On May 22, 2010, the 50th rededication of the Yellowstone Masonic Lodge, located directly west and adjacent to Fort Buford, took place. Not only was the charter of the Yellowstone Lodge No. 88 honored, but Eureka Lodge No. 135 was also celebrated.

The second Charter to arrive at Fort Buford was carried by the Buffalo soldiers in 1891-1892. Their Eureka Lodge No. 135 was chartered through the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri at Ft. Apache, Ariz., Territory in 1891.

Soldiers of the 25th Infantry carried the Charter for Eureka 135. When they left the Geronimo Campaign on the Mexican-Arizona border and were ordered to Ft. Buford they brought the Charter with them in 1892. This move meant that Ft. Buford also holds the position of having the first Chartered Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in the Dakota Territory. The last years of Ft. Buford saw nothing but buffalo soldiers before it was decommissioned in 1895. Ft. Buford was still under the 30-mile military reservation. This meant that no one could settle in this 30 miles radius. Fairview was also under this boundary.

The buffalo soldiers were made up of former slaves, freemen and veterans of the Civil War, all volunteers. The pay for enlisted men was $13 per month with food, clothing, shelter and medical care provided for free.

Many people resented the presence of black men even in segregated units. Some officers refused to be assigned to command colored regiments, men like Gen. George Custer who lost his life in the Battle of Little Big Horn. These men also fought under the burden of segregation every day of their existence.

For over 20 years the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments fought campaigns against hostile American Indian tribes. When not fighting Indians, the buffalo soldiers engaged in other work vital to the continued settlement of the region by ranchers and farmers. The troops repaired telegraph lines between Fort Buford and the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. They escorted the army paymaster on his circuit from Fort Buford to Poplar River, Glendive and Fort Keogh. They escorted the railroad surveyors and construction crews.

The Indians of the Plains gave the name of “buffalo soldiers” to the black cavalrymen because they saw a resemblance between the black man’s hair and the mane of the buffalo. Another reason was, when a buffalo was cornered or wounded, they fought ferociously, showing unusual courage and stamina, a quality the Indians also saw in the fighting spirit of the black cavalrymen.

During three decades, buffalo soldiers served at some of the worst, most isolated posts, performing their duties under unusually difficult circumstances.

One such dedicated buffalo soldier was James G. Madison, 10th U.S. Horse Cavalry. Madison is one of the last of his kind and was in attendance at the 50th rededication of Masonic Lodges at Ft. Buford.

Madison was born on Aug. 23, 1922, in Marshall, Mo. He entered the U.S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1942 where he completed basic training. Madison was shipped to Camp Lockett, Calif., and was assigned to the 10th U.S. Cavalry. The U.S. 10th Cavalry received extensive training on horse back and Madison’s cavalry title was “Pack Driver.” He led a packhorse loaded with a 50-caliber machine gun and boxes of ammunition. His unit guarded the Mexican border and railroad tunnels that crisscrossed the American and Mexican borders.

In January 1944, the Army disbanded the horse cavalry; Madison’s unit was transferred to Casablanca, North Africa to assist with the World War II effort. He was assigned to a combat engineers’ outfit.

From there, he went to Napoli, Italy and was issued a 6-by-6 truck that was part of a convoy assigned to haul food and ammunition to the front lines. He received a crash course in demolition to help his squad sweep mines in abandoned towns throughout Italy. He re-constructed pontoon bridges that had been destroyed and built air strips. He also transported war prisoners from the front lines to stockades.

When the war ended in 1945, Trooper Madison went to Fort Lewis, Wash., (near Seattle). After a short leave, he began training for overseas duty in the Far East. Just before his unit received orders to ship out, the atomic bomb was dropped on Pearl Harbor to end the war. Madison was discharged from the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis in late 1945.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information compiled North Dakota State Historical Society buffalo soldier museum.