Frances Marie Antoinette Mack Roe (1850–1920)

Frances Marie Antoinette Roe, née Mack, was born around 1850 in New York, the daughter of a farmer. In 1871, she married Fayette Roe, a recent graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and accompanied him on his posting to remote Fort Lyon in southeastern Colorado Territory. She recorded her life during these years in her diary and letters that were later published as Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888 (1909). Her writings provide valuable insight into 19th century western army life and conditions on the frontier, and vividly describe the beauty of the wilderness. Mrs. Roe was the first to document the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" for Black soldiers of the period.