History of the Twenty-Fifth Regiment United States Infantry 1869-1926 by Nankivell, John H. (Captain 25th Infantry) - 1927: A "Buffalo Soldiers" unit.

Denver: Press of the Smith-Brooks Printing Company, 1927. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. Quarto. xx, 233 pages. Blue cloth hardcover with gilt title and insignia on the front cover. Gilt title on the spine. Color insignia frontispiece. Illustrated with photographs. The blue cloth binding is lightly shelf worn. Cloth lightly edge worn bottom corners and head and base of the spine. Front cover slightly loose. Hinges are intact. This copy includes pencil notes and comments. A pencil inscription written top of the right front flyleaf reads- "Property of Ida Elizabeth Johnson 611 Mason Street-, Springfield, Ohio". Below this inscription, center of the page, is the original owner's inscription, "Frank Baines Band, 25th Infantry C C (Company C?) Nogales, Az "Honey Boys". Written on the front paste down top of the page is "JHS Band". Written in pencil on the front blank page is the remark, "Liveliest Man in the whole world Frank Baines - "Honey Boy." On page 161 is a photograph of an old African American soldier wearing numerous medals on his uniform with the caption, "An "Old-Timer" Revisits the Regiment (April 20, 1926). Former Private Johnson of Company E, 25th Infantry, 1869-1870." Underneath the photograph written in pencil is this comment, "Gosh Frank-any more medals left out there?" Towards the back of the book are several photographs of units in the 25th regiment. On page 228 written top of the photograph, "Honey boy's Company". On page 228 is a confusing pencil circle drawn around a soldier of Company C with an erased comment. The soldier's name, last row from the bottom, (if reading names left to right) appears to be Pvt. 1st cl. Smyly. This name has no apparent relation to the original owner Frank Baines or the Johnson family name. On page 233, under the list of bibliography sources, is a note, "Mothers Grave Lot 7 Row 9 Grave 6 Sec. Z." On the blank verso of page 233 is the comment, "Honey boy gave me this book, and the one that destroys or loans will certainly hear from it's owner, Betty". The final pencil note written in this book is located on the rear end paper, "Property of Ida E Johnson Given by Frank Baines." From wikipedia:

Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in the Indian Wars. The term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American regiments formed in 1866:

9th Cavalry Regiment
10th Cavalry Regiment
24th Infantry Regiment
25th Infantry Regiment

Although several African American regiments were raised during the Civil War as part of the Union Army (including the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.[1] On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, the oldest surviving Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[2]

From the website: Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers:

The 25th Infantry:
(Black Bicycle Corps, Lt. Moss, Flag Day Originator)
The act of Congress of July 28,1866 that brought about the 25th by the consolidation of the 39th and 40th U.S Colored Troops was spelled out in general order 16 of the War Department on March 11, 1869.

This regiment spent ten years in Texas. By May 1888 it was sent to Fort Missoula, Montana. It was there that the Black Bicycle Corps was organized under Lt. Moss, a young white officer. One of their most outstanding events was to make a 1900 bicycle ride from Montana to St Louis, which began on June 14, 1897. Along the way people came out and waved flags at Lt. Moss and his 20 black volunteer bike riders. This young white officer was a west point graduate from Louisiana. By 1922 he retired as Colonel and he is one of the originators of Flag Day, which takes place on June 14th.

This group could "Jump Fence" with their bikes. This was a special technique that enabled the Corps to clear a nine foot fence in 20 seconds. In preparation for the long hike this group made other hikes to Yellowstone Park, to Lake Mac Donald and other places around Fort Missoula.

While in Arizona, some were located around Nogales, Arizona at Camp Stephen D. Little and lived there. Some were a part of the last Indian War in that area.