- 1776-1781 Congress agrees to enlist colored men into the armed services. Approximately. 7,000 colored soldiers and sailors defend America in the Revolutionary War.
- 1812-1815 War of 1812. Colored soldiers are represented at the Battles of New Orleans and Lake Erie as Americans fight the British.
- 1862-1865 Civil War. Approximately 186,000 colored troops served for North and South; some 38,000 lost their lives.
- 1866-1890 Congress passes Bill #138 establishing six regiments of colored troops: four infantry, two cavalry. (Each regiment consisted of approximately 1,000 men.) They become known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Of some 138 Indian campaigns fought on the Western frontier, colored troops were involved in 85 percent. Thirty-nine Buffalo Soldiers won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
- 1870 Sergeant Emanuel Stance becomes the first Buffalo Soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for valor in launching a charge against Native Americans and capturing a herd of horses from them in broad daylight. Stance was the first of 18 African American Medal of Honor winners between 1870 and 1890.
- 1872 John H. Conyers becomes the first Colored American admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy.
- 1877 Henry O. Flipper becomes the first colored American to graduate from West Point.
- 1898 Buffalo Soldiers, under General Pershing, lead the charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War.
- 1914-1918 WWI, over 400,000 black troops defend the US Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts win the French Medal of Honor (croix de guerre).
- 1948 President Truman signs Executive Order #9981 putting an end to segregation of troops in the military.
- 1950-1953 The Korean Conflict. Because of delays in carrying out President Truman's orders, some units were segregated as the Korean Conflict started, but in the end Americans of all races fight side by side.
- 1965-1973 The Vietnam Conflict. Twenty African Americans win the Congressional Medal of Honor.
- 1971 Samuel L. Gravely the first black Admiral of the US Navy.
- 1989 Colin Powell the first African-American selected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- 1992 The Buffalo Soldier Monument dedicated at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
- 1994 The US Postal Service issues the commemorative Buffalo Soldier stamp.
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