[ExSoldier]

Pardon ma'am, but I've been a-teachin' history for so long, it's a fact just sorta seared into muh mind. IOW, no...not a specific source. But you should easily be able to check this one and verify. I got this from Ask.com: By 1877 and the end of Reconstruction ... 94% of blacks lived in the South, did not own land, few had gone west to homestead ... 50% of cowboys were black (poor pay) ...... and it is a Georgetown University class....synopsis. Of course as economic advantages rose or fell, the percentage of all occupations shift by demographics.

[Alia]

You know what? You are right.

I got this from Ask.com: By 1877 and the end of Reconstruction ... 94% of blacks lived in the South, did not own land, few had gone west to homestead ... 50% of cowboys were black (poor pay) ...... and it is a Georgetown University class....synopsis. Of course as economic advantages rose or fell, the percentage of all occupations shift by demographics.

Not only had I heard this; but it is logical and fits perfectly in with all other available data.

Buffalo soldiers, for one. Here's a link:

Buffalo Soldiers

I hadn't quite thought of black cowboys fully -- but you are right: These were amazing men.

"Over 180,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Of these, more than 33,000 died. After the war, the future of African-Americans in the U.S. Army was in doubt. In July1866, however, Congress passed legislation establishing two cavalry and four infantry regiments (later consolidated to two) whose enlisted composition was to be made up of African-Americans.

Cowboys. On horseback. Buffalo Soldiers.