Henry Ossian Flipper Henry Ossian Flipper ( 21 March 1856 – 3 May 1940 ) was an American soldier , former slave , and the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877 , earning a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army . Following Flipper ' s commission , he was transferred to one of the all - black regiments serving in the US Army which were historically led by white officers . Assigned to A Troop under the command of Captain Nicholas M . Nolan , he became the first non - white officer to lead Buffalo Soldier s of the 10th Cavalry . Flipper served with competency and distinction during the Apache Wars and the Victorio Campaign but was haunted by rumors alleging improprieties . At one point he was court martial ed and dismissed from the US Army . After losing his commission in the Army , Flipper worked throughout Mexico and Latin America and as an assistant to the Secretary of the Interior . He retired to Atlanta in 1931 and died of natural causes in 1940 . In 1994 his descendants applied to the US military for a review of Flipper ' s court martial and dismissal . A review found that the conviction and punishment were " unduly harsh and unjust " and recommended that Flipper ’ s dismissal be changed to a good conduct discharge . Shortly afterwards , an application for pardon was filed with the Secretary of the Army which was forwarded to the Department of Justice . President Bill Clinton pardoned Lieutenant Henry O . Flipper on 19 February 1999 . Early life and education . Flipper was born into slavery in Thomasville , Georgia the eldest of five brothers . His mother , Isabelle Flipper , and his father , Festus Flipper , a shoemaker and carriage - trimmer , were owned by Ephraim G . Ponder , a wealthy slave dealer . Flipper attended Atlanta University during Reconstruction . There , as a freshman , Representative James C . Freeman appointed him to attend West Point , where there were already four other black cadets . The small group had a difficult time at the academy , where they were rejected by white students . Nevertheless , Flipper persevered and in 1877 became the first of the group to graduate , earning a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U . S . Army cavalry . He was assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment , one of the four all - black Buffalo Soldier regiments in the army , and became the first black officer to command regular troops in the U . S . Army . ( Previously all - black regiments had been commanded by white officers . ) 10th Cavalry Regiment . In July 1877 Flipper reported to Fort Sill in the Indian Territory , for assignment with the 10th Cavalry . But the 10th was not at Fort Sill , they were at Fort Concho . He was not assigned to a cavalry troop but given work assignments including engineering a ditch to drain a swamp that was malaria - infested . He supervised the construction of roads and telegraph lines . Finally Flipper received orders to report to Fort Concho in West Texas in October 1877 and was assigned to A Troop . He was the first non - white officer to lead Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry . Captain Nicholas M . Nolan , the commander of A troop , was the officer assigned to teach him about being a cavalry officer . Nolan was censured by several white officers for allowing Flipper into his quarters for dinner , where his daughter Kate was present . Nolan defended his action by stating that Flipper was an " officer and a gentleman " just like any other officer present . In August 1878 , Captain Nicholas M . Nolan married his second wife , Anne Eleanor Dwyer in San Antonio , Texas . They had one child , a girl . Anne ' s sister , a Miss Mollie Dwyer , arrived shortly after Troop A moved to Fort Elliott in Texas in early 1879 . Mollie Dwyer and Flipper became friends and often went riding together . Nolan was the " de facto " commander of Fort Elliott and he made Flipper his adjutant . Flipper received high marks from his commander . However , there were rumors and letters hinting at improprieties against Flipper , an African - American and Mollie Dwyer , a Caucasian . It would be the beginning of a smear campaign . During the next many months he sent and received letters from Mollie . In the Fall of 1879 a Federal Marshal named Norton armed with blank warrants began a quarrel with a County Judge . Other county officials stepped in to defend the judge and Norton arrested all of them with his armed men . Norton took the county men to Fort Elliott to be placed in the guard house . Nolan was required by law to accept the prisoners and it appears that Nolan talked with the Wheeler County Judge . The telegraph lines then were suddenly cut and Nolan decided to act . Flipper gathered the prisoners in the middle of the night and with two soldiers set off for another Fort in Indian Territory . Norton captured the entire party and arrested Flipper and one of his soldiers . The other soldier ran back to the Fort to report what had happened . Norton then set off for Dallas , Texas . Nolan mounted a detail of men and took off in pursuit . He caught up to the party and made it clearly known that no prisoners would be shot while trying to escape , because the Federal Marshal and his prisoners were now under military escort . A Federal judge dismissed the warrants and Norton filed federal charges of " interfering with the process of the law " against the two officers . The two officers were quickly tried and found guilty . Both were fined a thousand dollars which was an enormous fine for its time . Norton was satisfied then left . The Federal judge then suspended payment and dismissed the two military officers . Army relations in the county of Wheeler improved tremendously . Nolan had Flipper under his wing for the first part of the Apache Wars in early 1879 until he was reassigned to G Troop . Until November 1879 , during his Captain ' s four month leave , Flipper commanded this unit by himself and received a well done . In May 1880 , Flipper and Nolan reunited during the Victorio Campaign . It would be the last time the two would meet . Throughout this period , his military career was encumbered by racism in the military , though he did have the support of some officers like Nolan and many of the white civilians he encountered who were impressed by his competency . In the later part of 1880 Flipper was transferred to Fort Davis and assigned as the post quartermaster and commissary officer . End of military career . Colonel William Rufus Shafter assumed command at Fort Davis in March 1881 . He had been the commander of the First Infantry Regiment at Fort Davis . Shafter had a reputation as harassing officers he disliked . While he tolerated black Buffalo Soldiers , he hated seeing a black officer . Flipper was dismissed without cause as quartermaster within days . Then Shafter " asked " Flipper to keep the quartermaster ' s safe in his quarters . Being " asked " by a superior officer was a " de facto " order and Flipper complied . In July 1881 Flipper found a shortage of over $ 2 , 000 . 00 . Realizing that this could be used against him by officers intent on forcing him out of the army , he attempted to hide the discrepancy , which was later discovered , then he lied about it when confronted . In August he was arrested by Shafter for embezzling government funds . Word quickly spread about the missing money . Many felt it was a setup and soldiers and the community came up with the money to replace what was missing within four days . Shafter accepted the money then convened a court - martial on 17 September 1881 . In December 1881 the court - martial found Flipper innocent of the main charge . But another charge was added during the trial and he was found guilty " of conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman , " and sentenced to be " dismissed from the service of the United States . " It was more than a harsh sentence . In two prior situations involving white officers who were found guilty of embezzlement , neither officer was dismissed nor dishonored . The letters exchanged between Mollie Dwyer ( Nolan ' s sister - in - law ) and Flipper were used against Flipper . Relationships between whites and blacks were strictly forbidden in the viewpoint of the white officers on the board . Despite appeals , and denial of a lighter sentence from President Chester A . Arthur , Flipper was drummed out of the army with a dismissal , the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge , on 30 June 1882 . For the rest of his life , Flipper contested the charges and fought to regain his commission . Post military . After his dismissal , Flipper remained in Texas , working as a civil engineer . 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 on returning to the United States , he served as an advisor to Senator Albert Fall on the revolutionary politics in that country . When Fall became Secretary of the Interior in 1921 , he brought Flipper with him to Washington , D . C . 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 in 1940 . Legacy . In 1976 descendants and supporters applied to the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records on behalf of Flipper . The Board , after stating that it did not have the authority to overturn his court - martial conviction , concluded the conviction and punishment were " unduly harsh and unjust " and recommended that Flipper ’ s dismissal be changed to a good conduct discharge . The Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Manpower and Reserve Affairs ) and the Adjutant General approved the Board ' s findings , conclusions , and recommendations and directed that the Department of the Army issue Flipper a Certificate of Honorable Discharge , dated 30 June 1882 , in lieu of his dismissal on the same date . On 21 October 1997 , a private law firm filed an application of pardon with the Secretary of the Army on Flipper ' s behalf . Seven months later , the application was forwarded by the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Manpower and Reserve Affairs ) to the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice with a recommendation that the pardon be approved . Many pardon applications had been rejected in the past – as a matter of policy – because the intended recipients were deceased . However , President Bill Clinton pardoned Flipper on 19 February 1999 . After his discharge was changed , a bust of Flipper was unveiled at West Point . Since then , an annual Henry O . Flipper Award has been granted to graduating cadets at the Academy who exhibit " leadership , self - discipline , and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties . " Throughout his life , Flipper was a prolific author , writing about scientific topics , the history of the Southwest , and his own experiences . In " The Colored Cadet at West Point " ( 1878 ) he describes his experiences at the military academy . In the posthumous " Negro Frontiersman : The Western Memoirs of Henry O . Flipper " ( 1963 ) , he describes his life in Texas and Arizona after his discharge from the army .