Henry O. Flipper, 1856 - 1940

Henry Ossian Flipper, engineer, the first black graduate of West Point, the eldest of five sons of Festus and Isabella Flipper, was born a slave at Thomasville, Georgia, on March 21, 1856. He attended school at the American Missionary Association, and in 1873, as a freshman at Atlanta University, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy. Although Flipper was the fifth black accepted to West Point, he was the first to graduate. At West Point he was often ostracized and had little social interaction with white cadets beyond official activities. He graduated fiftieth in a class of seventy - six on June 14, 1877, and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant. In 1881, while serving as commissary, Flipper discovered post funds missing from his quarters and attempted to conceal the loss until he could find or replace the money. The missing funds were part of what Flipper suspected “a systematic plan of persecution,” a plot by white officers to force him from the army. The following year, when Col. William Rufus Shafter learned of the discrepancy, Flipper was court martialed. Although Flipper was acquitted of embezzlement, he was found guilty of "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" and was dismissed from the service on June 30, 1882. Until his death, Flipper maintained his innocence and waged a lifelong battle for reinstatement in the army. However, President Chester A. Arthur made a final confirmation of the verdict on June 24, 1882 which was rescinded in 1976 by the Department of the Army. Despite a rocky start, Flipper went on to have an illustrious career. Flipper went to El Paso after his army dismissal and remained there until 1883; returning once again in 1912. He opened a civil and mining engineering office in Nogales, Arizona, published translations of U.S. and Mexican mining and tax laws. By 1893, Flipper became pivotal witness for the US in the Nogales de Elias Land Grant case, which saved the property of hundreds of land owners and also served as a special agent for the United States Court of Private Land Claims. Thereafter, Flipper worked as an engineer and legal assistant in Northern Mexico, and eventually became an assistant to the Secretary of the Interior as a translator and interpreter in 1921. His final years (1931-1940), after working in Venezuela as an engineer, were spent in retirement in Atlanta, Georgia. Flipper died May 3, 1940 from a heart attack. Later, in 1976, a bust of Flipper was unveiled at West Point and he was posthumously granted an honorable discharge, dated June 30, 1882. Presently, an annual West Point award in honor of Flipper is presented to the graduate who best exemplifies "the highest qualities of leadership, self-discipline, and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties while a cadet."

Image Description:In this black and white photo, the main subject of the photograph is positioned in the center for a portrait. He is a young African American man, his hair parted down the middle, and stares into the camera with a stern expression. He is wearing a light colored military jacket with button clasps all throughout the chest and torso. He is in a relaxed position and is leaning his left arm, bent at the elbow on the edge of a loveseat or couch.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: Library of Congress

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History