The Buffalo Soldiers and Indian Hot Springs

The natural hot springs in this area have been used for centuries by people seeking curative waters. Known as Indian hot Springs, they were used by generations of nomadic Indian tribes. Following the Civil War, the U.S. army established several regiments of black soldiers, including the 10th Cavalry. Called "buffalo soldiers", by their Indian adversaries, the soldiers conducted numerous scouting and mapping expeditions in this region. Pursuing raiding bands of Mescalero Apache Indians, members of the 10th Cavalry were sent to guard water holes and river crossings known to be frequented by the Indians. At dawn on October 28, 1880, soldiers of companies B and K were attacked on a ridge near this site by Apaches. Although official and contemporary accounts of the battle vary, at least five buffalo soldiers were reported slain in the attack and were buried where they fell. They were: Carter Burns, George Mills, William Backus, Jeremiah Griffin, and James Stanley. Two soldiers, Scott Graves and Thomas Rach, were reported missing. Their bodies were said to have been found and buried with their comrades weeks later. The seven graves were relocated in this vicinity in the 1960s. (1988)