Independent Historian

Frank “Mickey” Schubert was born in Washington, D. C.  He is a graduate of Howard University, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Toledo (Ph. D., 1977).  He served in the U.S. Army during 1965-1968, including one year in Vietnam, and rose to the rank of captain.  He worked as a historian in the Department of Defense from 1977 to 2003, when he retired as chief of the Joint Operational History Branch, in the Joint History Office, Office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

He has written extensively on military subjects, including frontier exploration, black soldiers, and military construction, and has lectured at universities and institutes in seven European countries.  He had a Fulbright lectureship at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, during 2003-2004, and is the author of numerous books and articles including Buffalo Soldiers, Braves and the Brass: The Story of Fort Robinson Nebraska (1993); On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldiers: Biographies of African-Americans in the U.S. Army (1995) and Voices of the Buffalo Soldier: Reports, Record, and Recollections of Military Service in the West (2004). 

His most recent works are Hungarian Borderlands:  from the Habsburg Empire to the Axis Alliance, the Warsaw Pact, and the European Union (Continuum, 2011) and Other than War:  the American Military Experience and Operations in the Post-Cold War Decade (Joint History Office, Office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2013).  A second book focused on the western border area of Hungary, The Past is not Past:  Confronting the Twentieth Century in the Hungarian-Austrian Borderlands, is scheduled for publication by the Holocaust Museum in Budapest before the end of 2022. 

In 2014, Dr. Schubert donated his papers and research files concerning Buffalo Soldiers to the Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri. The Frank Schubert Buffalo Soldiers Collection (SC 197) is part of the Missouri Valley Special Collections of the library.

25th Infantry Regiment (1866-1947)

When the U.S. Army was reorganized on July 28, 1866 for peacetime service after the American Civil War, six regiments were set aside for black enlisted men.  These included four infantry regiments, numbered 38th through 41st.  The 25th Infantry was created during a reduction in March 1869 by … Read More25th Infantry Regiment (1866-1947)

24th Infantry Regiment (1866-1951)

When the U.S. Army was reorganized on July 28, 1866, for peacetime service after the American Civil War, six regiments were set aside for Black enlisted men. These included four infantry regiments, numbered 38th through 41st. The 24th Infantry was organized during a reduction in … Read More24th Infantry Regiment (1866-1951)

The Myth of the Buffalo Soldiers

Nineteenth Century African American soldiers who served in the Western United States have generally been known a “Buffalo Soldiers.”  In this article, however, military historian Frank N. Schubert, challenges modern popular perceptions of the soldiers, among them the significance of their name and the nature … Read MoreThe Myth of the Buffalo Soldiers

Fort Robinson, Nebraska (1874-1916)

Fort Robinson, in the northwestern corner of Nebraska, was established in 1874 as a base for operations against the Northern Cheyenne and Lakota tribes.  Named for Lieutenant Levi Robinson, who was killed while escorting a woodcutting party near Laramie Peak in February 1874, the fort … Read MoreFort Robinson, Nebraska (1874-1916)

Buffalo Soldiers

After the Civil War, when the massive Union Army was disbanded, Congress could not ignore the contributions of about 200,000 black volunteers to the Union victory. Congress designated six post-Civil War regiments for black enlisted men in the reorganization act of July 28, 1866—the 9th … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers