ring of salt lakes in the sandhills south of Muleshoe where tens of thousands of sandhill cranes winter in a wet year.

More markers nearby

• Cochran County — 1.3 mi
• Pastores of Bailey County — 12 mi
• La Pista de Vida Agua — 12 mi
• Buffalo Soldier Hill — 17 mi