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Henry O. Flipper Biographical Sketch shortage but was afraid to report it to his superiors.

He had decided to solve the


problem by covering the debt with a check from his autobiography, but the funds had
The carnage of the Civil War had severely depleted military troop numbers. The Army been delayed.
needed more men, and it needed a new way to organize them. On July 28, 1866, the
Army Reorganization Act authorized the formation of 30 new units, including two On September 15, 1881, a court martial convened in the fort’s chapel. White civilians
cavalry and four infantry regiments "which shall be composed of colored men." About and fellow soldiers, who had collected over $1,700 to repay the missing money, testified
half of the Civil War Colored Troops took the opportunity and signed on. For the first to Flipper's good character. After three months of testimony, Henry O. Flipper was acqu-
time in history, African American men were now considered "regular" soldiers. itted of theft but found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer. With approval from
U.S. President Chester Arthur, on June 24, 1882, the Army's first black officer left the
Under the new Army structure, African American soldiers were organized into six service with a dishonorable discharge.
segregated regiments. Eventually, their ranks would include the first black graduate of
West Point, 23 Medal of Honor recipients, and one woman disguised as a man. These Henry Flipper left the Army, but it was not his only remarkable achievement. He set
soldiers fought in over 100 significant military engagements as America pushed ever many models as an African American professional in the fields of engineering, national
westward, earning the nickname that symbolized their fighting bravery and fierceness: government service, and education. Despite all these successes, Flipper spent every day
Buffalo Soldiers. In addition to protecting frontier settlements from indigenous warriors, of his post-Army life fighting two significant battles that had begun all those years ago at
all Buffalo Soldiers regiments surveyed and mapped the vast Texas plains, built and Fort Davis. One battle was to clear his record. The other was to clear his name. Henry O.
repaired dozens of forts, strung thousands of miles of telegraph lines, and escorted Flipper died in 1940 without having won either of them.
wagon trains, stagecoaches, railroad trains, and cattle herds across the southwest.
Thanks to the efforts of Flipper's descendants, the Army Board for the Correction of
Henry Ossian Flipper was born into slavery in Georgia on March 21, 1856. He was Military Records reviewed his case in 1976. They found that in similar cases of the time
described as “a sturdy, well-built lad, a mulatto,” who was “bright, intelligent and involving white officers, punishments had usually been fines, reprimands, or rank
studious.” While a freshman at Atlanta University in 1873, Flipper received an reductions, but not dismissal from service. Citing racial prejudice as an element in
appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Flipper's excessive punishment, the board exonerated Flipper and awarded him a
retroactive honorable discharge. On February 19, 1999, President Bill Clinton granted
During his four years as a cadet, he was harassed, ignored, insulted, isolated, and 2nd Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldier, a full pardon.
threatened. But by 1877, Flipper was West Point’s first African American graduate. In
1880, after many frontier skirmishes with indigenous Americans, Lt. Flipper and his 10th Henry O. Flipper's story is just one of many in the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. After
Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers headed for service at Fort Davis, Texas. That was where things leaving the Texas forts in the 1890s, Buffalo Soldier cavalry and infantry units went on to
fell apart. serve with distinction in the Spanish-American and Philippine wars, the U.S.-Mexico
border wars, and both world wars. The last African American Buffalo Soldier regiment
At Fort Davis, Flipper was responsible for recording and safeguarding the store’s cash was deactivated during the Korean War, and by 1951, all Buffalo Solider troops were
profits each week. Things went fairly well until 1881, when Colonel William "Pecos Bill" integrated into other U.S. Army regiments.
Shafter took command. Although the Army considered him a "reliable officer," he
showed up at Fort Davis with many harassment and misconduct charges filed by his The following resources were used in creating this sketch of Henry Flipper:
former company, the 24th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers. The rumor around the military was
that although Pecos Bill led Buffalo Soldiers fairly well, he didn’t like them much. Bob Bullock Museum: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire-
stories/buffalo-soldier
Controversy still swirls over whether the case brought against 2nd Lt. Henry O. Flipper
was motivated by racial prejudice. What the evidence shows is that three months after The Colored Cadet at West Point: Autobiography of Henry Flipper (text found here:
his arrival, Colonel Shafter relieved Flipper of his duty as quartermaster and filed two http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/flipper/flipper.html#flipper117)
criminal charges against him: 1) theft of $3,791.71 of commissary funds, and 2) conduct
unsuitable of an officer. Flipper admitted that he himself had discovered a money

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