Inside the Vault: First Black Cadets at West Point

In the 1870s, the United States Military Academy admitted its first Black cadets. However, this attempt at racial integration during the Reconstruction Era failed due to shocking degrees of forethought and deliberation.

On November 7, 2024, our curators discussed the experiences of the first Black cadets at West Point and the cultural currents leading up to racial integration with LTC Rory McGovern, an Academy Professor in the Department of History at West Point.

Download the slides from the program here.

FEATURED DOCUMENT

• Henry Ossian Flipper, The Colored Cadet at West Point. Autobiography of Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper, First Graduate of Color from the U. S. Military Academy, New York, 1878

USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW

0:17–2:47: Today’s Document
02:48–08:40: West Point and Integration
08:41–13:56: Black Candidate Admissions to West Point
13:57–20:59 Benjamin Butler
21:00–25:23: West Point Appointments
25:24–30:12: Newspapers on the Integration Issue
30:13–39:23: James W. Smith’s Experiences at West Point
39:24–48:39: Henry Flipper at West Point
48:40–52:24: Acceptance by Classmates
52:25–56:27: The West Point Outrage and Johnson C. Wittaker
56:28–59:45: National Controversy Over Treatment
59:46–1:17:53: Q&A

RELATED RESOURCES

• Spotlight on a Primary Source: Sergeant Francis Fletcher of the 54th Massachusetts on equal pay for Black soldiers, 1864
• Essay: “African Americans and Emancipation” by Manisha Sinha (University of Connecticut)
• Spotlight on a Primary Source: African American soldiers at the Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863
• Lesson Plan: America’s Unseen Soldiers