BUFFALO SOLDIERS STILL ON THE TRAIL.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

Seeing John Mapp atop his sorrel-colored mount, in his dark blue cavalryman's coat, a pistol holstered at his waist and light gloves at his reins, it's easy to forget what century you are in.

And that's the goal for Mapp and the 17 other members of the New Buffalo Soldiers, a Shadow Hills-based re-enactment group dedicated to bringing alive the heroic feats of African-American soldiers of the Old West.

``It's everyone's history,'' Mapp said. ``Yet, I didn't learn it in school, my parent's didn't learn it in school and neither did my children.''

The traveling group spreads the story of the 10th Regiment of the U.S. Cavalry - a story omitted from most history books - to schoolchildren, equestrian buffs and anyone else who will listen.

The all-black regiment first mapped, then policed the American frontier in the late 1860s, when the wounds of slavery and the Civil War were still fresh.

Mapp, a San Fernando Valley doctor, began talking with African-American history buffs and horse owners a decade ago about forming the group.

The group that emerged is one of the few of the few independent African- American re-enactment groups in existence - and the only one in the San Fernando Valley.

By agreement, members tell the story of the regiment's earliest beginning rather than telling the cavalry's long history into World War II.

Inspired by the 1989 movie ``Glory'' about African-American soldiers fighting in the Civil War, Mapp's drive to keep the group alive is informed by a deep-seated sense of obligation to tell another untold story.

Nicknamed ``wild buffalo soldiers'' by Cheyenne warriors who admired their fierce determination, the term became a catch-all phrase for African-American soldiers. Considered a pejorative in the 1940s, white military officers used the term to demean their black counterparts.

But now the term is considered one of honor that hearkens back to the first ``colored'' cavalry.

``Being that soldier, I feel as if I am giving back something that was given to me,'' said C.F. Brown, a farrier who's been in the group since its formation in 1992. Brown, 57, who grew up in the Jim Crow South and now lives in Burbank, is still haunted by the humiliation of segregation.

``This is more than a homage. It's something serious we do. The glory I get is not for me. It's for the men who never got the glory. It has to be passed back to then.''

The re-enactment group members don't get paid. Sticklers for historical accuracy, some spend thousands of their own dollars on elaborate replicas of the wool coats and feathered hats that men wore more than a century ago. Most members are professionals in their 40s and 50s with full-time jobs. Often, they use vacation days to perform with their mission of educating.

Regular fixtures at the Rose Parade and the Canoga Park parade, the New Buffalo Soldiers beam with pride when talking about their predecessors.'

``Being mounted on those horses somehow puts you in deeper touch with that history - it draws a connection between the teacher and the subject matter. It's different from going in and presenting this with a suit and some slides,'' Mapp said.

Mapp himself was never particularly fond of horses, much less riding them.

``All this is just a tool to tell history,'' Mapp said. ``Ultimately, we want to bring it into the schools.''

The history went unrecognized at major museums and in classrooms for a long time. Things changed in the 1980s when Colin Powell, at the time executive director of Fort Leavenworth - home of the calvary - devised a plan to develop a monument to the soldiers.

It was dedicated in 1992. Other museums dusted off shelves dedicated to the soldiers. Some years later, a pharmaceutical executive and Army veteran opened the first museum devoted solely to them in Texas.

``In the mist of war, people are thinking about honor and valor and courage and there's no better example you can have of that than buffalo soldiers,'' said Paul J. Matthews, owner of the Buffalo Soldier Museum in Houston.

And as if to show just how far this once historical footnote has moved up the page, Wal-Mart is sponsoring ``Invisible Men of Honor - The Legend of the Buffalo Soldiers,'' a documentary airing Thursday on TV One.

In Los Angeles, the New Buffalo Solders work steadily to spread the message.

Mounted atop his mare, horseman Brown straightens out his coat, a wool jacket similar to that worn in the Civil War. Glancing at him on a quiet afternoon, it's easy to be lulled back to that earlier century.

Brown smiles gently and looks over to his friend, Mapp, as they prepare to take their horses for a ride.

``In essence what we are is just teachers.''

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) C.F. Brown of Burbank, John Mapp of Glendale and August Simien of Shadow Hills, from left, are members of the New Buffalo Soldiers. The group brings alive African-American heroism.

(2) C.F. Brown of the New Buffalo Soldiers wears his Civil War-era cavalry blouse and hat while riding Saturday in Altadena.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer