West Point’s First African American Graduate

March 21, 1856- Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper, West Point’s first African American graduate and the first African American commissioned officer in the regular U.S. Army, was born enslaved in Thomasville, GA. After the Civil War Flipper enrolled at Atlanta University and as a freshman was appointed to West Point where there were already four black cadets. Despite the difficulties caused by his white classmates Flipper persevered and graduated June 14, 1877. As a second lieutenant Flipper was the first non-white officer to command the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry. Flipper described his experience at West Point in the 1878 book “The Colored Cadet at West Point”. Flipper served with competency and distinction during the Apache Wars and the Victorio Campaign but was haunted by rumors alleging improprieties. Flipper was found guilty of “conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman” in 1881, court-martialed, and dismissed from the service based on a relationship and correspondence with a white woman. After losing his commission in the Army Flipper remained in Texas working as a civil engineer in El Paso. In 1898 he volunteered to serve in the Spanish–American War but requests to restore his commission were ignored by Congress. He spent time in Mexico and upon returning to the United States he served as an advisor to Senator Albert Fall on Mexican politics. When Senator Fall became Secretary of the Interior in 1921 he brought Flipper with him to Washington, DC to serve as his assistant. In 1923 Flipper went to work in Venezuela as an engineer in the petroleum industry. He retired to Atlanta in 1931 and died of natural causes May 3, 1940. The Department of the Army issued Flipper a posthumous Certificate of Honorable Discharge in 1976 and President William J. Clinton issued a pardon in 1999. After his discharge was changed a bust of Flipper was unveiled at West Point and annually the Henry O. Flipper Award is given to graduating cadets who exhibit “leadership, self-discipline and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties”. “Negro Frontiersman: The Western Memoirs of Henry O. Flipper” was published in 1963. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Atlanta but his remains were reinterred in his hometown with full military honors February 11, 1978. Visit the museum to learn more about Lieutenant Flipper!