CHAPTER XV.

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:

"To-day 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 to-day, 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 to-day

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 inclose an editorial from to-day's 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 to-day 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.'"

Here is an editorial article from the New York Tribune.

It needs no comment, nor do the two following, which

were clipped from the Christian Union.

LIEUTENANT FLIPPER.

"Among the West Point graduates this year is young

Flipper, a lad of color and of African descent. It

is stated that he acquitted himself very respectably

in his examination by the Board of Visitors, that he

will pass creditably, and that he will go into the

cavalry, which is rather an aristocratic branch, we

believe, of the service. Mr. Flipper must have had

rather a hard time of it during his undergraduate

career, if, as we find it stated, most if not all

his white fellow-students have declined to associate

with him. He has behaved so well under these anomalous

circumstances, that he has won the respect of those

who, so far as the discipline of the school would

permit, ignored his existence. 'We have no feeling

against him,' said one of the students, 'but still we

could not associate with him. It may be prejudice, but

still we couldn't do it.' Impossibilities should be

required of no one, and if the white West Pointers

could not treat Mr. Flipper as if he were one of

themselves, why of course that is an end of the matter.

So long as they kept within the rules of the service,

and were guilty of no conduct 'unbecoming an officer

and a gentleman,' it was not for their commanders to

interfere. But when they tell us that they couldn't

possibly associate with Mr. Flipper, who is allowed

to have 'shown pluck and gentlemanly qualities,' we

may at least inquire whether they have tried to do so.

Conquering prejudices implies a fight with prejudices

--have these young gentlemen had any such fight? Have

they too 'shown pluck and gentlemanly qualities?'

"We are not disposed to speak harshly of these

fastidious young fellows, who will not be long

out of the school before they will be rather sorry

that they didn't treat Mr. Flipper a little more

cordially. But a much more important matter is that

he has, in spite of his color, made a good record

every way, has kept up with his class, has not been

dropped or dismissed, but emerges a full-blown Second

Lieutenant of Cavalry. He has thus achieved a victory

not only for himself but for his race. He has made

matters easier for future colored cadets; and twenty

years hence, if not sooner, the young white gentlemen

of West Point will read of the fastidiousness of their

predecessors with incredulous wonder. Time and patience

will settle every thing."

CADET FLIPPER.

"The most striking illustration of class prejudice

this year has been afforded, not by Mississippi or

Louisiana, but by West Point. In 1873 Cadet Flipper

entered the Military Academy. God had given him a

black skin, a warm heart, an active brain, and a

patriotic ambition. He was guilty of no other crime

than that of being a negro, and bent on obtaining a

good education. He represented a race which had done

as good fighting for the flag as any done by the fair-

skinned Anglo-Saxon or Celt. Congress had recognized

his right and the right of his race to education.

"But his classmates decided that it should be denied

him. If they had possessed the brutal courage of the

murderers of Chisholm they would have shot him, or

whipped him, or hung him; but they were not brave

enough for that, and they invented instead a punishment

worse than the State has inflicted upon its most brutal

criminals. They condemned him to four years of solitude

and silence. For four years not a classmate spoke to

Cadet Flipper; for three years he did not hear his own

voice, except in the recitation-room, on leave of

absence, or in chance conversation with a stray visitor.

Then another negro entered West Point, and he had one

companion. The prison walls of a Sing Sing cell are more

sympathetic than human prejudice. And in all that class

of '77 there were not to be found a dozen men brave enough

to break through this wall of silence and give the

imprisoned victim his liberty. At least two thirds of the

class are Republican appointees; and not one champion of

equal rights. In all that class but one hero--and he a

negro. Seventy-five braves against one! And the one was

victorious. He fought out the four years' campaign,

conquered and graduated. Honor to the African; shame to

the Anglo-Saxon."

CADET FLIPPER AGAIN.

"We have received several letters on the subject of

Cadet Flipper, to whose treatment at West Point we

recently called the attention of our readers. One of

them is from a former instructor, who bears a high

testimony to Lieutenant Flipper's character. He writes:

"'I want to thank you for your editorial in the

Christian Union about Cadet Flipper. He was one

of our boys; was with us in school from the beginning

of his education till Freshman year in college, when

he received his appointment to West Point. He was always

obedient, faithful, modest, and in every way manly. We

were sorry to have him leave us; but now rejoice in

his victory, and take pride in him.

"'During all these years, in his correspondence with

his friends, he has not, so far as I can learn, uttered

a single complaint about his treatment.'

"A second is from a Canadian reader, who objects to

our condemnation of the Anglo-Saxon race, and insists

that we should have reserved it for the Yankees. In

Canada, he assures us, the color line is unknown, and

that negroes and Anglo-Saxons mingle in the same school

and in the same sports without prejudice. Strange to

say the white men are not colored by the intercourse.

"The third letter comes indirectly from Lieutenant

Flipper himself. In it the writer gives us the benefit

of information derived from the lieutenant. We quote

(the italics are ours):

"'Mr. Flipper is highly respected here, and has been

received by his former teachers and friends with

pleasure and pride. His deportment and character have

won respect and confidence for himself and his race.

As to his treatment at West Point, he assures me that

the "papers" are far astray. There was no ostracism on

the part of his fellow-cadets, except in the matter of

personal public association. He was invariably spoken

to and treated courteously and respectfully both as a

cadet and officer.'

"We are glad to be assured that it was not as bad as

we had been informed by what we considered as good

authority; and we are still more glad to know that

Lieutenant Flipper, instead of making much of his

social martyrdom, has the good sense to make as light

of it as he conscientiously can. But if it is true

that there were cadets who did not sympathize with

the action of the class, and were brave enough to

speak to their colored comrade in private, it was a

pity that they were not able to screw their courage

up to a little higher point, and put the mark of a

public condemnation on so petty and cruel a

persecution."

The people at large seem to be laboring under a

delusion about West Point, at least the West Point

that I knew. I know nothing of what West Point was,

or of what was done there before I entered the

Academy. I have heard a great deal and read a

great deal, and I am compelled to admit I have

doubts about much of it. At the hands of the officers

of the institution my treatment didn't differ from

that of the other cadets at all, and at the hands of

the cadets themselves it differed solely "in the matter

of personal public association." I was never persecuted,

or abused, or called by approbrious epithets in my

hearing after my first year. I am told it has been done,

but in my presence there has never been any thing but

proper respect shown me. I have mentioned a number of

things done to me by cadets, and I have known the same

things to be done to white cadets. For instance, I was

reported for speaking to a sergeant about the discharge

of his duty. (See Chapter X., latter part, on that

subject.) The same thing occurred to several members of

the class of '74. They were ordered into the rear rank

by a sergeant of the second class, when they were first-

classmen. They were white. The result was they were all,

three in number, I think, put in arrest.

Some New England paper contributes the following

articles to this discussion, parts of which I quote:

THE BIGOT AND THE SNOB

"The Hilton-Seligman controversy is one of those

incidents which illustrate some of the features

of our social life. The facts can briefly be stated.

A Jewish gentleman, of wealth and position, applies

for rooms at the Grand Union Hotel, Saratoga, and is

flatly refused admission because he is a Jew. The

public indignation is so great that the manager of

the hotel is obliged to defend the act, and puts in

the plea that a man has the right to manage his

property as he pleases.

"But before our anger cools, let us remember the case

of the colored cadet at West Point. During his course

he met with constant rebuffs. He was systematically

cut by his fellow-schoolmates. Instead of extending

to him a generous sympathy in his noble ambition, they

met him with sneers. All the feelings which should

guide a chivalric soldier and lead him to honor real

heroism, were quenched by the intense prejudice against

color. Mean and despicable as is the spirit which

prompted the-manager of the Grand Union Hotel to refuse

to entertain the rich Jewish banker, that which influenced

the young men at West Point is still more deserving scorn

and contempt. It was meaner and more contemptible than

cowardice."

PREJUDICE AGAINST COLOR.

Within the last thirty years there has been a great

change in public sentiment relating to colored persons.

That it has become wholly just and kind cannot be shown;

but it is far less unjust and cruel than it used to be.

In most of the old free States, at least, tidy,

intelligent, and courteous American citizens of African

descent are treated with increasing respect for their

rights and feelings. In public conveyances we find them

enjoying all the consideration and comforts of other

passengers. At our public schools they have cordial

welcome and fair play. We often see them walking along

the street with white schoolmates who have evidently

lost sight of the difference in complexions. Colored

boys march in the ranks of our school battalions without

receiving the slightest insult. Colored men have been

United States senators and representatives. Frederick

Douglass is Marshal of the District of Columbia.

"There is one conspicuous place, however, where

caste-feeling seems to have survived the institution

of slavery, and that is West Point. There the old

prejudice is as strong, active, and mean as ever.

Of this there has been a recent and striking instance

In the case of young Flipper who has just graduated.

It appears that during his whole course this worthy

young man was subjected to the most relentless

'snubbing.' All his fellow-students avoided him

habitually. In the recitation-room and upon the parade

ground, by day and by night, he was made to feel that

he belonged to an inferior and despised race, and that

no excellence of deportment, diligence in study, or

rank in his class could entitle him to the recognition

accorded to every white dunce and rowdy. Yet with rare

strength of character he persevered, and when, having

maintained the standing of No. fifty in a class of

seventy-six, he received his well-earned diploma, there

was a round of tardy applause.

"If West Point is to continue to be a school

characterized by aristocracy based upon creed,

race, or color, so undemocratic and unrepublican

as to be out of harmony with our laws and

institutions, it will do more harm than good,

and, like other nuisances, it should be abated.

If our rulers are sincere in their professions,

and faithful to their duties, a better state of

things may be brought about. Military arts must

be acquired somewhere; but if the present Academy

cannot be freed from plantation manners, it may

be well to establish a new one without pro-slavery

traditions, or, as has been suggested by the

Providence Journal, to endow military departments

in the good colleges where character and not color

is the test of worth and manhood."

(From the New York Sun.)

COLORED CADET FLIPPER.

TWO HUNDRED OF HIS NEW YORK ADMIRERS HONORING HIM WITH

A RECEPTION.

"A reception was given last evening by Mr. James W.

Moore, in the rooms of the Lincoln Literary Musical

Association, 132 West Twenty-seventh Street, to

Lieutenant H. O. Flipper, of Georgia, the colored

cadet who has just graduated at West Point. Mr. Moore

has had charge of the sick room of Commodore Garrison

since his illness. The chandeliers were decorated with

small flags. On a table on the platform rested a large

basket of flowers, bearing the card of Barrett H. Van

Auken, a grandson of Commodore Garrison. Among the

pictures on the wall were many relating to Lincoln and

the emancipation proclamation. Cheerful music was

furnished from a harp and violin.

"The guests began to arrive about nine o'clock, the

ladies in large numbers, and the room was soon abreeze

with a buzz of conversation and the rustle of gayly-

colored dresses and bright ribbons.

"The grand entree was at a quarter before ten. Lieutenant

Flipper entered the room in full uniform. A heavy yellow

horse-hair plume fell down over his cavalry helmet. His

coat was new and bright, and glittered with its gold

buttons and tasselled aigulets. By his side hung a long

cavalry sabre in a gilt scabbard. His appearance was the

signal for a buzz of admiration. He is very tall and well

made. Beside him was Mr. James W. Moore. Behind him, as

he walked through the thronged rooms, were the Rev. Dr.

Henry Highland Garnett, and Mrs. Garnett; the Rev. E. W.

S. Peck of the Thirty-fifth Street Methodist Church; Mr.

Charles Remond Douglass, son of Fred Douglass, and United

States Consul in San Domingo; the Rev. J. S. Atwell, of

St. Philip's Episcopal Church; the Rev. John Peterson;

Professor Charles L. Reason, of the Forty-first Street

Grammar School; John J. Zuilille; Richard Robinson, and

others.

"The Lieutenant was led upon the stage by Mr. Garnett

and seated at the extreme left, while Dr. Garnett took

a seat at the extreme right. Next to the Lieutenant sat

Miss Martha J. Moore and Miss Fanny McDonough, Mr. P. S.

Porter, Dr. Ray, Mr. Atwell, and Professor Reason

completed the semicircle, of which Lieutenant Flipper

and Dr. Garnett formed the extremities. The Rev. Mr.

Atwell sat in the middle.

"After all were seated, Dr. Garnett called Mr. Douglass

forward to a vacant seat on the platform. In introducing

Lieutenant Flipper, Dr. Garnett said he had honored

himself and his race by his good scholarship and pluck.

Nowhere else was there, he thought, such iron-bound and

copper-covered aristocracy as in West Point. Who could

have thought that any one wearing the 'shadowed livery

of the burnished sun' would ever dare to be an applicant?

Young Smith's high personal courage had led him to

resent a blow with a blow, and his career in the Academy

was cut short. Lieutenant Flipper had encountered the

same cold glances, but he had triumphed, and appeared

before his friends in the beautiful uniform of the

national army. (Applause.) The Doctor believed he would

never disgrace it. (Applause, and waving of handkerchiefs

by the ladies.)

"At the close of his address, Dr. Garnett said: 'Ladies

and gentlemen, I take great pleasure in introducing to

you Lieutenant H. O. Flipper.' The Lieutenant rose and

bowed low, his hands resting on the hilt of his sabre.

He said nothing. Mr. Douglass was introduced, but excused

himself from speaking.

"Then Mr. James Crosby was called on. He said when the

regiment in which he was orderly sergeant had marched

to Port Hudson, General-- met it, and said to Colonel

Nelson: 'Colonel, what do you call these?' 'I call them

soldiers,' answered Colonel Nelson. 'Well, if these are

soldiers, and if I've got to command niggers, the

government is welcome to my commission. Take them down

to the right to General Payne. He likes niggers.' 'Soon

afterward,' added Mr. Crosby, 'occurred that terrible

slaughter of the colored troops which you all remember

so well. This year Lieutenant Flipper and a nephew of

General--graduated in the same class, and the colored

man rated the highest.'

"After the addresses Lieutenant Flipper descended to

the floor, and without formal introductions shook hands

with all. He had taken off his cavalry helmet while

sitting on the stage. Lemonade and ice-cream were served

to the guests. About two hundred persons, all colored,

were present. The Lieutenant will start for his home in

Georgia on Monday. He will join his regiment, the Tenth

Cavalry, on the Rio Grande in November."

(From the Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution.)

FLIPPER AGAIN.

"Flipper has flopped up again, and seems to be

decidedly in luck. He has been transferred to the

Tenth Cavalry, which is alluded to by a New Orleans

paper as the 'Tenth Nubian Light Foot.' This, it

seems to us, is a dark hint as to the color of this

gallant corps, but as the State of Texas lies

somewhere between New Orleans and the Rio Grande,

we suppose the matter will be allowed to pass. But

as to Flipper, Flipper has got his regiment and he

has had a reception at the hands of his colored

friends and acquaintances in New York. Common people

are generally embarrassed at receptions given to

themselves, but not so with Flipper. The reception

was exceedingly high-toned, as well as highly colored,

and took place in the rooms of the 'Lincoln Literary

Musical Association.' Flipper, rigged out in full

uniform, with a yellow horse-hair plume flowing

felicitously over his cavalry helmet, sailed in,

according to accounts, just as chipper and as pert

as you please. There was no lager beer handed around,

but the familiar sound of the band, which was composed

of a harp and a violin, made its absence painfully

apparent. There were few speeches, but the affair was

decidedly formal. When every thing was ready for

business, a party of the name of Garnett rose and

introduced Flipper, and in the course of his remarks

took occasion to attack the newly-made lieutenant by

accusing him of wearing 'the shadowed livery of the

burnished sun.' Whereupon Flipper got up, placed his

hands on the hilt of his bloody sabre, and bowed. The

crowd then shook hands all around, the music played,

and lemonade and ice-cream were brought out from their

hiding-places, and all went merry as the milkman's bell.

As we said before, Flipper is in luck. He is a

distinguished. young man. He will reach home during the

present week, and it is to be hoped that his friends here

are ready to give him an ice-cream lunch, or something of

that kind."

(From the Christian Recorder.)

LIEUTENANT FLIPPER IN NEW YORK--HIS RECEPTION--

CALLS ON BELKNAP.

"Lieutenant Flipper has, by his manly conduct and

noble bearing, his superior intellectual powers shown

his fellow-cadets and tutors that all the colored

student wants is a 'chance.' His term of four years,

his graduation, his appointment, will all mark a new

era in American history. That the 'feat' he has

accomplished is appreciated has been shown in too

many ways to mention. His advent into New York City

was marked by many courtesies. His friends, not

unmindful of his new field and position, tendered

him a grand reception at Lincoln Literary Hall on

the 30th of June. It was the writer's good fortune

to arrive at New York just in time to be present

and pay him similar honors with others. The hall

was tastefully and beautifully decorated with flowers

and flags, representing the different States in the

Union. At the appointed hour the distinguished guests

were seen gathering, filling the hall to its utmost

capacity. Among the number we noticed especially Dr.

H. H. Garnett and Processor Reason. A few and

appropriate remarks were made by Dr. Garnett as an

introduction, after him others followed. After these

formal exercises were over, Mr. Flipper came down

from the rostrum and welcomed his friends by a

hearty shake of the hand, then all supplied the

wants of the inner man by partaking of cream, cake,

and lemonade, which were so bountifully supplied. The

evening was certainly a pleasant one, as delightful

as one could wish, and I presume there was no one

present who did not enjoy himself. In addition to

what has already been mentioned the occasion was

still more enlivened by the strains of sweet music.

The exercises of the evening being concluded, the

distinguished guests departed each one for his home.

Lieutenant Flipper spent some days in New York, and

during this visit, as he tells me, ex-Secretary Belknap

sent him a written invitation to call on him. This he

did, and was received very cordially and congratulated

on the victory achieved. He spoke of the pros and cons,

and seemed anxious that success might attend his

footsteps in all the avenues of army life. That Belknap

is interested in the young soldier and desires his

success I do not deny; but whether the ex-Secretary

would have given him any assistance when in his power

is a question I shall not presume to answer."

(From the Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution.)

FLYING AROUND FLIPPER.

HIS RECEPTION UPON HIS RETURN HOME--EAGERNESS TO SHAKE

THE HAND OF THE "BAD MAN WID DE GUB'MENT STROPS

ON!"--A SOCIAL RECEPTION ON MONDAY NIGHT.

"'Flip's done come home!' was the familiar, and yet

admiring manner in which the young negroes about town

yesterday spread the information that Second Lieutenant

Henry O. Flipper, of the Tenth Cavalry, and the first

colored graduate of the United States Military Academy

at West Point, had arrived. His coming has created

quite a sensation in colored circles, and when he

appeared upon the streets, last evening, taking a

drive with his delighted father, he was the cynosure

of all the colored people and the object of curious

glances from the whites. The young man had 'been there

before,' however, and took all the ogling with patience

and seeming indifference. Once in awhile he would

recognize an old acquaintance and greet him with a

smile and a bow.

"The last number of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

contains an excellent likeness of Flipper, dressed in

his cadet uniform. His features betray his intelligence,

and indicate the culture which he has acquired by hard

study. His arrival here was the occasion of a buzz about

the Union depot. His parents and a number of intimate

friends were present to receive him, and the scene was

an interesting one to all concerned.

"'Dat's him!' said a dozen of the curious darkeys

who stood off and hadn't the honor of the youth's

acquaintance. They seemed to feel lonesome.

"'He's one ob de United States Gazettes!' shouted

a young darkey, in reply to a query from a strange

negro who has moved here since Flipper went away.

"But the young officer was speedily spirited out

of the crowd and taken home to his little bed for

a rest.

"On the streets he was greeted by many of our citizens

who knew him, and who have watched his career with

interest. His success was complimented, and he was

urged to pursue his course in the same spirit hereafter.

Among his colored friends he was a lion, and they could

not speak their praises in language strong enough.

"A darkey would approach the young man, cautiously,

feel of his buttons and clothes, and enthusiastically

remark: "'Bad man wid de gub'ment strops on!'

"These were the expressions of admiration that best

suited the ideas of his delighted acquaintances. They

will give him a reception on Monday night next, at

which all his friends will be present, and some of our

leading white citizens will be invited to be present.

"We will try and give the young man's views and

experiences in tomorrow's issue."

This paper is noted for its constant prevarication.

Whatever it says about negroes is scarcely worth

noticing, for be it in their favor or not it is

almost certainly untrue. My "delighted father" was

not within three hundred miles of Atlanta when I

reached that place. I did not appear on the streets

in uniform for several days after my arrival, and then

only at the request of many friends and an officer of

the Second Infantry then at McPherson Barracks.

(From the Atlanta (Ga.) Republican)

"Lieutenant Flipper arrived in our city last week on a

visit to his friends. His father lives in Thomasville,

but he was educated in this city. His intelligence and

manly course has won for him the praise of even the

Bourbons."

(From the, Atlanta (Ga.) Republican.)

"We acknowledge the courtesy of an invitation to a

reception given to Lieutenant H. O. Flipper of the

Tenth Cavalry, by his colored friends in Atlanta.

Circumstances beyond our control prevented our

attending.

"We are informed it was a pleasant affair, and that

Lieutenant Flipper embraced the opportunity to give

something of his four years' experience at West Point,

and to correct some of the misstatements of the Atlanta

Constitution concerning the treatment he received while

a cadet at the Military Academy. An article alluding to

this subject has been crowded out this week, but will

appear in our next issue.

(From the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle and Constitutionalist.)

A FALSEHOOD.

"The Cincinnati Gazette says: 'Lieutenant Flipper, the

young colored man who is guilty of having been graduated

with credit from West Point, continues to be the butt

of Georgia Democratic journals.' We would like to know

where the Gazette gets its information. Flipper has been

treated with nothing but kindness in Georgia. Wherever

he has reviewed the colored military, accounts of the

reviews have been published, but we have yet to see a

single word in a Georgia paper in disparagement or

ridicule of the colored graduate."

Witness the following from the Atlanta Constitution:

FLIPPER AS A FRAUD.

FREEMAN'S PROTEGE ON SOUTHERN CIVILIZATION--HE TALKS

AT THE RECEPTION AND MAKES OF HIMSELF AN ASS--THE

ANOMALOUS CREATURE ON EXHIBITION--HE SHOWS THE CLOVEN

FOOT.

"Last night the colored people of the city gave a

'reception' to Flipper, of the United States Army.

They did this from a feeling of pride over the fact

that one of their color, a townsman, had succeeded in

attaining his rank. They doubtless, little suspected

that he would make such use of the occasion as he did.

More than one of them so expressed their feeling before

The evening ended. The relations between the races in

this city have for years been such as to make remarks

like those in which Flipper indulged not only uncalled

for, but really distasteful. They are not to be blamed

for his conduct.

"The crowd that gathered in the hall on the corner of

Mitchell and Broad Streets was large. It was composed

almost entirely of well-dressed and orderly colored

people. There were present several of the white male

and female teachers of the negro schools; also, some of

our white citizens occupying back seats, who were drawn

thither by mere curiosity.

"Flipper was dressed lavishly in regimentals and gold

cord, and sat upon the stage with his immense and

ponderous cavalry sabre tightly buckled around him. He

had the attitude of Wellington or Grant at a council of

war. He was introduced to the audience by J. O. Wimbish,

a high-toned negro politician (as was) of this city, who

bespattered the young warrior with an eulogy such as no

school-master would have written for less than $5 C.O.D.

It was real slushy in its copiousness and diffusiveness.

FRIP FIRES OFF.

He arose with martial mien, and his left hand resting on

his sabre hilt. He said:

"'Some weeks ago he had been called upon at a reception

in New York to make a speech, but he had reminded the

gentleman who called upon him that he had been taught

to be a soldier and not an orator. While upon this

occasion he still maintained that lie was not an orator,

yet he would tell them something of his career at West

Point. He referred to his colored predecessors in the

Academy and their fates, particularly of Smith, whose

last year there was his (F.'s) first. During that year,

on Smith's account, he had received his worst treatment

at the Academy. Prejudice against us was strong there at

that time. During his first encampment he had a better

time than almost any man in his class. In 1874 Smith left,

and a rumor prevailed that he (F ) was afraid to stay and

was going to resign. Colonel Upton, the commandant, sent

for him to his house, told him not to do so, but to stick

it out. Of course he had no intention of resigning, and

he followed this superfluous advice. So far as the cadets

were concerned they always treated me fairly, would speak

to me, and some came to my room and talked with me, but

the only thing they did that was wrong, perhaps, was that

they would not associate with me openly. The officers

always treated me as well as they did any other cadet.

All these reports about my bad treatment there, especially

in Southern newspapers, are absolutely false.

"'I will read and comment upon some of these articles.

In The Constitution of last Saturday it said I had the

hardest four years of any cadet who ever passed through

the Academy. That is in some respects true, but not

wholly so. Speaking of Ben Butler's son, I am proud to

say that among the three hundred cadets I hadn't a better

friend than the son of the Massachusetts statesman.

(Applause.) As to Mr Bigelow's son, mentioned here, I

know him well, and his whole family--his father, the

distinguished ex-Secretary of State, his mother and his

two sisters, and have met them at their home. Mrs.

Bigelow, recognizing my position, and thinking to assure

my feelings, sent me a nice box of fruit with her

compliments.'

"He then commented on articles from Beecher's Christian

Union, the New York Tribune, Harper's Weekly, and the New

York Telegram, characterizing many of their statements

about himself as false.

SOCIAL EQUALITY IN THE ARMY.

"The article last named was about social equality in

the army. Flipper said that he was cordially met by the

army officers in Chattanooga. In return he paid his

respects to the commandant and was introduced and shown

through the barracks. He was treated with every courtesy.

"'How it is here you have all seen as I walked about the

city. I have walked with the officers of the garrison

here several times today, even up and down Whitehall

Street, and one of them invited me into Schumann's drug

store, and had a glass of soda together. I know it is

not a usual thing to sell to colored people, but we got

it. (Laughter and applause.) And to-night as Mr. J. O.

Wimbish and myself were coming to the hall, we met with

one of the officers at the corner, and went into

Schumann's again. We called for soda-water, and got it

again! (Applause.) And I called at the barracks, through

military courtesy, and paid my respects to the commandant.

I understand that the officers there have had my case

under consideration, and have unanimously agreed that I

am a graduate of the national Academy, and hold a

commission similar to their own, and am entitled to the

same courtesy as any other officer. I have been invited

to visit them at their quarters to-morrow. These things

show you something of social equality in the army, and

when this happens with officers who have lived in the

South, and had opportunity to be tainted with Southern

feeling, I expect still less trouble from this source

when I reach my regiment and among officers who have

not lived in the South and had occasion to be tainted

in this way. The gentlemen of the army are generally

better educated than the people of the South.'

"He spoke of his graduation and of the applause with

which he was greeted. He closed by thanking his

audience.

FLOURISHING HIS FLIPPER.

"Then Flipper was escorted upon the floor, and the

announcement was made that all who desired could now

be introduced to the youth.

"The first man to receive this distinguished honor was

George Thomas, the Assistant United States Attorney. He

was followed closely by several Northern school-marms

and teachers, and a host of the colored people. "After

shaking, the crowd took ice-cream and cake and adjourned.

Sic transit!"

I pass over the preceding article with the silent

contempt it deserves. Some of the papers commented

upon it. I give two such articles:

(From the Atlanta (Ga.) Republican.)

"The Atlanta Constitution, true to principle, comes

out in a slanderous attack upon Lieutenant Flipper.

In its issue of Tuesday, July 10th, it calls him a

fraud. Would to heaven we had ten thousand such frauds

in Georgia for the good of the State and progress in

general!

"It takes exception, too, to the manner in which the

colored lieutenant appeared at the reception given by

the colored people in his honor. He was 'lavishly

dressed in full regimentals,' it says, 'with gold cord.

He sat upon the stage with his massive and ponderous

sword, looking like Wellington or Grant in war council.

He made remarks uncalled for and distasteful.' Oh dear!

Oh!

"Now we (that is I, this individual, Mr. Editor,

for I would not assume your grand editorial pronoun)

should like to know how the Constitution would have

the young officer dress. Surely it was entirely proper

and becoming that he should appear in full regimental

cap, coat, boots, spurs, and all, full fledged, just

as he issued forth from West Point.

"In the first place it was a novel sight for the

colored people. Surely the Constitution would not

rob us of the privilege and pleasure of seeing in

full military costume the first and only one of our

race who has been permitted to pass through West Point

with honor.

"In regard to the ostentatious manner in which the

lieutenant conducted himself on that evening, nothing

could be further from the truth. In fact, the general

comment of the evening by both black and white was on

the modesty of his bearing.

"It is not strange, however, that the Constitution,

whose judgment and sense of right and justice have

been perverted through years of persistent sinning,

should see things in a different light.

"The 'uncalled for and distasteful' remarks were

doubtless those made in regard to the fact that

Northern people coming into contact with Southern

prejudice are tainted by it, and that West Pointers

are generally better educated than the Southern

people. Of course this would stir up the wrath of

the Constitution; for what could be more hateful in

its sight than truth?

"JUSTITIA."

(From the New York World.)

Lieutenant Flipper would have shown better sense if

he had not made any speech at Atlanta. But if he was

to make any speech at all upon the subject of his

treatment at West Point, it could scarcely be expected

that he should make one more modest, manly and sensible

than that which is reported in our news columns."

Here are two other articles of the abusive order from

the Southern press:

(From the Griffin (Ga.) News.)

"J. C. Freeman, the only white man in Georgia that

ever disgraced the military of the United States, was

in the city yesterday. It will be remembered that this

individual at one time misrepresented this district in

Congress, and during that time he appointed one negro

by color, and Flipper by name, to West Point. But then,

nevertheless, the negro is as good as he is, and better

too, and we have no doubt but what Freeman thinks he did

a big thing, but the good people of the State think

different. This notice is not paid for."

(From the Warrenton (Ga.) Clipper.)

"The following is the way the Southerners solidify

their section--that is, it is one way--the other,

being the masked Kuklux. What it says, however, about

the North, is just about so:

"'Lieutenant Flipper, the colored cadet, is in Macon,

and the darkies there think him a bigger man that

General Grant. They'll want him to be President after

awhile, and the Northern people will then be the first

to say no.'"

The article of social equality referred to was clipped

from the New York Evening Telegram. It is as follows:

NEGRO EQUALITY IN THE ARMY.

"There is no danger of negro equality, oh no! But it

will be so delightful for the white soldier to be

commanded to pace the greensward before the tent of

Lieutenant Flipper, the negro graduate of West Point,

and the white soldier will probably indulge in a

strange train of thought while doing it. And when

promotion comes, and the negro becomes Majah Flippah,

or Colonel Flippah, the prospects of the white captains

and lieutenants will be so cheerful, particularly if

they have families and are stationed at some post

in the far West, where any neglect in the social

courtesies toward their superior officer would probably

go hard with them and their families."

To go back to the article "Flying Around Flipper," I

want to say the white people of Georgia can claim no

credit for any part of my education. The Storrs school

was not a public school at the time I went to school

there. It did not become such until I went to West

Point. The Atlanta University receives $8000 per annum

From the State of Georgia in lieu of the share of the

agricultural land scrip due to the colored people for

educational purposes. Efforts have been made to take

even this from the university, but all have been

failures.

(From the Macon (Ga.) Telegram and Messenger.)

BATTALION PARADE.

"On Monday evening the colored companies of the city

had a battalion parade and review.

"The three companies, viz., the Lincoln Guards, the

Bibb County Blues, and the Central City Light Infantry,

formed on Fourth Street, and to martial music marched

up Mulberry to First, down First to Walnut, up Walnut

to Spring Street, and there formed for dress parade and

inspection.

"On the right of the line were the Light Infantry

under Captain W. H. DeLyons. The Blues bore the

colors, and were commanded by Spencer Moses, Captain,

and the Guards supported the extreme left. T. N. M.

Sellers, Captain of the Lincoln Guards, acted as

major. After some preliminary movements the troops

were inspected by Lieutenant Flipper, the colored

graduate of West Point. The troops then marched around

the inspecting officer.

"The line was again formed, and the major addressed

Lieutenant Flipper in a short speech, in which was

expressed gratitude to the government and thanks to

the inspecting officer.

"Lieutenant Flipper replied in a few very sensible

and appropriate remarks: That he wished all success,

honor, and thanks to the companies for their kindness

and courtesy. Hoped they would all make soldiers and

tight for their country. That he was a soldier rather

than a speaker. That he had tried to do his duty at

West Point, and that he expected to continue to try

to do his duty, and 'again thanking you for your

hospitality, kindness, and attention to myself, I

renew my wish for your future success.'

"After the speaking there was a general hand-shaking.

The entire parade was very creditable indeed, showing

considerable proficiency in the tactics, and was

witnessed by a large crowd of about twelve hundred of

whites and blacks.

"This is the first review ever held by the colored

troops in the city of Macon. About eighty men rank

and file were out. The colors used was the United

States flag. The uniforms were tasty and well gotten

up."

There was a very scurrilous article in one of the

Charleston (S.C.) papers. I have not been able to

get it. I am informed that after commenting on my

graduation, assignment, etc., it indulged in much

speculation as to my future. It told how I would

live, be treated, etc., how I would marry, beget

"little Flippers," and rear them up to "don the

army blue," and even went far enough to predict

their career. It was a dirty piece of literature,

and I am not very sorry I couldn't obtain it.

(From the Atlanta (Ga.) Republican.)

SUCCESSFUL COLORED YOUNG MEN.

"At length a colored youth has overcome the difficulties

that surrounded him as a student at the West Point

Military Academy, and has graduated, with the respect

of his white associates who were at first very much

opposed to him. Mr. Flipper, the successful young man

is a Georgia boy, and was appointed a cadet to West

Point from the Fifth Congressional District--the

Atlanta District--by Congressman Freeman, we believe.

He was raised by Rev. Frank Quarles, of this city, and

is regarded by him almost as a son.

"John F. Quarles, Esq., the son of Rev. Frank Quarles,

is spending a few days with his father. Mr. J. F.

Quarles was educated in Pennsylvania since the war,

and returned to Georgia in 1870. He read law and was

admitted to the Augusta bar after a careful examination

before three of the ablest lawyers at that bar, which

is noted for its talent. He passed a very creditable

examination, and is, we believe, the only colored man

who has been admitted to the Georgia bar. He was soon

after appointed consul to Port Mahon, in the Mediterranean

Sea, and served with credit until he was legislated of

office by the Democratic Congress. President Hayes

recently appointed him consul to Malaga, Spain.

"Rev. Mr. Quarles is justly proud of two such boys."

Here, too, is a venerable colored man claiming the

honor of having raised me. Why, I never was away

from my mother and father ten consecutive hours in

my life until I went to West Point. It is possible,

nay, very probable, that he jumped me on his knee,

or boxed me soundly for some of my childish pranks,

but as to raising me, that honor is my mother's,

not his.

Before leaving West Point the following communications

were sent me from the head-quarters of the Liberia

Exodus Association, 10 Mary Street, Charleston S.C.

I replied in very courteous terms that I was opposed

to the whole scheme, and declined to have any thing to

do with it. I was in Charleston later in the year, and

while there I was besieged by some of the officers of

the association, who had not yet despaired of making me

"Generalissimo of Liberia's Army," as one of them

expressed himself. Wearied of their importunities, and

having no sympathy with the movement, I published the

following in the Charleston News and Courier:

FLIPPER ON LIBERIA.

"Lieutenant Flipper, of the Tenth United States Cavalry,

the newly- fledged colored West Pointer, has something

to say on the question of the Liberian Exodus, which

will be interesting to the people of his race. The

lieutenant, by his creditable career as a cadet at the

Military Academy, has certainly earned the right to be

heard by the colored population with at least as much

respect and attention as has been given to the very best

of the self-constituted apostles of the Exodus. Here is

his letter:

To the Editor of The News and Courier:

"'SIR: A rumor has come to me from various sources,

to the effect-that I have promised to resign my

commission in the army after serving the two years

required by law, and to then accept another as General

Commander-in-Chief of the Liberian Army.

"'It has also come to my notice that many, particularly

in the counties adjoining Georgia, are being persuaded,

and intend going to Liberia because I have made this

promise.

"'I shall consider it no small favor if you will state

that there is no law requiring me to serve two years,

that I never authorized any such statement as here made,

that I have no sympathy whatever for the "Liberian

Exodus" movement, that I give it neither countenance nor

support, but will oppose it whenever I feel that the

occasion requires it. I am not at all disposed to flee

from one shadow to grasp at another--from the supposed

error of Hayes's Southern policy to the prospective

glory of commanding Liberia's army.

"'Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"'HENRY O. FLIPPER,

"'Second Lieutenant Tenth U. S. Cavalry.

"'CHARLESTON, S.C., October 19, 1877.'"

THE LETTERS FROM CHARLESTON.

ROOMS OF THE LIBERIAN AFRICAN ASSOCIATION,

10 MARY STREET, CHARLESTON, S.C.,

June 22, 1877.

To HENRY O. FLIPPER, Esq.,

U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.:

DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER: Your future, as foreshadowed

by the press of this country, looks dismal enough. We

have conned its remarks with mingled feelings of

sympathy and exultation. Exultation! because we believe

fate has something higher and better in store for you

than they or you ever dreamed. Inclosed please find

copy of a letter to the Honorable the Secretary of

State. We have not yet received a reply. Also, inclosed,

a number of the Missionary Record containing the call

referred to. We have mentioned you in our note to His

Excellency Anthony Gardner, President of Liberia.

Please communicate with us and say if this letter and

inclosures do not open up a bright vista in the future

to your imagination and reasonable aspirations? We

picture to ourselves our efforts to obtain a line of

steamers crowned with success; and behold you as

commander-in-chief organizing and marshalling Liberia's

military forces in the interests of humanity at large,

and the especial development of a grand African

nationality that shall command the respect of the

nations:

So Afric shall resume her seat in the

Hall of Nations vast;

And strike upon her restrung lyre

The requiem of the past:

And sing a song of thanks to God,

For his great mercy shown,

In leading, with an outstretched arm,

The benighted wanderer home. Selah!

Provide yourself at once with maps, etc., master the

chorography of Africa in general, and the topography

of Liberia in particular, that is to say, the whole

range of the Kong mountains, including its eastern

slope on to the Niger, our natural boundary! for the

next thirty years! after that, onward! Cultivate

especially the artillery branch of the service; this

is the arm with which we can most surely overawe all

thought of opposition among the native tribes; whilst

military engineering will dot out settlements with

forts, against which, they will see, 'twould be

madness to hurl themselves. We desire to absorb and

cultivate them. The great obstacle to this is their

refusal to have their girls educated. This results

from their institution of polygamy. Slavery is the

same the world over--it demands the utter ignorance

of its victims. We must compel their enlightenment.

Have we not said enough? Does not your intelligence

grasp, and your ambition spring to the great work?

Let us hear from you. You can be a great power in

assisting to carry out our Exodus. If you desire we

will elect you a member of our council and keep you

advised of our proceedings. We forward you by this

mail some of our numbers and the Charleston News of

the 20th. See the article on yourself, and let it

nerve you to thoughts and deeds of greatness. Let

us know something about Baker and McClennan. Are

they at Annapolis? Cadets? (We will require a navy

as well as an army.) Also something about yourself.

What part of the State are you from? Hon. R. H. Cain

is not here, or probably he could inform us.

Affectionately yours. By our President,

B. F. PORTER,

Pastor of Morris Brown Chapel.

GEO. CURTIS, Corresponding Secretary.

P. S.--We have received a reply from the Secretary

of State--very courteous in its tone--but "regrets"

to say that he has "no special means of forming an

opinion upon the subject. The measure referred to

would require an Act of Congress, in respect to

whose future proceedings it would not be prudent

to venture a prediction."

The answer is all we expected. We have made ourselves

known to, and are recognized by, the Executive; our

next step is to address Senators Morton and Blaine--

Hon. R. H. Cain will see to it, that the question is

pushed in the House. G.C.

COPY.

Rooms OF THE LIBERIA EXODUS ASSOCIATION,

10 MARY STREET, CHARLESTON, S.C.

June 14, 1877.

HON. WM. J. EVARTS,

Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.:

Sir: Inclosed please find a call on our people to

prepare to organize for an exodus to Liberia.

We think it explains itself, but any further

explanation called for we will gladly supply.

In the event of a sufficient response to our call,

please inform us if there is any probability of our

government placing one or more steamers on the route

between here, or Port Royal, and Liberia for our

transportation; and if so, then the charge for

passage; and if, to those unable to pay ready money,

time will be given, and the payment received in produce?

Tens of thousands are now eager to go from this State

alone, but we want a complete exodus, if possible,

from the whole United States; thus leaving you a

homogeneous people, opening up an immense market

for your products, giving a much required impetus

to your trade, commerce, and manufactures; and for

ourselves attaining a position where, removed from

under the shade of a "superior race," we will have

full opportunity for developing whatever capacity

of soul growth our Creator has endowed us with.

That Africa will be developed, and chiefly through the

instrumentality of its five millions of descendants in

America, is certain. Now the question is, who shall have

the chief handling and consequent benefit of this grand

instrument, next to itself, of course, for we are treating

of a sentient instrumentality. We beseech you that you do

not send us, Columbus-like, from court to court offering

the development of a new world to incredulous ears. We

are asking the President of Liberia, the American

Colonization Society, and all friends of the measure,

for their aid, advice, and co-operation.

We desire to carry our first shipment of emigrants not

later than September or October proximo.

We have the honor to be, Sir, in all respect and loyalty,

yours to command.

The Council of the L. E. A. By our President,

B. F. PORTER,

Pastor Morris Brown A.M.E. Church.

GEO. CURTIS,

Corresponding Secretary.

Here is an article from some paper in New Orleans.

Contempt is all it deserves. I am sure all my readers

will treat it as I do. Frogs will croak, won't they?

LIEUTENANT FLIPPER.

"With the successful examination of the colored cadet

Flipper, at West Point, and his appearance in the

gazette as a full-fledged lieutenant of cavalry, the

long vexed question has been settled just as it ceased

to be a question of any practical import. Out of three

or four experiments Flipper is the one success. As the

whole South has now passed into Democratic control, and

the prospect for Southern Republican congressmen is

small, the experiments will hardly be repeated, and

he must stand for those that might have been.

"It would be interesting to know how Flipper is to

occupy his time. The usual employments of young

lieutenants are of a social nature, such as leading

the German at Narraganset Pier and officiating in

select private theatricals in the great haunts of

Fashion. Flipper is described as a little bow-legged

grif of the most darkly coppery hue, and of a general

pattern that even the most enthusiastic would find it

hard to adopt. Flipper is not destined to uphold the

virtues and graces of his color in the salons of

Boston and New York, then, nor can he hope to escape

the disagreeably conspicuous solitude he now inhabits

among his fellow-officers through any of those agencies

of usage and familiarity which would result if other

Flippers were to follow him into the army and help to

dull the edge of the innovation. Just what Flipper is

to do with himself does not seem altogether clear.

Even the excitement of leading his men among the

redskins will be denied him, now that Spotted Tail has

pacified the malcontents and Sitting Bull has retired

to the Canadas. It is to be presumed that those persons

who patronized Flipper and had him sent to West Point

are gratified at the conclusion, and there is a sort of

reason for believing that Flipper himself is contented

with the lot he has accepted; but whether the experiment

is worth all the annoyance it occasions is a problem not

so easily disposed of.

"His prospects don't appear to be very brilliant as

regards social delights or domestic enjoyments, but

of course that is Flipper's business-- not ours. It

merely struck us that things had happened a little

unfortunately for him, to become the lonesome

representative of his race in the midst of associations

that object to him and at a time when the supply of

colored officers is permanently cut off. Personally we

are not interested in Flipper."

I am indebted to a Houston Texas, paper for the

following:

THE COLORED WEST POINTER.

"We had a call yesterday from Lieutenant H. O.

Flipper, of the United States Army. Mr. Flipper,

it will be remembered, is the colored cadet who

graduated at the Military Academy at West Point

last session, occupying in his class a position

that secured his appointment to the cavalry service,

a mark of distinction. He was gazetted as second

lieutenant in the Tenth Cavalry, and he enjoys the

honor of being the first colored man who has passed

by all the regular channels into an official station

in the army.

"This young officer is a bright mulatto, tall and

soldierly, with a quiet unobtrusive manner, and the

bearing of a gentleman. As the forerunner of his race

in the position he occupies, he is placed in a delicate

and trying situation, a fact which he realizes. He

remarked that he knew it was one of the requirements of

an officer of the army to be a gentleman, a man of honor

and integrity under all circumstances, and he hoped to

be equal to his duties in this regard. He goes on to

Fort Concho to join his regiment, which is likely to

have work to do soon, if there is anything in the signs

of the times.

"We bespeak for this young officer the just consideration

to which the difficulties of his position entitle him."

I was originally ordered to Fort Concho, but at Houston,

Texas I met my lieutenant-colonel, who informed me that

My company was en route to Fort Sill. My orders were then

changed, and I proceeded to Sill.

Here is another article from a paper in the same place:

THE DIFFERENCE.

"The Age yesterday had a call from Henry O. Flipper

second lieutenant Tenth United States Cavalry, who

is on his way under orders to join his regiment at

Fort Concho. So far there is nothing very unusual

in this item, but interest will be given to it when

we add that Lieutenant Flipper is the first colored

graduate of West Point. He went to the institution

from Georgia, and graduated last June, fifty-fifth

in a class of seventy-six. There is a preponderance

of white blood in his veins, and in general appearance,

except for color, he is a perfect image of Senator

Plumb of Kansas. He reports that since he has struck

the South he has been treated like a gentleman, which

is something different from his experience in the North.

He made the acquaintance of Senator Maxey at West Point--

the Senator himself being a graduate of the Academy--and

regards him as a very pleasant gentleman. During the ten

minutes he spent in the Age editorial rooms several

prominent democrats of the city called to see and shake

hands with him, partly out of curiosity to see the colored

cadet who was so bitterly persecuted by Northern students

at West Point, and partly to bid him a welcome to the

South such as none of his political party friends would

have thought of giving him in the North. Before many

years he will be, as all intelligent colored men will

be, a democrat."

Wherever I have travelled in the South it has been

thrown into my face that the Southern people had,

would, and did treat me better than the Northern

people. This is wholly untrue. It is true that the

men generally speak kindly and treat me with due

courtesy, but never in a single instance has a

Southern man introduced me to his wife or even

invited me to his house. It was done North in every

place I stopped. In many cases, when invited to visit

gentlemen's residences, they have told me they wanted

their wives to meet me. A distinguished New York lady,

whose name has occurred in print several times with

mine, gave me with her own hands a handsome floral

tribute, just after receiving my diploma. During five

months' stay in the South, after my graduation, not a

single Southern white woman spoke to me. I mistake. I

did buy some articles from one who kept a book-store

in a country town in Georgia. This is the only exception.

This is the way Southern people treated me better than

Northern people. The white people (men) of Houston,

Texas, showed me every possible courtesy while I was

there. My treatment there was in high and honorable

contrast to that I received in Atlanta.

Here are two articles that have a few words to say

about me. I adopt and quote them at length:

(From the New York Tribune.)

WEST POINT.

"The examinations of the boys in the national school

have become an object of national interest this year

more than any other, simply because there is a

stagnation of other news. While the public is waiting

for an outbreak from Kars or the new party, it has

leisure to look into the condition of these incipient

officers. Hence reporters have crowded to West Point,

the Board of Visitors and cadets have both been

quickened to unwonted zeal by the consciousness of

the blaze of notoriety upon them, and the country has

read with satisfaction each morning of searching

examinations and sweeping cavalry charges, giving a

shrug however, at the enthusiastic recommendation of

certain members of the board that the number of yearly

appointments should be doubled or quadrupled. In this

cold ague of economy with which the nation is attacked

just now, and which leaves old army officers unpaid

for a disagreeably long time, the chances of any

addition to the flock in the nest are exceedingly

small. In fact, while the average American in war time

recognized the utility of a trained band of tacticians,

he is apt to grumble at their drain upon his pocket in

piping times of peace. Only last year he relieved himself

in Congress and elsewhere by a good deal of portentous

talking as to the expediency of doing away with the naval

and military free schools altogether. He has, in short,

pretty much the opinion of the army officer that Hodge

has of his parish priest, 'useful enough for Sundays and

funerals, but too consumedly expensive a luxury for week

days.'

"This opinion, no doubt, appears simply ludicrous

and vulgar to the gallant young fellows who are

being trained for their country's service up the

Hudson, and who already look upon themselves as its

supports and bulwarks, but there is a substratum of

common-sense in it which we commend to their

consideration, because, if for no other reason, that

the average American is the man who pays their bills

and to whom they owe their education and future

livelihood. If they do not accept his idea of the

conduct and motives of action by which they may

properly repay him the debt they owe, it certainly

is fitting that their own idea should be indisputably

a higher one. We begin to doubt whether it is not much

lower. The country, in establishing this school, simply

proposed to train a band of men skilled to serve it

when needed as tacticians, engineers, or disciplinarians;

the more these men founded their conduct on the bases of

good sense, honor, and republican principles, the better

and higher would be their service. The idea of the boys

themselves, however, within later years, seems to be

that they constitute an aristocratic class (moved by

any thing but republican principles) entitled to lay

down their own laws of good-breeding and honor. Accounts

which reach us of their hazing, etc., and notably their

treatment of the colored cadets, show that these notions

are quite different from those accepted elsewhere. Now

such ideas would be natural in pupils of the great French

or Austrian military schools, where admission testifies

to high rank by birth or to long, patient achievement on

the part of the student. But really our boys at West

Point must remember that they belong to a nation made

up of working and trades men; that they are the sons of

just such people; that the colored laborer helps to pay

for their support as well as that of the representative

of his race who sits beside them. Furthermore, they have

done nothing as yet to entitle them to assume authority

in such matters. They have recited certain lessons,

learned to drill and ride, and to wear their clothes

with precision; but something more is needed. The knight

of old was skilled in gentleness and fine courtesy to the

weak and unfortunate as well as in horsemanship. It was

his manners, not his trousers, which were beyond reproach.

"It is not as trifling a matter as it seems that these

young fellows should thus imbibe mistaken ideas of their

own position or the requirements of real manliness and

good-breeding. The greatest mistakes in the war were in

consequence of just such defects in some of our leading

officers, and the slaughter of the Indians in the South-

West upon two occasions proceeded from their inability

to recognize the rights of men of a different color from

themselves. Even in trifles, however, such matters follow

the rule of inexorable justice--as, for instance, in this

case of Cadet Flipper, who under ordinary circumstances

might have passed without notice, but is now known from

one end of the country to the other as a credit to his

profession in scholarship, pluck, and real dignity; while

his classmates are scarcely mentioned, though higher

in rank, except in relation to their cruel and foolish

conduct toward him."

(From the New York World.)

"WEST POINT, August 29.--In my earnest desire to do

justice to the grand ball last night I neglected to

mention the arrival of the new colored candidate for

admission into the United States, Military Academy,

although I saw him get off at the steamboat lauding

and was a witness to the supreme indifference with

which he was treated, save by a few personal friends.

Minnie passed the physical examination easily, for he

is a healthy mulatto. Whether this stern Alma Mater

will matriculate him is still a question. It is

really astonishing, and perhaps alarming, in view of

the enthusiastic endeavors of the Republican party

to confer upon the colored race all the rights and

privileges of citizens of the United States, to see

with what lofty contempt every candidate for academic

honors who is in the slightest degree 'off color,' is

received. As you are aware, there is at present a

colored, or partly colored, cadet in the Freshman

Class--Whittaker by name. This poor young mulatto is

completely ostracized not only by West Point society,

but most thoroughly by the corps of cadets itself.

Flipper got through all right, and, strange to say,

the cadets seem to have a certain kind of respect for

him, although he was the darkest 'African' that has

yet been seen among the West Point cadets. Flipper

had remarkable pluck and nerve, and was accorded his

parchment--well up on the list, too--at last graduation

day. He is made of sterner staff than poor Whittaker.

"A most surprising fact is that not one of the cadets

--and I think I might safely include the professors--

tries to dissemble his animosity for the black, mulatto,

or octoroon candidate. When I asked a cadet to-day some

questions concerning the treatment of Cadet Whittaker

by the corps, he said : 'Oh, we get along very well,

sir. The cadets simply ignore him, and he understands

very well that we do not intend to associate with him.'

This cadet and several others were asked whether Minnie,

if admitted, would also be ostracized socially. Their

only answer was: 'Certainly; that is well understood by

all. We don't associate with these men, but they have

all the rights that we have nevertheless.' I asked if

he knew whether Whittaker attended the ball last night.

The cadet said he didn't see him at the ball, but that

he might have been looking on from the front stoop! 'How

does this young man Whittaker usually amuse himself when

the rest of the boys are at play?' I asked. 'Well, we

don't get much play, and I think that Whittaker has as

much as he can do to attend to his studies. He managed

to pull through at last examination, but I doubt if he

ever graduates,' was the reply. Meeting another cadet

to whom I had been introduced I asked what he had heard

of the prospects of the new colored candidate, Minnie.

'I haven't heard any thing, but I hope he won't get

through,' said the cadet. Another cadet who stood near

said that the case of Flipper, who graduated so

successfully, was an exceptional one. Flipper didn't care

for any thing except to graduate, but he was confident

that these other colored cadets would fail. So far as I

have been able to ascertain, the Faculty have never

attempted to prevent the colored cadets from having an

equal chance with their white fellows. In fact under the

present management it would be next to impossible for

them to do so."

I can't let this article pass without quoting a few

words from a letter I have from Whittaker, now at West

Point. He says:

"I have been treated bully since I came in from camp

(of summer of '77). Got only one 'skin' last month

(Deccember, '77). I am still under '--' (tactical

officer), and he treats me bully; he wanted to have

a man court-martialled, when we were in camp, for

refusing to close up on me. One day a corporal put

me in the rear rank when there were plebes in the

front rank, and--told him if any such act ever

occurred again he would have him and the file confined

to the guard-house. He has never 'skinned' me since

you left. He is O.K. towards me, and the others are

afraid of him . . . . As I am sitting in my room on

third floor, sixth 'div,' a kind of sadness creeps over

me, for I am all alone. Minnie went home on last Friday.

He was weighed in the 'math' scale and found wanting.

The poor fellow did not study his 'math' and could not

help being 'found.' He was treated fairly and squarely,

but he did not study. I did all I could to help and

encourage him, but it was all in vain. He did not

like--(an instructor) very much, and a carelessness

seized him, which resulted in his dismissal. I was

sorry to see him go away, and he himself regretted it

very much. He saw his great error only when it was

too late. On the day he left he told me that he did

not really study a 'math' lesson since he entered; and

was then willing to give any thing to remain and redeem

himself. He had a very simple subject on examination,

and when he came back he told me that he had not seen

the subject for some two or three weeks before, and he,

consequently, did not know what to put on the board. All

he had on it was wrong, and he could not make his

demonstration."

The World reporter seems to be as ignorant as some

of the others. I was by no means the "darkest 'African'

that has yet been seen among the West Point cadets."

Howard, who reported in 1870 with Smith, was unadulterated,

as also were Werle and White, who reported in 1874. There

were others who were also darker than I am: Gibbs and

Napier, as I am informed. I never saw the last two.

The Brooklyn Eagle is more generous in its views. It

proposes to utilize me. See what it says:

"Probably Lieutenant Flipper could be made much more

useful than as a target for Indian bullets, if our

government would withdraw him from the army and place

him in some colored college, where he could teach the

pupils engineering, so that when they reach Africa they

could build bridges, railroads, etc."

This article was signed by "H. W. B." It is not

difficult to guess who that is.

I have had considerable correspondence with an army

officer, a stranger to me, on this subject of being

detailed at some college. He is of opinion it would

be best for me. I could not agree with him. After I

joined my company an effort (unknown to me) was made

by the Texas Mechanical and Agricultural College to

have me detailed there. It was published in the papers

that I had been so detailed. I made some inquiries,

learned of the above statements, and that the effort

had completely failed. Personally I'd rather remain

with my company. I have no taste and no tact for

teaching. I would decline any such appointment.

(From the Thomasville (Ga.) Times.)

"Wm. Flipper, the colored cadet, has graduated at West

Point and been commissioned as a second lieutenant of

cavalry in the United States Army. He is the first

colored individual who ever held a commission in the

army, and it remains to be seen how the thing will work.

Flipper's father resides here, and is a first-class boot

and shoe maker. A short time back he stated that he had

no idea his son would be allowed to graduate, but he

will be glad to know that he was mistaken."

Of course everybody knows my name is not William.

(From the, Thomasville (Ga.) Enterprise.)

"Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper of the United States Army

is spending a few days here with his father's family,

he has been on the streets very little, spending most

of his time at home. He wears an undress uniform and

deports himself, so far as we have heard, with perfect

propriety. This we believe he has done since his

graduation, with the exception of his unnecessary and

uncalled-for criticisms on the Southern people in his

Atlanta speech. He made a mistake there; one which his

sense and education ought to teach him not to repeat.

Not that it would affect our people, or that they care

about it, but for his own good."*

*In all the places I visited after graduation I was

treated with the utmost respect and courtesy except

in Atlanta. The white people, with one exception,

didn't notice me at all. All foreigners treated me

with all due consideration. One young man, whom I

knew many years, who has sold me many an article,

and awaited my convenience for his pay, and who met

me in New York, and walked and talked with me, hung

his head and turned away from me, just as I was about

to address him on a street in Atlanta. Again and again

have I passed and repassed acquaintances on the streets

without any sign of recognition, even when I have

addressed them. Whenever I have entered any of their

stores for any purpose, they have almost invariably

"gotten off" some stuff about attempts on the part of

the authorities at West Point to "freeze me out," or

about better treatment from Southern boys than from

those of the North. That is how they treated me in

Atlanta, although I had lived there over fourteen years,

and was known by nearly every one in the city. In

Thomasville, Southwest, Ga., where I was born, and which

I had not seen for eighteen years, I was received and

treated by the whites almost as one of themselves.

That "undress uniform" was a "cit" suit of blue

Cheviot. The people there, like those in Atlanta,

don't seem to know a black button from a brass one,

or a civilian suit from a military uniform.

(From the Charleston (S.C.) News and Courier.)

THE COLORED WESTPOINTER.

Lieutenant H. O. Flipper, the colored graduate of

West Point, was entertained in style at Tully's,

King Street, Tuesday night. The hosts were a

colored organization called tile Amateur Literary

and Fraternal Association, which determined that

the lieutenant who will leave this city to-day to

join his regiment, the Tenth Cavalry, now in Texas,

should not do so without some evidence of their

appreciation of him personally, and of the fact that

he had reflected credit on their race by passing

through the National Academy. Over forty persons

were at the entertainment, to whom the lieutenant

was presented by A. J. Ransier, the colored ex-member

of Congress. The lieutenant responded briefly, as he

has invariably done, and expressed his warm thanks

for the courtesy shown by the association. A number

of sentiments were offered and speeches made, and the

evening passed off very agreeably to all, especially

so to the recipient of the hospitality.

"Lieutenant Flipper expects to start to-day for Texas.

While he has been in this city he has made friends with

whites and blacks by he sensible course he has pursued."

(From the Charleston (S.C.) Commercial.)

LIEUTENANT FLIPPER'S ENTERTAINMENT.

"The Amateur Literary and Fraternal Association, of

which A. J. Ransier is the President, learning that

Lieutenant Flipper, of the United States Cavalry, was

preparing to depart to the position assigned him on

duty on the plains in Texas, at once determined to

give him a reception, and for this purpose the

following committee was appointed to arrange the

details and programme for an entertainment: J. N.

Gregg, W. H. Birny, A. J. Ransier, C. C. Leslie,

and George A. Gibson.

"The arrangements were made, and the members of the

association and invited guests to the number of some

forty, of the most respectable colored people of

Charleston, met last night at Tully's Hall, King

Street, where a bounteous feast was prepared for the

occasion. The guest, Lieutenant Flipper, soon arrived,

and was introduced to the party, and, in the course of

time, all sat down at the table, upon which was spread

the most palatable dishes which the king caterer of

Charleston could prepare. This was vigorously attacked

by all.

"Wines were then brought on, and speech-making

introduced as a set off. A. J. Ransier, in one of

his usual pleasant speeches, introduced Lieutenant

Flipper, paying him a deserved tribute for his

success in the attainment of the first commission

issued to a colored graduate of West Point.

"Lieutenant Flipper, in a brief and courteous speech,

acknowledged the compliment, and thanked the association

for the kind attention paid him, promising them that in

his future career in the army of his country he would

ever strive to maintain a position which would do credit

to his race.

"W. H. Birney next responded in eloquent terms to

the toast, 'The State of South Carolina.' J. N. Gregg

was called upon, and responded in a wise and discreet

manner to the toast of 'The Future of the Colored Man

in this Country.' 'The Press' and 'Woman' were next

respectively toasted, and responded to by Ransier and

F. A. Carmand. Other speeches were made by C. C. Leslie,

J. J. Connor, and others, and at a late hour the party

retired, after a most pleasant evening's enjoyment.

Lieutenant Flipper leaves for Texas to-morrow."

Before closing my narrative I desire to perform a very

pleasant duty. I sincerely believe that all my success

at West Point is due not so much to my perseverance and

general conduct there as to the early moral and mental

training I received at the hands of those philanthropic

men and women who left their pleasant homes in the North

to educate and elevate the black portion of America's

citizens, and that, too, to their own discomfort and

disadvantage. How they have borne the sneers of the

Southern press, the ostracism from society in the South,

the dangers of Kuklux in remote counties, to raise up a

downtrodden race, not for personal aggrandizement, but

for the building up and glory of His kingdom who is no

respecter of persons, is surely worthy our deepest

gratitude, our heartfelt thanks, and our prayers and

blessing. Under the training of a good Christian old

lady, too old for the work, but determined to give her

mite of instruction, I learned to read and to cipher--

this in 1866. From her I was placed under control of a

younger person, a man. From him I passed to the control

of another lady at the famous "Storr's School." I

remained under her for two years more or less, when I

passed to the control of another lady in what was called

a Normal School. From here I went to the Atlanta

University, and prepared for the college course, which

in due time I took up. This course of training was the

foundation of all my after-success. The discipline,

which I learned to heed, because it was good, has been

of incalculable benefit to me. It has restrained and

shaped my temper on many an occasion when to have

yielded to it would have been ruin. It has regulated

my acts when to have committed them as I contemplated

would have been base unmanliness. And it has made my

conduct in all cases towards others generous, courteous,

and Christian, when it might otherwise have been mean,

base, and degrading. It taught me to be meek, considerate,

and kind, and I have verily been benefited by it.

The mind-training has been no less useful. Its

thoroughness, its completeness, and its variety

made me more than prepared to enter on the curriculum

of studies prescribed at West Point. A less thorough,

complete, or varied training would never have led to

the success I achieved. I was not prepared expressly

for West Point. This very thoroughness made me

competent to enter any college in the land.

How my heart looks back and swells with gratitude to

these trainers of my youth! My gratitude is deeply

felt, but my ability to express it is poor. May Heaven

reward them with long years of happiness and usefulness

here, and when this life is over, and its battles won,

may they enter the bright portals of heaven, and at His

feet and from His own hands receive crowns of immortal

glory.