Part 2-Buffalo Soldiers-Florida Mountains Fight: Legends of the Old West

Episode 2 of the Buffalo Soldiers series which I wrote for Legends of the Old West follows the 9th Cavalry into the unforgiving terrain of southern New Mexico, where small patrols of Black troopers were tasked with tracking fast-moving Apache bands through canyons, arroyos, and the jagged Florida Mountains. The episode sets the stage by showing how these soldiers operated in hostile country—often outnumbered, always overworked, and constantly navigating landscapes where the enemy knew every hiding place.

The heart of the episode is the patrol led by Corporal Clinton Greaves, a respected noncommissioned officer known for his toughness and calm under pressure. Greaves and his detachment were moving through a narrow, stone-walled pocket in the Florida Mountains when they realized too late that they had walked into a trap. Apache warriors suddenly appeared above and around them, firing from cover and sealing off every escape route. Pinned down in a confined space with little room to fight and even less room to retreat, Greaves’ men faced annihilation.

As the firefight intensified and ammunition dwindled, Greaves saw that his only chance was a direct, desperate breakout. In the chaos of close-quarters combat, Greaves surged forward, using his rifle as a club to smash through the ring of warriors blocking the exit. His sudden attack stunned the Apaches long enough for the rest of the patrol to rush through the opening. Fighting their way out as a single unit, the troopers clawed their way to safety and escaped up the mountainside.

Greaves’ actions saved the entire detachment, and the episode closes by tracing how that moment of raw courage earned him the Medal of Honor. But it also emphasizes the larger truth behind the story: that the Buffalo Soldiers routinely faced overwhelming odds in some of the most dangerous assignments in the West—and that men like Clinton Greaves rose to meet those challenges with extraordinary bravery.

🎧 Listen now to "Buffalo Soldiers: Florida Mountains Fight" on your favorite podcast platform.

Available on Spotify:

And Apple Podcasts:

All of the Legends of the Old West podcasts are available at:

https://blackbarrelmedia.com/legends-of-the-old-west/

My book, Texas Jack: America's First Cowboy Star, is available at: https://amzn.to/48w7cwe