COLCHESTER — "There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of america,

Stolen from africa,

Brought to america,

Fighting on arrival,

Fighting for survival."

Reggae icon Bob Marley did not write a verse about the Buffalo Soldiers in Vermont who arrived at Fort Ethan Allen July 28, 1909.

The University of Vermont Robert Hull Fleming Museum's summer exhibition, "Buffalo Soldiers in Vermont," commemorates the legendary black troops' 100th anniversary.

According to the exhibit's signage, it "contains extraordinarily rare historic photographs depicting the Buffalo Soldiers in combat, on patrol, in the barracks, at work, and at rest. Also on view is a collection of documents and artifacts including everyday items used by the Buffalo Soldiers."

In July 1909, 750 African-American soldiers in the 10th Cavalry unit marched into Vermont for their assignment at Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, where they remained stationed until December 1913. "African-Americans have fought in every conflict in U.S. history; however it was not until 1866 that Congress authorized the formation of six black regiments in the U.S. Army. These regiments earned the name "Buffalo Soldiers" from Native Americans who held their fighting spirit and intense courage in high regard."

PASSED FOR WHITE
The "Buffalo Soldiers" exhibit almost didn't happen, for the private collector initially involved fell sick. But then Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Ph.D., curator of collections and exhibitions at the Fleming, found Rose Mary Graveline, a Vermont Buffalo Soldier descendant who works in UVM's Counseling Program.

"She's really wonderful," DeGalan said. "She rallied all the local descendants. She was determined we would have this show. She went out and collected things, made phone calls and made this exhibition happen. She brought carloads and carloads of things from various descendants in the community."

Graveline is a descendant of John Ralph Lyons, born Feb. 22, 1888 in Lewistown, Penn., who "served in the 10th Cavalry, Troop D, for six years, the last four of which he spent at Fort Ethan Allen. He was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal on July 6, 1911, 'for bravely rescuing a companion' at Mallets Bay in Colchester, Vermont. After discharge, he rejoined the Army, with Co. F 807 Pioneer Infantry, to serve overseas during WWI.

In 1918, John, who 'passed for white,' married Irish émigré Elizabeth Connell of Dover, New Hampshire. They raised six daughters and two sons in Winooski and Burlington. In 1941, Lyons died as a result of being kicked in the chest by a mule while hauling coal for the American Woolen Mill in Winooski."

RAISED In SOUTH
Graveline became aware of her Buffalo Soldier grandfather three years ago. She found out she had African-American ancestry in 1974. She was 27.

"I was pregnant with my first child when I was told," Graveline said. "My uncle told me, and unfortunately, it was such a shock to me, I was unable to respond to him. I was born and raised in North Carolina in the segregated South as a white girl."

Her Winooksi-born mother and white-southern father met when he was, ironically, stationed at Fort Ethan Allen.

"When he left to go overseas in World War II, he shipped my mother to his home in North Carolina," Graveline said. "I didn't know much about my mom's family. I came up here when I was 19. Before that, the last time I came, I was 7. I came to see my grandmother, who was from Ireland. She was dying. She was the one that was married to the Buffalo solider. That was the situation."

The exhibition includes Lyons's straight razor and mirror from his barbering days and a 1939 gelatin-silver print of Lyons and his daughter Claire, and her children, Frances and Marie Parsons. The image is taken in front of their home on Hickok Street in Winooski.

A BIG STORY
"A lot of these descendants didn't know they were descendants of African-Americans," DeGalan said. "Various soldiers married white women and Native American women. The color gradation became much more subtle. Many descendants had no idea."

"Buffalo Soldiers in Vermont" flushes out a rich American history.

"You can see the progression of how they integrated themselves in the community. A lot of them stayed right within Winooski.

"The show is in our small exhibition space, but it really has a big story to tell."

The exhibition includes postcards of the black troops, who were commanded by white officers.

"It's an interesting social history to look at the obstacles these soldiers had to overcome," DeGalan said. "We have a lot of their own voices in quotes in the exhibit. They talked about how the community welcomed them. It gives a full picture of what their life was like."

"If you know your history,

Then you would know where you coming from,

Then you wouldn't have to ask me,

Who the eck do I think I am."

E-mail Robin Caudell at
rcaudell@pressrepublican.com