SECOND LIEUTENANT

PASCHAL CONLEY JR.

Enlistment: 1878

Branch: Army

Division: 24th & 10th Infantry, Horse Calvary

Highest Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Theater: Spanish-American War, Cuba. Deployments across the American West in the expansion of the United States.

Paschal Jr. was the son of livery owner Paschal Conley Sr., nephew of carriage maker James Conley, wheelwright John Conley, and prosperous blacksmith William ‘Bill’ Conley. He was the brother of Army Nurse Corp pioneer Sallie Ann Conley Thornton. He was the cousin to Matthew Conley of the U.S.C.T. of 1863-1867.  

As a military figure, Paschal Conley Jr. was exceptional. However, he was historically significant not for valor on the battlefields or high seas, but rather, his administrative abilities, discipline, and attitude toward learning. His contributions helped enhance the public image of the Buffalo Soldiers greatly.

His processes and zeal for order learned as protégé of General John J. Pershing had a transformative effect on the Buffalo Soldiers. After his training as adjutant for Pershing, Conley’s Buffalo Soldiers horse-mounted calvary evolved from a militia into a flexible, disciplined utility force capable of everything from construction of garrisons to management of ammunition supply chains to combat action.

His efforts to encourage literacy were exceptional. He urged soldiers to read widely - from newspapers to poetry. Conley created mini-libraries filled with edifying reading at forts on the Western Territories in the 1800s. He introduced basic exercise and calisthenics, organized sports and recreation. All of these efforts reshaped the Buffalo Soldiers into an admired institution from 1880 until his retirement in November of 1906.

In retirement, Conley became a significant figure in Montana, and his wife a doyenne of the Black Elite in Montana, Idaho, and Washington State in decade from 1904-1914. His daughter Mattie was well-sought after for marriage, and it was arranged for her to wed a young Buffalo Solider trained by Paschal’s own protégé, Everett Davis. They were stationed in Spokane, Washington. Their descendants would reach the highest level of achievement in the equestrian sports.