Much of the reported history I've seen about 'Buffalo Gals' is wildly contradictory. It's amazing how obscure the origins of this song are, especially given how deeply embedded it has become in American culture.

There is some firm consensus that the origin of the melody is an old German music hall song, "Im Grunewald, im Grunewald ist Holzauktion," and the tune itself was a commonly known oral tradition. As for the title and lyrics, there is much more ambiguity and disagreement. More often than not, however, research identifies 'Buffalo' as referring to the city, not the animal or soldier. This seems the most plausible origin for many reasons:

(1) The word 'Buffalo,' while always associated with the song, also became interchangeable with other place names (such as "Charleston Gals" or "Pittsburgh Gals," in order to appeal to the local audience), so any reference to the animal or soldier would be entirely inconsistent;

(2) "Christy's Minstrels," the group most associated with popularization of the tune, was started in Buffalo circa 1842-3 by E. P. Christy (originally under the name "Virginia Minstrels"), and there are accounts that they played this tune in the city's notorious canal district in those early years, during the heady days of the Erie Canal;

(3) There is consensus that 'Buffalo Gals' was adapted from the tune 'Lubly Fan, Will You Cum Out Tonight' by Cool White (John Hodges), copyrighted 1844, so the dates roughly correspond;

(4) Buffalo may have become the primary city name attached to the title because it was a common terminal point for the minstrel circuit stretching from New York city to Albany to Buffalo, and the city's name and frontier reputation made it an easy and appropriate substitute for performances of 'Lubly Fan.'

(5) The "Ethiopian Serenaders" minstrel group published their version of 'Buffalo Gals' in 1848, and Christy's Minstrels almost certainly had it in their repertoire by that year; and

(6) The sheet music for 'Buffalo Gals' was copyrighted quite early in 1848, by William Hall & Son, NY (author unknown).

Also, although this is anecdotal, Christy and White were both nationally famous (Christy being considered the most renowned of the early minstrels, with White being a close second), and even if they hadn't met during their groups' extensive travels, they would have certainly known about each other's work. Furthermore, it's interesting that Cool White and E.P. Christy both had the same hometown (Philadelphia).

I realize that, being from Buffalo, I'm inherently biased. But I believe the preponderance of evidence points to the city as the origin of the song's title and lyrics. Locally, there is cultural lore to support the theory; I've even heard the colorful rumor that the song refers to the, um, 'ladies' who worked in Buffalo's notorious Canal District. But this may be attributed to the embellishments of local legend.

In any case, I reserve the right to be wrong about any of this. I humbly invite corrections or comments!