Legends of the Old West

Buffalo Soldiers Ep. 2 | “Florida Mountains Fight”

Host: Chris Wimmer (Black Barrel Media)
Date: December 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into a dramatic turning point for the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry in 1877 New Mexico. Centered on the harrowing Florida Mountains fight, it highlights the heroism of Corporal Clinton Greaves, exploring the broader context of Apache resistance and the challenges faced by Black soldiers in the post-Civil War West. Through vivid storytelling, the episode examines the hardship, courage, and legacy of Greaves and his fellow soldiers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: The Florida Mountains Ambush

• Location & Context:

  • The Florida Mountains, small but rugged peaks in southern New Mexico, near the Mexican border, were “jagged and dry…volcanic ridges [with] steep draws and patches of thorny brush.” (00:33)
  • Set in January 1877, a tense landscape of ongoing Apache resistance after the US Civil War.

• The Encounter:

  • Corporal Clinton Greaves is second in command in a small detachment of C Troop, 9th Cavalry—seven soldiers and three Navajo scouts. They approach an apparently quiet Apache camp with women and children present.
  • Lieutenant Henry Wright offers the Apache safe passage to the San Carlos reservation if they surrender. The peaceful talk is a ruse; as negotiations drag on, Apache women and children slip away, suddenly replaced by armed warriors: “They were forming a ring around the 10 men who had delivered themselves into a trap.” (05:33)
  • Outnumbered five to one, the soldiers realize negotiation is futile—the only way out is to fight.

The Buffalo Soldiers’ Mission and Struggles

• Role in the West:

  • The 9th Cavalry, composed of Black enlisted men and white officers, had recently moved from Texas to hostile New Mexico “to relieve the 8th Cavalry…heading into Apache country.” (07:41)
  • Life was punishing: “continuously on scouting service… no sleep for two days, sometimes subsisting on the most meager diet, sometimes marches of 90 miles in a hot scorching sun.” (09:41)

• Apache Resistance:

  • The episode provides background on Apache bands—masters of guerrilla warfare, brilliant at ambush and evasion, and fiercely independent.
  • The US polices Apache resistance with a policy of forced relocation to the San Carlos Reservation—“a hellscape…with scorching summers, contaminated water, and near constant shortages of food and supplies…managed by a rotating cast of federal agents who ranged from incompetent to corrupt.” (12:46)
  • Many Apache refuse confinement, flee San Carlos, and conduct raids—often uniting under leaders like Victorio, who will become “the bane of the 9th Cavalry in the years to come.” (13:58)

The Florida Mountains Fight: A Detailed Account

• The Trap Springs (14:20–16:23):

  • The detachment spends days tracking the Apache. Upon finding the camp, Wright tries to negotiate, but “the women and children disappeared…18 warriors emerged from the rocks…ring around the 10-man detachment.” (15:03)
  • Lieutenant Wright’s order: “Break out.”
  • A desperate melee ensues—soldiers and scouts are outgunned and outnumbered; after firing his last round, Greaves swings his carbine as a club:

    “He reversed his carbine in his hands, held it by the barrel like a baseball bat and started swinging. He crashed it into the shoulder of one attacker then pivoted to strike another in the ribs. The buttstock cracked and splintered, but Greaves kept swinging as he drove back the warriors closest to him.” (16:39)

• Heroism and Escape:

  • Greaves creates a breach in the ring, allowing his fellow soldiers to escape:

    “Greaves wasn’t just holding his ground, he was creating space. Each blow cleared inches and then feet.” (17:03)

  • All soldiers and scouts escape; five Apache warriors are killed. The soldiers even manage to capture 11 Apache horses during their escape—“trophies, probably some frayed nerves, and a harrowing story of a patrol which could have been a massacre.” (18:45)

Aftermath and Recognition

• Immediate Aftermath:

  • Captain Charles Byer quickly leads a larger detachment back to the Apache camp, only to find it abandoned. Supplies and horses are seized; the camp is destroyed.
  • The pattern of fighting the Apache becomes clear—they strike, scatter, and regroup elsewhere. (21:34)

• Recognition of Valor (22:30–25:35):

  • Lt. Wright submits reports commending Greaves and others for their bravery, recommending four for Certificates of Merit and Greaves for the Medal of Honor:

    “Wright’s report left no doubt what had happened or who had made the escape possible.” (23:14)

  • Bureaucratic red tape delays and prevents recognition for several soldiers, but after two and a half years, President Rutherford B. Hayes awards Corporal Greaves the Medal of Honor—making him only the second Black soldier to receive the distinction after the Civil War.

• Medal Citation:

  “While part of a small detachment to persuade a band of renegade Apache Indians to surrender, his group was surrounded. Corporal Greaves, in the center of the savage hand to hand fighting, managed to shoot and bash a gap through the swarming Apaches, permitting his companions to break free.” (25:42)

Greaves’ Legacy and the Memory of the Buffalo Soldiers

• After the Medal:

  • Greaves reenlists, serves for another decade, and later trains new Black recruits at the Columbus Barracks in Ohio. He retires in 1893 after over 20 years of service.
  • He dies in 1906, but his legacy continues:
    • A life-sized bronze statue stands at the crumbling site of Fort Baird, NM. (28:33)
    • Camp Greaves—a former US military base in South Korea—bears his name.

• On the Role of Memory:

  • Even as the numbers and details grow in the telling, Greaves’ critical role at the Florida Mountains fight stands out—one man’s courageous actions ensuring his comrades’ survival and setting an example for future generations.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Apache Trap:
  • “They were forming a ring around the 10 men who had delivered themselves into a trap.” (05:33)
• On Guerrilla Warfare:
  • “The Apache might appear to be retreating, when in fact they were setting up an ambush… For the U.S. Army, it was like chasing smoke through a stone maze.” (12:12)
• On the Brutality of Army Life:
  • “Continuously on scouting service, subjected to great exposure, no sleep for two days, sometimes subsisting on the most meager diet, sometimes marches of 90 miles in a hot scorching sun.” — Private Henry Bush (09:41)
• On Greaves’ Heroism in Combat:
  • “Greaves stayed at the center of all of it and kept swinging his rifle like a club, with all the ferocity he could muster. The other six soldiers pushed through the narrow gap Greaves created and escaped the ring of warriors. … Greaves was the last man out.” (17:41)
• On Overcoming Bureaucratic Injustice:
  • “Frontier skirmishes like the Florida Mountains fight competed for attention with larger campaigns and national events… If those things hadn’t been happening, there was still no guarantee that even a fully endorsed recommendation would be acted upon quickly.” (24:48)
• On Legacy:
  • “It’s a pretty remarkable legacy for a corporal from the Old West era, even one who received the American military’s highest honor for bravery.” (29:44)

Timestamps for Critical Segments

• 00:33–05:33 — Setting up the Florida Mountains fight
• 07:41–09:41 — The hardships and resettlement of the 9th Cavalry
• 12:04–15:03 — Apache resistance, Greaves' background, and the lead-up to the ambush
• 16:23–18:45 — The ambush details and Greaves’ decisive action
• 21:34–23:14 — Aftermath of the fight; Army response
• 23:14–26:06 — The Medal of Honor process and Greaves’ recognition
• 28:33–29:44 — Modern legacy: Fort Baird, Camp Greaves, and honoring corporal Greaves

Tone & Storytelling Style

• The narration is vivid, cinematic, and respectful, balancing dramatic storytelling with careful historical detail. Listeners are placed on the ground “in the saddle and almost always under strain,” feeling both the tension and heroism of the soldiers’ experience. There is somber acknowledgment of bureaucratic failings, and heartfelt celebration of Greaves’ legacy and the Buffalo Soldiers’ endurance.

This episode offers a compelling window into the risks and realities faced by the Buffalo Soldiers, centering one of the most dramatic escapes—and acts of heroism—in the postwar West. Greaves’ story stands not only as a testament to individual valor but as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for recognition and justice in American history.