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Graduation in the Army
"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is
sweet."
My four years were drawing to a close. They had been years
of patient endurance and hard and persistent work,
interspersed with bright oases of happiness and gladness and
joy, as well as weary barren wastes of loneliness,
isolation, unhappiness, and melancholy. I believe I have
discharged I know I have tried to do so every duty
faithfully and conscientiously. It had been a sort of
bittersweet experience, this experimental life of mine at
West Point. It was almost over, and whatever of pure
sweetness, whatever of happiness, or whatever reward fortune
had in store for me, was soon to become known.
"Speaking of the Military Academy, we understand that the
only colored cadet now at West Point will not only graduate
at the coming June commencement, but that his character,
acquirements, and standing on the merit roll are such as
will insure his graduation among the highest of his class."
Harper s Weekly, April 28th, 1877.
All recitations of the graduating class were discontinued on
the last scholar day of May. On June 1st examination began.
The class was first examined in mineralogy and geology. In
this particular subject I "maxed it," made a thorough
recitation. I was required to discuss the subject of
"Mesozoic Time." After I had been examined in this subject
Bishop Quintard, of Tennessee, a member of the Board of
Visitors, sent for me, and personally congratulated me on my
recitation of that day, as well as for my conduct during the
whole four years. My hopes never were higher; I knew I would
graduate. I felt it, and I made one last effort for rank. I
wanted to graduate as high up as possible. I was not without
success, as will subsequently appear. The New York Herald
was pleased to speak as follows of my recitation in
mineralogy and geology:
"Today the examination of the first class in mineralogy and
geology was completed, and the first section was partially
examined in engineering. In the former studies the class
acquitted themselves in a highly creditable manner, and
several members have shown themselves possessed of abilities
far above the average. The class has in its ranks a son of
General B. F. Butler, Hon. John Bigelow s son, and sons of
two ex-Confederate officers. Flipper, the colored cadet, was
examined today, and produced a highly favorable impression
upon the board not less by his ready and intelligent
recitation than by his modest, unassuming, and gentlemanly
manner. There is no doubt that he will pass, and he is said
to have already ordered a cavalry uniform, showing that he
has a predilection for that branch of the service."
The class was next examined in law. In this, also, I
exceeded my most sanguine expectations, again "maxing it" on
a thorough recitation. My subject was "Domicile." Senator
Maxey, of the Board of Visitors, questioned me closely. The
Bishop of Tennessee left his seat in the board, came outside
when the section was dismissed, and shook my hand in hearty
congratulation. These were the proudest moments of my life.
Even some of my own classmates congratulated me on this
recitation. All that loneliness, dreariness, and melancholy
of the four years gone was forgotten. I lived only in the
time being and was happy. I was succeeding, and was meeting
with that success which humble effort never fails to attain.
The New York Tribune joins in with its good words as
follows:
Lieutenant Flipper, The
Colored Graduate Of West
Point.
"The examination of the first class
in law will be completed tomorrow.
The sections thus far called up have
done very well. The colored cadet,
Flipper, passed uncommonly well this
morning, showing a practical
knowledge of the subject very
satisfactory to Senator Maxey, who
questioned him closely, and to the
rest of the board. He has a good
command of plain and precise
English, and his voice is full and
pleasant. Mr. Flipper will be
graduated next week with the respect
of his instructors, and not the less
of his fellows, who have carefully
avoided intercourse with him. The
quiet dignity which he has shown
during this long isolation of four
years has been really remarkable.
Until another of his race, now in
one of the lower classes, arrived,
Flipper scarcely heard the sound of
his own voice except in recitation,
and it is to be feared that unless
he is detailed at Howard University,
which has been mentioned as
possible, his trials have only
begun."
The class was next examined in civil
and military engineering. In this
also I did as well as in either of
the other studies. I made a thorough
recitation. I was required to
explain what is meant by an "order
of battle," and to illustrate by the
battles of Zama, Pharsalia, and
Leuctra. |
The Colored Cadet.
"Flipper, the colored cadet from South
Carolina, was up this afternoon and
acquitted himself remarkably well. Some time
since he was recommended for a higher grade
than the one he holds, and his performance
today gained him a still higher standing in
the class."
In ordnance and gunnery the class was next
examined. In this I was less successful. I
was to assume one of Captain Didion s
equations of the trajectory in air, and
determine the angle of projection
represented by phi, and the range
represented by x in the following equation:
y = x tan. phi - gx2/2V2 B, and to explain
the construction and use of certain tables
used in connection with it. I made a fair
recitation, but one by no means satisfactory
to myself. I lost four files on it at least.
A good recitation in ordnance and gunnery
would have brought me out forty-five or six
instead of fifty. I did not make it, and it
was too late to better it. This was the last
of our examination. It ended on the 11th day
of June. On the 14th we were graduated and
received our diplomas.
During the examination I received letters of
congratulation in every mail. Some of them
may not be uninteresting. I give a few of
them: Post-Office Department,
Room 48,
Washington, D.C., June 3, 1877.
My Dear Mr. Flipper: It has been four years
since I last addressed you. Then you had
just entered the Academy with other young
colored men, who have since dropped by the
way. I was at that time the editor of the
Era in this city, and wrote an article on
West Point and snobocracy which you may
remember reading.
I felt a thrill of pleasure here the other
day when I read your name as the first
graduate from the Academy. I take this
opportunity of writing you again to extend
my hearty congratulations, and trust your
future career may be as successful as your
academic one. "My boy," Whittaker, has, I am
told, been rooming with you, and I trust has
been getting much benefit from the
association.
I am, your friend and well wisher,
Richard T. Greener.
42 Broad Street, New York,
June 4, 1877.
Cadet Henry O. Flipper,
West Point, N. Y.:
Dear Sir: I have been much pleased reading
the complimentary references to your
approaching graduation which have appeared
in the New York papers the past week. I beg
to congratulate you most heartily, and I
sincerely trust that the same intelligence
and pluck which has enabled you to
successfully complete your academic course
may be shown in a still higher degree in the
new sphere of duty soon to be entered upon.
I enclose an editorial from todays Tribune.
Respectfully,
Department Of The Interior
United States Patent Office, Washington,
D.C., June 5, 1877.
Henry O. Flipper, Esq.,
U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N. Y.
Dear Sir: Having noticed in the daily papers
of this city an account of the successful
termination of your course at the Military
Academy, we hasten to tender you our sincere
congratulations.
We are prompted to this act by an
experimental knowledge of the social
ostracism and treacherous duplicity to which
you must have been made the unhappy victim
during the long years of faithful study
through which you have just passed.
We congratulate you upon the moral courage
and untiring energy which must have been
yours, to enable you to successfully battle
against the immeasurable influence of the
prejudice shown to all of us at both of our
national schools. We hail your success as a
national acknowledgment, in a new way, of
the mental and moral worth of our race; and
we feel amply repaid for the many privations
we have undergone in the naval branch of our
service, in noting the fact that one of us
has been permitted to successfully stand the
trying ordeal.
Trusting that the same firmness of purpose
and untiring energy, which have
characterized your stay there, may ever be
true of your future career on the field and
at the hearth side,
We remain, very truly yours,
Post-Office, New York City,
N. Y. Office Of The Postmaster, Wednesday,
June 7, 1877.
My Dear Friend: Let me extend to you my full
gratitude upon your success at West Point. I
was overjoyed when I saw it. My friends are
delighted with you, and they desire to see
you when you come down. Let me know when you
think you will leave West Point, and I will
look out for you.
Very truly yours,
Henry O. Flipper, Esq.,
West Point Military Academy.
Washington, D. C., June 13, 1877.
Henry O. Flipper, Esq.,
West Point, N. Y.:
My Dear Friend: I wish to congratulate you
upon passing successfully your final
examination, and salute you as the first
young colored man who has had the manhood
and courage to struggle through and overcome
every obstacle. So many of our young men had
failed that I wondered if you would be able
to withstand all the opposition you met
with, whether you could endure the kind of
life they mete out to our young men at our
national Military Academy. I rejoice to know
that you have won this important victory
over prejudice and caste. This will serve
you in good stead through many a conflict in
life. Your path will not be all strewn with
roses; something of that caste and prejudice
will still pursue you as you enter the
broader arena of military life, but you must
make up your mind to live it down, and your
first victory will greatly aid you in this
direction. One thing, allow me to impress
upon you: you are not fighting your own
battle, but you are fighting the battle of a
struggling people; and for this reason, my
dear Flipper, resolve now in your deepest
soul that come what may you will never
surrender; that you will never succumb.
Others may leave the service for more
lucrative pursuits; your duty to your people
and to yourself demand that you remain.
Be assured that whatever you do, wherever
you may go, you always have my deepest
sympathy and best wishes.
I return to Europe in a few weeks.
Cordially yours,
Even the cadets and other
persons connected with the Academy
congratulated me. Oh how happy I was! I
prized these good words of the cadets above
all others. They knew me thoroughly. They
meant what they said, and I felt I was in
some sense deserving of all I received from
them by way of congratulation. Several
visited my quarters. They did not hesitate
to speak to me or shake hands with me before
each other or any one else. All signs of
ostracism were gone. All felt as if I was
worthy of some regard, and did not fail to
extend it to me.
At length, on June 14th, I received the
reward of my labors, my "sheepskin," the
United States Military Academy Diploma, that
glorious passport to honor and distinction,
if the bearer do never disgrace it.
Here is the manner of ceremony we had on
that day, as reported in the New York Times:
"The concluding ceremony in the graduation
exercises at the West Point Academy took
place this morning, when the diplomas were
awarded to the graduates. The ceremony took
place in the open air under the shadow of
the maple trees, which form almost a grove
in front of the Academy building. Seats had
been arranged here for the spectators, so as
to leave a hollow square, on one side of
which, behind a long table, sat the various
dignitaries who were to take part in the
proceedings. In front of them, seats were
arranged for the graduating class. The
cadets formed line in front of the barracks
at 10.30, and, preceded by the band playing
a stirring air, marched to the front of the
Academy building. The first class came
without their arms; the other classes formed
a sort of escort of honor to them. The
graduating class having taken their seats,
the other classes stacked arms and remained
standing in line around the square. The
proceedings were opened by an address from
Professor Thompson, of the School of
Technology, Worcester Mass., who is the
Chairman of the Board of Visitors."
And thus after four years of constant work
amid many difficulties did I obtain my
reward.
"Lieutenant H. O. Flipper was the only cadet
who received the cheers of the assembled
multitude at West Point upon receiving his
parchment. How the fellows felt who couldn't
associate with him we do not know; but as
the old Christian woman said, they couldn't
a been on the mountain top. " Christian
Recorder.
Victor Hugo says somewhere in his works that
he who drains a marsh must necessarily
expect to hear the frogs croak. I had
graduated, and of course the newspapers had
to have a say about it. Some of the articles
are really amusing. I couldn't help laughing
at them when I read them. Here is something
from the New York Herald which is literally
true:
"Mr. Blaine And The Colored
Cadet.
"Senator James G. Blaine, with his wife and
daughter and Miss Dodge ( Gail Hamilton )
left at noon yesterday in anticipation of
the rush. Before going the Senator did a
very gracious and kindly deed in an
unostentatious way. Sending for Flipper, the
colored cadet, he said:
"I don t know that you have any political
friends in your own State, Mr. Flipper, and
you may find it necessary to have an
intermediary in Congress to help you out of
your difficulties. I want you to consider me
your friend, and call upon me for aid when
you need it.
"With that he shook the lad s hand and bade
him good-by.
"Bishop Quintard, of Tennessee, and Senator
Maxey, of Texas, also complimented the
pioneer graduate of the colored race upon
his conduct throughout the four years of his
training, and proffered their sympathy and
assistance. With these encouragements from
prominent men of both political parties the
young man seemed deeply touched, and
thanking them suitably he returned with a
light heart to his quarters."
It was so very kind of the distinguished
senators and bishop. I valued these
congratulations almost as much as my
diploma. They were worth working and
enduring for.
The New York Herald again speaks, and that
about not hearing my voice, etc., made me "larf."
Here is the article:
The Colored Cadet S
Experience And
Prospects
"Flipper, the colored cadet, who
graduates pretty well up in his
class, said to me today that he is
determined to get into either the
Ninth or Tenth colored cavalry
regiment if possible. He seems to be
very happy in view of the honorable
close of his academic career, and
entertains little doubt that he can
procure the appointment he wishes.
When asked whether he was not aware
that there was a law providing that
even colored troops must be
officered by white men, he replied
that he had heard something of that
years ago, but did not think it was
true. If there is such a law, he
said emphatically, but with good
humor, it is unconstitutional and
cannot be enforced. He added that
several weeks ago he wrote to a
prominent gentleman in Alabama to
inquire what the existing law on the
subject was, and had not yet
received an answer. I questioned him
about his experience in the Academy,
And he said that he had suffered but
little on account of his race. The
first year was very hard, as the
class all made their dislike
manifest in a variety of ways. That,
he said, was in a great measure
caused by the bad conduct of Smith,
the colored cadet who preceded me.
When the class found out that I was
not like him, they treated me well.
The professors act toward me in
every respect as toward the others,
and the cadets, I think, do not
dislike me. But they don t associate
with me. I don t care for that. If
they don t want to speak to me I don
t want them to, I m sure. Save in
the recitation room Flipper never
heard the sound of his own voice for
months and months at a time; but he
was kept so hard at work all the
time that he did not mind it. If he
should join a regiment, however, he
would be more alone even than he has
been here, for the association with
other officers in the line of duty
would not be so close as it has been
with the cadets. He would be
isolated ostracized and he would
feel it more keenly, because he
would have more leisure for social
intercourse, and his mind would not
be so occupied as it has been here
with studies.
"Senator Blaine, in the course of a
conversation last night, thought the
career of Flipper would be to go
South and become a leader of his
race. He could in that way become
famous, and could accomplish much
good for the country."
When I entered the Academy I saw in
a paper something about colored
officers being put in white
regiments, etc. It purported to be a
conversation with the then Secretary
of War, who said there was such a
law, and that it would be enforced.
The then Secretary of War has since
told me he was sure there was such a
law, until to satisfy himself he
searched the Revised Statutes, when
he found he was mistaken.
I have mentioned elsewhere the
untruthfulness of the statement that
I never heard my own voice except in
The recitation room. Every one must
know that could not be true. The
statement is hardly worth a passing
remark.
"If he should join a regiment,
however," etc. Ah! well, I have
joined my regiment long ago. Let me
say, before I go further, I am
putting this manuscript in shape for
the press, and doing it in my
quarters at Fort Sill, I. T. These
remarks are inserted apropos of this
article. From the moment I reached
Sill I haven t experienced any thing
but happiness. I am not isolated. I
am not ostracized by a single
officer. I do not "feel it more
keenly," because what the Herald
said is not true. The Herald, like
other papers, forgets that the army
is officered by men who are
presumably officers and gentlemen.
Those who are will treat me as
become gentlemen, as they do, and
those who are not I will thank if
they will "ostracize" me, for if
they don t I will certainly
"ostracize" them.
"But to get into a cavalry regiment
is the highest ambition of most
cadets, and failing in that it is
almost a toss up between the
infantry and the artillery. Flipper,
the South Carolina colored cadet,
wants to get into the cavalry, and
as there is a black regiment of that
character he will, it is thought, be
assigned to that. There is in
existence a law specifying that even
black regiments shall be officered
by white men, and it is thought
there will be some trouble in
assigning Flipper. As any such law
is in opposition to the
constitutional amendments, of course
it will be easily rescinded. From
the disposition shown by most of the
enlisted men with whom I have
conversed at odd times upon this
subject, I fancy that if Flipper
were appointed to the command of
white soldiers they would be
restive, and would, if out upon a
scout, take the first opportunity to
shoot him; and this feeling exists
even among men here who have learned
to respect him for what he is."
Now that is laughable, isn't it?
What he says about the soldiers at
West Point is all "bosh." Nobody
will believe it. I don t. I wish the
Herald reporter who wrote the above
would visit Fort Sill and ask some
of the white soldiers there what
they think of me. I am afraid the
Herald didn't get its "gift of
prophecy" I from the right place.
Such blunders are wholly
inexcusable. The Herald reporter
deserves an "extra" (vide Cant
Terms, etc.) for that. I wish he
could get one at any rate. Perhaps,
however, the following will excuse
him. It is true.
"He is spoken of by all the officers
as a hard student and a gentleman.
To a very great extent he has
conquered the prejudices of his
fellows, and although they still
decline to associate with him it is
evident that they respect him. Said
one of his class this morning:
Flipper has certainly shown pluck
and gentlemanly qualities, and I
shall certainly shake his "flipper"
when we say "Good by." We have no
feeling against him at all, but we
could not associate with him. You
see we are so crowded together here
that we are just like one family,
possessing every thing in common and
borrowing every thing, even to a
pair of white trousers, and we could
not hold such intimate fellowship
with him. It may be prejudice, but
we could not do it; so we simply let
him alone, and he has lived to
himself, except when we drill with
him. Feel bad about it? Well, I
suppose he did at first, but he has
got used to it now. The boys were
rather afraid that when he should
come to hold the position as officer
of the guard that he would swagger
over them, but he showed good sense
and taste, merely assuming the rank
formally and leaving his junior to
carry out the duty." |
That glorious day of
graduation marked a new epoch in my military
life. Then my fellow cadets and myself
forgot the past. Then they atoned for past
conduct and welcomed me as one of them as
well as one among them.
I must revert to that Herald s article just
to show how absurd it is to say I never
heard the sound of my own voice except in
the section room. I heard it at reveille, at
breakfast, dinner, and supper roll calls, at
the table, at taps, and at every parade I
attended during the day in all no less than
ten or twelve times every single day during
the four years. Of course I heard it in
other places, as I have explained elsewhere.
I always had somebody to talk to every
single day I was at the Academy. Why, I was
the happiest man in the institution, except
when I d get brooding over my loneliness,
etc. Such moments would come, when it would
seem nothing would interest me. When they
were gone I was again as cheerful and as
happy as ever. I learned to hate holidays.
At those times the other cadets would go off
skating, rowing, or visiting. I had no where
to go except to walk around the grounds,
which I sometimes did. I more often remained
in my quarters. At these times barracks
would be deserted and I would get so lonely
and melancholy I wouldn't know what to do.
It was on an occasion like this Thanksgiving
Day I wrote the words given in another
place, beginning,
"Oh! tis hard this lonely living, to be
In the midst of life so solitary," etc.
Here is something from Harper s Weekly. The
northern press generally speak in the same
tenor of my graduation.
| "Inman Edward Page, a colored
student at Brown University, has
succeeded in every respect better
than his brother Flipper at West
Point. While a rigid non-intercourse
law was for four years maintained
between Flipper and the nascent
warriors at the Military Academy,
Page has lived in the largest leaved
clover at Brown, and in the Senior
year just closed was chosen Class
day Orator a position so much
coveted among students ambitious for
class honors that it is ranked by
many even higher than the Salutatory
or the Valedictory. Page has
throughout been treated by his
classmates as one of themselves. He
is a good writer and speaker, though
not noticeably better than some of
his classmates. His conduct has been
uniformly modest but self
respectful, and he had won the
esteem of professors as well as
students. The deportment of his
class toward him is in high and
honorable contrast with that pursued
by the less manly students supported
by the government at West Point, who
may have already learned that the
plain people of the country are with
Flipper." |
Here is something of a
slightly different kind from a Georgia paper
Augusta Chronicle and Constitutionalist. Its
tone betrays the locality of its birth.
"Benjamin F. Butler, Jr., who
graduated at West Point last summer
in the same class with the colored
cadet from Georgia, Flipper, has
been assigned for duty to the Ninth
Cavalry, the same regiment to which
Flipper is attached. The enlisted
men in this regiment are all
Negroes. Ben, senior, doubtless
engineered the assignment in order
to make himself solid with the
colored voters of the South. Ben,
like old Joe Bagstock, is devilish
sly."
It is in error as to my assignment.
Lieutenant Butler (whose name, by
the way, is not Benjamin F., Jr.)
was assigned to the Ninth Cavalry.
Here is the truth about my
assignment, given in the Sing Sing
(N. Y.) Republican:
"Cadet Flipper has been appointed to
the Tenth U. S. Cavalry (colored),
now in Texas. Secretary of State
Bigelow s son has also been assigned
to the same regiment. We wonder if
the non intercourse between the two
at West Point will be continued in
the army. Both have the same rank
and are entitled to the same
privileges. Possibly a campaign
among the Indians, or a brush with
the Greasers on the Rio Grande, will
equalize the complexion of the two." |
The National Monitor, of
Brooklyn (N. Y.), has this much to say. It
may be worth some study by the cadets now at
the Academy.
"Lieutenant Flipper, colored, a recent
graduate from West Point, is a modest
gentleman, and no grumbler. He says that
privately he was treated by fellow cadets
with proper consideration, but reluctantly
admits that he was publicly slighted. He can
afford to be untroubled and magnanimous. How
is it with his fellows? Will not shame ere
long mantle their cheeks at the recollection
of this lack of moral courage on their part?
A quality far more to be desired than any
amount of physical heroism they may ever
exhibit."
Here is something extra good from the Hudson
River Chronicle, of Sing Sing. To all who
want to know the truth about me physically,
I refer them to this article. I refer
particularly to the editor of a certain New
Orleans paper, who described me as a "little
bow legged grif of the most darkly coppery
hue."
"For a few days past Lieutenant Henry O.
Flipper, the colored cadet who graduated
from West Point Academy last week, has been
the guest of Professor John W. Hoffman, of
this place. Lieutenant Flipper is a native
of Atlanta, Georgia, whence General Sherman
commenced that glorious march to the sea
which proved what a hollow shell the
Southern Confederacy really was. The
lieutenant evidently has a large strain of
white blood in his veins, and could
probably, if so disposed, trace descent from
the F. F s. He stands six feet, is well
proportioned, has a keen, quick eye, a
gentlemanly address, and a soldierly
bearing. He goes from here to his home in
Georgia, on a leave of absence which extends
to the first of November, when he will join
the Tenth Cavalry, to which he has been
assigned as Second Lieutenant. This
assignment shows that Lieutenant Flipper
stood above the average of the graduating
class, as the cavalry is the next to the
highest grade in the service only the
Engineer Corps taking precedence of the
cavalry arm.
"For four long years Cadet Flipper has led
an isolated life at the Point without one
social companion, being absolutely
ostracized by his white classmates. As much
as any mortal, he can say:
"In the crowd They would not deem me one of
such; I stood Among them, but not of them;
in a shroud Of thoughts which were not their
thoughts.
"There must have been much of inherent
manhood in a boy that could stand that long
ordeal, and so bear himself at the close
that, when his name was pronounced among the
graduates, the fair women and brave men who
had gathered to witness the going out into
the world of the nation s wards, with one
accord greeted the lone student with a round
of applause that welcomed none others of the
class, and that could call from Speaker
Blaine the strong assurance that if he ever
needed a friend he might trustingly call on
him.
"The path of glory leads but to the grave,
but we venture the prediction that
Lieutenant Flipper will tread that path as
fearlessly and as promptly as any of his
comrades of the Class of 77. "
Henry Ossian Flipper, The Colored Cadet
at West Point, 1878
Henry O.
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