David Rucker was born 15 December 1846 in Tennessee. He was my maternal grandfather’s, maternal grandfather. He is also the grandfather of one of our favorite cousins, Mrs. Johnnie B. Van Dyke of Austin, Texas.

David Rucker was brought to Texas by the Texas-Indian Wars, in which he served as a Soldier for the United States military. In 1867 he enlisted in Company G of the 38th Infantry (G 38 Rl. S. Infantry) of the Regular Army. As a result of the 1 November 1869 consolidation of the 38th and 41st Infantry Regiments, David Rucker next served in the 24th Infantry Regiment. All three regiments listed above were entirely African-American under the then-existing requirement to segregate soldiers by race. Men in these all-Black regiments are known as “Buffalo Soldiers.” All Buffalo Soldiers, including David Rucker, were Black men who were either recently enslaved and voluntarily enlisted or were veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops of the Union Army.

In 1869, the 24th Regiment was garrisoned at Fort McKavett in Menard County Texas under Col. Ranald Slidell (Bad Hand) Mackenzie, brother in law of accomplished naval officer Matthew Calbraith Perry. David Rucker most likely garrisoned at this location until the end of his service in 1870.

David Rucker died on 11 March 1924 and is buried in the Perry Cemetery in Austin, Texas.

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Sources:

1-24 Infantry Battalion History https://www.army.mil/article/166701/1_24_infantry_battalion_history

Robert Wooster, “Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/twenty-fourth-united-states-infantry.

Ernest Wallace, “Mackenzie, Ranald Slidell,”Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mackenzie-ranald-slidell.