The West Point Buffalo Soldier Monument
How It Came to Be
In 1973, the United States Military Academy at West Point became the first institution to memorialize the achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers in U.S. Army history. The Cavalry Plain where the 9th and 10th Cavalry conducted equestrian training of the Corps of Cadets was renamed Buffalo Soldier Field, marked by a Memorial Rock placed by Colonel Floyd McAfee.
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In the years that followed, the Army and communities across the country raised monuments to honor the Buffalo Soldier most prominently the Buffalo Soldier Monument dedicated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1992, sculpted by the renowned artist Eddie Dixon.
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West Point, however, was still marked only by the Memorial Rock. Beginning in 2008, the Buffalo Soldiers Association of West Point set out to change that. Our vision: a permanent monument at West Point worthy of the soldiers it honored, in keeping with the standard set by other Army installations across the nation.
The Special Projects Committee was formed for one purpose to design, fund, build, and donate to West Point a memorial that accurately and effectively depicts the Buffalo Soldier's contributions to the United States. With the approval of the Department of the Army and in collaboration with the West Point Museum, the Committee selected sculptor Eddie Dixon who had created the Fort Leavenworth Monument decades earlier to bring the West Point Monument to life.
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In September 2021, during our 60th Annual Memorial Celebration, the Buffalo Soldier Monument at West Point was unveiled and dedicated. After five years of fundraising, design, and partnership, the soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry finally received the permanent tribute at West Point that their service deserved.
The Monument stands on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a permanent tribute to the men whose excellence helped shape the U.S. Army and strengthen our Nation. For every cadet, service member, and visitor who passes, it serves as a timeless reminder of their courage, discipline, and devotion to duty.
Buffalo Soldiers taught horsemanship at segregated West Point. Soon a statue
will honor their service. Sculptor Eddie Dixon has created a towering Black horseman to be cast in bronze for the U.S. Military Academy
(Click on photo to read article)
About the Artist
With the approval of the academy, the nationally renowned artist Mr. Eddie Dixon has been selected for the West Point Buffalo Soldier Monument project.
Mr. Dixon's art can be found in national historical sites, the Pentagon, West Point, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. State Department; the Smithsonian Air and Space, the Smithsonian National History museums, and in many museums and war memorial and national parks throughout the United States and in more than 50 countries abroad.
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His works are in the private collections of Colin Powell, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, the late Alex Haley and Bill Leckey, and others. His work is also in the corporate collections of such giants as RJR Nabisco, Upjohn, Readers' Digest, Coca Cola USA, and the Annenberg and Zachery Fisher foundations.
In 1992, President George H. W. Bush declared July 25th "National Buffalo Soldier Day" in honor of Dixon's (Fort Leavenworth)
Buffalo Soldier Monument.
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In further recognition, a United States postage stamp was later designed and issued in the likeness of the Buffalo Soldier Monument. October 16, 1993, "Eddie Dixon Day" was declared in Washington D.C. and New York City and on March 28, 1994 in Lubbock, Texas for outstanding accomplishments in art. That year, Felix De Weldon, sculptor of the Iwo Jima Monument, passed on the coveted Baton to Dixon.
