Henry Flipper was born a slave in 1856. He attended Atlanta University until he got an appointment to West Point. He joined four other blacks who were already there. They underwent harassment from white cadets. No white spoke to them (“the silent treatment”) and none befriended them. He became the first black to graduate from West Point in 1877 (the other four did not survive the mistreatment) and thus became the first African-American officer in the Army. He was sent to the 10th Cavalry Regiment (the Buffalo Soldiers) out in the West. He used his training as an engineer to build roads and telegraph lines. He eliminated a malaria problem at a fort by digging a ditch to drain several mosquito-breeding ponds. (Today “Flipper’s Ditch” is a National Historical Landmark.) He became friends with and was mentored by his commanding officer Capt. Nicholas Nolan. He dined at his house in spite of displeasure from the other white officers at the fort. Flipper was close to Nolan’s sister-in-law and they would go riding together. They exchanged letters when he was assigned to a new fort. The white soldiers were offended by this and rumors spread that their relationship was improper. Later, Col. William Shafter became his commanding officer. Shafter removed Flipper as assistant quartermaster, but “asked” him to keep the quartermaster’s safe in his quarters. Soon Flipper discovered that $3,000 was missing. Knowing he was being set up, Flipper tried to coverup the theft while he raised money to replace it. He was caught and faced a court martial despite the local community and soldiers raising the money to replace the loss. In the trial he was found innocent of embezzlement, but another charge was added during the trial. The letters he exchanged with a white woman was used against him. He was found guilty of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman”. He was dismissed from the Army with a dishonorable discharge. White officers who were convicted of the same crime had gotten lighter sentences. He worked hard to get reinstated, but failed. Pres. Chester Arthur refused to intervene. He went on to a successful career as an engineer and surveyor, but always proclaimed his innocence. The racial injustice was recognized after his death in 1940. In 1976, a review determined his conviction had been racially motivated. Now there is a statue of him at West Point and every year a graduate is given the Henry O. Flipper Award for “leadership, self-discipline, and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties.” On Feb. 19, 1999, Pres. Clinton gave him a presidential pardon. Clinton proclaimed: “Henry Flipper did everything his country asked him to do.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ossian_Flipper
https://nationalvmm.org/the-legacy-of-buffalo-soldier-henry-o-flipper/
https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/henry-flipper/
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